Golden Shield

by Anchuli Felicia King

  DAO: Then you wouldn’t want to know.

  那样的话，你不知道比较好。

  Nàyàng dehuà, nǐ bù zhīdào bǐjiào hǎo.

  MEI: It’s not up to you. We’re a team.

  这不是你一个人的决定。我们是一家人。

  Zhè bùshì nǐ yigeren de juédìng. wǒmen shì yìjiārén.

  DAO: Of course.

  当然。

  Dāngrán.

  MEI: Remember, if you break a promise to me—

  记住，你对我食言的话—

  Jìzhù, nǐ duì wǒ shíyán de huà—

  DAO: I know. I destroy myself.

  我知道。我会毁了自己。

  wǒ zhidao. wǒ huǐle zìjǐ.

  THE TRANSLATOR: In the first year of their marriage, Dao drunkenly kissed a colleague at a staff party. When he broke the news to Mei, she did not cry. Instead, she sat him down and calmly articulated her feelings about breaking a promise to the person you love. Mei explained that when you choose to love a person, you are also making a moral choice about the kind of person you want to be. In loving someone, you destroy your former self and create a new self, in the image of the person you love. As such, every time you break a promise to a person you love, you destroy yourself—at least, the present version of yourself, the self you have created in the image of your lover. Mei said she grew up in a village prone to earthquakes, so she had a high threshold for destruction. Then she kissed him on his eyelids.

  DAO: Mei. I’m not involved in anything. Once the Olympics are over, things will go back to the way they were.

  小梅。我没有介入任何事。奥运会结束之后，一切都会恢复 原样。

  Xiǎo Méi. wǒ méiyǒu jièrù rènhé shì. Àoyùnhuì jiéshù zhihou, yíqiè dou huì huīfù yuányàng.

  MEI: The Olympics are in two years. Is it going to be like this for two years?

  两年后，奥运会才举行。这两年都要这样吗?

  Liǎngnián hòu, Àoyùnhuì cái jǔxíng. Zhè liǎngnián doūyào zhèyàng ma?

  Beat.

  Can I turn my phone on now? I’m losing my game.

  我现在可以开手机吗? 我的游戏输了。

  wǒ xiànzài kěyǐ kāi shǒujī ma? wǒ de yoúxì shūle.

  DAO: Ai-ya. We can’t have that.

  哎呀。那不行。

  Āiya. Nà bùxíng.

  She turns her phone back on. He watches her.

  MEI: Why are you staring?

  盯着我干什么?

  Dīngzhe wǒ gàn shénme?

  DAO: I like watching you play with yourself.

  我喜欢看你自己玩自己。

  wǒ xǐhuān kàn nǐ zìjǐ wán zìjǐ.

  MEI: Pervert.

  你变态。

  Nǐ biàntài.

  DAO: Give me a kiss.

  亲我一下。

  Qīn wǒ yīxià.

  MEI: Rephrase that.

  换句话，说好听点。

  Huàn jù huà, shuō hǎotīng diǎn.

  DAO: Kiss me?

  亲我好吗？

  Qīn wǒ hǎo ma?

  MEI: Almost there.

  还不到位。

  Hái budàowèi.

  DAO: Please kiss me?

  求求你亲亲我吧?

  Qiú qiú nǐ qīn qīn wǒ ba?

  They kiss.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Yingcheng, 2012.

  AMANDA: You have a beautiful home.

  EVA: She says you have a beautiful home.

  他说您的家很漂亮。

  Tā shuō nín de jia heň piàoliang.

  DAO: Mei has made some recent improvements.

  小梅最近布置了一下。

  Xiǎoméi zuìjìn bùzhìle yīxià.

  Mei nods stiffly.

  EVA: He says she’s redecorated—

  MEI: Everything had to be refitted for the wheelchair.

  房子不得不改装成适合轮椅的。

  Fángzi bùdébù gǎizhuāngchéng shìhé lúnyǐ de.

  JULIE: What?

  EVA: She said, uh, they had to refit the house, for his wheelchair.

  MEI: I’ll make some tea.

  我去泡茶。

  wǒ qù pào chá.

  Mei exits.

  JULIE: Shall we, uh—Amanda, can you take the lead on this?

  AMANDA: Sure. Sure. So, Professor Li, as we discussed, our case will be a lot stronger, uh, the more members of Zhuangzi we can get involved.

  EVA: (staggered) She’s saying our case will be a lot stronger, if we can get more members of Zhuangzi involved in the lawsuit.

