Translation of article about the story of a Japanese soldier & a Chinese girl during WWII

Jan 09, 2006 15:14

repr0b8 just posted a really beautiful post called 1945: An American GI falls in love with a Japanese girl...31 years later, Jeff is born. Well that's the LJ-cut, but I like it more than the actual post title :) I'm a complete sucker for stories about love stories and friendships that overcome 'enemy-hood' during wartime. When they're true stories, it's even more gorgeous.

Jeff's post reminded me of a few things. First, that Australia at one time also had a White Australia Policy that excluded non-white people from immigrating to Australia. A policy similar to the ones possessed by the US, Canada and New Zealand. It also reminded me that I've been meaning to translate this article for such a long time. I've always had a very deep interest in Sino-Japanese history - reading up on it, visiting Nanjing and the Massacre Museum. I also intend to visit Unit 731 when I'm in Harbin. Posts on the subject and accounts of my visits to Nanjing and Kunming are here. Generally most of my travel posts are locked, but I've unlocked most of my posts relating to Sino-Japanese matters.

One thing that struck me when I was going through the articles and stories of what happened during World War II, they were almost without fail, horribly bleak. Even with the Nazis - there were always the occasional stories of a kind-hearted Nazi who had helped out some Jews .... we had the story of Schindler's List. Most wars also have stories of hope and love that transcend enemy lines. What really bothered me was that I had been unable to find any stories of Japanese soldiers who had helped Chinese people - all of the accounts were about tragedy, heartache, cruelty and barbarism.

I've been to the Killing Fields and the prisons in Cambodia but when I was at the Massacre Museum, in Nanjing, it was the first time in my life that I felt almost physical pain and shock at the images I saw before me and the things that I read. Some of what I saw and read was beyond comprehension. The Japanese took an almost ghoulish delight in photographing and documenting everything - even tiny babies were not immune from what they did. There were stories of hope - Americans and other foreigners who tried to help but for the most part, it was very dark and bleak.

At that time, I thought back on the delight I felt when I had come across this article in a Chinese newspaper. To be honest, it's the only one I've ever found but it's the lovely true story of a Japanese soldier who found himself unable to continue killing after he met a Chinese girl in Jin Tan. I'm sure there are other stories out there and I'll keep looking. It's a lovely reminder that despite the ugliness, there are pockets of hope and beauty and that the designation of 'enemy' is one given by the State. Apologies for the awkwardness of the syntax - I find Chinese incredibly hard to translate because the word order and expression is so completely different from English :P

日本老兵“谢罪之旅”幕后:一个中国女孩改变他
Behind the scenes of an old Japanese soldier's journey to apologise for his crimes: A Chinese girl changed me

新华社记者黄明报道
Xin Hua News Agency

5月24日,91岁的日本侵华老兵本多立太郎完成了他在中国的“谢罪之旅”,然而,他留下的故事却并没有因为他的离去而结束。
24 May 2005, 91 year old former Japanese soldier Ben Duo Li Tai Lang was a member of the Japanese forces which invaded China has completed his journey to China to apologise for his crimes. Even so, he was not able to finish his story as it is one that has no ending.

在本多谢罪期间,作为对他进行全程跟踪采访的记者,我和他的翻译、日本记者朱弘曾试图要帮助他完成一个心愿--寻找一个曾经震撼本多并使他放下屠刀的中国女孩。遗憾的是,虽四处查找,他的这个心愿也许永远都无法实现了。但是,那个发生在一个日本士兵和一名中国女孩之间的故事,却深深地印在了我的心里。
During the period of Ben Duo's apologies for his crimes, I acted as his interviewing journalist along with his interpreter, a Japanese journalist, in an attempt to help him attain his most cherished wish which was to find a young Chinese girl who had affected him greatly, changing his world, reforming him and inspire him to cease his wrongdoing. Of most regret is that although we searched everywhere, his heart's desire will forever remain unattained. Nonetheless, the story of what took place between the Japanese soldier and a young Chinese girl most profoundly resonates in my heart.

