双语 | 她隐居阿尔卑斯山6年翻译《三国演义》，终于成就了“第一”！
对于译者来说，能够心无旁骛地潜心伏案，翻译一部自己喜欢的作品并得到出版和认可，无疑是莫大的欣慰；而对于译入语国家的小伙伴来说，能够读到精心翻译的外国优秀作品，也是十足的幸事。
近日，德国汉学家埃娃•舍斯塔格翻译的《三国演义》首部德文全译本出版，有读者评价说，“这是一部里程碑式的作品，它对于了解亚洲文化至关重要”。为了翻译这部作品，舍斯塔格几乎过着隐居的生活——6年来，在位于瑞士阿尔卑斯山麓的“楼仁译者之家”，她从翻译之外的一切事物中脱身。
Yee君不禁被这位译者坚毅的精神以及对翻译的热爱所打动，也很想把她的故事分享给热爱翻译的你。
"It is as if the Song of the Nibelungs in the form of Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' had come upon us; 'Game of thrones' is Kindergarten when compared with it."
“它就像是托尔金创作的‘指环王’版的《尼贝龙根之歌》；‘权力的游戏’与它相比只能算得上是小儿科。”
It was the introduction of China's crown-jewel ancient literature, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by German newspaper Die Welt in an article, following the publication of the first complete German translation of the classic by sinologist Eva Schestag.
这句话是德国《世界报》的一篇文章对中国古典文学名著《三国演义》的介绍。据文章报道，由德国汉学家埃娃·舍斯塔格翻译的《三国演义》首部德文全译本出版。
▲德国汉学家、翻译家埃娃·舍斯塔格（图片来源：新华网）
Prior to this edition, presented by S. Fisher publishing house earlier this year with the name of Die Drei Reiche (meaning Three Kingdoms in English), only 35 of the total 120 chapters had been translated into German by sinologist Franz Kuhn in the mid 20th century.
这部全译本《三国演义》于2017年初由德国菲舍尔出版社出版，此前德国汉学家弗兰茨·库恩在20世纪中期仅翻译了全书120回中的35回。
▲德国杜斯曼书店拍摄的《三国演义》德译本（图片来源：新华网）
"It goes without saying that it was an honor and pleasure at the same time to have a chance to dedicate six years to the translation of this book," Schestag told Xinhua in an inclusive interview, adding the importance of this classic as well as the lack of a full-length German translation were motivations behind her work.
“当然，能够用6年的时间翻译这部作品，我感到非常荣幸和快乐。”舍斯塔格在接受新华社专访时说，她还谈到了这部经典作品的重要性，并表示德文全译本的缺乏是她翻译的动力。
"It's a key to understanding the Asian culture," she said. Besides, the novel is so popular in China that the history of Three Kingdoms comes alive even in modern times through an array of media renditions, including movies, TV series, video games, and board games, Schestag wrote in the postface of her book.
“这部作品对于了解亚洲文化来说非常重要。”她说。她还在这部译作的刊后语中写道，这部小说在中国非常受欢迎，即使在现代社会，三国的历史也经由一系列媒体的演绎而得以情景重现，如电影、电视剧、网游、桌游等。
Looking back into the translation process, Schestag still recalled what a daunting task it seemed when she first started. "It almost took my breath away, when I opened page 1 of about 2,000 to be translated - as if looking up from the foot of a high and steep mountain up to the peak."
回首翻译的那段历程，舍斯塔格仍然记得，当她开始翻译时觉得这是一项多么艰巨的任务。“当我打开大约2000页书中的第1页开始翻译时，我觉得快要呼吸不过来，就像站在一座巍峨的大山脚下，往山顶仰视的感觉一样。”
Since 2011 when she was officially commissioned with the translation, she had stayed for a long time at Looren Translators' House, a translators' residence nestled in the pre-alpine mountains in Switzerland, to retreat from almost all obligations other than translating.
从2011年正式受托该翻译任务起，舍斯塔格就长期待在位于瑞士阿尔卑斯山麓的“楼仁译者之家”，几乎不再过问翻译以外的所有事情。
▲译者之家
The Romance of Three Kingdoms, acclaimed as one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is set in a tumultuous history across the second and third century A.D. when feudal lords of three states scramble for the rule of China following the decline of Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.).
《三国演义》是中国文学四大名著之一，讲述了公元2至3世纪的动乱历史，汉朝（公元前202年至公元220年）没落之后，三个国家的封建王侯开始争夺对中国的统治。
The novel depicts plots, intrigues, battles, military strategies, lives of feudal lords, and original Han Dynasty poems and prose, and above all, the Confucian values of loyalty and "Yi", a term that generally translates into justice but means a variety of virtues.
小说详细描述了计谋、战争、军事策略、封建王侯的生平和汉代诗词散文，最重要的是体现了“忠义”的儒家思想。
Schestag believed the novel can only be paralleled with by Homer's Odyssey in terms of its influence and significance. "These two literary works are comparable on the basis of the complexity of the plot and subplots and, last but not least, their influence on the subsequent literature of their respective cultural areas."
舍斯塔格认为就影响力和意义而言，只有荷马的《奥德赛》能与《三国演义》相媲美。“这两部文学作品在主要情节和次要情节的复杂性上不相上下，更重要的是，它们都对各自文化中的后世文学产生了重大影响。”
Also like Odyssey, the Romance of Three Kingdoms is embedded with a motif that transcends time and national borders. To Schestag, the motif of this Chinese classic is the clash between tradition, order and values, and pragmatism, necessary to adapt to the changing requirements of the modern world.
此外，《三国演义》和《奥德赛》都包含一个超越时间和国界的主题。在舍斯塔格看来，这部中国经典作品的主题是传统、秩序和价值观念间的冲突，以及适应现代世界不断变化的要求所必需的实用主义。
Apart from this motif, the strategies applied to outwit the enemy, opposing values like loyalty and pragmatism, courage and recklessness as discussed in the novel are all elements that make the book "relevant and interesting at all times and for all peoples".
除此之外，小说中用于克敌制胜的策略以及对诸如忠诚、识时务、勇敢和鲁莽等价值观的意见碰撞都使得《三国演义》可以引起任何时代、任何民族的共鸣及兴趣。
Amazon's online bookstore has a number of German readers comment on the book, it was commented that “this is a landmark work, read this book can better understand the history of Asia,” commented that “the book mentioned a lot of military strategy so far still in the world of military academy professor”, “translation of Chinese classical works is how arduous works, off hat tribute! Five - star praise!”
亚马逊网上书店有数条德国读者对此书的评价，有人评论“这是一部里程碑式的作品，读此书可以更好地了解亚洲历史”；有评论说，“书中提到的很多军事谋略至今还在全世界的军事院校教授”；还有评论称，“翻译中文经典作品是多么艰巨的工程，脱帽致敬！五星好评！”
Schestag would not rest on the laurels of translating of this monumental work, but will continue introducing ancient Chinese literature to the German language world, perhaps, with a translation of Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, another monumental history book of ancient China compiled about 2,000 years ago, as she planned.
舍斯塔格并不会止步于翻译这部不朽作品所带来的荣耀，而是会继续将中国古典文学引进德国。按照她的计划，或许接下来会翻译《史记》，这是另一部中国里程碑式的史书，成书于约2000年前。
英文来源：新华网
编译：Janet、阿狸
推荐阅读