US author adapts Great Wall story about love

廣西柳州市鹿寨中學 梁宇耀

精彩導讀

49歲的美國小說家John Shors在游歷長城、咨詢了大約六位中國文化和歷史專家，并查閱了諸多關于長城的典籍后，歷時兩年，根據中國古典小說《孟姜女》，創作了小說Unbound。賦予婦女權利是故事中的一個重要主題，Shors希望他的女主角孟能反映出女性在中國歷史上所扮演的強大角色。因此，他賦予了新作皆大歡喜的結局。

American novelist John Shors， 49， has seven novels and all of themare set inAsia.

His latest novel Unbound is a love story thattakes placeon the Great Wall.Unboundis based onan ancient Chinese folk tale about Lady Meng Jiang.Shorsfleshed outthe original story with fictional side characters and subplots（次要情節）.

While the folk tale ends with the tragic（悲慘的）deaths of Meng and her husband Fan Xiliang，Shors finished his version with a pleasant ending.

Christine Branstad，the wife of the US ambassador to China， Terry Branstad， has read Unbound andrecommendedittofriends and family，both in China and in the United States.Commenting on the book， she said in an e-mail，“My husband and I have both read it and loved the beauty of the story and the history of the Great Wall.It is a true gift to be able to share that story with the world.”

The tall，thin and soft-spoken author backpacked（背包旅行）across 10 Asian countries when he was 24.And，in 1999，when he was backpacking again in Asia with his wife Allison，Shors discovered the love story behind India's Taj Mahal that inspired his first novel，Beneath a Marble Sky.Since then he has written stories set in Vietnam，Thailand，Cambodiaand Japan.

“I wanted to see the Great Wall， I wanted to walk it， I wanted to understand it， and of course， I wanted to write a book about it，” said Shors.

To create an accurate portrayal（描述）of Chinese culture for the book，Shors spent four months researching before his book in 2014，a two-week trip to Beijing in 2013 included.Then，he walked along the Great Wall for almost a week and felt the texture（質地）of the bricks，in an effort to imagine spending time on it from the perspectives（觀點）of his characters in the book.

“My time on the Great Wall allowed me to see its beauty.”said Shors.

“This is a graceful， elaborate structure that is far more than a never-ending pile of stacked (堆疊的)stones.”

Shors admits to his limitations of having torely onEnglish translations of Chinese historical accounts.

During the two-year writing process，he consulted（咨詢）about six experts on Chinese culture and history，including a few from the University of Colorado and onefrom China.Referring to Shors'efforts to get the rightdetails， Jeremiah Jenne， a Chinese history teacher said，“The research shors did on material culture is really fruitful， like some of the descriptions of the clothing，weapons and food.”

The book is titled Unbound because its heroine，Meng，has unbound feet and what Shors calls an“unbound spirit”.

Women's empowerment（授權）is an important subject in the story.As Shors sees it，Chinese women pushed boundaries in very subtle （微妙的）ways，for instance，in writing good poetry and getting out of home to travel.

Shors wanted his heroine Meng to reflect the powerful roles women played in China's history.

“I think there's a concept（概念） in the West that historically women in Asia were powerless.I just don't think that's accurate，” said Shors.

“I wanted to show women as they truly were，perhaps repressed（被壓制的）but yet powerful in their own way.”

And he doesn't expect there to be more criticism（批評）coming from Chinese readers than from other parts of the world.

Mrs Huang，who worked with Shors when the Chinese version of his fourth book The Wishing Trees was published in China in 2011，said she considers Unbound a “faithful， interesting and innovative approach”to Chinese traditional folk tales that willappeal toreaders beyond China.

閱讀掃障

1.be set in以……為背景

2.take place發生

3.be based on以……為基礎

4.flesh out使有血有肉；充實；使……具體化

5.recommend...to把……推薦給

6.rely on依靠

7.refer to提到；參考

8.for instance例如

9.appeal to 引起興趣；有吸引力

語言提取

1.民間故事是以孟和丈夫范喜良的慘死結尾，而Shors則以一個愉快的結局結束了他的故事。_______the folk tale ends with the tragic deaths of Meng and her husband Fan Xiliang，Shors finished his version with a pleasant ending.

【點石成金】while引導讓步狀語從句時，需要放在主句前面。答案為While。

2.能夠與世界分享這個故事是一個真正的禮物。_______to be able to share that story with the world.

【點石成金】it常可用于代替動詞不定式，充當句子的形式主語。句中it代替的是 to be able to share that story with the world。 答案為It is a true gift。

3.自那以后，他以越南、泰國、柬埔寨和日本為背景，寫了一些故事。

Since then he _______stories _______ Vietnam，Thailand，Cambodia and Japan.

