中国文学英译絮谈

沙枫

武松怎样打死老虎

中国出版的英文刊物“China Reconstructs”（《中国建设》）一九七四年十二月号，“中文月课”是民间故事“武松打虎”。武松是这样打死老虎的：

“老虎拼命挣扎，武松用脚朝老虎脸上、眼睛里乱踢。老虎痛得直叫，身子底下扒起两堆土，扒成一堆坑。武松把老虎的嘴按到坑里，用左手紧紧地按住，举起右手，用铁锤般的拳头，一个劲儿地打，打得老虎只剩下一口气，再也不能动了。”

英译如下：

While the tiger struggled desperately, Wu Sung wildly kicked at its face and eyes. Howling with pain, the tiger pawed up two heaps of earth, making a pit in the ground under its body. Wu Sung pushed the tiger's mouth into the pit. Pressing down tightly with his left hand, he raised his right fist and hammered the tiger until, breathing its last, it lay motionless.

英译用“”一字来译“用铁锤般的拳头一个劲儿地打”，译得简练。

施耐庵的《水浒》，描述武松打死老虎的经过，详细一些，是这样的：

早没了气力。被武松尽气力捺定，那里肯放半点儿松宽。武松把只脚望大虫面门上、眼睛里只顾乱踢。那大虫咆哮起来，把身底下扒起两堆黄泥，做了一个土坑。武松把那大虫嘴直按下黄泥坑里去。那大虫吃武松奈何得没了些气力。武松把左手紧紧地揪住顶花皮，偷出右手来，提起铁锤般大小拳头，尽平生之力，只顾打。打得五七十拳，那大虫眼里、口里、鼻子里、耳朵里，都迸出鲜血来。••••••一顿拳脚打得那大虫动旦不得，使得口里兀自气喘。武松放了手，来松树边寻那打折的棒橛，拿在手里，只怕大虫不死，把棒橛又打了一回。眼见气都没了，方才丢了棒。

上述一段有英国人杰克逊（Jackson）、美国人赛珍珠（Pearl Buck）和周庭桢三人的英语。兹介绍杰克逊的英译如下：

The tiger struggled to get up, but Wu Sung exerted all his strength, and would not let it go the least bit. He kicked it in the eyes. This made the tiger roar, and scoop out holes in the yellow soil with its front paws. Wu Sung now pressed the tiger's snout into the hole of the ground, and it had to endure this disgrace as it was losing its strength. Wu Sung now grasped the loose skin on the tiger's head in his left hand, and taking his right fist hit the tiger severely,......

“提起铁锤般大小拳头，尽平生之力，只顾打”，赛珍珠译作“he made his fist into a very hammer of iron and with all the strength he had struck and struck again”，译得比杰克逊详尽。周庭桢则译作“he clenched his fist like an iron hammer, and struck with all his might”，译得比赛珍珠精简。