Yi Jin (l) and Josh McConville (r).
THE TRANSLATOR: I admit I wasn’t being totally candid
At the outset
I do have a degree of … professional ego, you see.
The hardest part is actually getting it wrong
The moments where you actually hinder communication
Shut down a dialog
It invalidates your work
Because in those moments, you prove that the very attempt—
Of taking a thought from one place, one culture, one set of given circumstances
And reimagining that thought for another set of circumstances
Well, / in reality, there are only false equivalences
You can approximate, but—
That’s all it ever is
That’s my job, in fact,
Is not really to translate
But to interpret
Not to transmit truth to truth
But to give you informed approximations
THE TRANSLATOR: Beijing, 2006.
The Translator translates Dao’s and Mei’s dialogue into English.
DAO: It has an infrared camera, a spectrograph and a photometer.
这有一台红外线照相机，一台光谱仪和一台光度计。
Zhè yǒu yìtái hóngwàixiàn zhàoxiàngjī, yìtái guāngpǔyí hé yītái guāngdùjì.
MEI: Li.
老李。
Lǎo Lǐ.
DAO: This camera is the most important part.
照相机是最重要的部分。
Zhàoxiàngjī shì zuì zhòngyào de bùfen.
MEI: Li. Eat something.
老李。吃点东西。
Lǎo Lǐ. Chī diǎn dōngxi.
DAO: In ten years, we’ll have photographed parts of the universe we’ve never seen before.
在未来的十年里，我们会拍摄到宇宙里以前从没有看到过的 部分。
Zài wèilái de shíniánlǐ wǒmen huì pāishèdào yužhòulǐ yǐqián cóngméi yǒu kàndàoguò de bùfen.
MEI: It’s not too late for a career change.
现在改行还不晚。
Xiànzài gǎiháng hái bù wǎn.
DAO: You think I’m smart enough for astrophysics?
你认为我有资格成为天体物理学家吗？
Nǐ rènwéi wǒ yǒu zīgé chéngwéi tiāntǐ wùlǐ xuéjiā ma?
MEI: In my opinion, you’d make a terrible astronaut.
依我看，你会是个很糟糕的宇航员。
Yīwǒkàn, nǐ hui shigè heň zāogāo de yǔhángyuán.
DAO: Not an astronaut. (in English, raising his fist like a superhero) An EXOPLANETEER!
不是宇航员,是EXOPLANETEER!
Búshì yǔhángyuán, shì EXOPLANETEER!
MEI: (slapping his hand down) Did you forget you have a four year old?
你忘了你有个四岁的孩子吗？
Nǐ wàng le nǐ yǒu ge sìsuì de háizi ma?
DAO: Let her wake and hear! It’s not harmful to instil a child with an early love of astronomy.
让她醒来听听，早点让孩子对天文学产生兴趣也挺好的。
Ràng tā xǐng lái tīng tīng, zǎodiǎn ràng háizi duì tiānwénxué chǎnshēng xìngqù yě tǐng hǎo de.
MEI: Did you get the mail?
你拿到信件了吗？
Nǐ ná dào xìnjiàn le ma?
Dao places the stack of mail on the table.
What did they do?
他们都做了什么?
Tāmen dōu zuò le shénme?
DAO: We drank tea.
我们只是喝茶。
Wǒmen zhǐshì hē chá.
MEI: What did they ask you?
他们问了你什么?
Tāmen wènle nǐ shénme?
DAO: The questions aren’t important. It’s just a ritual. They ask a question, I say no, they ask a question, I say no, they give me the mail.
没什么重要的问题，只是例行公事。他们问一个问题，我说 没有，他们又问另外一个问题，我还说 没有。然后他们就把 信件还给我了。
Méishénme zhòngyào de wèntí, zhǐshì lìxínggōngshì. Tāmen wèn yīgè wèntí, wǒ shuō méiyǒu, tāmen yòu wèn lìngwài yīgè wèntí, wǒ hái shuō méiyǒu. Ránhòu tāmen jiù bǎ xìnjiàn huán gěi wǒle.
MEI: I don’t understand.
我不明白。
wǒ bù míngbái.
DAO: Mei.
梅。
Méi.
MEI: They’re not taking Dr Zhang’s mail, are they?
他们怎么不截取张博士的信件？
Tāmen zeňme bù jiéqǔ zhāng bóshì dì xìnjiàn?
DAO: I’ve explained this to you already.
我以前给你解释过这些了。
wǒ yǐqián gěi nǐ jiešhìguò zhèxiē le.
MEI: So you’re the only networks expert in China?
全国就只有你一个网络专家啊？
Quánguó jiù zhǐyǒu nǐ yīgè wǎngluò zhuānjiā a?
DAO: (murmured) Your phone.
你的手机。
Nǐde shǒujī.
MEI: What?
怎么了?
Zeňmele?
Dao puts a finger to his lips, points to her phone. She reluctantly turns it off.
DAO: Just in case.
就怕万一。
Jiù pà wànyī.
MEI: This is stupid.
太荒谬了。
Tài huāngmiù le.
DAO: Mei, the government have access to all kinds of information.
梅，政府有办法获取各种信息。
Méi, zhèngfǔ yǒu bànfǎ huòqǔ gè zhoňg xìnxī.
MEI: Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. Everyone knows that. This is 2006, no one bugs phones anymore.
不要把我当小孩。大家都知道这个。现在都二零零六了， 没有人 偷听手机了。
Bùyào bǎ wǒ dāng xiǎohái. Dàjiā dōu zhīdào zhège. Xiànzài dōu èr líng líng liùle, méiyǒu rén tōu tīng shǒujīle.
DAO: I’m trying to explain something to you. Since the announcement about the Olympics, the government is cracking down. They’re afraid of people ‘climbing the wall’.
我想跟你说清楚。自从奥运会宣布以后，政府管得更严了， 怕人门翻墙。
wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ shuō qīngchu. Zìcóng Aòyùnhuì xuānbù yǐhòu, zhèngfǔ guǎn gèng yán le. Pà rénmén fānqiáng.
MEI: What wall?
什么墙？
Shénme qiáng？
DAO: The firewall. The government is investing billions of yuan in improving our firewalling system.
防火墙。政府要用数十亿元来加强防火墙系统。
Fánghuǒqiáng. Zhèngfǔ yaoyòng shùshíyì yuán lái jiāqiáng xìtoňg.
MEI: What does this—
这跟—
Zhè gēn—
DAO: I teach people to build filtering systems. That’s my area of expertise. If you know how to build them, you know how to break through them. That’s why our mail is being held.
我教学生建过滤系统。我是专门搞这行的。如果你知道怎么 去建，你肯定就知道怎么去攻破。这就是我们的信被扣留的 原因。
wǒ jiāo xuésheng jiàn guòlǜ xìtǒng. wǒshì zhuānmén gǎo zhèhángde. Rúguǒ nǐ zhīdào zěnme qù jiàn, nǐ kěndìng jiù zhīdào zěnme qù gōngpò. Zhè jiù shì wǒmen de xìn bèi kòuliú de yuányīn.
MEI: Li, if you were involved in anything—
老李，你要是和这些事有关系—
Lǎo Lǐ, nǐ yaoshì hé zhèxiē shì yǒuguānxi—
DAO: I am not.
我没有。
wǒ méiyǒu.
MEI: I know. But if you were, you would tell me.
我明白，但如果有，你一定会告诉我的吧。
wǒ míngbai, dàn rúguǒ you, nǐ yídìng huì gàosu wǒde ba.
当然。
Dāngrán.
MEI: Even if it would put me or Xiao in danger.
即使这会给小晓或我带来危险。
Jíshǐ zhè huì gěi xiǎo xiǎo huò wǒ dài lái wéixiǎn.
DAO: Then you wouldn’t want to know.
那样的话，你不知道比较好。
Nàyàng dehuà, nǐ bù zhīdào bǐjiào hǎo.
MEI: It’s not up to you. We’re a team.
这不是你一个人的决定。我们是一家人。
Zhè bùshì nǐ yigeren de juédìng. wǒmen shì yìjiārén.
DAO: Of course.
当然。
Dāngrán.
MEI: Remember, if you break a promise to me—
记住，你对我食言的话—
Jìzhù, nǐ duì wǒ shíyán de huà—
DAO: I know. I destroy myself.
我知道。我会毁了自己。
wǒ zhidao. wǒ huǐle zìjǐ.
THE TRANSLATOR: In the first year of their marriage, Dao drunkenly kissed a colleague at a staff party. When he broke the news to Mei, she did not cry. Instead, she sat him down and calmly articulated her feelings about breaking a promise to the person you love. Mei explained that when you choose to love a person, you are also making a moral choice about the kind of person you want to be. In loving someone, you destroy your former self and create a new self, in the image of the person you love. As such, every time you break a promise to a person you love, you destroy yourself—at least, the present version of yourself, the self you have created in the image of your lover. Mei said she grew up in a village prone to earthquakes, so she had a high threshold for destruction. Then she kissed him on his eyelids.
DAO: Mei. I’m not involved in anything. Once the Olympics are over, things will go back to the way they were.
小梅。我没有介入任何事。奥运会结束之后，一切都会恢复 原样。
Xiǎo Méi. wǒ méiyǒu jièrù rènhé shì. Àoyùnhuì jiéshù zhihou, yíqiè dou huì huīfù yuányàng.
MEI: The Olympics are in two years. Is it going to be like this for two years?
两年后，奥运会才举行。这两年都要这样吗?
Liǎngnián hòu, Àoyùnhuì cái jǔxíng. Zhè liǎngnián doūyào zhèyàng ma?
Beat.
Can I turn my phone on now? I’m losing my game.
我现在可以开手机吗? 我的游戏输了。
wǒ xiànzài kěyǐ kāi shǒujī ma? wǒ de yoúxì shūle.
DAO: Ai-ya. We can’t have that.
哎呀。那不行。
Āiya. Nà bùxíng.
She turns her phone back on. He watches her.
MEI: Why are you staring?
盯着我干什么?
Dīngzhe wǒ gàn shénme?
DAO: I like watching you play with yourself.
我喜欢看你自己玩自己。
wǒ xǐhuān kàn nǐ zìjǐ wán zìjǐ.
MEI: Pervert.
你变态。
Nǐ biàntài.
亲我一下。
Qīn wǒ yīxià.
MEI: Rephrase that.
换句话，说好听点。
Huàn jù huà, shuō hǎotīng diǎn.
DAO: Kiss me?
亲我好吗？
Qīn wǒ hǎo ma?
MEI: Almost there.
还不到位。
Hái budàowèi.
DAO: Please kiss me?
求求你亲亲我吧?
Qiú qiú nǐ qīn qīn wǒ ba?
They kiss.
THE TRANSLATOR: Yingcheng, 2012.
AMANDA: You have a beautiful home.
EVA: She says you have a beautiful home.
他说您的家很漂亮。
Tā shuō nín de jia heň piàoliang.
DAO: Mei has made some recent improvements.
小梅最近布置了一下。
Xiǎoméi zuìjìn bùzhìle yīxià.
Mei nods stiffly.
EVA: He says she’s redecorated—
MEI: Everything had to be refitted for the wheelchair.
房子不得不改装成适合轮椅的。
Fángzi bùdébù gǎizhuāngchéng shìhé lúnyǐ de.
JULIE: What?
EVA: She said, uh, they had to refit the house, for his wheelchair.
我去泡茶。
wǒ qù pào chá.
Mei exits.
JULIE: Shall we, uh—Amanda, can you take the lead on this?
AMANDA: Sure. Sure. So, Professor Li, as we discussed, our case will be a lot stronger, uh, the more members of Zhuangzi we can get involved.
EVA: (staggered) She’s saying our case will be a lot stronger, if we can get more members of Zhuangzi involved in the lawsuit.
她说我们的案子会更加强有力，如果我们能让更多庄子成员 参与到诉讼中。
Tā shuō wǒmen de ànzi huì gèngjiā qiáng yǒulì, rúguǒ wǒmen néng ràng gèng duō zhuāng zǐ chéngyuán cānyù dào sùsòng zhōng.
AMANDA: We’re hopefully looking at a class action, of around, uh, at least ten, fifteen litigants.
EVA: (staggered) We’re hopefully looking at a class action lawsuit involving at least ten litigants.
我们希望有集体诉讼，至少有十个诉讼人参与。
wǒmen xīwàng yǒu jítǐ sùsòng, zhìshǎo yǒu shígè sùsòngrén bèigào cānyù.
AMANDA: And we’re looking at really substantial compensation if we win. You said you’ve been having financial troubles after your release?
EVA: (staggered) And you’ll get very substantial compensation if we win. You said you’ve been having financial troubles after your release?
而且您会得到很大的一笔补偿，如果我们赢的话。您之前提 过您们有经济压力？自从您被释放之后？
Érqiě nín huì dédào heň dà de yī bǐ bučháng, rúguǒ wǒmen yíng dehuà. Nín zhīqián tíguò nínmen yǒu jīngjì yālì? Zìcóng nín bèi shìfàng zhīhòu?
Jing-Xuan Chan (l), Gabrielle Chan (r) in foreground with Geraldine Cook-Dafner (Voice and Dialect Coach), Josh McConville, Sophie Ross and Nicholas Bell.
DAO: My condition—this has all been very expensive. And I can’t get a lecturing job anywhere, Mei is our only income now.
我的情况—所有的开销都很贵。我也不可能找到教书的工 作，全家就只有小梅的一份收入了。
wǒ de qíngkuàng—suǒyǒu de kāixiāo dōu hěn guì. wǒ yě bù kěnéng zhǎodào jiāoshū de gōngzuò, quánjiā jiù zhǐyǒu xiǎoméi de yí fèn shōurùle.
EVA: (staggered) My condition—this has all been very expensive. And I can’t get a lecturing job anywhere, Mei is our only income now.
AMANDA: I’m really sorry to hear that. I want you to know that we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you’re compensated.
EVA: (staggered) We will do everything we can to make sure you get compensation.
我们将尽一切努力确保您得到补偿。
wǒmen jiāng jǐn yīqiè nǔlì quèbǎo nín dédào bučháng.
谢谢。
Xiè xiè.
AMANDA: That’s okay, bu ke qi, Uh, so, Julie?
JULIE: Mr Li, the thing we need to ask you about today is about testifying in our court. As you might know, the court system in America is a jury system, which means it’ll really strengthen our case to have one of the plaintiffs actually testify, so they can hear firsthand what you’ve been through.
EVA: The thing we need to ask you about today is about testifying in our court. The court system in America is a jury system, it’ll really strengthen our case to have one of the plaintiffs actually testify, so they can hear firsthand what you’ve been through.
今天我们要问您关于上庭作证的问题。美国的法庭用的是陪 审团系统。如果能原告作证的话，会让我们的诉讼更有力。 他们可以亲耳听到您的经历。
Jīntiān wǒmen yào wèn nín guānyú shàng tíng zuòzhèng de wèntí. Měiguó de fǎtíng yòng de shì péishěn tuán xìtǒng. Rúguǒ néng yuángào zuòzhèng dehuà, huì ràng wǒmen de sùsòng gèng yǒulì. Tāmen kěyǐ qīn eř tīng dào nín de jīnglì.
JULIE: We understand that travelling to America under false pretenses is a pretty big risk for you, but because of your connections in academia we think it might be easier for you than some of the others.
EVA: We understand that travelling to America under false pretenses is a pretty big risk for you, but because of your connections in academia we think it might be easier for you than some of the others.
我们理解假借名义去美国对您来说风险很大，但是因为您在 学术界的关系，我们觉得您可能会比其他人更方便。
wǒmen lǐjiě jiǎjiè míngyì qù měiguó duì nín lái shuō fēngxiǎn heň dà, dànshì yīnwèi nín zài xuéshù jiè de guānxì, wǒmen juédé nín keňéng huì bǐ qítā rén gèng fāngbiàn.
Beat.
我愿意去。
wǒ yuànyì qù.
