An educated woman

Well-known Chinese writer, translator and foreign literature researcher Yang Jiang passed away at the age of 105 on May 25, 2016.
中国著名作家、翻译家、外国文学研究家杨绛于2016年5月25日与世长辞，享年105岁。

But four years later, people from all walks of life are still expressing their condolences and paying tribute to her by posting Yang’s photos and quotes on the internet.
四年过去，社会各业的人们依然在网上引用她的照片和名言，表达哀思，向其致敬。

Why is Yang still revered by people today?
为何杨绛如今仍然备受尊崇？

It’s mainly for “her dedication to the career of translation and writing”, noted The Paper.
澎湃新闻指出，主要是因为“杨绛先生对于翻译及写作事业的奉献”。

Having studied in the UK and France, Yang was fluent both in English and French. But after considering several English and French translations of the Spanish classic Don Quixote unsuitable, she started learning Spanish from scratch at the age of 48. “If I wanted to be faithful to the original, I had to translate directly from the original,” she wrote in 2002. In the translation process, she pondered every word and sentence. With such a prudent attitude, Yang only translated about 500 words at a time when most translators can translate as many as 2,000 words or so a day.
曾在英法两国求学的杨绛会说一口流利的英语和法语。由于认为西班牙名著《唐·吉诃德》的几个英法译本都不够准确，48岁的杨绛从头开始学起了西班牙语。“如果想要忠于原著，就必须要直接翻译原文，”她在2002年如此写道。在翻译过程中，她一字一句进行斟酌。治学严谨的杨绛一次只能翻译500词，而大多数译者一天最多能翻2000词。

“She never used time in exchange for production,” Ye Tingfang, a Chinese translator, told People’s Daily.
“她绝不拿时间换产量，”中国翻译家叶廷芳在接受《人民日报》采访时如此表示。

As a result, Yang finished the translation of Don Quixote over a period of 10 years. Published in 1978, it remains widely regarded as the definitive translation of the classic in China.
最后，杨绛花了10年时间才完成了《堂·吉诃德》的翻译。该译本于1978年出版，如今在我国依然被广泛认为是《堂·吉诃德》最佳译本。

Though Yang referred to her works as attempts, each of her attempts was a success. “These ‘trials (尝试)’ showed her calm and simple state of mind, her lack of desire for fame or wealth,” People’s Daily commented in a remembrance in 2016.
尽管杨绛将其作品称为“尝试”，但她的每次“尝试”都大获成功。“这些‘尝试’体现了她心境的平静与纯粹，淡泊名利，”《人民日报》在2016年的一篇悼文中写道。

Without doubt, Yang will long be remembered for her great literary achievements. Yet perhaps her dedication to work and indifference to fame may be her greatest legacy.
毫无疑问的是，人们将长久铭记杨绛伟大的文学成就。而她对事业的奉献、对名利的淡泊或许是她最伟大的遗产。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一796期