- The first article covers the reception of US science fiction in the PRC since 1978 in the context of the growth of the Chinese domestic science fiction field.
- The second article is an affectionate remembrance of Chinese science fiction grandmaster and leaders Ye Yonglie 叶永烈.
Ye Yonglie (1940-2020) Chinese author and occasional film director, sometimes under the pen-names Ye Yang, Ye Ting, Xiao Yong or Jiu Yuan, whose output stretches to fifty volumes of material, of which twenty-four are listed as “works popularizing science”. A graduate in chemistry from Beijing University, Ye published his first poem aged eleven, and his first book while still a student. Aged twenty, he became one of the lead authors in the best-selling periodical Shiwan ge Weishenme [“100,000 Whys”] writing over 500 articles on aspects of science and technology, and forming a core element of the Chinese school curriculum. He followed with a series of semi-fictionalized biographies of prominent figures in the Communist Party, which sealed his credentials in the Young Adult and educational markets. In later years, he became known for the Witness series of travel books, not listed here, bringing foreign vistas to armchair tourists. He is often described as the “Chinese Isaac Asimov” (see also Rao Zhonghua), not so much in terms of his sf output, but in its subsumption within a great variety of other genres and modes, particularly detective fiction and nonfiction.
From the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction article “Ye Yonglie“
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This translation blog has several other translations related to science fiction in China.
- 2021: Chinese SF/Ham Radio Web Novel: We Live in Nanjing
- 2023: Mao and Confucius Meet Marx
- 2017: SF Hugo Winner Liu Cixin: Tough Road Ahead for Traditional Science Fiction
- 2014: Alien Help is On the Way!
The first article is translated from a PRC academic journal on translation studies — Research on Translations From Chinese 中译外研究
Chinese translation and foreign research magazine is by the People’s Republic of China News and Publication Administration. Founded in 2003, Studies in Chinese Translation and Foreign Studies (Semi-annual) takes Chinese translation and foreign studies as its object of research, focuses on the foreign translation of Chinese-English, Chinese-Japanese, Chinese-Russian and other languages, summarizes and refines the theories and principles suitable for Chinese translation and foreign studies, and depicts and explains the phenomenon of translation. To realize this purpose. Studies in Chinese Translation and Foreign Languages features columns on literature translation, literary translation, cultural translation, criticism of translations, academic debates, translation teaching, practical translation, and translation policy.
I have added some URL links to the translation. I tried to work back to the original English titles of the science fiction works translated into Chinese but only found some of them.
The Three Waves of Translation of American Science Fiction Since the Beginning of the New Period
Source: Chinese Translation Studies, Column: Journal Digest, Date: June 22, 2021
来源：中译外研究 栏目：期刊导读 时间：2021-06-22
In 1900, the couple Chen Yiru and Xue Shaohui translated Jules Verne’s science fiction novel “Around the World in Eighty Days”. Translated based on the English version, the book was presented in the form of chapters and rendered in classical Chinese, making this first translated science fiction novel in China particularly relevant. The brave and witty British gentleman Phileas Fogg also became a widely circulated image of a science fiction character. By 1906, the book had been reprinted three times, marking the beginning of the introduction of Western science fiction into China and the start of a century-long journey of translation.
According to preliminary statistics, mainland China has translated and published more than two thousand science fiction novels from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Japan, and Russia. The United States, being the center of world science fiction, has the largest number of translated works. Since the founding of New China, over 70 years ago, there have been more than a thousand translations of American science fiction novels, which account for half of the total number of translated foreign science fiction works. The term “American science fiction novels” in this article refers to works of science fiction created by authors with American nationality and registered copyrights in the United States. Works created by non-American authors but registered in the United States are not discussed here. For example, the work “Rendezvous with Rama” by the British science fiction writer Clarke was registered in the United States, and its first edition was published in 1974. In 1980, the work was translated by Cai Nande based on the seventh printing edition by Houghton Mifflin Company in September 1976 and published by Guangdong Science and Technology Press. Similar cases will be discussed separately.
Looking at the period from 1949 to 1979, the concentrated translation of science fiction novels occurred in the first decade after the founding of New China. There were over 30 translations of Soviet science fiction novels and over 10 translations of Verne’s novels during this period. However, the translation of Soviet science fiction ceased due to the deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations in the early 1960s. Translations from other countries were scarce, with only one American science fiction novel translated into the mainland in 1957. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party held in 1978, marking the beginning of the thawing of translation work and laid the groundwork for the translation and publication work in the 1980s.
The translation and publication of American science fiction novels on a large scale began in 1980. It experienced two peaks in 1981 and 1992, a turning point in 1997, and then entered a period of sustained prosperity. In terms of both the number of translations and the influence generated in mainland China, American science fiction ranked first among foreign translated science fiction. These translated science fiction novels have had a significant impact on Chinese science fiction writers in terms of themes, narrative styles, and creative imagination. This article takes three key time points of translation waves of American science fiction as the framework, while also examining adjacent years, to analyze representative translated works of each period and attempt to elucidate the underlying reasons behind the translation activities of American science fiction novels. The history of translation of American science fiction novels in China to some extent reflects the situation of foreign science fiction translation in China, providing insights into the history of science fiction translation.
I. “The Springtime of Science” and the Dawning Light
(1) Overview of the Translation of American Science Fiction in the 1980s
The early 1980s was a peak period for the translation of foreign science fiction in mainland China, with the total number of translated science fiction novels surpassing the sum of the previous 70 years, especially during the period from 1979 to 1984. During the 1980s, mainland China introduced and published nearly 60 single-volume editions of American science fiction novels. 1981 saw the most translations of American science fiction novels throughout the entire 1980s, with a total of 17 published. However, by 1982, the translation of American science fiction novels transitioned from prosperity to a downturn, with only five published. At the end of 1983, there was the “Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign,” which also affected the translation of American science fiction novels, resulting in only four being published that year. This downturn persisted until the late 1980s, with few translations being published.
During this period, themes of translated American science fiction works included interstellar wars (such as “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “The Flying Saucer Story,” “Alien Adventures“), biotechnology (“Human Replication – Asexual Reproduction of a Person,” “Cryogenics,” “Dream of Hitler’s Rebirth,” “The Immortal”), political science fiction (“Double Star”), and steampunk (“The Synthetic Man”). Works with themes of time travel and apocalyptic disasters were relatively rare. There were many translations that fused science fiction with elements of detective and thriller genres (such as “The Titanic Secret,” “Murder in Space Town,” “Mystery of the Six-Hour Disappearance,” “Man-Beast Mystery”); there were also some translations of children’s science fiction (such as “Little Gadgets from Space,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Adventures in the Caribbean,” “Spaceship Under the Apple Tree“).
In the 1980s, 29 publishing houses participated in the translation and publication of American science fiction. Guangdong Science and Technology Press, Ocean Press, and Hunan People’s Publishing House were the main players in organizing the translation and publication during this period. In the early 1980s, Guangdong Science and Technology Press organized the publication of the “Science Fiction Translation Series,” which specialized in translating foreign science fiction novels, including “Murder in Space Town” and “Perspective Detective” among others. In addition to translated novels, each issue of the series also included a short essay introducing world-renowned science fiction writers and some translated articles outlining the current development status of world science fiction. Ocean Press was established in 1978. In the early 1980s, under the leadership of Sun Shaobo and Wang Shihan, Ocean Press played a leading role in promoting the revival and prosperity of Chinese science fiction publishing.
In 1981, Ocean Press published “Cryogenics,” “Alien Adventures,” “Undersea City,” and “The Titanic Secret.” In the same year, Ocean Press launched “Ocean of Science Fiction,” becoming the first large-scale science fiction anthology published in China, mainly featuring domestic science fiction while also translating some foreign science fiction classics. From 1981 to 1983, “Ocean of Science Fiction” published six issues before ceasing publication. Hunan People’s Publishing House was one of the earliest local publishing houses to promote the translation of foreign literature. The publishing house established a strong translation editing department and, from 1980 to 1986, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Zhu Zheng and director of the translation department Tang Yinsun, made efforts to create best-selling classics. They focused on translating and publishing foreign science fiction novels, including works by Japanese science fiction writer Hoshi Shinichi and Lucas’s “Star Wars,” with considerable print runs. In 1980, the first edition of “Star Wars” published by Hunan People’s Publishing House had a print run of 300,000 copies, remaining the highest print run among translated foreign science fiction novels to this day.
From 1980 to 1990 was the first decade after China’s reform and opening up, a period of vigorous development in the publishing industry with a significant increase in the variety and quantity of books published. At that time, both domestic science fiction novels and translated science fiction novels had considerable print runs: “Moonlight Island” (Geological Publishing House) published in 1981 had a print run of 65,280 copies; Ye Yonglie’s “Little Pagers Roaming the Future” had a total print run of 3 million copies. According to the author’s statistics, nearly all American science fiction translations before 1985 had print runs of over 10,000 copies, a trend that began to decline after 1985. Cheng Meihua pointed out in “An Overview of Publishing History in the New Period (1978-2008)” that, “Since reaching the highest print run in history in 1985, the publishing industry in our country has gradually declined.” The trend in print runs of American science fiction translations in the 1980s undoubtedly mirrored this trend: the average print run of the 17 American science fiction novels published in 1981 was 43,000 copies; Michael Crichton’s “Congo” was translated by Guangdong Science and Technology Press and Guangdong Science Popularization Press in 1980, with print runs of 180,000 and 85,000 copies respectively; Clive Cussler’s “The Titanic Mystery” (Ocean Press, 1981) had a print run of 120,000 copies.
(2) 1981: A Mini Peak in Translation After the Thaw
1981 marked the first peak year of translation after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Most of the works translated and published this year were from the “Golden Age” of American science fiction, spanning from the 1940s to the 1960s. During this period, writers such as Isaac Asimov, Clifford D. Simak, and Clive Cussler were among the most translated authors.
Isaac Asimov’s novels accounted for 6 of the translated works, including titles such as The Caves of Steel, I, Robot, and Fantastic Voyage. Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House published The Caves of Steel, which included the titular novel and four short stories like “Are We in Breeding?” All of these were works by Asimov published after the 1960s. The Caves of Steel describes the psychological reactions of various characters on a spaceship returning to Earth after being hijacked by extraterrestrials from space. The story revolves around the protagonist Marlin, who cleverly fights off the extraterrestrials and returns to his hometown on Earth. This novel raises questions about relationships between people and between humans and extraterrestrials. I, Robot includes 8 stories that ingeniously revolve around the “Three Laws of Robotics. Fantastic Voyage is a medium-length science fiction story rewritten by Asimov based on the movie of the same name. The protagonist, Grant, recruits a scientist from the opposing side who holds advanced technology. During the mission, the scientist’s skull is injured, causing confusion. To save him, Grant and five others board a submarine, use miniaturization technology to shrink to the size of bacteria, and inject themselves into the scientist’s arteries. They undergo a fantastic journey through the bloodstream, heart, lungs, ears, and brain, finally completing the rescue mission. The story is thrilling and captivating, not only popularizing knowledge of human physiology but also praising the dedication of scientists.
Clifford D. Simak’s novels, “Strange Station” and “The Goblins’ Caves,” were both translated and published in 1981. Entitled “Strange Station” in Chinese (originally titled “Way Station”) was one of the author’s finest science fiction novels, created in 1963 and winning the 1964 Hugo Award. It revolves around a mysterious interstellar transit station established by the Galactic Galactic Headquarters on Earth within the Milky Way galaxy. “The Goblins Reservation,” published by Jiangsu Science and Technology Publishing House, was translated based from the Russian edition published by Moscow’s “Mir Publishing House in 1978. Written in 1968, it includes five science fiction stories such as “The Goblins’ Caves,” “Who’s in the Depths,” and “Neighbor.” The author uses rich imagination to lead seemingly bizarre and thrilling stories, which, however, contain praise for the victory of beauty over ugliness, goodness over evil, and praise for progress and upward mobility. Clifford D. Simak was an outstanding contemporary American science fiction writer. He had two distinct creative tendencies: advocating for intervention in reality to express profound social themes, and imbuing his works with a strong pastoral atmosphere. As a representative of “pastoral science fiction,” he advocated for harmony between people and between humans and nature, expressing opposition to urbanization and longing for rural life.
Dean of American thriller writers, Clive Cussler, had two translated works published in 1981: “The Titanic Mystery” by Ocean Press and “Shipwreck in the North Sea” by Sichuan People’s Publishing House, both part of his “Dirk Pitt Series.” Cussler began writing in 1965, and he has released dozens of popular action thriller works, establishing himself as a master of contemporary American thriller novels. Most of his works feature Dirk Pitt, a resourceful and courageous ocean engineer and explorer, engaging in adventures or investigations mostly related to the ocean. These activities collectively form the “Dirk Pitt Series” of works. The Titanic Mystery (originally written in 1976) depicts a fierce competition between the US and the Soviet Union over the sunken ship “Titanic” to obtain strategic rare elements.
