In the years of literary translation, perhaps the biggest gain is the scene of the translation itself. I have not been able to find any relevant corroboration on this point in many books and treatises similar to translation theory, which makes me question. Translating a novel, as a translator, is it just a matter of translating the words and sentences page by page, and then completing the language conversion? As for the environment in which the translator is in, and even in what mood he or she is in to confront the translation on the desk, will these elements not affect the translation itself? In this regard, based solely on my personal experience, its impact cannot be ignored.
Maotan Blue Self-Portrait
At present, the global epidemic is raging, the opening ceremony of the university has been cancelled, the new semester has been postponed, and there is nothing urgent to try to hide at home, which has almost become a routine for countries to fight the epidemic, without exception. As a writer, whether translating books or writing books, including the picture books that I have recently become obsessed with, it is all desk work, so it does not conflict with the concept of nesting at home, or even completely coincides. One of the biggest factors, though, is a change in mood. The impact of the epidemic on the world is profound, and according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, this is the moment when human social cohesion is most needed since World War II. When will the epidemic subside, when it will subside, like a long tunnel with no exit in sight.
Coincidentally, my translation of the novella "Theater" by Japanese funny artist and Writer Naoki Wasagawa Literature Award, began on February 27, 2020, the day prime minister Abe suddenly demanded the closure of public elementary and secondary schools in Japan in order to prevent the epidemic. Although the request had no legal effect, the tv was turned on and almost all channels were broadcasting the message, such as what to do with parents whose students had been suspended from school and whether they could go to a nearby park. Single-parent families can not leave their children alone at home, only to take leave to go home, but who pays the parents' wages, etc., the whole society instantly became a huge family drama, varied, people are overwhelmed. "Theater" is a story of pure love, an unknown screenwriter and a female student who dedicated herself to him, the scene changes not much, but the words are flowing. With the continuation of deep reading, you can directly feel the interweaving and clutching of reality and stage, and the sense of vision is super strong.
Kurata Hundred Three Cemetery
In fact, "Theater" is my third book translated by Naoki Yoshi in the past two years, the first two books are "Spark" and "Tokyo Hundred Views". In 2017, when the Chinese version of "Spark" was first released in Shanghai, when I had a public conversation with him, I learned that he wrote "Theater" in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and I asked him: "Why do you want to write it in Sapporo?" "When I was 20 years old, I used to live in Otaru's theater and rehearse every day, but no one came to see our play." I had also been to Sapporo at the time and was in a depressed mood. Needless to say, Naoki Akayoshi chose Sapporo in order to restore the state of mind of the protagonist of the novel "Theater", and he focused on the writing scene. As a translator, it's a fortunate thing to be able to empathize with the original author at this point, because I've always advocated that literary translation requires a scene of language switching.
Twenty years ago, I translated the Japanese Buddhist classic "Sighing Copy" and Kurada Hyakuzo (1891-1943) play "Monks and Their Disciples", which is actually a set of books, because the play is written for the life of the pure land makoto monk, and the play has been reprinted nearly a hundred times by a publishing house of Hikari Iwawa Bookstore since its first edition in 1918. French literary magnate Romain Roland was deeply moved after reading the English translation of the play, and sent a letter directly to Kurata Himself. The German philosopher Heidegger also praised the play. It is said that shortly before Yukio Mishima committed suicide, he reread this epic of youth. As the pinnacle of Japanese Taisho literature, how to translate it most effectively, I thought about the scene. After doing some homework, I learned that Kurata Washizo was a native of Shohara, Hiroshima Prefecture, and there was also his literary memorial hall, so I adjusted my time and took the original book on the road. From Kobe, take the Shinkansen to Hiroshima Station, change buses and take a two-hour bus ride to Shobara City, staying at the guesthouse at dusk. The sun was like blood, which suddenly made me feel the anger and fear of Kurata When he was bedridden due to tuberculosis, and also let me "zero distance" contact with what he thought and thought, and the next few days were completed in one go. This is the whole process of translating "Monks and Their Disciples" here.
Of course, the scene of literary translation in order to find language conversion is not equivalent to the original work, and most of the occasions are just how to get themselves into the best state. In the spring of 2004, I was commissioned by the monthly magazine "Literature and Art Spring and Autumn" to translate mo Yan's special manuscript "Historical Novels and Me" into Japanese, many of which involved ancient Chinese weapons, which is a difficult part to translate. According to the Japanese sinologists around me, there are two major difficulties when chinese literature is converted into Japanese; one is ancient weapons, and the other is swear words. In this way, translation cannot be made behind closed doors, and the reason why the difficulty exists is because Japan does not have a corresponding object and a corresponding title. So, in order to avoid the painstaking contemplation in the translation, I chose to accompany Mo Yan when he visited Japan, and talked with him on the trip, and the result was also in one go. When I think about it now, the literary journey with him has become very precious.
