Goodreads书评之三：刘慈欣最新登陆海外的短篇小说集《擎天》
正文翻译
简介：
2020年10月20日由Tor Books出版，页数336；
亚马逊精装版售价：$21.1;Kindle电子书售价：$14.99；
《黑暗森林》的翻译者参与了翻译，刘宇昆未参与~
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
打星情况：
五星 22%
四星 43%
三星 28%
二星 5%
一星 0%
收录11个短篇：
《乡村教师》
《时间移民》
《2018年4月1日》
《地火》
《坍缩》
《镜子》
《欢乐颂》
《全频带阻塞干扰》
《梦之海》
《诗云》
《思想者》
书名：《擎天》(To Hold Up the Sky)，刘慈欣著
简介：
2020年10月20日由Tor Books出版，页数336；
亚马逊精装版售价：$21.1;Kindle电子书售价：$14.99；
《黑暗森林》的翻译者参与了翻译，刘宇昆未参与~
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
打星情况：
五星 22%
四星 43%
三星 28%
二星 5%
一星 0%
收录11个短篇：
《乡村教师》
《时间移民》
《2018年4月1日》
《地火》
《坍缩》
《镜子》
《欢乐颂》
《全频带阻塞干扰》
《梦之海》
《诗云》
《思想者》
评论翻译
【五星】Claudia，女，罗马尼亚，2020/10
That is the case with this collection: it's a mixed bag with some mind-bending ideas and some less so. Most of them are novelettes, not short stories, and I think some of them would have been greater had they been shorter. Nonetheless, his tales are always fresh, totally different from the usual sci-fi, and the way he intertwines hard SF ideas with Chinese culture is always enthralling and fascinating.
这本集子便是如此：就是个大杂烩，有些故事给出了一些烧脑的点子，另一些则不那么出彩。其中大部分都是中篇而不是短篇小说，我还觉得其中有几篇如果能再短一点就更好了。尽管如此，他笔下的故事总让人觉得新鲜，完全不同于常见的科幻作品，而且他把硬科幻点子和中国文化融为一体的手法总是很抓人且引人入胜。
There are 11 stories in this collection, from which only one, "Sea of Dreams", I had previously read in Asimov's Science Fiction, January/February 2018,
集子中包含了十一个故事，其中只有《梦之海》那篇，是我在杂志《阿西莫夫科幻小说》2018年1/2月刊上看过的。
The recurent theme is the humans' place in the universe, insignificant and yet, at the same time, so important.
反复出现的主题是人在宇宙中的地位，在微不足道的同时却如此重要。
Here are some thoughts on them:
1. The Village Teacher (2000, tr. Adam Lanphier) - an ode to knowledge and how it can save lives. The teacher's story moved me to tears, but the alien involvment seemed to me too artificial. 3/5
2. The Time Migration (2014, tr. Joel Martinsen) - 8 million people chose to be frozen and wake up 120 years in the future. Their ambassador did not like what the world was at that time and chose to set it further, and further, and further. What they discover at the end of the journey is that no matter how advanced the technology is, nature still wins. 3/5
3. 2018-04-01 (2009, tr. John Chu) - in an era when it's possible to prolong life, a guy stole the money to make it happening. Was it worth it? 3/5
以下是我的读后感想（注：满分5分）：
1）《乡村教师》，3分：一曲献给知识以及知识拯救性命的颂歌。这位教师的故事让我感动到流泪，但其中涉及的外星人，在我看来太过于矫揉造作了。
2）《时间移民》，3分：8百万人选择了接受冷冻，然后在120年后的未来苏醒。他们的代表不喜欢当时的世界，并选择了将其不断推后。而他们在旅途终点发现的是，无论科技多么发达，得胜的仍然是大自然。
3）《2018年4月1日》，3分：有这么一个时代，当时延长生命是有可能做到的，有个家伙为了延寿偷了钱。这是否值得呢？
4. Fire in the Earth (2000, tr. Joel Martinsen) - taming the fire is a dangerous business. 2/5
5. Contraction (1985, tr. John Chu) - that's the kind of story I want to read, ming-bending idea about what will happen when the universe contracts instead of expanding. 10/5
6. Mirror (2004, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - another incredible tale woven around a string computer. 5/5
7. Ode to Joy (2005, tr. Joel Martinsen) - my favorite, and not because of the title, which I love (my Golden, she's named Joy), but because it tells an alternate history of the Sophon, and how amazing is the music of the universe. 10/5
4）《地火》，2分：驯服火可是件危险的勾当。
5）《坍缩》，10分：这就是我希望读到的那种故事，点子特别烧脑，说的是当这个宇宙开始收缩而不是扩张时会发生什么。
6）《镜子》，5分：围绕着超弦计算机编出的又一个让人难以置信的故事。
7）《欢乐颂》（Ode to Joy），10分：是我的最爱，但不是因为书名（我很喜欢这个名字，我的心上人就叫Joy），而是因为它讲出了智子另一个版本的历史，也因为这个宇宙的音乐简直太惊艳了。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
8. Full-Spectrum Barrage Jamming (2001, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - dedication to the people of Russia and their literature, which influenced the author a great deal - military sci-fi through and through. I don't really like war stories, but this one was nicely wrapped up. 3/5
9. Sea of Dreams (2002, tr. John Chu) - reread. One more larger than life idea and an allegory for creation, art versus life. Brilliant. 5/5
10. Cloud of Poems (2003, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - close related to the story "Devourer" from The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection. Another allegory on how art (poetry here) surpases technology, and that's not the only idea. 5/5
11. The Thinker (2003, tr. John Chu) - a bitter sweet story about two people who shared a strong connection in close relation to a certain event related to the stars. 5/5.
