| A Tribute to Shandy |
[May. 7th, 2006|07:52 am] |
When I was in Yangshuo in December 2004, I was very lucky to meet a wonderful young woman named Shandy. That's her English name, her Chinese name is 秦建荣 Qín Jiànróng. She was my tour guide at the time, and we got to know each other a little bit. After I got back to the U.S., we stayed in touch, and just recently, I finally made it back to Yangshuo to visit her again. These days she calls me 哥哥 Gēge (which means big brother) and I call her 妹妹 Mèimei (little sister). It's rare that I've met someone so kind, honest, and giving. Here's a picture of her in her natural element, on a bamboo raft on the Li River:
She recently sent me a letter in Chinese, and I put off reading it for a while, because it was a little bit hard. Well, yesterday, I finally buckled down and deciphered it. Like a lot of hand-written Chinese, it was hard to read, because a lot of the characters were difficult to discern, even though I know that she must have made an effort to write clearly. It was also difficult because she used a lot of words that I don't know. In fact, I had to give her a call and get her help on a few of them. The results are spectacular, in my opinion. It's a beautiful letter, very poetic, and she gave me permission to put it here on my blog. Here it is, first in Chinese, and then my attempt at a translation. I think my translation doesn't do the original justice. If anyone has any comments on the translation (i.e. if I got anything wrong) please let me know.
啊! 好多的竹排呀! 看一对对俊男美女坐在竹排上悠闲的漂流在美而静的遇龙河上, 遇龙河啊遇龙河你到底有啥子魅力呀尽然能够吸引全国各地的男女老少。俊男美女在你宽广的胸怀里划来划去. 任由他(她)们怎么在你的身上用竹篙用力抽打你都不会喊一声疼。反而还亲切的舔他(她)们以下。就象伟大的母亲对待自己的儿女一样。遇龙河呀你有何尝不是我们的中华儿女的母亲呢! 瞧. 你每天都带给我们中华儿女的快乐, 兴奋, 刺激, 哇。偎依在母亲怀里的每一个儿女都是那么那么那么的开心。好幸福啊!
母亲不仅对自己的儿女照顾好还热烈的欢迎不同国土不同肤色, 不同语言, 不同文化 ...... 的儿女光临。对待他(她)们和对待自己的儿女一样。在你宽大的胸怀里任由我们怎么和这些来自不同地方的兄弟姐妹们欢乐。我们还一起互相学习, 互相切磋不同的文化不同的历史, 不同的背景 ...... 遇龙河我们的母亲你给我们带来快乐。带来知识, 带来朋友 ...... 我们真为有这样一位母亲而感到自豪!
Ah! So many bamboo rafts! Look at that handsome boy and beautiful girl on the raft leisurely drifting on the beautiful and calm Yulong River. Yulong, Yulong, so charming, you can attract the whole country, from every place, young and old. Handsome boys and beautiful girls row back and forth on your vast bosom. No matter how they thrash you with their bamboo poles, you never cry out in pain. Instead, you gently kiss them, like a magnificent mother would treat her own children. [I'm not quite sure of this next sentence.] Ah Yulong River, you aren't only the mother of us, your Chinese children. Look, every day you give your Chinese children happiness and excitement. Snuggling in the mother's arms the children are so, so, so happy. Oh, so delightful!
The mother doesn't only care for her own children, but also ardently welcomes children of different nationalities, different colors, different languages, and different cultures. She treats them the same as her own children. [This next sentence is quite hard, and I'm not sure of this translation.] In your vast embrace, no matter where we come from or how we come, we brothers and sisters are all welcome. We all study together, sharing with each other different cultures, histories and backgrounds ... Yulong, our mother, you bring us all joy, knowledge, and friendship ... we are all very proud to have a mother such as you! |
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