Chapter 53 Chapter 25 Epilogue

Still more than 20 years ago, I came across an article in a booklet by chance, which told the story of "Hanging Xingcha" recorded in "Supplements of Relics".I don't know why, but this short article has generated many strange ideas in my mind, and I can't forget them for a long time. Later, I looked up some information about "Supplements of Relics" and its author Wang Jia.It turns out that Wang Jia was an alchemist in the Jin Dynasty, and many of his "Shi Yi Ji" are rumors.Even so, we can see such rumors today, but we cannot but thank him.Furthermore, we cannot fail to thank the splendid ancient culture of our Chinese nation, although "Supplements of Relics" is just a drop in the ocean compared to ancient culture.Now, although mankind has already entered the era of artificial satellites, this beautiful and ancient legend is still popular.I wonder if we can combine the splendid ancient civilization of our Chinese nation, the lofty spirit of the contemporary people to carry out the construction of the four modernizations, and people's pursuit of a better future to conceive a novel?That was the original idea I was going to write about.

However, due to various reasons, this idea has never been realized.It wasn't until 1977 that the decision to convene the first National Science Conference re-sounded the clarion call for marching towards the modernization of science and technology, which aroused my desire to create, and then I really started to do it. As a result, some problems that have not been considered before come one after another. If you want to write down, you have to consider these problems. The first problem encountered is how to combine ancient rumors, contemporary reality and future reveries?What style of fiction can be used to achieve this?In my opinion, there is nothing more suitable for this subject than science fiction novels.It is suitable because among the various contemporary novel styles, science fiction can accommodate fantasy to the greatest extent, thus presenting the past, present and future that people have never seen in person to contemporary readers.

The second question is, do we need fantasy?This may seem like an unproblematic problem, but it is indeed a problem that is far from being fully resolved. In fact, novels with strong fantasy colors appeared in ancient my country, such as "Liao Zhai", "Liao Zhai", and have been passed down to this day.It can be seen that the ancient people needed fantasy. So, is it true that today, when science is highly developed, it seems that everything can be expressed accurately in scientific language, so there is no need for fantasy anymore?No, science and fantasy are not only not contradictory, but also complementary.With the continuous expansion of the field of science, the boundary between it and the unknown field has also continued to increase, and the mysteries that people need to explore and imagine have not decreased, but have increased dramatically.Revolutionary mentor Lenin pointed out long ago: "We always believe that not only poets and artists need fantasy, but science and technology should also have fantasy. It should also be in our daily life. Without fantasy, even the October Revolution is inconceivable."

Now, in our country, science fiction novels are not only loved by children, but also more and more popular by young people and adults.It can be seen that contemporary people need and love fantasy more.The reason is probably because fantasy is always beautiful, fantasy is the driving force leading to the unknown world, without fantasy human beings will not move forward. Therefore, human beings always have to be a little whimsical.Of course, this kind of whimsy must have a basis, and this basis is nothing but the existing knowledge of human beings.Lenin said, "Truth takes one more step, and it becomes a fallacy." If this is the case with truth, let alone fantasy?If fantasy leaves this foundation, it will become absurd.This is what we cannot but pay attention to.

Third, how can it be regarded as a science fiction novel in a way of writing?For such a question, the country has been under debate, and it seems that there is no generally accepted definition.But after all, there has to be an explanation, otherwise it is impossible to determine whether what I wrote is a science fiction novel or not. I think sci-fi is fiction first and foremost.This kind of novel can describe not only the future, but also the past and present; it can describe not only possible scientific and technological achievements, but also possible mistakes and lessons in the field of science; it can not only describe natural science and technical science, but also describe The social sciences and the various border sciences between these branches of science.The fantasy in this kind of novel is not a "scientific fantasy", but a fantasy in the field of science based on the existing knowledge of mankind; it is neither a literary expression of futurology, nor is it a scientific hypothesis and prophecy, it is only It is just a description to a certain extent of things that humans have not yet known by means of fantasy.

In short, science fiction novels are novels in the field of science, based on the current knowledge of human beings, with things that contemporary humans have not yet known or not yet fully understood as themes, and fantasy as a means of describing the things. It was written with this understanding in mind.Whether such an understanding and writing method are correct or not is yet to be corrected by readers and literary critics. Since science fiction is still a novel in the final analysis, it has the same characteristics as other novels: on the one hand, its characters and plots are fictional; on the other hand, its source of creation comes from reality. life.No exception, all its characters, plots, time, and places are fictitious, so readers don't have to "check" with reality; There is no basis at all.In this way, the real, well-founded material and the speculative, fictional things in the novel are fused together.In order to let readers who are willing to further explore can easily find out the truth and fiction in this novel, I have indicated the bibliography and title of the article.

Readers should pay special attention here, don’t think that this novel is better than other science fiction novels just because science and technology works often have references attached to them, while science fiction novels generally do not include references or indicate the bibliography and title of the article. Come true, or think that the author intends to imply this meaning to the reader.No, on the contrary, the reason why I indicated the bibliography and the title of the article is to explain to the readers that, except for the things with the source, the other plots of this science fiction novel are fictitious.

The first draft of the book was very rough, thanks to the editors of the People's Literature Publishing House who selected it from many submissions and gave them enthusiastic support and a lot of specific help.They also made proper arrangements for my supplementary interviews in other places.The relevant leaders of the publishing house reviewed the revised manuscript in their busy schedule, had a long talk with me, and put forward pertinent opinions.Comrade Zheng Wenguang, a writer of science fiction, also enthusiastically reviewed the first draft, and he made valuable suggestions on the structure and scientific materials of the whole book.Comrade Cheng Jiazhu participated in discussions many times in the process of conception and writing, and gave me many good ideas.Comrade Jiang Shuliang once read the second draft and pointed out many deficiencies and mistakes.During the entire writing process, in addition to the enthusiastic help of many friends and comrades around me, whether it was in the Guangzhou Shipwreck Salvage Bureau and its salvage team, or on the construction site of the Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project; On the salvage tugboat "Deyue", or in the exhibition hall of the Yichang Cultural Bureau, the Jingzhou Regional Museum, and the Hubei Provincial Museum, there are many enthusiastic comrades who have contributed from various aspects.In short, without their careful guidance and enthusiastic help, it would be impossible for this novel to meet readers.Here, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them.

Since my knowledge level is not high, and my literary quality is very low, although I have revised it several times, there will still be shortcomings and mistakes of one kind or another, and readers and literary critics are kindly requested to correct me.