In the post-human era of the 21st century, artificial intelligence has transformed every aspect of human life, including literature, aesthetics, and reception. Contemporary creation has gradually entered the poetic age of post-human AI. With the constant update of communication media and the cyberization of humanity, the creation and interpretation of poetry have developed in multiple directions. In this context, contemporary Chinese poets have actively explored the writing of science fiction poetry, with Ouyang Jianghe's The Dormant Ink and the Quantum Boy and Zhai Yongming's Full Immersion Apocalypse Script standing out as representative works. These two poets' creative approaches exhibit different aesthetic tendencies: "embedding sci-fi elements" and "integrating sci-fi backgrounds," in stark contrast to how Western poets such as Dylan Thomas and T.S. Eliot approach science fiction elements. One of the most notable aspects is Zhai Yongming's depiction of the human paradox in the post-human era, where technology has deeply integrated with the human body, making it difficult to separate the two. In this technological age, humanity must reassess its relationship with non-human beings. Meanwhile, the emergence of AI-generated poetry has sparked significant debate among critics, providing new insights into contemporary poetic writing. From the perspective of reception theory, before readers and critics start evaluating AI's creations, their reading experiences are already shaped by poems from both ancient and modern, Eastern and Western traditions. As a result, when encountering similar imagery, their associations are not formed by the AI's creation itself, but rather by these prior poetic experiences. Even though AI can generate sentences with leaps and heterogeneity, from the reader's perspective, these often violate grammatical rules and fail to create a poetic effect. This highlights that current AI poetry cannot yet question or explore human essence and future destiny, nor empathize with history and the present in the way contemporary poetry can. It is here that contemporary poetry can expand its creative possibilities. In the face of the interweaving of virtual and real realities in the post-human era, contemporary poets, from the perspective of the development of the times, will increasingly depict the future of humanity through science fiction poetry writing, marking a new trend.

Chinese civilization has the richest historical records, and its literature is unique in world literary history. Chinese characters remain the only continuously used classical script and the origins of Chinese literature are intertwined with the genetic foundation of Chinese civilization, embodying principles such as Wen Yi Zai Dao, Xiuci Li Qi Cheng, etc. and a pluralistic yet cohesive textual tradition. These elements form the Chinese core thought and become distinct symbols of Chinese civilization. Unlike other civilizations, Chinese literature was shaped by the origins and characteristics of its civilization—while oral literature provides insight into early Chinese literature, it was not its foundation. Artifacts like jade over the past ten thousand years and late-Paleolithic stone tools and ornaments functioned as unique material strategies and skills, laying the groundwork for the literary concepts of “Wen-Tao”, “Wen-De”, and “Xiuci” in the writing age. Related to ancient cosmology, belief and ideology, these issues cannot be fully explored through empirical or a text analysis method alone, necessitating new approaches.

Unlike overseas studies that focus on written literature or even believe Chinese literature began in the Zhou or Eastern Han Dynasty, research on literary origins from the lens of Chinese civilization genes integrates the conceptual germination, spiritual foundations, and functional origins of literature with the Chinese nation’s characteristics. It also positions material culture—Wu (“Thing”) in early Chinese civilization—as the starting point, and the formation of mature literature as its endpoint.

The project Tracing the Origins of Chinese Civilization now supports new ways of studying the origin of Chinese literature through the lens of Chinese civilization genes. Longitudinally, the interaction and formation of the five characteristics of the Chinese nation can be examined. Distinctive ideas, categories and early literary genres can also be traced and constructed through the Heaven-Earth-Human-Things framework and databases. This approach explores the formation and transmission of Chinese cultural genetics from the pre-writing period to classical texts by examining cosmological thought, geographical forms, the concept of Wu, and text origins. Over the past ten millennia, the concept of Wu has contributed to the evolution of Chinese characters, influenced written narratives, and shaped literary genres. Along this trajectory, literature not only recorded history and culture, reflected literati thought, and shaped a distinct Chinese literary style, but also facilitated cultural integration, advancing literary innovation through the adaptation of foreign literature. The interactive study of Chinese civilization genes and the origin of Chinese literature not only offers a new model for the tracing project but also engages with the international debate on early Chinese writing, providing a response from Chinese academia.

As a staple food essential to human survival, grains have been closely linked to human life since ancient times. Early humans sought to explain their origins, giving rise to mythological figures such as Houji, Demeter, and Inari, along with grain origin myths. This study analyzes the Shennong–Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth in Hunan, China, examining its origins and formation process.

