Today is the 70th birthday of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. About this Japanese writer who is very popular in China, Mr. Lin Shaohua, Murakami's "royal translator" in China, has something to say.
(Haruki Murakami; Via VCG)
Before 2003, the translator Lin Shaohua knew almost nothing about his long-betrothed friend in Tianya, and Murakami knew very little about his "spokesman" in China.
(Translator Lin Shaohua; Via VCG)
When Mr. Lin was interviewed by the editor of this newspaper on Wednesday, he recalled the first sight in Tokyo, and everything seemed to go back in time...
“When I first met him in 2003, I noticed that he is a quiet man. He is unlikely to look at you while talking; instead he just looks down at the table”.
"The first time I met him was in 2003, Murakami was a quiet man, he didn't like to look at each other when talking, his eyes looked down, looking at the tabletop."
Since his works were officially introduced to the Chinese mainland by Lijiang Publishing Limited in 1989, Murakami’s books have regularly been bestsellers. Over the past three decades, more than 40 of Murakami’s works have been translated and published in China, making him one of the most well-known foreign writers in the country.
Since 1989, when Lijiang Publishing House officially introduced Murakami's works to the Chinese mainland, Murakami's works have been frequent visitors to the best-selling list. More than 40 books have been published in China, making Murakami a high reputation in China.
(Readers lined up to buy Haruki Murakami's book; Via VCG)
Of course, in recent years, many Nobel Prize nominations have returned with regrets, providing excellent creative materials for netizens. They called Murakami the "King of Running" of the Nobel Prize. After the 2017 Nobel Prize results were announced, netizens expressed "heartache murakami".
(via network)
Of course, the traffic in the village is not just "running with it", all kinds of true and false "Murakami quotes" are popular on the Internet, who makes this a symbol of petty bourgeoisie and literature and art?
(via our reading bar Weibo account)
As for why Murakami is so popular in China, Xiaobian interviewed Wang Xinxin, a teacher in the Japanese Department of Nankai University, who analyzed it from the perspective of Murakami's language style and style.
“Light, his style is very fresh and light.”
"Haruki Murakami's style can be said to be extremely fresh and light."
“His sentence structure is really simple and use of rhetoric is extremely delicate. Moreover, he uses lots of dialogue and therefore his novels are easy to read,” Wang noted.
Murakami's sentence structure is simple, and the rhetoric is also very exquisite. He also uses a lot of character dialogue, which is very easy to read."
“He has also made it clear that he really loves taking those details about daily life that most people don’t care about and gives them aesthetic value, so you can find detailed descriptions of a song or even a simple cup in his novel.”
"Then there's the details. Murakami himself has made it clear that he is very fond of the indifferent details of everyday life and gives them aesthetic value. So you can easily find a tireless description of a piece of music and a cup in Murakami's novels."
Both Wang and Lin noted that although his style has “universal penetration” on the surface since he was influenced by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Raymond Carver, the core values of his novels are still Japanese and Confucian in nature.
Both Mr. Lin Shaohua and Mr. Wang Xinxin mentioned the "universality" of Murakami's works, while the core and values of his works are still oriental.
“I think the popularity of his books illustrates that literature still has strong vitality, which is a great encouragement for people like me who have been engaged in literature my whole life,” Lin said proudly.
"The popularity of Murakami can prove that literature still has a strong vitality, which is a great encouragement for those of us who are engaged in literature," Lin said proudly.
“No image or audio can replace the aesthetics of words and literature”.
"There is no way to replace the aesthetic function of writing and literature with any image and audio-visual image."
Another secret to Murakami’s success is how he reflects the feelings of today’s readers in his works.
Murakami's book also alludes to the loneliness in the hearts of readers.
According to Wang,young people today, while they may live in different countries, are facing the same pressures and stress due to globalization. Thus, young people in both China and Japan see themselves reflected in Murakami’s fiction, which provides them an outlet for their feelings.
Teacher Wang Xinxin also said that with the deepening of the process of globalization, the living environment of young people is becoming more and more homogeneous, although not in the same country, but may encounter the same pressure and depression, so young people in Japan and China invariably find themselves in Murakami's novels and find an outlet for emotional catharsis that cannot be found in other works.
There’s an old Chinese saying: “The writing reflects the writer”.
There is an old Chinese saying called "a text is like a person".
So what kind of person is Murakami? What is his opinion on his identity as the "Running King"? Tell you, the old man didn't care at all, or even never cared.
Writing this, the editor had an epiphany, it turns out that the song "Ordinary Road" is Park Shu's tribute to Murakami!
"I have crossed mountains and seas, and I have also crossed the sea of people... Until you see the ordinary, it is the only answer."
Lin noted that Murakami shows no interest in such accolades. Instead, he cherishes and intentionally protects the “anonymity of life,” which is why he seldom takes pictures of himself on the off chance that someone recognizes him.
Teacher Lin Shaohua mentioned that Murakami is more concerned about "the anonymity of life", and Murakami usually does not want to take photos because he does not like to be recognized. (Hee-hee, it doesn't work in this day and age)
“He has no affiliation with any group, organization or company. The most interesting thing about being a writer is that you can do it alone.”
“So he loves to be a writer, and the only option he had was to be a writer,” Lin said.
"He didn't participate in any group, any organization, and no experience working in a corporate unit. The most interesting thing about the profession of a writer is that one person can do it. So he likes to be a writer, and he can only be a writer. ”
In this way, Murakami seems to be a person who enjoys solitude and purity.
“He is frank and genuine”，Lin said，“and I wish him a happy birthday”.
"He is a frank and unpretentious person," Mr. Lin commented, "I wish him a happy birthday."
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