Why translate philosophical books? Migrant workers obsessed with Heidegger: My anxiety has multiple sources

Comic: Zhao Chunqing

In the past few days, the translation of the philosophical work "Introduction to Heidegger" by migrant worker Chen Zhi has been reported by the media, which has aroused public concern about the collision of the two identities. On November 24, a reporter from the Workers' Daily interviewed Chen Zhi to explore why he was obsessed with Heidegger, why he translated "Introduction to Heidegger" and his views on his status as a migrant worker.

A house of less than 20 square meters, a double bed 1.5 meters wide, a foldable dining table full of sundries, a desk with a laptop and three stacks of books, a person...

At 7 p.m. on November 24, in a rented room in Jimei District, Xiamen, Fujian Province, Chen was waiting for his wife to return home from work at the factory.

After coming to Xiamen for nearly half a year, he has not found a fixed job. However, in half a year, he translated Richard Poulter's philosophical monograph Introduction to Heidegger. From the pages of the book, from the obscure words, he slowly dispelled the pressure of reality and found another possibility in life.

Because he posted on the Internet to ask whether the philosophical works could be published, coupled with his status as a migrant worker, Chen Zhi was discovered by the media. After the unexpected attention, some publishing house editors took the initiative to contact Chen Zhi, hoping to try to publish his translated works. At the same time, he had begun translating another philosophical work and hoped to pursue a university education in the future.

Translating The Introduction to Heidegger opened another window into his life.

Why Heidegger

Chen Zhi was born in 1990 in the countryside of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, and was admitted to a mathematics major in a certain school at the age of 18. Chen Zhi has always been interested in the nature of sensations, the nature of consciousness, and other issues, "the doubts or confusion about these problems have led me to philosophy."

"I have read almost all the books of famous thinkers and philosophers in the library, including Heidegger's Existence and Time, but at that time I could not even read the catalog." Chen Zhi said that because he was too addicted to philosophy and neglected the study of homework, he took the initiative to withdraw from school under the balance of school suggestions and his own wishes.

The stagnation of school education has made Chen Zhi go farther and farther on the road of self-education. In 2011, when Chen Zhi rented a basement in Tongzhou, Beijing, he once again picked up Heidegger's "Existence and Time".

"The book is very difficult to read, at first I wanted to 'challenge' myself, and then my understanding of the book made me realize that its ideas are indeed very profound."

Chen Zhi believes that he is introverted, coupled with the problem of stuttering, which makes it impossible for him to work for a long time in a certain job. During this period, he went to Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing and other places, and worked as a sewing worker in a garment factory, a maintenance worker in an electronics factory, and a warehouse mover.

The heavy, tiring and monotonous repetitive work content every day made Chen Zhi even less time and desire to communicate with people, and he began to focus more on philosophical reading. For a long time, he carried the Kindle with more than 1,200 e-books.

Why do translations

Chen Zhi told reporters that it was the depth of Heidegger's thought and the "existential problems" he always explored that made him finally attracted to the philosopher. Therefore, when he wanted to study more fully, he began to translate the Introduction to Heidegger.

It is an English book, and in Chen Zhi's plan, it will take at least half a year or more to complete the first translation. "Because I still need to work, my time outside of work is very limited." His English foundation is weak, and he needs to learn vocabulary from a translation software.

Before officially starting his translation work this year, Chen Zhi maintained his reading and thinking about philosophical monographs. Chen Zhi told reporters that translation is also a kind of philosophical learning activity, "because translation requires that every sentence must be understood clearly, but I will skip sentences that I do not understand when reading, so translation can make me read more carefully."

In order to complete the translation, he needed to use the English dictionary and the Chinese translation of Heidegger's books. In addition, he also needs to overcome his inner anxiety and loneliness.

"My anxiety comes from multiple sources, including not making much money, feeling guilty about my family, having difficulty understanding philosophy, and the isolation and ridicule of those around me." In 2020, Chen Zhi met his wife, who was also from the countryside, through blind dates, and married her to start a family, which eased his loneliness.

It was in this situation that Chen Zhi completed the translation of Heidegger's Introduction in 4 months, "My philosophical foundation is relatively weak. From my own point of view, 4 months is considered to be ahead of schedule."

After the first translation, Chen Zhi wanted to carefully proofread and contact the publishing house to publish the translation results. To this end, he posted in the Douban "Heidegger Group" to introduce his migrant worker identity and translation work. Unexpectedly, the publishing process did not go smoothly, but Chen Zhi's story attracted the attention of the media.

Why the attention

Chen Zhi understands why his story has aroused the attention of public opinion. "As some commentators have said, it may be that the gap between 'migrant workers' and 'Heidegger' is too large, so people are surprised," he said. ”

Although he is not good at talking and communicating, Chen Zhi also observed that many migrant workers like to read. "Some people read books for exams, some people read magazines, novels and the like, and some people just think that reading books is meaningful and fulfilling."

Previously, in order to have time to translate, he also needed to ask the factory for leave from time to time, but the workers did not know what he was doing. He said: "Leaving aside the study of philosophy books, I am in the same social status and social identity as them. ”

Chen Zhi said: "More than 10 years of observation and experience of migrant workers have made me feel that the work of migrant workers is very hard. If my story can change some of the perceptions of people's identity as 'migrant workers', then I am looking forward to it." Of course, migrant workers must also have their own pursuits and constantly improve their skills or academic qualifications in order to live a better life. ”

As Heidegger said, man should "poetically dwell on the earth."

(At the request of the interviewee, Chen Zhi is a pseudonym)

Original title: Approach Heidegger and let him see a different world

Column Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Wu Text Editor: Li Linwei Title Image Source: Visual China Image Editor: Shao Jing

Source: Author: Workers Daily Liu Xiaoyan Yang Zhaokui