PREFACE
序/iv
TO LI PO AND TU FU
致李白和杜甫/viii
DEDICATION: TO TATUNG
题词:致大唐/x
POEMS BY LI PO
李白的诗/1
POEMS BY TU FU
杜甫的诗/53
POEMS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
其他诗作/117
內容試閱:
W.J.B. 弗莱彻(18791933)全名威廉约翰班布里奇弗莱彻,他是一位英国外交官,从1908 年开始他在中国北京、上海和广州工作并生活了25 载。出于对中国文化的热爱,特别是对中国传统诗歌的浓厚兴趣,弗莱彻退休后并没有返回英国,而是在中山大学留任并致力于中西文化交流直至去世。1918 年,弗莱彻出版了《英译唐诗选集》,一部包含181 首唐诗的英文选集,其中有36 首李白的作品,45 首杜甫的作品和其他56 位唐朝诗人的100 首作品。一年之后,《英译唐诗选续集》出版,其包含了李白的17 首作品,杜甫的30首作品和其他28 位唐朝诗人的58首作品。这两本书显而易见地表达了译者对李白和杜甫这两位唐朝著名诗人的偏爱。在这两本书出版之前,李白已得到西方世界的些许关注,然而很少有人了解杜甫。因而,弗莱彻将这两位诗人平等对待的态度对于中国诗歌的翻译与外传具有开创性贡献。最早的唐诗英译版本可追溯至19世纪早期。然而,之后的100年里,西方世界只偶尔出现关于中国文学研究的只言片语,没有一本专门研究中国文学瑰宝的作品出现。从这个意义来说,弗莱彻于
1918 年和1919 年出版的这两部作品意义重大,应视其为将唐诗介绍给英语世界的里程碑。为保留诗歌翻译的特点和韵律,弗莱彻在英译唐诗时采取了相应策略。同时,他把可读性考虑在内,将大众作为目标读者。为了说明他的翻译中的显著特点,我们来看一下这首杜甫的《秋兴八首其一》的翻译:
Before the Autumns pearling dew the maple woods decay,
Oer Magic Hill and Wizard Gorge broods desolations sway.
The billows of the river leap to touch the boiling sky,
The stormclouds driven oer the Pass oer Earth as shadows fly.
The asters twice have opened a fresh years tears to view,
The lone boat once tied up acquires old longings ever new.
All round, their winter clothes to make, the rule and scissors ply,
Till sunset thuds the busy block oer Po-tis towers high.
(原诗:
玉露凋伤枫树林,巫山巫峡气萧森。
江间波浪兼天涌,塞上风云接地阴。
丛菊两开他日泪,孤舟一系故园心。
寒衣处处催刀尺,白帝城高急暮砧。)
为忠于中文原诗,英语译文由八个押尾韵的短长格组成,押韵的格式是aabbccdd,即所谓的对联韵律,这在英语诗歌中很常见。
弗莱彻生活在一个中国正遭受国内冲突和外国侵略的时代。在这种背景下,我们应赞赏他对唐诗,尤其是对中国文化的尊重和崇敬,其最显著的表现是在《英译唐诗选续集》的题词:致大唐中:
My heart had never Venus thrilled,
My breast had passion never filled,
Mine art perchance had never brought
To thee these Gems of ancient thought.
Then strung on sweet affections string
These Gems about thy neck I fling.
For they upon thy breast will shine
With twice the beauty that is mine.
(译文:
我的心从未如此激动,
我的胸膛从未如此充满激情,
我知晓的艺术或许从来没有带来
这些你的古代思想的精华。
然后串在甜美的绳上,
装点着我所倚靠的你的脖颈。
它们在你的胸前闪耀,
它们比我所知晓的艺术美丽双倍。)
弗莱彻的唐诗译文简洁、直率、典雅,虽已历经百年,但仍具有
不可抗拒的魅力。这对于今天向世界其他地区介绍中国的文学及文化
仍具有指导和参考价值。
顾钧
2018年9月30日
(北京外国语大学教授,国际中国文化研究院副院长)
W.J.B. Fletcher 1879-1933, whose full name is William JohnBainbridge Fletcher, was a British diplomat, who had worked and livedin Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou successively for 25 years since1908. Due to his love for Chinese culture, especially traditional Chinesepoetry, Fletcher did not return to England after retirement. Instead, hetaught at Sun Yat-Sen University as a professor and engaged in culturalexchanges between China and the West till his death. In 1918, Fletcherpublished Gems of Chinese Verse, an English anthology of 181 Tangpoems, including 36 of Li Bai, 45 of Du Fu and 100 of other 56 poets. Oneyear later, More Gems of Chinese Poetry was made public, which contains17 pieces of Li Bai, 30 of Du Fu and 58 of other 28 Tang poets. The twoworks demonstrate quite clearly the translators preference for Li Bai andDu Fu, two foremost poets of the Tang Dynasty. Before the Gems andMore Gems, Li Bai had received some attention in the West while littlewas known about Du Fu. Fletchers equal treatment of them, therefore, is agroundbreaking contribution to the translation of Chinese poetry.The first English translation of Tang poetry dates back to the earlynineteenth century. Ever since then, however, 100 years had witnessedonly scattered pieces coming out from time to time, without a singlevolume devoted to the gems of Chinese literature. In this sense, Fletcherstwo anthologies of 1918 and 1919 are so significant that they should berightly regarded as a milestone in the introduction of Tang poetry to theEnglish-speaking world.
Fletcher adopts the strategy of verse for verse translation and rhyming.At the same time he makes much account of readability, taking thegeneral public as the target reader. To illustrate the notable features of histranslation, let us look at the Ode to Autumn, No. 1 by Du Fu:
Before the Autumns pearling dew the maple woods decay,
Oer Magic Hill and Wizard Gorge broods desolations sway.
The billows of the river leap to touch the boiling sky,
The stormclouds driven oer the Pass oer Earth as shadows fly.
The asters twice have opened a fresh years tears to view,
The lone boat once tied up acquires old longings ever new.
All round, their winter clothes to make, the rule and scissors ply,
Till sunset thuds the busy block oer Po-tis towers high.
True to the original Chinese version, the translation is made up ofeight iambic lines with end rhymes. The rhyming format is aabbccdd, theso called couplet rhyme, which is quite common in English poetry.
Fletcher lived in an era when China was subjected to domestic strifeand foreign aggression. Against this backdrop we could have nothingbut praise for his respect and reverence for Tang poetry in particular andChinese culture in general, which is best indicated by the Dedication ofMore Gems of Chinese Poetry To Tatung:
My heart had never Venus thrilled,
My breast had passion never filled,
Mine art perchance had never brought
To thee these Gems of ancient thought.
Then strung on sweet affections string
These Gems about thy neck I fling.
For they upon thy breast will shine
With twice the beauty that is mine.
Concise, straightforward and elegant, Fletchers translation of Tangpoetry still boasts an irresistible charm despite the passage of 100 years. Itremains a valuable guide and reference for introducing Chinese literatureand culture to the rest of the world today.
Gu Jun
September 30, 2018
(Professor of Beijing Foreign Studies University,
Vice president of International Institute of Chinese Studies, BFSU)