中国文学英译絮谈

沙枫

“凤凰台”对“黄鹤楼”

“此地空余黄鹤楼”，崔颢写的这首《黄鹤楼》，是脍灸人口的。据说崔颢题了这首诗之后，才高如李白，也不敢题诗黄鹤楼头。

喻守真编注的《唐诗三百首详析》，在崔颢的《黄鹤楼》诗后，有此注解：

据《该闻录》曰：崔颢题武昌《黄鹤楼》诗，为世所诵。李太白负大名，尚曰：“眼前有景道不得，崔颢题诗在上头。”欲拟之较胜负。乃作《金陵登凤凰台》诗歌。

崔颢的《黄鹤楼》诗是这样的：

昔人已乘黄鹤去，此地空余黄鹤楼。
黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠！
晴川历历汉阳树，芳草萋萋鹦鹉洲。
日暮乡关何处是？烟波江上使人愁。

这首诗早有 Giles 与 Bynner 的英译。最近 Tim Beal 也将之译出，刊于苏格兰-中国协会的刊物上。

Bynner 的译文是这样的：

Where long ago a yellow crane bore a sage to heaven,
Nothing is left now but the Yellow Crane Terrace.
The yellow crane never revisited earth,
And white clouds are flying without him for ever.
Every tree in Han-yang becomes clear in the water,
And Parrot Island is a nest of sweet grasses.
But I look toward home, and twilight grows dark
With a mist of grief on the river waves.

Giles 的英译如下，是押韵的：

Here a mortal once sailed up to heaven on a crane,
And a Yellow-Crane Kiosk will for ever remain;
But the bird flew away will come back no more,
Though the white clouds are there as the white clouds of yore.
Away to the east lie fair forests of trees,
From flowers on the west comes a scent-laden breeze;
Yet my eyes daily turn to their faraway home,
Beyond the broad River, its waves, and its foam.

Beal 的英译如下：

In the past a man rode away on the Yellow Crane,
Leaving behind in this place the empty Yellow Crane Tower.
The Yellow Crane once gone will never more return,
A thousand years of white clouds in vast, empty skies!
Limpid streams can be clearly seen amongst the trees at Hangyang,
Fragrant plants grow in abundance on Parrot Islet.
The sun sets and where is my home?
The mist and waves on the river fill a man with sadness.

上述三种英译，Beal，Bynner 二人是直译，Giles 则是意译。

李白的《金陵登凤凰台》诗则是这样：

凤凰台上凤凰游，凤去台空江自流。
吴宫花草埋幽径，晋代衣冠成古丘。
三山半落青天外，二水中分白鹭洲。
总为浮云能蔽日，长安不见使人愁！

这首诗后，《唐诗三百首详析》也有注解：

太白此诗原欲与崔颢争胜，所以就用“黄鹤楼”诗的原韵（其中只有“流”、“丘”二韵不同），而且开首句法，也似乎有意模仿前诗。其中最自然成趣的，是“洲”字韵。湖北有鹦鹉洲，金陵恰巧有白鹭洲，真是天造地设。以太白的才气横溢，以此诗和崔诗相比，真可谓“工力悉敌”。其中二联虽是感事写景，而感概淋漓，深得吊古诗义。盖为吴宫花草，晋代衣冠，俱成陈迹；只三山二水，依然流峙，和上文台空江流，自然照应。比之崔诗中联，较有意义得多了。

诗的最后，李白也是用“使人愁”三字结束，与崔如出一辙。

兹介绍李白这首诗 Bynner 的英译如下：

Phoenixes that played here once, so the place was named for them,
have abandoned it now to this desolate river;
The path of Wu Palace are crooked with weeds,
The garments at Chin are ancient dust.
Like this green horizon halving the Three Peaks,
Like this Island of White Egret dividing the river;
A cloud has arisen between the Light of Heaven and me,
To hide his city from my melancholy heart.

“使人愁”三字，Bynner 在李白的“长安不见使人愁”中译作“my melancholy heart”，在崔颢的“烟波江上使人愁”中译作“a mist of grief”。