Chapter 28 About translation (below)

Lowen, but in my "In Defense of Translation", there are actually three points that I hope for critics: first, to point out the bad; second, to reward the good;What Mr. Mu Mutian actually did was the first sentence.In the future, there may be other critics who will write second articles, which is really a big question when I think about it. So I will add a few more words: If there are no better ones, then point out the bad translations, and point out those places in which the reader can still benefit. Afterwards, the world of translations will probably regress further.Regardless of the depletion of the people's wealth, but looking at the land and population, the four provinces were taken by Japan, a large part was flooded, a large part was in drought, and a large part was in war. It has decreased a lot.Because of the lack of sales, the publishing industry will be more speculative and deceitful, and the people who hold the pen will therefore have to be more speculative and deceptive.Even if there are people who are not willing to cheat and are oppressed by their means of livelihood, they will inevitably be relatively shoddy, adding some shortcomings that did not exist before.Walking across the road adjacent to the residential area of ​​the concession, there are three fruit shops with facades, bright red apples, yellow bananas, and unknown tropical fruits in the crystal glass windows.But after a short stand, you will know: Chinese people seldom enter this place, and they cannot afford it.We probably had no choice but to go to the fruit stalls set up by our compatriots and spend a few pennies to buy a rotten apple.

Once an apple is rotten, it is worse than other fruits, but some people buy it, but we also have an opposite temper: jewelry must be "completely bare", and characters must be "perfect".Once there are shortcomings, sometimes they are all gone.A couple of sores on a lover's body will not necessarily lead to a divorce by a lawyer, but for authors, works, and translations, they are always more stringent. Bernard Shaw took a big boat [2], which is not good; Barbusse [3] is not the first. A writer is not good either; a translator who is a "university professor or low-ranking official" [4] is even worse.What should I do if I can't come out?I think it's better to invite critics to use the method of eating rotten apples to save the emergency.

Our previous method of criticism is to say that the apple has rotten scars, and if it is worse, throw it away at once.However, the buyer's money is limited, wouldn't it be a great injustice, and what's more, he will continue to be poor in the future.Therefore, it seems best to add a few words in the future, if it is not piercing the heart, it will say: This apple has rotten scars, but these places are not rotten, and it can still be eaten.In this way, the quality of the translation is clear, and the loss of readers can be reduced. But this kind of criticism is not very common in China. Take the criticism published in "Freedom Talk" as an example. For "European Literature of the Twentieth Century", it refers specifically to rotten scars; I remember an earlier article criticizing Zou Taofen [5] The short essay on "Gorky" edited by Mr. has nothing to say except pointing out a few shortcomings.I haven't read the former, and I can't tell you what else is good about it, but I have read the latter, and feel that apart from the shortcomings criticized by the critics, there are many records of the author's heroic struggle, the subordinate's work, etc. Despicable plots are very beneficial to young writers, but they are also thrown out of the basket because of rotten scars.

Therefore, I also hope that hard-working critics will do the work of picking out rotten apples. This is just like "picking up waste", it is very hard, but it is also necessary, and it is beneficial to everyone. September eleventh. [1] This article was originally published in "Shenbao·Free Talk" on September 14, 1933. 〔2〕George Bernard Shaw traveled around the world on the British steamer Queen in 1933, passing through Shanghai on February 17. [3] Barbusse (H. Barbusse, 1873-1935) French writer.He is the author of novels such as "The Wire of Fire", "Brightness" and "Biography of Stalin".

[4] "University professors, low-level officials" These are Shao Xunmei's words in the article "Literati No Action" published in the second issue of the magazine (August 20, 1933): "University professors, low-level officials, The authorities were in arrears of salary, and the family had children, young and old, so in their spare time, they had to translate one or two foreign novels they usually used for entertainment in exchange for some manuscript fees..." [5] Zou Taofen (1895-1944), formerly known as Enrun, Born in Yujiang, Jiangxi, political commentator and publisher.He once edited the "Life" weekly magazine, founded the Life Bookstore, and wrote "Footprint Message" and other books. "Gorky" (original title "Revolutionary Literary Gorky") was compiled by him based on the book "Gorky and His Russia" written by Conn of the United States, and was published by Shanghai Life Bookstore in July 1933.The criticism mentioned here refers to Lin Yizhi's article "Reading "Gorky"", which was published in "Shenbao Free Talk" on July 17, 1933.