朱自清《荷塘月色》

Moonlight over the Lotus Pond

朱自清

Zhu Ziqing

這幾天心里頗不寧睜。今晚在院子里坐著乘涼，忽然想起日日走過的荷塘，在這滿月的光里，總該另有一番樣子吧。月亮漸漸地升高了，墻外馬路上孩子們的歡笑，已經(jīng)聽不見了;妻在屋里拍著閏兒，迷迷糊糊地哼著眠歌。我悄悄地披了大衫，帶上門出去。

It has been rather disquieting these days. Tonight, when I was sitting in the yard enjoying the cool, it occurred to me that the Lotus Pond, which I pass by every day, must assume quite a different look in such moonlit night. A full moon was rising high in the sky; the laughter of children playing outside had died away; in the room, my wife was patting the son, Run-er, sleepily humming a cradle song. Shrugging on an overcoat, quietly, 1 made my way out, closing the door behind me.

沿著荷塘是一條曲折的小煤屑路。這是一條幽僻的路;白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。荷塘四面，長(zhǎng)著許多樹，翁翁郁郁的。路的一旁，是些楊柳，和一些不知道名字的樹。沒有月光的晚上，這路上陰森森的，有些怕人。今晚卻很好，雖然月光也還是淡淡的。

Alongside the Lotus Pond runs a small cinder footpath. It is peaceful and secluded here, a place not frequented by pedestrians even in the daytime; now at night, it looks mare solitary, in a lush, shady ambience of trees all around the pond. On the side where the path is, there are willows, interlaced with some others whose names I do not know. The foliage, which, in a moonless night, would loom somewhat frighteningly dark, looks verynice tonight, although the moonlight is not more than a thin, grayish veil.

路上只我一個(gè)人，背著手踱著。這一片天地好像是我的;我也像超出了平常的自己，到了另一世界里。我愛熱鬧，也愛冷靜;愛群居，也愛獨(dú)處。像今晚上，一個(gè)人在這蒼茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，便覺是個(gè)自由的人。白天里一定要做的事，一定要說的話，現(xiàn)在都可不理。這是獨(dú)處的妙處;我且受用這無(wú)邊的荷香月色好了。

I am on my own, strolling, hands behind my back. This bit of the universe seems in my possession now; and I myself seem to have been uplifted from my ordinary self into another world. 1 like a serene and peaceful life, as much as a busy and active one; I like being in solitude, as much as in company. As it is tonight, basking in a misty moonshine all by myself, I feel I am a free man, free to think of anything, or of nothing. All that one is obliged to do, or to say, in the daytime, can be very well cast aside now. That is the beauty of being alone. For the moment, just let me indulge in this profusion of moonlight and lotus fragrance.

曲曲折折的荷塘上面，彌望的是田田的葉子。葉子出水很高，像亭亭的舞女的裙。層層的葉子中間，零星地點(diǎn)綴著些白花，有裊娜地開著的，有羞澀地打著朵兒的;正如一粒粒的明珠，又如碧天里的星星，又如剛出浴的美人。微風(fēng)過處，送來縷縷清香，仿佛遠(yuǎn)處高樓上渺茫的歌聲似的。這時(shí)候葉子與花也有一絲的頗動(dòng)，像閃電般.霎時(shí)傳過荷塘的那邊去了。葉子本是肩并肩密密地挨著，這便宛然有了一道凝碧的波痕。葉子底下是脈脈的流水，遮住了，不能見一些顏色;而葉子卻更見風(fēng)致了。

All over this winding stretch of water, what meets the eye is a silken field of leaves, reaching rather high above the surface, like the skirts of dancing girls in all their grace. Here and there, layers of leaves are dotted with white lotus blossoms, some in demure bloom, others in shy bud, like scattering pearls, or twinkling stars, or beauties just out of the bath. A breeze stirs, sending over breaths of fragrance, like faint singing driftingfrom a distant building. At this moment, a tiny thrill shoots through the leaves and lilies, like, a streak of lightning, straight across the forest of lotuses. The leaves, which have been standing shoulder to shoulder, are caught shimmering in an emerald heave of the pond. Underneath, the exquisite water is covered from view, and none can tell its colour; yet the leaves on top project themselves all the more attractively.

