Welcome to this slightly unusual Track of Words interview, where rather than chatting to an author, this time I’m talking to translator Nikki Kopelman who has translated Yan Leisheng’s Assassin’s Creed novel The Ming Storm into English for Aconyte Books. First published in Chinese in 2019, The Ming Storm was translated into French in 2020, and now Nikki’s translation (from French into English) is available from Aconyte as a global ebook and US paperback, with the UK paperback edition due in August 2021. I find anything to do with translation fascinating, so I jumped at the chance to speak to Nikki and get her thoughts on the book, on Assassin’s Creed as an IP, and her experience of translating the book into a form that us English speakers can read and enjoy!
First of all, let’s take a quick look at the publisher’s synopsis for The Ming Storm:
China, 16th century. The Assassins are gone. Zhang Yong, the relentless leader of the Eight Tigers, took advantage of the emperor’s death to eliminate all his opponents, and now the Templars hold all the power. Shao Jun, the last representative of her clan, barely escapes death and has no choice but to flee her homeland. Vowing to avenge her former brothers in arms, she travels to Europe to train with the legendary Ezio Auditore. When she returns to the Middle Kingdom, her saber and her determination alone will not be enough to eliminate Zhang Yong: she will have to surround herself with allies and walk in the shadows to defeat the Eight Tigers.
With that done, let’s get on with the interview.
Track of Words: First of all, welcome to Track of Words and thank you for agreeing to an interview! Before we get into the book itself and the process of translation, could you tell us a little bit about yourself, why you decided to work as a translator and how you got started in the industry?
Nikki Kopelman: About me, hmm. I live in London, I’m married, and I’ve got three cats. I enjoy video games, reading, gardening, and travel, though I haven’t had so much chance for the last one recently for obvious reasons!
I didn’t dream of being a translator as a kid, I was into horses. But I started learning French as a young child and was always pretty good with languages. When I was a teenager, I got very interested in Japanese pop culture and video games, and eventually added Japanese to my language tool kit, first learning unofficially through TV and pop culture, later going on to study both French and Japanese at university. Through my teens I got interested in the idea of working for a video game company, and my aim after university was to go and work for one of the ones based in Japan.
I spent a short stint working in France as a language assistant, and later, as it turned out, I spent a year working in Japan on the JET Program as a Coordinator of International Relations (CIR), a sort of cultural guide, interpreter, translator, and point of contact for the local foreign residents in the town where I was placed in Kyoto Prefecture.
Eventually I came back to the UK, spent about a year pottering around at various jobs and translating on the side, before finally taking the plunge and going for it full time as a freelance translator. Not something I would have been able to do if it hadn’t been for the support of my other half I must add. The first few years were a little rocky as I built up experience and references.
Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in a whole variety of interesting projects, ranging from translating games from French to English for the independent game publisher Mi-Clos (love their games!), and other video games for companies large and small (from Japanese as well!) to a book on the discovery of the Laniakea supercluster. I love my job, I really do!
ToW: How did you get involved with Aconyte Books and translating The Ming Storm?
NK: As it happens, I had a friend who knew Aconyte was looking for a translator for a book, and encouraged me to get in touch, knowing I would really enjoy the opportunity to work on the book. Of course, I also had solid experience as a translator to back me up!
ToW: How did you find reading The Ming Storm? Was there anything about it that you particularly enjoyed?
NK: I’m not normally someone who reads tie-in books for series, so picking up this book was really interesting for me. Anyone who has played the Assassin’s Creed games knows about the early years and backstory of the series’ biggest characters such as Ezio Auditore, but the stories of some of the lesser-known characters aren’t always fleshed out in the games. Shao Jun, the protagonist of The Ming Storm, appears in her own game in Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, but that’s the only game where she features in a prominent role.
This book takes an in-depth look at her back story, and penned by such a renowned Chinese writer as Yan Leisheng, it’s a great read. Tie-in books can sometimes feel like an after-thought, but not this one!
Yan Leisheng
I love that we get to find out more about Shao Jun, her motivations, and her history. She is a proud, independent character who is the polar opposite of the simpering women of the harem where she began.
