研读金尼阁的《基督教远征中国史》（黄佶）【龙_Loong

首页　为什么是“龙的传人”？　信箱：1131376436@qq.com　T: 13671606831　《译龙风云》

研读金尼阁的《基督教远征中国史》

　　中国社会科学院文学所研究员施爱东的著作《中国龙的发明》最近再版了，他在“修订再版后记”中写道：

　　其实，第一个将龙译为 Dragon 的译者，正是深爱中国、死在中国、葬在中国的中西文化交流史上最伟大的汉学家利玛窦。他脱下洋装，换上儒服，潜心汉学，受到明代士大夫的广泛尊数，被尊称为“泰西儒士”。他难道不知道龙与 Dragon 不对等吗？他当然知道。（p.377）

　　利玛窦知道不知道龙和杜拉根兽（dragon）不对等，我至少从中华书局出版的《利玛窦中国札记》一书中看不出来。

　　昨天一位网友给了我该书的英文版原著 China in the Sixteenth Century（十六世纪的中国）。

　　这本电子版是可以检索的，我找出所有的 dragon，然后和《利玛窦中国札记》里的译文对应起来。从中可以看到，利玛窦知道龙是皇帝的象征，也转载了中国的几个神话故事，里面都有龙，包括恶龙，但是未见他讨论龙的好坏，更没有把龙去和杜拉根兽比较。如果我看漏了，欢迎施老师或其学生或其他朋友指正。

　　实际上，知道龙与 Dragon 不对等的外国人很多，但是他们知道龙与 Dragon 不对等之后，都提出了应该改译龙，一位美国牧师更是直接译龙为 Loong。不知道施爱东老师为什么选择利玛窦的译法，而要拒绝其他外国传教士或学者的做法？

　　下面先来看 China in the Sixteenth Century 这本书及其中文版《利玛窦中国札记》：

China in the Sixteenth Century

Volume 1, Chapter 5 (p.26)

I am told that, during an eclipse, they fear lest the planet will be devoured by a dragon; just what kind of a dragon, I do not know. (p.32)

利玛窦中国札记（中华书局，2010年版）

　　我听说他们害怕日月蚀时行星会被龙吞掉；究竟是什么样的龙，我却不知道。（p.34）

V.1, Ch.7 (59)

Moreover, on the first day of each new moon, all the magistrates convene in the chief cities, in which a throne is erected to the King and is decorated with the regal insignia of gilded carved dragons, and other ornate carvings. (68)

　　此外，在每次新月的第一天，所有的官员都在主要的城市里聚会，供着雕有皇家标志的金龙和其他图饰的宝座。（73）

The royal color, forbidden to all others, is yellow, and regal vestments are decorated with various designs of dragons either painted or wrought into the cloth in gold thread. Throughout the entire palace, one sees pictures of dragons on gold and silver vases, on the furniture, and in the draperies. The roof and tiling of the palace are also done in yellow and with various paintings of dragons. This has probably given rise to the story that the tiling of the palace is all of brass or gold. This I can assert to be a mere legend, because I have examined the painted tiles myself. They are yellow in color, somewhat larger than the kind we use, and are fixed to the roof with nails or spikes, the heads of which are gilded so that no color other than yellow will appear on the palace. If anyone other than the sovereign or a blood relation should presume to use this particular color or the dragons, he would be looked upon as a traitor. (69)

　　皇家御用的颜色是黄色，别人一概不得使用；皇室衣服上装饰着各式各样的龙形，有的是画的，有的是用金线织就的。在宫中到处都可以看到金瓶银瓶上和家具上以及各种织物上的龙形。宫殿的屋顶和砖瓦也都用黄色并画有各种龙形。这大概引起了有人传说宫殿的砖瓦都是黄铜的或金子的。我可以断言这只是一种传说，因为我曾亲自检查过这些绘色的砖瓦。它们是黄色的，比我们所用的略大一点，用钉固定在屋顶上，钉头镀金，所以宫殿除了黄色没有别的颜色。如果不是皇上或其血亲而僭用这种颜色和龙形，他就被看作是叛逆了。（74）

V.1, Ch.8 (77)

During this time, too, there is a great deal of night reveling. Long files of people parade through the streets, made up in sections like fiery dragons, cavorting like bacchantes and shooting off fireworks and festive lights, and the whole town presents a glaring spectacle of unusual brilliance.（76-77）

