Ming Dao English Forum Site

Trinie

Ok, I wasn't going to post this until later, but I thought that I might as well do it now since I may not be online for awhile.

Hi Everyone!!
This is my attempt at translating Ming Dao’s “Mao Xian Wang” book. I hope that I will have everyone’s support, patience and encouragement. Since my Chinese isn’t very good, I will have quite a few errors and mistakes. I hope that you can all forgive me for that. Even though I do understand what Ming Dao is talking about, it is hard to translate into English at times. However, I will try my best to be as accurate as possible. I hope that I won’t be heavily criticized or insulted or else I will not be happy and will stop doing this. I am doing this because I really like Ming Dao a lot and want to help all of the fans that cannot read Chinese know more about him. I also want to improve my Chinese as well. But if I don’t get the support, patience and encouragement from all you, it will not motivate me to continue doing this. Sorry for this long intro, but I just want to protect myself because I have tried translating things before and was badly criticized. Hope you all enjoy reading my bad translation. I want to do the whole book, but it will take me a LONG time due to school and other stuff. I also get lazy too, so I really need all of your encouragement and support. The things written in parenthesis are my comments, not Ming Dao’s. I hope that you will all learn more about Ming Dao because I did. He is truly worth us all loving and supporting. Please don’t post my translation anywhere without letting me know. If anyone has questions or comments or simply just want to rush me, just PM or email me at Chingsui@fastermail.com... Ok here goes….

-What some others said about Ming Dao what they think of him and his Adventure Journey-

“He is a very serious, very filially obedient child, is enthusiastically fighting for everything in his own future. I will never be able to forget when he just received his reward(I think it is for doing Mao Xian Wang), he excitedly told me “I can finally help my family members!” Looking at the situation in society today, a child like that is hard to find, his simplicity is really worth us supporting him; his new book is really worth us attentively reading”-Sun De Rong (the manager of Jungiery Star)

“Ming Dao is really lucky, he is so young and is able to travel everywhere and take risks all around, unlike me who before was only in China, so each time I hear him talk about his taking risks adventures, I get very entranced, I feel extremely admirable towards him! Xie Zhi (one of the members of 5566) and I have already made an appointment with him, we will definitely go on a taking risks adventure with him, that would definitely be extremely fun!” Sam Wang Shao-Wei (member of 5566 and the host of China Story, 183 Club didn’t exist during that time yet).

“Traveling on foot for this program is actually really hardwork and dangerous, but is very exciting and fun! Watching Ming Dao step each step and leaving a footprint brings everyone into all different worlds and lands that helps you learn through his personal life experiences and get along with nature, there is just so many rare experiences now that is expressed through writing and is shared with everyone, it is extremely wonderful, I just cannot bear not to sign up to participate in Ming Dao’s world of adventure in taking risks!” Sun Xie-Zhi (another member of 5566 and the host of Taiwan’s story).

-Very short bio on Ming Dao

He is a university student, his family background is not very outstanding/not very well off, his parents are vegetable dealers, within the children, only he was able to make it into university, when he entered the entertainment circle, his first job was to host “Adventure Journey”(Mao Xian Wang). But what people cannot imagine is up to that point, he has never had any experience going to another country. Because of this program, before leaving, he relentlessly researched all of the details, as a result, the leading director was really shocked because he himself felt that Ming Dao has never left his country before, what did he have that enabled him to understand and observe the traditions and customs of people and their history and culture, it is this convincing strength that allowed him to risk his life to take down all of these details, it led to his first plane ticket, from that point on, he stepped onto his adventure journey…

Ming Dao’s Preface

“Starting from the very first plane ticket”

“Hello everyone, I am Ming Dao, my position right now is Thailand’s “Man Gu” (Sorry I forgot the meaning of these 2 characters, so I just put down the pin yin for it)!” This was my first sentence during the very first episode of the risk taking adventures, it was also the first time in my life that I talked in front of the camera lens, that feeling was really strange. During that time, there were people who would place the focal point on you, it didn’t matter if there was the anxiousness of the camera shape, or the invisibility of the worried host, it would all allow people to be really…. embarrassed..

