The French writer and literary critic Francis said that life is too short and Proust is too long. Proust spent 17 of his 51 years in his life writing In Search of Lost Time. The 7 volumes of 2.4 million words condensed the crystallization of Proust for many years, but it also discouraged many readers.
But there is such a translator who has spent 12 years to build a bridge to Proust for Chinese readers. He is the translator Zhou Kexi. Thirty years of mathematics, thirty years of translation, Zhou Kexi has achieved brilliant results.
When Zhou Kexi read "Tracing The Lost Time" on the stage of "Reading Readers", he told Dong Qing that even if there were few readers of "Tracing the Lost Time", he would not care. Long-term friendship with loneliness, let Zhou Kexi understand that love does not need to prove, the beauty of literature is enough to withstand the test of time, "how about few readers, good works, you put five years and ten years, it is still there." ”
Zhou Kexi, who abandoned his double life, chose to start over after thirty years of practicing mathematics
Because he was deeply influenced by his father from an early age, Zhou Kexi initially embarked on the road of mathematics. 5 years of Fudan, 28 years of East China Normal University, Zhou Kexi and mathematics are deeply bonded.
But at that time, he had a literary dream. When he was a student, "John Christopher" and "Pride and Prejudice" were his favorites, and he was convinced of Mr. Wang Zengqi's saying: "To write a novel is to write language", and his excellent writing and distinctive personality can attract him. When I was studying, my classmates were talking about the math textbooks of Moscow University, but what Zhou Kexi had in mind was "Anna Karenina".
From 1980 to 1982, the public school of the Paris High School opened a new door for Zhou Kexi. The atmosphere of free romance and humanistic atmosphere has also undergone subtle changes in Zhou Kexi's ideological concepts, "When I arrived in Paris, it seemed that my courage had become bigger, and I suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with changing careers." "Jin Dequan, a graduate student of the translator Mr. Liu Mingjiu, invited Zhou Kexi to translate a novella by Beauvoir, and Zhou Kexi said that at that time, he was fully engaged in the translation and did not have the slightest frustration." I was obsessed with it, not just beauvoir, but later me. ”
His friend Liu Li once ridiculed Zhou Kexi in a letter, saying that because of his insomnia and melancholy translation, he "did not recognize his six relatives" and fell in love. Zhou Kexi did not deny that this kind of heart beat faster, he had never experienced it in mathematics.
During the day, Zhou Kexi studied geometry and Riemann functions; in his spare time, he indulged in Dumas and Tudor... This double life overlapped for 10 years, he became an associate professor of mathematics, and had his early translation masterpieces "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Immortal", but his parents died one after another.
Although his parents wanted Zhou Kexi to engage in mathematics, looking at him obsessed with translation, his parents chose to support him with actions. "The Immortal" and Grenie's short stories are transcribed by their parents. Zhou Kexi said that his parents' manuscripts are very special, "He has learned a little Wei Stele, and the characters are very distinctive." Today, Zhou Kexi still keeps these manuscripts, but whenever he looks at it, he feels guilty. At that time, my parents were not in good health, but I was obsessed with translation, "If I still have the opportunity to start again, I will put the translation aside, life is very long, the time for translation is slowly there, but my parents have no time to accompany them." ”
The sense of urgency has always been pressing on Zhou Kexi's heart. Halfway out of the house, he always felt that there was not enough time, and For him, Sunday was Seven. Zhou Kexi would not go to the bathroom until he had to, "I'm afraid that some things in my head will disappear all at once." ”
Zhou Kexi has a habit of putting a pen and paper at the head of the bed, thinking of a good word in the middle of the night, he will write it down in the dark, even if the handwriting he sees in the morning is crooked, he will be happy. "One thing, you love for a long time, will be a long-term love." For the translator, the ear is grinding and searching, just for an appropriate word. ”
Under the double life, Zhou Kexi's insomnia became more and more serious, and he could only use sleeping pills to help sleep. After eating for several years, he was afraid that he would have to become stupid parkinson, and Mr. Lu Gusun's enlightenment made him unload the big stone in his heart. "He's been eating for more than ten years, and I think it's okay to be stupid like Mr. Lu." In Zhou Kexi's heart, he still wanted to have a translator to speak for himself.
"The Count of Monte Cristo", "Forty-Five Guards", "Immortal", "Mature Age" and so on have been published one after another, making Zhou Kexi's achievements remarkable. But at this time, he decided to end his double life and become a professional translator. This year, he was 50 years old and had been engaged in mathematics for more than 30 years.
Zhou Kexi, who fell in love with a translator, fell in love with loneliness for thirty years and built a bridge to the Proust world
Ten years of double life, let Zhou Kexi understand that translation is his love. "I've been brewing for ten years and this decision is not difficult for me." Old colleagues and old friends did not understand, and even the editor-in-chief of the Shanghai Translation Publishing House at that time advised Zhou Kexi to think hard and give up mathematics, which meant that thirty years of previous achievements were abandoned, and there was no title, no position, and no room. But Zhou Kexi, the heart has been decided. The wife felt sorry, but still supported Zhou Kexi's decision.
