Cixin Liu's 'Hold Up the Sky' Showcases Hard Sci-Fi with Chinese Philosophical Grandeur

Cixin Liu's short story collection 'Hold Up the the Sky' was published in 2020 by Head of Zeus, featuring the first English translations of 11 works mostly from the 2000s. Liu's writing is characterized by a focus on physics, cosmology, and engineering, earning him a reputation in the 'hard sf' genre for its plausible scientific detail, such as depicting star collapses or containing coal-seam fires with liquid cement. The stories often begin in present-day China, exploring themes like a dying teacher unknowingly saving Earth from aliens or an official uncovering a superstring computer that reveals all history. Liu's outlook reflects a Chinese perspective, not through local specifics but via an optimistic view of human progress that contrasts with Western sci-fi traditions like those of Ursula K. Le Guin or Iain M. Banks. His narratives aspire to philosophical grandeur akin to Isaac Asimov, portraying human lives as insignificant against cosmic scales, with art—like alien entities creating music, sculpture, or poetry—providing meaning despite potential disasters. The collection underscores Liu's stoic approach to humanity's relationship with science and the cosmos, where endings involve universal demise or mass death, yet it remains contemporary and classic in its space opera style.