EVA: Uh, he’s say he’s willing.
AMANDA: Oh! Oh, well, uh, that’s great. So—
DAO: But you cannot interview me here.
但你不能在这里问我问题。
Dàn nǐ bùnéng zài zhèlǐ wèn wǒ wèntí.
JULIE: What was that?
EVA: He’s saying, uh, you can’t do the pre-interview, like, here, in the house.
DAO: We can get an office space in Beijing.
我们可以在北京找个地方。
wǒmen kěyǐ zài běijīng zhǎo gè dìfāng.
EVA: (to Julie) We can get an office space in Beijing.
JULIE: We’re on a tight schedule.
AMANDA: I’m sorry, Beijing is just too risky. I’ve had meetings monitored there before.
EVA: It’s too risky to meet in Beijing.
在北京见面风险太大。
Zài Běijīng jiànmiàn fēngxiǎn taìdā.
DAO: I’m sorry—I am happy to testify—
对不起—我很乐意帮你作证—
Duìbùqǐ—wǒ heň lèyì bāng nǐ zuòzhèng—
EVA: (staggered) He says he’s happy to testify—
DAO: —but we have to prepare for this fight somewhere else.
—但是我们必须在另外一个地方准备。
—Dànshì wǒmen bìxū zài lìngwài yīgè dìfāng zhuňbèi.
EVA: (staggered)—but we have to prep him somewhere else.
AMANDA: Can you ask if he’s concerned about their safety? Because it’ll be much safer in his house, in a rural—under controlled conditions, than in a public setting. Particularly if we can get it done in a single day.
EVA: (staggered) Are you concerned about your safety? My colleague assures me that it’s much safer to conduct interviews here, under controlled conditions, than in a public setting.
您是担心您们的安全吗？我的同事很肯定，在这里问问题会 更安全，比公共场所更好控制。
Nín shì dānxīn nǐmen de ānquán ma? wǒ de tóngshì hěn kěndìng, zài zhèlǐ wèn wèntí huì gèng ānquán, bǐ gōnggòng chǎngsuǒ gèng hǎo kòngzhì.
DAO: It can’t be here.
在这里不行。
Zài zhèlǐ bùxíng.
EVA: Why?
为什么？
Wèishéme?
DAO: I’m sorry, I will do everything you ask, but it can’t be here.
很抱歉，你怎么要求都可以，但就是不能在这里。
Heň bàoqiàn, nǐ zeňme yāoqiú dōu kěyǐ, dàn jiùshi bùnéng zài zhèlǐ.
JULIE: What’s the problem?
EVA: I … I don’t know, he’s just saying it can’t be here, it can’t be here, I don’t—
Mei re-enters. She pours tea.
EVA: Thank you.
谢谢。
Xièxiè.
AMANDA: Xièxiè.
JULIE: Thank you. It smells wonderful.
谢谢。很香。
Xièxiè. Hěn xiāng.
DAO: (to Eva) She speaks Mandarin?
她会普通话呀？
Tā huì Pǔtōnghuà ya?
JULIE: Oh, uh, tell him, not really, I don’t really speak—
她会说一点。
Tā huì shuō yìdiǎn.
DAO: Your accent is very good.
你的口音很标准。
Nǐ de kǒuyīn heň biāozhuň.
EVA: He says your accent—
JULIE: Yeah, no, I got that, tell him, uh—I know, 我会 wǒhuì understand some, Chinese, 中文 zhōngwén，but, I don’t, uh—I don’t speak well.
DAO: Your family’s from China?
你老家在中国吗？
Nǐ lǎojiā zài Zhōngguó ma?
EVA: He asked if your family is—
JULIE: Yeah, no, I got that, Evie. My mother.
我的妈妈。
wǒde māma.
Beat. Mei exits.
AMANDA: Can you ask him—how much does his wife know about his incarceration?
EVA: How much does your wife know about your incarceration?
关于您坐牢的事，您太太知道多少？
Guānyú nín zuòláo de shì, nín tàitài zhīdào duōshǎo?
Beat.
DAO: We’ve never spoken about it.
我们从来不谈这事。
wǒmen cónglái bu tán zhè shì.
JULIE: Was that—did he say they’ve never—
EVA: They’ve, uh, yes, they’ve never spoken about it.
JULIE: How—forgive me, Dao, how is that possible? You were in detention for—you were gone for five years.
EVA: You were gone for five years.
您五年没在家。
Nín wǔnián méi zài jiā.
Beat.
AMANDA: Where does she think he was for five years?
EVA: Where does she think you were?
她以为您在哪里？
Tā yǐwéi nín zài nǎlǐ?
DAO: We’ve … we’ve never discussed it.
我们 … 从没谈过。
wǒmen … cóng méi tánguò.
EVA: They’ve just … they’ve never talked about it.
DAO: I came back … like this.
我回来 … 就像这个样子。
wǒ huílái … jiù xiàng zhège yàngzi.
EVA: He says he, he came back in a wheelchair, so, I guess, they never …
Beat.
JULIE: Wait. Wait. Does she even know … does she know he was helping people break through the firewall, that he was denounced? Does she know about Zhuangzi?
EVA: Does she know about Zhuangzi?
她知道庄子的事吗?
Tā zhīdao Zhuàngzì de shì ma?
DAO: I … I don’t know.
我 … 不知道。
wǒ … bù zhīdào.
JULIE: Jesus.
DAO: This is the problem.
关键问题就在这里。
Guānjiàn wèntí jiù zài zhèlǐ.
EVA: So that’s why he—
JULIE: Yeah, no, I get it. Jesus, fuck. Fuck, uh, okay, translate this: I understand this is a complicated situation.
EVA: I don’t think—
JULIE: Translate the fucking sentence.
EVA: Can I say it, like, in a gentler—
JULIE: No, Evie, because I’m not his shrink, I’m his representation.
EVA: I get that, but if she / doesn’t—
JULIE: She already knows, man. They may have some kind of, I don’t know, Chinese honor-bound vow of silence around it, but she has a TV in the house, there’s no way she doesn’t know.
EVA: Okay, but, like, imagine, your husband starts giving testimony about his dissident activity, his terrorist activity, in your house—
JULIE: Eva.
EVA: Like—
JULIE: Eva. I am paying you—you are being paid—to be my translator. You don’t get input on issues I’m having with my client. Now, before he works out how—how much of a fucking child you’re being, would you kindly translate—
Mei re-enters with a box of butter cookies.
THE TRANSLATOR: For Eva and Julie, the phrase ‘fucking child’ is particularly loaded. You see, at their mother’s funeral two months earlier, Eva, as the child better versed in Chinese culture, was slated to perform the ritual burning. It’s a custom in Mahayana funerals for a relative of the deceased to burn a stack of paper money and other objects. In this way, it’s said, the dead will receive material comforts, in heaven as on earth.
Mei lays out the cookies.
EVA: Thank you.
谢谢。
Xièxiè.
谢谢。
Xièxiè.
AMANDA: Thank you.
谢谢。
Xièxiè.
THE TRANSLATOR: When it came time for the bonfire, Eva approached the pile of paper objects, a can of gasoline and box of matches in hand. She lit a match, but the wind was too high. She lit a second. The same. She lit a third. No luck. The crowd grew restless. As she lit the fourth, Eva suddenly heard her mother’s voice, as though she was there beside her, screeching ‘that’s perfectly good money you’re burning!’ And there, in the center of the congregation, Eva was seized by an uncontrollable fit of laughter, one which rippled up from a potentially mistakable snort to an all-out cackle, much to the horror of the assembled congregation. Finally, Julie stormed up, muttered ‘you’re a fucking child,’ and set the pile on fire herself.
Beat.
Mei exits.
JULIE: Evie?
EVA: I’m fine. Go ahead.
JULIE: Mr Li, you have already endured so much suffering at the hands of this regime.
EVA: (staggered) You have already endured so much suffering.
您已经受了那么多苦。
Ninying shòule nàme duō kǔ.
JULIE: I know that this case will take an immense toll on you and your family.