  她说我们的案子会更加强有力，如果我们能让更多庄子成员 参与到诉讼中。

  Tā shuō wǒmen de ànzi huì gèngjiā qiáng yǒulì, rúguǒ wǒmen néng ràng gèng duō zhuāng zǐ chéngyuán cānyù dào sùsòng zhōng.

  AMANDA: We’re hopefully looking at a class action, of around, uh, at least ten, fifteen litigants.

  EVA: (staggered) We’re hopefully looking at a class action lawsuit involving at least ten litigants.

  我们希望有集体诉讼，至少有十个诉讼人参与。

  wǒmen xīwàng yǒu jítǐ sùsòng, zhìshǎo yǒu shígè sùsòngrén bèigào cānyù.

  AMANDA: And we’re looking at really substantial compensation if we win. You said you’ve been having financial troubles after your release?

  EVA: (staggered) And you’ll get very substantial compensation if we win. You said you’ve been having financial troubles after your release?

  而且您会得到很大的一笔补偿，如果我们赢的话。您之前提 过您们有经济压力？自从您被释放之后？

  Érqiě nín huì dédào heň dà de yī bǐ bučháng, rúguǒ wǒmen yíng dehuà. Nín zhīqián tíguò nínmen yǒu jīngjì yālì? Zìcóng nín bèi shìfàng zhīhòu?

  Jing-Xuan Chan (l), Gabrielle Chan (r) in foreground with Geraldine Cook-Dafner (Voice and Dialect Coach), Josh McConville, Sophie Ross and Nicholas Bell.

  DAO: My condition—this has all been very expensive. And I can’t get a lecturing job anywhere, Mei is our only income now.

  我的情况—所有的开销都很贵。我也不可能找到教书的工 作，全家就只有小梅的一份收入了。

  wǒ de qíngkuàng—suǒyǒu de kāixiāo dōu hěn guì. wǒ yě bù kěnéng zhǎodào jiāoshū de gōngzuò, quánjiā jiù zhǐyǒu xiǎoméi de yí fèn shōurùle.

  EVA: (staggered) My condition—this has all been very expensive. And I can’t get a lecturing job anywhere, Mei is our only income now.

  AMANDA: I’m really sorry to hear that. I want you to know that we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you’re compensated.

  EVA: (staggered) We will do everything we can to make sure you get compensation.

  我们将尽一切努力确保您得到补偿。

  wǒmen jiāng jǐn yīqiè nǔlì quèbǎo nín dédào bučháng.

  DAO: Thank you.

  谢谢。

  Xiè xiè.

  AMANDA: That’s okay, bu ke qi, Uh, so, Julie?

  JULIE: Mr Li, the thing we need to ask you about today is about testifying in our court. As you might know, the court system in America is a jury system, which means it’ll really strengthen our case to have one of the plaintiffs actually testify, so they can hear firsthand what you’ve been through.

  EVA: The thing we need to ask you about today is about testifying in our court. The court system in America is a jury system, it’ll really strengthen our case to have one of the plaintiffs actually testify, so they can hear firsthand what you’ve been through.

  今天我们要问您关于上庭作证的问题。美国的法庭用的是陪 审团系统。如果能原告作证的话，会让我们的诉讼更有力。 他们可以亲耳听到您的经历。

  Jīntiān wǒmen yào wèn nín guānyú shàng tíng zuòzhèng de wèntí. Měiguó de fǎtíng yòng de shì péishěn tuán xìtǒng. Rúguǒ néng yuángào zuòzhèn
g dehuà, huì ràng wǒmen de sùsòng gèng yǒulì. Tāmen kěyǐ qīn eř tīng dào nín de jīnglì.

  JULIE: We understand that travelling to America under false pretenses is a pretty big risk for you, but because of your connections in academia we think it might be easier for you than some of the others.

  EVA: We understand that travelling to America under false pretenses is a pretty big risk for you, but because of your connections in academia we think it might be easier for you than some of the others.

  我们理解假借名义去美国对您来说风险很大，但是因为您在 学术界的关系，我们觉得您可能会比其他人更方便。

  wǒmen lǐjiě jiǎjiè míngyì qù měiguó duì nín lái shuō fēngxiǎn heň dà, dànshì yīnwèi nín zài xuéshù jiè de guānxì, wǒmen juédé nín keňéng huì bǐ qítā rén gèng fāngbiàn.

  Beat.

  DAO: I’m willing to travel.

  我愿意去。

  wǒ yuànyì qù.

  EVA: Uh, he’s say he’s willing.

