Below are three English translations of Feng ZiKai’s “Ami”.

The first is my best attempt at

translating this short Chinese essay in the most literal way possible, the second is Google translate’s
attempt at translating it, and the third is a best attempt at a “neutral” translation — a translation
that is neither too personalized nor awkward.
The difficulty of translation, and especially the incompatibility of languages on a
fundamental level due to syntactical and cultural differences, has always fascinated me. With how
much Google translate is able to do, it is slightly comforting to look at and deconstruct the
mistakes that Google translate makes while attempting to translate some beautiful Chinese prose.
This difficulty of language is heightened in this era where everyone has a personal lexicon
for the quick communication that happens in texting, where something like the usage of a capital
letter is indicative of quite drastic change in tone. The need to think about the modes of
communication itself becomes more pressing and important.
My translation in no way does the original Chinese essay justice — much of the flow and
rhythm of Feng ZiKai’s Chinese is lost in my translation, but hopefully there are some merits.
 My attempt

Ami 1 is a white kitten2. Fifteen years ago I wrote for my3 big white cat “white elephant”4.
After “white elephant” died I 5 had an orange6 cat, but I did not write an essay7 for him. With Ami
now here, it almost feels necessary to write. Already during the era of the orange cat I had this
thought, to write again for cats. But these kinds of essays hold no benefit for this world8 — it really
doesn’t matter whether or not I write them. When my9 orange cat died premature, my urge then
gradually dwindled. Only recently when a friend gifted Ami, did the thought resurface, and is now
unable to be repressed. Thus I took up the pen, and really stopped worrying about the benefits for
the world.
Ami’s father is Chinese, its10 mother foreign. Thus Ami’s fur is quite long, a little like a
rabbit’s. I think, because of the mother, it is quite feisty. Other than sleep, can you believe it,11 it
does not rest for one moment. Should there be anything on the floor, it becomes Ami’s 12 playmate,
going on for hours and hours13. Should anyone14 pay it any attention, it would use posture to

1 The name 阿 , which could phonetically translate into “Ami” or “Amy”, is in fact not a Chinese translation of those
names. 阿 is a diminutive prefix, kind of similar to -boy in English. , pronounced “mi”, is one of the many
onomatopoeic characters for cats.
2 The original Chinese is a lot more declarative, being closer to “This creature named Ami — a white kitten is he”. This
translation, however, is way too silly in English. A translation that carries over the declarative yet still playful mood would
be incredibly unfaithful to the original.

3 I inserted the possessive. As will be seen later, Chinese allows from much nominal freedom.

4 A name like “white elephant”,白象,is much more common in Chinese than many romance languages, though names in
romance languages that have etymological significance are also not uncommon, such as “Amanda” (she to be loved).

5It is possible and often artful for a sentence in Chinese to lack a subject, in which case a general second-person
pronoun or indefinite pronoun would accurately conveys the sense and the generality of the sentence. There are also
cases, however, where one simply has to infer the pronoun from context. Here I supplied the “I”.

6 The original has “yellow”, which is the more common substitute for orange in Chinese when describing orange colors.

7The essay in East Asian traditions is quite different from the Western essai, “to try”. The East Asian essay is much more
meditational, not so much seeking to prove a point as to simply jot down one’s thoughts, like a diary entry.

8 There is no good translation for 世道人心, both for the phrase and for the cultural context behind its usage here. The
literal translation is “the ways/laws of the world and the heart of humankind”, but the translation more fitting in severity
is simply “purpose”. The phrase itself, a chengyu, is a common Chinese idiomatic construction. Chengyus are four-
charactered phrases that sometimes have a background story. They are very, very common in the language.

9 Possessive mine.
10 In Chinese and especially pre-modern literature, the neuter pronoun is almost used exclusively for animals. I am trying
to preserve that here, but the essay also never reveals Ami’s sex.