EVA: (synchronously) But knowing how much you have suffered—
虽然您承受了这么多—
Suīrán nín chéngshòu le zhème duo—
JULIE: I would not ask you to endure more suffering—
EVA: (synchronously) Don’t underestimate / how much your wife has endured—
但不要 / 低估您太太承受的—
Dàn búyào / dīgū nín tàitai chéngshòu de—
THE TRANSLATOR: She’s mistranslating.
JULIE:—if I was not fully confident—
EVA: (synchronously)—your wife must know why you were arrested—
您太太一定知道您被逮捕的原因—
Nín tàitai yídìng zhīdào nín bèi dàibǔ de yuányīn—
THE TRANSLATOR:—Your wife must know why you were arrested—
JULIE:—that this case will improve the lives of activists around the world—
EVA: (synchronously)—which means she will stand by you—
这意味着，她因该会支持您—
Zhè yìwèizhe, tā yīnggāi huì zhīchí nín—
THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously)—which means she will stand by you—
JULIE:—by taking a stand against Chinese tyranny—
EVA: (synchronously)—no matter the cost.
不管什么代价。
Bùguǎn shénme dàijià.
THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously)—no matter the cost.
JULIE:—and exposing this regime for what it is.
EVA: (staggered) She is clearly a very strong person.
她明显是个非常坚强的人。
Tā míngxiǎn shìgè fēicháng jiānqiáng de rén.
THE TRANSLATOR: She is clearly a very strong person.
DAO: (breaking down) I know. I know.
我知道，我知道。
wǒ zhīdào, wǒ zhīdào.
JULIE: Uh, is that a …
你说没错。
Nǐ shuō méi cuò.
JULIE: Is that a yes?
DAO: I know.
我知道。
wǒ zhīdào.
JULIE: Evie.
AMANDA: Why’s he—
JULIE: Is that a yes?
EVA: You can ask your questions here.
THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.
JULIE: Mr McLaren and his colleagues knew about the existence of Zhuangzi. They knew that the Chinese Government explicitly intended to target Zhuangzi activists through the construction of the Golden Shield. And then they helped build it anyway. Why did they do this? Out of pure and simple greed. Because Mr McLaren and his colleagues valued their bottom line more than they valued the rights and lives of Chinese citizens. Citizens like the next person you’ll be hearing from. My client, Mr Dao Li.
Between 2002 and 2006, Professor Li posted a number of articles on Zhuangzi. These articles detailed various ways you could break through the firewall to the World Wide Web. But he was very careful to conceal his identity and his activities on this platform. He was after all, an expert in this field.
But in 2006, Professor Li was arrested. How was he discovered? You already know the answer to that question. That was the year the Ministry of Public Security implemented Mr McLaren’s decentralized network topology, allowing them to internally monitor online traffic and target citizens like my client.
THE TRANSLATOR: Palo Alto, 2013.
JANE: When I say call me back, you / have to—
MARSHALL: I’m busy, Bollman.
JANE: You have to call me back.
MARSHALL: I’m busy, someone’s suing us?
JANE: Yes, I’ve been trying / to—
MARSHALL: Who’s suing us?
JANE: Eight Chinese dissidents.
MARSHALL: What?
JANE: Eight—
MARSHALL: I heard you—fucking, what?
JANE: Eight Chinese dissidents are suing us for criminal collusion with the Chinese government.
MARSHALL: The—how? What? In China?
JANE: In Texas.
MARSHALL:… how?
JANE: It has to do with … pirates. (beat) It’s something of a legal loophole.
MARSHALL: We pay you to foresee loopholes—did you just say pirates?
JANE: Yes, well, there’s stranger precedent in the history of American legislation. For instance, it’s technically still illegal for a donkey to sleep in a bathtub.
MARSHALL: What the fuck does that have to—
JANE: Absolutely nothing. I’m just a font of legal trivia.
MARSHALL: What have they got on us?
JANE: (showing the document) This floated up on WikiLeaks.
MARSHALL: But, but, we shredded these. We shredded these. Didn’t we shred these?
JANE: I am certainly surprised by their reappearance.
MARSHALL: We did! We fucking shredded them!
JANE: Did you leave a copy lying around?
MARSHALL: No!
Sophie Ross.
JANE: Did someone on the board leave a copy lying around?
MARSHALL: Bollman, I saw it with my own eyes, after the meeting, we gathered them and we fucking shredded them. Are we going to trial?
JANE: Hopefully, it won’t come to that.
MARSHALL: Yeah? What’s fucking hopeful about it?
JANE: We’re going to propose a settlement—a generous settlement—and pray the matter doesn’t make it any further.
MARSHALL: So we’re gonna pay them to shut up.
JANE: Yes, well, we lawyers prefer the term ‘settle’.
THE TRANSLATOR: D.C., 2013.
JANE: So. Brass tacks. As you know, I represent an organization with the net worth of a Scandinavian nation’s GDP, and as such, we have absolutely no interest in engaging with this trivial, though admittedly imaginative, bit of litigation. By the by, my compliments, very wily.
JULIE: (to Richard) You didn’t tell me she was this patronizing.
RICHARD: She’s British.
JULIE: Still.
JANE: I’m happy to report that our organization is willing to offer your merry band of Chinese terrorists an exceedingly generous settlement, in exchange for, well, blah blah, keep it out of the press, you get the gist.
RICHARD: How generous?
Jane writes a number on a piece of paper.
Rich takes it.
He looks at it.
He passes it to Julie.
Beat.
Julie slides it back.
JULIE: We’re not settling.
THE TRANSLATOR: ‘I’m not settling.’
RICHARD: Jules.
JULIE: We’re not settling.
RICHARD: Would you give us a second?
JULIE: We don’t need a second. Jane, I appreciate you coming all this way. There’s the door.
JANE: I think you’d be wise to listen your colleague, Ms Chen.
JULIE: And I think you’re fucking scared. (beat) CLO for a multinational, former top-shelf barrister, and you’ve never seen anything like it. You don’t know how to try this. You don’t know how to begin trying this.
JANE: Ms Chen, respectfully, you’ve never seen anything like this. You’re in torts.
JULIE: That’s right. We are. And we’re gonna try this like we would any other civil suit. Duty, breach, harm, causation. Damages.
JANE: We’ll bury you in paperwork.
JULIE: Bring it. We’re gonna try this thing, Bollman, and we’re gonna win. We’re gonna drag your organization’s name through the mud, we’re gonna expose your collusion, we’re gonna royally piss off the Chinese government, and more importantly, we’re gonna win. And when we do—we’re coming to you for twice this figure.
Jane goes to leave.
JANE: As a self-professed expert in torts, you might wanna look up the definition of a class action. It typically involves multiple plaintiffs. Plaintiffs with names. Not ‘Does One through Eight.’
JULIE: Oh, we’ll have named plaintiffs, don’t you worry about that. Plaintiffs and testimony.
JANE: (laughing) You’re not telling me you’re gonna get a dissident out of China to testify in a civil court in Dallas? (beat) Are you? (beat) You’re getting someone out of China?
JULIE: We’ll be in touch.
Beat.
JANE: (to Richard) This is a crusade. It’s senseless, and it’s at the expense of your clients. Prevail upon your colleague to see some sense.
JULIE: He doesn’t control me.
RICHARD: (shrugging) It’s true. I’m the looks of the operation.
JULIE: Hey, Bollman. How do you sleep at night?
JANE:… I’m sorry?
JULIE: I said how do you sleep at night?
Beat.
JANE: (coolly) I have one of those tempur-pedic mattresses.
Jane leaves.
JULIE: What? What’s that face?
RICHARD: That’s my ‘you just turned down ten million dollars’ face.
JULIE: We’ll get twenty. (beat) And it’s not about the money.
RICHARD: You do know that money is one of the binding principles of a lawsuit. A plaintiff is wronged, they are therefore awarded financial damages. And sometimes, from those damages, we the lawyers actually get paid our legal fees.
JULIE: Landmark case, Rich. We’re trying international human rights law as torts. It’s not about the money.
RICHARD: Yeah, yeah, it’s about doing the right fucking thing, goddamn it. (beat) You sure Dao feels that way?
