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标题：Town Asks Kung Fu Monks for Tourism Blessings
登载媒体：纽约时报
链接：http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/world/asia/02shaolin.html?_r=2
翻译方式：原创
声明：
GUANDU, China
中国，官渡
The cluster of temples at the heart of this dusty, traffic-clogged town are picturesque reminders of China’s faded Buddhist past. On a recent day, dogs warmed themselves in the winter sun as a few toothless devotees bowed before smiling Buddhas. The only sounds were the occasional clanging of wind chimes and the splash of coins tossed into a mucky pond.
在这座尘土飞扬，交通拥堵的小镇中心，聚集着几座古寺，生动得描述着中国一段已经渐渐褪色的佛教历史，提醒着过往的人们。最近的一天，狗狗们在冬日下暖和着自己，一旁是几个牙齿稀松的信徒，虔诚的跪拜在笑面佛像前。依稀能听得到的只有风铃偶尔清脆的铃声和抛入许愿池泥滩的硬币发出的响声。
While soothing to some, the tranquillity is galling to Guandu’s city fathers, who recently spent $3 million to rebuild the four temples. They had become schools and warehouses during an earlier era, when the Communist Party sought to suppress nearly all religious activity, including that by Buddhists.
虽然这样的一片平静祥和让村民们感到欣慰，但在官渡镇政府官员看来，这个平静祥和可够烦心的，因为他们才刚花了两千多万修缮这四座古寺。过去共产党曾一度禁止包括佛教在内的一切宗教活动，这些古寺也一度被当做学校或仓库。
To sweeten the lure for free-spending tourists, they tore down the jumble of ancient homes that surrounded the 1,000-year-old temples and built rows of antique-looking shops that sell bootleg DVDs, sneakers and stuffed Santas.
为了吸引迎合那些舍得花钱的游客，官员们拆除了这些千年古寺周围杂乱无章的老房子，兴建了一片古香古色的商铺，向游客们出售盗版光碟，运动鞋及佛像。
Still no one came.
还是无人问津，门可罗雀。
“The temples have been money losers,” grumbled Dou Weibao, the commissioner of ethnic and religious affairs in Guandu, which has long since been subsumed by the sprawl of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province.
“这些寺庙一直是入不敷出啊”，官渡镇宗教民族管委会理事窦伟宝（音）抱怨道。这个部门随着昆明市的扩展，很早就划入这个云南省省会管辖了。
Mr. Dou found a savior 1,200 miles away, in the Song Mountains of central China, where the warrior monks of Shaolin have mastered the art of monastery marketing. Since the early 1990s, the chief abbot, Shi Yongxin, has turned Shaolin into a lucrative draw for kung fu enthusiasts and has transformed his lithe disciples into global emissaries for the temple’s crowd-pleasing mix of Zen Buddhism and fly-kick combat.
窦理事在远在1900多公里之外的嵩山找到了拯救官渡的希望，在这座位于中国中部的大山上，少林寺的武僧们已经将佛教文化推广进市场，开始商业操作了。自上世纪九十年代早起开始，少林方丈释永信就将少林寺包装成功夫迷心中的朝圣之地，他也把自己的弟子们派往海外，向世界推广这一禅宗佛教和武术功夫合二为一的文化品牌。
In November, the two parties struck a straightforward deal. In exchange for managing the Guandu temples for 30 years, the monks will keep all proceeds from the donation boxes and gift shops. In a news release announcing the arrangement, Shaolin said its primary goals were to carry out charitable activities, maintain the temples and “spread the faith.”
在11月，官渡镇政府和少林寺双方达成了一项直接合作协议。根据协议，少林寺将获得官渡古寺30年的经营管理权。 而原寺庙的僧人则继续保留捐赠供奉和商铺销售收入的所有权。据一则工作安排的消息，少林寺称开展慈善活动、保留原古寺风格和“推广普及佛教信仰”是其首要目标。
Mr. Dou, who described himself as an atheist, sees things somewhat differently. “We’re going to use their fame to attract more business,” he said on Wednesday as he and a batch of newly arrived monks exchanged pleasantries.
一直声称自己不信佛的窦理事对此事的看法则略有不同。在星期三和新来的僧人相互问候的时候，窦理事说，“我们要利用少林寺的名气和品牌为我们镇吸引更多商业投资”。
Guandu officials say they will get no money from the deal, but they hope the Shaolin mystique will pull in the kind of crowds that have turned the flagship monastery, in Henan Province, into one of China’s most popular tourist destinations. Mr. Dou said the government would save the $88,000 once spent on temple maintenance each year. They are also counting on the tax revenue from a vast new mall that is nearing completion next to the temple complex.
官渡镇政府官员说政府在这项协议中并没有任何商业收入，但希望少林寺的品牌吸引力能把像在河南省那样吸引而来的观光人群也带到中国旅游业最发达的地区来。窦理事说镇政府将因此每年减少近70万（$88,000）用于古寺修缮的资金投入。同时，在寺庙群周围即将完工的各式各样的商铺那，政府也能得到一笔客观的税收。
The management deal has provoked howls among some Chinese, with many critics decrying the commercialization wrought by the Venerable Yongxin, who drives a Land Rover and has established Shaolin branches in Italy, Germany and Australia.
