珀西的《好逑传》及其它

Thomas Percy's Hao Kiou Choaan and Other Translation

一、《好逑传》的英译本1761年,托马斯·珀西(Thomas Percy)发表他的Hau Kiuo Choaan,说是《好逑传》的译本,但副标题The Pleasing History(“愉快的故事”)与“君子好逑”的意义并不贴切。六十八年以后,约翰·法朗西斯·达维斯爵士(Sir John Francis DaviS)发表另一译本,名为The Fortunate Union,较能差强人意。珀西这部书,一出版立刻引起问题。珀西不识半个中国字,这部书到底是谁翻译的?译本里有一个序言,但是谈到故事来源时,只是寥寥数语。它说,译稿是在东印度公司一位职员的卷宗里发现的。

This piece is one of famous Professor Fan Cunzhong's posthumous writings provided lately byProf. Lin Fengzao of Nanjing Normal University. In 1761 Thomas Percy published Hau Kiou Choaan, an English version of a popular Chinesenovel of the early 17th century. Though the translator is unknown and the rendering poor, themain plot of the story comes through clear. It is a love story teaching chastity, virtue, and morality.Its didactic nature is much in keeping with the prevailing, especially Puritan, values of the time,and bears similarities to the novels of Samuel Richardson. Its German version caught the eye ofGoethe and Schiller. Percy published the novel with an abundance of annotations and indexes,with an eye to introducing his readers to Chinese culture and the Chinese way of life. Besides thisnovel, Percy edited and published two more books on China: A Miscellany of Chinese Writings, andThe Matrons, containing six short stories, one about a Chinese woman, taken from an anecdote aboutZhuangzi.