Found and Lost

Found and Lost

🪐 The creator's gaze, the narrator's account, the restless soul of a space wanderer. All worlds must be re-told, until they become strange enough. ☄️ Stories are never true, but lies are indeed the children of silence. On an ever-darkening earth, she saw the light in the window from afar. Who lit the lamp? Whose child are you, and who is your child? Whose story will be told? I say, my name is the same as yours. 📖 A comprehensive retrospective of "Sci-Fi Godmother" Ursula K. Le Guin's novellas: Gathering thirteen novellas, encompassing five worldviews, one book surveys the entire landscape of Le Guin's writing. In the mid-to-late twentieth century, under the shadows of economic depression, the Cold War between the US and the USSR, the threat of nuclear war, the space race, biological experiments, and environmental pollution, the illusion of triumphant technological progress was shattered. People began to rethink technological development and the not-necessarily-bright future of humanity. The way science fiction was written also changed, injecting rich humanistic colors into the "hard" science fiction of the "Golden Age." Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the representative figures of this "New Wave of Science Fiction" movement, renowned for her "Earthsea Cycle" and "Hainish Cycle" series. "The Found and the Lost" is a collection of Le Guin's novellas, gathering thirteen novellas and encompassing five worldviews. It possesses both the grandeur of novels and the lightness of short stories. Each piece can stand alone, yet echoes other works, comprehensively showcasing Le Guin's literary style and depth of thought, thereby offering a panoramic view of Le Guin's entire writing career. "The novella is a form of fiction I'm especially fond of, and I'm happy to have them all gathered together. It is indeed a big book, probably thicker than a Webster's Dictionary, but fortunately, it's still manageable." — Ursula K. Le Guin 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 In the eyes of readers, Le Guin's greatest skill was "creating worlds" and conducting "thought experiments" within these new worlds. People whose gender flows, animals that can transform into human form at any time, planet consciousness in plant form, marriage patterns of four individuals, a male-to-female ratio of one to sixteen, colonized planets with genetically modified inhabitants hoping to rejoin the alliance, a crisis of faith on a generation ship destined to fly for six generations, a magical world out of balance... These strange worlds may seem peculiar, but in reality, they are merely "our world" with some parameters altered. While marveling at these wonders, we inevitably reflect on ourselves and reconsider whether the parameters in our world, such as gender, race, religion, and class, are as naturally reasonable as they seem to be. But Le Guin believed that she was not "creating" fictional worlds, but rather "discovering" the real world and humanity itself. She adopted the stance of an explorer, delving into the blind spots of common sense and the forests within each person's heart, unearthing new worlds that are strange to us but not terrifying, witnessing their repeated shattering and reintegration. In "The Found and the Lost," she explicitly states: "I do not mean to depict action or adventure, but to show psychological interest. I am tired of writing adventure stories, unless the character's actions reveal their inner workings, or their actions reflect what it means to be human. In fact, often the more action in a story, the less actually happens. And I am clearly more interested in describing the changes deep within the human heart, depicting the vast world rooted within us. There is a forest in everyone's heart, a boundless, untrodden forest. Every night, each of us gets lost in this forest, wandering alone." 🌘 Many stories in "The Found and the Lost," though set in space, are not the familiar Star Wars narrative, but rather resemble an interstellar oral history or an expedition log of new continents, exuding a strong "post-Cold War" atmosphere: It's as if some grand construction once existed, now collapsed and vanished, and we must continue to live in the ruins of the world, for there is no other "home" to return to. We can only constantly reminisce about "when the world was young," futilely reflecting on and retelling everything we can comprehend, in an attempt to pinpoint the coordinates of our small tribe in the vast universe and rebuild our own world: "What you choose out of it to make a story is everything. The foundations on which you build your own world, that local, comprehensible, rational, coherent world, are everything. So all choices are arbitrary. All knowledge is essentially incomplete, an infinitesimally small fragment. Reason is like a net thrown into the sea; the truth it brings back is a fragment of the whole truth, a moment, a spark. All human knowledge is limited. Every life, every person is limited, arbitrary, an extremely faint reflection for a moment..." 