她翻译了《射雕》,外国人直呼:很遗憾人生五张,才开始看金庸丨读书者说

来源:国际汉学研究与数据库建设

作者:梅佳

2018-06-25

        我可能是那种比较肤浅的读者,《射雕》的兴奋点一直是郭靖第一次见到恢复女装的黄蓉。连带会翻回去看一下郭靖第一次请“楚楚可怜”的黄贤弟吃“大餐”,还赠裘赠宝马,还有后面郭靖带着伤重的蓉儿两人互相搀扶着去求一灯救命,力战渔樵耕读。

  同样,《笑傲》的兴奋点,一样是绿竹巷学琴;令狐冲从水中倒影中忽而得以一睹“婆婆”的少女娇容;以及任盈盈下令救治令狐,却又羞于提及自己的姑娘心意。

  就连看《三体》,也是直到面壁人罗辑开始讲述虚构中的初恋、让人去寻找初恋,才开始在内心掀起波澜,提起精神,看得目不暇接。

  下面,先给大家直接上《射雕》译文来看一下:

  "You consider me too poor to eat here?" the boy said directly to the waiter. "You mistake me. I fear even your best dishes would not satisfy my palate."

  那少年发作道:“你道我穷,不配吃你店里的饭菜吗?只怕你拿最上等的酒菜来,还不合我的胃口呢。”

  "Is that so?" the waiter replied. "We would be happy to serve them to you, but my real concern is, can you pay?"

  店小二冷冷的道:“是么?你老人家点得出,咱们总是做得出,就只怕吃了没人回钞。”

  "Will you treat me to whatever I order?" the boy said, turning to Guo Jing.

  那少年向郭靖道:“任我吃多少,你都作东吗?”

  "Of course!" Guo Jing said, and then turned to the waiter. "Another pound of roast beef and half a pound of mutton liver!" These were the finest delicacies he could imagine. "Do you drink wine?" he asked the boy.

  郭靖道:“当然,当然。”转头向店小二道:“快切一斤牛肉,半斤羊肝来。”他只道牛肉羊肝便是天下最好的美味,又问少年:“喝酒不喝?”

  "Wait," the boy said to the waiter. "First we will eat some fruit and nuts, four dried, four fresh, two sour-salted and four preserved in honey."

  那少年道:“别忙吃肉,咱们先吃果子。喂伙计,先来四干果、四鲜果、两咸酸、四蜜饯。”

  The waiter looked surprised. "Which fruits would you like?"

  店小二吓了一跳,不意他口出大言,冷笑道:“大爷要些甚么果子蜜饯?”

  "I doubt you serve anything of note in a poor little inn like this." he said, "so we'll have to make do with dried lychees, longans, steamed jujube and ginkgo nuts. As for the fresh, give us whatever's in season. And we want sliced, perfumed sour cherries and sour plums with ginger. Can you get them here? And the honeyed? Hmm. Rose-scented kumquats, grapes, sugar-coated peach and some pear, done in the style of Lord My Master."

  那少年道:“这种穷地方小酒店,好东西谅你也弄不出来,就这样吧,干果四样是荔枝、桂圆、蒸枣、银杏。鲜果你拣时新的。咸酸要砌香樱桃和姜丝梅儿,不知这儿买不买到?蜜饯吗?就是玫瑰金橘、香药葡萄、糖霜桃条、梨肉好郎君。”

  The waiter was impressed and was no longer haughty with the boy.

  店小二听他说得十分在行,不由得收起小觑之心。

  "I take it you don't have any fresh fish or seafood to have with our wine," the young man continued. "So we will have to be content with eight dishes of whatever you've got."

  那少年又道:“下酒菜这里没有新鲜鱼虾,嗯,就来八个马马虎虎的酒菜吧。”

  "What do the sirs like in particular?"

  店小二问道:“爷们爱吃甚么?”

  "Of course, they need everything to be explained down to the last detail," the boy sighed. "Petal-dressed quail, fried duck's feet, chicken-tongue soup, drunken deer tripe, pan-fried beef done two ways, rabbit slivers in chrysanthemum, flame-cooked venison and … pig's trotter in ginger vinegar. We'll take these simple dishes, I don't anticipate you have anything more refined."

  少年道:“唉,不的说清楚定是不成。八个酒菜是花炊鹌子、炒鸭掌、鸡舌羹、鹿肚的酿江瑶、鸳鸯煎牛筋、菊花兔丝、爆獐腿、姜醋金银蹄子。我只拣你们这儿做得出的来点,名贵点儿的菜肴嘛,咱们也就免了。”

  The waiter's mouth was by now agape.

