《夢游天姥吟留別》：文化出海視域下古典詩詞英譯的核心要義

作者 王永利

文化強國的底色，是中華優秀傳統文化的生生不息；文化出海的核心，是讓中式精神與美學跨越語言壁壘，抵達世界人心。古典詩詞作為中華文脈的璀璨瑰寶，是跨文化傳播中最具辨識度的文化載體，而李白的《夢游天姥吟留別》，更是盛唐浪漫主義的巔峰之作—— 詩中既有山海壯闊的中式意境，又有蔑視權貴、追求自由的民族精神，更藏著中國人對天地、對理想的獨特思考，是當之無愧的 “文化名片”。

此詩創作背景是，唐玄宗天寶三載（744），李白在長安受到權貴的排擠，正史記載為“賜金放還”，既攜帶皇帝賞賜的金銀放出京，返回東魯（在今山東）家園。之后再度踏上漫游的旅途。這首描繪夢中游歷天姥山的詩，大約作于李白即將離開東魯南游吳越之時，其作年一說天寶四載（745），一說天寶五載（746）。他在詩中，以磅礴氣勢和豪言壯語來抒發情志，這是一首記夢詩，也是一首游仙詩。意境雄偉，變化惝恍，繽紛多彩的藝術形象，新奇的表現手法，向來為人傳誦。其末句‘安能摧眉折腰事權貴，使我不得開心顏’，激越、憤懣、灑脫，成為千古絕唱。

李白·《夢游天姥吟留別》

海客談瀛洲，煙濤微茫信難求。

越人語天姥，云霓明滅或可睹。

天姥連天向天橫，勢拔五岳掩赤城。

天臺四萬八千丈，對此欲倒東南傾。

我欲因之夢吳越，一夜飛度鏡湖月。

湖月照我影，送我至剡溪。

謝公宿處今尚在，淥水蕩漾清猿啼。

腳著謝公屐，身登青云梯。

半壁見海日，空中聞天雞。

千巖萬轉路不定，迷花倚石忽已暝。

熊咆龍吟殷巖泉，栗深林兮驚層巔。

云青青兮欲雨，水澹澹兮生煙。

列缺霹靂，丘巒崩摧。洞天石扉，訇然中開。

青冥浩蕩不見底，日月照耀金銀臺。

霓為衣兮風為馬，云之君兮紛紛而來下。

虎鼓瑟兮鸞回車，仙之人兮列如麻。

忽魂悸以魄動，恍驚起而長嗟。

惟覺時之枕席，失向來之煙霞。

世間行樂亦如此，古來萬事東流水。

別君去兮何時還，且放白鹿青崖間，須行即騎訪名山。

安能摧眉折腰事權貴，使我不得開心顏。

我國清末學者嚴復提出“信達雅”的翻譯理論，西方學者尤金·奈達（Eugene Nida）提出翻譯不僅是語言的對等，最初提出“動態對等（Dynamic Equivalence）”，后為更精準闡釋翻譯內涵，修改為“功能對等（Functional Equivalence），二者常交叉使用，強調譯文讀者對譯文的反應應與原文讀者對原文的反應相似。關鍵詞：功能對等、讀者反應、文化適應。適合分析翻譯是否在目標語文化中實現了相同的交際功能。那么在實踐中，我們如何才能做到信達雅和“功能對等”呢？

今天，我們先來看看美國漢學家華茲生的譯作：

Dream of Wandering through the Sky-Mother Mountains: A Song inFarewell

By Li Bai

Seafarers speak of the isle of P’eng-lai,

That misty, intangible thing beyond the gray of the waves,

That cannot be reached.

Men of Yüeh speak of the Sky-Mother Mountain,

Now seen, now unseen in the light of the clouds,

Floating above the Five Peaks, hiding the Red Wall,

Pinnacles that strike the sky, blocking the very light ofheaven.

I long to dream of the mountains of Wu and Yüeh,

One night to fly over Mirror Lake under the moon.

The moon of the lake lights my shadow,

And follows me to the mouth of the Ts’aoStream.

There the lodge of Prince Hsieh of old still remains.

