AUTHOR’S POSTSCRIPT FOR THE AMERICAN EDITION
美国版作者后记
A night from my childhood remains crisply etched in my memory: I was standing by a pond before a village somewhere in Luoshan County, Henan Province, where generations of my ancestors had lived. Next to me stood many other people, both adults and children. Together, we gazed up at the clear night sky, where a tiny star slowly glided across the dark firmament.
我童年时代的一个夜晚至今仍被清晰地刻在我的记忆中：那是在河南省罗山县的某个村庄，我的祖辈世代居住的地方。那时的我站在村口的一个池塘边上。 在我身边还站着许多人，有大人也有小孩。 我们一起凝视着晴朗的夜空，看一颗星星缓缓划过暗淡的苍穹。
It was the first artificial satellite China had ever launched: Dongfanghong I (“The East is Red I”). The date was April 25, 1970, and I was seven.
那是中国有史以来发射的第一颗人造卫星：”东方红一号“1。 那一天是1970年4月25日，我那年七岁。
It had been thirteen years since Sputnik had been launched into space, and nine years since the first cosmonaut had left the Earth. Just a week earlier, Apollo 13 had safely returned from a perilous journey to the moon.
那一年，距“斯普特尼克号”2发射到太空已有13年，距第一位宇航员飞出地球也已有9年。而就在一周前，”阿波罗13号“刚刚从险象环生的登月之旅中安全返航。
But I didn’t know any of that. As I gazed at that tiny, gliding star, my heart was filled with indescribable curiosity and yearning. And etched in my memory just as deeply as these feelings was the sensation of hunger. At that time, the region around my village was extremely poor. Hunger was the constant companion of every child. I was relatively fortunate because I had shoes on my feet. Most of the friends standing by my side were barefoot, and some of the tiny feet still had unhealed frostbite from the previous winter. Behind me, faint light from kerosene lamps shone out of cracks in the walls of dilapidated thatched huts—the village wasn’t wired for electricity until the eighties.
但我那时对此毫不知情。当我凝视着那颗小小的、从天空中划过的星星时，我的心中充满了难以言表的好奇和向往。这些感情伴随着我腹中的饥饿感，深深地刻在我的记忆中。那时，这片地区非常贫穷。每个孩子都长期与饥饿为伴。 相对来说，我比较幸运，因为我的脚上还有鞋穿。站在我身旁的大多数小伙伴都是光着脚，有些小脚丫还带着去年冬天未愈合的冻疮。在我身后是破烂不堪的茅草房，墙面的缝隙里透着煤油灯微弱的灯光——这个村子直到80年代才通上电。
The adults standing nearby said that the satellite wasn’t like an airplane because it flew outside of the Earth. Back then the dust and smoke of industry hadn’t yet polluted the air, and the starry sky was especially clear, with the Milky Way clearly visible. In my mind, the stars that filled the heavens weren’t much farther away than the tiny, gliding satellite, and so I thought it was flying among them. I even worried that it might collide with one as it passed through the dense stellar clusters.
站我旁边的大人说，这卫星可不像飞机，因为它是飞离地球的。 彼时的大气层尚未被工业的灰尘和烟雾污染，星空清明，银河似练。在我看来，漫天的星星并不比这颗划过的、小小的卫星远多少，所以我想，它正在星间飞行。我甚至担心它在经过密集的星团时，会不会与其中的一颗相撞。
My parents weren’t with me because they were working at a coal mine more than a thousand kilometers away, in Shanxi Province. A few years earlier, when I had been even younger, the mine had been a combat zone for the factional civil wars of the Cultural Revolution. I remembered gunshots in the middle of the night, trucks passing in the street, filled with men clutching guns and wearing red armbands.… But I had been too young back then, and I can’t be sure whether these images are real memories, or mirages constructed later. However, I know one thing for certain: Because the mine was too unsafe and my parents had been impacted by the Cultural Revolution, they had had no choice but to send me to my ancestral home village in Henan. By the time I saw Dongfanghong I, I had already lived there for more than three years.
