근대의 황홀과 공포 ― 청말 민초 공상과학소설과 망국멸종의 환상서사

Abstract

This essay explores the intellectual quest for a modernization project showcased in late Qing science fiction. Fear of imminent racial extinction and national collapse preoccupied intellectuals of the time, and many believed that science fiction could aid in the deliverance of China from catastrophe. The genre was viewed as the most practical medium to disseminate knowledge of technology as well as a broader scientific understanding of the world. At the same time, they understood that modern technology would not necessarily guarantee the success of China’s modernization as technology, in their view, also posed threats to civilization. In this respect, the advance of Western technology encounters two distinct intellectual responses: wonder and fear of the modern. Late Qing science fiction produces a paradoxical understanding: the progress of modern technology prompts the need for spiritual maturity. Xu Nianci in “New Tales of Mr Braggadocio” argues that the “technique of creating humans” may renovate the spirits of the conservative Chinese; at the same time, he admits that the problem of unemployment would remain unsolved. On the other hand, Yu Wanchun in Quelling the Bandits constructs a utopian vision in which China uses Western technology while punishing villains of society. This creation of an ideal society reveals how the imagination of the fantastic contests the imminent danger to China. Finally, Wu Jianren’s The New Story of the Stone sums up the late Qing pessimism: the creation of an ideal world indicts the modern China as it faces technological backwardness without the guidance of Confucian teachings.