序言三

刘宇昆(Ken Liu)

据我所知,微像文化和《克拉克世界》在翻译出版中国科幻作品方面的合作在业界还是前所未有的。由于经费短缺,优秀的翻译作品一直难以出现,而没有良好的翻译质量,再深刻有力的作品也无法跨越语言差异的障碍。因此,我们还得深深地感谢这两家公司的有识之士。

目睹这一合作随着时间推移不断发展,着实令人振奋。越来越多的编辑、译者和作者投身这一事业,中选作品和翻译技巧都更为丰富多样且更具吸引力。

在世界各地存在着多如繁星的精彩作品,鉴于没有人能够掌握世界上所有的语言,翻译就是我们阅读体会非母语作品的最佳途径。希望这一合作能抛砖引玉,带来更多更好的翻译作品。

The collaboration between Storycom and Clarkesworld to publish Chinese SF in translation is,as far as I know,unprecedented.The lack of funding has always held back good translations,which keeps powerful stories from crossing linguistic barriers.We thus owe a debt of gratitude to the visionaries in both of these companies.

It’s been fascinating to watch the collaboration develop over time,as more editors,translators,and authors become involved to make the stories chosen as well as the translation techniques employed more diverse and interesting.

There is a great deal of wonderful fiction between written all over the world,and since it’s impossible for all of us to speak and read all the languages of the world,translation is the best way for us to experience works not written in our own tongues.I hope this collaboration is but a sign of things to come.