“使我下决心永不杀人的,是一位美丽而刚强的金坛女孩”
"What caused me to forever no longer wish to kill others, was a beautiful but unyielding (determined/resolute) young girl from Jin Tan

“1939年8月,我被派驻江苏金坛。入伍前,我在东京《朝日新闻》工作。同年10月,作为新兵,我在训练中亲手杀死了一名中国战俘,这是我一生都不能忘却的噩梦。但,自那以后,我绝对没有再有意杀过人。使我下决心永不杀人的,是一位美丽而刚强的金坛女孩。
On 8 April 1939, I was despatched to Jin Tan in Jiangsu Province in China. Prior to joining the army, I had worked in Tokyo at "Morning Sun News". In October of that year, I had just newly become a soldier and during training I had personally killed a Chinese prisoner of war. For the rest of my life, this is a hideous nightmare that is something that I will never be able to forget. But, after that, I can definitely say that I never again intentionally killed another human being. What caused me to forever no longer wish to kill others was a beautiful but unyielding (determined/resolute) young girl from Jin Tan.

“我是基督徒,每逢周日,别的士兵去慰安所,我就去一个小公园(现在的金坛市华罗庚公园,当时叫中山公园)看书。一次,我正在看书,一个小男孩的球滚到了我脚下。我把球捡起来递给他,他对我说了声‘谢谢’。这时,男孩的身后传来一声怒斥:‘不许和日本人在一起!’是一个十七八岁的女孩。小男孩跟着她走了。
I'm a Christian. Every Sunday, the other soldiers would go to Comfort Houses, I would go on my own to a small garden (this garden is now called Hua Luo Geng Garden (named after a famous mathematician), at that time it was called Middle Mountain Garden) to read. One time, while I was reading, a small boy's soccer ball rolled up against my feet. I picked up the ball to return it to him, he said thank you to me. An extremely furious voice came from behind the small boy: "You're not allowed to associate with Japanese people!" It was a 17 year old girl. The little boy left with her.

“后来,我常去看书,男孩也常去玩球,我们就熟了。从他那里得知,那女孩是他姐姐,父亲在卫生系统工作,姓‘吴’(音,或伍)。这个女孩实在是漂亮,但她每次见了我就闪身躲开。
After that, I freqently went to read and often also played ball with the little boy and we became quite well-acquainted with one another. I found out from the little boy that the girl was his older sister and that his father worked in the Health and Sanitation Department. Their surname was Wu (It could have been Wu written as 吴 or as Wu 伍). This young girl was truly beautiful, but each time she saw me she blatantly avoided me and stepped aside.

“在那个时候,我和中国百姓交往,是违反军规的。
At that time, the fact that I was associating with common Chinese people was contrary to military law.

“再后来,我和小男孩的父亲也渐渐熟了。大概是1940年3月的一个周日,男孩的家人邀请我一同到郊外顾龙山塔游玩。女孩也去了。她父亲让她为大家唱一首歌,女孩勃然大怒:‘我会唱歌献给殉国的勇士,但我绝不会给日本人唱。’
Later on, I and the little boy's father gradually also became well-acquainted. It was about March 1940 on one Sunday when the little boy's family asked me to go with them on an outing to the outskirts of the town to Dragon Mountain Pagoda to go sightseeing. The young girl always came with us. Her father asked her to sing a song for all of us. The young girl very agitatedly and furiously said: "I'll sing a song for the soldiers who are dying and sacrificing themselves for China but I most certainly will not sing for a Japanese soldier".

[Note from Koala: If you think that the girl's words are a little melodramatic, if you see my posts on Nanjing, you'll understand why she felt so strongly].

“说完,女孩向山间的桃林跑去。当时,正是桃花开放的时候。在一棵开满桃花的树下,我追上了女孩。她背靠着桃树,身体因发怒而仍然在颤抖。我对她说:‘我相信,你唱起祖国光复之歌的日子一定会到来,而且,我也希望这一天更早地到来。’说完,我给女孩深深地鞠了一躬……
After she finished speaking, the girl ran towards the Peach Tree Forest that was between us and the mountain. At that time, the peach flowers had started to blossom. I found the young girl beneath a tree where the peach blossoms were in full bloom. She was clearly still furious and her whole body was shaking. I said to her: "I believe that the day when you can again sing songs of love for your country will come again .... moreover, I also hope that such a day will come swiftly". Once I had finished speaking, I gave the young girl a very deep and respectful bow.

“我确实没有再有意识地去伤害任何人,我总是乘人不注意放空枪”
After that, I truly never wished again to intentionally harm another person. When I fired my gun, I didn't deliberately aim it at anyone.

“后来,我所在的部队接到了出征的命令。我们全副武装,穿着皮靴,列着长队,踏着金坛的石板路前进,金坛的许多老百姓在两边观看。
After that, an order was issued that the troops were to set forth. All of us were in full military uniform, wearing leather boots, marching in formation along the paved streets of Jin Tan. Many of the residents of Jin Tan came out and stood on both sides of the road to watch us.

