- 經典唐詩英譯欣賞
- 袁小林編著
- 1027字
- 2020-03-17 11:00:14
19.憶江南
江南好,風景舊曾諳。
日出江花紅勝火,
春來江水綠如藍。
能不憶江南?
中文解讀
古語云,言而無文,行之不遠。白居易的《憶江南》詞從寫成,流傳至今,已是一千多年,而且還將一直流芳百世,那么這寥寥數語,文在何處到?如何能“行”如此之遠呢?
白居易曾經擔任杭州刺史,在杭州待了兩年,后來又擔任蘇州刺史,任期也一年有余。在他的青年時期,曾漫游江南,旅居蘇杭,應該說,他對江南有著相當的了解,故此江南在他的心目中留有深刻印象。當他因病卸任蘇州刺史,回到洛陽后十二年,他六十七歲時,寫下了這三首《憶江南》,可見江南勝景仍在他心中栩栩如生。
該詩詞在白居易的筆下,從初日、江花、江水之中獲得了色彩,加之詩人又用了烘染、映襯的手法,描繪出我們想象中的圖畫,色彩絢麗耀眼,層次豐富,幾乎無須更多聯想,江南春景已躍然眼前。
白話譯文
江南是個好地方,它的風景我曾經很熟悉。太陽出來,江邊的花朵比火還要紅艷,春天來臨,江水如藍草一樣碧綠清澈。這樣的景色怎能讓我不常常回憶呢?
英譯一
Dreaming of the Southern Shore
Translated by Xu Yuanchong
Fair Southern Shore,
With scenes I adore.
At sunrise riverside flowers redder than fire,
In spring green waves grow as blue as sapphire.
Which I can not but admire.
(sapphire n.蔚藍色)
英譯二
Recalling Jiangnan
Translated by Rewi Alley
How deeply I appreciated,
The beauties of Jiangnan.
The flowers blooming on the river banks at sunrise red as fire.
The river waters darker than indigo,
How can I ever forget Jiangnan?
(indigo n.靛藍色)
英譯欣賞
How many memories could the poet have of the place of the southern shore he had lived? He turned his memories and missing into a popular and beautiful poem for generations following him.
白居易《憶江南》共有三首,這首最為有名。英譯本也很多,這里選了許淵沖教授和新西蘭人Rewi Alley的譯文。有意思的是,“江南”一詞,英譯一意譯為the Southern Shore;而Rewi Alley直譯為Jiangnan.
英譯一Fair Southern Shore, With scenes I adore。這句可以理解為:I a-dore with scenes, fair Southern Shore。這句譯文非常簡潔。用I adore 翻譯“諳”,意義稍有改變,但是整個譯文一脈相承,最后一句“能不憶江南?”也將問句譯成陳述句。
Which I can not but admire,我只能非常贊賞,can not but譯為只能。
中間兩句“日出江花紅勝火,春來江水綠如藍”,幾乎直譯:At sunrise riverside flowers redder than fire, In spring green waves grow as blue as sapphire.“綠如藍”中的形容詞“綠”被譯成動詞grow(變得),也是妙譯。
英譯二雖然地名用拼音,但用意譯“江南好,風景舊曾諳”:How deeply I appreciated, the beauties of Jiangnan,我是多么欣賞江南的美麗。
第三、四句的翻譯都是省略句,應為:The flowers blooming on the river banks at sunrise(are)red as fire, The river waters(are)darker than indigo。這里blooming 是分詞作定語,相當于which are blooming; the river waters,這里waters 用復數形式,表示不同的水域、水面,如成語Still waters run deep(靜水深流)。“能不憶江南?”譯為問句How can I ever forget Jiangnan?問句貼近原句,只是Jiangnan 需要注釋,指the area of the Southern China。
思考
詩中的“憶”,英文是remember、recall 還是dream?