Capturing art's enduring power in the era of AI

As a veteran writer and vice-chairman of the China Writers Association, Qiu Huadong says he has often been asked multiple versions of the same question: In an age shaped by artificial intelligence and information overload at ever-accelerating speed, where can literature continue to find its inspirational energy?

His answer remains consistent: the wellspring of artistic creation still rises from "the soil beneath our feet" and from the long cultural memory carried through 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Qiu delivers this resonant line in the opening of his speech at the Forum on Fostering the Development of Art and Literature, one of 11 sub-events of the Forum on Building up China's Cultural Strength 2026, the country's toptier cultural gathering, held in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in late May.

Bringing together writers, artists and scholars, the subforum wrestled with a question often discussed yet difficult to answer: how to preserve originality and create quality works in an era when technology is rapidly reshaping the way art is produced and consumed. Finding a solution is complicated.

Contemplating history

With a writing career spanning over 40 years, Qiu cites Kong Cheng Ji (The Chronicles of Empty Cities) as an example of how he puts his philosophy into practice.

Born in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Qiu moved to Beijing after graduating from Wuhan University in Hubei province in the early 1990s. He revealed that he has made it a habit to return to Xinjiang every year in search of inspiration.

During his journeys, venturing deep into sparsely populated areas that preserve relics such as the Kizil Caves or that were once the sites of vanished kingdoms like Loulan, questions haunted him: "Could these silent artifacts speak? Could the lost ancient cities be brought back to life through imagination?"

This contemplation sparked the inspiration to pen his novel. Selecting six historic cities in Xiyu — a historical and geographical term referring to today's Xinjiang and surrounding Central Asian areas — the novel adopts an unconventional narrative method by making cultural relics and artifacts the storytellers. For instance, a Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) bronze coin, a carved Buddha head, and a spotted horse from a rock painting become some of the protagonists.

"I hope through these small and focused entry points, history will no longer be a cold term in textbooks, but rather a collection of living moments that are warm and breathing with life," says Qiu.

Ma Boyong (Ma Li's pen name), a novelist known for embedding fictional thrillers in real historical settings, points to another key element in creating history-themed works: they should resonate with modern emotions.

Remaining loyal to major historical events while exercising imagination on minor details is a principle he follows. To further explain, he cites the famous historical event "Hongmen Yan" (Feast of Hongmen), which took place at a titular location outside Xianyang, the former capital of the collapsed Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

The banquet, hosted by the rebel army's leader, Xiang Yu, in honor of his rival Liu Bang, was designed as a deadly political trap. However, the arrogant Xiang hesitated to kill the seemingly humble Liu — a moment of mercy that led to Xiang's catastrophic downfall and altered the course of Chinese history.

"Why Xiang did not make his move cannot be found in historical records, but it can be inferred from human nature. The 26-year-old, high-spirited Xiang, facing the 50-something, aging Liu, could hardly have foreseen the latter's future glory," says Ma, who has used this event on multiple occasions to exemplify the space available for novelists to add their imaginations.

He shares that many young readers fancy the cultures that prevailed during the Tang (618-907) and Song dynasties (960-1279), reflecting the country's growing national strength and cultural confidence. "Every era has its own distinct Chinese character, but those of us living in the present will naturally seek out the spirit of the age that mirrors our own," says Ma.