Winner, 2023 SFRA Book Award, Science Fiction Research Association

A new wave of cutting-edge, risk-taking science fiction has energized twenty-first-century Chinese literature. These works capture the anticipation and anxieties of China’s new era, speaking to a future filled with uncertainties. Deeply entangled with the politics and culture of a changing China, contemporary science fiction has also attracted a growing global readership.

Fear of Seeing traces the new wave’s origin and development over the past three decades, exploring the core concerns and literary strategies that make it so distinctive and vital. Mingwei Song argues that recent Chinese science fiction is united by a capacity to illuminate what had been invisible—what society had chosen not to see; what conventional literature had failed to represent. Its poetics of the invisible opens up new literary possibilities and inspires new ways of telling stories about China and the world. Reading the works of major writers such as Liu Cixin and Han Song as well as lesser-known figures, Song explores how science fiction has spurred larger changes in contemporary literature and culture. He analyzes key topics: variations of utopia and dystopia, cyborgs and the posthuman, and nonbinary perspectives on gender and genre, among many more. A compelling and authoritative account of the politics and poetics of contemporary Chinese science fiction, Fear of Seeing is an important book for all readers interested in the genre’s significance for twenty-first-century literature.

"Fear of Seeing is the most definitive and comprehensive work on contemporary Chinese science fiction to date. Its powerful theoretical intervention opens new pathways for analyzing narratives that challenge previous notions of science fiction from China . . . This is a must-have book for anyone studying or teaching Chinese science fiction." - H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews

"Highly recommended." - Choice Reviews

"A commendable overview of contemporary Chinese New Wave SF." - Chinese Literature and Thought Today

"Fear of Seeing not only enriches our comprehension of Chinese science fiction but also invites readers to reflect on the genre’s capacity to illuminate the unseen and challenge established literary paradigms. With its compelling insights and expansive scope, Fear of Seeing leads the way for those
eager to delve into the rich tapestry of speculative literature from China and beyond." - Sun Yat-sen Journal of Humanities

"Song’s dazzling capacity to connect disparate literary and temporal regimes makes Fear of Seeing an engrossing read, with the book’s true strength lying in the kaleidoscopic breadth of its references." - Los Angeles Review of Books

"A must-read for every researcher interested in Chinese sf and sf aesthetics." - Science Fiction Studies

"A must-read for anyone interested in science fiction and wishing to understand the historical and contemporary dynamics of this genre in the Chinese-speaking world. The breadth of its corpus and the richness of the themes addressed also pave the way for many studies that will follow in its wake, even outside the Sinophone world." - China Perspectives

"An eloquently written, robustly researched, and theoretically sophisticated book that is a welcome addition to the bourgeoning scholarship on Chinese SF." - Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews