《红楼梦》翻译（二百零六）

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twin05 2010-09-08 14:12 | 只看楼主 树型| 收藏| 小中大 1 ^#

《红楼梦》翻译（二百零六）

原著
第三十八回　林潇湘魁夺菊花诗　薛蘅芜讽和螃蟹咏
　　话说宝钗湘云二人计议已妥，一宿无话．湘云次日便请贾母等赏桂花．贾母等都说道：“是他有兴头，须要扰他这雅兴。”至午，果然贾母带了王夫人凤姐兼请薛姨妈等进园来．贾母因问那一处好？山坡下两棵桂花开的又好，河里的水又碧清，坐在河当中亭子上岂不敞亮，看着水眼也清亮。”贾母听了，说：“这话很是。”说着，就引了众人往藕香榭来．原来这藕香榭盖在池中，四面有窗，左右有曲廊可通，亦是跨水接岸，后面又有曲折竹桥暗接．众人上了竹桥，凤姐忙上来搀着贾母，口里说：“老祖宗只管迈大步走，不相干的，这竹子桥规矩是咯吱咯喳的。”

　　一时进入榭中，只见栏杆外另放着两张竹案，一个上面设着杯箸酒具，一个上头设着茶筅茶盂各色茶具．那边有两三个丫头煽风炉煮茶，这一边另外几个丫头也煽风炉烫酒呢．贾母喜的忙问：“这茶想的到，且是地方，东西都干净。”湘云笑道：“这是宝姐姐帮着我预备的。”贾母道：“我说这个孩子细致，凡事想的妥当。”一面说，一面又看见柱上挂的黑漆嵌蚌的对子，命人念．湘云念道：

　　芙蓉影破归兰桨，菱藕香深写竹桥．贾母听了，又抬头看匾，因回头向薛姨妈道：“我先小时，家里也有这么一个亭子，叫做什么`枕霞阁'．我那时也只象他们这么大年纪，同姊妹们天天顽去．那日谁知我失了脚掉下去，几乎没淹死，好容易救了上来，到底被那木钉把头碰破了．如今这鬓角上那指头顶大一块窝儿就是那残破了．众人都怕经了水，又怕冒了风，都说活不得了，谁知竟好了。”风姐不等人说，先笑道：“那时要活不得，如今这大福可叫谁享呢！可知老祖宗从小儿的福寿就不小，神差鬼使碰出那个窝儿来，好盛福寿的．寿星老儿头上原是一个窝儿，因为万福万寿盛满了，所以倒凸高出些来了． "未及说完，贾母与众人都笑软了．贾母笑道：“这猴儿惯的了不得了，只管拿我取笑起来，恨的我撕你那油嘴。”凤姐笑道：“回来吃螃蟹，恐积了冷在心里，讨老祖宗笑一笑开开心，一高兴多吃两个就无妨了。”贾母笑道：“明儿叫你日夜跟着我，我倒常笑笑觉的开心，不许回家去。”王夫人笑道：“老太太因为喜欢他，才惯的他这样，还这样说，他明儿越发无礼了。”贾母笑道：“我喜欢他这样，况且他又不是那不知高低的孩子．家常没人，娘儿们原该这样．横竖礼体不错就罢，没的倒叫他从神儿似的作什么。”
霍克斯译文
Chapter 38

