正文 我為什麼熱衷於翻譯《尚書》(3 / 3)

翻譯孔子(《尚書》),我希望這可以讓人們認識到儒家同樣為認識世界提供了一條內涵豐富的路徑。如前所述,《尚書》為(西方)認識中國曆史和中國權力格局提供了一個全然不同的視角。

Wang: How do you combine Chinese culture and British culture together well in your translation works?

王:你是如何在你的翻譯作品中將中國文化與英國文化很好地融合在一起?

Martin: Well, I hope I do. I think the great point of the books that I translated is that they are full of stories. The Shang Shu is full of speeches, but you will also get these adventures and the stories. And I think, the British love stories. We have poems, songs and stories. So there is a great infinity of the combination between Chinese culture and British culture because there is also a great scale of Chinese culture telling stories. The Zhuang Zi, the Lie Zi, or the stories of Guanyin, these are the stories about us.

彭馬田:我希望我的作品很好地融合了它們。我認為我翻譯的書都是充滿了故事的。《尚書》中全部是演說,但是你同樣可以找到其中的冒險經曆和故事。同時我認為,英國人是喜愛故事的。我們擁有詩歌、歌曲和故事。我認為中英文化和諧共處有無限可能,因為大量中國文化也都在講故事。《莊子》《列子》,以及觀音的傳說,這些都是關於我們人類的故事。

So I think British culture and Chinese culture love the stories, and that is why I think in the long period, we have been in touch as cultures, which goes back to the 1278 when a Christian monk from Beijing travelled all the way to meet England, and celebrated communion for him. So, the first recorded meeting we have of someone from China meeting the English King is in the 1278. Ever since then, we have loved the both cultures’ love to telling stories.

英國文化和中國文化均熱愛故事,同時這也是為什麼兩種文化在相當長的時間裏都保持聯係。這種聯係可以追溯到1278年,一名基督教徒從北京一直遊曆到英國。(在英國我們)為他舉行了宗教儀式。所以,關於中國人受到英國國王接見的第一份記載來自1278年。從那以後,我們兩國對彼此文化都喜歡講故事這件事非常高興。

Wang: Can I say the stories are the bridge for Chinese culture and British culture getting together?

王:我可以說故事是將中英文化連接起來的橋梁紐帶嗎?

Martin: I think it is, and that is very important for our politicians to know because politicians feel sometimes that the stories are not that important as facts and figures. I have to say President Xi is very good at telling stories. He tells a story, or uses an image, or uses a painting or reference. What he does is telling a story and he will draw out a philosophy. He does not tell the philosophy alone.

彭馬田:我想是的,同時對於政治家而言,他們必須知道這一點。政治家們有時會認為故事不像事實和數字那樣重要。我必須要說習主席非常擅長講故事。他喜歡講故事或者用一個形象,一幅圖或者一個參照。當他講故事的時候,他會從故事裏抽取出哲理,而不是單單講哲學道理。

Wang: Let’s move from the Chinese traditional culture to the modern world. You know that this year is the Chinese-British Culture Exchange Year, and our President Xi Jinping will visit Britain in October. How do you estimate the current communication and exchange condition between Chinese culture and British culture?

王:讓我們從中國傳統文化回到當代世界。今年是中英文化交流年,中國國家主席習近平將於10月對英國進行國事訪問。你如何評價當前中英文化間的交流現狀?

Martin: I think most of the communication is very superficial. I think we have become obsessed in the West with the economic explosion of China. It is an extraordinary period of growth. We have ignored the fact that China brings with it a whole cultural sophistication. I find the most people still think of China as being sort of at the end of Cultural Revolution. As though there is no personal freedom, and as though everything is controlled. Not really.

彭馬田:我認為現在兩國間的文化交流大多數還停留在表麵。西方社會隻關注中國經濟爆炸式的增長,這是一段超乎尋常的增長時期。我們已經忽略了中國文化的深邃。我發現很多英國人認為中國在某種程度上還處在文化大革命剛剛結束的時期。在中國好像沒有自由,所有的事情都是被控製的。然而事實並非如此。

But I think one of the things I would suggest China is that you need to emphasize more on history and culture. Now President Xi does. I do not know whether his advisors understand this, but when he talks about history and culture, we are kind of going: “wow!” Because we want to understand. So, the more you could provide us, with exhibitions, with stories, the more you can encourage people not just to come here and make money, but to come here and really understand the culture.

但是有一件事我想要建議中國,那就是中國應該花更多的注意力在(傳播它的)曆史和文化上。現在習近平主席就做得很好。我不知道他的智囊團知不知道,但是當他提到中國曆史和文化時,我們的反應是:“wow!”因為我們想要了解中國(曆史和文化)。所以,你們提供給我們越多展覽和故事,我們就越不會認為中國人來到英國隻是為了賺錢,而是真正了解這樣的文化。

Wang: Thank you very much! I hope our two nations’ relationship could be better and better.

王:非常感謝你!我希望我們兩國的關係可以變得越來越好!