JULIE: What’s that supposed to mean?
RICHARD: I mean that your client is a guy in a wheelchair who can’t get a lecturing job with a stack of medical bills and a young daughter.
JULIE: He’s not in this for the money, Rich. He was—he’s an activist. He’s fighting for the rights of his people.
RICHARD: Is that something he actually said, or something you’ve inferred?
Beat.
JULIE: Hey, Rich. That’s pretty good.
RICHARD: What?
JULIE: Stack of medical bills. I can use that.
THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.
JULIE: I want to talk for a moment about what compensation could do for Mr Li. You can see that the injuries Dao sustained in prison have left him permanently confined to a wheelchair. This has obviously had an enormous personal cost. It also has a very literal cost. There’s a stack of medical bills. There’s disability insurance. And because of his time in prison, Mr Li struggles to get teaching work. He struggles to make the money he needs to raise his young daughter. All of this, simply because he was helping others to exercise their universal right to free speech, a right that you and I take for granted in this country.
THE TRANSLATOR: Yingcheng, 2015.
The Translator translates Dao’s and Mei’s dialogue into English.
DAO: I … I may spend some time in America soon. For a conference.
我… 我过一阵子要去美国呆一段时间。参加一个会。
wǒ… wǒguò yī zhènzi yào qù měiguó dāi yīduàn shíjiān. Cānjiā yīgè huì.
MEI: What kind of conference? (beat) With your American colleagues?
什么会? (beat) 跟你美国的同事?
Shénme huì? (beat) Gēn nǐ měiguó de tóngshì?
DAO: Yes.
是的。
Shì de.
MEI: Which university are they from?
他们是哪个大学的？
Tāmen shì nǎge dàxué de?
DAO: Caltech, in California.
加州理工, 在加利福尼亚。
Jiāzhōu lǐgōng, zài jiālìfúníyǎ.
Beat.
MEI: They’re not professors. Who are they?
不是教授。他们是谁？
Tāmen búshì jiàoshòu. Tāmen shì shéi?
时间不早了。
Shíjiān bù zǎole.
MEI: Are they other terrorists?
他们也是恐怖分子吗？
Tāmen yešhì koňgbùfènzi ma?
DAO: I’m not a terrorist.
我不是恐怖分子。
wǒ búshì koňgbùfènzi.
MEI: Then what are you? What did you do?
那你是什么? 你干了什么?
Nà nǐ shì shénme? Nǐ gànle shénme?
DAO: I thought you knew.
我以为你都知道了.
wǒ yǐwéi nǐ doū zhīdàole.
MEI: I knew you were lying to me. But I chose to believe you. I thought that whatever you were doing, it couldn’t be that dangerous. Because I never thought you would be so selfish, that you would value your ideals more than the safety of our family.
我当时就知道你在骗我。但我选择相信你。我以为不管你在 做什么，都不会那么危险，可我从没想过你会如此自私， 你会为了理想不顾家人的安危。
wǒ dāngshí jiù zhīdào nǐ zài piàn wǒ. Dàn wǒ xuǎnzé xiāngxìn nǐ. wǒ yǐwéi bùguǎn nǐ zài zuò shénme, dōu bù huì nàme wéixiǎn, kě wǒ cóng méi xiǎngguò nǐ huì rúcǐ zìsī, nǐ huì wèile lǐxiǎng bùgù jiārén de ānwéi.
DAO: I wasn’t being selfish. I was helping people. I was teaching people.
我并不是自私。我在帮大家，我在教育大家。
wǒ bìng bùshì zìsī. wǒ zài bāng dàjiā, wǒ zài jiàoyù dàjiā.
MEI: Who were you helping? Anonymous people on the internet? Are they more important than your family?
Nǐ bāngle shéi? Zài wǎngshàng wúmíng wú xìng de rén? Tāmen bǐ nǐ de jiārén gèng zhòngyào ma?
DAO: It doesn’t matter who they are! I’m a teacher! Sharing my knowledge is my duty! How can I remain silent when I understand what the government is doing?
他们是谁并不重要!我是个教授!分享我的知识是我的责 任!当 我明白政府在做什么时，我怎么能保持沉默?
Tāmen shì shéi bìng bù zhòngyào! wǒ shìgè jiàoshòu! Fēnxiǎng wǒ de zhīshì shì wǒ de zérèn! Dāng wǒ míngbái zhèngfǔ zài zuò shénme shí, wǒ zěnme néng bǎochí chénmò?
MEI: And what about your duty to your family?
那你对你家人的责任呢？
Nà nǐ duì nǐ jiārén de zérèn ne?
DAO: China is also my family! (beat) I never meant to put you in danger. I was just teaching people how to break through the firewall. Everybody is doing it. I didn’t think they’d arrest me.
中国也是我的家人! (beat) 我从来没有故意把你带入危险之中.
我只是教人们如何突破防火墙。人人都这样做。我没想到他 们会把我抓起来。
Zhōngguó yěshì wǒ de jiārén! (beat) wǒ cónglái méiyǒu gùyì bǎ nǐ dài rù wéixiǎn zhī zhōng. wǒ zhǐshì jiāo rénmen rúhé túpò fánghuǒqiáng. Rén rén dōu zhèyàng zuò. wǒ méi xiǎngdào tāmen huì bǎ wǒ zhuā qǐlái.
MEI: But now you’re putting us in danger again. I heard them asking you questions. They want you to testify in court.
但现在你又把我们陷入危险。我听到他们问你问题。他们希 望你在法庭上作证。
Dàn xiànzài nǐ yòu bǎ wǒmen xiànrù wéixiǎn. wǒ tīng dào tāmen wèn nǐ wèntí. Tāmen xīwàng nǐ zài fǎtíng shàng zuòzhèng.
DAO: Xiao Mei, if we win this case, we’ll have enough money to leave China. You won’t have to work anymore. We could go anywhere—England, Europe. Xiao Xiao can get a good college degree. We can start again.
小梅, 如果我们赢了这个案子，我们会得到足够的钱离开中 国。你不必再工作了。我们可以去任何地方—美国，欧洲。 小晓可以去上一个好的大学。我们可以重新开始。
Xiǎoméi, rúguǒ wǒmen yíngle zhège ànzi, wǒmen huì dédào zúgòu de qián líkāi zhōngguó. Nǐ bùbì zài gōngzuòle. wǒmen kěyǐ qù rènhé dìfāng—měiguó, ōuzhōu. Xiǎo xiǎo kěyǐ qù shàng yīgè hǎo de dàxué. wǒmen kěyǐ chóngxīn kāishǐ.
MEI: So now you want to leave China? You’re a hypocrite. Where’s your patriotism now?
你现在想离开中国了？你是个伪君子。你的爱国主义现在在 哪里？
Nǐ xiànzài xiǎng líkāi zhōngguóle? Nǐ shìgè wèijūnzǐ. Nǐ de àiguó zhǔyì xiànzài zài nǎlǐ?
DAO: They’ve beaten it out of me.
被他们毒打没了。
Bèi tāmen dúdǎ méile.
Beat.
MEI: Did they do this to you in prison? Why won’t you tell me?
这是他们在监狱里干的吗？你为什么不告诉我?
Zhè shì tāmen zài jiānyù lǐ gàn de ma? Nǐ wèishéme bù gàosù wǒ?
DAO: If we leave China, we can start again. I made a mistake. I am working hard to fix it.
如果我们离开中国，我们可以重新开始。我犯了一个错误。 我正在努力弥补。
Rúguǒ wǒmen líkāi zhōngguó, wǒmen kěyǐ chóngxīn kāishǐ. wǒ fànle yīgè cuòwù. wǒ zhèngzài nǔlì míbǔ.
Beat.
MEI: I waited for you for five years. I’m tired of waiting.
我等你等了五年。我不想再等了。
wǒ děng nǐ děngle wǔ nián. wǒ bùxiǎng zài děngle.
Beat.
DAO: We’ve been working on this case for three years. They need me.
我们这个案子已经忙了三年。他们需要我。
wǒmen zhège ànzi yǐjīng gōngmangle sān nián. Tāmen xūyào wǒ.
