Wish More People Could Meet with

August 15, 2022

In May 2022 Mrs. Huang had two of her daughter’s paintings made into totes as gifts to her students, and invited us to write poems empathizing the paintings. I was quite touched by one of them, and wrote a few words both in English and Chinese. After receiving my so called poems, Mrs. Huang asked me if I was interested in translating some parts of her book “Reconstructing Yourself with Writing”. It is a top ranking and best-selling book in China introducing “The Huang Xin Model of Writing Psychotherapy”, which is founded and developed by her.

To be honest, it felt completely out of the blue and I panicked a little when I was asked, because I don’t think I am qualified and capable of this task. Firstly, I don’t have a profound knowledge about psychology. Secondly, I did not major in English. So how could I dare to translate such an honorable work?

However, Mrs. Huang’s words about her wish to promote her model of writing psychotherapy abroad so that more people may be helped, especially Chinese overseas, lingered in my mind. It brought me back to my own experiences in her classes and reminded me of the progresses that I have made in writing and personal growth. Gratitude and respect to Mrs. Huang sprang in my heart telling me not to reject the invitation.

“ What am I going to loose?” I asked myself. I am no body. I have nothing to loose. The worst thing that could happen is that my translation is a bunch of trash and I loose my face. But if 0.1 percent of Mrs. Huang’s idea and practices could be communicated in English, the shame I am going to bear is worthwhile. So I decided to have a try.

I chose to translate the part of “Meeting with Works Writing Psychotherapy Group”(MWWPG), which is one of the shining pearls in “The Huang Xin Model of Chinese Writing Therapy”. I experienced great difficulties during the process. The biggest of them lied in the psychological theories and jargons, in particular the Gestalt psychology. Though I had instructions from Mrs. Huang, it still was too difficult for me to fully digest them. I think there is still plenty of room for improvement in the translating of psychological theories and terminologies, especially the part of “closure”. Because of language differences, I was also not sure whether I chose the right English expressions and phrases. I hope the translation makes sense to you somehow. Even though I have tried my best, I am sure there are still mistakes that I am not aware of. I shall be grateful if you could let me know and give me some feedbacks and advices. Many thanks for reading.

Lona

Nanchang, China

Article Link:

Embracing Each Other in a Meeting with Works Writing Psychotherapy Group

https://www.jianshu.com/p/158b04224b1e