八十年代的現代性想像——論劉慈欣《中國2185》Bashi niandai de xiandaixing xiangxiang

"China 2185," written by Cixin Liu, the 2015 Hugo Award winner, is the first political cyberpunk novel in China. It depicts a war in the year 2185 between the RRC in the real world and the Republic of Huxia (華夏共和國) in cyberspace. The novel is widely regarded as an exploration of virtual subjectivity and the definition of humanity by technology. However, this paper will argue that the underlying conflicts between the real and the virtual worlds reflect competing ideologies: modern nationalism versus pre-modern culturalism, and defensive nationalism versus direct democracy. The cybernetic uprising of the Republic of Huxia represents not a challenge by post-beings toward humans, but rather a resistance by pre-modern culturalism against modern nationalism. The virtual community of Huxia seeks to revive traditional Chinese culture and demonstrate its timelessness, while the PRC in 2185 aims to eliminate traditional family and ethical systems in the name of progress. Rather than expressing concerns about cybernetic technology, the novel uses the defeat of post-beings to illustrate a shift from culturalism to nationalism. In essence, while framed as postmodern anxiety, the novel ultimately reveals an allure of modernity, resonating with the New Enlightenment movement of the 1980s.