  AMANDA: Oh! Oh, well, uh, that’s great. So—

  DAO: But you cannot interview me here.

  但你不能在这里问我问题。

  Dàn nǐ bùnéng zài zhèlǐ wèn wǒ wèntí.

  JULIE: What was that?

  EVA: He’s saying, uh, you can’t do the pre-interview, like, here, in the house.

  DAO: We can get an office space in Beijing.

  我们可以在北京找个地方。

  wǒmen kěyǐ zài běijīng zhǎo gè dìfāng.

  EVA: (to Julie) We can get an office space in Beijing.

  JULIE: We’re on a tight schedule.

  AMANDA: I’m sorry, Beijing is just too risky. I’ve had meetings monitored there before.

  EVA: It’s too risky to meet in Beijing.

  在北京见面风险太大。

  Zài Běijīng jiànmiàn fēngxiǎn taìdā.

  DAO: I’m sorry—I am happy to testify—

  对不起—我很乐意帮你作证—

  Duìbùqǐ—wǒ heň lèyì bāng nǐ zuòzhèng—

  EVA: (staggered) He says he’s happy to testify—

  DAO: —but we have to prepare for this fight somewhere else.

  —但是我们必须在另外一个地方准备。

  —Dànshì wǒmen bìxū zài lìngwài yīgè dìfāng zhuňbèi.

  EVA: (staggered)—but we have to prep him somewhere else.

  AMANDA: Can you ask if he’s concerned about their safety? Because it’ll be much safer in his house, in a rural—under controlled conditions, than in a public setting. Particularly if we can get it done in a single day.

  EVA: (staggered) Are you concerned about your safety? My colleague assures me that it’s much safer to conduct interviews here, under controlled conditions, than in a public setting.

  您是担心您们的安全吗？我的同事很肯定，在这里问问题会 更安全，比公共场所更好控制。

  Nín shì dānxīn nǐmen de ānquán ma? wǒ de tóngshì hěn kěndìng, zài zhèlǐ wèn wèntí huì gèng ānquán, bǐ gōnggòng chǎngsuǒ gèng hǎo kòngzhì.

  DAO: It can’t be here.

  在这里不行。

  Zài zhèlǐ bùxíng.

  EVA: Why?

  为什么？

  Wèishéme?

  DAO: I’m sorry, I will do everything you ask, but it can’t be here.

  很抱歉，你怎么要求都可以，但就是不能在这里。

  Heň bàoqiàn, nǐ zeňme yāoqiú dōu kěyǐ, dàn jiùshi bùnéng zài zhèlǐ.

  JULIE: What’s the problem?

  EVA: I … I don’t know, he’s just saying it can’t be here, it can’t be here, I don’t—

  Mei re-enters. She pours tea.

  EVA: Thank you.

  谢谢。

  Xièxiè.

  AMANDA: Xièxiè.

  JULIE: Thank you. It smells wonderful.

  谢谢。很香。

  Xièxiè. Hěn xiāng.

  DAO: (to Eva) She speaks Mandarin?

  她会普通话呀？

  Tā huì Pǔtōnghuà ya?

  JULIE: Oh, uh, tell him, not really, I don’t really speak—

  EVA: She speaks a little.

  她会说一点。

  Tā huì shuō yìdiǎn.

  DAO: Your accent is very good.

  你的口音很标准。

  Nǐ de kǒuyīn heň biāozhuň.

  EVA: He says your accent—

  JULIE: Yeah, no, I got that, tell him, uh—I know, 我会 wǒhuì understand some, Chinese, 中文 zhōngwén，but, I don’t, uh—I don’t speak well.

  DAO: Your family’s from China?

  你老家在中国吗？

  Nǐ lǎojiā zài Zhōngguó ma?

  EVA: He asked if your family is—

  JULIE: Yeah, no, I got that, Evie. My mother.

  我的妈妈。

  wǒde māma.

  Beat. Mei exits.

  AMANDA: Can you ask him—how much does his wife know about his incarceration?

  EVA: How much does your wife know about your incarceration?

  关于您坐牢的事，您太太知道多少？

  Guānyú nín zuòláo de shì, nín tàitài zhīdào duōshǎo?

  Beat.

  DAO: We’ve never spoken about it.

  我们从来不谈这事。

  wǒmen cónglái bu tán zhè shì.

  JULIE: Was that—did he say they’ve never—

  EVA: They’ve, uh, yes, they’ve never spoken about it.

  JULIE: How—forgive me, Dao, how is that possible? You were in detention for—you were gone for five years.

  EVA: You were gone for five years.