MEI: I need you. Go to America.
我需要你。你去美国吧。
wǒ xūyào nǐ. Nǐ qù měiguó ba.
Beat.
DAO: (as he’s leaving, almost to himself) I can’t survive without you.
没有你我活不下去的。
Méiyǒu nǐ wǒ huóbuxiàqù de.
Mei cries.
She leaves.
THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.
JULIE: I have one final thing to say to you about my client, and it’s a … a tragic, recent development. As a result of his participation in these proceedings, Dao and his wife Mei have recently separated, which is an incredible burden, given his condition. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll remind you what you heard in Mr McLaren’s testimony—ONYS makes around $50 billion a year. Think about what a fraction of that money could do for my client. Fracturing locations:
MARSHALL: I don’t understand why I have to stick around for this.
MARSHALL: I have shit to do, you know, I can’t just be sitting around in a Dallas courtroom, waiting for the fucking cripple / to tell his sob story.
JANE: Oh, Christ, McLaren.
MARSHALL: Waste of my fucking time. I mean what the hell are they trying to get out of this anyway, huh? Money. We tried to give them money.
JANE: They want to make a statement.
MARSHALL: Yeah, well, some kinda fucking statement, when they fucking lose this thing. (beat) Jane, there’s no chance of them winning, right? Cuz you said to me, to my face, that there’s no chance in hell of them winning.
JANE: There’s … a very small chance.
MARSHALL: Very small? Since when did no chance become very small?
JANE: To be frank, McLaren, you didn’t come off terribly well on the stand.
MARSHALL: The hell is that supposed to mean? I did exactly what we prepped for, I evaded all her fucking questions, I said I had no memory of the fucking thing, which you and I both know—
JANE: —is a totally plausible claim and I’d rather you not tell me otherwise because then I’d know that you’d just knowingly perjured yourself in a court of law—
MARSHALL: So what the hell is that supposed to mean, that I didn’t come off terribly well?
JANE: It just means that you’re not terribly … how should I put this … likable.
Beat.
MARSHALL: Yeah, no shit, I’m not likable. No shit. (beat) Is that gonna be a problem?
JANE: Well. Probably not.
MARSHALL: Jane. You gotta tell me. Is it a problem?
JANE: Look. They don’t have a leg to stand on legally. It’s a flimsy argument and they know it. But if Dao comes off well, and you don’t, there is always the possibility that—and it’s slim, but there is a possibility—that the jury will sympathize with him and not you. And, well, ignore the facts.
Beat.
MARSHALL: That’s a possibility, then.
JANE: As I’ve said, their argument is thin, and I think, as an American, they’re more likely to sympathize with you than with a Chinese plaintiff. But … as a human being …
Beat.
MARSHALL: You offered them ten?
JANE: Yes.
MARSHALL: Offer them twenty. I gotta get back to fucking work.
RICHARD: Then we’ll move on to your arrest and time in prison.
EVA: Then we’ll ask about your arrest and time in prison.
然后我们会问你关于你被逮捕和监禁的时间。
Ránhòu wǒmen huì wèn nǐ guānyú nǐ bèi dàibǔ hé jiānjìn de shíjiān.
RICHARD: Jules?
JULIE: (to Dao) Right, so, Mr Li. How long were you held in detention?
EVA: How long were you held in detention?
你被拘留了多久？
Nǐ bèi jūliú le duōjiǔ?
DAO: From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months.
从二零零六年到二零一一年，总共五十三个月。
Cóng èr líng líng liu nián dào èr líng yī yī nián, zoňggòng wušhísāngè yuè.
EVA: From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months.
JULIE: And during that time, you lost your ability to walk?
EVA: And during that time, you lost your ability to walk?
在这期间，你是否失去了行走的能力？
Zài zhè qíjiān, nǐ shìfǒu shīqùle xíngzǒu de nénglì?
DAO: Yes.
是。
Shi.
EVA: Yes.
JULIE: How did that happen?
EVA: What happened?
怎么发生的？
Zeňme fāshēng de?
DAO: There were a number of contributing factors.
有各种影响因素。
Yǒu gèzhoňg yǐngxiǎng yīnsù.
EVA: There were a number of contributing factors.
Beat.
JULIE: Tell him he has to actually describe the incident.
EVA: You have to describe the incident.
你必须描述这事件。
Nǐ bìxū miáoshù zhè shìjiàn.
DAO: I was abused.
我被虐待了。
wǒ bèi nüèdàile.
EVA: I was abused.
JULIE:… in what way?
EVA: In what way?
怎么样的虐待？
Zeňme yàng de nüèdài?
DAO: You said that if I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t have to.
你说过如果我不想提起这些，我没必要。
Nǐ shuōguò rúguǒ wǒ bùxiǎng tíqǐ zhèxiē, wǒ méi bìyào.
EVA: You said that if I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t have to.
JULIE: You … don’t.
RICHARD: No, that’s why we’re asking you these questions again now, so you can tell us if there’s anything you’re not comfortable answering.
EVA: That’s why we’re asking you these questions again now, so you can tell us if there’s anything you’re not comfortable answering.
这就是为什么我们现在再次问您这些问题，这样您可以告诉 我们有什么您不想回答的。
Zhè jiùshì wèishéme wǒmen xiànzài zàicì wèn nǐ zhèxiē wèntí, zhèyàng nín kěyǐ gàosù wǒmen yǒu shé me nín bùxiǎng huídá de.
JULIE: But just saying you were physically abused is a bit … vague, the jury won’t understand what you mean.
EVA: Jules.
JULIE: He has to go into more detail. (to Eva) Evie. Tell him that.
EVA: She says you have to go into more detail. Or the jury will be confused.
她说你必须详细形容, 否则陪审团会搞不清楚。
Tā shuō nǐ bìxū xiángxì xíngróng, fǒuzé péisheň tuán huì gǎo bù qīngchǔ.
DAO: What do you want? I’m here. I’m saying what you want me to say. Is there nothing that I’m allowed to keep private?
你还想要什么?我在这。我在说你要我说的话。我没有任何 隐私了吗? Nǐ hái xiǎng yào shénme? wǒ zài zhè. wǒ zài shuō nǐ yào wǒ shuō dehuà. wǒ méiyǒu rènhé yǐnsīle ma?
EVA: What do you want from me? I’m here. I’m saying what you want me to say. Is there nothing that I’m allowed to keep private?
JULIE: Why he is getting so upset?
DAO: Why did you talk about my wife?
你为什么提起我的妻子？
Nǐ wèishéme tíqǐ wǒ de qīzi?
RICHARD: Evie, what was that?
EVA: (to Julie) He wants to know, uh, why you brought his wife up, in your opening remarks.
JULIE: To give the—I had to give the full picture, your wife leaving is part of the context of this case, what we need to make clear is, is that compensation is warranted—
EVA: (staggered) She wanted to give the jury context.
她是为了帮陪审团了解背景。
Tā shì wèile bāng péisheň tuán liǎojiě bèijǐng.
DAO: Is this why you tried to persuade me that my wife would stand by me, no matter the cost?
你说我的妻子不管怎么样都会支持我，就是为了这个吗？
Nǐ shuō wǒ de qīzi bùguǎn zěnme yàng dūhuì zhīchí wǒ, jiùshì wèile zhège ma?
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) Is this why you tried to persuade me that my wife would stand by me, no matter the cost? JULIE /
RICHARD: Evie? Evie?
DAO: You thought if she left me you could use it as additional evidence?
你觉得她离开了我你可以用它作为额外的证据吗？
Nǐ juédé tā líkāile wǒ nǐ kěyǐ yòng tā zuòwéi éwài de zhèngjù ma?
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) You thought if she left me you could use it as additional evidence?
EVA: No that wasn’t—
那不是—
Nà bú shì—
DAO: Is this a game to you? You know what I’m risking to be here? You know what I’ve sacrificed?
你觉得这是游戏吗？你知道我在这里冒得风险吗？你知道我 失去了什么吗？
Nǐ juédé zhè shì yóuxì ma? Nǐ zhīdào wǒ zài zhèlǐ mào dé fēngxiǎn ma? Nǐ zhīdào wǒ shīqùle shénme ma?
