
Foolish and Backward Nation (2012) - Tomte
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/foolish-and-backward-nation-a-self-effacing-chinese-satire-of-america/261946/?single_page=true
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nickpsecurity
It was good except the game part being only partly true. We have tons of
hunters in this country, esp in rural areas. They bag and eat deer all the
time out here. I love me some deer sausage, too.

Bribe joke is off a bit, too, given how much our laws and policies are driven
by campaign contributions. America is strong on bribery. They just restrict it
in ways that make sure the "right" people get the bribes. ;)

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XaYdEk
I found it a good read, too.

Hey, it's not bribery when you have a legal setup for it. It's 'lobbying',
'post public office career options', 'match making fees', 'incentives for key
stakeholders'. Wouldn't want to get in trouble in the vilage now, would we ?
:)

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kwhitefoot
Would have been more impressive if The Atlantic had simply printed it without
the spoiler comment.

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droopyEyelids
"44,000 retweets"

What the hell was this ever written about? 44k retweets in China? How many
posts get 44k retweets every 60 seconds in China? I'd guess it's in the double
digits.

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nikatwork
Twitter is blocked in China.

e: my bad, TFA also uses these exact words.

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XaYdEk
Yes it is. He means the Chinese 'equivalent' which is called Weibo.

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fragsworth
This is unfair. We have to read the translation that went viral in China to
know if they misinterpreted it or not. Perhaps they understand fully that it
is sarcastic, and by sharing it they are supporting the original ideas.
Otherwise the translation was written in such a way that the sarcasm was
easily lost.

Imagine the reverse happening from a Chinese source.

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nikatwork
Chinese citizens veil government criticism using innuendo ranging from obvious
to subtle as a means to avoid censorship etc. Westerners often miss this
subtext. The innuendo in TFA is so blunt that the translation is believable.

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XaYdEk
It's not an ad litteram translation, but we will still obviously lose some of
the more subtle linguistics.

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beachstartup
the main point comes across obviously and nicely, and is about as subtle as A
Modest Proposal.

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XaYdEk
Would you like to come up and see my etchings ? Better still, stay here and
I'll bring them down. :)

