Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said: “I’m obsessed by time. 作为世界最为智慧的物理学家之一，斯蒂芬·霍金曾说过:“我对时间非常痴迷。” Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel TV series has just proved that. 我们中的很多人亦是如此，因为“穿越剧”的走红已经证实了这一点。 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. 随着去年《宫》和《步步惊心》接连获得令人赞叹的收视率之后，《宫2》于今年1月20日开播，引来无数“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. 上海某外企职员夏晓燕（音译）在接受《中国日报》记者采访时表示：“看到剧中人物穿越到过去，应对古今之间的矛盾冲突，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. 《步步惊心》制片人蔡艺侬认为，“穿越剧”将古代和现代连接起来，为观众提供了更多的想象空间。 Dream of heroism 英雄主义情节 Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that’s hard to achieve in reality. 丰富的想象力使得青年人能够有机会实现那些现实中难以企及的梦想。 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. 台湾作家席绢可谓是中国“穿越剧”的鼻祖。1993年，她出版了一本讲述一名年轻女子穿越回古代的爱情小说。 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. 主人公凭借现代社会的个性以及对爱情的独特观点，令冷俊帅气的侠客为之倾心。这样的情节满足了女性读者们对爱情的幻想。 Starting from late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed, with A Step Into the Past as the most popular example. 从上世纪90年代末开始，有关男主角穿越回古代的小说作品盛行于市，《寻秦记》便是当时最火的一部。 In these stories, the male protagonists accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom. 在这些故事中，男主角运用现代的记忆和智慧干成了许多大事。 It’s usually a “dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances. 此类作品通常讲述的是 “英雄梦成真”的故事，此外还伴随着令人艳羡的恋情。 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，电视剧《寻秦记》获得的巨大成功使得电视剧制作公司纷纷收购类似“穿越”题材剧本。就在去年，“穿越剧”达到了鼎盛时期。
