The word fellowship, because I grew up in a church, is my understanding of this word: a group with the same beliefs, helping each other and helping each other. Everyone thinks that others are better than themselves, and they are moving towards the same goal together.
In the story, nine members of the expedition went through hardships and completed the task of fighting monsters and extinguishing precepts respectively. In reality, three translators, two responsibility editor and a cover designer all went through the same ordeal. After a year and a half of hard work, this translation can be presented to the elderly and readers in China.
Tell the story first, then tell the real experience.
The friendship behind the story
Tolkien made three best friends in high school: C. Wiseman, R. gilson and G.B. Smith. They formed a small club called T.C.B.S (Tea Club, Barrow Society), and the four of them often get together to talk about their interests, ambitions and future.
When they were in college, World War I broke out. After graduation, all four of them were drafted into the army and sent to the front. 1 965438+July 20061day, gilson was killed on the first day of the British war against Germany. When Tolkien learned the news, he wrote to Smith and said, "I don't feel complete anymore;" I really think T.C.B.S is over. But Smith wrote back to him and said, "T.C.B.S is not over, and it will never end." "
A month later, Tolkien and Smith met for the last time. Smith was killed in that year1February. Four good friends went out at the same time and lost half their lives in less than a year. Smith wrote a letter to Tolkien before he died:
"My greatest comfort is that if I die tonight-I can discharge my duties in a few minutes-the great T.C.B.S is still alive, I can tell what I have always dreamed of and explain what we agreed to do. I'm pretty sure the death of any T.C.B.S member can't dissolve it. Death will make us feel disgust and despair, but it can't end the immortal quartet! I'm going to explore a way to communicate with gilson before going to bed tonight. You can write and tell weismann about it. God bless you, dear John. If I am unlucky, I hope that after I have left for a long time, you can still say what I want to say but I can't. "
1955, nearly forty years after Smith's death, The Lord of the Rings was published, and four Hobbits became famous all over the world.
Friendship in the story
The colorful story content of The Lord of the Rings can present a variety of reading orientations, among which friendship is the simplest and most basic. The friendship between the nine members of the Lord of the Rings Expedition, which spans race, class and age, and spans a long time and space, can live and die with * * *, and can live forever, was established after many tests.
accompany
What is the greatest use of friends? I think it's the company.
At the beginning of the story, three friends accompanied Frodo on an adventure. Frodo's parents died when he was a child. Fortunately, he has very sincere friends to accompany him all his life. Frodo didn't want to drag his friends down from the beginning. He vaguely knew that he was taking a road of no return. He didn't want his friends to die with him.
Speaking of which, when the four of them were caught by the ancient burial demon, Frodo's first thought was to put on the ring and escape alone. Adversity tests friendship. Most of us want to be loyal to our friends and often think of ourselves as loyal people, but "when friendship interferes with our own desires, we can easily find reasons to terminate or shorten our commitments." It's not difficult to accompany friends, but it's not as easy to be faithful as you think.
There are many touching companions in the book, such as Legolas and Gimli, Merry and Pippin, but the most thorough companion is of course Sam to Frodo. Sam indomitable, desperate company, really envy Frodo have such a loyal friend. However, Sam's seemingly natural companionship is actually tested, and he has never wavered.
In front of the West Gate of Moria, Sam made a quick choice between Little Bill and his master for the first time. This test is not difficult. The second time was in Lorraine. He saw in Galadriel's water mirror that his hometown was destroyed and his father was in trouble. His first reaction was to go home, but what about Frodo? This choice is really difficult. The third time, under Chilisogota, Frodo died this time. He could have run away, and no one would blame him for being heartless. However, after a heartbreaking struggle and overcoming loneliness and fear, Sam made an amazing choice and saved this task that was on the verge of failure.
The profound friendship between Sam and Frodo was established after facing the crisis, thinking and choosing. Friendship between life and death will not fall from the sky, and Sam is willing to firmly support Frodo to the end. After setting this idea, we must practice step by step in order to persevere.
Bear the failure together.
Tolkien's expedition of nine people made me look forward to it. The most important thing is that they can bear each other's failure. It is not easy for friends to suffer hardships, and they can bear the failure together when they suffer hardships. Such friends should be cherished. Think about it, if a friend's mistakes and failures will bring trouble to your life, can you still accept him to share the burden with him?
