蛇在中華傳統(tǒng)的民俗信仰中,是一種神秘且吉祥的動物。這一動物極為神秘,據(jù)《說文解字》云:“它,蟲也。從蟲而長,象冤曲垂尾形?!边@一動物極為吉祥,是中國龍的原型,民間則稱之為“小龍”。由此可見,蛇在中華文化中占據(jù)了顯著的地位,是中華文化不可或缺的一部分。
可以說,蛇的蹤跡在中華文化中隨處可見。中華民族的始祖女媧和伏羲,常被描繪為人首蛇身或“蛇身之神”,體現(xiàn)了蛇在中華古代文化中的神圣地位。兩晉時期的文學(xué)家郭璞校注《山海經(jīng)》云:“女媧,古神女而帝者,人面蛇身,一日中七十變?!睎|晉王嘉的志怪小說集《拾遺記》載:“蛇身之神,即羲皇(伏羲)也?!痹谖膶W(xué)作品中,蛇的身影更是屢見不鮮,常常象征著智慧、善良和正義。《詩經(jīng)·小雅·斯干》就有“維虺維蛇,女子之祥”的詩句,屈原在《楚辭·天河》中發(fā)出了“一蛇吞象,厥大何如”等問語。西晉文學(xué)家與思想家傅玄在《靈蛇銘》中寫道:“嘉茲靈蛇,斷而能續(xù)。飛不須翼,行不假足。上騰云霄,下游山岳。逢此明珠,預(yù)身龍族?!薄度龂萘x》講述了大青蛇驚嚇漢靈帝之事,《水滸傳》把洪太尉遇蛇擋道的故事講得活靈活現(xiàn),《西游記》記敘了唐僧一行四眾在駝羅莊遇蛇妖并戰(zhàn)而勝之的故事,《警世通言》中的《白娘子永鎮(zhèn)雷峰塔》描述了白娘子(白蛇)對小商人許仙的執(zhí)著之情,《聊齋志異》不乏蛇題材的小說(如《螳螂捕蛇》《豢蛇》)。在婚配方面,就有“蛇盤兔”的民俗信仰,認(rèn)為屬兔的和屬蛇的婚配是最吉利的;在飲食方面,山西、陜西等地就流行著一種名叫蛇婆婆的面食,象征著發(fā)家致富;在軍事方面,就有古代著名的十大軍陣,其首位是“一字長蛇陣”;在醫(yī)學(xué)方面,蛇本身是一種重要的藥材,是五毒之一。在眾多關(guān)于蛇的民間傳說中,最著名的當(dāng)屬《白蛇傳》,故事中的白娘子是一個深受百姓喜愛的善良蛇精,是一個具有永恒魅力的藝術(shù)形象。種種跡象表明,蛇是中華文化中頗為獨(dú)特的一部分。
2025年,是中國農(nóng)歷乙巳年,即民間生肖紀(jì)年的蛇年。在這蛇年來臨之際,讓我們重新檢閱一下漢英詞典中一些與“蛇”相關(guān)的表達(dá)法,聊作一種新年之樂吧。
本文的語料主要選自陸谷孫教授主編的《中華漢英大詞典》,均為該詞典的編纂者自以為迻譯尚有特點(diǎn)的與“蛇”有關(guān)的成語與俗語,其目的在于與廣大讀者共享并敦請廣大讀者質(zhì)疑與指謬。
一、與“蛇”相關(guān)的四字成語
1.1 巴蛇吞象 lt;idiomgt; (like a ba snake swallowing an elephant) to have an insatiable greed
1.2 杯弓蛇影 lt;idiomgt; (to see the reflection of a bow in a cup and mistake it for a snake) to worry about illusory things; to exaggerate a non-existent menace
1.3 筆走龍蛇 lt;idiomgt; (strokes meander like dragons and snakes) beautiful and vigorous calligraphy; handwriting full of delightful turns and twists
1.4 壁間蛇影 lt;idiomgt; (to see the wine-cup reflection of a bow hanging from a wall and mistake it for a snake) to worry about illusory things; to exaggerate a non-existent menace
1.5 春蚓秋蛇 lt;idiomgt; (spring earthworms and autumn snakes) poor calligraphy; cacography
1.6 打草驚蛇 lt;idiomgt; (to beat the grass and startle the snake) 1. to alert the enemy; to telegraph one’s punch 2. to strike one as a warning to others
1.7 毒蛇猛獸 lt;idiomgt; (venomous snakes and violent beasts) 1. harmful beasts 2. greedy and cruel people
1.8 封豕長蛇 lt;idiomgt; (large pigs and long snakes) greedy and brutish despots or invaders; evildoers
1.9 弓影杯蛇 lt;idiomgt; (the shadow of a bow in a cup is mistaken for a snake) to be very suspicious; to entertain imaginary fears; to be an alarmist
1.10 虎頭蛇尾 lt;idiomgt; (the head of a tiger and the tail of a snake) 1. to have a strong beginning but a weak ending; to start with a bang and end with a fizzle; in like a lion, out like a lamb 2. anticlimatical (ly): 工作不能~ we should not let the work tail off once it gets started
1.11 畫蛇添足 lt;idiomgt;" (to paint a snake and add legs to it) to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous; to over-egg the pudding; to paint the lily:①大雨后還給草地澆水真是~、多此一舉的浪費(fèi) watering the grass after a good rain is wasteful and ridiculous excess②電影中的這個情節(jié)純粹是~ this plot in the movie is completely superfluous
