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Sylvie Zhuang

A Chinese publisher best known for discovering The Three-Body Problem, the award-winning sci-fi novel recently adapted into a hit Netflix series, is under investigation for corruption.
Yao Haijun, deputy editor-in-chief of the influential magazine Science Fiction World, is accused of “severe violations of Communist Party discipline and law”, authorities in Sichuan province said, using the usual official euphemism for corruption.
The announcement was published on Wednesday on the website of the Sichuan anti-corruption watchdog, which cited a disciplinary review by its science and technology department. The department had assigned the city discipline inspection body of Luzhou to carry out the review, the notice said.
No further details were given.


Yao, 58, began his career in science fiction publishing more than three decades ago.
According to public records, his first job was in 1988 at a forest farm in northeastern Heilongjiang province.
While working on the farm, Yao raised money to start a magazine called Nebula, which focused on science fiction updates and reviews. The magazine gained some attention, according to Chinese media reports.
He later moved to Shanxi province to join Science Fiction King magazine, before relocating again to Sichuan’s capital Chengdu to work for Science Fiction World.
He became deputy editor-in-chief in 2005 and was made a company director in 2018.
Yao is known for spotting the commercial value of Chinese author Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy Remembrance of Earth’s Past, which opens with The Three-Body Problem.
The work made its debut as a series in Science Fiction World before being published as a book in 2008. Yao became its editor and promoter, laying the ground for its later grand success.
The trilogy, whose other parts are titled The Dark Forest and Death’s End, is about humans combating alien civilisations across centuries, starting with China’s Cultural Revolution. Launched by late leader Mao Zedong in 1966, the movement triggered a decade of political and social turmoil.
The trilogy was translated into English by Chinese-American author Ken Liu. In 2015, The Three-Body Problem became the first work by an Asian author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, which recognises the world’s best science and fantasy fiction.
The novel was turned into an eight-episode Netflix series earlier this year.
Yao said that the first time he read Liu Cixin’s fantasy trilogy, it was like “the explosion of a hundred billion suns”. This was what led to his decision in 2006 to serialise the first part in his magazine, which already had a large readership. The novels later gained wider fame and have been published in more than 19 languages globally, according to Chinese media.

Yao’s downfall comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping signals there will be no let-up in his signature anti-corruption campaign, which is well into its second decade.
Last week, the Communist Party’s leading ideological magazine Qiushi reprinted a call from Xi on fighting corruption in literature and arts.
“Literature and art should not become slaves to the market, and they should not be tainted by the stench of money,” Xi had told a symposium on literature and art in 2014, a year after launching his clean-up drive.
Yao is among several top Chinese media publishers placed under investigation in recent years.
They include Cheng Feng, a senior executive at Shanghai’s leading media group and chairman of prominent news outlet The Paper, who was similarly accused last year.
In March, state-affiliated media published a scathing piece on the 3 Body Problem Netflix series, alleging the adaptation promoted “American cultural hegemony” under the guise of diversity.


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Yao Haijun, deputy editor-in-chief of Science Fiction World, is accused of ‘severe violations of party discipline and the law’


Yao Haijun, deputy editor-in-chief of Science Fiction World, is accused of ‘severe violations of party discipline and the law’.


Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign