麻绳绑电线--中国人的伪西化
Translation Often Leads to Distortion
每日一语:
中国文字,文化有效地摧残,毁灭了人的灵眼,智眼。 灵智残疾的中国人只剩下了他们的肉眼去肤浅地观察事物的表象。 西方文化的实质是去追求那些与动物本质不同的人的对灵智的满足。 用中国文字,文化去“西化”中国人只是用麻绳去绑电线。 但那些用返祖复兴去“西化”中国社会的人们永远不会懂得为什么自由之光在拥有大量西方硬件的中国自始就发不出光芒。 --- 陈凯
Chinese syllabic language, Chinese Confucian culture have effectively weakened and destroyed the Chinese ability to decipher meaning in human intellect and spirituality. These crippled Chinese can only use their own fleshy eyeballs to observe blankly superficial occurrences in the natural and social world. The essence of Western civilization is to pursue and satisfy the unique human aspiration in the realm of intellect and spirituality. Using Chinese language, Chinese culture to imitate the superficial occurrence in the West through importing Western hardware is only using a rope to tie an electric wire. Software transmission is entirely missing. This is why through hundreds of years of Chinese effort to Westernize via Chinese culture and language, they miserably failed. The light of freedom has yet to be ignited. --- Kai Chen
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Dear Visitors:
Though I have translated some English text into Chinese before, I am generally against such practice. Meaning, reality and truth in the original English language is either lost or distorted when one attempts to use a pictorial, syllabic language to transmit the intended meaning originated in the English language.
Today the Chinese live in high rises, wear Western suits, using motor cars and airplanes, eat in McDonalds.... Hardware change makes the appearance that China is Westernizing. But if you look into the eyes of the Chinese, if you talk with them, you will find something fundamental is still missing, something we in America take for granted -- freedom, reality, integrity, truth-seeking, meaning, value. Colorless shells are turned into colorful shells. But they are still shells. Essence, substance, soul are still missing.
I often use the analogies to describe the Chinese fake and superficial Westernization -- using basket to obtain water, using jute rope to transmit electricity, using hammer to do heart surgery, pulling one's own hair to try to fly.... In short, the Chinese must understand, though they have yet to, that freedom can only be achieved with each individual willing, able and brave enough to express oneself fully via a language that is designed, not to evade and distort truth, but to search and find truth.
Westernization will only occur in essence, if each and every Chinese individual can see objective reality, can comprehend the eternal truth via moral absolutes, can overcome fear of their own limitations to seek freedom, joy and happiness.
This, my fellow individuals, can only be achieved through an alphabetic, multi-syllable language, mainly English.
Best. Kai Chen 陈凯