【點石成金】現在完成時常和since連用，故第一空應填寫has written；第二空應為set in，是過去分詞作后置定語，相當于which/that are set in。答案為has written； set in。

4.（1）Shors花了4個月的時間研究了他在2014年出版的書，其中包括2013年的一次為期兩周的北京之行。

Shors spent four months researching before his book in 2014， a two-week trip to Beijing in 2013 _______（include）.

（2）在兩年的寫作過程中，他咨詢了大約六位中國文化和歷史專家，其中幾位來自科羅拉多大學，一位來自中國。

During the two-year writing process，he consulted about six experts on Chinese culture and history， ________（include）a few from the University of Colorado and one from China.

【點石成金】included和including用法不同。前者用于sb/sth included結構，而后者用于including sb/sth結構。答案分別為included和including。

5.一位教中國歷史的教師Jeremiah Jenne在談到Shors為了弄清細節所做的努力時說……

_________（refer）to Shors'efforts to get the right details， Jeremiah Jenne， a Chinese history teacher says...

【點石成金】句中所缺部分應為非謂語動詞，且和主語Jeremiah Jenne構成主謂關系，故使用現在分詞作時間狀語。答案為Referring。

6.他也不期望來自中國讀者的批評會比來自世界其他地方的批評更多。

And he doesn't expect______ more criticism coming from Chinese readers than from other parts of the world.

【點石成金】expect常用在expect sb/sth to be結構中。答案為there to be。

譯文助讀

美國小說家John Shors今年49歲，已寫七部小說，都是以亞洲為背景的。

他的最新小說Unbound是發生在長城的一個愛情故事。Unbound是以中國古代孟姜女的民間故事為基礎的。Shors用虛構的側面人物和次要情節充實了原著。

民間故事是以孟和丈夫范喜良的慘死結尾，而Shors則以一個愉快的結局結束了他的故事。

美國駐華大使Terry Branstad的妻子Christine Branstad讀過Unbound這本小說，并將其推薦給在中國和美國的朋友和家人。在評論這本書時，她在一封電子郵件中說：“我和我丈夫都讀過這本書，并且喜歡這個故事的美和長城歷史的那一部分。能夠與世界分享這個故事是一個真正的禮物。

這位高個子、瘦削的、說話溫柔的作家在24歲的時候，在10個亞洲國家進行了背包旅行。1999年，當他和妻子Allison再次在亞洲背包旅行時，Shors發現了印度泰姬陵背后的愛情故事，這啟發了他的第一部小說Beneath a Marble Sky。自那以后，他以越南、泰國、柬埔寨和日本為背景，寫了一些故事。

“我想看長城，我想在它上面走一走，我想了解它，當然，我想寫一本關于它的書。”Shors說。

為了準確地描繪這本書中的中國文化，Shors花了4個月的時間研究了他在2014年出版的書，其中包括2013年的一次為期兩周的北京之行。然后，他沿著長城走了將近一周，感受到了磚塊的質地，花時間試圖從書中人物的角度來想象待在長城的情景。

“我在長城的時光讓我看到了它的美麗。”Shors說。

“這是一座優美而精致的建筑，遠遠不止一堆堆積如山的石頭。”

Shors承認，他不得不依賴中國歷史記載的英文譯本，這是他的局限性。

在兩年的寫作過程中，他咨詢了大約六位中國文化和歷史專家，其中幾位來自科羅拉多大學，一位來自中國。一位教中國歷史的教師Jeremiah Jenne在談到Shors為了弄清細節所做的努力時說：“shors對物質文化的研究是富有成效的，比如對服裝、武器和食物進行的描述。”

這本書的書名是Unbound，因為它的女主人公孟有一雙解除綁縛的腳，而Shors稱之為“無束縛的精神”。

賦予婦女權利是故事中的一個重要主題。在Shors看來，中國女性以非常微妙的方式突破了界限，比如寫好詩和外出旅游。

Shors希望他的女主角孟能反映出女性在中國歷史上所扮演的強大角色。

“我認為在西方有一種觀念，歷史上亞洲的女性是無能為力的。我只是覺得這是不準確的。”Shors說。

“我想展示女性她們真實的樣子，也許是被壓制的，但以她們自己的方式顯示強大。”

他也不期望來自中國讀者的批評會比來自世界其他地方的批評更多。

當他的第四本書《許愿樹》于2011年在中國出版時，曾與Shors合作過的黃女士說，她認為Unbound是對中國傳統民間故事“忠實、有趣和創新”的一種方式，將吸引中國以外的讀者。