History or game: Two aesthetic styles of parallel world novels in China

Abstract

The concept of parallel worlds was first proposed through theoretical hypotheses in quantum mechanics and later gained legitimacy in historical counterfactual narratives through possible worlds theory. Counterfactual historical narratives assert the equal status of the virtual and the real, presenting a historical aesthetic that blends reality and fantasy, as exemplified in Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. Similarly, in contemporary Chinese Internet literature, parallel world narratives embody a game aesthetic, where the interplay of the virtual and the real forms the basis of aesthetic style. This paper attempts to analyse the distinct logics behind these two aesthetic styles and explores the reasons for their formation as well as their forms of expression.