The classic thrilling underground adventure of a scientist and his nephew, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was written by French novelist Jules Verne. He was one of the founders of science fiction.

But few know that the first Chinese edition of this tale was introduced by Lu Xun, the father of Chinese modern literature, at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, China has been warming up for this particular literary field, which was initially treated as some fantasy to fulfill the dreams of modernity and enlightenment.

According to the award-winning sci-fi writer Wang Jinkang, the early works are merely vehicles to popularize scientific knowledge, until Chinese science fiction finally reached its short-lived peak at the early 1980s.

"Science fiction gained its popularity when Ye Yonglie and his peers enter into the literary world. Fictions such as &`&Little Smart Roaming the Future&`& sold out millions of copies. You know, at the turn of 1970s and 1980s, people also enjoyed reading a lot. "

Through the eyes of a child, "Little Smart Roaming the Future" reveals a rather enticing version of a future city. From hovercrafts energized by atomic energy to wrist watches that merge TV functions, the dazzlingly future world excited tech savvies and amateur scientists of the 1970s.

However, in 1983, Chinese science fiction went downhill quite dramatically as being criticized as pseudoscience. To certain extent, the boycott has stimulated writers to shift their interest from purely scientific sectors to the discussion of reality and humanistic spirit.

Wang Jinkang is one of them. As the nine-time winner of the Galaxy Award, the Chinese equivalent of the Hugo Award, Wang&`&s debut "The Return of Adam" is praised as a "grand epic" brimming with philosophical debate; while his most significant work "Quasi-human" explores the validity of human cloning.

"The difference between sci-fi and other literary genres is its affinity with science. As technologies evolve, they not only change our society, but also transform our customs, even reproductive strategies and ethics. In other words, science alters humanity. So sci-fi should investigate the relation between technologies and human nature. "

Besides of depicting real-world issues and futuristic problems, Chinese sci-fi authors also extend their reach to the cosmos.

As the man behind the apocalyptic space trilogy, The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin sets a milestone in modern Chinese literature. Although his story sticks to the classic alien-invasion plot, the description of those tumultuous years in Chinese history, the extensive research into Chinese characteristics, awe his many readers and deliver the unprecedented shock and thrill.

Not only recognized as the best-selling sci-fi author in China, Liu Cixin also becomes one of the few Chinese sci-fi writers who get their works translated into English.

The 51-year-old recalled.

"I have been interested in science fiction since the Cultural Revolution. When I read those sci-fi published in the 1950s, I was so enraptured. Far from dreaming about being a writer, I just fantasized those fictional worlds. Living a pale, dull life, we are curious about the imaginary universe. "

Liu said he wants to deliver the adventurous spirit and positive attitude of humankind into his writings.

"The human society I aspire is a society keeping on exploration and a world full of passion to search the unknown. We will never cease carrying forward in the starlit sky and sowing the seeds of our civilization to a wider space. Many horrible things once happened during the human history, such as war, disaster or genocide, may repeat during this process. But as far as I know, it is the most evident way to showcase the nature of life and the dignity of human civilization."

As the mind-blowing drama "Interstellar" becomes a national sensation and Liu&`&s trilogy is going to be adapted into movie, more and more Chinese people have been drawn into the fanciful charm of science fiction.

But in the eyes of Yao Haijun, editor of China&`&s largest-circulating sci-fi magazine, Science Fiction World, the golden era hasn&`&t arrived yet.

"If we want to promote Chinese science fiction, we must transform the marketing mode from magazine to best-seller. With our own best-sellers, we could expand the social influence of this genre and lay the foundation for the further development of the industry. "

Since the publication of China&`&s first original science fiction novel in 1904, speculative fiction has undergone dramatic ups and downs in the past one hundred years, but it will continue to push the boundaries of our imagination and inspire the curiosity of mankind.