The Three-Body Problem (novel)
First contact with an alien civilization from a chaotic triple-star system.
It is the first volume of the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, depicting Earth's encounter with an alien civilization from a system of three sun-like stars.[1] The novel's title refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics, which explains why the Trisolarans seek a planet with a single sun.[2] Chinese author Liu Cixin wrote the hard science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem, which was first released as a serial in 2006 and then as a book in 2008.[1][3]
Quick Facts
- Author
- Liu Cixin
- Language
- Chinese
- Country
- China
- Genre
- Hard science fiction
- Publisher
- Chongqing Press
- Translator
- Ken Liu
- Series
- Remembrance of Earth's Past
- Released
- 2008
Facts from the source article.
Making and release
He graduated from the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power in 1988.[2] Ken Liu and translator Joel Martinsen were commissioned by CEPIEC in 2012 to produce the English translation.[4] The translation includes footnotes explaining Chinese historical references and changes the chapter order, moving Cultural Revolution scenes to the beginning.[5] Liu Cixin, who came into the world in Beijing during June 1963, eventually held a position as a senior engineer at a power plant located in Shanxi province.[6]
Before becoming a standalone volume in 2008, the story initially appeared in installments within Science Fiction World magazine starting in 2006.[3] Liu had originally planned for those scenes to begin the book, yet his publishers relocated them to steer clear of government censors.[5] Winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel made that English translation the first such achievement for any Asian writer.[3]
What the cited sources add
Nick Richardson's London Review of Books account notes that the trilogy was first published between 2006 and 2010 and is Chinese science fiction's best-known work.[2] The same source describes sophons as tiny robots made from protons unfolded into two dimensions according to superstring theory.[2] Richardson also states that the first scene depicts a 15-year-old girl murdered in a battle between communist factions.[2] The London Review of Books account identifies politics as a central preoccupation of the trilogy, with its ideological underpinning complementing neoreactionary thinking.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Three-Body Problem (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Liu, "The Worst of All Possible Universes and the Best of All Possible Earths: Three Body and Chinese Science Fiction", Tor.com, May 7, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Richardson, "Nick Richardson · Even what doesn't happen is epic: Chinese SF", London Review of Books, April 8, 2024. facts only, no text reused. lrb.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "The Three-Body Problem (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yeung, "Game of Thrones producers to adapt Chinese sci-fi 'The Three-Body Problem' for Netflix", CNN; Clute, John. "Yinhe Award" , Science Fiction Encyclopedia, 3rd edition. Accessed November 21, 2017; Chen, Xinhua, November 30, 2012; "Three Body ." Ken Liu Official Website. Retrieved on July 29, 2015.; "2015 Hugo Award Winners Announced", The Hugo Awards, August 22, 2015; Chen, Andrea. "Out of this world: Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin is Asia's first writer to win Hugo award for best novel." South China Morning Post. M en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Three-Body Problem (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Alter, "How Chinese Sci-Fi Conquered America", The New York Times, December 3, 2019; Tor.com, "Tor Books to Release The Three-Body Problem, the First Chinese Science Fiction Novel Translated Into English", July 23, 2013; "The Three Body Problem" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Three-Body Problem (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Alter, "How Chinese Sci-Fi Conquered America", The New York Times, December 3, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Three-Body Problem (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: chinawriter.com.cn; Richardson, "Nick Richardson · Even what doesn't happen is epic: Chinese SF", London Review of Books, April 8, 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Three-Body Problem (novel) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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