A new Chinese translation of the Japanese literary classic The Tale of Genji by translator Lin Shui-fu (林水福) is to be published in the second half of this year.
In an interview, Lin told the Central News Agency that he was motivated to present a novel interpretation of The Tale of Genji by his belief that the “classics never grow old.”
Lin, who took more than four years to produce the 900,000-character work, is the third person to publish a Chinese translation of the book after Lin Wen-yueh (林文月) in the 1970s and Feng Zikai (豐子愷) in 1980.
Photo courtesy of Lin Shui-fu
The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century in archaic Japanese, is considered by some to be the world’s first novel.
However, even in modern Japanese, new translations emerge roughly once every two decades, Lin Shui-fu said.
PINNACLE
“The Tale of Genji, in particular, stands as the highest pinnacle of Japanese literature. Writer Yasunari Kawabata, speaking during his 1968 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, argued that ‘even today, no piece of fiction has matched its significance,’” he said.
Lin Shui-fu emphasized that there is no better cultural icon for Japan than The Tale of Genji, which profoundly influences the aesthetics of the nation’s culture, literature and other fields.
The story revolves around the romantic pursuits of Hikaru Genji, the son of Japanese Emperor Kiritsubo and his consort, and three generations of his descendants during the Heian period (794 to 1185), Lin Shui-fu said.
The masterpiece is anticipated to be instilled with a new life by Lin Shui-fu, a heavyweight in Japanese-to-Chinese translation in Taiwan who earned his doctorate at Japan’s Tohoku University.
HEIAN LITERATURE
Renowned for translating major works by Kawabata, Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, Kenzaburo Oe and others, Lin Shui-fu said that The Tale of Genji is the work he desired to translate the most, given his enduring interest in Heian literature.
He began his work after retiring from Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology in 2018, translating about 2,000 words a day.
While that workload is more substantial than before his retirement, the 71-year-old translator enjoys the process.
Having mastered more than 1,000 waka, a form of classical Japanese poetry, before studying in Japan, he anticipates that his knowledge of the form would contribute to the distinction between his translation and the two preceding translations of The Tale of Genji, which include more than 700 waka.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS