lzh tells me this guy‘s a famous university professor who writes somewhat similarly to Lu Xun, that his university doesn’t like him because he’s too honest (like Lu Xun). Well, unlike the maths teacher who’s reference for lzh’s boss’ son I had to translate a couple of days ago, he writes like he has a good command of the language, and so it’s a fair bit of work for me to read his posts, but I was struck by his latest post, 无话可说/Nothing to Say. It’s a short one, so I’ll translate it here (and as always, corrections and constructive criticism are welcome):
无话可说/Nothing to Say
Xiao Han
这几天，我都在网上看新闻——除了暴雪还有什么新闻？本来是想写点什么的。
These few days, I’ve been reading the news online- apart from the blizzards, what other news is there? Of course, I was wanting to write something.
今天接到一位编辑朋友的约稿函，请我就南方暴雪问题写点什么。可是，说实在的，脆弱得不堪一击的现代文明，就像人本身一样脆弱，在它面前，我无话可说。
Today I received a letter from an editor friend of mine inviting me to write an article, inviting me to write something about the blizzards in the south. But, to tell the truth, modern civilisation is just like a person’s own body, so fragile it can not stand a single blow, and facing it I have nothing to say.
有些事，因为感动而无言；有些事，因为震撼而哑口；还有些事，却因为震惊而失语。
Some things are so moving they leave you speechless; some things are so shocking they strike you dumb; and then there are some things that are so astounding you’re left with nothing to say.
只好用这几句话——虽然无力，衷心地祝愿，困在白色苍茫中的人们，愿你们尽早回到温暖的家，新年团圆！
I can ony use these few words- weak as they are, these are my heartfelt wishes, people stranded in the boundless white, I hope you return to your warm homes as early as possible, to a New Year reunited with your family.
So yeah, I took a few liberties rearranging things in English, but I think I got the right meaning. But I’m impressed with Xiao Han, and although he writes (naturally) at something above my level, I’m going to try a few longer pieces, too.
Let’s face it, real world study is infinitely more interesting than textbook study.
Of course, I won’t be abandoning the textbook- real world articles and essays and novels don’t take the time to sit down and explain points of grammar or those other little niceties of language to you. I just intend to keep mixing the textbook study up with real world study to keep my interest levels up, first of all, and give me a leg up into real world written Chinese.
