When the "September 11" terrorist attack broke out suddenly, when the twin skyscrapers of the World Trade Center in New York collapsed, the "base" organization led by bin Laden became a high-frequency word in the world's media. In 1988, bin Laden established the "AL QAEDA" organization in Afghanistan with the help of the United States.This organization is transliterated as "Al Qaeda", which means "base", and is now commonly referred to as "base" organization.This "Qaeda" organization, as its name suggests, was used to train Afghan volunteers to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.Most of these volunteers from abroad are Arabs.Bin Laden became the leader of the "Al Qaeda" organization.The US Central Intelligence Agency helped bin Laden train the Afghan Volunteer Army at the "base".When the United States replaced the Soviet Union, Afghanistan became a vassal of the United States. Under the leadership of bin Laden, the "Al Qaeda" organization launched a "jihad" against the United States.Bin Laden used the "skills" taught to him by the CIA to carry out terrorist attacks on the United States.

While the Americans who suffered from the "September 11" attacks were still in shock, on October 3, 2001, officials from the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that after interrogating the captured "Al Qaeda" members, they learned that "Al Qaeda The organization originally planned to launch three waves of terrorist attacks on the United States. Hijacking planes and crashing buildings is only the first part of this "trilogy", with the purpose of causing social unrest in the United States.The second and third waves were attacks on the United States with biological, chemical and radiological weapons designed to inflict human casualties and paralyze the U.S. economy. …

It was at this time that the "discovery" of the British "Guardian" made Asimov, an American writer who died nine years ago in 1992, aroused widespread attention.The British newspaper noted that Asimov wrote several (Foundation) science fiction novels.Bin Laden got inspiration from Asimov's science fiction and named his secret organization "Al Qaeda".Asimov wrote the "base" trilogy, and the plan formulated by the "base" organization to attack the United States is also the "base" trilogy! Is bin Laden a "fan"?unknown.After all, did bin Laden get inspiration from Asimov's science fiction for establishing the "Al Qaeda" organization and formulating the "Al Qaeda" trilogy of plans to attack the United States.It is also unknown.However, in any case, the "research" of the British newspaper was greatly exaggerated by the media, which greatly increased the attention of the late Asimov's readers, and his science fiction novels became "hot" again...

Asimov - "Asimov", this is the most standard Chinese translation in mainland China.In fact, Asimov is just a surname, and Isaac-Isaac is his first name.His full name is Isaat · Asimov, namely Isaac Asimov. January 2, 1920.Asimov was born in Russia.When he was three years old, he immigrated to the United States with his parents.So Asimov should be said to be a "Russian-American", or "Russian-American Jewish writer". After Asimov received a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the age of 28, he worked as an associate professor at the School of Medicine of the University of Borington and engaged in writing in his spare time.He published twenty-four books, and realized that it is difficult to do two things with one mind, and it is difficult to do two things with one body.Calmly measuring himself, he concluded: "I'm unlikely to be a first-rate scientist, but I might be a first-rate writer of science fiction and popular science." He resolved to resign so that he could devote himself to writing.He said to the Dean of the University of Boston School of Medicine: "I am already one of the best science writers in the world, but I intend to become the best, not just one of the best." A lifetime is spent in a study, in front of a typewriter.

In the camp of writers, Asimov has a distinct personality: In China, it is often used to describe the prolificity of a writer as "the book is equal to one's body".For Asimov, it is "the writing exceeds the body", so that it is twice his height!I once saw a photo of Shuo Yun opening his arms, but still unable to wrap around his long row of works. Asimov was diligent and prolific.At the time of his death in 1992, a total of 470 works had been published.Someone made accurate statistics on Asimov's writing speed: His first hundred books took 237 months, almost twenty years, and were completed in October 1969;

The second one hundred books were completed in March 1979, and it took 113 months, nine and a half years, that is, writing ten books every year; The third one hundred volumes took 69 months and was completed in December 1984, less than six years. It can be seen from this statistic that Asimov wrote faster and faster as he got older.Faster is more.Quick and many are the characteristics of Asiyufu's creation. Asimov is known as a "writing machine". He typed every day with extreme perseverance to write new books.According to the cloud, he worked seven days a week (Sunday was his Saturday), worked more than eight hours a day, and typed ninety words per minute with a typewriter.He has no holidays and does not go on vacation.He said that the purpose of people on vacation is to seek happiness, and for him writing is happiness, so he has been writing non-stop, and he is happy every day.

