Hong Kong Author Dung Kai-cheung's New Novel Explores Writing Possibilities via AI Continuation
Hong Kong writer Dung Kai-cheung has published a 270,000-word novel, using ChatGPT to co-write 30,000 words, completing a decade-old manuscript and challenging the definition of literary authorship.
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- 📰 Published: May 15, 2026 at 15:26
- 🔍 Collected: May 15, 2026 at 15:32 (6 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 15, 2026 at 20:37 (5h 4m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA Reporter Chiu Tsu-yin, Taipei, 15th) Hong Kong author Dung Kai-cheung's latest full-length novel, "The Origin of Species, Beibei's Rebirth: The Disappearing Possible World," portrays a world where the boundary between reality and fiction is gradually melting over 270,000 words. Notably, up to 30,000 words were co-written with AI, continuously exploring new possibilities in writing.
According to publishing information provided by Unitas Publishing, this book is the third installment of Dung's "Natural History Trilogy." The first two parts are "Works and Creations: Vivid and True" and "Histories of Time: The Luster of Mute Porcelain." He completed the 500,000-word upper volume of the third part, "The Origin of Species, Beibei's Rebirth: The Learning Years," in 2010, but the lower volume was long delayed.
According to Dung, after revising the lower volume seven times, he gave up in 2014. Instead, he completed the "Spiritual History Trilogy" and three other novels at a pace of one book per year. This time, by collaborating with ChatGPT to supplement the remaining 30,000 words (with AI contributions explicitly marked), he finally finished the lower volume, fulfilling a long-held wish.
Scholar Fan Ming-ju, chief editor of Unitas Publishing's "Contemporary Chinese Novelists" series, wrote a preface of over 10,000 words for the book. She stated that Dung's use of AI to continue the novel aligns with his consistent "anti-anthropocentric" attitude. Dung believes that non-human objects (like AI) are not inactive but intricately entwined with human culture.
In the book's preface, "A Long Confession," Dung noted that a quarter of the 21st century has passed, yet no new forms are seen in the literary field. "There are new subjects, but no new forms. Everyone is reminiscing about the glory of the 20th century, striving to conserve old values. This is highly admirable, but it is regression, not progression."
Dung also pointed out that this book aims to ask three questions: What is an "author"? What is a "work"? What is a "book"? It is an act of "complete self-deconstruction." Without crossing this threshold, "we will not have a new understanding of literature and writing, nor discover new possibilities. However, once past this threshold, the self will no longer exist—at least, not in its original form."
Dung said that what he is bidding farewell to is not just this "unfinished book," but also the self that failed to finish it. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150515
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(CNA Reporter Chiu Tsu-yin, Taipei, 15th) Hong Kong author Dung Kai-cheung's latest full-length novel, "The Origin of Species, Beibei's Rebirth: The Disappearing Possible World," portrays a world where the boundary between reality and fiction is gradually melting over 270,000 words. Notably, up to 30,000 words were co-written with AI, continuously exploring new possibilities in writing.
According to publishing information provided by Unitas Publishing, this book is the third installment of Dung's "Natural History Trilogy." The first two parts are "Works and Creations: Vivid and True" and "Histories of Time: The Luster of Mute Porcelain." He completed the 500,000-word upper volume of the third part, "The Origin of Species, Beibei's Rebirth: The Learning Years," in 2010, but the lower volume was long delayed.
According to Dung, after revising the lower volume seven times, he gave up in 2014. Instead, he completed the "Spiritual History Trilogy" and three other novels at a pace of one book per year. This time, by collaborating with ChatGPT to supplement the remaining 30,000 words (with AI contributions explicitly marked), he finally finished the lower volume, fulfilling a long-held wish.
Scholar Fan Ming-ju, chief editor of Unitas Publishing's "Contemporary Chinese Novelists" series, wrote a preface of over 10,000 words for the book. She stated that Dung's use of AI to continue the novel aligns with his consistent "anti-anthropocentric" attitude. Dung believes that non-human objects (like AI) are not inactive but intricately entwined with human culture.
In the book's preface, "A Long Confession," Dung noted that a quarter of the 21st century has passed, yet no new forms are seen in the literary field. "There are new subjects, but no new forms. Everyone is reminiscing about the glory of the 20th century, striving to conserve old values. This is highly admirable, but it is regression, not progression."
Dung also pointed out that this book aims to ask three questions: What is an "author"? What is a "work"? What is a "book"? It is an act of "complete self-deconstruction." Without crossing this threshold, "we will not have a new understanding of literature and writing, nor discover new possibilities. However, once past this threshold, the self will no longer exist—at least, not in its original form."
Dung said that what he is bidding farewell to is not just this "unfinished book," but also the self that failed to finish it. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150515
Choose to stand with facts; every sponsorship from you is the power protecting freedom of the press.
Download the CNA "First Hand News" APP to instantly grasp the latest news.
Text, images, and audio/video on this website are not to be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.