11 Chinese has many nuanced particles that convey tone that are difficult to translate without supplying a whole
interjection. Here, 竟 indicates a sense of reversal of expectation.

12 I supplied the proper noun in place of the original’s “it” because of the confusion of subject.

13 The chengyu 百玩不厌 literally translates to “not hated even after a hundred times of playing”. Not the most elegant.

14The Chinese pronoun here is not indefinite, but instead is the noun “man”. In Chinese, any noun without an article has
an indefinite nature.
replace language, interacting endlessly15 with you. Then, even if you have matters to attend, you
would have to put it aside, and play with it a little16 ; then, even if you were wrought with worries,
you would naturally forget all about them, a smile to slowly open up on your face17. When crying
children see Ami, they would break their tears with laughter.
Normally in my household there are only four adults and half a child. 18 The half-child is
my daughter’s goddaughter, living next doors, spending three days every week there and four here,
but always goes to school in the morning.
Thus, my house is generally quiet in the mornings;19 those who write would write, those
doing chores would do chores, making not a sound,20 sometimes feeling like an abbey. Ever since
Ami came, suddenly the house became full of energy.21 Often talk or chastisement would come
from the maid, the addressee being, of course,22 Ami. Often unfamiliar chatter and laughter23
would come from the rooms, being the mailman or delivery man admiring Ami. Among the guests,
the mailman and deliveryman used to be24 the most boring ones, often leaving as soon as the
things are delivered, rarely opening their mouths. Ever since the house had Ami, these guests
became much more endearing. Often they would ask this and that because of the cat, full of
chatter and laughter, unwilling to leave even after delivering the mail.
Among the visitors, some were very dull. They were often here for public or private
matters, or out of politeness, the conversations sometimes overly serious, sometimes too much,
sometimes void and boring, and after finishing talk of the weather25 there could only be awkward
silence. Yet, once Ami came, our conversations had little interludes, had adjustments, making both
host and guest more comfortable. There was this guest coming for serious matters who 26 saw Ami
sauntering towards us while we were in conversation, and thus his attention was diverted, unable
to keep up with the conversation, not even answering my questions to him. Another guest was
telling me of quite a tricky problem, the speech long and winded, tolling even for the listener. In
the middle of our conversation, Ami hopped and jumped here, and obliviously lied down in front

15 The chengyu 大打交道 is used emphatically in a way that would be unnatural in English — the idea here is “interact
furiously”, pertaining to a nagging nature.

16 The verb here is 应酬, which means “to commit a social interaction unwillingly”. There are many phrases in English
that convey similar ideas but nothing so succinctly.
17 Here I supplied the “you”.

18 The phrase “half a child” is purely humorous, and makes more sense in Chinese.

19 In Chinese the punctuation here is a comma. Asyndetic clauses are perfectly acceptable in Chinese grammar.

20 In Chinese this chengyu, 肃静无声, is adverbial. Chengyus are generally grammatically flexible, varying case by case.
21In Chinese there is no tense, only aspect. So far I have been supplying tenses to all the verbs. The perfective aspect
particle, 了, is attached here to a verbless clause, but the implied verb is “to become”.

22 Another tone particle, 便, indicating fulfillment of expectation or logical process. Cf. note on 7

23 The chatter and laughter of strangers. 笑谈, “chatter and laughter”, is a common phrase in Chinese.

24There no tense in Chinese, and here no temporal adverb or particle is supplied, but from context it is quite clear that
this is past.

