与活的中国面对面——魏理与中国文化人的交往及其意义

Face to Face with the Living China——Waley's Communication with Chinese Intellectuals and Its Significance

在20世纪西方汉学史和中国文学外译史上,阿瑟·魏理(Arthur Waley,1889—1966)是一个传奇性的人物。尽管他热爱中国历史与文化,著译等身,在英语世界中名闻遐迩,但终其一生却从未到过中国。他所了解的中国,主要是通过书面阅读,是存在于书本中的、历史上的中国,是充满想象和建构的古典中国。由于魏理的职业和声名,他与到访或居留英国的中国文化人有诸多交往。这些中国文化人都是当世精英,一时翘楚,对魏理来说,他们代表着活的中国,同时也是现实中国的符号。与他们的交往,使魏理与现实中国总算有了某种直接接触,对于增加魏理对中国文化的亲切体认及对中国历史文化的研究,翻译中国诗歌小说,都有积极的意义。

In the history of western sinology and translation of Chinese literature during the 20th Century, Arthur Wa- ley （1889-1966） has been a legendary figure. Despite his love for Chinese history and culture, the immensity of transla- tion works, and his reputation in the English-speaking world, he had never been to China. His understanding of China was mainly acquired from reading, a country that existed in texts and history, an ancient country filled with imagination and construction. Thanks to Waley＇s profession and reputation, he had frequent contacts with Chinese intellectuals who were visiting or living in the UK. These Chinese intellectuals were from the elite class of their times who were considered as out- standing figures of China, so to Waley, they represented the living China, serving as symbols of the actual China. Commu- nication with these Chinese intellectuals allowed Waley to have certain direct contact with the actual China, and contributed positively to Waley＇s close experience of Chinese culture, studies on Chinese history and culture, and his translation project of Chinese poetry and fiction.