A Translator from Hangzhou

Feng Yidai (1913-2005), a preeminent translator, essayist, publisher, came from Houshi Street, Hangzhou. His mother died shortly after giving birth to the baby boy and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother. As a child he was curious about the street name. In Chinese, the name implies a street behind the market. He grew up to see the sharp contrast between the desolation of the street and the hustle and bustle of the shopping street. He dreamed of a better life away from the back street. Writing about his childhood memories decades later, he said he cherished every moment of standing at the entrance to the lane and watching pedestrians passing, their faces and steps showing different emotions varying from anxiety to relaxation.

His grandmother often brought him to the West Lake. It usually takes about 30 minutes to walk from the street to the lake, but Feng recalled he did not keep time, for they just walked and sometimes took a rickshaw. The memories of these trips with the grandmother were sweet. The grandmother and the grandson would sip tea at a window table at a lakeside teahouse when dusk descended and the grandmother chatted about the anecdotes of the lake. Sometimes he would have a bowl of delicious noodles before going back home. He stayed at the backstreet home for 18 years. He was eager to leave, but he would remember the early evenings and the sound of footsteps of the street and remember his heart that wanted to go somewhere.

In 1932, Feng Yidai began to study business management at University of Shanghai. It seems that what changed him at the university was not his major, but his minor: English. He devoured English classics and was quite active in school shows. After graduation, he worked for China Insurance. After Shanghai was seized by Japanese invaders he went to Hong Kong, where he translated for a newspaper. While working as editor-in-chief for a weekly, he wrote film reviews, essays and short stories. In 1939, he started an English literary publication with his friends.

In 1941, he started his own publishing business in Chongqing, the wartime capital of China. After the founding of New China in 1949, he worked as a translator for years at the Foreign Language Press.

Feng Yidai started to translate literary works seriously in 1940. The authors he translated in the 1940s include Hemmingway and Maugham. In fact, he was one of the first translators who introduced Hemmingway to Chinese readers.

A prominent essayist, he published a few collections of essays. In particular, he wrote quite a few reviews on western books. These reviews opened a window on western intellectual movements and helped Chinese scholars understand the west.

His friends say Feng was a man of simplicity and honesty, quite aloof from seeking wealth and fame. He was known endearingly as Second Brother among friends. His intimate friends observed Feng was also a man of romance all his life despite vicissitudes.

In 1993, 80-year-old Feng Yidai married 68-year-old Huang Zongying (b1925), a film actress and writer.The marriage caused a sensation at that time. Relatives, friends and colleagues gave the couple best wishes. Feng and Huang treasured the every minute of the marriage in their evening years.

In 1997, Feng Yidai revisited Hangzhou. He met with his relatives, toured the West Lake, and tasted the local cuisine. The nostalgia in his essays about his childhood years and hometown is very touching. He passed away on February 23, 2005, which fell on the Lantern Festival of that year on the lunar calendar.