優曇華 の 空城結想

翻检Gmail旧邮，找到这篇文章。这是去年冬天，我为一位禀赋卓异、志攻译术的学弟写的推荐信。（我英文不好，写得很累。也请有打算给我机会锻炼这方面文笔的先生女士们另请高明。）

8 Dec. 2008

To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

As a lecturer of English at Fudan University, I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. C for the last three years. He has been a top student in his class and an asset to our Department of Translation and Interpreting. I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to recommend Mr. C for your graduate program.

I feel confident that Mr. C will continue to succeed and accomplish much more in his studies in an English-speaking country. He is a dedicated student, and his grades have been hitherto exemplary. In class, he has, with his learning and erudition, which is already phenomenal for his age, proven to be amazingly proactive. In my course, Classical Chinese: Selected Readings for Student Translators, for instance, his presentation about Buddhist influence on ancient and medieval Chinese letters has clarified a few nebulous concepts of Buddhism and pinpointed the religious elements in the millennia-long tradition of literature in a highly thought-provoking manner: as the feedback from his fellow students, who nicknamed him Walking Library, shows, most have felt that Mr. C’s contributions to the course have helped to broaden their horizons and awaken their interest in this otherwise boring subject. Besides, his remarkable bilingual proficiency, that is, of Chinese and English, has further added to his outstanding academic performance. On behalf of his class, he participated in an international Shakespeare festival two years ago in Hong Kong and acted the role of King Lear in the presence of a large audience, which consisted of college teachers and students. What is more, he not only is eloquent but writes well too. In marking his assignments, I have come to see that he always attaches topmost importance to reason and logic. Even in translating articles composed in literary Chinese, a linguistic variety that notoriously allows of much ambiguity, he never fails to observe the principles of brevity and clarity, and the papers that he have handed in me always make true sense and are bullshit-free, so to speak. Such an ability, or rather a talent, of fully digesting the ideational pith and marrow of texts without being impeded by the fetters and clogs of verbal form, I have to admit, is an intellectual rarity among the Chinese students that I have ever instructed. Hence my great expectations for Mr. C, who, I believe, through his sustained efforts, will be a first-rate young translator-scholar in China in the foreseeable future.

As a junior translator of Chinese and English, Mr. C also impresses me most favorably. This semester, he has been working for a theatrical project featuring detective dramas that I supervise in cooperation with the Shanghai Moderner Troupe and the Shanghai Grand Theater. He has finished translating a stage play adapted from Agatha Christie’s novel, Appointment with Death, within a month, and I can make only a few minor revisions in his superb work: I am very much pleased to find out that he has made a point of maintaining equilibrium between the faithfulness to the original and the readability and, more importantly in this case, actability of the translation. I am also astonished at his efficiency management. He knows only too well how to avoid being a bottle neck in the workflow and how to maximize his benefits gained from the partnership with his seniors. All this reminds me of the fact that Mr. C is now well on his way to success as a promising translator.

It is for these reasons that I offer high recommendations for Mr. C without reservation. His drive and abilities will truly be an asset to your establishment. If you have any questions regarding this recommendation, please do not hesitate to contact me. 
 

Yours most faithfully, 

Dr. XXX

刚刚从网上得知，著名翻译家杨宪益先生昨晨逝世。

我曾经和杨、戴两位先生的名作《红楼梦》英译本擦肩而过，至今引为一憾：我高三时，上中加历史的很少，我就在念慈楼图书馆的外文图书室上历史课。有一批书无人看管，大家每次下课遂都“捎带”几册——其实是挖社X主义墙角，耗无X阶级羊毛，但当时并不觉得违法——我因功利主义和崇洋媚外思想作祟，拿了美国某大学出版社出的写作教本，内容当时就觉得浅显，但看在是洋货的份儿上，还很开心。而与之并排的A Dream of Red Mansions却弃置不惜。待到得知这一套三册是我国英汉翻译界中与《国朝太祖武皇帝御制文选》英文版并称双壁的佳作，想去“捎带”私吞，已然被管理员阿姨“亡羊补牢”起来……

