英汉翻译评析

《长恨歌》翻译评析

长恨歌

许渊冲译

The Everlasting Regret

汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。

The beauty-loving monarch longed year after year

To find a beautiful lady without peer.

杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。

A maiden of the Yangs* to womanhood just grown.

In inner chambers bred, to the world was unknown.

天生丽质难自弃，一朝选在君王侧。

Endowed with natural beauty too hard to hide,

One day she stood selected for the monarch’s side.

回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。

Turning her head, she smiled so sweet and full of grace

That she outshone in six palaces the fairest face.

评：在最后一句“回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色”中，译者将“百媚”翻译为“full of grace”,在此处应取“elegance and beauty of movement or expression， a beautiful figure which she used in subtle movements of unparalleled grace”这一义，我认为此处强调的是“媚”这个字，这种美是无人能比的，以至于六宫粉黛无颜色，所以在翻译之时，可以把这种媚翻译成魅力，而且是“百媚”，此处“百”又不是真的“hundred”，而是一种“end of beauty, end of charm”。

评：最后一句“六宫”翻译成six places 非常生硬，感觉没有体现中国古典文化中六宫的含义。同时fairest face 也太过于字面化，没有什么美感。回眸直接翻译为turning her head也是过于直接，体现不出古典诗歌所要表达的美。

评：第二句杨家有女初长成中，womanhood just grow，womanhood 略感多余，前面已经用了maiden，意透露性别信息，无需再次强调女性身份，第三句中天

生丽质难自弃，用endowed with natural beauty, endow 已有天生具有的意思，再用natural强调原生有语义赘余之嫌，一朝选在君王侧翻作selected for the monarch’s side, 太过直译，可以意译为入宫为妃，回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色有承接关系，觉得，that放入前半句更好，that she turns her head, with a sweet and grace smile。

评：诗歌标题“长恨歌”并非表达一种真正的恨意和痛苦，而是指唐明皇和杨贵妃无法长相厮守的遗憾和悔恨。“regret”正好有“悔恨，遗憾”之意，“everlasting”正好表达出了长久的意味。许渊冲的翻译避免了直接翻译的直白，又恰到好处地将两人无法长相厮守的遗憾表达得淋漓尽致，十分贴切。

春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。

She bathed in glassy water of warm-fountain pool,

Which laved and smoothed her creamy skin when spring was cool.（许）

One cold spring day she was ordered

To bathe in the Huaqing Palace baths.

The warm water slipped down

Her glistening jade-like body. （杨）

评：在这句的翻译中，先看杨宪益翻译的版本，他用了order一词，觉得不妥，没有把获宠赏赐的幸福感觉翻译出来。许渊冲把华清池译成glassy water of warm-fountain pool，我觉得这样翻得更好，直接把华清池的特点说了出来，更让人明白诗的本意。

云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。

Flowerlike face and cloudlike hair, golden-headdressed,

In lotus-flower curtain she spent the night blessed.（许）

Her hair like a cloud,

Her face like a flower,（杨）

评：两者的译本都注重了形美，句式工整，但许的版本还采取了压韵的手法headdressed和blessed，压尾韵。

春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。

She slept till sun rose high, for the blessed night was short,

From then on the monarch held no longer morning court.（许）

They took their pleasure in the spring night.

Regretting only the spring nights were too short;

Rising only when the sun was high;

He stopped attending court sessions

In the early morning.（杨）

评：两者的翻译均都到位，杨的版本把诗的意思更直白清晰地表达了出来，而许的版本更为委婉精简。本人更喜欢杨的版本，杨的译本体现了更多皇帝与杨贵妃的互动情趣，更明显地表现出两人美好的爱情。