A small river next to Haruki Murakami's home when he was a teenager is called "Suikawa".
In addition to the two completely different experiences mentioned above, I have an alternative experience. This is when translating Haruki Murakami's collection of short stories, Men Without Women. In 2014, the editor in Shanghai asked me to translate one of the novels, asked which one I wanted to translate, and I immediately replied that the same name was "Men Without Women", and there was no other choice. The editor asked me why I was so partial to this one, and I said that it was only because the place where I live now is Haruki Murakami's hometown, and this story has happened here since I suddenly received a phone call from a stranger in the middle of the night, so I feel very angry, and this gas can be answered. When I translated at home, the whole state was very high, and for the accurate expression of a semitone note, I even picked up a guitar that had not been played for many years and played it for an afternoon. I know that playing the guitar has nothing directly to do with the translation, but this is the case with the language conversion scene.
By the way, the passage that translates Haruki Murakami by playing the guitar on the day goes like this: "You are the pale Persian carpet, the so-called loneliness, the Bordeaux wine stain that never drips." If loneliness is thus transported from France, the pain is brought from the Middle East. For men without women, the world is a vast and painful mixture, like the back of the moon. ("Men Without Women", Shanghai Translation Publishing House)
A writer who makes many readers understand the complex world through his works is isomorphic to the translator. If we remove the link of language conversion, the original author and translator are not so much isomorphic as concentric. Because the translator's thinking is for the text, it is a virtual reality distilled by the original author, and it is also a space for the translator to change the language infinitely. However, once this transformation ceases to exist, the text targeted by the translator becomes zero, leaving only non-virtual reality. Some people say that the future world can completely rely on computer translation to complete the complex thinking results of human beings, but the key question is how does the computer present the translation scene? We can't imagine that a computer can also play the guitar while thinking about the original text, because the operation of the computer is only a fleshless calculation, without emotion. This is absurd to literary translators!
Now to return to "Theater", I originally planned to fly to Sapporo, Hokkaido with the original book, concentrate on translating for a period of time, and carefully experience the depression that Naoki Yoshiyoshi said from the process of translation. Because this is the key word in the novel "Theater", the detailed descriptions of emotions are spread out in this way.
Haruki Murakami came to play on the beach when he was a teenager
Today's world is changing rapidly, and when I signed a contract with a publisher in the fall of 2019 to use the winter vacation of the university to translate Theater, no one expected that the new crown virus would hit the world today, let alone that my trip to Sapporo, Hokkaido, would fail last spring. However, there are exceptions to the translation site, and the invited translation of the Japanese four-panel manga "Crocodile Jun, Who Will Die in 100 Days" is an example, because of the fight against the epidemic at home, sometimes like to draw doodles by hand, one is to empty the self, the other is to find the childhood graffiti of the child gong, and this comic not only responds to the situation, but also, the key is that the scene of the translation itself actually coincides with my daily life, so it is a book published quickly.
Today, I continue to fight the epidemic at home, and the translator has not stopped, but I can no longer say anything about the translation scene, because it is responsible for the whole society to not come out behind closed doors. This time it is Professor Uchida's "The Theory of Japanese Habits", which is his companion article 10 years after the release of the Chinese edition of "Japan Border Theory". In the autumn of 2011, as the chief writer of the book "Zhiri", I wrote the preface to "Japan Border Theory", and when I met with Professor Uchida himself, the most talked about topic was the scene of literary translation. He studied French philosophy and had an external vision in itself. He wrote in his Treatise on Japanese Habits: "The same is true of literature. Until the early Meiji period, let's not talk about how complete it was as literature, there is no international commonality, and Ozaki Momiba is an extension of Edo literature by Takizawa Makoto and Ihara Nishizuru. At that time, there was no awareness of the question of how to 'compromise' with European literature. The character who appears at this turning point is Futaba Ting, who is familiar with Russian literature. Talking about English literature was Natsume Soseki, it was Mori ogo who went to Germany to study, and it was Nagai Who traveled to the United States and France to visit Nagai, and they came into contact with a different culture from Edo literature, and then used the tradition of forming their own literature as a bridge and accepted it as a task. ”
If you do an extended reading, this passage by Professor Uchida also illustrates the scene of language conversion. Just as the word "Xihe" means, it is both a cultural "mix-and-match" and a reflection on the language of transboundary boundaries. For me personally, I am willing to complete the translation of Chinese and Japanese literature as a task and as a bridge. However, in any case, first of all, I sincerely hope that the epidemic will be calmed down as soon as possible, the world will be peaceful, and I will return to the best scene of Chinese and Japanese literary translation, which is a wish I have now.
Source: Beijing Evening News Author: Mao Danqing
Process Editor: L006
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