Shen Yufei
Names: Shen YufeiDr. ShenFemale Hemingway
First appears in Book 1: The Three-Body Problem, chapter 4 (4)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Three-Body Problem
- Ch 4Shen Yufei is a Japanese physicist of Chinese descent working for a Japanese company in Beijing, formerly of a Mitsubishi lab; she is a Frontiers of Science member.
- Ch 6Shen is a terse woman who hosts Frontiers of Science meetings at her home, is mysteriously wealthy, and plays the game 3body.net in a V-suit.
- Ch 6Shen seems to know about the countdown and, without explanation, repeatedly tells Wang to stop his nanomaterial research.
- Ch 6Shen acts as spokesperson for a force beyond human understanding and warns she wants to help Wang avoid Yang Dong's fate.
- Ch 6Shen tells Wang to print a Morse code chart and observe the cosmic microwave background; she says the entire universe will flicker for him.
- Ch 7Wang thinks Shen is cold and terse, like a blank DOS prompt, and not the type to play games, yet she owns a V-suit.
- Ch 9When Wang asks what happens at the end of the countdown, Shen says she does not know and hangs up.
- Ch 16Shen Yufei found Wei Cheng at the temple, recognising his three-body work from burnt scratch paper, and offered him supercomputer access to continue it.
- Ch 16Shen Yufei secretly prayed to the Buddha to help 'my Lord' break away from the sea of misery; her wealth has an unknown source.
- Ch 16Shen Yufei married Wei Cheng out of mutual convenience, without much love, and was interested only in his three-body research.
- Ch 16Shen threatened Wei Cheng with a gun, telling him to keep working on the three-body problem or she would kill him.
- Ch 16Shen said solving the three-body problem would make Wei the world's savior, while stopping would make him a sinner, with contribution or sin twice that of someone saving or destroying humanity.
- Ch 16Shen is found shot dead in her home, hit three times by a fleeing gunman; she fired two shots that missed.
- Ch 16Shen opposed Pan Han's faction, working to prevent the Lord's coming; she said the commander was blind to let Pan join.
- Ch 21Shen Yufei was a core Adventist who secretly remained a Redemptionist, and was killed by Pan Han.
Connections
- friend ofWang Miaomet at a technical conference; she introduced him to the Frontiers of Science
- family ofWei Chenghusband and wife
- member ofFrontiers of Science
- leadsFrontiers of Science
- enemy ofPan HanPan murdered her
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 6Shen tells Wang to stop his research
Wang visits Shen, who is playing 3body.net. She evades his questions and only insists he stop his nanomaterial project.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Pan Han confronts Shen
As Wang leaves, Pan Han arrives and warns Shen that someone should not force their hand.
- Book 1 · Ch 6Wang challenges Shen
Wang phones Shen and challenges her to show the countdown on a larger scale; she agrees, saying the universe will flicker for him between one and five a.m. on the fourteenth.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Breakdown at St. Joseph's Church
After Shen Yufei refuses to answer him, Wang wanders until dawn, hears a hymn at St. Joseph's, breaks down crying, and is found by Shi Qiang.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Shen Yufei recruits Wei Cheng
Shen Yufei finds Wei Cheng at a temple, recognises his three-body work, and takes him away with promises of computing resources; the abbot warns against it.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Search and discovery of Shen's body
Da Shi's team goes to Wei's home to search for a gun and arrives as shots have just been fired. They find Shen shot dead; the gunman escapes in a black Santana.
- Book 1 · Ch 16Wei reveals the argument with Pan Han
Wei tells police that Shen and Pan Han argued in Chinese about the Lord, the commander, and the Adventists and Redemptionists, with Pan threatening to stop her.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Pan Han accused at the meeting
At the ETO gathering, Pan admits killing Shen Yufei, argues for purging Redemptionists, and is accused by Rafael and Ye of Adventist betrayal.