马若瑟与中国传统戏曲——从马译《赵氏孤儿》谈起

The Orphan of Zhao:Joseph de Prémare in the Context of Traditional Chinese Drama

马若瑟所译“元曲”《赵氏孤儿》(1731)是第一部西传的中国纯文学著作,1735 年杜赫德首先将之收入所编《中华帝国全志》。自此以来,近人如儒莲、艾田蒲、范存忠与今人如伊维德等每诟之。据他们所见,马译舛误颇多,其中最大的一点,厥为马若瑟缺译全剧曲词,且他对中国戏曲所知有限。本文据这些论点重审马译,认为马若瑟读过不少中国传统戏曲,而所谓马译阙译曲词,恐怕也值得商榷。以后者而论,本文认为马若瑟至少透过重编,译过四阙曲牌。他多数曲牌阙译,原因有二︰其一是船期在即,马若瑟仅有七八天可译《赵氏孤儿》,因此来不及如数译之。其次,他有信致当时皇家美文与铭文学院院士傅尔蒙,提及由傅氏补足全文阙译处,即使由傅氏挂名刊出也无妨。至于马若瑟的中国戏曲知识,本文据马著《汉语札记》,认为论者过于轻忽,北曲南戏马若瑟所读不少,前者至少包括《元曲选》中的包公戏、神仙道化剧与水浒剧三类,后者之大者乃《笠翁十种曲》中李渔所谱至少半数的剧目。历来论者对马译的恶评,因此恐有言重之嫌。

In 1731, Joseph de Prémare, a French Jesuit, translated the Yuan play Zhao shi gu’er(The Orphan of Zhao). However, since his translation, titled Tchao-chi-cou-eull, ou Le petit orphelin de la Maison de Tchao, tragedie Chinoise, was published in 1735 in Jean Du Halde’s encyclopedic Description…de la Chine(1735), Prémare has faced harsh criticism. He has been charged with failing to translate the lyrics of the play on account of his insufficient knowledge of traditional Chinese drama. This paper argues for a re-evaluation of Prémare’s Tchao-chi-cou-eull by pointing out that according to his Notitia linguae sinicae(1728), Prémare was knowledgeable not only about Yuan drama but also about Li Yu’s Liweng shizhong qu. It also disputes the critical view of Prémare as having had failed to translate the lyrics of Tchao-chi-cou-eull based on several factors. First, Prémare did translate some four or five airs in the drama. Second, pursuant to his letter to the French Sinologist étinne Fourmont, Prémare may have expected the latter to fill in the blanks by supplying translations of his own. Finally, Prémare had less than 10 days in which to translate the Tchao-chi-coueull before his ship was scheduled to leave China for France, and thus he did not have time to translate all the lyrics. Given these reasons, this paper argues that critics have been overly-hasty in their condemnation of Prémare’s translation, and that his text deserves more serious scholarly consideration and treatment.