8）《全频带阻塞干扰》，3分：是献给俄罗斯人民以及俄罗斯文学的作品，这一点对作者的影响非常深重，简直是彻头彻尾的军事科幻嘛。我对战争小说不是很感冒，但这个故事的谋篇布局相当圆满了。
9）《梦之海》，5分：这篇我还重读了。又一个比生命本身还要宏大的点子，也是一则有关创造/艺术和生命相抗的寓言。太出色了。
10）《诗云》，5分：和经典科幻小说集《流浪地球》中的那篇《吞噬者》有密切的关系。是对艺术（在本篇中则是诗歌）优于技术的另一则讽喻，这还不是本篇中唯一的理念。
11）《思想者》，5分：这个故事甘苦参半，讲的是极为亲近的两个人和关乎群星的某个特定事件扯上了千丝万缕的关系。
Overall, a great collection, with something in it for everybody: genuine ideas, emotions, art, love, war - the most prominent features that make us human, good and bad.
总的来说是一本很精彩的集子，其中有些元素是大家都喜欢的：真正的点子、情感、艺术、爱、战争，都是些人之为人最突出的特征，善恶均沾。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
【三星】TS Chan，新加坡，2021/1
True to his form as seen in his most renowned science fiction series, The Remembrance of Earth's Past, Cixin Liu's imagination in this short story collection, To Hold Up The Sky, was truly remarkable.
如你在他大部分著名的科幻小说系列（《地球往事系列》）中所见，他的水准一如既往，在《擎天》这本短故事集中，刘慈欣的想象力真是非同凡响。
The Three-Body Problem is probably the most well-known translated Asian science fiction novel in the world right now. The Remembrance of Earth's Past is probably my favourite science fiction series right now, and having been treated to the wildly imaginative mind of Cixin Liu in the application of theoretical and astrophysics, I know I'll read anything that he writes.
现在，全世界最有名气的亚洲科幻小说译本可能就是《三体》了。《地球往事系列》可能是我此刻最爱的科幻系列，在各种理论和天体物理学的应用过程中，刘慈欣把他那狂野的想象力给到了我，我很清楚现在我会去读他所写的任何东西。
To Hold Up The Sky is Liu's second collection of short stories, the first being The Wandering Earth, which I owned and have yet to read. As with pretty much most collections, the short stories here could either be a hit or a miss. I would say that the majority of the stories hovered around 3-stars for me. Some of the stories were almost too profound or high concept. The few that I really liked and hence rated 4-stars are the ones which resonated with me more on an emotional level or have a powerful message to humanity.
《擎天》是刘慈欣的第二本短篇集子，第一本是《流浪的地球》，这本书我有，但还没有开始读。就和大部分集子差不多，本书中的短篇时好时坏。在我看来，大部分的故事徘徊在三星左右。其中一部分故事太过深奥，或是太过于概念推动。少数几篇我真心喜欢的（也因此打了四星）是那些更多在情感层面让我产生共鸣的，或是为人类留下了强有力的启示。
"When you read or make science fiction, your sympathy automatically moves away from ideas of ethnicity or nation and toward a higher idea of humanity as a whole."
“当你阅读或创作科幻小说时，你的同情心会自动从民族或国家上移开，然后投向全人类的更高理念。”
I've summarised my thoughts along with my rating as I finished each story.
The Village Teacher
4 stars - How does a touching story of a dying village teacher relate to an interstellar war fought over 20 millenia 50k lightyears away in the center of the Milky Way? An oddly contrasting narrative that worked as tribute to some of most underrated heroes of our world - teachers. The story about the teacher moved me to tears!!
The Time Migration
3 stars - Philosophical and impactful. The scary proposition of what the future might be when humanity's collective memories and consciousness are just programmes in a supercomputer, and people giving up reality for imagined lives in quantum memory.
我已经概括出了我看完每个故事后的想法，并附上了打分：
《乡村教师》，4星：一个有关垂死乡村教师的感人故事，是怎么和五万光年外一场在银河中心打了两万年的星际战争扯上关系的呢？这是一次非常奇特的对比性叙事，也是对我们这个世界中最被低估的英雄，教师，的礼赞。这个关于教师的故事直让我泪流满面！！
《时间移民》，3星：哲思纵横，也颇具冲击力。如果人类的集体记忆和意识只是一台超级计算机中的程序，而人们为了量子记忆中想象出来的生活而放弃了现实，那未来可能会如何呢？这可是个可怖的命题。
2018-04-01
3 stars - The grasp for eternal life. The growing schism between rich and poor. The scary possibility of what could happen when wealth is purely denominated in computer bytes.
Fire in the Earth
3 stars - Story about a young man whose father passed away from the health perils of working in a coal mine. Determined that the future of coal mining should not subject people to such dangers, he studied and proposed a new tech/way of extracting energy from coal. Let's just say attempts to tamper with energy are never without its perils.
The Contraction
4 stars - In reference to the contraction of the (currently expanding) universe, this one has brilliant conceptual thinking that I've come to expect from Liu with powerful and mind-bending implications.
《2018年4月1日》，3星：是对永生的领悟。贫富分裂愈演愈烈。当财富完全由计算机字节衡量时，这种可能性该有多可怕。
《地火》，3星：讲的是一个年轻人，他的父亲由于在煤矿中工作危害到了健康而去世。他就下定决心，要让未来的采煤不再让人遭受这样的危险，他经过研究提出了一种从煤炭中提取能量的新技术/方法。这么说好了，试图胡乱摆弄能源，那就绝对不会安全无虞。
《坍缩》，4星：探讨的是这个（目前在不断扩张的）宇宙的收缩，这一篇给我们带来了极为出色的理念化思维，而这正是我寄望于大刘能用强有力且烧脑的意涵带给我的东西。
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Mirror
4 stars - A fairly long but powerful story. The imagination is astounding. Superstring computers being able to create models at an atomic level of entire universes based on the parameters of the singularity. What happens if one discovers the exact model of our universe and could peel through its entire history, including that of Earth and its people - down to every single individual.