25 Truly a universal filler conversation everywhere in the world.

26There are, no relative constructions in Chinese, and I have been trying to avoid them as much as possible, but here
things would get way too awkward or unfaithful to the original.
of me. The guest, until now complaining, suddenly turned his anger into joy,27 stopped his queries,
and praised: “this cat is so interesting!”, and proceeds to admire it, pet it, giving a chance to rest
and relax. One guest brought a child here. As we were talking, the child was uninterested, sitting,
bored, on the side. My home then didn’t have a little host to play with the little guest28. I was
apologizing, when suddenly Ami popped out from under the sofa and clang to my leg. Thus the
big and little29 guests all admired Ami together. The three, together in spirit.30
Afterwards, I take on the big guests and Ami takes on the little ones31, and I, the host, am at
ease. It turns out that children love cats the most, not tiring even after playing around with them for
half a day32; willing, even if they would bleed from the clawing of the cat. It’s because they have
something in common: lively, prone to move33. Girls love cats even more, teasing them, playing
with them, carrying them, feeding them, never to complain. It’s because they have something in
common: endearing and close 34.
Now, having written up to this point, I’m beginning to think of the orange cat that passed
away. The cat was named “uncle cat”. In my hometown, “uncle” was not always a respectful
term.35 We called ghosts “uncle ghosts”, called thieves “uncle thieves”. Thus, why not call the cat
“uncle cat”. Basically, anything that catches attention by being special, we can sarcastically call
them “uncle”. This cat, indeed, catches attention by being special. My daughter loved it the most.
Sometimes, she would be writing, when “uncle cat” would suddenly jump onto the desk, facing
her, and properly sit on top of the draft papers. She did not have the heart to drive it away36, so she
dropped her pen, and played with it a little. Sometimes it would curl up its body, and, just like
that37, fall asleep on top of the draft papers, its body like a pile of cow dung38, fitting neatly the
size of a piece of draft paper. One day, a rare guest came. I straightened my sleeves and sat
properly39, and focused on facing the guest. “I’ve long admired you.” “You are too polite” 40, a little
like acting a show. Suddenly, “uncle cat” jumped up the low table, sniffed the guest’s sleeves.

27This phrase, and the general construction “turn __ into __”, no matter with what the blanks are filled, is incredibly
common in Chinese.

28 Referring to the child. Using the idea of parallelism and balance is common in Chinese culture.

29 Calling back to the initial referral to the child as the “little guest”.

30 This is more natural in Chinese.

31 Referring again to the children.

32 Colloquial, meaning an extended period of time,

33 Another chengyu, translated quite literally.

34Another chengyu, harder to translate literally as each character is loaded with meaning. It comes down to a mixture of
“clingy, close, loving to the point of stupidity, endearing”.

35There is a heavy patriarchal and generational hierarchy in China. Thus, acknowledging someone as your senior would
usually indicate quite a bit of respect.
36Sentences in Chinese can also make do without an object, even with words that "feel more transitive”. Here I supplied
the “it”.

37 Another tone particle, 就, indicating either the following of expectation or an ironic reversal thereof.

38 Really what the original says.

39 A colloquial chengyu.

40rough translations of vernacular greetings — in the Chinese both phrases are repeated twice, as is common in
conversation.
 I thought it was too improper, wanting to drive it away.41 The guest, however, stroke down
its fur, and praised: “What a great cat!” The conversation turned to the cat, the nervous act turned
into pleasant small-talk. Then, I picked up “uncle cat” and placed it on the ground, hoping it
would leave, so that we can finish acting this scene. But who would guess, after a while, suddenly
“uncle cat” jumped onto the back of the sofa, swiftly climbed up the guest’s back, and sat properly
there on top of his nape! This guest was rather buff, his back a little bent, so, as he drank his tea,
“uncle cat” thought that it was a little mountain slope, and climbed it with great difficulty 42. Now, I
saw on top of the guest’s heavenly-blessed beautiful face, a peeping, handsome cat — it looks so
great in a drawing! I used an owner’s tone to chastise the impoliteness of “uncle cat”, and picked
myself up to catch it. But the guest waved his hand to signal a stop, lowered his head, and
flattened the mound, so that “uncle cat” could sit more comfortably. This is fine too, why should I
be the owner there to kill the scene? Thus the host and guest grow closer, the connection deepens
another step.
Thus you can tell 43 that cats are liked universally by all.44 The cuteness of cats can be said
to be mob opinion. Yet, in reality, as shown above, cats can transform silence into energy, boredom
into joy, worries into laughter; cats can help people treat each other with more kindness,45 unite
people. Even if it46 does not hunt rats, it has contribution towards human life.47 Then, today, as I
write this sketch for cats — it shouldn’t be such a big deal, right? Uncle cat lived for four years and
died young. This Ami is only three months into its youth. I48 hope it lives long and prosper49, like
the old cat of my hometown, living50 until eighteen. This old cat is my father’s loved thing. When
father drinks, it would always sit there next to the alcohol bottle. My father would always pick out
some dried bean curds to feed it51. These are matters sixty years ago 52, still clear today.

