The Three Body Problem: Cixin Liu in conversation with Jim Al-Khalili

This event took place on 6 April 2023. The information below is correct as of the publication date.

For this exclusive online event, Cixin Liu talks to British physicist, author, broadcaster and science communicator Jim Al-Khalili, host of the BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific.

Cixin Liu is China's best-known author of science fiction: the first Asian writer to receive a Hugo Award. His monumental Three-Body Trilogy – first published between 2006 and 2010, and translated into English by Ken Liu, is Chinese science fiction’s most acclaimed work, and will soon be appearing as a major Netflix series.

The trilogy concerns the catastrophic consequences of humanity’s attempt to make contact with extraterrestrials. It is one of the most ambitious works of science fiction ever written: the story begins during the Cultural Revolution and ends 18,906,416 years into the future. There is a scene in ancient Byzantium, and a scene told from the perspective of an ant. The first book is set on Earth, though several of its scenes take place in virtual reality representations of Qin dynasty China and ancient Egypt; by the end of the third book, the stage has expanded to encompass an inter-civilisational war that spans not only the three-dimensional universe but other dimensions too.

Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology. He is a prominent author and broadcaster who has written 14 books on popular science and the history of science, between them translated into 26 languages. His latest book, The World According to Physics, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, such as the Bafta nominated Chemistry: a volatile history, and he hosts the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific. Jim is a past president of the British Science Association and a recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal and the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. He received an OBE in 2007 and a CBE in 2021 for ‘services to science’.

Liu Cixin was born in Beijing in 1963. He was an engineer before writing science fiction. In 1989 he wrote Supernova Era and China 2185 and his first published short story, Whalesong, appeared in Science Fiction World in 1999. In the same year his novel With Her Eyes won the Chinese Science Galaxy Award. In 2000 he wrote The Wandering Earth and received the Galaxy Award again. The first volume of The Three-Body Problem was originally serialised in Science Fiction World in 2006 and published as a standalone book in 2008, becoming one of the most successful Chinese science fiction novels of all time. Two other two famous novels are Supernova Era and Ball Lightning.

This event accompanies the British Library’s exhibition Chinese and British.

The new thirty-part Chinese TV adaptation of 'The Three-Body Problem' is really fantastic. I am one of many who are sceptical about the upcoming Netflix series. By the way, every time I listen to or read an interview with Cixin Liu, I am always impressed by how accurately, fastidiously and thought-provokingly he tries to answer the questions asked. Thank you for this discussion, it was a pleasure to see and hear. Not only are his books excellent, he himself is an open-minded and likeable person.

[halhal-mypt]

This man should have received a Nobel prize in literature.

[ForlornHope]

Incredible books, completely challenged my concept of the universe in new ways, these storys are in my opinion about to blow up and become science fiction classics. They will expand human culture and open our eyes not only to the potential beauty but the challenges of our future.

[israfaeldari]

I'm obsessed with the body problem trilogy
I love it, i don't know if there will be another like it in my life time.

[captaincrunch]

Cixin is a genius and Jim’s the one who got me into physics ❤

[konstantinkrastev]

Love you Liu Cixin, hopefully you are doign well!

[siah]

Need more of these type of in-depth interviews that focuses on the author, and their works.

[AlainPaulikevitch]

By far the best contemporary science-fiction writer, not only is he on par with the greats from the past, but him being contemporary makes his writing much more pertinent and interesting. I hope his well never dries.

[diguification]

❤ and MASSIVE RESPECT from 🇮🇳, venerable Liu sir!
🙏

[jameswalker]

The books were amazing, each better than the last. I hope the series lives up to them.

[eddyfong]

Thank you British Library for presenting this interview. Liu Cixin is one of the foremost scifi authors of our era. In the not too distant future, I look forward to a successful adaption of the Dark Forest for tv....it should be terrifying, I hope 😉🙏💙

[tomlabooks]

23:05 SO interesting that he went and reached out to young people… and, obviously, they told him that they don’t care about history. He was aiming for market success from the very beginning. Very strategic writer.

[christopherinman]

My first acquaintance with science fiction was via Analog magazine's serialization of Dune by Frank Herbert. From Herbert I was led to Norbert Weiner etc. as well as all the science fiction of the time. Several years ago I became aware of Jim Al Khalili and his work via YouTube which has led me to Cixin Liu and to the British Library. So thank you all three and I will now buy The Three Body Problem which I had never heard of until an hour ago. Perhaps a dual language version, if I can find one.

[Shaggy-]

New ideas from new cultures. Exactly what the world needs. Asia was the original spiritual and philosophical leader.

[gaylewilson]

An absolutely brilliant writer! I was introduced to his writing in his book The Wandering Earth and have now also read Remembrance of Earth's Past, and I look forward to reading more of his works!

[robaire.b]

It would good (and inclusive) if the cc subtitles/captions in English etc were enabled for this video as English language deaf people cannot access both sides of this discussion. Lip reading is very difficult on videos. Presumably the same problem exists for deaf Chinese speakers also. British Library should endeavour to adopt inclusive measures especially when available

[rajahua]

Excellent interview. Thanks for bringing this on.

[akeelyaqub]

He speaks just like the characters in the trilogy I love it lol

[GholaMuadDib]

This was a great interview. I just finished reading The Three Body Problem last week, and started The Dark Forest. Such a great book. Currently watching the Three Body tv series from China. Looking forward to the Netflix version.

[i.m.gurney]

I enjoyed both the original CCTV & Netflix editions.