Green waters swirl, cries of the mountain ape are shrill.

On my feet I wear the clogs of Hsieh,

Mounting in one stride a ladder of clouds.

Halfway up I see the sun rise from the sea,

Hear the voice of heaven in the cock’scrow.

Cliff on cliff, a thousand of them, winding the road—

I lean on a rock, suddenly gone in a daze.

Bears roaring, dragons singing over rocks and waterfalls,

Shake the deep woods, make the layered crags tremble.

Clouds darken, darken—about to rain,

Waters stir, stir, begin to smoke.

Lightning cracks, thunder rumbles, peaks topple down,

And the stone gates of the hollow hill,

Stand suddenly open wide,

A blue-black void without bottom,

Sun and moon shine together on gold and silver terraces.

Clad in rainbow, riding the wind,

The lords of the clouds descend, their chariots drawn byhorses,

Tigers playing zithers, simurgh birds drawing the carts—

Row on row, the immortals descend like hemp stalks.

My heart is seized with terror, soul startled, I heave a longsigh.

I wake with a start from my pillow and mat—

Clouds and light all around me as before.

Man’s pleasures in this world are likewise thus.

All things since ancient times flow eastward like water.

Farewell, you, my friend—when shall I return?

For now I will tether my white deer among the green cliffs,

Ride off to visit the famous mountains.

How can I bow to the proud and the great,

And never show the sadness that darkens my face?

(摘自華茲生的譯作收錄于《哥倫比亞中國詩選：從早期至十三世紀》（The ColumbiaBook of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century），由哥倫比亞大學出版社于1984年出版。第186至188頁)

華茲生（Burton Watson，1925年－2023年），美國漢學家、翻譯家，譯叢顧問團創始成員之一。生于紐約，1956年獲哥倫比亞大學博士學位，曾任教于京都大學、哥倫比亞大學及斯坦福大學，講授中日語言文學。1979年獲哥倫比亞大學翻譯中心金牌獎章，1981年和1995年兩度獲美國筆會翻譯獎。

?華茲生翻譯的李白《夢游天姥吟留別》，被廣泛流傳，具體分析如下：

優點：

第一，敘事脈絡忠實清晰：嚴格遵循原詩“聞天姥-夢游仙山-驚夢抒懷”的虛實層次，從聽聞仙境到入夢游歷、仙境奇觀再到醒后感懷，情節推進自然，英文讀者能輕松理解詩歌核心敘事，還原了原詩的結構邏輯。

第二，核心意象質樸還原：鏡湖、謝公屐、海日天雞、霓衣風馬、虎鼓瑟鸞回車等核心意象均直譯/近意譯，無過度西化改寫，精準保留了李白詩中雄奇瑰麗的畫面感，貼合原詩的豪放意境。

第三，契合原意，情志內核未弱化：結尾對“安能摧眉折腰事權貴”的翻譯，直白傳遞出李白蔑視權貴、堅守本心的傲骨，用“How can I bow to the proud and the great”精準抓住原詩的情感核心，憤懣與灑脫的情緒表達貼合原意。

值得商榷的地方：

首先，關鍵詩眼譯錯，原詩“安能摧眉折腰事權貴，使我不得開心顏” 核心是 “不能低頭侍奉權貴，讓自己無法展露愉悅的容顏”，華茲生譯作 “And never show the sadness that darkens my face”，意為“從不顯露讓面容黯淡的悲傷”，將“不得開心顏”反譯為“不顯露悲傷”，完全違背原詩情志核心。此外，譯作無韻律設計，失詩詞音韻美：全詩采用散文化白描，未設計英文詩歌的韻腳、節奏或音步，丟失了原詩作為古體詩的音韻節奏感，讀來平淡，缺乏詩詞的韻律張力，更像是一篇散文詩。