41 The original is an asyndetic construction, but has the more rushed and hierarchal nature of a participial phrase.

42 The original Chinese, 爬上去很不吃力, is a side authorial comment that is common in Chinese prose depicting
another object in which the author will directly state the experience of the observed, almost like an omnipotent third
person narrator. The Chinese here actually also literally translates to “climbed it with not great difficulty”, but in Chinese
both the negative and the positive, coming after an intensifier, indicates the positive (the logic being that to be “very not
something” is the same as “not something”, and therefore the “very not” construction takes on a litotic nature).
43 Another supplied subject.
44The tautology here is tame compared to the original, which specifies that men, women, seniors, youth, all mankind,
and everyone likes cats.

45This whole phrase is much more succinct in Chinese, literally “help people kind/kindness”. In Chinese the causation
needs not be specified.

46 Supplied subject.

47 The phrase “human life” in Chinese is much more universal, often about life in general.
48 Supplied subject.

49 This common Star Trek phrase is actually a very accurate and literal translation of the chengyu 长寿健康.

50 Another asyndetic construction that is better translated participially.

51 In Chinese, a subject can take multiple verbs in one clause, called a SVC (Serial Verb Construction). Often this
translates well into an infinitive of purpose. In Chinese, the more literal translation would be “he picked out some dried
bean curds (+) fed it”. A conjunction would also work, but often the verbs are connected causally.

52 This sentence has no verb — I supplied “to be”.

 Google translate:

Amami1, small white cat too2. Fifteen years ago I wrote for the white cat3 "White Elephant".
After the death of the white elephant4, he 5 once raised a yellow cat and did not write 6 for it. The
recent arrival of this Ami7 is almost impossible to write 8. I felt as though I was in the Yellow9 Cat
era and wanted to portray the cat10 again. But to read such an article is not conducive to the hearts
of the people of the world11. After the yellow cat died in a short life12, he13 wrote the text and
dismissed it14. Until recently, someone sent me this Ami. It was impossible to stop it.15 It is also
true that the life of the world is not taken care of.16
The father of Ami is a Chinese cat and the mother is a foreign cat.17 Therefore, Ami Mao18
is very long, like a rabbit. I would like to continue my mother’s education.19 My attitude is very
lively. I have no rest except for sleeping.20 If there is something on the ground, it is its game partner

1 I have no idea what happened here.

2 The usage of declarative particle 也 is misinterpreted as the particle’s other function, a focusing adverb.
3 The adjective “big” got ignored here.

4 The proper noun is not recognized by Google translate.

5Google translate is confused! The lack of a subject made Google take up the nearest noun, “white elephant”, or
defaulted simply to a third person.

6The verb both here and in the previous sentence that Google translated as “write” is actually more precise in Chinese.
写文 means “write something literary”, generally resorting to the essay.
7 This sentence, up until now, as actually much more faithful to the original than my translation.
8 The Chinese actually says “impossible to not write”.

9 Note Google being unable to realize that there are no yellow cats.

10Grammatically, “portray” did not take “cat” as its direct object in the Chinese. Google interpreting it this way is
certainly intriguing.

11Again, more faithful than my translation, but makes less sense. It is the lack of benefit that is more emphasized in the
Chinese, with no mention of any potential harm. Or perhaps it is just the connotation of “not conducive”.
12 Makes no sense here.

