Tai Xiang's Random Projects

With the main two parameters we are taking a look at here are the correlation of Science Fiction literature and history, it seems fitting to look at… the history of science fiction! Although relatively new to the scene when compared to genres such as romance or realistic fiction, science fiction still features a historical development that bends and folds as times change and reader interests realign. So let us turn on some overused science fiction MacGuffin and head back in time to when science fiction was first growing its roots.

So when exactly did the first science fiction work appear? The real answer is most likely on some tablet engraving buried deep in the mud on some remote land-form, but the best guesses we currently have are those fantastical stories recovered from ancient civilizations.

These ancient civilizations did not feature the concrete science fiction aspects of cyberpunk future societies and predictive advancements in science and technology, rather they contained various elements that could fall into a ‘science-fictiony’ category. We see these little nubs sprinkled throughout a bunch of stories and poems in the form of flying machines courtesy of India, aliens courtesy of Greece, time travel courtesy of Japan, and a bunch of these seemingly outlandish novums that are analogous to the fun little tidbits of modern sci-fi.

There are also a couple of texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh (1800 BC) that are said to be the first full books that could be considered science fiction, but if all the literature nerds out there can’t even agree on the exact allegorical content of Fahrenheit 451 (1953) then the huge question of sci-fi origins will probably never have a clear-cut conclusion.

However, there is one prime issue with science fiction, which the wise reader can extrapolate from the name itself: Science fiction requires some sort of science for the author to build upon. We do see some modern aspects such as Thomas More’s Utopia (1516) but the more technology/science based format is still not in full swing until a little bit later on.

So let us fast forward a little bit and take a look at the development of western science fiction, specifically a big event in which European scholars finally got so full enough of themselves that they decided they had risen to another level of the human plane: The Renaissance.

Rebirth! Astronomy! Science! Technology! Humanism! The printing press came about and now a speedy way of information distribution is born. Anatomy developed, astronomy and astrophysics grew, designs of flying machines were postulated, and the good ol’ scientific method came along. Somebody even said that the Earth just might be moving around the Sun, but that was probably all just anti-religion blasphemy.

So with this newfound base, we see some works that started to resemble the modern form of science fiction. Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone (1638) featured flying machines and utopian societies found on the moon. Johannes Kepler’s Somnium (1634) contained hard astronomy elements such as the Lagrangian Point and solar eclipses that blended in with the more religious and fantastical elements of demons.

Let’s turn the time machine forwards once more and take a look at a pretty monumental point in western science fiction history: The publication of Mary Percy Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). Leaning into elements of Gothic horror, Frankenstein diverged from much of the previous ‘science fiction’ works we have looked at primarily because it demonstrated an important warning. Whereas earlier works focused on adventures to the cosmos and the grandeur of speculated science, Frankenstein provided a warning on the excessive and misuse of science and technology: it showed us what happens when it all goes wrong. Technology was thriving, the factory system was about to usher in good ol’ capitalism, and the first warnings of its misuse in the form of science fiction naturally appeared alongside.

Jules Verne and H.G Wells would also continue to spread the gospel deeper into the 19th century with works such as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and The Time Machine (1895). While Verne’s works were more analogous to earlier works of grandiose adventure and fantasy, they did further popularize and expand the readership of the genre. Wells, however, slightly differed from this and utilized devices and novums such as time machines to provide commentary and remarks on the state of society. From this mixture of character and adventure to social commentary and satire, the base for science fiction as we now know it became further fleshed out.

As the early 20th century rolled by, we also saw this format of science fiction becoming prevalent worldwide. Begum Roqula Sakhawat Hussain puts out Sultana’s Dream (1905), considered to be the earliest known feminist science fiction; Sukumar Ray publishes short story collections that featured popular science ideas and folk tales. Liang QiChao wrote The Future of New China (1902), an idealistic tale of the Shanghai-hosted World’s Fair set in 1962; Lu Xun, widely considered one of greatest Chinese authors, provided a Chinese translation of Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1903. Shunro Oshikawa, considered to be a precursor to modern science fiction in Japan, postulated on the invention of submarines and a Russo – Japanese war. Science fiction started to see this concrete worldwide development. Although it was not a massive industrial genre that churns out millions of copies yearly, modern roots are beginning to tunnel deeper and deeper into the soil of society.

Now we shall take a more microscopic look at the 20th century science fiction developments, since that is the setting of this research project.

The Early 1900s trickle away… Technology is in full swing! We’ve got it all now: Vacuum cleaners, radio broadcasting, electric washing machines, hell if you want neon lights we’ve got them. There is a wealth of material for these speculative authors. Shuttles to mars, wars of the future, worlds long forgotten by man: Experimentation and exploration of the genre further continued. A war happened, a lot of people died in it, horrific weapons driven by modern innovations arise, a couple of excellent books are published. The usual. Somebody even split the atom.

Now the 1920s came along, and this was truly a pivotal time period for science fiction. We’ve got a big hitter: We (1924), by Yevgeny Zamyatin somehow found its way to the light of day, and its dystopian landscape and warnings of the dehumanization of man through the development of technology caused all sorts of controversy. Brave New World (1932), 1984 (1949), Anthem (1938), Player Piano (1952) were just a few of the big name works that drew inspiration from We, and some author drama even arose when Orwell states that Huxley’s Brave New World must be some derivation of We, an accusation Huxley proceeded to deny.

