As Harry Potter fans around the world celebrate what many see as the eighth installment of the classic series, multitudes of Chinese readers have faced a big decision: wait for the book's scheduled China release on Oct. 29 or buy a pirated version on Taobao.
当世界各地的《哈利波特》迷,为很多人视为经典的该系列第八部图书而欢呼雀跃的时候,很多中国读者却面临着一个重大的决定:是等待在10月29日发布的中文预售版,还是在淘宝上购买盗版。
Indeed, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is already available on e-commerce giant Taobao.com, with a cover design resembling the English edition, which was released on July 31.
在电子商务巨头淘宝网站上,现在确实已经可以买到《哈利波特与被诅咒的孩子》了,其封面设计与于7月31日发售的英文版很相似。
The pirated Chinese edition lists the book's official Chinese publisher, People's Literature Publishing House, and credits the series' official Chinese translators, Ma Ainong and Ma Aixin.
这些盗版的中文图书中标注了该书的中国官方出版社--人民文学出版社,并以该系列的中国官方译者马爱农与马爱新署名。
While the publisher reportedly ordered Taobao to remove the pirated books being sold by 54 stores, many more could still be found as of press time.
据报道,虽然出版社责令淘宝网删除54家商店出售的盗版图书,但是截至记者发稿时,仍然可以在该网站上看到很多盗版图书。
A number of the stores offered exclusive early sales incentives with delicate packaging and limited editions. Some even came with gifts like Hogwarts bookmarks and stationary.
很多商家提供了包装精美、限量版、国内独家首发的宣传语。有些甚至还附赠像霍格沃茨书签和文具之类的礼物。
The books are mostly priced between 28 and 78 RMB. The sellers are largely based in Shanghai and Guangdong. Some top sellers claim to have sold more than 1,000 pirated books.
这些盗版书大多售价在28到78元之间。卖家主要是来自在上海和广东。一些畅销卖家声称已售出1000多册盗版图书。
People's Literature Publishing House guessed that the books had been translated by various underground translators after the English version was released, and then hurriedly printed so as to be made available before the official Chinese release.
人民文学出版社猜测,这些盗版书是在英文版发布之后,经由各种地下译者翻译,再匆匆印制,赶在官方中国版发布之前出售的。