13 Confusion of subject.

14I can’t actually come up with a logical explanation to this translational blunder. There is no other way to
grammatically interpret the Chinese than “[my]/the urge [to write] dwindled”.

15Some scary interpretive process happened here that shrunk three clauses down to two. The vagueness of the
arguments of the verbs in the original Chinese sure confused Google translate, though.
16 Hahahahaha what

17 I was more faithful in my sentence construction to the original.

18 Ahahahahahah “Mao” is “fur” in Chinese, but for some reason Google translate decided to take it as Ami’s last name.

19 This sentence is a little archaic in Chinese, and lacks subject, so I’m forgiving Google on this one.

20 All lost, confused subjects.

and it is a hundred players.21 If one looks at it, it uses gestures instead of words to deal22 with you.
At this time, even if you have something to worry about, you have to open it for a while and
entertain with it. 23 Even if you are upset and remorse,24 you will forget everything and smile. When
the crying child25 saw Ami, he would break into laughter. 26
My family has only four adults and half children27 on weekdays. Half a child28 is the
daughter of my daughter, who lives next door. He stays at home every Wednesday and stays here
for four days, but he always attends school during the day.29
Therefore, my family is often lonely, writing in writing, doing household chores, 30 quiet,
and sometimes it is like a monastery. Since Amy had been, 31 she32 was suddenly bustling. In the
kitchen there are often voices or buzzes from the nanny. The object is Ami.33 There was often a
strange chatter in the room.34 The messenger or postman was 35 enjoying Ami. Among the visitors,
the messengers and postmen were boring,36 and they often left letters and they rarely talked. Since
Amy had been at home, these guests have been much more intimate. Often asked by the cat37 and
asked questions, talking and laughing, sent a letter or stay with it.38

21 First chengyu blunder.

22 Interestingly Google de-intensified the chengyu.

23 Here Google translate is confused by both the lack of object and the fact of the neuter pronoun refers to the cat.
24 i am remorse

25 The Chinese original has no article or number, and an indefinite article or plural would definitely be a much better
translation here.

26 An idiom I forgot existed.

27 half children sounds like some kind of demonic breed

28 Now, where a definite article definitely needs to be used, Google supplies none.

29Forgot this footnote on my own translation: this sentence is asyndetic, and Google seems to like breaking those into
separate sentences. Then a subject blunder occurred, and it seems that Google takes third person masculine as the
default.

30 Big blunder here.

31 The Chinese does not translate into this whatsoever.

32 Subject blunder.
33 The tone particle is completely removed.

The Chinese does translate to “strange chatter”, but these words have different connotations in English. “Strange” here
34

means “pertaining to strangers”.

35 Tense blunder.

36 The superlative was deleted for no good reason.

37 The prepositional particle 因 never indicates agent of a passive verb — it is always a causal particle. Google made a
mistake here.

38 Another misusage of particle meanings. 还 can both mean “still” and “or”.
 Among the visitors, some are also boring. They are coming39 for business or private affairs
or courtesy. Some of the conversations are serious, some are Su Shi 40 and some are empty and
boring. After talking about the weather, they have to keep silent. However, since the beginning of
Ami, our conversation has had an episode. With adjustments, the guests and guests have been
relaxed.41 There is a serious guest who is talking about it and sees Amami 42 coming in. His
attention is drawn and he can't talk about it. Even I asked him if he would answer. Another guest
described to me a very nerve-racking43 matter. The long and crooked conversation made the
listener even hard.44 In the middle of the conversation, Ami jumped and lay in my stomach for no
reason. When this guest was indignant, he suddenly turned to anger and stopped speaking. He
said, "This cat is very interesting!" Then he admired it, stroked it, and obtained a rest and
adjustment during the film. One guest brought a child. We talk about living (say, it's as it is). The
child is not interested and sits next to him. My family didn’t have a small master to accompany the
little ones at this time. I’m sorry, 45 suddenly Ami got out of the sofa and clung to my feet. Then the
big and small guests shared Ami’s appreciation46 and the three were united.47
Later, I was a big guest, and Ami was entertaining me for a small guest.48 My master was
relieved.49 Originally50, the children loved cats most, and they stayed with them for a long time
and they were not bored; even they were caught with blood and willing. Because they have a
commonality: lively. The girl prefers the cat, teases it, plays it, holds it, feeds it, and does not
complain.51 Because they also have a commonality.52