月光如流水一般，靜靜地瀉在這一片葉子和花上。薄薄的青霧浮起在荷塘里：葉子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗過一樣;又像籠著輕紗的夢(mèng)。雖然是滿月，天上卻有一層淡淡的云.所以不能朗照;但我以為這恰是到了好處——酣眠固不可少，小睡也別有風(fēng)味的。月光是隔了樹照過來的，高處叢生的灌木，落下參差的斑駁的黑影，峭愣愣如鬼一般;彎彎的楊柳的稀疏的倩影，卻又像是畫在荷葉上。塘中的月色并不均勻;但光與影有著和諧的旋律，如梵炯鈴上奏著的名曲。

The moon sheds her liquid light silently over the leaves and flowers, which, in the floating transparency of a bluish haze from the pond, look as if they had just been bathed in milk, or like a dream wrapped in a gauzy hood. Although it is a full moon, shining through a film of clouds, the light is not at its brightest; it is, however, just right for me -a profound sleep is indispensable, vet a snatched doze also has a savour of its own. The moonlight is streaming down through the foliage, casting bushy shadows on the ground from high above, jagged and checkered, as grotesque as a party of spectres; whereas the benign figures of the drooping willows, here and there, lank like paintings on the lotus leaves. The moonlight is not spread evenly over the pond, but rather in a harmonious rhythm of light and shade, like a famous melody played on a violin.

荷塘的四面，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)近近，高高低低都是樹，幾而楊柳最多。這些樹將一片荷塘重重圍住;只在小路一旁，漏著幾段空隙，像是特為月光留下的。樹色一例是陰陰的，乍看像一團(tuán)煙霧;但楊柳的豐姿，便在煙霧里也辨得出。樹梢上隱隱約約的是一帶遠(yuǎn)山，只有些大意罷了。樹縫里也漏著一兩點(diǎn)路燈光，沒精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。這時(shí)候最熱鬧的，要數(shù)樹上的蟬聲與水里的蛙聲;但熱鬧是它們的，我什么也沒有。

Around the pond, far anti near, high and low, are trees. Most of them are willows. Only on the path side, can taro or three gap; he seen through the heavy fringe, as if specially reserved for the moon. The shadowy shapes of the leafage at first sight seem diffused into a mass of mist, against which, however, the charm of those willow trees is still discernible. Over the trees appear some distant mountains, but merely in sketchy silhouette. Through the branches are also a couple of lamps, as listless as sleepy eyes. The most lively creatures here, for the moment, must he the cicadas in the trees and the frogs in the pond. But the liveliness is theirs, I have nothing.

忽然想起采蓮的事情來了。采蓮是江南的舊俗。似乎很早就有，而六朝時(shí)為盛;從詩(shī)歌里可以約略知道。采蓮的是少年的女子，她們是蕩著小船，唱著艷歌去的。采蓮人不用說很多，還有看采蓮的人。那是一個(gè)熱鬧。的季節(jié)，也是一個(gè)風(fēng)流的季節(jié)。梁元帝《采蓮斌》里說得好：

Suddenly, something like lotus-gathering crosses my mind. It used to he celebrated as a folk festival in the South, probably dating very far hack in history, mast popular in the period of Six Dynasties. We can pick up some outlines of this activity in the poetry. It was young girls who went gathering lotuses, in sampans and singing love songs. Needless to say, there were a great number of them doing the gathering, apart fromthose who were watching. It was a lively season, brimming with vitality, and romance. A brilliant description can be found in lotus Gathering written by the Yuan Emperor of the liang Dynasty:

于是妖童破女，蕩舟心許：鶴首徐回，兼?zhèn)饔鸨?掉將移而藻掛，船欲動(dòng)而萍開。爾其纖腰束素，遷延顧步;夏始春余，葉嫩花初，恐沾裘而淺笑，畏傾船而斂裾。

So those charming youngsters rote their sampans, heart buoyant with tacit lone, pass on to each other cups of wire while their bird-shaped prows drift around. From throe to time their oars are caught in dangling alga, and duckweed flow apart the moment their boats are about to mote on. Their slender figures, girdled with plain silk, tread watchfully on board. This is the time when spring is grating into summer, the leaves a tender green and the flowers blooming - among which the girls are giggling when evading an out-reaching stem, their skirts tucked in for fear that the sampan might tilt.

可見當(dāng)時(shí)嬉游的光景了。這真是有趣的事，可惜我們現(xiàn)在早已無(wú)福消受了。

That is a glimpse of those merrymaking scenes. It must have been fascinating: but unfortunately we have long been denied such a delight.

