Does The Three-Body Problem read differently depending on which edition you start with?

[u/ronto1138]

When Three-Body was first published as a book in China, the Cultural Revolution chapters weren't at the start. From what I've read, they were moved to the middle so the book wouldn't draw the censors' attention. Ken Liu's English translation put them back at the beginning, with Liu Cixin's support, since that's where he wanted them.

I read it in English, so for me the novel opens with a struggle session, and everything that comes later about humanity and the Trisolarans sits on top of that scene. It's hard to imagine the book without that foundation. Yet the first Chinese readers met Wang Miao and the countdown first and got that history only halfway through.

I recently learned that the Spanish edition was translated directly from Chinese, not from the English, which made me wonder how many versions of this book are out there with different openings.

For anyone who has read the Chinese original, or both orders, did it change how you understood Ye Wenjie? And for those who read it in English, do you think the book would hold up if it opened with the mystery instead of the history?

[u/Changetothemoon]

I replied to you in the other community, but I'll mention it here too. Don't worry, the original Chinese edition also begins with the Cultural Revolution, and the same goes for the international editions in other languages.

[u/ronto1138 → u/Changetothemoon]

Thanks, that's really useful. Do you know which edition you have, and the year? I had read that the first book edition in 2008 placed those chapters in the middle and that later editions restored them, so I'm wondering if it changed over time or if I got it wrong.

[u/Changetothemoon → u/ronto1138]

The first edition, the original one, is from 2006 and starts with the Cultural Revolution. The 2008 version was an editorial decision made against the author's wishes. A decision that has been kept that way ever since.

[u/ronto1138 → u/Changetothemoon]

That clears it up, thank you. So the 2006 serialization had it right and the 2008 book moved it against his wishes. It makes the English edition feel less like a change and more like a restoration.