(3) Motivation: “The Springtime of Science” Brings the Spring of Translation
After the fall of the Gang of Four, Chinese science fiction experienced a second wave of enthusiasm, which lasted from 1976 to 1983, an important period of concentrated publication of science fiction books. Five specialized science fiction magazines emerged during this time, surpassing the levels of the Soviet Union, Japan, and the UK. Writers such as Zheng Wenguang 郑文光 and Ye Yonglie 叶永烈, representing the “The Rising Generation” of science fiction writers, were active in their literary creations. Science fiction literature also received a degree of recognition from the mainstream literary community. Ye Yonglie’s story “Corrosion,” published in the 11th issue of China’s top official literary magazine “Renmin Wenxue” in 1981, was only a few votes away from winning the Chinese National Excellent Short Story Award that year. Translation activities in science fiction also flourished during this period. However, the revival of translation started later than the domestic science fiction creation, generally beginning in 1978. Translated works were finally published and made available in 1980, reaching a peak in 1981.
The National Scientific Conference held in 1978 brought about “The Springtime of Science,” undoubtedly providing momentum for the development of science fiction and leading to the emergence of the dawn of science fiction in 1981—both domestic science fiction creation and the translation of foreign science fiction saw the introduction of works by excellent authors. However, the movement to “eliminate spiritual pollution” initiated in 1983 brought an end to the fervor of the golden period of science fiction. Both domestic and translation activities gradually quieted down and entered a period of silence.
In addition to the political environment, the impact of film adaptations was also an important factor affecting translation and publication. American science fiction films experienced a second peak in the 1970s, following the 1950s. From 1971 to 1980, 4 out of the top 8 highest-grossing films in the United States were science fiction: “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “Superman.” Their influence can be seen in the translation of science fiction novels in the 1980s. Furthermore, Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” (1980) was adapted from the film of the same name, while Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1980) was derived from the movie of the same name. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” was a children’s science fiction film directed by Spielberg, premiered in the United States on June 11, 1982. In 1984, four publishers including Zhejiang Children’s Publishing House and Hebei People’s Publishing House translated and published the science fiction novel “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” The rush to translate these films indicates their deep penetration into people’s hearts and wide popularity, leading to unnecessary retranslations. The examples mentioned above illustrate how the film industry chain and the literary industry chain are interrelated and mutually reinforcing.
II. The Boom of the Commodity Economy and Science Fiction
(1) Overview of Translations in the 1990s
During the three-year period from 1990 to 1992, there was a small peak in the translation and publication of American science fiction novels, with a total of 46 translated works. 1992 marked a year of eruption following a relatively low period of translation in the mid to late 1980s. At that time, while science fiction books were relatively scarce, various publishing houses across the country, especially those catering to children and teenagers, began publishing science fiction literature, which was quite remarkable.
One notable characteristic of translation publications in the early 1990s was the emergence of series and collections, with a focus on creating translated classics for the children and youth readership. These included series such as “World Science Fiction Masterpieces” compiled by Fujian Children’s Publishing House, “Foreign Science Fiction Novel Translations” by Jiangsu Children’s Publishing House, “World Science Fiction Masterpieces Library” by Zhejiang Science and Technology Publishing House, “Foreign Science Fiction Novel Collections” by Henan People’s Publishing House, and “World Science Fiction Masterpieces Stories” by Hebei Science and Technology Publishing House, among others. In 1992, a total of 25 American science fiction novels were translated and published, with 13 of them being translated by publishers specializing in children and youth literature, including Fujian Children’s Publishing House, Anhui Children’s Publishing House, and Jiangsu Children’s Publishing House.
Fujian Children’s Publishing House, established in 1984, emerged from the Youth Literature Editing Department of Fujian People’s Publishing House. In 1990, Chen Xiaodong, who had previously served as the director of the Literature and Art Editing Department of Fujian Children’s Publishing House, recognized the potential for a revival of science fiction despite the sluggish market for children’s literature and science fiction novels. He boldly planned and organized a five-year thematic selection for the “World Science Fiction Masterpieces Series,” focusing on translating and introducing modern and contemporary science fiction novels from the United States, Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, and other countries. This series quickly became a bestseller among young readers and gradually dominated the science fiction book market. It has since published over 30 editions, with a total circulation of over one million copies, and has won numerous awards, being recognized by the China Publishing Association as the “best-selling literary book.” This series has become a classic case in the history of science fiction publishing. The “World Science Fiction Masterpieces Series” covers themes such as human evolution and mutation, exploration of the cosmos and alien life forms, time and space transformation and adventures in strange worlds, ecological balance disruption leading to disasters, and scientific practices and future societies. This series of American science fiction translations was published intensively from 1990 to 1992, covering works such as “The Martian Princess,” “Chasing the Wandering Stars,” “The Spaceship Skylark,” “Aliens,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “The Conspiracy to Overthrow the Empire,” “The Jewel in the Skull,” “The Bicameral Man,” and “The Robot Who Served.”
The “World Science Fiction Masterpieces Library” by Zhejiang Science and Technology Publishing House, “Foreign Science Fiction Novel Translations” by Jiangsu Children’s Publishing House, and “Foreign Science Fiction Novel Collections” by Henan People’s Publishing House were all edited by Guo Jianzhong. Representative works in these three series include “Robots of the Dawn World,” “Robots and the Galactic Empire,” “Naked Sun – Alien Suspicion,” “Great Scientist Ralph,” “Mother Earth,” and “Alien Visitors.” Guo Jianzhong, a professor in the Foreign Language Department of Hangzhou University, has been engaged in the translation and research of science fiction novels alongside his teaching career. He has won the Chapek Translation Award and the Science Fiction Translation Golden Bridge Award. In the preface to the science fiction translation series published by Henan People’s Publishing House, titled “Science Fiction Novels: Literature of the Scientific Era,” Guo Jianzhong wrote, “The current decline of science fiction novels in China is highly inappropriate for the era we live in. The Science Fiction Novel Research Center at Hangzhou University, where I teach, is committed to translating excellent foreign science fiction novels to contribute to the revitalization and prosperity of science fiction novel creation, translation, and research in our country.”
New Bud Publishing House was established in Tianjin in September 1979 and was also an important comprehensive professional publisher specializing in children’s literature at that time. In the early 1990s, the company published novels such as “Capturing Thieves on Giant Stars,” “Exploring the Whistling Planet,” “Space Pursuit Battle with Pirates,” and “Galactic Adventure Series” as part of its “Cosmic Science Fantasy Series.”
(2) 1992: Blossoming Amidst Gradual Development
In the early 1990s, while continuing the translation path of classical science fiction from the 1980s, the selection of translated works shifted more towards children’s science fiction. Overall, most translated works were characterized by tense rhythms and vivid plots. Looking at the year with the highest number of translations during this period, 1992, works by Isaac Asimov still dominated, with 5 titles. Following closely were works by Michael Crichton, Hugo Gernsback, and Clifford D. Simak.
Isaac Asimov’s translated work Mother Earth was less than 30,000 words and depicted the story of Earthlings, who were despised, preparing to rise again and establish a new Galactic Empire. After this book, Asimov consciously began to combine science fiction with detective fiction, creating a new branch and territory for science fiction – science fiction detective novels. The “Robot Science Fiction Detective Series” novels are his most successful representative works. In 1992, the series, including The Naked Sun, Robots of the Dawn, and Robots and Empire, were translated and published. The Naked Sun (published by Zhejiang Science and Technology Publishing House
in 1992) predicted artificial gene transplantation, which has now become a reality, with genetic engineering gradually becoming one of the leading sciences of modern times.
Michael Crichton, with an educational background in literature, archaeology, and medicine, clearly laid a solid foundation for his science fiction writing with his diverse knowledge base. His works possess the characteristics of bestsellers: intense pace, full of crisis, and filled with suspense. The translations of Sphere and “The Terminal Man” in 1992 exemplify these traits. “The Terminal Man” tells the story of computer expert Benson accidentally developing a terrible temporal lobe epilepsy and undergoing surgery to implant electrodes into his brain by the hospital, thus becoming a dual-brain person with both human and computer brains, and committing a series of crimes as a result. This science fiction novel reveals the complexity of the human brain and the limitations of human knowledge, prompting deep reflection on why this disaster could not be avoided. Crichton’s novels are characterized by their readability and thought-provoking nature. From 1994 to 1996, his works Jurassic Park,” “Terminal Man,” “Sphere,” and “The Lost World” were also successively translated and published.
One translated work in 1992 stood out as different in its popular science fiction genre – Hugo Gernsback‘s Ralph 124C 41+.” This novel, serialized in “Modern Electrics” magazine starting in 1911, although seeming to have more science than literature, undoubtedly made a significant contribution to inheriting and developing the tradition of “technical science fiction novels” pioneered by Jules Verne. It strictly predicts technological miracles in the year 2660 based on real scientific foundations, making this novel an endless source of material for a generation of science fiction writers.
(3) Motivator: Changes in Copyright Environment Lead to a Surge in Publishing
In addition to the eruption of American science fiction translations in 1992, translations from Japan and the UK also reached a small peak in annual publication history in that year. A large number of science fiction works with distinct characteristics for children were translated, and there were three main reasons behind this:
Firstly, the change in the copyright environment led to a surge in publishing. 1992 was the year when China aligned with the international copyright system. On October 14th of that year, China became the 93rd member country to join the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works , the most comprehensive international copyright protection treaty in the world, signaling that China’s intellectual property protection system had reached a synchronized level with the world. Another international copyright protection organization China joined, The Universal Copyright Convention , also came into effect on October 30th, 1992. This meant that the era of freely translating foreign works without regard for copyright was over, and acquiring translation rights now required payment. Many publishing houses, considering costs, preemptively published accumulated translations before the signing of international copyright protection treaties, becoming the primary cause of the surge in publishing in 1992.
In 1993, the Chinese book market seemed not to adapt well to the newly joined copyright treaty environment, with only a few American science fiction novels translated and published that year.
Secondly, there was stimulation from the political and economic environment. In the 1990s, especially after 1991, significant changes occurred in Chinese society. Deng Xiaoping’s Southern Tour speech at the beginning of 1992 corrected the course of reform once again, leading to rapid development in Chinese social life, scientific and technological progress, and the gradual prosperity of the market economy. From 1992 to 1997, China’s exports grew at an average annual rate of 27.7%. At the same time, the average annual growth rate of foreign direct investment in China exceeded 30%. These changes stimulated book publishing activities in the 1990s. Under the backdrop of a market economy, publishers realized the huge profit potential of children’s book industry—low investment, fast turnover, and a vast readership.
Thirdly, there was a slight improvement in the overall environment for Chinese science fiction in the early 1990s, laying the foundation for science fiction translations. The first Chengdu International Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference was held in 1991, drawing international attention to China’s science fiction scene and stimulating the publication of science fiction translations. In the same year as the World Science Fiction Convention, “Science Fiction World” unveiled its new name. The overall improvement in the environment promoted the development of domestic science fiction literature and translation activities, leading to a surge in excellent original science fiction novels and translations.
(3) Surging Translations and the Post-“Three-Body Problem” Era
After 1997: An Overview of Translations
After the peak in 1992, until before 1997, the overall translation of American science fiction novels remained relatively low. 1997 marked a turning point from the slump towards prosperity. From 2000, the domestic publishing industry began to decline, with only 10 types of American science fiction translated that year. However, the trend stabilized and gradually increased until reaching 100 types annually by 2015. According to statistics, from 1997 to 2017, over a period of 20 years, more than 1,000 American science fiction novels were translated and published in China, with an average annual translation of about 50 types. The rise and fall of translation activities are generally positively correlated with the trend of Chinese science fiction.
The “new generation of Chinese science fiction writers” also emerged in the 1990s, with a substantial increase in the quantity of works. Since 2012, the publication of original Chinese science fiction books has also exceeded 100 titles annually. Like opening a floodgate, various science fiction genres, including time travel, apocalyptic disasters, alternate history, space operas, and cyberpunk, surged after 1997. The most translated authors in the past twenty years are Isaac Asimov, James Gunn, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, Clayton, Jude Watson, Ray Bradbury, and L. Ron Hubbard. Through their works, Chinese science fiction readers have gained insight into the overall landscape of contemporary American science fiction novels, and Chinese science fiction truly completed its integration with the mainstream of world science fiction during this period.
