literary translation

[Kenny同志]

I was watching a television series and came across this line: father said: "爸爸都一把年纪了，什么苦没吃过，要坐牢就坐牢嘛！"

I also need your help with this passage that is extracted from 余光中的《自豪与自幸----我的国文启蒙》

每个人的童年未必都像童话，但是至少该像童年。若是在都市的红尘里长大，不得亲近草木虫鱼，且又饱受考试的威胁，就不得纵情于杂学闲书，更不得看云、听雨，发一整个下午的呆。我的中学时代在四川乡下度过，正是抗战，尽管贫于物质，却富于自然，裕于时光，稚小的我乃得以亲近山水，且涵泳于中国的文学。所以每次忆起童年，我都心存感慰。

what are the proper English translations, thanks a million!

[James Johnston]

The first one probably translates like this:

Your father [used rhetorically to mean the speaker himself] is already getting on in years and has endured no hardships [this is sarcastic I imagine], so if you want to imprison me, just go ahead and do so.

Or:

I'm an old man, do you think I've never known hardship? If you want to imprison me, then just go ahead.

Apologies if I'm wrong; I'm just guessing about the sarcasm.

[James Johnston]

This is my attempt at the second one:

People's childhoods don't necessarily resemble fairy tales, but at least they should resemble a [proper] childhood. When children grow up in urban society, it's not possible to be amongst the natural world. They must also endure the menace of examinations, and they are unable to learn outside of the curriculum by reading for pleasure. Nor can they just [kick back] and watch the clouds, listen to the rain or just pass a carefree afternoon doing nothing but messing around. The time I spent at middle school in rural Sichuan was just like a war of resistance [i think this means they didn't let their poverty get them down]; even though we were materially poor, we benefited from the riches of the natural world and time seemed to be never ending. As a child I was amongst a landscape of mountains and rivers, and I was immersed in Chinese literature. For these reasons, I'm filled with pleasure every time I recall my childhood.

Edited October 6, 2009 at 03:52 PM by James Johnston

[Kenny同志]

James, thanks very much for your help. It is a job well done, but I am afraid you might be mistaken about parts of the original.

In the movieline “"爸爸都一把年纪了，什么苦没吃过，要坐牢就坐牢嘛！" the father was intended to say 我年纪都一把了，苦都吃遍了，坐牢也不是什么大不了的事。

As for the other translation, 正当抗战means “right during the Anti-Japanese War”

I was wondering if “mess around” is considered disapproving. Even if it is neutral I think it is quite different from 发呆.

And another phrase稚小的我乃得以亲近山水，且涵泳于中国的文学. Here 乃得以 “means be able to”

Anyway, thanks very much again. I appreciate it very much.

Any other versions welcome!

[James Johnston]

In the movieline “"爸爸都一把年纪了，什么苦没吃过，要坐牢就坐牢嘛！" the father was intended to say 我年纪都一把了，苦都吃遍了，坐牢也不是什么大不了的事。

Far from being mistaken, I feel vindicated. The sentence you originally gave included the phrase 'I've never endured any suffering'. In light of the second sentence you've provided, it seems I was absolutely right to guess it was meant sarcastically as in your new sentence it says 'I've endured every suffering' . I'm not sure why you think I was mistaken, the English sentence I gave was pretty much the same in meaning as the sentence you just provided, the gist being that the person has suffered a lot in their long life, so sees no particular threat in imprisonment. 'If you want to imprison me, just do it'.

As for the other translation, 正当抗战means “right during the Anti-Japanese War”

Yes, this certainly makes sense. My sheltered upbringing and not knowing anything about the author meant it hadn't occurred to me that he literally grew up during a war of resistance, I was thinking metaphorically!

发呆

Yes, I'm sure you could come up with a better translation. 'spend a whole afternoon daydreaming', 'spending a whole afternoon fooling about', but the gist is the same. They should be doing childish things, like messing around, not studying.

Here 乃得以 “means be able to”

'When I was young I was able to be amongst the mountains and rivers.' This just sounds a bit clumsy in English to me, and I don't think anything is lost in the translation if you drop the 'able to be'. This is just a stylistic choice in my opinion.

[Kenny同志]

James, you have very good command of Chinese.

As for the translation of the moiveline, I think a context might be helpful in understanding what the father said.

I am afraid my English proficiency hinders me from giving the context in English, so I will write in Chinese.

鼎丰金业（公司名）是一家家族企业，由丁荣邦经营。一次，丁荣邦旧日的黑道兄弟柴炳权抢劫了一家金铺，想找丁荣邦帮忙，为其销赃，丁开始并不答应，但后来念及兄弟情义，答应了用五百万来买柴的那批货。过了几日，柴定好了交货地点，打电话给丁，恰巧丁在医院接受检查，于是，丁善本（丁荣邦之子）便接听了电话，为了让父亲省心，丁善本便瞒着父亲只身去见柴，到了交货地点，丁善本把五百万给了柴，但坚持不肯要那批赃货（因为丁家想做正当生意），谁知僵持之时，警察赶到，两人双双被捕。后来上法庭，为了还儿子清白，丁荣邦把二十多年前和柴走私、洗黑钱的事情说了出来，丁善本也最终因父亲的供词而脱罪。回到家中，丁善本对父亲说：“爸爸，即使警察方面没事（意思是警察不向法院起诉他爸爸），你的声誉也会受到一定影响。”父亲答道：“那些虚名我不会放在心上，都一把年纪了，最重要的是身体健康，一家人开开心心，要坐牢就坐牢，什么苦没有吃过呢？”

[James Johnston]

I'm not quite sure which sentence you actually want translating. Also, do you really want a fluent translation or the kind of translation that might help you to explain certain grammatical and vocabulary points?

