中国古典名著海外光彩照人

2018-02-05 11:11李月红
文化交流 2018年2期
关键词:水浒传小说创作

李月红

日本民间“水浒热”带动文学创作,20多部文学作品争相模仿《水浒传》创作,改编、衍生的电影、电视剧、舞台剧、动漫、游戏等更是不计其数

19世纪前后,日本民间流行“水浒热”。学术界评价:“在明治以前最深入、广泛渗入日本民间的外国小说是《水浒传》。”民间的阅读热潮,也带动了文学界的积极创作,20多部日本文学作品争相模仿《水浒传》创作。

在这些作品中,一部名为《南总里见八犬传》的200万字小说得以流传,并成为日本文化超级IP,衍生出《七龙珠》《犬夜叉》等多部动漫作品。

2017年10月,由浙江文艺出版社出版、曲亭马琴著、李树果译的《八犬传》(精装全七册)正式出版。这也是这本模仿中国古典名著创作的日本文学名著修订本首次面世国内,从中或可一窥文学之引进、消化、创新,通向经典之路是如何炼成的。

江户文坛的“水浒热”

《八犬传》是日本江户时代著名小说家曲亭马琴用了28年时间写成的集历史、侠义、神魔于一体的超长篇小说。这部小说是日本文学史上罕见的史诗巨著,至今尚有深远影响。

这部小说以日本战国时代为背景,以大名里见家的一段史实为依据,借用稗史中“里见八犬士”的名字,安排了姓中有犬字的八名中心人物,以八犬士的出世、邂逅、离散、团圆为内容进行设计。

作者曲亭马琴是江户时代著名小说家。他本姓泷泽,曲亭是他以中国的“霸陵曲亭”典故所取的笔名,另有蓑笠渔隐,也是他的常用笔名之一。马琴是个多产作家,仅读本类小说就著有四十多部,《八犬传》是他的代表作,自问世后便受到广大读者的热烈欢迎。

《八犬传》连载刊行时就是江户时代的畅销书之首,曲亭马琴因此成为了日本历史上第一个靠稿费生活的职业作家。日本著名汉文学家、森鸥外的汉文老师依田学海对《八犬传》当时的出版盛况是这样描述的:“文辞绝妙,引证精博,海内莫不读马琴之书焉,而《八犬传》最著云。书贾雕工,日踵其门,待一纸成刻一纸,一篇成刻一篇,万本立售,远迩争观。三都七道,边陬僻邑,公侯贵富,士女农商,道小说必称《八犬传》为巨擘。”

十九世纪初,在江户文坛曾出现模仿《水浒传》改编创作的“水浒热”。在此期间出现了不少改编水浒的读本类小说。马琴读过建部绫足的《本朝水浒传》,很受启发,便想写出一部能与《水浒传》《三国演义》《西游记》等中国小说相媲美的小说,《八犬传》便是在他的这个愿望下所完成的作品。

致敬中国古典文学名著

作为一部向中国古典文学名著致敬的作品,《八犬传》的构思主要来自《水浒传》,在这部作品中随处都可看到中国小说的痕迹。如开头的一段楔子:

“义实向爱犬八房戏言许诺,若能衔来敌首景连首级,便将女儿伏姬许配,八房竟應允条件破敌成功。后伏姬于富山中因犬气受孕,但深以为耻。当伏姬当用短剑剖腹时,从伤口闪出一团白气,席卷了颈上的念珠升入天空。眨眼间念珠被弄断,一百颗小珠子落地,八颗带字的大珠子留在天空,发出灿烂的光芒,向八方散去。”

据译者李树果研究考证,《八犬传》的开端很明显是蹈袭了《水浒传》第一回“洪太尉误走妖魔”的情节。此“八颗带字的大珠子”就是8位义士出世的先兆,珠子共108颗,也和一百单八条好汉不谋而合。

在它的后编中,即在第一百三十一回之后,移植了不少《三国演义》中的故事情节,如亲兵卫被扣留在京都,犹如关云长之被困曹营。管领政元赠给他金银美女他都不受,只要了匹名马,以备回归东国之用。最后以放他回国为条件,前去打虎。在单骑回国的途中,于关隘受阻,政元追来相送。这些情节都是模仿《三国演义》中关云长的故事改编创作的。此外,还有在与镰仓两管领的三浦海战中,则蹈袭了赤壁之战中的许多场面,如草船借箭、巧献连环、蒋干盗书、南屏借风等等。

同时,在小说的格式上,马琴也极力攀模中国的章回小说,如每回的标题都基本上是按作者的原词刊出的。又如开头和结尾的却说、话说、再说和闲话休提、话分两头、且听下回分解等等,都是借鉴了中国的章回小说。