  店小二听得张大了口合不拢来。

  注意在这里,黄蓉的“报菜名”,也是很流畅的阅读体验。

  而下面这段对话中则用了比较简洁的英文单词,展现了原文的节奏,还有郭靖的性格。

  "Big Brother," Lotus began, "I want to ask you for something. But I fear it is something you value highly and you won't to part with it."

  黄蓉问起小红马的性子脚程,听郭靖说后,神色十分欣羡,喝了一口茶,笑吟吟的道:“大哥,我向你讨一件宝物,你肯吗?”

  "Anything."

  郭靖道:“哪有不肯之理?”

  "Would you give me your horse?"

  黄蓉道:“我就是喜欢你这匹汗血宝马。”

  "Gladly." Guo Jing replied without hesitation.

  郭靖毫不迟疑,道:“好,我送给兄弟就是。”

  In fact, Lotus was teasing him. It was clear that Guo Jing felt a great attachment to the animal, and they had only just met. But his reply took her by surprise and she buried her face in her sleeve.

  黄蓉本是随口开个玩笑,心想他对这匹千载难逢的宝马爱若性命,自己与他不过萍水相逢,存心是要瞧瞧这老实人如何出口拒绝,哪知他答应得豪爽之至,实是大出意外,不禁愕然,心中感激,难以自已,忽然伏在桌上,呜呜咽咽的哭了起来。

  Guo Jing watched awkwardly. "What's the matter, Brother, are you unwell?"

  这一下郭靖更是大为意外,忙问:“兄弟,怎么?你身上不舒服吗?”

  Lotus looked up. The tears had cleaned her cheeks, revealing a jadeite glow beneath. "Let's go," she said.

  黄蓉抬起头来,虽是满脸泪痕,却是喜笑颜开,只见他两条泪水在脸颊上垂了下来,洗去煤黑,露出两道白玉般的肌肤,笑道:“大哥,咱们走罢!”

  Guo Jing paid and together they went outside. Guo Jing took his horse by the reins and spoke to it, caressing its mane. "You will now go with my friend here. Be good and do as he says, and no more of your foul temper!" He then turned to Lotus. "Brother, up you get!"

  郭靖会了钞下楼,牵过红马,嘱咐道:“我把你送给了我的好朋友,你要好好听话,决不可发脾气。”拉住辔头,轻轻抚摸马毛,说道:“兄弟,你上马罢!”

  下面再来欣赏一段描写比较多的节选:

  A young maiden was rowing towards them, her black hair tumbling down over her shoulders and white robes. Her golden hairpins twinkled in the winter sunlight. She looked like a celestial goddess and Guo Jing was struck dumb. As she came closer, he realised she could not be more than fifteen or sixteen. Her skin was as white as the surrounding fields and her beauty was like none he had ever seen before. She approached with a broad smile.

  只见船尾一个女子持桨荡舟,长发披肩,全身白衣,头发上束了条金带,白雪一映,更是灿然生光。郭靖见这少女一身装束犹如仙女一般,不禁看得呆了。那船慢慢荡近,只见那女子方当韶龄,不过十五六岁年纪,肌肤胜雪,娇美无比,容色绝丽,不可逼视。

  Guo Jing turned, unable to look straight at her, and blushed.

  郭靖只觉耀眼生花,不敢再看,转开了头,缓缓退开几步。

  英文版的《射雕英雄传》(Legends of Condor Heroes 1: A Hero Born)已经在英国正式出版近4个月,从消息传出到现在超过半年,这对中文读者来说是很兴奋的一件事。

  不过,大家还是带了些许“不可思议”来看待这个译本的,因为就连译者郝玉青(Anna Holmwood)本人也是很清楚,很多中国读者认为金庸是基本不可译的:想想那些武功招式;想想那些诗词;想想那最基本的侠义之情,还有构建在丰富的传统文化精髓之上的飘逸灵动的武学之精神内涵……

作者郝玉青

  确实,从金庸开始连载《射雕》,至今60余年,这是《射雕》在西方正式出版的第一个英译本,走得也是亲民的大众出版路线(区别于此前的三部由大学出版社出的)。

  一言不合就先放了译文,是希望大家能感受到英译本的顺畅,基本上没有翻译感了是不是?

  郝玉青本月初在北京,见到她时,她说了一句话,让人回味良久:

  “如果一位10来岁的中国少年会在夜深人静时偷着在被窝里追着看金庸,那我希望英译本也能做到。”

  这句话包含了好几个信息:

  ◆ 书要好看到放不下来(这个主要靠金庸);

  ◆ 语言是好读的;

  ◆ 不能有太多人为设置的阅读难度,特别是在跨越文化差异时,如果作为一本译著每篇都是满满的注释,10岁的读者应该很难做到打着电筒也要坚持看完。

  郝玉青是怎么做到的呢?

