《滕王阁序》传世精华英译赏析

⊙杨修平［衢州职业技术学院，浙江 衢州 324000］

《滕王阁序》传世精华英译赏析

⊙杨修平［衢州职业技术学院，浙江 衢州 324000］

中国古代杰出青年、位居初唐四杰之首的文坛天才和传世名人王勃在辞谢红尘前夕的即席即兴传世名作《滕王阁序》通篇偶句天成、意象雄浑，结构回环、气韵流动，句式整饬、音律和谐，在中国文坛创下了千古传诵、历久弥新的跨时代奇迹。本文选取这一传世名篇中的传世名句和我国外语界资深学者罗经国教授编译的《古文观止精选（汉英对照）》力作，以汉英对比的方式赏析了传世精华的英译之美。

《滕王阁序》传世名句 英译赏析

《滕王阁序》亦名《滕王阁诗序》，全称《秋日登洪府滕王阁饯别序》，属千古骈文名篇，系中国古代文坛天才王勃于唐高宗上元二年或三年（675或676）9月往南省父过此，受宾主假意谦让之邀，即席即兴而作。作者借登高盛饯，感怀时事，慨叹身世，咏唱人生，虽含有人生无常、命运多舛的种种遗怨，但留给世人更强烈的感受却是他渴望入世的抱负和强自振作的信念。全文以饯别滕王阁为中心事件展开，可分为四个部分，首尾两部以叙事之笔起结，中间两部一为写景，一乃抒情。四个部分首尾相承、前后呼应，脉络通畅、浑然一体。序文凭借作者个人的旷世文学天赋和超然骈文技艺集结构、句式、语法、修辞、音律、气韵等诸多文艺要素于一体。欲将此等中华文学瑰宝翻译成“信、达、雅”皆备的英文绝非易事，这不仅需要译者有深厚的外文知识功底和娴熟的外语应用能力，而且要有扎实的国语古文基础。因此，笔者选择了我国外语界当代知名中外文学研究专家、北京大学罗经国教授编译的《古文观止精选（汉英对照）》力作作为本文赏析的英文译文范本。

一、开篇渲染显气蕴之英译

原作第一部分为开篇叙事之引言。作者紧扣题中“洪府”二字，极力铺陈渲染，勾勒出一幅群英荟萃、高朋满座的绚丽画卷，尽显宴会的豪华气蕴和高端背景。

原作选段：

豫章故郡，洪都新府。/星分翼轸，地接衡庐。/襟三江而带五湖，控蛮荆而引瓯越。/物华天宝，龙光射牛斗之墟；人杰地灵，徐孺下陈蕃之榻。/雄州雾列，俊彩星驰。/……十旬休暇，胜友如云；千里逢迎，高朋满座。/腾蛟起凤，孟学士之词宗；紫电青霜，王将军之武库。

英文译文：Nanchang,which was the capital of Yuzhang Prefecture during the Han Dynasty,now falls under the jurisdiction of Hongzhou./It straddles the border of the influence of the Ye and the Zhen constellations,and is adjacent to the Heng and the Lu mountains./The three rivers enfold it like the front part of a garment and the five lakes encircle it like a girdle.It controls the savage Jing area and connects Ou and Yue,/and its products are nature’s jewels.The radiance of its legendary sword shoots directly upward between the constellations Niu and Dou.Its talented people are outstanding,and the spirit of intelligence pervades the place.This was the place where Xu Ru spent the night on his visit to Chen Fan./The mighty Hongzhou spreads out immensely amid the fog,and the intellectual luminaries are as numerous as meteors chasing one another./…On this official holiday,which falls on every tenth day,good friends gather together,and a galaxy of distinguished guests from distant places fill the hall./Also present at the gathering are Master Meng,whose literary grace is as imposing as a dragon soaring and a phoenix dancing,and General Wang,who has weapons as sharp as the famous swords“Purple Lightning”and“Blue Frost”in his armory.

