译中国 | 王晓辉:孙悟空是国产的还是进口的?
既然讲的是唐僧取经的故事,主角当然应该是唐僧,但小说的作者却把唐僧描写成了一个糊里糊涂、好歹不分、平庸迂腐的和尚,把主角的位置给了上天入地、变化多端、降妖捉怪、无所不能的大徒弟孙悟空。
孙悟空何许神也?我们常说,人都有父母,谁也不是石头缝里蹦出来的,可孙悟空还就是从石头缝里蹦出来的。
《西游记》第一回:
那座山(花果山),正当顶上,有一块仙石。其石有三丈六尺五寸高,有二丈四尺围圆。三丈六尺五寸高,按周天三百六十五度;二丈四尺围圆,按政历二十四气。上有九窍八孔,按九宫八卦。四面更无树木遮阴,左右倒有芝兰相衬。盖自开辟以来,每受天真地秀,日精月华,感之既久,遂有灵通之意。内育仙胞,一日迸裂,产一石卵,似圆球样大。因见风,化作一个石猴,五官俱备,四肢皆全。我们来看一下这一段描述的英文怎么翻译:“There was once a magic stone on the top of this mountain which was thirty-six feet five inches high and twenty-four feet round. It was thirty-six feet five inches high to correspond with the 365 degrees of the heavens, and twenty-four feet round to match the twenty-four divisions of the solar calendar. On top of it were nine apertures and eight holes, for the Nine Palaces and the Eight Trigrams. There were no trees around it to give shade, but magic fungus and orchids clung to its sides. Ever since Creation began it had been receiving the truth of Heaven, the beauty of Earth, the essence of the Sun and the splendor of the Moon; and as it had been influenced by them for so long it had miraculous powers. It developed a magic womb, which burst open one day to produce a stone egg about the size of a ball. When the wind blew on this egg it turned into a stone monkey, complete with the five senses and four limbs.”这段译文摘自外文出版社1993年版的《西游记》英译本,译者是詹纳尔(William John Francis Jenner)。译文结构简练,干净利落,与原文中说书讲故事的口吻十分契合。文中比较难翻译的是“九宫”“八卦”“天真地秀”“日精月华”。中国人都知道九宫格,但知道“九宫”的人就不多了,更何况外国读者了。我曾问过身边的几个外国朋友,他们都知道Eight Trigrams,也知道八卦的形状,但对于Nine Palaces,大都不知所云,还有一个一口气给我罗列出世界上九个著名的宫殿,白金汉宫、故宫、卢浮宫、凡尔赛宫……
在印度史诗《罗摩衍那》中有个神猴哈努曼,他的来历颇为神奇。有一天,印度教三大主神之一的湿婆神(Lord Shiva)和雪山女神帕尔瓦蒂(Parvati)化身为猴子玩耍时,怀上了孩子。但女神又不想生一个像猴子一样的孩子,于是湿婆神就派风神(Vayudeva)将胚胎移植到被贬为猴的天宫歌女Anjana的身体里。哈努曼是天神的种子,一出生便力大无穷,又得诸神的加持和赐福,所以神通广大,不惧水火,御风飞行,太阳神苏利耶(Suryadeva)甚至慷慨地将百分之一的光芒给了他。哈努曼善于变化,能移山跨海,也曾被一个妖怪吞入口中,他在妖怪的肚子里翻江倒海,杀死了妖怪之后又钻了出来。这与《西游记》第五十九回“唐三藏路阻火焰山,孙行者一调芭蕉扇”中孙悟空变作一只小飞虫钻进铁扇公主的肚子里又从嘴里飞出来的情节如出一辙。巧合的是,哈努曼的兵器是大神毗湿奴所赐,梵文叫Gada,也是一根棒子,比连环画上孙悟空的如意金箍棒短一些,顶端还有个圆头。
在史诗《罗摩衍那》中,哈努曼的形象一直是神通广大、忠诚勇敢:
“Hanuman of sun-like radiance, lofty as a hill of gold,
Clasped his hands in due obeisance, spake in accents calm and bold.”(Ramayana Translated by Romesh Dutt page 202)哈努曼像太阳般金光闪闪,如金山一般高大伟岸,他双手合十态度恭谦,语气中带着坚定和勇敢。“Crossed the ocean's boundless waters, Hanuman in duty brave,
Lighted on the emerald island girded by the sapphire wave,And in tireless quest of Sita searched the margin of the sea,In a dark Asoka garden hid himself within a tree.”(Ramayana Translated by Romesh Dutt page 216)勇敢的哈努曼,跨过无际的海洋,落在浪花环绕的绿岛上;他不知疲惫沿着海岸寻找悉多,来到阿育王城一个幽深的花园,在大树上将真身隐藏。“Dark-eyed chief Dhumraksha sallied with the fierce tornado's shock,Hanuman of peerless prowess slayed him with a rolling rock.”(Ramayana Translated by Romesh Dutt page 258)乌眼悍将鸠摩罗刹从城内冲出,气势汹汹仿佛雷霆震怒;神勇的哈努曼所向无敌,滚动巨石将对手击毙。
供稿:中国网
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