在中国，出生是要来庆贺的，死去是要追悼的。但在恒河的那一刻，我对生命的认知被摧毁了。如果生命的终结是这样，那生命为何而活？生命的意义在哪里？那一天，我是落荒而逃的。
In China, birth is to be celebrated, while death is to be mourned. But the moment I approached the Ganges, my knowledge of life was destroyed. If life is to be terminated like this, why does life exist? What’s the point of life? That day, I fled in panic.
我是一个艺术家，艺术就是无中生有。我想，或许生命也是这样，在无意义的人生中去创造意义。
I am an artist, and art is pure creation. I think life is perhaps the same—creating meaning in a meaningless life.
2009年，机缘巧合之下，联合国开发计划署（UNDP）任命我为亲善大使，我们联合发起了“世界看见”中国民族文化保护与发展亲善行动。并且在2013年，我又创建了“看见造物”这个中国当代民艺品牌，用可持续的方式，延续对少数民族手工艺者的帮助和对传统工艺的传承。这段旅程，也整整走了10年。 我个人的创作是从上世纪90年代开始的，一直跟中国的多元民族文化有关，所以也一直希望有机会为他们做些事情。所以UNDP任命我为大使，或许这就是一个对的时机。
In 2009, I was appointed by UNDPthe Goodwill Ambassadorby chance. We jointly launched the “Show the World” Goodwill Actionfor the Protection and Development of Chinese national culture. In 2013, I established “KANJIAN Creations”, a contemporary Chinese folk-art brand, to continue to help ethnic minority craftsmen and inherit traditional craftsmanship in a sustainable way. This journey has been taking a full 10 years. My personal creation began in the 1990s and has always been related to China’s multi-ethnic culture, so I have always hoped to have the opportunity to do something for it. Perhaps this is why UNDP appointed me the Ambassador.
中国西部少数民族地区拥有丰富珍稀的民族文化资源和美丽的自然风光，但由于缺乏与外界的接触以及语言的障碍，这些地区的经济发展相对落后。偏远的地理位置以及恶劣的自然条件是形成这一状况的根源。另一方面，在全球化的冲击下，少数民族正面临着丢失其特色文化的威胁。UNDP China千年项目的目标是以区域文化带动区域经济的发展，形成可持续的文化产业生态，并使少数民族文化获得自我认同和传承。
The ethnic minority regions in western China are rich in rare national culture resources and beautiful natural scenery but relatively left behind in economic development due to the lack of contact with the outside world and language barriers. For one thing, the remote geographical location and harsh natural conditions are the root causes of this situation. For another, ethnic minorities are facing the threat of losing their distinctive culture under the impact of globalization. The goal of the UNDP China Millennium Projectis to drive regional economic development with regional culture, form a sustainable ecology of cultural industry, and enable ethnic minority culture to gain self-identification and inheritance.
中国人对文化的尊敬是源远流长的，即使在今天，我认识的很多朋友，去到民族地区旅行，都觉得那些文化非常迷人。但是一离开了以后，又觉得这一切离他们很遥远，也不知道从何下手。那么多年大家一直谈保护传统文化，从政府、专业机构到学院都在谈论，但实际上你却没有看到更有活力的事情发生。
The Chinese people’s respect for culture has a long history. Even today, many of my friends who have been to the minority regions find their cultures distinctively fascinating. But once leaving, they find that all those are far away from them, and don’t know where to start. For so many years, everyone has been talking about the protection of traditional culture, ranging from governments, professional institutions to academies and colleges, but in fact nothing more dynamic and vigorous really happens.
而当我亲眼目睹多元文化的留存在中国已经成为了一个非常急迫的问题，但是却比较少有人知道能做什么，怎么去做的时候。我觉得，它需要的不仅仅是一个呼吁，而是具体的行动。所以后来我跟马和励先生说，“其实一开始我也有犹豫，但是后来我决定来做这个亲善大使，只有一个条件，就是我要做具体的事情。而且我可能是少数的几个可以充当这个角色的人之一。”
And then I witnessed the existence of multiculturism in China had become an urgent issue, but few people knew what to do and how to do it. I thought it needed more than just a call, but concrete actions. So later I told Mr. Khalid Malik, “In fact, I was hesitant at first, but then I decided to accept the job of the Goodwill Ambassador on one condition, that is, I need to do something specific. And I may be one of the few people who can play this role.”
因为我对中国的多元民族文化真的有认知，有爱，也有很多年的积累。我去这些地方寻访，绝对不是我在当上“亲善大使”才开始的，早在二十年前我就开始了。上世纪90年代我就开始就在川藏地区旅行，包括新疆、云南，这些地方都是我很熟悉，很喜欢的地方。或许在中国，有这样一个基础和背景的人，其实不是很多。
I have knowledge and love for China’s multi-ethnic culture, and also have many years of cultural accumulation. My visits to ethnic minority regions started 20 years ago, long before I became the Goodwill Ambassador. Since the 1990s, I have been traveling in Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Yunnan, which I know well and like a lot. Perhaps in China, there are not many people like me with such a foundation and background.
而在我这个年龄，我已经准备好了跟这个世界分享，这是决定性的。这就是中国人所说的“天时地利人和”吧。
At my age, I am ready and determined to share with the world, which is what the Chinese people call “Do the right thing in the right place and the right time with the right people.”
作为东方人，我们最终还是会回到“度己度人”这个命题。“看见造物”真的是一场修行。或许我在年轻的时候更多考虑的是解决自我的问题，而到了一定的时候，“我”就是世界，世界也是“我”。
As an Asian, we will eventually return to the proposition of “saving ourselves and others”. “KANJIAN Creations” is really a Buddhist practice. Perhaps when I was young, I thought more about solving my own problems, but at a certain time, “I” become the world, and the world becomes “me”.
(2021年安徽省第三届翻译大赛汉译英初赛原文)