Written and photographed by: Hu Ge
Translated by: Hailey
Edited by: Esther Lai
翻译自Vogue 2017年十二月号 胡乱唱歌专栏《返场谢幕》
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For a year I have persisted in playing a “columnist” on a stage provided by Vogue. Now it’s finally the moment for the curtain call. Thank you all for your kindness, for being willing to treat my tastelessness as delicacy, my shallowness as mellowness, and to turn my sleep talks into symphonies. More thanks go to Ms. Angelica Cheung, for her tolerance and understanding. Especially in the days before the monthly deadlines, I believe she had given me the leniency generous enough to encompass the entire universe. I always failed to meet my deadlines, and begged for more time. She always trusted me, encouraged me, and even praised me, which was the main reason why I was able to persist till the end.
在Vogue的舞台上 我演了一年的“专栏作者” 终于坚持到了闭幕的时刻 感谢大家对我的厚爱 愿意将我的乏味当成绝味 把我的苍白看作留白 令我的梦呓变为文艺 更要感谢张宇女士对我的包容和理解 尤其是在每月临近交稿的那几天 我感觉主编大人张开了整个宇宙的怀抱 我总是越过最后期限 总是祈求再宽限几天 她永远信任我 鼓励我 甚至表扬我 这成了我能够坚持下来最主要的原因
The truth is that I am very lazy and lack necessary training. Writing is not my strong suit. To write an article with thousands of words has never been an easy task for me. Our Story, which was featured in the first three issues, had originally been slated as one piece in a single issue. But I ran out of time (I usually started the night before or in the early hours on the due date), so I had to use “To be Continued” as the ending of the article in the first issue. Another plan that got disrupted was about the topic for each issue. At first I was very confident and wanted to write a story or a screenplay for a mini movie for each issue. But after I had struggled with the ending of the third issue, I realized that I didn’t have what it would take to accomplish my goal, and that I might just as well do what I do best. At that time I even proposed giving up the column to the mighty Editor-in-Chief herself. She didn’t say much but just told me that I should keep my promise to the readers. I felt so ashamed of myself that I went home and repented for an entire month, only to leave the fourth issue a difficult birth again.
说真的 我很懒 也缺乏必要的训练 码字不是我的专长 要我写一篇几千字的文章 并不是那么轻而易举的事情 前三期《我们的故事》原本想在一期里完成的 结果时间不够（我基本都是在deadline的前一个晚上或凌晨动笔的）所以只能用“未完待续”作为第一期的结尾 另一个被打破的设想是关于每一期的内容 我最初信心满满 想在每一期写一个故事或是微电影的剧本 可在我勉强把第三期的故事收尾之后 我意识到自己力所不及 还是该干嘛干嘛去吧 我甚至在那个时候向主编大人提出过放弃的念头 她没有多说什么 只告诉我要对读者守信 我很惭愧 回家反省了足足一个月 结果第四期又难产了
I am not planning to go into all of the details and chronicle what happened during my writing for each issue, because that would result in a very long article. I am simply here to take a bow. The show is over. As a sincere final word, I would like to say that Vogue is an excellent stage. But I didn’t do a good job at playing my part. Thank you all for your kind support. I am not young anymore and will only be doing what my ability allows me to. My next play should be in a place which I am most familiar with. Please stay tuned . . .
我并不想报流水账 把每一期的写作过程都赘述一遍 因为那样会把这篇文章写得很长 我只是来谢幕的 演出已经结束了 最后我想严肃地说 Vogue是一个非常好的舞台 但我并没有把戏演好谢谢大家的捧场 我年纪不小了 接下去只做能力所及的事情 下一出戏 应该在我熟悉的地方 敬请期待……
Source：《返场谢幕》
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A Note from the Translator
With this month’s bowing-out piece, the curtain for Hu Ge’s act on this special stage which had been provided by Vogue China has really come down. I first joined the 胡歌ThinkHuGe team in March 2017 and since then has been blessed to have the honor of translating many of the articles he wrote for his column. There is little chance that he will ever come across these translations. But for me this not only is a way of showing my appreciation, love, and support for him, but also gives me a chance to see what I can do with my skills, where I am at, and how I can improve them. It’s been absolutely fun, challenging, and at the same time fulfilling. You never know what potentials you have until you try your very best, committing time and effort upon it.
Thank you Hu Ge, for having kept your promise and persisted to the end of the arrangement! Through the 12 articles in the past 12 months, I have ached for you, been baffled by you, laughed with you, gotten lost and fought to find the way back alongside you. Whether they were your real feelings or fabricated for the sake of the column, it had been a wondrous journey. Now the curtain has been called. I don’t know if we’ll ever get to read another article penned by you in the future. Although saddened by that thought, I want to look at the bright side and focus on what you said about your returning to the familiar stage.
I will keep my channels tuned in, and wait for your next play!
Love,
Hailey @胡椒终究磨成粉
P.S. Thank you @esther小小鱼 for your editing, for always tolerating my numerous grammatical errors, and for making my lackluster translation more polished every time. Love you, love the team. Let’s keep up with the good work!
胡歌 ~Think Hu Ge ~ 