|
The opening of
www.travel-silkroad.com is a great event in the history of cultural exchanges
between East and West and also brings glad tidings to the cyber citizens
both at home and abroad that are concerned with Chinese culture. Throughout
the 1000-odd years, to everyone's mind, the Silk Road has been a legendary
place. It is just like a root passed on from Tang Dynasty, which can break
through the soil at any time and reappear the former grace. The rare historical
opportunity, starting with unique orientation and at all lost, setting
up new and large-scale market resources of culture and travel in 3 years
time. Their strategic decision of starting an undertaking and courage
overcoming all obstacles touched me. In the IT times, the dream lasting
over 1000 years can become true in a flash and your on-going ship can
be turned upside down by unforeseen storms overnight. In the times when
opportunities and challenges are coexisting and in the times when successes
and risks are walking side by side, the astute men are always men of iron
will that endure self-imposed hardships and do a job wen in a long time.
They hare no alternative but to do their best.
www.travel-silkroad.com is the masterpiece of some insightful men. Surely
will provide many convinces and quick methods for the scholars who truly
are concerned with the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
At the same time, it will provide much convenience for travel to the west
and the Great Development of Western Areas of China. In a word, we hare
enough reasons to website, which is marked by this news conference.
The Chinese culture is extensive and profound and long-standing. The Silk
Road is an enchanting flower in the garden of Chinese culture. With the
Silk Road as a breakthrough, we can carry forward the cultural heritage
by deeply researching, exploring and enriching the connotation. The Silk
Road can also be in the service of contemporary economy, trade culture
and so on.
Recollecting my own experience of travelling in the USA, if we want to
let China be on the road to world and exert influence on the future of
mankind, we must do a lot of meticulous and arduous work. To some westerners,
fill now, China still is 'the Great Wall Surrounded by a lot of foot-binding
girls' or baffling-eyed lion" or a flying dragon without wings' or
'a country crowded with a lot of people and stickman'. The board inscribed
' Chinese and dogs are not allowed to come in disappeared, but some impressions
of westerners hare not completely Vanished like smoke. Some people in
our own ranks, however, may hare accustomed to be at other people's disposal.
Moreover they are lacking in confidence of their own language. Many trademarks
or advertisements deliberately use some foreign words, therefore, 'zui
haode' was called 'best' and 'diyide' was called 'first', and so on.
As the strengthening of China's overall national strength brought by the
development of Chinese economy, the cultural market of China surely will
be prosperous and thriving. The Chinese, in history, is a paragon in absorbing
foreign cultures. Nowadays, however, China has enough reasons to 'export'
Chinese culture just like importing advanced theories and techniques of
the West. In order to satisfy the need of people of all countries, we
develop economic and trade relations in the culture area.
In the past 100 years there were a lot people who translated and introduced
the thinking and theories of some western intellectuals to the countrymen,
but the Chinese who volunteered to introduce the lively thoughts that
lived in the prose's written after the May 4th Movement to foreigners
are rare … The insightful men, who own the condition the let foreigners
understand China and the true feelings of Chinese people should translate
and introduce some works in that area.' That was what I wrote in the comment
of the significance of Selected Modern Chinese Prose Writings' translated
by professor Zhang Peiji a few years ago. After Chine's entry into the
WTO the environment is beneficial for Chinese scholars to do more 'export'
work of Chinese culture.
As a confident people, on one hand, she should absorb foreign cultures
continuously; On the other hand, she must believe that her own country's
moon is as round as other countries. And must fulfill her historical mission
of cultural exchanges, translating and introducing Chinese culture to
foreigners with great care and conscientiousness. China's four great inertness
hare made great contributions to mankind. However most of 35,000 ancient
books, in fact, hare not become fortune share by people of all countries.
The Chinese culture, like a fall tree, Cannot be built overnight. Money
makes skyscrapers built quickly, but nobody can let the ancient scholar
trees or ancient cypresses come into being overnight. Cherishing China's
ancient traditional culture is like faking good care of our ancient scholar
trees and cypresses.