“忽然,男孩的身影闪了进来,塞给我一张纸条,然后迅速离开。纸条上写着:愿君,不事杀戮;愿君,不战死疆场。我猛地全身一热,抬头寻找,终于发现了人群中女孩的身影。
Suddenly, I saw the brief shadow of the little boy appear, he sneakily pressed a small note into my hands and after that swiftly left. Written on the paper was: "Dear sir, please do not participate in the slaughter of my people, please do not die on the battlefield". My whole body felt a sudden and violent rush of heat. My head turned to seek her out. Finally I caught a glimpse of her, standing in the centre of a group of people.

“当时,我恨不得扔下所有的装备扑上去对她说:‘难道我还会去杀人吗?’但是,我不能,只能远远地对女孩点点头。
At that time, I desperately wanted nothing more than to throw my weapons aside and say to her: "Can it be that I could still go forth and kill people?" But that was impossible, I could not do that, all I could do was nod my head towards a young girl who grew more and more distant from me as I marched.

“我当时心想:不战死疆场,我不敢保证;但不事杀戮,我绝对可以做到。在以后战场上远距离的对射中,有没有打中过中国军人我不知道,但我确实没有再有意识地去伤害任何人,我总是乘人不注意的时候放空枪。
At that time, I thought: not to die on the battlefield - this was something that I could not guarantee. But not to deliberately kill her people? This was something that I definitely was able to do. In battles after that, I can't say if if I ever shot a Chinese soldier - but I can say that I never deliberately aimed at anyone and did not deliberately fire upon anyone.

“我以后再也没有见过这个女孩。但,在我的心目中,她是我认识的最美丽、最值得尊敬的女孩。”
I never saw that young girl again but in my heart's memory, she was the girl who was the most beautiful and worthy of honouring young girl I ever met"

这是一个没有结局的故事
This is a story that has no ending.

我和本多的翻译朱弘知道了这个故事后,非常想帮助他完成这个心愿。5月22日,本多来到当年侵华日军的驻地江苏金坛谢罪。在金坛市有关部门的帮助下,我们找到了熟悉当时情况的范学贵老人。范老是文史爱好者,对金坛历史颇有研究。他说,当时金坛县城的人口不过五千余人,应该能找到线索的。
After Ben Duo's intepreter and I learned of this story, we very much wanted to help him to achieve his heart's wish. On 22 May, Ben Duo came to Jin Tan, Jiang Su on his journey of apology for crimes that he had committed. With the assistance of the relevant departments in Jin Tan City, we were able to locate an old person who was familiar with the circumstances of that time. Mr Lao's hobby was literature and history, and had a great interest in the history of Jin Tan. He said at that time, Jin Tan's population did not exceed 5,000 persons or so. Accordingly it should be possible to find a clue.

于是,我们把查找线索的事托给了范老,即寻找姓吴(或伍、吾)、当时十八九岁、家住金坛东门、父亲在卫生系统工作的女孩。
Consequently, we gave all of the clues and information we had to Mr Fan to enable him to try to find the Wu family who at that time had a 18 or 19 year old daughter whose father worked in the Health/Sanitation Department.

23日早上,范老给我们打电话,说有线索了:一个叫吴菊英的女子,1919年生,家住东门并在卫生系统工作。太像了!这个消息曾经让我和朱弘很兴奋。我们立即随范老,赶到金坛市公安局查找相关线索。然而,公安局并没有这个“吴菊英”的资料,而其他叫吴菊英的人,显然都不是。
On the morning of the 23rd, Mr Fan gave us a phone call. He told us he had found a clue. There was a girl named Wu Ju Ying who was born in 1919, her house was by the East Gate and worked at the Health/Sanitation Department. Too similar! This made Ben Duo's interpreter and myself extremely excited. We immediately went with Mr Lao to Jin Tan City's Police and Security Bureau (PSB) to search for other related clues. Unfortunately, the PSB had no information about "Wu Ju Ying" or anything else about anyone else named Wu Ju Ying.

当然,这是一个没有结局的故事。
Of course, this is a story that does not have an ending.

虽然有些遗憾,但值得欣慰的是,我们应该感到骄傲--为一个充满了爱国情怀而又美丽刚强的中国女子!
Although there are regrets, but what is gratifying and worthwhile is that we should feel proud that such a young, patriotic and beautiful girl existed.

[Ooops sorry, had to make a correction so post was temporarily locked :P ]

white australia policy, things that matter to me, sino-japanese, australia, history

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