Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem" is known as the pinnacle of Chinese science fiction works. Someone said: "Liu Cixin single-handedly led Chinese science fiction to the world." Especially in 2015, "Three-Body Problem 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth" won the Hugo Award, which is the Nobel Prize for literature in the science fiction world.
The work received a lukewarm reception in Korea, but it was a phenomenal success in Japan. In just one week, all Japanese sci-fi fans fell in love with it.
Although "The Three-Body Problem" has achieved considerable global sales, Liu Cixin is puzzled that the book's sales in Asia have not been satisfactory.
Liu Cixin has said that his sci-fi "Three-Body Problem" has sold only 400 copies in South Korea, instead of the 4,000 copies he expected. This data made Liu Cixin feel unbelievable.
The cover design of the Korean version of "The Three-Body Problem" is even more unacceptable, so much so that some netizens ridiculed: "After reading this cover design, we may be able to understand why "The Three-Body Problem Can't Be Sold in Korea". ”
Perhaps in the eyes of Koreans, "The Three-Body Problem" is just a hunting book for children to read. Therefore, in terms of cover design, they seem perfunctory. However, in Liu Cixin's view, it may be because Asians have similar values, so in their opinion, "The Three-Body Problem" is not unusual.
In addition, in East Asia, science fiction is often regarded as children's books, and there is no strong science fiction atmosphere in Europe and the United States.
Eleven years later, the Japanese version of "The Three-Body Problem" was released in Japan, breaking Liu Cixin's worries with amazing sales results. On the day of its launch alone, "The Three-Body Problem" was sold out and topped the Amazon literary and artistic works sales list.
Translator Nozomi Omori said on social media ** that it has been decided to go for a third printing. Although the Japanese version of "The Three-Body Problem" is priced at 2,052 yen, or about 130 yuan, sales are still high.
On July 8, the Hayakawa Shobo Sales Department announced that it would increase its printing volume again and start the sixth to eighth printing. Not only that, bookstores have also put "The Three-Body Problem" in a prominent position, and even some bookstore sample books have been snapped up, proving that the craze of "The Three-Body Problem" has surpassed science fiction readers and attracted a wider readership.
Nozomi Omori revealed that only 10,000 copies of the first edition of "The Three-Body Problem" were printed, but the 76,000 copies from the second to the tenth printing began to be gradually sent to bookstores around the country. His mental journey is that when he brushed 2 and 3, he was still sighing "Hey, hey, this is too little", when he brushed 4 and 5, he felt "almost", until 6 brushes to 8 brushes, he sighed "It's really printed a lot", and finally in a short period of time, "The Three-Body Problem" sold 110,000 copies, which is a very remarkable number in Japan.
Even Harry Potter did not set such a sales record in Japan. In addition, many Japanese celebrities have personally cheered for "The Three-Body Problem", including world-class game designer Hideo Kojima, who is not only a fan of "The Three-Body Problem" and Liu Cixin, but also posted a sample of the Japanese version of "The Three-Body Problem" on social networks in May 2019 and said that he was ready to read it.
After reading it, he sighed: "After reading Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" in one go, I was really amazed. This is a grand and authentic science fiction work, with themes that our generation can access, but its historical background, scientific knowledge, and literary significance are unique works of science fiction literature, which reminds me of "Divine Hunting", "The End of Childhood" and "The End of the Endless River". Mr. Liu Cixin and I are the same year. ”
Hideo Kojima, Yu Irie, and Ichisui Ogawa all gave high praise to the work "Three-Body Problem". Hideo Kojima calls it a surreal sci-fi that strikes a wonderful balance between universality, entertainment, and literature, while Yu Irie describes it as an earth-shattering science fiction encompassing human history, while Kazumizu Ogawa says that reading this work is like savoring the blending of the works of James Hogan and Robert J. Sawyer with Chinese culture.
Japanese sci-fi fans are so obsessed with "The Three-Body Problem" that they don't even hesitate to queue up in bookstores, and social ** is full of heated discussions about the plot.
Although the image of the Japanese may not be so positive in **, there are two Japanese women who are portrayed as spies and spokespersons for the interests of the Three-Body Problem, but this has not affected the love of Japanese fans for "The Three-Body Problem".
The editor nervously asked the Japanese translator Omori what they thought of Tomoko, and the Japanese editor replied with a smile: "Of course it's a beautiful girl!" "This once again proves the fanatical love of Japanese fans for "The Three-Body Problem".
On October 27, 2019, Liu Cixin went to Dongying for a book signing, and his fan Hideo Kojima finally realized his wish to get the autographed book he had always dreamed of.
At the same time, Hideo Kojima also gifted Liu Cixin the collector's edition of his latest masterpiece "Crysis". Although Liu Cixin and Hideo Kojima are in different cultural fields, they have both made outstanding contributions to the field of science fiction.
The relationship between the two is undoubtedly a good story.