The 2024 People’s Literature Awards ceremony recently took place in Sichuan. The script for Yunshen, Shenzhen’s first original science fiction play, was honored with the People’s Literature Award in the Special Literary Form category.

The People’s Literature Award is one of China’s most prestigious literary honors. Organized annually by People’s Literature magazine, it recognizes outstanding works across the categories of novel, novella, short story, essay, non-fiction, poetry, and translation.

The drama was co-produced by two faculty members from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at SUSTech—Yuehong CHEN, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Yan WU, Director of the Science and Human Imagination Research Center—together with Associate Professor Di YIN from Shenzhen University.

In his acceptance speech, Yuehong CHEN noted that Yunshen is not simply about artificial intelligence (AI), but also delves deeply into the philosophical questions surrounding the technology. He attributed the play’s success to Shenzhen’s rapid technological development, SUSTech’s vision of integrating science and technology with the humanities, and the team’s unwavering dedication.

After years of creative writing and immersive research, the script was completed just as large AI models began making waves. It went on to enjoy eight sold-out, widely acclaimed performances across Shenzhen and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Yan WU described Yunshen as a timely and thought-provoking exploration of AI. He noted how it is not merely a script, but a true work of literature. He emphasized the importance of Shenzhen literature in pursuing original, cutting-edge paths and contributing meaningfully to the broader literary landscape. The recognition of Yunshen, he added, marks a proud milestone for the city.

Reflecting on the play’s roots in Shenzhen, Di YIN noted how the city’s rapidly evolving technological landscape and boundless imaginative spirit provided the perfect conditions for such a work to emerge.

The judging panel praised the drama’s theme, which centers on the relationship between carbon-based and silicon-based beings. Its layered narrative evolves from issues of scientific and technological ethics to deeper reflections on humanity, culminating in an open-ended finale that reflects the unresolved tensions between technology and ethics in the modern era.

Yunshen was completed in late 2022 and premiered in March 2023. With tickets selling out quickly, the production received widespread critical acclaim, drawing significant media coverage nationwide. The play is part of SUSTech’s broader initiative to develop a distinctive humanities and social sciences program, and is a cornerstone of the University’s cultural brand, which focuses on “Science-Popularization-Fiction”.

As the first work produced by the newly established Center for Science Fiction Creation at SUSTech’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Yunshen marks the beginning of a larger creative vision. The second play in the series, The Quantum Phantom, is already in development and is expected to debut on stage in late 2025. The creative team expressed confidence in producing more original science fiction works, inspired by the rich soil for integrating science and technology with the humanities in Shenzhen and the GBA, further enhancing Shenzhen’s growing reputation as the country’s science fiction capital.