中國(guó)文學(xué)英譯絮談

沙楓

“鳳凰臺(tái)”對(duì)“黃鶴樓”

“此地空余黃鶴樓”，崔顥寫(xiě)的這首《黃鶴樓》，是膾灸人口的。據(jù)說(shuō)崔顥題了這首詩(shī)之后，才高如李白，也不敢題詩(shī)黃鶴樓頭。

喻守真編注的《唐詩(shī)三百首詳析》，在崔顥的《黃鶴樓》詩(shī)后，有此注解：

據(jù)《該聞錄》曰：崔顥題武昌《黃鶴樓》詩(shī)，為世所誦。李太白負(fù)大名，尚曰：“眼前有景道不得，崔顥題詩(shī)在上頭?！庇麛M之較勝負(fù)。乃作《金陵登鳳凰臺(tái)》詩(shī)歌。

崔顥的《黃鶴樓》詩(shī)是這樣的：

昔人已乘黃鶴去，此地空余黃鶴樓。
黃鶴一去不復(fù)返，白云千載空悠悠！
晴川歷歷漢陽(yáng)樹(shù)，芳草萋萋鸚鵡洲。
日暮鄉(xiāng)關(guān)何處是？煙波江上使人愁。

這首詩(shī)早有 Giles 與 Bynner 的英譯。最近 Tim Beal 也將之譯出，刊于蘇格蘭-中國(guó)協(xié)會(huì)的刊物上。

Bynner 的譯文是這樣的：

Where long ago a yellow crane bore a sage to heaven,
Nothing is left now but the Yellow Crane Terrace.
The yellow crane never revisited earth,
And white clouds are flying without him for ever.
Every tree in Han-yang becomes clear in the water,
And Parrot Island is a nest of sweet grasses.
But I look toward home, and twilight grows dark
With a mist of grief on the river waves.

Giles 的英譯如下，是押韻的：

Here a mortal once sailed up to heaven on a crane,
And a Yellow-Crane Kiosk will for ever remain;
But the bird flew away will come back no more,
Though the white clouds are there as the white clouds of yore.
Away to the east lie fair forests of trees,
From flowers on the west comes a scent-laden breeze;
Yet my eyes daily turn to their faraway home,
Beyond the broad River, its waves, and its foam.

Beal 的英譯如下：

In the past a man rode away on the Yellow Crane,
Leaving behind in this place the empty Yellow Crane Tower.
The Yellow Crane once gone will never more return,
A thousand years of white clouds in vast, empty skies!
Limpid streams can be clearly seen amongst the trees at Hangyang,
Fragrant plants grow in abundance on Parrot Islet.
The sun sets and where is my home?
The mist and waves on the river fill a man with sadness.

上述三種英譯，Beal，Bynner 二人是直譯，Giles 則是意譯。

李白的《金陵登鳳凰臺(tái)》詩(shī)則是這樣：

鳳凰臺(tái)上鳳凰游，鳳去臺(tái)空江自流。
吳宮花草埋幽徑，晉代衣冠成古丘。
三山半落青天外，二水中分白鷺洲。
總為浮云能蔽日，長(zhǎng)安不見(jiàn)使人愁！

這首詩(shī)后，《唐詩(shī)三百首詳析》也有注解：

太白此詩(shī)原欲與崔顥爭(zhēng)勝，所以就用“黃鶴樓”詩(shī)的原韻（其中只有“流”、“丘”二韻不同），而且開(kāi)首句法，也似乎有意模仿前詩(shī)。其中最自然成趣的，是“洲”字韻。湖北有鸚鵡洲，金陵恰巧有白鷺洲，真是天造地設(shè)。以太白的才氣橫溢，以此詩(shī)和崔詩(shī)相比，真可謂“工力悉敵”。其中二聯(lián)雖是感事寫(xiě)景，而感概淋漓，深得吊古詩(shī)義。蓋為吳宮花草，晉代衣冠，俱成陳?ài)E；只三山二水，依然流峙，和上文臺(tái)空江流，自然照應(yīng)。比之崔詩(shī)中聯(lián)，較有意義得多了。

詩(shī)的最后，李白也是用“使人愁”三字結(jié)束，與崔如出一轍。

茲介紹李白這首詩(shī) Bynner 的英譯如下：

Phoenixes that played here once, so the place was named for them,
have abandoned it now to this desolate river;
The path of Wu Palace are crooked with weeds,
The garments at Chin are ancient dust.
Like this green horizon halving the Three Peaks,
Like this Island of White Egret dividing the river;
A cloud has arisen between the Light of Heaven and me,
To hide his city from my melancholy heart.

“使人愁”三字，Bynner 在李白的“長(zhǎng)安不見(jiàn)使人愁”中譯作“my melancholy heart”，在崔顥的“煙波江上使人愁”中譯作“a mist of grief”。

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