ToW: How would you describe The Ming Storm to someone who you think would be interested to read it?
NK: I’d say that as well as being a great book in its own right, it’s a great way to delve more into the story of one of the lesser-explored characters in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s got action, intrigue, travel and suspense, everything we’ve come to expect from Assassin’s Creed. It also takes Assassin’s Creed to a part of the world which many of us are less familiar with – so there’s lots of surprises in store!
ToW: How familiar were you with Assassin’s Creed, and specifically Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, before you started work on this?
NK: I was already familiar with the earlier Assassin’s Creed games, and it was very helpful having this background information. I love the series for the focus on history and recreating authentic environments, and The Ming Storm continues that approach.
I had never actually played Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China before translating the book, though. Naturally I gave it a go once I started the translation! It’s not the same as the core games in the franchise, but still very enjoyable! I’d love to see a fully-fledged Shao Jun game at some point. Can you imagine how great it would be to see aspects of The Ming Storm played out in full 3D against the backdrop of 16th-century China?
ToW: Speaking of 16th-century China, is that a period of history that you were interested in, or familiar with, beforehand?
NK: History has always been something I’ve been interested in, but I can’t say 16th-century China was something I had specifically looked at before. I’ve learned a lot through doing research for the book, for example about the history of the Xiaoling Mausoleum for Emperor Hongwu. It’s a key venue for parts of the story. It stands in huge contrast to the modern, developed China we see today, and I intend to read up more on Chinese history and mythology in future as a result. I’m hooked!
The Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Image credit: Zhangzhugang, via Wikipedia
ToW: How much prep work do you do before starting on a translation? Do you read the whole book from start to finish and/or do any research, or do you just jump straight into it?
NK: I would love to say I read the whole text/book from start to finish before starting work, but I’d be fibbing. I usually skim the first few chapters to get a feel for where things are going, and then start the initial draft of the translation. For The Ming Storm I tried to find out as much as I could about Shao Jun and the characters in the book before I started, but since this book is a key part of developing her back story, there weren’t as many resources as there are for say, Ezio Auditore of the first Assassin’s Creed games.
I did start researching the Ming dynasty as well, but that covers such a wide number of things and almost 300 years of history, that it wasn’t until I got down to translating properly that I could look up specifics.
ToW: Could you tell us a bit about your working process for translating something like a novel?
NK: After the initial steps I mentioned in my previous answer, I start making an initial draft, chapter by chapter. I research as I go, but sometimes have to pull myself back to avoid going down a rabbit hole when searching for a particular term or looking up a bit of history. Where I can I also try to leave a bit of time before I go back and do an in-depth proofread of the chapter, because a bit of time away makes it easier to spot your own mistakes.
I often spoke to my other half about it as well. I really appreciate him patiently putting up with me asking him if he could think of alternative words or ways of saying things when I was stuck!
ToW: What are your goals when setting out to translate a novel?
NK: Communicating the intended message of the author and doing my best to make sure the final result reads like a text originally written in English rather than as something that is an obvious translation. The mark of success for a good translation is that the reader has no idea the book was translated.
Personally, I also try to keep the original flavour of the text. This book is set in China, so the way they speak and refer to one another is a reflection of that.
Translating isn’t quite like writing from scratch, but it still requires a degree of imagination and getting into the author’s head in a way that’s different from when you’re a reader. I hope I’ve managed to do the author justice!
ToW: You translated this from French into English – do you find that there are specific challenges or interesting obstacles when translating a book that’s already been translated once, so you’re not adapting it from its original language?
NK: Yes, for sure. Many languages, and Chinese is no exception, have language-specific expressions and customs that just don’t translate directly. You’ll notice when you read The Ming Storm that the characters sometimes refer to one another with terms like “big sister” or “uncle” as a sign of respect, or with the prefix “A-“ in the case of one or two characters to show affection. The French translator who translated from the original Chinese made a stylistic choice to keep these, and I agreed and carried it over for the English translation.
The fact that I was translating from a translation also had the added challenge of not always knowing what the source of a quotation was (The Ming Storm quotes a number of classical Chinese texts) or at least not where to find an existing English translation and re-translating it myself instead. I also had times where I wondered if the French translator had chosen to use a particular word or phrase instead of another and had to make a decision of my own whether to translate close to that or instead choose something which captured the essence of the meaning.
