Liu Cixin and his "Three-Body Problem": the Coexistence of Conscience Pollution and Grandeur Deep（4）

  (Continued from Part 3)

  (12) The magnificent epic of Social Darwinism

    Compared with whitewashing dictators, gender bias, and contempt for the masses, which are the "branches" of Liu Cixin's thought, its socialist values 鈥嬧€媋re the "trunk" of Liu Cixin and "The Three-Body Problem".

     Regarding the social Darwinist tendency expressed by Liu Cixin in "The Three-Body Problem", I do not need to cite new examples. There are so many analyzes and examples in the previous article, and almost everywhere there is a social Darwinist flavor.

     The core of the so-called "social Darwinism" is "the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest." These eight characters are also the core of the theory of evolution in nature, and Sheda moved this from nature to human society. These eight words may seem simple, but they can cover everything. There are many analytical studies on the specific content and manifestations of Social Darwinism, but I will not go into them here. I will directly analyze Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" and Liu himself.

    The three elements of a novel are characters, environment and plot. It can be said that these three elements are equal to the entire content of the novel. As for Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem", its characters, environment, and storyline are all full of social Darwinism.

    Wade, Shi Qiang, and Zhang Beihai relied on unscrupulous means to achieve their important goals. Moreover, it is necessary to use methods that should not be even resolutely opposed under the evaluation system of civilized society in order to achieve its important purpose and save mankind. Vedder is a typical Social Darwinist, while the other two are not complete Social Darwinists, but sometimes show social Darwinist ideological tendencies and actions. Cheng Xin, on the other hand, is their opposite. Cheng Xin's thoughts and actions are in line with the moral principles and legal requirements of a civilized environment. She is even very caring, kind, and upright. However, these virtues are exactly the reasons for her failure and ultimately the destruction of most of mankind. The essential. To borrow a line from a poem, "Despicability is the passport of the despicable, and nobility is the epitaph of the noble." These are, of course, characteristics and manifestations of Social Darwinism.

    The design and description of the environmental background in the article also make people feel the prominence of Social Darwinism. The "dark forest" theory and reality are where the socialist color is most prominent. In addition, such as the background of the Cultural Revolution and Ye Wenjie's experience, the process of human beings competing with the Three-Body Problem, and the performance of the "rabble" or various popular characters in the article, all reflect the cruelty and darkness of this society, including power, villains, cruelty, and lies. Betrayal of trust, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, bullying the good and fearing the evil... are all telling readers that Social Darwinism is the basis and mainstream of social laws, and only by adapting to this law of survival can we win or at least survive. Rejecting or even resisting the rules of Social Darwinism will not only Unable to survive, not even the dregs will be left after death.

    Not only from the basic elements of the novel, the social Darwinism of "The Three-Body Problem" is everywhere. According to the time and narrative sequence of the plot, Socialism also runs through the entire novel. (Although the opening part of the novel and the part recalling Ye Wenjie’s Cultural Revolution experience rarely involve the Trisolaran world, these human intrigues are all for the people who follow. The struggle in the Trisolaran world provided the introduction and foreshadowing). The process of human struggle with the Trisolaran world, the ups and downs of success and failure, are all related to the thoughts and behaviors of Social Darwinism.

    The simplified process of the confrontation between humans and the Three-Body Problem is as follows: The injustice and persecution of human society itself gave rise to rebels like Ye Wenjie. However, some other rebels joined the army of rebels against evil humans because their lives were too superior and their sense of morality and justice was too strong. After human rebels led to the invasion of Trisolaris, the earth fell into a deep trough in response to the crisis. But after the great trough, people learned from the painful experience of "giving civilization to the years" and achieved recovery. But after recovery, humans lost their vigilance and sense of crisis. At the same time, after learning about the opacity of human thinking, Trisolaris learned to deceive, successfully narcotized people in the illusion of peace, and then defeated humans in one fell swoop in the interstellar battle. And mankind has recovered from the desperate situation by establishing a dark forest deterrence system. But after recovery, he "relapsed" and once again relaxed his vigilance, became weak and undefended because of his emphasis on morality and "human rights ("human rights" here also includes the right to life on other planets), and chose a "holy mother" like Cheng Xin as the "obsessionist" Swordman". And once again humanity was almost defeated because of this. The price of victory is to expose both the Earth and Trisolaris to the dark forest targets of the universe. And mankind once again lost the opportunity to escape the attack of the dark forest because of its emphasis on morality and "human rights", and eventually all but a very small number of people died.

    Obviously, all this reflects the social reality of Social Darwinism and the victory of Social Darwinism at the practical level. If you are imprisoned by morality and law, you will fail. If you follow the evil side of human nature and even the universe, you will survive.

