Ecotech, Alienation, and Science Realism in the Chinese Cyborg Novel Waste Tide

Abstract

Abstract There is a long list of Western cyberpunk fiction, but people seldom know that there is cyborg literature in China. Chen Qiufan's Waste Tide is an example of Chinese cyborg fiction. It exposes the cyborg's alienation from the development of high technology and a sick society. Mimi's cyborg transformation to be Mache-Mimi highlights body politics and biopolitics, which represents her deep oppression from hierarchy and patriarchy. It is a process of denaturalization and dehumanization. This novel represents a critical realism of global development and environmental protection. It uncovers the veil which hides the crime of global capitalism and its oppression on the developing countries. The suffering of Mimi exposes the potential robbing truth of global capitalism. Furthermore, it blames the slow violence and hegemony on the people on the lowest rung of society in the high-technology world. But the author expects humanitarianism to save this cyborg world. He follows humanitarianism and hopes that love will help people walk out of the trap of capitalism. It approves the value humanity should establish on the self- and social fulfilment. Technology and the existence of humans should be harmoniously connected and cooperate for realizing the wholeness of humanity.