🌳 Content Introduction: "Every novella by Le Guin is a literary classic," but until now, they have been scattered and never fully presented to the public. "The Found and the Lost" is the first collection and comprehensive retrospective of Le Guin's novellas, bringing together thirteen novellas encompassing five worldviews, thus offering a panoramic view of Le Guin's writing. Among them, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," "The Diary of Seggri," "Another Story, or The Fisherman of the Inland Sea," "Forgiveness Day," "The Child of a People," "The Liberation of a Woman," and "Old Music and the Slave Women" belong to the "Hainish Cycle" worldview; "The Finder," "Up on the High Marsh," and "Dragonfly" belong to the "Earthsea Cycle" worldview (the translation of some proper nouns refers to the "Earthsea Cycle" series translated by Cai Meiling and Duan Zongchen, Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House, 2014 edition); "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight," "The Hearn Family," and "The Lost Paradises" each belong to three different worldviews. The works in this collection have been nominated for the Hugo Award 6 times, the Nebula Award 4 times, the World Fantasy Award 3 times, and the Locus Award 12 times. Among them, "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" won both the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award; "Forgiveness Day" and "The Finder" won the Locus Award; "The Diary of Seggri" won the Otherwise Award; and "The Liberation of a Woman" won the Asimov's Reader's Choice Award. 🪅 Thoughts from the Translators: Ten translators, as writers, critics, and researchers, have been deeply involved in the field of science fiction for many years. At the same time, almost all of them are readers of Le Guin. This collaboration, at the invitation of Ideal Country, involved translating Le Guin's nine-hundred-page collection word by word and sentence by sentence into the Chinese world. When I was young, I always felt Ursula's science fiction wasn't good. Other people's science fiction either had an eye-opening idea. Or it was as exhilarating as a Hollywood blockbuster. Only Ursula was obscure, subtle. Always talking about something elusive. She didn't seem to be telling a story. Rather, she just saw something new and interesting, or had a new and interesting perspective on something, and then held it in her palm and showed it to you. It wasn't until I reached thirty that I understood her foresight. While other sci-fi authors were still talking about the vastness of the universe and the distant reaches of time, she had already turned her gaze to people themselves. She wasn't looking far away, but delving deep within. Not discussing how far or how grand we could see or imagine. But discussing the subtle twists and turns within our own hearts. In her novels, people don't live for something great or noble. They just exist. She first illuminates the characters' souls, then draws their forms. Depicting the characters standing, or walking. Letting the reader know that the meaning of being human is not about achieving greatness. But about truly existing. Being alive. Science fiction originates from the conquest of life and nature. But ultimately, it still has to return to our existence and meaning as human beings. In this regard, Ursula was half a century ahead. — Zhou Huaming, science fiction author and translator, passionate about content creation at the intersection of games, fantasy, and internet technology. First published game-related fantasy novels in 1999. Began publishing science fiction novels in 2002. Published "Gene War" in 2006. ("The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight") I read Ursula K. Le Guin—a writer ahead of her time. The issues of race and gender she discusses in her works are not only shocking but also thought-provoking. In "Old Music and the Slave Women," a child slave contracts an illness that could be cured with medicine and a doctor. But slaves cannot get treatment, so the kind and peaceful slave mother can only quietly wait for her child to die, viewing death as "gaining freedom." In "The Liberation of a Woman," a young estate owner frees all his slaves, yet these "free" slaves are still inevitably slaughtered by other estate owners. "The Hearn Family" is one of Le Guin's few non-fantasy works, chronicling the experiences of four generations of women in the Hearn family in a small town through a jumping timeline, with each story like an adage. — Hu Shaoyan, based in Singapore, science fiction writer and translator, author of "Earth Reborn," translator of "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "Southern Reach Trilogy" series, etc. ("The Hearn Family," "Old Music and the Slave Women," "The Liberation of a Woman") There are not many translations of Le Guin into simplified Chinese, apart from "The Left Hand of Darkness," "The Dispossessed," "The Telling," "Changing Planes," "The Word for World Is Forest," and the "Earthsea" series, only scattered short stories in magazines. Before reading her works, I had more than ten years of experience reading science fiction and fantasy, but I was still immediately struck and revered her as one of my favorite authors, and also a goal I strive for in my writing. She is broad, inclusive, non-judgmental, uses stories to convey beliefs and ideas, and builds hypothetical worlds through thought experiments. "The Found and the Lost" is Le Guin's self-selected collection of novellas, and I am honored to participate as a translator. This is my first time translating a novel, and it might also be my last. Translating Le Guin's work is both a challenge and a pleasure. This opportunity allowed me to meticulously read her two novellas word by word and to re-recognize her profoundness and timelessness. The two works I translated, "The Diary of Seggri" and "Forgiveness Day," both discuss gender issues, but go beyond gender, and are even more worth re-reading today. All along, what I want to create are works that can make the world better, but what is good and what is bad, whether one's honey