Liu Cixin


Liu Cixin is a Chinese science fiction writer. He is a nine-time winner of the Galaxy Award, winner of the 2015 Hugo Award and the 2017 Locus Award as well as a nominee for the Nebula Award. In English translations of his works, his name is given in the form Cixin Liu.

Life and career

Liu Cixin was born on 23 June 1963 in Yangquan, Shanxi. Liu's parents worked in a mine in Shanxi. Due to the violence of the Cultural Revolution he was sent to live in his ancestral home in Luoshan County, Henan.
Liu graduated from the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power in 1988. He then worked as a computer engineer at a power plant in the Shanxi province.

Writing

Liu cites British authors George Orwell and Arthur C. Clarke as important literary influences. He was labeled the first cyberpunk Chinese author after his novel, China 2185, was published in 1989.
Liu's most famous work, The Three-Body Problem, was published in 2007. American author Ken Liu's 2014 translation won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Liu Cixin thus became the first author from Asia to win Best Novel. The German translation followed in 2016. Ken Liu also translated the third volume of the Remembrance of Earth's Past series, Death's End, in 2016. Death's End was a 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel finalist and won a 2017 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
A cinematic adaptation of The Three-Body Problem has been filmed, but its release has been indefinitely postponed. In March 2018, Amazon was rumored to be negotiating for the rights to the project. However, YooZoo Pictures released a statement in response stating that it was the "sole owner of the rights for film and TV series adaptations." Although it "was originally scheduled to be released in 2017," the project "was postponed indefinitely due to the company's internal shuffling and the rumored 'bad quality' of the film's first cut." In June 2019, it was reported that work had begun on an animated adaptation.
The cinematic adaptation of his short story The Wandering Earth was released in China on February 5, 2019, which became the second highest-grossing film in the Chinese box office within 2 weeks.

Personal life

Liu is married and has a daughter. His wife and daughter almost never read his works.

Political views

Liu's political views are closely aligned with those of the Chinese government. In his 2019 interview with The New Yorker, Liu expressed "staunch and unequivocal" support for policies such as Xinjiang re-education camps and one-child policy, and said he had become wary of touting the geopolitical underpinnings of his work.

Novels

1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2010
2011
2014
2016
2018