Ode to Joy
3 stars - This is almost way too high concept to fathom. Strange story about a ultra-super-advanced entity that travels through the universe and plays the music of the cosmos that it collects on its way.
Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming
2 stars - I got the message but the story felt too long and too full of war technicalities and jargon that it left me feeling a bit cold and bored.
《镜子》，4星：故事相当长，却劲力十足。那想象力真让人惊掉下巴。超弦计算机能根据奇点的参数，在原子水平上打造出整个宇宙的模型。要是有人发现了我们宇宙的精确模型，还能纵览整个历史，包括地球史和人类（能具体到每个个体）的历史，那会怎么样呢？
《欢乐颂》，3星：是那种高深莫测的概念，实在让人无法捉摸。是个古怪的故事，说的是一个超级先进的实体在整个宇宙中旅行，并在途中弹奏它从各宇宙收集的音乐。
《全频带阻塞干扰》，2星：蕴含的信息我收到了，但这个故事感觉太长了，也充斥着战争科技和专业术语，给我的感觉有点冷酷、无聊。
Sea of Dreams
3 stars - Climate science featured heavily in this wildly imaginative story of the most bizarre combo of hyper-advanced aliens, art and losing all our oceans.
Cloud of Poems
3 stars - Profound and bizarre at the same time. There's subtle beauty in the idea that technology may never replace the soul and essence of human intelligence, which in this case is represented in Classical Chinese poetry.
The Thinker
3.5 stars - A story of fate and love bonded by the twinkling of stars.
《梦之海》，3星：在这个充满狂野想象力的故事中，气候科学成了重头戏，而超级先进的外星人、艺术以及失去所有海洋也完成了最离奇的组合。
《诗云》，3星：深刻，却又离奇。这种“技术可能永远都无法取代灵魂和人类心智的精华”的理念，自带着一种微妙的美感，而在这个故事中，是由中国古诗来体现的。
《思想者》，3.5星：一个以群星闪耀为纽带的关乎命运和爱的故事。
As I reached the end of the book, I recalled a passage in Liu's Foreword which made me appreciate how this collection of stories fit his ideas about the relationship between humanity and the universe. It's just that on an individual level, we are too small and short-lived to see the vast tapestry woven over billions of years.
当我读到这本书的结尾时，我想起了大刘前言中的一段话，这段话让我领会到，这本故事集是多么符合他对人类和宇宙关系的看法。只是在个人层面上，我们太过渺小和短暂了，无法看清数十亿年织就的这块巨型织锦。
"Stories about such relationships between people and the universe are not science fiction; they are realism. In my scif-fi, I work to imagine the direct, tangible relationship between people and the universe. In this relationship, the evolution and metamorphoses of the universe are inseparable from human life and human fate."
“有关人和宇宙间关系的故事并不是科幻小说，它们是现实主义的。在我的科幻作品中，我努力想象人和宇宙之间那种直接且有血有肉的关系。在这种关系中，宇宙的演化和蜕变与人类的生活和人类的命运是不可分割的。”
【四星】Ash，26岁，女，美国，2020/9
I’m glad I did, because I absolutely loved Liu’s writing. I appreciated his foreword, where he explains his approach to science fiction, and the themes that he mentioned, particularly the theme of connecting humanity with the larger universe, definitely came through in most if not all of his stories. I think the best way for me to review this collection would be to write a few sentences about each story, so this will probably be a pretty long review, but bear with me. I’ll also have to keep things vague because many of the stories in this collection have unexpected twists that made them infinitely more interesting.
我也很高兴我这么做了，因为我酷爱大刘的作品。他的前言让我很是赞赏，其中他解释了他创作科幻小说的方法，以及他提及的主题，特别是将人类与更宏大的宇宙联系起来这个主题，绝对贯穿在了他的大部分故事（如果不是全部的话）中。我认为，我评论这本集子的最好方式就是给每个故事都写上几句，所以这篇书评可能会相当长，但请容忍我。我也必须把话说得含糊一些，因为这个集子中的很多故事都包含出人意料的反转，这也让它们变得意趣无穷了。
The Village Teacher: ★★★★★
This was the perfect story to start things off. It was one of the longer stories, and it touched on an impressively long list of themes that, at least from my understanding of the country, are extremely relevant to twenty-first century China. It also touched on more universal themes. I found it moving and inspirational and knew right away it would be one of the highlights of this collection.
《乡村教师》：5星
用这个故事来开篇可谓完美。它是几个篇幅较长的故事之一，它触及了一长串令人印象深刻的主题，至少，以我对中国的理解，它是和二十一世纪的中国息息相关的。它还触及了更多的普世主题。我觉得挺感人的，而且鼓舞人心，而且当时我一下子就知道了这一篇会是这本集子的亮点之一。
The Time Migration: ★★★★
This story was weird but thought-provoking. It incorporated and explored many different sci-fi technologies. None of them were new to me but the combination of all of them was unique and interesting. The themes the story did touch on were masterfully explored. I liked it, but not as much as the previous story; the emotion and connection to the characters just wasn’t there.
《时间移民》：4星
这个故事怪怪的，却振聋发聩。书中囊括并探索了很多种不同的科幻技术。这些技术对我来说都不新鲜，可这种把它们全部融合起来的手法是独一无二的，也非常有趣。而这个故事真正触及的主题，都以精妙之手法作了探讨。我是喜欢这篇的，但喜爱程度不如前几篇；情感部分，以及对人物的感同身受，实在是不到位。
2018-04-01: ★★
The best thing I can say about this story is that it was short. There were two reasons I didn’t like this story anywhere near as much as the previous two: First, I found the protagonist unlikable, and second, there was way too much exposition. This one was a miss for me.
