Lu Xun Complete Works/en/Feizao
Soap
肥皂 (Soap)
von Lu Xun (鲁迅, 1881-1936)
Uebersetzt aus dem Chinesischen.
Section 11
Telling of Himself by Gide. Japan: Ishikawa Takeshi
In the third volume of the French edition of "The Complete Works of Gide" there is a short essay entitled "Portrait of the Author." The date is unknown; perhaps it dates from around 1901. Since it is still of some interest, the full text is reproduced here.
The Vallotton mentioned here is a famous French printmaker. About him, if I remember correctly, Kuriyagawa Hakuson also wrote. In the poet Gourmont's collection of literary essays "The Book of Masks," he created portraits of many French authors.
According to the words of Martin Chauffier, the editor of the "Complete Works," this portrait seems to have appeared in the serialized work "Describing Oneself" published in the newspaper "Le Cri de Paris," accompanied by an article by Gide. The portrait was later included in "The Book of Masks."
When Vallotton created this woodcut, he had never seen Gide; he worked only from a photograph taken under palm trees in Biskra (Africa). Shortly after, when the two met for the first time, Vallotton exclaimed, "From my woodcut, one could hardly have recognized you!"
That Gide loved the South (Italy and Africa) and that his many travels there produced many of his masterworks is well known. Critics attribute this to the blood of his paternal lineage, which came from the region of Uzes in southern France.
(Translated by Luo Wen from "Bunka Shudan," Vol. 2, No. 8.)
(Published in "Yiwen" [Translations], Vol. 1, No. 2, October 16, 1934.)
Section 17
The short piece "The Village Woman" was originally titled "The Bulgarian Woman" and was retranslated from the anthology translated by Mrs. Szatanska (Marya Jonas von Szatanska) in the Reclam Universal Library, number five thousand and fifty-nine. The anthology is titled "The Bulgarian Woman and Other Stories"; this is the first piece, depicting the typical village woman of his country: superstitious, stubborn, but sturdy and brave; along with her conception of the revolution, for the nation, for the faith. Therefore the original title is more apt. The current change to a more "familiar" rather than "faithful" title is actually not a good example; after I finished translating, I reconsidered and realized I had been too clever before. The original author used "good deeds" to strike at prayer at the end -- this was probably a hint for his domestic readers.
I think it is unnecessary for me to explain that Bulgaria at that time was under Turkish oppression. Although this short story is simple, it is written very clearly, and the places and characters in it are real. Though sixty years have already passed, I believe it still possesses great power to move.
(Published in the final issue of "Yiwen" [Translations], September 16, 1935.)