韓素音與《文化交流》

魏大鍋

在世界文壇上頗有影響的華裔作家韓素音于當地時間2012年11月2日中午在瑞士洛桑的寓所無疾而終，享年96歲。《文化交流》雜志社的同仁聽到這一消息，無不沉浸在痛悼與思念之中。韓素音與《文化交流》曾經有過令人難忘的交往。

韓素音與中國有不解之緣。她1917年生于中國河南信陽，父親是一位早年留學西方的中國工程師，母親是比利時人。她的中文名字叫周光瑚，英文名字是Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow（羅莎莉·伊麗莎白·光瑚·周）。她后來成為英國公民，改名伊麗莎白·庫默。

韓素音以小說一舉成名。她的長篇小說《A Many-Splendoured Thing》于1952年出版，1955年被好萊塢改編拍攝成電影《生死戀》，1956年即獲得最佳服裝、最佳音樂和最佳電影插曲三項奧斯卡大獎。這本書有好幾個中譯本，書名作《瑰寶》或《繁花似錦》或《愛情至上》。她的其他作品亦有不少在上世紀80年代被翻譯成中文。

新中國成立以來，韓素音是一個家喻戶曉的名字。自1956年后，她幾乎每年訪問中國。1974年，美中人民友好協(xié)會在美國洛杉磯召開成立大會，她做了主題發(fā)言。有關她來中國訪問的報道、她與中國領導人在一起的照片經常出現在中國官方報紙上。令她著名的另一個原因，則是她和周恩來總理之間的深厚友誼。她寫過《周恩來傳》，曾擔任過周總理與法國總統(tǒng)戴高樂之間“特使”。她著作頗豐，寫作內容基本上都是關于中國的過去、今天和未來。在特定的年代中，韓素音以英文寫就的作品就像一個個出口，為全世界了解中國提供了可能。她的筆名是韓素音，體現了她的中國心。

在當下的中國，聽說過韓素音這個名字最多的，無疑是有志于翻譯的青年?！吨袊g》雜志從1986年開始舉辦青年“有獎翻譯”活動。1989年韓素音訪華，提供了一筆贊助基金，以此設立了“韓素音青年翻譯獎”。至2012年，“韓素音青年翻譯獎競賽”已經舉辦了24屆，是目前中國翻譯界組織時間最長、規(guī)模最大、影響最深遠的翻譯大賽。韓素音之所以贊助翻譯競賽，部分原因是因為她認為，中國文學要走向世界的障礙之一是外國人不懂中文，而這個世界上懂中文的外國翻譯不多。解決語言障礙的方法之一是中國作家用英語寫作。

韓素音與浙江，與《文化交流》頗有淵源。1992年，韓素音應邀來杭州大學講學，并在該校設立了外國文學獎學金。在杭州期間，她與浙江省領導和杭大師生建立了友誼。此后，《文化交流》的副總編輯金雨困專門去北京看望、采訪過韓素音。她非常關心《文化交流》，還經常寫信來表示關注。

韓素音在1997年8月份收到《文化交流》當年第3期后，寫來一份熱情洋溢的信。這封信刊登在1997年第4期《文化交流》上。原信翻譯如下：

王家揚社長先生，吳堯民主編先生

特以此信向你們祝賀《文化交流》1997年第3期的出版。許多年來，我一直是《文化交流》中英文雙語雜志的讀者。我發(fā)現1997年第3期非常出色。照片相當好。自從兩年前有人參與英文編輯，貴刊的英文質量也已經大大提高。

我非常高興地看到我有幸認識并極其尊敬的兩個人的照片，這兩個人就是錢學森先生和周培源先生。讀到有關他們的文章，非常令人振奮。我認識他們已經有很多年。

請向貴刊才華橫溢的攝影家們轉達我的祝賀。我尤其喜歡第17頁上徐利明所拍攝的照片，刊中彩頁上的沈學溪、邵大浪、張倫以及其他各位的照片也同樣出色。郁風畫的山水風景也令人贊嘆。