于是又記起《西州曲》里的句子：

Then I recall those lines in Ballad of Xizhou Island:

采蓮南塘秋，蓮花過人頭尹低頭弄蓮子，蓮子清如水。

Gathering the lotus, I ant in the South Pond, / The lilies in autumn reach over my head; / Lowering my head I toy with the laws seeds. / Look, they are as fresh as the waster underneath.

今晚若有采蓮人，這兒的蓮花也算得“過人頭”了;只不見一些流水的影子，是不行的;這令我到底惦著江南了——這樣想著，猛一抬頭，不覺已是自己的門前;輕輕地推門進(jìn)去，什么聲息也沒有，妻已睡熟好久了。

If there were somebody gathering lotuses tonight, she could tell that the lilies here are high enough to "reach over her head"; but, one would certainly miss the sight of the water. So my memories drift back to the South after all.Deep in my thoughts, I looked up, just to find myself at the door of my own house. Gently I pushed the door open and walked in. Not a sound inside, my wife had been fast asleep for quite a while.

1927年7月，北京清華園

Qinghua Campus, Beijing July, 1927.

譯者：朱純深

賞析：

沿著荷塘，是一條曲折的小煤屑路。這是一條幽僻的路;白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。荷塘四面，長(zhǎng)著許多樹，蓊蓊郁郁的。

Alongside the Lotus Pond runs a small cinder footpath. It is peaceful and secluded here, a place not frequented by pedestrians even in the daytime; now at night, it looks more solitary, in a lush, shady ambience of trees all around the pond.

處理“蓊蓊郁郁”這一疊詞，譯者使用lush, shady來表現(xiàn)，其中前后相連的卷舌音"sh"從音韻上模仿了原文。

路的一旁，是些楊柳，和一些不知道名字的樹。沒有月光的晚上，這路上陰森森的，有些怕人。今晚卻很好，雖然月光也還是淡淡的。

On he side where the path is, there are willows, interlaced with some others whose names I do not know. The foliage, which, in a moonless night, would loom somewhat frighteningly dark, looks very nice tonight, although the moonlight is not more than a thin, greyish veil.

有沒有注意到，描寫景物時(shí)漢文傾向于用形容詞，而英文偏抽象的名詞，“月光也還是淡淡的”被處理成“a thin greyish veil”，強(qiáng)化了一種難以言喻的朦朧感。

路上只我一個(gè)人，背著手踱著。這一片天地好像是我的;我也像超出了平常的自己，到了另一世界里。

I am on my own, strolling, hands behind my back. This bit of the universe seems in my possession now; and I myself seem to have been uplifted from my ordinary self into another world.

這一片天地好像是我的：This bit of universe seems in my possession now是不是有浮士德的影子?

我愛熱鬧，也愛冷靜;愛群居，也愛獨(dú)處。像今晚上，一個(gè)人在這蒼茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，便覺是個(gè)自由的人。白天里一定要做的事，一定要說的話，現(xiàn)在都可不理。

I like a serene and peaceful life, as much as in company. As it is tonight, basking in a misty mooshine all by myself, I feel I am a free man, free to think of anything, or of nothing. All tht one is obliged to do, or to say, in the daytime, can be very well cast aside now.

“bask in”(沐浴在)是譯者根據(jù)理解增添的意象。

這是獨(dú)處的妙處，我且受用這無(wú)邊的荷香月色好了。

That is the beauty of being alone. For the moment, just let me indulge in this profusion of moonlight and lotus fragrance.

"The profusion of"又是形容詞抽象化為名詞的例證，這的確是漢譯英中一種常用的手法。

曲曲折折的荷塘上面，彌望的是田田的葉子。葉子出水很高，像亭亭的舞女的裙。

All over this winding stretch of water, what meets the eye is a silken field of leaves, reaching rather high above the surface, like the skirts of dancing girls in all their grace.

這句的難點(diǎn)是“田田”和“亭亭”二詞。田田，形容荷葉相連、盛密的樣子，又引申出形容鮮碧的、濃郁的意思，這里借喻了絲軟的意象是否貼切，讀者自己去體會(huì)。“亭亭”的翻譯很到位，英文中很常用的說法。

葉子本是肩并肩密密地挨著，這便宛然有了一道凝碧的波痕。葉子底下是脈脈的流水，遮住了，不能見一些顏色;而葉子卻更見風(fēng)致了。

The leaves, which have been standing shoulder to shoulder, are caught trembling in an emerald heave of the pond. Underneath, the exquisite water is covered from view, and none can tell its colour; yet the leaves on top project themselves all the more attractively.