After 1997, major publishing houses nationwide competed to develop a variety of science fiction translation series, targeting children’s readership. The emphasis was on selection and presentation, with readability being the main criterion: “Contemporary World Science Fiction Classics Library” (Hebei Children’s Publishing House), “Adventurous Science Fiction Novels for Youth” (Times Literature Press), “Illustrated Science Fiction Classics Series” (Shanghai Science and Technology Education Press), as well as systematic presentations of the development of science fiction such as “The Road of Science Fiction” (Fujian Children’s Publishing House) and “Contemporary Foreign Popular Fiction Masterpieces Series” (Yilin Publishing House), and “American Award-winning Science Fiction Series” (Wanjuan Publishing Company)…… Overall, the situation of science fiction publishing by technology publishing houses and children’s publishing houses in the late 1980s and early 1990s has changed. Some mainstream literary publishing houses, university presses, and private book companies have also included science fiction in their business scope.
Sichuan Science and Technology Press, People’s Literature Publishing House, and Duokoo are the top three institutions publishing the most American science fiction translations. Sichuan Science and Technology Press’ “21st Century Science Fiction Master Series” and “World Popular Science Fiction Series,” People’s Literature Publishing House’s “Star Wars Series” and Dan Brown’s works series, and Duokoo’s cooperation with Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House to produce the “Duokoo Global Top-selling Novel Library” were the leading science fiction series during this period. The latest foreign science fiction novels, such as the annual “Best American Science Fiction Selection,” were translated and introduced into China at the fastest speed. All these indicate that Chinese science fiction literature was emerging from a trough and moving towards prosperity. (Reference: Fan Desheng, Wang Xiaofang: “Who is Speaking – China Cultural Yearbook (2001 Edition)”, Lanzhou: Lanzhou University Press, 2001 edition, page 161).
Compared with the early 1980s, the sales of translated works after 1997 could not be expected to be as high, but there was a slight increase compared to the early 1990s. According to data monitored by Beijing Open Book Information Technology Co., Ltd. in December 2017, the top five best-selling American science fiction translations after 1998 were respectively “The Martian” in the Yilin Fantasy Series, “Foundation” and “Isaac Asimov: The End of Eternity” in the Duokoo “Global Top-selling Novel Library”, “Ender’s Game” in the “Global Top Science Fiction Master Series” by Guangxi Science and Technology Press, and “2012 Maya End of Days Prophecy” by Wanjuan Publishing Company, all selling over 50,000 copies, with “The Martian” ranking first with sales of nearly 90,000 copies, showing that film and television culture remains a powerful influencing factor.
In 1999: The First Peak After the Turning Point
After the turning point of 1997, there was a peak in translations in 1999, the year with the most introduced works. The most introduced authors of that year were Frederick Pohl, L. Ron Hubbard, James Gunn, and Ray Bradbury, with publishers mainly focusing on the representative works of these authors or specific series.
Pohl created more than 50 works in his lifetime. In “Billion Year Party: Western Science Fiction History”, Brian Aldiss referred to Pohl as one of the seven giants in the field of science fiction literature, alongside Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Herbert, and others. Pohl won the Hugo Award four times and the Nebula Award three times. However, his works were not translated until 1998, when Hebei Children’s Publishing House translated them into the “Contemporary World Science Fiction Classics” series (edited by Wang Fengzhen and Kou Xiaowei). This series introduced two of his novels: “The Day the Martians Came” and “Starchild Trilogy”. In 1999, Sichuan Science and Technology Press began translating American science fiction novels, planning the “21st Century Science Fiction Master Series“. Pohl was the first choice for this series, and five of his representative novels were selected for translation: “The Space Merchants” (1953), “Wolfbane” (1959), “Man Plus” (1976), “Jem” (1979), and “Narabedla Ltd.” (1988). “The Space Merchants” and “Wolfbane” represent his early writing style, with a strong sense of black humor; while his works from the 1970s, “Man Plus” and “Jem”, absorbed the concepts and techniques of the New Wave science fiction, with both books winning the Nebula Award and the American National Book Award.
L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of the golden age of American science fiction. Like many best-selling novels, his works blend elements of mystery, action, psychology, and involve various fields such as society, culture, art, philosophy, and economics. Due to his establishment of “Scientology“, Hubbard and his works have been controversial, but this did not affect the translation of his works, also indicating a relatively relaxed publishing environment. From 1997 to 1999, Hainan Publishing House released the “Battlefield Earth” and “Mission Earth Series” (10 volumes), with Battlefield Earth being translated after it had already sold 3 million copies in the United States. In 1998, Times Literature Press launched the “James Gunn Thrilling Science Fiction Series”.
James Gunn’s science fiction works were published by Hebei Science and Technology Press and Henan People’s Publishing House. After publishing the “Foreign Science Fiction Novel Translation Series” in the early 1990s, Henan People’s Publishing House released the “James Gunn Science Fiction Masterpieces Collection” in 1999. This series was personally selected by Mr. Gunn and includes six collections of novellas and short stories: “The Joy Makers” (1964), “The Immortals” (1970), “The End of the Dream” (1972), “The Joy Makers” (1974), “Breaking Point” (1975), and “Human Voices” (1997). Mr. James Gunn wrote an introductory preface for each collection. Many works in this collection later developed into novels, giving us a glimpse into their prototypes.
In addition, other representative works published in 1999 include “Ray Bradbury’s Dinosaur Stories” and “Isaac Asimov’s Robot Series Beyond Time and Space” by Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House, as well as the “Illustrated Science Fiction Classics Series” by Shanghai Science and Technology Education Publishing House. Looking at the above, although translations from 1997 to 1999 were still mainly from the golden age authors, there was a trend towards gradual openness, with translations of authors from more genres and different types of works being systematically introduced, and an increased awareness of science fiction translation branding by publishing houses. Sichuan Science and Technology Press also made its debut in the first wave after “97”, cooperating with “Science Fiction World” and becoming the publisher that has organized the most translations and publications of American science fiction novels to date.
(3) Motivator: Boost from the World Science Fiction Convention and the Post-“Three Body Problem” Era
The period from 1997 to 1999 witnessed another peak in the translation of American science fiction novels, following the highs of the early 1980s and early 1990s. Why did 1997 become a turning point, and why did the subsequent two years see consecutive increases? The direct reason behind this can be traced to the convening of the 1997 Beijing International Science Fiction Convention with the theme “Science, Science Fiction, Peace, and Development”. Over 200 writers, scientists, and science fiction enthusiasts from China, the United States, Russia, Japan, Australia, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong, gathered at the China Science and Technology Hall for the convention. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as how science fiction reflects scientific advancements, social changes, and space exploration. This marked a shift in perception away from the negative labels of “fantasy” and “pseudoscience” associated with science fiction.
At the time, over a hundred domestic and international media outlets covered the event, including Time magazine from the United States. An interesting phenomenon was that authors were in the minority among attendees, with editors comprising the majority. After the convention, publishing houses across the country began competing to release new science fiction series. In 1997 alone, plans were made to publish over 50 new Chinese science fiction books. Correspondingly, translation activities in science fiction also advanced rapidly, almost instantaneously. According to my statistics, the number of translations of American science fiction novels reached 57 in 1998, surpassing the number translated in any previous year and almost equaling the total number of translations of American science fiction novels throughout the 1980s.
The advancement of technology coincides with the prosperity of science fiction, which to some extent serves as a barometer of scientific and technological development. The science and technology news of 1997, including the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the chess match between grandmaster Garry Kasparov and the computer “Deep Blue”, and the landing of the Mars Pathfinder, made people feel that life was getting closer to “science fiction”, thereby increasing interest in this genre of literature. Readers looked forward to satisfying their curiosity and desires for “other worlds” through reading science fiction literature, especially American science fiction novels, which were perceived to be at the forefront of scientific and technological advancements.
“Science Fiction World”‘s support of Chinese science fiction authors began to bear fruit after 1997, with new-generation science fiction writers such as Wang Jinkang and Xinghe publishing a series of excellent works. Liu Cixin also began publishing works in 1999, and science fiction formed a small group culture. The unexpected collision between the essay topic for the 1999 college entrance examination “If Memory Could Be Implanted” and the science fiction novel about memory implantation by “Science Fiction World” prompted people to start paying attention to the cultivation of imagination in young people. Reading science fiction undoubtedly has become an excellent way of doing this.
The awards received by “Three Body” and the series of science fiction conventions further fueled the momentum of science fiction. In 2007, the “2007 International Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention” was held in Chengdu. in August 2015,Liu Cixin won the “Hugo Award” for the best long story with his science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem, which not only invigorated the niche circle of science fiction enthusiasts but, more importantly, attracted people outside the circle who had previously not paid attention to science fiction.
People further realized the importance of nurturing the imagination of young people and elevated it to the strategic level concerning the future of the nation. They also saw that the industrial chain derived from science fiction, including publishing, film and television, games, and theme parks, was an important driving force for the growth of the cultural industry. In 2016, the China Association for Science and Technology hosted the China Science Fiction Convention; in 2017, the International Science Fiction Convention was held in Chengdu, with strong support from the China Association for Science and Technology, the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology, Tencent, the China International Science and Technology Exchange Center, and the China Science Writers Association. The China Association for Science and Technology and the Sichuan Association for Science and Technology, representing the Will of the State, appeared on the list of supporting organizations, forming a collaborative model of cooperation between science fiction journal publishers and organizations representing “official” identities, as well as internet media platforms. In the post-“Three Body Problem” era, the flame of science fiction has been burn even more vigorously, and the exchange of science fiction translations in China has become increasingly prosperous. From 2015 to 2017, the average number of translated American science fiction novels per year approached 100, reaching an unprecedented peak.
Conclusion
In the 40-year history of translating American science fiction into Chinese, over a hundred publishing houses translated and published American science fiction novels, with over a thousand works from more than 300 authors translated, involving over 600 translators. Among them, 1997 was a year of significant transition. Not only did the quantity of translated works increase significantly, but the range of translated genres also expanded, including not only continued translations of works exploring outer space from the golden age but also more translations of new wave, cyberpunk, and other types of works, involving psychology, sociology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and other “inward-looking” characteristics.
By meticulously examining the translation history of American science fiction novels in different periods in the new era, we can see the characteristics of science fiction literature translation in each period, understand how technological development, political environment, economic prosperity or decline, and science fiction activities influence translation activities, how publishing houses participate in production, and how translators “implant” science fiction ideas, narrative structures, and creative techniques into China’s journey of science fiction.
The advancement of science fiction translation has constructed a world context for the development of Chinese science fiction literature. The translation of American science fiction novels is not a cultural translation activity detached from the trajectory of Chinese science fiction development; on the contrary, it represents a certain aspect of the development of Chinese science fiction literature creation. The development of science fiction literature is largely constrained by the comprehensive national strength, especially the level of scientific and technological development, and the translation of science fiction in each period is closely related to the social and cultural context of China, political and economic demands for science fiction at that time. The Hugo Award for “The Three-Body Problem” in 2015 brought Chinese science fiction into the spotlight of the world science fiction, also promoted exchanges between Chinese and foreign science fiction. In the post-“Three Body Problem” era, Chinese science fiction has gradually evolved from science fiction texts to science fiction films, games, becoming a new growth point in popular culture.
The success of the 2019 film “The Wandering Earth,” based on Liu Cixin’s novel of the same name, is a testament to this. The growth and development of the science fiction industry will inevitably lead to more new demands, triggering a desire for self-transformation in science fiction literature. When domestic original literature fails to provide timely and effective exemplary texts, foreign literature becomes a reference point, and the exchange between Chinese and foreign science fiction activities is promoted. In the process of advancing translation activities, in addition to following the trend and starting with publishing houses that introduce foreign science fiction, editors who truly understand science fiction are more involved in translation projects. They begin to comprehensively plan translation topics and publishing activities. As a result, works by authors who may not be as famous and have not been adapted into film or television, but still hold significant importance in the history of science fiction literature, are being introduced. To this day, this corrective work continues, marking a significant milestone in the maturation of science fiction translation activities.
Article source: CTS Website: http://zywyj.400zhicheng.com/lunwen/itemid-52837.shtml
Ye Yonglie, My Spiritual Teacher
By The Sound of Wind and Cloud
2020-10-05 09:23:28
Posted by Anhui Knowledge Officer Deputy Director, Science Communication Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences
His work is still popular today, while no one reads the articles that criticized him back then.
In science fiction creation, I have several spiritual mentors. The foreigners are Verne, Belyaev and Crichton, and the Chinese is Ye Yonglie. Studying and reading their works for a long time made me determine my writing direction.
I grew up in a research compound with a reading room in the office building and subscriptions to children’s science fiction magazines. This exposed me to sci-fi early, early enough to read Ye Yonglie’s first science fiction novel, Petrolatum, published in 1976. At the time, I don’t remember the author at all, except that the novel was about scientists using superbugs to dewax petroleum and then process it into milk powder and egg whites. For a kid who ate food, this kind of “tongue-in-cheek science fiction” made a deep impression on me.
At that time, there was also a copy of “One Hundred Thousand Whys” 《十万个为什么》at home. Again, I didn’t realize that a few percent of those words came from the pen of Ye Yonglie.