《2018年4月1日》：2星
篇幅很短是这个故事仅剩的优点了。我对它的喜爱程度完全不及前两篇的原因有二：一是我觉得主人公不讨喜，二是阐述过多了。在我看来，这篇写砸了。
Fire in the Earth: ★★★★★
Following on the heels of a disappointing story was this five-star read, another longer one. It gave me chills, and I felt a constant sense of foreboding throughout. For the majority of this story I assumed it wouldn’t have a twist, because I easily predicted what would happen, but it turns out there was room for some surprise, and I think it was that element of surprise that took this story to the next level.
《地火》：5星
紧接着之前那个让人失望故事的便是这篇五星的，又是篇篇幅较长的。它让我不寒而栗，而且自始至终都让我不断生出不祥的预感。我在这个故事的大部分篇幅中，都以为不会出现反转，因为我很容易就能预见到会发生的事，但最后发现，还是存在出人意料的空间，我认为正是这种意外元素让这个故事更上一层楼。
Contraction: ★★
This story was unremarkable compared to some of the others. It featured another character I didn’t like, a genius scientist called Ding who was a real condescending jerk. Again, I felt like there was too much exposition in this one, and I found it too convenient that all the characters happened to have enough of a background in physics to grasp the complex scientific concepts the story explored.
《坍缩》：2星
与其他故事相比，这个故事还挺普通的。其主角又是我不喜欢的人物，就那个叫丁仪的天才科学家，其实是一个优越感爆棚的混蛋。这次也是一样，我感觉其中的阐述部分太多了，而且我觉得所有的人物恰好都具备足够的物理学背景，都能领会该故事探讨的复杂科学概念，这也太偷懒了。
Ode to Joy: ★★
The main theme was music’s ability to bring people together, which to me is overdone, and didn’t bring anything new to that theme. And it continued the trend of characters with inexplicable scientific expertise.
《欢乐颂》：2星
主题是音乐团结人群的能力，对我来说太过了，而且没有给这个主题带来任何新东西。而且延续了让角色具备令人费解的专业科学知识这种趋势。
Full-Spectrum Barrage Jamming: ★★★★★
Back on track with a longer, five-star read. This one was gory, so be warned. The ending, in particular, was well-written and impactful, and the writing was strong throughout, with good use of imagery and metaphor. War stories are always either a big hit or a major miss with me, and this one was definitely a hit because of its focus on characters and their relationships.
《全频带阻塞干扰》：5星
以一篇篇幅更长的五星作品回到了正轨。警告在先，这篇很血腥。特别是结局，写得非常好，冲击力十足，而且这部作品从头到尾都劲道十足，也巧用了想象和隐喻。在我看来，战争故事一般要么极为成功，要么失败得很彻底，而这个故事绝对是成功的，因为它把重点放在了人物及其关系上。
Sea of Dreams: ★★★
This was another weird one, but it had its good parts, particularly in the latter half. It had a bizarre blend of the ridiculous and the grim that I’m not sure if I liked or disliked. There was a pretty dire situation facing humanity in this story that I didn’t think was treated with enough weight or urgency. It was an interesting concept, but I wish it had been explored further.
《梦之海》：3星
又是个怪怪的故事，但有其出彩的部分，特别是在后半部分。它将荒诞和冷酷诡异地融合在了一起，我都无法确定自己是喜欢还是不喜欢。在这个故事中，人类面对的是一种相当悲惨的处境，我是觉得重压和紧迫感给的还不够。这个概念还挺有趣，但我希望能得到进一步的探讨。
Cloud of Poems: ★★★
This was definitely the weirdest story in this collection, which is saying something. But it was kind of fun too. If you’ve read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you know the sort of weird-but-fun vibe I’m talking about. There were some interesting sci-fi concepts as well. It would have needed a lot more humor to possibly reach Hitchhiker levels of entertainment, but it was okay.
《诗云》：3星
绝对是这个集子中最怪异的故事了，这就说明了一些问题。但也有点逗。如果你读过《银河系漫游指南》，你就会明白我所谈论的这种怪异却逗趣的氛围。也包含了一些有趣的科幻概念。还需要大力提升幽默感才有可能达到《银河系漫游指南》的娱乐水准，但它还不错。
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The Thinker: ★★★★
If the first story in this collection was the perfect beginning, this was the perfect ending. Whereas many of the previous stories took place on a large scale, impacting all of humanity, this one told the story of a connection between just two people, and yet it still brought in that universal connection that Liu mentioned in his foreword. It didn’t knock me off my feet, but it was nice.
《思想者》：4星
如果说这本集子的第一个故事是完美的开篇，那这篇就是完美的结尾。之前的故事有很多都发生在宏大的规模之中，并影响到了全人类，但本篇讲述的故事只发生在两个人之间，却依然引入了在其前言中提到的普遍联系。它没能让我深深爱上，但它非常美好。
Overall I think this was an interesting and diverse collection of stories. Some looked into the far future, others explores the present and very near future, and they explored a variety of deeper themes and incorporated an even wider variety of science fiction technologies or concepts. I think most science fiction readers will find something they enjoy in this collection.
总的来说，我认为这是一个有趣且多样化的故事集。一部分故事着眼于遥远的未来，另一部分则探讨了现今以及距今非常近的未来，它们还探讨了各种各样的深层次主题，并囊括了范围更广的多种科幻技术或概念。我觉得，大多数科幻小说读者都能在这个集子里找到他们喜欢的东西。
（Goodreads书评）
【五星】Claudia，女，罗马尼亚，2020/10
Liu Cixin is one of my favorite writers and will remain so, even if not all his stories are mind-blowing. And he's to blame for this, because after his famous trilogy, my expectation in SF skyrocketed.
