中英双语新闻——218 Prize ‘outside expectation’

 　　Mo Yan has become the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

 
　　莫言成为首位获得诺贝尔文学奖的中国籍作家。
 
　　“Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives, Mo Yan created a world reminiscent in its complexity 1 of those in the writing of (American writer) William Faulkner and (Columbian writer) Gabriel García Márquez, at the same time finding a departure point in old Chinese literature and in oral literature,” said the award statement released on Oct 11.
 
　　10月11日公布的诺贝尔颁奖公告中写道：“将魔幻现实主义与民间故事、历史与当代社会融合在一起，他创作的世界令人联想起福克纳（美国作家）和马尔克斯（哥伦比亚作家）作品的融合，同时又在中国传统文学和口头文学中寻找到一个出发点。”
 
　　“I grew up in an environment immersed with folk culture, which inevitably 2 comes in to my novels when I pick up a pen to write. This has definitely affected 3, even decided 4, my works’ artistic 5 style,” Mo told a group of reporters in his hometown of Gaomi, Shandong, shortly after he won the award.
 
　　获奖后不久，莫言在家乡山东高密接受记者采访时表示：“民间艺术、民间文化伴随着我成长，我从小耳濡目染这些文化元素，当我拿起笔来进行文学创作的时候，这些民间文化元素就不可避免地进入了我的小说，也影响甚至决定了我的作品的艺术风格。”
 
　　Although China boasts a tradition of literature and scholarship, few writers have won international acclaim 6. For this reason, the Nobel Prize in Literature has always been an aspiration 7 for Chinese writers.
 
　　虽然中国有着引以为傲的文学和学术传统，但很少有本土作家获得过国际赞誉。因此，摘得诺贝尔文学奖成为中国作家的夙愿。
 
　　“I really didn’t see this coming,” Lu Jiande, director of the Institute of Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told 21st Century. “I know Mo Yan pretty well and one thing a lot of people don’t know is how good he is with words.”
 
　　中国社会科学院文学所所长陆建德在接受《二十一世纪英文报》记者采访时表示：“我真的没有想到。我很了解莫言，而很多人都不清楚他驾驭文字的功力到底有多棒。”
 
　　“His calligraphy 8 is surprisingly beautiful. In his writing, he can make words live and breathe,” Lu said. “He is far ahead of other Chinese in the sense that he takes the critical perspective inside first, starting from criticizing himself instead of the outside world.”
 
　　陆建德说：“他的文笔出奇地优美。在他笔下，他可以让文字鲜活起来，仿佛具有生命。他自身首先具备一种批判的视角，在批评外部世界之前，他先自我批判一番。从这一点上来讲，他远远领先于其他国人。”
 
　　Mo created a cast of colorful characters and said that if there was a prototype, it would be the abandoned “black boy” who first appeared in the 1985 novel Red Transparent 9 Radish, which bears imprints 10 of the author’s childhood.
 
　　莫言创作出了一众鲜活的人物形象。他说，如果非要在他的小说中找一个原型，那一定是被抛弃的“黑孩”。这个人物首次出现是在莫言1985年创作的小说《透明的红萝卜》中，他身上有着作者小时候的影子。
 
　　Mo dropped out of school and became a cattle herder as a child. At 20, he left his hometown and joined the army.
 
　　莫言从小辍学，自幼便在家乡放牧。20岁时，他离家参军。
 
　　Gaomi county is where most of Mo’s stories happen. It’s a place that has inspired him throughout his 31-year writing career.
 
　　莫言小说中的故事多发生在高密县。在31年的写作生涯中，这个地方激发出他许多的创作灵感。
 
　　Many got to know of Mo through director Zhang Yimou’s film, Red Sorghum 11. It was adapted from his 1986 novel of the same name, bringing to life a visual landscape of red sorghum fields and a fiery 12 setting sun. Set in Gaomi, the novel tells the story of a sedan carrier who saves the bride he is carrying from bandits and later marries her.
 
　　许多人是通过张艺谋导演的电影《红高粱》才知道莫言的。这部电影改编自莫言1986年的同名小说，它再现了火红斜阳下一片红高粱地的景象。小说背景设置在高密县，讲述了一个轿夫从土匪手中救出新娘，并与之喜结连理的故事。
 
　　Mo left the army in 1997 and gradually developed a writing style all of his own. History, family sagas 13, blood and violence are frequent elements in his most famous works, such as Big Breasts and Wide Hips 14 or Sandalwood Penalty.
 
　　莫言1997年退伍，逐渐树立自己独特的写作风格。历史、家族史诗、血腥和暴力是他诸多名作中的常见元素，相关主题作品有《丰乳肥臀》和《檀香刑》。
 
　　Some critics point out that Mo’s works have a tendency toward vulgarity.
 
　　有些评论家指出，莫言的作品有粗俗化的倾向。
 
　　In an interview with South China Morning Post, Professor Xiao Ying of Tsinghua University said the award was “outside of my expectations, as Mo Yan’s works are still short on the idealism of pursuing humanity, which marks previous Nobel literature prize winners”.
 
　　在接受《南华早报》采访时，清华大学教授肖颖（音译）说，这个奖项“出乎我的意料，因为莫言的作品仍然缺乏追寻人性的理想主义，而这正是衡量前几任诺贝尔文学奖得主的因素。”
 
　　“Mo Yan’s works are rather vulgar and dark and lack a sincere sympathy and respect for human beings and life,” Xiao said.
 
　　肖颖还说：“莫言的作品过于粗俗、黑暗，缺乏对人类以及生活的真诚共鸣与尊重。”
 
　　Lu said Mo’s works had a richness and complexity beyond the publicity 15 his books usually enjoyed. However, he also pointed 16 out that “in general, Chinese literature tends to be overly admiring of sheer power, and unquestioningly approving of human desire and materiality.
 
　　陆建德说，莫言的作品比大众所宣传的更加丰满且复杂。然而，他也指出，总体看来，中国文学往往极度推崇绝对权力，对人类欲望以及物欲照单全收。
 
　　“We haven’t been critical enough of the weakness, dark side and distortion of human nature,” he said.
 
　　“我们对弱点、黑暗面以及人性扭曲的批判还不够。”他说道。