Pengpai News reporter Huang Xiaohe
[Editor's Note] On June 17, 2021, Mr. Xu Yuanchong died at home in Beijing at the age of 100.
In 2017, the program "Kefan Listening" interviewed Mr. Xu. According to the producer of the program, Mr. Xu Yuanchong's program is being reorganized and planned to be broadcast this Saturday night.
Cao Kefan , Xu Yuanchong
In 2017, the host Cao Kefan was inspired after interviewing Mr. Xu Yuanchong and wrote this sentence-
" Yesterday I was fortunate to go to Beijing to interview a famous 96-year-old translator, Professor Xu Yuanchong at Peking University . Mr. Xu was influenced by his cousin Xiong Shiyi since he was a child and loved his translation career. When he was studying at Southwest Associated University , he once studied at . He was taught by Wu Mi , Ye Gongchao, Wen Yiduo, Zhu Ziqing and Qian Longshu, among his classmates, Yang Zhenning , Zhu Guangya , Wang Zengqi , etc. During the Anti-Japanese War, , he was also hired by the "Flying Tigers" to serve as the general Chennard . Xu Yuanchong's translation philosophy focused on "beautiful sound, beautiful form, and beautiful meaning", and he translated the foreign classic "htm" l2 John Christopher ", " Gao Lao Man " and "Red and Black" are all well-known. Mr. Xu is also unique in Chinese classical poetry translation, such as Liu Zongyuan's English translation of "Jiang Xue" has become a model. Although he is in his late years, Mr. Xu still translates every day and even goes all night long. The old man takes it as his mission to spread Chinese and foreign cultures throughout his life and never cares about material enjoyment. He still lives in a narrow and narrow way, without an elevator tower, and has difficulty reaching five floors, but he still maintains an optimistic attitude and rides on his own every day As a training exercise, the car is immersed in Shakespeare's beautiful artistic conception and enjoys it. Thank you for taking the time to accept the interview. Mr. Zhu is both strong in his pen."
Xu Yuanchong devoted his life to translation work, and published more than 120 Chinese, English and French literary works such as " Book of Songs ", "Chu Ci", "Selected Poems of Li Bai", "The West Chamber", "Selected Shakespeare", "Red and Black", "Madame Bovary", and "John Christopher" at home and abroad. He is a top expert in translation of Chinese poetry, English and French rhymes. In 2010, he won the "Lifetime Achievement Award of Translation Culture" of the China Translation Association. In August 2014, one of the highest awards in the translation industry, the International Federation of Translation's "Aurora Light" Outstanding Literary Translation Award was awarded to Xu Yuanchong, the first Asian translator to win this honor.
Xu Yuanchong
I was not interested in English when I was a child
1921, Xu Yuanchong was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi . When he was two years old, his mother began to teach him to recognize words, and the rules of his father, who was in charge of finance, also had a subtle influence on him. It can be said that Xu Yuanchong's important criterion for translation was originally due to his parents' childhood teachings.
1926, Mr. Xu entered Nanchang Experimental Primary School and started learning English in the fourth grade. But at that time, Xu Yuanchong was not interested in English. Later, because of the beauty of English songs, Mr. Xu gradually became interested.
"Actually, I was not good at learning English when I was a child. Why? Because Chinese and English are completely different. If you think about daughter, it would be easier to remember it as 'dao Dou'. So learning Chinese was better than English at that time. Because English is not easy to remember), I didn't like English when I was a child. How do I like English? Because I like singing and singing nursery rhymes."
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star.How I wonder what you are! This music is beautiful, so I am interested, but I am not good at learning in elementary school. Why do I need to remember emotional words and not much rationality. When I was in middle school, the first year was better, and I followed the steps. The second grade suddenly became, and I didn’t talk about new words, but I just talked about the text, but the result was bad. That is to say, it was not explained carefully, so my interest was reduced. "
" I was good at English but I got better in high school. When I was in the second grade of high school, the teacher asked our class to memorize 30 short articles, including Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar", the most famous sentence, "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more (It’s not that I don’t love Caesar, but that I love Rome more)’, it’s really beautiful, and it’s easy to memorize it. After memorizing it, imitate it."
has been a very poetic person since childhood
Xu Lao is often known as "the only person who translates poetry from England and France". In his translation of Mao Zedong's poems, Tang poetry and Song lyrics, Yuan songs, , Ming and Qing novels, and "Romeo and Juliet" and "Red and Black", his "Three Beauties" (sound beauty, form beauty, and meaning beauty) theory is fully utilized. This not only comes from his strong perception of beauty, but also has nothing to do with the romantic feelings he has had since childhood. In his autobiography "Dream and Truth", he also records his poems written for the passing of his childhood friend.
In Xu Yuanchong's memory, all male classmates came and went in middle school. After entering Southwest Associated University, he began to have contact with female classmates. When he met himself The girl I love depends on his poetic talent. Xu Yuanchong once wrote an English letter with great enthusiasm, containing two translated poems, one is Lin Huiyin 's " Don't Throw " and the other is Xu Zhimo 's " Accidental ", dedicated to the girl he likes.
1959, Xu Yuanchong took a photo with his wife.
