WHEN American Nathaniel Isaacson began research on Chinese science fiction as a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles, a decade ago, he thought it would be easy for him to cover the development of Chinese sci-fi in the 20th century.

“Ten years ago, most people didn’t know about Chinese science fiction,” says Isaacson. “And there were little available materials to study.”

However, the more he looked into the field, the more material he dug up.

Early this year, Isaacson presented his findings with analysis in a new book, “Celestial Empire: The Emergence of Chinese Science Fiction,” which examines the birth of the genre in China in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the early years of the Republic of China period (1912-1949).

Since Chinese award-winning sci-fi writer Liu Cixin’s works were translated into English in 2014, more people have wanted to learn about Chinese sci-fi.

“But I think it’s very important to understand its origin. This was something China has had for 100 years,” says Isaacson.

Song Mingwei, a modern Chinese literature scholar at Wellesley College, recommends the book.

“It’s a landmark in the study of science fiction. It presents new interpretations of the emergence of Chinese science fiction in the context of colonialism,” says Song.

The idea of studying Chinese science fiction came to Isaacson during a course on Chinese modern literature in UCLA, where he was asked to write a paper about a novel, “The New Story of the Stone,” by late Qing writer Wu Jianren.

At first, Isaacson didn’t know what to write, and got no grade for the course, but later on he thought that one could understand this novel through the point of view of science fiction.

The novel is a “sequel” to Cao Xueqin’s classic “A Dream of Red Mansions” and could be considered a time-travel novel as it takes the main character Jia Baoyu from the early Qing, the possible setting of Cao’s original work, to the late Qing period.

In the novel, Jia first visits Shanghai, and sees many scientific marvels of the time, such as steamers, trains and electric lights.

“There’s a scene in the novel where Shanghai hosts the World Expo, and it really came true 100 years later,” he says.

From that course paper, Isaacson went on to study science fiction works written by China’s early modern intellectuals, and then to read sci-fi works by acclaimed modern writers Lu Xun and Lao She.

What he noticed in those early Chinese science fiction works were concerns about imperialism and resistance to it.

“A lot of sci-fi unconsciously promoted imperialism, but I think early Chinese sci-fi authors were aware of this, and wanted to use sci-fi as an anti-imperialist tool,” he says.

An associate professor at North Carolina State University, Isaacson was recently in Beijing as a participant in the Visiting Program for Young Sinologists hosted by the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“I am hoping to find more information on Chinese sci-fi,” says Isaacson, noting the growth of the genre in recent years with Chinese authors winning international awards and more works being translated into foreign languages.

Before earning his PhD at UCLA in 2011, Isaacson earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in East Asian studies at the University of Arizona.

He recalls that at that time many people said he could make big money as a Chinese speaker and do business in China.

“Who doesn’t want to make fortune? That’s why I started to learn Chinese,” he says. “But I have long given up my millionaire’s dream.”

Besides teaching Chinese and researching, Isaacson also translates Chinese science fiction. Currently, he’s translating works by Han Song, a sci-fi writer in China.

Talking about his work, he says: “Confucius once said: ‘They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.’ And I am the one who delights in it.” (China Daily)