This era also saw Hugo Gernsback launch Amazing Stories (1926), the first magazine that solely published science fiction. This creation directly contributed to the rise of pulp fiction, which is what much of the science fiction works of the time could be classified under. Getting its name from the wood pulp paper it was published on, pulp fiction featured the usual bit of grandiose stories, poorly written female characters, and general adventure that would become highly popularized from 1920 – 1940, with some magazines reaching one million copies sold. From here, science fiction gained a larger audience.

The 1930s rolled by. During this period, the first ‘official’ African science fiction works also came out. Nnanga Kon (1932) won the International African Institute Competition and a host of works found there way to publication. These African science fiction works tended to diverge from their western counterparts in the form of increased magical realism and large pieces of poignant social commentary and criticism.

Notable works of this time include the afformentioned Brave New World, E E Smith’s Lensman series, and a new magazine: Astounding Science-Fiction. Astounding Science-Fiction gained a massive readership, further pushing the genre outwards, and a little writer collective of sci-fi fans called the Futurians was formed. Who was in this group? None other than Isaac Asimov, Damon Knight, Frederik Pohl, and a bunch of other big dogs. Ogon Bat, a Japanese superhero (one of the first) also made his first appearance in a comic book. It was looking pretty good.

We’ll roll the period of the Late 1930s to the 1950s into one, since it is considered the golden age of science fiction. An exciting new decade came to, and what better way to start it off than a world war? Worldwide slaughter breeded anger and cynicism, and during this period we saw the introduction of more modern stylistic elements of politics and culture. Although the more pulpy style adventurous science fiction writing was still fairly in style, biting social commentary started to become further integrated into the genre.

This golden age is considered to be partially driven by Joseph Campbell’s ascent to Astounding Science-Fiction editor. The magazine would go on to publish works from budding authors who would later go on to become sci-fi centerpieces such as Asimov, Sturgeon, van Vogt, and Heinlein. The market for the genre expanded, and much of these authors would later go on to establish themselves as major figures.

As the years tick by, George Orwell started dropping works such as Animal Farm (1946) and 1984 (1949). Ray Bradbury releases a host of great works, and Clarke, Heinlein, Dick, Pohl, and Sturgeon were also very prolific in their publications. New magazines were launched, new readers gained, and the genre furthers its development. The Hugo award (named after Hugo Gernsback) began in this period as well.

During this time, India had also gained its independence from Britain, and more localized forms of science fiction that were not dependent on a western education or the English language came about. Subsequently, following a tumultuous period of civil unrest and cultural upheaval, China found some stability following the little prefix of ‘People’s Republic’ and a heavy sci-fi resurgence began with writers such as Zhang Ren and Zheng Wenguang. The first electronic computer was also built during this time as well. Pretty cool stuff.

Yet all golden ages must come to an end. As the 1960s rolled around, authors decided that the idea of these centralized magazines in which most science fiction works went to weren’t great for creative freedom. Other magazines that strayed away from the bottleneck of what was considered ‘typical’ science fiction were started, and the genre began to adopt some aspects of mainstream literature. Whereas Astounding Science-Fiction enjoyed coddling up close with that speculative aspect and the plausibility of scientific devices, this post golden-age movement wasn’t so concerned with that stuff. A couple of big names such as Asimov bowed out of writing sci-fi, and the genre changed once again. During this time, Dick really got going, and Samuel Delany released a multitude of works. Le Guin dropped Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Herbert released Dune (1965) and the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. The New-Wave of science fiction, featuring bits of surrealism, a greater relation to the mainstream, and a bit more social commentary was established. Its beginning to look very modern.

Cue the 1980s. Computers that weren’t the size of a room were starting to come into use, and with them, a new technological age. In response to this development, science fiction turned more towards cyberpunk: a speculative form that told of the punks and the rebels in futuristic worlds dominated by technology. Authors such as Gibson started to shift the genre towards a more biting tone of culture and society and politics, opting for warnings and speculations based upon the state of technology and the world. This cyberpunk movement also caught on massively in Japan, and cyberpunk would eventually become one of the cornerstones of contemporary science fiction.

And so the modern science fiction is born. Cyberpunk spread to the mainstream, and films such as The Matrix and games such as the Deus Ex franchise rooted it in popular culture and society. Science fiction was realized as a medium that could provide commentary on current day issues due to the ability of authors to envision a future world that had already been torn apart these issues same issues. Technological development also began to spiral, and the consumerist culture of the world helped provide fuel for criticism within the science fiction pages. The contemporary vision of what we know and love and been realized, and science fiction would begin to seed its way into the mainstream. YA science fiction, dystopias, futuristic speculative worlds, children’s books: It began to spread to range of areas that increased readership and popularity. A full integration.

So what does this all mean for our project? Well there seems to be a fairly obvious answer. From the early 1900s, it seems science fiction was a light and adventurous drama, utilizing the fantastical and speculative elements at its disposal to provide exciting stories and entertaining characters. However, as the world went to war after war and capitalism and consumerism took hold, the genre would point towards a more critical lens that served to provide insight into these issues. With this more clearly defined idea of science fiction that had moved away from the pulps and the tall tales, it seems logical that over time, general sentiment of science fiction works would decrease. Something like Burrough’s Princess of Mars (1912) probably is much more positive than the relatively bleak and melodramatic atmosphere of The Hunger Games (2008). Furthermore, it seems we as a society have become more cynical, with the amplification of tragedy and horror through the media. A painful event is now reported by who knows how many news stations, and horrific events draw attention and sell papers. In my eyes, the downtrend of sentiment when it comes to science fiction books over time seems to make quite a bit of sense. Of course, we shall see.