Meet the unofficial ambassador of Chinese science fiction

Hosted by Yang Yong, this is a small batch from the weekly literary program Ink&Quill.

Ken Liu [Photo by Lisa Tang Liu]

Ken Liu might sound like an unassuming name to many of our listeners. Yet in the American literary scene, he is one of the leading new voices in speculative fiction. 

Born in the city of Lanzhou of China's Gansu Province, Liu migrated to the United States with his parents at the age of 11. By day, he is a litigation consultant working on cases involving technology. By night, he is an author whose subject matters span from time travel, alternate history to hard sci-fi and futurism. 

Reading Ken's debut collection, "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories", may feel like taking on an emotionally wrenching journey that explores familily, human spirit, free will and politics. [Cover: Courtesy of Ken Liu]

In 2012, Ken Liu's heart-wrenching short story, "The Paper Menagerie", became the first fiction to make a clean sweep of the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, three of the most heavyweight prizes in the world of science fiction and fantasy. His novels, "The Grace of Kings" and its follow-up "The Wall of Storms", are hailed as epic feats that "changes the fantasy landscape".

But if you only know Ken Liu as the author of numerous books on science fiction, fantasy, and paranormal tales, you are definitely missing out. Turns out, he's also a stupendously good translator. 

Ken's translation of The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2015, the first translated novel ever to receive that honor. He also translated the third volume in Liu Cixin's series, Death's End (2016) and edited the first English-language anthology of contemporary Chinese science fiction, Invisible Planets (2016). [Cover: Courtesy of Ken Liu]

An unofficial ambassador who bridges Chinese science fiction with a broader range of western readers, he translated two instalments of China's all-time popular sci-fi saga, the three-body series by Liu Cixin. The first volume, The Three-body Problem, won the Hugo Award, the first translated work ever to receive the honour. In 2016, Hao Jingfang's Folding Beijing, which was also translated by Ken, snapped the Hugo Award for Best Novella. 

Recently, this Boston-based author came to Beijing to attend the Chinese Nebulas. Our reporter Shiyu seized the opportunity to talk with Ken Liu to discuss his thoughts on storytelling, the silkpunk narrative, and his translation career. 

The first installment of Liu's The Dandelion Dynasty series, The Grace of Kings  is the winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel and a Nebula finalist. [Cover:Courtesy of Ken Liu]

Their conversation started with her asking him what fuelled his passion in the speculative fiction genre. 

The Q&A touches on the following subjects, such as:

• The subjects that interest him the most;

• How his professional lives as lawyer and programmer affect his writing; 

• What does "silkpunk" mean; 

• How he bridges Chinese science fiction with a broader range of western readers; 

• The challenges of translating Chinese science fiction into English; 

• And much, much more!

To hear their complete conversation, you are welcomed to download our podcast from iTunes, by searching the key words: Ink&Quill. 

To know more about Ken's works, you can go to his website, kenliu.name or find him on Twitter by going to kyliu99.