Cixin Liu was born in 1963 in Beijing before moving to Shanxi where his parents worked in mines. While he was a child, Liu’s parents sent him to live with family in their hometown in Luoshan County, Henan, because of rising violence in Shanxi sparked by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). The Cultural Revolution was a political movement that occurred under Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, with the stated aim of purging capitalist, traditionalist, and religious elements from China. The movement broke into violent factions. Economic activity was severely damaged as a result, and the nature of Chinese society and culture was altered permanently: The Cultural Revolution secured central power for Mao Zedong until his death in 1976. This period of Chinese modern history plays an integral part of The Three-Body Problem, in particular its presentation of political regimes and factions, theories of discipline and punishment, and the nature of civilizations when under threat. The first book of the trilogy is partly set during this time, framing the three-novel sci-fi narrative in this real historical context.

Liu graduated from the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power in 1988.