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《滕王閣序》傳世精華英譯賞析
摘 要：中國古代杰出青年、位居初唐四杰之首的文壇天才和傳世名人王勃在辭謝紅塵前夕的即席即興傳世名作《滕王閣序》通篇偶句天成、意象雄渾，結構回環、氣韻流動，句式整飭、音律和諧，在中國文壇創下了千古傳誦、歷久彌新的跨時代奇跡。本文選取這一傳世名篇中的傳世名句和我國外語界資深學者羅經國教授編譯的《古文觀止精選(漢英對照)》力作，以漢英對比的方式賞析了傳世精華的英譯之美。
關鍵詞：傳世名句 《滕王閣序》 英譯賞析
《滕王閣序》亦名《滕王閣詩序》，全稱《秋日登洪府滕王閣餞別序》，屬千古駢文名篇，系中國古代文壇天才王勃于唐高宗上元二年或三年(675或676)9月往南省父過此，受賓主假意謙讓之邀，即席即興而作。作者借登高盛餞，感懷時事，慨嘆身世，詠唱人生，雖含有人生無常、命運多舛的種種遺怨，但留給世人更強烈的感受卻是他渴望入世的抱負和強自振作的信念。全文以餞別滕王閣為中心事件展開，可分為四個部分，首尾兩部以敘事之筆起結，中間兩部一為寫景，一乃抒情。四個部分首尾相承、前后呼應，脈絡通暢、渾然一體。序文憑借作者個人的曠世文學天賦和超然駢文技藝集結構、句式、語法、修辭、音律、氣韻等諸多文藝要素于一體。欲將此等中華文學瑰寶翻譯成“信、達、雅”皆備的英文絕非易事，這不僅需要譯者有深厚的外文知識功底和嫻熟的外語應用能力，而且要有扎實的國語古文基礎。因此，筆者選擇了我國外語界當代知名中外文學研究專家、北京大學羅經國教授編譯的《古文觀止精選(漢英對照)》力作作為本文賞析的英文譯文范本。
一、開篇渲染顯氣蘊之英譯
原作第一部分為開篇敘事之引言。作者緊扣題中“洪府”二字，極力鋪陳渲染，勾勒出一幅群英薈萃、高朋滿座的絢麗畫卷，盡顯宴會的豪華氣蘊和高端背景。
原作選段：
豫章故郡，洪都新府。/星分翼軫，地接衡廬。/襟三江而帶五湖，控蠻荊而引甌越。/物華天寶，龍光射牛斗之墟;人杰地靈，徐孺下陳蕃之榻。/雄州霧列，俊彩星馳。/……十旬休暇，勝友如云;千里逢迎，高朋滿座。/騰蛟起鳳，孟學士之詞宗;紫電青霜，王將軍之武庫。
英文譯文：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.
譯文賞析：譯文前兩句分別用“capital”和“jurisdiction”“straddle the border of”和“is adjacent to”等近義關鍵詞語意譯原作的“故郡”與“新府”、“天象”與“地位”，第三句分別用“three rivers”和“five lakes”、“control”和“connect”直譯原作的“三江”和“五湖”、“控”和“引”，精準而生動地描述了南昌的地理方位，天時地利躍然紙上;接著將千古名語“物華天寶”和“人杰地靈”分別譯為“its products are nature’s jewels”和“its talented people are outstanding， and the spirit of intelligence pervades the place”，等效達意、類而不同;此后的譯文生動傳達了原文關于洪州城房屋像霧靄羅列、人才像繁星閃耀的兩個比喻，形神兼備;最后直譯“騰蛟起鳳”和“紫電青霜”兩大比喻，恪守氣韻。
二、寫景狀物造意境之英譯
原作第二部分為寫景狀物之落點。作者緊扣題中“秋日”和“登滕王閣”六字，盡繪美景，文筆瑰麗、手法多樣，移步換景、聲色兼備，將秋日風光描寫得淋漓盡致、光彩四溢。
原作選段：
時維九月，序屬三秋。/潦水盡而寒潭清，煙光凝而暮山紫。/……層巒聳翠，上出重霄;飛閣流丹，下臨無地。/……披繡闥，俯雕甍，山原曠其盈視，川澤紆其駭矚。/……虹銷雨霽，彩徹云衢;落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色。/漁舟唱晚，響窮彭蠡之濱，雁陣驚寒，聲斷衡陽之浦。
英文譯文：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.