刘慈欣是我最爱的作者之一，就算他的小说并不都是那么引人入胜，也一直都会是如此。由于看了他那套著名的三部曲，我对科幻的期望值急剧上升了，所以这也要归咎于他。
刘慈欣是我最爱的作者之一，就算他的小说并不都是那么引人入胜，也一直都会是如此。由于看了他那套著名的三部曲，我对科幻的期望值急剧上升了，所以这也要归咎于他。
That is the case with this collection: it's a mixed bag with some mind-bending ideas and some less so. Most of them are novelettes, not short stories, and I think some of them would have been greater had they been shorter. Nonetheless, his tales are always fresh, totally different from the usual sci-fi, and the way he intertwines hard SF ideas with Chinese culture is always enthralling and fascinating.
这本集子便是如此：就是个大杂烩，有些故事给出了一些烧脑的点子，另一些则不那么出彩。其中大部分都是中篇而不是短篇小说，我还觉得其中有几篇如果能再短一点就更好了。尽管如此，他笔下的故事总让人觉得新鲜，完全不同于常见的科幻作品，而且他把硬科幻点子和中国文化融为一体的手法总是很抓人且引人入胜。
There are 11 stories in this collection, from which only one, "Sea of Dreams", I had previously read in Asimov's Science Fiction, January/February 2018,
集子中包含了十一个故事，其中只有《梦之海》那篇，是我在杂志《阿西莫夫科幻小说》2018年1/2月刊上看过的。
The recurent theme is the humans' place in the universe, insignificant and yet, at the same time, so important.
反复出现的主题是人在宇宙中的地位，在微不足道的同时却如此重要。
Here are some thoughts on them:
1. The Village Teacher (2000, tr. Adam Lanphier) - an ode to knowledge and how it can save lives. The teacher's story moved me to tears, but the alien involvment seemed to me too artificial. 3/5
2. The Time Migration (2014, tr. Joel Martinsen) - 8 million people chose to be frozen and wake up 120 years in the future. Their ambassador did not like what the world was at that time and chose to set it further, and further, and further. What they discover at the end of the journey is that no matter how advanced the technology is, nature still wins. 3/5
3. 2018-04-01 (2009, tr. John Chu) - in an era when it's possible to prolong life, a guy stole the money to make it happening. Was it worth it? 3/5
以下是我的读后感想（注：满分5分）：
1）《乡村教师》，3分：一曲献给知识以及知识拯救性命的颂歌。这位教师的故事让我感动到流泪，但其中涉及的外星人，在我看来太过于矫揉造作了。
2）《时间移民》，3分：8百万人选择了接受冷冻，然后在120年后的未来苏醒。他们的代表不喜欢当时的世界，并选择了将其不断推后。而他们在旅途终点发现的是，无论科技多么发达，得胜的仍然是大自然。
3）《2018年4月1日》，3分：有这么一个时代，当时延长生命是有可能做到的，有个家伙为了延寿偷了钱。这是否值得呢？
4. Fire in the Earth (2000, tr. Joel Martinsen) - taming the fire is a dangerous business. 2/5
5. Contraction (1985, tr. John Chu) - that's the kind of story I want to read, ming-bending idea about what will happen when the universe contracts instead of expanding. 10/5
6. Mirror (2004, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - another incredible tale woven around a string computer. 5/5
7. Ode to Joy (2005, tr. Joel Martinsen) - my favorite, and not because of the title, which I love (my Golden, she's named Joy), but because it tells an alternate history of the Sophon, and how amazing is the music of the universe. 10/5
4）《地火》，2分：驯服火可是件危险的勾当。
5）《坍缩》，10分：这就是我希望读到的那种故事，点子特别烧脑，说的是当这个宇宙开始收缩而不是扩张时会发生什么。
6）《镜子》，5分：围绕着超弦计算机编出的又一个让人难以置信的故事。
7）《欢乐颂》（Ode to Joy），10分：是我的最爱，但不是因为书名（我很喜欢这个名字，我的心上人就叫Joy），而是因为它讲出了智子另一个版本的历史，也因为这个宇宙的音乐简直太惊艳了。
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8. Full-Spectrum Barrage Jamming (2001, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - dedication to the people of Russia and their literature, which influenced the author a great deal - military sci-fi through and through. I don't really like war stories, but this one was nicely wrapped up. 3/5
9. Sea of Dreams (2002, tr. John Chu) - reread. One more larger than life idea and an allegory for creation, art versus life. Brilliant. 5/5
10. Cloud of Poems (2003, tr. Carmen Yiling Yan) - close related to the story "Devourer" from The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection. Another allegory on how art (poetry here) surpases technology, and that's not the only idea. 5/5
11. The Thinker (2003, tr. John Chu) - a bitter sweet story about two people who shared a strong connection in close relation to a certain event related to the stars. 5/5.
8）《全频带阻塞干扰》，3分：是献给俄罗斯人民以及俄罗斯文学的作品，这一点对作者的影响非常深重，简直是彻头彻尾的军事科幻嘛。我对战争小说不是很感冒，但这个故事的谋篇布局相当圆满了。
9）《梦之海》，5分：这篇我还重读了。又一个比生命本身还要宏大的点子，也是一则有关创造/艺术和生命相抗的寓言。太出色了。
10）《诗云》，5分：和经典科幻小说集《流浪地球》中的那篇《吞噬者》有密切的关系。是对艺术（在本篇中则是诗歌）优于技术的另一则讽喻，这还不是本篇中唯一的理念。
11）《思想者》，5分：这个故事甘苦参半，讲的是极为亲近的两个人和关乎群星的某个特定事件扯上了千丝万缕的关系。
Overall, a great collection, with something in it for everybody: genuine ideas, emotions, art, love, war - the most prominent features that make us human, good and bad.
