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
More than 40 years later, two cops and two PLA officers come to find Professor Wang Miao. The officers want to know whether Wang has had any contact with a secretive organization known as the Frontiers of Science, which is made up of prominent intellectuals from around the world. One of the cops, a reckless man named Shi Qiang, harasses Wang to give more information. Eventually, the other officers intervene, inviting Wang—who is an expert in nanotechnology—to a secretive meeting. When the officers leave, Wang overhears them talking about the “Battle Command Center,” adding to his confusion.
Though there are still PLA officers, China in the early 2000s is a very different place from China at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Science is now more highly valued, and while there is still some danger in speaking out against the government, communist ideology no longer dictates every aspect of theory. It follows, then, that scientist Wang Miao is now able to peacefully collaborate with the government (unlike Ye Zhetai before him). It is also worth noting the contrast between brash Shi Qiang and mild-mannered, cautious Wang.
Themes
That afternoon, Wang arrives at what he guesses is the Battle Command Center. He is surprised to see that the room is a mess, and that everybody he encounters seems to be under-slept and overwhelmed. The group is a mix of generals—some of whom, shockingly, are from NATO—police officers, and prominent academics. The leader of the group is Chinese general Chang Weisi. Wang also spots the policeman Shi in the crowd.
Though the Cultural Revolution is over, China is still on rocky diplomatic terms with the United States and other Western nations. But all of these countries, normally so opposed to each other, have come together—suggesting that there is some global crisis beyond anything Wang Miao can imagine.
Themes
Shi inquires about Wang’s specialty, a new field called nanomaterials. Wang explains that the material he makes is so strong that one strand of it could cut through a car. Shi immediately begins to think about how such a technology could be used to commit crimes, annoying Wang.
Again, the distinction between the scientific Wang and the more practically-minded Shi comes to the fore. Still, it is useful to understand that Wang works in applied science; unlike the physicists in the first part of the novel, Wang applies theory to tangible materials in order to create new products. Therefore, Wang embodies the novel’s attempt to bridge the gap between abstract and practical thought.
Themes
The meeting begins, and Wang is baffled to find that General Chang refers to the NATO officer (and some CIA spies) as “comrades”; moreover, it seems as if everybody in this room is on the same side. Shi immediately begins to antagonize General Chang, complaining that the police are being kept out of the loop of information. Chang reminds Shi that he was recently suspended from the police force, but he has to admit that Shi’s unscrupulous, crafty techniques are useful in this “time of war.”
Though there is a “war” happening, all of these various military leaders—who would normally be facing off against each other—appear to be working in unison. Instead, the division within the room is not between different countries but between people of different status; for example, Shi resents that people seem to talk down to him because he lacks the impressive credentials of his colleagues.
Themes
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Wang does not understand what kind of war is being referenced, and he begins to question his own sense of reality. General Chang explains that there has been a pattern of attacks on scientists, and he asks Wang to look at a list of prominent physicists. Wang is familiar with the last name, and Shi picks up on this fact.
As he will continue to do for the rest of the story, the normally objective Wang struggles to make sense of what is happening around him. At the same time, though, more details of the current conflict are coming into focus, including the fact that high-level physics seems to be at the center of the issue.
Themes
An avid landscape photographer, Wang recalls a particularly striking day in the lab. In the midst of all of his machinery, he had seen a beautiful woman. Later, he learned the woman was Yang Dong, a private, brilliant physicist and the final name on Chang’s list. Since that day, Wang pictured Yang Dong at the center of all his photographs, as her stunning presence seemed to complete all of his work.
In addition to introducing the closed-off figure of Yang Dong, this passage offers key character clues about Wang Miao. Unlike many of his colleagues, Wang has a hobby in landscape photography; while his work focuses on distant theory, he also is able to get some distance from his job and appreciate the beauty of the everyday world around him.
Themes
To Wang’s horror, Chang reveals that all of the physicists on the list have killed themselves within the last two months; Yang Dong killed herself merely two days ago. Yang Dong’s boyfriend Ding Yi presents Wang with Yang’s suicide note, in which she laments that “physics has never existed, and will never exist.” Ding explains that as physics got more complex, the original theories started to break down. The Frontiers of Science was trying to use physics to figure out the limit of what was knowable. Though many of its members behaved as if the organization were a cult, it was in fact a formal research group.
Though Wang understands almost nothing about the Frontiers of Science, it is clear that whatever research the organization is pursuing has had massive implications for the scientists involved and for the world around them. In particular, Yang Dong’s fear that “physics has never existed” suggests that the organization has made some new, terrifying scientific discovery—one so profound that it requires a military response from all of the world’s largest nations.
Themes
Wang explains that he was introduced to the Frontiers of Science through Shen Yufei, a Japanese physicist of Chinese descent. Her arguments were fascinating, but while Wang was interested in the debates and theories discussed in the meetings, he ultimately decided that he did not have time. Now, however, General Chang asks him to join the Frontiers, because they need someone on the inside of the organization to understand what is really going on. Wang initially refuses, but Shi mocks him for being weak—and in his anger, Wang rashly agrees to join.
Shi’s ability to persuade Wang to join the Frontiers of Science relies on a kind of reverse psychology; clearly, Shi is very skilled when it comes to understanding (and manipulating) the people around him. And though it is not elaborated on in the novel, there is also a particularly masculine competition at stake; Wang is motivated to join the Frontiers in part because he lusts for Yang Dong and in part to prove his strength to Shi.
Themes
After the meeting ends, General Chang walks Wang to his car. Wang remains baffled by the whole ordeal, and Chang will not offer him any clarity. He only reflects that “the entire history of humankind has been very fortunate […] but if it’s all luck, then it has to end one day. Let me tell you: it’s ended.” Wang gets into a car that the General provides for him, but rather than going home, Wang instructs the driver to drive to Ding Yi’s house.
Here, the novel continues to explore the difference between everyday life and larger historical narrative. What began as a completely ordinary day in Wang’s life now marks the turning point between the happy years of human history and the “end” of such good fortune—in other words, what seemed mundane has now become life-altering. Moreover, this passage forces readers to reflect on the scale of history. The events that once seemed tragic are, by comparison to this unknown future, merely blips.
Themes
