林语堂英译《浮生六记》的审美再现

屈联西

           “两脚踏中西文化,一心评宇宙文章”是林语堂先生对东西文化关系的著名论断,同时也是林博士倾心于文化事业一生之写照。作为享誉世界的文化传播者,林以其扎实的英文功底,深厚的中文造诣,成为我国翻译史研究中不可或缺的一员。他是我国历史上第一个从翻译的层面论“美”的翻译家1,从翻译审美主体、审美客体、审美心理和审美行为等方面出发提出了他的“忠实、通顺和美”的翻译观。 《浮生六记》为清朝文人沈复所著。书中记述的生活反映了中国文化中最具特色的知足常乐和恬淡自适,也是林语堂所主张的艺术的生活的最佳样板,属于“性灵文学”一员,因而林先生在其译本后记中写道:“素好《浮生六记》,发愿译成英文,使世人略知一对夫妻之恬淡可爱生活”。译本甚为成功,“颇有英国读者不忍卒读,可见小册入人之深也”。 本论文以中西文艺美学、翻译美学相关理论为参照系,展现林译《浮生六记》的美学再现,并结合林语堂本人的知识构成及生活经历,结合林译《浮生六记》文本细读式美的分析,以期探讨作为审美主体的译者的美学素质及其作用,探究现代视域下典籍英译的美学观照,提高译者自身的文化修养是审美再现的关键。
           “Two feet set in bi-culture of East and West, one heart looks into works of heaven and hell”, this is Lin’s attitudes towards the relationship between eastern and western cultures. As a renowned translator, with a good command of English and his excellent knowledge of Chinese literature, he plays a compulsory part in the field of translation. He is the first Chinese translator notifying the aesthetic factors in the process of translation. From the perspectives of aesthetic subject, aesthetic object, aesthetic psychology and aesthetic behavior, he takes“faithfulness, smoothness and beautifulness”as his criterion of translation. Fu Sheng Liu Ji was written by Shen Fu in Qing Dynasty. The book reflects a comfortable attitude towards life in Chinese traditional culture. This easy attitude towards life belongs to the kind of literature of natural disposition and intelligence, which are shown in Lin’s works, such as The Art of Life, My Country and My People etc. Therefore, Lin said,“I’m very fond of Six Chapters of a Floating Life, so I translated it into English, to make it exposed to the outer world a quiet and easy disposition towards life. The translated version gains great success. It’s so popular among the English readers that they cherish it very much3.” So this thesis ventures to make initial efforts and attempts by taking advantage of both Chinese traditional aesthetic theory and selected Western aesthetic theory, to display the aesthetic effects in details in Lin’s version and to analyze the translator’s quality, which bestows his aesthetic consciousness in the process of translation. What’s more, by analyzing Lin’s aesthetic disposition, this paper will make a further study upon the influences of the experiences shadowing on Lin’s marvelous work of art.