总的来说是一本很精彩的集子，其中有些元素是大家都喜欢的：真正的点子、情感、艺术、爱、战争，都是些人之为人最突出的特征，善恶均沾。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
【三星】TS Chan，新加坡，2021/1
3.5 stars.
三星半。
三星半。
True to his form as seen in his most renowned science fiction series, The Remembrance of Earth's Past, Cixin Liu's imagination in this short story collection, To Hold Up The Sky, was truly remarkable.
如你在他大部分著名的科幻小说系列（《地球往事系列》）中所见，他的水准一如既往，在《擎天》这本短故事集中，刘慈欣的想象力真是非同凡响。
The Three-Body Problem is probably the most well-known translated Asian science fiction novel in the world right now. The Remembrance of Earth's Past is probably my favourite science fiction series right now, and having been treated to the wildly imaginative mind of Cixin Liu in the application of theoretical and astrophysics, I know I'll read anything that he writes.
现在，全世界最有名气的亚洲科幻小说译本可能就是《三体》了。《地球往事系列》可能是我此刻最爱的科幻系列，在各种理论和天体物理学的应用过程中，刘慈欣把他那狂野的想象力给到了我，我很清楚现在我会去读他所写的任何东西。
To Hold Up The Sky is Liu's second collection of short stories, the first being The Wandering Earth, which I owned and have yet to read. As with pretty much most collections, the short stories here could either be a hit or a miss. I would say that the majority of the stories hovered around 3-stars for me. Some of the stories were almost too profound or high concept. The few that I really liked and hence rated 4-stars are the ones which resonated with me more on an emotional level or have a powerful message to humanity.
《擎天》是刘慈欣的第二本短篇集子，第一本是《流浪的地球》，这本书我有，但还没有开始读。就和大部分集子差不多，本书中的短篇时好时坏。在我看来，大部分的故事徘徊在三星左右。其中一部分故事太过深奥，或是太过于概念推动。少数几篇我真心喜欢的（也因此打了四星）是那些更多在情感层面让我产生共鸣的，或是为人类留下了强有力的启示。
"When you read or make science fiction, your sympathy automatically moves away from ideas of ethnicity or nation and toward a higher idea of humanity as a whole."
“当你阅读或创作科幻小说时，你的同情心会自动从民族或国家上移开，然后投向全人类的更高理念。”
I've summarised my thoughts along with my rating as I finished each story.
The Village Teacher
4 stars - How does a touching story of a dying village teacher relate to an interstellar war fought over 20 millenia 50k lightyears away in the center of the Milky Way? An oddly contrasting narrative that worked as tribute to some of most underrated heroes of our world - teachers. The story about the teacher moved me to tears!!
The Time Migration
3 stars - Philosophical and impactful. The scary proposition of what the future might be when humanity's collective memories and consciousness are just programmes in a supercomputer, and people giving up reality for imagined lives in quantum memory.
我已经概括出了我看完每个故事后的想法，并附上了打分：
《乡村教师》，4星：一个有关垂死乡村教师的感人故事，是怎么和五万光年外一场在银河中心打了两万年的星际战争扯上关系的呢？这是一次非常奇特的对比性叙事，也是对我们这个世界中最被低估的英雄，教师，的礼赞。这个关于教师的故事直让我泪流满面！！
《时间移民》，3星：哲思纵横，也颇具冲击力。如果人类的集体记忆和意识只是一台超级计算机中的程序，而人们为了量子记忆中想象出来的生活而放弃了现实，那未来可能会如何呢？这可是个可怖的命题。
2018-04-01
3 stars - The grasp for eternal life. The growing schism between rich and poor. The scary possibility of what could happen when wealth is purely denominated in computer bytes.
Fire in the Earth
3 stars - Story about a young man whose father passed away from the health perils of working in a coal mine. Determined that the future of coal mining should not subject people to such dangers, he studied and proposed a new tech/way of extracting energy from coal. Let's just say attempts to tamper with energy are never without its perils.
The Contraction
4 stars - In reference to the contraction of the (currently expanding) universe, this one has brilliant conceptual thinking that I've come to expect from Liu with powerful and mind-bending implications.
《2018年4月1日》，3星：是对永生的领悟。贫富分裂愈演愈烈。当财富完全由计算机字节衡量时，这种可能性该有多可怕。
《地火》，3星：讲的是一个年轻人，他的父亲由于在煤矿中工作危害到了健康而去世。他就下定决心，要让未来的采煤不再让人遭受这样的危险，他经过研究提出了一种从煤炭中提取能量的新技术/方法。这么说好了，试图胡乱摆弄能源，那就绝对不会安全无虞。
《坍缩》，4星：探讨的是这个（目前在不断扩张的）宇宙的收缩，这一篇给我们带来了极为出色的理念化思维，而这正是我寄望于大刘能用强有力且烧脑的意涵带给我的东西。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Mirror
4 stars - A fairly long but powerful story. The imagination is astounding. Superstring computers being able to create models at an atomic level of entire universes based on the parameters of the singularity. What happens if one discovers the exact model of our universe and could peel through its entire history, including that of Earth and its people - down to every single individual.
Ode to Joy
3 stars - This is almost way too high concept to fathom. Strange story about a ultra-super-advanced entity that travels through the universe and plays the music of the cosmos that it collects on its way.
Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming
2 stars - I got the message but the story felt too long and too full of war technicalities and jargon that it left me feeling a bit cold and bored.
