《幽梦影》中英对照(3)
人生——之二十
有地上之山水,有画上之山水,有梦中之山水,有胸中之山水。地上者妙在邱壑深邃,画上
者妙在笔墨淋漓,梦中者妙在景象变幻,胸中者妙在位置自如。
星远曰:心斋《幽梦影》中文字,其妙亦在景象变幻。
(殷)日戒曰:若诗文中之山水,其幽深变幻,更不可以名状。
含徵曰:但不可有面上之山水。
(余)香祖曰:余境况不佳,水穷山尽矣。
There are hills and waters on the earth, in paintings, in dreams, and in one's imagination. The
beauty of such hills and waters on the earth is in their grace and variety; that in paintings, richness
of ink and freedom of the brush; that in dreams, their changefulness; and that in one's imagination,
good composition.
Shingyuan: The writing of this book has grace and variety also.
Jihchieh: In literature, the changes and surprises are even more exciting and difficult to describe.
Hanchen: But please not those changes of expression on the face (of snobbery, etc.)!
Shiangtsu: But sometimes when one meets hardships, the hills seem blocked and the waters come
to a dead end, as in my case.
人生——之二十一
鳞虫中金鱼,羽虫中紫燕,可云物类神仙。正如东方曼倩避世金马门,人不得而害之。
含徵曰:金鱼之所以免汤镬者,以其色胜而味苦耳。昔人有以重价觅奇特者,以馈邑侯。
邑侯他日谓之曰:“贤所赠花鱼殊无味。”盖已烹之矣。世岂少削圆方竹杖者哉。
Be a goldfish among the fish and a swallow among the birds. There are like Taoist fairies who go
through life like the witty Tungfang Manching, safe from harm from those in power.
Hanchen: The goldfish escapes from harm because its flesh is bitter to the taste. Once there was a
man who paid a high price for a beautiful variety and sent it as a present to a magistrate. Later the
magistrate said to him, “The beautiful fish you sent me seemed to be perfectly tasteless." He
meant that he had cooked and tasted it. There are such people in the world!
人生——之二十二
人须求可入诗,物须求可入画。
(龚)半千曰:物之不可入画者,猪也,阿堵物也,恶少年也。
竹坡曰:诗亦求可见得人,画亦求可像个物。
(石)天外曰:人须求可入画,物须求可入诗,亦妙。
So live that your life may be like a poem. Arrange things so that they look like they are in a
painting.
Panchien: There are things that will never look like they are in a painting: pigs, dollar bills, and
juvenile delinquents.
Chupo: Poems, on the other hand, would also like to be like real life, and paintings would like to
be like things.
Tienwai: It is also possible to say: "So live as to be like a painting, and arrange furniture so that
the room looks like a poem."
人生——之二十三
昔人云,若无花、月、美人,不愿生此世界。予益一语云,若无翰墨、棋、酒,不必定作人
身。
日戒曰:枉为人身生在世界,急宜猛省。
天石曰:海外诸国决无墨棋酒,即有?亦不与吾同,一般有人,何也?
(胡)会来曰:若无豪杰文人,亦不需要此世界。
An ancient writer said, “Life would not be worth living if there were no moon, no flowers, and no
beautiful women.” I might add, “It might not be important to be born a man, if there were no pen
and paper, and no chess and wine."
Jihchieh: Beware of living in vain!
Tienchih: I am sure that foreigners have no pen and paper and chess and wine, or if they have,
these things must be all different. Why, then, are human beings also born there?
Hueilai: Life would not be worth living without great heroes and writers.
人生——之二十四
愿在木而为樗,愿在草而为蓍,愿在鸟而为鸥,愿在兽而为廌,愿在虫而为蝶,愿在鱼而为
鲲。
(郑)破水曰:我愿生生世世为顽石。
悔庵曰:愿在人而为梦。
慧珠曰:愿在梦而为影。
That I might be the shy among the trees (which is never cut down because of its worthless timber),
the shy among the grass (which can foretell events), the sea gull among the birds (which merges
with the elements), the chih among animals (a kind of deer which attacks the guilty one), the
butterfly among insects (which flits among flowers), and the kun among fish (which has the
freedom of the ocean).
