In the movie "A Beautiful Mind," the gifted mathematician Nash "used his spirit to overcome his mental illness."
Jin Xiaoyu, a 50-year-old "nameless translator" in Hangzhou, has coexisted with bipolar disorder for decades, and in 10 years, he has completed 22 foreign translations with a total of more than 6 million words with only one eye that can be seen.
In real life, Jin Xiaoyu, his father Jin Shengyong, and his mother Cao Meizao have supported each other through the wind and rain, and with faith and love, they have protected the dignity of people.
When I walked into Mr. Kim's house on Jan. 18, he and his 86-year-old father were sitting behind a table full of translations, calmly waiting for new visitors.
Compared with the genius legend that makes the whole network sigh, Jin Xiaoyu's translation ability is more practical and concrete - always focused, often more true, endure what ordinary people can't do, and sit on the cold bench. When he found the media, his father, Jin Sexyong, tearfully completed the dictation. "I feel lonely and want someone to hear our story," he said. ”
Imperfect kid
The old house is about 60 square meters, and the interior is dark, old and disorderly. This is where the Family of Kim Xiaoyu (whom his father calls "Xiaoyu") has lived since 1988.
The narrower room is Xiaoyu's bedroom, which has a window, a bed, a table, a cabinet, and a bookshelf. Books are scattered on shelves, more of a dictionary in different languages and versions. Xiao Yu wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses with a thin whisker on his lips. Most of the time, he just sits here expressionless, facing the computer.
An accident in childhood caused Xiaoyu's right eye crystal to shatter. Dropped out of high school and was later diagnosed with "bipolar disorder", alternating intermittent episodes of mania and depression. Since 1992, Xiaoyu has been going to the hospital almost every year.
Do you want to give Xiaoyu a certificate of disability? Jin Shengyong was uneasy. He never wanted to admit that his son would be disabled for the rest of his life. But the father hoped that the child would go more smoothly in the future, gritted his teeth, and eventually Xiaoyu was identified by medicine as a mental second-degree disability.
After his eyes broke, Xiaoyu became less and less confident in going to school, hid at home to read, and gave up the college entrance examination. In the spring of his life, he was followed by the days of being "severely suppressed" - repeating his studies, going to work in factories, reading, dropping out of school, self-examination, attempting suicide, going to Xinhua Bookstore and Zhejiang Education Bookstore to do part-time work... He didn't want to deal with people, so he shut himself in his home and taught himself the language.
Parents' wages were squeezed out to speculate in stocks, and they wanted to save more money for their sons, but the investment failed, and her mother Cao Meizao's body suddenly collapsed, and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and was bedridden for three years. This family of intellectuals suddenly suffered from two kinds of mental illnesses that bound human beings.
The boat of destiny swayed in the great waves of life, and the family was up and down.
The last time Xiaoyu entered the hospital, it was because a person ran to Wenzhou. It was a precursor to the onset of his illness, and he didn't tell his father, and he disappeared for a day and a night. Father took him to the hospital again. Xiao Yu ate unconsciously in the hospital and slept unconsciously. The hospital was a "frightening" place for him.
This stay is more than two months. No one expected that he would have no mother after being discharged from the hospital.
The more authentic "painter"
The sample book of Benjamin's Collected Letters was obtained by Jin Xiaoyu at the hospital in December last year. Jin Sexyong delivered the book to the hospital door and handed it over by the nurse. Translating this German book, Xiaoyu spent more than two years, and the emperor had 530,000 words.
While at home, Xiaoyu taught himself German and Japanese, consolidating his English. He believes that the experience of learning languages is common, starting with German textbooks, then reading professional books related to translation, and then reading the original novels. "I learn a foreign language and read at least 20 original novels." Jin Xiaoyu said.
Sometimes he couldn't read the original text, so he went to the library to get a big and thick dictionary to look it up. In the library of Zhejiang University, he read almost all German and Japanese textbooks.
In the early days, he listened to the radio on the radio. "You can hear english and Japanese radio on the shortwave radio. I used that radio since I was a child, used it for more than ten years, and then my family bought a computer before I started watching dramas, and I watched more than 60 Japanese dramas in order to learn languages. ”
Each time he translated, he first read through the original text and then translated it ten pages and ten pages. Read through every ten pages and back up every thirty pages. During the translation of Andrey Tarkovsky: Elements of Cinema, he watched each of the director's works at least twice, and the film details mentioned in the book were repeatedly compared.
Xiao Yu used three computers. The first is the big lenovo machine that his father bought back for more than 10,000 yuan, and When Xiaoyu was ill, the home appliances were smashed, but the computer was not smashed. There was also a brand-new laptop with a protective film on the keyboard, which my cousin had recently sent.
At the height of the intensity, Xiaoyu began to translate after breakfast, working seven or eight hours a day. In order to maintain good physical strength, he spent an hour a day walking the distance of three bus stops.
His translation language is plain and he often uses short sentences. Readers described his writing as "accurate and delicate, better than the original text." Sometimes he goes to the library and sees a long borrowing record and feels "even more infallible." He is also very serious about the annotations, and over the years, the "first reader" of the manuscript, Jin Shengyong, has only singled out one error.
Ten years of translation of 22 books (2 of which are unpublished) spanning novels, films, music, philosophy and other fields. Xiaoyu himself wrote: "According to industry feedback, this speed is quite impressive. I don't know how much of my own efforts and God's gifts there are. He felt that since God had given him this skill, he had to hurry forward.
Xiao Yu felt that he was "not a genius, but a 'painter'". Translation is like tracing, the closer you draw, the better.
