朗英文版《红楼梦》，忆大观园情与痴
一段董卿朗读《红楼梦》选段的视频悄悄的登上热搜榜，无论是朗读者的呈现，还是书的内容，都让看客大呼精彩。
“满纸荒唐言，一把辛酸泪；都云作者痴，谁解其中味”，正如董卿所说的，《红楼梦》是读不尽的，是一个院子里的儿女情长，更是一个朝代的盛衰兴亡。今年也是央视版《红楼梦》开播30周年，英大便借着这股东风说一说节目中“宝黛初见”这个片段。
Part 1
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一语未了，只听外面一阵脚步响，丫鬟进来笑道：“宝玉来了！”黛玉心中正疑惑着：“这个宝玉，不知是怎生个惫懒人物，懵懂顽童？”——倒不见那蠢物也罢了。心中想着，忽见丫鬟话未报完，已进来了一位年轻的公子。
译文：
The words were hardly out of her mouth when they heard footsteps in the courtyard and a maid came in to announce, "Baoyu is here."
Daiyu was wondering what sort of graceless scamp or little dunce Baoyu was and feeling reluctant to meet such a stupid creature when, even as the maid announced him, in he walked.（杨宪益＆戴乃迭）
While they were speaking, a flurry of footsteps could be heard outside and a maid came in to say that Bao-yu was back.
'I wonder,' thought Dai-yu, 'just what sort of graceless creature this Bao-yu is going to be'.（霍克斯）
解析：
此时，两人还未相见，黛玉已经借着母亲和王夫人的描述脑补了宝玉的形象——“惫懒人物”、“懵懂顽童”，对见他这事儿并不多上心。这也与后文的熟悉感形成了对比。
从译文中可以看出，杨戴把黛玉心中所想事无巨细地体现出来，用graceless scamp（淘气鬼）、little dunce（愚笨的人）和stupid creature来形容宝玉，层层递进，水到渠成地表现了黛玉不情愿的情绪。而霍克斯则直接抹去了黛玉的情绪，只用what sort of graceless creature将她的疑惑译了出来。
相对于下文中的反转，英大倾向于杨戴的译文，把不情愿的情绪的表现出来更为贴切。
这里，两个版本的creature都选得很妙，就像宝玉说的，“女儿是水作的骨肉，男人是泥作的骨肉”，虽然说的是人，可不就是个“生物”嘛！
Part 2
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黛玉一见，便吃一大惊，心下想道：“好生奇怪，倒像在哪里见过一般，何等眼熟到如此！”
译文：
His appearance took Daiyu by surprise. "How very strange!" she thought. "It's as if I'd seen him somewhere before. He looks so familiar."（杨戴）
Dai-yu looked at him with astonishment. How strange! How very strange! It was as though she had seen him somewhere before, he was so extraordinarily familiar.（霍克斯）
解析：
短短几句话表现了黛玉初见宝玉的思绪，似曾相识的熟悉扑面而来，这让黛玉极为惊讶。但身为女儿家，她没有表现出来，只是暗暗地在心中想。在程度的把握上，霍克斯的叠句和“extraordinarily”比杨戴的更好。除此之外，两个版本的译文大同小异。
比较明显的不同是杨戴用了第一人称表现黛玉的惊讶，而霍克斯则用了第三人称。英大私以为，杨戴的处理方式更好，原文本来就是黛玉的主观感受，用第一人称让读者更有代入感，与下文中宝玉的反应形成呼应。
Part 3
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宝玉看罢，因笑道：“这个妹妹我曾见过的。”贾母笑道：“可又是胡说，你又何曾见过她？”宝玉笑道：“虽然未曾见过她，然我看着面善，心里就算是旧相识，今日只作远别重逢，亦未为不可。”
译文：
"I've met this cousin before,"he declared at the end of his scrutiny.
"You're talking nonsense again," said his grandmother, laughing.
"How could you possibly have met her?"
"Well, even if I haven't, her face looks familiar. I feel we're old friends meeting again after a long separation."（杨戴）
Having completed his survey, Bao-yu gave a laugh. 'I have seen this cousin before.'
'Nonsense!' said Grandmother Jia. 'How could you possibly have done?'