    The ideology of a novel is largely (or even entirely) the author's own ideology. The strong social Darwinist ideas of "Three-Body" are generally endorsed and owned by himself. Moreover, among Liu Cixin's works, "The Three-Body Problem" is not the only one like this. In Liu Cixin's other work "Ball Lightning", there is also an obvious flavor of social Darwinism. For example, the heroine Lin Yun forced the enemy to give up the invasion and allowed her country to win the war (or to save the crisis from the edge of failure and achieve an armistice) by dying together.

   "Ball Lightning" also contains more explicit socialist tendencies.

   "Yes, Dad, after listening to what I said, you looked at me silently for a while, and then took out two photos from the briefcase. The two photos were exactly the same, except that one corner was burnt and the other one was burnt. There were some brown marks on it, which I later learned were bloodstains. The photo showed a family of three. Both parents were military officers, but their military uniforms were very different from those of their father. They wore epaulettes that his father did not have at the time. The girl was as old as I'm pretty much the same. She's a very beautiful child, with white and rosy skin, like fine porcelain. Growing up in the north, I've never seen such good skin. Her hair is so black and long, all the way to her waist. , so cute. Her mother is also very beautiful, and her father is very handsome. They are really a family that I envy. But you tell me, these are two enemy officers, both of whom were killed in our shelling. They were separated when cleaning the battlefield. We found these two identical photos from the two corpses, and now the cute little girl in the middle has no mother or father."

The general said: "I also tell you that the enemies who killed your mother were not bad people. They did that because they were soldiers and had to fulfill their duties, just like dad was a soldier and had to fulfill his duty to kill on the battlefield. Like a mortal enemy."

    鈥︹€

    On the battlefield in southern Xinjiang, one of my comrades-in-arms was licked by its tail. As a result, the skin on his body fell off as soon as it was touched. It was better to be alive than to be dead. In the field hospital, he used a pistol to kill himself while no one was paying attention. It's over. At that time, I thought of the mother I last saw in the hospital. The skin all over her body was ulcerated, and her fingers were swollen and black. It was impossible to kill herself with a pistol... This experience may make some people stay away from weapons for life, but it also It will make other people obsessed with it. I belong to the latter group. There is a power hidden in the terrifying machine. It is this power that fascinates me like a drug. "

    鈥︹€

    "Yun, we two women, for our ideals and beliefs, and for our motherland, have embarked on this less traveled road that women should not take. I have walked on this road longer than you, so I know its dangers better. More. All kinds of forces in nature, including those that people think of as the gentlest and most harmless, can be turned into life-destroying weapons, and some of these weapons are so cruel and terrifying that you cannot imagine it until you see it with your own eyes. . But I, a woman you think is like your mother, still want to tell you that our path is not wrong. I have no regrets about my life. I hope you can do the same when you are my age. My child, I have moved When I go to a place you don’t know, I will never contact you again. Before bidding farewell, I will not send you empty blessings. Blessings are meaningless to a soldier. I only give you a warning: those terrible things. Things may one day fall on the heads of your compatriots and relatives, or on the delicate skin of the baby in your arms. The best way to prevent this from happening is to create it before enemies or potential enemies. Come out! My child, this is the blessing I can give you."

    What information do these words convey? Different people will have different interpretations due to different values 鈥嬧€媋nd interests. However, it is completely defensible to say that it has a social color.

    It needs to be added that the most shocking social statement is this:

   "Killing them all is the highest priority for a civilization."

    In addition to what is in the book, Liu Cixin also performs in reality. As mentioned earlier, when he was debating with a scholar on the topic of "whether to eat humans in order to continue human civilization," he tended to take the "any means justify the means" stance of cannibalizing people in order to achieve the goal of human continuation. In addition, in some interviews, he also expressed some tendencies, such as endorsing Xinjiang's "re-education camp" policy. Of course, he has also shown some neutral attitudes. For example, in an interview with media personality Li Jiajia, his comments had no obvious emotions, but were gentle and rational, and his words were pragmatic and neutral.

    As I said at the beginning, I certainly don’t have the ability to see what Liu Cixin is thinking through perspective. Everything is just speculation based on reason. I evaluate him as a social Darwinist or a supporter of social Darwinism, which I think is consistent with the facts.

   Returning to "The Three-Body Problem", this book can be said to fully embody the various characteristics and manifestations of Social Darwinism. The most important thing is that the book tends to support sympathy rather than criticize Social Darwinism, or "the law of the jungle, whatever the means." opposing. This is also what makes it different from other works that reflect the darkness of human nature and the ugliness of society. This is something that has been discussed before, but it really needs to be said again. Therefore, based on the breadth and depth of content, ideological tendencies, implications, and practical impact of "Three-Body", it can be called a "magnificent epic of social Darwinism."

