''China Mountain Zhang'' is a 1992

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel by American writer

Maureen F. McHugh Maureen F. McHugh (born February 13, 1959) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Career McHugh's first published story was published as a ''Twilight Zone'' under a male pseudonym in 1988. It was followed by a pair of publication ...

. The novel is made up of several stories loosely intertwined.

Title

The novel's title derives from the name of the protagonist, a young gay man of mixed Chinese and Hispanic ancestry who goes by the name Rafael Zhang in non-Chinese contexts and Zhang Zhongshan in Chinese contexts. His Chinese given name, "Zhongshan", is written with the characters that have the primary meanings "center" and "mountain"; the Mandarin name for China also begins with the character meaning "center" or "middle". Thus, "China Mountain" is an alternate reading of his Chinese given name. As the novel explains, "Zhongshan" was one of the given names used by the Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, for whom the character is named.

Plot summary

The main story involves a man's maturation in a future dominated by China, where the United States has undergone a Second Great Depression, a Communist revolution and then a "Cleansing Winds Campaign" that resembled the Chinese Cultural Revolution. His personal evolution is paralleled in four interwoven side stories following characters progressing from outsiderdom to finding places in society.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

The backdrop is a 22nd-century in which the Chinese Communist regime dominates the world. The novel is slightly unusual for

in that none of the characters cause any significant change in the world around them; nor does it use any standard science fiction tropes. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said of the book when it first appeared: "A first novel this good gives every reader a chance to share in the pleasure of discovery; to my mind, Ms. McHugh's achievement recalls the best work of

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...

and

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

without being in the least derivative."

Connections to other works

McHugh's short story "Protection" is set in the same future history as ''China Mountain Zhang'', detailing the experiences of a petty criminal in a "

Reform Through Labor ''Laogai'' (), short for ''laodong gaizao'' (), which means reform through labor, is a criminal justice system involving the use of penal labor and prison farms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and North Korea (DPRK). ''Láogǎi'' i ...

" camp in Kansas under the future Communist system.

Awards and nominations

The novel was nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...

and

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

and won a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

, the

Locus Award for Best First Novel The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Fi ...

, and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.

References

{{James Tiptree, Jr. Award Winners 1992 American novels 1992 science fiction novels 1990s LGBT novels American LGBT novels American science fiction novels Debut science fiction novels James Tiptree Jr. Award-winning works LGBT speculative fiction novels Novels with gay themes Lambda Literary Award-winning works 1992 debut novels Tor Books books