林巍《’隐私’是个公德概念》 ~ 文学翻译-经典英译-中英双语赏析

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“Privacy” Is a Sense of Public Morality
‘隐私’是个公德概念

The concept of “privacy” in our society is something relatively modern – a term publicly talked about only since the recent Reform and Opening Up.
“隐私”，作为一个相对现代的概念，应当说是改革开放若干年之后的事；在此之前，则是另外一个概念。
Before this historical change, China was under the influence of ultra-left thought, where everything related to “self” was deemed as backward, shameful, even reactionary, since they might be in contradiction to public interest. Needless to say, “privacy” which was almost a synonym for shamefulness or dark soul.
改革开放前，我们的社会受“极左”思想影响深重，那时任何沾“私”的事情都与“公”相对立，都是落后、不光彩、甚至是反动的；而“隐私”更是“见不得人”和“肮脏”的代名词。
With the development of the commodity economy and China’s increasing engagement internationally, however, Chinese gradually realized that privacy is actually in everyone’s interest. Put simply, regardless of a person’s profession, position, status, identity or age, it is impossible for him or her to appear the same 24 hours a day unless a hypocrite or hiding failure to perform.
然而，随着我国商品经济的进程及日益参与国际事务，人们逐渐发现，“隐私”其实是每个人所不可或缺的。道理很简单，一个人——无论其职业、地位、身份、年龄等——在24小时的生活中，不可能时时刻刻都以同一种面目出现。若有人这样，要么他是个十足的伪君子，要么他就是不懂得如何担当自己不同的角色与责任。
Privacy is normally regarded as personal information that is unrelated to others, or that a person is unwilling to reveal. Information such as person’s religion, belief, hobbies, sexual orientation or personal activities may cause discrimination or embarrassment if they are unfavorably disclosed. People may lack of a sense of safety in society where privacy cannot be properly protected.
通俗来说，“隐私”是指那些与他人无关、或是不愿意让他人知道的私人信息。这些信息可能涉及到宗教、信仰、爱好、性取向、私人活动等，而一旦透露，则会给本人带来歧视与难堪。一个隐私没有安全感的社会，不是安宁的社会。
One thing that impressed me most in a country where I emigrated twenty years ago was the personal space people left for others. For example, when people are queuing up they keep a quite distance from one another, unlike the Chinese always jostling each other. Concern for others’ personal information is traditionally a way the Chinese care for others, but in a western country can be regarded as instructive.
二十年前，我移民国外，当时感受最深的一点，是对于他人私人空间的尊重。譬如，排队时在人与人之间留够了距离，不想在中国时“贴”得那么紧。又如，对于他人的私人信息绝不打听，而中国人则视之为对于他人关心的细致入微。
Essential personal information may include a personon’s political affiliation, financial status, medical conditions, family affairs and so on. These ought to be appropriately protected, even by law.
一般公认的最基本的隐私信息，例如：政治信息、财务信息、医疗信息、家庭信息等等，都应具有相应的保护措施，甚至是法律。
A moral person should recognize and respect others’ privacy, and deserve the same treatment. Social ethics and a healthy culture are thus formed when moral people are evident. Respecting individuals’ privacy is an integral part of a stable and harmonious society. In a way, privacy shouldn’t be simply viewed as a personal concept at all; rather, it indicates how civilized a society is.
只有具有相当道德的人，才会认同和尊重他人的隐私；而每人如此设身处地，自己的隐私才会得到尊重。这样的人达到一定的数量，才能形成气候和文化，那便是公德。让每个人的隐私都得到认可和尊重，是构成社会安定、和谐的重要因素。可见，“隐私”绝不是一个简单的私人概念，而是一个社会文明程度的标志。

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