Hero of Translation

A Chinese citizen of American-Jewish descent， Sidney Shapiro named himself Sha Boli， which literally means “knowledgeable and wise” in Chinese. Shapiro arrived in China in 1947 and married Fengzi （Phoenix）， a Chinese theatrical artist and writer. After developing great passion for China and Chinese culture， Shapiro became a Chinese citizen in 1963， with approval from Premier Zhou Enlai.

Beginning in 1951， as a foreign expert， Shapiro was engaged in translating and editing， successively working at the Bureau of Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries， Foreign Languages Press and China Pictorial magazine. In 1982， Shapiro began to participate in the deliberation of state affairs as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）， the country’s top advisory body. Considering his contributions to China’s literary translation and international communication， Shapiro was awarded many prizes like “You Bring Charm to China”Award （2009）， the Lifetime Achievement Award in Translation（2010）， and Lifetime Achievement Award of Chinese Influencing the World （2011）.

Shapiro’s translation work can be divided into three phases. The first phase stretched from 1949 to 1966， a period which be- came his translation prime. From 1951 to 1966， he translated 111 works， which were published in Chinese Literature across 3，237 pages. Those works focused on Chinese revolutionary novels and most were later published as English novels after editing. According to Shapiro’s autobiography， he enjoyed such work， and felt a rapport with many of the characters. “Chinese heroes and heroines have courage and boldness strongly reminiscent of the American pioneer spirit，” remarked Shapiro， whose adventurous vigor and imagination mirrored many characters. His representative works of the era include Tracks in the Snowy Forest and Daughters and Sons. Daughters and Sons was the first Chinese novel published in the U.S. after the founding of the People’s Republic， which helped build New China’s image in the world.

The decade of the “cultural revolution” （1966-1976） marked the second phase of Shapiro’s translation career. This period gave birth to his most influential translation， Outlaws of the Marsh， which even catapulted him into a fight with the “Gang of Four.”According to Shapiro’s recollection， his original choice for the book’s title was Heroes of the Marsh. The “Gang of Four” asked him to change the name because they didn’t think the characters in the book should be dubbed “heroes.” Shapiro suggested “outlaws” instead， which he still considered celebratory to some extent， but was considered negative enough to satisfy the “Gang of Four.”Shapiro’s Outlaws of the Marsh won him both great acclaim and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Translation， China’s highest honor for translators granted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. “Shapiro’s happy writing style makes the Chinese novel – popular with Chinese readers for centuries – interesting to outsiders，” opined Burton Rafael， a professor at University of Denver， in a book review published in The Wall Street Journal Asia on August 27， 1981.

“Pearl Buck’s All Men Are Brothers brought pieces of Outlaws to the West，” noted American Sinologist Cyril Birch in Wilson Quarterly. “But Shapiro’s effort represents a three-fold improvement： His knowledge of Chinese makes this version more accurate， his straight-forward English proves more graceful than Buck’s Sinicized patois， and his reliance on earlier editions of the original produces a more comprehensive text… A saga of medieval daring-do， it has the advantage of being the genuine article.”In 2000， Shapiro’s English edition of Outlaws of the Marsh was included in the Library of Chinese Classics project by Foreign Languages Press.

The third period of Shapiro’s translation career began in the wake of the “cultural revolution.” After 1983 when he retired， Shapiro put more effort into writing. He published Ma Haide： The Saga of American Doctor George Hatem in China and My China： The Metamorphosis of a Country and A Man， making his dream of being a writer come true. After conducting research in Sichuan Province many times， he finished Experiment in Sichuan. Additionally， he compiled Jews in Old China： Studies by Chinese Scholars， The Law and the Lore of China’s Criminal Justice and A Sampler of Chinese Literature from Ming Dynasty to Mao Zedong， three books of great academic value that drew international attention. His major translation work of this period was Deng Xiaoping and the Cultural Revolution – A Daughter Recalls the Critical Years， a book written by Deng Rong， Deng Xiaoping’s daughter. Shapiro was personally asked by Deng Rong to translate the book into English. “I read the book and enjoyed it， but realized it would present difficulties to the average foreign reader，” Shapiro wrote in the introduction of the English edition. “For it is a book about remarkable persons in a land called China， people with their own history， culture and customs， under extremely trying circumstances.” In order to represent the historical and cultural events， Shapiro wrote a special preface as well as postscript and employed translation tactics like condensing and addition.

In his youth， Shapiro was educated in his home land， so his social and aesthetic values remained imprinted with American characteristics. Later in his life， he was influenced by Chinese culture and in his books， autobiography and speeches he showed great love for China. Phoenix， no doubt， served as a bridge between him and the country. “Phoenix was more than a wife to me. She was an integral part of China， a continual stream that flowed between China and me， the essence of a people， a country， a society，” Shapiro wrote in his book.