Seeking translation from archaic Japanese & Chinese (re LGBTQ news)
June 18, 2017 12:57 AM Subscribe
Please help me translate these two snippets related to same-sex marriage in Taiwan: one in archaic Japanese and one in Chinese!
I was forwarded these two snippets from a Taiwanese LGBTQ organisation about historical reports of same-sex marriage there. They gave a brief overview but I’d love to have them translated properly.
Their description:
I was forwarded these two snippets from a Taiwanese LGBTQ organisation about historical reports of same-sex marriage there. They gave a brief overview but I’d love to have them translated properly.
Their description:
The first article was on “臺灣日日新報” at May 10th, 1912, written in japanese. (sorry I mentioned the year wrong…) The other article was on United Daily News at Dec. 19, 1958.A few people have looked at the Japanese clipping and said the quality's not high enough to really transcribe it; unfortunately, this is the only version I have. Googling tells me it's from the Taiwan Daily News, but it seems you need to be a member of a specific library to be able to access archives.
The former title is “Became Male,” told a story happen in Tainan Anping. A older brother found his sister always dress in man’s clothes. After confirmed her willing to be a man and be with woman, the brother helped her marry to a woman. But then, the sister found that her brother seems have interested in her wife, so decided to run away from home with her wife.
The article in 1958 was reporting Notary Office of the Taiwan District Court received a letter from a lesbian, asking if she can get married with her girlfriend. The office denied her, told her that Civil Code only allowed one man and one woman get married.
You could post it as a job on proz.com...
I get your desire to have these translated but don't forget that translation is hard work.
posted by bearette at 5:06 AM on June 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
I get your desire to have these translated but don't forget that translation is hard work.
posted by bearette at 5:06 AM on June 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Here's the Chinese:
If Both Are Women They Cannot Marry
Female Lovers Want To Tie The Knot. Court Tells Them To Forget It
Dec 19, 1958
Taipei District Court News: Recently received a letter from a young lady asking the court whether two women can marry each other. The court finally responded, two women cannot marry. The letter this young lady mailed came from this city’s [Taipei] Nanking East Road together with name and address. The handwriting evidence is pretty clear, it was written by a women. From the way it is written, respectful and with sincerity, it seems the letter isn’t a joke, so the court took the matter under advisement and responded advising that the two abandon any idea of marriage.
The main import of the letter was “My girlfriend and I want to marry, but I am female and so is she. Can we two get married? Please respectfully let us know.” The rest of the wording indicates that the two of them are obviously same-sex lovers who very much want to marry each other. So they decided to ask the court. The court responded urging them to abandon the idea, the reason being that the civil law regarding marriage specifies that a marriage be between a man and a woman. The man must be at least 18 years old and the woman 16. Otherwise, they cannot marry. It can therefore be seen that, for a marriage to take place, it must be a man and a woman, if both are men or both are women, they cannot marry. The law is very clear. Therefore, two women cannot form a couple, they shouldn’t continue to consider it.
posted by mono blanco at 7:20 AM on June 18, 2017
If Both Are Women They Cannot Marry
Female Lovers Want To Tie The Knot. Court Tells Them To Forget It
Dec 19, 1958
Taipei District Court News: Recently received a letter from a young lady asking the court whether two women can marry each other. The court finally responded, two women cannot marry. The letter this young lady mailed came from this city’s [Taipei] Nanking East Road together with name and address. The handwriting evidence is pretty clear, it was written by a women. From the way it is written, respectful and with sincerity, it seems the letter isn’t a joke, so the court took the matter under advisement and responded advising that the two abandon any idea of marriage.
The main import of the letter was “My girlfriend and I want to marry, but I am female and so is she. Can we two get married? Please respectfully let us know.” The rest of the wording indicates that the two of them are obviously same-sex lovers who very much want to marry each other. So they decided to ask the court. The court responded urging them to abandon the idea, the reason being that the civil law regarding marriage specifies that a marriage be between a man and a woman. The man must be at least 18 years old and the woman 16. Otherwise, they cannot marry. It can therefore be seen that, for a marriage to take place, it must be a man and a woman, if both are men or both are women, they cannot marry. The law is very clear. Therefore, two women cannot form a couple, they shouldn’t continue to consider it.
posted by mono blanco at 7:20 AM on June 18, 2017
Best answer: This is pretty rough, and I'm not sure that the woman's name is actually Xiao - I couldn't read that very clearly no matter how much I squinted at it - but I was able to take a fair stab at the Japanese one.
Metamorphic Man
A woman takes a wife, dresses as a man, and eventually runs away with her wife.
In Anping District, Tainan, there was a woman by the name of XIAO Jin who, although it is the custom in Taiwan to marry at a young age, had reached the age of 28 without marrying. At first she had offers from all around, but she rejected all of them, and in the end went to live with her older brother instead. Her behavior was unfeminine and she had great physical strength, and preferred doing men's work when it came to household chores, and recently, she had started making approaches to women. When her brother realized this, he recommended that she marry a woman. She accepted without objections, and after he requested a matchmaker's help, she married OU Ye, 21, who lived near Anping. Since it would be strange for someone dressed as a woman to marry another woman, she began to dress as a man. The two of them lived happily in marital intimacy, rarely leaving one another's sides. But she deeply hated the idea of her brother getting close to her wife, and what with one thing and another, they became unhappy. At the end of last month, Xiao Jin ran off to somewhere with her wife Ou Ye and has not been seen. Her brother was very worried and looked all over for anyone who might have knowledge of their whereabouts, but since they could not be found, he turned to an investigator. Three days later, he heard from a police officer who had seen the couple in Tainan, and brought them home.
posted by Jeanne at 9:41 AM on June 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Metamorphic Man
A woman takes a wife, dresses as a man, and eventually runs away with her wife.
In Anping District, Tainan, there was a woman by the name of XIAO Jin who, although it is the custom in Taiwan to marry at a young age, had reached the age of 28 without marrying. At first she had offers from all around, but she rejected all of them, and in the end went to live with her older brother instead. Her behavior was unfeminine and she had great physical strength, and preferred doing men's work when it came to household chores, and recently, she had started making approaches to women. When her brother realized this, he recommended that she marry a woman. She accepted without objections, and after he requested a matchmaker's help, she married OU Ye, 21, who lived near Anping. Since it would be strange for someone dressed as a woman to marry another woman, she began to dress as a man. The two of them lived happily in marital intimacy, rarely leaving one another's sides. But she deeply hated the idea of her brother getting close to her wife, and what with one thing and another, they became unhappy. At the end of last month, Xiao Jin ran off to somewhere with her wife Ou Ye and has not been seen. Her brother was very worried and looked all over for anyone who might have knowledge of their whereabouts, but since they could not be found, he turned to an investigator. Three days later, he heard from a police officer who had seen the couple in Tainan, and brought them home.
posted by Jeanne at 9:41 AM on June 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:56 AM on June 18, 2017