Illumine Lingao
Illumine Lingao (simplified Chinese: 临高启明; traditional Chinese: 臨高啟明; pinyin: lín gāo qǐ míng), also known as Morning Star of Lingao, is a Chinese chuanyue (time travel) novel co-written by Xiao Feng (萧峰) under the pen name "Boaster" (Chinese: 吹牛者). The novel was originally published online in 2009 on Qidian Chinese Network. The first print volume was published by China Radio, Film & TV Press in 2017.[1][3]
| Author | Xiao Feng[1] |
|---|---|
| Original title | 临高启明 |
| Country | China |
| Language | Chinese |
| Genre |
|
| Publisher | China Radio Film & TV Press |
Publication date | 2009–present |
| Media type | E-book, Print |
| ISBN | 978-7504380234 |
Plot
In the story, more than 500 people from early-21st-century China intentionally travel back in time via wormhole to the Chongzhen-era late Ming dynasty in 1628 AD. Settling in Lingao County on the island of Hainan, the time travelers set out to establish an industrialized society and change the course of history.[2]
Publication history
The novel originates from an online BBS discussion started in the year 2006, about how time travelers can survive and change the history by using modern technologies. With permission, Xiao Feng, as one of the members of that BBS, collected the ideas by netizens of various educational backgrounds shawn in the discussion, and adapted them for a chuanyue novel. After several unsuccessful attempts of writing the novel by Xiao and the others, he eventually began to published the novel online in 2009, and then updated the chapters slowly. In the years after the first part was released, he continued to collect fan works written by more and more readers of the novel, and adapted them into the new chapters.[4] In 2017, the first volume of a revised version by Xiao himself was published, with more printed sequels rumored to be on the way.[5]
Responses and influence
From the 2010s, Illumine Lingao became an increasingly concerned work in China's Internet literature studies for its collective and collaborative style of writing, and for its detailed descriptions of the proto-industrialized "new world" built by the time travelers. The novel is praised as the "encyclopedia of time travel" among readers. Some critics also call it "a unique phenomenon of contemporary Chinese literature".[4]
Illumine Lingao has some similarities with the 1632 series by Eric Flint. But no evidence has shown that the latter work had significant influence on it.
Xiao Feng and some of the major fan work writers have held (or participate in) some fan conventions in real life, including a 2017 lecture given by Xiao in Beijing University.[5]
Fans of the book later cultivated a subculture and political ideology, namingly "Industrial Party".[6]
References
- "临高启明(第一卷、上下册)". bookschina.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- 徐东东 (6 September 2015). "500个现代失意者坐大船穿过虫洞，跃入明朝的南海". thepaper.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- 杨玲 (2018). "《临高启明》与当代幻想文学中的世界建构". Journal of Jining University (in Chinese) (1). ISSN 1004-1877. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- 郝志舟 (September 2017). "萧峰和他的500个"奇葩":一部真正的互联网小说是如何诞生的". China Youth (in Chinese) (17): 34–37. ISSN 1002-9532. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- 吹牛者 (2017). "《临高启明》与互联网时代的写作——吹牛者在北大的讲座与访谈". 网络文学评论 (in Chinese) (3).
- Shan, Shi; Yan, Yuan, eds. (31 May 2021). ""工业党"的叙事方式及借鉴价值——第56期"青年空间"工作分享会举行" [The narrative of "Industrial Party" and its value of reference - The 56th "Youth Space" work sharing session was held]. Peking University News (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
External links
- Official Site of Illumine Lingao (in Chinese)