Another characteristic of Azimov is Bo. There have been prolific writers—though not as prolific as Asimov.For example, British female writer Christie and Japanese writer Seicho Matsumoto are also prolific, but their works are often limited to detective novels, while Asimov’s works involve almost all fields of modern science, many of which involve history, literature and Philosophy to theology.Calling Asimov an "encyclopedic writer" is not an exaggeration. However, in general, Asimov can be positioned as a science fiction writer and popular science writer. A careful analysis of Asimoda's creative trajectory shows that he was mainly engaged in the creation of science fiction in his early years. After 1957, he turned to popular science writing, and in his later years he wrote science fiction again.

Why did 1957 become a turning point in Asimo Zhang's creative path?That was on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial earth satellite in human history, which shocked the United States.U.S. President Eisenhower's first reaction was: "Please check our primary education in the United States. What's wrong?" It should be said that Eisenhower's words had a strategic vision.In his view, the fundamental reason why the United States lagged behind in the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was that the popular science education of the people lagged behind the Soviet Union.Eisenhower's words also deeply stimulated Asimov.He immediately decided to suspend the creation of science fiction, turned to popular science writing, and published a large number of popular science books in order to improve the scientific literacy of American citizens.

With the increasing popularity of television, Asimov also stepped onto the screen and became the "famous mouth" for popularizing science in the United States.After all, Asimov was born as a teacher, and he was quite eloquent.Colleagues from the School of Medicine at Bolton University recalled that if you heard booing from a classroom in the corridor, followed by cheers and applause, it was probably Asimov who was giving a lecture.Now Asimov regards the TV station as a vast and boundless classroom, and tells scientific knowledge to many audiences in a humorous tone. He is naturally included in the list of "famous mouths", and at the same time, his popularity has also been improved.

The famous American astronomer and science writer Carl Sagan once said about Asimov: "In this century of technology, we need a figure who can connect science and the public. No one can put this Do a great job as Asimov, the narrator of the greats of our time." Aximozhang is an excellent popular science writer, but he is also an excellent science fiction writer.Among his many works, the most sought after by readers are his science fiction novels. Asimov was a peculiar man, a self-proclaimed "fear of heights" (even though he lived on the top floor of the 33rd floor), who flew only twice in his life: once when he was working in the Naval Air Corps Laboratory When he was young, the chemist was engaged in the research of making "marking dyes", which can quickly form bright colors when diffused on the surface of the sea, so that it is easy for airplanes to find fallen warbirds.In order to test the effect of "marking dye", he had to fly over the sea in a small twin-engine plane; on another occasion, after he came to Hawaii on a warship, when he returned to San Francisco, he applied to the army for "marking dye". He thought that this "sea vehicle" must be a ship, but it turned out to be a passenger plane! He had to take a plane again. Since then, he has resolutely "goodbye" to the plane. Greatly limited his scope of activities. He not only never went abroad, but also spent most of his time in a small study. It is such a person who stays at home, but his imagination is far beyond those ordinary A writer of science fiction. The whimsical ideas of galloping into space flowing from Asimov's typewriter, and the magnificent cosmic battles are enough to make him a handsome chair in the camp of science fiction writers in the world.