That’s right, to look again for a word even more suitable compared to the word “embarrassing” was hard, during that time, even if I blinked my eyes, I would feel like I have done something wrong, from head to feet, even if one part wasn’t coordinated, that wouldn’t be acceptable, ten times!! No, no, no…. 12 times, what I mean is…. this portion of words has been said 12 times!!! Among one of those times, still saying “Hello everyone, I am Thailand’s ‘man gu’!”, so embarrassing! But the embarrassment of the person in command comes before this; actually, I don’t even have a passport, to confirm it a little bit more, I…. have never left my country before!

Yes, it is like right now, you think of everything, telling a person who has never left the country to host a foreign vacation program, it’s like asking a person who has never been into the kitchen to cook a table full of dishes. Besides the 2 words “brave”(in Chinese it is 2 words), I honestly can’t think of an even better word to describe my manufacturer.

Actually, leading to boarding the plane to Thailand, I am confirming prior to these 22 years, I have never thought of wanting to leave the country, because I thought that was a stupid matter, but the main stupid reason is that each person has to spend 20,000 to 30,000 dollars(in New Taiwan dollars, Taiwan monetary) for a plane ticket, how is that?? From Taipei to Ping Dong, the round trip bus ticket is at most 2,000 dollars and that would do, it is not good to go to Ping Dong? Also, even though in comparison, leaving the country is rather fresh, in the light of thinking that I have to spend 30,000 dollars, I am not happy, so I will not even make jokes about it anymore!

Therefore, in my state of thoughts/words, leaving the country itself is rather coming close to the program and is causing me to become excited, because my traveling experience is limited, besides last year going to the southern region( I am guessing it’s another country south of Taiwan, I am not sure since he did not specify which country he is referring to), I have just stayed within my country. I went on vacation after graduating from high school( I guess he graduated from high school a lot later than usual?), suddenly I can leave the country, besides nervously asking “Do I have to pay for the plane ticket fee?” what’s left is that I have to announce to the world…. “I have to go and sit on an airplane!” During these past 2 years, because we(Ming Dao and his crew) have had firsthand experience of going to a number of districts/areas, we most often are asked by people, “Is it full of suffering and hardships over there?”, “Their children are so young and still must go to work already!”, “Is it really pitiful or not?”…. Normally, I’d just give a very short and simple answer like “It’s all good!”, “Yea! There are some hardships!” But I actually really don’t feel that they are pitiful, even more clearly speaking, I can feel that their lives are even happier compared to mine (really? I wonder how?).

“My family owns a vegetable market stand/stall, ever since I was young, I had to be at the vegetable market stand to help out”

Within my environment, children helping to work is a natural thing that could not be avoided, also my first job’s professional title was “Boss!” Ever since I was 12 years old, I had to go to the market stall to help out, starting from the first day, I was the boss, even cast aside and minor issues, I had to settle them all, regardless if business was good or not, I would have to take responsibility. In reality, I did not earn any money, but being boss really made me enjoy myself to the fullest, within the stall, I had the highest position (no wonder he is so good at playing those leadership roles), if I did not want to do business with you, even if you paid 10 times more, you will not be able to buy even the main part of my little fish. My neighboring stall sold roasted duck, gosh their family! These 2 sisters were the same year as me, besides the time attending school with me, I sold the main parts of fish, they sold roasted duck. Actually, we felt quite happy.