其次，天姥山的“姥（mǔ）”指山中女神、老婦，并非英文“Mother（母親）”，Sky-Mother的譯法直接偏離了“天姥”的文化意象。部分表達直白冗余，煉字不足：如“misty,intangible thing beyond the gray of the waves”譯“煙濤微茫信難求”、“Clouds darken, darken—about to rain”譯“云青青兮欲雨”，疊詞與凝練表達處理得過于直白重復，流失了原詩的煉字美與含蓄美。原詩意為“醒來只有枕邊的席子，失去了剛才夢中的煙霞美景”，但華茲生譯作“I wake with a start from my pillow and mat—Cloudsand light all around me as before.”，翻譯為“驚醒后見煙霞依舊”，完全違背原詩本意。

再次，文化意象處理簡略，轉譯貼合度低：蓬萊（P’eng-lai）、天姥山（Sky-Mother Mountain）僅簡單音譯/意譯，無適度文化注解，西方讀者難以理解其仙山的文化內涵；將“鸞”譯作“simurgh birds”（波斯神鳥西摩格），不僅是文化意象貼合度低，更因西摩格是波斯獨有的神鳥，與中式“鸞鳥”的文化內涵、形象特征完全不同，屬于跨文化意象的錯誤替換。赤城（赤城山，天姥山附近名山）被譯作“Red Wall”（紅墻 / 赤壁），易讓西方讀者誤解為三國赤壁，屬于地名誤譯。剡溪（Shàn Xī，浙東名溪）被譯作 “Ts’ao Stream”（曹溪），將 “剡” 的拼音誤作 “曹” 的威妥瑪拼音，屬于純音譯錯誤。

此外，華茲生將“謝公（謝靈運）”譯作 “Prince Hsieh”，“Prince”在英文中意為 “王子、公爵”，謝靈運雖封康樂公，并非 “Prince”，且其核心身份是山水詩人，并非皇室貴族，該譯法完全違背人物身份背景。

總之，華茲生的這個譯本是英語世界最經典、引用率最高的《夢游天姥吟留別》譯本之一，以其準確、優雅和強大的文學表現力而備受推崇，除韻律之外，也基本實現了“功能對等”。

接下來，我們看看許淵沖大師的翻譯：

A Dream of Tianmu Mountain: Song of Farewell

By Li Bai (Translated by Xu Yuanchong)

Of fairy isles seafarers speak,

’Mid dimming mist and surging waves, so hard to seek.

Of Skyland Southerners are proud,

Perceivable through fleeting or dispersing cloud.

Mount Skyland threatens heaven, massed against the sky,

Surpassing the Five Peaks and dwarfing the Red Wall.

Mount Heaven’s Terrace, five hundred thousand feethigh,

Nearby to the southeast, appears to fall.

Long I’ve dreamed to tour the Southern Land.

One night I flew over Mirror Lake in moonlight.

My shadow followed by the lake water so bright.

Until I reached the Stream where Xie Gong had been.

There still remained the lodging-place he used to dwell.

Green waters rippled; apes cried wail on wail.

Wearing the same pegged boots as he,

I scaled the mountain ladder, blue cloud high.

On halfway up the mountain I saw sunrise at sea,

And in midair I heard sky-cock crow.

Among a thousand crags I wended my way,

Enchanted by flowers and rocks, I lost my day.

Bears roared, dragons howled, thundered the cascade.

Deep forests quaked and ridges trembled: Oh! what a fright!

From dark, dark cloud came rain; on pale, pale waves lightplayed.

The lightening flashed;

Thunder drums crashed.

Peaks and peaks fell asunder.

Alas! the stone gate of a fairy cavern under,

Opened suddenly in a hollow blue.

So blue, so deep, so vast appeared the view,

Where sun and moon shone on gold and silver towers.

Clad in rainbow and riding on the wind,

The lords of clouds descended in a throng.

With tigers playing zither and lutes played by phoenix fair,

The fairy lords were lined like hemp stalks there.

My soul was shaken, my spirit convulsed.

I woke with a start, and found my pillow and mat—

All the glamour gone.

So is the world of men,

All gone like this effulgence of dreams and sighs.

Farewell, farewell, O my friend from now on!

When can we meet and travel in azure mountains again?

Why should I bow like a servant rich men to please,

And thus deny myself a happy heart and ease?