Asimov's numerous science fiction novels are divided into two parts: the "Robot" series and the "Foundation" series. His "Robot" series of science fiction novels include, "Steel Cave", "Naked Sun" and so on. In this science fiction novel, Asimov proposed the "Three Laws of Robotics": "First Law—A robot shall not injure a man, nor allow a man to be harmed; "Second Law - A robot shall obey all orders from man, but shall not violate the First Law; "The third law—a robot should protect its own safety, but it must not violate the first and second laws." The "Three Laws of Robotics" written by Azimov in science fiction has now been accepted and adopted by Robotics (also known as "Mechanics")!In robotics monographs, these three laws are often mentioned and called "Asimov's three laws".It can also be seen from this point that Asimov's science fiction has a deep influence. Asimov's "Foundation" series of science fiction novels consists of seven volumes: Prequel: "Towards Base" Base Trilogy: sequel: Among them, the "Base Trilogy" is composed of nine novellas and short stories, "Towards the Base" includes four novellas, ,, and are complete novels. In Asimov's "Foundation" series of novels, the earliest is a story called , written in August 1941 and published in May 1942.The last "The Base Is Moving Forward" was completed in 1922, the last year of Asimov's life. At that time, he was unable to use a computer to write, so he had to dictate and his assistant recorded to complete this novel. "The Foundation Is Going" was not published until after Asimov's death.In other words, the writing span of Asimov's "Foundation" series of novels is half a century. The "Foundation" series of novels is Asimov's masterpiece. In his long autobiography, Asimov described how he started writing the "Foundation" series of novels: I once described my interest in history in my early years, and my urge to study history as a major or even do a doctorate in history.I dropped it because I didn't think it would necessarily work.Although I studied chemistry.But the interest in history remains undiminished.I like historical fiction (as long as there isn't too much violence and sex in it).To this day, I read historical fiction whenever I get the chance, and just as a love of science fiction arouses my desire to write science fiction, so a love of historical fiction naturally arouses my desire to write historical fiction. Writing historical fiction is impractical for me, it requires a lot of reading and research.I can't spend all my time there, but I want to write. I have long thought of making up a piece of history myself, and then writing a historical novel based on it.In other words, I could write a future historical novel—a science fiction novel that reads like a historical novel. I don't have to pretend that the idea of ​​future history is mine.The British writer Olaf Stapleton has used this method surprisingly and effectively for a large number of works.He wrote "The First and Last Men" and "The Starmaker."These books all look like history books, and I wanted to write a historical novel, a story with dialogue and events, like any other science fiction novel, but not only about technology, but also about Luggage and social issues. Asimov also recalled: I have always had the urge to write future historical fiction.I had just finished reading The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.I've watched it a second time.Suddenly, it occurred to me that I could write a story about the fall and fall of a Galactic Empire. On August 1, 1941, I went to Campbell and told him this idea.He was very excited.He didn't want a single story, but a long saga, a story without an end, about the fall and fall of that galactic empire, the dark ages that followed after that fall, and the eventual rise of a second galactic empire, all with the help of It is based on a invented science called "psychohistory" that allows the highly skilled psychohistorians in the story to predict future historical events. As it turned out, the series of stories was the most successful and popular of all my works.In the 1980s, I wrote sequels to these stories.The stories are even more successful and popular after being separated by that long.They have brought me more wealth and glory than any other story, far beyond my imagination.Most of the stories in the series were written while I was utterly failing at the Naval Aviation Experiment Station. Always, the past is history, yesterday is history.Asimov is different. His "Foundation" series of science fiction novels are about "the history of the future", "the history of the distant future", and "the history of tomorrow"! What Asimov used for reference was "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", and the "Foundation" series of science fiction novels he wrote was "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire".The Roman Empire is a history that actually happened, while the Galactic Empire is a fictional "history" that never happened. Asimov's "future history" takes place in the very, very distant future.At that time, human civilization had spread to 25 million planets in the Milky Way, and the total population had also expanded, creating an extremely large cosmic empire—the "Galaxy Empire". The mighty "Galaxy Emperor Siege" has a long history of 12,000 years.It can be called an "ancient country".Yet the mathematician Hari Seldon calculated when the "Galactic Empire" fell.Seldon pointed out that the "Galaxy Empire" under centralized rule will go from prosperity to decline and be replaced by a democratic and free "Second Galactic Empire" (referred to as "Second Empire"), which is the trend of the times and a historical necessity. Hardan Seldon also calculated that from the "Galaxy Empire" to the "Second Galactic Empire", there will be a transitional period of 30,000 years.During these 30,000 years, it was in a state of anarchy that was extremely chaotic, dark, and painful. In order to minimize the pain caused by the chaotic situation, Seldon tried every means to reduce the 30,000-year dark transition period to 1,000 years. This is the extremely bold "Seldon Plan". In order to realize the "Seldon Plan", Seldon set out to build a "base".The so-called "base" is a "seed that is separate, isolated, and independent of the empire—preserving strength for the coming dark age, and then developing into a second empire." Seldon established two bases to help the "Second Empire" succeed the "Galactic Empire" as soon as possible.These two bases are the first base and the second base. In the name of compiling an encyclopedia, Seldon gathered a group of physicists on a small star at the edge of the Milky Way and established a "physics base" - the first base.He secretly established a "psychological base" at the other end of the galaxy - the second base, "They are psychiatrists, psychohistorians who can touch the soul, and can conduct research in a collective mind, so that psychohistory progress will be far more rapid than any single study of individual minds."During this millennium, the second base will cultivate a group of psychologists through the development of spiritual science, ready to take over the leadership of the new empire. Seldon described the different functions of the two bases in this way: the first base established the physical structure of the unified government, while the second base provided the spiritual structure of the ruling class. Seldon sees both bases as "the seeds of a future 'Second Galactic Empire'".His reason for having two bases was "in case one fails, the other can go on". Seldon became the "Father of the Foundations" for his creation of the First and Second Foundations. Seldon embarked on the realization of the "Seldon Project", and "everything is aboveboard for the First Base, and it continues to expand with open swords and guns, and in just two centuries, its reputation has spread across half the galaxy."The First Foundation is gradually gaining control of the galaxy.At this time, the alien "Mule" appeared to destroy the "Seldon Plan".The first base does everything possible to turn to the second base, but the second base is always hidden in the dark abyss.To make matters worse, suspicions arose between the First and Second Bases due to the "Mule".In the end, the Second Base finally defeated the "Mule" and made the "Seldon Plan" come true... Asimov, the "historian of art", the "big historian" of the United States, used the "epic" style of writing, and used the grand chapters of the "Foundation" series to tell readers eloquently about the origins of "The Galactic Empire," the twists and turns of stories from the First Foundation (commonly known as "The Foundation") and the Second Foundation, and from that "Mule," dedicate the "history of the future" to the reader. The "Foundation" series of science fiction novels is the "cadenade" in Asimov's more than 400 works, and it is also a classic in the world's science fiction treasure house. Paul Krugman, a well-known contemporary American economist, constructed a preliminary model of the exchange rate crisis at the age of 24, and won the "Clark Award" established by the American Economic Association for outstanding young and middle-aged scholars at the age of 28 .He said in his autobiography: "My enlightenment mentor is Asimov, the master of science fiction." In a report on Krugman, it was written that the impact of Asimov's "base" series of science fiction on Kruger Mann's profound influence on: Asimov, the super master of science fiction literature in the 20th century, drew inspiration from "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and created it The immortal sci-fi masterpiece "Foundation Trilogy" has influenced generations of young people, and this masterpiece is also Kruger's Mann's favorite work when he was young, it was this work that led Krugman to the research field of economics. The title of the Arabic translation of the first volume of Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" is actually a well-known word-"Al Qaeda" (meaning "base" in Arabic). Bin Laden's terrorist organization has the same name as Asimov's novel.This has also prompted some experts to speculate that Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" may have given bin Laden a lot of inspiration.The British "Guardian" has made a detailed report on this. Experts believe that the excellence of the "Foundation Trilogy" lies in the core concept of "psychohistory" throughout the book.Psychohistory is Asimov's social theory transformed from the "gas molecular dynamics" of physics. "Gas molecular dynamics" cannot estimate the movement of each molecule, but can calculate whether the whole is expanding or contracting; similarly, psychohistory cannot predict the fate of individuals, but after introducing the influence of economic and social forces into the model, it can Accurately predict the development trend of society, and even further introduce appropriate variables at key points, so as to change the possible path of social development in the future. In his autobiography, Krugman confessed that it was Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy" that prompted him to enter the field of economics? "I love the "Foundation Trilogy". In the book, the psychohistory of using economic and social forces to import models to save the civilization of the Galactic Empire is unforgettable. When I was a teenager, my biggest dream was to become a psychohistory of saving civilization. family, but unfortunately, this discipline has not existed in real life except in Asimov's works... I believe that one day, a comprehensive social discipline will emerge, just as Asimov As the husband envisioned in the book". Krugman is just one of the "Amigos", one of the many readers of Asimov's "Foundation" science fiction. From his self-report, it can be seen that Asimov has become an idol in his heart! In China, the Chinese translations of Asimov's popular science works were published by Science Press as early as the 1970s.In the 1980s, Asimov's "Robot" series of science fiction novels were also translated and published in Chinese, and there are many Chinese versions.However, Asimov's quintessential "Foundation" series of science fiction novels, only Taiwan, China has published two different Chinese translations, the translators are Ye Lihua and Zhong Jiefu.It has not been published in mainland China. Professor Ye Lihua is a Ph.D. student in theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a well-known science fiction writer in Taiwan.He is a "hard-core A fan", and he has systematically translated Asimov's "Foundation" series of seven volumes, "Empire" series of three volumes and the Complete Works of Robot Short Stories".Because of this, the publication of the Chinese translation by Mr. Ye Lihua of Taiwan English Hansheng Publishing Co., Ltd. by Huangfan Tiandi Publishing House is undoubtedly a blessing for the readers in mainland China.Today, when the country is wide open, mainland China has introduced a wide variety of Western science fiction novels, as well as original science fiction, magic and fantasy novels.However, in my opinion, the classic and heavyweight Asimov "Foundation" series of science fiction novels are still the first choice of many science fiction fans in mainland China. Asimov's "Foundation" series of science fiction novels published the article "Zhang Xiguo Talks about Asimov" by Professor Zhang Xiguo.Professor Zhang Shiguo is a computer expert, the head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh, and a leading figure in Taiwan's science fiction.When he edited Taiwan's "Phantom" magazine, he invited me to serve as an editorial consultant.When the simplified Chinese version is published, I wrote this preface as instructed, as a supplement to "Zhang Shiguo Talks about Asimov", to introduce readers to Asimov and his "base" series of science fiction novels, It can be regarded as the "background representation" of reading these seven huge volumes of science fiction books. Ye Yonglie November 18, 2004 In Shanghai "Shen Si Zhai"