草餐 / Dining on the Grass

草餐	Dining on the Grass
● 金雨田 xxxx	Jin Yu Tian xxx
野火烧不尽，春风吹又生 —— 草。年少时从文字里领略到的，是生命的韧力。	“E’EN a prairie fire it survives; At a zephyr’s breath it revives.” – such is the resilience of life in grass that I came to appreciate when reading poetry in my youth.
黄昏时看孩子们在草场上追逐、翻滚，草，平整，像是一大张毛毯，包容着活泼的躯体。跌倒，草，承担着，免他们受伤。草的柔柔、软软、暖暖——而嬉耍其上的孩童的确属于嫩草世代。	Now, I enjoy a scene of little children chasing one another and romping around in the twilight on a neat and smooth lawn like a super-size carpet. Soft, supple and genial, it supports the kids’ lively movements and cushions their falls. Our happy children do belong to an era of tender grass.
只不过推前一步，他们老爸，却属于杂草环抱的前代。钻进，穿出，草野得似火团，把身体炙得痒痒；爬爬，草还会在手脚甚至脸上留痕。那什么都不算一回事的年月，锄草、种木薯、拔草；而茅草根还能成为家中锅里的凉水呢。	Just one generation ago, their fathers had to live amid weeds and thistles. Those wild, scorching prickly bushes they moved across made them itch all over, and the sharp blades of the undergrowth would leave scars on their hands and feet and even face after they crawled through. Yet nothing mattered in those days when weeding was done with a hoe or by bare hand, as was the planting of cassava. Incidentally, some of the unwanted grass roots went to the kitchen to make drinks in the hot weather.
真正地享受草地上夕阳下野餐，月照下看戏，是某次在美国的农村剧场。爱正襟危坐的，可买座位券，喜徜徉随观的，则购草坡票。	It was on a “farm theatre” in the United States later that I enjoyed for the first time a meal on the grass in the setting sun and then a concert in the moonlight. Some of the audience – lovers of propriety – had booked regular seats. Others who preferred to move about during the performance had paid for places on the grassy slope. We dined on the grass.
在草上进餐，快吃吧！有一天，草会在你上面进餐。远远舞台上的音乐剧，不甚了了，但处在满山坡或躺或坐或蹲的三三两两的观众群中，我念着雅克·卜列维的诗。	Dine while you can, I told myself, for the grass would be dining on you some day instead! The musical on the stage was too far-off for my sight or hearing. Among the people all over the slope, either reclining, sitting, or squatting on the grass in twos and threes, I intoned lines by Jacques Prevert the French poet.
我想，处在这个地少人多的国度，恐怕我们都难有机会对草回报，让草在我们身上进餐了吧！	This brought to mind my homeland. Given the land-scarce island, I doubt whether we can ever possibly repay Nature’s kindness by allowing the grass to dine on us buried beneath. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[ 原载新加坡《联合早报》(11/13/2000)；收入《不着地族/A Lift-Off People》(潘正镭著、Allen Zhuang 英译；Singapore: All Publishing House, 2002) ]

