Translation troubles in Zhu Wen story

[Lu]

I'm translating a story, or actually a novella (中篇小说), 《小谢啊，小谢》 by 朱文, and most of it is going well but I run into a few things I don't know what to do with, so I hope someone here can help.

1. 计算机日新月异，是这个时代最为敏感、错乱的一条神经，所以只有神经病才能成为这个行当的佼佼的。

'it's the most sensitive, chaotic mind of this era': computer science is a 神经? What can this mean?

2. 高计算机软件设计也算是一碗青春饭

'Developing softwere is a job for young people', is that correct, is that what 一碗青春饭 means here?

3. (...) 只好泡起了病假。他泡病假有一个优势，他的肝确实有毛病，转氨酶指数一直偏高。

'泡病假', is that just 'to call in sick', or does it mean 'pretend that one is sick and then call in sick'?

Thanks a lot for any help! More will probably follow as I progress.

[muyongshi]

I'll take the second one: the other ones require too much brain power at this point:

You're translation is correct in my opinion. Chinese typically refer to jobs as something that can get you 饭 so using the measure word 一碗 here adds to that picture. What furthers it is that he believes it is not a life time career but something that you can do when you're young but probably not long term. So it is something that can provide food for you while you're a young person but [implied] it's not for a whole lifetime.

I really like his description of it [even though I don't agree with him].

[stonelee]

1. 计算机日新月异，是这个时代最为敏感、错乱的一条神经，所以只有神经病才能成为这个行当的佼佼的。

'it's the most sensitive, chaotic mind of this era': computer science is a 神经? What can this mean?

The computer in present-day society is as same as a nerve in brain.

2rd is correct.

3.泡病假 in my opinion,means enjoy the time of sick leave.

Just like 泡妞（chase after the girls） 泡澡（enjoy with bath）

Or maybe its a dialect,because it is rare to see in Mandarin.

[zhwj]

泡病假 or 泡病号 means to take sick leave when you really don't need to.

For reference, you could check out Julia Lovell's translation of "Ah Xiao Xie" in I Love Dollars.

[in_lab]

to take sick leave when you really don't need to

Which is also called malingering.

[leeyah]

Right

& here's something useful we learnt in advanced class last year: 泡 (used as verb) means 消磨时光，打发日子 or in plain Mandarin:不管好玩不好玩，天天(去XX地方)浪费时间, i.e. is used for doing something just for fun, or to 'kill' time, idle away, or as previous posters replies in context above, dodging work, malingering, i.e.taking unnecessary sick leave (on the pretext of weak liver, in my interpretation). Often used phrases are 泡网吧/泡酒吧 = he spends most of his time in internet cafes/bars, + those suggested by stonelee

The first sentence I understand as something like: IT sector is the most sensitive field at present which is developing so rapidly that it

require(s) too much brain power at this point

Although the literal translation isn't bad either: ..敏感,错乱的一条神经，所以只有神经病才能成为这个行当的佼佼的 ....sensitive and chaotic where only the mentally deranged would be able to handle it or whatever the author had in mind

[muyongshi]

& here's something useful we learnt in advanced class last year: 泡 (used as verb) means 消磨时光，打发日子 or in plain Mandarin:不管好玩不好玩，天天(去XX地方)浪费时间, i.e. is used for doing something just for fun, or to 'kill' time, idle away

And of course we all know exactly how that is so true in another common word: 泡妞....

[Lu]

Thanks, all!

I made 1) into: '...computers were so sensitive and complicated that only people who were a bit crazy had a talent for that profession.' I changed 3) a bit so that it's clear he's not actually sick, and I'm glad you agree with me on 2).

zhwj: I have (and have read) the Julia Lovell translation, and plan to check mine against hers, but only after I've finished. I don't want to just borrow her choices, and I'm afraid I'd unconciously translate her English instead of the Chinese (my translation is to Dutch).

Leeyah: yes, on the pretext of a weak liver. Well, he really does have a weak liver, but he's not really too sick to work.

[Lu]

Another question, same story. Describing a co-worker: "...脸白白的，倒不算什么过错，碰到谁都喜欢站下来拉呱上几句。"

What does 到不算什么过错 mean here? 'it wasn't his fault' or something like 'he wouldn't hurt a fly', or am I thinking in the wrong direction? Context isn't helping much.

Thanks for any help!

[isela]

You are right about it. "Being so pale , not a fault." And then, "But, he bothers everybody he runs into to talk with him..."

Chinese people had conventionally considered pale-faced people as tricky and dishonest. For instance, 曹操 in Beijing Opera is made a white-face character.

A separate joke goes: "Being ugly is not your fault, but coming out and scaring people off definitely IS." It has similar structure with the context.

[Lu]

Thank you Isela, that clears it up!

Two more problems:

The power plant in the story is running on a very outdated installation from the former Sovjet-Union: 一次回路还凑合 (...) 但是二次回路就不行了。 I've dug around the internet for an answer and it eluded me (also because I don't know the first thing about power plants), does anyone here know the proper terms for 一次回路 and 二次回路? (I checked Julia Lovell but she skips over it and doesn't translate it at all, to my disappointment.)

The main character does something very stupid, and 挨了个行政记大过处分。 I don't even know how to split this into words, I'm guessing it's 'an official warning', am I right?

[isela]

"回路" in electronics simply means a "closed loop", in other words, "powered on". I guess (with 90% confidence) that the machine was so poor that it can work only once in a while, but not two consecutive times.

And you are right about the 2nd phrase. 挨 (suffered) 了个 "行政 (administrative) 记(record) 大过 (big mistake)" 处分(punishment). "记过" (record mistake) was a common practice during the "C" time.

[Lu]

Thank you Isela, yet again :-)