　　此时晚间还有狂欢。一队队的人在街上耍龙灯，象酒神巴库斯的礼赞者那样欢呼跳跃，燃放鞭炮和焰火，全城呈现一片彩色缤纷的耀目景象。（81）

V.1, Ch.9 (82)

In choosing a place to erect a public edifice or a private house, or in selecting a plot of ground in which to bury the dead, they study the location with reference to the head and the tail and the feet of the particular dragons which are supposed to dwell beneath that spot. Upon these local dragons they believe that the good and bad fortune, not only of the family but also of the town and the province and of the entire kingdom, is wholly dependent. (84)

　　在选择修建公共建筑或私宅的地点以及埋葬死人的地点时，他们是按照据说地下的特殊龙头或龙尾或龙爪来研究地址的。他们相信不仅本家而且全城、全省和全国的运道好坏全要看这些地域性的龙而定。（90）

V.1, Ch.10 (93)

Their books recount their ravings, which we would repeat here, were it not beside our purpose to do so. A single example will give one an idea of what the rest must be like. They tell a story of the present reigning lord of heaven, who is called Ciam and his predecessor Leu. One day Leu came to earth riding on a white dragon, and Ciam, who was a diviner of dreams, invited Leu to a banquet. While the heavenly guest was enjoying himself at table, his host jumped on the white dragon and was carried back to the celestial realm, where he took possession of the throne and still excludes Leu in his efforts to return. The unfortunate outcast did, however, obtain from the usurping King permission to preside over a certain mountain in his kingdom, where they say he now lives but entirely stripped of his former dignity. (102)

　　他们的书籍叙说着各种胡言乱语，如果不超出本书的目的，我们将在这里复述一下。只举一个例就可以使人明白其余的都是什么样子了。他们讲了一桩现在这位姓张的天师的故事，他的前任姓刘。有一天，刘天师骑一条白龙降凡，姓张的原是一个圆梦的，他邀刘天师赴宴。当这位天上来客正在大吃大喝之际，他的主人跳上了白龙，骑着上了天，他夺取了宝座而一直不准刘天师重返天庭。然而，这位不幸的被逐者蒙这位篡位皇上的恩准去主持一座山，据说他现在就住在那里，但全部被剥夺了他原来的尊荣。（110）

V.2, Ch.12 (193)

It would, in fact, be the verification of an epigram contained in our books: “Sow a fertile field with thorns and nettles and you are bringing serpents and dragons into your home.”(196)

　　事实上，这将证实我们书中的格言：在沃田中播种荆麻，你就将引蛇龙入室。（211）

V.3, Ch.9 (258)

The legend connected with this place relates that some centuries ago a certain individual, named Huiunsin, gave huge sums of money to the neighboring people, which he made by transforming quicksilver into silver of the very purest kind. Moreover, he was supposed, in some mysterious way, to have delivered the city from a ferocious dragon by covering it with earth and chaining it to the iron shaft, which one sees here. After that he and his whole family took their flight to heaven, and with them they took the house in which they lived. (266)

　　有关这个地方的传说是，几百年前，有个叫许真君（Hui-unsin）的人，把大量钱财散发给附近的百姓，这是他把水银变成极纯的银子得来的。而且，据说他用法术使该城免遭恶龙为患，用泥土埋住恶龙，把它拴在铁柱上，人们还可以在这里看见铁柱。然后他和他的全家，带上他们所住的房屋，一起升了天。（284）

V.4, Ch.10 (354)

This clock was set in its enclosure with four columns. The case was built with folding doors, opening to either side. The hours were marked on the face of the clock in Chinese capital letters, with an eagle dominating, which pointed to the hour with its beak. The top of the clock formed a beautiful arch, decorated with fluted work in various designs of flowers and leaves, and with beautifully carved dragons. The dragon is the Chinese symbol of royalty, and no one, apart from the royal family, is permitted to use it as an emblem. In the royal palaces all the furniture is covered with dragons, carved in bas relief, or embroidered, or painted. The clock was finished with suitable decorations of gold and of Chinese sandarac, or vermillion. (355)

　　这座钟放进了一座有四根柱子的罩子里。柜子四面都装有可折门。时刻在钟面上用中文大写字标出，有一只雄踞的鹰，鹰嘴对准时刻。钟顶形成美丽的拱形，有各种各样的花叶纹雕刻作装饰，还刻有十分精致的龙。龙在中国是皇权的象征，除了皇室之外，谁都不准用龙来作为徽记。在皇宫里，一切家具都饰有龙形，有的是浮雕的，有的是绣的或画的。（383）

