Have you seen The 3-Body Problem? The Chinese are slack-jawed | Television

Netflix’s adaptation of the Chinese science fiction classic The Three-Body Problem, first novel in a trilogy by Chinese author Liu Cixin, it had a large audience in China on its first day of release, despite the streaming service streaming not be available in the country, and sparked an immediate debate on social media. The series The 3-Body Problem is made by the creators of The Game of Thrones.

Liu’s novel has sold millions of copies since its publication in Chinese in 2008 and counts former US President Barack Obama among its fans. The English translation was the first novel by an Asian writer to win the science fiction Hugo Award for best novel.

The Netflix version, like the English translation of the novel, begins with violent scenes from China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, events that kick off a plot that includes an imminent alien invasion. The new series was trending on Chinese platform Weibo on Friday, with 21 million views so far, and ranked first on the ranking of trends “top hot” from the platform, despite Netflix being officially inaccessible in China.

Chinese viewers had to see The 3-Body Problem via a VPN connection (a virtual private network) or on a pirated website.

Among the moments that captured the attention of Chinese viewers was an opening scene in which a prominent scientist is beaten to death by the Red Guard, a depiction of recent history that continues to be controversial in China. “The first scene left me speechless. Even though I could even anticipate it, the scene still scared me,” said a Weibo user.

The website of streaming video company Tencent Holdings (0700.HK), Tencent Video, Inc., released a 30-episode Chinese adaptation of the series last year. On Monday, to capitalize on the publicity surrounding The 3-Body Problem Netflix’s Tencent Video released an improved version of its original series and many online commenters said the Chinese-made version was better.

The phrase “The Chinese version wins” was trending on Weibo on Friday as one of the most discussed topics of the day.

Other Chinese viewers criticize the fact that Netflix’s adaptation shifts the action from China to a group of British physicists dubbed the “Oxford Five.” This shows that “Westerners cannot accept the idea that the Chinese invent cutting-edge technology,” said a viewer on the social network Douban.

Another Douban user claimed that Netflix had toned down the story’s Chinese elements and replaced them with “a Hollywood product that values ​​individual heroism.”

Some spectators also stated that critics were not understanding things well: a work of Chinese fiction is becoming even better known around the world. “Is it bad that the Netflix adaptation becomes a global sensation?” asked a Douban user.