LOCAL editor Zaleha Ahmad spent up to 15 hours a day for two years to edit and put together the Malay translation of the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber.
Sin Chew Daily reported that she described the effort, done between 2016 and 2018, to publish the novel as Hikayat Mimpi Rumah Agam Merah as painstaking work.
She said the classic contains a myriad of topics including medicine, religion, astrology, geography and philosophy, which editors need to understand so that the translation can stay true to the original author’s intent.
“This is acknowledged in the literary world as a gem and a marvellous piece of literature. I am very happy to have the opportunity to understand the thoughts, personal philosophy and cultural background (of the author) by serving as the editor,” she said.
While the translation from Chinese to Bahasa Melayu was done by five other Chinese readers, Zaleha’s job was to ensure the Bahasa Melayu words chosen fit the historical context of the book and retain their original meaning.
She referenced five other English translations of Dream of the Red Chamber and a dozen other academic articles to study the classic for her work.
She also watched two different TV series of Dream of the Red Chamber to provide her with the visual context of the setting, such as the kinds of clothes the characters would wear as well as architecture at that time.
“Being the editor of Dream of the Red Chamber was a meaningful event for me. It is a kind of happiness that is hard to describe.
“Even though the work was tiring, it provided me with joy and serenity on a spiritual and mental level,” she said.
It was Zaleha’s first foray as an editor for a Chinese-Bahasa Melayu translated literary work. Prior to this, she has 20 years of experience studying local literary history, philosophy and traditional poems.
Dream of the Red Chamber was written by Cao Xueqin during the Qing dynasty and is considered one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels.
The novel is believed to be semi-autobiographical, mirroring the rise and decline of author Cao Xueqin’s own family and, by extension, of the Qing dynasty.
It has now been translated into more than 20 languages, including Bahasa Melayu.
> The daily also reported that veteran Hong Kong actress Maria Cordero promised to post a video of her in a swimsuit online, but jokingly warned parents to keep their children away from it.
“I will show (myself in) a swimsuit to everyone. Look forward to it. But please make sure don’t let your kids see it or it will traumatise them,” she quipped on a video of Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok.
The 67-year-old recently started posting videos of herself doing yoga on the platform.
Many were impressed with Cordero’s flexibility and said the exercise would help her lose weight.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.