  您五年没在家。

  Nín wǔnián méi zài jiā.

  Beat.

  AMANDA: Where does she think he was for five years?

  EVA: Where does she think you were?

  她以为您在哪里？

  Tā yǐwéi nín zài nǎlǐ?

  DAO: We’ve … we’ve never discussed it.

  我们 … 从没谈过。

  wǒmen … cóng méi tánguò.

  EVA: They’ve just … they’ve never talked about it.

  DAO: I came back … like this.

  我回来 … 就像这个样子。

  wǒ huílái … jiù xiàng zhège yàngzi.

  EVA: He says he, he came back in a wheelchair, so, I guess, they never …

  Beat.

  JULIE: Wait. Wait. Does she even know … does she know he was helping people break through the firewall, that he was denounced? Does she know about Zhuangzi?

  EVA: Does she know about Zhuangzi?

  她知道庄子的事吗?

  Tā zhīdao Zhuàngzì de shì ma?

  DAO: I … I don’t know.

  我 … 不知道。

  wǒ … bù zhīdào.

  JULIE: Jesus.

  DAO: This is the problem.

  关键问题就在这里。

  Guānjiàn wèntí jiù zài zhèlǐ.

  EVA: So that’s why he—

  JULIE: Yeah, no, I get it. Jesus, fuck. Fuck, uh, okay, translate this: I understand this is a complicated situation.

  EVA: I don’t think—

  JULIE: Translate the fucking sentence.

  EVA: Can I say it, like, in a gentler—

  JULIE: No, Evie, because I’m not his shrink, I’m his representation.

  EVA: I get that, but if she / doesn’t—

  JULIE: She already knows, man. They may have some kind of, I don’t know, Chinese honor-bound vow of silence around it, but she has a TV in the house, there’s no way she doesn’t know.

  EVA: Okay, but, like, imagine, your husband starts giving testimony about his dissident activity, his terrorist activity, in your house—

  JULIE: Eva.

  EVA: Like—

  JULIE: Eva. I am paying you—you are being paid—to be my translator. You don’t get input on issues I’m having with my client. Now, befo
re he works out how—how much of a fucking child you’re being, would you kindly translate—

  Mei re-enters with a box of butter cookies.

  THE TRANSLATOR: For Eva and Julie, the phrase ‘fucking child’ is particularly loaded. You see, at their mother’s funeral two months earlier, Eva, as the child better versed in Chinese culture, was slated to perform the ritual burning. It’s a custom in Mahayana funerals for a relative of the deceased to burn a stack of paper money and other objects. In this way, it’s said, the dead will receive material comforts, in heaven as on earth.

  Mei lays out the cookies.

  EVA: Thank you.

  谢谢。

  Xièxiè.

  JULIE: Thank you.

  谢谢。

  Xièxiè.

  AMANDA: Thank you.

  谢谢。

  Xièxiè.

  THE TRANSLATOR: When it came time for the bonfire, Eva approached the pile of paper objects, a can of gasoline and box of matches in hand. She lit a match, but the wind was too high. She lit a second. The same. She lit a third. No luck. The crowd grew restless. As she lit the fourth, Eva suddenly heard her mother’s voice, as though she was there beside her, screeching ‘that’s perfectly good money you’re burning!’ And there, in the center of the congregation, Eva was seized by an uncontrollable fit of laughter, one which rippled up from a potentially mistakable snort to an all-out cackle, much to the horror of the assembled congregation. Finally, Julie stormed up, muttered ‘you’re a fucking child,’ and set the pile on fire herself.

  Beat.

  Mei exits.

  JULIE: Evie?

  EVA: I’m fine. Go ahead.

  JULIE: Mr Li, you have already endured so much suffering at the hands of this regime.

  EVA: (staggered) You have already endured so much suffering.

  您已经受了那么多苦。

  Ninying shòule nàme duō kǔ.

  JULIE: I know that this case will take an immense toll on you and your family.

  EVA: (synchronously) But knowing how much you have suffered—

  虽然您承受了这么多—

  Suīrán nín chéngshòu le zhème duo—

  JULIE: I would not ask you to endure more suffering—

  EVA: (synchronously) Don’t underestimate / how much your wife has endured—

  但不要 / 低估您太太承受的—

  Dàn búyào / dīgū nín tàitai chéngshòu de—

  THE TRANSLATOR: She’s mistranslating.

  JULIE:—if I was not fully confident—

  EVA: (synchronously)—your wife must know why you were arrested—

  您太太一定知道您被逮捕的原因—