翻译的阴阳诗学——太极推手、浩然之气、纯语言

Towards a Yin-Yang Poetics of Translation

本文首先评述翻译作为“功夫”或者太极推手的本质,让一组中文和非中文的哲学及翻译话语中具代表性的有关语言和写作/阅读/翻译的观念形成对话,互为犄角地构成一个连贯的理论论述,以揭示翻译的阴阳诗学。从这一角度观照,翻译就成了两个语言的言说能量互补互济的转化,来创作一个节奏与源文呼应互映的译文。在这样的能量转化中,译入语要“舍己”地放弃其先入的评判假定来取得最大限度的放松、灵活与警觉,以便对来自源文的能量流做出“稍触即应”的反应,如同追求"不丢不顶"的太极推手。论文认为,如此的翻译,可以砥砺一个译入文化对自身及源文化在场的敏感,并能扩大该文化在创作译文中对源文言说能量"引进落空”的化解和吸收能力。

Starting with a critical review of the theoretical claim that translation is by nature a kind of kong Ju, or rather the “pushing hands'' in the Tai Chi sense, this paper presents a dialogic engagement among conceptions of language and writing/ reading/translation from both philosophy and translation discourse. What emerges from such an engagement is a yin-yang poetics of translation. From the perspective rendered available by this poetics, translation can be seen as a reciprocal verbal articulation to create a mirroring rhythm in the target text. In the process of such reciprocation, the target language is expected to "give up" its presuppositions in order to achieve a maximum degree of relaxation, agility, and vigilance in its response to an advancing flow of energy from the source text, as what happens in the "neither separating nor confronting" state of engagement in Tai Chi pushing hands. Translation perceived as such, the paper further argues, serves to sharpen the target culture's sensitivity about its own and the source culture's presence and to develop its capacity for accommodating, containing, absorbing and deflecting the momentum of the energy from the source in the creation of a target text.