  从学术背景上说,1984年出生的郝玉青在牛津作过历史和现代中国研究,05年到中国旅游后兴趣大增,06年开始学中文,后来去台湾师范大学待了一段继续学习中文,回到英国在伦敦大学主修中国文学。

郝玉青和林家纬

  她的翻译起点很高,第一部作品是当年很火的《山楂树之恋》,也译过阿乙和不少短篇。

电影《山楂树之恋》剧照

  在此框架下,她对金庸的文体、风格把握很准,还能放在现当代中国文学的大趋势中审视。

  她说,“金庸作品确实聚合了很多传统文化要素,他的语言是那种口语化的现代文言文。他用稍年长者的口气在叙述,但文字很新鲜,又不失生动。对照这个,我用的英语也是类似,新鲜灵动、不老派,也能动人。读金庸是很有趣的,读英语版的金庸也要有能体会到同样的阅读乐趣。”

  He’s a learnt writer and he takes that learning light。

  金庸是学富五车的作者,但是在处理和表达上又举重若轻。

  A punch isn’t just a punch, behind it comes the force of thousands of years of Chinese medicine, understandings of the body, attention to muscle and movement, breathing and meridian lines. A poem isn’t just a poem, behind it can be glimpsed the elegance of a thousand poems, the layered meanings of one flower, the stories of poets of bygone ages, dynasties rising, falling, and those who fought against these things with only their brush as their weapon.

  打不是单纯的打。在此之下掩藏着中国几千年来的医药知识、对人体的理解、对肌肉和运功的注重、呼吸和经脉的运用。诗也不是单纯的诗句。在一首诗之下还有千家诗那闪耀的韵味、一朵花的千言万语、时间长河之中诗人们的际遇,还有朝代之更迭,以及为百姓疾苦以笔为戈的斗士。

  在翻译的时候,她态度端正:

  我有时候会把自己跟郭靖做对比,就像他学习武功一样,不是自然就学会了,必须靠着他这份同样的赤诚,我也一样,我知道我必须努力才能做好这个伟大的工作。

  可读性是郝玉青的重要考量,真正“忠实”的翻译并不是刻板的字句相对应,而应是阅读之中得到的那种感受和那种味道。

  她说很多人关注某些名词或招式的翻译,但她更看重节奏(pace)和流动(flow)。为此,她有时会回过头去翻翻《三个火枪手》的打斗场景,找找灵感,有时也会复习一下武侠电视或电影,找找感觉。

  “打:hit、punch, 是很快的,readers should feel like the same,”她这样说。

  她讲英语语速很快,偶尔夹杂一两个中文词汇。比如“顺畅”、“翻译腔”,又比如“凭什么”,这些她用中文表达更自如的词汇。

  所以她时常会缩短英语译文,给节奏加速,着重去创造与原文同样的氛围和感觉。

  引用施东来在关于《射雕》翻译策略的点评:

  “简化,省略的翻译策略也许会让一些金庸原著的忠实读者觉得惋惜。但是如果我们暂时忘记原著,而把英译本当做一本独立完整的小说来看待,这些精简的策略其实都没有对故事内容和情节的发展产生任何消极影响。恰恰相反,适当合理地对原文较为花哨的地方进行精简,能大大增加英译本的故事性和可读性,对于想要将《射雕英雄传》打造成新兴畅销读物的商业出版社来说,是更加明智的选择。”

  她的策略还包括,在正文开始前,正常的序之外,还专门写了一篇有关江湖武林历史背景的短文。而在文末,也列了所有人物的名字简介。

  英译本出版以来的争议似乎一直集中在某些名词上,比如先前颇受争议的标题中的“秃鹰”condor,还有人找来他们和鹰的对比图。

condor“秃鹰”↑↑

eagle “鹰”↑↑

  郝玉青在正文后放了一个《关于“秃鹰”之争的附录》,解释了选词的原因,也算顺应一种早已通过影视剧进入英语圈的用法,召唤更多原有粉丝。

  双语君此前已经关注过,详情请点击这两篇,传送门,

  ●《射雕英雄传》终于有英译版了!原来最难译的不是“九阴白骨爪”丨读书者说

  ●《射雕》终于出了英译版,被译成了《秃鹫英雄传奇》...... 看到黄蓉译为黄莲花,网友彻底不干了

  还有黄蓉,变成了Lotus Huang,这样如果直译的话就成了“黄莲花”,很多人就不答应了。

  其实你们的担忧译者是知道的:

  When you read as a Chinese people, you’ll know it’s a girl, and Guo Jing doesn’t know. That’s part of his character. The English readers won’t know and then the whole point of dynamic and that part of the character is lost.