我的父母没有和我在一起，他们当时在一千多公里外的山西省的一处煤矿工作。再往前几年，在我更小的时候，这个煤矿曾是革命的一个战区。我还记得夜半的枪声，街上经过的卡车，上面坐满了拿着枪、戴着红袖章的人...但那时我太小了，我不确定这些画面是真实的记忆，还是我后来臆测的幻象。然而，有一件事是肯定的：因为煤矿太不安全，并且我的父母也被革命波及，他们别无选择，只能把我送到河南老家的小村庄。当我看到东方红一号时，我已经在那里生活了三年多了。
A few more years passed before I understood the distance between that satellite and the stars. Back then I was reading a popular set of basic science books called A Hundred Thousand Whys. From the astronomy volume, I learned the concept of a light-year. Before then, I had already known that light could traverse a distance equal to seven and a half trips around the Earth in a single second, but I had not contemplated what kind of terrifying distance could be crossed by flying at such a speed for a whole year. I imagined a ray of light passing through the cold silence of space at the speed of 300,000 kilometers per second. I struggled to grasp the bone-chilling vastness and profundity with my imagination, felt the weight of an immense terror and awe, and simultaneously enjoyed a druglike euphoria.
又过了几年，我才明白那颗人造卫星与其它星星之间的距离。那时，我读着一套很受欢迎的基础科学书籍，名为《十万个为什么》。从天文学卷中，我第一次知道了光年的概念。而在此之前，我虽然已经知道光可以在一秒钟内能穿越相当于环绕地球七圈半的距离，但我从未想过，以这样的速度飞行一整年，能够穿越多么骇人的距离。我想象着一束光以每秒30万公里的速度穿过寒冷寂静的太空。我努力用我的想象力去把握那令人战栗的浩瀚和深邃，感受着巨大而沉重的恐惧和敬畏，同时享受着一种迷幻般的快感。
From that moment, I realized that I had a special talent: Scales and existences that far exceeded the bounds of human sensory perception—both macro and micro—and that seemed to be only abstract numbers to others, could take on concrete forms in my mind. I could touch them and feel them, much like others could touch and feel trees and rocks. Even today, when references to the 15-billion-light-year radius of the universe and “strings” many orders of magnitude smaller than quarks have numbed most people, the concepts of a light-year or a nanometer can still produce lively, grand pictures in my mind and arouse in me an ineffable, religious feeling of awe and shock. Compared to most of the population who do not experience such sensations, I don’t know if I’m lucky or unlucky. But it is certain that such feelings made me first into a science fiction fan, and later a science fiction author.
自那一刻起，我意识到我有一种特殊的天赋：那些远远超出人类感官范围的大小和存在——无论是宏观的还是微观的——对旁人来说似乎仅仅是抽象的数字，但在我脑海中却可以呈现出具象的形式。我能够触碰它们、感受它们，就像其他人可以触碰、感受树木和岩石一样。即便现在大多数人对150亿光年的宇宙半径和比夸克小许多数量级的 "弦 "也只感到麻木时，一光年或一纳米的概念仍然可以在我的脑海中催生出生动而壮观的画面，并在我心中唤起一种难以言喻的、宗教般的敬畏和震撼。与大多数没有经历过这种感觉的人相比，我不知道自己是幸运还是不幸。但可以肯定的是，这种感觉先是让我成为了科幻爱好者，后来又让我成为了科幻作家。
In that same year when I was first awed by the concept of a light-year, a flood (known as the Great Flood of August ’75) occurred near my home village. In a single day, a record-breaking 100.5 centimeters of rain fell in the Zhumadian region of Henan. Fifty-eight dams of various sizes collapsed, one after another, and 240,000 people died in the resulting deluge. Shortly after the floodwaters had receded, I returned to the village and saw a landscape filled with refugees. I thought I was looking at the end of the world.
就在那一年，当我第一次被光年的概念震撼时，我的家乡附近发生了一场洪水（被称为“75·8特大洪水”）3。在一天之内，河南驻马店地区的降雨量达到了前所未有的1005毫米。58座大小水坝相继决堤，24万人在由此引发的洪水中丧生。洪水退去后不久，我回到村子里，眼前挤满了灾民，我觉得看到了世界末日。
And so, satellite, hunger, stars, kerosene lamps, the Milky Way, the Cultural Revolution’s factional civil wars, a light-year, the flood … these seemingly unconnected things melded together and formed the early part of my life, and also molded the science fiction I write today.