That evening Bao-chai, who had invited Xiang-yun to spend the night with her at Allspice Court, sat with her guest under the lamplight while the latter discussed themes for the mor row’s meeting and plans for the projected entertainment. As it became increasingly apparent that her ideas on the subject were quite impracticable, Bao-chai presently interrupted the flow.
‘The club has only just been founded and this will be its first entertainment,’ she said. ‘Although it’s all only a game, you are setting a precedent, so you need to think about it rather carefully. If the entertainment is to be equally enjoyable for everyone, you don’t want it to be too much of a burden on you; but on the other hand you don’t want the others to feel that they are being given short commons. Now, you are not your own mistress, and the few strings of cash they give you a month at home are not even enough for your own needs. And if your Aunt got to hear that you were spending money on a frivolous thing like this, she would have still more to grumble about than usual. In any case, even if you spent all you’d got, it still wouldn’t be enough to provide an entertainment for several people. So what are you going to do? You obviously can’t send home for money. Are you going to ask them here for some?’
Xiang-yun, brought back to the realities of her situation, was very much dashed. While she hesitated, Bao-chai went on.
‘Actually I’ve thought of a way out of this. An assistant in one of our pawnshops comes from a place where they have very good crabs. Now nearly everyone here from Lady Jia and Aunt Wang downwards is fond of crabs and only the other day Aunt Wang was saying that we ought to have a crab and cassia-viewing party for Lady Jia. It’s only because she has been otherwise occupied that she hasn’t done anything about it. Why not issue a general invitation, making no mention of the poetry club — we can write all the poems we want to after the rest of them have gone — and I shall ask my brother to let us have a few baskets of the biggest, fattest-looking crabs and tell him to get us a few jars of good wine and side-dishes for four or five tables from the shop? That should save a lot of trouble for you and make more of an occasion of it for every body else.’
Xiang-yun felt deeply grateful to Bao-chai and praised her warmly for her thoughtfulness. Bao-chai smiled deprecatingly.
‘Now you mustn’t go imagining things and feel that you are being treated like a poor relation! It’s only because I am so fond of you that I have ventured to make this proposal. If you promise you won’t take it amiss, I can get them to arrange it for us straight away.’
‘My dearest girl!’ said Xiang-yun. ‘Of course I shan’t take it amiss! How can you suggest such a thing? If you do so again, I shall begin to think that you aren’t really fond of me at all! I may be a silly goose, but there are some things I understand! Do you think that if I didn’t look on you as my own true sister I should ever have told you last time I was here about all those tiresome things I have to put up with at home?’
Reassured, Bao-chai called in an old woman to take a mes sage outside to her brother.
‘Tell Mr Pan to get us a few baskets of crabs like the ones we had the other day. It’s for after lunch tomorrow. We’re having a cassia-viewing party in the Garden for Their Ladyships. Tell him please not to forget, because I’ve already invited all the guests.’
The old woman went off to deliver her message. In due course she reported back again — but these are details omitted from our story.
Bao-chai resumed her conversation with Xiang-yun.
‘About the theme for tomorrow’s poems,’ she said. ‘We don’t want anything too outlandish. If you look at the works of the great poets, you find that they didn’t go in for the weird and wonderful titles and “daring” rhymes that people now adays are so fond of. Outlandish themes and daring rhymes do not produce good poetry. They merely show up the poverty of the writer’s ideas. Certainly one wants to avoid clichés; but one can easily go too far in the pursuit of novelty. The im portant thing is to have fresh ideas. If one has fresh ideas, one does not need to worry about clichés: the words take care of themselves. But what am I saying all this for? Spinning and sewing is the proper occupation for girls like us. Any time we have left over from that should be spent in reading a few pages of some improving book — not on this sort of thing!’
‘Yes,’ said Xiang-yun, without much conviction; but presently smiled as a new idea occurred to her.
‘I’ve just thought of something. Yesterday’s theme was “White Crab-blossom”. The flower I’d like to write about is the chrysanthemum. Couldn’t we have “Chrysanthemums” as our theme for tomorrow?’
‘It is certainly a very seasonable one,’ said Bao-chai. ‘The trouble is that so many people have written about it before.’
‘Yes,’ said Xiang-yun, ‘I suppose it is rather a hackneyed one.’
Bao-chai thought for a bit.
‘Unless of course you somehow involved the poet in the theme,’ she said. ‘You could do that by making up verb-object or concrete-abstract tides in which “chrysanthemums” was the concrete noun or the object of the verb as the case might be. Then your poem would be both a celebration of chrysanthemums and at the same time a description of some action or situation. Such a treatment of the subject has been tried in the past, but it is a much less hackneyed one. The combining of narrative and lyrical elements in a single treat ment makes for freshness and greater freedom.’
‘It sounds a splendid idea,’ said Xiang-yun. ‘But what sort of verbs or abstract nouns had you in mind? Can you give me an example?’
