Chen Qiufan (born November 30, 1981), also known as Stanley Chan, is a Chinese science fiction writer, columnist and entrepreneur born in Shantou, Guangdong province. Due to the realism of his works and their similarities to the
Cyberpunk subgenre, he has often been described as "China's
William Gibson". He has won Taiwan’s Dragon Fantasy Award, China’s Galaxy and Nebula Award, and a Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Award along with
Ken Liu. His debut novel,
Waste Tide, was published in Chinese in 2013 and came out in English translation in 2019.
Chen Qiufan's translated works include:
- The Flower of Shazui
- The Mao Ghost
- The Fish of Lijiang
- The Year of the Rat
- Coming of the Light
- Balin
- A Man Out of Fashion
- The Torn Generation: Chinese Science Fiction in a Culture in Transition (an essay on generational differences in China and how they relate to science fiction)
This author's works provide examples of:
- City Noir: The village of Shazui in "The Flower of Shazui", which is lampshaded when the narrator muses that the relationship between a high-class prostitute and her husband (who is also her pimp) reminds him of old Hong Kong gangster movies. The Domed Hometown of the protagonist in "The Mao Ghost" might also qualify, as the dome is meant to protect the city against pollution.
- Crapsack World: The setting of many of Chen's stories, including "The Flower of Shazui", "The Mao Ghost" and "The Year of the Rat".
- Cyberpunk: "The Flower of Shazui" fits this description perfectly: the world of the story is characterized by both futuristic technology and economic inequality, and the main characters are all people living outside the law for one reason or another. Waste Tide features many of the same themes, but developed into a novel-length story. Some of Chen's other works also have elements of the subgenre, as they deal with the alienation caused by modern technology and society.
- Dystopia: The society depicted in "The Mao Ghost" is reminiscent of Nineteen Eighty-Four, with the government's filtering of information causing characters to question whether it's even possible to know the truth anymore. The world of "A Man Out of Fashion" is more in the Brave New World mold.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Examined in "The Year of the Rat" and "Balin".