39 Tense blunder.

40 Hahahahahahahah what? It’s not even phonetically right nobody’s talking about sushi

41 The difficulty of these asyndetic clauses can get to Google sometimes.

42 Amami again. I’m not sure what causes these.

43 Nerve-wracking! That is a great and very faithful translation.

44 hahahahaha phrasing

45 Tense blunder.

46 A different kind of possessive.

47 There really is no good translation for this phrase.

48 hahahahahahahaha

49 hahahahahahahahaha

50 The adverb 原来 could translate as both “originally” or “It turns out that”.

51 I again took the liberty to pluralize “cat” in my own translation”.

52 Google-fu just decided to not translate 娇痴亲昵

 Write53 here, I think back to the late yellow cat. 54 The cat is called Cat Uncle. In our 55
hometown, Uncle is not necessarily honorable. We call ghosts "ghosts" 56 and thiefs 57 "critters."58
The cat may also be called "cat uncle." 59 About60 a61 special and eye-catching figure, it's
ridiculously 62 called uncle. This cat is indeed special and eye-catching.63 My daughter likes it the
most. Sometimes she was writing, suddenly Cat's uncle64 jumped up to the desk and faced her,
sitting upright on the manuscript. She could not bear to expel, put down the pen, and play with it
for a while. Sometimes it actually crumbled its body and slept on the manuscript paper. The body
was like a pile of cow dung. It was just filled with a piece of manuscript paper. One day, a rare
guest came. I am sitting in a hurry65 and concentrate on responding. 66 "Living for a long time,”
"Dare to dare to dare,"67 is like acting.68 Suddenly the cat uncle jumped onto the low table and
sniffed the guest's sleeve.
I feel too abrupt to want to drive it away.69 The guest touched his70 back and praised him:
“This cat is so good!” The head71 turned to the cat, and the nervous drama became a chat with the
music72. Later, I took the uncle and held it on the ground, hoping it would go so that we could
finish this scene. Shortly afterwards, Cat's uncle suddenly jumped behind the sofa and quickly
climbed into the back of the honored guest, sitting on his neck with his right end. The guests were

53 The Chinese is actually in the perfective, so this translation is not valid.

54 Much more elegant than mine.

55The plural of the original Chinese is much more casual — it’s very common to modify any noun with familial attribute
with the plural.

56 The nuance is completely lost.

57 Google does not know how to spell thieves

58 The Chinese is actually just “uncle thief”.
59 The modal tone here is captured, but the Chinese has more of a “why not” sense.

60 The word 大约 translates to both “about” and “basically”.

61 There is no article in the Chinese, but from context it is pretty evident that the subject is an indefinite pronoun.

62 “Sarcastically” is more accurate here.

63 The original presents a causal effect between “special” and “eye-catching” that may not be immediately apparent.

64 The “uncle cat”.

65 Not quite sure that is possible

66 Another tense blunder

67 Not quite what these phrases mean

68 The lack of subject confused Google again

69 There is no grammatical justification for this translation.

70 The Chinese pronoun object is neuter here.

71 The Chinese word is 话头, literally “head of conversation”, or the direction of conversation.

72 The “music” might have came from the word 和乐, or harmonious, but could also mean “with music”.
extremely burly and sturdy, and their 73 backs were somewhat hunchback. When they were sitting
and drinking tea, the cat uncle seemed to be74 a small hill. It was very difficult to climb up. At this
time, I saw the top of the courtesy blessed face of heavenly officials75 revealing a majestic cat's
head. In my76 master's tone, I scolded the uncle of the cat uncle, and stood up to catch the cat. But
the guest shook his hand to stop, lowered his head, and flattened the hillside, allowing the cat
uncle to sit comfortably. This is so good. Why should I be the master of killing the landscape? As a
result, the host-guest relationship became intimate and the friendship deepened.

