Back to «Reality»:A Review of Cheng Lin’s RoboHumanities: Imaginations, Narratives, and Ethics regarding Robots

Cheng Lin's RoboHumanities: Imaginations, Narratives, and Ethics regarding Robots is the first Chinese monograph to systematically examine the core cultural concept of the «robot» from a literary studies perspective. Accordingly, the book aims to fill a relevant research gap and to establish an interdisciplinary humanities framework. The author adopts a research methodology that combines conceptual history and interdisciplinary analysis. Through etymological examination and cultural-historical tracing of the term «robot» and related concepts (such as «automaton» and «android»), the work clarifies the conceptual evolutionary trajectory and advocates for a present‑oriented, near‑future thought experiment designed to guide the public in daily ethical reflection on technology. Furthermore, assuming a pragmatic «Back to Reality» stance, the author attempts to balance visions of the far future, the near‑future application of technology, and current social reality, while deepening the discussion through a multi‑dimensional subdivision of robots into body‑simulating, intelligence‑simulating, and life‑simulating types. The review concludes that, although the work has limitations in covering the global diversity of robotic cultures and in the empirical grounding of certain analyses, it successfully applies literary research methods to the field of techno‑humanities. It clearly demonstrates the unique pathways and the necessity for humanities scholars to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue, thereby laying a solid foundation for the positioning and international conversation of RoboHumanities research.