Photo: opacity from Chicago / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Liu Cixin is listed as a science fiction writer and engineer. Liu Cixin was born on June 23, 1963 in Beijing, People's Republic of China. That works out to 63 years old in 2026. Education on record includes North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power. Awards on record include Hugo Award for Best Novel (2015), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2017), Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel (2017) and 1 more.
My Take
What strikes me most about Liu Cixin is that a working power-plant engineer reshaped global science fiction almost single-handedly. The Three-Body trilogy doesn't just borrow Western SF tropes; it brings a cold, almost cosmic indifference to the human scale that feels genuinely his own, and the Dark Forest idea has lodged itself in how a generation thinks about the universe. His Hugo win was a landmark, but the repeated Seiun Awards tell me how deeply he connects with Japanese readers too. I admire that the ambition stayed enormous while the prose stayed grounded. He earned every bit of the attention.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Liu Cixin
- Name (Japanese)
- 劉慈欣
- Born
- June 23, 1963 (age 63)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rabbit
- Origin
- Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Occupation
- science fiction writer / engineer / writer
2. Background
- University
- North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power
Awards & achievements
- 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel
- 2017 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2017 Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel
- 2020 Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work
- 2021 Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work
3. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Three-Body Problem | — | |
| Notable work | The Dark Forest | — | |
| Notable work | Death's End | — | |
| Notable work | The Wandering Earth | — | |
| Notable work | Hold Up the Sky | — | |
| Notable work | The Rural Teacher | — |
4. Links
- Xhttps://x.com/liu_cixin
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu%20Cixin
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8A%89%E6%85%88%E6%AC%A3
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q607588
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Liu Cixin born?
Born June 23, 1963 (age 63).
Where is Liu Cixin from?
Liu Cixin is from Beijing, People's Republic of China.
What does Liu Cixin do?
Liu Cixin works as science fiction writer, engineer, writer.
What is Liu Cixin known for?
Notable works include The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, Death's End.
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