Summer 2022: Translation Course
I took a translation course via Catapult recently. For the final assignment for the course, each of us translated a piece of text into English (our classmates all speak English but don’t share the same language other than English) for each other to discuss and critique.
When I learned about this assignment, I instantly thought of an open-ed piece from over ten years ago, which my family and I read together in the Southern Weekly newspaper.
I learned from the translation course that in order to publish translation work (this blog counts as publishing too), I need to acquire permission from the publisher. I emailed and called to express my hope to publish my translation. The newspaper staff told me to do an excerpt of it instead of the whole piece.
Original article: title and source
2010年新年献词
这是你所拥有的时间 这是你能决定的生活
2010 New Year Greetings
This Being the Time You Own, This Being the Life You Get To Determine
Link to original article (in Chinese)
Let me give a brief intro to this piece…
It was 12 years ago when my folks got this issue of the Southern Weekly where this piece was published. Growing up in China, reading the Weekly had been a tradition with my parents, and it was my main access to critical thinking. A few years ago, this news agency, considered "the most outspoken newspaper in China," "touchstone of the limit of free speech in China," and "China's most influential liberal newspaper" by the New York Times, faced an incident in 2013 when its new-year greeting's headline was changed by the Propaganda office without informing the editors. Stike and public demonstrations followed, but ultimately, throughout the years, the Southern Weekly was defeated and had faded away from what I knew was a beacon of bravery. Picking up this piece after 12 years, I still get chills. The fact that language like this was ever written, in Chinese, makes me feel proud as a Chinese person. I don't know if generations today can still access anything like this. Well, I hope we get to some time again.]
Excerpt of my translation along with the original text…
…
我们也没有必要神话阳光。阳光下有美丽的春暖花开，也有罪恶的杀人越货。我们借助阳光和鲜花来给自己打气。我们是那么脆弱，但是我们必须坚强。
We also don’t have to romanticize sunshine. There are beautiful flowers blooming in the sun, while there are also robberies and crimes in the same scene. We still use sunshine and flowers to cheer ourselves up. We are so fragile, but we have to stay tough.
我们也不要神话坚强。英雄固然令人敬仰，但是芸芸众生大多是普通人。物价降了我们就高兴，工作丢了我们就犯愁。遇到坏人我们会害怕，警察来了又怕他不守法。就像花朵依赖春天一样，我们依赖这个社会。有时候我们的眼睛是雪亮的，但大多数时候我们不明真相。给点阳光我们就会灿烂，房子拆了只有极个别会去自焚。我们生活在一个平凡的世界里，期待最平庸的人也能得到幸福。
Let’s not romanticize toughness. Heroes are surely honorable, but most human beings are just ordinary folks. We are thrilled by a price drop, and we are worried over losing a job. We are scared of running into the bad guys–but when a policeman comes to the rescue, we are worried that he might also break the law. Just like how flowers feed off of the spring, we live off of this society. Sometimes we have sharp eyes, but most of the time we are far from seeing the truth. We shine like a bright sun when we get a little more than what we think we deserve, while only the rarest individuals among us will go to the extreme of self-immolation when their house is being demolished. We live in an ordinary world, hoping the most ordinary ones will be happy.
…
这十年来经济腾飞，国力日盛。国内生产总值当年不到十万亿，如今已经超过三十万亿。我们是第三贸易大国，但是我们占第三十以后的选项也还不少。十年来建了那么多房子，也拆了那么多房子。当然，有人提醒说要看到建设是社会主流，那是千真万确的事实。但是每一条支流都不能抛弃，每一个个体更值得关注。每一个人的快乐都不可替代，每一个人的痛苦都渴望理解。
The economy took off in the past decade, and our national power strengthened by day. In those years our GDP was less than ten trillion, and now it’s over thirty trillion. We are the third biggest trading country in the world, but our ranking is in the 30s+ in many other areas. We’ve built up so many buildings in the past ten years, and we’ve also taken down just as many. Sure, some have reminded us to see “development” as the society’s trend, which is nothing but the truth. But every little stream is worth salvaging; every single individual is worth more attention. Every one person’s happiness is irreplaceable. Every one person’s misery longs for empathy.
…
十年来我们经历了太多的灾难。从SARS到汶川地震，从松花江水污染到三鹿奶粉掺毒，从拉萨和乌鲁木齐的暴力事件，到全国各地的矿难，一次又一次地，总有一种力量让我们泪流满面。不要神话灾难，它们就是灾难。有人说真高兴我们总算挺过来了，但是不要忘记那些没有挺过来的人，还有那些正在挺着甚至永远都只能挺着的人。
We’ve been through too many disasters in the past ten years. From SARS to the Wenchuan Earthquake, from The Songhua River Spill pollution crisis to the Sanlu Milk poison scandal, and from the Lhasa violence and Ürümqi riots to mine disasters all across the country, again and again, a strand of strength tears us up. Let’s not romanticize disasters, they are nothing but disasters. Some say it’s so great that we’ve finally lived through all these, but let’s not forget those who have not lived through, and those who are still living through–if not always have to be living through.
亲爱的读者朋友，下一个十年又要开始了……没错，这个说法没有意义。我们只是想要告诉你，这是你所拥有的时间，是你生命中无可逃避的又一段历程，假如你愿意的话，你可以用它来做很多事情，你可以找到你想要的生活。
Dear readers, the next ten years will begin again. You are right, saying this sounds meaningless. We only wanted to tell you: this is the time you own. This is another unavoidable course in your life: if you are ready, you can use it to do many things. You can find the life you want.
For those of you who speak Mandarin, I made an episode about this piece in my podcast. Here is the link to it.