于是，卫星、饥饿、星星、煤油灯、银河系、革命、一光年、洪水......这些看似毫无关联的东西交融在一起，构成了我幼年的生活，也塑造了我今天写的科幻小说。
As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction as a disguised way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality. I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science. The stories of science are far more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying, mysterious, and even emotional, compared to the stories told by literature. Only, these wonderful stories are locked in cold equations that most do not know how to read.
作为一个从爱好者开始的科幻作家，我不会将我的作品作为批评现实的幌子。我觉得，科幻小说最大的魅力在于创造了无数在现实之外的想象世界。我一直认为，人类历史上最伟大、最美妙的故事不是由流浪的吟游诗人唱出来的，也不是由剧作家和小说家写出来的，而是由科学讲出来的。与文学讲的故事相比，科学的故事要更加的宏伟壮丽、曲折幽深、惊悚诡异、恐怖神秘，甚至更加的多愁善感。只是，这些精彩的故事被禁锢在冰冷的方程式中，大多数人不知道如何去阅读。
The creation myths of the various peoples and religions of the world pale when compared to the glory of the big bang. The three-billion-year history of life’s evolution from self-reproducing molecules to civilization contains twists and romances that cannot be matched by any myth or epic. There is also the poetic vision of space and time in relativity, the weird subatomic world of quantum mechanics … these wondrous stories of science all possess an irresistible attraction. Through the medium of science fiction, I seek only to create my own worlds using the power of imagination, and to make known the poetry of Nature in those worlds, to tell the romantic legends that have unfolded between Man and Universe.
与宇宙大爆炸的辉煌相比，世界上各民族和宗教的创世神话都相形见绌。生命从自我繁殖的分子进化到文明的三十亿年的历史中，包含了任何神话或史诗都无法比拟的曲折和浪漫。还有相对论中对空间和时间的诗意憧憬，量子力学中诡异的亚原子微观世界......这些奇妙的科学故事都有一种令人难以抗拒的吸引力。我只想用自己的想象力，透过科幻小说这一媒介来创造我自己的世界，揭示自然在那些世界中的诗意，讲述在人与宇宙之间展开的浪漫传奇。
But I cannot escape and leave behind reality, just like I cannot leave behind my shadow. Reality brands each of us with its indelible mark. Every era puts invisible shackles on those who have lived through it, and I can only dance in my chains. In science fiction, humanity is often described as a collective. In this book, a man named “humanity” confronts a disaster, and everything he demonstrates in the face of existence and annihilation undoubtedly has sources in the reality that I experienced. The wonder of science fiction is that it can, when given certain hypothetical world settings, turn what in our reality is evil and dark into what is righteous and bright, and vice versa. This book and its two sequels try to do just that, but no matter how reality is twisted by imagination, it ultimately remains there.
但我无法逃避现实，就像我无法抛开自己的影子。现实给我们每个人都打上了难以磨灭的烙印。每个时代都会给经历过它的人戴上无形的镣铐，而我只能戴着镣铐跳舞。在科幻小说中，人类经常被描述为一个集体。而在这本书中，一个名为 "人类 "的集体面临着灭顶之灾，它在面对生存和毁灭时所表现出的一切，无疑都源于我所经历过的现实。科幻小说的奇妙之处在于，在假设的世界观中，它可以将我们现实中的邪恶与黑暗变成正义和光明，反之亦然。这本书和它的两部续集就旨在做到这一点。但无论现实如何被想象扭曲，归根结底，它仍在那里。
I’ve always felt that extraterrestrial intelligence will be the greatest source of uncertainty for humanity’s future. Other great shifts, such as climate change and ecological disasters, have a certain progression and built-in adjustment periods, but contact between humankind and aliens can occur at any time. Perhaps in ten thousand years, the starry sky that humankind gazes upon will remain empty and silent, but perhaps tomorrow we’ll wake up and find an alien spaceship the size of the moon parked in orbit. The appearance of extraterrestrial intelligence will force humanity to confront an Other. Before then, humanity as a whole will never have had an external counterpart. The appearance of this Other, or mere knowledge of its existence, will impact our civilization in unpredictable ways.
