A thousand miles apart
千里之外 Qiānlǐ zhīwài
Last February 5th, having come across "Message in a Bottle" -- a way to search online for someone -- Jiang Leming finally was able to find his elementary school classmate, Wang Qichen, and because once when they were children he had hit him, he could say from the bottom of his heart a few words he's been keeping back for 30 years: "I'm sorry."
通过网络漂流瓶的寻找, 2月5日, 江乐明终于找到了小学同学王其琛, 为儿时自己曾经打了他, 郑重地说了句埋藏心底近30年的"对不起." Tōngguò wǎngluò piāoliúpíng de xúnzhǎo, 2 yuè 5 rì, Jiāng Lèmíng zhōngyú zhǎodào le xiǎoxué tóngxué Wáng Qíchēn, wéi érshí zìjǐ céngjīng dǎ le tā, zhèngzhòngde shuō le jù máicáng xīndǐ jìn 30 nián de "duìbùqǐ."
It seems these kinds of touching stories are happening ... a cherised desire, a weight on one's mind, a self-introduction, a question, or a chance just to send regards...
像这样动人的故事也许正在发生……一份心愿, 一番心事, 一段介绍, 一个问题, 哪怕只是一声问候……Xiàng zhèyàng dòngrén de gùshi yéxǔ zhèngzài fāshēng … … yí fèn xīnyuàn, yì fān xīnshì, yí duàn jièshào, yí gè wèntí, nǎpà zhǐshì yì shēng wènhòu …
Strangers separated by thousands of miles can put a secret message in a fictional "message bottle" and, by connecting through e-mail, websites, forums, send the message out onto the Internet randomly "floating" towards a person fated to receive it.
千里之外的陌生人把装满秘密的虚拟漂流瓶, 通过邮件, 网站, 论坛等平台, 放进浩瀚的网络, 随机“漂”向有缘人. Qiānlǐ zhīwài de mòshēngrén bǎ zhuāngmǎn mìmì de xūnǐ piāoliúpíng, tōngguò yóujiàn, wǎngzhàn, lùntán děng píngtái, fàngjìn hàohàn de wǎngluò, suíjī "piāo" xiàng yǒuyuánrén.
If that fated person is you, then according to the principles of fate, you can scoop it up, read it, and send a reply, or you can throw it back into the "ocean," to float away somewhere else ... When in the boundless "Internet ocean," it reaches one of those who call themselves "bottle friends," whether at that point they will become a friend is not certain, but definitely a lot of amusing and touching stories will come out of it ...
也许这个有缘人就是你, 那就随缘吧, 捞捞看, 给个回应, 或者重新把它扔进“海”里, 漂到别处去. 在茫茫"网海"中的他们互称"瓶友", 就此成为好友也说不定, 自然也会引出很多好玩感人的故事来. Yéxǔ zhège yǒuyuánrén jiù shì nǐ, nà jiù suíyuán ba, lāolāo kàn, gěi gè huíyìng, huòzhě chóngxīn bǎ tā rēng jìn "hǎi" lǐ, piāo dào biéchù qù. Zài mángmáng "wǎng hǎi" zhōngdì tāmen hùchēng "píng yǒu", jiùcǐ chéngwéi hǎoyǒu yě shuōbúdìng, zìrán yě huì yǐnchū hěn duō hǎowán gǎnrén de gùshi lái.
The medieval European craze for "message in a bottle" has actually "floated" to the Internet; this new game of interacting with strangers on the web, full of mystery, surprises and warmth, seems overnight to have begun to fascinate online players of this ancient game, because today people really thirst for communication, and thirst to share -- and, this kind of "anonymous" communication is safer and more relaxed.
曾在欧洲中世纪盛行的漂流瓶从现实“漂”到了网络, 这种与陌生网友互动的新玩法, 充满神秘, 惊喜和温暖……似乎一夜之间, 网友开始热衷起这个古老的游戏, 因为现代人都有一颗渴望交流, 渴望分享的心, 而这种“匿名”沟通无疑更安全更踏实. Céng zài ōuzhōu zhōngshìjì shèngxíng de piāoliúpíng cóng xiànshí "piāo" dào le wǎngluò, zhèzhǒng yǔ mòshēng wǎngyǒu hùdòng de xīn wánfǎ, chōngmǎn shénmì, jīngxǐ hé wēnnuǎn … … sìhū yí yè zhījiān, wǎngyǒu kāishǐ rèzhōng qǐzhè ge gúlǎo de yóuxì, yīnwèi xiàndài rén dōu yǒu yì kē kěwàng jiāoliú, kěwàng fēnxiǎng de xīn, ér zhè zhǒng "nì míng" gōutōng wúyí gèng ānquán gèng tāshi.
