《梦游天姥吟留别》：文化出海视域下古典诗词英译的核心要义

作者 王永利

文化强国的底色，是中华优秀传统文化的生生不息；文化出海的核心，是让中式精神与美学跨越语言壁垒，抵达世界人心。古典诗词作为中华文脉的璀璨瑰宝，是跨文化传播中最具辨识度的文化载体，而李白的《梦游天姥吟留别》，更是盛唐浪漫主义的巅峰之作—— 诗中既有山海壮阔的中式意境，又有蔑视权贵、追求自由的民族精神，更藏着中国人对天地、对理想的独特思考，是当之无愧的 “文化名片”。

此诗创作背景是，唐玄宗天宝三载（744），李白在长安受到权贵的排挤，正史记载为“赐金放还”，既携带皇帝赏赐的金银放出京，返回东鲁（在今山东）家园。之后再度踏上漫游的旅途。这首描绘梦中游历天姥山的诗，大约作于李白即将离开东鲁南游吴越之时，其作年一说天宝四载（745），一说天宝五载（746）。他在诗中，以磅礴气势和豪言壮语来抒发情志，这是一首记梦诗，也是一首游仙诗。意境雄伟，变化惝恍，缤纷多彩的艺术形象，新奇的表现手法，向来为人传诵。其末句‘安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜’，激越、愤懑、洒脱，成为千古绝唱。

李白·《梦游天姥吟留别》

海客谈瀛洲，烟涛微茫信难求。

越人语天姥，云霓明灭或可睹。

天姥连天向天横，势拔五岳掩赤城。

天台四万八千丈，对此欲倒东南倾。

我欲因之梦吴越，一夜飞度镜湖月。

湖月照我影，送我至剡溪。

谢公宿处今尚在，渌水荡漾清猿啼。

脚着谢公屐，身登青云梯。

半壁见海日，空中闻天鸡。

千岩万转路不定，迷花倚石忽已暝。

熊咆龙吟殷岩泉，栗深林兮惊层巅。

云青青兮欲雨，水澹澹兮生烟。

列缺霹雳，丘峦崩摧。洞天石扉，訇然中开。

青冥浩荡不见底，日月照耀金银台。

霓为衣兮风为马，云之君兮纷纷而来下。

虎鼓瑟兮鸾回车，仙之人兮列如麻。

忽魂悸以魄动，恍惊起而长嗟。

惟觉时之枕席，失向来之烟霞。

世间行乐亦如此，古来万事东流水。

别君去兮何时还，且放白鹿青崖间，须行即骑访名山。

安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜。

我国清末学者严复提出“信达雅”的翻译理论，西方学者尤金·奈达（Eugene Nida）提出翻译不仅是语言的对等，最初提出“动态对等（Dynamic Equivalence）”，后为更精准阐释翻译内涵，修改为“功能对等（Functional Equivalence），二者常交叉使用，强调译文读者对译文的反应应与原文读者对原文的反应相似。关键词：功能对等、读者反应、文化适应。适合分析翻译是否在目标语文化中实现了相同的交际功能。那么在实践中，我们如何才能做到信达雅和“功能对等”呢？

今天，我们先来看看美国汉学家华兹生的译作：

Dream of Wandering through the Sky-Mother Mountains: A Song inFarewell

By Li Bai

Seafarers speak of the isle of P’eng-lai,

That misty, intangible thing beyond the gray of the waves,

That cannot be reached.

Men of Yüeh speak of the Sky-Mother Mountain,

Now seen, now unseen in the light of the clouds,

Floating above the Five Peaks, hiding the Red Wall,

Pinnacles that strike the sky, blocking the very light ofheaven.

I long to dream of the mountains of Wu and Yüeh,

One night to fly over Mirror Lake under the moon.

The moon of the lake lights my shadow,

And follows me to the mouth of the Ts’aoStream.

There the lodge of Prince Hsieh of old still remains.

Green waters swirl, cries of the mountain ape are shrill.