中日文化交流的结晶

“它是一部别开生面的日本小说,可以说是中日文化交流的结晶。”在题为《江户小说之冠,中日文化结晶》的译者序中,李树果如是认为。

在他看来,这部小说会令中国读者感到格外亲切,为中国古代的文学作品在海外所产生的影响感到自豪;此外,日本人民擅于移植外国的东西使之化为己有,这种引进消化的学习精神也值得我们借鉴。

比如,致敬中国古典名著,并不妨碍马琴批判性地看待名著中的不足。马琴认为,《水浒传》一百零八条好汉为数太多,而《西游记》只有师徒四人又为数太少;前者以虎头蛇尾而告终,后者又多重复。他所创作的《八犬传》,除八犬士外,再加上八犬女、里见侯父子与大法师,主人公一共是十九名,他认为既不多也不少。

关于这部巨著的创作思想,马琴一以贯之的创作态度是劝惩。他认为《水浒传》对劝惩考虑得不够。他在《八犬传》中所创作的八个英雄人物,可以说是仁义道德的化身,他们的一举手一投足无不合乎道义的行动。他们通过与邪恶的斗争,最后战胜了邪恶,是以小说的形式颂扬了儒家的道德精神,从而使没有读过圣人书的妇幼得到教育,起到了寓教于乐的作用。

值得注意的是,尽管作品中随处可见《水浒传》的痕迹,但并不那么明显。它不是整段引用,或是生搬硬套,而是掰开揉碎了穿插在其间,使之浑然成一体。从而表现了作者高超的改编技巧,不仅改头换面,而且真正达到了脱胎换骨的程度。

同时,马琴善于总结运用中国稗史小说的许多创作方法。他归纳为稗史七原则,即:主客、伏线、衬染、照应、反对、省笔、隐微。他在《八犬传》的创作中着重发挥了隐微的手法。隐微就是隐晦,不把作者的真意直接说出来,而让读者自己去琢磨、回味,比如一个命题或一个名字,几乎无不含有隐微。endprint

此外,馬琴把儒家的道德观念和佛教的因果观念融合在一起,建立了以劝惩主义为标识的小说观,写出了这部具有浓厚浪漫主义色彩的传奇小说巨著。《八犬传》和《水浒传》虽然有某些相似之处,具体内容则显然有所不同。《水浒传》的结局是宋江等接受招安和遭到陷害致死,而《八犬传》的结局则是八犬士同侍仁君里见将军,得到大团圆。学术界认为,这样的结局安排便是马琴的理想世界——他奉行儒教,反对“作乱犯上”,期待仁君治理,从而得以驱除邪恶,使好人得势,这大概便是马琴的最大隐微,也是这部小说的寓意之所在。

写给有教养的读者看

俄罗斯科学院高尔基世界文学研究所编撰的《世界文学史》中,如是评价《八犬传》:“他的书首先是写给有教养的读者看的。”

不可否认,这部作品其中包含的灵魂高尚与正义思想,明显表现出来的传奇特点和情节的多样性,又使它成了广大读者的财富。日本“商业之父”涩泽荣一、日本“经营之神”松下幸之助、诺贝尔物理学奖得主汤川秀树,都从小嗜读《八犬传》,成为伴随一生的阅读记忆。

日本当代作家京极夏彦在《八犬传》推荐语中说道:“马琴用长达28年的时间不间断地连缀文字,是日本小说史上不可不提的伟业。他那种连插画也要精心安排,一直彻底追求完满的风格,我想将之作为自己的楷模。”

《八犬传》是日本文化的超级IP,改编、衍生的文学作品、电影、电视剧、舞台剧、动漫、游戏等不计其数,几乎成了日本人的“集体无意识”。日本漫画家鸟山明曾说,他创作的漫画《七龙珠》混合了两个故事:中国的《西游记》和日本的《八犬传》,收集龙珠的想法事实上来自《八犬传》。漫画家高桥留美子创作的超人气漫画《犬夜叉》,更是在各种细节上受到《八犬传》的巨大影响,《八犬传》中“仁义礼智忠信孝悌”八颗灵珠的构想,便是《犬夜叉》中“四魂之玉”的原型。当年在日本受欢迎程度远高于《圣斗士星矢》的动画片《魔神坛斗士》,故事原型也是来自《八犬传》。日本当代女作家樱庭一树创作了同人小说《伏赝作·里见八犬传》,漫画家阿部美幸创作了同人动漫《八犬传—东方八犬异闻》。甚至《八犬传》中虚构的“拔刀时刀身滴露如注”的武士刀村雨丸,也成了动漫《通灵王》、小说《龙族》和众多动漫游戏中著名妖刀村雨的原型。