When I was in middle school, I began to consciously choose science fiction. At that time, I had already heard of “Little Sentinel Wandering into the Future“, but I thought that it was just a fairy tale book, and I was a teenager, so how could I read such a childish work? In 2009, I was invited to edit Ye Yonglie’s anthology, and when I saw those familiar plots in “Little Sentinel Wandering into the Future,” I realized that I must have read this book in elementary school, only that I didn’t remember the title at that time.
Then it was even more obvious that Ye Yonglie had written certain works of science fiction, such as The Strange Sick Man, which I had also read as a child. In this way, Ye Yonglie’s works were imprinted in my brain when I had no idea who the author was.
It was not until 1995 that I first consciously read Ye Yonglie’s books, not science fiction, but biographies of political figures. In these works, Ye Yonglie displayed a warped and majestic style of writing, very different from his writing in his popular science works for children. No wonder some people thought that the one who wrote the biography was another Ye Yonglie back then. I started to become a fan of his because of these biographies.
By the time I entered the science fiction circle, Ye Yonglie had faded out for a long time, and we only met twice in 2004. One was when the Fujian Children’s Society launched the World Science Fiction Expo, inviting several generations of science fiction writers, young and old, to contribute their ideas. At the meeting, I met Ye Yonglie for the first time. I had the impression that this person who wrote a lot of words talked very little and slowly.
Toward the end of that year, a certain company in Beijing published a fantasy series and invited Mr. Ye to attend a symposium through me. For this reason, I spent my only time alone with Mr. Ye. During that time, he and I talked a lot about his creative feelings. The words I remember most clearly were to the effect that his works are still popular today, while no one reads the articles that criticized him back then. These words became my stabilizer, and from then on I didn’t care about any attacks.
In 2009, the Tangshan Municipal Committee invited Feng Xiaogang to shoot a city promotional film. The Tianjin Creative Industry Association also received a similar task, wanting to make a science fiction film to publicize Tianjin, and asked me to come up with a plan. I said, we don’t need to plan a new story, we can directly adapt “Little Smart Wanderer” and change “the future city” to “future Tianjin”. I put forward an adaptation plan, which was approved by the other party, and then I helped them contact Mr. Ye to discuss the purchase of copyright.
This was also the last time I dealt with Mr. Ye, and unfortunately, the project did not get off the ground later. To this day, the book that influenced a generation has not been brought to the screen.
II. A Colorful Life
This is a text written for sci-fi fans, so I want to talk specifically about Ye Yonglie outside of sci-fi. Because I think that today’s generation of sci-fi authors has too little life experience compared to Mr. Ye and his group.
Ye Yonglie’s career started from a very high point, writing poems at the age of ten and publishing books in his twenties, needless to say. During the Cultural Revolution, as part of the “abolition of bourgeois legal rights”, publishers stopped paying for manuscripts. Under these circumstances, Ye Yonglie actually published ten books of popular science! The payment was only the manuscript paper. Evidently, writing was not only a profession for him, but also a real hobby.
Because of this, when Shanghai Children’s Society resumed operation after the Cultural Revolution and was in urgent need of works, it got in contact this author who persisted in submitting articles. His work was swiftly published, showing that opportunities are only given to those who are ready for them.
At the age of 36, Ye Yonglie was already working on a “documentary film” for Mao Zedong. A group of filmmakers was organized and divided into teams to carry out this task. Ye Yonglie wrote the script and acted as director in his group. He continued to work on this special project until Mao’s death.
Ye Yonglie’s first award was also in the director’s chair, when he directed Under the Traffic Light, which won the Best Science Film Award at the Third Hundred Flowers Film Awards. Immediately after the popularity of “Little Smart Wanderer Roaming the Future“《小灵通漫游未来》 , the North Film Studio was ready to bring it to the screen, equipped with a screenwriter, Liang Xiaozhi, who was a fledgling youth writer at the time. The movie didn’t make it to the screen due to technical constraints. However, his sci-fi works such as Mystery Clothes were adapted into single-episode TV series at that time.
Jurassic Park made CG technology a big hit. At that time, a real estate company in Beijing wanted to make China’s first CG movie, and set up a project under the name of “The Greatest Showman” with an investment of 120 million dollars. At that time, the annual box office of the mainland was only one billion dollars, and this big project invited Ye Yonglie as a screenwriter. Unfortunately, this project, which attracted a lot of attention at that time, was also dismounted due to a broken capital chain.
Ye Yonglie married. His house had only 12 square meters of floor space. After their child was born, he had to move his study to the attic. Whenever the summer heat assaulted him, Ye Yonglie worked hard in his attic, naked, wiping sweat while creating his literary works. Nowadays, many young people say they like to write, but they may not have reached the degree of Ye Yonglie intensity back then.
As a science director and science and technology reporter, Ye Yonglie of course loved photography and jokingly calls himself a “good photographer”. In the film era, he took tens of thousands of photos, which was a huge expense. When the symposium was held, Ye Yonglie, who was the guest of honor, started to take photos of other speakers after he had spoken. When it was my turn to speak, he also took pictures of me, which made me very embarrassed. This was in fact his habit as a journalist, and he would keep material for use on various occasions.
Under the Traffic Light brought Ye Yonglie a bonus of one thousand RMB, which was almost equivalent to one year’s salary. Ye Yonglie recalled that from then on, he was considered out of poverty and rich. By the nineties, the screenwriting fee for The Greatest Showman reached one million RMB. Later, the media began to release the rich list of Chinese writers, and in 2009, Ye Yonglie ranked 23rd.
In the mid-1990s, mobile communications began to take off. At that time, China Telecom did not have a mobile license, so it wanted to create a low-cost version of the city’s cell phone. A partner company, Starcom, approached Ye Yonglie, hoping to get authorization to call the phone “Little Smartphone” 小灵通 xiaolingtong, which the writer himself agreed to.
Later, Xiaolingtong won 100 million users worldwide, and there are more than 50 industries in China alone that have registered the brand “Xiaolingtong”. As a result, some good people specially calculated its brand value, which is said to reach 540 million yuan. Although Ye Yonglie did not receive this money, he can be regarded as the first person in the sci-fi industry to name a brand.
III. Science Fiction All-Arounders
At the beginning of the birth of science fiction literature, there was a lack of specialized personnel. There were precedents in various countries where a person was often a part-time writer, editor, critic, activist and so on. And Ye Yonglie’s comprehensive balance was rare in the history of science fiction in the world.
Back in the late seventies, Ye Yonglie was writing and researching. He wrote On Science Fiction, which later became the title of a collection of science fiction reviews. During the period when Ye Yonglie was employed by the Shanghai Association of Science Fiction Writers, he went through a lot of literature to look for traces of early science fiction. The Moon Colony Novel 《月球殖民地小说》 was resurrected by him and has been regarded as the earliest science fiction novel in China.
At the end of the 90s, Ye Yonglie published “Right or Wrong Cinderella” to record and summarize the history of Chinese science fiction that he personally experienced. The book is hundreds of thousands of words long and extremely rich in content. Ye Yonglie recorded a large number of early sci-fi authors, even meteors who only published a few works.
Comparing science fiction to “Cinderella“, an article from People’s Daily graphically summarized the dilemma of Chinese science fiction at that time. To this day, “Right or Wrong “Cinderella” is still the best summary of the history of Chinese science fiction before the 1990s. Unfortunately, it was published in 2000 at a time when sci-fi was in the doldrums, and has not gotten much attention.
At the height of his creativity, Ye Yonglie often utilized author resources to help publishers compile anthologies, and in the late 1990s, he edited a six-volume series entitled A Century’s Retrospective of Chinese Science Fiction, which ran from the late Qing Dynasty to the late 1990s. The last book, already included Wang Jinkang and He Xi, writers who had just emerged. The last book, which included Wang Jinkang, He Xi and other emerging writers, was out of print, as was An Zisuke’s earlier work, The Second Flood, which was written by An Zisuke, vice chairman of the National Writers’ Association of China.
In 1980, Ye Yonglie met a foreign teacher named Smith in Shanghai, who was also a member of the World Science Fiction Association. Through Smith, Ye Yonglie established contact with this international organization. Not only did he join the organization himself, but he also developed nine members. Ye Yonglie was also one of the earliest initiators of exchanges with the international science fiction community.
After accumulating so many resources, Ye Yonglie of course also had the idea of establishing a national science fiction organization. In 1983, Ye and several major science fiction writers at that time jointly planned, drafted a proposal, and submitted an application for the establishment of the “China Science Fiction Literature Association” to the relevant departments, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful for some reasons.
Komatsu Sakyo was once called “the bulldozer of Japanese science fiction”, and Ye Yonglie was called “the mother ship of Chinese science fiction”. In the era when science fiction in their own countries was still young, they made their way through the mountains and bridges, and were pathbreakers. Those who walk on the road are not only the writers who made the way themselves, but also the general public.
Unfortunately, limited to the times, Ye Yonglie failed to achieve all that he could have. Instead, because he often stood up for the science fiction community, he became the central target when science fiction encountered criticism. The opponents jokingly claimed that they wanted to sink this mother ship. Many science fiction writers of the time suffered criticism, and most of them fell flat on their faces. Only Ye Yonglie was able to move to new heights in the literary world later.
IV. The Grandmaster of His Generation
Verne, Belyaev, Crichton, and Ye Yonglie are, to put it mildly, great names. In fact, they are honored by many and taught by few, and they form a tributary in science fiction literature.
The science fiction creations of these people have distinctive features. In terms of subject matter, they carefully studied the technological frontiers of their time and looked for material in the soil of reality, instead of writing about artificial ideas popular in science fiction circles. That is why, after the passage of time, posterity has repeatedly thought of their novels because of a certain latest scientific research result.
From the plot, they all take reality as the background, do not engage in empty space, do not seek to create another world. Because the original intention of their creation is to write about the real world, they all have a strong will to intervene in reality with science fiction. And from the theme point of view, they do not engage in any metaphor. What they want to say will be clearly written on the word.
Although most of the early science fiction writers in New China had this kind of tendency, in the 1980s, the Western “dot com literature” style of science fiction became popular in China, with typical science fiction ideas such as “alien invasion” and “robot revolt”. However, in the 1980s, the Western “idea literature” style of science fiction became popular in China, such as “alien invasion” and “robot revolt”. Ye Yonglie still insisted on his original direction, and continued to solidify this path with new works. Although “Little Smart Wander in the Future” has a slightly crossover color, it was an experimental work that the author started writing in the sixties. At the peak of his creativity, all of his science fiction novels were grounded and fictionalized in the context of the time.
Since the early days of writing words for 100,000 Whys, Ye Yonglie has collected a large number of books and articles on scientific and technological developments. On the one hand, this is the material for him to engage in popular science writing, on the other hand, he also uses this material for science fiction creation. The initial plan of Little Smart Wanderer was to write a book of “300 Examples of Science Treasures”《科学珍闻三百例》 , only characters and plots were added when he started to write, while the contents fully reflected the various concepts of the scientific community at that time. When I pick up a paper cup today, I’m reminded that it was also a sci-fi point to the book as well.
Because of his longtime tracking of technology news, Ye Yonglie would write some hotspots into his science fiction novels. For example, The Disease of Love was written about AIDS, which was just hitting the media at the time. The Show Wasn’t Postponed, which describes Chinese scientists’ development of a fast-growth method for influenza vaccines, means even more today when we reread it during the pandemic. Of course, hotspots imply a lack of sedimentation. At that time, Ye Yonglie was also influenced by the “qigong fever” and wrote about the “external gas transmitter” in his science fiction works.
With roots in the fertile ground of scientific research, Ye Yonglie’s sci-fi topics are rarely repeated. Not only does the main line within a story use a particular scientific research hotspot, but so do the subplots. Adding up, he has written dozens of sci-fi topics in all of his novels. Such a rich library of topics is hard to reach for authors who write science fiction all behind closed doors.
Today, conceptual sci-fi, dot-com sci-fi has hit a dead end. New authors are complaining of a drought of subject matter and not knowing what to write about. New works are full of clichés. Moreover, both Chinese and foreign sci-fi are caught in this dilemma, and sci-fi literature urgently needs to find a way out from another direction. Rereading Ye Yonglie’s works now, I believe I will be very much inspired.
Of course, this is not for people to rewrite his themes, and Ye Yonglie did not plagiarize his predecessors’ themes. Each of the above-mentioned science fiction masters who are rooted in reality will absorb new nutrients from the soil of contemporary scientific research and bring new impetus to science fiction. What we have to learn is Ye Yonglie’s direction of writing as he wrote with his head buried in reality.
There is no end to science, and there will be no end to science fiction rooted in science.
V. Pinnacle
If I had to find one of Ye Yonglie’s science fiction works to represent this creative direction, I would choose “Corrosion”. When the American critic Gunn edited The Road to Science Fiction, he included only two Chinese works. One is “The Mirror Image of the Earth”, written by Zheng Wenguang, which is a typical creative science fiction. The other was Ye Yonglie’s “Corrosion”, which is almost considered a piece of realist literature.