is another's poison, the complexity of this cannot be explained in a few words. Fortunately, Le Guin's stories provide us with a path for thought. — Wang Kanyun, writer, scholar, editor, PhD researcher at the CoFUTURES project, University of Oslo. Published personal short story collections "Seafood Restaurant" and "Cloud Mist 2.2," edited "The Way Spring Arrives," "New Voices in Chinese Science Fiction," the English version of "The Wandering Earth Movie Production Notes," etc. ("The Diary of Seggri," "Forgiveness Day") Translating and reading Le Guin's works is like falling into another time and space through the cracks of words, feeling a grand, delicate, and profound spiritual beauty. Her pursuit of balance and harmony resonates with Eastern philosophy, making her stories extremely universal and yet exceptionally close to our cultural roots. — Chen Qiufan, science fiction writer and translator. Translated works include "Twelve Tomorrows," "Silver Belt," "Chimera" and others. ("Another Story, or The Fisherman of the Inland Sea") The first time I read Le Guin's work was in middle school. I put it down for a while due to the complex background information in the story, but picked it up again a few years later. Reading it patiently, I discovered many delightful brilliant points. In her words, I saw reflections on gender, inquiries into the current state of civilization, intriguing world-building, and the beauty of life lying in curiosity and exploration of the unknown. She wasn't eager to stir my emotions, but rather, like a companion, took my hand and led me into new worlds. This relaxed and slow pace, instead, calmed my heart. After reading, I felt an urge to travel, making me want to search for something in my own world too. I always tell myself I can reread it when I want to temporarily withdraw and ponder things that seem unrelated to the details of life but are intimately connected to the entire world. At that time, I never imagined that one day I would become a translator of her works, a bridge to let more people know her, and I feel honored by it. — Hu Xiaoshi, young writer, screenwriter, and translator, graduated from Dalian University of Foreign Languages with a degree in translation. Works include "Twelve Tomorrows," "The Story of DuPont," etc. ("Another Story, or The Fisherman of the Inland Sea") An interesting soul from a distant world. Ursula K. Le Guin is a very familiar name, yet I haven't read many of her works, which should be a regret. This time, translating her novella gave me a strong feeling that she is an author skilled in world-building, possessing the ability to clarify logical relationships by starting from the essence of things. This is a core science fiction ability. If I may glimpse the whole from a part, I would guess that her works are grand and sweeping, at least a part of them should be. A work can reflect an author's temperament in certain aspects, and I believe I am not mistaken about this. Let me briefly talk about the novella I translated. It describes a future vision where humans are spread across the galaxy, a vision that is not only possible but highly likely to be the only way for humans to survive in the galaxy (if humans can indeed achieve galactic survival). Humans have the ability to travel between galaxies, but they don't do so frequently, because the time spent traveling would uproot all of a person's social attributes. A lonely person, even if they could traverse the entire galaxy, would find their life lacking meaning. Ursula portrays and describes this dilemma with extreme subtlety. What she tells is not a story in the usual sense, and it's even hard to say that this story has any climax. It is a man's journey, reflecting the colorfulness of the entire galactic world through the individual's not-so-intense involvement. I like this story, although it has no unexpected but reasonable twists, no so-called dramatic climax, but it reveals a beauty of logical rationality, and in this logically rational world, emotional moments always arrive unexpectedly. In the vast galaxy, what an interesting soul she was! Although she has passed away, the words and thoughts she left behind are a treasure for all humanity. — Jiang Bo, Chinese science fiction writer, author of "Heart of the Galaxy," "Gate of Machines," etc. ("The Child of a People") As the saying goes, kids who grow up reading Earthsea won't turn out too bad. Rereading Le Guin as an adult, my feelings were quite similar to Ged's first arrival at the Great House—"From the moment I stepped onto that hill, I felt as if I had become the child who first heard 'The Deeds of Enlad,' completely lost in mystery." Two days after finishing the translation, I happened to see the Western Zhou Fang Ding with a Yue Ren (one whose feet were amputated) guarding the gate. A small figure with one leg amputated leaned on a crutch, guarding a gate. "Palace guards internal, Yue Ren guards the park," everyone could have a meal. I recalled the ending of "The Finder": "So what will you do, Master Tern?" asked the Summoner. "I can guard the gate," Ged replied. "My leg is lame; I won't stray far from it. I'm old, and I know what to say to those who come. I am a finder; I can tell if they belong here." I really miss that world where everyone found their proper place. — Li Te, science fiction reader and translator. ("The Finder") As is well known, Ursula K. Le Guin collaborated with sinologist Jerome P. Seaton to translate Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" into English. Her literary creation was influenced by Eastern philosophy, feminism, and