The77

It is known that 78 cats are animals that are loved by all people, men, women and children.
The cuteness of cats can be said to be the opinions of the masses. In fact, as mentioned above, cats
can indeed turn solitude into buzz,79 change boring into fun, turn to grief as laughter; help others
be kind80 and teach people to unite. Even if you do not catch rats, you have merit in life. So I'm
portraying a cat today. The cat uncle was four years old and died short of life. This Ami youth is still
only three months. I hope it will live long and healthy. Like my old cat, I 81 live to be 18 years old.
This old cat is the love of my father. When his father was late, it always sat by the jug. His82 father
often picks some tofu to feed it. What happened sixty years ago is something that is happening
today.83

73 Number confusion.

74 Voice in Chinese can be quite ambiguous, and so Google confused the passive for the active here.
75 hahahahahaha

76 The insertion of the possessive here is interesting.

77 sic. But also ???????????

78 Google took the other valid method of constructing this sentence.

79 “buzz” is quite nice here.

80 Another possible take on this.

81 Subject blunder.

82 Another random possessive.

83 The translation is more along the lines of “I can still see it clearly today.”
 Ami

Ami, the white kitten. Fifteen years ago I wrote for my white cat “white elephant”. After his
death, I had another orange cat but did not write an essay for him. With the recent arrival of Ami,
however, I feel like I would almost have to write something. Even during the times of the orange
cat, I had this thought, to write again about cats — but these kinds of essays hold no greater
purpose, so really what use is it to write them? After the yellow cat died prematurely, my drive to
write dwindled. Only recently, when someone sent me this Ami, did the thought resurface, and it
became impossible to suppress it. Thus moves the pen, and, well, so be it with the greater purpose.
Ami’s father is Chinese, its mother foreign. Thus Ami’s fur is quite long, a little like a
rabbit’s. It is quite feisty, possibly stemming from its mother’s teachings. It really does not rest for a
single moment other than sleep. Should there be anything on the floor, it would become Ami’s
playmate, going on for hours and hours. Should anyone pay it any attention, it would talk with
gestures and play with him. Then, even if you were wrought with worries, you would naturally
forget all about them, a smile to slowly open up on your face. When a crying child see Ami, he
immediately breaks into laughter.
Normally in my household there are only four adults and half a child. The half-child is my
daughter’s goddaughter, living next doors, spending three days every week there and four here, but
she always goes to school in the morning.
Thus, my house is generally quiet in the mornings; those who write would write, those
doing chores would do chores. Silence. Sometimes it feels like an abbey. Ever since Ami came,
suddenly the house livened up. Often I could hear talk or chastisement in the kitchen from the
maid, the addressee being, of course, Ami. Often unfamiliar chatter and laughter would come from
the rooms — the mailman or postman would be admiring Ami. Among the guests, the mailman
and deliveryman used to be the most boring ones, often leaving as soon as the things are delivered,
rarely stopping for conversation. Ever since the house had Ami, these guests became much more
endearing. Often they would ask this and that because of the cat, full of chatter and laughter,
unwilling to leave even after delivering the mail.
Among the visitors, some were also quite dull. They were often here for public or private
affairs, or out of politeness. The conversations were sometimes overly serious, sometimes too
much, sometimes void of content, and after finishing talk of the weather awkward silence would
always arise. Yet, once Ami came, our conversations started to have little interludes and
adjustments, making both of us more comfortable. There was this serious guest who saw Ami
sauntering towards us while we were in conversation, and thus his attention was immediately
drawn. He became unable to keep up with the conversation, not even answering my questions.
