中國(guó)古典文化翻譯中的多維視角——史志康教授《論語(yǔ)》翻譯賞析

許進(jìn)興

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中國(guó)古典文化翻譯中的多維視角——史志康教授《論語(yǔ)》翻譯賞析

許進(jìn)興

(上海外語(yǔ)教育出版社學(xué)術(shù)事業(yè)部，上海 200083)

分析了史志康教授在翻譯《論語(yǔ)》中的成功做法。譯者牢牢把握原文的內(nèi)涵，翻譯時(shí)緊密結(jié)合英語(yǔ)的風(fēng)格和特點(diǎn)，做到忠實(shí)而又生動(dòng)地再現(xiàn)原文，體現(xiàn)了“信”、“達(dá)”、“雅”的完美融合。同時(shí)譯者從外延上對(duì)原文進(jìn)一步詮釋?zhuān)⑴c西方經(jīng)典文化進(jìn)行對(duì)比，為讀者展現(xiàn)了欣賞中國(guó)古典文化的立體畫(huà)面。

中國(guó)古典文化；多視角; 翻譯技巧；《論語(yǔ)》

翻譯是在理解原文的基礎(chǔ)上用另一種語(yǔ)言再現(xiàn)原文的過(guò)程。翻譯不僅是一種語(yǔ)言活動(dòng)，更是不同文化間的交流。如何實(shí)現(xiàn)有效的文化交流，在“信達(dá)雅”的翻譯“三字經(jīng)”中，就是以“信”為根本，以“達(dá)”為手段，追求“雅”的境界?！胺g藝術(shù)的妙理，全在這方寸之地的亦步亦趨中，力求做到與原作者一樣或情滿(mǎn)于山，或意溢于海?！敝袊?guó)文化源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)，《論語(yǔ)》是一部智慧寶典，論述了小到為人處世、大到齊家治國(guó)的方方面面，語(yǔ)言?xún)?yōu)雅凝練，寓意豐富，不乏至理名言。對(duì)這樣的古典文化精品進(jìn)行翻譯，不僅需要譯者在形式上準(zhǔn)確把握語(yǔ)境、遣詞、音韻、修辭、句子結(jié)構(gòu)等特點(diǎn)，還要在精神上領(lǐng)會(huì)作者的寓意和思想。史志康教授在翻譯《論語(yǔ)》時(shí)，采用多維視角，從微觀—宏觀、內(nèi)涵—外延上全方位展現(xiàn)其豐富的形式和內(nèi)涵，使英文讀者讀了英文后能和中文讀者讀中文時(shí)產(chǎn)生相同的審美效果，并在譯者對(duì)中西方文化的解析和對(duì)比中形成共鳴。

一、從原文作者的創(chuàng)作視角提煉精華

例1 子曰：“居上不寬，為禮不敬，臨喪不哀，吾何以觀之哉?”

譯文 The Master says, “How can I bear to see that people of high places are without a kind heart and an expanded mind, people practice rituals without grave manners and go into mourning without sad airs?”

譯者將句子重心放在“居上不寬，為禮不敬，臨喪不哀”這一行為，而有另外的譯本“What is there for me to observe of a man if he is not broad-minded when he is in high position，not reverent when he is performing the rites，and not sad when he is in mourning?”則是強(qiáng)調(diào)行為中的人。相比之下，前者更準(zhǔn)確地表達(dá)了原作者(孔子)的思想，也反映出譯者對(duì)切入點(diǎn)的準(zhǔn)確把握。

例2 宰予晝寢。子曰：“朽木不可雕也，糞土之墻不可杇也；于予與何誅?”

譯文 Zai Yu sleeps in day time. The Master says, “One cannot carve anything on the rotten wood; one cannot whitewash the wall made of dung and dirt. As to Zai Yu, I find him a despair.”

此處譯者將源語(yǔ)中的主語(yǔ)調(diào)整為賓語(yǔ)，強(qiáng)調(diào)人在此類(lèi)環(huán)境中的無(wú)奈。如果循規(guī)蹈矩地直譯孔子的話，為“Rotten wood cannot be carved; a wall of dirty earth will not receive the trowel”，則凸顯的是僅用作比喻的非核心部分。

例3 子見(jiàn)南子，子路不說(shuō)。夫子矢之曰：“予所否者，天厭之！天厭之！”

譯文 Zi Lu is unhappy when Confucius pays a visit to Nan Zi, ill-reputed wife of Lord Hui Ling. The Master says, “In faith, I swear if I had done any improper, God would have banned me! God would have forbidden me!”

此句中“ill-reputed wife of Lord Hui Ling”為譯者所加，這一同位語(yǔ)恰當(dāng)?shù)亟忉尣⒚枋隽薔an Zi這一人物，這不僅表明譯者準(zhǔn)確理解了這一人物的特點(diǎn)，而且這種解釋比增加腳注更加妥帖，因?yàn)槟_注有時(shí)會(huì)打破讀者一馬平川的閱讀快感。

二、用譯者的獨(dú)特視角詮釋內(nèi)涵

翻譯家張今說(shuō)：“在譯文的藝術(shù)意境中，不但包含著原作藝術(shù)意境而且包含著譯者按照自己對(duì)社會(huì)和對(duì)這一意境的理解和評(píng)價(jià)?！北咀g著最大的特點(diǎn)之一就是譯者的“Appreciation & Critical Comments”這一部分，即充分體現(xiàn)了譯者對(duì)審美意境的全方位拓展。

在翻譯“人不知，而不慍，不亦君子乎?”時(shí)，譯者除將原句準(zhǔn)確翻譯外，還從譯者本人對(duì)“君子”的定義用英文進(jìn)行了闡述：What is a gentleman? The gentleman should refrain from promoting himself with an eye to achieving early publicity. In addition，it is normal that one’s merits are obvious while others’ merits are visible to those charitable eyes. So one should not expect to glean compliments by blowing one’s own trumpet. Instead，one should gain his reputation in a natural way.

如“君子不重，則不威”，譯者的譯文是“If a gentleman fails to display gravity，he cannot inspire awe in others”，同時(shí)譯者又用英文從自己的視角闡述這一緣由，即：Confucius thinks that a gentleman should not be a man of well-oiled disposition，for gravity means dignity，solemnity and reverend seriouss- ness. That’s why gravity inspires awe. 這樣就完全揭示了原句的內(nèi)涵，使譯文讀者一目了然。

例4 曾子曰：“慎終追遠(yuǎn)，民德歸厚矣?！?/p>

譯文 Zeng Zi says, “Mourning duties should be given to the dead and sacrifices should be offered to ancestors, so that honesty and simplicity can find their way into the folk customs.”

這里的“民德歸厚”沒(méi)有被直譯為“the virtue will come to prevail”，而是形象地用了“honesty and simplicity can find their way into the folk customs”這一擬人結(jié)構(gòu)表達(dá)，描述這一美德漸漸成為民風(fēng)的過(guò)程，其生動(dòng)性頓增，體現(xiàn)了譯者的創(chuàng)造性。

三、用全球視角縱覽中西文化

在翻譯“學(xué)而時(shí)習(xí)之，不亦說(shuō)乎?”時(shí)，譯者引用了培根對(duì)“學(xué)習(xí)”的深刻闡述：To spend too much time in studies is sloth；to use them too much for ornament is affectation；to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature，and are perfected by experience；for natural abilities are like natural plants，that need pruning by study. 雖然國(guó)籍不同，時(shí)代背景不一，視角也不一樣，但對(duì)于同一概念的理解東西方學(xué)者的見(jiàn)地如出一轍，同樣深刻。這里，譯者用全球視角縱覽中西文化，成功架起了溝通中西文化的橋梁。

例5 子貢問(wèn)君子。子曰：“先行其言而后從之。”

譯文 Zi Gong asks about what a gentleman is, the Master answers, “A gentleman practices before he prattles; then preaches what he has practiced.”