　　显然，利玛窦只是客观地描述了龙的情况，而没有评论其象征意义，也没有和杜拉根兽进行比较。看来施爱东老师的“他当然知道”是想当然了。

　　当然，利玛窦书里没说，不等于他不知道龙和杜拉根兽是不同的。但是，如果他知道两者不同，却仍然使用相同的译名，显然是错误的，是不值得仿效的。因为这会导致外国读者的混淆和误解，例如中国皇帝为什么要用邪恶的 dragon 作为自己的象征？难道他们想告诉臣民自己是恶魔？

美国电影“木乃伊3”：中国古代皇帝复活后，变成了有三个脑袋的杜拉根兽

　　与此同时，不乏外国人知道龙与 Dragon 不对等，同时又建议改译龙。

　　1882年，美国传教士沃克撰文指出龙和杜拉根兽有本质区别，文章的标题是：“Pagoda, Loong and Foong-Shooy”（宝塔、龙和风水）。他在文章里写道：写道：“The loong or dragon, as it is commonly translated, is to the Chinese nation all that the eagle is to us, and a great deal more. It is a mysterious, fabulous creature in many respects like the dragon of western fables, but far surpassing it. Not only supernatural, but almost divine qualities are attributed to it.”（龙通常被译为 dragon，它对中华民族的意义就和鹰对我们的意义完全一样，甚至有过之而无不及。它是一种神秘的、巨大的生物，在很多方面和西方神话中的杜拉根兽相似，但远远优于杜拉根兽。它不仅是超自然的，而且还被赋予了近乎神圣的特质。）可见当他知道龙与 Dragon 不对等，就用音译新词 loong 来特指龙。

　　1931年2月12日，牛津大学汉语教授 William Edward Soothill（中文名“苏慧廉”）牧师在英国皇家亚洲文化协会（Royal Asiatic Society）做了一场报告，他说：“……. Again, in China, it is always beneficent, while the dragon of the west, for the most part, has been considered as maleficent, injuring the people, stealing princesses, and calling forth the heroism of, say, a St.George, for its destruction.”“So different are the two conceptions that it would almost seem wiser to call them by different names, adopting the Chinese name Lung for their national benefactor.（……。另一方面，在中国，龙总是行善的，而西方的杜拉根兽在大部分地区被认为是有害的，伤害人民，偷走公主，使英雄们例如圣乔治去杀死它们。这两种东西是如此的不同，为它们取不同的名字显然是明智的，可以用来自中文的名字 Lung 称呼这个国家的施惠者。）

　　即使认为译龙为 loong 和 lung 都不妥，那也可以译为 long 嘛。

　　利玛窦的中国札记有两个中文版本，一个是中华书局出版的，一个是商务印书馆出版的。前天我发表了一篇文章，介绍商务印书馆的版本，里面利玛窦说自己来中国是“远征”。China in the Sixteenth Century 及其中文版、即中华书局版本里没有这段话。但是该书也大量使用了 expedition（远征）这个词。实际上，该书拉丁文译者金尼阁给第一版取的书名就是“基督教远征中国史”，英文版才改名“十六世纪的中国”。

　　书中说当时中国“条条道路都向外国人严密封锁”（p.129）（...... the kingdom which was firmly closed to all foreigners at every approach. (p.118)）外国传教士做好了准备，“如允许的话，就公开传道，否则就秘密进行。”（p.128）（he would announce the Gospel to the Chinese; publicly if allowed to and secretly if not. (p.118)）。第三卷第十章“利玛窦神父被驱逐出南京”详细地描写了全过程，中国官员说邀请外国人进入南京本身就是一种“罪”（p.290）。如果利玛窦真的是来进行“中西文化交流”，会这么不受欢迎吗？

　　所以，利玛窦来中国不是进行“中西文化交流”，而是来传教，单方面地传播“福音”。虽然利玛窦也带来了欧洲的科学技术，但是他的主观目的不是文化交流。

　　施爱东研究员的逻辑显然是：利玛窦来华的目的是高大上的，所以他译龙为 dragon 不可能存在不良动机，所以我们中国人应该继续使用这种译龙方法。

（黄佶，2024年4月23日）