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) Is this just a game to you? This is my life. You know what I’m risking to be here? You know what I’ve sacrificed?
RICHARD: Could you—
JULIE: Will someone PLEASE FUCKING TRANSLATE?
THE TRANSLATOR: Gee, I’m trying.
EVA: It wasn’t her. It was me. I said that.
不是她。是我。是我说的。
Bùshì tā. Shì wǒ. Shì wǒ shuō de.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) It wasn’t her. It was me. I said that.
EVA: It wasn’t her. She didn’t know. I mistranslated. I wanted you to say yes. I was wrong. I’m sorry.
不是她。她不知道。我翻译错了。我为了要你答应。我错了 对不起。
Bùshì tā. Tā bù zhīdào. wǒ fānyì cuòle. wǒ wèile yào nǐ dāyìng. wǒ cuòle duìbùqǐ.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) It wasn’t her. She didn’t know. I mistranslated. I wanted you to say yes. I was wrong. I’m sorry.
JULIE: What are you saying to him? Evie, what are / you—
EVA: (breaking down) I mistranslated.
JULIE: What? When?
EVA: I mistranslated.
Time shift. Dao and Richard exit.
JULIE: The fuck were you thinking, Evie?
EVA: It was—
JULIE: You realize you could have jeopardized our entire fucking case? What the fuck were you thinking?
EVA: I just—I knew you really needed his testimony, and I just thought it’d be, like, more efficient—
JULIE: More efficient?? You thought that mistranslating what I was saying to my fucking client, you thought emotionally manipulating him would be more efficient?
EVA: I mean, it was, wasn’t it? I’m the one who got him here!
JULIE: By lying to him!
EVA: I didn’t lie, I just said she probably already knew about his denouncement, so she’d stand by him no matter what, I mean, you’re the one who brought her up in your opening remarks when he said he didn’t want his family involved, now you’re like badgering him about his time in prison, which he clearly doesn’t wanna / talk about—
JULIE: For the last fucking time, Eva, you are not a fucking lawyer. I need him to talk about the abuse, it’s how we demonstrate grievous harm. See, that’s a legal strategy. You telling my client that his wife would never leave him, that’s a naïve and frankly fucking idiotic statement, one that could now fuck up my case, to say nothing of my client’s life.
Beat.
EVA: Is he is still gonna testify?
JULIE: I don’t know, fuck, I don’t know. (beat) Where the fuck am I gonna get a Mandarin translator in Dallas?
THE TRANSLATOR: You called?
EVA: Julie, I—I can still do it.
THE TRANSLATOR: I’m always available.
JULIE: Are you fucking crazy, Evie? I can’t put you up on the stand with him now, you have completely destroyed your credibility.
EVA: No, no, I can still help you with this, Jules, if you just let me talk to him—
JULIE: No.
EVA: I can fix it, if you’d just—
JULIE: You can’t fix it by talking. Sometimes things get broken, and no amount of talking is gonna magically fix it. (beat) Now, I have a justifiably pissed-off client to manage and a translator to find, so would you please just get the fuck out of here.
Beat.
EVA: Well, that’s just—that’s … fine. (beat) I mean, I’m just sorry I can’t continue helping you wage, like, your whole war against, against Chinese tyranny.
Beat.
JULIE:… I don’t like your tone, there, Evie.
EVA: What tone is that, Jules?
JULIE: What—
EVA: What might I be insinuating there, with my tone?
JULIE:… Jesus, Evie. Really?
EVA: Well, like, I don’t know, I’m asking you, what might I be insinuating?
JULIE: Oh, right. Because, right. Because I chose a career, in, in international litigation, yeah, that’s about right, as an elaborate revenge plot, is that the fucking implication?
EVA: Oh, no, because it’s like just a total coincidence that two months after—
JULIE: Jesus—
EVA:—two months after we put her in the fucking ground—
JULIE: Jesus, Eva.
EVA:—and you call me up to be your translator, I mean, what was the idea here, you give me this bailout, and we, we take on our Chinese oppressor, sisters, hand in hand—
JULIE: You are a fucking child.
EVA: No, no, I was. I was a fucking child, and you left, you left me with that woman.
JULIE: What the fuck was I supposed to do?
EVA: Get me out of there.
JULIE: And do what? Raise a 10-year-old? As a freshman? Does that sound like a reasonable fucking solution to you, Eva?
EVA: You … you’ve could’ve done something.
EVA: Like, like visited once in a while—that was the time for a fucking bailout, Jules—you could’ve done something, you could’ve—I needed you and you left me, you left me alone in a foreign country with a fucking monster, and it’s worse what you did, because she was just ignorant, okay, she was an ignorant tyrant, but you fucking knew, you knew what she was like, and you left me anyway. And I’m really messed up now, Jules, she messed me up good, and it’s too late, there’s too much history, I’m all fucked up and you can’t fix me.
Beat.
JULIE: Well, Evie, you know, now that you’ve alerted me to the sheer magnitude of my crimes against you, systematically fucking all of my colleagues does seem like a mature response. (beat) What do you do for money?
EVA: I can’t …
JULIE: Why?
EVA: Because you won’t—
JULIE: I won’t? I won’t what? I won’t be proud of you?
Eva exits.
JULIE: Is that it, Evie? I won’t be proud? I won’t be fucking proud?
A long beat. Jane enters.
JANE: Bad time?
JULIE: Couldn’t be better.
Beat.
JANE: I’ve been authorized to offer you a revised figure.
JULIE: We reject it.
JANE: It’s twenty.
Beat.
JULIE: He was really something on the stand, your guy. ‘I don’t remember, maybe an intern did it.’
JANE: It’s reasonable doubt.
JULIE: Yeah, but, you gotta admit, the jury’s gonna loathe that guy. I couldn’t have dreamt of a better villain.
JANE: You didn’t pin him. Not beyond reasonable doubt.
JULIE: Then why the revised figure?
JANE: I’m trying to help you.
JULIE: Ha. (beat) We reject your offer.
JANE: Julie. Come on. You’re on a crusade at the expense of your clients and you know it, all they want is / compensation for—
JULIE: Don’t tell me what’s in my client’s best interests.
JANE:—what they’ve endured, what kind of humanitarian are you? (beat) You once asked me how I sleep at night.
JULIE: Yeah.
JANE: I sleep at night in the knowledge that small deeds are better than sweeping gestures. I sleep at night because I get these behemoths to play by the rules. And that’s hard, Julie. That’s harder than whatever it is you people do. ‘Fighting the good fight.’
Beat.
JULIE: We’re rejecting your offer.
JANE: Well. Worth a shot. (beat) If you ever decide to join us soulless corporate sharks, Chen, do let me know. Honestly, I think you’d be better suited to it. It has a kind of moral clarity that humanitarianism precludes.
Jane exits. A weird shift.
THE TRANSLATOR: Hi.
JULIE: Fucking—!
THE TRANSLATOR: Sorry.
JULIE: Christ. You scared the shit out of me. (beat) Oh, you’re the—
THE TRANSLATOR: That’s me.
Beat.
JULIE: Did you … just get here?
THE TRANSLATOR: That’s a funny question.
JULIE: It is?
THE TRANSLATOR: You’re aware, I assume, that your conception of time has certain linguistic aspects.
JULIE: Uh. Does it?
THE TRANSLATOR: Yes, well, English relies largely on tenses to situate things in time—did you just get here, for instance. Mandarin, on the other hand relies largely on context. A shared understanding of where events fall in time. So to translate from Mandarin to English, you also have to translate from objective time to, well, grammatical time. You have to build your own structure. I just think that’s … funny.
Beat.
JULIE: You’re a pretty weird guy, huh.
THE TRANSLATOR: (laughing) I guess I am.
Beat.
JULIE: Listen, uh, I don’t have time to get anyone else, my translator quit like two hours ago, so I’m kind of scrambling here. Just, be as one-to-one as possible, okay? Don’t embellish.