Poshui: I wish to be a rock!
Huei-an: I wish to be a dream!
[Miss] Hueichu: I wish to be the shadow in a dream!
人生——之二十五
庄周梦为蝴蝶,庄周之幸也;蝴蝶梦为庄周,蝴蝶之不幸也。
(黄)九烟曰:惟庄周乃能梦为蝴蝶,惟蝴蝶乃能梦为庄周耳。若世之扰扰红尘者,其能有
此等梦乎?
(孙)恺似曰:君于梦之中,又占其梦耶?
含徵曰:周之喜梦为蝴蝶者,以其入花深也。若梦甫酣而乍醒,则又如嗜酒者梦赴席而为妻
惊醒,不得不加痛诟谇矣。
It was fortunate of Chuangtse to dream of being a butterfly, but a misfortune for the butterfly to
dream of being Chuangtse.
Chiuyuan: This is unfair to Chuangtse. Only he could have dreamed of being a butterfly.
Kaisze: Are you dreaming of being a dream interpreter?
Hanchen: Chuangtse had that dream because he was deeply associated with the flowers. Others
might begin such a dream only, and it would be like a man dreaming of starting a wine dinner, to
be rudely waked up by his wife!
人生——之二十六
假使梦能自主,虽千里无难命驾,可不羡长房之缩地;死者可以晤对,可不需少君之招魂;
五岳可以卧游,可不俟婚嫁之尽毕。
九烟曰:予尝谓鬼有时胜于人,正以其能自主耳。
含徵曰:吾恐上穷碧落下黄泉,两地茫茫皆不见也。
That one might control one's dreams! Then one could go anywhere one likes, conjure up the spirits
of the past, and set out on a world trip without waiting for the sons and daughters to be married
first.
Chiuyuan: I sometimes think that ghosts have this advantage over men because they can go where
they like.
Hanchen: On the other hand, it is possible that ghosts go everywhere in the upper and the nether
world and see nothing at all!
人生——之二十七
少年须有老成之识见,老成人须有少年之襟怀。
含徵曰:今之钟鸣漏尽,白发盈头者,若多收几斛麦,便欲置侧室,岂非有少年之襟怀耶?
独是少年老成者少耳。
竹坡曰:十七八岁便有妾,亦居然少年老成。
若金曰:老而腐板,定非豪杰。
(王)司直曰:如此方不使岁月弄人。
Young people should have the wisdom of the old, and old people should have the heart of the
young.
Hanchen: I do see white-haired old men with one foot in the grave take a concubine the moment
they have a better harvest than usual. Don’t they also have "the heart of the young”? But the
young people who have the wisdom of the old are rare.
Chupo: There are young men who take a concubine at the age of seventeen or eighteen. So they,
too, have the wisdom of the old.
Jochin: A man who feels old cannot be a great soul.
Szechih: Living this way, one is not indeed just a plaything of Father Time.
人生——之二十八
躬耕吾所不能,学灌园而已矣;樵薪吾所不能,学薙草而已矣。
释菌人曰:以灌园薙草自任自持,可谓不薄;然笔端隐隐有非其种者锄而去之之意。
司直曰:予自名为识字农夫,得毋妄甚?
I cannot hope to be a farmer, but will learn watering flowers; cannot hope to become a woodcutter,
but will be contented with pulling out weeds.
[Monk] Chunjen: Watering and weeding the garden is after all not a bad life. One feels here,
however, that the author has a hankering to weed out and cast off a lot of things he does not like.
Szechih: I call myself a "literate farmer”. Is that presumptuous?
人生——之二十九
高语山林者,辄不善谈市朝事、审若此则当并废《史》《汉》诸书而不读矣,盖诸书所载
皆古之市朝也。
竹坡曰:高语者,必是虚声处士。真入山者,方能经纶市朝。
Recluse scholars often disdain to discuss affairs of the government. But history is full of affairs of
the government. Should one stop reading history, too? They cannot have meant it.
Chupo: Sometimes, these things are affectations. A real recluse scholar can also assume the helm
of government if he is asked to.
(编辑:youke)