Giddens Ko (九把刀) - Kung Fu (功夫)

[WesY2K]

Dear all,

someone finally started translating "功夫" by Giddens Ko, the most popular author in Taiwan and quite famous at the moment for his "You Are The Apple Of My Eye" movie.

The first part of the translation can be found here:
http://musicalpoems.wordpress.com/20...r-1-1-old-man/

Please support and encourage 雪云 to translate more! (my own effort wasn't very good :-)).

[musicalpoems]

Hi everyone,

I decided to drop by here as I was getting a lot of hits thanks to a reader who has linked my site. Thought I shall hijacked this thread and post an excerpt + link everytime a new chapter is up.

I'm done with Kung Fu Chapter 1.2, just need work to on some tweeking and editing. It'll be probably be up on Tues.

And here's Chapter 1.1 if you've not read it -


Cheers ~
xy

KUNG FU
CHAPTER 1.1: OLD MAN
GIDDENS KO
Translated from the Chinese by © Xueyun


I was an ordinary person. At least in the eyes of my friends, I was a boring, law-abiding, junior high student.

There was not much pressure in the first year of junior high – nothing serious enough to drive me crazy. But thanks to my dull personality coupled with the conservative society I grew up in, the cool things that kids do today - being high on drugs, battling in car races, and getting into gang fights – all of which, had no place in my life.

I never intended to be this boring. But apparently, different people have different interests, and my greatest idea of an after school pastime, was to visit the bookshop and read.

I read in the bookstore not because I could not afford to buy the books. My family was in the textile business, which was a pretty lucrative industry in the 1980s. I simply had no desire of returning to an unpleasant home.

When those friends of my dad occupied the living room, treating our house like a bar with all their beer and merrymaking. I would lower my head, and make my escape, taking refuge in a novel at the bookstore.

I usually stand for about two hours.

My taste in books was predictable – if it was not Jin Yong, it would be Gu Long. I was drawn to the pugilistic universe created by their literary pens. A world that possessed a mighty sword that could wipe out the bad guys was in every way better than my house.

I remember that evening, I was leaning against the bookshelf, flipping through Jin Yong’s The Deer and The Cauldron – witnessing Wei Xiao Bao signing the Nerchinsk treaty with Russia, and manipulating the Qing, Russians, and the Heaven & Earth Sect, skillfully under his thumb.

Each time I finish The Deer and The Cauldron, I would have read through the rest of Jin Yong’s wuxia novels at least once.

“How about this book?” someone with a husky voice asked.

I looked up, and saw an old man beside me, holding up a book. It was Jin Yong’s The Smiling, Proud Wanderer – I had already read it.

“Thank you. I’ve read that series,” I smiled and returned to the universe of my book. However, I noticed at the corner of my eye that the old man was still standing there. There was something about his eyes that gave me the creeps.

continue reading

[yeongwee]

Awesome! Thanks musicalpoems!

[WesY2K]

Thank you. Can't wait for the next part!

[musicalpoems]

Chapter 1.2 is up at Musical Poems

Enjoy~
xy

KUNG FU
CHAPTER 1.2: OLD MAN
GIDDENS KO
Translated from the Chinese by © Xueyun

An intense bizarre pressure overwhelmed me for the entire journey home. After pushing past the iron gates, the repulsive sensation vanished instantly without any trace. I heaved a sigh of relief the moment I set foot into my house. It was as if I had just emerged from beneath the ocean, and what had just happened was simply an illusion.

“I’m home.” I looked down, and removed my shoes hastily, wishing only to retreat back into my room.

But I knew this was impossible. We know from history that the soldiers who invaded Normandy beach had to risk their lives in a round of fire.

“Yuan Zai! Come over and have some tea! These are very rare tea leaves from China!” A bald and fat man yelled.

The fat old baldy who claimed to have bought a bunch of expensive gifts from China, tried to pass off every useless shred of junk as a priceless piece of treasure. In my eyes, it was just a pathetic attempt to fool my father. Yet I had to look at this treacherous face, and addressed him as Uncle Wang.

Those hopeless alcoholics gluttons cajoled me over. I looked at their thousand years old antique teapot, and the finest tea leaves in a hundred years, while listening to a lecture on the quality appraisal of articles. Perhaps they should instead offer my father some pointers on choosing his friends.

Their obnoxious merrymaking made me nauseous, yet I had to put on a mask, pretending to look interested. No, I was not emulating their behavior, I was simply too obliging to put anyone in a spot.

Trapped in the living room polluted with smoke for nearly half an hour, I finally summoned all my strength to retreat back into my bedroom. I was too exhausted.

A few days ago, I heard from my father that he was planning to set up a few factories in China. It seemed that the textile business in Taiwan was not going well. Oh, how I wish he could head to China right away! It did not matter if he had to suffer some losses in this venture, as long as these obnoxious old men no longer come together to destroy my life.

I took a shower, read for a while, and retire to bed. It was like any other night.

These days, I have been contemplating whether to attend cram school. I was not having problems in my homework, but attending cram school would allow me to return home much later.
But forget it, I whispered.

I will continue to visit the bookstore to read, I thought. At most, I shall attempt to read the lengthy epic novel – “Warriors of Zu Mountain”. It would be most satisfying.

At that time, I thought the year of 1986 would be absolutely empty and insignificant. Just a blank piece of paper.

But?

Before I could get some shuteye, something strange occurred to me.

continue reading

[Han Solo]

Thank you for posting here.Han Solo

[WesY2K]

As this seems to be abondend and with so many talented translators now around (some with soon wrapping up projects) and with the movie starting shooting, would somebody be willing to pick this one up again? Maybe as a christmas present? :-)

Even though I am learning Chinese right now, I wouldn't be able to read this novel in years to come (and maybe missing some or a lot of the cultural background) and this seems to be really fun.

Thank you very much!

[lukasjedi]

Thx for the translation......it take curiousity for the next scenes....Good works.....

continue reading (......can-not be read,it's said Page not found)
This is the continue reading I get from your link...
May it help for readers .....
--------------------------------

Chapter 1.2 ,continue reading.....................


I tossed my blanket aside, picked up a novel that was roughly 100 pages thick, and tried to tear it apart.

It was exactly what I thought: I could not do it.

If I had tried to tear it down from the middle, where the pages were glued together in the spine, it might be possible to tear the book into half.

However, to hold the book at its ends, and rip it apart like a piece of paper, was impossible. Even for a hundred-page novel, it was out of the question.

My wrists began to scream in pain as I tried to yank the book apart. Alas a hundred-page novel defeated me.
Unbelievable. The old man from the bookstore this evening actually tore apart a three hundred-page novel so effortlessly.

“Weirdo.” I muttered to myself, and finally slept.

It was fine to mull over a strange incident for a little while, but spending too much time to analyze it would be plain silly.
Curiosity was a trait that hardly existed in me.

The next day, like every other day, I pushed out my bicycle to head for school. However, what would be an otherwise ordinary day ended the moment my bicycle left the house.

That day, it was as if my bicycle was carrying a load of bricks, each pedal on the bicycle was killing my legs. After only five minutes, I stopped at the traffic light, panting like a bull.
Maybe I was about to die.

Families with unhealthy lifestyles are detrimental to the upbringing of their kids. If my parents knew of the premature aging of my heart, I wonder if they would allow me to move out for recuperation.

Without warning, in the midst of my daydreams, my heart thumped rapidly – I could almost feel the blood vessels in my chest expanding. This feeling was just like last night when I was walking down the street!

I shut my eyes from the stinging sweat dripping down my forehead. Cold sweat.
Oh my god, do I really have a heart problem?

“Is it cold sweat?”
A familiar voice.

I opened my eyes – the strange old man from the bookstore last night was staring at me seriously.
I was a little confused, a little startled.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m going to school.” I hurriedly stepped on the pedal; it would be troublesome if the old man decide to follow me.

That pedal, bought me across the road, but in the split second the bicycle became inexplicably heavy.
I turned my head around – jumped out of my skin.

A pair of eyes was staring at me intensely – the strange old man was sitting on my bicycle.

What would you do if you were in my shoes?
Stop the bicycle and punch the old man?

I did not, because my bicycle crashed. After all, I had an awfully rude shock.
I did not even have the time to scream, the bicycle skidded to the left and crashed to the ground. My right knee hit the pavement with a bam, tearing a hole in my blue jeans, and I grazed my right hand.

Without a single scratch, he stood beside me, looked down and repeated, “Is it cold sweat?”

This time I cannot be bothered about being embarrassed anymore. What on earth was he thinking when he hijacked my bicycle? Preposterous! This was murder!

“Are you insane?!” I dragged my bicycle and hobbled, grinding my teeth as I lashed out at the old man. No more Mr. Nice Guy, I was on fire.

The old man did not seem to care about my injuries, much less whether I was fine – he was only concerned with one question.

“The sweat on your forehead, is it cold sweat?” The old man asked again. He was the ultimate lunatic.

A sage once said that, a good answer is the result of a good question, a mundane question should not expect an excellent answer.
The sage was right.

“It’s cold sweat. Stop bothering me!” I was enraged, yet I tried to restrain my voice.

The old man listened, his eyes lit up, and nodded, ” That’s good. You’re young. You only need to practice a little to get your basics right. Great physique.”

I-don’t-give-a-damn-you-idiot!

“Stop following me!” I jumped onto the bicycle. This time I turned around to make sure he was not following me as I took off.

If I’d suffer another shock, my heart would explode and bleed to death.

I cycled to school as I looked at the old man lost in his own thoughts, pacing back and forth at the corner of the street.
What an unlucky morning.

End of Chapter 1

[wandering]

great job on continuing the translation..:-D

[dragonsense]

i think this story already being made into manhua

[hirzy]

I think ive read a manhua by the same name but cant ask if its the same coz if it is might spoil for ppl
(forgot how to use spoiler)

[dragonsense]

most likely it's the same.. it's the story about the main character shao yan meet the old guy that teach him martial art... he thought he is from ming dynasty and already more than 300 years old.... i try not to say too much because it may became a spoiler and i don't know how to use spoiler icon

[wandering]

yes there is a manhua for it.

[WesY2K]

But the manhua wasn't translated either, right?

I really would love to read this story.

[dragonsense]

well i had read a few volume of the manhua it's a nice story that combine wuxia with romance and tragedy also there's some comedy too..

click to show/hide spoilers

the story begin from huang jun the oldman that ask shao yan to be his disciple.. this huang jun thought he's a member of carefree sect (xiao yao sect i think the name is similiar with DGSD ) from the ming dynasty time he's in pursuit of the traitor of his sect lan jin that had massarce the sect and all wulin

[WesY2K]

How do you open the Spoiler-Tag?

[CFT]

Use "Reply with Quote".

[wandering]

there was a vietnamese translated version of the manhua.
there isn't really any english translated one.

[WesY2K]

Well, there should be :-) Anyone with knowledge of the language willing to chip in?

[deathblade]

This translation has been continued here: http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthre...%80)#.VJqBBsAA

I know this thread comes up high in google so in case anyone stumbles across it, please use the link above to get to the (soon to be) complete translation.