|
陈子善在1941年6月上海西风月刊社出版的《西书精华》第6期上发现张爱玲的“西书摘译”《谑而虐》一篇，断定这是张爱玲22岁时的翻译处女作。 发表《谑而虐》的《西书精华》是三、四十年代上海西风月刊社系列刊物中最晚出的一种。第一种就是大名鼎鼎的《西风》，创刊于1936年9月，以“译述西洋杂志精华，介绍欧美人生社会”为宗旨。林语堂在《〈西风〉发刊词》中称“每读西洋杂志文章，而感其取材之丰富，文体之活泼，与范围之广大,皆足为吾国杂志模范。又回读我国杂志，而叹其取材之单调，文体之刻板，及范围之拘束，因每愤而有起办《西风》之志”所以才支持黄嘉德、黄嘉音昆仲创办《西风》，以“更亲切认识西洋文化之真面目”。 《西风》问世后大受欢迎，被誉为“替中国杂志开一新纪元”。于是黄氏兄弟又于一九三八年九月创办《西风副刊》，1940年3月再创办《西书精华》季刊。《西书精华》是以“译述西书精华、介绍欧美读物为目标，对西洋文化作进一步之介绍”。 《谑而虐》的原作者哈尔赛女士(Margaret Halsey)在中国“名不见经传”，但在美国文坛小有名气。张爱玲选译的With Malice Toward Some是哈尔赛的处女作，她的丈夫以英美教育界交换教授、赴英国德文州任职。哈尔赛以日记的形式，描写英国、瑞典、挪威给予美国人的印象，于一九三八年出版，立即成为美国当年的畅销书。大概也正因为此书一纸风行，正在香港大学求学的张爱玲才注意到它，并产生兴趣从中选译。 我们先来体会一下作者形象生动的文笔： The days melt away like cough drops on the tongue. 日子像舌头上的咳嗽糖一般地消融了。 I brush my hair and take a long walk and type out Henry's notes and stand for a while in the garden composing my face to look like a Landed Gent, and ping! The day is gone. 我刷头发，长长地散一回步，把亨利的笔记用打字机印出来，在花园里站一会，放下脸来扮演“有田地的缙绅”。砰的一声，一天已经过去。 The Devonshire countryside grows upon me like an obsessions; I sometimes suspect that somebody has given me a philtre. 我一心一意地爱德文州的乡村已经上了瘾了。 Living in England, provincial England, must be like being married to a stupid but exquisitely beautiful wife. Whenever you have definitely made up you mind to send her to a home for morons, she turns her heart-stopping profile and you are unstrung and victimised again. 住在英国——英国乡下——必定是和讨了一位愚笨而秀丽的妻子一般。每次你打定主意把她送到白痴收容所去，她转过她那使人心夺神移的侧面来，你又骨头酥下来，被她征服了。 何杏枫认为，把《谑而虐》放置在张爱玲整个创作及翻译生涯考察，可得出一个完整的图景。在对文化异同的关注及行文风格等各方面，《谑而虐》皆可视作张爱玲日后创作路向的一个引端。轻灵、好奇、幽默、想像力丰富，是张爱玲文化评论的特色。梅奈特在《中国人的生活与时装》的引言中用“有趣”（amusing）来形容张爱玲的风格。郑树森认为张爱玲这些评论文章的行文“流畅雅丽，略带一点维多利亚末期文风”。“事实上，张爱玲的中英散文均带有浓厚的西方风味。张爱玲的“张看”类散文，如《谈音乐》、《谈跳舞》等，明显受到英式小品随笔或《西风》系列刊物所谓的“西洋杂志文”的影响。”当中那种幽默机智轻松随便的闲谈口吻，跟哈尔赛《谑而虐》中诙谐风趣的调子有相通之处。 张爱玲散文与《谑而虐》另一相似之处是比喻及拟人法的大量运用。除了上文，极尽幽默讽刺之能事的例子可信手拈来。 Now and then, I think sadly of the lustrous June weather at home and wonder how I will get along for a whole year in this dim aquarium of a country. 我不时悲哀地想到家里鲜亮的六月天气，不知道我怎样能在这阴暗的水族馆似的国家度过一整年。 Generally speaking it is impossible for an American to get through an afternoon or evening in the company of English people without hearing at least half a dozen unmistakable hints that culturally speaking, his compatriots are running neck and neck with the anthropoid apes. 一般的说来，美国人和英国人相处一下午或一夕，必定要听到至少一打不能作其他解释的暗示——在文化程度上，美国同胞和人猿并驾齐驱。 而张氏令人击节赞叹的修辞表达亦不胜枚举。例如： 汽车驶入一带黑沉沉的街衢。乔琪没有朝她看，就看也看不见，可是他知道她一定是哭了。他把自由的那只手摸出香烟夹子和打火机来，烟卷儿衔在嘴里，点上火。火光一亮，在那凛冽的寒夜里，他的嘴上仿佛开了一朵橙红色的花。花立时谢了。又是寒冷与黑暗…… 《第一炉香》 The car drove through the heavy blackness of the city streets. George hadn’t looked—it was too dark to see— but he knew she must be crying. With his free hand he pulled out a cigarette case and lighter. Cigarette dangling from his lips, he struck a light. On that bitter winter’s night, the flame flashed before his mouth like an orange blossom. The blossom bloomed, then died. The cold and the dark returned. 