The Father of Chinese-Myanmar Language Translation

Long before I met Wang Zichong， I had heard much about him from his many admirers. Wang has dedicated his life to the teaching and translation of Chinese and Myanmar language. He compiled Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary and The Handbook for Myanmar Language-Chinese Dialogue. Due to his achievements， he was awarded the titles of professor and senior Myanmar language translator. At the age of 89， he is still working.

Prior to my interview with Wang， I had the chance to have a look at two of the dictionaries he compiled， Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary (Revised Edition) and Chinese-Myanmar Language-English Dictionary of Science， in the office of Liu Jianglin， an editor of the Myanmar language journal Jixiang (Auspiciousness). Those red-covered dictionaries， which are now worn after years of use， are widely regarded as precious guidebooks for Chinese-Myanmar language translation.

Wang is amiable， energetic and has a resonant voice. After my brief self-introduction， he began to chat with me. His gentle manner reduced the strangeness between us and brought us closer. Yang Qi， Wang’s wife， was present to remind him of details as he told stories about his life. Having conversation with them was like hearing grandpa and grandma tell stories from their past. The stories the pair told on their adventures relating to the Myanmar language were truly illuminating.

Story Behind Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary

In July 1928， Wang was born into a Chinese family in Yangon， Myanmar. His father was a renowned physician of traditional Chinese medicine. During his childhood， Wang often followed his father on home visits. He acquired the Myanmar language naturally in his daily contact with local people.

“At that time， I attended the Chinese School in Yangon and learned Chinese， Myanmar language and English at the same time and mastered the Myanmar language in the process，” Wang said， adding that after graduation， he became a teacher at the Chinese Middle School in Yangon. However， his parents constantly reminded him that he should never forget his Chinese identity， origin and Chinese culture.

In April 1950， at the call of the newly-founded People’s Republic of China， the young Wang returned to China. He studied at Yunnan Revolution University. Upon graduation， he joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Kunming， the provincial capital of Yunnan， and served as a Myanmar language tutor in the foreign languages training brigade of the Kunming Military Command.

“At that time， we badly needed materials for teaching the Myanmar language，” Wang said. “We had very few dictionaries and other reference books. Besides a couple of dictionaries， including The Myanmar Language Dictionary， English-Myanmar Language Dictionary and Myanmar Language-English Dictionary， we only had Selected Works of Mao Zedong (Myanmar Language Edition) for reference.” It was during this period of time that Wang came up with the idea of compiling a Chinese-Myanmar language dictionary.

In 1960， Wang was transferred to the PLA Institute of Technology and Engineering in Zhangjiakou， Hebei Province. Upon beginning his new job， he threw himself into the compilation of Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary.

“At that time， I had no standardized reference books to learn from，” he said. “So I could only collect texts from Myanmar language newspapers， books， and radio and television programs. I made numerous cards， enough to fill several large boxes. The cards were sorted alphabetically. That’s how I compiled my dictionary.”

Collecting materials and accumulating cards took a long time and required hard work. To ensure the accuracy of every single entry， Wang read a lot. Later on， bad luck reached him. His boxes of dictionary entries were washed away in a flood.

During the interview， Yang was also lost in thought， looking back at the past. According to her， work conditions were poor at the time Wang was working to compile his dictionary. Even after the flood， he started all over again.

In June 1972， Wang was transferred back to the foreign languages training brigade of the Kunming Military Command. He taught and did translation work there. In his work， he constantly collected， sorted and compiled entries for the Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary. After 10 years of hard work， he finished his first draft in 1984. After two years of revisions， the final draft totaled more than 1，000 pages.

Publishing technology was backward back in the 1980s. In the typesetting of the dictionary， the Myanmar language words were typed with a mechanical typewriter while the Chinese content was done with a Chinese laser typesetter. Following that， Wang had to cut and paste all the entries one-by-one onto printing plates.

“With the help of three students， I finished the typesetting of over 2，000 pages in around six months，” Wang said. “Then， I sent the 2，000-odd ink-printed pages to the press for photomechanical printing.”

Unremitting Learning and Teaching Efforts

The compilation of Chinese-Myanmar Language Dictionary began in 1972 and was finished in 1984. The dictionary contains 65，000 Chinese entries， including characters， words， phrases， idioms and folk adages. It covers various disciplines and subjects. It was highly regarded by translators in China and Myanmar for its usefulness.

The dictionary includes entries of not only standard contemporary Chinese， but also classical Chinese. The entries are bilingual， in Chinese and Myanmar language. As for idioms， sayings and folk adages， the dictionary not only gives clear explanations， but also provides different translations according to the features of the Myanmar language. Additionally， it offers corresponding English words for Myanmar language words transliterated from English.

“I am working with my students on the fourth edition of the dictionary，” Wang said. “Now the typesetting has been completed. The dictionary is expected to be printed by the end of the year.”

Wang added that a book launch will be held in Yangon following the publication of this new edition. Over 1，000 copies have been ordered by bookstores in the city. In Myanmar， many Chinese and Myanmar language teachers， students and even senior government officials refer to Chinese-Myanmar language Dictionary in their study or work.

After retiring from his long-term position as a Myanmar language teacher and translator in military and local foreign language institutes， Wang was hired as a senior editor of the Myanmar language magazine Jixiang. In this way， he still contributes to the cause of translation between Chinese and Myanmar language.

As early as 1994， Wang participated in the translation revision work with Jixiang when the magazine was started by the Information Office of the Yunnan provincial government. Wang told me that Jixiang was formerly known as Dialogue with China. The Myanmar language types for its printing were made in the 1950s. They became worn after decades of use. The characters printed with them became blurry and hard to read. Therefore， Wang sought help from his neighbor who worked at a computer technology institute at that time. They discussed developing Myanmar language typesetting software. With the concerted efforts of many institutes and professionals， a Myanmar language typesetting system came into being. Therefore， Jixiang magazine owned typesetting technology with independent intellectual property rights.

Wang is also a meticulous translator. Liu is deeply impressed with his revisions of works of translations， in which Wang made numerous marks and comments on drafts with a red pen， and gave clear and detailed explanations on words， grammar and even usages in different contexts. Under his guidance， many editors saw their Myanmar language skills improve rapidly and many passed entrance examinations for postgraduate schools. Some of them now teach at Yunnan University or Yunnan Minzu University.

Now in his late 80s， Wang still works on cultural exchange between China and Myanmar.