The cost of translation is not high. He once told his father that suffering is suffering, and there is a lot of fun. "If I don't get sick, I may waste my time, I will do this well, and you should not be too sorry for me." 」
In these more than 6 million words, he built a world that belongs to many people. He lives in every scene of it.
He almost never took the initiative to express it, but he sang and laughed in this huge world of words. Without the tension and bondage of the body, it is a place of free stretching.
"The trolley doesn't fall, just push"
About a month ago, Xiaoyu was discharged from the hospital and went home. Jin Sexyong approached the door of the house before he dared to tell him the news of his mother's death. Jin Xiaoyu, 50, hugged his father and cried out — an intense expression of emotion that he rarely shows when he is not ill. Often, he looks expressionless, perhaps as a side effect of years of taking mood-stabilizing medications.
He picked up a pen and recalled on paper his past with his mother: "My mother has largely planned my career as a translator. According to flashbacks, she communicated with Professor Lu who stayed at the school through the alumni association, and then through the basketball friend of Professor Lu's son-in-law, Mr. Yang, who is also a publishing master, got the first opportunity to try to translate for me. ”
Her mother, Cao Meizao, was not only a high-achieving student at that time, but also trained her eldest son to be admitted to Fudan University, and the eldest son later settled in Australia. Only the youngest son, Xiaoyu, has become the couple's deepest concern.
Cao Meizao is very strict with Xiaoyu, according to Xiaoyu, "She pulled the track (for me) several times in the path of my life." When she was in elementary school, she let Xiaoyu transfer to a better school, and when she grew up, Xiaoyu wanted to learn history, but she wanted him to learn international trade, and she also tried her best to make him cheerful. Xiao Yu was very concerned about his mother's words, but he was overwhelmed.
"After she fell ill, her control over me weakened." Xiao Yu said that he did not know whether it was ease or regret in his tone.
Xiao Yu's translated books were stacked on a wooden board in the living room. Under this plank is the sewing machine that my mother used to use during her lifetime. This sewing machine is another "valuable" item that Xiaoyu did not touch when he was "out of control".
The sound of the mother stepping on the sewing machine pedal was like a lullaby. Xiao Yu wears the clothes made by his mother, the four seasons feel warm, Xiao Yu does not smash it...
Cao Meizao had been "demented" for three years, and Xiaoyu had never lost his temper with her. Buy groceries, wash your face, defecate every two hours, and carry your mother to bed. He remembered his mother's goodness.
When Xiaoyu returns from the hospital and wants to "take care of her mother like a child", she leaves unconsciously.
Xiao Yu remembers that her mother often said a sentence, "The car does not fall, just push." "Do you know what that means?" He asked me, and then he gave the answer himself: "Even if I am sick, I will be pushed out, and I can't stay at home all the time."
It was the belief in her life. Xiaoyu's car did not fall, so he had to continue to push forward.
Jin Xiaoyu picked up a pen and recalled his past with his mother on the paper.
We are not separated
For the sample book of Benjamin's Epistles, Jin Zhiyong made a few comments. In addition to checking the text, he also told the editor about the binding design and the size of the folio.
"My dad was very patient and played a lot of roles in my life, helping me to contact the editors of the publishing house, working as an assistant for me, and helping me proofread and change it very carefully."
Jin Sex Yong also loves to read, especially Turgenev. After graduating from university in 1967, he was assigned to the Tianjin Institute of Materia Medica to do research, and then transferred to Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical Factory (now Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical), acting carefully and carefully, "doing experiments must be seen by yourself to be assured", and still doing product evaluation and data work after retirement.
Every morning, Jin Sexyong did not dare to get up too early, he was afraid of disturbing Xiaoyu's sleep.
There was no TV in the living room, not only because Xiaoyu had smashed three stations, but also because he was worried that he would disturb Xiaoyu's translation.
The media report suddenly brought great attention to the father and son, and the caring team wanted to provide services for the elderly, but Jin Yong refused, "Thank you, I have a monthly pass, I am used to taking the bus."
In the face of material help, Jin Sex Yong always replied to the other party: "I have enough to eat and drink, and people's hearts must be satisfied." I'm not that difficult and don't ask for help. This makes me feel more comfortable, thank you to all walks of life. ”
"My heart is always not at peace, and I always feel that I will suffer losses and make mistakes, which is very dangerous." He always maintained the dignity of an intellectual, gentle and calm, tenacious and persistent.
Father and son support each other, "rely on each other for their lives", and the relationship becomes more and more intimate. When Andrei Tarkovsky's film was screened in Hangzhou, Xiaoyu said "Dad, let's go see it together when we have time", and Jin Sexyong said "I accompany you to see, although I may not be able to understand it".
Jin's recent happiness is that the Hangzhou Disabled Persons' Care Center has promised to let him stay with his son. "We are not separated", Jin Shengyong choked, "I want to seize the time to accompany my son."
This is a imposition photo. On the left is a partial translation of Jin Xiaoyu, and on the right is a partial dictionary on the Jin family's bookshelf.
Xiaoyu hopes to finish translating his second Benjamin book, The Arcade Project, before his father turns 88, after which he suspends his work and begins learning Spanish.
"I'm not a genius, I need to work hard." Jin Xiaoyu said.
I asked Jin, "What is love?" He said, "Love is the most precious thing." ”
In the movie "A Beautiful Mind", John Nash said in his Nobel Prize appreciation speech: "With the support of love, I was able to find the logic of life and the reason for life." ”
In this "support of love", there is gentleness, care and respect, so that "Jin Xiaoyu" can guard their "beautiful heart".
A story of love and faith
More moving than a genius legend
Bless you, Xiaoyu
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter: Zheng Mengyu