なかで after past tense verb


The narrator says that he has a life flying around the world as a pilot, and
then says:

> そんなふうに生きてきた **なかで** 、僕はいわゆる有能な人たちと、ずいぶんつきあってきた。 _Living in this way_ , I
> have come to associate with many people who are supposedly capable people.

I don't think I've got the first clause correct, because I think I could
translate 'Living in this way,...' simply as 「そんなふうに生きて、...」

My other guess is that it means "among the people who are living like this..."
, but wouldn't that be そんなふうに生きてきた **人の** なかで? It seems a bit far-fetched to
omit 人.

So, I don't know what なかで is doing here and I've also failed to get the
auxiliary verb きた into my translation.




I believe that the usage of 中 here is perhaps similar to that of the following
sentences.

> 今まで生きてきた **中** で、一番幸せです。I am happier than I have ever been in my life.
>
> 本日はお忙しい **中** （お越し下さって）ありがとうございます。Thank you for coming today (even though
> you/you all are so busy).

As you can see, it can be used to denote not just a spatial center, but also a
span of time or circumstances surrounding a person.

Jim Breen's JDIC also lists " **during; while** " as a definition of 中.

> 中 【なか】 (n) (1) inside; in; (2) among; within; (3) center (centre); middle;
> (4) during; while

Similarly,

> そんなふうに生きてきた **なか** で、僕はいわゆる有能な人たちと、ずいぶんつきあってきた。

Here, what the author means is "while in .. situation (of living this way).."
or "while living this way.."

It may be difficult to comprehend at first, but it is not an uncommon pattern.
You should be able to find plenty of other examples as well.




I believe that the usage of 中 here is perhaps similar to that of the following
sentences.

> 今まで生きてきた **中** で、一番幸せです。I am happier than I have ever been in my life.
>
> 本日はお忙しい **中** （お越し下さって）ありがとうございます。Thank you for coming today (even though
> you/you all are so busy).

As you can see, it can be used to denote not just a spatial center, but also a
span of time or circumstances surrounding a person.

Jim Breen's JDIC also lists " **during; while** " as a definition of 中.

> 中 【なか】 (n) (1) inside; in; (2) among; within; (3) center (centre); middle;
> (4) during; while

Similarly,

> そんなふうに生きてきた **なか** で、僕はいわゆる有能な人たちと、ずいぶんつきあってきた。

Here, what the author means is "while in .. situation (of living this way).."
or "while living this way.."

It may be difficult to comprehend at first, but it is not an uncommon pattern.
You should be able to find plenty of other examples as well.