THE TRANSLATOR: Of course.
JULIE: And I don’t really have time to give you the context, so. You don’t have to understand the case, is what I’m saying.
THE TRANSLATOR: Sure.
JULIE: But, uh, you don’t happen to have any strong feelings about the Chinese Communist Party, do you?
THE TRANSLATOR: I don’t have any strong feelings.
JULIE: Oh. Good.
Beat.
THE TRANSLATOR: Do you swear to tell the whole truth, in the name of God?
你向上帝发誓，你所说的全部都是事实吗？
Nǐ xiàng shàngdì fāshì, nǐ suǒ shuō de quánbù dōu shì shìshí ma?
DAO: Yes.
是。
Shì.
Beat.
Julie walks up.
THE TRANSLATOR: What happened to the other translator?
Beat.
JULIE: Family emergency.
THE TRANSLATOR: That’s a real shame.
JULIE: Yeah. It is. (beat, out to the jury) The decision you make here today is going to set a very important precedent. Not just here in Texas, but around the world. So I appeal now to your human decency. I want you to listen to what Dao has suffered. And I want you to imagine, were you in his shoes, what you’d hope a jury would decide. The world is watching you. (back to Dao) Mr Li. How long were you held in detention?
THE TRANSLATOR: How long were you held in detention?
你被拘留了多久？
Nǐ bèi jūliú le duōjiǔ?
DAO: From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months.
从二零零六年到二零一一年，总共五十三个月。
Cóng èr líng líng liu nián dào èr líng yī yī nián, zoňggòng wušhísāngè yuè.
THE TRANSLATOR: From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months.
JULIE: And during that time, you lost your ability to walk?
THE TRANSLATOR: And during that time, you lost your ability to walk?
在这期间，你是不是失去了行走的能力？
Zài zhè qījiān, nǐ shìbushì shīqùle xíngzǒu de nénglì?
DAO: Yes.
是。
Shì.
THE TRANSLATOR: Yes.
JULIE: How did that happen?
THE TRANSLATOR: What happened?
发生了什么？
Fāshēng le shénme?
DAO: There were a number of contributing factors. The muscle strength in my legs deteriorated significantly while I was in prison.
有各种影响因素。我在监狱的时候，腿的肌力有所衰退。
Yǒu gèzhoňg yǐngxiǎng yīnsù. wǒ zài jiānyù de shíhòu, tuǐ de jīlì yǒusuǒ shuatuì.
THE TRANSLATOR: There were a number of contributing factors. The muscle strength in my legs deteriorated significantly while I was in prison.
JULIE: Was there a particular incident that exacerbated this deterioration?
THE TRANSLATOR: Was there a particular incident that exacerbated this deterioration?
有没有发生什么加重减退的事情？
Dàodǐ yǒu méiyǒu fāshēng shénme jiāzhòng jiǎntuì de shìqíng?
DAO: Yes.
有。
Yoǔ.
THE TRANSLATOR: Yes.
JULIE: What was the incident?
THE TRANSLATOR: What was the incident?
什么事情？
Shénme shìqíng?
DAO: I was forced to stand in the prison yard for thirty hours.
我被迫在监狱院子里站了三十个小时。
wǒ bèipò zài jiānyù yuànzilǐ zhànle sānshígè xiǎoshí.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) I was forced to stand in the prison yard for thirty hours.
JULIE: Until your legs collapsed?
THE TRANSLATOR: Until your legs collapsed?
直到你的腿虚脱了？
Zhídào nǐde tuǐ xūtuōle?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Did the prison guards know your legs had weakened before they made you do this?
THE TRANSLATOR: Did the prison guards know your legs had weakened?
监狱的看守知道你的腿已经衰退了吗?
Jiānyù de kānshǒu zhīdao nǐde tuǐ yǐjīng shuāituìle ma?
DAO: Yes, I had asked to see a doctor.
知道。我之前要求看医生。
Zhīdào. wǒ zhiqian yāoqiú kànyisheng.
THE TRANSLATOR: Yes, I asked to see a doctor.
JULIE: And instead of letting you see a doctor, they made you stand in the yard?
THE TRANSLATOR: And instead of letting you see a doctor, they made you stand in the yard?
但他们没让你看医生，反而让你罚站?
Dàn tāmen méi ràng nǐ kàn yīshēng, fǎn’ér ràng nǐ fá zhàn?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Thank you. No further … sorry. I’m not finished. (beat) Mr Li, while you were imprisoned, did you endure other forms of physical abuse?
THE TRANSLATOR: While you were imprisoned, did you endure other forms of physical abuse?
你坐牢的时候有没有受到其它形式的身体虐待？
Nǐ zuòláo de shíhòu yǒu méiyǒu shòudào qítā xíngshì de shēntǐ nüèdài?
A long beat.
JULIE: Ask him again.
THE TRANSLATOR: While you were imprisoned, did you endure other forms of physical abuse?
你坐牢的时候有没有受到其它形式的身体虐待？
Nǐ zuòláo de shíhòu yǒu méiyǒu shòudào qítā xíngshì de shēntǐ nüèdài?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Beatings?
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) Beatings?
挨打吗？
Āidǎ ma?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Forced feeding?
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) Forced feeding?
强迫进食？
Qiǎngpò jìnshí?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Electric shocks?
THE TRANSLATOR: (shorter stagger) Electric shocks?
电击？
Diànjí?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Starvation?
THE TRANSLATOR: (shorter stagger) Starvation?
挨饿？
Āi è?
JULIE: Sleep deprivation?
THE TRANSLATOR: (shorter stagger) Sleep deprivation?
剥夺睡眠？
Bōduó shuìmián?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Solitary confinement?
THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously) Solitary confinement?
单独监禁？
Dāndú jiānjìn?
DAO: Yes.
JULIE: Sexual assault?
THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously) Sexual assault?
性侵犯？
Xìngqīnfàn?
DAO: I was not raped.
我没被强奸。
wǒ méi bèi qiángjiān.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) I was not raped.
DAO: I was never raped.
我从没被强奸。
wǒ cóng méi bèi qiángjiān.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) I was never raped.
JULIE: But you were assaulted?
THE TRANSLATOR: But you were assaulted?
但你被侵犯过？
Dàn nǐ bèi qīnfànguò?
DAO: There was an incident where, where four guards, they stripped me of my clothes.
有一回，有四个看守，他们撕破了我的衣服。
Yǒuyìhuí, you sìgè kānshǒu, tāmen sīpòle wǒ de yīfú.
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) There was an incident where, where four guards, they stripped me of my clothes.
DAO: The guards … they played with my genitals … and …
看守们 … 玩弄了我的生殖器 … 还有 …
Kānshǒumen … wánnòng le wǒ de shēngzhíqì … háiyǒu …
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) The guards … they played with my genitals … and …
DAO: They pulled at my pubic hairs, and …
他们扯了我的阴毛。还有 … Tāmen chěle wǒ de yīnmáo. And …
THE TRANSLATOR: (staggered) They pulled at my pubic hairs.
DAO: And then, one of the guards, he took my toilet brush, and … and he …
然后其中的一个看守，他拿了我的马桶刷，来 …
他来 … Ránhòu qízhōng de yígè kānshǒu, tā nále wǒ de mǎtoňgshuā, lái … tā lái …
THE TRANSLATOR: And then, one of the guards, he took my toilet brush, and … and he …
DAO: This isn’t right. I can’t continue—this isn’t right.
这不对。我不能再说下去了 … 这不对。
Zhè búdui. wǒ búnéng zài shuōxiàqùle … Zhè búdui.
THE TRANSLATOR: He’s saying he can’t continue, this isn’t right.
JULIE: No further ques—can we take a brief recess?
DAO: This isn’t right.
这不对。
Zhè búdui.
JULIE: Can we have a brief recess?
THE TRANSLATOR: (to the audience) This isn’t right.
DAO: This isn’t right.
这不对。
Zhè búdui.
JULIE: Mr Li, I’m sorry. We’re finished. We’re finished.
李先生，对不起。
Lǐ xiānshēng, duìbùqǐ.
END OF ACT 2
