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年是英國婦女選舉權(quán)運動一百周年。走在倫敦的街道上，讓我不斷回想起這段意義重大的歷史時期。

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.
從倫敦博物館中以婦女參政權(quán)論者為主題的巡展，到水石書店的海報，都生動歌頌了那些傳奇的故事——艾米琳?潘克斯特，艾米莉?戴維森和她們的同伴是如何通過游行，非暴力不合作，絕食抗議這些激進的策略為女性贏得了平等的話語權(quán)。

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.
第一次聽到這些故事的時候，我既感動又震撼。我也很自然地開始思考中國文化中的女中豪杰們，她們?yōu)橄裎疫@樣的年輕女孩鋪平了道路，讓如今的我能夠獨立自信地生活。幾經(jīng)思索后，不得不說，給我最多啟示的兩位女性是我的外婆和媽媽。

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，我的外婆出生在一個貧苦農(nóng)村家庭，她在家中13個孩子里排行老四。在外婆生活的那個年代，基本的食物和藥物都很匱乏。對大多數(shù)農(nóng)村女孩來說，接受教育是一件奢侈的事。艱苦的生存環(huán)境讓外婆小小年紀(jì)就學(xué)會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，外婆八歲那年就經(jīng)歷了年僅兩歲的妹妹在她懷里病死的悲痛。她不得不藏起心碎和淚水，因為她知道這時候最重要的是安慰母親和照顧弟弟妹妹。

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，在外婆的軟磨硬泡下，她的父母終于允許她去當(dāng)?shù)氐囊凰W(xué)上課。外婆說，盡管條件很苦，但那段時光成了她人生最美的回憶。每天放學(xué)后，外婆就趕回家?guī)兔χ箫垼驋咝l(wèi)生，洗衣服，陪弟弟妹妹玩兒。每晚把他們哄入睡后，外婆才能擠出些時間溫習(xí)課堂筆記，寫完作業(yè)。

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.
盡管外婆沒有受過小學(xué)以上的正規(guī)教育，但她從不允許自己的職業(yè)生涯因此受限。后來，外婆當(dāng)了一家工廠的會計，通過數(shù)個漫長夜晚的自學(xué)和觀察其他工人，她漸漸從中學(xué)習(xí)到了一些做生意的本領(lǐng)。

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年我母親出生時，中國女孩的生活水平和教育資源都有了很大改善。但依然只有一小部分人能上大學(xué)。于是， 17歲高中畢業(yè)以后，母親就開始了她的第一份工作，也是一名會計。

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.
她對待每個任務(wù)都極其認(rèn)真，極其努力。她總是第一個來最后一個走，卻從來沒有額外要過加班費。事實上，就在我出生前的幾個小時，母親還像平常一樣在辦公室工作。生完孩子兩個月后，由于工作需要，老板要求她縮短產(chǎn)假，她欣然應(yīng)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，母親盡心盡力照顧我和父親。父親生病期間，她細(xì)心照顧他數(shù)年。有幾年，父母只能蝸居在一間只有一張單人床的8平米小屋，即使在懷有身孕期間，母親也堅持讓父親睡床。

Growing up, I have watched how my grandma and mom pursued their dreams with perseverance and wisdom.
在成長的歲月中，我看到了外婆和母親如何以她們的堅韌和智慧追求夢想。

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.
她們從不會稱自己是婦女參政權(quán)論者或是女權(quán)主義者，事實上她們甚至根本不懂這些詞的意思。但是，她們熱情地?fù)肀械臋C遇，樂于為所愛之人奉獻自己。

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.
住在文化多元的倫敦，我覺得也許身邊的每個女孩內(nèi)心都有自己崇拜的女英雄，從她們身上獲得鼓舞。也許，婦女參政100周年不僅是載入史冊的英國女權(quán)運動的慶典，更是每種文化中無數(shù)默默無聞的女英雄們的慶典，她們無聲的勇氣同樣鼓舞著今天的眾多年輕女孩。

英文來源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號
翻譯：袁青霞（實習(xí)）
編審：董靜 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