   In fact, the reason why "The Three-Body Problem" is considered to be a social Darwinist thought is largely because a large proportion of its readers are social Darwinists. They worship the laws of the dark forest and are interested in Thomas Wade, Shi Qiang, Zhang Beihai, etc. People admire him very much and admire the idea of 鈥嬧€"losing your animal nature and losing everything" in the book, and then strongly praise the entire book "Three-Body" and highly worship Liu Cixin. . It is the understanding and interpretation of these people that makes the original social Darwinism color of this book even stronger. This is exactly what I want to say. The popularity of "The Three-Body Problem" lies not only in the attractiveness of the content in the book itself, but also in its complementation with the values 鈥嬧€嬧€嬧€媜f the real Chinese people, which shows the objective reality of the social Darwin culture of China's intellectual group in the 21st century. .

   It is worth noting that since the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China from the end of 2019 to the present, the economic situation has deteriorated sharply, and except for a very small number of people, life is generally difficult for most people. This gave Social Darwinists a heavy blow, allowing them to discover that "having the ability" and "struggle" still cannot lead to gains. This led to the decline of socialism and stimulated the rise of China's youth Maoists. But today, China's young Maoists still have a strong sense of socialism. Coincidentally but to a certain extent inevitable, Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" not only caters to socialists but also to young Maoists, so "The Three-Body Problem" is still popular despite the outbreak.

   (13) “What to do” after “what”?

    Obviously, I have repeatedly described and analyzed some issues. Therefore, in the review section, I will not re-list the content, but will base my comments and analysis on what has been written previously.

    Based on the key points I emphasized in the above specific narrative analysis, I acknowledge the existence of various dark and ugly realities mentioned by Liu Cixin; but on the causes and responsibilities of such realities, Liu Cixin and I have different views; but in There are fundamental differences in how to deal with such practical issues (even if some non-qualitative aspects are exactly the same). In other words, Liu Cixin and I have very similar views on "what", but we have major differences on "why", and our choices on "how" are qualitatively different.

    To borrow a few proverbs to summarize "what it is", they are: "A gentleman cannot defeat a villain", "Despicableness is the passport of the despicable, and nobility is the epitaph of the noble", "When you stare into the abyss (and have a grudge against evil, Confrontation), the abyss is also staring at you (you may become an equally evil person in the resistance, otherwise you can be called a 'forgiving person')", "Good people don't live long, bad people live forever"... So, what should we do? To be a "gentleman", "noble person", "forgiving person", "good person", or to be a "villain", "despicable person", "evil person", "bad person"?

    If under such simple conditions, many people may still choose the former, then what if conditions are added one after another, that is, the important interests of the losers are damaged/the things they care about are damaged? What about serious damage/serious damage to something you care about? What if you can't survive on your own? The country is destroyed and the family is destroyed, and things that are more important than life will be destroyed in a cruel way? Still choose the former?

    If additional conditions are added, good people may not be completely good, and bad people may not be completely bad; good things may not all be advantages, and bad things may not all be disadvantages. There are more high-sounding excuses for choosing to be a "villain", so how do you choose? Then, many conditions can be added to increase or "ease" the difficulty of selection ("lightening" the difficulty of selection may not necessarily mean "reducing" it), and then how to choose?

    This type of discussion is not uncommon, especially in developed democracies with free thinking after entering modern society. But there is no definite consensus in these discussions. In countries like China, such discussions are rare, but in reality such choices are constantly being made (although it may not be as clear-cut as the proverbs about good and evil, right and wrong). As for what to choose, it should be well known. Of course, it is not just China. Every person in every country of mankind will face these choices. Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" raises this issue more profoundly and sharply. Wade's words, "If you lose your humanity, you lose a lot; if you lose your animality, you lose everything" is Liu Cixin's condensed answer to the question.

    Realistic choices are of course more complicated, but there are always relative good and evil, victory and defeat, good and evil, rise and fall. We often have to make choices, especially when it comes to the fate of individuals, families, communities, countries, and humanity. Each of us may participate in this choice or even participate in this choice many times in our life. Maybe we don't need to be crazy. We don't always choose to become evil in order to survive, but it will never be clean after all.

   (14) About Liu Cixin

    A person's masterpiece represents the person himself to a large extent. Liu Cixin is no exception. My analysis and evaluation of the ideological value of this book are, to a large extent, my analysis and evaluation of Liu Cixin himself. I have also specifically mentioned Liu Cixin’s personal words and deeds many times before. If his works are not based on the current values 鈥嬧€媌ut eulogize justice and light, and speak out and cry out for the weak, then he is undoubtedly a great writer with the depth and value of his thoughts. But now he cannot afford the word "great". But there is no doubt that his thoughts are profound, his imagination is bold and rich, and his expressive ability is amazing. His depth of thought, imagination and expressive ability can be said to be at the top among many writers in ancient and modern times.