译文赏析：译文前两句分别用“capital”和“jurisdiction”“straddle the border of”和“is adjacent to”等近义关键词语意译原作的“故郡”与“新府”、“天象”与“地位”，第三句分别用“three rivers”和“five lakes”、“control”和“connect”直译原作的“三江”和“五湖”、“控”和“引”，精准而生动地描述了南昌的地理方位，天时地利跃然纸上；接着将千古名语“物华天宝”和“人杰地灵”分别译为“its products are nature’s jewels”和“its talented people are outstanding,and the spirit of intelligence pervades the place”，等效达意、类而不同；此后的译文生动传达了原文关于洪州城房屋像雾霭罗列、人才像繁星闪耀的两个比喻，形神兼备；最后直译“腾蛟起凤”和“紫电青霜”两大比喻，恪守气韵。

二、写景状物造意境之英译

原作第二部分为写景状物之落点。作者紧扣题中“秋日”和“登滕王阁”六字，尽绘美景，文笔瑰丽、手法多样，移步换景、声色兼备，将秋日风光描写得淋漓尽致、光彩四溢。

原作选段：

时维九月，序属三秋。/潦水尽而寒潭清，烟光凝而暮山紫。/……层峦耸翠，上出重霄；飞阁流丹，下临无地。/……披绣闼，俯雕甍，山原旷其盈视，川泽纡其骇瞩。/……虹销雨霁，彩彻云衢；落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。/渔舟唱晚，响穷彭蠡之滨，雁阵惊寒，声断衡阳之浦。

英文译文：It is September,the third month of autumn./The puddles on the ground have dried up, and the water in the pond is cool and translucent.At dusk the rays of the setting sun condensed the evening haze,turn the mountains purple./……Ranges upon ranges of green mountain rise as high as the sky.The red glow in the water is the reflection of the richly painted tower that seems hovering in the air. From its heights no land is visible./……Pushing open the door carved with decorative patterns,I look down upon endless waves of brightly tinted roof tiles,each elaborately engraved with lovely etchings.A panorama of mountains and plains stretches beneath me,and I am mesmerized by the mighty scene of the winding rivers and big lake./……The rain has just let up and the rainbow has vanished.The sunlight shoots through the rosy clouds.A solitary wild duck flies alongside the multi-colored sunset clouds,and the autumn water is merged with the boundless sky into one hue./The fishermen can be heard singing the evening songs, their voices drifting as far as the banks of the Poyang Lake.Even the wild geese feel the chill of dusk settling upon them,and they cry all the way while flying southward,disappearing around the south bend of the Heng Mountain.

译文赏析：译文分别用“dry up”和“cool”、“haze”和“purple”传达原作的水“尽”与潭“寒”、烟“光”与山“紫”，既吻合季节特征又注重实物特性；下文对“层峦耸翠”与“飞阁流丹”、“上出重霄”与“下临无地”的传神翻译让人叹为观止；用“push open”和“look down upon”直译“披”和“俯”，用“panorama”展示山川江河之全景，实而不拙；译文用“solitary wild duck”“multi-colored sunset clouds”“autumn water”“boundless sky”等关键词传达原作的“孤鹜”与“落霞”、“秋水”与“长天”，用“fly alongside”和“be merged with…into one hue”翻译“齐飞”与“一色”，选词精确、用心良苦，足以让中华千年古韵在异域万古流芳；最后用“drifting as far as”和“disappearing around”翻译原作的渔歌“响穷”与雁群“声断”，借助听觉联想，虚实相衬传达远方美景，也能让英文读者身临其境。

三、抒情励志吐心声之英译

原作第三部分为抒情励志之关节。作者紧扣题中“饯”字，主要通过累如贯珠的名人轶事和历史典故来倾吐衷肠，将内心深处的跌宕情感和矛盾志向宣泄一空，留给世人气贯长虹之高洁和酣畅淋漓之快感。

原作选段：

遥襟甫畅，逸兴遄飞。/爽籁发而清风生，纤歌凝而白云遏。/……四美具，二难并。/……天高地迥，觉宇宙之无穷；兴尽悲来，识盈虚之有数。/……关山难越，谁悲失路之人；萍水相逢，尽是他乡之客。/……//嗟乎！时运不齐，命途多舛；冯唐易老，李广难封。/……所赖君子见机，达人知命。/老当益壮，宁移白首之心；穷且益坚，不坠青云之志。/……孟尝高洁，空余报国之情；阮籍猖狂，岂效穷途之哭？

