Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Three-Body Problem, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Technology, Progress, and Destruction
Scientific Discovery and Political Division
Trauma and Cyclical Harm
Theory vs. Lived Experience
History and Legacy
Summary
Analysis
Shi Qiang (or Da Shi, as his friends call him) reveals that he has been following Wang, which Wang finds strangely comforting. Seeing that Wang is in bad shape, Shi decides to take him out to drinks. While the two men eat fried foods and do shots, Wang explains what has happened to him over the past 24 hours. Shi is not as troubled as Wang is, because he is too busy with the pressures and stresses of daily life to think about the universe; as he puts it “when I work at night, if I look up at the sky, the suspect is going to escape.” Shi encourages Wang to drink more and sleep off his panic.
This vital passage illustrates the difference between police officer Shi and many of the scientists he works with. While the astrophysicists look to the sky to find meaning or answer questions about the nature of the universe, Shi is quite literally on the ground, focused on what is in front of him and on getting his job done; while someone like Yang Dong clings to theory, Shi values lived experience above all. This attitude makes him the perfect confidante for Wang—in a moment of existential panic, Shi is able to offer good food, alcohol, and practical advice.
Themes
Wang falls asleep in his car for a few hours, and when he wakes up, he is relieved to see that he has parked near Beijing’s Forbidden City—the world feels “classical and stable” again. Quickly, though, the panic returns, and Shi urges Wang to continue to drink and sleep until he is more capable of facing the facts. When Wang presses Shi for more information, Shi explains that he is also being kept in the dark, but he finally agrees to tell Wang what he knows.
Wang’s desire to be reminded of an earlier, more “stable,” era in history reveals just how much the flickering universe has unsettled his worldview. But again, Shi keeps Wang focused and on task by reminding him to engage in basic human necessities: rest and relaxation.
Themes
Shi lists a series of strange events that have been happening lately. In addition to the development of the Frontiers of Science and the wave of suicides, there has been a bunch of crimes committed against academic institutions. Also, environmental activists have become increasingly bold in their techniques, and big budget movies now all have rustic, pastoral themes. Lastly, there has been a rash of cults led by well-funded cult leaders. All these facts have led Shi to conclude that someone is out to destroy scientific research entirely, a conclusion that even General Chang has come to agree with. Shi is proud that he has figured this out, even though he has a less impressive degree than many of the soldiers and scientists he is working with.
Scientific progress, it seems, is being called into question from all sides, whether it is scientists abandoning their research or laypeople turning to bizarre cult leaders instead of respected experts. Interestingly, then, this moment in history parallels the moment the book began in, when the Cultural Revolution was forcing scientists to cease or change their work entirely. Also, Shi’s explanation begins to show the value he brings to the Battle Command Center: just as scientists organize experimental data into theory, Shi has a remarkable ability to put far-flung facts together into a coherent human narrative.
Themes
Wang asks Shi about the “war” General Chang claims to be fighting, but Shi does not know much about it. All he understands is that China is working closely with NATO to stop this threat, in an almost unheard-of alliance; moreover, men who are never scared seem suddenly terrified. Curiously, Shi explains that abstract science (like the kind Yang Dong worked on) has come to seem particularly frightening.
The Cultural Revolution overlapped with the height of the Cold War, when communist China was at odds with the free-market U.S. But now, the countries that were enemies are friends—and the frightening, divisive theories do not emerge out of politics, as before, but out of abstract science.
Themes
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Since Wang’s work on nanomaterials is applied science, he wonders why Chang and the others have called on him. Before Wang can fall back into despair, Shi encourages him to go back to work and to try and play the Three Body game in his spare time. Shi promises to be in touch, and he drives away before Wang can say thank you.
Here, Wang begins to emerge more clearly on a spectrum of thought: he has more scientific expertise than someone like Shi, but his mindset is more grounded in reality than someone like Yang Dong. This mindset will prove immensely valuable as he dives deeper into the world of Three Body.
Themes