Grain myths have emerged and spread globally, attracting significant scholarly attention for their diversity and deep connection to human life. Among them, grain origin myths constitute the most important category. Existing research classifies the myths into several types, such as the Corporeal Transformation type and the Flying Rice type. In China, the Animal Transport type—mainly found in southern ethnic minorities—exhibits variation depending on the animal protagonist.

As a key branch of this type, the Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth originated in Yunnan and has spread widely across China. While preserving the defining characteristics of grain origin myths, it also incorporates elements of human origin myths (the Panhu myth). This myth centers on a dog obtaining grain seeds from a distant land, explaining the origins of grains. Based on specific narrative variations, this study categorizes the myth into three subtypes: the basic type, the Dog/Pig Fetching Grain type, and the Dog Pleading to Retain Seeds type.

During its transmission, the Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth adapted to regional cultures, leading to localized variations. In Hunan, local Shennong Worship influenced its transformation, incorporating Shennong to form a new subgenre—the Shennong–Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth. In typical Shennong myths, Shennong appears as a solemn God of Agriculture, which contrasts with his more humanized role as the Progenitor of Humanity in the Shennong–Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth. This study argues that Hunan’s longstanding rice-farming tradition played a crucial role in shaping this myth. Not only did it ensure that rice remained central to the myth, but it also influenced the emergence of Emperor Yan Shennong as a key figure in the myth. Additionally, Shennong worship in Hunan promoted his transformation from an ancestral figure to a deity, placing Emperor Yan Shennong—a locally adapted image—into such myths. Notably, the relationship between the dog and Emperor Yan Shennong in the myth also exhibits parallels to the corn spirit described by James Frazer, suggesting a dualistic unity between the two figures.

Therefore, this study argues that Hunan, with its unique geographical and cultural conditions, gave rise to the Shennong-Dog Fetching Grain Seeds myth. Shennong in this myth, shaped by local Shennong worship, embodies a figure that simultaneously acts as the dog’s traditional owner and merges with the dog’s role. While influenced by conventional depictions of Shennong and Panhu, this localized Shennong ultimately diverged due to the distinctive culture of Hunan.

This paper focuses on the concept of "Gu" (ꈭ) in the culture of the Liangshan Yi people, exploring its historical evolution in cultural translation and ecological aesthetics. Through an analysis of the Yi people's rich oral traditions and field research materials, the study finds that "Gu" in traditional Yi beliefs is not a single species but a sacred, typological bird whose meaning transcends zoological classification, reflecting the Yi people's unique ecological cognition. Under the influence of multi-ethnic interactions and Han Chinese culture, "Gu" gradually became associated with the wild goose (Anser cygnoides). This process incorporated both the Han Chinese understanding of the wild goose and the lyrical imagery of the wild goose in minority literature. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this correspondence was increasingly reinforced in written texts as the sense of the Chinese national community grew stronger. In recent years, driven by local tourism development and ecological conservation needs, the black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) has been introduced as a new cultural symbol into the cognitive system of "Gu," reflecting a shift in species representation under ecological aesthetics. This study reveals the dynamic evolution of Yi bird cognition in different socio-cultural contexts, providing new perspectives for understanding ethnic cultural exchanges, evolution of ecological concepts, and the mechanisms of cultural translation.

Robert Payne has presented the wartime landscape of Chongqing to the Western world through diverse literary forms. As a war observer, Payne integrated the three images of "the bombing", "the bathhouse" and "opium", not only portraying the shocking dark landscapes of the war but also constructing a landscape framework distinct from those of other Western writers visiting China. As an urban wanderer, from the urban fringes to the center, from individuals to the crowd, Payne focused on the two symbolic images of "the rivers" and "the falling towers", as well as the "crowd" and "individuals within the crowd" in specific urban spaces such as banks, clubs, teahouses and buses, presenting a modern urban landscape where tradition and modernity, the East and the West, interacted vigorously. Payne uncovered the eternity, the sacredness and the poetics of Chongqing landscape from the natural mountains and waters, the religious culture and mythologies, and the daily life through the synthesis of senses. "Rocks" were not only the symbol of Chongqing created by Payne but also a metaphor for his urban writings. The multi-dimensional Chongqing landscape transcended temporality and locality, and became a symbol of eternal Chinese landscapes and even human landscapes.