For those few seconds, you’d believe that a real monkey is sitting across the table. Most Chinese know him by his stage name, Liu Xiao Ling Tong, but his real name is Zhang Jinlai, 57. During an interview, he pauses to mimic a monkey’s facial expressions.
　　在这一瞬间，你以为坐在你对面的是一只真猴子……他就是全国人民家喻户晓的“美猴王”六小龄童，本名章金莱，现年57岁。在接受采访过程中，六小龄童停下来模仿起猴子的面部表情。

　　He hit TV screens via his 25-episode Journey to the West in 1986 when he played Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, in the series.
　　六小龄童在1986年25集电视剧《西游记》中饰演美猴王孙悟空一角，亮相电视荧屏，深受观众喜爱。

　　Now, with the Year of the Monkey just around the corner, Zhang is busy doing recordings for the Spring Festival galas of many TV stations. "I appear on stage purely to bring people happiness," he says.
　　猴年将至，六小龄童正忙着为多家卫视录制春晚节目。六小龄童说，“我站在舞台上只是为人们带来快乐。”

　　But perhaps, the happiness is tinged with some nostalgia. It is estimated that the TV drama adapted from a 16th-century classic fantasy novel has been rebroadcast around 3,000 times.
　　不过，快乐或许总是与回忆相伴。《西游记》电视剧改编自16世纪的经典奇幻小说，据估计，该剧已转播约3000次。

　　In a child’s mind in China, whenever its theme song plays on a TV channel, it means that the summer vacations have begun. For generations of TV viewers in China, Zhang is "the" Monkey King.
　　在中国，电视里《西游记》的主题曲响起，对孩子来说就意味着暑假的到来。对几代电视观众而言，六小龄童才是真正的美猴王。

　　"Several foreign friends have told me that they were astonished to find that every Chinese has the same answer when asked who Sun Wukong is," he says, despite not being the only one to play the role. "This is because when asked who James Bond is, they give you different answers, ranging from Pierce Brosnan to Roger Moore."
　　“一些外国朋友告诉我，当问及中国人谁是孙悟空时，他们惊奇地发现，每个人的答案都是相同的”，他说道，虽然他并不是唯一饰演孙悟空的演员。“这是因为，当问及谁是詹姆斯·邦德时，你会听到不一样的答案，从演员皮尔斯·布鲁斯南到罗杰·摩尔。”

　　Despite being so closely identified with Sun Wukong on screen, Zhang also has other reasons to be proud.
　　虽然被认定是荧幕上的经典孙悟空，除此之外，还有令六小龄童感到骄傲的地方。

　　As a fourth-generation monkey opera performer in his family, the man born in Shanghai felt it was natural for him to step onto the stage though he never really considered taking over his father’s role as the Monkey King, especially as he is the youngest of 11 siblings.
　　作为猴王世家京剧表演的第四代传承人，出生在上海，章天莱觉得自己走上舞台是自然而然的事，但他从来没有想到自己会继承父亲的衣钵成为新一代美猴王，尤其是，他是章家11个兄弟姐妹中最小的那个。

　　Zhang’s father, a veteran opera performer, was called Liu Ling Tong (meaning a 6-year-old child in Chinese). He was called that as he first had to memorize his lines as the Monkey King at that age. His father won nationwide acclaim in a 1962 film adapted from Journey to the West.
　　六小龄童的父亲是资深京剧演员，艺名六龄童（意思是6岁的小孩），这样叫是因为作为美猴王第一次在舞台上记台词的时候正是他六岁那年。他的父亲在1962年电影版《西游记》中在全国获得一致好评。

　　"My great-grandfather also performed the monkey opera in the fields more than a century ago. My grandfather moved the performances to the opera stage, and my father took it to the big screen," Zhang says, turning emotional as he recalls his family’s links with the Monkey King.
　　“在100年多前，我的曾祖父在田间表演猴戏，后来我的祖父将猴戏表演搬上京剧舞台，再后来我父亲又将猴戏表演搬上荧屏”，六小龄童在回忆起家族和猴王的渊源时不禁动情。

　　Liu Ling Tong’s second son was once considered his "successor" as Monkey King, but he passed away at 16 due to leukemia.
　　六龄童的二儿子被一度认为是猴王的接班人，但在16岁那年二儿子因白血病去世。

　　"I once asked my sick brother: ’How can I see you again?’ And his answer was: ’When you become the Monkey King, you can see me.’ Sometimes, a simple sentence can change your life."
　　“我曾经问我病重的二哥：‘我怎样才能再见到你？’二哥回答道：‘你成为猴王那天，你就能见到我了’有时，一句简单的话就能改变你的一生”。

　　Zhang was greatly encouraged by his brother’s words, and the iconic 1986 TV series was his chance.
　　六小龄童被二哥的话深深激励，1986年标志性的《西游记》电视剧就成了他的机会。

　　There were once more than 20 monkeys being raised in Zhang’s home. "In a family with more monkeys than people, you can imagine how I was nurtured," he says half-jokingly.
　　章家曾经养过20多只猴子。“在一个猴子比人还多的家庭，你可以想象得到我是如何长大的，”他半开玩笑的说道。