整个的世界像一个蛀空了的牙齿，麻木木的，倒也不觉得什么，只是风来的时候，隐隐的有一点酸痛。”《第二炉香》 The entire world is like a decayed tooth; it is numb and one does not feel anything in particular, except for a slight twinge of pain when the wind blows. 她又看了看表。一种失败的预感，像丝袜上一道裂痕，阴凉的在腿肚子上悄悄往上爬。《色，戒》 She glanced at her watch again. She felt a kind of chilling premonition of failure, like a long snag in a silk stocking, silently creeping up her body. 最后说说书名的汉译。从题目的选取，可见张爱玲对哈尔赛文字风格的掌握。书的原名With Malice toward Some，直译是'对某些人带恶意”，所指者乃英国人对美国人的偏见与批评。张爱玲的中译“谑而虐”转化自成语“谑而不虐”。省掉了“不”这个否定词，意思转变为由戏谑而伤害。张爱玲的中译以哈尔赛抗议英国人歧视美国人作结，自然能捕捉到原文重点所在。当然，“对某些人带恶意”还可带有以眼还眼之意。张爱玲在“译者识”中就以“幽默尖利”形容哈尔赛的文笔，“其中译题目以“谑”和“虐”作同音相关，语带讽刺之余，亦能点出英美之间以戏谑出之的针锋相对（何杏枫）。 如若再查查资料，便可知“With Malice toward Some” 来源于对1965年林肯第二次总统就职演讲的仿拟，原文是： With malice toward none，with charity for all， with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right. Let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan --- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 不以恶意对人；尽以仁义示人；当上帝让我们得见正义之时，我们必须坚持正义，让我们继续奋斗，完成我们目前正在进行的事业；包扎这个国家的伤口；关怀担当这场战争之重负的士兵，关爱他们的孤儿寡妇一 我们应竭尽全力，在我们中间以及同所有国家之间追求并且实现一种公正并且永久的和平。 而“谑而不虐”则出自“善戏谑兮，不为虐兮”（诗经，卫风，淇奥）。原文和理雅各的英文译文分别如下： 瞻彼淇奥，绿竹猗猗。有匪君子，如切如磋，如琢如磨。瑟兮僩兮，赫兮咺兮。有匪君子，终不可谖兮。 看那淇水弯弯岸，碧绿竹林片片连。高雅先生是君子，学问切磋更精湛，品德琢磨更良善。神态庄重胸怀广，地位显赫很威严。高雅先生真君子，一见难忘记心田。 Look at those recesses in the banks of the K'e, With their green bamboos, so fresh and luxuriant! There is our elegant and accomplished prince,--- As from the knife and the file, As from the chisel and the polisher! How grave is he and dignified! How commanding and distinguished! Our elegant and accomplished prince,- Never cun he be forgotten! 瞻彼淇奥，绿竹青青。有匪君子，充耳琇莹，会弁如星。瑟兮僩兮，赫兮咺兮。有匪君子，终不可谖兮。 看那淇水弯弯岸，绿竹袅娜连一片。高雅先生真君子，美丽良玉垂耳边，宝石镶帽如星闪。神态庄重胸怀广，地位显赫更威严。高雅先生真君子，一见难忘记心田。 Look at those recesses in the banks of the K'e, With their green bamboos, so strong and luxuriant! There is our elegant and accomplished prince,--- With his ear-stoppers of beautiful pebbles, And his cap, glittering as with stars between the seams! How grave is he and dignified! How commanding and distinguished! Our elegant and uccomplished prince,- Never can he be forgotten! 瞻彼淇奥，绿竹如箦。有匪君子，如金如锡，如圭如璧。宽兮绰兮，猗重较兮。善戏谑兮，不为虐兮。 看那淇水弯弯岸，绿竹葱茏连一片。高雅先生真君子，青铜器般见精坚，玉礼器般见庄严。宽宏大量真旷达，倚靠车耳驰向前。谈吐幽默真风趣，开个玩笑人不怨。 Look at those recesses in the banks of the K'e, With their green bamboos, so dense together! There is our elegant and accomplished prince,--- [Pure] as gold or as tin, [Soft and rich] as a sceptre of jade! How magnanimous is he and gentle! There he is in his chariot with its two high sides! Skilful is he at quips and jokes, But how does he keep from rudeness in them! 谁曾想，林肯之言有朝一日经过翻译便与中国的《诗经》产生关联。由此可见，英语学习远非背几个单词那么简单，深刻的文化内涵才最难掌握。 |
|
|
