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The most popular Chinese TV opera series of 2012 would undoubtedly be Legend of Zhen Huan, which depicts a fictional power struggle between the concubines of an emperor during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The red hot TV drama not only swept the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, but it is now marching into the US market.
2012年國內最火的電視劇毋庸置疑當屬《甄嬛傳》，該劇虛構了清朝年間妃嬪之間的權利斗爭。這股炙手可熱的“甄嬛風”不僅風靡了中國內地，更是席卷臺灣地區以及新加坡、馬來西亞等東南亞國家，而如今該劇正準備進軍美國市場。
"It is expected to be broadcast on several US television stations in about six months," said Zheng Xiaolong, director of the show. As a veteran TV director in the country, Zheng`s other works include Desire (1990, Zheng was the producer), A Native of Beijing in New York (1996), and Golden Marriage (2006).
“預計半年內會在美國的幾個電視臺播出。”該劇導演鄭曉龍說。鄭曉龍是國內資深的電視劇導演，其作品包括1990年的《渴望》（擔任制片人），1996年的《北京人在紐約》以及2006年的《金婚》。
"The US company watched Legend of Zhen Huan with English captions and were satisfied with it," Zheng told the Global Times in a phone interview, but he refused to disclose the name of the US company or the local television stations that will broadcast the show.
“這家美國公司看了配有英文字幕的《甄嬛傳》后非常滿意。”鄭曉龍在接受《環球時報》的電話采訪時表示，但是他拒絕透露該公司名稱以及該劇將在美國哪家電視臺播出。
"They will re-edit the opera into six episodes, each of which will last from 90 minutes to two hours, and some new music will be added," said Zheng.
“他們會把這部劇剪輯成六集，每集時長約一個半到兩個小時之間，同時會加入一些新的音樂元素。”鄭曉龍說。
Legend of Zhen Huan was actually already broadcast in the US last year, but was limited to some local Chinese language television stations, according to Cao Ping, producer of the opera.
該劇制片人曹平稱，其實早在去年，《甄嬛傳》就已登陸美國，但只是在當地幾家華語電視臺播出。
"This time we will not be involved in its reproduction by the US company since we are not familiar with the viewing habits of foreign audiences," said Cao.
“這次我們不會參與美方的制作過程，因為我們并不了解國外觀眾的收視習慣，”曹平說。
It remains to be seen how much a favorite among Chinese viewers will be accepted by foreign audiences.
一部備受中國觀眾喜愛的電視劇能否被國外觀眾接受，這還有待觀察。
"I have never heard of this opera, and I think most Americans probably will not know or care too much," said Anna Hill, an American who now works for a media company in Beijing.
“我從未聽說過這部劇，我想美國人可能不知道也不太關心。”在中國的一家媒體公司工作的美國人安娜•希爾說。
On the website asianfanatics - a professional and comprehensive forum on Asian television shows where foreign audiences gather - discussions and downloads about Legend of Zhen Huan are few. But some who already watch the show have recommended it on the forum.
在外國劇迷扎堆的專業亞洲影視綜合論壇asianfanatics上，幾乎找不到關于《甄嬛傳》的討論小組以及下載鏈接。但一些看過的人在論壇上推薦過該劇。
"(It was) very popular in the Chinese mainland in 2012. Very worth watching, although it is historically inaccurate," said Yimi, a member of the forum.
“2012年該劇在中國內地非常受歡迎。盡管與史實有出入，但很值得一看。”該論壇成員Yimis表示。
Export barriers
“甄嬛”赴美之路的障礙
Legend of Zhen Huan faces many hurdles ahead. In the foreign market, Chinese TV dramas may arouse sympathy among some Asian people for their similar cultural background. But for other foreigners with completely different cultural backgrounds, they bring in more strangeness than recognition. Furthermore, the translation may erase some traditional Chinese culture elements and undermine its historic significance.
《甄嬛傳》的美國路可謂困難重重。在國外市場，中國電視劇可能因為文化背景相似而引起一些亞洲人的共鳴。但是對于那些來自完全不同文化背景的外國人而言，陌生感要大于認同感。而且，翻譯過來的對白可能會丟失掉中國傳統文化的元素，削弱了其歷史內涵。
In Legend of Zhen Huan, the biting dialogue is a highlight, with some lines having become catchy symbols of the show. For example, "Jian ren jiu shi jiao qing," spoken by the powerful concubine Hua, has become a popular phrase now. In English, it literally means "bitches are hypocrites."
在《甄嬛傳》里，一些尖酸刻薄的對白成為亮點，一些臺詞更是成為該劇的標志。比如，強勢的華妃的那句“賤人就是矯情”成為現在的流行語。在英語中，其字面意思是"bitches are hypocrites”。
Limited by its translation, the depth of its original meaning is not understood, and the tones and feelings expressed by the speaker fail to be delivered to the audience.
譯文因其局限性并不能充分傳遞原句的深意，也無法將演員的語調與情感傳達給觀眾。
There are many such examples in Legend of Zhen Huan, especially when it comes to the stories that involve so many different titles in a hierarchical society. "As to titles for different concubines like daying, changzai, pin and fei, maybe they can translate these into modern words, or even simplify them if they are too complicated to translate," said Zui Xiaoqi who has four years of experience captioning for English language operas.
《甄嬛傳》中這樣的例子還有許多，尤其是遇到不同等級的稱謂這一問題時。“妃嬪按等級分為答應、常在、嬪、妃等，或許它們可以被翻譯成現代詞語，如果太復雜難以翻譯更是會被簡化處理。”有四年英文字幕翻譯經驗的最小齊（音譯）說。
"After all, people mostly want to know the stories, and it`s unrealistic to expect American audiences to understand the rules of the royal family in ancient China through just one TV opera," said Zui.
“畢竟，人們主要是想了解故事情節，而僅僅靠一部電視劇就想讓美國觀眾理解中國古代皇室的規矩，這也是不切實際的。”最小齊說。
