From the “mother-child river”, where women are imagined to become pregnant by bathing in the water as recorded in ancient Chinese fantastical texts Classic of Mountains and Seas and Journey to the West, to the modern reproductive technologies of the artificial womb that increases the survival rate of premature infants in real life, the technological singularity of human creation lies in the simulation and reconstruction of the “soil” for nurturing new life—the endometrium. The technical challenge lies in the early implantation of the fertilized egg into the endometrium. Several Chinese and Western sci-fi works have reimagined human reproduction in the context of numerous ethical constraints, combining speculative thoughts with cutting-edge biological and medical experiments. Representative works include Dung Kai-cheung’s Android Jenny, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, Li Li’s Kangaroo Man, and Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. This paper studies how these sci-fi works represent non-binary reproductive methods such as self-replication and gender transformation to decipher the human genetic code and explore the possibilities of new human reproduction. It examines how the matriarchal utopia is constructed in these works for reconfiguring the fertility issues in realities.

Cities are the background and setting for science fiction works set both on and off future Earth. The city setting assumes an active role within the narrative, as its attributes are crucial to the contests and conflicts that transpire within it. Sometimes, cities undertake the role of actors, intervening, shaping, and framing the action. The techno cities depicted in contemporary Chinese science fiction not only exhibit distinct ways of conceiving a vibrant and resilient urban future and understanding the problems of China’s large-scale and rapid urbanization, but also reimagine urban environments by manipulating spatial and temporal elements, using technological methods to regulate the allocation of time and space, and generate new visions of urban landscapes that reshape the human beings who live in the city. This article discusses two representative works, “The Fish of Lijiang” (2006）by Chen Qiufan and “Folding Beijing” (2014) by Hao Jingfang, which creates a unique chronotope that allows for a close examination of a variety of social issues and problems. Within such imaginative contexts, cities assume the nature of an incomprehensible entity that is unresistible. Through textual analysis, this paper focus on whether post-2000s Chinese SF explore the subversion of humanity by evolving technological cities?

Contemporary Chinese science fiction works extrapolate different kinds of crises, such as drastic climate change in the “Post-Ice Age Record“ (后冰川时代纪事 2007) by Wangxiang Fengnian and rampant plague outbreak in “The Plague” (瘟疫 2002) by Yan Leisheng, in which crisis has become a mode of negotiating with the existing (post)humanist discourses. This is to say, the virus’s emergence and spread or the escalating climate change is merely a scene-setting device, and the authors show much more concern about its social impacts – the existing social stratification is rather amplified than alleviated by such a “great equalizer” of climate change or a

pandemic that is thought to affect impartially and indiscriminately everyone regardless whomever you are. This research considers the posthuman subjects they portray to illustrate how SF writers unveil the interplay among power, hierarchy, domination, and exclusion in defining humanity. Those not sheltered from the crisis are garbage, rats, enemies, and the Ultimate Other, but no longer humans. These two stories somewhat suggest a posthumanist turn that what is to be a human is a social construct and ever-increasingly internally fractured.

In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese sci-fi narratives have defied conventional gender norms and showcased innovative expressions of female empowerment amidst technological evolution. These works feature robust and self-reliant female characters—ranging from scientists and technicians to ‘post-human’ women and ‘female’ cyborgs—set in technology-driven (near) future settings. They delve into complex examinations of future world- making, gender roles, and technological impact. This study will focus on three recent representative female-authored sci-fi works: ‘Who Can Own the Moon?’ (2023) by Mu Ming, ‘Jolly Days’ (2023) by Tang Fei, and ‘Preface to the Reprint of “Overture 2181”’ (2024) by Gu

Shi. It investigates how technology is gendered in these narratives and how the female characters navigate and challenge the implications of technological progress. It will first conduct a contextual analysis of the broader socio-cultural shifts including gender roles and technological advancements in China, followed by a close reading of new motifs, character archetypes, and narrative techniques for expressing feminist themes. This study aims to reveal the current gendered textual politics within these female authors’ works and to elucidate the feminist perspectives on the technological future as depicted in contemporary Chinese science fiction.