譯文賞析：譯文分別用“dry up”和“cool”、“haze”和“purple”傳達原作的水“盡”與潭“寒”、煙“光”與山“紫”，既吻合季節特征又注重實物特性;下文對“層巒聳翠”與“飛閣流丹”、“上出重霄”與“下臨無地”的傳神翻譯讓人嘆為觀止;用“push open”和“look down upon”直譯“披”和“俯”，用“panorama”展示山川江河之全景，實而不拙;譯文用“solitary wild duck”“multi-colored sunset clouds”“autumn water”“boundless sky”等關鍵詞傳達原作的“孤鶩”與“落霞”、“秋水”與“長天”，用“fly alongside”和“be merged with…into one hue”翻譯“齊飛”與“一色”，選詞精確、用心良苦，足以讓中華千年古韻在異域萬古流芳;最后用“drifting as far as”和“disappearing around”翻譯原作的漁歌“響窮”與雁群“聲斷”，借助聽覺聯想，虛實相襯傳達遠方美景，也能讓英文讀者身臨其境。
三、抒情勵志吐心聲之英譯
原作第三部分為抒情勵志之關節。作者緊扣題中“餞”字，主要通過累如貫珠的名人軼事和歷史典故來傾吐衷腸，將內心深處的跌宕情感和矛盾志向宣泄一空，留給世人氣貫長虹之高潔和酣暢淋漓之快感。
原作選段：
遙襟甫暢，逸興遄飛。/爽籟發而清風生，纖歌凝而白云遏。/……四美具，二難并。/……天高地迥，覺宇宙之無窮;興盡悲來，識盈虛之有數。/……關山難越，誰悲失路之人;萍水相逢，盡是他鄉之客。/……//嗟乎!時運不齊，命途多舛;馮唐易老，李廣難封。/……所賴君子見機，達人知命。/老當益壯，寧移白首之心;窮且益堅，不墜青云之志。/……孟嘗高潔，空余報國之情;阮籍猖狂，豈效窮途之哭?
英文譯文：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 means wavers 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?
譯文賞析：譯文首先用“a sudden rush of ecstasy soaring up in me”精準再現了原作的“逸興遄飛”，下一句用“gentle cool breeze”譯“清風”，有效傳遞了秋日神韻，繼而用“linger on”和“seem to come to a halt”將“纖歌凝”與“白云遏”譯得栩栩如生;關于“四美”和“二難”等有民族文化背景的詞語，作者采用了常見的增譯法;接下來的系列中華典故給原作英譯設置了巨大障礙，但譯者分別用“mountains and passes”和“drifting together like duckweeds”、“disappointedones”和“politically
frustrated people”直意結合翻譯“關山”與“萍水相逢”、“失路之人”與“他鄉之客”，用“grew old quickly”和“had difficulty getting promoted”直譯“易老”和“難封”，分別用“a man of noble character”和“a man with a philosophical view”、“reconciles himself to poverty”和“is contented with his lot”翻譯“君子”與“達人”、“見機”與“知命”，用“by no means waver in his aspiration”和“by no means give up his ambition”意譯“白首之心”和“青云之志”，將典故之晦澀化為英文之信達。
四、結筆回環定紅塵之英譯
原作第四部分為收筆敘事之結語。作者緊扣題中“別”“序”二字，自敘人生壯志難酬的坎坷境遇和未來回歸紅塵的赤子心愿，表示當此離別之際，既遇人生知音，自當賦詩作文，以此留念。
原作選段：
勃三尺微命，一介書生。/……舍簪笏于百齡，奉晨昏于萬里。/……他日趨庭，叨陪鯉對;今茲捧袂，喜托龍門。/楊意不逢，撫凌云而自惜;鍾期既遇，奏流水以何慚?//嗚呼!勝地不常，盛筵難再。/……敢竭鄙懷，恭疏短引;一言均賦，四韻俱成。
英文譯文：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.
譯文賞析：譯文開筆用“an insignificant scholar of a low official position”翻譯原作的“微命書生”，有效傳達了封建社會讀書人的價值追求和作者的失意心態;譯者在翻譯作者舍官保家的赤子心愿時，在兩者之間巧置“rather”一詞，人生志向一語中的，豪華落盡見真淳;譯文將作者來日對父親的孝道翻譯為“I will take care of and receive instructions from him”，兩個動詞短語把書生的善良恭順表達得淋漓盡致;用“a beautiful scenic spot”和“a sumptuous banquet”翻譯“勝地”和“盛筵”，等值等效，此外，“seen”和“again”巧押尾韻;最后用謙卑樸實的“I humbly compose this short piece in all sincerity”回應主題，終結全文。
參考文獻：
[1] 徐中玉，齊森華.大學語文[M].上海：華東師范大學出版社，1996.
[2] 羅經國.古文觀止精選(漢英對照)[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，2005.
[3] 陳良運.《滕王閣序》成文經過考述[J].南昌大學學報(人文社會科學版)，2003(3)：123-127.
[4] 許嘉甫.《滕王閣序》小考[J].文學遺產，1994(2)：117-118.
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