張培基英譯中國現代散文選 之《我的父母之鄉》

我的父母之鄉 
         ——冰心 
清曉的江頭(1)， 
白霧茫茫； 
是江南天氣(2)， 
雨兒來了—— 
我只知道有蔚藍的海， 
卻原來還有碧綠的江， 
這是我父母之鄉！ 
繁星156(3) 
    福建福州永遠是我的故鄉，雖然我不在那里生長，但它是我的父母之鄉！ 
    到今日為止，我這一生中只回去過兩次。第一次是一九一一年，是在冬季。從嚴冷枯黃的北方歸來(4)， 看到展現在我眼前的青山碧水(5)，紅花綠葉，使我驚訝而歡喜！我覺得我的生命的風帆，已從蔚藍的海，駛進了碧綠的江。這天我們在閩江口從大船下到小船，駛到大橋頭，來接我們的伯父堂兄們把我們包圍了起來，他們用鄉音和我的父母熱烈地交談。我的五歲的大弟弟悄悄地用山東話問我說：“他們怎么都會說福州話？” 因為從來在我們姐弟心里，福州話是最難懂難說的！ 
    這以后的一年多時間里，我們就過起了福州城市的生活。新年、元宵、端午、中秋……歲時節日，吃的玩的都是十分豐富而有趣。特別是燈節，那時我們家住在南后街，那里是燈市的街，元宵前后，“花市燈如晝”，燈影下人流潮涌，那光明絢麗的情景就說不盡了(6)。 
    第二次回去，是在一九五六年，也是在冬季。那時還沒有鷹廈鐵路，我們人大代表團是從江西坐汽車進去的。一路上紅土公路，道滑如拭(7)，我還沒有看見過土鋪的公路，維修得這樣平整的！這次我不但到了福州，還到了漳州、泉州、廈門、鼓浪嶼……那是祖國的南疆了。在廈門前線(8)，我還從望遠鏡里看見了金門島上的行人和牛，看得很清楚…… 
    回憶中的情景很多，在此就不一一描寫了。總之，我很喜歡我的父母之鄉。那邊是南國風光，山是青的，水是綠的，小溪流更是清可見底！院里四季都有花開。水果是從枇杷、荔枝、龍眼，一直吃到福桔！對一個孩子來說，還有什么比這個更愜意的呢？ 
    我在故鄉走的地方不多，但古跡、僑鄉，到處可見，福建華僑，遍于天下(9)。我所到過的亞、非、歐、美各國都見到辛苦創業(10)的福建僑民，握手之余，情溢言表。在他們家里、店里，吃著福州菜，喝著茉莉花茶，使我覺得作為一個福建人是四海都有家的。 
    我的父母之鄉是可愛的。有人從故鄉來(11)，或是有朋友新近到福建去過，我都向他們問起福建的近況。他們說：福建比起二十多年前來，進步得不可辨認了。最近呢，農業科學化了，又在植樹造林(12)，山嶺田地更加郁郁蔥蔥了。他們都動員我回去看看，我又何嘗不想呢(13)？不但我想，在全世界的天涯海角，更不知有多少人在想！我愿和故鄉的人，以及普天下的福建僑民，  一同在精神和物質文明方面，把故鄉建設得更美好(14)！

注釋： 
冰心出生后不久就遠離故鄉福州，以后只回去過兩次。她這篇短文寫于1982年3月29日，以輕倩的筆調，抒寫有關故鄉和童年的回憶，并對當時故鄉的建設表達了深切的關懷。 
(1)“江頭”指閩江入海處，故譯the River mouth。 
(2)“江南天氣”譯為southern climes，其中climes是英語詩歌用語，常用復數，意同climate。 
(3)《繁星》是冰心1923年出版的第一詩集，收小詩凡164首。現將《繁星》譯為Sparkling Stars。 
(4)“從嚴冷枯黃的北方歸來”譯為Returned from the bitter cold North with its drab and dried up vegetation，其中Returned是不及物動詞return的過去分詞，在此作形容詞。又vegetation是譯文中的添加成分，作“草木”、“植被”解。 
(5)“青山碧水”譯為sapphire mountains and emerald rivers，其中sapphire和emerald均為實顏色詞，原意分別為“藍寶石”和“綠寶石”。譯文用這兩個實物詞是為增加修辭效果。 
(6)“就說不盡了”意即“就難以形容了”，故譯為beyond description，為英語成語。 
(7)“道滑如拭”意即“道路平坦”，譯為The highway…was as smooth as a mirror，其中mirror為英語常用有關比喻。 
(8)“在廈門前線”譯為At the Xianmen seaside，其中用seaside代替frontline，是為便于國外讀者理解。 
(9)“福建華僑，遍于天下”譯為Fujianese expatriates are found all over the world，其中expatriates的意思是“移居國外者”、“離鄉背井者”。此句也可譯為Overseas Chinese from Fujian。 
(10)“辛苦創業”譯為have started from scratch by the sweat of their brow，其中to start from scratch和by the sweat of one’s brow均為英語成語，分別作“白手起家”和“靠自己辛勤勞動”解。 
(11)“有人從故鄉來”也可譯為somebody who has come from Fuzhou，但不如somebody hailing from Fuzhou簡潔，其中to hail作“來自”解。 
(12)“農業科學化了，又在植樹造林”譯為people there have gone in for scientific farming and afforestation，其中to go in for是成語，作“致力于”、“從事于”解，在譯文中是添加成分，原文雖無其詞，而有其意。 
(13)“我何嘗不想呢“譯為Yes，I am more than eager to do so，其中more than作very或extremely解。 
(14)“把故鄉建設得更美好”譯為do my bit to make a still better place of my ancestral home，其中to do one’s bit為成語，作“盡自己一份力量”、“作一份貢獻”解，在譯文中是添加成分，原文雖無其詞，而有其意。

