Ian Boyden
Photo courtesy of Ian Boyden
Bio
Ian Boyden is a translator, writer, artist, and curator, whose work centers on the relationships of art, the environment, and human rights, with a focus on China and Chinese culture. He speaks and writes Mandarin fluently and can read Classical Chinese. He received his BA in East Asian Studies and Art History from Wesleyan University in 1995; and an MA in History of Art (concentration on Chinese painting and calligraphy) from Yale University in 1998. Boyden’s most recent work focuses on two major dissident Chinese voices: the Tibetan writer and blogger Tsering Woeser, who writes exclusively in Chinese; and artist, writer, and human rights activist Ai Weiwei. His translations and interviews have appeared in China Heritage, High Peaks Pure Earth, Vox Populi, Radio Free Asia, and Basalt Journal, among others.
Translation is a revelatory act that extends our humanity from one linguistic realm to another, from one cultural paradigm to another. While poems nurture my spirit, they have not been as generous with my income! For several years, I have been translating Woeser’s poems at the edges of my days, waiting for those rare, quiet times to slowly transform her work into English. Many times, I have wished I could spend a season immersed in Woeser’s poetry, translating and presenting it to a larger audience. On a most basic level, the National Endowment for the Arts fellowship helps to provide this opportunity. But the NEA also provides something more than time and money. Translators work in relative obscurity. This fellowship provides validation and public recognition, which has caused a subtle shift in my own understanding of the importance of the work. No longer an idiosyncratic pursuit, it became part of larger community. The cultural landscape of America is dominated by powerful market forces, which tend to not only separate the individual from the internal self but also homogenize the fields of expression. State support of this project—provided collectively by our taxes—is a delightful foil to these forces. But the direct effect of the NEA fellowship extends beyond me. I have chosen to translate Woeser, a living poet, whose writing has put her life in grave danger. The recognition conferred by this award means a great deal to her in terms of bringing the issues she faces to a more public light on an international stage. As she states in a sentiment I too share, “When I learned of this news late last night in Lhasa, I was truly excited and inspired. This award reflects the karma among poets, the essence of which is captured in the words of [internationally renowned artist] Ai Weiwei: ‘No matter how fearsome the political and cultural affronts that history produces might become, our last, irreducible possession… is respect for human dignity.’ We are born into our destiny as humans. My thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts for your support.”
"Rebirth: Dedicated to Liu Xiaobo" by Tsering Woeser
[Translated from the Chinese]
A river
in the darkness
within a river without beginning and without end
as if in a river where undercurrents churn in restless darkness
yet whose surface mourns in motionless silence
your visage, missing for years, gradually becomes distinct
it seems nothing is left but a few bones
yet it seems even those rough bones can utter sounds
heard by everyone
except for the indifferent or those who pretend to be deaf—
the empty-hearted, the hypocrites, the executioners
who block their ears and refuse to listen
yet when compared with the earlier movements of your lips
your bones that would rather break than bend
utter sounds even more resounding
even more eternal
And I stand for a long time
with my hands pressed together before my heart
seeming to see you in the distance
on the surface of this far too silent river
drifting to the other shore
drifting toward death
and toward rebirth
—Woeser, Beijing, late at night, July 13, 2017
About Tsering Woeser
Tsering Woeser (b. 1966) is a writer and one of the most influential voices in China on Tibet. As a young child during the Cultural Revolution, she was subject to reeducation policies implemented by the Chinese, and today instead of writing in her mother tongue, she writes entirely in Chinese. She studied Chinese literature at the Southwest Nationalities College and was later trained as a journalist and an editor. In 2003, Woeser’s book Notes on Tibet was banned in China for promoting the Dalai Lama and Tibetan sovereignty. Despite relentless intimidation from the state, Woeser has continued to write about Tibetan realities. Woeser is a prolific poet, and her poems are poignant expressions of the conditions and experiences of a people living under Chinese occupation, and document a culture as it is systematically destroyed.