此句譯者巧妙地借鑒了莎士比亞《奧賽羅》中的一句話：“Mere prattle，without practice，is all his soldiership.”譯者用英語(yǔ)讀者熟悉的名家名言來(lái)翻譯中國(guó)古典名言，并將其進(jìn)行對(duì)照，完美實(shí)現(xiàn)了中西文化的合璧。

對(duì)于“為政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而眾星共之”中關(guān)于“德”的評(píng)價(jià)，譯者在翻譯的基礎(chǔ)上，進(jìn)一步拓寬視野，巧妙借用英文中“Right is might”的一句反語(yǔ)，將其贊美為“Morality is mighty”，可謂精辟之至。同時(shí)，譯者又將其延伸到“morality”的另一個(gè)重要成分“mercy”(同情心)，并借用《威尼斯商人》中對(duì)“同情心”的優(yōu)美表述，將中西經(jīng)典作品交織起來(lái)欣賞，既和諧統(tǒng)一，又相映成趣。

四、從英文的審美視角生動(dòng)再現(xiàn)原文

在翻譯《論語(yǔ)》這一中國(guó)古典文化精品時(shí)，譯者以其獨(dú)特的審美視角詮釋原文，用優(yōu)雅的英文再現(xiàn)原文。這一特點(diǎn)是譯文的精華所在，也是本文審美聚焦的核心。

例6 子曰：“學(xué)而時(shí)習(xí)之，不亦樂(lè)乎?”

譯文 The Master says, “It is a pleasure if you have learned something new and put it into practice in due time, isn’t it?”

譯者避免了亦步亦趨的直接翻譯法，采用反義疑問(wèn)句來(lái)代替一般疑問(wèn)句，這樣結(jié)構(gòu)上更凝練，語(yǔ)氣上也更符合說(shuō)話人對(duì)這一事實(shí)的陳述。如果直接翻譯為：“Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”雖表達(dá)簡(jiǎn)潔，但“study”一詞使用不貼切，且全句在語(yǔ)氣上與原文“失真”。

例7 子曰：“里仁為美。擇不處仁，焉得知?”

譯文 The Master says, “It is advisable to settle down in the neighborhood where kindness and benevolence prevail. It is certainly less wise if one chooses not to live in the neighborhood where kindness and benevolence prevail.”

此句由疑問(wèn)句轉(zhuǎn)換為陳述句，更能準(zhǔn)確傳遞原文思想。如果將后半句直譯為：“If a man chooses a neighborhood which lacks virtues，how can he be wise?”雖然結(jié)構(gòu)上和原句對(duì)稱(chēng)，但不僅表達(dá)不地道，也未能準(zhǔn)確傳遞原文之主旨。

例8 子曰：“溫故而知新……”

譯文 The Master says, “If you constantly review your knowledge in stock, you will feel freshly enlightened…”

此句譯者沒(méi)有采用“Reviewing the past helps one to understand the present”的常規(guī)表達(dá)來(lái)翻譯，而是使用條件句，這在語(yǔ)氣上更平緩，邏輯上也更清晰，而用“knowledge in stock”來(lái)表達(dá)“故”，完全符合“漢語(yǔ)重歸納，而英語(yǔ)重分析”的思維模式轉(zhuǎn)換之要求。

例9 子曰：“德不孤，必有鄰?！?/p>

譯文 The Master says, “A man of moral inte- grity will never be alone, for he is sure to enjoy company of congenial friends.”

與“If you are virtuous，you will not be lonely. You will always have friends.”的直譯相比，譯者按照“歸化”的原則，采用完全符合英文習(xí)慣的表達(dá)方式，將陳述句轉(zhuǎn)換為因果關(guān)系從句，脈絡(luò)分明，說(shuō)理透徹。

例10 樊遲問(wèn)知。子曰：“務(wù)民之義，敬鬼神而遠(yuǎn)之，可謂知矣?！眴?wèn)仁。曰：“仁者先難而后獲，可謂仁矣?！?/p>

譯文 Fan Chi asks, “What is wisdom?” The Master answers, “One shows wisdom if he is committed to the interests of the people in general and shows due respect to various gods, but stays away from them.” “What is maturity and integrity?” “He shows maturity and integrity if he has experienced hardships before he is blessed with gains.”

