Translation Tuesday: The Wedding of a Post-90’s Pair of Workers in Africa

By Zander Rounds

Author: Sun Rui, Bo She
Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 5/4/15
Source: Xinhua
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2015-05/04/c_127760578.htm

On May 2, near the eighth section of Nairobi, Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, workers dressed in the clothing of the Masai people delivered their blessings to Post-90’s newlyweds Mu Xuqiang and Li Zhiyuan.

That same day, those in the China Luqiao Engineering LLC Mombasa-Nairobi’s Project Eight camp bore witness as a pair of worker based in central Kenya became happily united in matrimony. Mu Xuqiang, the groom, is inherited the family business. In 2012, the Beijing youngster took root in Africa. Li Zhiyuan, the bride, formerly studied abroad in England. In 2014, the Inner Mongolian girl rushed to Africa. They met and got to know each other while working on the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, eventually deciding to enter into marriage. At the wedding ceremony, two Kenyan girls wearing white dresses stood behind the beautiful bride, lifting the massive wedding dress tail with small hands and revealing pure smiles. The local male workers were draped in red-checkered cloth and grasped long sticks, evoking the spirit of Masai warriors. Female workers wore short, exquisite red dresses and earrings, as if characters from a painting

Translation Tuesday: A Chinese Farmer’s Story of Wasteland Reclamation in Africa

By Laiyin Yuan

Author: Xu Wenting, Wang Bo
Translator: Laiyin Yuan
Published on: 05/03/2015
Source: Xinhua News
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-05/03/c_1115160424.htm

As the saying goes “Chinese people will never change their Chinese stomach”. Chinese people in Africa are always looking for better Chinese culinary ingredients, and Chinese farmers are lookign to tap into that market.
----Laiyin Yuan (Translator)

For Cao Huizhong, a Chinese vegetable grower living in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC], the first thing after getting up every morning is to take a look at his Chinese cabbages in the field. Row upon row of green leaves growing on the land, his cabbages are slightly different from their Chinese relatives: bigger leaves but thinner bodies. This is his tenth crop of experimental Chinese cabbages.

“It is not ideal, but they finally look like Chinese cabbages. We should keep improving the process,” he said.

Translation Tuesday: Gansu Television Program Daguo Wenhua Demonstrates the “International Style” of an African Brother

By Zander Rounds

Author: N/A

Translator: Zander Rounds
Published on: 3/2/15
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/ent/2015-03/12/c_127573948.htm

It might not be so uncommon to see a foreigner that speaks Mandarin fluently. But its not every day that you see a foreigner who comfortably “plays” with Chinese national culture! Just a few days ago, the Gansu television program Daguo Wenhua [The Culture of a Great Nation] invited an African brother who is well-versed in Chinese national culture. As soon as Jiege, a Cameroonian, entered the stage during the last program, he attracted the attention of the entire audience. While his dark skin and authentic Mandarin was enough to stun Internet users, his self-introduction – delivered in Chinese opera form – even inspired Old Gu’s repeated praise.

Translation Tuesday: Op-Ed: Don’t Forget Africa in Anti-Terrorism

By Laiyin Yuan

Author: Chen Junxia
Translator: Laiyin Yuan
Published on: 01/14/2015
Source: Xinhua News Agency
Original text (in Chinese): http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-01/14/c_1113996130.htm

This op-ed points out the potential negative outcome of imbalanced media coverage regarding Africa’s anti-terrorism, but it seems to blame only developed countries without interrogating the responsibilities of other stakeholders.
---- Laiyin Yuan (Translator)

In the beginning of the New Year, the terrorist attacks in Paris, France caught major attention from Western media, which not only allowed the world to sympathize and ruminate on this tragedy, but also left an extraordinary impression of the reporting capabilities of Western media.