On my feet I wear the clogs of Hsieh,

Mounting in one stride a ladder of clouds.

Halfway up I see the sun rise from the sea,

Hear the voice of heaven in the cock’scrow.

Cliff on cliff, a thousand of them, winding the road—

I lean on a rock, suddenly gone in a daze.

Bears roaring, dragons singing over rocks and waterfalls,

Shake the deep woods, make the layered crags tremble.

Clouds darken, darken—about to rain,

Waters stir, stir, begin to smoke.

Lightning cracks, thunder rumbles, peaks topple down,

And the stone gates of the hollow hill,

Stand suddenly open wide,

A blue-black void without bottom,

Sun and moon shine together on gold and silver terraces.

Clad in rainbow, riding the wind,

The lords of the clouds descend, their chariots drawn byhorses,

Tigers playing zithers, simurgh birds drawing the carts—

Row on row, the immortals descend like hemp stalks.

My heart is seized with terror, soul startled, I heave a longsigh.

I wake with a start from my pillow and mat—

Clouds and light all around me as before.

Man’s pleasures in this world are likewise thus.

All things since ancient times flow eastward like water.

Farewell, you, my friend—when shall I return?

For now I will tether my white deer among the green cliffs,

Ride off to visit the famous mountains.

How can I bow to the proud and the great,

And never show the sadness that darkens my face?

(摘自华兹生的译作收录于《哥伦比亚中国诗选：从早期至十三世纪》（The ColumbiaBook of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century），由哥伦比亚大学出版社于1984年出版。第186至188页)

华兹生（Burton Watson，1925年－2023年），美国汉学家、翻译家，译丛顾问团创始成员之一。生于纽约，1956年获哥伦比亚大学博士学位，曾任教于京都大学、哥伦比亚大学及斯坦福大学，讲授中日语言文学。1979年获哥伦比亚大学翻译中心金牌奖章，1981年和1995年两度获美国笔会翻译奖。

华兹生翻译的李白《梦游天姥吟留别》，被广泛流传，具体分析如下：

优点：

第一，叙事脉络忠实清晰：严格遵循原诗“闻天姥-梦游仙山-惊梦抒怀”的虚实层次，从听闻仙境到入梦游历、仙境奇观再到醒后感怀，情节推进自然，英文读者能轻松理解诗歌核心叙事，还原了原诗的结构逻辑。

第二，核心意象质朴还原：镜湖、谢公屐、海日天鸡、霓衣风马、虎鼓瑟鸾回车等核心意象均直译/近意译，无过度西化改写，精准保留了李白诗中雄奇瑰丽的画面感，贴合原诗的豪放意境。

第三，契合原意，情志内核未弱化：结尾对“安能摧眉折腰事权贵”的翻译，直白传递出李白蔑视权贵、坚守本心的傲骨，用“How can I bow to the proud and the great”精准抓住原诗的情感核心，愤懑与洒脱的情绪表达贴合原意。

值得商榷的地方：

首先，关键诗眼译错，原诗“安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜” 核心是 “不能低头侍奉权贵，让自己无法展露愉悦的容颜”，华兹生译作 “And never show the sadness that darkens my face”，意为“从不显露让面容黯淡的悲伤”，将“不得开心颜”反译为“不显露悲伤”，完全违背原诗情志核心。此外，译作无韵律设计，失诗词音韵美：全诗采用散文化白描，未设计英文诗歌的韵脚、节奏或音步，丢失了原诗作为古体诗的音韵节奏感，读来平淡，缺乏诗词的韵律张力，更像是一篇散文诗。

