Dialogue with Lin Shaohua, inventor of "Kokyoyuki" and translator of Haruki Murakami's works, many Japanese literature reading logistics lines but no nutrition

□ Chutian Metropolis Daily reporter Xu Ying correspondent Liu Hong Li Qian Yu Jiangping

● Character profiles

Lin Shaohua is a famous literary translator, scholar and writer, a professor at Ocean University of China, a "Chutian Scholar" of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and the vice president of the Chinese Japanese Literature Research Association. He is the author of "The Beauty of Falling Flowers", "For the Freedom of the Soul", "Nostalgia and Conscience", "Night Rain Lantern", "Little Loneliness", "Lin Shaohua Looks at Murakami: 35 Years of Murakami Literature". He has translated more than 90 works by Murakami Haruki such as "Norwegian Forest", as well as works by Famous Japanese Artists such as "Rashomon", "Snow Country", and "Calling For Love in the Center of the World", with far-reaching influence.

● Dialogue background

Beginning with the translation of Norwegian Forest in 1989, Lin Shaohua has only translated Haruki Murakami's works for 30 years, and has independently translated 43 works of Haruki Murakami, making him one of the most translated and popular translators in China. The word "Little Lucky" is popular among young people and is also his masterpiece of translation. On November 9, Lin Shaohua was a guest speaker of the Yangtze River Forum of the Provincial Library on "The Nobel Prize in Literature and Haruki Murakami", and the reporter of Chutian Metropolis Daily conducted an exclusive interview with him.

The translation process simply does not exist

100% original "Haruki Murakami"

Q: The language of Haruki Murakami that you translated is quaint and exquisite. Some people say that it is Lin Shaohua's transformation of Murakami Haruki's writing style that makes him sought after by Wenqing in China. What percentage do you think is the re-creation of his work?

Lin Shaohua: Literary translation itself contains elements of re-creation, and the key is to control the degree and measure of re-creation. Haruki Murakami, one hundred percent of the parts have not been replaced, does not exist in itself.

The meaning behind the language of words is the life of literary language, and my creativity lies in what lies behind words. I think that the general translation is the story and content, and the good translation conveys the language style, style and aesthetic meaning behind the unclear and leisurely understanding. Aesthetics are the soul of Chinese articles, and articles that are not beautiful are meaningless.

However, in terms of aesthetic implications, the individual differences are too great. Who is the right translator? Every translator feels right. [Laughs]

Q: What is your favorite translation of Haruki Murakami's works?

Lin Shaohua: At first, I liked "Dance Dance", when I was in my thirties when I was translated, the warmth in the work attracted me. The hero's warmth, quiet understanding, and unimpressed state of keeping a distance from others filled in the emotionally missing part of my heart.

Later, I liked "Strange Bird Behavior", whether it is the penetration of thought or the appeal of art, "Strange Bird Behavior" is a peak of Haruki Murakami's creation. I was recently watching his "Pinball in 1973" and I liked it, probably because it has something to do with my current state of mind. The state of mind conveyed by this work, the sense of superiority of the individual over external pressure, is quite interesting.

Q: Do you discuss with Haruki Murakami when you translate his works?

Lin Shaohua: In the past 30 years, I have met him twice, and I have very little correspondence in my daily life. As a translator, the original author's story does not allow the translator to intervene, and what the translator can intervene in is the language. Whether or not the original style can be faithfully reproduced is the criterion for judging the translator's translation level. Haruki Murakami doesn't understand Chinese, and the discussion of translation must be based on Chinese dialogue, so I basically didn't look for him during the translation process.

Haruki Murakami's lonely alienation

It fits the psychology of urban young people

Q: What is the reason why Haruki Murakami is popular with young Chinese people?

Lin Shaohua: His pen about the loneliness, alienation and spiritual situation of urban young people is in line with the psychology of contemporary young people. In the whole 30 years since 1989's "Norwegian Forest", the richness of Chinese readers' spiritual experience has been enhanced. Haruki Murakami's style of style and language has even influenced the way some young people speak.

Contemporary Chinese writers who write about urban themes, objectively speaking, are not so well and delicately written, and Haruki Murakami was introduced at this dislocated time, which meets the psychological needs of young people and the aesthetic needs of literature. They wanted to say something they couldn't understand, and Haruki Murakami said it. Coupled with the distinctive personal characteristics of Haruki Murakami's style, Chinese young people find it fun and interesting to read, especially for high school students to write essays have a kind of inspiration. In fact, a considerable number of the letters I receive from readers are high school students.

Q: Does the sense of meaninglessness, loneliness, and sentimentality in Haruki Murakami's works have a negative impact on young people?

Lin Shaohua: Haruki Murakami's works are generally positive. He writes about boredom, loneliness, loneliness, sentimentality, depression, which seem to us to be negative emotions, but he can find aesthetic elements in them. In fact, we have a misunderstanding of Haruki Murakami, thinking that Haruki Murakami's works are just these things. If you look at his "Kafka by the Sea" and "Strange Bird Journey", especially the latest "Assassination of the Knight Commander", it is not only soft and petty bourgeois, but also has a grand narrative, dares to face historical reality, and dares to face the dark history of Japan.

Q: What do you think is the reason why Haruki Murakami has repeatedly missed the Nobel Prize?

Lin Shaohua: The aesthetic criterion of the Nobel Prize in Literature is "outstanding literary works with idealistic tendencies." Looking at the works of previous award-winning writers, I feel that "idealistic tendencies" include the maintenance of human dignity and freedom, and the ultimate concern for human values. The Nobel Prize should be more interested in works that write human history from a grand perspective and compassion, while Haruki Murakami is not interested in writing about his personal happiness, loneliness, and depression from an individual point of view, believing that this does not have the characteristics of classic literary works.

But Haruki Murakami's contribution to the history of the human psyche is commendable, and I think another important reason why he has repeatedly missed the Nobel Prize is that there is no good English translation. Compared with the Chinese translation, Haruki Murakami lost a lot of charm after translating it into English. Among the Nobel Prize judges, only Ma Yueran understands Chinese, and this judge also passed away this year.

Popular Japanese literature readings

A lot of them don't enter the stream and don't have any nutrients

Q: In addition to Haruki Murakami, you have translated works by other Japanese writers, which Japanese writers do you like?

Lin Shaohua: I have translated 98 works of Japanese literature. In contrast, in addition to Haruki Murakami, whose tone and value orientation are in line with my heart and easy to translate, there are also Natsume Soseki and Yasushi Inoue, these three are my favorites.

Translating is a pain if it's not something you like. The main writers who gave me this painful feeling were Osamu Dazai. There are already 17 editions of his "Human Disqualification", and the publisher has to ask me to get a "forest edition". In my hometown in the countryside, every time I translate a paragraph, I have to put down my pen and go to the yard, among the splendid flowers and trees, to take a few long breaths, because the translation makes my back chill: How can a man live to this point? It was incredible. There is also Yasunari Kawabata, whose works are too feminine, and I appreciate masculinity.

Haruki Murakami and Natsume Soseki are different from them, writing about the depression and loneliness of small intellectuals, which I prefer. And Yasushi Inoue is the cleanest and most engaging of Japanese writers.

Q: There are many best-selling books translated into Chinese in Japanese literature, and some of them are flooded, what do you think?

Lin Shaohua: Japanese literature has some unique aesthetics, and these aesthetic tastes are attractive to young Chinese people. As long as there is a market, there will be someone to translate. And in books that sell well, there will always be good and bad. Not only are they second-rate, but there are also many third- and fourth-rate writers' works and even non-mainstream works. For books that are not artistic, it can be stopped in moderation, because there is no nutrition.