Before Ye Yonglie, domestic science fiction novels tended to treat the scientific research process as a black box, writing only about the results of scientific research or describing the process with exaggerated techniques. At least, none of the novels took scientific research as the main plot. However, the humanistic elements are more contained in the process than in the product. To enhance the humanistic value of science fiction, it is inevitable to shift the focus to this aspect.
In his early work “To Whom the Flowers are Dedicated”, Ye Yonglie made an attempt at this. The science fiction point of this work is how to solve the problem of rejection in organ transplantation, which is almost like bringing the real scientific research problems into the novel. The work describes the scientists’ search for the cause of rejection, how to use animals for preliminary experiments, and how to start human experiments.
The entire work is an account of the scientific process, but there is a lack of depiction of the character’s motivation; the scientist operates like a scientific machine, finding a problem and solving it. In “Corrosion”, Ye Yonglie not only highlights the motives of the characters, but also the negative motives that are seldom known to the outside world. “Corrosion” became the first science fiction novel in China to take research ethics as its theme.
The idea for this piece came from two sources. One is borrowed from Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain, which depicts the fall of an artificial satellite bringing in extra-terrestrial pathogens. The second is that the author himself accumulated interview material when he traveled to the Lop Nor base to cover the case of the disappearance of the Chinese biochemist and VIce President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Peng Jiamu in the desert. The fusion of the two makes up the thrilling opening of the novel. However, the central conflict of the novel is how the protagonist, Wang Tsung, strives for fame and fortune. He is very talented, otherwise he could not have been entrusted with the important task of scientific research by his superiors. But at the same time, he is profit-minded, trying to keep the research results for himself, digging into the ranking of authors of papers, and focusing on researching the selection procedures of international scientific awards.
Ye Yonglie’s years of interviewing scientific research organizations made it impossible to record only the results and not the people. In an era where “scientists” are still deified, “Corrosion” is far ahead of its time by using a scientist with flawed qualities as its protagonist.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to space constraints, the author allowed Wang Tsung to undergo a sudden transformation and rushed the ending. It is even more unfortunate that since “Corrosion” was based on personnel disputes within the scientific community, which was of little social concern at the time, the piece is almost forgotten today.
In terms of literary value, “Corrosion” was the peak of Ye Yonglie’s creative work. It was published in People’s Literature in November 1981, and was evaluated as “a science fiction novel that is truly literature” in the selection of “National Outstanding Short Stories” that year. Unfortunately, the novel did not win any prizes, and soon the author, who was caught in the whirlpool of criticism, was not in a position to explore this path any further.
Although I’ve only met him a few times and I don’t have any deep friendship with him, I’ve always regarded Ye Yonglie as my spiritual mentor in science fiction creation. Because of his creative direction, his diligence, and also because of his sense of responsibility buried deep in his works.
新时期以来美国科幻小说中译的三次浪潮
来源：中译外研究 栏目：期刊导读 时间：2021-06-22
1900年，译坛伉俪陈逸儒、薛绍徽翻译了凡尔纳的科幻小说《八十日环游记》，该书根据英文版转译，配以章回体例和文言译文，使得这本首部译入中国的科幻小说显得格外接地气，勇敢机智的英国绅士福格也成为广为传颂的科幻人物形象，到1906年止，该书再版三次——西方科幻由此开始进入中国，并开启了百年译介之旅。
据初步统计，迄今中国大陆已从英、美、法、日、俄等国翻译出版科幻小说两千余种，作为世界科幻中心的美国是其中最大的译入国①白烨：《中国文情报告（2012—2013）》,北京：社会科学文献出版社2013年版，第271页。。新中国成立后至今的70余年中，共有一千余种美国科幻小说译入出版②本文统计的美国科幻小说译本种数基于国内各大图书馆、图书销售网站、北京开卷信息技术有限公司等登录的科幻小说译本统计整理，以公开出版的单行本为样例，科幻诗歌、科幻剧、科幻电影等以及根据小说改编的以图片为主的漫画不在本文讨论的范围之内。下文简以“科幻”代指“科幻小说”。，占所有国外科幻译本总量的一半——本文所述的“美国科幻小说”指具有美国国籍的作者所创作，并在美国登记版权的科幻小说作品，非美籍作家所创作的作品但在美国登记版权的不在本文讨论范畴，例如，英国科幻作家克拉克的作品《与拉玛相会》在美国登记版权，1974年首版问世。1980年该作由蔡南德根据美国赫考公司1976年9月第7次印刷版译入，由广东科技出版社出版，类似传播情况另作考察。
就1949年至1979年这一时期来看，科幻小说较为集中的译入发生在新中国成立后的第一个十年，计有30余种苏联科幻小说和10余种凡尔纳的小说译入，随后，苏联科幻的译介因19世纪60年代初中苏关系的恶化中止。其他国家的科幻译入寥寥，美国科幻仅在1957年有1种译入大陆。1978年党的十一届三中全会召开，译介工作也开始解冻，为接下来20世纪80年代的译介出版工作蓄势。
美国科幻成规模的译介出版活动是从1980年开始的，其后经历了1981年和1992年“两个高峰”、1997年的“一个拐点”，之后开始步入持续的繁荣。无论是从译本数量还是在中国大陆产生的影响力而言，美国科幻均居国外译入科幻的榜首，这些译入的科幻小说无论从主题、叙事抑或是创意想象，均对中国的科幻作家创作产生了极大影响。本文以美国科幻译入的三个高潮时间节点为纲，同时辐射毗邻年份，解析各个时期的代表译作，并试图阐述美国科幻小说翻译活动背后的深层原因。而美国科幻小说的中译史在某种程度上表征了国外科幻在中国译介的情况，我们可借此以窥科幻翻译史之脉络。
一、“科学的春天”与乍现的曙光
（一）20世纪80年代美国科幻译介概述
20世纪80年代初，是国外科幻在中国大陆译介的高峰期，尤其是1979—1984年间翻译科幻小说的总数更是超过了过去70年的总和。20世纪80年代，中国大陆共引进出版美国科幻小说单行本近60种。1981年是整个80年代译介出版美国科幻小说种数最多的一年，共计出版17种；到了1982年，美国科幻小说译介从繁荣步入平淡期，只有5种出版；1983年底，出现“清除精神污染运动”，美国科幻小说译入也受到了一定影响，当年仅有4种得以出版。这种不景气的状况直至20世纪80年代末也未能得到彻底改观，译数寥寥。
这一时期美国科幻译作的主题涉及星际战争（如《星球大战》《星际旅行》《飞碟的故事》《异星探险》）、生物科技（如《人的复制——一个人的无性生殖》《冷冻人》《希特勒再世之梦》《不朽的人》）、政治科幻（如《双星》）、蒸汽朋克（《合成怪人》）等。时空穿梭及末世灾难主题的译作反倒鲜见。科幻与侦探、惊险元素融合的译作较多（如《“泰坦尼克”号奇案》《太空镇上的谋杀案》《神秘失踪六小时》《人兽奇案》）；少儿科幻也有一些译作（如《来自太空的小玩意儿》《E.T.外星人》《加勒比海历险记》《苹果树下的宇宙飞船》）。
