MCLC: Authenticate writing by Yang Jiang?

MCLC LIST denton.2 at osu.edu
Wed Aug 19 08:17:07 EDT 2015


MCLC LIST
Authenticate writing by Yang Jiang?
Dear List members:
I came across this short piece, supposedly by the famous Yang Jiang, and felt a little disappointed and let down by what I read. Could somebody authenticate if this is indeed her writing? For those who don’t read Chinese, I translated it the best I could. Thanks.
Rujie Wang 
*****
我今年一百岁,已经走到了人生的边缘,我无法确知自己还能走多远,寿命是不由自主的,但我很清楚我快「回家」了。I am turning 100 this year, already at the edge of Life and not yet certain how far I have to go. One doesn't get to decide how long he lives. But I am sure it's time I went home.
我得洗净这一百年沾染的污秽回家。我没有「登泰山而小天下」之感,只在自己的小天地里过平静的生活。细想至此,我心静如水,我该平和地迎接每一天,准备回家。I must go home washed clean of the dirt I have gathered in a century. I've never achieved transcendence because I've always lived a quiet life in my own little world. Up to now, my mind is as serene as a pool of water and I welcome each new day with that serenity, getting ready to go home.
在这物欲横流的人世间,人生一世实在是够苦。你存心做一个与世无争的老实人吧,人家就利用你欺侮你。你稍有才德品貌,人家就嫉妒你排挤你。你大度退让,人家就侵犯你损害你。你要不与人争,就得与世无求,同时还要维持实力准备斗争。你要和别人和平共处,就先得和他们周旋,还得准备随时吃亏。In this material world, human life is hard indeed. If you try to live an honest life and be free of human strife, others would use and bully you. If you are blessed with a little gift and talent, others would marginalize you out of envy. If you resign yourself out of generosity, others would intrude and harm you. If you want to avoid human strife, you must give up earthly desires and at the same time brace yourself for struggles to come. If you want a peaceful coexistence with others, you must first know how to deal with people and be ready when others take advantage of you.
少年贪玩,青年迷恋爱情,壮年汲汲于成名成家,暮年自安于自欺欺人。I was fun-driven when a child; infatuated with love as an adolescent; vain with fame and success when mature and grown; and self-deceiving in old age.
人寿几何,顽铁能炼成的精金,能有多少?但不同程度的锻炼,必有不同程度的成绩;不同程度的纵欲放肆,必积下不同程度的顽劣。How many people are blesseed with longivity and turning into pure gold in the crucible of life? Different trials and tribulations produce different accomplishments. Different forms of self-indulgence inevitably result in various kinds of long-lasting deformity.
上苍不会让所有幸福集中到某个人身上,得到爱情未必拥有金钱;拥有金钱未必得到快乐;得到快乐未必拥有健康;拥有健康未必一切都会如愿以偿。Heaven will not bestow all good fortune on to one person. He who finds love may lack wealth; the wealthy may not be happy; the happy ones may not be blessed with good health; and the healthy ones may not live a fulfilled life.
保持知足常乐的心态才是淬炼心智,净化心灵的最佳途径。一切快乐的享受都属于精神,这种快乐把忍受变为享受,是精神对于物质的胜利,这便是人生哲学。The best way to achieve wisdom and purify one's soul is to adopt the attitude of complacency. All happiness and joy are properties of the spirit. Such spiritual joy can turn suffering into pleasure, declaring victory of the spirit over matter. This is philosophy of life.
一个人经过不同程度的锻炼,就获得不同程度的修养、不同程度的效益。好比香料,捣得愈碎,磨得愈细,香得愈浓烈。我们曾如此渴望命运的波澜,到最后才发现:人生最曼妙的风景,竟是内心的淡定与从容……我们曾如此期盼外界的认可,到最后才知道:世界是自己的,与他人毫无关系。The experiences a person goes through in life enable him to achieve different levels of self-cultivation and different extents of self-development. It's like fragrance, the finer you grind it, the more pungent the smell. We once wanted so much high tides in life only to realize at the end the bewildering scenery to be inner peace and grace. We once wanted so much the approval and recognition from the outside only to learn at the very end that the world has always been our own to create, having nothing to do with others.
《一百岁感言》杨绛 The thoughts of a centenarian, Yang Jiang
by denton.2 at osu.edu on August 19, 2015
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