ecologism, exhibiting a distinct style from other European and American science fiction and fantasy works. What I personally like most about Le Guin's works is a detail: in the worlds she created, forgiveness and reconciliation always hold great importance. If people in the world read more of Le Guin's works, would there be less strife and more peace? — Yao Renjie, non-professional translator, translated science fiction short story "Alien Divergence" etc. ("Up on the High Marsh") I only delved into Ursula K. Le Guin's works after I started writing, but quickly became convinced that she was not only a great mentor in reading and writing, but also my life idol. I cannot forget how, in her writing, soulmates ostracized by societal norms supported each other on the vast ice plains, how the entire glory of a city full of laughter and happiness rested on a suffering child, and how a little girl, abandoned, humiliated, and burned, finally spread dragon wings in the flames. I also cannot forget how she laughed and raged in public speeches, criticizing the then-absolute mainstream of fantasy literature, dominated by white male aesthetics. And I can never forget how, in her old age after achieving fame and success, she would still weep uncontrollably in front of interview cameras because of the suffering of others. I believe that for every creator like her and me, facing an era of change, new challenges, and experiencing countless prejudices, misunderstandings, and neglect, those beautiful, profound, and timeless words, distilled from experience and wisdom, are like faint lights in the darkness, illuminating the unknown path ahead of us. And in the process of repeatedly reading and translating Le Guin's works, I can feel her breath transforming into the breath of her characters, into my own breath, and into the breath of my characters. In her writing, a person's "true name" can only be given by the "Other" who has perceived their talent. The "breath of others" that falls upon a person is an enormous power that we cannot understand, but which will ultimately shake reality. Breath, like hands, names, forests, shadows, and other seemingly simple but deeply meaningful things, constitutes the countless seemingly distant worlds in Le Guin's writing, yet touches certain profound essences of our own world in a way that realist works can hardly achieve. "My imagination makes me human, and makes me a fool; it gives me all the worlds, and banishes me from the world." Le Guin gave me many worlds, and also gave me the ability to create countless worlds. I hope this collection of works can bring the same power to every reader today, and to potential creators. "Truth is related to imagination," "I don't care what happens next, because I have already seen the dragon in the morning wind." — Mu Ming, speculative fiction author. Published Italian short story collection "Colora il Mondo" (Color the World), and will soon publish her first Chinese collection of novellas and short stories "Winding Ring." ("Dragonfly") In 2019, at the Another Planet Science Fiction Convention (APSFCon), I hosted a forum commemorating Ursula K. Le Guin. At the forum, I mentioned that a crucial background for Le Guin's science fiction and fantasy writing was anthropology. Her father was a pioneer in anthropology, and she grew up immersed in such an academic environment. Her initial writings were on the theme of "imagined races," and she later stumbled into the science fiction community, but her imagination and way of thinking in her creations still followed anthropological methodologies. This is clearly demonstrated in her unique way of world-building – when you read her novels, you are like an anthropologist conducting fieldwork, delving into and experiencing a community from an interwoven internal and external perspective, not even missing subtle and hidden details. Moreover, although the communities she depicts live on alien planets, we can always see the shadows of humanity itself. Among Le Guin's works, my favorite is still her short story collection "Changing Planes." Each story in this book depicts an imagined world in the ethnographical style of anthropology. Each is so novel, interesting, and captivating, and at the same time can reflect on ourselves as humans, making us ponder deeply. I have always recommended "Changing Planes" to my friends; it is the best gateway to Le Guin's imagined worlds. In "The Found and the Lost," I translated "The Lost Paradises." From an anthropological perspective, the novel observes human communities living on generation ships. They are a generation in transit, unable to return to Earth in this life, nor able to land on their destination planet. What kind of social structure did they form? How were their cognitive methods, meaning-making world, and life experiences completely altered? In this novella, Le Guin's masterful anthropological world-building ability is fully demonstrated. I recommend everyone to read it! — San Feng, visiting scholar at the Center for Science and Human Imagination, Southern University of Science and Technology, chief researcher at the Shenzhen Science & Fantasy Growth Foundation, specially appointed expert at the China Research Center for Science Fiction, member of the Science Fiction Literature Committee of the China Writers Association, Secretary-General of the World Chinese Science Fiction Association, Chairman of the Chinese Nebula Awards Selection Committee, Executive Editor-in-Chief of "Global Science Fiction Dynamics." ("The Lost Paradises")

2022-09-01

河南文艺出版社

Ideal Country

900

9787555913740