从原著歧异到霍译得失——试论宋淇《红楼梦》研究的特色

From Different Chinese Versions to David Hawkes’s Translation: on Some Features of Stephen C.Soong’s Hong-lou-meng Studies

宋淇是多才多艺的作家、翻译家,著名学者,尤其以他对《红楼梦》的研究著称。他对原著的诸多版本与霍克思英译本均有深入研究,并做出过精当评价。他熟知程本与脂本在语言、结构及艺术特色等方面的主要差别,尤其倚重甲戌、庚辰、戚序等重要抄本及其中脂评,他对霍译本的褒贬也多为结合底本歧异与脂评而谈,往往切中肯綮。鉴于他对原著艺术成就细致入微的了解与研究,他对霍克思译文中的精彩之处与＂误译＂的分析往往出自了解之同情,译者因此引为＂同道＂,堪称中外文学交流史上的一段佳话。

Stephen C. Soong was a prolific writer,translator and a renowned scholar,and was well-known for his masterful studies on classical Chinese novel Hong-lou-meng（ The Story of the Stone,or Dream of the Red Chamber）. He focused on the novel＇s Chinese versions as well as eminent English sinologist David Hawkes＇ s translation The Story of the Stone,making a lot of enlightening criticisms of the differences between the novel ＇s early hand-copied manuscripts and later printed Cheng-Gao editions,upon which he laid his translation criticisms of David Hawkes. In light of linguistic, textual and literary features of some important manuscripts such as Jia-xu,Geng-chen and Qi-xu,with the comments of Zhiyanzhai（ Red Inkstone）,Soong made sharp and well-informed criticisms on both its accomplishments and＂misinterpretations＂of The Story of the Stone. Thanks to his profound appreciation to Cao Xueqin＇s great artistic talent,Soong did justice to Hawkes the translator as well as to the author himself.