擬話本、文白融合與短篇小説革新：《澥外奇譚》文體之探

Nihuaben, Integration of Vernacular and Literary Chinese, and Innovations in the Short-Story: The Style of Xiewai qitan

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

作爲中國首部莎士比亞故事漢譯，《澥外奇譚》由達文社1903年出版，與轟動一時的《吟邊燕語》同樣譯自《莎士比亞故事集》，卻長期處於其陰影之下，不僅在晚清的讀者市場未激起水花，到今日的批評界也乏人問津。然而，這部譯作實則見證當時譯家糅合文白傳統、弛解雅俗藩籬的嘗試，其語體選用淺顯文言，文體卻是白話文體，擬話本。譯者藉助重擬標題、敷演故事和化身説書人等方式，大幅改編源語文本，雖執著於實現擬話本的教化功能，卻也在異域詩學的衝擊下，突破這一文體的傳統軌制，以此爲契機，開啓短篇小説文類現代轉型的前期實驗。

Xiewai qitan, the first Chinese translation of Shakespeare tales, was published by Dawenshe in 1903. Translated from Tales from Shakespeare, it shares the same source with Yinbian yanyu and has long been overshadowed by this successor. Not only was Xiewai qitan dismissed by the Late Qing readership, but it has also remained largely ignored by critics until today. Yet this translation in fact demonstrates its translator’s attempt to integrate vernacular and literary Chinese traditions and to blur the line between high and low art. Its language is simple literary Chinese, while its style draws on the vernacular style known as nihuaben. By retitling the tales, expanding the stories, and adopting the storyteller’s voice, the translator heavily adapted the original. While fixated on fulfilling the moralizing mission of nihuaben, he also broke through its traditional stylistic strictures under the impact of foreign poetics. In so doing, he took part in the pioneering efforts to modernize the short story genre.