很长一段时间，我怀过作个文学翻译工作者的梦想。可惜越来越觉得才疏学浅，何以胜任，且光阴虚掷，老大无能，欲步武杨先生伉俪，除非梦中。于是，只能寄希望于Mr. C这样的长江后浪了。当然，杨先生的伟大，不仅在于他是文坛三朝名士、译林一代宗工，更因为他是傲骨铮铮的革命者，有一条不屈的脊梁。

居然买了35块钱二手书！

 

 

（I cannot find any pic of this book's cover online. Above is one of a poster of the movie based on the novel. Its director is none other than the legendary Federico Fellini.）

理书。
书太多，不能看，只能理。
翻到北外（那个逸夫楼六层没电梯、全楼厕所周末没水的鬼地方！）已故著名学者王佐良先生的大著《英诗的境界》，掸了掸尘灰。

他的书，凡是我读过的，写得都很不怎么样，介绍性质，谈谈肤浅的个人阅读感受。如果不是老友赠我，如果不是扉页寄语，早处理掉了：

小师弟：

坦率说，对你高中时的孤傲并无多大好感。但接着，你成了我的师弟；接着，你叫我二师姐；接着，你选择了英文系。在今天，大多数有你这般成绩的人选择金融，大多数人把英文系作为跳板，但你希望编一部英文字典。

无论将来如何，今天，我祝你成功！

二师姐 WLL
98.10.15

十一年后，我顿悟到读书不可淫于微言，而昧乎大义。所以，字典（英文的该称“词典”）要编，更要做点别的、大的事业。于是，我就把期中考试的题目给出好了，它们分别来自于我们最爱精读的课本和龙应台女士的新著《大江大海·一九四九》。

昨天，我出门上班时，妈妈对我说：“生日快乐。”我回了她一句：“谢谢你把我生出来。”

我总想，生日其实该是给妈妈庆祝，庆祝她经历了一场大苦大难，终于挺了过来。可是，等待她的，是更大的苦难：她要把儿子养大，养好，养得能独立地过上她觉得满意的生活。可儿子说不定还要嫌弃她，对她发脾气……

前些天，有个小盆友跟我说，他妈妈爸爸早就离婚了，他跟着妈妈过。我想也没想，就告诉他：“我妈妈爸爸离婚的话，我也跟着妈妈过。‘世上只有妈妈好’，绝对的。”

又有个小盆友，他跟我说，他妈妈想打电话给我，问问他读书的情况。我跟他说：“叫你妈妈别打来，我从小不太喜欢打电话。我给她写封信。”我就写啊写，写的时候，心里总在想，他妈妈看了会开心吗？我该怎么写，既不歪曲事实，又能最大限度地让她开心呢？我虽然没打草稿，但费了心思，因为我知道，那是他的妈妈。

我还记得，去年在毕业典礼上发言，说到“感谢我的母亲”，那蓦然的哽咽和凝泪让我自己当时都震惊了。我只看到妈妈远远坐在礼堂的角落，仿佛那一刻只有我和她是真实的存在。

记者姐姐 说(17:02):
有人找你问减肥方法。

我  说 (17:02):
……

记者姐姐 说 (17:02):
我没告诉他手机，就告诉MSN吧，这样好操作。

我  说 (17:02):
哦。
是谁？读者？！

记者姐姐 说 (17:03):
是的。
读者的妈妈。
你已经有读者的妈妈粉丝了！
她的儿子说也是复旦的。
她要给你打电话，问你怎么减肥的……

我  说 (17:05):
……
她会治痘痘吗？
我们可以交换情报。
今天我去看皮肤科，
护士小姐问我病情，
问了半天，
也开始问我减肥方法了。

记者姐姐  说 (17:06):
……

我  说 (17:06):
你们有health版面伐？
可以叫记者再采访我一次。

2009年10月10日，琴仪会。