《八犬传》影视改编作品众多。日本知名演员真田广之、泷泽秀明、山崎贤人都曾领衔主演同名电影、电视剧、舞台剧。著名导演侯孝贤在《煮海时光——侯孝贤的光影记忆》中回忆说:“《里见八犬传》——这个重拍好几次……我看了好几次,有仁义礼智忠信孝悌八颗珠,每一颗珠都在一个勇士身上。”

此次浙江文艺出版社新版《八犬传》,装帧上凸显日本古典质感,选用浅棕大地纸封面,白色大地纸护封,护封以八犬士浮世绘造型为主题。每册收入《八犬传》高清浮世绘彩插2幅,出自日本浮世绘大师歌川国贞、歌川国芳、歌川芳虎、月冈芳年、丰原国周等人之手。本书译者李树果,是著名日本古典文学翻译家,早年留学日本,就读东京商科大学(现一桥大学),后任南开大学外语学院日语系教授,多年从事日本古典文学研究,译著《八犬传》是目前唯一中文全译本,典雅优美。此次推出,对译本进行了全面修订。

(本文照片由作者提供)

Complete Chinese Translation of Biographies of Eight Dogs Launched by Zhejiang Publisher

By Li Yuehong

In October 2017, Zhejiang Literature and Art Press launched a complete Chinese translation of , an epic novel written by Japanese author Kyokutei Bakin (1767-1848) on the basis of several Chinese classic novels.

Around the beginning of the 19th century, by Shi Naian (1296-1370) became the most popular Chinese novel in Japan. It was so popular that it inspired over 20 Japanese novelists to write imitations and fan fictions. is one of them. It has long since been a masterpiece in Japanese literature and has generated its own offshoots since then.

Set in the tumultuous Sengoku period (350 years before Bakin lived), it is the story of eight samurai half-brothers—all of them descended from a dog and bearing the word “dog” in their surnames—and their adventures, with themes of loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, samurai moral values and Buddhist philosophy.

Translated by Li Shuguo, the complete Chinese version of is in the form of seven-book hardback. It is the first time that a Japanese imitation of Chinese classic novels was published in China.endprint

Kyokutei Bakin wrote and published the epic novel over a period of twenty-eight years. The magnum opus is more than 2 million words long.

Li Shuguo is a well known translator in China. Born in 1923, he studied in Japan. Back in China, he worked as a professor with Nankai University in Tianjin. He specializes in Japanese literature and the literature of the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911) of China.

Li wrote a long introduction to the complete Chinese translation published in 2017. The introduction explores how the author skillfully integrates the plots of Chinese classical masterpieces into the epic novel and how Chinese philosophy and Confucianism, and Buddhist concepts get into the novel.

Li points out in the introduction that Kyokutei Bakins epic novel is by no means a pure imitation. The author supposedly amended the defects of the Chinese masterpieces. For example, he thought the 108 heroes of were too many and the four heroes of were too few. In , there are 19 heroes. He thought the number was perfect.

A careful reader can spot the traces of in , but Bakin did not merelyt transplant the original plots into his story. Instead, the original plots are absorbed and transformed so skillfully that some readers may be unaware of their origins. Li Shuguo notes that the author perfectly understood the seven strategies ancient Chinese writers employed in writing unofficial biographies and fictions and applied them deftly in writing his own masterpiece. was another inspiration source. Many plots in the book after the 131 chapters can be traced back to this Chinese source.

Bakin carefully studied the format of Chinese fiction and copied some rules and practice into his own masterpiece. In addition, he borrowed many original Chinese words and phrases.

Though the masterpiece is extremely entertaining and influential, some critics comment that it was meant for educated readers and it was meant to uphold some values such as loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, samurai moral values and Buddhist philosophy to strengthen the moral fibers of the Japanese society.

was undisputedly the very bestseller of the Edo period (1603-1867). And Bakin was the first Japanese author who was able to make a living on writing. A prolific writer Bakin wrote over 40 fictions in his lifetime.

has been a super inspiration for numerous adaptations since the 20th century and up into the 21st century in the form of fiction, film, television series, theater, manga, and electronic games. Some minor characters of the fiction have become main heroes in fan fictions.

For translator Li Shuguo, the complete translation is an opportunity for Chinese readers to see how original Chinese fictions have morphed into Japanese fictions and how cultural exchanges have created such literary waves across national borders. And Chinese readers can see how Japanese people have deftly absorbed the best from the outside and created something as great as .endprint

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