從一本小說看世界：《夢遊二十一世紀》的意義

Looking at the World from an Old Text : The Meaning behind Dreaming about the 21th Century 夢遊二十一世紀

本文試圖從十九世紀末期荷蘭的一本科幻小說AD 2065（中文譯名《夢遊二十一世紀》，日文譯名《新未來記》）以及其中文和日文譯本，來比較研究中日兩國知識分子的不同反應和接受，以作為一個「跨文化」翻譯研究的案例。本文先從該書的英文譯本和楊德森的中文譯本，透過文本細讀，替原作者的科學幻想的知識性內涵進行文化史的定位，並窺測其啟蒙式的「歐洲本位」的現代性意圖。本文然後進入中日譯文的仔細比較，並將之置於兩國不同的歷史脈絡：晚清的改良運動和日本的「蘭學」傳統。最後經由日本譯者近藤真琴在譯文每一章後面的詳盡詮釋和反應──特別關於中日兩國將來在東亞對抗西方的地緣政治地位──略作現代的解讀。

This article presents a case study of “transcultural” translation based on Chinese and Japanese translations of a single Dutch science fiction text - AD 2065. It contrasts the different ways in which the Chinese and Japanese translators received and reacted to the text. It contrasts the different ways in which the Chinese and Japanese translators as intellectuals of their own countries received and reacted to the text. We first do a close reading of the original novel, underscoring its European cultural background and intellectual lineage as well as the “Euro- centered” inclinations behind its message of Enlightenment modernity. We then proceed to compare the Chinese and Japanese translations in detail and place them in their different historical contexts—in particular the Reform Movement in late Qing China and the “Dutch Learning 蘭學” tradition in Tokugawa-Meiji Japan. Finally, through an analysis of the Japanese translator’s detailed annotations and interpretations of the original text, which are appended at the end of the chapters, we seek to draw a brief conclusion regarding their contemporary relevance.