在此提一個建議：如果可能的話，請告知《文化交流》半年和一年的定價。我想多買一些貴刊寄給我在歐洲和美國的朋友。請在百忙中告訴我。

再次致以熱烈的祝賀。

韓素音

1997年8月17日于瑞士洛桑蒙臺大街37號

1998年5月，《文化交流》委托新華社記者邱健在韓素音來華訪問時進行采訪。1999年，韓素音來華訪問，邱健以《文化交流》特約記者的身份在北京飯店與她交談了三個小時。根據采訪內容，邱健撰寫了題目為《我唯一的愛就是中國》的報道，發(fā)表在《文化交流》1999年第4期。在長達5000字的文章中，邱健特別提到了韓素音的人格魅力。她寫道，“她的幽默、機敏、博學和獨立不羈的個性給我留下了深刻印象?！鼻窠≡谖恼轮谐酥v述韓素音女士頗有傳奇色彩的生平和文學成就之外，還著重從“兼通中西文化”“中國之戀”和“富有權威的中國通”三個方面來描述韓素音女士與中國結下的不解之緣。這是《文化交流》第一次全面報道韓素音女士。

2003年夏天，浙江大學教授朱炯強應邀在瑞士的伯爾尼大學做短期講學。8月2日，朱教授和助手姜希穎前往瑞士洛桑專程拜訪韓素音。朱教授專門向韓女士轉達了多位老朋友的問候：浙江省原省長、浙江省對外友好協(xié)會會長、《文化交流》名譽社長沈祖?zhèn)?，浙大原黨委書記、《文化交流》特約顧問張浚生，杭大原黨委書記薛艷莊教授，杭大原校長沈善虹教授，《文化交流》原總編輯吳堯民、時任總編輯傅通先等人。朱教授還向韓素音送上這些老朋友的小禮物：紀念郵票冊及杭州絲綢圍巾、西湖龍井茶葉、王星記扇子等。韓素音說，她在很多國家都有朋友，但她的心始終在中國，就像她父親那樣。

8月4日，朱教授和同事再度拜訪了韓素音。她領著客人參觀了她的家。她說她對日內瓦湖的風景和陽光情有獨鐘。當時她提到她出版的所有書和信都保存在美國波士頓大學。她還說年輕人要走向世界長見識，提到文化交流的重要性，提到通過交流增進人民之間的相互了解，開拓眼界。在訪問結束時，她讓姜希穎筆錄了一封信，感謝來自浙江的朋友們的問候和禮物。

朱教授回國之后，特地為《文化交流》撰寫了一篇文章，講述了他和助手兩次專程去日內瓦拜訪韓素音。朱教授在文章中談到了韓素音的近況；談到了浙江老朋友送的禮物，讓她愛不釋手；談到了精美郵集封面上有周恩來總理的照片，讓她思緒萬千，她喃喃自語說：“總理是好人呀！我和他是很好的朋友。”在這次訪問中，朱教授和姜希穎還拍攝了不少照片，留下了韓素音晚年時期的珍貴形象。這篇文章和部分照片發(fā)表在《文化交流》2003年第6期上，讓讀者看到了韓素音一顆熾熱的中國心。

《文化交流》從季刊到雙月刊，再到如今的月刊，至今已走過近30年歷程。韓素音見證了《文化交流》的發(fā)展，而她本人也成為《文化交流》的知音。我們發(fā)表此文緬懷她，緬懷她的中國情懷，緬懷她的文學成就，緬懷她對《文化交流》的關心和關注。她的一生，正如她最著名的小說題目：繁花似錦。

（本文照片由作者提供）

Han Suyin and

Cultural Dialogue

By Wei Daguo

Chinese-British writer and physician Elizabeth Comber， whose pen name was Han Suyin， died at the age of 95 on Friday at her home in Lausanne， Switzerland. She was born Rosalie Elisabeth Kuanghu Chow or 周光瑚 in Chinese. We at Cultural Dialogue in Hangzhou， the capital of eastern Chinas Zhejiang Province， were deeply saddened to hear about her death. Han Suyin was engaged with Cultural Dialogue in her lifetime.