   Although Liu Cixin's works are all about science fiction, they have a strong sense of realism. What it says and metaphors are all things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in the real world. Rather than saying that Liu Cixin is a science fiction writer, it is better to say that he is a special realist writer. But he is different from other critical realist writers. On the one hand, this is because the dark cruelty of the value orientation he promotes is completely different from the works of writers who praise bright justice and sympathize with the victims. On the other hand, he blends reality into science fiction. , and set its sights on the extremely distant future that ordinary people cannot reach, making prophetic judgments that feel quite real and even true, linking the reality of human nature and society with the destiny of mankind and even the universe in the extremely distant future. For example, its depiction of the changes of human beings and the universe at different time scales gives people an extremely intuitive and real feeling, making people feel that this is not a science fiction novel but an epic of human beings and the universe.

    Judging from these, Liu Cixin is a giant writer. However, based on what Liu Cixin did in reality, he didn't look like a real giant. Although his thoughts are profound and his language in various interviews is plain, rigorous, broad and profound, you can see the aspects he exposed in interviews and other matters, as well as his return to "The Three-Body Problem" and other works themselves. This is due to his shallow humanistic background and lack of moral concern (of course he also has some relevant background and certain care, but compared to his status as a "giant", these are far from enough). Fans of Liu Cixin will make various excuses, and even generally regard this as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. As I said before, Liu Cixin's fans regard cold-blooded cruelty as mature rationality. However, the judgment of any writer must be based on universal morality and conscience. Liu Cixin is obviously "unqualified". Just his respect for and whitewashing of the dictator who caused such huge disasters makes him no longer worthy of being called "great" (no matter how amazing his talent is).

   Also, after Liu Cixin won the Hugo Award and "The Three-Body Problem" became popular around the world, she has become a world-renowned writer and public figure with great influence. He also often gives interviews and discusses his works with Chinese and foreign people. However, in the ten years since he became famous, he has never actively commented on national and social affairs related to the public interest (only when asked did he say something that is in line with the current Chinese government's position). He has never used his influence to do anything constructive for his two hometowns (Henan where he was born and went to school, and Shanxi where he worked and settled), which are still relatively poor and backward. He has never done anything constructive for the fellow villagers who are suffering in his hometown. Once (but after he became famous, he quickly returned to Tieba to anonymously respond to colleagues who had criticized him. Although it is understandable, it also shows that he cares more about personal emotions and does not consider the overall situation of the country and mankind, even if his thoughts extend to the universe) . In the face of various major controversial issues in China and the world, and many realities in Henan and Shanxi provinces that need to be criticized and changed, he chose to avoid them, which can be said to have no public awareness and sense of responsibility.

   This is not because he cannot see the darkness and crisis in reality. On the contrary, he is very aware of it but refuses to talk about it. In "The Three-Body Problem" and other works, he reflects that he has a good understanding of the dark side of Chinese society, and even learned through some channels far more inside information than ordinary people can know. However, he refused to directly mention real issues and only discussed the fictional and abstract content of his works without connecting them with reality. For example, in his "The Wandering Earth", he talks about the earth encountering a crisis of destruction, countries taking measures to deal with it, and the people refusing to cooperate and even rioting due to conspiracy theories. The entire plot is almost exactly the same as the hazards and reactions of the climate crisis that humans face in the real world. But Liu Cixin has never commented on the climate crisis, even though he has mentioned in some interviews that humans should plan for the long term and prevent crises in the universe that may destroy humanity. With Liu Cixin’s erudition and intelligence, it is impossible for him to not understand the huge harm that the climate crisis has on mankind, but he remains silent. Liu Cixin has never expressed any opinions on China's high-intensity lockdown measures and its impact on the prevention and control of COVID-19 in recent years. Liu Cixin's behavior is not only indifferent, but shameful; he is not ignorant, but it is also more corrupt.

   The thoughts and values 鈥嬧€嬧€嬧€媜f Liu Cixin's works are contradictory and very consistent with his personal character and moral level. This sentence may not be easy to understand at first sight, but for those who are familiar with "The Three-Body Problem" and know Liu Cixin well, it should not be difficult to understand as long as they think a little dialectically.

   The coexistence and even unity of grandeur, profundity and pollution of conscience is the most appropriate and concise evaluation of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem and Liu Cixin himself.

   But in any case, "The Three-Body Problem" is still worth reading, and Liu Cixin's thoughts should be understood by more people. We should also think about why there are no people with high moral character and both ability and political integrity in China or even in the world to write a masterpiece like "The Three-Body Problem". Perhaps, this is the same as the previous difficult choices. Only by accepting the gaze of the abyss can we truly understand what the abyss is. When a person understands the truth about human beings and even the universe, but does not have enough faith to uphold his conscience, he will not be able to get out of the moral and cognitive opposition, which will eventually lead to hissoulof nothingness and depravity. This is really sad and a common occurrence.