15年雨果奖得主刘慈欣的访谈 [美国媒体]

Stuart chats with Cixin Liu, author of ’15 Hugo winner THE THREE BODY PROBLEM

15年雨果奖得主刘慈欣的访谈



by:STUART STAROSTA
Stuart: Your THREE-BODY TRILOGY was a huge hit among Chinese readers and has finally become available in English editions. It took several years for this to happen, so whose idea was it to translate your books into English? Were you concerned that the translations might not capture your books’ original intent?

采访者问：在中国读者中风靡畅销的《三体》三部曲，现已成功推出英文版，期间历经数年，那么请问最初是谁提出将您的作品翻译成英语？您可曾担心译作无法完全保留您作品的初衷？

Cixin Liu: China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation Ltd. first suggested translating the THREE-BODY TRILOGY into English and publishing the books in the US. They are in charge of the English version. I am very confident in the quality of the work; Ken Liu (who translated the first and third book) and Joel Martinsen (who translated the second book) are both great translators. They speak English and Chinese fluently and have a deep understanding of Eastern and Western cultures along with genre novels. I am very lucky that I have met two translators who are both very diligent and responsible and have them translate the THREE-BODY TRILOGY.

刘慈欣答：最先提议将《三体》三部曲译成英语并在美国出版的是中国教育图书进出口有限公司，也是他们负责英文版的全权事宜。我本人非常信赖英译本出版的工作质量，刘宇昆（第一部和第三部的译者）和肖华（第二部的译者）都是优秀的翻译家，他们的中英文非常流利并且对东西方文化以及科幻小说都有着深刻理解。我能认识这两位兢兢业业的翻译家并能由他们翻译《三体》三部曲而深感三生有幸。

What was it like when The Three-Body Problem won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best SF novel and was nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award? Is it exciting to discover so much interest in your works overseas? When you first wrote the series, was it intended mainly for Chinese readers or did you imagine there would be English readers as well?

问：当《三体》荣获2015年雨果奖最佳科幻长篇小说奖并获得2014年星云奖提名，您是怎样的感受？发觉到您的作品在海外受到如此多的关注，您是否很激动？当您着手写《三体》系列的时候，是主要面对中国读者还是设想到也会有英语读者？



I was in Chicago for the Nebula Awards in June but was too busy to attend the Hugo Awards ceremony. Yet The Three-Body Problem was awarded the Hugo Award so I was disappointed that I missed this opportunity. But I am delighted that the translator, Ken Liu, was able to receive the award. His excellent translation played a very important role in earning the award so I have always believed that we won the award together. I am of course very happy that my own work is so successful outside China. The genre of science fiction was introduced to China during the end of the Qing Dynasty by Westerners. One century later, China’s science fiction work is finally being published and recognized in the West. But from another perspective, science fiction novels are the most global type of literature compared to other translated works. These works often involve many aspects of Chinese culture that may be foreign to Westerners so science fiction in translation should be easier for a Western audience to understand.

答：六月份星云奖颁奖大会时，我在芝加哥现场，但雨果奖颁奖大会时却因事务繁忙无法到场参加，偏偏《三体》得了雨果奖，所以我对错失领奖感到挺失落的。但我对《三体》的译者刘宇昆能上台领奖由衷感到高兴，是他精彩的翻译对作品获奖起到非常重要的作用，我一直坚信是我们共同获奖。当然我也很高兴我的作品能在中国之外获得如此成功。科幻小说这个文学门类，是在清朝末年由西方人士带入中国的；一个世纪之后，中国的科幻作品最终能在西方出版并获认可。但从另一角度讲，科幻小说相较其它译作来得更全球性。其它译作往往牵涉到中国文化的方方面面，对西方人士来讲过于陌生，而科幻小说译作对西方观众来说更易理解。

Fermi’s Paradox is an important idea in the series. Despite the universe’s size and the number of stars and galaxies, why have we not encountered alien civilizations?

问：费米悖论是《三体》系列中一个重要的理念。不考虑宇宙大小和星系数量的因素，为何我们还未遇见任何外星文明？

I believe that extraterrestrial life should exist. The reason why we haven’t found them could be lack of observation time or that our methods are not advanced enough. Of course, there are many other possibilities, and in The Three-Body Problem I described the worst and most terrible possibility.

答：我个人相信地外生命是存在的。之所以我们仍未发现它们，可能是观测时间尚有不足，或是观测方法不够先进。当然，还有其他许许多多的可能，而《三体》描绘的是最糟糕的可能。

Although humanity has managed to develop technology very rapidly in just a few hundred years, would we be able to maintain this pace of innovation if faced with a more advanced alien species?

问：尽管人类在过去的数百年做到了科技的飞速发展，我们能否在面对一个更先进的外星种群时仍能维持这种科技革新的步伐？

It depends on the level of development of the alien society we encounter in relation to the current level of human civilization’s development. If we face aliens that are more innovative, the only reference we have is from our own history: in the Age of Discovery, there were many encounters of less advanced civilizations with more advanced civilizations and the results were not positive for the former.