其次，天姥山的“姥（mǔ）”指山中女神、老妇，并非英文“Mother（母亲）”，Sky-Mother的译法直接偏离了“天姥”的文化意象。部分表达直白冗余，炼字不足：如“misty,intangible thing beyond the gray of the waves”译“烟涛微茫信难求”、“Clouds darken, darken—about to rain”译“云青青兮欲雨”，叠词与凝练表达处理得过于直白重复，流失了原诗的炼字美与含蓄美。原诗意为“醒来只有枕边的席子，失去了刚才梦中的烟霞美景”，但华兹生译作“I wake with a start from my pillow and mat—Cloudsand light all around me as before.”，翻译为“惊醒后见烟霞依旧”，完全违背原诗本意。

再次，文化意象处理简略，转译贴合度低：蓬莱（P’eng-lai）、天姥山（Sky-Mother Mountain）仅简单音译/意译，无适度文化注解，西方读者难以理解其仙山的文化内涵；将“鸾”译作“simurgh birds”（波斯神鸟西摩格），不仅是文化意象贴合度低，更因西摩格是波斯独有的神鸟，与中式“鸾鸟”的文化内涵、形象特征完全不同，属于跨文化意象的错误替换。赤城（赤城山，天姥山附近名山）被译作“Red Wall”（红墙 / 赤壁），易让西方读者误解为三国赤壁，属于地名误译。剡溪（Shàn Xī，浙东名溪）被译作 “Ts’ao Stream”（曹溪），将 “剡” 的拼音误作 “曹” 的威妥玛拼音，属于纯音译错误。

此外，华兹生将“谢公（谢灵运）”译作 “Prince Hsieh”，“Prince”在英文中意为 “王子、公爵”，谢灵运虽封康乐公，并非 “Prince”，且其核心身份是山水诗人，并非皇室贵族，该译法完全违背人物身份背景。

总之，华兹生的这个译本是英语世界最经典、引用率最高的《梦游天姥吟留别》译本之一，以其准确、优雅和强大的文学表现力而备受推崇，除韵律之外，也基本实现了“功能对等”。

接下来，我们看看许渊冲大师的翻译：

A Dream of Tianmu Mountain: Song of Farewell

By Li Bai (Translated by Xu Yuanchong)

Of fairy isles seafarers speak,

’Mid dimming mist and surging waves, so hard to seek.

Of Skyland Southerners are proud,

Perceivable through fleeting or dispersing cloud.

Mount Skyland threatens heaven, massed against the sky,

Surpassing the Five Peaks and dwarfing the Red Wall.

Mount Heaven’s Terrace, five hundred thousand feethigh,

Nearby to the southeast, appears to fall.

Long I’ve dreamed to tour the Southern Land.

One night I flew over Mirror Lake in moonlight.

My shadow followed by the lake water so bright.

Until I reached the Stream where Xie Gong had been.

There still remained the lodging-place he used to dwell.

Green waters rippled; apes cried wail on wail.

Wearing the same pegged boots as he,

I scaled the mountain ladder, blue cloud high.

On halfway up the mountain I saw sunrise at sea,

And in midair I heard sky-cock crow.

Among a thousand crags I wended my way,

Enchanted by flowers and rocks, I lost my day.

Bears roared, dragons howled, thundered the cascade.

Deep forests quaked and ridges trembled: Oh! what a fright!

From dark, dark cloud came rain; on pale, pale waves lightplayed.

The lightening flashed;

Thunder drums crashed.

Peaks and peaks fell asunder.

Alas! the stone gate of a fairy cavern under,

Opened suddenly in a hollow blue.

So blue, so deep, so vast appeared the view,

Where sun and moon shone on gold and silver towers.

Clad in rainbow and riding on the wind,

The lords of clouds descended in a throng.

With tigers playing zither and lutes played by phoenix fair,

The fairy lords were lined like hemp stalks there.

My soul was shaken, my spirit convulsed.

I woke with a start, and found my pillow and mat—

All the glamour gone.

So is the world of men,

All gone like this effulgence of dreams and sighs.

Farewell, farewell, O my friend from now on!

When can we meet and travel in azure mountains again?

Why should I bow like a servant rich men to please,

And thus deny myself a happy heart and ease?