(摘自《許淵沖經典英譯古代詩歌1000首?唐詩（下）》，海豚出版社，2013年版，115頁）

許淵沖先生更注重向世界傳遞中國文化的本源面貌，具體分析如下：

優點：

第一，韻律精巧，貼合詩詞音韻本質：全詩以隔行韻為主，穿插短句對仗押韻（如The lightening flashed;/Thunder drums crashed;），節奏抑揚頓挫，既適配英文詩歌的韻律審美，又還原了原詩古體詩的豪放節奏，讀來朗朗上口，守住了詩詞的音韻核心。

第二，煉字凝練，還原原詩語言美感：巧用疊詞（wail on wail、dark, dark cloud）貼合原詩的疊字修辭，以“enchanted by flowers and rocks, I lost my day”凝練譯“迷花倚石忽已暝”，以“thundered the cascade”化靜為動寫飛瀑，煉字精準且畫面感強，貼合李白詩的語言張力。

第三，意韻合一，情志與意境高度契合：仙境部分以“clad in rainbow and riding on the wind”“goldand silver towers”勾勒雄奇瑰麗的仙景，貼合原詩的浪漫想象；結尾“Why should Ibow like a servant rich men to please”直白又不失風骨，精準傳遞出蔑視權貴、灑脫自守的核心情志，做到了“信達雅”的統一。

值得商榷的地方：

首先，部分文化意象處理簡略，易造成理解偏差：“謝公”直接留白未做任何注解，西方讀者無法知曉謝靈運的典故背景，丟失了原詩的文化意蘊；“權貴”譯作通俗的“rich men”，弱化了原詩中階層性的權力意味，稍欠精準。

其次，局部句式為韻微調，敘事銜接稍顯生硬：將“天臺四萬八千丈，對此欲倒東南傾”譯為“Mount Heaven’s Terrace, five hundred thousand feet high, Nearby to the southeast,appears to fall”，1丈= 10尺，合四十八萬尺，許淵沖譯作“five hundred thousand feet high”（五十萬尺），無任何標注的情況下近似換算產生明顯誤差，而且為適配韻律打亂了原詩的句式邏輯，與前文天姥山的銜接稍顯突兀，弱化了原詩的空間壯闊感。

再次，個別詞匯選擇稍欠貼合，弱化原詩意象特質：以“howled”譯“龍吟”，該詞多表“嚎叫”，缺少龍吟的雄渾空靈；“phoenix fair”譯“鸞”雖同為神鳥，正確應為“phoenixfairy/fairies”（鳳凰仙），少寫字母 y，屬于英文拼寫硬錯誤?！皌his effulgence of dreams and sighs”譯“古來萬事東流水”，以抽象的“光華”替代原詩具象的“流水”比喻，丟失了原詩的含蓄與畫面感?！癛ed Wall”，許淵沖也沿用了華茲生的錯誤譯法。

此外，許淵沖譯本結尾“Why should I bow like a servant rich men toplease” 存在明顯語法殘缺，缺少介詞 to，正確語法應為 “Why should I bow like a servant to please rich men”（像奴仆一樣低頭侍奉權貴），原譯因語法問題導致句式表意生硬。

總之，許淵沖是詩人型翻譯，以格律嚴謹、押韻精巧的詩體為目標，力求在英語中再現中文古典詩歌的音樂性和形式美，挑戰性更高，是信達雅的經典之作。華茲生 (Watson)是學者型翻譯，以流暢、清晰的散文詩體見長，注重傳達原文的敘事邏輯和整體意境，便于英語讀者理解，功能對等。

盡管李白《夢游天姥吟留別》這首詩比較長，翻譯難度大，但是作為文化出海的名片，是中華古詩詞的明珠。紙上得來終覺淺，絕知此事要躬行。我把自己的拙作拿出來獻丑，向大師和前輩致敬！

Dream Journey to MountTianmu: A Parting Song

By Li Bai (701-762)

Translated by WangYongli

Of mystic islesseafarers speak, in twilight mist enwound;

Of southern hillswhere Tianmu’screst now gleams, now fades from sight.