"I'd heard a lot of Message in a Bottle stories, but I never expected that this past Spring Festival, Message in a Bottle would help me fulfill a wish I had for many years" ... Thirty-seven-year-old Jiang Leming had a fight in third grade with his classmate, Wang Qichen, which caused Wang to lose some hearing. Although his family reached out and paid for medical expenses, over time as he grew up, Jiang felt deeply guilty, and really wanted to make amends, but because so much time had passed, he could not find a way.
"听过很多漂流瓶的故事, 没想到今年春节, 一个网络漂流瓶竟帮我完成了多年的夙愿." 今年37岁的淮南人江乐明上小学三年级时和同学王其琛打架, 造成其右耳听力受损. 虽然家人登门道歉, 赔偿医药费, 但慢慢长大后, 他还是深感内疚, 很想找个机会补偿, 却因时间太长无法找到. "Tīngguò hěn duō piāoliúpíng de gùshi, méixiǎngdào jīnnián chūnjié, yí gè wǎngluò piāoliúpíng jìng bāng wǒ wánchéng le duōnián de sùyuàn." Jīnnián 37 suì de Huáinán rén Jiāng Lèmíng shàng xiǎoxué sān niánjí shí hé tóngxué Wáng Qíchēn dǎjià, zàochéng qí yòu ěr tīnglì shòusǔn. Suīrán jiārén dēngmén daoqiàn, péicháng yīyàofèi, dàn mànmàn zhǎngdà hòu, tā háishì shēngǎn nèijiù, hěn xiǎng zhǎo gè jīhuì bǔcháng, què yīn shíjiān tài cháng wúfǎ zhǎodào.
Just by chance, he found Message in a Bottle, and in October 2010, he began using the message bottle to send messages every day about his story, and the replies he got contained blessings, and offered comfort ... Soon it was Spring Festival, and he took his wife and son to Huainan; on February 5th, he opened a bottle as usual, and in it there was only a phone number; Jiang Leming had a feeling, could this be Wang Qichen's phone number?
一个偶然的机会, 他发现了网络漂流瓶, 从2010年10月开始每天都要扔出关于这件事的网络漂流瓶, 回应有祝福的, 有安慰的……转眼到了今年春节, 他带着妻儿回到淮南. 2月5日下午, 他像往常一样点开网络漂流瓶, 只有一个手机号码. 江乐明有一种感觉, 这会不会是王其琛的手机号码? Yí gè ǒurán de jīhuì, tā fāxiàn le wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, cóng 2010 nián 10 yuè kāishǐ měitiān dōu yào rēngchū guānyú zhèjiàn shì de wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, huíyìng yǒu zhùfú de, yǒu ānwèi de … … zhuányǎn dàole jīnnián chūnjié, tā dàizhe qī ér huídào Huáinán. 2 yuè 5 rì xiàwǔ, tā xiàng wǎngcháng yíyàng diǎn kāi wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, zhíyǒu yí gè shǒujī hàomǎ. Jiāng Lèmíng yǒu yì zhǒng gǎnjué, zhè huì bu huì shì Wáng Qíchēn de shǒujī hàomǎ?
He immediately called, and the person who answered said, "Hello" ... He couldn't help blurting out, "Are you Wang Qichen?" ... After a few moments, the other person asked, "Are you Jiang Leming? It's me, Wang Qichen" ... Choking back sobs, it took him a while to ask, "Where are you? How are you?" When he found out that Wang also was in Huainan celebrating the Spring Festival, he immediately arranged to meet him the next day.
他马上拨通了电话，对方刚说了句“你好”，他便忍不住问道：“是王其琛吗？”停顿了几秒钟后，对方说：“江乐明吗？是我，王其琛。”他哽咽了，半天才说出一句话：“你在哪儿？现在好吗？”得知王其琛也在淮南过年，他当即约好转天见面。Tā mǎshàng bōtōng le diànhuà, duìfāng gāng shuō le jù "Nǐ hǎo", tā biàn rěnbúzhù wèndào: "Shì Wáng Qíchēn ma?" Tíngdùn le jǐ miǎozhōng hòu, duìfāng shuō："Jiāng Lèmíng ma? Shì wǒ, Wáng Qíchēn." Tā gěngyè le, bàntiān cái shuōchū yí jù huà: "Nǐ zài nǎr？Xiànzài hǎo ma?" Dézhī Wáng Qíchēn yě zài Huáinán guò nián, tā dāngjí yuēháo zhuǎn tiān jiànmiàn.