ToW: What are the challenges of translating a fantasy novel as opposed to something set in the real world?
NK: Honestly, I’m not sure. I have been an avid reader of fantasy books ever since I was old enough to read, so fantasy books are far more familiar to me than any based in the real world!
The Ming Storm also takes many elements from real-world history, meaning there’s some great reference points I was able to look up. A number of the characters are based on real historical figures. The more fantastical elements of the book (such as Zhang Yong’s experiments) have their roots in Chinese mythology and folklore, which again helped when looking up certain things. I’ve always loved folklore, history, and mythology so I really enjoyed looking these up.
ToW: How about working with an IP like Assassin’s Creed? Does that bring any additional complexities, like figuring out how to translate specific in-universe terms or making sure you’re maintaining the right tone for the IP?
NK: As I mentioned earlier, I’ve actually been a huge Assassin’s Creed fan for years, I’ve played quite a few of the games though my favourites will always be the first three! This probably helped when it comes to knowing the background of the Brotherhood and the Templars.
It’s actually really helpful working on an IP with such a huge fanbase. There are some great websites out there which were a big help when looking up some key items and character names. One thing I struggled with was what to call Shao Jun’s hidden blade in her boot, and her rope dart – they’re not standard Assassin’s Creed items so there wasn’t a huge amount of info out there on them!
ToW: Could you tell us about some of the things you learned while working on this translation?
NK: I’ve learned a lot more about the Ming dynasty for a start! I’ve also learned a bit more about classical Chinese philosophical texts.
I think my favourite part was learning about Wang Yangming, the historical figure the character in the book is based on. I always love seeing how real historical figures can be convincingly woven into fiction, and in my opinion Yan Leisheng has done an excellent job here!
Wang Yangming the historical figure was of course not involved in a shadowy Brotherhood, at least not that we know of! He was one of the founders of the School of Mind, a key school of thought in Neo-Confucianism, and a great scholar and politician. I enjoyed finding out more about him and plan to read up more on him in future.
Wang Yingming (or Wang Shouren), via Wikipedia
I also enjoyed finding out more about some parts of Chinese mythology. It was interesting to find several bits which overlapped with my knowledge of Japanese mythology as well!
ToW: How long did it take you to translate The Ming Storm into English?
NK: This one was a push, I must admit. It took just under 2.5 months to get the first draft in, and then a bit more time for editing by Aconyte.
ToW: Even though there’s more than there used to be, it still doesn’t feel like there’s all that much Chinese science fiction available. How important do you think it is that translated fiction is available and easy to access, particularly in terms of sci-fi?
NK: Very. Science fiction in English is naturally very Western-oriented, so China’s rich history and folklore add a whole new dimension to the genre. Different cultural perspectives also result in different storylines and ideas than might otherwise make it into the typical novel you see on the shelf.
ToW: If anyone would like to know more about the work you do, or keep up with what you’re doing, how can they do that?
NK: I do have a website but it’s in serious need of work, so I’d recommend finding me on Twitter at @Nikki_BonMot which is probably the best place to get hold of me. I’m also on LinkedIn if anyone wants to look me up!
ToW: Finally, if you had to pick one character The Ming Storm as your favourite, who would it be and why?
NK: Obviously I like Shao Jun, what’s not to like?
But my favourite is probably Wang Yangming. He’s got this fantastic balancing act to maintain between politics, being the mentor of the Brotherhood, and holding back Zhang Yong. Things almost come to a head at several points in the book, but somehow he deftly manages to manoeuvre out of them or anticipate his enemy’s plans.
Luo Xiang is also an interesting character for the particular revelation about him in Chapter 13 that I won’t mention here because it’s a spoiler!
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I’d like to say a huge thanks to Nikki for agreeing to get involved with this interview, and for giving such fantastic insights into the process of translating The Ming Storm into English! I don’t know about you, but I loved reading all of these answers, and I’m looking forward to reading The Ming Storm as soon as I can – it’s out now from Aconyte Books!
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