Bao-chai thought for a bit.
‘What about “The Dream of the Chrysanthemums”?’
‘Yes, that’s a good one,’ said xiang-yun. ‘I’ve thought of one too. Couldn’t we have “The Shadow of the Chrysanthe mums”?’
‘Ye-e-es,’ said Bao-chai, doubtfully. ‘The trouble is, it’s been used before. Still, if we had a lot of titles we could probably slip it in. I’ve thought of another.’
‘Well, come on then!’ said Xiang-yun.
‘What about “Questioning the Chrysanthemums”?’
Xiang-yun slapped the table appreciatively.
‘That’s a lovely one!’ Presently she added: ‘I’ve thought of another. What do you think of “Seeking the Chrysanthe mums”?’
‘That should be interesting,’ said Bao-chai. ‘Let’s start making a list. We’ll write down up to ten titles and then see what we think of them.’
The two of them busied themselves for some minutes grinding ink and softening a brush. Xiang-yun then proceeded to write down the titles at Ban-chai’s dictation. Soon they had ten. Xiang-yun read them over.
‘Ten doesn’t make a set,’ she said. ‘We need two more to make a round dozen, then we shall have just the right number for a little album.’
Ban-chai supplied two more without too much difficulty.
‘If we’re thinking in terms of a sequence of poems,’ she said, ‘we may as well, while we’re about it, arrange these titles in some sort of order.’
‘That’s it!’ said Xiang-yun. ‘Then they will be all ready for making our “Chrysanthemum Album” with afterwards.’
“‘Remembering the Chrysanthemums” should come first,’ said Bao-chai.
‘Now, let’s see. When you remember them, you realize you haven’t got any, so you go and look for some. So “Seeking the Chrysanthemums” will be the second title.
‘Well, having found some, you will want to plant them; so “Planting the Chrysanthemums” will be the third title.
‘After you’ve planted them and the flowers have come out, you’ll want to stand and look at them; so the fourth title will be “Admiring the Chrysanthemums”.
‘You won’t be able to have enough of them by just standing and admiring them, so you’ll naturally want to pick some and arrange them in a vase so that you can enjoy them indoors. That means “Arranging the Chrysanthemums” for Number Five.
‘But however much you enjoy them, you will feel that they somehow lack their full lustre without words to grace them, and so you will want to celebrate them in verse. That means “Celebrating the Chrysanthemums” will be the sixth title.
‘Well now, let’s suppose you’ve just finished writing some verses about them. You’ve got the ink ready-made and the brush is still in your hand and you feel like paying the chrysanthemums a further tribute. What should you do but paint them? That’s Number Seven. “Painting the Chrysan themums”.
‘Now in spite of these silent tributes, you still don’t know the secret of the chrysanthemums’ mysterious charm and you can’t resist asking them. Which brings us to Number Eight “Questioning the Chrysanthemums”.
‘And if the chrysanthemums could really reply, it would be so delightful that you would want to have them near you all the time - and how better than by “Wearing the Chrysanthe mums”? That’s Number Nine.
‘That brings us to the end of the verb-object titles which involve the poet himself as the understood subject of the action. But there remain other kinds of treatment, in which we consider the flowers by themselves without postulating the presence of the poet. So we have “The Shadow of the Chrysanthemums” and “The Dream of the Chrysanthe mums” as Numbers Ten and Eleven.
‘And of course “The Death of the Chrysanthemums” at the end of the album to round off on a suitable note of melan choly.
‘There you are! All three months of autumn condensed into a single sequence of a dozen poems!’
Xiang-yun recopied the twelve titles in the order that Bao -chai had indicated, then, after running her eye rapidly over them, she asked Bao-chai what rhyme-scheme they should set.
‘I have always disliked set rhymes,’ said Bao-chai. ‘If you have a good poem in the making, why shackle it with the constraints of an arbitrary rhyme-scheme? Let us leave set rhymes to vulgar pedants; all we need do is give out the titles and let the others choose their own rhyme-schemes for them selves. After all, the object of the exercise is to give people enjoyment—the enjoyment gained by producing an occasional felicitous line. We aren’t out to make things difficult for them.’
‘I entirely agree,’ said Xiang-yun. ‘And I am sure that in this way we shall get better poems. There’s just one thing, though: we have twelve titles now but only five people writing poems. Presumably we aren’t going to ask each of them to produce a poem for every one of the titles?’
‘Oh no, that would be much too difficult,’ said Bao-chai. ‘Make a fair copy of the list of titles, merely indicating that the poems are to be octets in Regulated Verse, put it up on the wall where everyone can see it, and then simply let them choose whichever titles they like. If anyone has the energy to do them all, they are welcome to try. If they can’t manage more than one, let them do just one. Skill and speed are what we shall be looking for. As soon as all of the twelve tides have been covered, we shall call a halt, and anyone who goes on writing after that will be made to pay a penalty.’
Xiang-yun did not see that this last stipulation was neces sary, but otherwise agreed with her, and the two girls, having satisfied themselves that their plans for the morrow were now complete, put out the light and composed themselves for sleep.
As to the outcome of their plans: that will be told in the following chapter.