1.12 驚蛇入草 lt;idiomgt; (like a startled snake disappearing into grass) to write with vigour and ease (of Chinese calligraphy)
1.13 靈蛇之珠 lt;idiomgt; 1. pearl as a gift from a serpent [from the story about Duke Sui (隋侯) of the Spring and Autumn Period, who while on a trip treated a wounded serpent; in return, the serpent gave him a bright pearl in order to repay his kindness] 2. lt;figgt; outstanding ability; remarkable literary talent or grace; fantastic endowment
1.14 龍蛇飛動 also 龍蛇飛舞,龍蛇飛騰 lt;idiomgt; (dancing dragons and snakes) bold and vigorous (of calligraphy); swift movement (of calligraphy): 只記得紙上~ I just remember the bold and passionate brush sweeps on the paper
1.15 龍蛇混雜 lt;idiomgt; (dragons and snakes are intermixed) 1. mixing of good and bad people; can’t tell good guys from bad guys: 人多了難免就會~ a large crowd will invariably involve the presence of saints and villains
1.16 龍頭蛇尾 lt;idiomgt; (the head of a dragon and the tail of a serpent) 1. a beginning with no end; a good beginning with a poor ending: ~地告了終結(jié) it started off as a mountain and ended up being a mouse 2. to dwindle away to nothing after an initial display of greatness see 虎頭蛇尾
1.17 牛鬼蛇神 lt;idiomgt; (cow-headed ghosts and snake-bodied spirits) 1. monsters and freaks 2. lt;figgt; forces of evil; bad elements 3. lt;figgt; unreal and weird, illusory and absurd (of a literary work, etc)
1.18 蛇毛馬角 lt;idiomgt; (like a snake growing hair and a horse growing horns) 1. the impossible; something impossible 2. person with a nominal role or position
1.19 蛇盤鬼附 lt;idiomgt; (like snakes coiling and demons attaching to each other) to collude with each other; to be in league with each other; to be thick as thieves
1.20 蛇蟠蚓結(jié) lt;idiomgt; (like snakes coiling and earthworms writhing) to collude with each other
1.21 蛇雀之報 lt;idiomgt; (repayment of the snake with a pearl and of the siskin with white jade bracelets to their benefactors) repaying a debt of gratitude
1.22 蛇食鯨吞 lt;idiomgt; (like snakes devouring and whales swallowing) to swallow up the weak (of the powerful)
1.23 蛇螫斷腕 lt;idiomgt; (a snakebite on the wrist may cause the wrist to be amputat-ed to stop the spread of venom) a petty harm can ruin the game
1.24 蛇頭鼠眼 lt;idiomgt; (snake’s head and rat’s eyes) cunning or crafty look
1.25 蛇心佛口 lt;idiomgt; (snake’s heart and Buddha’s mouth) to be evil-minded but honey-tongued; to be malicious at heart but pay benevolent lip-service
1.26 蛇影杯弓 lt;idiomgt; (the shadow of a bow in a cup is mistaken for a snake) to be very suspicious; to entertain imaginary fears see 杯弓蛇影
1.27 歲在龍蛇 lt;idiomgt; (it has come to the years of the dragon and the snake) one’s days are numbered [allusion to the ancient belief that such years bode ill for noble-minded and talented people]
1.28 為蛇畫足 lt;idiomgt; (to draw legs for the snake) to raise side issues, to create new problems (which is harmful)
1.29 握蛇騎虎 lt;idiomgt; (to hold a snake and ride a tiger) to be endangered; to be in a fix; to be in a perilous situation