我一直认为，外星文明将是人类未来最大的隐忧。其他重大变故，如气候变化和生态灾难，都有其发展规律和转圜余地，但人类与外星人的接触却随时可能发生。也许在万年以后，人类凝视的那片星空依旧是空旷寂静的，但也许我们明天醒来时，就会发现一艘月球般大小的外星飞船停在了地球轨道。外星文明的出现将迫使人类对抗另一个“他者”。在此之前，人类作为一个整体，从未有过同类的出现。这个“他者”的出现，或者仅仅是知道它存在，都将以难以预料的方式影响我们的文明。
There’s a strange contradiction revealed by the naïveté and kindness demonstrated by humanity when faced with the universe: On Earth, humankind can step onto another continent, and without a thought, destroy the kindred civilizations found there through warfare and disease. But when they gaze up at the stars, they turn sentimental and believe that if extraterrestrial intelligences exist, they must be civilizations bound by universal, noble, moral constraints, as if cherishing and loving different forms of life are parts of a self-evident universal code of conduct.
人类在面对宇宙时表现出的天真和善良揭示出一种奇怪的矛盾。在地球上，人类可以踏足另一个大陆，并毫无顾忌地通过战争和瘟疫摧毁那里的同胞。但当他们仰望星空时，却变得多愁善感起来，他们相信如果存在外星文明，那些文明也必然普遍为一种高尚的道德所约束，仿佛珍惜和爱护不同的生命形态是不言而喻的宇宙准则。
I think it should be precisely the opposite: Let’s turn the kindness we show toward the stars to members of the human race on Earth and build up the trust and understanding between the different peoples and civilizations that make up humanity. But for the universe outside the solar system, we should be ever vigilant, and be ready to attribute the worst of intentions to any Others that might exist in space. For a fragile civilization like ours, this is without a doubt the most responsible path.
我认为应恰恰相反：让我们将对群星的善意转向对地球上的人类同胞，在构成人类的不同民族和文明之间建立起信任和理解。但对于太阳系以外的宇宙，我们应时刻保持警惕，并以最坏的恶意来揣测可能存在于太空中的任何“他者”。对于像我们这样如此脆弱的文明来说，这无疑是最负责任的选择。
As a fan of science fiction, it has molded my life, and a considerable part of the science fiction I’ve read comes from America. The fact that American readers can now enjoy my book makes me both pleased and excited. Science fiction is a literature that belongs to all humankind. It portrays events of interest to all of humanity, and thus science fiction should be the literary genre most accessible to readers of different nations. Science fiction often describes a day when humanity will form a harmonious whole, and I believe the arrival of such a day need not wait for the appearance of extraterrestrials.
作为一个科幻爱好者，科幻小说塑造了我的生活，而我读过的科幻小说又有相当一部分来自美国。现在，我很高兴美国读者也能读到我的作品。科幻小说是属于全人类的文学，它描述的是全人类都兴趣的事，因此，对于各国读者，科幻小说应是最容易接触的文学体裁。科幻小说经常描绘这样一天，全人类成为一个和谐共处的整体。而我相信，这样的一天的到来不必等待外星人的出现。
I express my heartfelt thanks to Ken Liu, the translator of this and the third volume, and to Joel Martinsen, the translator of the second volume. Their diligence and care created the English edition. I am grateful to China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation Ltd. (CEPIEC), Science Fiction World Publishing, and Tor Books, whose trust and faith have made this publication possible.
向本册和第三卷的翻译者刘宇昆（Ken Liu）和第二卷的翻译者周华（Joel Martinsen）表示衷心的感谢。他们的勤勉和细心创造了这个英译本。我还要感谢中国教育图书进出口有限公司（CEPIEC）、《科幻世界》杂志社和托尔图书，是他们的信任和信心使这本书的出版成为可能。
——Liu Cixin（刘慈欣）
December 28, 2012
2012年12月28日
译者注
1“东方红一号”是中华人民共和国于1970年4月24日在酒泉卫星发射中心由长征一号运载火箭发射升空的第一颗人造卫星，同时也是东方红人造卫星系列的首颗卫星。
2 斯普特尼克号，又称斯普特尼克1号，是第一颗进入行星轨道的人造卫星。在前苏联于1957年10月4日自拜科努尔航天中心发射升空。俄罗斯卫星通讯社与广播电台（Sputnik news agency & radio）的名字也由此而来。
3河南“75·8”特大洪水”，是1975年8月发生在中国河南省南部淮河流域的一次大规模溃坝事件，包括板桥水库在内的62座水库在台风“莲娜”的特大暴雨影响下相继溃坝。1015万人受灾，超过2.6万人死难，是死亡人数最多的台风水灾之一。文中死亡数据有误。