Another guest was telling me of quite a rather nerve-racking manner. The conversation was long
and winded, tolling even for the listener. As we were talking, Ami skipped and hopped here, and
obliviously lied down in front of me. The guest, until now complaining, suddenly turned to joy,
stopped his queries, and praised: “this cat is so interesting!”. He proceeded to admire it, pet it,
giving a chance to rest and relax. Another guest brought a child, who, sitting on the side, grew
disinterested as we talked on. The household didn’t have a little host to accompany the little guest.
I was apologizing, when suddenly Ami popped out from under the sofa and clung to my leg. Thus
guests young and old all admired Ami together, finding common ground.
Afterwards, I take on the old guests and Ami takes on the little ones, and I felt more at ease
as the host. It turns out that children love cats the most, not bored even after playing around with
them for hours; they were willing even if they bled from the clawing of the cat. It’s because they
have a commonality: both lively, prone to move. Girls love cats even more, teasing them, playing
with them, carrying them, feeding them, never to complain. It’s because they have also have a
commonality: both endearing, close.
Now, having written up to this point, I’m beginning to think of the late orange cat. The cat
was called “uncle cat”. In my hometown, “uncle” was not always a respectful term. We called
ghosts “uncle ghosts” and called thieves “uncle thieves”. Thus, why not “uncle cat”? Basically, we
sarcastically call anything that seeks attention uncle”. This cat, indeed, catches attention. My
daughter loved it the most. Sometimes, she would be writing when “uncle cat” would suddenly
jump onto the desk, facing her, and properly sit on top of the draft papers. She did not have the
heart to drive it away, so she dropped her pen, and played with it a little. Sometimes it would curl
up its body, and, just like that, fall asleep on top of the draft papers, its body like a pile of cow
dung, fitting neatly the size of a piece of draft paper. One day, a rare guest came. I sat rather stiffly,
and focused on the guest. “I’ve long admired you.” “You are too polite”, all like an act. Suddenly,
“uncle cat” jumped up the low table and sniffed the guest’s sleeves.
I thought it was too improper, wanting to drive it away. The guest, however, stroke its fur,
and praised: “What a great cat!” The conversation turned to the cat, the nervous act turned into
pleasant small-talk. Then, I picked up “uncle cat” and placed it on the ground, hoping it would
leave, so that we can finish acting this scene. But who would have guessed — after a while,
suddenly “uncle cat” jumped onto the back of the sofa, swiftly climbed up the guest’s back, and
sat properly there on top of his nape! The guest was rather buff, his back a little bent, so, as he
drank his tea, “uncle cat” thought that it was a little mountain slope, and climbed it with great
difficulty. Then, the top of the guest’s heavenly-blessed beautiful face, peeped a majestic cat — it
looked so great in drawing! I used an owner’s tone to chastise the impoliteness of “uncle cat”, and
picked myself up to catch it. But the guest waved his hand to signal a stop, lowered his head, and
flattened the mound, so that “uncle cat” could sit more comfortably. This is fine too, why should I
be the owner there to kill the scene? Thus the host and guest grow closer, the connection deepens
another step.
Thus you can tell that cats are liked universally by all. The cuteness of cats can be said to
be mob opinion. Yet, in reality, as shown above, cats can transform solitude into buzz, boredom
into joy, worries into laughter; cats can teach people kindness, unite them. Even if it does not hunt
rats, it has its merits. Then, today, as I write this sketch for cats — it shouldn’t be such a big deal,
right? Uncle cat lived for four years and died young. This Ami is only three months into its youth. I
hope it lives long and prosper like the old cat of my hometown, living until eighteen. This old cat is
my father’s loved thing. When father drinks, it would always sit there next to the alcohol bottle. My
father would always pick out some dried bean curds to feed it. These matters sixty years ago are
still clear as day even now.