20世纪80年代有29家出版社参与了美国科幻的译介出版活动。广东科技出版社、海洋出版社以及湖南人民出版社是这一时期组织译介出版的重镇。广东科技出版社在20世纪80年代初组织出版了专门刊载外国科幻小说译作的“科学小说译丛”①科普出版社也推出了同名“科学小说译丛”，该套丛书的美国科幻译作有《死城》《奇妙的航程》《我，机器人》，分别于1980年和1981年出版。，包括《太空镇上的谋杀案》《透视侦破》等。每期除翻译小说外，“译丛”还刊有一篇介绍世界著名科幻小说家的短文以及一些概述世界科幻小说发展现状的译文。海洋出版社成立于1978年，在20世纪80年代初期，海洋出版社在时任社领导的孙少伯、王世汉等人的带领下，在推进中国科幻的振兴、繁荣科幻出版方面发挥了领军作用。1981年，海洋出版社出版了《冷冻人》《异星探险》《海底城》《“泰坦尼克”号奇案》；同年，海洋出版社旗下的《科幻海洋》创刊，成为我国首次出版的大型科幻小说丛刊，以刊登国内科幻小说为主要内容，同时译载一部分外国科幻名作。1981—1983年，《科幻海洋》共出版过6辑，随后停刊。湖南人民出版社是地方出版圈较早开始推进外国文学翻译的机构，该社成立了强大的译文编辑室，1980—1986年间，在总编朱正、译文室主任唐荫荪等人的带领下，力图打造畅销书经典，集中力量翻译出版了包括日本科幻作家星新一的作品，卢卡斯的《星球大战》在内的国外科幻小说，均印数不菲。1980年，由该社出版的《星球大战》一版一印300 000册，至今仍居国外科幻译作印数榜首。
1980—1990年是我国改革开放后的头一个十年，也是图书出版事业蓬勃发展的时期，图书的品种和发行的数量大幅增长。彼时，无论是国内科幻小说抑或是译介科幻小说的印数均较为可观：1981年出版的《月光岛》（金涛，地质出版社）印数65 280册；叶永烈的《小灵通漫游未来》总印数更是达到了300万册。据笔者统计，1985年之前的美国科幻译作几乎印数均在万册以上，这种趋势在1985年之后有所下降。程美华在《新时期（1978—2008）出版史概论》中指出：“我国图书出版业自从1985年达到有史以来最高的图书印数，度过它最辉煌的年月之后，便开始逐渐滑坡”②程美华：《新时期（1978—2008）出版史概论》，上海：学林出版社2012年版，第67页。，20世纪80年代美国科幻译作的印数趋势无疑与其相佐相映：1981年出版的17种美国科幻小说的平均印数为4.3万册；迈克尔·克莱顿的《死城》在1980年分别由广东科技出版社和广东科学普及出版社译入，印数各为180 000册和85 000册；克莱夫·卡斯勒的《“泰坦尼克”号奇案》（海洋出版社，1981年）印数为120 000册。
（二）1981年：解冻后的译介小高潮
1981年是“文革”结束后出现的第一个译介高峰年，这一年译入出版的作品多为美国科幻史上“黄金时代”③从20世纪40年代到60年代，世界（以美国为代表）科幻小说的发展经历了所谓“黄金时代”，形成一个持续创作、出版的高峰。的作品，艾萨克·阿西莫夫、克利福德·D·西马克以及克莱夫·卡斯勒是译作较多的作家。
阿西莫夫小说占去了6种，涉及《C字滑行道》《我，机器人》《奇妙的航程》等作品；黑龙江人民出版社的《C字滑行道》收录了同名小说及《人在繁育中吗》等四个短篇，均为阿西莫夫20世纪60年代以后发表的作品。《C字滑行道》描述返回地球的宇宙飞船被太空外来人劫持后，飞船上各种人物的心理反映，以及主角马伦通过巧妙的斗争消灭了太空外来人，重返地球家乡的故事。这篇小说提出了人与人之间的关系以及人类与外来人的关系问题。《我，机器人》收入的8篇小说均围绕“机器人三定律”巧妙地构思展开；《奇妙的航程》是阿西莫夫根据同名电影改写的一部中篇科学幻想小说，故事主人公格兰特策反敌对方一位掌握尖端技术的科学家，科学家脑颅受伤，神志不清。为抢救这位科学家，格兰特等五人乘一艘潜艇，应用微缩技术，缩成细菌大小，注入科学家动脉内，他们通过血管、心脏、肺、耳朵、大脑……经历了一次奇妙的航程，终于完成抢救任务。故事惊险曲折，引人入胜，既普及了人体生理知识，也颂扬了科学家的献身精神。
西马克的小说有2种在1981年出版中译本，分别是《奇怪的驿站》和《戈勃林禁区》。他于1963年创作的作品《奇怪的驿站》(原著英文名《Way Station》直译为《驿站》)是作者最优秀的科幻小说之一，曾获得1964年的“雨果奖”，故事围绕银河星系社会中心指挥部在地球上建立的一个神秘的星际往来中间站展开。江苏科学技术出版社的《戈勃林禁区》根据莫斯科《世界》出版社1978年的俄文版译入。该书创作于1968年，收录了《戈勃林禁区》《是谁在地层深处》《邻居》等五篇科幻小说。作者运用丰富的想象力，引出貌似怪诞惊险的故事，背后却隐含着对美胜丑、善胜恶的赞美，对进取向上的褒扬。西马克是当代美国杰出的科幻小说作家。他有两种较明显的创作倾向，一是主张干预现实，力图表达深刻的社会主题；二是充满了浓郁的田园气息，作为“田园派科幻小说”的代表，他推崇人与人、人与自然的和谐，表达了反对城市、向往乡村田园生活的思想。
美国惊险小说协会的主席克莱夫·卡斯勒在1981年有两本译作出版，分别是海洋出版社的《“泰坦尼克”号奇案》和四川人民出版社的《北海沉船》，是其“德克·皮特系列”的作品。卡斯勒自1965年开始写作，连续推出了几十部脍炙人口的动作惊险作品，奠定了美国当代惊险小说大师的地位。这些作品中大部分主角是一位智勇皆备的海洋工程师兼探险家德克·皮特，涉及的探险或探密活动几乎全与海洋有关，由此，构成了一个“德克·皮特系列”作品。《“泰坦尼克”号奇案》（原作写于1976年）写了为争夺战略性稀有元素，美、苏对沉船“泰坦尼克”号展开的激烈争夺。
（三）动因：“：“科学的春天”带来译介的春天
粉碎“四人帮”后，中国科幻迎来了新中国成立后的第二次热潮，这次热潮从1976年持续到1983年，是集中出版科幻图书的重要时期，并出现五家专门发表科幻的报刊，其数量超过了苏联、日本和英国的同期水平；以郑文光、叶永烈等为代表的“中兴代”科幻作家创作活跃；科幻文学也得到了主流文学界的初步认可，叶永烈于1981年发表于《人民文学》11期头题的《腐蚀》，与当年的全国优秀短篇小说奖只差几票。科幻译介活动也在这一时期繁盛起来，只不过，其复苏起步的时间较国内本土科幻创作要晚，大体在1978年开始启动，1980年有译介作品得以出版面世，并在1981年形成黄金期的小高峰。
1978年召开的全国科学大会带来了“科学的春天”，无疑对科幻的发展形成了助推，促成了1981年科幻曙光的乍现——无论是国内科幻创作亦或是国外科幻的译介，均有优秀作家作品推出。然而，1983年掀起的“清除精神污染”的运动，终结了科幻黄金期的火热，无论是本土抑或是译介活动，均渐次喑声，步入沉寂。
除了政治环境的影响，影视改编也是影响译介出版的重要因素。美国科幻电影在20世纪70年代迎来了继50年代之后的第二个高潮，从1971年到1980年整整十年，美国票房价值最高的8部影片中有4部是科幻片：《星球大战》《帝国反击战》《第三类接触》和《超人》——在20世纪80年代科幻小说的译介中都可以看到它们的影迹。除此之外，吉恩·罗登贝里的《星际旅行》（1980年）也是由同名电影编写而来；斯皮尔伯格的《飞碟的故事》（1980年）则源于电影《第三类接触》；《外星人E.T》是由斯皮尔伯格执导的少儿科幻电影，于1982年6月11日在美国首映，1984年，则由浙江少儿出版社、河北人民出版社等4家出版社译介出版科幻小说《外星人E.T》，1992年，安徽少儿出版社也出版了该书。扎堆翻译说明此片深入人心，广受欢迎，而不必要的重译也造成了资源浪费。上述举例说明电影产业链条与文学产业链条互为延伸、互相促进。
二、商品经济大潮与科幻的繁荣
（一）20世纪90年代译介概述
1990年到1992年的三年间，美国科幻小说的译介出版活动出现了一个小高峰，译本共计46种。1992年是经过20世纪80年代中后期译介较为低迷的时期后出现的井喷年，当时科幻图书出版相对匮乏，全国各出版社，尤其是少年儿童出版社却竟相出版科幻读物,不能不说是一大奇观。
20世纪90年代初的一大译介出版特征是丛书和套书的出现，并开始紧抓少儿这一读者群体打造译介出版经典。主要有福建少年儿童出版社选编的“世界科幻小说精品”丛书，江苏少年儿童出版社“外国科幻小说译丛”、浙江科学技术出版社的“世界科幻名著译丛”，河南人民出版社的“外国科幻小说译丛”，安徽少儿出版社的“世界科幻名著文库”，河北科学技术出版社的“世界科幻名著故事”，新蕾出版社的“宇宙科学幻想系列小说”等。1992年共翻译出版了25种美国科幻小说，由“少年儿童”类的出版社译入的美国科幻小说有13种。涉及福建少年儿童出版社、安徽少年儿童出版社、江苏少年儿童出版社等。
福建少年儿童出版社成立于1984年，由福建人民出版社青少年读物编辑室脱胎而来。1990年，曾为福建少儿社文艺编辑室主任的陈效东在纯儿童文学市场以及科幻小说市场萧条的情况下，经过详细论证，认为科幻这一冷门有复苏的可能性，于是大胆策划、组织了“世界科幻小说精品丛书”的五年规划选题，侧重翻译介绍现代和当代美、德、日和苏联等国的科幻小说。这套书甫一推出，就因受到青少年读者的喜爱而销售一空。此后逐渐占领了科幻小说图书市场。现已出版5辑30余种，总发行量达百余万册，并多次获奖，被中国书刊发行业协会评为“最畅销的文艺类图书”，这也成为科幻出版史上的经典案例。①中国出版工作者协会：《优秀中青年编辑小传·选题设计方案·审读报告》，北京：中国青年出版社1996年版，第116页。“世界科幻小说精品丛书”译介系列涉及“人类进化及变异”“宇宙太空和异星生物探索”“时空转换和奇异世界探险”“生态平衡破坏引发灾难”“科学实践与未来社会”等主题。这一系列的美国科幻译作集中出版于1990—1992年，作品涵盖《火星公主》《追踪流浪星》《宇宙云雀号》《外星族》《帝国反击战》《颠覆帝国的阴谋》《头颅里的宝石》《双脑人》《机器服务人》等。
浙江科学技术出版社的“世界科幻名著译丛”，江苏少儿出版社的“外国科幻小说译丛”，河南人民出版社的“外国科幻小说译丛”均由郭建中主编。这三个系列的代表作品有《黎明世界的机器人》《机器人与银河帝国》《赤裸的太阳——异星疑案》《大科学家拉尔夫》《地球母亲》《天外来客》等。郭建中是杭州大学外语系的教授，教学之余一直从事科幻小说的翻译研究，先后获恰佩克翻译奖和科幻翻译金桥奖。郭建中在河南人民出版社的科幻译丛序言以《科幻小说：科学时代的文学》为题写道，“我国当前科幻小说凋零的局面同我们所处的时代是极不相称的，我们杭州大学外语系科幻小说研究中心，愿以译介外国优秀科幻小说为己任，为振兴和繁荣我国科幻小说的创作、翻译和研究作出应有的贡献。”②郭建中：《天外来客》，郑州：河南人民出版社1992年版，第4页。
新蕾出版社1979年9月在天津成立，也是那一时期重要的专门出版少年儿童读物的综合性专业出版杜，该社在20世纪90年代初出版了《巨人星上擒贼记》《口哨人行星探秘》《太空寻踪战大盗》《银河历险记》等“宇宙科学幻想系列”的小说。
（二）1992年：平缓发展中的勃兴
20世纪90年代初的美国科幻的译介选题在延续80年代古典科幻译介路线的同时，更多地将目光投射到了少儿科幻的译入上。综合来看，译作大多具有节奏紧张，情节生动的特征。以这一时期译本数量出版最多的1992年来看，阿西莫夫的译作数量仍是最多的，有5种，其次分别是迈克尔·克莱顿、雨果·根斯巴克、西马克。
阿西莫夫的译作《地球母亲》不到3万字，描写了被卑视的地球人准备重新崛起，建立新的银河帝国的故事。阿西莫夫自这本书之后，开始有意识地把科幻小说与推理小说结合在一起，开创了科幻小说的新分支和新天地——科幻侦探小说。“机器人科幻侦探系列”小说是其最成功的代表作，此系列的《赤裸的太阳》《黎明世界的机器人》和《机器人与银河帝国》均在1992年译介出版。《赤裸的太阳》（浙江科学技术出版社，1992）中关于人工移植基因的预测，现在已经实现，遗传工程正逐步成为当代的领头科学之一。
克莱顿有着文学、考古人类学和医学的教育背景，复合知识背景显然为他创作科幻小说打下了良好的根基。他的作品有畅销书的特质：紧张激烈、危机四伏，悬念迭生。1992的译入的《海底飞船》《双脑人》即具有这一特征，《双脑人》讲了计算机专家本森意外得了可怕的大脑颡叶癫痫，因此被医院做了电极植入大脑的手术，从而变成了一个兼有人脑和电脑的双脑人，并由此犯下了一系列罪行的故事。这部科幻小说揭示了人类大脑的复杂性和人类知识的局限性，从而促人深思这场灾难为什么终于未能避免。克莱顿小说具有故事耐读，启人深思的特点。1994到1996年，他的《侏罗纪公园》《终端人》《神秘之球》《失落的世界》也相继被译入。
1992年的译本中，有一本科普型科幻译作显得与众不同——根斯巴克的《大科学家拉尔夫124C·41》，这部长篇小说于1911年开始连载在《现代电器》杂志上。虽然《大科学家拉尔夫124C·41+》看起来科学有余，文学性不足，但在继承和发扬由凡尔纳所开创的“技术科幻小说”的传统方面，无疑是作出了重大贡献的。它严格地基于现实的科学基础预测了2660年科技奇迹，以至这部小说成了整整一代科幻小说家挖掘不尽的题材“金矿”。