傳媒業不僅是一盤生意 / Media Sector Not Mere Business

傳媒業不僅是一盤生意	Media Sector Not Mere Business
● 李永樂	● Lee Eng Lock
新加坡人的眼睛和耳朵，将会越来越忙碌，因为接下来的日子，办报纸的要开电视台和电台，原来搞电视的，打算卖报纸。这下子，新加坡人将有更多资讯选择了！	MORE is to come for Singaporeans to feast their eyes and ears on. The newspaper conglomerate will be running a radio and a TV station whereas the TV operator will be publishing a newspaper. The future holds an even greater selection of information for our people.
天空关不住，资讯满天飞，互联网铺天盖地的时代，国门和关卡，或许能挡得住人，却无法封得了消息，與其築堤防洪，不如疏導流向。媒体业的逐步开放，多少包含这层意义。	The sky defies control, and information knows no bounds. In this era of Internet, national borders or checkpoints can do nothing to stop the flow of information, though they can bar the entry of humans. But where dams and dykes fail to curb the flood, canals and channels can work well to turn harm to good. More or less in this light, Singapore's media sector is being opened up.
开放带来竞争，竞争的结果是消费人有更多的选择，益了渴望信息的胃口，经营者必须在素质和盈利兼顾下，占领有限的市场，也就是“叫好又叫座”，确实是一场硬战。	Yet opening-up is sure to bring in keener competition as well as richer options to satisfy the audience's appetite. It will be a tough challenge for the media operators to secure market shares by providing quality products while staying in the black, or to remain "both popular and profitable", as they say.
若以“在商言商”的角度分析上述说法，局外人是难以理解的，做生意最重要是挣钱，“叫座”要紧，为什么还得“叫好”，又不是公益事业。你看人家的媒体，为了竞争和生存，出尽法宝，花招百出，动不动就给你“颜色”——红的、黄的、灰的和黑的都有，相比之下，我们的确是逊“色”多了。	Outsiders would find it hard to understand the difficulty involved. Business is business, people argue, and profit is the first and foremost concern. Why should the media industry try to be "popular", they may wonder, since it is not charity? Just look at their counterparts in other countries, they would say. For survival and success, the media out there would balk at nothing and resort to everything, with products representing a wide spectrum of contents and styles, ranging from the radical red through the sensational yellow and indefinable grey down to the dubious black. Our domestic media, they lament, just pale by comparison.
关键在于，新加坡的媒体业，绝对不仅仅是一盘生意，它还肩负一定的社会使命。所谓的逐步开放，疏导流向，清楚表示这并非媒体业“战国时代”的到来，而是在资讯大潮席卷全球的大势之下，所做的一番调整，往前跨进一步。	But the point is that, in Singapore, the media sector is not mere business. It has a mission to perform for the good of society. The step-by-step opening-up of the field is not meant to introduce chaotic contest among the operators. Instead, it aims to keep Singapore ever-adjusted to the global IT developments and well-poised for further advances.
没有必要用“党国喉舌”之类的心态去解读“社会使命”这句话的背后含义，因为我们实在需要一种“新加坡角度”的存在，要不然，不仅是国际社会无法听到我们的声音，连自己人说话，也会遭外界的无情干扰，不能达到有效的交流。	One need not infer that, to carry out their mission, the media must speak for the government or the ruling party, but we do need a "Singapore perspective". Otherwise, our voice can hardly reach the international community, nor can there be effective communication within our people amid the jarring noise from without.
新加坡的脆弱，是谁也无法否认及改变的事实。邻国土地突然“搞搞震”几下，我们免不了心绪不宁，得劳驾当局出面压惊，连续几天“月朦朦鸟朦朦”，大家就看电视听广播，留意空气污染指数，差点足不出户，人家国内风吹草动，咱们的海岸卫队便有得忙，其脆弱性和敏感度是可想而知的。	The island-state's unalterable fragility is beyond dispute. When an earthquake hit our neighbour recently, we felt the shock of tremors and looked to our government for assurance that things were OK. A few days of hazy skies darkened by forest fires beyond the borders would keep us practically home-confined, ever-attentive to radio or TV announcements of the air pollution situation. And the mere sign of trouble across the sea would put our Coastal Guard on full alert. Understandably, Singapore is sensitive because it is vulnerable.
假设任由外国资讯排山倒海涌入，有一部分人势必迷失在信息的海洋中，忘了总体的方向。本地人，本土观的建立，是在无边大海当中寻找一个共同的立足点，本地传媒的角色就在这里。	Should information from outside sources be allowed to pour in unchecked, some people are sure to lose their bearings on the sea of information and data. Thus a Singapore perspective is needed to provide a firm anchorage for our people. Herein lies the role of the indigenous media.
谁也无法锁住天空，这是大势所趋，挡也挡不住。然而，这不表示我们就得束手无策，或是完全的被动，国际上发生一件大事，大家不约而同扭开美国电缆电视，潜移默化当中接受它的价值判断，似乎这就是真正的“标准”，因为他们的声音比较响亮。这一来，亚洲观点亚洲心反而被忽略了。	The influx of information, though unstoppable, should not render us utterly helpless and defenceless. Yet unfortunately, whenever something big happens in the outside world, people would tune in to CNN, swallowing its news and views without thinking much about it, and taking them for the "genuine" criterion just because of the high sound volume. Meanwhile, voices and feelings of Asians are ignored.
假使在国际事务上，我们的声音相对于大国而言比较单薄，多半可以解释为“小国寡民”之故，倘若国内的事，也要别人来指指点点，凡事都得向外点头哈腰，那可真是“家门”不幸了。本地人本土观的建立，正是竖立自己的一杆旗帜的做法。	Admittedly, Singapore's voice on international issues may be less heard because of our small territory and population. Yet it would be a "family disgrace" indeed if we had to be answerable to foreigners in all our domestic affairs. To establish our indigenous voice and views is to make Singapore duly heeded and regarded.
当然，容纳多方面的观点，是不可逆转的大潮，我们不能把头埋在沙堆底下，装着若无其事，而是应该抬起头来迎接新的时代，面对新的现实。现在的媒体已从“单向”发展而成“互动”，没有任何力量能真正阻挡资讯大潮，这也就是疏导的意义所在。若不疏导，只能眼巴巴看着它泛滥。	Of course, tolerance of different ideas is gaining ground, and we cannot shut our eyes to the irresistible trend. Instead, we must face the reality of the new era. The media sector is leaving the old one-way street into a modern interactive playground. Actually, nothing can block the waves and tides of information, but guidance and regulation are of crucial importance. Otherwise, inundation would ensue to our dismay.
我要重复再说一次，媒体业绝不仅仅是一盘生意，至少对新加坡来说，目前确是如此。	Let me repeat this: the media sector is definitely not mere business. Not in Singapore, and not for now – at least. (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[原載2000-06-26 新加坡《聯合早報》社論/言論/天下事 (Bilingual Section)]

