The literary era since 1979

In the afternoon, as usual, in the conference hall where the morning reception was held, people gradually took their seats until all the seats were occupied.

The order of the speeches was France, Poland, Italy, China, and Japan. The speeches this time were mainly aimed at attracting the votes of the wavering neutral members. As for those who had already made up their minds, it was almost impossible to convince them to change their minds in just over ten minutes.

As for Yang Xiao and his team, even though Heinlein, Asimov and others helped canvass for votes all morning, the situation was still not optimistic.

Because currently only dialects in China have the right to vote, while there are many science fiction association members from Japan, France and other countries.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Fangyan took the initiative to say a few words of comfort.

Yang Xiao nodded and took a few deep breaths.

Fangyan smiled and looked at the nervous Li the translator, "How about it, can you take up this burden today? If you can't..."

Translator Li held the English-translated speech manuscript tightly in his hands, "Teacher Fang, I will do my best!"

When representatives from France, Poland and other countries finished their speeches, there was applause from the audience.

I don't know how much of it is courtesy and how much is sincere.

When it was Yang Xiao and Li the translator's turn to go on stage, Fang Yan and others applauded on this side, while Heinlein, Asimov and others applauded on the other side.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa."

The thunderous applause slowly dissipated the pressure and panic that Yang Xiao felt when he first stepped onto such a huge stage, and he quickly calmed down.

Translator Li and Yang Xiao looked at each other and exchanged glances, "Let's get started."

Yang Xiao took the microphone and said seriously:

“Dear members of the organizing committee, colleagues in the science fiction literature community, and science fiction fans around the world!”

"Today, I stand here with a new story belonging to an ancient oriental country, a story about the stars, the future and the destiny of mankind. The name of this story is Chinese science fiction literature, and today, we sincerely invite the world to hand over the right to host the World Science Fiction Convention to China, because this is not only a fertile ground for science fiction, but also a bridge to the common future of mankind."

"Hegel once said, 'A nation has hope only when it has a group of people who look up at the stars.' This is the case with the Chinese nation!"

"........."

"Five thousand years ago, our ancestors engraved their questions about the universe on tortoise shells; eight hundred years ago, Wan Hu used rockets to ignite his ambition to fly to the moon; today, more than one billion Chinese are trying to redefine the boundaries of the future with technology and literature."

"We used the Classic of Mountains and Seas to depict mythical beasts and foreign lands, and used Journey to the West to imagine heaven and immortality."

"Today, the narrative of 'artificial intelligence' about 'simulated robots' in Fangyan questions the nature of human nature, the 'virtual world' in 'The Ring' has shocked the world, and the recently published 'The Three-Body Problem' in China has reinterpreted the Fermi Paradox."

"Using the cruel and realistic 'Dark Forest Law', this film deeply analyzes this cold and dangerous cosmic forest."

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience began to get agitated, and everyone started whispering and talking.

In particular, the Japanese delegation, which has not yet taken the stage, is mainly composed of members from the Japan Science Fiction Association and Nebula magazine, which awards the Nebula Awards.

"It would be great if Japan could also have a writer like Fangyan-san!" "Yes, in terms of the number and quality of science fiction writers, I am sure that Japan definitely surpasses China at present, but in terms of the achievements and heights achieved in the science fiction literature, ten or a hundred outstanding science fiction writers may not be able to fill the gap between us and China."

"Because China has such an amazing writer like Fangyan Sang, who has brought Chinese science fiction literature to the world level by his own efforts."

"Isn't it? Although Komatsu-san's "Japan Sinks" is also very good, he is only a national-level science fiction writer in Japan. Looking at the entire science fiction literary world, he is still far inferior to Fangyan-san, a world-class science fiction writer. What's more, he is a world-class literary giant!"

"........."

There was a certain amount of envy, or even sourness, in everyone's words.

After all, the "Eight Laws of Robotics" co-written by Fangyan and Asimov are very popular in the science fiction literary world.

When Yang Xiao revealed that Fangyan and Asimov had reached an agreement to serialize the English version of "The Three-Body Problem" in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine", it caused the first uproar in the audience. The fanatical science fiction fans couldn't wait to read "The Three-Body Problem" and "The Dark Forest Law".

“Why did the World Science Fiction Convention choose China?”

“Because in this land of the East, the pursuit of the unknown and the starry sky has never stopped.”

"Because the World Science Fiction Convention is not only a literary feast, but also a civilized dialogue..."

"One of the greatest characteristics of science fiction is its inclusiveness. It must be inclusive of different futures and the visions of civilization envisioned by different writers, including discussions on solutions to various crises. Western science fiction has put forward many propositions, and Chinese science fiction also has its own propositions."

"For example, how can we protect the flame of civilization in the vast sea of ​​stars? How can we maintain independence and self-reliance under technological hegemony?"

"Choosing Huaxia means choosing an inclusive science fiction future, where the wisdom of 'a community with a shared future for mankind' will coexist with 'cyber technology', and the flying apsaras in the Dunhuang murals will resonate with the space elevator. We promise to hold the conference in such a beautiful city as Chengdu."

“It will allow science fiction to return to the most fundamental questions of humanity: where do we come from? Where are we going?”

Hearing this, Yao Haijun said excitedly: "Teacher Fang, the speech you helped Lao Yang polish was really well written!"

Fang Yan smiled and looked at Yang Xiao who was already in the mood. At this moment, she was giving a passionate and almost selfless speech.

"Finally, please allow me to end with a sentence I said in dialect. This sentence also appears in The Three-Body Problem, which is -"

“Give civilization to the years, not years to civilization!”

"Today, Chinese science fiction is inviting the world to jointly write the 'cosmic epic' of this era with a young attitude. In Chengdu, a city with both historical heritage and a bright future, Chinese science fiction literature will participate in world science fiction and usher in the next golden era!"

"Because I believe that everyone here will look up at the stars and find their own answers."

"thank you all!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience burst into thunderous applause, and Asimov, Heinlein and others even stood up and applauded "very respectfully".

This move immediately triggered a chain reaction. The people present stood up one after another, and the applause was mixed with cheers and cheers.

Fangyan looked around and saw that the possibility of the World Science Fiction Convention being held in Chengdu was not nine out of ten, but at least seven or eight out of ten.

I just don’t know whether it will be 1987 or 1988? (End of this chapter)