Language translation between Roman/Germanic languages to Chinese and the reverse is extremely difficult. Chinese, as I proceed to see more of this motherland, is a nuanced language to use. I always admire one of my best friends who despite not really having lived in china since grammar school somehow succeeds in a corporate PR job that requires daily English Chinese translation. Explaining just why Chinese has a different adjective for the word "Beautiful" when applied to a person, an object or a landscape is difficult enough this week. If I had to translate "breathtakingly beautiful," I'm sure the emotions one is trying to evoke in that phrase would be lost in my crude skill set.
Our mission today, despite 36 hours of continuous pouring rain was to make it up to one of the summits of Jade Dragon Snow mountain in Yunnan Province, the southwest most province in China before Tibet. The old town of Lijiang is in the foothills of this mountain, a town with 800 years of history but unfortunately these days has been turned into a commercial machine by the communist party. I think that should be a verse in the song called Ironic. Escaping commercialism calls for going up, 3900meters above sea level up to be precise. Through the dense fog and pouring rain, we wanted a glimpse of Yak Meadow, where the Naxi people let their Yaks graze in this high altitude.
I was born a city girl and probably can only be categorized now as a city woman. The first time I FELT nature was only 6 years ago, standing or more accurately stranded on the Big Sur in California, waiting for a toll truck to rescue me and a car full of C's belongings. There was just me, the cliff, and the Pacific Ocean. I wavered between amazement of the ocean pounding the cliff and fear of an axe murderer showing up in a pick up truck. Luckily the toll truck driver, who did look like a scream flick antagonist, spared my life. I was also hooked on seeing the edge of the world.
Nature can take many forms but how it's expressed in Chinese is what I absorbed today standing on Yak Meadow. 大自然 is the word for Nature in Chinese. 自然 itself does mean natural and nature but when describing a landscape, 大 or large always prefaces the noun. And to translate into large nature is undoubtedly silly. Rather vast nature is really what the Chinese wording infers. Vast and endless spreads through my body as it hungrily gathers oxygen into the bloodstream. I only connect to my own senses and thoughts while surrounded by the ringing of small brass bells tied to the the herds of yaks. There may have been a dozen other people there but they seem to disappear into the edge of mountain, perhaps falling into the valleys between this summit and the next. I was standing there in solitude and silence.
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