(摘自《许渊冲经典英译古代诗歌1000首・唐诗（下）》，海豚出版社，2013年版，115页）

许渊冲先生更注重向世界传递中国文化的本源面貌，具体分析如下：

优点：

第一，韵律精巧，贴合诗词音韵本质：全诗以隔行韵为主，穿插短句对仗押韵（如The lightening flashed;/Thunder drums crashed;），节奏抑扬顿挫，既适配英文诗歌的韵律审美，又还原了原诗古体诗的豪放节奏，读来朗朗上口，守住了诗词的音韵核心。

第二，炼字凝练，还原原诗语言美感：巧用叠词（wail on wail、dark, dark cloud）贴合原诗的叠字修辞，以“enchanted by flowers and rocks, I lost my day”凝练译“迷花倚石忽已暝”，以“thundered the cascade”化静为动写飞瀑，炼字精准且画面感强，贴合李白诗的语言张力。

第三，意韵合一，情志与意境高度契合：仙境部分以“clad in rainbow and riding on the wind”“goldand silver towers”勾勒雄奇瑰丽的仙景，贴合原诗的浪漫想象；结尾“Why should Ibow like a servant rich men to please”直白又不失风骨，精准传递出蔑视权贵、洒脱自守的核心情志，做到了“信达雅”的统一。

值得商榷的地方：

首先，部分文化意象处理简略，易造成理解偏差：“谢公”直接留白未做任何注解，西方读者无法知晓谢灵运的典故背景，丢失了原诗的文化意蕴；“权贵”译作通俗的“rich men”，弱化了原诗中阶层性的权力意味，稍欠精准。

其次，局部句式为韵微调，叙事衔接稍显生硬：将“天台四万八千丈，对此欲倒东南倾”译为“Mount Heaven’s Terrace, five hundred thousand feet high, Nearby to the southeast,appears to fall”，1丈= 10尺，合四十八万尺，许渊冲译作“five hundred thousand feet high”（五十万尺），无任何标注的情况下近似换算产生明显误差，而且为适配韵律打乱了原诗的句式逻辑，与前文天姥山的衔接稍显突兀，弱化了原诗的空间壮阔感。

再次，个别词汇选择稍欠贴合，弱化原诗意象特质：以“howled”译“龙吟”，该词多表“嚎叫”，缺少龙吟的雄浑空灵；“phoenix fair”译“鸾”虽同为神鸟，正确应为“phoenixfairy/fairies”（凤凰仙），少写字母 y，属于英文拼写硬错误。“this effulgence of dreams and sighs”译“古来万事东流水”，以抽象的“光华”替代原诗具象的“流水”比喻，丢失了原诗的含蓄与画面感。“Red Wall”，许渊冲也沿用了华兹生的错误译法。

此外，许渊冲译本结尾“Why should I bow like a servant rich men toplease” 存在明显语法残缺，缺少介词 to，正确语法应为 “Why should I bow like a servant to please rich men”（像奴仆一样低头侍奉权贵），原译因语法问题导致句式表意生硬。

总之，许渊冲是诗人型翻译，以格律严谨、押韵精巧的诗体为目标，力求在英语中再现中文古典诗歌的音乐性和形式美，挑战性更高，是信达雅的经典之作。华兹生 (Watson)是学者型翻译，以流畅、清晰的散文诗体见长，注重传达原文的叙事逻辑和整体意境，便于英语读者理解，功能对等。

尽管李白《梦游天姥吟留别》这首诗比较长，翻译难度大，但是作为文化出海的名片，是中华古诗词的明珠。纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行。我把自己的拙作拿出来献丑，向大师和前辈致敬！

Dream Journey to MountTianmu: A Parting Song

By Li Bai (701-762)

Translated by WangYongli

Of mystic islesseafarers speak, in twilight mist enwound;

Of southern hillswhere Tianmu’screst now gleams, now fades from sight.

It splits the sky, o’ertops the Sacred Peaks in grandeur crowned,

And dwarfs the ChichengMountain with its cloud-piercing height.

