Study On Liu Cixin's Reception Towards Clarke's Science Fictions

Liu Cixin is regarded as the one of the pioneers of science fiction writers in China's new generation and his novel The Three Body Problem is famous both at home and abroad.After the reading of his novel,it could be found that Liu's works are closely related with those of Arthur Clarke,who is a science fiction writer in the golden era in the west.Furthermore,it is an indisputable fact that Liu recepts Clarke's science fictions,thus based on which,the present study aims to explore the absorption,fusion,which may be brought from Clarke's works,and originality in Liu's works,taken the reception studies in the study of comparative literature variation as the researching methods.Furthermore,based on Liu's reception toward Clarke,it would further elaborate the originality of Liu's works and thus showcase the unique charm of Chinese contemporary science fictions through horizontal comparisons.The present study consists of three parts mainly.The introduction part briefly illustrates the aim and significance of the study and introduces the research subjects: Liu's and Clarke's science fictions.The current researching status on Liu's works of science fictions were stated clearly both at home and abroad and research methods and contents of the present study were also show clearly.The main body of the study includes four chapters.Chapter one gives a brief overview on Liu's and Clarke's science fictions.At the very beginning,the lives and important science fictions of Liu Cixin and Arthur Clarke are introduced.Chapter two first discusses Liu's affirmation and reception on Clarke's science fictions,then combines Liu's related works with Clarke,mainly discussing Liu's absorption from Clarke's science fictions.It also analyzes the common features between Liu's and Clarke's science fictions,which are conducted from the perspectives of science fiction's characteristics,their themes,scientific nature and way of narration.Chapter three explores the originality and variation and display the heterogeneity of Liu's works,which was based on Liu's acceptance on Clarke's science fictions in combination with his own national culture characteristics.Specifically,the detailed illustrations were done from the perspectives of ethical appeal,national image and aesthetic style,highlighting the distinctive glamour of Liu's works.Chapter four gives the reasons on the variability of Liu's science fiction,namely Liu's distinctive interpretation on Clarke's works based on his acceptance.The comparative analysis were done from the aspects of characters,external environment,literature inheritance and religious tradition.The epilogue part reiterates the significance of the present study.It showcases the unique charm of Chinese science fictions after finding out the differences and similarities between Liu's and Clarke's science fictions based on Liu's acceptance on Clarke's works.In addition,due to the limitation of deficiency on analyzing process,small amount of collected data and lack of theoretical knowledge,there did exist some weaknesses in the present study to some extent.