用project這一主動(dòng)的用法處理“葉子卻更見風(fēng)致”，比“looks more attractive”更能表達(dá)葉子搔首弄姿的風(fēng)情。

月光如流水一般，靜靜地瀉在這一片葉子和花上。薄薄的青霧浮起在荷塘里。葉子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗過一樣;又像籠著輕紗的夢(mèng)。

The moon sheds her liquid light silently over the leaves and flowers, which, in the floating transparency of a bluish haze from the pond, look as if they had just been bathed in milk, or like a dream wrapped in a gauzy hood.

朱自清最美的一句話仔細(xì)想來卻模棱兩可，月亮把流水般的月光瀉在葉子上似乎更和邏輯，這就是朱純深的想法。floating transparency又是抽象名詞，把一個(gè)動(dòng)詞短句“青霧浮在荷塘里”處理為一個(gè)短語(yǔ)“in the...transparency”插入在大的從句中，把漢語(yǔ)珍珠羅玉盤般的短句美成功轉(zhuǎn)化為英語(yǔ)從句套從句的鏈?zhǔn)矫馈?/strong>

雖然是滿月，天上卻有一層淡淡的云，所以不能朗照;但我以為這恰是到了好處——酣眠固不可少，小睡也別有風(fēng)味的。

Although it is a full moon, shining through a film of clouds, the light is not at its brightest; it is, however, just right for me -- a profound sleep is indispensable, yet a snatched doze also has a savour of its own.

A film of clouds，形容詞名詞化。

樹色一例是陰陰的，乍看像一團(tuán)煙霧;但楊柳的豐姿，便在煙霧里也辨得出。

The shadowy shapes of the leafage at first sight seem diffused into a mass of mist, against which, however, the charm of those willow trees is still discernible.

找出漢語(yǔ)中松散的短句間的邏輯或空間結(jié)構(gòu)，將之串成長(zhǎng)句，是英語(yǔ)翻譯的功夫，一般的翻譯可能會(huì)這樣處理：The leafage is shadwoy. It seems like a mass of mist. But the charm of those willow trees is discernible in the mist. 這就顯得啰嗦也不夠地道了。

忽然想起采蓮的事情來了。采蓮是江南的舊俗，似乎很早就有，而六朝時(shí)為盛。

Suddenly, something like lotus-gathering crosses my mind. It used to be celebrated as a folk festival in the South, probably dating very far back in history, most popular in the period of Six Dynasties.

“江南”究竟應(yīng)該如何譯是一個(gè)值得專題討論的問題，在一篇散文中，糾結(jié)于江南的地理概念是沒有必要的，所以譯者只是大體譯出了方位，以免破壞行文的美。

那是一個(gè)熱鬧的季節(jié)，也是一個(gè)風(fēng)流的季節(jié)。梁元帝《采蓮賦》里說得好：

It was a lively season, brimming with vitality, and romance. A brilliant description can be found in Lotus Gathering written by Yuan Emperor of the Liang Dynasty:

風(fēng)流如何翻譯也是個(gè)問題，在不同的地方，“風(fēng)流”的意思的差別不小。想想看，“風(fēng)流女人”“數(shù)風(fēng)流人物”“名士自風(fēng)流”“風(fēng)流倜儻”“黛玉身體面龐雖怯弱不勝，卻有一段自然的風(fēng)流態(tài)度”這些詞語(yǔ)中的風(fēng)流都是一個(gè)意思嗎?風(fēng)流的季節(jié)又是什么意思呢?譯者綜合了青春和浪漫兩層意思來形容，你覺得言盡其意了嗎?

“于是妖童媛女，蕩舟心許;鷁首徐回，兼?zhèn)饔鸨?棹將移而藻掛，船欲動(dòng)而萍開。

So those charming youngsters row their sampans, heart buoyant with tacit love, pass on to each other cups of wine while their bird-shaped prows drift around. From time to time their oars are caught in dangling algae, and duckweed float apart the moment their boats are about to move on.

譯者在處理“蕩舟心許”時(shí)，花了不少心思，用“buoyant”表達(dá)了“舟蕩而心蕩，遂許于他人”的過程。

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