PC Translations

I wish I were more of an expert in Chinese film, and could do a better job introducing some of the great movies being made in China. But I have barely scratched the surface of the Chinese film industry, really. But there is one movie that I just have to tell you about. It captures something essential within the spirit of modern China that just begs to be introduced to a larger audience.

The film is Zhang Yimou's To Live, starring Gong Li and Ge You. It is a beautifully made film, spanning the period of time from the 1940's to the 1970's in China.

What I love about the movie is the way it captures a sort of stubborn hope exhibited by the Chinese people. I wouldn't dispute the notion that Chinese culture is often quite pessimistic, and would even give my firm agreement with such observations as those made by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn in their insightful book China Wakes. But the movie captures a sort of balancing force for that perceived pessimism. In the film, what we see is a tendency toward laughter in the face of adversity (and the family in the movie sees it all!), and a stubborn refusal to give in to the notion that life isn't worth it.

The movie makes me think. I don't know where this stubborn hope comes from, but it is something I have seen not just on the screen, but in the lives of real people here in China. Talk all you want about the hardships of the Cultural Revolution, Tiananmen, and the "burden of history." But the fact remains -- these people hope. They continue, despite all that, to struggle to make life better. And they don't just go about it somberly and dispassionately. They go about it with a laugh, and I mean a good belly laugh. I don't know where they find the fortitude or the inspiration for that laugh. I wonder if I have the strength of character to laugh like that in spite of all hardships.

I haven't suffered in my life. Not like the characters in To Live, anyway. Nor like many of my peers and friends in China. I wonder why it is, then, that life can seem so daunting to me, sometimes? I wonder why it is so tempting to throw in the towel when, frankly, I've had it easy?

I hope I can find the fortitude to laugh at adversity. And I hope I can always find the strength, no matter what comes along, to live.

One thousand two hundred years ago, near the bustling booming city of Chang'an flowed the Jing River. The people living on the Jing River all made their living catching fish.

A day came when they could not catch any fish. What were they to do? Everyone thought and thought, looking for a solution to that problem. Finally, they decided sent a delegation each day to the Western Gate in Chang'an, where they sought the stall of a fortune-teller, Yuan Tian Gang. Presenting their problem to him, they asked him to tell them which day and which place would have the most fish. After consulting Yuan, they all went together to catch fish. As a result, the people staying on the Jing River caught many fish and prawns every day, and they lived a happy life.

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This is the beginning of a translation of the first story in 中国童话 (Zhong Guo Tong Hua), or "Chinese Fairy Tales." It will be continued in subsequent posts.

I have begun working on translation of 中国童话 (Chinese fairy tales). In my next post, I will begin putting those translations, simple as they are, here. The book I am translating from contains five stories. I'll begin with the first, which is entitled "The God of the Gate." Each post here will only be a short portion of the story, as the translation work moves along rather slowly. Hopefully, as it all progresses, I'll be able to translate more complex stories. For now, though, I think I will find sufficient difficulty in these, though they were written for kids.

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