（三）动因：版权环境变化，引发扎堆出版
除了美国科幻的译介在1992年出现井喷，日本、英国的译介也在这一年达到了出版史上的年度小高峰，大量有着明显少儿特征的科幻作品译入，究其背后的原因主要有三点：
一是译介版权环境的变化带来扎堆出版热潮。1992年是中国与世界版权接轨的一年，当年10月14日，中国成为世界上最早最全面的国际版权保护公约——《伯尔尼公约》的第93个成员国，这标志着我国知识产权保护体系已全面进入与世界同步的水平。我国加入的另一个世界版权保护组织——《世界版权公约》，也于1992年10月30日生效。这意味着“把国外作品拿来就翻的年代”一去不返，再想引入，需要支付版权费用。许多出版社出于成本考虑，早闻风而动，纷纷赶在国际版权保护公约签署之前将积压的译稿出版完毕，这成为导致1992年出版扎堆的首要原因。1993年，中国图书市场显然对刚刚加入版权条约的环境不是那么适应，只有寥寥几本美国科幻小说译介出版。
二是政治经济环境的诱激。进入20世纪90年代，尤其是1991年以后，中国社会发生了很大变化。1992年初，邓小平南巡讲话为改革再次拨正航向，中国社会生活迅猛发展，科学技术日新月异，市场经济渐次繁荣。从1992年到1997年五年，中国的出口以年均27.7%的速度增长。与此同时，外国直接投资在中国的年均增长率也超过了30%。上述环境的变迭成为诱激20世纪90年代图书出版的重要因素——市场经济大环境之下，出版商意识到少儿图书产业巨大的利润空间——投入少，周转快，拥有庞大的读者群。
三是中国科幻大环境在20世纪90年代初略有好转，为科幻译介奠定了沃土。1991年世界科幻年会在成都举行，世界科幻界的目光开始投向中国，也带动了科幻译介出版活动。在世界科幻年会举办的同年，《科幻世界》亮出了崭新的刊名。大环境的改进助推了本土科幻文学的创作和译介活动的开展，一大批优秀的原创科幻小说和译著开始井喷似的出现。
三、喷涌的译作与后“三体”时代
（一）1997年之后的译介概述
经过1992年的勃发之后，一直到1997年之前，美国科幻小说的译入总体较低迷。1997年是走出低谷，走向繁荣的拐点之年。2000年国内图书出版业开始走向下滑，美国科幻译作当年只有10种；随后的趋势则稳中有升，直到2015年达到年度100种。据笔者统者，从1997年开始，直到2017年的20年间，共翻译出版美国科幻小说一千余种，年均翻译约50种。译介活动的兴衰与中国科幻的走势总体呈正相关，中国科幻作家的“新生代作家群”也在20世纪90代集中形成，虽然作家相对数量有限，但作品数量较以往有了大幅攀升。中国原创科幻图书的出版在2012年之后，每年也都在100种以上。像打开了一个豁口，时空旅行、末世灾难、架空历史、太空歌剧、赛博朋克等科幻流派，与其他尚未来得及定义风格的小说在1997年之后涌入。近二十年引进最多的10位科幻作家是阿西莫夫、詹姆斯·冈恩、菲利普·迪克、罗伯特·海因莱因、奥森·斯科特·卡德、克莱顿、裘德·沃森、雷·布拉德伯里、L.罗恩·哈伯德、埃德加·赖斯·巴勒斯，通过这些作家的作品，国内科幻读者已经可以了解当代美国科幻小说的总体样貌，至此，中国的科幻小说也在这一时期真正完成了与世界科幻主流的接轨。
1997年之后，全国各大出版社竞相开发出了五花八门的科幻译介书系，有针对少儿读者群开发的书系，多以选编、文图并茂的形式呈现，有趣可读是选编的标尺：“当代世界科幻小说精品文库”（河北少年儿童出版社），“少年惊险科幻小说系列”（时代文艺出版社），“绘图科幻精品丛书”（上海科技教育出版社），也有系统呈现科幻发展脉络的“科幻之路”（福建少年儿童出版社），还有主打名家名作的“当代外国流行小说名篇丛书”（译林出版社），“美国历年获奖科幻读物丛书”（万卷出版公司）……综合来看，20世纪80年代末90年代初主要由科技类出版社、少儿类出版社出版科幻的局面得以改观，一些主流文学出版社、高校出版社、民营图书公司也将科幻纳入了经营范畴。
四川科学技术出版社、人民文学出版社、读客是出版美国科幻译作最多的三家机构。四川科学技术出版社的“二十一世纪科幻大师丛书”“世界流行科幻丛书”，人民文学出版社主打的“星球大战系列”以及丹·布朗作品系列，读客联手江苏凤凰文艺出版社出品的“读客·全球顶级畅销小说文库”是这一时期领衔的几大科幻书系。国外最新的科幻小说如每年的“美国年度最佳科幻小说选”，都以最快的速度被翻译和介绍进中国。这一切都表明中国科幻文学正在走出低谷，走向繁荣①樊得生，王晓方：《谁在说话——中国文化年报（2001年版）》，兰州：兰州大学出版社2001年版，第161页。。
1997年后的译作销量与20世纪80年代初相比，自不能望其项背，但较20世纪90年代初仍有小幅度提升。据2017年12月北京开卷信息技术有限公司监控的数据显示，1998年后销量前五名的美国科幻译作分别是译林幻系列的《火星救援》，读客“全球顶级畅销小说文库”的《银河帝国（1）-基地》和《阿西莫夫：永恒的终结》，广西科学技术出版社的“全球顶级科幻大师系列”《安德的游戏》，万卷出版公司《2012玛雅末日预言》，销量均在5万册以上，其中排名第一的《火星救援》销量达到了近9万册，影视文化仍是强势影响因素。
（二）1999年：拐点后的第一个高峰
经历1997年的“拐点”，出现了1999年的翻译出版高峰之年，这一年度被引入作品最多的作家是弗雷德里克·波尔、L·罗恩·哈伯德、詹姆斯·冈恩以及雷·布拉德伯里，出版社以引进作家的代表作和某一作品系列为主。
波尔一生创作了50多部作品，布赖恩·奥尔迪斯在《亿万年大狂欢：西方科幻小说史》中，将波尔称为科幻小说领域的七位巨擘之一，将其与阿西莫夫、海因莱因、克拉克、赫伯特等人同列其位。波尔曾获得四次雨果奖、三次星云奖。然而，他的作品直到1998年才被河北少年儿童出版社“当代世界科幻小说精品”书系（王逢振，寇晓伟主编）译入，这套书系引进了他的两本小说：《火星来的那一天》和《星际争雄》。1999年，四川科学技术出版社开始初涉美国科幻小说的翻译，该社策划了“二十世纪科幻大师丛书”，波尔是这套丛书的首选作家，这次译入挑选了他具有代表性的五部小说：《太空商人》（1953年）、《狼毒》（1959年）、《人变火星人》（1976年）、《杰姆星》（1979年）和《纳拉贝拉星际演出公司》（1988年）。《太空商人》和《狼毒》代表了他前期的创作风格，具有浓郁的黑色幽默意味；而他20世纪70年代创作的《人变火星人》《杰姆星》则吸纳了新浪潮科幻创作观念和技法，这两本书分别获了星云奖和美国全国图书奖。
L·罗恩·哈伯德是美国科幻黄金时代的奠基人，他的作品像很多畅销小说一样，杂糅了悬疑、动作、心理等元素，涉及社会、文化、艺术、哲学、经济等领域。由于创建了“科学论派”，哈伯德及其作品饱受争议，但并不影响其作品的译入，也说明出版环境的相对宽松。海南出版社于1997年至1999年推出“地球杀场”以及“地球使命系列”（10册），《地球杀场》被译入时在美国销量已达到300万册。1998年，时代文艺出版社推出了“罗恩·哈伯德惊险科幻系列”。
河北科学技术出版社、河南人民出版社均推出了詹姆斯·冈恩科幻作品书系。河南人民出版社继20世纪90年代初出版了“外国科幻小说译丛”之后，又于1999年推出的“詹姆斯·冈恩科幻精品集”，该丛书是冈恩先生亲自选定的，包括六部中篇和短篇小说集，即《未来之瑕》（1964年）、《迷幻时刻》（1970年）、《断裂点》（1972年）、《噩梦》（1974年）、《梦之终结》（1975年）和《人类之声》（1997年）。每部集子詹姆斯·冈恩先生都写了一篇介绍性的序言。精品集中的许多作品后来都发展成长篇，从中我们可以窥其原型。
此外，1999年出版的较有代表的还有花山文艺出版社推出“雷·布拉德伯里恐龙故事”“艾萨克·阿西莫夫之超越时空的机器人”系列、上海科技教育出版社的“绘图科幻精品丛书”。从上述来看，1997年至1999年的译介虽然仍以黄金时代时期的作家为主，但呈现出渐次放开的态势，更多流派的作家和不同类型的作品被成体系化地译入，出版社的科幻译介品牌意识增强。四川科学技术出版社也在“97后”的第一个浪潮中登场，与《科幻世界》合作，成为迄今组织翻译出版美国科幻小说最多的出版社。
（三）动因：世界性科幻大会的助推与“后三体”时代
1997年至1999年是美国科幻小说译介继20世纪80年代初和90年代初再一次出现的高潮时段，为何1997年成为转折之年，相毗的两年又接连攀升，背后直接原因与1997年以“科学·科幻·和平与发展”为主题的北京国际科幻大会的召开相关。来自中国、美国、俄罗斯、日本、澳大利亚等国家和中国台湾、香港地区的200多位作家、科学家、科幻迷汇集中国科技会堂，参加1997年的北京国际科幻大会。与会者就科幻小说如何反映科学、社会变革和航天飞行等课题进行了深入的探讨。这意味着科幻开始扭转“胡思乱想”“伪科学”的负面标签。当时，国内外一百多家新闻传媒报道了活动情况，包括美国的《新闻周刊》。值得注意的现象是，与会人员中，作者占少数，编辑占大多数——会议结束后，全国各地出版社开始竞相推出科幻新作丛书，仅1997年计划新出版的中文科幻图书就有50多种。科幻译介活动也相应跟随推进，这种推进几乎是立杆见影的。据笔者统计，1998年的美国科幻小说的译本为57种，比此前的任何一个年份出版的译本都要多，也几乎等于整个80年代美国科幻小说的译介数量之和。
科技兴则科幻兴，科幻在某种程度上是科学技术发展的“晴雨表”。1997年的科技新闻克隆羊多莉、国际象棋大师卡斯帕罗对战计算机“深蓝”“火星探陆者”在火星着陆等使得人们感觉生活离“科幻”如此之近，对科幻这种文类的关注度也相应提升。读者期待通过阅读科幻文学，尤其是科学技术水平走在世界前列的美国的科幻小说，来满足对“异世界”的好奇与渴望。
《科幻世界》多年对作者队伍的扶持在1997年之后初显成效，王晋康、星河等新生代科幻作家发表了一系列优秀作品，刘慈欣也于1999年开始发表作品，科幻形成小群体文化。1999年高考作文题《假如记忆可以移植》与《科幻世界》记忆移植的科幻小说意外“撞车”，使得人们开始关注青少年想象力的培育——阅读科幻无疑是极好的途径。《三体》获奖以及举办的一系列科幻大会则使得科幻进一步形成燎原之势：2007年在成都举办“2007国际科幻·奇幻大会”；2015年8月,刘慈欣凭借科幻小说《三体》获“雨果奖”最佳长篇小说奖，这不仅振奋了小众的科幻迷圈子，更重要的是吸引了圈外原本不关注科幻的人，人们进一步意识到了青少年想象力的重要性，并将其提升到事关民族国家未来的战略层面，也看到由科幻衍生的涉及出版、影视、游戏、主题公园等产业链条是文化产业增长的重要生力点；2016年，中国科学技术协会主办中国科幻大会；2017年在成都举办国际科幻大会，其背后支持的阵容强大——中国科学技术协会、四川省科学技术协会、腾讯公司、中国国际科技交流中心、中国科普作家协会。我们会发现，具有国家意志的中国科协、四川科协等人民团体出现在了会议支持名单上，形成科幻期刊出版方与代表“官方”身份的团体、互联网媒体平台合作联动的模式。科幻之火在“后三体”时代已然越烧越旺，科幻的译介交流在中国也越来越繁盛，从2015年到2017的三年，美国科幻小说年均中译种数接近100本，达到了史无前例的峰值。
四、结论
在美国科幻40年的翻译史进程中，共有百余家出版社翻译出版了美国科幻小说，有300余名作家的一千余种作品被译入，600余名译者参与了翻译活动。其中，1997年是具有转折意义的年份，不仅译作数量大幅提升，译入类型也得到丰富拓展，除了继续翻译黄金时代“向外转”探索宇宙太空的作品外，更多地将新浪潮、赛博朋克等类型译入进来，这些作品涉及心理学、社会学、语言学，人工智能……具有“向内转”的特征。通过新时期美国科幻小说中译史分时段的详细梳理，我们可以看到每一时期科幻文学翻译的特征，看到科技发展、政治环境、经济兴衰以及科幻活动如何对译介活动施以影响，出版社如何参与生产，译者如何将科幻创意、叙事结构、创作技巧等“移植”到中国的大致历程。
科幻翻译的推进为中国科幻文学的发展营构了世界语境，而美国科幻小说的翻译也不是脱离于中国科幻发展轨道之外的文化译事活动，相反，它是中国科幻文学创作发展的某种表征。科幻文学的发展很大程度受制于国家综合实力，特别是科技发展的程度，而每个时期的科幻翻译也与其时的社会文化语境、政治经济对科幻的诉求息息相关。2015年《三体》获得“雨果奖”，将中国科幻带到了世界科幻文学语境中的镁光灯下，也带动了中外科幻的交流。在“后三体时代”，中国科幻也逐渐从科幻文本生成科幻影视、游戏，成为大众文化新的增长点，2019年根据刘慈欣同名小说改编的电影《流浪地球》的热映即是此例。科幻产业的生长与发展也必将带动更多新的诉求，引发科幻文学自身变革的渴望，当本土原创文学不能及时提供有效的典范文本之时，外国文学就成为求助的对象，中外科幻交流活动也因此推进。译事推进的进程中，除了跟风而动开始着手国外科幻引进的出版社之外，真正了解科幻的编辑更多地开始介入译入工程，他们开始全方位地策划译介选题和出版活动，由此，名气不那么大，也没有被影视化，但在科幻创作史上仍然有其不可忽略的意义的作家作品被引入进来，时至今日，这种补齐工作至今仍在继续，这也是科幻译介活动真正走向成熟的一大标志。