Anyway, here are my attempts at the two lines from the paragraph above in fluent English.

Son: "Even if the police aren't going to take any action, your reputation will still be damaged."

Father: "I'm not worried about that kind of slander. Throughout my whole life, the most important things to me have been good health and a happy family. Even if they want to imprison me, then just let them. Do they imagine I've never suffered before?"

Hope it's useful.

[Kenny同志]

thanks, James. I am truly impressed by your translation,VERY PROFESSIONAL!!!

[Kenny同志]

I have been translating some pieces from 余光中and I am currently working on this one 《自豪与自幸——我的国文启蒙》－－ 余光中. I hope someone could help me with some tough nuts in my translation. By the way, I am studying translation by myself, and I try this only for exercise, but if the translation turns out really well done, I will consider contributing though it may be turned down.

　

　　每个人的童年未必都像童话，但是至少该像童年。若是在都市的红尘里长大，不得亲近草木虫鱼，且又饱受考试的威胁，就不得纵情于杂学闲书，更不得看云、听雨，发一整个下午的呆。我的中学时代在四川的乡下度过，正是抗战，尽管贫于物质，却富于自然，裕于时光，稚小的我乃得以亲近山水，且涵泳中国的文学。所以每次忆起童年，我都心存感慰。

Not every childhood is necessarily like a fairy tale, but at least it is supposed to be a proper childhood. Children who grew up in urban society could not be amongst the natural world and had to endure the menace of examinations; they were denied the pleasure of extracurricular reading, not to mention that they could not gaze at the clouds or listen to the rain, or simply daydream for a good afternoon. My time at middle school was spent in rural Sichuan, right during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Despite being materially poor, I could embrace the Mother Nature and had lots of time at hand. As a child I was amongst a landscape of mountains and rivers, and I was immersed in Chinese literature. For these reasons, I am filled with gratitude every time I recall my childhood.

我相信一个人的中文根抵，必须深固于中学时代。若是等到大学才来补救，就太晚了，所以大一国文之类的课程不过虚设。我的幸运在于中学时代是在纯朴的乡间度过，而家庭背景和学校教育也宜于学习中文。

I believe that the Chinese language course in the freshman year is nothing but a form because it is during one’s years at middle school that he lays his foundation for Chinese, or it would be too late for him to work hard at it in university. For me, two of the blessings in my course of learning the language were that my years at middle school were spent in the rustic countryside of Sichuan and that the atmosphere both in my family and school was good for studying Chinese.

　

一九四0年秋天，我进入南京青年会中学，成为初二的学生。那家中学在四川江北县悦来场，靠近嘉陵江边，因为抗战，才从南京迁去了当时所谓的“大后方”。不能算是甚么名校，但是教学认真。我的中文跟英文底子,都是在那几年打结实的。尤其是英文老师孙良骥先生，严谨而又关切，对我的教益最多。当初若非他教我英文，日后我是否进外文系，大有问题。

In the fall of 1940 I was admitted into Youth Union Middle School of Nanking, and became an eighth grade student there. Due to the above mentioned war, the school later was moved to Sichuan and located near the Jialing River, in Yuelaichang, Jiangbei County of the province. It was not a reputable school but teachers there were all very dedicated in their profession. It was during those years there that I received adequate grounding in English and Chinese. Of my then teachers, my English teacher Sun Liangji stood out. He was a strict but caring gentleman from whom I learned most. Had not he been my English teacher, it would have been almost impossible for me to get into English department afterwards.

　　

至于国文老师，则前后换了好几位。川大毕业的陈梦佳先生，兼授国文和历史，虽然深度近视，戴着厚如酱油瓶底的眼镜，却非目光如豆，学问和口才都颇出众。另有一个国文老师，已忘其名，只记得仪容儒雅，身材高大，不像陈老师那么不修边幅，甚至有点邋遢。更记得他是北师大出身，师承自多名士耆宿，就有些看不起陈先生，甚至溢于言表。

　 As for the Chinese teacher, 则前后换了好几位. Mr. Chen Mengjia, a graduate from Sichuan University, was one of them, teaching us Chinese and history. Due to severe myopia, he wore a pair of glasses as thick as the bottom of a soy sauce bottle, but this did not make him an intellectually short-sighted person, and the actual thing was that he stood out both in learning and eloquence. Another teacher, whose name I have forgotten,

I found this passage too hard. Can anyone help me with it?

Any comment on revision will be appreciated.

Edited October 15, 2009 at 06:07 AM by kenny2006woo

[Kenny同志]

Anyone interested in translation or writing? I am, and I will be very happy to exchange ideas and skills with you if you are!