中國文學(xué)英譯絮談

沙楓

武松怎樣打死老虎

中國出版的英文刊物“China Reconstructs”（《中國建設(shè)》）一九七四年十二月號(hào)，“中文月課”是民間故事“武松打虎”。武松是這樣打死老虎的：

“老虎拼命掙扎，武松用腳朝老虎臉上、眼睛里亂踢。老虎痛得直叫，身子底下扒起兩堆土，扒成一堆坑。武松把老虎的嘴按到坑里，用左手緊緊地按住，舉起右手，用鐵錘般的拳頭，一個(gè)勁兒地打，打得老虎只剩下一口氣，再也不能動(dòng)了?！?/p>

英譯如下：

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.

英譯用“”一字來譯“用鐵錘般的拳頭一個(gè)勁兒地打”，譯得簡練。

施耐庵的《水滸》，描述武松打死老虎的經(jīng)過，詳細(xì)一些，是這樣的：

早沒了氣力。被武松盡氣力捺定，那里肯放半點(diǎn)兒松寬。武松把只腳望大蟲面門上、眼睛里只顧亂踢。那大蟲咆哮起來，把身底下扒起兩堆黃泥，做了一個(gè)土坑。武松把那大蟲嘴直按下黃泥坑里去。那大蟲吃武松奈何得沒了些氣力。武松把左手緊緊地揪住頂花皮，偷出右手來，提起鐵錘般大小拳頭，盡平生之力，只顧打。打得五七十拳，那大蟲眼里、口里、鼻子里、耳朵里，都迸出鮮血來。??????一頓拳腳打得那大蟲動(dòng)旦不得，使得口里兀自氣喘。武松放了手，來松樹邊尋那打折的棒橛，拿在手里，只怕大蟲不死，把棒橛又打了一回。眼見氣都沒了，方才丟了棒。

上述一段有英國人杰克遜（Jackson）、美國人賽珍珠（Pearl Buck）和周庭楨三人的英語。茲介紹杰克遜的英譯如下：

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,......

“提起鐵錘般大小拳頭，盡平生之力，只顧打”，賽珍珠譯作“he made his fist into a very hammer of iron and with all the strength he had struck and struck again”，譯得比杰克遜詳盡。周庭楨則譯作“he clenched his fist like an iron hammer, and struck with all his might”，譯得比賽珍珠精簡。

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