英文译文：Looking afar and chanting,and then looking downward and singing,I feel a sudden rush of ecstasy soaring up in me./The music of the panpipe is like a gentle cool breeze.The soft singing lingers on; it is so soothing that even the passing white clouds seem to come to a halt./……It is not an easy thing to have four excellent things all at once,that is,good weather,beautiful scenery,full enjoyment and heartfelt happiness,and it is even more difficult to have a generous host and honored guests./……The sky is high and the land is boundless;I cannot but feel the immensity of the universe.Sadness follows happiness.I am aware that success and failure are predestined./……Since the mountains and passes are hard to travel over,who would sympathize with the disappointed ones?The people I meet here are all politically frustrated,drifting together like duckweeds./……//Alas! I am ill fated,and my life is full of frustrations.Feng Tang grew old quickly and Li Guang had difficulty getting promoted./……Fortunately what supports one is the belief that a man of noble character always reconciles himself to poverty and a man with a philosophical view is always contented with his lot./Old as one is,he gains vigor with age and by no meanswavers in his aspiration.Poor as one is,he is all the more determined in adversity and by no means gives up his ambition./……Meng Chang was noble and honest,but his devotion to the country was futile. Ruan Ji was unruly and untrammeled,but he burst out crying when in dire straits.How can we learn from him?

译文赏析：译文首先用“a sudden rush of ecstasy soaring up in me”精准再现了原作的“逸兴遄飞”，下一句用“gentle cool breeze”译“清风”，有效传递了秋日神韵，继而用“linger on”和“seem to come to a halt”将“纤歌凝”与“白云遏”译得栩栩如生；关于“四美”和“二难”等有民族文化背景的词语，作者采用了常见的增译法；接下来的系列中华典故给原作英译设置了巨大障碍，但译者分别用“mountains and passes”和“drifting together like duckweeds”、“disappointedones”和“politically frustrated people”直意结合翻译“关山”与“萍水相逢”、“失路之人”与“他乡之客”，用“grew old quickly”和“had difficulty getting promoted”直译“易老”和“难封”，分别用“a man of noble character”和“a man with a philosophical view”、“reconciles himself to poverty”和“is contented with his lot”翻译“君子”与“达人”、“见机”与“知命”，用“by no means waver in his aspiration”和“by no means give up his ambition”意译“白首之心”和“青云之志”，将典故之晦涩化为英文之信达。

四、结笔回环定红尘之英译

原作第四部分为收笔叙事之结语。作者紧扣题中“别”“序”二字，自叙人生壮志难酬的坎坷境遇和未来回归红尘的赤子心愿，表示当此离别之际，既遇人生知音，自当赋诗作文，以此留念。

原作选段：

勃三尺微命，一介书生。/……舍簪笏于百龄，奉晨昏于万里。/……他日趋庭，叨陪鲤对；今兹捧袂，喜托龙门。/杨意不逢，抚凌云而自惜；锺期既遇，奏流水以何惭？//呜呼！胜地不常，盛筵难再。/……敢竭鄙怀，恭疏短引；一言均赋，四韵俱成。

英文译文：I am an insignificant scholar of a low official position/……I am determined not to accept the offer of a lifelong government position by wearing a hair dress and holding a tablet before the chest as court officials do.Rather,I will travel thousands of li to go home to wait on my parents,paying respect to them morning and evening./……In a few days I will be with my father and I will take care of him and receive instructions from him as did Kong Li.On this day I have the honor to be invited by Governor Yan to this grand occasion.I am as blissful as if I had leaped over the Dragon's Gate./Since I do not have someone like Yang Yi to recommend me,I can only sign with grief and caress this piece of writing which expresses my lofty aspiration.Now that I have met a bosom friend like Zhong Ziqi,why should I be ashamed of presenting this writing of mine?//Ah!A beautiful scenic spot is rarely seen,and a sumptuous banquet like this one is even less likely to be held again./……I humbly compose this short piece in all sincerity.Since every one of us is required to write a poem,the following is what I write.

译文赏析：译文开笔用“an insignificant scholar of a low official position”翻译原作的“微命书生”，有效传达了封建社会读书人的价值追求和作者的失意心态；译者在翻译作者舍官保家的赤子心愿时，在两者之间巧置“rather”一词，人生志向一语中的，豪华落尽见真淳；译文将作者来日对父亲的孝道翻译为“I will take care of and receive instructions from him”，两个动词短语把书生的善良恭顺表达得淋漓尽致；用“a beautiful scenic spot”和“a sumptuous banquet”翻译“胜地”和“盛筵”，等值等效，此外，“seen”和“again”巧押尾韵；最后用谦卑朴实的“I humbly compose this short piece in all sincerity”回应主题，终结全文。

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作者：杨修平，硕士，衢州职业技术学院副教授，研究方向：应用语言学与外语教学。

编辑：魏思思E-mail:mzxswss@126.com