这项合作协议激起了一部分中国人的不满，他们对永信大师这样的商业行为嗤之以鼻。这位开着陆虎跑车的大师已经在意大利、德国和澳大利亚开设了少林寺分会。
“Shaolin Chain Store,” read the headline of one recent posting written on Sina.com, a popular Web site. “There’s nothing wrong with chasing profits and fame, but they can’t use the name of Buddha.”
“少林牌连锁店”，这是最近主流网站新浪网上一则报道的标题，“追求商业理利润和品牌名誉本身并没有错，但少林寺不应该利用佛教的名义做这些”
Such sentiments are hard to find in Guandu, where people seem to enjoy the sudden uptick in tourism. Last Wednesday, a squadron of incense vendors surged around visitors, and the Liu family noodle shop was doing a brisk business feeding the famished. “Before the monks came, the only people who came were old, and they didn’t spend any money,” said Cao Jinbu, the shop’s owner.
但这样的情感在官渡镇并不多见，那里的人民似乎已经开始享受突增的旅游热潮带来的利益了。上周三，一群香火贩围着旅客贩卖香火，刘家面馆也忙活着为饥饿的旅客们准备面条。“在少林寺的和尚们来之前，只有老人会来这烧香拜佛，他们也不会花什么钱”，店主曹进步（音）说道。
Wan Liqiong, who runs a trinket stand across from the temple gate, said she would probably have to switch some of her stock to include Shaolin-oriented souvenirs. “We’ve really been struggling here,” she said. Then she offered up an expression that roughly translates to “if you burn incense, they will come.”
在古寺门口摆小饰品摊的王丽琼（音）说，她可能会把现在的一些货物换成与少林寺相关的纪念品，她说，“我们一直都在这为生计而劳累”。然后她说了一个形象的比方“只要你点着香火，香客们就会纷至沓来”。
After reading about the Shaolin deal in his local newspaper, Ying Daojin made the eight-hour journey by bus just to catch a glimpse of the monks. A 30-year-old corn farmer from northeast Yunnan, Mr. Ying described himself as a nonbeliever but seemed willing to give religion a try. “I’ve heard Buddhism can open your mind,” he said wide-eyed as a monk glided by. “Kung fu is also good for your health.”
在读过当地一份报纸刊登的关于少林寺的经营协议后，尹道金（音）坐了八个小时的火车就为了来这看看那些少林寺的和尚。这位来自云南东北部的30岁玉米农尹先生说自己没有宗教信仰，但想试试某个宗教信仰。“我早就听说了佛教能开阔你的思维”，他睁着大眼说到，好像有个和尚正从身边经过一样，“功夫也对健康有好处”。
According to his secretary, the Venerable Yongxin, the head monk based in Henan Province, does not give telephone interviews, but he encouraged a reporter to seek out Master Yanjiang, the abbot assigned to run the Guandu complex.
河南少林的永信大师通过他的秘书表示，现在不会接受电话采访。但大师也鼓励记者去采访即将掌管官渡古寺的严江大师（音）。
Master Yanjiang, however, proved just as elusive and refused to discuss his plans for the temples.
而守口如瓶的严江大师不愿表态讨论自己对寺庙的计划
His monks were decidedly unapproachable.
大师的徒弟们也是很难接触的。
The young men waved away inquiries. When one bespectacled monk found himself the subject of a photographer’s interest, he grabbed the camera and then offered a menacing martial arts pose when his demand to have the picture erased went unmet. Negotiations proved fruitless, and the pictures were deleted. The monk bowed, smiled and walked away.
这些年轻的僧人拒绝接受访问。当一位戴眼镜的僧人发现有位摄影记者要把他作为拍照对象时，他一把抢走了相机，在要求对方删除那些相片未果后，他摆出了凶狠狠的功夫架势。在经过协商没有结果后，那名记者删除了那些照片。这位僧人马上向记者微笑着鞠躬致意，然后离去了。
Others were busy helping to renovate the gift shop while another group of monks was handling the bequest of an adherent who had stopped by bearing gifts.
其他的僧人都忙着帮忙修整礼品店。另一群僧人正处理着一位信徒的捐赠，他留在那接受寺庙作为回馈的赠品。
A few days after their arrival, the monks taped a handwritten poster at the temple entrance advertising kung fu lessons. The cost: $44 for a month of instruction, nearly a full month’s wage for some Chinese workers.
在这些少林和尚到这几天后，一位僧人在寺庙入口张贴了一则手写的功夫课广告。这个为其一个月的功夫介绍需要近350元（$44）,将近是一些中国工人一个月的工资
The security guard at the front gate said the classes were selling well, with more than 100 people already signed up. He showed off the student roster, most of them children and teenagers. “Everyone loves the Shaolin monks,” he said with a smile.
前门的门卫说这些课程销售不错，已经有超过100人报名参加了。他拿出了一份报名学生的名单，大部分报名者是十来岁的小孩。“大家都喜欢少林寺和尚”，他笑着说。 |
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