“隐形”的底本:英和双语读本在周作人早期翻译生产中的角色——以《玉虫缘》为个案

The “Invisible” Source: On the Role of English-Japanese Integrated Readers in Zhou Zuoren's Early Translations by Examining His Translation of The Gold Bug

1906年前周作人的译作一直被认为是从英文直接译出。尤其《玉虫缘》(1905)的译文,由于周作人的反复回忆论说,一直被视作爱伦·坡The Gold-Bug一书英文原本的直接翻译,并被认为是其早期译作中较为贴近"直译"的一部。事实上,《玉虫缘》的底本并非纯粹的英文版本,而是"再译"自日人山县五十雄的英和双语读物"英文学研究"第四册《寳ほり》(掘宝,1903)。《寳ほり》的文本顺序———英文本、英和对译的注释、文学性的介绍、译者识、和文译本,可看作把翻译动作拆解细化,对于处于翻译实践初期的周作人有极大的启发。通过分析山县的翻译策略,对比1918年陈蝶仙译The Gold-Bug的《骷髅虫》,可以发现英和底本所呈现的翻译面貌实则暗中承担了周作人早期翻译的理想状态。

Zhou Zuoren＇s translations before 1906 are believed to be made directly from English texts, and especially Yu Chong Yuan （玉虫缘）, his translation of The Gold-Bug by Edgar Allen Poe, was considered as an example of literal translation in Zhou＇s early translations. However, the original source text of Yu Chong Yuan was not presented purely in English but from the English-Japanese integrated reader Studies on English Literature （英文学研究） compiled by a Japanese scholar Yamagata Isoo （山县五十雄） as the fourth volume titled Digging Nuggets （宝ほ ）. Not only did the translation strategy called ＂rewriting via testing＂ promoted by Yamagata cast a direct impact on Zhou＇s trans- lation of The Gold-Bug, but the deliberate organisation of texts in Digging Nuggets, which anatomised the process of translation as separated actions by arranging the English text, an- notations of the corresponding translation in Japanese, the literary introduction, notes from the translator and the translated texts in order, did inspire Zhou Zuoren to a great extent in his early translation practices. An analysis of Yamagata＇s translation strategy by comparison with Chen Diexian＇s translation of The Gold-Bug into Ku Lou Chong （髓髅虫） in 1918 has revealed the ideal of Zhou Zuoren＇s early translation that was carded in the features of- fered by the English-Japanese texts as the source of his translation.