“To truly laugh， you must be able to take your pain， and play with it！”
——Charlie Chaplin
“要想真正地开怀大笑，你就要背负起苦难，还得以它为乐。”
——查理·卓别林
Charlie Chaplin—A Comedy Genius
查理·卓别林——喜剧之王
In a poor home of a performer， in a poor section of London during the late 19th century， a child was born into a dim life filled with tragedy. His mother was mad， his father died of alcoholism； most people in today's society would write this child off， and indeed most did. Who knew that this poor child would be Charlie Spencer Chaplin， the first ever cinematic comedy genius？
在十九世纪末伦敦的贫民区中，有个孩子诞生在一个穷苦的演艺之家。整个家中毫无一丝温馨，他的母亲患有精神病，父亲死于酗酒。在如今这个社会，大多数人或许就此认定这孩子没什么前途可言了，事实也大多确实如此。可有谁能料到这个可怜的穷孩子就是日后电影史上第一位喜剧之王——查理·斯宾塞·卓别林！
Most of Chaplin's early life was spent moving from room to room while his family struggled to pay the rent and stay fed. His mother made enough money to survive as a performer， but she consistently suffered spells of madness and was admitted to mental institutions on many occasions.
Alas， her performing career withered away. In his autobiography， Chaplin describes his mother's next attempt to support her family through sewing clothes； but this eventually ended when they could no longer afford to rent the machine. In his early life， the results of poverty were broken up only by off-and-on residency in workhouses for homeless children， and these were the times when his mother was in a mental hospital.
It truly is amazing that one of film's greatest comedians came out of such a tragic background， but at that same time it seems quite typical. Charlie Chaplin teaches us that sometimes， in the face of adversity， one must simply laugh.
Charlie Chaplin's silent movies could be understood anywhere in the world because they are just that. While talkies strengthened the language barrier， Chaplin's movies remained silent so that the whole world could join in on the laughter. As the America was enjoying early talkies like The Jazz Singer， the rest of the world were roaring and crying at City Lights.
As his movies began to criticize society more and more， the government started to get involved. They felt they were losing their power to some clowns who made fun of them. Out of fear， they labeled Chaplin a left-wing， which of course was like naming someone a witch in 17th century.
Chaplin responded with one of his greatest masterpieces， Modern Times， where he even criticized the fact that he had been labeled. There is a particular scene that shows in a factory workers strike and they're parading down the street， and Chaplin sees that someone has dropped a flag (assumed to be red) and picks it up， and the police arrest him， claiming him the left-wing leader of the strike.
Eventually， the U.S. government couldn't bear to have him in their country， so much so that when Chaplin left the United States for England to promote his newest film， Limelight， they revoked his return permit. Without batting an eyelash， Chaplin simply moved to Switzerland and spent the rest of his days there. In 1972， Chaplin was invited and welcomed back to the United States to receive a Oscar lifetime achievement award， but still resided in Switzerland where he died on Christmas Day 1977.
By keeping his movies silent long after other studios had moved on， he kept the world connected for that much longer， but he also ignored the mainstream and kept doing what he thought was the best for the industry， considering that three of his silent films， City Lights， Modern Times， and The Gold Rush are listed on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest films of all time. Also， he stayed his course when he faced political scrutiny for some of the ideas portrayed and criticized in his films. And last but not least， he rose from his almost doomed childhood and became one of the most recognized comedy genius in the world.
卓别林的童年生活颠沛流离，大部分时间都花在搬家上，因为赚的钱仅够付房租、交伙食费。卓别林的母亲靠演戏赚钱糊口，但是经常受到精神病的困扰，曾多次被送到精神病院治疗。
母亲的演艺生涯就此终止。在卓别林的自传中他提到他的母亲又开始缝补衣服来勉强维持家人生活。可到后来，他们租不起缝纫机就连缝衣服的活儿都干不了了。在卓别林的童年里，只有在孤儿院的那段日子，贫困的窘境才偶尔会稍微有所缓解。而每次去孤儿院，都是母亲因犯精神病住院的时候。
难以置信，一个最富造诣的喜剧明星竟然会有如此辛酸坎坷的成长经历；然而于此同时，这又似乎很具有代表性。查理·卓别林教会我们：有时候面对厄运，我们只能笑脸相迎。
全世界的人们都能看懂查理·卓别林的无声电影，因为它是那样简洁明了。有声电影会加剧语言障碍，而卓别林的电影保持着无声的风格，整个世界就跟着他捧腹大笑。当美国人在欣赏早期有声影片《爵士歌手》时，世界其他人民都在为《城市之光》疯狂呐喊。
卓别林的电影逐渐转向批判现实社会，因此当局政府就开始插手介入。政府发现有些演喜剧的小丑在拿他们嘲讽取乐，感到有损威严。出于对这种喜剧嘲讽形式的恐惧，当局把卓别林标榜为左翼人士，这在当时看来就如同17世纪时认定某人是个巫婆一样。
卓别林以《摩登时代》作为回应，这是卓别林最成功的力作之一。影片中卓别林极力讽刺自己曾受诽谤的事实。电影中有这样一幕场景：一家工厂的工人进行大罢工，在街上列队游行。卓别林看到队伍中有人掉落了一面旗（应该是面红色的旗），就顺手捡了起来。没想到警察当场就把他逮捕，声称他就是罢工中的左翼分子头目。
终于，美国政府再也无法容忍卓别林在此继续生活下去了。在卓别林去英国宣传他的新片《舞台生涯》时，美国政府取消了卓别林再度入境的资格。卓别林闻讯后，连眼睛都没眨一下就移居瑞士度过他的后半生。1972年，卓别林受邀重返美国领取奥斯卡终身成就奖，但他依然选择在瑞士永久定居。1977年圣诞节，卓别林在瑞士与世长辞。
很多电影公司都在创新发展，卓别林依然保持无声电影的风格。因此在很长一段时间里，全世界都很认可他的电影。卓别林不随波逐流而坚持己见，为电影事业奉献力量。他的三部力作——《城市之光》、《摩登时代》、《淘金热》列入美国电影制作公司最成功的100部影片之中。卓别林通过讽刺手段把现实影射到影片中。即使遭受政治审查，他也决不放弃。这就是有着辛酸童年、举世公认的喜剧之王——查理·卓别林。
译者感言
蓄着小胡须，拿着细手杖，穿着肥裤子，硕大的皮鞋，还有那歪歪扭扭的破旧晚礼服，这正是一代戏剧之王查理·卓别林的典型形象。每次看到卓别林那些夸张的人物海报人们都会忍不住捧腹，臆测他从小到大都生活在一帆风顺之中。而细细品味后才知，那是苦中作乐的嘲讽和对时代和社会的无奈。德国威尔克斯科曾说过：“当生活像一首歌一样轻快流畅时，笑颜常开乃易事；而在一切事都不妙时仍能微笑，才是真正的乐观。”原来乐观本身就是一种成功。卓别林基于他真正艺术家的天性，越来越清楚地意识到自己要从滑稽电影中摆脱出来，逐渐地把严肃的题材和喜剧片的传统手法结合起来，继而赋予影片幽默的源头、严肃的主题，完成戏剧电影“笑过之后带给社会深刻的思考”。正如这位喜剧之王自己所言——要想真正地开怀大笑，你就要背负起苦难，还得以它为乐！