　　Zhang, who suffered from myopia and had very little performance experience, started his training by living with a monkey to learn everything about it, especially to mimic its eye movements.
　　但是，六小龄童患有近视，而且也没有什么表演经验，为了训练，他开始和猴子生活，学习猴子的一举一动，一颦一簇，尤其是注意模仿猴子的眼神。

　　"Finally, I brought Sun Wukong to TV. Performing styles may evolve but certain things remain the same," he says. "A 1986 TV series may be not be great in terms of technology, but I guess the reason it is still popular among kids today is that it reflects Chinese life."
　　“最终，我把孙悟空带上荧屏，表演风格可能会改变但有些事情不会变。1986版的电视剧在技术层面可能不是很成熟，但我想它至今仍受孩子们喜爱的原因是它反映了中国人的生活面貌。”

　　For Zhang, Sun Wukong’s story represents a grassroots hero’s progress as a result of his perseverance and personal struggle. With its encouragement of teamwork and optimism, it is easy for the story to find resonance with the younger generation today.
　　对于六小龄童而言，孙悟空的故事代表了经过自己的坚持和奋斗成为草根英雄的历练过程。团队的鼓励和乐观的精神，引起当代年轻人的共鸣。

　　Nevertheless, he decries the adjustments made to the original storyline in recent screen productions based on Journey to the West to match modern aesthetics.
　　不过，他谴责了最近为迎合现代美学而新上荧屏的《西游记》改编版本。

　　"What I’m afraid of most is that kids today will ask me why Sun Wukong doesn’t have a girlfriend," he says, smiling with a slightly embarrassed look. "No matter how Journey to the West is presented, a line has to be drawn: The heroes should be clearly distinguishable from the monsters." Zhang says he cannot bear to see some adapted versions that even have a monster lover for Sun Wukong.
　　“我最担心的是，现在的孩子问我，为什么孙悟空没有女朋友，”他面露尴尬地说道。 “无论《西游记》以何种形式呈现，有一点必须明确：英雄应该和妖怪区分开。”六小龄童说他无法忍受有些版本把孙悟空描绘成妖怪。

　　"When you don’t spend enough time understanding Sun Wukong’s spirit and the original image, how can you be called creative?" he asks expressing sadness about the tendency to stray from the basics.
　　“如果你不花时间精力悟透孙悟空的精神面貌和原著中的形象，你的作品怎么能称得上创意？”他对现在背离原著的作品面露悲伤。

　　Speaking of the future, Zhang is concerned about who will follow him because he has no son, and only has a daughter. However, he is open-minded about finding a suitable candidate to take over. "The monkey opera is not surnamed Zhang. It belongs to humanity," he says. "The new Monkey King has to be smart, interested in traditional Chinese culture. And, well, he cannot be too fat."
　　谈到未来的接班人他表示担忧，六小龄童只有女儿没有儿子，但是他很乐观开放，认为会找到合适的接班人。“猴戏不姓章，它属于全人类。”他说道，“新一代的猴王应该聪明，对中国传统文化感兴趣，当然，他也不能太胖。”

　　So, when he recently worked with beverage giant Pepsi to release a six-minute micro film, which is also an advertisement, he received mixed feedback, especially as he has not done domestic commercial advertisements for many years now.
　　因此，最近他和饮料巨头百事合作产出一部6分钟的微电影，同时也是百事广告，反馈褒贬不一，尤其是在多年没有出现在国内商业广告中的情况下。

　　But Zhang is not perturbed: “We always talk about ’letting Chinese culture go abroad’, but that should not remain only a slogan. We need to abandon a narrow vision and embrace efforts aimed at promoting Chinese culture.”
　　但是六小龄童并没有受到干扰，“我们总是谈论说让中国文化走出去，但这不应该只是一句口号。我们需要抛弃狭隘的视野，努力推广中国文化。”

　　This may also explain why he decided in 2015 to cooperate with Paramount Pictures to create a blockbuster based on Journey to the West. Though the film was originally planned to be released this year to mark the Year of the Monkey, it has been delayed, he says."I will perform Sun Wukong again," he says, his eyes filling up with excitement. "We will use the best special effects from Hollywood, but there is something that cannot be replaced by technology－the Monkey King’s eyesight."As a hero for the Chinese, the Monkey King deserves a position like Spiderman or Superman. It’s time to make another classic－just like what we did 30 years ago."
　　这也是他在2015年决定与派拉蒙影业公司合作拍摄《西游记》大片的原因。虽然为纪念2016年猴年电影原计划在今年上映，但还是推迟了。“我会再次饰演孙悟空”，他眼光闪烁，激动地说道，“我们会利用好莱坞最好的特效，但有一点技术是无法取代的——那就是美猴王的眼神。作为中国的英雄人物，美猴王理应拥有和蜘蛛侠、超人一样的地位，是时候塑造经典了——正如30年前一样。”
（来源：爱语吧双语新闻）