For a long time in the 20th century， Han Suyin was a household name in China. She visited China almost annually from 1956 on and she was one of the few westerners who visited China after the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949. In 1974， she spoke as a featured speaker at the founding conference of US-Sina Peoples Friendship Association in San Francisco. Official newspapers in China in those years often featured reports of her visits to China and photos in which she posed with Chinese leaders. She was well known in China also because her friendship with Premier Zhou Enlai. She wrote a biography of the premier and she served as a special messenger between Premier Zhou Enlai and French President De Gaulle. In China， the writers pen name was best known whereas her passport name Elisabeth Comber was little known， as her works are largely concerned with her roots in China.

Since the reform started in the late 1970s， Han Suyin has been a name well known among young translators in particular. China Translation， a national monthly， started an annual translation competition in 1986 for young translators. In 1989， Han Suyin provided a fund and the competition was renamed after her. Up to 2012， Han Suyin Translation Competition for Young Translators has been held 24 times. It is the most important， most influential and longest translation competition ever held in China. Han Suyin supported the translation prize primarily because she believed， based on her own experience， that one effective way to break the language barrier for Chinese writers was to write in English directly.

Han Suyin and Cultural Dialogue， now a monthly distributed to readers at home and abroad， shared a long time together. In 1992， Han was invited to give lectures at Hangzhou University， which merged with Zhejiang University in September 19998， and established a foreign literature scholarship. During her stay in Hangzhou， she formed friendship with provincial leadership and staff and students of the university and she became a reader of Cultural Dialogue， which was a quarterly back then. Jin Yukun， our deputy editor-in-chief， took a train trip to visit Han Suyin during her visit to Beijing one of these years in the 1990s.

In August 1997， she wrote a letter in English to Cultural Dialogue to express her appreciation of the magazine and her congratulations on the publishing of the third issue that year.

In 1999， Qiu Jian， our special reporter in Beijing， interviewed Han Suyin at Beijing Hotel during her visit to the capital. Qiu Jians story appeared in the fourth issue of Cultural Dialogue in 1999. In the 5，000-characger story， Qiu said she was deeply impressed by Han Suyins charming personality. The story covered Han Suyins life and career. In particular， Qiu Jian wrote about Han Suyins ties with China in three major aspects.

In the summer of 2003， Professor Zhu Jiongqiang of Zhejiang University and his assistant Jiang Xiyin were invited to be guest scholars at Berne University. On August 2， the two came to Geneva to visit 86-year-old Han Suyin at her home. Professor Zhu conveyed the warm greetings to Han Suyin from her friends in Zhejiang： Shen Zulun， former provincial governor， president of Zhejiang Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and honorary director of Cultural Dialogue， Professor Xue Yanzhuang， retired CPC Hangzhou University Secretary， Professor Shen Shanhong， former president of Hangzhou University， Zhang Junsheng， CPC Secretary of Zhejiang University and special advisor of Cultural Dialogue， former editor-in-chief of Cultural Dialogue Wu Yaomin and incumbent editor-in-chief of Cultural Dialogue Fu Tongxian. Professor Zhu also presented the gifts from the old friends： a stamp album， ginseng， silk scarves， Dragon Well tea， and sandal fans.

Professor Zhu and his assistant Jiang Xiyin came to visit Han again on August 4. She showed them through the house and said she loved the scenery and sunshine of Geneva. They chatted. She said her published books and letters were in the keep of Boston University. Then she mentioned that Chinese young people should see more of the world for a comprehensive worldview. She talked about the importance of cultural exchanges. Zhu and Jiang took some very valuable photographs of Han Suyin. When the professor came back to Hangzhou， he wrote a complete account of his visit to Han Suyin. His story appeared in the 6th issue of Cultural Dialogue in 2003. Cultural Dialogue at that time published six issues a year. This story enabled our readers to see how Han Suyin lived in her evening years.

Cultural Dialogue has been around for nearly 30 years， growing from a quarterly to bimonthly and now a monthly. An important witness to the growth of Cultural Dialogue， Han Suyin herself has become an important chapter of our publication. We appreciate her ties with China， her literary achievement， her concern and care for Cultural Dialogue. Her life was a many-splendored thing， as suggested by the title of her best known novel published in 1952.