譯者打破常規(guī)，采用問(wèn)答的形式來(lái)翻譯陳述的內(nèi)容，條理清晰，結(jié)構(gòu)分明，讓人感覺(jué)一目了然。試比較直譯：“One is to know the obligations of man in a society，and to hold in awe the spiritual powers of the Universe while staying aloof from gods; that may be viewed as wisdom.”“To long for a meaningful life，one must，first of all，be aware of the difficulty and then strives to overcome it: that is defined as benevolence.”相比之下，后者的機(jī)械處理顯得呆板冗贅，用詞準(zhǔn)確性也有瑕疵，不夠簡(jiǎn)潔流暢。

例11 子貢曰：“我不欲人之加諸我也，吾亦欲無(wú)加諸人。”

譯文 Zi Gong says, “I don’t like any imposi- tions from others. I don’t like to impose anything upon others, either.”

句中表示“加”的意思，譯者分別用了“impo- sition”和“impose”這一名詞和動(dòng)詞形式，這樣的詞性變換為譯文帶來(lái)了活力和新意。有人將其譯為“What I do not wish people do to me，I will not do to them either”，這借鑒了“do not do to others what you would not have them do to you”(己所不欲，勿施于人)的譯法，但表達(dá)欠妥，“do”的使用不僅沒(méi)有“impose”精確，且重復(fù)使用顯得單調(diào)。

例12 子曰：“敏而好學(xué)，不恥下問(wèn)，是以謂之‘文’也?！?/p>

譯文 The Master says, “He was diligent and intelligent, and doted on reading and learning. In addition, he never felt ashamed of stooping himself to learn from those with inferior social positions. Hence the title ‘Wen’.”

語(yǔ)言不僅有交際功能，也具有審美功能。譯者使用了“diligent”和“intelligent”以及“reading”和“l(fā)earning”，在語(yǔ)感上抑揚(yáng)頓挫，另外，使用“stoop oneself to learn from those with inferior positions”描繪出“彎腰請(qǐng)教”的生動(dòng)性，遠(yuǎn)比“condescend to learn from one’s subordinates”形象得多。

例13 子曰：“知者樂(lè)水，仁者樂(lè)山。知者動(dòng)，仁者靜。知者樂(lè)，仁者壽。”

譯文 The Master says, “Intelligent people love flowing waters; Benevolent people love solid moun- tains. With active temperament, intelligent people prefer mobility; With quiet temperament, benevolent people prefer tranquility. Intelligent people are cheerful; Benevolent people enjoy longevity.”

句中利用“intelligent”，“benevolent”以及“mobility”和“tranquility”的尾韻，生動(dòng)表達(dá)出中文中的“知者”、“仁者”的韻味以及“動(dòng)”、“靜”的對(duì)比，神形兼?zhèn)?，達(dá)到轉(zhuǎn)義美和形象美共存。

例14 敏于事而慎于言。

譯文 He is assiduous in work, but cautious in words.

“美感的個(gè)性差異，集中表現(xiàn)于不同的審美主體對(duì)同一客體對(duì)象有不同的審美判斷?！贝司渲凶g者巧妙地用“assiduous”和“cautious”的尾韻以及work 和words的頭韻，完美再現(xiàn)了原句的節(jié)奏，運(yùn)用“以形攝神”的翻譯藝術(shù)，既生動(dòng)又悅耳。相比之下，直接的譯法“Quick in work and cautious in speech”則遜色得多。

例15 子曰：“《關(guān)雎》，樂(lè)而不淫，哀而不傷?！?/p>

譯文 The Master says, “That melodious ode Guanju gives the audience a feel of happiness without driving them crazy for extravagant excitements; gives the audience a feel of sorrow without making them indulged in helpless despair.”

莎士比亞說(shuō)過(guò)，“Brevity is the soul of wit”。此處中文中“《關(guān)雎》，樂(lè)而不淫，哀而不傷”只有10個(gè)漢字，言簡(jiǎn)意賅，但句意飽滿(mǎn)，體現(xiàn)了中文的簡(jiǎn)約美。翻譯中，譯者充分把握了中英文表達(dá)上各自的特點(diǎn)，由簡(jiǎn)入繁，將簡(jiǎn)潔美轉(zhuǎn)化為豐潤(rùn)美，可謂異曲同工，毫不遜色。

例16 子貢曰：“貧而無(wú)諂，富而無(wú)驕。何如?”

譯文 Zi Gong says, “When in poverty, one should never be servile in fawning on the rich; When in possession of wealth, one should never wax arrogant in despising the poor. What is your view?”