Only by careful study and research can we comprehend the essence of it
and could translate and introduce it successfully.
Every dog has his day. To a nation or a people, it is also true. The Chinese
history of prosperity and adversity in the past several thou sand years
fells us that the Chinese people, as a whole, has been a industrious,
brave and assiduous people whose language is the language full of wisdom.
It is a nation that cannot be divided up or invaded wantonly. And that
is full of vitality and cohesion. Western powers can exhibit their power
for some time, but they cannot ride roughshod in China forever. One important
reason is that Chinese inertia of culture is so profound that cannot be
replaced by and other foreign Culture. She can contain or fuse all foreign
cultures, but cannot be devoured completely by foreign cultures. The Chinese
culture is the top-quality product completely tempered by difficult social
conditions in the past several thousand years. Those ideas that are in
compliance with the traditional cultural ideas or moral principles and
ethics, such as 'Harmony of Man with Nature', Be Friendly to Others',
'The Benevolent lore People, or Do not impose on others what you would
not like others to impose on you.' have been preserved forever. The tens
of thousands ancient books, which had the luck to be saved after wars,
should be deemed as the true carrier of Chinese traditional culture. The
contemporary senior translators hare every reason to translate there national
treasures, and then, with there materials. They can deeply research and
explore the humanistic spirits of China.
Till now, there are only 71 versions of Chinese ancient novels, dramas
that we can confirm. Among them are the Four Great Works, namely, 'The
Romance of the Three Kingdoms', 'Heroes of the Marshes', 'Pilgrimage to
the west' and 'A Dream or Red Mansions.' As well as dramas, such as, 'A
Orphan of Zhao Family', 'The West Chamber', 'Snow in Middle Summer' 'The
Peony Pavilion'. There are 165 versions of works of other works, such
as Treasure of Classic Articles "translated by Herbert .A. Giles.
As early as the end of 19th century, this English Sinologist had translated
and introduced some Chinese Poems. But, it is in recent years that this
work has been done effectively. Xu Yuan-Chong translated and published
the English version of 'The Books of Songs' in 1992, the English and French
versions of 'Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty' in 1999. (Published
by High Education Press). There had been Bynner's version of 'Three Hundred
Poems of the Tang Dynasty' (1929) and Herdan's version (1973) before Xu's
version came into being. Both of Versions translated by foreigners do
not rhyme.
I heartily hope that the www.travel-silkroad will be a big stage for spreading
Chinese civilization and showing the grace of the Silk Road. At the same
time, I hope it can provide quick communications for tourists and scholars
who miss the peaceful and prosperous society of the Tang Dynasty and are
fascinated with the landscape of Western China. I hope it can bring a
lot of money to the proprietors that make a careful study of enterprise
culture and are conversant with the business opportunities.
Zhu Manhua
March, 11,
2002, Beijing
E-mail: manfieldzhu@travel-silkroad.com.
A Brief Introduction
to Professor Zhu
Zhu Manhua or
Manfield Zhu, professor of Capital University of Business and Economics,
Peking, China. Now he holds the position of acting secretary general of
American Branch, West Returned Scholars Associations, WRSA, executive
deputy director of Beijing International Chinese Character Research Association.
Winner of Beijing Excellent Teacher Award, visiting scholar in University
of Illinois USA in 1985 and 1986. English poems collected in the Mark
Twain Museum; long time engagement in linguistic studies of English and
Chinese or Chinese and English comparison; in 1987 he first raised in
Guangming Daily, Chinese scholars nationwide newspaper. The propositions,
as an ancient language, Chinese is full of wisdom's, which was thought
highly by persons in the field; one of his typical publications is Learning
English From My Travels in American or An Exotic Flower in the Languages
in the World----Reply to a Foreign Friend Met in the Third International
Chinese Language Teaching Symposium
Extracted from Chinese Experts Dictionary, China Personnel Press, June
1999, Page 82
[NEXT][BACK]
|
