日治台灣〈小人國記〉、〈大人國記〉譯本來源辨析

On the Origin of Translated Texts in Taiwan under Japanese Rule: “A Voyage to Lilliput” and “A Voyage to Brobdingnag”

日治台灣報刊刊登了不少譯作，或有署名，或未署名，其未署名者，通常被誤認為台灣文人之作。本文擬追索《臺灣日日新報》〈小人國記〉、〈大人國記〉譯本的來源，判讀所依據的版本，透過史料考證與各式文本交叉比對所得的結果，可以極為合理地判斷《臺灣日日新報》所刊行的〈小人國記〉與〈大人國記〉，乃是根據韋叢蕪的譯本《格里佛遊記》抄錄、修改而成。在比對過程同時對韋譯本的得失提出檢討，並從其譯本說明了當時台灣的抄譯改寫者對西方的語言、文學乃至於思想與歷史的文化背景都不甚熟悉，導致綏夫特原著中的諷刺意涵因為抄譯改寫者對韋叢蕪譯本的增刪、修改而面目全非，大大減弱了台譯本在當時的文學意義與價值。此研究所得將對前人之說予以反駁，並再次重申重視史料、尊重文本的必要性。

Newspapers in Taiwan under Japanese rule published many literary works in translation, some authored, some not. Texts of the latter kind are usually mistaken for Taiwanese literati’s works. This essay traces the original source of “A Voyage to Lilliput” and “A Voyage to Brobdingnag” published by Taiwan Ri-Ri-Xin Bao in Chinese translation. Based upon examination of historical materials and the results of textual analysis comparing them to other translated texts, it is reasonable to judge that these texts in Taiwan Ri-Ri-Xin Bao are copied from Cong-Wu Wei’s Chinese translation of Jonathan Swift’s novel, with various alterations. In this analysis, Wei’s achievement in translation is evaluated, in light of which it is concluded that the Taiwanese editors, in reprinting Wei’s texts, were quite unfamiliar with Western language and literature, let alone the historical background of Western culture and thought. Consequently, the sense of irony exhibited by Swift’s English text, and to at least a certain extent also by Wei’s translation, is largely lost in the Taiwanese version due to the editors’ alteration. This means the significance and value of this work of literature in translation under the Taiwanese socio-cultural background must be severely qualified by this re-evaluation. The results of this research refute what was previously said about this text, and emphasizes again the importance of historical evidence and the need for respect for original texts.