Wu Yan age that big, always wanted to go visit him, is delayed. Finally, one afternoon in early summer this year, in the hospital wards, and the translation industry seniors met with the first side, but hit it off, listen to his endless talk about translation.
I said, Mr. Wu is a translator, the first translation is that? This opened the Wu Yan's phonograph. He said his first translation is Leo Tolstoy's "Cossacks." This is based on their love of Tolstoy's novel written in the story masterpiece. He originally planned trilogy written series, and the first time after spending at least a decade, constantly writing to modify, not easily finalized. Later, he lost a thousand rubles for money, sometimes no money, only to "Cossacks" manuscript sold to a publisher. Perhaps this unpleasant blow Tolstoy, since he did not write the second, third. Fortunately, the first "Cossacks," a self separate chapter. Novel was published, Turgenev said: "I read" Cossacks "and whom ecstasy!" Wu Yan said that in war time, he began to translate the book is translated from the English Oxford edition. Because of the war, he hid in Suzhou in the country, nothing else, secretly translated. After the war, he bought an updated version of the English version of the book, then turn one off his own translation of the revision, including punctuation and segmentation are based on updated to correct the eleven. Even so, he also worried that translated the wrong place, then please Tin Jo, the school has at least two friends read the Tao. Finally, Mr. Lv Shuxiang and carefully through the school again. So, Wu Yan was safe to cross the translation of the open book, published in September 1949. After the founding chief editor of the arts according to the time of Wang Yuan-hua Ren Xinwen recommendations issued book reprinted. Printed in March 1954 before the Wu Yan and the school again, an increase of a new translation of Tolstoy's short story "attack" and the translator of the "Postscript."
Wu Yan speak the rise, and I advised him to rest, he refused. Since no teeth, while he stresses the side Zazhe mouth, issued a "Bata, Bata" sound, is very interesting. He would chat with me in Shanghai, the discourse reveals a soft waxy Suzhou accent. Wu Yan whose real name is Jia-Jin, 12, was born in 1918, Wu County, Suzhou, and its primary and secondary schools are in Suzhou read. About the origin of the pseudonym, he said, had used the blue smoke, Chang Chu, Wei Ye, dill and many other pen names, one after the SPINE advised him fixed for good, use the "Wu Yan", that is Suzhou, the heart as stone tough.
In fact, Wu Yan initially novels into the literary world. Japanese invaded in 1938, the Shanghai Foreign Language Department, Jinan University students Yan Wu, realizing the island during the brutal and chaotic situation Shanghai wrote his first novel "Waking of Insects", published in the "General" magazine. He and several classmates organized a pool called "literary" publication, commissioned by the Shanghai underground Wen Lin and other members fall short of the enthusiastic support of writers, before and after the publication of 16, in the island Shanghai completed "break the silence of death, fill in the blanks of the historical mission. " Wu Yan's novel "left" and "Hesitating", are successively published in the "art" on. April 1948, his "wait for your" as the title of the first collection of short stories, edited by the inclusion of Ba Jin's "Literary Series," Di Jiuji, published by the cultural life. Wu Yan in the "Postscript" wrote: "has been occupied by the South, degree of life of people with ants, which are written under the yoke of the enemy's restrain people's lives and scars, would like people to understand that occupied areas of the suffering and the will of the people. "Yan Wu's other two novels," school teacher "and" Paradise Elegy ", published in the Collingwood editor of the" Vientiane "magazine; and" wait for your "is the editor published in the Zhenduo "Renaissance" on.
Zhenduo, there are side Guangtao, wu, are Wu Yan at the JNU teachers. Zhenduo "gather books Nianyu set, from the past thousands of" fiction, drama, storytelling, especially in the rich collection of prints. Students regarded him as a compulsive love of the book collection, Mr. respectable. The eve of World War Renew your Huxi one of two students called "magic museum," the remote small building, to help him organize ancient books, one of the Wu Yan. These ancient books, are risking their lives Cheng, Amoy purchase food and clothing come. As the "magic museum" a little Buddhist atmosphere, hidden from the eyes and ears of the Japanese invaders. Wu Yan learn a foreign literature, but in Zhenduo words and deeds, to identify from the various versions, script and transcripts to, but also to listen with interest to Mr Cheng Po collection of ancient books tell the story of Huang Yao. After the end of the war, civil war was underway, attention is focused on the KMT government to "Communist suppression", Nanjing, "Central Library" and too busy to transport books. Later, the underground Communist Party was informed that, the send to and Wu Yan to find out "magic museum" in the hundreds of boxes storage of ancient books, instructions safekeeping. After the founding of all these precious books to the State Cultural Relics Bureau, and Zheng Zhenduo served as Secretary for the Bureau. This layer due to the relationship, Wu Yan liberated was transferred to the Cultural Relics Bureau to assist Zhenduo, Wang Ye autumn two work to do from the Director of the Office of the Secretary. Five years later, Wu Yan before returning to Shanghai, into the newly established New Literary Press, in the editing and translation of foreign literature. Called "rejoin" it.
Although Wu Yan in the early years under the English Versions of "Krylov Fables," and Tolstoy's novel "Sevastopol Stories" and other Russian literary works, but give me a deeper impression, that he translated The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore's works. Translation of works of the early home of Tagore Renew is turned too many and a good one, in 1922 and 1923, he was continuously in the Commercial Press published "Stray Birds" and "Crescent Moon." After the founding, in addition to reprint these two translations, but also published in 1955 a new translation of Bing Xin's "Gitanjali." Affected by industry division may, for the first time in 1956, Wu Yan Weng Tai poems translated "the gardener set." After 1957, Tang Yongkuan translated "You think set." 80s of last century, Shanghai Translation Publishing House in one fell swoop translated Tagore poetry collection launched dozens of Wu, which, among "the gardener set" is a revised reprint, the other nine are all new translation, and translation of which ten are under Wu Yan Tagore himself translated the book into English, translated into Chinese sub. In 1995, Wu Yan these ten poems put together a publication of Tagore, take the title "Heart flute charm."
Wu Yan won the Chinese Writers Association, "Lu Xun - National Award for outstanding literary translation of the Rainbow", also served as president of Shanghai and the Shanghai Translation Publishing House of the Translators Association of the vice president.
Last year, the old man accidentally fall, causing a fracture, hospital stay is a more than six months. "It seems to end in the hospital the rest of my life." 92-year-old Wu Yan said, not without sadness. Unexpectedly, I just wrote this article, the old man never to return to driving a crane. Very sorrow, Yours of the occasion.