'Well, perhaps not,' said Bao-yu, 'but her face seems so familiar that I have the impression of meeting her again after a long separation.’（霍克斯）
解析：
说完了黛玉，再来说说宝玉。他素来是家里的掌珠，被一群人捧在手心里长大的，自是有什么说什么，也不管是不是浑话。他觉得似曾相识，也不藏着掖着了，直接宣之于口。此处，也算借宝玉的口说出了两人的心里话，是为心有灵犀，正式拉开了俩人爱情的大幕。
胡说都是nonsense，久别重逢都是meeting again after a long separation，细节处理不相同。
值得一提的是“看”这个词的选择，杨戴用了scrutiny，霍克斯用了survey，两个词都偏学术气息，不够日常。两者之间，英大倾向于scrutiny，表示“审视，打量”。
除了以上的叙述，这一段最精彩的就是对宝玉和黛玉两人外貌和服饰的描述，而这些古代特有的服饰也向来是译者最头疼的地方。需要注意的是，原书的这一章中有两段对宝玉的描述，换装前后各一次，而《朗读者》中是节选，只出现了换装后的一段。就把两段一起放上来，来看看两位大家是如何描述这位浊世佳公子的吧。
Part 4
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换装前：
戴着束发嵌宝紫金冠，齐眉勒着二龙戏珠金抹额，一件二色金百蝶穿花大红箭袖，束着五彩丝攒花结长穗宫绦，外罩石青起花八团倭缎排穗褂，登着青缎粉底小朝靴。面若中秋之月，色如春晓之花，鬓若刀裁，眉如墨画，鼻如悬胆，睛若秋波，虽怒时而似笑，即瞋视而有情。项上金螭缨络，又有一根五色丝绦，系着一块美玉。
译文：
His face was as radiant as the mid-autumn moon, his complexion fresh as spring flowers at dawn. The hair above his temples was as sharply outlined as if cut with a knife. His eyebrows were as black as if painted with ink, his cheeks as red as peach-blossom, his eyes bright as autumn ripples. Even when angry he seemed to smile, and there was warmth in his glance even when he frowned.（杨戴）
As to his person, he had:
a face like the moon of Mid-Autumn,
a complexion like flowers at dawn,
a hairline straight as a knife-cut,
eyebrows that might have been painted by an artist's brush,
a shapely nose, and eyes clear as limpid pools,
that even in anger seemed to smile,
and, as they glared, beamed tenderness the while.（霍克斯）
换装后：
头上周围一转的短发，都结成小辫，红丝结束，身上穿着银红撒花半旧大袄，仍旧戴着项圈，宝玉，寄名锁，护身符等物，锦边弹墨袜，厚底大红鞋，越显得面如敷粉，唇若施脂，转盼多情，语言常笑，天然一段风骚，全在眉梢，平生万种情思，悉堆眼角。看其外貌最是极好，却难知其底细。
译文：
His face looked as fair as if powdered, his lips red as rouge. His glance was full of affection, his speech interspersed with smiles. But his natural charm appeared most in his brows, for his eyes sparkled with a world of feeling. （杨戴）
The cheeks might have been brushed with powder and the lips touched with rouge, so bright was their natural colour.
His glance was soulful,
yet from his lips the laughter often leaped;
a world of charm upon that brow was heaped;
a world of feeling from those dark eyes peeped.（霍克斯）
解析：
杨戴的译文信息完整，句式繁杂，霍克斯的译文信息简洁，选用了类似诗体的形式。整体来看，杨戴对原文进行了增译，把所有有用的信息铺陈在读者面前，方便读者理解；而霍克斯则尽量遵循原文，保留了琵琶半遮的美感，各有千秋。
鬓若刀裁：鬓发指的是脸颊靠近耳朵的头发，杨戴将它译成“hair above his temples（太阳穴）”，而霍译直接简化成hairline（发际线），采取了模糊的翻译方式。如果日常翻译中遇到了拿捏不准的内容，不妨借鉴霍克斯的方法试一试。
鼻若悬胆：杨戴省去了这一句话，而霍译用shapely（形状美观的）代替了“悬胆”这个词。虽然文化信息被省略了，但从达意层面上是有利于读者理解的。
睛若秋波：秋波这个词也是中国特有的形容词，指秋风中的湖泊涟漪，形容眼神清澈。杨戴的autumn ripples体现了原意，霍克斯的limpid（清澈的，透明的） pools侧重了清澈。
风骚、情思：两版译文都选用了charm和feeling。
Part 5
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两弯似蹙非蹙笼烟眉，一双似喜非喜含情目。态生两靥之愁，娇袭一身之病。泪光点点，娇喘微微。闲静似娇花照水，行动如弱柳扶风。心较比干多一窍，病如西子胜三分。
译文：
Her dusky arched eyebrows were knitted and yet not frowning, her speaking eyes held both merriment and sorrow; her very frailty had charm. Her eyes sparkled with tears, her breath was soft and faint. In repose she was like a lovely flower mirrored in the water; in motion, a pliant willow swaying in the wind. She looked more sensitive than Bi Gan, more delicate than Xi Shi.（杨戴）
Her mist-wreathed brows at first seemed to frown, yet were not frowning;
Her passionate eyes at first seemed to smile, yet were not merry.
Habit had given a melancholy cast to her tender face;
Nature had bestowed a sickly constitution on her delicate frame.
Often the eyes swam with glistening tears;
Often the breath came in gentle gasps.
In stillness she made one think of a graceful flower reflected in the water;
In motion she called to mind tender willow shoots caressed by the wind.
She had more chambers in her heart than the martyred Bi Gan;
And suffered a tithe more pain in it than the beautiful Xi Shi.（霍克斯）
解析：
两版译文虽用词不同，但都算忠实完整地呈现了原文的描述。这里，英大想说说最后一句“心较比干多一窍，病如西子胜三分”的译文，比干和西子（西施）是中国古代的人物，如果要铺开讲需要很大的篇幅，两种译文都省去了对他们的解释。
那么要想准确传达文中的意思就需要在前文中多下功夫，这里英大很喜欢杨戴版本的处理。一贯秉承信息完整的杨戴在这句话的处理上撇开了异化，采取了归化的方式。用sensitive和delicate恰到好处地表现了林黛玉的两大特质：敏感、美丽。而霍译对读者的理解力和想象力都是不小的挑战。
中华文学博大精深，很多东西是不可译的，有些庆幸我们能享有这些精致而美丽的语言，有些遗憾不能把它们分享给更多人。感谢杨戴和霍克斯给出了如此磅礴的两个译本，让我们能学到更多。
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这段宝黛初见乍一看没什么玄机，其实为后续的进展埋下了许多伏笔。林黛玉和贾宝玉的爱情源于木石前盟，他们一个是赤瑕宫神瑛侍者，另一个是西方灵河岸上三生石畔的绛珠仙草，长期以来，神瑛侍者一直用甘露灌溉这株仙草，使其修成女体。双双入凡间成了表兄妹，初见便似曾相识，别人只当是宝玉胡说，却不知道这是前世的缘分。
一个是阆苑仙葩，一个是美玉无瑕，可惜木石前盟没有比得过金玉良缘（贾宝玉和薛宝钗），最后只能是水中月镜中花，一场悲剧。
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