From the “Hugo Award” to the “Metaverse”: The Internationalization Trend and Localized Screen Adaptation of Chinese Science Fiction (2015–2023)

Junbin Wu

doi:10.54691/0196qk45

Authors

Junbin Wu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/0196qk45

Keywords:

Chinese Sci-fi; Internationalization; Localization of Film and Television; Hugo Award; Metaverse.

Abstract

In 2015, Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem won the Hugo Award, marking the breakthrough of Chinese science fiction (sci-fi) beyond regional boundaries and the beginning of its internationalization journey. The metaverse technology boom around 2023 injected new development momentum into it. Between 2015 and 2023, Chinese sci-fi formed a two-way interaction between internationalization and local screen adaptation. On the one hand, literary works represented by The Three-Body Problem, Folding Beijing, and The Space-Time Painter broke through boundaries via international awards, integrating Chinese narratives with the values of a community with a shared future for mankind to achieve a leap from textual output to cultural recognition. On the other hand, screen adaptations such as The Wandering Earth and the TV series adaptation of The Three-Body Problem promoted the formation of a local sci-fi industrial system, strengthening cultural expression through breakthroughs in hard sci-fi and the integration of genres.

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