Reprinted people's network
Academic research is quite professional. TV adaptation is ridiculous.
It was the afternoon of April 15 this year, and the weather in new york was a little hot. However, in the lecture hall of Columbia University, more than 200 listeners were packed. They are listening to "Revealing a Dream of Red Mansions" by Liu, a famous writer in China. The wonderful speech constantly aroused warm applause and cheers. At the end of the speech, a Chinese-American youth came forward and said excitedly to Liu, "Although you didn't fully understand it, your Mandarin is very good! Such beautiful Chinese is just like music, which is very touching. " This makes Liu, who has made careful preparations for the speech, really don't know what to say, and it also vividly reflects most Americans' understanding of China and the four classical novels.
"Like a drop of rain, falling into the vast sea"
Mr. Liu's trip to the United States has attracted great attention from the domestic media. Various media reported on the topic of "Liu's talk with the United States about the popularity of the Red Mansion, which set off a wave of classical literature" and "Liu's speech on" Revealing the Red Mansion "had a strong response in the United States", describing in detail the grand occasion on the day of the speech, such as "local red fans swarmed". Before the lecture began, the entire lecture hall was packed "; "Liu's visit to the United States to give lectures has set off a new wave of classical literature in the United States, and major media have reported that Liu will give lectures at Columbia University"; "Columbia University designated April 15 as" Liu Ri "... for a time, people felt that Americans were obsessed with A Dream of Red Mansions and had a strong interest in China's classical culture. Is that really the case?
Liu told reporters a different story. "On that day, new york held hundreds of cultural activities at the same time. There was a seminar about Angkor Wat, and an Eastern European writer was signing books ... "Because the speech was in Chinese, more than 200 listeners were almost yellow-skinned and black-haired. Including Hispanics, the audience of non-Chinese is only about 10, and a white man leaves halfway. "A Dream of Red Mansions is too difficult for them!" Many young China listeners were born and raised in the United States, and they also know a little about A Dream of Red Mansions. "They want to feel the culture of their motherland."
Liu told reporters that the purpose of the lecture held by the US side is not to publicize "how to correctly understand A Dream of Red Mansions" to Americans, but to let ordinary Americans know that "China's great writer Cao Xueqin wrote a great novel" with popular and vivid speeches. On that day, Liu felt very sorry that he could not speak English. "Language is one of the main obstacles to the cultural exchange between China and the United States." When a reporter asked what role a trip to the United States could play in the cultural exchange between China and the United States, Liu vividly replied, "It's like a drop of rain falling into the vast sea."
During his visit to the United States, Liu was very surprised that many authentic Americans knew nothing about China culture. "It's appalling. In Texas, there are Americans who ask me that women in China still have feet and men have braids! "
Four Great Classical Novels is hard to find in bookstores.
After staying in America for a long time, it is not difficult to understand Mr. Liu's surprise. China's four classical novels still belong to the category of "ivory tower" works in the American book market, and are rarely seen in American bookstores. It seems that the rising "Chinese fever" and "China fever" have not yet reached the level of China's classical literature. When you walk into an ordinary American bookstore, you will find the most China books, such as Tao Te Ching, Sun Tzu's Art of War, Feng Shui and Cooking, as well as novels and informative books related to the Cultural Revolution.
Not long ago,
The reporter went to the bookstore set up by the famous Smithsonian Museum in Washington to search the shelves of China literature. He only saw the English version of A Dream of Red Mansions published by American Penguin Publishing House (the title of this version is Stone). The staff of the bookstore told me that according to the computer records, the bookstore had been to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin and The Journey to the West before, but I don't know why I didn't renew the books after they were sold out. As only a few professional bookstores sell English versions of China's Four Classical Novels, some readers can only order them online.
Among the four classical novels, the most popular one is the Water Margin translated by American writer Pearl Buck that year, and its English translation is called All Men Are Brothers within the Four Seas. 1938 pearl s buck's speech of thanks at the nobel prize awarding ceremony, entitled "China's novels". She said: China's classical novels are as irresistible as those of any other country in the world. A truly well-educated person should know such classic works as A Dream of Red Mansions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. All Men Are Brothers in the Four Seas was on the best-seller list in the United States at that time, but there were still many mistakes in translation. For example, the translation of book titles was criticized by Lu Xun. 108 The nicknames of generals are usually literal. For example, Flower Monk Lu translated as "Flower Monk", and Sun Erniang translated as "Nightmare".
