《射雕英雄传》英文赏析

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飞雪连天射白鹿

笑书神侠倚碧鸳

Shooting a white deer, snow flutters around the skies;
Smiling, [one] writes about the divine chivalrous one, leaning against bluish lovebirds.

飞狐外传

Other Tales of the Flying Fox

雪山飞狐

Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain

连城诀

A Deadly Secret

天龙八部

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils

射雕英雄传

The Legend of the Condor Heroes

白马啸西风

Swordswoman Riding West on WhiteHorse

鹿鼎记

The Deer and the Cauldron

笑傲江湖

The Smiling、Proud Wanderer

书剑恩仇录

The Book and the Sword

神雕侠侣

The Return of the Condor Heroes

侠客行

Ode to Gallantry

倚天屠龙记

Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre

碧血剑

Sword Stained with Royal Blood

鸳鸯刀

Blade-dance of the Two Lovers

越女剑

Sword of the Yue Maiden

“Sword of the Yue Maiden” was left out because it would be an odd number, thus the couplet would not be complete, also because the “Sword of the Yue Maiden” was so short it was not even considered a book.

拿到这本书的读者都会注意到封面上有这样一句话：“A Chinese Lord of the Rings”，中国版《指环王》。这样的比较虽然不足以概括《射雕英雄传》，但最起码说明了一点：在把金庸武侠“东学西渐”这件事上，文化并不是障碍，因为在中西文化中，都存在类似的民族英雄、绿林好汉。

而对于主角郭靖黄蓉，书中有一处描述男女主角初次见面，互相自我介绍，黄蓉的“蓉”，郭靖的“靖”，Anna在翻译的时候也是做足了功夫，把中文对应的意象给解释了出来：

“I didn’t ask you your name,” he said and smiled. “Yes, we forgot. My family name is Guo, my given name Jing, meaning Serenity. And you?”

“My family name is Huang, my given name Rong, meaning Lotus.

杨铁心，“Ironheart Yang”，算是结合得很完美，铁石心肠；

郭啸天，“Skyfury Guo”，一怒冲天的画面跃然纸上;

包惜弱，“Charity Bao”，倒是很贴合仁慈善良的性格特点；

穆念慈，“Mercy Mu”；

“五绝”中的东邪黄药师，“The Eastern Heretic Apothecary Huang”；

中神通王重阳，“Double Sun Wang Chongyang”；

梅超风，“Cyclone Mei”

《射雕》开篇：

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.

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。

金庸大侠自上世纪五十年代开始创作武侠小说，他笔下“飞雪连天射白鹿，笑书神侠倚碧鸳”的故事早已传遍中原，但是西域读者大多只闻其名，未读其书，因为翻译金庸的武侠小说实在太难。

波士顿大学比较文学系教授Petrus Liu在最近一篇《石英》杂志（Quartz）的报道中说：

“Translating Jin Yong is often a daunting task because of the complexity of his language, which integrates prose and poetry and makes extensive use of ‘four-character phrases’ and other Chinese idioms in order to recreate the ‘feel’ of traditional Chinese vernacular novels.”

“翻译金庸令人生畏。为了营造中国传统小说的感觉，他的语言复杂，作品里夹杂诗歌，还大量使用四字成语和民间俗语。”

该报道还给西方读者介绍了金庸小说中极难翻译的词，比如“江湖”：

The characters in Cha’s world — who have colorful names like the “Seven Freaks of the South” — operate in what is known as the jianghu, a term that is familiar to Chinese speakers and any reader of wuxia fiction but difficult to translate into English. The word literally translates as “rivers and lakes,” but is typically used to mean people who live in a world parallel to conventional society, one that operates by its own laws and code of ethics. It is closely linked to another wuxia term, the wulin, or “martial arts forest,” referring to a community of people practicing martial arts.

金庸小说中人物的名字极富特色，比如“江南七怪（Seven Freaks of the South）”等，这些人行走在 “江湖”之中。中国读者熟悉的“江湖”，字面意思为“江和湖”，但其意蕴很难翻译成英文，因为它常用来表示和古代传统社会平行存在的社会环境，其生存法规和道德自成一派。“江湖”和“武林”休戚相关，后者指代会武功的人组成的群体。

要用英语原汁原味还原金庸的风格极其困难，虽然也有一些译者尝试，但正式出版的英文版不多。此前正式出版的译本有：

《雪山飞狐》

Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain

这本金庸于1959年开始连载的小说，由在香港城市大学教授翻译的莫锦屏（Olivia Mok）翻译，在1993年出版。

《鹿鼎记》

The Deer and the Cauldron

这本金庸的封笔之作由曾翻译过《红楼梦》的英国汉学家闵福德（John Minford）翻译。译本分为三卷，分别于1997年，2000年，2002年出版。

《书剑恩仇录》

The Book and the Sword

《书剑恩仇录》是金庸先生的第一部武侠小说，由英国记者、作家晏格文（Graham Earnshaw）翻译，2004年出版。

《射雕英雄传》被译为Legends of the Condor Heroes；《神雕侠侣》被译为Divine Condor, Errant Knight；《倚天屠龙记》则是Heaven Sword, Dragon Sabre。

《射雕英雄传》第一卷的译者是个可爱的英国女孩Anna Holmwood，中文名郝玉青。

郝玉青的父亲是英国人，母亲是瑞典人，她的母语是英文，自小又向母亲学瑞典语。本科时，她在牛津大学读历史。2005年的暑假她参加了一个来中国游学的项目。在邮件采访中，她回忆道：

“I already had an interest in China and Chinese history, but that trip proved to be formative for me. After two months seeing China from north to south and east to west, I came away feeling that the only way I would satisfy my curiosity about the country, its people and the culture would be to learn Chinese.”