Who was the first member of the expedition to make a mistake and fail? It's the great wizard Gandalf. He first delayed the pursuit of Gollum and let Soren know the names of Shire and Baggins. Then, he entrusted the innkeeper Butterwood Chrysanthemum to send a letter to Frodo. Butterwood was too busy and forgetful, Frodo set out too late, and was chased by the black knight all the way, and almost died. Frodo, who bears the consequences of Gandalf's two mistakes, was seriously injured. Although he arrived in the valley in time and was rescued by Ellund, he never recovered. After the expedition set out on the road, facing the perilous snow-capped mountains, Gandalf insisted on taking the Moria Mine, and as a result, he fell into the abyss with Everett, leaving the whole expedition without a leader. The consequences of this miscalculation and defeat are borne by other players, and the burden of leadership falls on Aragon.
The second major failure of the expedition was caused by two people. Aragon and Polomir are not ordinary people. From the appendix of The Lord of the Rings, we know that Aragon was the general of Gondor and Lohan, and won the battle of Prime Minister Gondor and King Lohan. He is also the chief of the descendants of the Numenor people in the north. He is experienced in making decisions, and he is not ignorant. But under his leadership, the expedition fell apart and Polomir paid the price of his life.
The expedition fled Moria, and Aragon took on the task of leader. He fled all the way, forgetting the injured Frodo and Sam. A group of people fled to Lorraine to recuperate. No matter how many days they stayed, he didn't make up his mind ―― emotionally, he wanted to go to the west with Polomir to save Minas Tirith. Intellectually, he knew that he had the responsibility to accompany Frodo to Mordor in the East, but his will was hard to decide. Aragon's indecision was the main reason for the dissolution of the expedition, and when a man was guarding Gondor, General Polomir came out and destroyed all this, so everyone had to dissolve.
Polomir proved that he was a real hero by atoning for his life. Polomir was a brave and confident general. He guarded the city of Minas Tirith and resisted waves of oak trees. He never failed. But his confidence gave the ring a chance. The Lord of the Rings bewitched him, made him rob him, and made him want to attack the shield with a child's spear. When it comes to confusion, Aragon is almost as bad as Polomir. This wanderer is worthy of the name. He wanted to see the glory of his ancestors on the hillside of Armond. He first dumped Sam for three or two steps and rushed to the top of the mountain to sit on the throne. Then, because he couldn't get down in time to help his teammate who was attacked by the oak tree, Merry Pippin was exiled, Polomir died, and Frodo Sam was in danger alone.
The consequences of the failure of two powerful human beings are excellent for Merry and Pippin. These two little hobbits, who don't know much about their height, experienced pains that they never dreamed of, and the result was growth and strength. Polomir, the powerful commander of Gondor, gave his life to defend two insignificant little Hobbits, which deeply shocked the two young men. From now on, they must prove the significance of Polomir's sacrifice with their own lives. So, they first awakened Ente and slaughtered Saruman; Then Merry accompanied Owen to kill the leader of the nazgul, and Pippin risked his life to save faramir. Otherwise, it would be a pity that golden couple had no life to meet and get married in Gondor.
The third and most thrilling mistakes and failures in the book happened to Sam and Frodo.
In the spider's nest, Sam desperately accused Gollum of sneaking around, which was an unforgivable mistake. Originally, my heart lit up and I almost regretted it. Under this reprimand, the kind Smigo was gone forever. Every time I read this, I always sigh, which is hard to let go for a long time. Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo accumulated countless pity for Gollum, and at the moment when they were close to success, they were blown away by a stupid Sam's words. Frodo will bear the consequences of Sam's mistake. They were betrayed by Gollum to Shilob, and Frodo was injured again and never recovered.
Frodo's failure is obvious to all. Whether it's Gandalf, Garad Riel, Erlong, Aragon, Legolas, Gimli, or Merry and Pippin, when they see that he is missing a finger, they will immediately understand what happened. Frodo's failure cost all the good creatures in the world their lives, the whole western army, the villagers and elders in the shire, and all these friends who fought with him. But no one blamed him, because the wise men knew that in the hinterland of Sauron's lair, no one could resist the power of the supreme ring.
Throughout the book, the battle between light and darkness, good and evil can be saved several times and the situation can be reversed. The key is that the expedition team is willing to accept and bear each other's mistakes and failures. Otherwise, as early as after Gandalf's death, everyone can go their separate ways and flee for their lives.
Have a nice party.
* * * Friends in need can finally raise their glasses * * * Joy, how happy life is. Celebration dinner on the night of Yuan Dynasty, and Gondor's wedding on the day of midsummer. Think about it. Without the four hobbits he met in Bree, Legolas and Gimli who traveled thousands of miles with him, and the old Gandalf who made him a bad leader, Aragon, who eventually became king, would be so lonely at these celebrations.