In contrast, the Monkey King, who has a good sense of humor and kung fu, is more attractive to ordinary Americans. Many Americans know the story of Journey to the West. The English version is Monkey, and other translations include Monkey King, The Adventures of Monkey Brother, Monkey Brother's Learning from the Buddhist Scriptures, The Chivalrous Pig and the Adventures of Ghosts and Ghosts. Unfortunately, after Journey to the West was translated into English, many hidden allusions and implications were lost, which eclipsed most of his works. Various versions of The Journey to the West translated by Jenner and published by foreign languages press, China are very popular, but some American readers report that the printing quality and binding technology of the book seem to need to be improved.
As for Dream of Red Mansions, which ranks first among the four classical novels, American high school and university world history textbooks will mention it as one of China's greatest novels. These textbooks often describe the decline of the Qing Dynasty by introducing A Dream of Red Mansions. A Dream of Red Mansions is called Romeo and Juliet of China by some critics in the United States. Generally speaking, Americans don't pay much attention to the concept of clan, but the complicated family relations and the names of many characters in A Dream of Red Mansions confuse American readers.
For young American video game fans, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not very strange. A few years ago, a video game called Warrior II was all the rage among American teenagers. Warrior II of the Dynasty is based on the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The names of people and places are from the original works, and there is also a "martial arts" pinyin button on the control panel, but the language and music have been "completely westernized". However, Warrior II has led many American teenagers to "seek their roots" in the original work. Richard Kang, a young man living in new york, discovered The Romance of the Three Kingdoms in this way and was deeply attracted by the original work. He told reporters that he really learned what loyalty, heroism and military strategy are from the book, and understood the truth that China people "will be separated if they stay together for a long time, but will be together if they leave for a long time" from a historical perspective. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, translated by Moss Roberts and published in foreign languages press, China, is very popular in various versions, while the title of another translation is translated into Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"Academic professionalism even exceeds that of China"
"The United States is a pluralistic society. Although most ordinary Americans don't know the four classical novels, some experts in academia are even more professional than China scholars. " Mr. Liu said to me.
Professor Lekman Jenny, a famous sinologist at Yale University in the United States, has studied the four classical novels, and published four monographs on them several years ago. According to this book, A Dream of Red Mansions is the eternal soul of China culture. It is the profound humanistic artistic conception of A Dream of Red Mansions that makes it the best of China's four classical novels.
Yale University also has a dream master-Professor Shi Jingqian. 1936 was born in London, England. 1959 went to Yale university to study for a doctorate in modern history of China. Shi Jingqian is a Dream of Red Mansions. He went to the Palace Museum to collect first-hand information, did a lot of research, and finished his doctoral thesis "Cao Yin and Emperor Kangxi". This paper is quite original, published as a book in 1966, and cited by many China scholars. Shi Jingqian also asked his students to read at least one of the four classic novels.
Let the Tang Priest kiss Guanyin.
Some Americans ignore Four Great Classical Novels, some Americans study Four Great Classical Novels, and some Americans like to adapt Four Great Classical Novels according to their own ideas. Four Great Classical Novels's adaptation is often beyond recognition, which makes people in China laugh and cry.
Four TV series adapted from Journey to the West have been broadcast on NBC TV network in the United States. In the play, Guanyin Bodhisattva actually fell in love with Tang Priest, and there was a scene where they kissed. Many people in China don't feel angry after reading it, and all the comments are "ridiculous" and "absurd".
In June this year, it was reported that Spielberg, a famous American director, had started the adaptation of The Journey to the West, and another American film, The Journey to the West, will be released in 2008. However, the six-year-old China actor who has successfully played the Monkey King is deeply worried about this: "I am worried that he will turn the Monkey King into King Kong!"
"The four great classical novels will surely attract the attention of more and more Americans."
A scholar who studied the history of China with Professor Shi Jingqian at Yale University in 1980s told reporters that under the influence of Shi Jingqian, she read four great classical novels completely during her college years. This scholar fully agrees with Shi Jingqian that Four Great Classical Novels is the essence of China culture. To truly understand China culture, we must first understand four classic novels.
Ms. Ji Zhao Jin, project coordinator of China Studies Department of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced Foreign Affairs, told the reporter that in recent years, American public high schools began to increase Chinese courses and related exams, and the teaching content and exam topics focused on China's history and cultural knowledge. Many departments of East Asian or China Studies in American universities have offered courses on the study of A Dream of Red Mansions. Some universities include A Dream of Red Mansions in the list of books recommended by students.
Ji said that when the "Chinese fever" in the United States extends to a deeper level, China's classics will surely attract more and more Americans' attention. It can be predicted that in the near future, the four classic novels will enter more American ordinary bookstores and books read by ordinary Americans.