流動型的香港文化 / Hong Kong Culture: A Mobile Type

流動型的香港文化 鄭培凱	Hong Kong Culture: A Mobile Type Pei-kai Cheng
談到香港文化定位，就會引起一些人(特別是香港以外的文化人)的疑問：香港有文化嗎？香港不是「文化沙漠」嗎？香港文化除了吃喝玩樂、聲色犬馬，還有什麼值得驕人的？香港的精英文化、學術成就，能跟北京比嗎？能跟台北比嗎？能跟上海比嗎？香港自稱國際都巿，在文化藝術的展現上，能跟紐約比嗎？能跟巴黎比嗎？能跟倫敦比嗎？甚至能跟東京比嗎？	TALK of the status of “Hong Kong culture” and you are sure to draw a barrage of challenges, particularly from those in cultural circles outside of the territory: – Has Hong Kong got any “culture” to speak of, in the first place? It is reputedly a “cultural desert”, isn’t it? What’s there in its culture that Hong Kong can feel proud of, other than wining and dining, merrymaking, pop singing and horse racing? As to a refined culture and intellectual merits, can Hong Kong compare with Beijing, Taipei, or Shanghai? In terms of exhibitions of various forms of art and culture, is the territory – calling itself a global city – up to the rank of such places as New York, Paris, London, or even Tokyo?
這一連串的疑問，其實是充滿了貶意的質疑，基本觀點就是香港沒有「自身」的文化。除了經濟貿易、聲色犬馬，沒有可以超過其他大城巿的「文化優點」。	That volley of disparaging questions, in fact, reveals a strong sense of disbelief on the underlying assumption that Hong Kong has no culture “of its own”. Allegedly, the city lacks “cultural advantages” over other metropolises, though it may boast some strength in trade and business, in pleasures and entertainments.
這種貶斥觀點形成，有其歷史原因，與英國殖民政策及中國人愛國義憤有關，說來話長，這裡且不細論。但是，有一點值得在此提出，就是香港文化的定位，從來不從自身本位出發，總是「外人說了算」：英國人當然是充滿了殖民優越眼光，中國的文化人也多少戴上二手的殖民色彩有色眼鏡看香港。久而久之，香港本地人也自嘲「文化沙漠」，小老百姓更是理所當然的「聲色犬馬」起來。當全世界的人都說香港沒文化、不可能有文化、不配有文化時，香港人還能說什麼？	Reasons behind that assumption can be traced to history, related to some colonial policies of the British and patriotic feelings of the Chinese. That would be a long story; we are not going into details here. Yet one point merits special attention. The nature or status of culture in Hong Kong has never been judged from the city’s own perspective; it is always what “outsiders” said that counts. The British, as the colonial ruler, looked at the issue with a sense of superiority, whereas those in cultural circles of mainland China saw it more or less through spectacles tinted with a second-hand hue of colonialist condescension. In the end, even hongkongers accepted the verdict of “cultural desert”, joking about it at their own expense, and the local multitudes have taken cultureless pleasures for granted. What else can Hong Kong people say when all the rest of the world maintains that their hometown has no culture, can’t possibly have a culture, or even doesn’t deserve a culture?
不過，當我們換一個角度來看香港，仔細思考香港文化應當如何定位時，就會發現：香港的文化有不同層次的發展，高低都有，華洋皆備，不僅是簡單的「經濟生活的感官反應」而已。	Yet, if we adopt a different perspective on the nature or status of Hong Kong’s culture, we can see that the city does possess a culture well developed on various levels ranging from elite-high to vulgar-low, rich in both Chinese and foreign characteristics, one that represents far more than a simplistic “sensual response to economic life” of the territory.
從長遠的歷史發展來看，香港在中西文化接觸碰撞之中，扮演了重要的角色，直接影響中國人的文化意識。就算我們不從宏觀的歷史視野來看，只說近百年的具體史實，就不知有多少文化精英人物曾在香港落腳，或過境、或流亡、或定居。	From a long historical point of view, we see Hong Kong has played an important role in the contact and collision between Chinese culture and her Western counterparts, thus exercising a strong influence on the cultural consciousness of people in China. Now, let’s leave aside a macro-historical vision, but take the past century alone for example. We see countless top achievers in various cultural careers have set foot in Hong Kong, either in transit or in exile, or to make their homes here.
