In 1947, a retired anti-aircraft artillery soldier from the US Marine Corps crossed the ocean to Shanghai with a yearning for China. The soldier's name is Shabori, and his story shows how an ordinary man's obsession with Chinese culture changed his destiny. Shabori married a beautiful actor's wife and settled in China.
He devoted his life to translation, bringing hundreds of Chinese literary works to the Western world and making great contributions to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Shabori's experience is not only a touching love story, but also a foreigner's in-depth exploration and understanding of Chinese culture. The story of Shabori originated in New York in the 40s of the 20th century. He is a Jew who originally studied law at St. John's University.
However, the outbreak of World War II changed the course of his life. Shabori decided to join the army, became an anti-aircraft artillery soldier, and threw himself into the war against fascism. In the troops, he showed himself well and received the appreciation of his superiors. Soon after, the U.S. Army prepared to send soldiers to learn about Chinese and Chinese history and culture, and Shabori was fortunate to be one of them.
This study made him completely fascinated by Chinese culture, and even entered Columbia University to study Chinese history after retiring from the military. More than a year later, Shabori decided to come to China for himself and see for himself the ancient country of the East that he had in mind. Although China was experiencing a liberation war and social unrest, Shabori did not choose to leave. He met Fengzi in China, a man who changed his destiny.
Feng Zi is an actor and a top student at Fudan University. With the help of Fengzi, Shabori's Chinese language level has been greatly improved, and his understanding of Chinese culture has become more in-depth. Eventually, Shabori decided to stay in China and married Fengzi. After marriage, Sabori began his translation career. He hopes to translate Chinese masterpieces and well-known novels into English and spread them to the Western world.
His first translation was The New Heroes, published in New York in 1952 and became one of his first works to be introduced to the United States. Subsequently, Shabori was transferred to the International Cultural Liaison Bureau as a translator, engaged in the Chinese-English translation of the magazine "Chinese Literature".
Over the decades, Shaboli has translated many famous Chinese novels and red books, such as Ba Jin's "Home", Lao She's "Moon Child", Mao Dun's "Spring Silkworm" and so on. His translations are both faithful, elegant and elegant, and are loved by Western readers. In particular, his translation of the Water Margin is recognized as one of the best English versions, for which he won the highest translation award of the China Federation of Literary and Literary Associations.
In the process of translating Water Margin, Shabori encountered many difficulties. First, he needed to determine the base version of the translation, because there were several different versions of Water Margin. After research, Sabori chose the 100-round version and combined the advantages of the different versions. Secondly, since the Water Margin was written in classical Chinese, it was a great challenge for Shaboli, who had not studied classical Chinese.
He also had to face difficulties translating the nickname of General 108 into English, as well as challenges in expressing character and identity. However, Shabori adhered to the principle of "passing on the gods" and incorporated the meaning of each story into the English translation, with excellent results. Shabori's translation work has played an important role in promoting cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and improving the country's soft power.
His translations have enabled more Western readers to understand Chinese culture and history, and promoted the development of friendly relations between China and foreign countries. Shabori himself has received widespread acclaim for his contributions. He once wrote: "Translating Chinese literature is not just my profession, it is my hobby." He believes that through translation, he can better understand the history and culture of Chinese and China.
Looking back at Shabori's story, we can see how an ordinary person changed his destiny because of his love for Chinese culture. Through his translation work, he introduced Chinese literary works to the Western world and made great contributions to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Shabori's story is a transnational love story and a foreigner's in-depth exploration and understanding of Chinese culture.
His story has taught us a lot, no matter what country we come from, as long as we have a passion for a certain culture, we can make our own contribution to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between countries through hard work and dedication. Finally, I would like to ask a question, as a reader, what do you think Shabori's story has taught you? What is your assessment of his contribution?
At the same time, do you have a similar experience or a culture you love? Welcome to leave your comments and shares. Shabori: An American who loves China, Shabori came to China in 1947 and has considered China his home ever since. However, for 16 years, Shabori was never able to formally become a Chinese citizen, until 1963, with the personal approval of Premier Zhou Enlai.
Since then, Sabori has become a real Chinese. As a Chinese citizen, Shabori is always concerned about the development of the mainland. On his desk was often a copy of Chairman Mao's Quotations, densely annotated and circled with many important sentences. Shabori also participated in the translation of Chairman Mao's poems, and twice in 1974 and 1976, the English version of Chairman Mao's Poems.
As an assessment expert, he proposed appropriate amendments in a timely manner. In 1996, Shabori lost his beloved, Fengzi, who had been with him for 50 years, and died. Since then, Shabori has often been in a daze at his wife's posthumous work, and he has a lot of emotions when he thinks back on the ups and downs of the past 50 years. Time has passed, and in the blink of an eye, the new century has arrived, and Shabori has also settled in China for more than 50 years.
He said: "With the fermentation of time, I see China more and more as my hometown, although I used to be an American, and I have not lost my 'American taste', but for me, the United States is my home for the first half of my life, and China is my forever home, and this will never change." On December 3, 2010, Shabori and other translators won the "Chinese Translation Culture Lifetime Achievement Award" for their contributions to the cause of Chinese-English translation.
In the five years since the award was established, only Ji Xianlin, a master of Chinese studies, and Yang Xianyi, a pioneer in mainland translation, have won the award. On April 2, 2011, Shabori once again won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in the "Annual Impact World Chinese Award", and delivered an acceptance speech at the award ceremony: "I love China, China is my home, I am Chinese, and my roots are also in China."
In short, Shabori regards China as his hometown and has devoted himself to Chinese-English translation for half a century, translating 198 translations, including classical masterpieces, literary novels, and Chairman Mao's poems, and he is also known as the "Hero of translation." In October 2014, Shabori died of illness at the age of 99.
As Su Dongpo said: "If Lingnan should be good, this peace of mind is my hometown", China is Shabori's peace of mind and his eternal hometown. Conclusion: Recalling Shabori's life, it is not difficult to find that he is an American who loves China, he is deeply patriotic, regards China as his hometown, and has made great contributions to China's development and Chinese-English translation.
We should learn from Shaboli, love and protect Chinese culture with our hearts, and inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture.