Excerpt from《他乡》by 阿袁:
之后的票据是老蒲签字后让孟渔去财务处报销的。写的都是“文化用品”。…… 在财务处,一个嘴尖如鹬喙身体滚圆如鹌鹑的女会计要孟渔在发票的背面把“文化用品”具体是什么写清楚,“文化范围那么大?不写清楚,谁知道是什么?” 孟渔愣在那儿,一时不知道写什么。…… 打电话问老蒲,老蒲不耐烦地说,你随便写,只要不出文化的范围。不出文化的范围? 要不就直接填“妓”,妓不也在文化范围之内? 妓文化研究。那样的话,他们这几个学者,估计立刻就扬名学术界了。…… 最后他一个写了“复印纸”,一个写了“墨粉”,一个写了“硒鼓”。
Here is the current version of my translation which is still undergoing edits:
After Pu had authorised the invoices, he sent Meng Yu to the finance department for reimbursements. All three of the invoices read “stationery.” . . . At the finance department, a female accountant who had the puffed-up body of a quail and a sandpiper’s beak for a mouth ordered Meng Yu to specify his expenses on the back of the invoices. “‘Stationery’ can mean anything. Who the heck knows what it is?” Meng Yu was at a loss. He didn’t know what he was supposed to write. . . . so Meng Yu phoned Pu . . . . “Put down anything you like, as long as it’s something to do with our research,” came Pu’s annoyed reply. As long as it’s something to do with their research? Perhaps he could try “prostitution?” A cultural research on prostitution — that'd count, wouldn’t it? He could see the three of them becoming famous overnight. . . . Finally, he decided on copy paper, toner and toner cartridge.
The issue I’d like to discuss is the term “文化用品”,which translates literally as “cultural product.”
When I first came across the term earlier in the story, I’d thought “文化用品” meant what it literally means — that is, goods and services that are related to arts and culture. As such, I felt somewhat puzzled when the term was later associated with “copy paper, toner, and toner cartridge.” A quick search on the internet promptly resolved the mystery and my knowledge gap: “文化用品” actually means “stationery” in China and includes a broad array of items, including office supplies. Problem solved. Or so I thought.
It didn’t take long to notice that translating the term accurately as “stationery” has its complications because the author subsequently expands on the “cultural” (文化) component of the umbrella term “文化用品”,and this reference is clearly absent in its English counterpart “stationery.”
In the first instance when the accountant said, “文化范围那么大” (literally meaning: “The scope of culture is so wide”), I felt comfortable about letting go of the reference and modifying the translation as “‘Stationery’ can mean anything” since it does not impact the content and effect of her utterance. But when it’s brought up again in Pu’s reply to Meng Yu, “你随便写,只要不出文化的范围” (literally meaning: “Write anything you want, as long as it’s within the scope of culture”) it wasn’t possible to employ the same strategy because the reference is intended to extend into Meng Yu’s exasperated reaction, in which he raved that the study of prostitution can also be considered “cultural.” Surely it doesn’t make sense for the protagonist to say, “As long as it’s something to do with stationery? Perhaps he could try ‘prostitution?’”
In view of this, my initial rendering of Pu’s reply was, “Put down anything you like, as long as it’s something to do with culture,” so that it could flow onwards to Meng Yu thinking, “As long as it’s something to do with culture? Perhaps he could try ‘prostitution?’ The cultural study of prostitution — that'd count, wouldn’t it?”
This seemed reasonable, except Pu’s mention of “culture” appears to come out of nowhere due to the missing reference to “culture” in the word “stationery.” For that reason, I contemplated the suggestion from a fellow translator to render “文化用品” as “cultural product” instead — in spite of the inaccuracy — but decided against it as I thought readers might be as puzzled as I was over the connection between “cultural products” and “copy paper, toner, and toner cartridge.”
Further deliberation led me to the current version in which I’ve replaced “culture” with “research,” such that after Pu replied, “Put down anything you like, as long as it’s something to do with our research,” Meng Yu would go on to muse, “As long as it’s something to do with their research? Perhaps he could try ‘prostitution?’ A cultural research on prostitution — that'd count, wouldn’t it?”
This solution works for me in that it smooths out the disconnection between “stationery” and “culture” without completely dropping the mention of “culture.” For a while, I toyed with the idea of replacing “stationery” with “research materials” as well, but eventually concluded that it was also unsuitable and unnecessary, and chose to retain the cultureless “stationery.”
Please see these other articles in the Notes Along the Way series:
On the challenges and contradictions inherent in translating Dick Lee’s Home into Kristang, by Kevin Martens Wong
Reading War and Peace, by Shelly Bryant
Disappearing Pronouns, by Miho Kinnas
Dishes and Places, by Pow Jun Kai
How to Avoid Disrupting the Flow, by Shelly Bryant
The Provincial Capital, by Shelly Bryant