翻譯異國、想像中國：張若谷譯《中國孤兒》探析

Translating the Other, Imaging the Self: A Study of Zhang Ruogu’s Translation of L‘orphelin de la Chine

1939 年，張若谷將伏爾泰(Voltaire, 1694-1778) 知名的劇作《中國孤兒》(L‘Orphelin de la Chine: la morale de Confucius en cinq actes) 譯成中文，在上海《中美日報》連載，1940 年出版單行本，亦名為《中國孤兒》。事實上，紀君祥的元雜劇《趙氏孤兒》首先乃由傳教士馬若瑟 (Joseph de Prémare, 1666-1736)於1735 年譯為《中國悲劇：趙氏孤兒》(L'orphelin de la Maison de Tchao, tragédie chinoise)，傳入西歐；繼之，伏爾泰再改寫為《中國孤兒》(1755)，此故事乃更廣為人知。《趙氏孤兒》與《中國孤兒》的翻譯公案，已是國內外漢學界頗為人注意的議題，然張若谷於中國對日抗戰期間在上海翻譯的此一中文版本，卻少為人所留意。本文比較伏爾泰的《中國孤兒》與張若谷之翻譯，將翻譯看作是譯者對此前翻譯的再詮釋與跨文化轉化，並參酌歷史情境的考察，以探析張若谷於中日抗戰期間翻譯《中國孤兒》，想像新中國的文化意涵。本文指出，張若谷的翻譯雖不是完美的翻譯，其出發點是為了通過對異己的思考來充實豐富自身的文化。尤其，伏爾泰的異國情調論述更曾為張若谷所推崇，欲效法他以翻譯異國文藝來更新本國文藝，進一步復興國族。張若谷的《中國孤兒》翻譯由是呈現了跨文化的雙重凝視，並勾勒出一張從十八世紀到二十世紀初的全球文化流動圖景。本文並考察張若谷的《中國孤兒》翻譯，如何通過重新詮釋異國人眼中的中國，以召喚、肯認中國文化主體。

In 1939, Zhang Ruogu translated Voltaire’s (1694-1778) well-known play L‘Orphelin de la Chine: la morale de Confucius en cinq actes into Chinese. It was published as a series in Shanghai’s China-America Daily, and later as a book entitled The Orphan of China in 1940. In fact, before Voltaire’s work was published, Ji Junxiang’s The Orphan of Zhao was first translated into French by the missionary Joseph de Prémare (1666-1736) in 1735. It was called L‘Orphelin de la Maison de Tchao, tragédie chinoise. It was very popular in Western Europe for a time, and therefore Voltaire adapted it as his drama The Orphan of China (1755), which became the better-known version. The issues surrounding the translations of L‘Orphelin de la Maison de Tchao and The Orphan of China have captured the interest of scholars of Chinese culture and literature. However, only a few have taken note of Zhang Ruogu’s translation of The Orphan of China. This paper compares Voltaire’s The Orphan of China with Zhang Ruogu’s translation and sees Voltaire’s adaptation as a transcultural reinterpretation of its predecessor. The paper also makes certain observations regarding the historical context – the fact that Zhang Ruogu’s Chinese translation was done during the Sino-Japanese War – and analyzes the cultural implications. It further points out that this Chinese translation was not perfectly faithful; rather, it could be viewed as a transcultural practice whereby a translator sought to enrich his own culture through an examination of the “other.” Zhang Ruogu admired Voltaire’s discourse on exoticism and emulated him by using translation as a means to renew his own national culture and revive his nation. This paper explores the ways in which Zhang Ruogu’s translation of The Orphan of China constructed a China that was clearly different from, and perhaps more exotic than other nations, and thus affirmed the selfhood of Chinese culture.