林语堂《古都北平》在日本的译介与影响

The Translation and Influence of Lin Yutang’s Essay-The Ancient Capital Peiping in Japan

“卢沟桥事变”次月,《纽约时报周刊》上刊载了林语堂描写北京的随笔——Captive Peiping Holds the Soul of Ageless China,意在向欧美控诉日本对中国的侵略。然而,该文被迅速译介到了日本,《改造》杂志“卢沟桥事变”增刊号以译名《古都北平》刊出,北星堂出版社的英语学习小报则经改编刊发了此文。本文旨在考察日本何以关注到这篇随笔,在译介过程中又有哪些改编,出于何种目的。通过文本对比,发现日本的译介文本虽主体内容与原文相近,但配图等发生变化,文字部分亦有删减,文本与所处的刊物小语境、舆论大环境密切关联,而将北京呈现为日本攫取的一座值得夸耀的古都。另外,林语堂此文还包含着对其他中国作家汉语文章的编译,日译文可视为多重译介的结果。纵观历史,可知此乃战时日本大规模译介林语堂的序幕,看似偶然而背后隐含着日本对他风靡欧美的英文著述抱有强烈关心。

The month following the Lugou Bridge Incident,Lin Yutang’s essay describing Beijing,titled the Captive Peiping Holds the Soul of Ageless China,was published in The New York Times Magazine with the intention of condemning Japan’s aggression against China to the West.However,this essay was translated and introduced to Japan very quickly.It was published in the supplementary issue of Kaizou Magazine on the Lugou Bridge Incident with the title The Ancient Capital Peiping,and the original English version was adapted and published in an English-learning newspaper of the publishing house Hokuseido.This paper aims to examine the reason why Japan paid attention to this essay,the adaptations that were made during the translation process,and the purpose behind it.Through a textual comparison,it is found that although the Japanese translation is similar to the original version in its major content,the illustrating pictures were changed and some text was deleted.The Japanese translated version is closely related to the context of the publication and the general environment of public opinion,presenting Beijing as an ancient capital that Japan had grabbed and was worth boasting about.In addition,this essay also contains the translation and edit of Chinese articles of other Chinese writers,thus its Japanese translation can be regarded as the result of multiple translations.Throughout history,one may identify this as the prelude to the large-scale translation of Lin Yutang’s works in Japan during the War.It seems to be accidental but actually implies Japan’s strong interest in Lin Yutang’s English writings which were popular in Europe and the United States.