A promotional spot for a culture-bending telenovela recently aired on Spanish-language KJLA-TV channel 57.
最近在西班牙語的KJLA電視台第57頻道播出了一個促銷點，宣傳一部文化塑造的肥皂劇。
Car headlights illuminate a pair of shapely legs in high heels, followed by a shot of a plainly dressed woman at home, speaking anxiously into a phone. Her husband frowns at a computer screen, and in the background, a presumably nude woman sleeps on a couch covered only by a blanket. All the actors are Taiwanese.
車前大燈照亮了穿著高跟鞋的一雙勻稱的腿；接下來的鏡頭是，一名穿著樸素的女人正在家裡焦急地講電話。她的丈夫正皺著眉頭在看著電腦屏幕；而背景中，有一個大概是裸體的女人睡在沙發上面，身上只蓋著一條毯子。所有的演員都是台灣人。
"Vea 'La Esposa Valiente' de lunes a viernes de medianoche a una de la mañana comenzando el 5 de octubre," an announcer says. "Watch 'The Fierce Wife' Mondays through Fridays from midnight to 1 a.m., beginning Oct. 5!"
一名播音員以西班牙語說：“Vea ‘La Esposa Valiente’ de lunes a viernes de medianoche a una de la mañana comenzando el 5 de octubre”，亦即 『從10月5日開始，在週一至週五的午夜至凌晨1點可觀賞《犀利人妻》！』
"La Esposa Valiente," or "Xi Li Ren Qi" in Chinese, is the first drama the Taiwanese government has dubbed into Spanish. Thirteen Central and South American countries have aired the show since 2013 as part of an initiative by the Taiwanese government to promote Taiwanese culture.
“La Esposa Valiente (勇敢人妻)” 或《犀利人妻》，是台灣政府第一部以西班牙語配音的戲劇。自2013年以來，已有13個中美和南美洲國家播出了此節目；這是台灣政府提倡台灣文化的一部分作法。
With a contested national identity, no formal relations with major powers and no membership in international organizations such as the United Nations, Taiwanese officials are testing a new strategy: soap opera diplomacy.
因為國家身份的爭議、與大國之間無正式關係、也不是如聯合國這樣國際組織的會員，所以台灣官員正在嘗試一種新的戰略：肥皂劇外交。
“If we talk about politics every day, nobody will listen,” said Steve Hsia, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles. “If we can shorten the distance between Taiwan and other nations through culture, that’s helpful.”
駐洛杉磯台北經濟文化辦事處夏季昌處長(Steve Hsia)說：『如果我們每天都在談論政治，沒有人會聽。而如果我們能夠透過文化來縮短台灣與其他國家之間的距離，那就會有幫助。』
The effort began in 2013 when Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country’s primary diplomatic arm, began to survey television preferences across Latin America, home to many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies. From a pool of 100 popular Taiwanese shows, the ministry selected 10 and asked Latin American cultural and pop culture experts to weigh in.
這項工作始於2013年，當時作為台灣主要外交機構的台灣外交部開始調查整個拉丁美洲的電視喜好，那裡是許多台灣外交盟友的所在地。外交部從100個受歡迎的台灣節目中選出了10個，並請對拉丁美洲文化和流行文化方面的專家積極參與給出意見。
They decided that “The Fierce Wife,” a show about a woman dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s infidelity, was the best ambassador for Taiwanese culture, and a Los Angeles firm redubbed the 39-episode series in Spanish.
他們決定，《犀利人妻》這個講述一個女人處理丈夫不忠後果的節目，是台灣文化的最佳大使。一家在洛杉磯的公司將這部39集的連續劇重新配音成西班牙語。
“Soft power,” a method of diplomacy that focuses on maximizing a country’s cultural and economic influence, has always been a major part of Taiwan’s political playbook, said Gary Rawnsley, a professor of public diplomacy at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom.
英國亞伯里斯威斯大學(Aberystwyth University)公眾外交教授賈利·羅恩斯利(Gary Rawnsley)說：“軟實力”是一種外交手段，著重於將一個國家的文化和經濟影響最大化，而它一直是台灣政治劇本的一個重要部分。
But as Taiwan’s political leaders adopted more conciliatory approaches toward China, its international diplomacy has shifted away from political ideology and focused more on benign topics such as traditional Chinese culture.