The Land of My Ancestors 
                        ——Bing Xin 
The River mouth at dawn, 
Behind a white haze of mist, 
‘Tis southern climes, 
Behold, the rain is coming. 
I have seen the blue sea all along, 
Little aware of this green River, 
O the land of my ancestors! 
--Sparkling Stars, 156 

    Fuzhou of Fujian Province will always be my old home. Though I was brought up elsewhere, Fuzhou is nevertheless the land of my ancestors! 
    As yet, I have been back to Fuzhou no more than twice in my lifetime. I made the first tripe in the winter of 1911. Returned from the bitter cold North with its drab and dried up vegetation, I was amazed and delighted when greeted by the charming scenery of sapphire mountains and emerald rivers as well as red flowers and green leaves. I felt the sailing boat of my life steering its way into the green River after leaving the blue sea behind. At the Minjiang River, we changed from the big ship to a small boat, which took us to Daqiaotou (Big Bridge), 
where we were met by Uncle and cousins. They gathered round us and talked warmly with my parents in the local dialect. Thereupon, my 5-year-old younger brother whispered in my ear with a Shandong accent, “How come they can all speak the Fuzhou dialect?” We had both thought that the Fuzhou dialect was indeed most difficult for anyone to learn. 
    From then on, we lived an urban life for more than a year in Fuzhou. During such festivals as Lunar New Year, Lantern, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn, we all celebrated the festivities with plenty of food and fun. Particular mention, however, should be made of the Lantern Festival when Nanhoujie, the street known for its lantern fair and also the street where we lived, became as bright as broad daylight at night with myriads of lanterns and streams of spectators. The splendor and magnificence of the scene is beyond all description. 
    I made the second visit in 1956, also in winter. As the Yingtan_Xiamen Railway had not yet been built, the NPC delegation, with myself as a member, had to go from Jiangxi 
Province by car. The highway from Jiangxi to Fuzhou, paved with red soil, was as smooth as a mirror. It was the most level soil-paved highway I had ever seen. This time I visited not only Fuzhou, but also Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Gulangyu—the southern frontiers of our country. At the Xiamen seaside, I could see clearly through a telescope pedestrians and cows on the Quemoy Islands. 
    My experiences of this trip, however, are too numerous to be recounted one by one here. Anyway, I deeply love Fuzhou, my ancestral home. Over there we have the typical southern scenery with blue mountains, green waters, limpid books…! There in the courtyard we can always see some kind of flowers in full bloom throughout the year. Fruits ranging from loquats, lichees, longans to tangerines are in plenty. Is there anything more palatable to a little child than these fruits? 
I did not visit all the local attractions in Fuzhou. Everywhere we could find historical relics as well as villages and towns inhabited by relatives of overseas Chinese. Fujianese expatriates are found all over the world. They have mostly started from scratch by the sweat of their brow. When I met some of them on my visits to Asian, African European and American countries, they all expressed warm feeling towards me while shaking my hands. As I ate Fuzhou food and sipped jasmine tea in their homes or shops, I felt that being a Fujianese, I could make myself at home wherever I travelled in the world. 
    My ancestral home is so endearing. Whenever I meet somebody hailing from Fuzhou or a friend who has recently been there, I always inquire of them about the present conditions of Fujian. They all tell me that compared with two decades ago, Fujian has made so much progress that it is now almost beyond recognition. Recently I have learned that people there have gone in for scientific farming and afforestation so that green and luxuriant vegetation has appeared on all mountains and fields.   People have been advising me to pay another visit to my old home. Yes, I am more than eager to do so. And so are my numerous fellow townsmen in all corners of the world. I hope that together with all the people in my home town as well as all overseas Chinese from Fujian, I can do my bit to make a still better place of my ancestral home, both materially and culturally.