凡爾納科幻小說中文譯本研究--以《地底旅行》為例

Abstract

西元1900年，凡爾納的《八十日環遊記》首度引進中文的多元文學系統，在接下來的十幾年內，因為適逢梁啟超等人發起「小說界革命」，翻譯科學小說蔚為風潮，凡爾納其他的科幻作品，諸如《海底旅行》、《地底旅行》與《月界旅行》等，也都陸續有了中文譯本。從晚清時期以來，凡爾納的翻譯延續至今，雖然其間因為五四文人的文學取向不同而有所中斷，但挾著「科幻小說之父」的盛名，他的作品依然在文學舞台上佔有一席之地。若我們總結這一百多年的中譯歷程，凡爾納的地位其實經歷了不同的變化，各個時期因為社會歷史背景不同，對於譯者、譯本與翻譯行為也產生了不同的影響。 晚清時期，翻譯文學仍處於文學多元系統的邊緣，而且又受到政治革命的影響，譯者傾向於強調科學的實用價值，把科幻小說當成教育大眾的工具，因此對於譯本便有許多更動。以魯迅的《地底旅行》中譯本來說，可以歸納出三個操縱的方向：一、符合傳統小說的框架。二、為政治目的服務。三、省略或簡化科學的描述。而這三個特色同樣見諸於同一時期凡爾納其他的科幻譯本。 到了五四時代，知識份子對於通俗小說的譯介不再熱衷，加上正規科學在中國落地生根，已經無人關心科普問題，凡爾納的科幻小說翻譯於是陷入停頓。 政府遷台之後，凡爾納科幻小說的翻譯漸漸回復，不過這個時候的出版社與譯者幾乎都把凡爾納的作品當成是青少年兒童讀物，因此在從事翻譯工作之時，便受到兒童文學翻譯規範的支配，絕大多數的譯本都以可接受性為主，高度充分性的翻譯極為少見。這個時期所翻譯的作品都是晚清就已經介紹過的，而且跟晚清一樣，翻譯的來源依舊是轉譯本，只是不同之處在於晚清以日文為主要轉譯的中介，而這個時候則以英譯本為主要來源。分析這個時期的《地底旅行》譯本之後，筆者發現三個操縱的大方向：一、為教育目的服務。二、迎合青少年兒童的閱讀需求。三、還原科幻成分。因為把他的小說定位成青少年兒童文學，因此沙維特所提出的兒童文學翻譯規範「教育兒童」與「符合兒童的閱讀能力」兩項，譯者均有相對應的操縱策略。至於原著小說中的科學描寫，大多數已經譯出了，但是因為受到上述規範的影響，有些科學段落依然遭到刪除或簡化。 綜觀整體，轉譯似乎是所有時代譯者的一致選擇，要尋找從法文譯出的版本極為不易，因此他的中文譯名一直都沒有固定，中文讀者對他的重視無法提升有一部份也導因於此。其次，凡爾納的原創小說數量有60幾部，而真正譯出的卻十分有限，尤其台灣地區幾乎都以科幻小說為重，相較於英語世界對他的認識在逐步修正，我們的翻譯則一直都在原地踏步。最重要的一點是，雖然所有的譯本都以「科幻小說之父」為號召，但是卻沒有讓他名實相符，也就是說，自晚清以來，因為各種不同的原因，某些科幻文字從來就沒有機會跟中文讀者見面。

In the year 1900, Jules Verne’s Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (Around the World in 80 Days) was introduced into the Chinese literary polysystem for the first time. In the following two decades, Liang Qi-chao and the literary men of his times initiated “the Revolution of Novels.” Translation of Science Fiction became trendy. Jules Verne’s other science fiction, such as Voyage au centre de la terre（A Journey to the Center of the Earth）, Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers（Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas）, and De la terre à la lune trajet en 97 heures et 20 minutes（From the Earth to the Moon）, etc. were translated into Chinese one after another. Ever since, the translation activities of Jules Verne’s works continued until the present day, although, during the May Fourth Movement, there was a stop due to the new elite’s change of literary tastes. Jules Verne’s works are still rendered today, mostly due to his reputation as “the Father of Science Fiction.” If we look back upon the entire translation process of his works spanning over one hundred years, we will find that his stature in the Chinese polysystem does not remain still. In every period, different social and historical factors affect the translators and the translations. In Late Qing period, the translated literature was on the edge of the Chinese literary polysystem. Meanwhile, the political agendas were guiding translators to focus on educational values of Science Fiction. That is, using them as a tool to educate the ignorant public. As a result, most translation products were not adequate. For instance, Lu Xun applied three norms in translating Voyage au centre de la terre: (1) Fitting the foreign text into the framework of traditional novels (2) Serving the political aganda (3) Omitting or simplifying science. And these norms were also shown in the other Jules Verne’s Science-Fiction renditions in that time. When the May Fourth Movement started, the new elite were no longer interested in the translation of popular novels. Moreover, the development of real science led the scientists to ignore the popularity of science. As a representative of science fiction and popular novels, Jules Verne’s novels were forgotten in the ensuing thirty years. After 1949, translation of Jules Verne’s science fiction gradually revived in Taiwan. But during this period, both publishers and translators viewed him as an writer of children’s literature. When the job of translation was undertaken, translators were dominated by norms governing translation of children's literature. Hence, most of the Chinese translations were not adequate. Another characteristic featuring the translating activities was the limited choices. Novels translated in this time were all re-translations of the late-Qing period. And like late-Qing period, the source of translation was not original. The difference was that late-Qing translators translated from Japanese, while modern counterparts translated from English. Chinese translations of Voyage au centre de la terre after 1949 shared some common features: (1) Serving the educational purposes (2) Adjusting to the comprehension ability of young readers (3) Restoring the lost science elements. Since translators now viewed his works as children’s literature, they modified the translated texts according to the two norms proposed by Zohar Shavit: translation of children's literatrue should be (1) educationally good for the child (2) adjusting to the child’s ability to read and comprehend. As to the science descriptions deleted by the late-Qing translators, most were retained. But due to the influence of the above two norms, some science-based paragraphs were still deleted or abridged. Seen diachronically, there are some common problems regarding Jules Verne’s translations. First, few translators chose to translate from French. Because of this, the Chinese translation of his name never sticks to one version. This, in turn, leads to his low celebrity among Chinese readers. Second, only some of Jules Verne’ sixty-odd novels are translated into Chinese. In Taiwan, these translations consist mostly of science fiction. If we compare this phenomenon with that of the English worlds, we would find that our understanding of Jules Verne is far from complete. Most important of all, even though all translators and publishers call him “Father of Science Fiction”, but they never let him fulfill his reputation. That is, since late-Qing, owing to various social and historical influences, some of his proud scientific endeavors have never revealed themselves.