《花笺记》百年英译考察

A Survey of Four English Versions of Hua Jian Ji Between 1824 and 1928

从19世纪20年代至20世纪20年代,木鱼歌《花笺记》相继被汤姆斯、湛约翰、包令和弗林奇译成英文。汤姆斯与包令所译作品均由英国本土出版社推出单行本,湛约翰所译刊载于香港出版的英文杂志《中日释疑》,而弗林奇的改译版本则被收入他本人编选的《中日古典诗歌英译选集》里。这些《花笺记》译者身份不一,阅历丰富。译文版本形式各异,既有英文全译和诗体节译,也有小说体改译和诗体改译。

Hua Jian Ji, a representative work of Cantonese-dialect story-telling Mu Yu Ge, was successively translated into English between 1820s and 1920s by Peter Perring Thoms, John Chalmers, John Bowring and Joseph Lewis French. Thoms’ and Bowring’s translated works were published as separate editions in London, and that of John Chalmers was published in an English magazine named Notes and Queries on China and Japan in Hong Kong. However, French’s paraphrased version of Hua Jian Ji was included in the Lotus and Chrysanthemum, an Anthology of Chinese and Japanese Poetry compiled by himself. All these four translators were of diversified identities and yet rich life experience, and the forms of their translated works include full English translation, abridged translation into verse as well as translation into a novel and paraphrased translation into verse.