内容简介
《文月华的中国日记》这本书讲述了文月华跟随丈夫来到中国,在中国的动荡时局中所经历的颠沛流离的生活。
这篇文章的背景是中国政治时局比较动乱的二十年代。1925年文月华跟随丈夫来到中国传教,前前后后去过中国的很多城市,文章记载了1925-1968年中国当时的社会环境大背景。从一个加拿大女性和母亲的视角反应了这段往事。所翻译的三章节内容时间段是1925年-1926年,其中讲述了文月华丈夫的传教经历、文月华认识中国社会现状后幻想破灭的事实、文月华夫妇以及其他传教士在中国学习语言的过程。在此期间,文月华记下了她所见到的中国恶劣的生活环境、以及战争爆发后的中国种种现状。
在所翻译的三章节中,文月华因种种原因搬家两次。她在中国与他的丈夫一起进行传教工作,经历了反对外国人的事件,感受到了中国日益成长的民族主义。她开始学习中文。没过多久她怀孕了。在怀孕的这段时间里,他们享受了非常短暂的平静时光。但因为中国的战争现实,他们不得不搬去郑州。他们开启了新的生活,并重新适应新挑战。
理解和翻译该文,有助于了解中国当时的政治时局以及中西方文化差异。原著描述详细,其中插入书信,更加准确、细致地记录了那段往事。
该材料翻译难度适中,可以清楚理解文章大意,但有的词汇语句需推敲,要表达清楚有一定难度,有一定挑战。一方面,通过翻译实践了解文中人物刻画、事件描述等技巧;另一方面进行此项翻译实践可以提升翻译能力,是一次有益尝试。
INTRODUCTION
China Diary is a book describing Mary, a Canadian woman, came to China with her husband, and lived in the drift in warlord China.
Its background is the unrest 19th of China. In 1925, Mary came to China with her husband to engage themselves in the missionary work. They went to several cities between 1925 and 1968. The book conserves the social environment of that period. It states these past events of the turbulent time from a Canada woman’s sight.
The three chapters translated are stories between 1925 and 1926, describing her husband’s missionary experiences, the ruin of her imagination by the reality of China and the process of their language study in China. During this time, the author wrote down the bad living environment in China, the situation after the war broke out and the differences between Chinese and Western culture.
In the three chapters, Mary moved to two places for different reasons. She accompanied his husband Jim to have missionary work in China and suffered overt anti-foreign hostility and felt the growing Chinese nationalism. She began to study Chinese. Then she was pregnant. During her pregnancy, they enjoyed the short peaceful time in the golden valley. But because of the reality of missionary life in warlord China, they had to move to another small town in Chungchow. They started their new life and tried to adapt to their new challenge.
By translating this piece of material, we can know the history of China in that period and understand the differences between Chinese and Western culture. The original text describes in detail, and inserts letters, which help record the history more accurately and sharply.
The article has appropriate degree of difficulty. Therefore, we can know its meaning clearly. But some words and sentences need to be taken at the second thought for their implicit meanings, a big challenge to the translator. Translating this material helps learn the skills of figure depiction and event description. It is a meaningful attempt to get close to historical events and characters through the translation.