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A note from the translator:
I'm happy to provide all Ziyi fans out there with a translated portion of the book "My
Father & Mother," written by the mainland Chinese writer, Bao Shi (full text in Chinese, located
here).One thing that you guys may have noticed is that, well, the translation is not complete (approximately one quarter of the novel [9 out of 41 sections] was translated).This is something I will address later, but for now, I think the best way is to think of the text as a supplement for those that already watched the movie.It is NOT meant to be a substitute for the script or novel.With translations, one thing that you must keep in mind is that the words are coming through the voice another person.So ultimately, what I present here is only one of many interpretations.
I tried to the best of my ability to preserve the structure and content of Bao Shi.He is mainly a very descriptive writer, and it's really hard to portray the vocabulary he uses.Most of his words in Chinese are fairly straightforward (and thus, translated simply), but sometimes I'd use some big words for the sake of word choice.The paragraph format is copied directly from the Chinese text, and it's not unusual for some paragraphs to be a single sentence.The style of dialogue is also put in a form that most English readers would be familiar with.For example: "He ran away," she said;
when in the novel, there'd usually just be an exchange of dialogue, without benefit of describing who said it in the first place.All in all, the text was written in an informal narrative style, which actually didn't exist in China until early in the 20th century.
I think that the novel gives a pretty good impression of the characters, the settings, and in particular, a feel for the country.
There were many terms that I was not familiar with, and I actually ended up just making up my own appropriate words.
For terms that had no English equivalent (example: kang),
I would leave the Chinese word in pinyin. As for the characters and the story, I think Zhang Yimou made the best out of the material in the movie adaptation
The Road
Home, and this is actually one of those few cases in which the movie succeeds on more levels than the book itself.The book seems to have a more prolonged beginning and ending, but aside from that, the material remains mostly the same.Zhao Di's bowl and hairpin still play prominent roles in the book.The son is also still involved in the ending, much to my surprise.
So when finally reading this translation, try to notice the spirit of the characters.You get a feeling that Zhao Di is still Zhao Di, whether she's young or old.The son (narrator) is a village person that has since moved out of the country, like many of the other youths that grew up in San He Tun.Laoshi Luo (Luo Changyu, Zhao Di's husband to be) is a confident and hardworking individual, reflected both in his voice and his manner.Some additional characters include Lil' Carpenter and Da Ye (the village head), but they play fairly minor parts (although these two are absolutely central in village life).Another interesting figure to know is Ah-ma (Zhao Di's mother), who has as much character as Zhao Di herself.
As for whether there will be future additions to the translation, the answer is "no" -- at least on my part.I feel that it wouldn't be sensible for me to be the one that is crafting the imagination for the rest of you guys.For one thing, I am not a professional writer or translator.This little project of mine is merely to give you an idea of what went on in the characters' heads, and perhaps to give a hint of why Zhang Yimou decided to make this movie adaptation, with Zhang Ziyi especially in mind.There are also additional frustrations when transcribing a book for a different group of people, but I'm sure that most of you don't want to hear any of my excuses.In the end, however, everyone has their own interpretation of what the prevalent themes and messages are in this very simple story.To make comparisons between the book and movie, I feel, is ultimately unfair and in a way, would be overdoing it.
But for now, this is the only English translation of "My Father & Mother" that I am aware of -- although notably, is not nearly complete.If anyone has any additional information or would like to comment on the translation, please contact me by email, located right
here.Although I will not acknowledge any direct requests for translation, I am more than happy to participate in discussions on Bao Shi and The Road Home on our message board at Zhang Ziyi CSC. Index Chapter 1
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