中文用詞十分簡(jiǎn)約，如果直接譯為“poor but unflattering; rich but free from arrogance”雖簡(jiǎn)潔，但顯得平淡，也沒(méi)了教誨的語(yǔ)氣。譯者選用對(duì)應(yīng)的書(shū)面語(yǔ)體，加上用詞的雅致和句子的飽滿(mǎn)，恰到好處地傳遞了原有的美感。

例17 子游曰：“事君數(shù)，斯辱矣；朋友數(shù)，斯疏矣?！?/p>

譯文 Zi You says, “In your service to your emperor, you are bound to incur insults if you have insinuated yourself into his favor with too many extravagantly servile deeds; If you associate with your friends too frequently, the friendship between you may be less intense to a certain extent.”

英語(yǔ)重形合，漢語(yǔ)重意合。上述形合到意合的翻譯轉(zhuǎn)換可謂典范。

例18 子曰：“老者安之，朋友信之，少者懷之?！?/p>

譯文 The Master answers, “I wish I would make myself a soothing comfort to the elderly, a trustworthy man to the middle-aged and a worthy guard and guide to the young.”

此處譯者分別使用了“soothing”，“trustworthy”和“worthy”這三個(gè)形容詞，恰如其分地表達(dá)了原文意境，既有節(jié)奏感，又有內(nèi)涵美。

例19 子華使于齊，冉子為其母請(qǐng)粟。子曰：“與之釜?！闭?qǐng)益。曰：“與之庾?！比阶优c之粟五秉。

譯文 Zi Hua is appointed as an ambassador to State of Qi, Ran Zi asks for some millet as a special favor for Zi Hua’s mother. The Master says, “Give her a fu of millet.” When Ran Zi asks for more, the Master says, “Just give her another yu, a smaller unit than fu, of millet.” But Ran Zi gives her much more.

此句中的計(jì)量單位譯者并沒(méi)有使用精確的數(shù)量概念表達(dá)，而是作了較為模糊的巧妙處理，看似模糊，其實(shí)精確，是翻譯中的一門(mén)藝術(shù)。

《論語(yǔ)》是一部語(yǔ)言?xún)?yōu)美、寓意深刻的中國(guó)文化經(jīng)典，如何通過(guò)翻譯，讓譯文讀者充分領(lǐng)略中國(guó)古典文化的豐富內(nèi)涵，深刻品味中西文化的各自?xún)?yōu)點(diǎn)和共同特點(diǎn)？這并非是全新的課題，但長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)對(duì)絕大多數(shù)譯者都是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。史志康教授在翻譯中運(yùn)用多維視角審美，用優(yōu)雅的英語(yǔ)表達(dá)，為譯文讀者展現(xiàn)了欣賞中國(guó)古典文化的立體畫(huà)面，成功實(shí)現(xiàn)了翻譯中“信”、“達(dá)”、“雅”的完美統(tǒng)一，可謂翻譯實(shí)踐中的一大創(chuàng)新和突破。

[1] 劉宓慶.翻譯美學(xué)導(dǎo)論[M].北京: 中國(guó)對(duì)外翻譯出版公司, 2005.

[2] 張今.文學(xué)翻譯原理[M].開(kāi)封: 河南大學(xué)出版社, 1987.

[3] 毛榮貴.翻譯美學(xué)[M].上海: 上海交通大學(xué)出版社, 2005.

A Multi-Perspective Approach to the Translation of Classic Chinese Works—An Appreciative Study of Prof. Shi Zhikang’s English Reproduction of

Xu Jinxing

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The paper intends to highlight the whys and wherefores of Prof. Shi Zhikang’s faithful-cum-graceful rendition ofinto English. Shi goes beyond the scope of the original text to explore the depth of the Chinese classic in a global context, thus bringing to bear an Oriental and Occidental integration which is liable to be overlooked by the target readers. His English reproduction strikes the readers as most impeccable and impressive.

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H315.9

A

1009-895X(2013)01-0011-05

2012-11-01

許進(jìn)興(1963-)，男，副編審。研究方向：翻譯理論與實(shí)踐。E-mail: xujinxing66@yahoo.com.cn