中国文学英译絮谈

沙枫

《游子吟》的八种英译

香港中文大学一九七四年出版了一本中诗英译集“Sitting Up At Night And Other Chinese Poems”，选译了李白、杜甫、白居易、李商隐、陆游以至龚自珍等人的诗四十六首。选译者为刘德爵（Lau Tak Cheuk）。

这四十六首诗，除了孟郊的《游子吟》之外，从前都是很少英译的。现介绍一下这首比较多人熟悉的《游子吟》的翻译。孟郊的原诗是这样的：

慈母手中线，游子身上衣。
临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。
谁言寸草心，报得三春晖？

英译如下：

The thread in the good mother's hand
Makes clothing for the wandering son's back.
Before he goes, she stitches and stitches,
Fearing that he might delay and delay his return,
Who says the gratitude of the inch-long grass
Can repay the warmth of the spring sun?

“密密缝”译作“she stitches and stitches”，“迟迟归”译作“delay and delay his return”，把两对叠字都翻译出来了。

在拙作《中诗英译叙谈》一书中，已介绍过 Fletcher，Lowell，Bynner，Kotewall 及吴经熊等五人的英译。现再介绍刘师舜与 Graham 两人的英译于后。

刘师舜的英译是这样的：

The thread in the hand of the loving mother,
Is woven into the roving son's garments.
Before he leaves, she makes her stitches double,
Fearing he will be long in returning.
However deep his gratitude, how can he ever
Repay a debt that will bind him always.

Graham 的英译如下：

The thread in the hand of a kind mother
Is the coat on the wanderer's back.
Before he left she stitched it close
In secret fear that he would be slow to return.
Who will say that the inch of grass in his heart
is gratitude enough for all the sunshine of spring?

由引用的英译可见，“慈母”的“慈”，有人译作“good”，有人译作“loving”，有人译作“kind”。此外，还有人译作“tender”，有人译作“doting”，有人译作“fond”，有人译作“fond hearted”。

“游子”的“游”，有人译作“wandering”，有人译作“roving”，有人译作“parting”，有人译作“wayward”，有人译作“absent”，有人译作“far-journeying”，有人译作“far-off journeying”。

简简单单的“慈母”、“游子”的译法，就已经如此的各个不同。可见翻译之巧妙，是各个不同的。