Mount Tiantai,towering four hundred and eighty thousand feet,

Bows to its southeastslope in deference deep and mute.

Long have I dreamed toroam those cliffs where Wu and Yue dreams meet—

One night I flew pastMirror Lake beneath the moon’spure light.

The moon upon the lakecast my lone shadow on the air,

Which followed me toStream Shàn’s quiet shore, serene and fair.

There stood the lodgewhere mountain poet Xie once stayed—I lingered for a while.

Green waters shimmeredclear, and mountain apes wailed in despair.

I strapped theladdered clogs of Xie upon my feet to scale.

The cloud-ascendingpath, halfway to heaven’sazure sphere,

Where, mid-air, Ibeheld the sun rise from the eastern sea,

And heard the HeavenlyCock crow in the sky, distinct and clear.

Through countlesswinding crags the narrow trail wound aimlessly tortuously.

Charmed by rareblooms, I leaned on rocks—duskfell unnoticed there.

Then bears growled,dragons chanted, cataracts crashed in thunderous spray.

Forests shook, cliffstrembled, awed by the din that filled the air.

Dark clouds hung lowand promised rain;

Pale pools gleamedcalm, then broke again.

A lightning-flash toreheaven’smantle wide.

With deafening roar,the mountain peaks collapsed on every side.

Then suddenly thegates of a stone grotto swung open free,

Revealing depths ofazure void, a realm of mystery.

There sun and moonshone upon golden towers and silver halls,

Where spirits clad inrainbow robes came riding on the breeze,

With cloud-bornechariots rumbling in majestic ease,

Some drawn by tigers,some by phoenix pairs.

Like hemp-fieldsstretched their ranks, a boundless immortal band.

My soul convulsed, myspirit quailed—Iwoke in sudden fright,

And found but pillowand mat beneath my hand.

All pageant of thegods had vanished like a dream from night.

So flows our mortallife: its joys pass like an eastward stream,

Never to return, lostin time’sboundless tide.

Farewell, my friend,for now—yetlet this question dwell:

When shall we wanderfree through emerald hills, from worldly care exiled?

How can I bend my kneeand bow before the men of power and pride,

Forfeiting all the joymy heart was born to wield?

我汲取前贤之长，规避其短，守信达雅，也力图实现翻译境界的“功能对等”。

我采用ABAB隔行韵为核心，每节韵脚统一，穿插短句对仗韵，贴合英文格律诗审美，又还原原诗歌行体的豪放节奏，无散文化之弊。

文化意象：具象注解，不赘不晦。“谢公”译mountainpoet Xie（点明谢灵运山水诗人、游历先驱的身份，西方读者可瞬间理解其文化内涵，无需额外注释），“鸾”译phoenixes（避许译phoenix fair的冗余，贴合中式神鸟意象，无波斯simurgh的文化偏差），“赤城”“天台”均直译名+具象描述，守文化本真。

无增译、漏译，原诗的豪放、迷茫、惊悸、洒脱的情感层次层层递进，结尾“安能摧眉折腰事权贵，使我不得开心颜”以How can I bend my knee and bow before the men of power andpride,Forfeiting all the joy my heart was born to wield?精准还原傲骨与反抗，无情感弱化。

当然，笔者才疏学浅，译作还存在许多不足，请大家不吝赐教。我愿意尽绵薄之力，为中华文化出海减少“文化折扣”做点滴贡献。

从许渊冲的韵律之美到华兹生的叙事之晰，前贤对天姥诗的译介探索从未停歇，却也各有缺憾。在当下文化出海的新语境下，如何以精准的“信”守诗之原意，以流畅的“达”通中西表达，以隽永的“雅”传诗之神韵，让天姥诗的盛唐浪漫真正被世界读懂、认同、喜爱，这不仅是译好一首诗，更是让中华精神跨山海、立潮头，为文化强国建设注入鲜活的跨文化力量。（王永利）