Southwest Associated University fourth year, when he got better, he studied
Southwest Associated University fourth year, when he got better, he studiedYang Zhenning once said: "What I learned at the undergraduate level at Southwest Associated University and what master's students learned in the next two years are even better than the best universities in the United States during the same period. "And Xu Yuanchong also said in the article "United Nations University and Harvard": "United Nations University can be said to be more than Harvard , because it not only had the smartest mind on the earth at that time, but also had the best professors in the world who taught. "
This The Anti-Japanese War during the Anti-Japanese War consisted of Tsinghua , Peking University , Nankai , Nankai in Kunming, bringing together Wen Yiduo, Chen Yinke , Zhu Ziqing, Qian Zhongshu , Shen Congwen , Hu Shi , Wu Mi, Ye Gongchao, Liu Wendian , etc. are famous. The masters of the world have cultivated countless amazing students: Yang Zhenning, Wang Chuanlun, Zhu Guangya, Wang Xiji, Cha Liangzheng , Du Yunxie , He Zhaowu , etc. With these teachers and classmates, Xu Yuanchong spent a wonderful college life and laid the most solid foundation for his subsequent achievements.
Speaking of these well-known great masters, Mr. Xu knew it well. It was Ye Gongchao who taught him that "the style of an author is important, but the grammar is more important. The grammar of a nation is more important than the author's style"; Wen Yiduo taught him to put his feelings into sentences, and Zhu Ziqing taught him the difference in "Fu Bixing"... Xu Yuanchong said: "The biggest advantage of my life is that I learn whenever I see the good. All good teachers, I learn whenever I see the good." "I don't care about your bad things, I just need to care about your benefits. I want to turn your benefits into mine. I am absorbing the benefits of many people now. "
1942, Xu Yuanchong and his classmates took a photo in the British garden near Southwest Associated University.
Yang Zhenning is a person Xu Yuanchong often mentioned on various occasions. When the two became classmates, one was seventeen and the other sixteen, both were admitted to Southwest Associated University for extraordinary admission. They jointly received the education of freedom and democracy of the United Nations. However, after graduating from university, Yang Zhenning went to the United States to continue his pursuit of scientific truth. Xu Yuanchong chose Europe to study the creation of literature and beauty.
Yang Zhenning and Xu Yuanchong often discussed how to translate ancient Chinese poems, such as the poems of Yan Jidao , debating whether to translate it into "fan bottom wind" or "fan shadow wind". "He treats translation with a scientific attitude, I treat translation with an artistic attitude, I value beauty, and he value truth. I thought of what Ye Gongchao said, personal style is not as important as national culture. "
In May 1997, Xu Yuanchong and Yang Zhenning met again after a long separation and took a photo on Tsinghua University .
"Minority" in the translation world
In poetry, Xu Yuanchong wandered all his life. He translated ancient poems, dramas, modern poems , and was unique in the word "elegance", translating a certain charm that can only be understood but not expressed, and more poetic and picturesque. Mr. Qian Zhongshu once praised his translation, "(Qian Zhongshu) thought I was 'danced in handcuffs and shackles, dancing flexibly and freely, which is amazing'.This review is already very high. "
In 2014, the award ceremony for the "Aurora Light" Outstanding Literary Translation Award was held in Beijing.
Mr. Fu Lei said that the so-called best translation is that it seems that foreign authors are writing in Chinese. Xu Yuanchong has always emphasized the beauty of language. Perhaps because of this, he is often questioned, and for a long time, he was also a "minority" in the translation industry. Xu Yuanchong's method of dealing with it is often to make public comparisons and convince people with reason.
is full of confidence because he has enough confidence in his translation. Even in the face of authority, he has never wavered in the principle of the beauty of translation. Even the master of translation Fu Lei , Xu Yuanchong believes that it is not insurmountable. "(Xu Guangrui) wrote an article with more than 10,000 words attached to "John Christopher". Just read his article and you will understand that he (Xu Guangrui) beats him (Fu Lei) in every paragraph. "
Chinese people often say "humility makes people progress", but sometimes, we need to be more confident, believe in our own strength, and be brave to defend our achievements. Xu Yuanchong did this. Some people think he is crazy, but he is cute and crazy and has capital. "I have a saying that I am sorry to say, it is not an academician who is better than an academician, but he has given European and a thousand poems to the United States. Why do I say this? It has to do with him (Zhu Guangya). Later he was the president of Chinese Academy of Engineering . He bought my "Three Hundred Tang Poems (Comparison of Chinese and English)" and each academician had one set and asked them to learn from me. So I said, I am not an academician, and although I am not an academician, all academicians read my books. ”
When interviewing the program team of "Kefan Listening", Xu Yuanchong, who was over 90 years old, still kept translating one page of "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" every day. He could still work until three or four in the morning every day, and was still keen on riding his bicycle out. In his opinion, being able to do what he likes every day is happiness. And his attitude towards life as he learns when he sees good will benefit him for the rest of his life.
"I don't care about longevity and short life. I think that I am a person in life, do my best to get what he likes. Because being with the person you like and doing what you like is happiness. Do your daily things well every day. Also, try to learn as much as possible. ”
Editor in charge: Chengyu
Proofreading: Xu Yijia