It splits the sky, o’ertops the Sacred Peaks in grandeur crowned,

And dwarfs the ChichengMountain with its cloud-piercing height.

Mount Tiantai,towering four hundred and eighty thousand feet,

Bows to its southeastslope in deference deep and mute.

Long have I dreamed toroam those cliffs where Wu and Yue dreams meet—

One night I flew pastMirror Lake beneath the moon’spure light.

The moon upon the lakecast my lone shadow on the air,

Which followed me toStream Shàn’s quiet shore, serene and fair.

There stood the lodgewhere mountain poet Xie once stayed—I lingered for a while.

Green waters shimmeredclear, and mountain apes wailed in despair.

I strapped theladdered clogs of Xie upon my feet to scale.

The cloud-ascendingpath, halfway to heaven’sazure sphere,

Where, mid-air, Ibeheld the sun rise from the eastern sea,

And heard the HeavenlyCock crow in the sky, distinct and clear.

Through countlesswinding crags the narrow trail wound aimlessly tortuously.

Charmed by rareblooms, I leaned on rocks—duskfell unnoticed there.

Then bears growled,dragons chanted, cataracts crashed in thunderous spray.

Forests shook, cliffstrembled, awed by the din that filled the air.

Dark clouds hung lowand promised rain;

Pale pools gleamedcalm, then broke again.

A lightning-flash toreheaven’smantle wide.

With deafening roar,the mountain peaks collapsed on every side.

Then suddenly thegates of a stone grotto swung open free,

Revealing depths ofazure void, a realm of mystery.

There sun and moonshone upon golden towers and silver halls,

Where spirits clad inrainbow robes came riding on the breeze,

With cloud-bornechariots rumbling in majestic ease,

Some drawn by tigers,some by phoenix pairs.

Like hemp-fieldsstretched their ranks, a boundless immortal band.

My soul convulsed, myspirit quailed—Iwoke in sudden fright,

And found but pillowand mat beneath my hand.

All pageant of thegods had vanished like a dream from night.

So flows our mortallife: its joys pass like an eastward stream,

Never to return, lostin time’sboundless tide.

Farewell, my friend,for now—yetlet this question dwell:

When shall we wanderfree through emerald hills, from worldly care exiled?

How can I bend my kneeand bow before the men of power and pride,

Forfeiting all the joymy heart was born to wield?

我汲取前賢之長，規避其短，守信達雅，也力圖實現翻譯境界的“功能對等”。

我采用ABAB隔行韻為核心，每節韻腳統一，穿插短句對仗韻，貼合英文格律詩審美，又還原原詩歌行體的豪放節奏，無散文化之弊。

文化意象：具象注解，不贅不晦?！爸x公”譯mountainpoet Xie（點明謝靈運山水詩人、游歷先驅的身份，西方讀者可瞬間理解其文化內涵，無需額外注釋），“鸞”譯phoenixes（避許譯phoenix fair的冗余，貼合中式神鳥意象，無波斯simurgh的文化偏差），“赤城”“天臺”均直譯名+具象描述，守文化本真。

無增譯、漏譯，原詩的豪放、迷茫、驚悸、灑脫的情感層次層層遞進，結尾“安能摧眉折腰事權貴，使我不得開心顏”以How can I bend my knee and bow before the men of power andpride,Forfeiting all the joy my heart was born to wield?精準還原傲骨與反抗，無情感弱化。

當然，筆者才疏學淺，譯作還存在許多不足，請大家不吝賜教。我愿意盡綿薄之力，為中華文化出海減少“文化折扣”做點滴貢獻。

從許淵沖的韻律之美到華茲生的敘事之晰，前賢對天姥詩的譯介探索從未停歇，卻也各有缺憾。在當下文化出海的新語境下，如何以精準的“信”守詩之原意，以流暢的“達”通中西表達，以雋永的“雅”傳詩之神韻，讓天姥詩的盛唐浪漫真正被世界讀懂、認同、喜愛，這不僅是譯好一首詩，更是讓中華精神跨山海、立潮頭，為文化強國建設注入鮮活的跨文化力量。（王永利）