《镜子》，4星：故事相当长，却劲力十足。那想象力真让人惊掉下巴。超弦计算机能根据奇点的参数，在原子水平上打造出整个宇宙的模型。要是有人发现了我们宇宙的精确模型，还能纵览整个历史，包括地球史和人类（能具体到每个个体）的历史，那会怎么样呢？
《欢乐颂》，3星：是那种高深莫测的概念，实在让人无法捉摸。是个古怪的故事，说的是一个超级先进的实体在整个宇宙中旅行，并在途中弹奏它从各宇宙收集的音乐。
《全频带阻塞干扰》，2星：蕴含的信息我收到了，但这个故事感觉太长了，也充斥着战争科技和专业术语，给我的感觉有点冷酷、无聊。
Sea of Dreams
3 stars - Climate science featured heavily in this wildly imaginative story of the most bizarre combo of hyper-advanced aliens, art and losing all our oceans.
Cloud of Poems
3 stars - Profound and bizarre at the same time. There's subtle beauty in the idea that technology may never replace the soul and essence of human intelligence, which in this case is represented in Classical Chinese poetry.
The Thinker
3.5 stars - A story of fate and love bonded by the twinkling of stars.
《梦之海》，3星：在这个充满狂野想象力的故事中，气候科学成了重头戏，而超级先进的外星人、艺术以及失去所有海洋也完成了最离奇的组合。
《诗云》，3星：深刻，却又离奇。这种“技术可能永远都无法取代灵魂和人类心智的精华”的理念，自带着一种微妙的美感，而在这个故事中，是由中国古诗来体现的。
《思想者》，3.5星：一个以群星闪耀为纽带的关乎命运和爱的故事。
As I reached the end of the book, I recalled a passage in Liu's Foreword which made me appreciate how this collection of stories fit his ideas about the relationship between humanity and the universe. It's just that on an individual level, we are too small and short-lived to see the vast tapestry woven over billions of years.
当我读到这本书的结尾时，我想起了大刘前言中的一段话，这段话让我领会到，这本故事集是多么符合他对人类和宇宙关系的看法。只是在个人层面上，我们太过渺小和短暂了，无法看清数十亿年织就的这块巨型织锦。
"Stories about such relationships between people and the universe are not science fiction; they are realism. In my scif-fi, I work to imagine the direct, tangible relationship between people and the universe. In this relationship, the evolution and metamorphoses of the universe are inseparable from human life and human fate."
“有关人和宇宙间关系的故事并不是科幻小说，它们是现实主义的。在我的科幻作品中，我努力想象人和宇宙之间那种直接且有血有肉的关系。在这种关系中，宇宙的演化和蜕变与人类的生活和人类的命运是不可分割的。”
【四星】Ash，26岁，女，美国，2020/9
I haven’t read Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem yet because hard science fiction intimidates me, but I’m still intrigued by his work, so when I saw this short story collection on NetGalley I thought it might be a good opportunity to see if it’s something I might be into.
我还没有读过刘慈欣的《三体》，因为硬科幻小说把我吓住了，但我还是对他的作品很有兴趣，所以当我在NetGalley上看到这本短篇集子，我想着这可能是一个好机会，能由此知道我是否会喜欢上它们。
我还没有读过刘慈欣的《三体》，因为硬科幻小说把我吓住了，但我还是对他的作品很有兴趣，所以当我在NetGalley上看到这本短篇集子，我想着这可能是一个好机会，能由此知道我是否会喜欢上它们。
I’m glad I did, because I absolutely loved Liu’s writing. I appreciated his foreword, where he explains his approach to science fiction, and the themes that he mentioned, particularly the theme of connecting humanity with the larger universe, definitely came through in most if not all of his stories. I think the best way for me to review this collection would be to write a few sentences about each story, so this will probably be a pretty long review, but bear with me. I’ll also have to keep things vague because many of the stories in this collection have unexpected twists that made them infinitely more interesting.
我也很高兴我这么做了，因为我酷爱大刘的作品。他的前言让我很是赞赏，其中他解释了他创作科幻小说的方法，以及他提及的主题，特别是将人类与更宏大的宇宙联系起来这个主题，绝对贯穿在了他的大部分故事（如果不是全部的话）中。我认为，我评论这本集子的最好方式就是给每个故事都写上几句，所以这篇书评可能会相当长，但请容忍我。我也必须把话说得含糊一些，因为这个集子中的很多故事都包含出人意料的反转，这也让它们变得意趣无穷了。
The Village Teacher: ★★★★★
This was the perfect story to start things off. It was one of the longer stories, and it touched on an impressively long list of themes that, at least from my understanding of the country, are extremely relevant to twenty-first century China. It also touched on more universal themes. I found it moving and inspirational and knew right away it would be one of the highlights of this collection.
《乡村教师》：5星
用这个故事来开篇可谓完美。它是几个篇幅较长的故事之一，它触及了一长串令人印象深刻的主题，至少，以我对中国的理解，它是和二十一世纪的中国息息相关的。它还触及了更多的普世主题。我觉得挺感人的，而且鼓舞人心，而且当时我一下子就知道了这一篇会是这本集子的亮点之一。
The Time Migration: ★★★★
This story was weird but thought-provoking. It incorporated and explored many different sci-fi technologies. None of them were new to me but the combination of all of them was unique and interesting. The themes the story did touch on were masterfully explored. I liked it, but not as much as the previous story; the emotion and connection to the characters just wasn’t there.
《时间移民》：4星
这个故事怪怪的，却振聋发聩。书中囊括并探索了很多种不同的科幻技术。这些技术对我来说都不新鲜，可这种把它们全部融合起来的手法是独一无二的，也非常有趣。而这个故事真正触及的主题，都以精妙之手法作了探讨。我是喜欢这篇的，但喜爱程度不如前几篇；情感部分，以及对人物的感同身受，实在是不到位。
2018-04-01: ★★
The best thing I can say about this story is that it was short. There were two reasons I didn’t like this story anywhere near as much as the previous two: First, I found the protagonist unlikable, and second, there was way too much exposition. This one was a miss for me.
