悼張純如 Mourn for Iris Chang

海外逸士

嗚呼純如﹐英年早逝。哀哉痛矣﹐泣血以祭。憶昔日寇侵華﹐卿尚隔世。金陵血屠﹐是為國恥。而卿雖生美﹐仍為華裔。遠隔重洋﹐心系慘史。是以殫精竭慮﹐數載秉筆。遂成巨著﹐留傳後世。詎料倭寇驚怖﹐頻施威脅。卿情何堪﹐擾亂日滋。一夕驚聞﹐卿已謝世。芳華盛年﹐遽然夭逝。華人獲知﹐皆感痛惜。余雖陌路﹐玉容未睽。悲悼之情﹐實深余懷。故成此文﹐以申哀思。嗚呼痛哉﹐伏維尚饗。


Alas, Iris Chang, you died so young. I bemoan; I lament; I mourn with bloody tears when offering you libation. I recollect the Japanese invasion into China. At that time, you were not born yet. The massacre in Nanking was really the national disgrace. Although you were born in the US, you were the descendent of the Chinese. You lived across the vast ocean, but you were concerned with the tragic history. Therefore, you took great pains engaged in the writing for several years. You finished the great book, which would be handed down to our posterity. Out of expectation, the former Japanese invaders got terrified and kept giving you threats, which led you to the tragedy. One day, all of a sudden, the horrid news spread of your untimely death. You passed away so young and so suddenly when you were enjoying the prime of your years. Chinese people, when knowing it, all mourned for you. Although you were a stranger to me and I never even saw your face, yet my grief is the same, as deep as that of others. That’s why I wrote this to express my lamentation. Alas, this is so sad. Please come to take my libation for you.


張純如女士是反映南京大屠殺一書的作者。今年是她逝世五週年。茲成此祭文﹐並予英譯。

无心剑

感动，欣赏，学习！

金沙文字

Please come to take my libation for you..............................

自娱自乐

Wow, very impressive indeed!

伏維尚饗。
汉语大詞典】旧时祭文中的套语。意思是恭敬地请你来吃。后用做死亡的戏谑说法。呜呼哀哉，伏维尚飨。　　唐·陈子昂《祭韦府君文》王禄多说了几句话，渐渐有声无气，挨到黄昏，只有出的气，没有入的气，呜呼哀哉，伏维尚飨。　　明·凌濛初《二刻拍案惊奇》卷二十一

自娱自乐

老逸士的古文底蕴丰厚，佩服！

自娱自乐

Depression and death
A bronze statue of Iris Chang at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in NanjingChang suffered a nervous breakdown in August 2004, which her family, friends and doctors attributed in part to constant sleep deprivation. At the time, she was several months into research for her fourth book, about the Bataan Death March, while simultaneously promoting The Chinese in America. While on route to Harrodsburg, Kentucky, where she planned to gain access to a "time capsule" of audio recordings from servicemen, she suffered an extreme bout of depression that left her unable to leave her hotel room in Louisville. A local veteran who was assisting her research helped her check into Norton Psychiatric Hospital in Louisville, where she was diagnosed with reactive psychosis, placed on medication for three days and then released to her parents. After the release from the hospital, she continued to suffer from depression and was considered at risk for developing bipolar disorder.[12] Chang was also reportedly deeply disturbed by much of the subject matter of her research. Her work in Nanjing left her physically weak, according to one of her co-researchers.[13]
On November 9, 2004 at about 9 a.m., Chang was found dead in her car by a county water district employee on a rural road south of Los Gatos (California) and west of State Route 17, in Santa Clara County. Investigators concluded that Chang had shot herself through the mouth with a revolver. At the time of her death she had been taking the medications Depakote and Risperdal to stabilize her mood.[12]
It was later discovered that she had left behind three suicide notes each dated November 8, 2004. "Statement of Iris Chang" stated:
I promise to get up and get out of the house every morning. I will stop by to visit my parents then go for a long walk. I will follow the doctor's orders for medications. I promise not to hurt myself. I promise not to visit Web sites that talk about suicide.[12]
The next note was a draft of the third:
When you believe you have a future, you think in terms of generations and years. When you do not, you live not just by the day — but by the minute. It is far better that you remember me as I was — in my heyday as a best-selling author — than the wild-eyed wreck who returned from Louisville... Each breath is becoming difficult for me to take — the anxiety can be compared to drowning in an open sea. I know that my actions will transfer some of this pain to others, indeed those who love me the most. Please forgive me. Forgive me because I cannot forgive myself.[14]
The third note included:
There are aspects of my experience in Louisville that I will never understand. Deep down I suspect that you may have more answers about this than I do. I can never shake my belief that I was being recruited, and later persecuted, by forces more powerful than I could have imagined. Whether it was the CIA or some other organization I will never know. As long as I am alive, these forces will never stop hounding me.
Days before I left for Louisville I had a deep foreboding about my safety. I sensed suddenly threats to my own life: an eerie feeling that I was being followed in the streets, the white van parked outside my house, damaged mail arriving at my P.O. Box. I believe my detention at Norton Hospital was the government's attempt to discredit me.
I had considered running away, but I will never be able to escape from myself and my thoughts. I am doing this because I am too weak to withstand the years of pain and agony ahead.[14]
Reports said that news of her suicide hit the massacre survivor community in Nanjing hard.[13] In tribute to Chang, the survivors held a service at the same time as her funeral, held at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cupertino, California on Friday, November 12, 2004, at the victims' memorial hall in Nanjing. In 2005, the victims memorial hall in Nanjing, which collects documents, photos, and human remains from the massacre, added a wing dedicated to Chang.

自娱自乐

Yishi, have you read this book yet?

海外逸士

no.  I don't like to read tragedy, especially bloody slaughter.  I skip over such scenes in a movie.

自娱自乐

呵呵呵，没想到逸士也是‘吃斋念佛’之人那，呵呵呵，:P

童天鉴日

悼念！