Sci-fi scholar Amanda Rees questions anthropocentric humanism by making a case for “Imhumanism.” Imhumanism “starts from acting as if all other beings are human” and gradually forms a relation of co-becoming and interdependence among all species. Imhumanism echoes Donna Haraway’s call for making kin connections as a way of learning to live and die with each other in the biosphere. Sci-fi ecological works, I presume, are able to articulate the affinity and tension between Posthumanism and Imhumanism. This chapter examines Chen Qiufan’s sci-fi stories collected under The Post-Human Age (后人类时代, 2018). I argue these stories portray hi-tech posthuman conditions and critically challenge the dire consequences. On the other hand, Chen urges readers to examine the significance of “making kin” and explores ecological implications of “Imhumanism.” I suggest that both humanism and posthumanism are imperfect concepts of human–nature relations as they exclude nonhuman actors. Chen’s sci-fi works articulate a more ecological “Imhumanism,” which is sensitive to interspecies interdependence, coevolution, and co-becoming.

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“Making Kin” and “Imhumanism” in Chinese Science Fiction: On Chen Qiufan’s The Post-Human Age (2018)

  • Shuwen Yang

摘要

Sci-fi scholar Amanda Rees questions anthropocentric humanism by making a case for “Imhumanism.” Imhumanism “starts from acting as if all other beings are human” and gradually forms a relation of co-becoming and interdependence among all species. Imhumanism echoes Donna Haraway’s call for making kin connections as a way of learning to live and die with each other in the biosphere. Sci-fi ecological works, I presume, are able to articulate the affinity and tension between Posthumanism and Imhumanism. This chapter examines Chen Qiufan’s sci-fi stories collected under The Post-Human Age (后人类时代, 2018). I argue these stories portray hi-tech posthuman conditions and critically challenge the dire consequences. On the other hand, Chen urges readers to examine the significance of “making kin” and explores ecological implications of “Imhumanism.” I suggest that both humanism and posthumanism are imperfect concepts of human–nature relations as they exclude nonhuman actors. Chen’s sci-fi works articulate a more ecological “Imhumanism,” which is sensitive to interspecies interdependence, coevolution, and co-becoming.