The most popular Chinese TV opera series of 2012 would undoubtedly be Legend of Zhen Huan, which depicts a fictional power struggle between the concubines of an emperor during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The red hot TV drama not only swept the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and some Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, but it is now marching into the US market.
2012年国内最火的电视剧毋庸置疑当属《甄嬛传》，该剧虚构了清朝年间妃嫔之间的权利斗争。这股炙手可热的“甄嬛风”不仅风靡了中国内地，更是席卷台湾地区以及新加坡、马来西亚等东南亚国家，而如今该剧正准备进军美国市场。
"It is expected to be broadcast on several US television stations in about six months," said Zheng Xiaolong, director of the show. As a veteran TV director in the country, Zheng`s other works include Desire (1990, Zheng was the producer), A Native of Beijing in New York (1996), and Golden Marriage (2006).
“预计半年内会在美国的几个电视台播出。”该剧导演郑晓龙说。郑晓龙是国内资深的电视剧导演，其作品包括1990年的《渴望》（担任制片人），1996年的《北京人在纽约》以及2006年的《金婚》。
"The US company watched Legend of Zhen Huan with English captions and were satisfied with it," Zheng told the Global Times in a phone interview, but he refused to disclose the name of the US company or the local television stations that will broadcast the show.
“这家美国公司看了配有英文字幕的《甄嬛传》后非常满意。”郑晓龙在接受《环球时报》的电话采访时表示，但是他拒绝透露该公司名称以及该剧将在美国哪家电视台播出。
"They will re-edit the opera into six episodes, each of which will last from 90 minutes to two hours, and some new music will be added," said Zheng.
“他们会把这部剧剪辑成六集，每集时长约一个半到两个小时之间，同时会加入一些新的音乐元素。”郑晓龙说。
Legend of Zhen Huan was actually already broadcast in the US last year, but was limited to some local Chinese language television stations, according to Cao Ping, producer of the opera.
该剧制片人曹平称，其实早在去年，《甄嬛传》就已登陆美国，但只是在当地几家华语电视台播出。
"This time we will not be involved in its reproduction by the US company since we are not familiar with the viewing habits of foreign audiences," said Cao.
“这次我们不会参与美方的制作过程，因为我们并不了解国外观众的收视习惯，”曹平说。
It remains to be seen how much a favorite among Chinese viewers will be accepted by foreign audiences.
一部备受中国观众喜爱的电视剧能否被国外观众接受，这还有待观察。
"I have never heard of this opera, and I think most Americans probably will not know or care too much," said Anna Hill, an American who now works for a media company in Beijing.
“我从未听说过这部剧，我想美国人可能不知道也不太关心。”在中国的一家媒体公司工作的美国人安娜•希尔说。
On the website asianfanatics - a professional and comprehensive forum on Asian television shows where foreign audiences gather - discussions and downloads about Legend of Zhen Huan are few. But some who already watch the show have recommended it on the forum.
在外国剧迷扎堆的专业亚洲影视综合论坛asianfanatics上，几乎找不到关于《甄嬛传》的讨论小组以及下载链接。但一些看过的人在论坛上推荐过该剧。
"(It was) very popular in the Chinese mainland in 2012. Very worth watching, although it is historically inaccurate," said Yimi, a member of the forum.
“2012年该剧在中国内地非常受欢迎。尽管与史实有出入，但很值得一看。”该论坛成员Yimis表示。
Export barriers
“甄嬛”赴美之路的障碍
Legend of Zhen Huan faces many hurdles ahead. In the foreign market, Chinese TV dramas may arouse sympathy among some Asian people for their similar cultural background. But for other foreigners with completely different cultural backgrounds, they bring in more strangeness than recognition. Furthermore, the translation may erase some traditional Chinese culture elements and undermine its historic significance.
《甄嬛传》的美国路可谓困难重重。在国外市场，中国电视剧可能因为文化背景相似而引起一些亚洲人的共鸣。但是对于那些来自完全不同文化背景的外国人而言，陌生感要大于认同感。而且，翻译过来的对白可能会丢失掉中国传统文化的元素，削弱了其历史内涵。
In Legend of Zhen Huan, the biting dialogue is a highlight, with some lines having become catchy symbols of the show. For example, "Jian ren jiu shi jiao qing," spoken by the powerful concubine Hua, has become a popular phrase now. In English, it literally means "bitches are hypocrites."
在《甄嬛传》里，一些尖酸刻薄的对白成为亮点，一些台词更是成为该剧的标志。比如，强势的华妃的那句“贱人就是矫情”成为现在的流行语。在英语中，其字面意思是"bitches are hypocrites”。
Limited by its translation, the depth of its original meaning is not understood, and the tones and feelings expressed by the speaker fail to be delivered to the audience.
译文因其局限性并不能充分传递原句的深意，也无法将演员的语调与情感传达给观众。
There are many such examples in Legend of Zhen Huan, especially when it comes to the stories that involve so many different titles in a hierarchical society. "As to titles for different concubines like daying, changzai, pin and fei, maybe they can translate these into modern words, or even simplify them if they are too complicated to translate," said Zui Xiaoqi who has four years of experience captioning for English language operas.
《甄嬛传》中这样的例子还有许多，尤其是遇到不同等级的称谓这一问题时。“妃嫔按等级分为答应、常在、嫔、妃等，或许它们可以被翻译成现代词语，如果太复杂难以翻译更是会被简化处理。”有四年英文字幕翻译经验的最小齐（音译）说。
"After all, people mostly want to know the stories, and it`s unrealistic to expect American audiences to understand the rules of the royal family in ancient China through just one TV opera," said Zui.
“毕竟，人们主要是想了解故事情节，而仅仅靠一部电视剧就想让美国观众理解中国古代皇室的规矩，这也是不切实际的。”最小齐说。