過去討論香港文化，只把這些人當作「過境人物」，這些人也自認為「過境」，與香港文化無關。然而，真的無關嗎？別忘了，「文化過境」是與機場轉機過境不同的。	They were referred to, in discussions about culture of Hong Kong, as people staying here “in transit”, and so did they describe themselves, as if being irrelevant to the local culture. But were they really that irrelevant? Don’t forget that, as cultural figures, their sojourn in this place is very different from a passenger’s stay in the transit lounge of an airport.
假如我們把文化的發展粗略分成「固定」(本鄉本土)與「流動」(穿梭來往)兩種形態，則香港顯然有著深厚的流動型文化。	When we examine the growth of a culture as taking place in two roughly defined modes, namely, in a mode that is either “stationary” (indigenous) or “mobile” (transient), then we can find that Hong Kong evidently has a well-rounded culture of the latter type.
一方面影響了香港本地的文化發展，如魯迅、胡適、許地山、陳寅恪等人來到香港，並不是來觀光旅遊的。不管是來批判還是來建設，都對香港的文化發展有所貢獻。	On the one hand, the transient guests have influenced the growth of Hong Kong’s indigenous culture, as did literary and academic figures like Lu Xun, Hu Shih, Hsu Ti-shan and Chen Yin-ke. They did not come as tourists. They have made various contributions to the growth of Hong Kong culture, with critical comments or constructive works.
另方面，所有流動過境的文化人士，都帶著他們對香港的印象，成為一種文化參照，影響了更廣泛的中國文化發展。特別是抗戰爆發之後，一撥一撥的文化、藝術、影劇人士匯集香港，怎麼可能只與香港這片土地有關，而與文化無關？	On the other hand, all the cultural figures who ever lived in Hong Kong and then moved on have taken away their own impressions of the city. Carrying such impressions as a frame of reference in their careers henceforth, they exerted impact on an even broader growth of China’s culture in general. For example, after the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, wave after wave of big names in literary, art, theatrical and movie circles flocked to Hong Kong. How could they have been related to Hong Kong as an island only, but not as a platform of cultural interaction?
且舉二十世紀的紐約作為對照，文化藝術大有發展，是有目共睹的。但紐約的居民有一半是外國人，剩下的一半，還有百分之五十是來自外地的。也就是說，「流動性」是紐約文化的重要資源，撫育了紐約本地的文化，不斷能夠更新創造。	One may compare this with the case of New York City during the 20th century when the indigenous art and culture scored remarkable progress. Half of the city’s population is made up of foreigners, and the other half is equally subdivided into natives and those who hailed from all corners of the country. In other words, “mobility” has become a valuable resource in New York’s culture, making it renewed and re-created all the time.
我們認為，香港得天獨厚，有最優秀的條件來發展流動型文化。因此，在城巿大學中國文化中心，我們舉辦各種文化藝術講座，安排文化沙龍，在香港電台進行文化訪談，不止是讓全世界經過香港的文化人留下「雪泥鴻爪」，更希望累積文化資源，為香港文化的發展盡一份力。 xxxxxx xxxxxx [原載《明報月刊》2000年11月號，頁121. ]	Hong Kong is endowed, we believe, with a climate extremely good for a mobile-type culture to flourish. With this end in view, at the Chinese Civilisation Centre of the City University, we have been organizing lectures on cultural and art topics, holding cultural salon events, and hosting radio programmes interviewing various cultural figures. These efforts, we hope, will not only serve to record the intellectual footprints of those from cultural fields worldwide who stop over, but will also help to build up resources for the prosperity of Hong Kong culture. (Translated by Allen Zhuang) [The source text was first published in Ming Pao Monthly, November 2000 issue, p. 121]

One more test -- text & version

試驗 (原文) 陳大文	A Test (English Translation) Chan Tai Man
這是一個試驗，以檢測Blogger 網址能否張貼原文及其譯文。 訪客/讀者若有意轉載本網頁之內容，請注明出處，謝謝。	This is a test to find out whether Blogger website can post an article with its translation. Visitors/viewers wishing to re-post any contents posted here are requested that they kindly credit their sources.

This is a test.

This is a test -- the beginning of a blog.