答：这取决于我们所遇见的外星文明的发展阶段相较于人类文明的发展现阶段的程度。如果是遇见的外星人更先进这种情况，我们仅有的参考就是地理大发现那段历史，科技落后的文明与科技先进的文明相遭遇的大量事实证明，前者的结局不容乐观。

In today’s world, global politics is complicated and contentious, and it’s difficult for nations to agree on economic, environmental, and political policies that will satisfy all parties. In the 21st century, who is likely to take a greater leadership role in developing new technologies, China or the US?

问：当今世界，全球政治错综复杂纷争不断，很难让各国就经济问题、环境问题、政治问题等达成各方的一致肯定。在21世纪，谁更可能在新科技领域引领世界，中国还是美国？



In the 21st century, America is undoubtedly going to lead the development of technology. China is a very fast-developing country, but China faces many challenges and difficulties. People are looking to China’s future, but there are many uncertainties. Although China plays a more and more important role in the development of technology in the world, I think it will be difficult to surpass the US in the next twenty or thirty years. From the perspective of international politics, China and the US will face competition and friction, but win-win collaboration should be the goal of the two countries.

答：在21世纪，美国无疑仍将引领科技的发展。中国是个飞速发展的国家，但中国仍面临诸多挑战和困境。人们寄望于中国的未来，但仍存在诸多不确定性。尽管中国在世界科技发展中扮演越来越重要的角色，我认为很难在接下来的二三十年里超越美国。从国际政局的角度来看，中美两国将面对相互竞争和摩擦，但双赢合作仍将是两国的共同目标。

You’ve said that Arthur C. Clarke has been a major influence on your books. What about other SF writers? Do you read them and if so, which are some of your favorite writers or books? Do you recommend other Chinese SF books that have not yet been translated into English?

问：您曾说过阿瑟·C·克拉克对您的作品影响颇深，那其他科幻作家呢？您读过的其他科幻作家及其作品里，哪些是您最喜爱的？请您推荐其他尚未有英译的中国科幻书籍。

Arthur C. Clarke’s works have had a big influence on me. My style was influenced in a big way by 2001: A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama. I have said that all my works are poor imitations of Clarke’s works. However, I think Clarke’s works vary in quality and the real classics make up only a small part, like the two novels I mentioned above.
The other author that has profoundly influenced me is George Orwell. His work is very different from Clarke’s magnificent and intangible style. Nineteen Eighty-Four made me realize that science fiction novels can use different perspectives to reflect and criticize reality, more so than realistic literature.
My favorite science fiction authors include Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Jules Verne. My favorite books are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama, The Martian Chronicles, and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
In terms of Chinese science fiction novels that have not been translated into English yet, I recommend the newly published novel Dooms Year by He Xi. It is an apocalyptic novel that vividly depicts the different Chinese social classes during a disaster.

答：阿瑟·C·克拉克的作品对我影响巨大。我的风格很大程度上受《2001太空漫游》和《与拉玛相会》的影响。我曾说过，我的所有作品都是对克拉克的拙劣模仿。然而，我认为克拉克的作品质量参差不齐，真正的经典只占一小部分，比如我前面提到的两部小说。另一个对我产生深远影响的作家是乔治·奥威尔，他的作品同克拉克气势宏伟而又难以捉摸的文风迥然相异。《1984》让我意识到科幻小说可以用不同的视角反映现实并批判现实，远甚现实主义文学。我最喜爱的科幻作家包括阿瑟·C·克拉克，雷·布拉德伯里以及儒勒·凡尔纳。我最喜爱的书是《2001太空漫游》、《与拉玛相会》、《火星纪事》，以及《1984》。至于尚未被英译的中国科幻小说，我推荐何夕的新作《天年》。这本末世类小说生动描绘了经历灾难中的中国不同社会阶层的众生相。



Your books deal with scientific ideas on a huge scale, including the end of the universe. When you come up with new ideas, what are you main sources of inspiration? Do you read scientific journals about cosmology and physics, or attend scientific conferences

问：您的小说常涉及宏大架构的科学设想，比如说宇宙末日。当您产生新点子的时候，什么是您灵感的主要来源？您是否阅读宇宙学科和物理学科的科学期刊，或是参加各种科学会议呢？

Most of my inspiration comes from reading. I usually read science fiction, history and military novels. I also regularly read journals like Scientific American and Science et Vie. Because I live far away from the metropolis, I have only participated in a few scientific gatherings, like Songshuhui [a blog dedicated to popular science] events, so they are not a main source of inspiration.

答：我的灵感主要来自阅读。我通常阅读科幻小说，历史战争小说；我也定期阅读《科学美国人》和《科学与生活》之类的期刊。因为我的生活远离都市，我只参加有限的科学聚会，比如“松鼠会”的活动，所以不算我灵感的主要来源。