Science Fiction and Different Ways for Cultural Communication

As my survey comes again from a domain which is related but not directly connected with translation, we should first acknowledge the use of comparative literature study to a conscious and professional reception of the new works, and to the proper dissociation between artistic value and translation value. It is rather obvious that there is the need for theory and literary critique when choosing not only what piece of work is worthy for translation, but also what kind of approach in translation would be more useful. However, we will not spend the most amount of time in this analysis discussing basic concepts of artistic value, focusing instead on the use that literature may have in the area of cultural dialogue, exploring new ways of approaching semantically loaded concepts and terms, and proposing a shift from the conceptual philosophical or scientific discussion, towards a serious play within the world of the imaginary.
The realm of the imaginary is the domain of literature for thousands of years, in order to express ideas in a manner, and using such methods that escape the rigors of a scientific, or of a philosophical debate. Literature is not underwhelmed by the urge to express ideas, on the contrary, it reaches complex emotional and cognitive states, where both the reader and the author meet, and through the poetics of the catharsis, opens a deep and honest dialogue between the two. Literature, like art in general, is not meant to convince, however, it does make statements about the world. Therefore, accepting the communicational part of literature as such we may leave the artistic elements and address the issue of cultural and civilizational encounter. In the context of the new flow of information, economical interchange and interdependence, the meeting of cultures is unavoidable. It is our duty, as people from the academia, both from the humanities and from translation and linguistics domains, to add fairness, smoothness and rationality to this encounter. Literary translation has its own important part in this aspect.
Therefore, we would like to use the case of the Chinese science fiction, with a special attention on Hao Jingfang’s work Vagabonds, to talk about the great value of dialogue, of offering the chance to experience different points of view for the reader, touching subjects that are very sensitive, but also extremely relevant for our days. Hao Jingfang’s work belongs to a wave of successful Chinese science fiction, which started with the well praised works of Liu Cixin, and addresses many issues that are otherwise almost impossible to have an unbiased neutral view on.
The artistic value will be also discussed, but the focus will be kept on the communicational approach and on the immediate response that such a book can generate on the part of the reader. This is also a suggestion for translation, not only of Hao Jingfang’s novel, but for the genre of science fiction in general, for its opportunity to reach toward a real and an open dialogue between cultures.