民国时期的日书汉译

Chinese Translations of Japanese Books during the Republican Period

在中国近代翻译史上,自甲午至抗战前夕,汉译日书数量一直处于各语种译书之领先地位。晚清之际,这一领先地位居于压倒性优势。民国初期,受国家政局的影响,出版业整体衰落,汉译日书事业亦大大退步。五四时期杂志繁荣而图书冷淡。战前十年堪称民国出版业的"黄金十年",也是日书汉译的鼎盛时期。近代以来,中国人对翻译日书一直存有某种矛盾心态:一方面认为通过日本学习西方文化,因经过"去粗取精"的中间环节,可以"力省效速";另一方面,又觉得西方文化被日本人"咀嚼"过后,难免掺和着日本文化的"唾沫",难得西方文化的"本相"和"真传"。清末之际,尚处"蒙昧"状态和急于求成的中国人大多怀着前一种心态;五四以后,已被初步"启蒙"的中国人渐渐倾向后一种心态。在前一种心态下,认为"游学之国,西洋不如东洋","译西书不如译东书"。在后一种心态下,留学西洋与留学东洋有"镀金"与"镀银"之分;转译东书远不如径译西书。

In modem Chinese translation history,from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 to the eve of the Resistance War against Japan,translations from Japanese always outnumbered all other translations of foreign books.In the late Qing period,the dominance of Japanese books was overwhelming.The publishing industry declined as a whole in the early Republican period,influenced by China's political situation,and translations from Japanese also declined greatly.During the May Fourth Movement period,magazines flourished but book publication was sluggish.The ten years before the War can be called 'golden decade' of publishing in Republican China,and it was also the highpoint for translating Japanese books into Chinese.From the beginning of modern times,the Chinese people had conflicting feelings about translating Japanese books:on the one hand,they thought that learning Western culture via Japan could save time and effort,because the intermediary link would separate the wheat from the chaff.On the other hand,they felt that after Western culture had been 'chewed over'by the Japanese it would inevitably absorb a certain amount of Japanese 'saliva,' obscuring its 'real face' and 'true meaning.' In the late Qing period,most Chinese people were still 'unenlightened' and anxious for quick results.Therefore,they took the former attitude.After the May Fourth Movement,the Chinese people had already taken the first steps toward 'enlightenment' and gradually leaned toward the latter attitude.The earlier attitude held that 'Chinese students are better off studying in Japan than studying in the West,' and 'translating Japanese basks is better than translating Western books.' The later attitude held that the difference between studying in Western countries and studying in Japan was the difference between 'gold-plating' and 'silver-plating,' and translating Western books via a Japanese version was not as good as translating Western books directly.