On the afternoon of October 9, 2021, the "Lyme Works Seminar" hosted by the Center for Literary Creation and Research of Tsinghua University was held at PageOne Bookstore. Jiang Bo, a famous science fiction writer, Mao Rui, a teacher at Shanghai University of Foreign Chinese and a translator of Lem's works, Wang Hongzhe, a researcher at Peking University, Lu Nannan, an associate professor at the University of International Business and Economics, Shen Weirong, director of the Department of Chinese of Tsinghua University, and Jia Liyuan, executive director of the Research Center for Literary Creation and Research, gathered with Polish cultural researchers to discuss the literary treasures left by this Polish science fiction master to the world.
Stanisław Lem 1921.9–2006.3 is one of Poland's most prominent writers, writing more than thirty novels and numerous short stories in his lifetime, translated into 52 languages and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, including Solaris Star, Futurology Congress, fiasco, and fiasco. Many domestic readers know Lem, starting from "Solaris Star", this book as a well-deserved masterpiece of Lem, this novel was put on the screen by Andrey Tarkovsky and Steven Soderberg, and Tass 'Flying into Space' cast a film history classic.
This year coincides with the 100th anniversary of stanisław Lem's birth, and a number of translations of Lem's works have been launched by the Chinese publishing community, including the "Lem Complete Collection Series" launched by Yilin Publishing House, the "Robot Master" published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, and the upcoming Lem's philosophical prose collection "Technical Encyclopedia". Taking this as an opportunity, the Center for Literary Creation of Tsinghua University held this seminar to commemorate this great Polish science fiction writer.
Polish translator Mauri: Every step closer to Lem is progress
At the event site, Mao Rui, a teacher at Shanghai Foreign Chinese University and a translator of Lem's works, reviewed the long-standing cultural exchanges between China and Poland, and comprehensively introduced Mr. Lyme's works and styles through his personal experience of translating "Robot Master".
"Science fiction is the literary genre in which Lemme has achieved his greatest achievements, and he has elevated science fiction literature to a very high artistic height with his own whimsy and lofty heights." Mao Rui introduced that in addition to science fiction creation, Lem is an all-rounder author: "Lem is a master of language games, he has a rich and comprehensive science and engineering knowledge, deep thinking about the future world and a unique writing charm. In his work, Lem is adept at blending philosophy and history into a lively and interesting story. Mao Rui said.
Talking about the translation experience, Mao Rui told reporters that translating Lem from Polish is a challenging job, "In the past two years of translation, I have always been wrapped in complex emotions. Pride was able to speak directly to the genius Lem and wander through his cyber universe. I know that the distance between me and the genius is probably light years, but every step closer to him is progress. ”
Expert sharing: Understanding the philosophical universe of science fiction masters from multiple perspectives
At the event site, lovers of Lyme novels from different fields shared their reading experience from their own professional perspectives. Science fiction writer Jiang Bo said that Lyme's works are compatible from the philosophical height and express the story in a fairy tale way, and Jiang Bo said that the successful integration of the height and depth of this idea with the readability of the story is worth the in-depth consideration of science fiction creators.
Researcher Wang Hongzhe introduced the origin of Lem's non-fiction work "Technical Encyclopedia" published in 1964 and its ideas, and pointed out that Lem's science fiction writing and non-fiction works should be cross-referenced to truly enter his world of thought. Associate Professor Lu Nannan introduced Lemme's long and changeable creative career, pointing out Lem's unique contribution to crossing the boundaries of literary genres, breaking the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction, and even opening up new literary styles.
"In an era, Lem used his works to deeply think about the basic problems of human beings, and in this regard, Lem and Zhuangzi are quite similar." Jia Liyuan, executive director of the Center for Literary Creation at Tsinghua University and associate professor of the Department of Chinese, pointed out in his concluding remarks, "This shows that science fiction can be regarded as a new allegory in the era of science and technology." Lem proved that science fiction writers can be great writers, and science fiction literature can be great literature. ”
It is reported that this "Lyme Works Seminar" is a warm-up activity for the 2021 "Mizuki Science Fiction Week". The Science Fiction Week series of activities, hosted by the Research Center for Literary Creation and Research of Tsinghua University, will be held from October 9 to 17, including the "2021 Tsinghua University Young Writers Workshop" (online) and science fiction-themed academic seminars, expert lectures, film and drama appreciation.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhang Zhiyi
Editor/Ying Qiao