Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said: “I’m obsessed by time.
作為世界最為智慧的物理學家之一，斯蒂芬•霍金曾說過:“我對時間非常癡迷。”

Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel TV series has just proved that.
我們中的很多人亦是如此，因為“穿越劇”的走紅已經證實了這一點。

After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved startling ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.
隨著去年《宮》和《步步驚心》接連獲得令人贊嘆的收視率之后，《宮2》于今年1月20日開播，引來無數“穿越迷”的追捧。

“It’s fun to watch characters travel back in time and deal with the conflicts between modernity and ancient times,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, told China Daily.
上海某外企職員夏曉燕（音譯）在接受《中國日報》記者采訪時表示：“看到劇中人物穿越到過去，應對古今之間的矛盾沖突，真是太好玩了。”

Time travel series connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination, said Cai Yinong, the producer of Startling by Each Step.
《步步驚心》制片人蔡藝儂認為，“穿越劇”將古代和現代連接起來，為觀眾提供了更多的想象空間。

Dream of heroism
英雄主義情節

Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that’s hard to achieve in reality.
豐富的想象力使得青年人能夠有機會實現那些現實中難以企及的夢想。

Taiwan writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times.
臺灣作家席絹可謂是中國“穿越劇”的鼻祖。1993年，她出版了一本講述一名年輕女子穿越回古代的愛情小說。

The protagonist’s modern personality and perception of love helps her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.
主人公憑借現代社會的個性以及對愛情的獨特觀點，令冷俊帥氣的俠客為之傾心。這樣的情節滿足了女性讀者們對愛情的幻想。

Starting from late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed, with A Step Into the Past as the most popular example.
從上世紀90年代末開始，有關男主角穿越回古代的小說作品盛行于市，《尋秦記》便是當時最火的一部。

In these stories, the male protagonists accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.
在這些故事中，男主角運用現代的記憶和智慧干成了許多大事。

It’s usually a “dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.
此類作品通常講述的是 “英雄夢成真”的故事，此外還伴隨著令人艷羨的戀情。

The big success of the TV series adapted from A Step Into the Past in 2001 has inspired TV production companies to buy up similar time travel tales. Last year saw their popularity peak.
2001年，電視劇《尋秦記》獲得的巨大成功使得電視劇制作公司紛紛收購類似“穿越”題材劇本。就在去年，“穿越劇”達到了鼎盛時期。

Eye candy
人物養眼

“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia explained her love for time travel TV series.
談及自己對于穿越劇的喜愛，夏曉燕（音譯）解釋說：“我之所以對這類戲十分著迷，主要是它們主打驚心動魄、同時又充滿詩情畫意的愛情故事和一眾養眼的男演員。”

Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Great Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what’s so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered: “Those attractive characters.”
她的想法正好與國內一家市場信息有限公司于2011年進行的一項調查相呼應。當被問及“穿越劇”為何如此吸引人時，有21％的受訪者回答：“極具魅力的人物角色。”

A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.
該調查還發現其更為主要的原因在于此類劇可以讓人感覺到很放松。

Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressures in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
蔡藝儂（音譯）也對這一觀點表示贊同：“現代人總是要在快節奏的生活中面對無窮無盡的壓力，所以這類題材的電視比其他節目更能讓人感到放松，也為人們提供了一個極佳的逃離現實的宣泄途徑。”

Cultural nostalgia
文化懷舊

“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey jointly launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.
去年12月，由上海大學和上海社會科學院聯合推出的一份調查報告問及：“如果穿越到過去，最你想回到哪個朝代？”

About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.
在2543名受訪者中，有60％的人選擇唐朝，另外兩個熱門選項分別是清朝和春秋戰國時期。

Ouyang Guangming, professor at Shanghai University, said at the press release: “The survey result reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.”
上海大學教授歐陽光明在該活動的新聞發布會上表示：“該調查結果反映出人們對美好時代的定義：即經濟文化繁榮昌盛，社會安定，官場公正廉潔，對外開放不閉塞。”

The love for time traveling is universal.
人們普遍存在一種“穿越”情結。

Woody Allen’s latest movie Midnight in Paris, which has been nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards, features modernity versus cultural nostalgia.
伍迪•艾倫的新作《午夜巴黎》已經被提名角逐2012年奧斯卡最佳影片，最佳導演，最佳原創劇本和最佳藝術指導等獎項。該片一大亮點就在于現代與文化懷舊的對抗。

“The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present... The good old days are so alluring because we were not around, however much we wish we were,” The New York Times commented.
《紐約時報》評論道：“過去的日子似乎比當下更生動，更充實…過去的美好時光一直誘惑著我們，因為時光不能倒流，無論我們多么希望也無法回到過去。”