As for our daily life being filled with hardships or not, I even thought that facing each other was wrong and absolute, also probably as far as Taiwan, their way of life is relatively short of something, but what if you take England and compare it to Taiwan? We would be on our way to becoming people who are facing hardships, actually this way of comparing is not all objective and is even meaningless, if he comparatively faces his environment, he will really live a life that is rather different, that is what I will also feel is… Wow! He is relatively facing hardships. But the tribes within the mountains are even that way, I feel that not having water and electricity is really scary, they feel that having to pay money to buy a house is really funny, the top of the mountains are that big, there are so many trees, go and chop it yourself, can build it as big as you want, they have a field to go hunting, at least the pressure of filling their stomach is solved. We have to go to work, we each have a variety of different pressures and sums of money to deal with, such as the house(like paying the mortgage or rent), cars,.. all of these different kinds of worries, who is relatively happy, it is still hard to say.

It’s probably because I used this method to look at each individual person that I encountered and met, that I was able to get rid of the view of taking pity on the classes/kinds, standing on the same level and respect with them, using their eyes to look at the world, I felt that I was even more able to feel and accept their happiness and authentic way of life.

Because of the environment that I grew up in, I am used to using the lowest angle to look at this world, standing at the bottom of society and going up to look, each time standing/stepping down a little, you see the world is a little bit bigger, there are a little more people in these places, there are nobles and aristocrats, there are the poor and lowly, there are people who live in villas, there are also people who live in straw houses, they allowed me to see things that I originally was not able to see, understand things that I originally was not able to understand, going through each pair of eyes that I encountered, I was able to see countless worlds……
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Macey · Crazy about Ming Dao Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 581

Wow. Awesome job translating it.

AyUmIXx · Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:51 am Post subject:

wowww...
thanks so much for the translation..
what book was that?
can i see the cover for the book pls?
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Trinie · Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:01 pm Post subject:

Thanks Macey for your compliment and for taking the time to read my bad translation.

To AyUmIXx, Thanks for your compliment and for reading my translation. This was the book that Ming Dao wrote himself about his Mao Xian Wang Adventures. So far, I just posted what people said about him and his preface. I am working on each individual country right now. You can view the cover at the following link:

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept....ode-c/version-all/pid-1003659627/

If people are still interested in reading, than I will continue... If not, then I can just stop or not post it here anymore....
_________________
Respect other's peoples opinions and views and they will respect yours!!!

Macey · Crazy about Ming Dao Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Posts: 581

Anytime. By translating a lot, you're get the hang of getting even better.

AyUmIXx · Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:05 am Post subject:

jessie85 · Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:25 am Post subject:

Hehe... Awesome job!!

Ahhh...jz dun bother if ppl are rude..
Some ppl are jz like that....
Jz do when u feel like doing it... n stop whenever u dun feel up to it...

No pressure...gal!!
Anyway.... good job so far!!

ChunzErica · Ming Dao's New Fans Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 31

wow...i just read it...great ....my chinese..not good enought to read a book...thanks!..i hope you'll do more...

Trinie · Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:35 pm Post subject:

To Macey,
Thanks again! I also want to tell you that I have translated a lot of things before so this is not my first time. THis is my first time doing a full length book though..

To AyUmIXx,
You are welcome! Yea, it is all in Chinese so it is actually useless to have it if you can't read Chinese. Thanks for your support and encouragement.

To Jessie85,
Thank you so much for your compliment and support. I really appreciate it. I want to finish the whole book, but it will take A LOT of time and work so I really need all of your support, patience and encouragement.One of my mini goals in life is to finish translating a whole book. I hope that this one will be my first one...

To ChunzErica,
You are welcome and yea I will do more, but whether I post it here or not really depends on you guys. If you guys are interested in reading, I will do more and post it here. If not, then even if I do translate more, I may or may not post it here.
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Respect other's peoples opinions and views and they will respect yours!!!

moomoocows · Just know Ming Dao Joined: 06 Dec 2006 Posts: 11

you are doing very well. i think i read this in the af forum right?
props to you.

my chinese is limited, so i obviously wont buy the book. so thanks so much for the translations. its really interesting.

i wish i can go on a trip like that only that i am not brave enough to take the challenge. bungee jump, swimming in those village lakes are just too much for me.
once again....i feel really thankful for where i am now but i guess its also a great experience to see ppl around the world