As the first book-length study devoted exclusively to developments of Chinese science fiction
before 1902 Sabine Weber explores the question of how to relate the early literary elements to
the later self-conscious modern forms and unite them in a comprehensive history of Chinese
science fiction. By taking Yu Wanchun's (¿¿¿ 1793?-1849) sequel to Jin Shengtan's (¿¿¿
1608-1661) rendition of The Water Margin ( Shuihu zhuan ¿¿¿ 1644) Records of Quelling the
Bandits ( Dangkou zhi ¿¿¿ 1853) as a primary source she also analyzes the specific role of the
literary 19th century in the history of the emergence of science fiction in China. The novel
of the Late Qing period (ca. 1793-1896) represents a special case in the historical process as
it developed structural and motif-oriented patterns that brought it close to structurally
"modern" science fiction in terms of the epistemological basis of Chinese science and
technology history. Written in the style of the classic Water Margin but by a militarist
thinker from the background of jingshi zhiyong ¿¿¿¿ (literally meaning "managing the world by
extending practical utility") in 19th-century Jiangnan Records of Quelling the Bandits serves
as a vivid example of how contemporary Chinese discourses of innovation and practical knowledge
were imbedded in established literary frameworks. It was this combination of rationality and
pragmatism with classical poetics and literary motifs that pushed images of traditional fiction
hearsay and legend towards speculative technology and theoretical thought experiments thus
providing the basis for the translation-inspired early modern science fiction novel from the
end of the century.