《2018年4月1日》：2星
篇幅很短是这个故事仅剩的优点了。我对它的喜爱程度完全不及前两篇的原因有二：一是我觉得主人公不讨喜，二是阐述过多了。在我看来，这篇写砸了。
Fire in the Earth: ★★★★★
Following on the heels of a disappointing story was this five-star read, another longer one. It gave me chills, and I felt a constant sense of foreboding throughout. For the majority of this story I assumed it wouldn’t have a twist, because I easily predicted what would happen, but it turns out there was room for some surprise, and I think it was that element of surprise that took this story to the next level.
《地火》：5星
紧接着之前那个让人失望故事的便是这篇五星的，又是篇篇幅较长的。它让我不寒而栗，而且自始至终都让我不断生出不祥的预感。我在这个故事的大部分篇幅中，都以为不会出现反转，因为我很容易就能预见到会发生的事，但最后发现，还是存在出人意料的空间，我认为正是这种意外元素让这个故事更上一层楼。
Contraction: ★★
This story was unremarkable compared to some of the others. It featured another character I didn’t like, a genius scientist called Ding who was a real condescending jerk. Again, I felt like there was too much exposition in this one, and I found it too convenient that all the characters happened to have enough of a background in physics to grasp the complex scientific concepts the story explored.
《坍缩》：2星
与其他故事相比，这个故事还挺普通的。其主角又是我不喜欢的人物，就那个叫丁仪的天才科学家，其实是一个优越感爆棚的混蛋。这次也是一样，我感觉其中的阐述部分太多了，而且我觉得所有的人物恰好都具备足够的物理学背景，都能领会该故事探讨的复杂科学概念，这也太偷懒了。
Ode to Joy: ★★
The main theme was music’s ability to bring people together, which to me is overdone, and didn’t bring anything new to that theme. And it continued the trend of characters with inexplicable scientific expertise.
《欢乐颂》：2星
主题是音乐团结人群的能力，对我来说太过了，而且没有给这个主题带来任何新东西。而且延续了让角色具备令人费解的专业科学知识这种趋势。
Full-Spectrum Barrage Jamming: ★★★★★
Back on track with a longer, five-star read. This one was gory, so be warned. The ending, in particular, was well-written and impactful, and the writing was strong throughout, with good use of imagery and metaphor. War stories are always either a big hit or a major miss with me, and this one was definitely a hit because of its focus on characters and their relationships.
《全频带阻塞干扰》：5星
以一篇篇幅更长的五星作品回到了正轨。警告在先，这篇很血腥。特别是结局，写得非常好，冲击力十足，而且这部作品从头到尾都劲道十足，也巧用了想象和隐喻。在我看来，战争故事一般要么极为成功，要么失败得很彻底，而这个故事绝对是成功的，因为它把重点放在了人物及其关系上。
Sea of Dreams: ★★★
This was another weird one, but it had its good parts, particularly in the latter half. It had a bizarre blend of the ridiculous and the grim that I’m not sure if I liked or disliked. There was a pretty dire situation facing humanity in this story that I didn’t think was treated with enough weight or urgency. It was an interesting concept, but I wish it had been explored further.
《梦之海》：3星
又是个怪怪的故事，但有其出彩的部分，特别是在后半部分。它将荒诞和冷酷诡异地融合在了一起，我都无法确定自己是喜欢还是不喜欢。在这个故事中，人类面对的是一种相当悲惨的处境，我是觉得重压和紧迫感给的还不够。这个概念还挺有趣，但我希望能得到进一步的探讨。
Cloud of Poems: ★★★
This was definitely the weirdest story in this collection, which is saying something. But it was kind of fun too. If you’ve read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you know the sort of weird-but-fun vibe I’m talking about. There were some interesting sci-fi concepts as well. It would have needed a lot more humor to possibly reach Hitchhiker levels of entertainment, but it was okay.
《诗云》：3星
绝对是这个集子中最怪异的故事了，这就说明了一些问题。但也有点逗。如果你读过《银河系漫游指南》，你就会明白我所谈论的这种怪异却逗趣的氛围。也包含了一些有趣的科幻概念。还需要大力提升幽默感才有可能达到《银河系漫游指南》的娱乐水准，但它还不错。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
The Thinker: ★★★★
If the first story in this collection was the perfect beginning, this was the perfect ending. Whereas many of the previous stories took place on a large scale, impacting all of humanity, this one told the story of a connection between just two people, and yet it still brought in that universal connection that Liu mentioned in his foreword. It didn’t knock me off my feet, but it was nice.
《思想者》：4星
如果说这本集子的第一个故事是完美的开篇，那这篇就是完美的结尾。之前的故事有很多都发生在宏大的规模之中，并影响到了全人类，但本篇讲述的故事只发生在两个人之间，却依然引入了在其前言中提到的普遍联系。它没能让我深深爱上，但它非常美好。
Overall I think this was an interesting and diverse collection of stories. Some looked into the far future, others explores the present and very near future, and they explored a variety of deeper themes and incorporated an even wider variety of science fiction technologies or concepts. I think most science fiction readers will find something they enjoy in this collection.
总的来说，我认为这是一个有趣且多样化的故事集。一部分故事着眼于遥远的未来，另一部分则探讨了现今以及距今非常近的未来，它们还探讨了各种各样的深层次主题，并囊括了范围更广的多种科幻技术或概念。我觉得，大多数科幻小说读者都能在这个集子里找到他们喜欢的东西。
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