On the afternoon of February 6th, after not having seen each other for nearly thirty years, they met and embraced each other tightly: "Brother, I'm sorry..."
2月6日下午, 近30年未见的他们如约相见, 紧紧相拥. "兄弟, 对不起…" 2 yuè 6 rì xiàwǔ, jìn 30 nián wèijiàn de tāmen rúyuē xiāngjiàn, jǐnjǐn xiāngyōng. "Xiōng-di, duìbùqǐ …"
He finally was able to say the words that had weighed on him for so many years. Wang Qichen didn't say anything, he just patted him on the back.
他终于说出了埋藏在心底多年的话. 王其琛什么话也没说, 只是拍着他的后背. Tā zhōngyú shuōchū le máicáng zài xīndǐ duōnián de huà. Wáng Qíchēn shénme huà yě méi shuō, zhǐ shì pāizhe tā de hòubèi.
It turns out that the Message in a Bottle had reached a friend of Wang's daughter, who told her about it, and because her father's hearing was not good, she thought this story was very much like her father's; and that is how the reunion came about.
原来, 他发出的网络漂流瓶是王其琛女儿的同学当一件新鲜事儿告诉女儿的, 而女儿知道爸爸听力不好, 便觉得像是爸爸的故事, 才有了这次重逢. Yuánlái, tā fāchū de wǎngluò piāoliúpíng shì Wáng Qíchēn nǚ'ér de tóngxué dāng yí jiàn xīnxiānshìr gàosu nǚ'ér de, ér nǚ'ér zhīdào bàba tīnglì bùhǎo, biàn juédé xiàng shì bàba de gùshi, cái yǒu le zhècì chóngféng.
[Note: the article goes on to tell other stories about Message in a Bottle (also known as "Drift Bottle"); sign up for it on renren.com, qq.com, or get the iPhone app]
Source: 《每日新报》2011-03/07 第A23版："寻你千里之外 用心说声抱歉" and online version
千里之外 Qiānlǐ zhīwài
Last February 5th, having come across "Message in a Bottle" -- a way to search online for someone -- Jiang Leming finally was able to find his elementary school classmate, Wang Qichen, and because once when they were children he had hit him, he could say from the bottom of his heart a few words he's been keeping back for 30 years: "I'm sorry."
通过网络漂流瓶的寻找, 2月5日, 江乐明终于找到了小学同学王其琛, 为儿时自己曾经打了他, 郑重地说了句埋藏心底近30年的"对不起." Tōngguò wǎngluò piāoliúpíng de xúnzhǎo, 2 yuè 5 rì, Jiāng Lèmíng zhōngyú zhǎodào le xiǎoxué tóngxué Wáng Qíchēn, wéi érshí zìjǐ céngjīng dǎ le tā, zhèngzhòngde shuō le jù máicáng xīndǐ jìn 30 nián de "duìbùqǐ."
It seems these kinds of touching stories are happening ... a cherised desire, a weight on one's mind, a self-introduction, a question, or a chance just to send regards...
像这样动人的故事也许正在发生……一份心愿, 一番心事, 一段介绍, 一个问题, 哪怕只是一声问候……Xiàng zhèyàng dòngrén de gùshi yéxǔ zhèngzài fāshēng … … yí fèn xīnyuàn, yì fān xīnshì, yí duàn jièshào, yí gè wèntí, nǎpà zhǐshì yì shēng wènhòu …
Strangers separated by thousands of miles can put a secret message in a fictional "message bottle" and, by connecting through e-mail, websites, forums, send the message out onto the Internet randomly "floating" towards a person fated to receive it.
千里之外的陌生人把装满秘密的虚拟漂流瓶, 通过邮件, 网站, 论坛等平台, 放进浩瀚的网络, 随机“漂”向有缘人. Qiānlǐ zhīwài de mòshēngrén bǎ zhuāngmǎn mìmì de xūnǐ piāoliúpíng, tōngguò yóujiàn, wǎngzhàn, lùntán děng píngtái, fàngjìn hàohàn de wǎngluò, suíjī "piāo" xiàng yǒuyuánrén.
