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A lady friend asked me what is the English equivalent for the Chinese phrase 女强人 (nǚqiángrén). The literal translation of 女强人 is “strong woman”. Some of the English equivalents I can think of are career woman, superwoman, ambitious woman, strong woman, iron lady, but none of them carries the same essence or connotation as 女强人. The latter was originated from the Hong Kong TVB soap opera named 家变 (the Family Saga) in 1977. The lady lead character therein named 洛琳 took over her father’s business when he disappeared. She managed the business single-handedly. She not only survived in a men dominated environment but also grew the business into a successful empire. She was nick-named 女强人 in the series. From then on, in Hong Kong, when a woman who is aggressive, ambitious, not afraid of competitions from her men counterparts or who is prepared to give up personal or family lives in order to get to the top or be successful, she would be called 女强人. In the circumstances, I think the best translation for 女强人 would be “superwoman”.


Today is the Woman’s Day. Since I am on the subject. I would like to salute the women in China. Some of my Mainland Chinese lady friends are single mothers, who have to work hard and raise their children and support their parents on their own. Many of them got discriminated and have to tackle personal emotional issues too. To me they are the real nǚqiángrén 女强人.

On a separate subject, Hong Kong has truly lived up to being the originator of the name nǚqiángrén 女强人. Hong Kong probably has more nǚqiángrén per capita than anywhere in the world. I would like to back this up by the following facts:

  • According to a survey published by the Citibank in February, 2010, the number of Hong Kong female millionaires, in 2009, exceeds their male counterparts. According to the survey, 394,000 residents in the city possess current assets of one million Hong Kong dollars or more (about US $130,000), Among them, 52% are women and 48% are men.
  • According to The Grant Thornton International Business Owner Survey in 2006, about 35% of Hong Kong companies employ women in senior management positions, a figure significantly higher than in Canada, UK, Germany, and France.
  • Madam Chu Lam Yiu of Hong Kong, the founder of Huabao International, a maker of fragrances and flavourings, have personal assets of US$1.5 billion in 2009, comparing to US$2.7 billion for Opray Winfield US$1.6 billion for Madam Zhang Xin of SOHO of Mainland China.
  • The deceased Madam Nina Kung, then Chairwoman of Chinachem of Hong Kong had been the richest woman in Asia for many years before she passed away in 2007. Her estate is said to be worth US$13 billion.
  • Many of the Hong Kong doctors, lawyers, certified accountants, politicians, high ranking civil servants & etc. are women. In particular the heads of the two largest law firms in Hong Kong are women.
  • It is a well known fact that Hong Kong career women enjoy high esteem and responsibilities and are well respected by their male counterparts.
I have seen many of my lady Mainland Chinese friends possess the same attributes as their Hong Kong nǚqiángrén 女强人. I believe in the near they would enjoy the same respect and status as their Hong Kong counterpart.

我一位内地女士朋友问我女强人的英语翻译,我想实在很难找到一个最合适的翻译,我想过 career woman, superwoman, ambitious woman, strong woman, iron lady 等等,女强人这名称始于1977香港一肥皂剧家变, 剧中女主 角洛琳接管了失踪父亲的生意,在男人商业社会一个女人辛苦经营,努力拼搏,闯出新天地,后来香港对一些专注事业并获得成就的女性称为女强人。因此我觉得女强人英语的最好翻译为 superwoman,这虽然翻译不到该名称的意蕴。

今天是三八妇女节,我藉些机会表扬中国妇女,我有多个内地女士朋友是单亲,一方面努力工作,照顾子女,又要养父母,受到歧视,并要处理个人情绪问 题,我认为她们才是女强人。

另外香港真正不负作为该女强人名称的发源地, 我相信香港以上人均收入是世界最多女强人的地方,认我列出以下之事实以证明:

  • 根据花旗银行2010年2月份发表的一项调查显示 ,香港女性百万富翁人数在2009年超过了男性。根据调查,39.4万香港居民拥有100万港元或以上流动资产(约130,000美元),其中52%是妇女,48%是男性。
  • 根据均富国际业主在2006年调查,约有35%的香港公司聘用妇女为高级管理人员,这一数字大大高于加拿大,英国,德国和法国。
  • 香港的香水和香料生产商华宝国际创办人朱林瑶女士2009年拥有的资产为15亿美元,相比美国Oprah Winfield 之27亿美元和内地SOHO中国张欣之16亿美元资产。
  • 2007年去世香港华主席龚如心 在去世前一直是亚洲最富有的女人。她的财产被认为值130亿美元。
  • 香港的许多医生,律师,注册会计师,政治家,高级公务员等人、都是妇女。尤其是香港两间最大的律师事务所的负责人是妇女。
  • 众所周知香港职业女性享有很高的尊严和责任,并且得到男性的尊重。
我看到我很多内地女士朋友都拥有香港女强人的素质。我相信不久将来很多内地女性她们将同样享有香港女强人的尊重和地位。、

12/26/2010 10:59:20 am


Thanks for these tips, that is what I was looking for. I hope it will help me figting spam.

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6/21/2012 11:21:53 am

Joy and pain are of their choice, god will not give us happy, also not to give us a pain, it will only give us happiness. You can choose a happy ways to look at it, also can choose a painful perspective on it.

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