Despite the understanding of the family, the road of translation is full of loneliness. Especially when he began to translate Proust independently. Proust was very thoughtful, and many times he would use a large number of long sentences to describe simple things. In the whole set of "In Search of Lost Time", a quarter of the sentences have more than 10 lines, with small subordinate clauses nested in the large subordinate clauses and small subordinate clauses wrapped in homotopies. After participating in the translation of "Remembrance of The Watery Years" as one of the 15 translators, Zhou Kexi smiled and told his family that he would never touch Proust again. But when he was invited to translate again, he did not hesitate to agree.
When translating Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, Zhou Kexi could translate 4,000 words a day, but in the face of Proust he could only translate 400 words a day, less than a page. Zhou Kexi said that during that time, he was like walking alone in a tunnel, unable to see the glimmer in front of him, but still had to move forward slowly. In 12 years, Zhou Kexi rarely traveled, rarely socialized, and spent time on translation, but felt that it was not enough.
Translation is like chemistry that needs catalysts, and Zhou Kexi's "catalyst" is the true love of literature. As Rilke said, "You have to love your loneliness," Zhou Kexi and Loneliness became partners. Repeated reading, let him in loneliness, found the door to the Proust world. Zhou Kexi said that when he sat down in the morning to read the content to be translated, the more he tasted it, the better he felt, and this small sense of accomplishment made him very happy. Proust, who had been commented on as a mathematician, was an extremely rigorous writer in the eyes of Zhou Kexi, and he retained only the best things in his works. Zhou Kexi often felt that he was not enough to go all out, "I was very small in front of him, and I could only fly stupid birds first." ”
For 12 years, Zhou Kexi also felt difficult, less than 400 words a day, and the remuneration could not even support himself, but he forced himself not to think too much. He told Dong Qing that if he chose a comfort zone, he would continue to teach mathematics, and in his bones he still wanted to do something challenging. "My principle is to turn the book well, but don't think too much, think too much and you will want to give up." Abandon Proust? I'm not willing. ”
Although the wish of completing the translation of 7 books has not been completed, the translation of more than 1.1 million words in the first, second and fifth volumes has become a bridge for Chinese readers to understand Proust, and the impression of Proust's obscure has been erased little by little by Zhou Kexi's efforts.
In "Tracing the Lost Time", many details are finalized after Zhou Kexi examines them one by one. As small as the title of a supporting role, as large as the description of an environment, Zhou Kexi will go to carefully investigate. He joked to Dong Qing during the recording of "The Reader" that the people he contacted the most in those years were the Proust researchers in France. Zhou Kexi laughed and said that he was almost out of friends. "In front of Proust, there is no room for distraction."
Willing to be lonely can be truly persistent, thirty years of mathematics and thirty years of literature, Zhou Kexi has no complaints and no regrets
In the eyes of ordinary people, translators are lonely and unremarkable, just a group of people who translate the content of the text. Behind Proust's fame, not many people know about Zhou Kexi's efforts. But Zhou Kexi himself didn't care. Once upon a time, he would have hoped to leave his achievements behind and collect and translate them into a single book. But later, he became very indifferent, "Being able to have the privilege of talking to so many favorite masters is the greatest happiness in my life." ”
Humility has also become the deepest impression that Zhou Kexi gives people today. The director of the program group used tulips to describe Zhou Kexi, elegant and noble but never showing. In the preliminary preparation, he always felt that his so-called life events were not enough to worry about, "I don't know if this matter of mine is a story."
But for translation, Zhou Kexi is very strict. In his mind, the ideal translation had to be written like the original author's Chinese. He believes that translation is like glass, the finer the glass processing, the less impurities there are, and the less likely it is for people to feel its presence. Translators should also make the reader feel the presence of the translation and see the author directly.
In Zhou Kexi's translation, there is no obvious distinction between literal translation or paraphrasing, but his rigor is as good as ever. In the early years, "In Search of Lost Time" was named "Remembrance of the Lost Water Years", which was based on the title of the book translated into English, but Zhou Kexi felt that it was more important to follow Proust's ideas than to listen well and remember. "He's not just reminiscing, he's pursuing."
On the stage of "Readers", he also specially selected a description of life choices in "Tracing The Lost Time" for the audience. Zhou Kexi said that he is very grateful to God for his kindness, and although his 33-year mathematical career has grown a little, it is completely worth it. Looking back on his 30 years of translation life, Zhou Kexi used "no regrets" to describe, "there are regrets and no regrets, no regrets than regrets, more gratification than regrets." In Zhou Kexi's view, people's life is nothing more than finding love, practicing love, and embracing love. He was obsessed with the world of translation, talking to the masters, and that was his happiness.