Just give us a line a day, Foxs to drag it out......LOL...Just Kidding
Ok..Half a day seems too long, even given the shortened attention/concentration/action span of today's generation. I mean..did Guo Jing stand around carrying Huang rong on the same spot for that half a day...what about hunger...bodily impulses etc..Jin Yong throws out these "he/she did so and so for half a day " comments so easily, now and then in the novel. One more example is in chapter 19."The scholar looked up to the sky and laughed hard for half a day "
So Huang Yao shi, Ouyang feng,Hing qi gong and the others were basically frozen in their positions for half a day...or did they indulge in idle chat for half a day while the urchin was thinking?
“Brother,” Zhou Botong called Guo Jing, “Help me take the book from my pocket.” Guo Jing stepped forward and groping inside Zhou Botong’s pocket he took a book about half an inch thick. Zhou Botong held out his hand to receive the book, and said to Huang Yaoshi, “This is the first volume manual, the second volume is folded inside it. If you have a skill, come and get it.”
“What kind of skill are you talking about?” Huang Yaoshi asked.
Zhou Botong held the book tight in his hands, he leaned his head and said “Wait, let me think …” Half a day later he smiled and said, “Pasting skill!”
I remember seeing a few more of these "half a day " comments throughout the novel translation.
One more "mischevious" quote
Even with his wonderful skills, filling all those clay pots in half a day is something amazing .... of course, in this example half a day seems too short as opposed to too long...Once outside he thought aloud, “Once I leave the Peach Blossom Island I am not coming back. If I don’t leave some souvenirs for the Old Heretic Huang, how would he remember me in the days to come?” Hence with much eagerness he dug some holes and filled them with his dung and found some jars and filled them with his urine. After working hard for half a day he finally left the cave
Is this a realistic passage of time... or is it poetic license by Jin Yong...a figure of expression for a smaller amount of time,but larger than a normal reaction time. any opinions?
Last edited by greyman; 05-10-07 at 02:52 PM.
I think a better figurative (rather than literal) translation would be "after some time". If you replace that in your mind, it works out better =)
It's a Chinese expression. 'Ban tian' in this case just means for a considerable length of time.
Thank you for coming to my rescue. It's the dilemma a translator like me face from time to time. On one hand I know it is not a common English phrase, but on the other hand I want to translate as accurate as possible. That being said, I am relying on James and his team to make the translation more readable while still maintaining the accuracy and nuances of the original Chinese text. Your comments and corrections are most welcome.
ChronoReverse and Ren Wo xing, thanks for your replies..a figurative meaning makes more sense !!
Foxs, I did not mean to put you in a position requiring rescue!!! Was just curious ,because lots of strange and wonderful expressions are embedded in storytelling methods of different cultures..and since I am a total stranger to chinese culture, was wondering if I was missing any figurative meanings ..thanks so much for your translations!!
Well ... I did not mean it in a bad way. Don't worry, I am not THAT sensitive. It's just that I am afraid Jin Yong did use a lot of 'ban tian' and 'ban shang' (lit. half an afternoon) in this novel. I don't know about other novels or other writers, I did not pay attention on that detail. For certain period of time, literal 'half a day' for instance, usually he would use 'hours', like 'sichen'.
Oohh ... Nothing will last forever ... but I am glad that you enjoy it while you can. Anyway, on with the story:Originally Posted by odbayarb2000
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Moved to Chapter 30 - Reverend Yideng
Last edited by foxs; 05-19-07 at 10:50 AM.
I'm going to have a burned out brain working on some of this stuff...
Oh well, dgfds01 will keep me on the straight and narrow.
haha
i love huang rong's wit
"The most happy marriage I can picture or imagine would be union of a deaf man to a blind woman."
Indeed. ^^ I don't get this part though... "Huang Rong returned his obeisance and said with a smile, “If four honorable Uncles did not do your utmost to hinder us going up the mountain, your couplets were really difficult to complete.”"
Thnx, foxs for the translation. BTW, is there the part where they climb up the mountain and almost fall down (like in LOCH 03) in the novel? Thnx in advance.
hu ge, yang mi, yuan hong, liu shishi.
wang luodan, li guangjie.
I don't know what you are talking about, since I haven't seen any adaptation, except the first one (Wong Yat Wah as Guo Jing). Perhaps someone else would care to answer?
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Moved to Chapter 30 - Reverend Yideng
Last edited by foxs; 05-19-07 at 10:50 AM.
Ooh, This part finished so quick
Yup! I love the regular updates... though I might be presumptuous in saying.. I'm finding more grammar errors? Oh well, it doesn't take away from the story. ^^
wolfe: Well, its often hard to go from Chinese to English, cause some things you can say in Chinese you can't say in English, like for example, I'd have trouble translating something like 不好了 because "Not good!" just sounds awkward.
foxs: Thnx anyway for trying to help! BTW, great translation!
hu ge, yang mi, yuan hong, liu shishi.
wang luodan, li guangjie.
Ya, I know translating from Chinese to English is hard. =P I'm Chinese myself lol. Just that my Lit.English class' influence is slowly seeping into my life so I start to notice writing style and errors everywhere I look... =.= Love the translations though. Makes me wish sometimes that I should have kept up with Chinese school... >>"