Over recent decades, NHK (Japan broadcasting corporation) has produced thousands of high-quality documentaries. Unlike other renowned documentary producers like BBC and National Geographic, whose works focus more on nature and science, a large portion of NHK’s documentary is about Japan’s neighbor – China. Thousands of years of friendship and decades of feud between the two countries have endowed Japan with a distinctive perspective toward the social, political and economic issues in China. This outsider’s viewpoint, as well as lack of information about China within the country itself due to media censorship, has made these documentaries extremely popular among Chinese younger generations.
While I was learning Japanese, watching subtitled NHK documentaries was one of the most useful tools to practice my listening skills. Therefore, after I passed the highest level of Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), I felt an obligation to return the favor to the community by translating documentaries. I joined the most popular documentary subtitle groups in China, Daolan (literally, Taoist Orchid), and started my journey to help bridging the information gap. During my one-year stay in the group, I collaborated with group members around the world via the Internet and translated 7 feature-length documentaries, which covers the fields of history, science, economics and politics.