As one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse has a huge influence around the world, and his works have been translated into more than 40 languages. In recent years, "Hesse fever" has also continued to spread in China, and his novels, poems, essays, letters and other works have been widely loved by readers.
What is less well known is that Hesse was "trapped by illness" throughout his life. As a child, Hesse suffered a serious eye injury because of his playfulness and self-made artillery battles, and he suffered from eye diseases all his life. In addition, he was diagnosed with "psychosis" when he was a teenager, and after middle age he also suffered from headaches and sciatica, so to speak, pain and illness always accompanied Hesse. Century Wenjing's recently released essay collection "Talking about Illness and Chatting" includes Hesse's representative essays, in which Hesse wanders through the sanatoriums of the Black Forest region in southern Germany or the lakes and mountains of the Alps, contemplating illness, time, life and faith through dialogue with the mind and nature. The book was also selected into the "2024 Summer Reading Recommended Books for Preschool, Primary and Secondary School Students by Grade" reviewed and recommended by the Youth Reading Expert Group of the School Culture Research Committee of the China Old Professors Association.
△ "Talking about Illness and Chatting" [De] Hermann Hesse, Xie Yingying, Ou Fan, translated by Shanghai People's Publishing House/Century Wenjing
Unprecedented "weirdos"
The most notable of these three parts is The Spa Spa, a unique autobiographical book in Hesse's oeuvre, which has been hailed as "Hesse's most humorous work" and tells the story of his visit to Baden for sciatica.
With his unique humor, Hesse observes the daily life of the sanatorium coldly, often revealing a profound analysis of his own soul and the symptoms of the times. In A Day's Routine, Hesse strolls through the shop windows on the street, and is amazed by the large-scale reproductions of objects and the strange possessiveness of people due to the temptation of consumerism: "For example, carving a Buddha or a Chinese god on the handle of a women's parasol is incomprehensible to me, and I feel unfamiliar and painful, even creepy, this is not like a deliberate desecration of holy relics, what kind of imagination, what kind of needs and mentality make the producers make and the customers buy such crazy things." He also couldn't understand why people sat in a café with "overly flattering sweet music and a room full of unnecessary trinkets." In Hesse's view, the natural things that remove the evils of civilization are the true embodiment of existence, so "the weasel is more powerful than a postcard, more than a concert, more than a casino", and vulgar culture not only blocks the way to the truth of the soul, but also contains a deep absurdity.
△ Hermann Hesse
The Dutch recounts how the highly sensitive author, who is disturbed every night by the Dutchman who lives next door and resents his neighbors, realizes that "this is a real, childish, stupid hatred, the hatred of the Jews, that stupid irrational hatred of the frustrated Christians who do small business," and writes with subtle irony, "I am especially reminded of the fat, hedonistic, and scavenging Dutch depicted by the poet Murtaturi, who sucked the Malays clean in exchange for wealth and a comfortable life." Murtaturi, well done! He also presented in detail how he resolved hatred with love and faith, which made people laugh when he read it.
Hesse is "an unsociable hermit, a stranger, a butterfly, a lizard, an old book, and a friend of religion", who is extremely socially phobic, "going to the police station to get a household registration certificate or filling out a census form will kill him", and he is not afraid to confess his depravity during his recuperation: overeating, unable to resist the temptation of gambling, but Hesse believes in the complexity and oneness of human nature, and calls the dialectical transformation of the spirit "the contradiction of the two laws", believing that the most depraved person can be completely restored in an instant. After recuperation, Hesse rediscovered the relationship between man and disease, was reborn spiritually, and "now he possesses sciatica, not by it". Speculation and humor give this work a lasting lifespan, and even after 100 years, Hesse's encounters and reflections in the book still evoke a sense of personal experience for modern people.
Frolic in nature
If "The Spa Spa" is a reflection of illness, "Wanderings" is an understanding of perfection, Hesse records his observations and realizations while roaming in the valleys of the Alps in a combination of poetry and writing, where the bright sunshine, colorful mountains, rustic farmhouses, and the moist wind blowing from the south wind, Hesse not only obtains the harmony and unity of body and mind, but also understands the deep comfort of individual life in the infinite embrace of nature.
He carefully observes every plant and tree, and a tree is a whole world, "One can read the history of its life through the clear rings of its tombstone-like trunks: in the rings and boils all the battles, all the sufferings, all the sicknesses, all the good fortunes and the flourishing, and also the vicious and good years, the blows that have been overcome, and the storms that have endured, are faithfully recorded." In his view, all things in nature are rich in meaning and more eternal than the rigid dogma of civilization.
In nature, free wanderers are freed from the shackles of the world and can travel through time at will, in front of an elaborate red house, "I am a child again, and I feel happy again." At the same time, he is aware of the transformation he has gained in time, "I am greeted by a different kind of feeling, more delicate, more quiet, more sensitive, more sophisticated, and more affectionate than I was back then." ”
"Roaming" is the transfer of space, but also the refining of the spirit, Hesse, who has found new life in nature, has an infinite openness and acceptance of life, "all those things that have distorted and tormented my life, and given it a heavy fear, will no longer exist", all experiences have value, "I still have many detours to go, and I will be disappointed in many satisfactions." Everything will have to wait until later to show its significance. ”
"Life in Autumn" is an account of Hesse's experiences of roaming, moving, and making friends among the valleys and lakes of Switzerland, showing insight into time, friendship, faith, and the nature of life.
Whether it is "The Spa Spa", "Wanderings" and "Autumn Life", Hesse never stops on the road of spiritual analysis and spiritual exploration, as the German writer Thomas Mann said: "Hesse represents an old, real, pure, spiritual Germany, and his writing is full of humanism and love for humanity." ”
Interpret the translation with life
It is worth mentioning that Xie Yingying, the translator of this book, has a deep relationship with Hesse. In 1976, Xie Yingying and her husband Ou Fan (Chen Jianai) resigned from their teaching positions in Germany and returned to China under the inspiration of patriotism, and taught in the German Department of Beijing University of Foreign Chinese and the Department of Mathematics of Capital Normal University, respectively.
Since her youth, Xie Yingying has loved and studied Hesse. Unfortunately, in 1990, she suffered from a malignant tumor of the spinal cord, and it was during her illness that she read "The Spa Essayer". "I was so sick that I could only lie in bed and read this book, and Hesse knew my pain, and he was so humorous, that I read and read it, and I couldn't help laughing out loud, and I forgot about my pain." "Hot Spring Spa" and "Autumn Life" are her translations.
△ The translators of this book are Xie Yingying and Ou Fan
Xie Yingying was bedridden for many years after surgery, but she still returned to teaching and research with strong perseverance, trained generations of outstanding students, and translated Hesse's novels, essays, letters and other works. Hesse also brought her a spark of life, and she wrote in the preface to Hesse's Letters: "When I was confined to my sickbed and read his letters, it was as if an old friend was telling me the true meaning of life, bringing infinite comfort to my soul." It can be said that Xie Yingying's translation not only realizes the transformation of two languages, but also presents her own unique life experience.
As a young man, he studied mathematics and physics at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, and after returning to China, he taught at the Department of Mathematics of Capital Normal University. He is fond of classical Chinese poetry and modern Western poetry, and has translated many poems and literary works in English, German, French and other languages, including "Under the Berlin Sky", "Wanderings in the Poetry Country", "Symphony of Vicissitudes" and so on. In this book, he blends the strokes of a mathematician and a poet to translate The Wanderings.
(Photo courtesy of the publisher)
Modern Express/Hyundai + reporter Jiang Sijia