CHAPTER 38

River Queen triumphs in her treatment of chrysanthemum themes
And Lady Allspice is satirical on the subject of crabs

THE last chapter concluded with Ban-chai and Xiang-yun retiring for the night after their plans for the morrow had been completed. This one begins next morning, when Xiang-yun invited Grandmother Jia and the rest to a cassia-viewing party in the Garden. Touched by her enthusiasm, the grown-ups readily agreed to go.
‘She is so excited, bless her!’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘We ought to let her do this, even though she is our guest.’
And having promised, she was as good as her word, and arrived in the Garden at noon, bringing Lady Wang, Wang Xi-feng and Aunt Xue with her and a number of attendant maids.
‘Now where is it going to be?’ she asked them.
‘Wherever you like, Mother,’ said Lady Wang dutifully.
‘I think they’ve already prepared for us in the Lotus Pavilion,’ said Xi-feng. ‘The blossom on the two cassia-trees is particularly line there this year, and there is that lovely clear, emerald water. When you sit in the little centre pavilion, you have water all round you, which gives you a wonderful feeling of spaciousness. And looking at water is so restful for the eyes.’
‘Very well,’ said Grandmother Jia, and began to lead the way to the Lotus Pavilion.
The pavilion was built in the middle of the Garden’s little river at one of the places where it broadened into a wide, deep pool. It had windows all round it and could be approached either circuitously from one side by way of one of the two many-angled covered piers leading to its left and right-hand verandahs, or more directly from the other by means of a bamboo bridge leading to the centre of the verandah at the back. It was towards this bamboo bridge that the party was now making its way. As Grandmother Jia stepped on to it, Xi-feng hurried forward to support her.
‘You can put your feet down as hard as you like, Grannie,’ she said. ‘Bamboo bridges always creak like this when you go over them. They are meant to.’
The Lotus Pavilion was in reality not one pavilion but two, for the main pavilion properly so called gave on to a smaller pavilion, referred to simply as ‘the water pavilion’ or the centre pavilion’, which was in the very middle of the little lake.
When they were all inside the main pavilion, they noticed that two bamboo tables had been set out on the verandah. On one of them were ranged winecups, chopsticks and all things needful for serving wine, and on the other were teacups, tea pots, tea-whisks, saucers, and various other tea-things. Beside the tea-table two or three maids were busy fanning a little tri pod stove on which water for tea-making was being boiled, while at the other end of the verandah maids were fanning a stove on which water for warming the wine-kettles was being heated. Grandmother Jia was particularly impressed by the arrangements for tea-making and remarked with pleasure how clean everything looked—including the spot that had been chosen for the party.
‘Cousin Bao-chai helped me get it ready,’ said Xiang-yun. ‘Well, I’ve always said she was a thoughtful child,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘A lot of thought has certainly gone into these preparations.’
As she was speaking, her eye fell on a pair of boards that hung from two of the pillars. The couplet inscribed on them was in mother-o’-pearl inlay on a black lacquer background. She asked Xiang-yun to read it out to her. This is what it said:

Lotus reflections shatter at the dip of a lazy oar-blade

Lotus fragrances float up from the swirl round a bamboo bridge-pile

After hearing the couplet, Grandmother Jia glanced up at the horizontal board which bore the name of the pavilion and was in characters large enough for her to read herself. She turned to Aunt Xue, who was standing beside her.
‘When I was a girl, there was a pavilion like this one in our garden at home. It was called—let me see—“Above the Clouds” because of the sky reflected in the water below, you see. When I was about the same age as these young people are now, I used to go with the others every day there to play. One day I slipped and fell down into the water. I nearly drowned. They had a terrible job getting me out. And even then I caught my head on one of the wooden pegs on the way up. I’ve still got a place big enough to put the tip of a linger in where it hit me. It’s on the side here, just where the hair begins. Of course, at the time everyone thought it was all up with me. They were sure that after being all that time in the water I’d catch my death of cold. But I got over it.’
‘If you hadn’t,’ said Xi-feng before anyone else could speak, ‘what would have happened to all the good fortune you’ve enjoyed, Grannie? It’s obvious you were meant to have it, otherwise why would you have been given that dent in your head? The guardian spirits must have put it there to store your good fortune in. Old Longevity has got a dent in his head, too; only his has got so much good fortune packed into it that it bulges out a bit.’
This comical allusion to the God of Longevity’s enormous cranium set all of them laughing — including, of course, the old lady herself.
‘Naughty monkey!’ she said. ‘Make fun of me, would you? I’d like to tear that wicked mouth of yours!’
‘It’s because I wanted to make you laugh, Grannie. Laugh ter makes the humours circulate. We’re going to be eating crabs shortly, and I was afraid that the cold of the crab-meat might settle on your heart. If I can make you laugh and stir your humours up, you’ll be able to eat as much crab as you like without taking any harm from it.’
‘In that case I shall have to keep you with me all the time, so that I am always laughing,’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘I’ll have to stop you going home at night.’
‘It’s because you indulge her so much that she is so cheeky, Mother,’ said Lady Wang. ‘By saying things like that to her you will make her even worse.’