In fact, they have lived through life and death friendship until death do us part. In Zhongzhou, Merry and Pippin accompanied Aragon; Among the western fairyland, there are Gandalf, Bilbo, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo and Sam. As time goes by, Bilbo, Frodo, Sam and Gimli will die one after another, and only Grandpa Gan can chat in Loi Siu. However, in Tolkien's mythical world, one day, China and time will end, and evil will be extinct forever. At that time, everything will gather in front of the Supreme God Iruvita, and the nine members of the expedition will meet again, hug and talk about the past.
Friendship in the real world
The story of the The Lord of the Rings League has come to a successful conclusion. In the reality of the Lord of the Rings Alliance, I should thank God for letting me meet a partner who is also a Lord of the Rings fan. We can work together, shoulder the task together, and complete the translation task through mutual support and encouragement.
Tolkien was 45 when he wrote The Lord of the Rings, and he was over 60 when he finished. This 16 year is the most mature and essential years in the life of a scholar and writer. In the face of the master's masterpiece, which combines his lifelong belief and philosophy, it is precisely because of years of familiarity that I dare not treat it lightly. Shi Zhongge (responsible for translating preface and appendix, indexing and revising the whole book) and Du Yunci (responsible for poetry translation) are Lord of the Rings fans I met online in 2003 and 2004. If they don't help me, even if I have the heart, I will be like Frodo the Hobbit.
Translation problem
There are three major problems to be overcome in translating Tolkien's The Myth of China. First, there is no Chinese template to refer to; Second, Tolkien's original special language; Third, countless detailed descriptions, those trivial to collapse details, must be translated completely.
As a translator for twenty years, I have a clever way to translate literary works, looking for similar or similar Chinese works as a reference for translation style and vocabulary. Finding the right answer is half the battle. Tolkien's Mid-continent Myth has no corresponding examples in the Chinese world. Translators must innovate independently in both classical literature and modern literature. I thought about it for a long time when I translated Elf Diamond in 2002. Finally, my writing style and vocabulary are based on the Old Testament. After the book was published, most readers gave me positive responses, which made me know that I had done something right. Compared with Poké mon Diamond, The Lord of the Rings's narrative style and difficulty can be described as the contrast between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese, and it is not difficult to set the tone.
As for the deciphering of the elvish, dwarf and oak languages in Tolkien's original works, with the help of Google search and friends who know elvish, it is no longer a big problem.
The real difficulty for me to translate The Lord of the Rings well is the third point. Tolkien spent 16 years painting countless details, confusing English, and many old gentlemen's intentional or unintentional ambiguities, all of which made me scratch the wall and say disrespectful things. When I collapsed and went crazy, I even had the heart to dig a grave.
It was at these moments that my allies Shi Zhongge and Du Yunci, as well as Zhang Duo and Zhu Yixing gave me the greatest support.
support
Without Shi Zhongge's help and Du Yunci's promise to help translate this poem, I can't undertake the heavy responsibility of retranslating the Chinese version of The Lord of the Rings. Such cooperation is unprecedented. Du Fu's poems are superior to mine in both Chinese and English, but they modestly and selflessly cooperate with my translation style and sense of language. I also adopt their suggestions and accept their revisions, so as to make the style of the book as it is. In the process of translation, Shi Zhongge and I often discuss the translation or translation name on Gtalk all night to make the translation accurate. I think, in the face of many examples of cooperative translation failure, we can succeed because of our strong love for the Chinese world, our understanding of the alliance, our trust in each other, our mutual help and support, and our common goal.
In the process of translation day after day, we cultivate a tacit understanding of cooperation to a certain extent. In a hurry to write a manuscript, there is no time to interrupt the train of thought. I only mark "write notes" after a noun or event. Where I finished it after I planned, people in North America often wrote notes when I woke up, and most of the time I wrote them in more detail than I expected. As for those places that I didn't translate properly, after her painstaking tailoring, they completely presented the charming original appearance of Zhongzhou.
In the ten months when I was working behind closed doors, I was bored and depressed countless times, all of which were amused by Miao Yan's quip to Shi Zhongge, which made me cheer up and continue to work hard. Du Yunci's dedicated poetry translation made me feel completely relieved to see those wonderful translations and know that I entrusted the right person. Zhang Duo, the editor-in-chief, tolerated my delay in submitting the manuscript again and again, endured my temper, and always coaxed me, making me feel ashamed to see Gandalf every time I saw him in the future.
complete the task
The Lord of the Rings, which was selected by western readers as the greatest work of the 20th century, was finally released on June 10 this year, thanks to the efforts of the production team in mainland China, translators from Taiwan Province Province and North America, and designers from Hong Kong. This translation, which embodies the strength of Chinese people and is dedicated to Chinese readers around the world, is a tribute to Tolkien, the master of the Lord of the Rings Alliance. It is a continuation of the past, benefiting from the inspiration of past translation, and also opens a new paradigm for future Chinese translation.