Liu Cixin, the author of "The Wandering Earth", said: Qian Lifang's "Providence" was the driving force for me to write "The Three-Body Problem".
"Three-body", "Wandering Earth", "Providence" are all science fiction novels, and unlike the previous two, "Providence" is both a science fiction novel and a strong historical epic charm. As a result, Chinese science fiction readers see Providence as a milestone.
On science fiction films, the United States, which is not the global hegemony of scientific and technological strength; on historical theme film and television dramas, no country with unique resources can compare with China. Therefore, some people joke that the United States has no past; China has no future. At that time, "The Three-Body Problem" had not yet come out, the Wandering Earth had been published, and it had not yet received enough attention, and "Providence" had just entered my field of vision. Today, with the international influence of these heavyweight science fiction novels, as well as the successful implementation of scientific and technological projects such as Tianyan, Beidou, and the space station, I am afraid that there will be no Chinese saying that "China has no future".
When I first read Providence, I read it as a historical novel, no! Strictly speaking, it should be read as an alternate historical novel. It was not until the middle and later parts, the mystery was revealed, that the divine messenger chose an agent in the human world, the purpose was to integrate the use of earth resources to repair the aircraft, to help "Fuxi" return to his own planet, he suddenly realized, ah! It turns out that this is a science fiction novel.
The gist of the book:
The story of "Providence" is set in the last years of the Qin Dynasty and the time when the Chu and Han dynasties were in contention. Poor but with a big heart, Han Xin mixed in Huaiyin and lived on food. The messenger who called himself Canghai Jun called Han Xin the "Chosen Son" and hoped that Han Xin would obey the divine messenger, but han Xin regarded him as a liar.
It turned out that a few years ago, visitors from outer space had to live on Earth due to the exhaustion of fuel and the destruction of the aircraft. This visitor, the human-faced snake god, was revered as "Fuxi". Fu Xi painted gossip, performed Yi Li, and taught people music, pottery making, winemaking techniques, and the use of various tools in manufacturing. Worshipped as a deity. Fuxi is immortal, coupled with the difference in form and human, living inland for a long time will inevitably be regarded as a demon, so he avoids living on the islands in the East China Sea. During this period, Fuxi Wuse was loyal to his agent, the "Pengzu" who was regarded by the world as the ancestor of longevity. Peng Zu is from the East China Sea and calls himself the "Canghai Jun", specifically for Fuxi to find a strong person who can dominate the world and hold supreme power.
The first emperor YingZheng was the candidate they chose, and after Yingzheng ascended the throne, he wanted to go into the sea to look for immortals many times, in fact, he wanted to look for the gods "Fuxi" and Pengzu, the king of the canghai. After many explorations, Yin Zheng discovered their secrets, Yin Zheng exhausted the world's financial resources to repair the Long March, Afang Palace, Lishan Mausoleum, listened to the orders of the god Fuxi, to concentrate the gold, copper, mercury, magnesium and other metals of the whole day for repairing the aircraft. When Yingzheng gained help Fuxi gather the world's metal resources and would bring extinction disasters to the earth and mankind, Yingzheng decided to get rid of Fuxi and Pengzu. Of course, Yingzheng is definitely not Fuxi's opponent.
After Yingzheng's death, Canghaike, on behalf of the god Fuxi, secretly found "Zhang Liang", "Han Xin", "Xiang Yu", "Liu Bang" and others, such as zhang Liang's assassination of Qin Shi Huang's large iron vertebrae was a weapon sponsored by Canghai Jun, and the Hercules who threw the big iron vertebrae were also Canghai Jun's people. Among the many candidates, Liu Bang was the most obedient. With the help of the god Fuxi, Liu Bang seized the world and became the new emperor. Judging liu bang's various behaviors as empress dowager, Han Xin knew that Liu Bang had been controlled by "Fuxi", and the divine messenger "Canghai Jun" had officially ordered Liu Bang and Lü Yan to arrest and kill Han Xin on the charge of treason. Han Xin knew that he would not be able to escape death, and for the sake of the world's life, he decided to take a desperate risk and use a strange trick to eliminate "Fuxi".
"In the other way, also apply to the other body", Han Xin knew that there was no weapon in the world that could hurt Fuxi, so he used the weapons provided by Fuxi to injure Fuxi, and burned the important resources and fuel that Fuxi had accumulated for thousands of years to repair the spacecraft flying away from the earth. The wounded Fuxi knew that the millennium's efforts had been ruined, and he was full of resentment, at this moment he had the ability to kill Han Xin, but he did not take matters into his own hands, he wanted to let Han Xin die at the hands of the woman after being discredited.
Xiao He came to invite Han Xin into the palace, and Han Xin knew that there was no return from this trip. He smiled at the eldest brother and predecessor who had recommended him to become a great general, and resolutely walked towards the Changle Palace...
"Providence" takes the life of Marquis Han Xin of Huaiyin as the main line, takes the struggle for hegemony in the late Qin and early Han dynasties as the background, and is based on ancient myths and legends, unfolding a vigorous historical picture. The portrayal of Han Xin as a nearly perfect character makes people feel a lot less regret and sigh for the records of the "History of the Marquis of Huaiyin".
Authors and authors:
Qian Lifang is a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and a middle school history teacher. It is said that Providence was Qian Lifang's first novel, and she had never written a novel before. In 2002, Qian Lifang wanted to write a small story called "Darkness Chen Cang", but "if you are not careful, you will write it long". At that time, the most influential magazine in the domestic science fiction literature circle, Science Fiction World, only accepted submissions for short stories and novellas, and did not accept long stories.
In addition to "Science Fiction World" in China, there is really no such publication suitable for this kind of novel, Qian Lifang hard scalp to throw out this long manuscript, what people did not expect is that the manuscript "spread crazy" in the entire editorial department, and everyone was very excited to read it. The editors are sure to tell her: You can rest assured, we will definitely publish this article! It's just that Science Fiction World has never published a long-form work, and everyone is thinking about a way to publish it. Finally, Science Fiction World simply produced a supplement to Providence.
Recommended for:
As a science fiction novel, "Providence" is set in the Han Dynasty, which is almost beyond the cognition of its peers. She adapted and reset the original story on the basis of "History", but it was completely in line with the historical record at the level of major historical facts and character resolutions. Only in the event motives, the fate of the characters and other aspects of the clever nesting, adjustment, so that the novel in line with the narrative logic of their own story. This technique can be called the boldness of the artist, but it is done seamlessly.
In the novel, the Chancellor of the Great Qin State was arranged to be Han Xin's master, paving the way for Han Xin to raise the altar to worship the general.
Throwing 120 pounds of large iron vertebrae (which is actually a rocket-propelled launching weapon similar to a rocket cannon) recorded in the story of Zhang Liang's assassination of Qin Shi Huang recorded in the "History of the Liuhou Family" is also reasonable. There is also the story of "Darkness Chen Cang" and Han Xin's understanding of things that only modern scientific and technological theories can explain clearly. It's unexpected, but it's all reasonable.
The depiction of the love story in the novel "Providence" is also extremely unconventional. The heroine Xiao Jiang has a soft and rigid personality, kind but not weak, although she is a maid, she is regarded as a confidant by Han Xin.
"Providence" is condensed in language, profound in thinking, strange in imagination, pure in content, moderate in expression, fascinating in story, and gripping in suspense. It is a fairy tale reading book for adults, and it can also be used as an extracurricular book for teenagers.
By the way, "Providence" also has a sister article "Mandate of Heaven", which is adapted from the story of "Su Wu Shepherd"!!!