鹿鼎记 with tooltips and translations

[Yang Chuanzhang]

Hi everyone,

To leave the Intermediate-Valley I'm in and finally climb the mountain of fluency, I've recently decided to jump in head first into 金庸's 鹿鼎記, a book I really want to read.

I'm sure many of you have either read this book before or are interested in reading him. That's why I've decided to post and share my progress here; if there are people who want to read it too, we can discuss it and try to get through it together and if you read wuxia xiaoshuos for breakfast, you can help by pointing out errors.

I spent the last week procrastinating by making nice tooltips for this on my blog and I'd love to hear your opinion.

On top of that, I managed convince my Chinese girlfriend to make recordings of the passages I've read.

You can find both here: http://www.zaoyin.eu...-28/Ludingji-1/

Preface

北风如刀，满地冰霜。

江南近海滨的一条大路上，一队清兵手执刀枪，

押着七辆囚车，冲风冒寒，向北而行。

前面三辆囚车中分别监禁的是三个男子，都作书生

打扮，一个是白发老者，两个是中年人。后面四辆

囚车中坐的是女子，最后一辆囚车中是个少妇，

怀中抱着个女婴，女婴啼哭不休。她母亲温言相呵，

女婴只是大哭。囚车旁一清兵恼了，伸腿在车上

踢了一脚，喝道：「再哭，再哭，老子踢死你！」

那女婴一惊，哭得更加响了。

离开道路数十丈处有座大屋，屋檐下站着一个中年

文士，一个十一二岁的小孩。那文士见到这等情景，

不禁长叹一声，眼眶也红了，说道：「可怜，可怜！」

那小孩子问道：「爹爹，他们犯了什么罪？」那文士道：

「又犯了什么罪？昨日和今朝，已逮去了三十几人，

都是我们浙江有名的读书人，个个都是无辜株连。」

他说到「无辜株连」四字，声音压得甚低，生怕给押送

囚车的官兵听见了。那小孩道：「那个小女孩还在吃奶，

难道也犯了罪？真没道理。」

北风如刀: the north wind (北风) is like (如) a knife / blade (刀)

满地冰霜: the entire (满) ground (地) is covered in ice and frost (冰霜)

冲风冒寒: walking against (冲) the wind (风) (they) deal with/endure (冒) the cold (寒)

向北而行: (they) walk (行) towards (向) the north (北) (而 connects 向北 and 行)

分別: respectively / each

作书生打扮: be dressed (作...打扮) like intellectuals (书生)

温言相呵: gently (温) says (言) calming (呵) words towards (相) (her child)

離開...m處: located ...m away from

无辜株连: innocent (无辜), guilty by association (株连)

Yang Chuanzhang

[yialanliu]

I loved this book. There's also multiple versions of the TV series. I watched those before I tackled the book because it made reading the book much easier. Dicky Cheung was my favorite version but all 3 or was it 4 that I watched were good.

^^Obviously a major fan here haha

[rob07]

yilanliu is right that the Jin Yong TV series are much easier than the books. And for the first Jin Yong book it is worth thinking about 雪山飞狐, if you haven't already, because it is only 200 pages long.

I started with TV series and 雪山飞狐, and just last year set the time aside to read 笑傲江湖. Really really fun, but at 4 volumes and over 1400 pages it does chew up your spare time, especially if you are a non-native speaker.

Since then 鹿鼎记 has been on my list and coincidentally I read the first chapter just yesterday. But ... even longer at 5 volumes and over 1800 pages. Not sure I am going to commit to it now.

Edit: does your edition explain how the chapter headings come from Jin Yong's ancestor 查慎行 and the historical background there? I thought that was a nice touch.

[imron]

And for the first Jin Yong book it is worth thinking about 雪山飞狐,

I agree with this. It's not too long and has a good mix of story and action. I've been reading this currently and just finished the 雪山飞狐 story part today (the book I have still has another story after it).

It's a good read, but oh that ending....

[rob07]

Hi Imron, Gleaves and I discussed the ending here - http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/19773-best-kung-fu-novel-ever/page__st__40

It would be great if you would share your thoughts.

[imron]

Done.

[muirm]

Does your girlfriend enjoy the genre herself? If so, then that's lucky. Nothing keeps you (me) interested in a book like having a good discussion partner to share the excitement with. That's one thing I'm worried about with leaving China - I won't be surrounded by Chinese 武侠 enthusiasts at work to help keep me enthralled.

It's a good read, but oh that ending....

Are there any alternate endings floating around I can swap in to give more satisfying finishes? Seriously though, I imagine it must have been an even bigger letdown for people back in the day actually following along with the serialized versions. You're invested in the story over months only to have things finish in a lackluster fashion. That reminds me (getting further off topic here), does anyone know the details of 金庸's original serialized novels? Like how often there were new installments, and how long was each one? Did the installments correspond at all to the chapter divides in the later revised/book-form versions?

[imron]

You're invested in the story over months only to have things finish in a lackluster fashion

I don't think it necessarily ends in a lacklustre fashion - in fact the ending will keep people discussing the book far longer than they otherwise would have, something that 金庸 himself mentions in the afterword: that sometimes just as much or even more enjoyment is possible from imagining the possibilities rather than having everything spelt out for you, and that was the point of the ending.

[rob07]

I was glad the afterword was there because when stories just end on a cliffhanger there can be the implication - "if you were smart enough you would be able to tell what the author intended would happen next", so it was good that he expressly said that it is completely up to the reader.

