The Lock, by Li Xiao-Yang

之前翻译李老师的五首诗在Columbia Journal上登出了，其中《锁》这一首，我在翻译时想了很久。The idea of The Lock is quite simple. But I love its dialectic compactness. The last stanza goes:

通常，锁活在自己的空芯里
以刑具的对称性来启闭他物。
而蛀空的部分，需要更精确的力
来完成启示。

启示 is an interesting idea. It can carry the meaning “to open” in an ordinary way. But more often, it refers to a significant kind of opening that we’d understand as “disclosure” or “revelation”. In this regard, 启示 is quite different from merely 启闭. The latter, ordinarily a synonym, does not have that additional significance.

This contrast leads the ending in an unexpected direction. Sure, it makes sense on a literal level: the key wouldn’t correspond (对称) to a compromised (蛀空) lock, so to open it requires additional effort (更精确). But, as a metaphor, it suggests that revelation only occurs outside the context of correspondence. Take that a step further, The Lock appears to recommend a theory of truth as disclosure against theories of truth as correspondence.

Is this Heidegger? Certainly looks like it. So I was very tempted by “aletheia” before deciding—with regrets—that “disclosure” is in fact the better translation. “aletheia” would have been perfect if it were part of colloquial speech.