"Honey Pickers" in the Literary Garden (Translator& Book)

Feng Zhisheng is the author of "Pei Duofei's Research". Profile picture

Selected Hungarian Poems compiled by Feng Zhisheng. Profile picture

A view of Budapest, Hungary. Profile picture

Throughout the ages, both Chinese and foreign, poetry has been particularly concerned and loved by readers. The language of poetry is concise and vivid, profound in meaning, catchy, and has a strong artistic appeal, which can penetrate the reader's heart and resonate with thoughts and emotions. Every time people read a good poem, they always love it and never forget it.

There are deep reasons why poetry is universally popular. The ancients, poetic speech, refers to the poetry writer in the poetry to express emotions and express ideas. Poets cannot be separated from the era in which he lives, they are the most direct perceivers of the pace of the times, and they use poetry to express their thinking and judgment on the pulse of the times, so that poetry is more full and full in ideological content.

Standing at the forefront of the times

Looking at the world literary scene, outstanding poets who shine in the brilliant starry sky, such as Pushkin and Lermontov in Russia, Byron and Shelley in Britain, Goethe and Schiller in Germany, all stand at the forefront of the times, always care about the fate of the nation and the country, and in artistic creation, deeply integrate their thoughts and feelings into the thinking about the future of the nation and the country.

The history of the development of Hungarian poetry that I am more familiar with also conforms to this law. A history of Hungarian poetry is a history of artistic creation in which poets who have the progressive ideas of the times and are worried about the country and the people have expressed their hearts and expressed their aspirations in poetry creation, and can even be regarded as a microcosm of the development of the Hungarian nation and country. Many progressive Hungarian poets, such as Weilesmarti, Petofi, Alani, Odi, Yuróv, novelists Jokaj, Micksat, Moritz, Illesh, Keltes, etc., are full of patriotic feelings in their artistically appealing works, especially Petofi.

Petëfi was a world-renowned hungarian revolutionary patriotic poet. The Hungarian people loved and respected him, and he was also a poet known and loved by Chinese readers. During the Hungarian National Revival movement that arose in the early 19th century, Petofi fought the enemy with pen and sword, and eventually martyred himself. His poems are rich in content and militancy, and his artistic style is delicate, bright and bold, and he exudes the heart of a pure fist everywhere. His poems defending the freedom, liberation and independence of nations and nations are full of true feelings, extremely expressive, and loved by readers.

At the beginning of the last century, Petofi's poetry was introduced to the mainland, and today, his poems are more comprehensively translated and studied. The most widely circulated among the vast number of readers on the mainland is the philosophical short poem "Freedom and Love" translated by the writer Yin Fu (Bai Mang):

Life is precious / Love is more expensive / If it is free / Both can be thrown away!

These verses are often quoted, even extended, to show how much they resonate in the reader's mind.

According to the original poem, if it is translated literally into Chinese, it should be "Freedom, Love":

Freedom, love / I need both / For my love / I can sacrifice my life / For freedom / I can sacrifice my love.

The original poem is rhythmic, layered, sonorous and powerful, and it is catchy to read, but when translated literally, it is slightly ordinary, inferior to Yin Fu's interpretation. This raises the question of how poetry should be translated.

The central idea expressed in this short poem is the spirit of self-sacrifice of the determined revolutionary who will not hesitate to give everything and even his life for the cause of the revolution. Although Pei Duofei and Yin Fu lived in different eras, as revolutionary writers, they were in a time of national and national crisis, but their hearts and minds were connected to each other. Pei Duofei created the famous work "Freedom, Love" in Hungarian, and Yin Fu interpreted "Freedom and Love" in Chinese translation, which is a masterpiece of translation, both of which were recited by readers in both countries and passed on to future generations, which is an excellent example of poetry translation.

Literary translation and research complement each other

Hungary has an excellent cultural tradition, and the field of literature and art is like a temple of art where strange flowers bloom, full of fragrance and beauty. I was fortunate enough to enter the garden and linger. As a "honey picker", I have some experience of the relationship between literary translation and research. In the translation industry, "faith, reach, and elegance" has become a common consensus. The translation must be based on the text, and although due consideration may be given to the different ways of expression in the two languages, it cannot be translated according to the translator's wishes without the original work. In this regard, many master translators have set an example. On this basis, the translator should also have an understanding of the writer, the work, and the national and national situation. Literary translation and research complement each other. Translated works are not simply text exchanges, and the more and more in-depth research a translator does, the more comfortable he will be at work and the more he will be able to complete a high-quality translation.

A few years ago, I edited and translated the book Selected Hungarian Poems. In the process of writing the book, I focused on the background of the selected poets, the artistic achievements of the poets, and the circulation of the poems and their impact on future generations. Velezmarti, Petofi and Alany were representative poets of the 19th century revolutionary movement in Hungary, and their poems were full of a strong revolutionary atmosphere, the verses were sonorous and powerful, and the fusion of poetic content and artistic style made the poems more infectious. Alani, who appeared slightly later than Petofi and is also well-known in the poetry world, has a more local style of poetry, and is good at using narrative format to tell moving stories in poetry.

In the 20th century, the pace of the times accelerated, and the poetry circle, which was most sensitive to the atmosphere of the times, emerged two representative poets, one was Odi and the other was Yuzhov. Ordy was a pioneer in the field of Hungarian literature at the beginning of the 20th century, and his New Poetry Collection was innovative in the form, language and content of poetry, which attacked the ignorant and backward feudal social system. Ordy visited Paris several times and introduced symbolist expressions into his poetry, adding new vitality to the poetry scene. Yurów was a Hungarian proletarian poet who came from a working-class family and went to Vienna to study, embracing Marxist ideas, reflecting the impoverished life of the working class in his poems, and lashing out at the capitalist world with sharp brushstrokes. He is also a master of the use of symbolism and impressionism to express art, and is unique in poetry creation.

On the basis of years of reading and understanding of Hungarian poetry, I chose the poetry works of 23 Hungarian poets, mainly Petofi, Odi and Yuróv, to form this "Hungarian Poetry Selection". It shows the history of the development of Hungarian poetry over the centuries, showing the profound ideological connotation and unique artistic charm of Hungarian poetry. It is also a systematic collection of Hungarian poetry translations dedicated to Chinese readers, helping readers to understand the stylistic characteristics of Hungarian literature and art.

Looking back on these translation and research experiences, I feel that my work is meaningful. It has been nearly 70 years since he was sent to Hungary in 1954 to study. In my memory, from the very first moment I stepped into this strange country, I deeply felt the warmth and friendship of the Hungarian people, and thus formed a deep relationship with Hungarian poetry and literature, hoping to do my part to promote cultural and literary exchanges between the two countries and deepen the friendship between the two peoples through my translation and research work. In 2009, Kushoy Sandor, then Hungarian ambassador to China, after receiving the book "History of Literature in Central and Southeast Europe in the 20th Century" presented by me, wrote back to me: "As a scholar who describes Hungarian literature, your contribution is tremendous", hoping that "more and more Chinese scholars will understand Hungarian literature and become friends of Hungarian literature". This is the goal I have worked hard for many years, and it is also my hope for the future, and I look forward to more scholars working in this literary garden in the future.

Feng Zhisheng, born in 1935, is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the International Society of Hungarian Studies. He has translated "Selected Short Stories of Micksat", "The Umbrella of St. Peter", "Strange Marriage", "Relatives", "Selected Hungarian Poems" and other translations, and has authored monographs such as "Moritz", "Biography of Petofi", "Petofi Studies", "History of Hungarian Literature" and so on.

People's Daily ( 2022-04-06 17th edition)