2019年经济学人 《都挺好》:矛盾的儒学(2)

 

But the biggest reaction has been to the drama’s critique of filial piety¹. Even today, the Confucian principle of unswerving loyalty² to one’s parents remains³ hallowed. Many people say the best measure of adherence⁴ to this virtue⁵ is whether a son takes good care of his parents in old age. A recent poll by Toutiao, a Chinese news app, found that 54% of elderly people in China get more than half of their expenses covered by their adult children. Partly, no doubt, this is due to a patchy pensions system. But it also reflects a culture of “never saying no to your parents”, says an “All is Well” fan in Beijing.

但观众最大的反应是剧中对传统孝道的批判。即使在今天，对父母始终忠贞不渝的儒家思想仍然无比神圣。很多人说，坚持这种美德的标准是儿子是否照顾好年迈的父母。中国的一个新闻类应用程序“头条”，最近调查发现在中国，54%老年人一半以上的开支由其成年子女承担。毋庸置疑，部分原因是养老保险系统还不够完善。但北京一位《都挺好》的粉丝称，这种现象也反映了“永远不对父母说不”的一种文化。

In the series, however, the widowed father does not attract much sympathy. He throws tantrums and insists that his eldest⁶ son buy him a three-bedroom apartment (the son grudgingly⁷ does so). Commentators⁸ on social media have taken to calling the father a juying (“giant baby”)—a characteristic common among parents in real life, they say. The Su children do their duty, but the audience is supposed to applaud the resentment⁹ they express.

然而，在剧中，这位寡居的父亲并没有引起多少同情。他大发脾气，坚持让大儿子给他买三室一厅的房子，最后大儿子不情愿地这么做了。社交媒体上的评论已经习惯称这位父亲为“巨婴”。他们称，这是父母在现实生活中的一个共同写照。苏大强的孩子们尽了自己的职责，但观众应该为孩子们表达出的不满鼓掌。

There have been mixed reviews in state media. One newspaper said that the “realistic plot and acting” had touched the “pain points” of many viewers. Beijing Daily, however, said the drama was “unrealistic”. It said it caricatured elderly parents by “unreasonably” ascribing “every possible bad quality” of old people to one character. Someone representing every virtue admired by the party would be just fine for television, presumably.

官方媒体的评论褒贬不一。一家报纸称，“真实的情节和演技”戳中了很多观众的“痛点”。然而，北京日报表示，该剧“不现实”。该报称，它将老年人“所有可能的坏品质”都归咎于一个角色，“不合理地”讽刺了年迈的父母。而很可能一个代表所有当局推崇美德的角色出现在电视上就都挺好。

1 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 adherence   

n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着

参考例句：

• He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
• The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。

5 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

6 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

7 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。