1.30 虛與委蛇 lt;idiomgt; to show courtesy without sincerity; to feign courtesy and compliance
1.31 一龍一蛇 lt;idiomgt; (a dragon and a snake) ups and downs; progress and frustration
1.32 一蛇二首 lt;idiomgt; (a serpent with two heads) impossibility of having orderly governments with two rulers
1.33 引蛇出洞" lt;idiomgt; (to draw a snake out of its hole) to induce sb to reveal his true colours: 他們采取了~的辦法,一網(wǎng)打盡了一個搶劫團(tuán)伙 they netted an entire gang of robbers at one go by luring them into the open
二、與“蛇”相關(guān)的俗語
2.1 打蛇打七寸" lt;familiargt; (to hit the weakest or vital spot of the snake) to touch sb’s tender spot; to hit sb where it hurts
2.2 寧為蛇頭,不為龍尾" lt;familiargt; (better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon) better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion; better to be a big frog in a little pond than a small frog in a big one; better to be the head of a small group than to hold a less powerful position in a large one
2.3 人心不足蛇吞象" lt;familiargt; a man consumed with insatiable greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant
2.4 蛇無頭不行" lt;familiargt; (the snake cannot move without a head) people can accomplish nothing without a leader: ①~,草無根不生 just as a snake without a head cannot crawl, so grass without any roots cannot grow ②~,鳥無翅不飛 just as a headless snake cannot crawl, so a wingless bird cannot fly
2.5 蛇入筒中曲性在" lt;familiargt; (the snake meanders even though it creeps into a tube) it is hard to alter a man’s nature; a leopard cannot change its spots
2.6 蛇吞鼠,鷹叼蛇,一物降一物" lt;familiargt; (snakes swallow rats, eagles hold snakes in their mouths, and there is always one thing to conquer another) everything has its vanquisher
2.7 蛇走無聲,奸計(jì)無形" lt;familiargt; just as snakes crawl silently, so treacherous plots are invisible
2.8 蛇鉆窟洞蛇知道" lt;familiargt; (the snake knows the tunnel it digs) to be aware of one’s own deeds
2.9 一朝被蛇咬, 十年怕井繩" lt;familiargt; (once bitten by a snake, one shies away from a coiled rope for the next ten years) once bitten, twice shy:真是~, 有了這回經(jīng)歷, 我再也不敢與陌生人同行了 once bitten, twice shy; having had this awful experience, I never dare to travel with a stranger again
的確,漢語中與“蛇”有關(guān)的表達(dá)法實(shí)在太豐富了,如“拔草尋蛇”“蟬蛻蛇解”“飛鳥驚蛇”“涸澤之蛇”“鯨吞蛇噬”“舉笏擊蛇”“龍屈蛇伸”“蛇眉鼠眼”“蛇珠雀環(huán)”“豕分蛇斷”“貪蛇忘尾”“螳螂捕蛇”“膝語蛇行”“梟蛇鬼怪”“養(yǎng)虺成蛇”“斬蛇逐鹿”“踩著麻繩當(dāng)蛇,大驚小怪”“打蛇不死打蚯蚓,怯大欺小”“打蛇隨棍上,因勢利導(dǎo)”“地頭蛇,母老虎,不是好惹的”“地頭蛇請客,福禍莫測”“冬天的蟒蛇,有氣無力”“蛇不打死害眾人,虎不打死當(dāng)?shù)湼薄吧卟环执旨?xì),壞人不分大小”“蛇不知自己行跡,人不明自己身心”“蛇入曲洞,退路難”“蛇頭上的蒼蠅,自送一口肉”“蛇吞蝎子,以毒攻毒”“蛇吞象,不自量”“蛇無大小,毒性一般”“蛇無腳,自安腳”“蛇咬一口,入骨三分”“蛇遭蝎子蜇,一個比一個毒”“蛇鉆窟窿,顧前不顧后”“蛇鉆竹筒,沒有回頭的余地”“藥鋪里掛蛇皮,打著嚇人的幌子”“是龍到處行雨,是蛇到處傷人”“是龍就上天,是蛇就鉆地”“是龍來去大海,是蛇草里鉆”“吞了煙袋油的蛇,離死不遠(yuǎn)”“彎扁擔(dān)打蛇,兩頭不著實(shí)”“窩里的蛇,不知長短”“眼鏡蛇擺手,好毒的一招”“眼鏡蛇打噴嚏,滿嘴放毒”“養(yǎng)蛇咬自己,惹禍上身”“一個洞里的蛇,早有勾結(jié)”“陰溝石縫里的蛇蝎,暗里傷人”“智者蛇行,愚者跳躍”等表達(dá)法的英文翻譯,更待我們共同探索。
* 南京大學(xué)博士,哈佛大學(xué)訪問學(xué)者,現(xiàn)為上海大學(xué)教授、博士生導(dǎo)師,上海大學(xué)英文寫作中心主任,主要從事英語詞塊學(xué)、英語寫作學(xué)以及詞典編纂研究。