China Mountain Zhang

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China Mountain Zhang
ChinaMountainZhang.jpg
Cover of 1993 Tor paperback edition
Author Maureen F. McHugh
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Tor Books
Publication date
March 1992
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages313
Awards
ISBN 0-312-85271-1
OCLC 24670648
813/.54 20
LC Class PS3563.C3687 C48

China Mountain Zhang is a 1992 science fiction novel by American writer Maureen F. McHugh. The novel is made up of several stories loosely intertwined.

Contents

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 science fiction in that none of the characters cause any significant change in the world around them; nor does it use any standard science fiction tropes. [1]

The New York Times 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 and Kim Stanley Robinson without being in the least derivative." [2]

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" camp in Kansas under the future Communist system.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
1993 James Tiptree Jr. Award -Won [3]
Lambda Literary Award Gay Men's Science Fiction/FantasyWon [4]
Hugo Award Novel Nominated [5]
Locus Award First Novel Won [6]
Locus Award Science Fiction Novel 24th [6]
Nebula Award Novel Nominated [7]
1999 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Hall of Fame Inducted [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ McHugh, Maureen. "The Anti-SF Novel". Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ Jones, Gerald (March 15, 1992). "Science Fiction". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ "1992 Otherwise Award". Otherwise Award . April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  4. ↑ "5th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. July 14, 1993. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
  5. ↑ "1993 Hugo Awards". The Locus Index to SF Awards . Archived from the original on December 20, 2008.
  6. 1 2 "1993 Locus Awards". The Locus Index to SF Awards . Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
  7. ↑ "1993 Nebula Awards". The Locus Index to SF Awards . Archived from the original on October 30, 2008.
  8. ↑ "1999 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards". The Locus Index to SF Awards . Archived from the original on February 10, 2009.
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