Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - gone into oblivion.｜又中又英

Another one bites the dust, this time it's the iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen. It did not sail into the sunset last week. Instead, it sailed to an unknown overseas destination with the aid of tugboats. Many iconic Hong Kong structures with historical value have bitten the dust over the past decades. The beloved Hong Kong side Star Ferry Pier is no more, which means it no longer exists. The historic Queen's Pier in front of City Hall was dismantled to make way for a highway. I still cannot understand why the government dismantled a pier rich with history. Queen Elizabeth II landed there in 1975. Prince Charles and his late wife Diana landed there in 1989. All the British governors also landed at Queen's Pier.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Station near the Kowloon side Star Ferry has also gone into oblivion. In its place is a cultural centre without windows even though it faces one of the world's most beautiful harbours. The expression“bite the dust”has several meanings. As I have explained before, it can mean to fall in a way that your body hits the ground heavily. It can mean to die or to fail. It can also mean something no longer exists, such as Queen’s Pier. To sail into the sunset means to have a happy ending, but the Jumbo Restaurant did not have a happy ending. It bit the dust. If something is rich in history, it means it has a lot of, mostly good, history.

To go into oblivion means to be completely forgotten. It is sad that most Hong Kong people have forgotten the Kowloon-Canton Railway Station. The station has a rich history because train services between Kowloon and Canton, now known as Guangzhou, started in 1910. I am happy the historic King Yin Lei mansion will not bite the dust but I am sure many other iconic historical structures will bite the dust as Hong Kong erases its colonial past.
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又有一个倒下了（another one bites the dust），这次是位于香港仔极具代表性的珍宝海鲜舫。

上星期，它并未驶向圆满的结局（sail into the sunset），而是在拖船的协助下，驶向海外一个不明之目的地。香港许多标志性及具历史价值的建筑，在过去几十年都已一一倒下（bitten the dust）。

人人爱戴的港岛天星码头已是no more——意即它早已不复再；在大会堂前，具历史性的皇后码头亦已拆卸，好让路给高速公路。我迄今依然不能明白，为何政府要拆除这个富有历史意义（rich with history）的码头。一九七五年，英女皇伊利沙伯二世在那里上岸；查理斯王子及其已故的妻子戴安娜，亦于一九八九年在那里上岸。所有英籍港督，也是在皇后码头上岸。

在九龙天星码头附近的九广铁路总站，亦早已湮没，被世人遗忘（gone into oblivion）。遗址现时为没有窗户的文化中心，即使它面向着世上最美的海港之一。习语“bite the dust”有几个意思，正如我以前解释过的，它可以指你倒下时，身体重重地摔在地上；它也可以解作阵亡，又或败下阵来；它亦可以指某事物已不再存在，例如皇后码头。To sail into the sunset是指有一个大团圆结局，但珍宝海鲜舫的结局并不圆满。它已完蛋了（bit the dust）。若某事物是rich in history，意即它有着丰富且大多风光的历史。

To go into oblivion即完完全全被遗忘。大多香港人已忘记了九广铁路的九龙车站，实在令人伤感。

这个车站有着深厚的历史（rich history），因为连接九龙与广州（当时称为Canton，现称Guangzhou）的铁路，于一九一○年开始投入服务。我很高兴有悠久历史的景贤里并未倒下（bite the dust），但我肯定，随着香港要抹掉其殖民时代的过去，其他许多具代表性的历史建筑，将会陆续倒下（bite the dust）。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani褚简宁