If that fated person is you, then according to the principles of fate, you can scoop it up, read it, and send a reply, or you can throw it back into the "ocean," to float away somewhere else ... When in the boundless "Internet ocean," it reaches one of those who call themselves "bottle friends," whether at that point they will become a friend is not certain, but definitely a lot of amusing and touching stories will come out of it ...
也许这个有缘人就是你, 那就随缘吧, 捞捞看, 给个回应, 或者重新把它扔进“海”里, 漂到别处去. 在茫茫"网海"中的他们互称"瓶友", 就此成为好友也说不定, 自然也会引出很多好玩感人的故事来. Yéxǔ zhège yǒuyuánrén jiù shì nǐ, nà jiù suíyuán ba, lāolāo kàn, gěi gè huíyìng, huòzhě chóngxīn bǎ tā rēng jìn "hǎi" lǐ, piāo dào biéchù qù. Zài mángmáng "wǎng hǎi" zhōngdì tāmen hùchēng "píng yǒu", jiùcǐ chéngwéi hǎoyǒu yě shuōbúdìng, zìrán yě huì yǐnchū hěn duō hǎowán gǎnrén de gùshi lái.
The medieval European craze for "message in a bottle" has actually "floated" to the Internet; this new game of interacting with strangers on the web, full of mystery, surprises and warmth, seems overnight to have begun to fascinate online players of this ancient game, because today people really thirst for communication, and thirst to share -- and, this kind of "anonymous" communication is safer and more relaxed.
曾在欧洲中世纪盛行的漂流瓶从现实“漂”到了网络, 这种与陌生网友互动的新玩法, 充满神秘, 惊喜和温暖……似乎一夜之间, 网友开始热衷起这个古老的游戏, 因为现代人都有一颗渴望交流, 渴望分享的心, 而这种“匿名”沟通无疑更安全更踏实. Céng zài ōuzhōu zhōngshìjì shèngxíng de piāoliúpíng cóng xiànshí "piāo" dào le wǎngluò, zhèzhǒng yǔ mòshēng wǎngyǒu hùdòng de xīn wánfǎ, chōngmǎn shénmì, jīngxǐ hé wēnnuǎn … … sìhū yí yè zhījiān, wǎngyǒu kāishǐ rèzhōng qǐzhè ge gúlǎo de yóuxì, yīnwèi xiàndài rén dōu yǒu yì kē kěwàng jiāoliú, kěwàng fēnxiǎng de xīn, ér zhè zhǒng "nì míng" gōutōng wúyí gèng ānquán gèng tāshi.
"I'd heard a lot of Message in a Bottle stories, but I never expected that this past Spring Festival, Message in a Bottle would help me fulfill a wish I had for many years" ... Thirty-seven-year-old Jiang Leming had a fight in third grade with his classmate, Wang Qichen, which caused Wang to lose some hearing. Although his family reached out and paid for medical expenses, over time as he grew up, Jiang felt deeply guilty, and really wanted to make amends, but because so much time had passed, he could not find a way.
"听过很多漂流瓶的故事, 没想到今年春节, 一个网络漂流瓶竟帮我完成了多年的夙愿." 今年37岁的淮南人江乐明上小学三年级时和同学王其琛打架, 造成其右耳听力受损. 虽然家人登门道歉, 赔偿医药费, 但慢慢长大后, 他还是深感内疚, 很想找个机会补偿, 却因时间太长无法找到. "Tīngguò hěn duō piāoliúpíng de gùshi, méixiǎngdào jīnnián chūnjié, yí gè wǎngluò piāoliúpíng jìng bāng wǒ wánchéng le duōnián de sùyuàn." Jīnnián 37 suì de Huáinán rén Jiāng Lèmíng shàng xiǎoxué sān niánjí shí hé tóngxué Wáng Qíchēn dǎjià, zàochéng qí yòu ěr tīnglì shòusǔn. Suīrán jiārén dēngmén daoqiàn, péicháng yīyàofèi, dàn mànmàn zhǎngdà hòu, tā háishì shēngǎn nèijiù, hěn xiǎng zhǎo gè jīhuì bǔcháng, què yīn shíjiān tài cháng wúfǎ zhǎodào.
Just by chance, he found Message in a Bottle, and in October 2010, he began using the message bottle to send messages every day about his story, and the replies he got contained blessings, and offered comfort ... Soon it was Spring Festival, and he took his wife and son to Huainan; on February 5th, he opened a bottle as usual, and in it there was only a phone number; Jiang Leming had a feeling, could this be Wang Qichen's phone number?
