Jin Xiaoyu's father, Jin Xingyong (second from right), at a community center in Hangzhou. ZHOU SUNYU/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

'Not a genius but a painter'

"I'm not a genius but a painter," said Jin Xiaoyu when he received interviews from Xinhua News Agency, after his story was circulated widely online and touched millions of readers. "Translation is like copying a painting. You should paint as similar to the original as possible. And no one knows the great efforts you've made.

"Before I got my first computer, I spent more than 10 years listening to English and Japanese programs on the radio. After that, I watched more than 60 Japanese TV dramas to learn Japanese," added Jin Xiaoyu. "I would read more than 20 original novels when learning a new language and looked up the dictionary every time I couldn't understand a word."

During his translation work of Andrei Tarkovsky: Elements of Cinema, he watched all the films directed by Tarkovsky and watched every frame mentioned in the book again and again.

Translation is challenging, but not well-paid, work. But he keeps doing it. For him, good language skills are a gift that he cherishes. Sometimes, he works seven to eight hours a day. To keep up his energy levels for the work, he spends an hour walking every day.

"I once told a friend at the hospital that since I'm not married, I regarded these books I translated as my sons and daughters. As for me, books can last for a thousand years, they can be passed on for generations to come," said Jin Xiaoyu in an interview with China Central Television.

He said he is currently working on the translation of a new book.

"I hope I can finish it within the next two to three years, and get it published when my father is 88 years old," he added.

Keep going

As a patient, Jin Xiaoyu was always silent and seldom expressed himself when he was not sick. But the 50-year-old man broke down when he learned of the death of his mother. Cao died in November when he was receiving medical treatment at a mental hospital.

"I got my first translation work because of my mother," Jin Xiaoyu said, adding that Cao played an important role in his work.

In his memories, Cao was a strict mother and always made decisions for him at critical moments in his life. "She encouraged me to learn English for the self-study diploma and asked me to apply for a library card at Zhejiang University.

"She said that a person should keep pushing the cart unless it is broken. That's why she kept encouraging me to go out instead of staying at home."

But Cao could no longer make decisions for her son after she got Alzheimer's disease in 2018.

"Xiaoyu showed filial piety to his mother," Jin Xingyong remembered. "He took care of her for three years, washing her face, carrying her to the bathroom every two hours, and buying shrimps, his mother's favorite food. And he never lost his temper with her. Every time the press sent new books translated by him, he would rush to her bed and put one on her hands."