"Dragons and Tile Beetles"

This essay is a supplement to the “Chinese Science Fiction Database 2024 Annual Recommendations List.” It mainly focuses on works selected for our list in the preliminary and secondary rounds, while at the same time covering other representative works. Overall, it is our desire that: 1. It provides a comprehensive overview of trending areas; 2. It lists many representative trends; 3. It provides a practical reading list. This is simply one group’s recommendation, for reference only. We hope that other readers on the front lines can also bring forth more similar recommendations.

An Overview of Chinese Short Science Fiction in 2024

by Arthur Liu

According to incomplete statistics compiled by the “Chinese Science Fiction Database,” non- juvenile Chinese Short Science Fiction (new works not exceeding 75,000 characters) published on all of the various platforms numbered 823 works.

Divided by type of platform, of these 823 works, 408 (49.6%) appeared in books (primarily multiple-author or single-author anthologies), 278 (33.8%) appeared in magazines, and 137 (16.7%) appeared on internet platforms. While the data for books and magazines is relatively accurate, the scope of data collection for internet platforms was limited, so that number could be even greater.

In keeping with past tradition as to whether or not a work comes from a “primarily sci-fi” publication, each platform was further divided into “core” and “non-core,” with 212 works (25.8%) occupying core platforms, while 611 works (74.2%) occupied non-core platforms.

Core platforms include: 1. “Science Fiction World” and “SF Cube” magazines; 2. “Galaxy’s Edge” magazine, produced by Eight Light Minutes Culture; 3. The website “Tadpole Stave,” a subsidiary of the Beijing Association for Science and Technology; 4. A family of products under the banner of the Future Affairs Management Bureau, to include the “Non-Exist SF” [WeChat] account as well as a number of anthology series. Works published on these platforms hold a dominant position in selections for China’s major sci-fi awards such as the Galaxy Award and the Chinese Nebula Award. As a whole, the editors, writers, and audiences of these platforms also have continuous professional output on science fiction theory.

Among them, the relative-to-absolute proportion of core platforms has decreased slightly compared to 2023 (188/646—29.1%). This is related to some major changes that occurred in 2024, namely personnel changes at the editor-in-chief level at both Science Fiction World and SF Cube, though neither magazine’s distribution was affected. However, after undergoing revisions in the beginning of the year, the number of new, original stories published per issue increased. After a change in organizational structure, the amount of works published by both the Tadpole Stave website and the Future Affairs Management Bureau dropped significantly. The former reduced its publishing to only one or two stories per month, and the works after October were all older works from previous years. The latter’s primary means of publication was via the “Non-Exist SF” account which ceased its daily posts in July.

Out of the turmoil of these core platforms, new platforms emerged. Among them, mainstream periodicals published 150 stories, exceeding the output of the two major core publications combined (128 works). It was not limited to sporadic articles in major magazines such as People’s Literature, October, or Flower City though. Other magazines such as Frontier Literature, Literature Port, and The Literary Gazette that do not yet have a special “sci-fi” column publish a handful of science fiction stories every year. Some organizations aimed at cultivating new writers (including in recent years the establishment of several new calls for submissions) have one after another published their own anthologies this past year. For example, The Sea-Facing Ocean Guide (a collection of winners from the Niangzi Pass Sci-Fi Literature Awards), The Doctrine of Brain Hole (Volumes 1 & 2), a compilation of outstanding works from the Book Fish creative group, Space Fantasy Light Year and Future Overture, both collections of Light Year Award winners, and Out of Control Boundaries, a collection of works solicited by Fantasy Universe. The list goes on.

Considering different organizations have differing academic perceptions and business positions with regards to science fiction, one could believe these industry trends in 2024 indicate a persistent series of iterations taking place in the field—behind it lies a fierce struggle to be heard. However, when compared to the oft-raucous debates that occurred among Chinese science fiction literary circles in the 1980s, the trend of the current period embodies a more positive commercial competitiveness, evidence of the continuous development of the market.

Outside the publishing arena, discourse among science fiction circles also focused on commentary and overseas publishing.

In the realm of commentary, the industry had once lacked a dedicated platform. Readers would provide feedback to publishers on the message boards of sci-fi magazines, or they would post informal critiques via online platforms like Baidu Tieba, Douban, Weibo, WeChat Offical Accounts, and Zhihu. Other critical essays appeared scattered throughout academic journals, but they generally focused on academic analysis, with a threshold to what was read. Moreover, the topics of discussion favored classic or older works; it was difficult to cover newly-published material. In 2024, however, there were multiple influential critical platforms dedicated to science fiction. Author and former Science Fiction World editor Chi Hui launched the Ginger Cat Sci-Fi Offical WeChat Account which not only critiques new publications, it also offers publishing advice to first-time authors, as well as occasional criticism of the industry. The Blunt Commentary Awards program, founded by Ju Chu and others, is aimed at group appraisals and critiques in Science Fiction World magazine while at the same time conducting active internal calls for submissions. In the past few years, the Nebula Awards Critique, an electronic periodical founded by San Feng and others, has undergone a series of revisions. In 2024, the Book Fish Writers Group, after a suggestion from Andes Chenfeng, established an internal mentoring group which conducts training on critique-writing and selects outstanding student works to be published. The “Cyber Tavern” column, established by the Sci-Fi Encyclopedia Offical WeChat Account and launched in 2024, conducted group discussions on new works from that year. Zero Gravity Newspaper (edited by River Flow), the 2023 Hugo Award winner for Best Fanzine, also established a critic’s column.