‘But I like her cheekiness!’ said Grandmother Jia. ‘After all, there’s no harm in it. She knows what’s what underneath it all, of course she does. I think it’s nice that the young people should feel free to joke and laugh a bit when we are all on our own together. We don’t want them behaving like a lot of stuffed dummies, surely?’
杨宪益译文
Chapter 38

The Queen of Bamboos Wins First Place
with Her Poems on Chrysanthemums
The Lady of the Alpinia Writes a Satire
upon Crabs

Having laid their plans Baochai and Xiangyun slept, and the next morn ing the latter invited the Lady Dowager and others over to enjoy the fragrant osmanthus.
"What a delightful, refined idea," said the old lady. "We should take advantage of such an invitation."
At noon she took Lady Wang and Xifeng to invite Aunt Xue to accom pany them to the Garden, and asked:
"Which would be the best spot?"
"It's up to you to choose, madam," said Lady Wang.
"Preparations have been made in Lotus Fragrance Anchorage," put in Xifeng. "The two fragrant osmanthus trees at the foot of the slope there are in full bloom, the water flowing past is green and clear, and you get a fine view from the pavilion in midstream. It's refreshing to look at water."
The Lady Dowager approved and led the way to Lotus Fragrance Anchorage.
This pavilion, built in the middle of the lake, had windows on all four sides, twisting corridors on left and right leading to both shores and, be-hind, a winding bamboo bridge connecting it with the bank. As they stepped on to this, Xifeng moved forward quickly to take the old lady's arm.
"Just step out boldly, Old Ancestress," she cried. "This bamboo bridge always creaks -- it doesn't matter."
Upon reaching the pavilion they saw on the balcony two bamboo tables, one laid with cups, chopsticks and wine pots, the other with a tea-service. Beside them a few maids were fanning two stoves: one to brew tea, the other to heat wine.
"Tea -- splendid! This is just the place for it," remarked the Lady Dowager. "Everything here is so clean."
Xiangyun said with a smile, "Cousin Baochai helped prepare this."
"Yes, I always say she's most provident, that child, and thinks of everything."
As the old lady made this observation, she noticed two inscriptions inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the black lacquer tablets hanging on the pil lars. She asked someone to read them to her. Xiangyun complied:

Magnolia oars shatter the reflections of lotus;
Caltrops and lotus-root scent the bamboo bridge.

The Lady Dowager glanced up again at the inscription on the board above her head, then turned to Aunt Xue.
"When I was young we had a pavilion like this too at home," she said. "It was called Pillowed Iridescence or something of the sort. I was no bigger than these girls at that time and I used to play with my sisters there every day. Once I slipped and fell into the water and nearly drowned! They managed to pull me out, but a wooden bolt had gashed my head. That's how I got this dent the size of a finger-tip on my temple here. They were all afraid I was done for after that ducking and chill, but I recovered."
Before anyone else could comment Xifeng quipped, "If you hadn't, who'd be enjoying all this good fortune today? Obviously our Old Ances tress was destined from birth to good luck and a long life: that's why the gods dented her head
to hold her good luck! The God of Longevity originally had a dent in his head too, but it was so stuffed with good fortune it swelled up instead into a bump."
Before she had finished, the Lady Dowager and all the others were quite limp from laughing.
"This monkey's so dreadfully spoilt, she even makes fun of me," declared the old lady. "I ought to tear out that glib tongue of yours."
"We'll presently be eating crabs," said Xifeng. "I was afraid you might have indigestion if I didn't first make you laugh. If you're in good spirits it doesn't matter eating a little more.
"I'll make you stay with me day and night to keep me laughing," threatened the Lady Dowager. "I won't let you go home."
"It's because you're so fond of her, madam, that she's so spoilt," interposed Lady Wang. "And by talking like that you'll make her even worse.
"I like her as she is." The old lady chuckled. "Besides, she never really oversteps the mark. When we've no visitors we should joke and chat, so long as the young people don't break the main rules of propriety. Why should we expect them to behave like angels?"

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《红楼梦》翻译 （二百零六）

《红楼梦》翻译 （二百零六）

《红楼梦》翻译（二百零六）

《红楼梦》翻译（二百零六）