文章来源：中译外研究 网址: http://zywyj.400zhicheng.com/lunwen/itemid-52837.shtml
叶永烈，我的精神导师
2020-10-05 09:23:28发布于安徽知识官 中国科学院科学传播研究中心副主任
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导读
他的作品如今还在流行，而当年批判他的文章已经没人读了。
在科幻创作上，我有几位精神导师。外国人是凡尔纳、别利亚耶夫和克莱顿，中国人就是叶永烈。长期研读他们的作品，让我确定了自己的写作方向。
我生长在一所科研大院，办公楼里有阅读室，订有少儿科普杂志。这让我很早就接触科幻，早到能读过叶永烈的第一篇科幻小说，1976年发表的《石油蛋白》。当时根本没记得作者，只记得小说写到，科学家用超级细菌给石油脱蜡，然后再把它们加工成奶粉和蛋白。对于一个“吃粮本”的孩子，这种“舌尖上的科幻”让我印象很深。
当时，家里也摆着《十万个为什么》。我同样不知道，里面有几分之一词条来自叶永烈。
上了初中，我开始有意识地选择科幻小说。那时候已经听说《小灵通漫游未来》，不过觉得那只是童话书，我都是青少年了，怎么能看这种幼稚的作品？2009年，我应邀编辑叶永烈文集，看到《小灵通漫游未来》中那些熟悉的情节，才意识到我肯定在小学时读过这本书，只不过当时没记住书名。
后来更是发现，叶永烈写过的某些科普作品，比如《奇怪的病号》，我小时候也读过。就这样，在完全不知道作者是谁的时候，叶永烈的作品就印在我的脑子里。
直到1995年，我才第一次有意识地读叶永烈的书，不是科幻，而是政治人物传记。在这些作品里，叶永烈表现出经天纬地，磅礴大气的文风，和他在少儿科普作品里的文字截然不同。无怪乎当年有人以为写传记的是另外一个叶永烈。我开始成为他的粉丝，也是因为这些传记。
等我进入科幻圈，叶永烈淡出已久，我们只在2004年见过两次面。一是福建少儿社创办《世界科幻博览》，邀请老中青几代科幻作家出谋划策。会上，我第一次见到叶永烈。印象里，这个写出很多文字的人，谈话反而很少，讲得也很慢。
到了该年年底，北京某家公司出版一套奇幻系列，通过我邀请叶老师出席座谈会。由于这个原因，我唯一一次和叶老师单独相处。期间，他和我聊了很多创作感受。我记得最清楚的话，大意是：他的作品如今还在流行，而当年批判他的文章已经没人读了。这句话成了我的定心丸，从此不在乎任何攻击。
2009年，唐山市委邀请冯小刚拍摄城市宣传片。天津创意产业协会也接到类似任务，想搞一部科幻片宣传天津，并找我出策划。我说，咱们不用策划新故事，直接改编《小灵通漫游未来》，把“未来市”改成“未来的天津市”就行。我提出一个改编方案，得到对方首肯，便帮助他们联系叶老师，商量版权购买事宜。
这也是我最后一次和叶老师打交道，可惜，这个项目后来没上马。至今，这部影响了一代人的书也没有搬上银幕。
二、多彩人生
这是一篇写给科幻迷的文字，所以我想专门谈谈科幻之外的叶永烈。因为我觉得，如今这代科幻作者和叶老师他们相比，人生经历过于单薄。
叶永烈的职业起点非常高，十岁写诗，二十出书这些就不用提了。进入文革，作为“取消资产阶级法权”的一部分，出版社不再给稿费。这种情况下，叶永烈居然出了十本科普作品！报酬只是稿纸。可见，写作对他不仅是职业，更是真正的兴趣。
也正因为如此，文革后上海少儿社恢复运营，急需作品，便去联系这位坚持投稿的作者。《小灵通漫游未来》因此迅速出版，可见机会确实只给有准备的人。
36岁那年，叶永烈已经在为毛泽东拍摄“文集内片”。有关方面组织一群电影工作者，分成小组执行这个任务。叶永烈在他那个组里既写脚本，又任导演。这项特殊工作，他一直拍到毛泽东去世。
叶永烈第一次获奖也是在导演的位置上，他执导的《红绿灯下》获得第三届电影百花奖最佳科教片奖。《小灵通漫游未来》红火之后，北影厂立刻准备将它搬上银幕，配备的编剧就是梁晓志，当时初出茅庐的知青作家。限于技术条件，片子没上马。不过，他的《神秘衣》等科幻作品当时改编成单集电视剧。
《侏罗纪公园》让CG技术大红大紫。当时，北京有家房地产公司想投拍中国第一部CG电影，以《大闹天宫》为名立项，投资1.2亿。那时，大陆每年全部票房也就十个亿，而这个天大的项目请来叶永烈作编剧。可惜，这个当时倍受关注的项目，也因资金链断裂下了马。
叶永烈婚后，房子只有12平米，孩子一出生，就要在室内搭阁楼。每逢酷暑，叶永烈就光着膀子钻上阁楼，边擦汗边创作。如今，很多年轻人说他们喜欢写作，可能都没达到叶永烈当年的程度。
身为科普导演和科技记者，叶永烈当然喜欢摄影，戏称自己是“好摄之徒”。在胶片时代，他就拍过几万张照片，这是一笔巨大的开销。开座谈会时，作为嘉宾的叶永烈发过言后，便开始给其他发言者拍照。轮到我发言，他也给我拍，搞得我很不好意思。这其实是他作记者工作的习惯，他会在各种场合保留素材。
《红绿灯下》给叶永烈带来一千元奖金，差不多相当于一年工资。叶永烈回忆说，从那时起，他算是脱贫致富。到九十年代，《大闹天宫》的编剧费达到一百万。后来，媒体开始发布中国作家富豪榜。2009年，叶永烈排进第23名。
90年代中期，移动通讯开始起步。当时中国电信没有移动牌照，就想搞一套低配版的市内移动电话。合作企业斯达康找到叶永烈，希望能得到授权，把这种手机称为“小灵通”，获得作家本人同意。
后来，小灵通在全球赢得一亿用户，仅国内就有五十多个行业中有人注册“小灵通”品牌。于是，有好事者专门计算了它的品牌价值，据称达到5.4亿元。虽然叶永烈并未收到这笔钱，但他可以算是科幻界内品牌输入的第一人。
三、科幻全才
科幻文学诞生之初，缺乏专门人才。一个人往往兼职作家、编辑、评论家、活动家等多重身份，这在各国都有先例。而叶永烈当年兼顾之全，在世界科幻史上也算罕见。
早在七十年代末，叶永烈就是边创作边研究。他写下的《论科学幻想小说》，后来成为一部科幻评论集的书名。叶永烈受聘于上海科普作协期间大量翻阅文献，寻找早期科幻的踪影。《月球殖民地小说》就是经他之手重见天日，一直被视为中国最早的科幻小说。
90年代末，叶永烈出版了《是是非非灰姑娘》，记录和总结自己亲历的中国科幻史。全书长达几十万字，内容极其丰富。叶永烈记录了大量的早期科幻作者，甚至有只发表几篇作品的流星。
把科幻小说比喻成“灰姑娘”，来自《人民日报》的一篇文章，形象地概括了当时中国科幻的窘境。迄今，《是是非非“灰姑娘”》仍然是对90年代之前中国科幻史的最好总结。可惜，它在2000年出版时正值科幻低潮，一直缺乏关注度。
早在创作高峰期，叶永烈就经常利用作者资源，帮助出版社编文集。90年代末，他更是编辑出六卷本《中国科幻小说世纪回眸丛书》，从晚清直到九十年代末。最后一本，已经包括王晋康、何夕这些刚涌现的作家。象全国作协副主席安子介早年夹叙夹译的作品《第二次洪水》，更是绝版。
1980年，叶永烈在上海遇到一个名叫史密斯的外教，他也是世界科幻协会的会员。通过史密斯，叶永烈与这个国际组织建立联系。不仅自己入会，还发展了九名会员。叶永烈也是与国际科幻界交流的最早发起人之一。
积累这么多资源，叶永烈当然也有建立全国科幻组织的念头。1983年，他与当时几位主力科幻作家共同策划，起草方案，向有关部门提交建立“中国科幻文学协会”的申请，可惜因故未能成功。
小松左京曾被称为“日本科幻的推土机”，叶永烈则被称为“中国科幻的主力舰”。他们都是在本国科幻尚显稚嫩的时代，逢山开路，遇水架桥，硬生生闯出一条路。走在上面的不仅是自己，也有广大同道。
可惜限于时代，叶永烈没能取得相应的成果，反而因为经常替科幻界出头，成为科幻小说遭遇批判时的核心标靶。对方戏称，他们要击沉这艘主力舰。当时不少科幻作家遭遇批判，大多一蹶不振。后来又能在文坛上走向新高度的，仅叶永烈一人。
四、一代宗师
凡尔纳、别利亚耶夫、克莱顿和叶永烈，说起来也是鼎鼎大名。其实，他们尊之者众，师之者寡，他们组成了科幻文学中的一条支流。
这些人的科幻创作有着鲜明特点。从题材上看，他们认真研究当时的科技前沿，在现实土壤中寻找素材，而不会写科幻圈里流行的人造创意。所以时过境迁，后人屡屡因为某个最新科研成果而想到他们的小说。
从情节上看，他们都以现实为背景，不搞架空，不追求另外创造一个世界。因为他们进行创作的初衷，就是要写好现实世界，他们都有用科幻干预现实的强烈意愿。而从主题来看，他们也不搞什么隐喻。想说什么，都会清清楚楚写在字面上。
虽然新中国早期科幻作家多有这种倾向，但是到了80年代，西方“点子文学”式的科幻手法开始在中国流行，象“外星人入侵”、“机器人造反”这些典型的科幻创意，当时已经有很多人学着写。而叶永烈仍然坚持原来的方向，不断用新作夯实这条路。虽然《小灵通漫游未来》略带穿越色彩，但那是作者六十年代动笔的实验作品。在创作高峰期，他的科幻小说全部接地气，就以当时的背景进行虚构。
从早期为《十万个为什么写词条》开始，叶永烈就收集大量科技动态。一方面这是他从事科普写作的素材，另一方面，他也用这些素材进行科幻创作。《小灵通漫游未来》的最初计划就是写一本《科学珍闻三百例》，只是在动笔时加上了人物和情节，内容则完全反映当时科学界的各种构想。今天我拿起纸杯，都会想起它也是这本书的一个科幻点。
因为长期跟踪科技新闻，叶永烈会把一些热点写入科幻小说。比如，《爱之病》就写了当时刚见诸媒体的艾滋病。《演出没有推迟》描写中国科学家研制流感疫苗快速生长法，如今在疫情期间重读，更能感同身受。
当然，热点意味着泥沙俱下，缺乏沉淀。叶永烈当时也受“气功热”影响，在科幻作品里写过“外气发射仪”。
由于扎根科研沃土，叶永烈的科幻点很少重复。一个故事里面不仅主线使用某个科研热点，副线也是。加起来，他在全部小说里写过几十个科幻点。如此丰富的题材库，全靠闭门造车写科幻的作者们难以企及。
今天，概念式科幻，点子科幻已经走进死胡同。新作者纷纷抱怨遭遇题材荒，不知道写什么。新作品里充满陈词滥调。而且，中外科幻都陷入这个窘境，科幻文学急需从另一个方向上寻找出路。现在重读叶永烈的作品，相信会得到很好的启发。
当然，这并不是让大家重写他的题材，叶永烈也没有抄袭前人的题材。上述每位扎根现实的科幻大师，都会从当代科研土壤中吸收新营养，给科幻带来新动力。我们要学的，是叶永烈这种埋头现实的写作方向。
科学无止境，扎根科学的科幻也不会有止境。
五、巅峰之作
如果让我在叶永烈的科幻作品里找一篇来代表这种创作方向，我会选择《腐蚀》。美国评论家冈恩在编辑《科幻之路》时，仅收录两篇中国作品。一篇是《地球的镜像》，由郑文光创作，是典型的创意式科幻。另一篇就是叶永烈的《腐蚀》，几乎算是一篇现实主义文学。
在叶永烈之前，国内科幻小说往往把科研过程当成黑箱，只写科研成果，或者用夸张的手法描述科研过程。至少，没有哪篇小说把科研当成情节主干。然而，人文元素更多的包含在过程中，而不是产物中。要提升科幻小说的人文价值，势必要把关注点转移到这方面。
在早期作品《鲜花献给谁》中，叶永烈就对此作过尝试。这篇作品的科幻点是在器官移植当中如何解决排异问题，几乎是把现实中的科研问题搬进小说。作品描写科学家寻找排异反应的原因，如何用动物作先期实验，又如何开始人体实验。
整篇作品就是科研过程的记述，但是对人物动机缺乏描写，科学家就象科研机器般运转，发现一个问题就解决一个问题。而在《腐蚀》中，叶永烈不仅突出了人物动机，而且是鲜为外界所知的负面动机。《腐蚀》成为中国第一篇以科研伦理为主题的科幻小说。
这篇作品的构思有两个来源。一是借鉴迈克尔-克莱顿的《死城》，描写人造卫星坠落时带来天外病原体。二是作者本人到罗布泊基地采访彭加木失踪案时，积累下采访素材。两者融合，构成了小说惊险的开篇。
然而，小说的核心冲突却是主人公王璁如何争名夺利。他非常有才华，否则不可能被上级委以科研重任。但同时又利欲薰心，想方设法把研究成果具为己有，在论文作者排名上挖空心思，专注于研究国际科学奖的评选程序。
叶永烈多年采访科研单位，不可能只记录成果不记录人。在一个仍然把“科学家”神化的时代里，《腐蚀》用一个品质有缺陷的科学家作为主人公，远远超越了时代。
可惜，或许由于篇幅所限，作者让王璁发生突然转变，匆匆结尾。更可惜的是，由于《腐蚀》以科学界内部人事纷争为题材，当时的社会关注度就不高，这篇作品在今天几乎被遗忘。
从文学价值上看，《腐蚀》是叶永烈创作的高峰。它发表于《人民文学》1981年11月，在当年“全国优秀短篇小说”评选中，被评价为“真正作为文学的科幻小说”。可惜这篇小说并未获奖，很快，陷入批判漩涡的作者也没有条件再延着这条路探索下去。
虽然只见过几次面，也没有什么深交，但我一直把叶永烈当成科幻创作方面的精神导师。因为他的创作方向，他的勤奋，还因为他那深埋在作品里的责任感。
高大伟 David Cowhig's Translation Blog 