Current mood:	self-satisfied
Current music:	tragic music would be appropriate
Entry tags:	chinese, translation

成语新编：孟母三迁。
《孟母三迁》("The Three Movings of Meng Zi's Mother") is an old Chinese story. It tells the tale of the mother of Meng Zi, the great philosopher, who, when Meng Zi was small, moved home three times. First, they moved near a blacksmith's shop. When Meng Zi's mother found him playing with metal scraps, she decided to move. Next, they moved near a graveyard. Meng Zi's mother found him imitating the mourners and holding mock funerals. Finally, she moved them to a house beside a school. Meng Zi discovered a great interest in studying, and eventually became a great scholar. The story is supposed to express the extent to which parents go for the sake of their children.

As an assignment in Chinese class, we were supposed to take a well-known proverb in Chinese, and write a new story based on the original meaning. Here's my new rewriting (and translation) of "The Three Movings of Meng Zi's Mother". If Meng Zi saw this, he might turn over in his grave.

孟母三迁

孟子是个好孩子。从小就听话，懂事，能干。在小学班上汉语考试第一。因为孟子自然很优秀，所以孟母不太关心孩子的教育。一天孟母在电视上看到关于学英语的新闻节目。主持人说缺乏英文知识是面对今日中国儿童最严重的问题。很多公司都在向西方发展，以后想在找个好工作最好学英文。孟子回家之后孟母问儿子英文成绩如何。孟子回答不太好。

孟母几天晚上没睡好觉，为了这差事失眠。过了几个星期孟母请来了一位英语家教。教了半年之后，孟子的英文成绩依然马马虎虎。孟母急得饭都吃不了。上初中的时候孟母把孟子送去市里的特殊英文语言学校。送了两年之后孟母发现儿子在几乎每一项目的表演都非常精彩，就是英文成绩还不够满意。孟母想了好长时间，最后索性把孩子送出国。妹妹家在美国加州，答应把孟子收下来三年，在美国读高中。过了半年，孟母听说孟子英文飞跃进步，乐得合不上嘴.

三年过了，让孩子回中国上大学的时候，孟母去机场，高高兴兴去迎接长大的儿子。儿子一开口孟母就傻了。孟子的英文确实已经到了母语程度，只是可惜他的中文已经忘得一干二净了。用着结结巴巴，含有古怪口音的中文，孟子告诉母亲他已经决定在美国上大学，申请美国公民，都交了一个白人女朋友。今年夏天还能回国陪妈妈呆几个月，同时复习一下中文，已经了不起了。


The Three Movings of Meng Zi's Mother**

Meng Zi was a good child. From birth, he was obedient, well-behaved, and capable. In elementary school, he came in first on the Chinese language exams. Because Meng Zi was naturally very gifted, Meng Zi's mother never worried too much about her child's education. One day while watching TV, Meng Zi's mother saw a news segment on learning English. The newscaster said that the lack of English language proficiency was the most serious problem facing Chinese children today. Many companies are reaching out to the West. To get a good job later on in life, one should learn English. When Meng Zi came home, Meng Zi's mother asked him how his English scores were. Meng Zi replied that they weren't too great.

For several nights, Meng Zi's mother lost sleep worrying about this. After a few weeks, Meng Zi's mother hired an English tutor. After half a year, Meng Zi's English scores were still very mediocre. Meng Zi's mother was so worried she could hardly eat. When Meng Zi began middle school, Meng Zi's mother sent him to the special English language school in the city. After two years, Meng Zi's mother discovered that her son's performance in every subject was excellent, but English was still not satisfactory. Meng Zi's mother considered this for a long time, and finally decided to send her son overseas. Her younger sister, who lived in California, agreed to take him in for three years so he could go to high school in America. After half a year, when Meng Zi's mother heard the news that Meng Zi's English was making rapid improvement, she was so happy she could hardly stop smiling.

After three years, when it was time to let him come back to China and attend college, Meng Zi's mother went to the airport, happy to welcome back her son, all grown up. When he opened his mouth, Meng Zi's mother was dumbstruck. Meng Zi's English had truly reached native speaker level, but it was a shame he had nearly forgotten all of his Chinese. In stuttering, strangely-accented Chinese, Meng Zi told his mother that he had already decided to go to school in the States and to apply for American citizenship. He was even dating a white girl. This summer, for him to come back here and visit his mother for a few months, and practice his Chinese at the same time, was already a fairly big sacrifice.

Copyright, 2009, cette_vie.


** This tale is in no way inspired by the author's biographical story. *cough*