Author Profile: Cixin Liu

Liu (pronounced “le-o”), is a Chinese science fiction writer and a nine-time Chinese Galaxy Award winner, the most prestigious science fiction award in China. Originally a computer engineer at a power plant in Shanxi province, he began writing short stories in 1999.

Cixin Liu is best known for his trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past, especially for the first in its series: The Three-Body Problem. This novel was so popular it was translated into 26 different languages. It was the first Asian novel ever to win the Hugo Award for best novel after the English translation was released in 2014.

As a young boy, his life was heavily influenced by the cultural revolution in China. His father hid novels under the bed that was not considered politically orthodox enough. Liu read them, making reading a personal and intimate experience for him since he was worried about discussing it with others.

According to an interview in 2019 at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Liu noted that sci-fi opens our minds to the possibilities for the future. He believes that while the number of readers and writers of science fiction has decreased, its importance in society remains the same. Personally, I agree. Reading is the best gateway to knowledge and insight, and without understanding our past and looking at predictions for the future, how can we ever flourish as a society?

Liu has a unique point of view on life and an incredibly talented way of storytelling. Additionally, since he was previously experienced with engineering, he understands traditional sciences well enough to add them as a medium in his stories. We can learn a lot from this novel and others from Liu’s works, and enjoy the process along the way. His themes of social inequality and technological development are particularly important in the world we live in today.

Edited by Lindsey Huddleston.