女性平权运动中的无名英雄

2018 is the centenary of the British suffrage movement, and, walking through the streets of London, I feel I’m constantly being reminded of this significant historical era.
2018年是英国妇女选举权运动一百周年。走在伦敦的街道上，让我不断回想起这段意义重大的历史时期。

From suffragettes-themed tours in the Museum of London to the posters in Waterstone’s bookshop, the legendary stories are sung with joy of how Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Davison and their peers used radical tactics of protest, civil disobedience, and hunger strikes to win an equal voice for women.
从伦敦博物馆中以妇女参政权论者为主题的巡展，到水石书店的海报，都生动歌颂了那些传奇的故事——艾米琳•潘克斯特，艾米莉•戴维森和她们的同伴是如何通过游行，非暴力不合作，绝食抗议这些激进的策略为女性赢得了平等的话语权。

Hearing many of these stories for the first time, I felt moved and amazed. Naturally, I also started to think about the heroines of the Chinese culture who have paved the way for a young girl like me to live with confidence and independence today. After some deep reflection, I must admit that the two ladies who have inspired me the most are my grandma and mom.
第一次听到这些故事的时候，我既感动又震撼。我也很自然地开始思考中国文化中的女中豪杰们，她们为像我这样的年轻女孩铺平了道路，让如今的我能够独立自信地生活。几经思索后，不得不说，给我最多启示的两位女性是我的外婆和妈妈。

My grandma was born in 1932, as the fourth child in a poor rural family of 13. She lived at a time when basic food and medicine were scarce, and education was a luxury for most rural girls. Harsh living conditions encouraged her to develop emotional maturity and learn critical life skills at an early age.
1932年，我的外婆出生在一个贫苦农村家庭，她在家中13个孩子里排行老四。在外婆生活的那个年代，基本的食物和药物都很匮乏。对大多数农村女孩来说，接受教育是一件奢侈的事。艰苦的生存环境让外婆小小年纪就学会懂事和重要的生活技能。

For instance, at the age of eight, she endured the grief of watching her two-year-old sister die from illness in her arms. Hiding away her torn heart and sad tears, she knew that her priority in that moment was to comfort her mother and take care of her younger siblings.
例如，外婆八岁那年就经历了年仅两岁的妹妹在她怀里病死的悲痛。她不得不藏起心碎和泪水，因为她知道这时候最重要的是安慰母亲和照顾弟弟妹妹。

In 1941, after much pleading, her parents finally allowed her to attend classes at a local primary school. She said those years were the best memories in her life, despite the physical demand. After classes every day, grandma would rush home to participate in the cooking, cleaning, and laundry, and to play with her younger siblings. It was only after putting her siblings to bed every evening that she could finally spare some moments to review her classroom notes and complete her homework.
1941年，在外婆的软磨硬泡下，她的父母终于允许她去当地的一所小学上课。外婆说，尽管条件很苦，但那段时光成了她人生最美的回忆。每天放学后，外婆就赶回家帮忙煮饭，打扫卫生，洗衣服，陪弟弟妹妹玩儿。每晚把他们哄入睡后，外婆才能挤出些时间温习课堂笔记，写完作业。

Although grandma received no formal education beyond primary school, she never allowed that to limit her career. She later became an accountant in a factory and gradually learned the skills of the trade from long evenings of self-study and from watching older workers.
尽管外婆没有受过小学以上的正规教育，但她从不允许自己的职业生涯因此受限。后来，外婆当了一家工厂的会计，通过数个漫长夜晚的自学和观察其他工人，她渐渐从中学习到了一些做生意的本领。

By the time my mom was born, in 1964, China’s standard of living and education resources for girls had much improved. Still, university was only available to a fraction of the population, so, after high school, at the age of 17, my mother started her first job, also as an accountant.
等到1964年我母亲出生时，中国女孩的生活水平和教育资源都有了很大改善。但依然只有一小部分人能上大学。于是， 17岁高中毕业以后，母亲就开始了她的第一份工作，也是一名会计。

She treated every task with incredible dedication and hard work. She was often the first to arrive and the last to leave, but never asked for any extra pay for her overtime. In fact, she was working in the office just as normal even hours before she gave birth to me. Two months after childbirth, her boss asked her to cut short her maternity leave because work needed her, and she happily obeyed.
她对待每个任务都极其认真，极其努力。她总是第一个来最后一个走，却从来没有额外要过加班费。事实上，就在我出生前的几个小时，母亲还像平常一样在办公室工作。生完孩子两个月后，由于工作需要，老板要求她缩短产假，她欣然应允。

Away from the office, mom looked after my father and me with devotion and love. She attentively nursed my father for years during his illness. During the years when my parents lived in an eight square meter flat with a single bed, she insisted that her husband sleep on the bed, even when she was pregnant with me.
下班后，母亲尽心尽力照顾我和父亲。父亲生病期间，她细心照顾他数年。有几年，父母只能蜗居在一间只有一张单人床的8平米小屋，即使在怀有身孕期间，母亲也坚持让父亲睡床。

Growing up, I have watched how my grandma and mom pursued their dreams with perseverance and wisdom.
在成长的岁月中，我看到了外婆和母亲如何以她们的坚韧和智慧追求梦想。

They have never called themselves suffragettes or feminists, in fact I don’t think they even know what those words mean. Instead, they embraced life’s opportunities with enthusiasm, and willingly made sacrifices for people they love.
她们从不会称自己是妇女参政权论者或是女权主义者，事实上她们甚至根本不懂这些词的意思。但是，她们热情地拥抱生命中的机遇，乐于为所爱之人奉献自己。

Living in the multicultural city of London, I feel that perhaps every girl around me has heroines in their own hearts, who they admire and draw inspiration from. Perhaps the centenary of female suffrage is a celebration not just for the British suffragettes whose names are inscribed in history, but the many unsung heroines of every culture, whose quiet courage has also empowered many young girls today.
住在文化多元的伦敦，我觉得也许身边的每个女孩内心都有自己崇拜的女英雄，从她们身上获得鼓舞。也许，妇女参政100周年不仅是载入史册的英国女权运动的庆典，更是每种文化中无数默默无闻的女英雄们的庆典，她们无声的勇气同样鼓舞着今天的众多年轻女孩。

英文来源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公众号
翻译：袁青霞（实习）
编审：董静 丹妮
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About the author & broadcaster

Cecily Liu is a London correspondent for China Daily, covering mainly financial news. She was born in Chengdu, grew up in New Zealand, and graduated from University College London with a BA in English Literature.
Contact the writer at Cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com