本文为“中文科幻数据库2024年年度推荐榜单”的附属介绍文章。主要针对初选/复选入选的本土篇目撰写，但同时也会覆盖一些其他具有代表性的作品。总体上讲，我们希望：①提供对领域动向的宏观概览；②列举具有代表性的若干倾向；③提供一份可供参考的阅读清单。一家之言，仅供参考。我们也希望其他一线读者能带来更多类似的观察。

2024年本土科幻中短篇小说概览

文/杨枫

根据“中文科幻数据库”的不完全统计，2024年全年，在各种专业平台上发表的非少儿向中文科幻中短篇小说（新作，不超过75000字）总数为823篇。

按平台构成细分，在这823篇作品中，以图书（主要为各种多人或个人小说集）为载体的占408篇（49.6%），发表在报刊上的占278篇（33.8%），在网络平台发表的占137篇（16.7%）。这之中图书和报刊上的统计数字相对准确，网络平台因考察范围有限，实际数量要更多。

如果依循过往传统，以“是否主要经营科幻作品”为据，将各平台进一步细分为核心和非核心两类，则核心平台占212篇（25.8%），其他平台占611篇（74.2%）。

“核心平台”具体包括：①《科幻世界》《科幻立方》杂志；②八光分文化出品的《银河边缘》杂志书；③北京市科学技术协会下属的“蝌蚪五线谱”网站；④未来事务管理局旗下的产品族，包括“不存在科幻”公众号和若干选集书系。发表于这些平台的作品在银河奖、全球华语科幻星云奖等重要本土科幻奖项的评选中占据优势地位；各平台的编辑、作者和受众群体对科幻理论也有持续的专业输出。

其中，核心平台的相对/绝对占比和2023年（188/646—29.1%）相比均略有下降。这与2024年发生的若干重大变动有关，其中，《科幻世界》和《科幻立方》经历了主编级别的人事更替，但杂志发行未受影响，还于年初进行了改版，单期发表的原创小说新作较往年有所提升；“蝌蚪五线谱”网站和未来事务管理局的发表数量则在组织业务调整后大幅降低，前者降为每月仅连载1至2篇小说，且10月后的作品均为往年旧作；后者的主要发表渠道“不存在科幻”公众号则于2024年7月停止日常发稿。

与核心平台的动荡相对的，是新平台的涌现，其中，主流期刊发表有关小说150篇，数量上已超过两家核心刊物之和（128篇），且不局限于《人民文学》《十月》《花城》等头部大刊的零星篇目，《边疆文学》《文学港》《文艺报》等报刊还设有科幻专栏，每年不定期成批发表科幻小说。部分以培养新作者为目标的组织机构（其中还包括近年来新设立的若干征文）也纷纷在这一年推出作品集，如“娘子关”科幻文学大赛的获奖作品集《面朝大海指南》、“书鱼”创作小组的优秀作品合集《脑洞主义》（全两卷）、“光年奖”的获奖作品集《宇幻光年》和《未来序曲》，以及“奇想宇宙”的征文作品集《失控边界》等。

考虑到不同组织机构对科幻小说的学理认知和商业定位差别迥异，可以认为，2024年的这些产业动态意味着领域内正在发生持续迭代，其背后隐含对话语权的激烈争夺。不过，相比上世纪80年代造成本土科幻界大动荡的文坛论争，此时的潮流主要体现为良性的商业竞争，是市场在持续发展的证据。

在发表阵地之外，科幻界的话语竞争还集中体现在评论和海外出版领域。

在评论领域，业界一度长期缺少专门的平台，读者主要通过科幻杂志的留言版向出版方提供反馈，或在百度贴吧、豆瓣、微博、微信公众号、知乎等线上平台展开非正式评论。另有批评文章零散发表于学术期刊，但一般偏重学理分析，存在阅读门槛，并且讨论对象以经典或旧作为主，难以覆盖新发表的作品。不过到了2024年，业内已存在多个具有影响力的专业科幻评论平台：科幻作家兼《科幻世界》杂志前编辑迟卉开设的“大橘科幻”公众号除点评新刊外，还对新人新作进行写作和发表指导，偶尔也进行产业批评；由菊储等人发起的“钝评奖”项目主要针对《科幻世界》杂志进行小组打分/评论，同时也在积极展开内部征文；早年由三丰等人发起的《星云科幻评论》电子刊历经一系列调整，2024年在“书鱼”写作小组的发起人安迪斯晨风的倡议下，增设了内部指导小组，开展评论写作训练，学员作品择优发表；“科幻百科”公众号设立的“赛博酒馆”栏目也于2024年重启，就当年的科幻新作展开小组讨论；2023年雨果奖最佳粉丝杂志《零重力报》（主编为河流）同样也设有评论栏目……在主流文学领域，《文艺报》及公众号“北京文艺观察”等不定期发表科幻时评；在文本范畴外，还存在着若干专注于解说科幻作品的音视频博主，如小宇宙播客“我醒来在寒冷的山坡上”和B站up主“幻海航行”等。这些平台的评论者观点尖锐鲜明，不仅熟悉科幻领域的传统，与从业者密切交流，也尊重第一手的阅读体验，且时有热烈辩论发生，是了解时下业内思潮的有效渠道。