一个偶然的机会, 他发现了网络漂流瓶, 从2010年10月开始每天都要扔出关于这件事的网络漂流瓶, 回应有祝福的, 有安慰的……转眼到了今年春节, 他带着妻儿回到淮南. 2月5日下午, 他像往常一样点开网络漂流瓶, 只有一个手机号码. 江乐明有一种感觉, 这会不会是王其琛的手机号码? Yí gè ǒurán de jīhuì, tā fāxiàn le wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, cóng 2010 nián 10 yuè kāishǐ měitiān dōu yào rēngchū guānyú zhèjiàn shì de wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, huíyìng yǒu zhùfú de, yǒu ānwèi de … … zhuányǎn dàole jīnnián chūnjié, tā dàizhe qī ér huídào Huáinán. 2 yuè 5 rì xiàwǔ, tā xiàng wǎngcháng yíyàng diǎn kāi wǎngluò piāoliúpíng, zhíyǒu yí gè shǒujī hàomǎ. Jiāng Lèmíng yǒu yì zhǒng gǎnjué, zhè huì bu huì shì Wáng Qíchēn de shǒujī hàomǎ?
He immediately called, and the person who answered said, "Hello" ... He couldn't help blurting out, "Are you Wang Qichen?" ... After a few moments, the other person asked, "Are you Jiang Leming? It's me, Wang Qichen" ... Choking back sobs, it took him a while to ask, "Where are you? How are you?" When he found out that Wang also was in Huainan celebrating the Spring Festival, he immediately arranged to meet him the next day.
他马上拨通了电话，对方刚说了句“你好”，他便忍不住问道：“是王其琛吗？”停顿了几秒钟后，对方说：“江乐明吗？是我，王其琛。”他哽咽了，半天才说出一句话：“你在哪儿？现在好吗？”得知王其琛也在淮南过年，他当即约好转天见面。Tā mǎshàng bōtōng le diànhuà, duìfāng gāng shuō le jù "Nǐ hǎo", tā biàn rěnbúzhù wèndào: "Shì Wáng Qíchēn ma?" Tíngdùn le jǐ miǎozhōng hòu, duìfāng shuō："Jiāng Lèmíng ma? Shì wǒ, Wáng Qíchēn." Tā gěngyè le, bàntiān cái shuōchū yí jù huà: "Nǐ zài nǎr？Xiànzài hǎo ma?" Dézhī Wáng Qíchēn yě zài Huáinán guò nián, tā dāngjí yuēháo zhuǎn tiān jiànmiàn.
On the afternoon of February 6th, after not having seen each other for nearly thirty years, they met and embraced each other tightly: "Brother, I'm sorry..."
2月6日下午, 近30年未见的他们如约相见, 紧紧相拥. "兄弟, 对不起…" 2 yuè 6 rì xiàwǔ, jìn 30 nián wèijiàn de tāmen rúyuē xiāngjiàn, jǐnjǐn xiāngyōng. "Xiōng-di, duìbùqǐ …"
He finally was able to say the words that had weighed on him for so many years. Wang Qichen didn't say anything, he just patted him on the back.
他终于说出了埋藏在心底多年的话. 王其琛什么话也没说, 只是拍着他的后背. Tā zhōngyú shuōchū le máicáng zài xīndǐ duōnián de huà. Wáng Qíchēn shénme huà yě méi shuō, zhǐ shì pāizhe tā de hòubèi.
It turns out that the Message in a Bottle had reached a friend of Wang's daughter, who told her about it, and because her father's hearing was not good, she thought this story was very much like her father's; and that is how the reunion came about.
原来, 他发出的网络漂流瓶是王其琛女儿的同学当一件新鲜事儿告诉女儿的, 而女儿知道爸爸听力不好, 便觉得像是爸爸的故事, 才有了这次重逢. Yuánlái, tā fāchū de wǎngluò piāoliúpíng shì Wáng Qíchēn nǚ'ér de tóngxué dāng yí jiàn xīnxiānshìr gàosu nǚ'ér de, ér nǚ'ér zhīdào bàba tīnglì bùhǎo, biàn juédé xiàng shì bàba de gùshi, cái yǒu le zhècì chóngféng.
[Note: the article goes on to tell other stories about Message in a Bottle (also known as "Drift Bottle"); sign up for it on renren.com, qq.com, or get the iPhone app]
Source: 《每日新报》2011-03/07 第A23版："寻你千里之外 用心说声抱歉" and online version
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