  蓉单从字形,就能让读者知道性别倾向。而英语Rong做不到啊,采用具有女性特征的Lotus,能让英语读者体会到郭靖的性格,和在文字之下的那种精彩。

  郝玉青在介绍金庸时会说:

  He is the best-selling living author in China, which means he is the best-selling author in the world.

  他是中国最畅销的作家,也肯定是在世的作家中最畅销的那位。

  Yes, He is quite big deal.

  是的,他是现象级的。

  粗浅统计,金庸15本小说在华语世界共卖出3.5亿本,这个数据肯定是不完整的,因为还有人选择电子版,或者看了盗版。

  西方大众读者很少听过,也基本没读过,但现在不同了:

  Jin Yong has a cultural currency roughly represented by Harry Potter and Star Warscombine.

  现在他们称关于金庸的现象级文化,就像《哈利波特》和《星球大战》的结合版。

《倚天屠龙记》剧照

  《卫报》今年3月的一个评论最有趣,英国作家Marcel Theroux说:

  As I read Anna Holmwood’s vibrant translation… I felt a slight regret that I was coming to this novel in my fifth decade. It would be a wonderful initiation into a lifelong enthusiasm for China, its history and civilization, its vast and chronically misunderstood presence in the world.

  阅读郝玉青生动的译文时,我略感遗憾,我竟然都到了五十多岁才接触到金庸的作品。这个作品如果更早读到,肯定能让我产生对中华历史和文明的终生热爱,能让我去正视这个广袤的却又经常被误读的国家。

  《射雕》第一卷英译本输出到了7个国家,包括西班牙、德国、芬兰、巴西、葡萄牙、匈牙利。让郝玉青开心的是,它也被卖到了美国,2019年就要出版了。据说好莱坞也产生了很大的兴趣。

  I’m really delighted that Jin Yong’s writing has finally be available to mainstream American audience.

  我很兴奋,美国的主流大众读者终于有机会读到金庸啦。

  谈到版税价格,她说应该是历史上中国文学作品最高之一,具体多高?她用了substantial这个词。

  如今,中国的类型文学正在加速走向海外,以以前从来未有过的深度和广度。

  考虑到武侠、网文、影视、游戏这些年积累的人气,打算做成Condor三部曲的《射雕》系列没准会成为中国文学在西方和全世界的下一个爆点。

  这个系列包括《射雕》、《神雕》和《倚天》,还有11本待出版。一年一本的话,想象一下,没准就真像郝玉青自己做得“不恰当的对比”:中国的《指环王》重现世界之巅!

  买下版权的MacLehose Press也是《龙纹身的女孩》的英国出版商,对出版外国系列畅销小说很有经验。

  郝玉青说:

  And one success can open the door a little bit more, and finally every one could come to the door then.

  这就像敲一扇厚重的门,《三体》走出了第一步,其后大家都来敲门、撞门,然后门就开了。

  她常说:

  There were slight lack of faith in translating Jin Yong, something so Chinese to be translatable, which is a self-reflection of how much Chinese people feel their culture has been neglected.

  一直存在一种“这么中国化的内容能翻译好吗、能被西方很好的接受么”的担忧,恰好反映了中国人觉的他们的文化长期以来被世界忽视了。

  I feel very sympathetic. Things are changing very rapidly, and now it’s the time for Chinese people to feel confident about the place of their history and their culture in the world.

  我很能理解这种想法。现在中国人应该对他们自己的历史、文化在世界上地位更有信心。

  在走出这一步的时候,她还有个得天独厚的条件,除了译者,她还是一名出版代理。她深谙出版社和代理的心理,能从历史背景(西方对蒙古人的了解)、人物塑造和情感、以及其实并不陌生的文学类型(epic history fantasy)来找到让西方熟悉《射雕》的点。

  她还有个小特长,大家觉得难译的诗词,她说正是她的兴趣所在。

  比如《射雕》一开篇的那首:

  小桃无主自开花,

  Untended, the peach blossoms still open,

  烟草茫茫带晚鸦。

  As follow fields of tobacco draw the crows.

  几处败垣围故井,

  In times past, by the village well,

  向来一一是人家。

  Families once gathered to vent their sorrows.

  郝玉青说:

  I strongly believe that what makes some thing unique to a culture, doesn’t also make it a barrier, at least not necessarily. They can be precisely the thing that makes it stand out and you do well in translation.

  我觉得一个作品的文化特质不会让翻译真正成为跨文化理解的障碍,却还有可能让这个作品更突出。

  你期待这部英译本的《射雕英雄传》么?你最喜欢的武侠小说是哪一部?


责任编辑:霍娟