Nihao
Original by Paloma Chen
Translated, from the Spanish, by Julia Conner
Nihao, chinita.
Nihao, Pocahontas.
—Mamá, at school they call me Chinese.
—Hija, you are Chinese.
—Mamá, since when am I Chinese?
Mamá takes out the red passport of the PRC.
—Hija, someday we’ll go back to the country
we came from and this will be how you get in.
It’s not enough that I have your face, mamá,
no, it’s not
enough.
*
Hola, Mulan.
—Mamá, at school they say I’m Chinese.
—Hija, you are Chinese.
—Since when?
Mamá takes out the NIE of the Kingdom of Spain.
I’ve scheduled an appointment, this expires in six weeks.
*
Nihao, first Chinese girl I’ve seen in a club,
how are you doing?
Nihao, Asian girl.
I assume you are not from around here.
Well, no need to be stuck up, you’re not that pretty for a Chinese girl,
you´re too Chinese to be that pretty.
—Some idiot came up to me and bowed.
—He saw your Chinese face.
—Des de quan jo sóc xinesa? 买单，算账！
—Mira al teu voltant, colometa, és clar que eres xinesa.
*
Nihao, chinita.
—God dammit, they called me Chinese again, dammit.
—But… you are Chinese.
—Since when?
I look at my image in the mirror, as if I couldn’t tell:
t h i s b o d y i s n o t m y b o d y
t h i s h a i r i s n o t m y h a i r
t h o s e e y e s a r e n o t m y e y e s
I’m Spanish, even if I have this face.
我是中国人, even if it’s not on any paper.
No one expected this.
I didn’t expect this.
*
Hello, first Chinese girl I’ve seen reciting poems.
—Yes, ma’am, the other Chinese only cultivate rice and produce disease.
Nihao, Mercedes; Nihao, Anna; Nihao, Mónica.
Hello, first Chinese punk girl; hello, first Chinese metal girl;
hello, first Chinese girl I’ve seen at a protest… Hello?
For innumerable white westerners, you are:
a Chinese bitch
a Chinese prostitute
his rite of adult masculinity
his first time
unforgettable and
ruinous
we innumerable women
in some cities
panic
when they say hello
******
Nihao
Nihao, chinita.
Nihao, Pocahontas.
—Mamá, en el colegio me dicen china.
—Hija, eres china.
—Mamá, ¿desde cuándo soy china?
Mamá saca el pasaporte rojo de la RPC.
—Hija, algún día volveremos al país de donde
vinimos y esta será tu manera de entrar.
No basta que tenga tu cara, mamá,
no basta,
no.
*
Hola, Mulán.
—Mamá, en el instituto me dicen que soy china.
—Hija, eres china.
—¿Desde cuándo?
Mamá saca el NIE del Reino de España.
He sacado cita previa, caduca en seis semanas.
*
Nihao, primera china que veo en discotecas,
how are you doing?
Nihao, chica asiática.
I assume you are not from near here.
Pues no seas creída, no eres tan guapa para ser china,
eres demasiado china para ser guapa.
—Un pavo ha venido a hacerme una reverencia.
—Te ha visto la cara de china.
—Des de quan jo sóc xinesa? 买单，算账！
—Mira al teu voltant, colometa, és clar que eres xinesa.
*
Nihao, chinita.
—Joder, me han vuelto a decir china, joder.
—Pero… eres china.
—¿Desde cuándo?
miro mi imagen en el espejo, como si no supiera
disinguir:
e s t e c u e r p o n o e s m i c u e r p o
e s t e p e l o n o e s m i p e l o
e s t o s o j o s n o s o n m i s o j o s
Soy española, aunque tenga esta cara.
我是中国人, aunque no lo pone en ningún papel.
Nadie esperaba esto.
Yo no esperaba esto.
*
Hola, primera china que veo recitando poemas.
—Sí, señora, el resto de chinos solo cultivan arroz y
producen virus.
Nihao, Mercedes; Nihao, Anna; Nihao, Mónica.
Hola, primera china punk; hola, primera china metalera;
hola, primera china que veo en una manifestación… ¿Hola?
para incontables blancos occidentales, eres:
una puta china
una china prostituta
su rito de masculinidad adulta
su primera vez
inolvidable y
desastrosa
incontables mujeres
en algunas ciudades
tenemos pánico
a que nos saluden
Paloma Chen is a Spanish-Chinese journalist, poet, writer and researcher. She is part of the Transnational Migrant Platform-Europe and Red de Diáspora China en España. She is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Philosophy at Fudan University in Shanghai and has published the poetry collection Invocación a las mayorías silenciosas (Letraversal) and the multilingual poetry app Shanshui Pixel Scenes 山水像素场景. Her poems have been included in anthologies like Matria poética: una antología de poetas migrantes (La Imprenta, 2023) and Última poesía crítica. Jóvenes poetas en tiempos de colapso (Lastura, 2023).
Julia Conner is a Chinese American language educator and translator from the US South. She received her BA in Modern Languages and Literatures from Kenyon College and is a 2024-26 Fulbright Student to Taiwan. Her translations and interviews have appeared in or are forthcoming from Poetry in Action (Action Books), Poetry Northwest, ANMLY, Reverie, MAYDAY, Gulf Coast, and Asymptote Blog, among others.
Translator’s Note: “Nihao” comes from Paloma Chen’s first collection of poetry, Invocación a las mayorías silenciosas (Letraversal, 2022), a translation of which is yet unpublished in its entirety. Like the rest of the collection, “Nihao” is suffused with a cacophony of voices: daughter, mother, and those who assume they already know who she is based on her racialized body as a Chinese woman in Spain. As the speaker becomes aware of others’ judgment of her identity, she grows from confusion to resignation to a habit of awareness enabling her to regard herself from the outside. Moving between Spanish, Valencian, English, and Chinese, this poem is emblematic of the entire collection’s focus on language’s ability to make one alien to oneself.
The multilingual aspect is core to the poem, but makes translation a challenge. Others address the speaker in English to indicate their assumption of her foreign background; the speaker uses Valencian to complain of such discriminatory treatment. Her Chinese, written in characters, flows as a natural part of her speech, while others call out in unmarked pinyin “nihao,” a word that, divorced of its meaning, becomes a threat and a signal of danger. I have tried to leave this multilingualism present in the shape of the poem.