但隨著台灣政治領導人物對中國採取了更加和解的態度，台灣的國際外交已經從政治意識形態轉向關注如傳統中國文化等良性議題。
Television shows and pop stars have become pieces in Taiwan’s cross-strait, public opinion chess match with China. “Now the main way Taiwan projects its soft power is this idea of Taiwan as the preserver of traditional Chinese culture,” Rawnsley said.
電視節目和流行歌手已經成為台灣與中國海峽兩岸、大眾輿論西洋棋賽中的棋子。 羅恩斯利說：『如今，台灣發揮其軟實力的主要方式就是將台灣作為傳統中國文化的保存者。』
In the first episode, “The Fierce Wife” establishes traditional Chinese ideals about love and family. A good wife is compared to a dumpling skin that must be resilient enough to tolerate the heat of the water it’s cooked in, yet flexible enough to conform to the dumpling’s filling.
在第一集中，《犀利人妻》建立了關於愛情和家庭的傳統中國理想。一個好妻子就像一個餃子皮般，必須有足夠的適應力以承受烹煮的水的熱度，但又要有足夠的彈性以符合餃子餡。
In another scene, a father scolds his daughter and her husband for daring to mention the word divorce, and drives his point home by leaving the family’s Chinese New Year dinner in a huff.
在另一個場景中，一位父親責罵他的女兒和丈夫居然敢提到離婚一詞，並怒氣沖沖地離開了家庭的新年晚餐以強調他的觀點。
The drama also happens to showcase Taiwan’s major attractions, with sweeping views of natural scenery and shots of Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan and a popular destination for Asia’s Chinese New Year partiers. Most of the ad spots for “The Fierce Wife” are occupied by promotional videos created by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.
此劇還恰巧展現了台灣的主要景點，有一覽無遺的自然景觀以及台北101大樓的鏡頭；101是台灣最高的建築物，也是亞洲的農曆新年大家聚會的熱門目的地。 《犀利人妻》播出中大部分的廣告時間都被台灣觀光局製作的宣傳視頻所佔據。
“Aside from soft power, it’s also about making money,” said Anthony Fung, a professor who studies Asian pop culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
香港中文大學研究亞洲流行文化的馮應謙教授(Anthony Fung)說：『除了軟實力之外，它還與賺錢有關。』
Taiwan’s pop culture has always spread further than its politics. In the 1960s, there was little communication between Taiwan and China, Hsia said. But the beguiling voice of Taiwanese pop singer Teresa Teng won countless fans on the mainland.
台灣的流行文化一直比她的政治更為廣傳。夏處長說，在1960年代，台灣與中國之間幾乎沒有交流。但是台灣流行歌手鄧麗君(Teresa Teng)的迷人聲音在大陸贏得了無數的粉絲。
“There was a saying: During the day, the Chinese people listen to old Deng [Communist Party Chairman Deng Xiaoping],” Hsia said. “And at night, they listen to young Teng on the radio.”
夏說：『有一句話：在白天，中國人民聽老鄧（共產黨主席鄧小平）的話。到了晚上，他們在收音機裡聆聽年輕的小鄧（鄧麗君）。』
Taiwan and Hong Kong have long been dominant forces in Asian pop culture, Fung said. But Korean dramas and music have in recent years taken over, in part thanks to government support.
台灣和香港長期以來一直是亞洲流行文化的主導力量，馮教授說。但是近年來，韓國的戲劇和音樂已經取而代之，在一定程度上這要歸功於政府的支持。
South Korea began to organize the support and export of cultural products. Government-sponsored creative content agencies evaluated South Korean TV shows, pop songs, films and books and identified the best markets to export them to, Fung said.
馮說，南韓開始安排文化產品的支持和出口。由政府資助的創意內容機構對南韓的電視節目、流行歌曲、電影和書籍進行了評估，並確認了將它們出口的最佳市場。
The result has been an unprecedented boom of Korean cultural exports — Korean cosmetic products in Chinese makeup stores, K-pop concerts in Latin America and endless plays of the Korean pop hit “Gangnam Style” in nightclubs all over the world.
