The first teacher I met was Kenichi. At that time, he taught two courses to graduate students majoring in translation: the history of Chinese and Western translation and the translation of current affairs articles. I have always been interested in history, so I chose the history of Chinese and Western translation. When choosing courses, I didn't care too much about the teachers who taught. It was entirely based on my own preferences for the courses. After class, there are still two days to go, and I suddenly became interested, especially in Teacher Yan, who teaches the history of Chinese and Western translation. Because the surname Yan is extremely rare, the last time I saw the word "Yan" in my memory can be traced back to the Chinese class in high school. There is a passage in Zuo Zhuan called "Zheng Boke Duan Yan Yu". So, from then on, I searched the Internet for information about Mr. Yan, and came across that Mr. Yan had a bookstall about Confucius' old books on the Internet. There are countless classic works, including the complete works of my favorite English writer Mao Mu. As a fan of Mao Mu, I feel cordial. At this time, I roughly formed an impression on Mr. Yan. There are countless classics in my family. I must be a well-read and knowledgeable person.
The second class after school is Yan's History of Chinese and Western Translation. Before class, I was both looking forward to and afraid. I'm looking forward to it, because it's a gathering of Mao Mu fans, but I'm afraid, because I know my level is limited, and I'm afraid I'll leave a bad impression because the textbooks haven't arrived. After entering the classroom, no one came. There were only five students in the class. I am surprised: is this the legendary small class teaching? Finally, Miss Yan came into the classroom, smiling and full of energy, with two books under her arm. His face is very white, his eyes are not big, he wears a pair of half-rimmed glasses, and he always smiles like a white-faced scholar. My small eyes look smaller because I have been laughing, but the eyes behind the lens are bright and kind, like a kind bodhisattva. He speaks slowly and clearly, and when it comes to spirit, he is a little forgetful.
Teacher Yan's PPT in class is extremely concise, and only a few keywords are written on each page. During the lecture, he spoke according to the key words, others quoted, and famous allusions came at once, and students often listened in a daze. However, he can accurately judge the state of students attending classes. Once he realized that we couldn't keep up with the rhythm, he began to interact with us and inspire us to think positively. Because there are few people in class, we are always on high alert and dare not neglect anything. After all, every move is in the eyes of the teacher. He enjoyed it and said gently, "This kind of small class teaching is the way for college students to attend classes. When I was studying abroad, I mostly taught in small classes, and the class effect was very good. "
In order to study hard after class, I found Mr. Yan and asked him to write a book list. I didn't expect Mr. Yan to be very practical and told me seriously: "Don't worry about reading. You should read A Brief History of China Translation by Mr. Mazuyi and A Brief History of Western Translation by Mr. Tan Zaixi first, and then I will recommend it later. " I still remember Mr. Yan's sentence "Don't worry about reading" and take it as the criterion of reading at ordinary times.
It's a pity that I didn't attend Mr. Yan's class in the second semester, thinking that there are not many opportunities for contact in the future. During the summer vacation, the library became my main position. One day, I found Selected Short Stories of Mao Mu published by People's Literature Publishing House on the shelf of Foreign Literature, which was divided into two volumes. I found this book by accident when I was looking for other books, so it was an accidental discovery, but what is even more unexpected is that there is a teacher Yan's name among the translators. I immediately became interested in this collection of Mao Mu's novels, temporarily put down my work at hand, and spent three days, day and night, reading two volumes. The story is as wonderful as ever, but when I read novels, I am more attracted by strict translation. The writing is fluent, and the words and sentences are very elegant. It is difficult to see the traces of translation. I think it reproduces Mao Mu's writing style.
Because of this coincidence, I vaguely feel that my fate with teacher Yan has not been broken, and it will be confirmed in a few months. In the middle of March next year, Master asked me to translate a book with Mr. Yan (Mr. Yan and my teacher are from the same school), which is the French Revolution mentioned above-from enlightenment to tyranny. After receiving the project, Mr. Yan assigned the task. I translate the first half, and he is responsible for the second half and the manuscript. Teacher Yan is very attentive to the translated books. In order to keep the translation style similar, he asked me to translate one chapter first and one chapter myself. After the translation, communicate with each other and ponder each other's translation, so as to grasp the writing style and not spend a lot of effort to complete the translation.
In less than fifty days, we worked overtime to translate our respective parts and then reviewed each other. When I sent the translated manuscript to Mr. Yan, I was worried that the manuscript would be covered with red revisions after it was returned. This kind of anxiety is more intense in our school's translation of Mr. Yan, because his translation makes me cry. I remember reading his translation in the library at that time, and I couldn't help but want to surprise myself every time I read it, so I had to compare it with the original English. Therefore, I am not so much reviewing the translated version as learning translation again. Fortunately, when the translation was returned later, Mr. Yan gave me a good evaluation of my translation, but I think he was out of love for his students and couldn't bear to hurt my younger generation's confidence in translation.
Having completed the task of co-translation, my relationship with Teacher Yan is one step closer. Although there are still not many meetings at ordinary times, the topics after meeting are much more casual. On one occasion, Teacher Yan drove me to a master's school for dinner. I sat in the front row and asked him if he felt a midlife crisis. As far as teachers and students are concerned, it is not appropriate for me to ask this topic, but he is sincere and has talked about his current living conditions and some views and expectations on life. I was infected by his state, sometimes I nodded yes, and sometimes I asked questions about a certain point. He is always ready to share and never gets bored. The scene at that time was not like a conversation between teachers and students at all, but a chat between other disciples, which I still remember vividly.
In the summer vacation after graduation, the book "French Revolution" finally went on the market, and the publishing house informed me to get some books for my own use. I got back twelve books and asked Miss Yan to give him some. It was Friday, and it was raining heavily in Changsha, which played up the sad atmosphere of graduation season. There was an exam in the foreign language building that day, and access was restricted. I had to wait for Mr. Yan in the hall next door. After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Miss Yan came. He was wearing a light blue striped shirt and smiled when he saw me. That was the first time I saw him in his class. I gave him some books and asked him to leave a message on the title page of a book I left for myself.
After saying goodbye, Teacher Yan said, "It's raining heavily outside now, so it's inconvenient for you to walk back to the dormitory alone. Wait, I'll drive you back. " At first I refused his kindness because I didn't want to get into trouble, but he insisted and I got on the bus. I was still sitting in the front row of the car, because I was leaving soon, so I took the initiative to tell him my current thoughts and future plans. After listening to my heart, Teacher Yan patiently commented and gave suggestions from the perspective of an experienced person.
When passing the dormitory intersection, Teacher Yan said, "Brother, we don't know when we will meet again as soon as we leave. I'm going to stroll around the south yard for a while, and we'll talk more. " Then, he slowed down and turned twice on the road between my dormitory and law school. Although Mr. Yan drives slowly, almost as slowly as a snail, time passes quickly. When the bus detours back to the dormitory, I don't want to delay his time and get off reluctantly.
It's almost a year since graduation, and I still feel a lot when I think of these two trips back and forth. This is the longest road I have traveled in Central South, but it is also the fastest road and the one I miss most.
Wen Zi/Wang Yuxi
Figure? Movie/Wang Yuxi