“我在此之前就对中国与中国历史感兴趣，但是那次旅行对于我（学中文）起了决定性影响。两个月间我游遍了中国的东南西北。离开的时候我想，只有一种方法能满足我对中国、中国人与中国文化的好奇心，那就是学中文！”

回到牛津后，她选择了攻读当代中国研究方向的硕士，开始努力学习汉语，并先后来北京大学、台湾师范大学做交换生，毕业后就一直致力于向西方读者引进中国作品的工作。

在台北学习时，郝玉青和朋友去敦化南路诚品书店，看到了一个书架摆放的都是金庸的小说，于是便买了一本中文版的《鹿鼎记》。初读时她感到十分纠结，但是随后便渐渐入迷了。

郝玉青最初翻译《射雕英雄传》是2012年，她花了几个礼拜试译了一部分发给了MacLehose出版社。出版社的编辑看了十分喜欢，并且惊喜地发现这本书尚未出版过英译本。于是签下了这三部曲的英文版权，计划未来一年出一本。

目前《射雕英雄传》的第一本已经翻译完成，郝玉青说，通常人们都认为最难翻译的部分是那些武功招数的名称，但她觉得那不是最关键的。

“A lot of people are curious about the way I have translated the names of moves or elements of martial arts, but these aren’t really the most crucial features of whether or not a translation is successful.”

很多人都很好奇我是怎么翻译那些武功招数的名称，但这些其实不是决定一个译文是否成功的最关键因素。

“It’s all about whether the English reader will be drawn into the emotions and the characters, that he or she will be amazed by the prowess of the fighting or caught up in the political intrigues.”

重要的是译文能否让英语读者被书中的情绪和人物吸引，能否让读者被超凡脱俗的武打所震撼，能否将书中的阴谋诡计翻得扣人心弦。

那么郝玉青的译文究竟是怎么样的呢？

我们从出版社要到了样书，给大家分享一段，这是郭靖与女扮男装的黄蓉第一次相识：

A northerly wind was blowing fierce as they left the inn. The boy shivered. “My sincerest gratitude. Farewell.”

出得店来，朔风扑面。那少年似觉寒冷，缩了缩头颈，说道：“叨扰了，再见罢。”

But Guo Jing could not stand to see the boy head into such a cold night wearing such scant clothing. He placed his black sable coat on the boy’s shoulders. “Brother, I feel as if I’ve known you my whole life. Take this against the wind.”

郭靖见他衣衫单薄，心下不忍，当下脱下貂裘，披在他身上，说道：“兄弟，你我一见如故，请把这件衣服穿了去。”

He slipped two ingots of gold into one of the pockets, leaving himself two more for his journey. The boy left without even saying thank you, and began to trudge against the weather, before turning around for one last look.

他身边尚剩下四锭黄金，取出两锭，放在貂裘的袋中。那少年也不道谢，披了貂裘，飘然而去。那少年走出数十步，回过头来。

Guo Jing was standing beside his bridled horse, watching him. The young man waved and Guo Jing ran over to him. “Does my brother need anything?”

见郭靖手牵着红马，站在长街上兀自望着自己，呆呆出神，知他舍不得就此分别，向他招了招手。郭靖快步过去，道：“贤弟可还缺少甚么？”

“I didn’t ask you your name,” he said and smiled. “Yes, we forgot. My family name is Guo, my given name Jing, meaning Serenity. And you?” “My family name is Huang, my given name Rong, meaning Lotus.”

那少年微微一笑，道：“还没请教兄长高姓大名。”郭靖笑道：”真是的，这倒忘了。我姓郭名靖。兄弟你呢？”那少年道：“我姓黄，单名一个蓉字。”

注：译文仍在校对环节，非最终版本。

粗读郝玉青的译本，我感到其译文是流畅的，但有些中文的韵味还是没能用英文传达。而有些原文没有的味道，又不可避免地被英文夹带了进来，就好比在江湖武林中约摸看到些魔兽世界的影子：

飞天蝙蝠柯镇恶是Ke Zhen’e, Suppressor of Evil；

黑风双煞中里的陈玄风是Hurricane Chen；

梅超风则是Cyclone Mei；

东邪黄药师叫做The Eastern Heretic Apothecary Huang；

九阴白骨爪译作Nine Yin Skeleton Claw。

无怪乎郝玉青在本书的译者序中写道：

Many have considered Jin Yong’s world too foreign, too Chinese for an English-speaking readership. Impossible to translate. And yet this story of love, loyalty, honor and the power of the individual against successive corrupt governments and invading forces is as universal as any story could hope to be. The greatest loss that can occur in translation can only come from not translating it at all.

人们认为金庸的世界对于英语读者来说，异域风味太浓了，太中国了。译不了。但这个故事里的爱、忠诚、荣耀、对腐败官府和入侵者的抗争又是每一

个故事都渴望拥有的。不译，才是最大的损失。

未经允许不得转载：帕布莉卡 » 《射雕英雄传》英文赏析