Did you read the prequel first Imron?

Like how often there were new installments, and how long was each one?

Wikipedia says:

Cha founded the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao. Cha served as its editor-in-chief for years, writing both serialized novels and editorials, amounting to some 10,000 characters per day.

[imron]

Did you read the prequel first Imron?

Not yet. I'm reading his books in the order they were written, so the prequel will be the next 金庸 book I read (though I'll probably read a couple of other books in between).

[Yang Chuanzhang]

Hi everyone, sorry for not posting last week, but the end of the term is getting closer and closer...

rob07, I've had a look at 雪山飞狐 but I've decided to stick with 鹿鼎记 for the time being. Motivation can be a fragile thing and I've been wanting to read this book for months. However, if there are enough people who want to read 雪山飞狐 together on the forums, I'd love to join that group.

Here's the second part, if you disagree with my translations, please tell me

Audio file available here: http://www.zaoyin.eu...-01/Ludingji-2/

I'm thinking about turning this into a podcast if enough people find it useful...

那文士道：「你懂得官兵没道理，真是好孩子。唉，人为刀俎，

我为鱼肉，人为鼎镬，我为麋鹿！」

那小孩子道：「爹，你前几天教过我，‘人为刀俎，我为鱼肉’，

就是给人家斩割屠杀的意思。人家是切菜刀，是砧板，我们就是

鱼和肉。‘人为鼎镬，我为麋鹿’这两句话，意思也差不多么？」

那文士道：「正是！」眼见官兵和囚车已经去远，拉着小孩的手道：

「外面风大，我们回屋里去。」当下父子二人走进书房。

那文士提笔蘸上了墨，在纸上写了个「鹿」字，说道：「鹿这种野兽，

虽是庞然大物，性子却极为和平，只吃青草树叶，从来不伤害别的野兽。

凶猛的野兽要伤它吃它，它只有逃跑，倘若逃不了，那只有给人家吃了。」

又写了「逐鹿」两字，说道：「因此古人常常拿鹿来比喻天下。

世上百姓都温顺善良，只有给人欺压残害的份儿。《汉书》上说：

‘秦失其鹿，天下共逐之。’那就是说，秦朝失了天下，群雄并起，

大家争夺，最后汉高祖打败了楚霸王，就得了这只又肥又大的鹿。」

人为刀俎，我为鱼肉:

to be at other people's mercy; literally:

Other people (人) are (为1) 刀俎 (a sacrificial knife and altar),

I (我) am (为2) the meat (鱼肉) on it; from 《史记･项羽本纪》 by 司马迁

人为鼎镬，我为麋鹿

金庸's own version of the saying above: Other people are the cauldron / pot (鼎镬),

I'm the deer (麋鹿)

切菜刀 a knife used to cut food

砧板 chopping board

庞然大物 huge

秦失其鹿，天下共逐之:

literally: the emperor of the Qin Dynasty (秦) lost (失) its (其) deer (鹿),

all (共) Chinese people (天下) chase (逐) it (之);

figuratively: The Qin Dynasty (秦) lost (失) its (其) rule over China (鹿)

and everybody (天下共) tried to grab power (逐之)

[rob07]

I finished this yesterday. I would probably agree that it is Jin Yong's masterpiece. As he says in his afterword, it is not really a martial arts novel but more of a historical novel. The main character, Wei Xiaobao, cannot do martial arts. However, Wikipedia lists 5 different books written on how to use Wei Xiaobao's political skills in a modern day workplace(!).

Some aspects of it actually remind me a bit of the autobiography "Catch me if you can" (made into a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio). That was the story of a teenage conman who left home as a result of a broken family. He combined a genius for dishonesty together with the total disregard for long-term consequences that you can have at that age, and the result was that he could be anyone he wanted to be. He looked old for 16 and managed to hold down jobs as a doctor in a hospital and as a practising lawyer, but his first con was to pass himself off as an airline pilot and in that capacity was able to fly all over the world for free. He also had hordes of girlfriends, but despite all his crimes, managed to adhere to his own moral code throughout.

Wei Xiaobao was a bit like that and it was very entertaining. But the historical aspect to the book is very important as well. I learned a lot about the Qing dynasty from reading it. The most educational part was reading about foreign imperialists from the Chinese perspective. Obviously I knew that they were not going to be popular but it was still interesting to actually read it.

I remember the Russian Regent Sophia Alekseyevna (who is quite a significant character) was referred to as 苏菲亚 but in official treaty documents they thought it would be insulting to use the 菲 character in the transliteration of a western woman's name, because it makes Chinese people think of the expression 芳草菲菲 and thereby could imply that Western women are much hairier than Chinese women.

[skylee]

I have read this story a few times (like most people I started reading Jin Yong when I was a teenager) , and have never been able to bring myself to like it. I think 韋小寶 is exactly what I dislike most about the story.

In my opinion the best book by Jin Yong is 天龍八部. Maybe the OP can consider reading it next.

[rob07]

Skylee, I keep noticing that on the first post of the "What are you reading?" thread, you say:

Sometimes when I am really bored, I read a bit of 鹿鼎記.

If you don't mind me asking, why is that?

[skylee]

It was probably that back in July 2004 (8 years ago!) I had it in my pda. I don't now. I now have those fifty shades books in my cell phone and they are rubbish.

If I like a book I don't read a bit of it. I read all of it.