Book Review: Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang (Translated by Ken Liu)

 

Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang 

368 pages, Paperback
Published March, 2024 by S&S/Saga Press

I used the Head of Zeus cover art because it is super cool although I the Saga edition from the Library

 

At this point, most readers in this country’s idea of Chinese Science fiction are wrapped around Cixin Liu and The Three-Body Problem, and most of all the Netflix TV series. That is in large part because of the translation work of Ken Liu, (and the out-of-nowhere blurb from Obama) who helped Hao JingFang win the Hugo Award by translating her amazing novella Folding Bejing. That was in the collection Invisible Planets, and it was the stand-out story, probably the best work of Chinese fiction I have read yet, which includes a few anthologies, novels, and single-author collections. I am not an expert but I have gone out of my way to read Chinese and Japanese SF. 

 

Hao Jingfang might be the best writer I have read from this culture in genre, the greatest competition comes from Han Song. Song is mostly known for short stories that remind me of tone of Brian Evenson. Jingfang’s Folding Bejing is a truly great novella about class/ caste and is a high-tech dystopia, a super amazing piece.  The best novel I have read so far is Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan. There is plenty to explore but the question now,  is the latest American release by Hao Jingfang worth reading.

 

 

Hao Jingfang is famous in China but not primarily as an award-winning Science Fiction author. Trained in Astrophysics and as an economist, she is known mostly for her educational reforms. Between producing science fiction films, she is helping open schools in rural parts of China that had no such thing before. While much of her education came in the west it seems that time going back and forth between cultures inspired her first translated novel Vagabonds.  It is an excellent Mars Colony novel that is social science fiction. It might even be fair to compare this book of ideas to The Dispossessed. Not as radical as Leguin’s work Vagabonds is as radical as you can expect from a Chinese author living under a nosey totalitarian government.

 

 Jumpnauts makes for an excellent addition to the First Contact genre, in much the same way her last novel was like an entry in the hard SF Mars novel sub-genre. It is the VERY culturally Chinese version of an ancient aliens-type story, and it continues the social science fiction feel while having a little more action than Jingfang’s last translated novel.

 

When considering if you want to read this novel, you must ask yourself why you read SF? Why do you read international SF? This novel is a great example of classic SF tropes written through the lens of another culture, in this case, a very Chinese narrative. There is no Western version of this story. Some might complain about Ken Liu’s footnotes, still they provide excellent cultural context, that not only helps the translation stay true to the source but gives cultural lessons along the way that I think adds to the overall value.

 

If you don’t want even a hint of spoilers know this is a great SF novel and stands a chance to be in my discussion of best reads of the year in December.  From here the review will have SPOILERS…

 

“If the aliens were hostile, Earth could not possibly come out ahead in such a conflict. Jiang Liu didn't dare to work out the full implications. Only half leaving his own conclusions, he went to the satellite networks that his family could access and concentrated on data involving pulsars within 50 light years. In addition, he directed the family's private probes near Jupiter and Saturn to scan for unidentified flying objects in the solar system.”

 

The first act of the novel successfully creates a hard SF contact story. The approaching ship and the discovery are meant to be plausible, for reasons that will become clear. One thing that helps is Hao Jingfang’s scientific training comes often, the first half makes for a convincing work. She also does an excellent job with subtle world-building. This takes place more than one hundred years into the future with two remaining world powers. Mostly the novel is ground level with the characters, and the outer remains a mystery that could be detailed in later books. (It is called book one)

 

The real set-up for the novel is the contact story and the idea that these alien visitors were regulars coming to earth, specifically China, but also other developing civilizations with the aim to help them grow each time separated by several centuries. Even before our heroes make it to the alien ship they start to figure out the alien influence.

 

“Look here,” she said pointing to the scroll, “Ancient Egypt, Atlantis, the Maya… each alien visit coincided with a sudden leap in a civilization’s advancement. I'll use China as a typical example. Take a look at the dates for all major inflection points in Chinese civilization Twenty-sixth-century BCE, Liangzhu culture, Yan Di and the Huang Dai; Eighteenth-century BCE, Erlitou culture, and browns ritual vessels; Eleventh-century BCE, the fall of the Shang and rise of the Zhou; 3rd century BCE; Qin Shi Huang do you see a pattern?”

 

So yes, the theme of the novel is ancient aliens, but with a cultural context I have never seen in SF. We have seen plenty of Egypt, and Maya alien contact but this novel is inherently Chinese. The idea that this wildly powerful ancient civilization is watching over humanity trying to guide it, is not new but this execution is loaded with neat concepts and set-pieces.  There is only one part that felt recycled. Once they make contact on the alien ship they find an Ancient Chinese design that they learn is a projection, of course, that reminded me of Three-Body. Jingfang makes the exchange exciting, the unfolding of the story and the threats and ideas that drive the novel make it constantly interesting.

 

Most importantly, this is a very Chinese novel, and here is where the ideas unfold in a way that only a Chinese science fiction novel could do.

 

“I understand your point.” Qi Fei said. “But for other agent civilizations, various elements have dissipated. Some no longer have their state or political system; some maintained statehood but lost culture or faith. Chinese civilization, on the other hand, can be seen as having persisted throughout mythology, language, script, culture, tradition, even statehood.”

 

Jingfang implies in this part of the novel that other nations or regions are less equipped to communicate with these aliens because of their long-gone ancient civilizations. I think it is an important part of the set-up. It is one of the things that makes this novel one of a kind. It is an argument for international SF, bringing points of view that the lack of diversity in 20^th century SF could NEVER create.

 

“I think you're too focused on superficial elements,” Qi Fei said. “There are many aspects of Chinese culture that have persisted beyond the superficial. First, there's the people's deep-seated identification with the idea of China, long-preceding the European notion of the nation-state. Moreover, even the modern Chinese state retains the ancient tradition of a hierarchal civil administration, with central authority over local authority, and skilled officials being promoted through the systems layers. This remains a basic framework for the state's stability. We also can't forget about national values that remain at the core of our culture: Confucian virtues such as ren, yi, li, Zhi, xin and the rooting of patriotism and the emotional extension of familial love.”

 

At the same time, this very patriotic passage gives me pause. As a privileged American (at this point) I am allowed to publish a SF novel critical of my culture. I can’t say how honest Chinese SF authors can be in talking about these issues. We know Iron Curtain authors like Lem had hidden their critical comments in allegory, but Hao Jingfang is a national figure. This sounds patriotic but I would take it with a grain silo of salt.

 

“What union are you talking about Qi Fei asked.  

“The union of cooperating civilizations Huhu said. “You know, the union formed to resist devouring civilizations.”

 

There are interesting elements in the final act about the nine stages of civilization and it is revealed that humans have only made it to three. I LOVE the idea of good and bad civilizations being separated by the idea that they are cooperating or they are devouring civilizations. This reminded me of the philosophical divide in Daniel Quinn’s Ishamel between Leavers and Takers. That book asked people, cultures, and civilizations to consider if their life, as built on taking or leaving from the world. In a roundabout way Jumpnauts is setting up a SF series that asks similar questions. Are we a cooperating or devouring civilization?

 

Thoughtful, important work of Science Fiction. I am totally into it. In my opinion a more enjoyable SF work than Three-Body Problem. I hope Hao Jingfang continues to find an audience.