結果就是韓國文化出口的空前繁榮 — 中國化妝品店中的韓國化妝品、拉丁美洲的K-pop音樂會以及世界各地夜總會中不停演奏的韓國流行歌曲“Gangnam Style”。
“Gangnam Style”（韓語：강남스타일／江南스타일；江南Style，又譯江南範兒、江南風格、江南風）是大韓民國歌手朴載相（藝名PSY，暱稱鳥叔）的一首單曲，於2012年7月15日發布，同時也是其第六張專輯《PSY 6甲, Part 1》的主打單曲。
Seung-Ah Lee, a lecturer on Korean studies at UCLA, said South Korea’s culture boom has helped shape international attitudes about the country.
加州大學洛杉磯分校(UCLA)韓國研究的李講師(Seung-Ah Lee)說，韓國文化的繁榮有助於塑造國際社會對該國的態度。
“Many thought that Korea was a small, poor country in Asia that you had no intention to visit,” Lee said. “But they found that Korea is dynamic, energetic, rich and highly advanced.”
李說：『許多人認為韓國是一個你不會想去的亞洲貧窮小國。但是他們發現韓國充滿了活力、朝氣蓬勃、富裕和高度先進。』
The Taiwanese government is following South Korea’s example, Hsia said. “The Fierce Wife,” its creators say, was created to compete with Korean dramas.
夏處長說，台灣政府正在效仿韓國的榜樣。《犀利人妻》的創作者說，它是為了與韓國戲劇競爭而創作的。
“Taiwan’s television has seldom focused on marriage from a female perspective,” said Vivian Hsieh, a senior vice president at Set TV, the production company that created the show. “In the meantime, Taiwan’s female viewers market has become vastly dominated by popular Korean dramas.”
創作該節目的製作公司三立電視的高級副總裁謝慰雯(Vivian Hsieh)說：『台灣的電視很少從女性的角度來關注婚姻。而同時，台灣的女性觀眾市場已經被流行的韓國戲劇所主導。』
Set TV and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office could not provide statistics showing how well the show is performing in Latin America, but in Honduras and Argentina, the show was so popular that it returned for a second run. Set TV is considering introducing four other Taiwanese dramas to Spanish-speaking audiences this year.
三立電視和台北經濟文化辦事處無法提供顯示該節目在拉丁美洲表現如何的統計數據，但在宏都拉斯和阿根廷，該節目受歡迎到重播的地步。三立電視正在考慮今年向講西班牙語的觀眾介紹另外四部台灣戲劇。
And though “The Fierce Wife” may be a Taiwanese show created in the style of a Korean drama, it has the soul of a telenovela, said Luis Cardenas, director of programming at LATV, the network that owns KJLA.
擁有KJLA的電視網LATV其節目總監路易斯·卡德納斯(Luis Cardenas)表示，儘管《犀利人妻》可能是一部以韓劇風格創作的台灣節目，它卻具有肥皂劇的靈魂。
The settings are different, but with Spanish dubbing, the scenes have the throbbing drama and campy appeal of Mexican telenovelas, Cardenas said.
卡德納斯說，背景有所不同，但在西班牙語配音的情況下，場面卻充滿墨西哥肥皂劇震撼人心的戲劇性和裝模作樣的魅力。
For example, a dream sequence involving the imagined knife murders of the husband’s mistresses is intentionally goofy in Mandarin, but with Spanish voice actors and a throatier delivery, the scene attains a sharper edge.
比方說，有個作夢的連續鏡頭是在想像用刀子謀殺丈夫的情婦，其國語配音故意弄得滑稽可笑，但是使用西班牙語的配音員和更嘶啞的配音，這個場景就變得更加辛辣。
Cardenas and his wife watched the show together, and he said the themes will be familiar to Latino audiences.
卡德納斯和他的妻子一起觀看了這個節目；他說這題材將為拉丁裔的觀眾所熟悉。
“The husband was cheating on the wife, and the wife is so cute and good and virtuous, we were like, how could he do that?” Cardenas said.
卡德納斯說：『丈夫正在對妻子不忠，而妻子是如此的可愛、善良和貞潔，我們就在想，他怎麼能那樣做呢？』
They found themselves alternately scandalized and outraged — reactions, he says, that are the hallmark of a good telenovela.
他們發現自己輪流地感到反感和憤怒 — 他說，這些反應正是一部出色的肥皂劇的標誌。
