《基督教远征中国史》有中译本,名为《利玛窦中国札记》(注4),不过不是译自拉丁文原版,而是根据美国的耶稣会士路易斯·加勒赫(Louis Joseph Gallagher)翻译的完整英译本转译的。英译本的全名是“China in the Sixteen Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci: 1583-1610”(十六世纪的中国-利玛窦1583至1610年日记),1953年出版。
前面谈到,利玛窦的日记是用意大利文写的,由金尼阁转译成拉丁文,1953年又由路易斯·加勒赫(Louis Joseph Gallagher)第一次把拉丁文本全部译为英文,中译本则是从英译本转译来的。几经转译,会不会失真?换言之,中译本中对围棋的描述是不是与利玛窦原来的描述相吻合?
英译本对围棋的描述是这样的:
“The Chinese have several games of this kind, but the one they take most seriously is played on a hollowed gaming board of more than
three hundred spaces and played with two hundred black and white pieces. The purpose in this game is to dominate a greater number of spaces. Each one endeavors to drive his opponent's pieces to the middle of the board and in so doing to win over spaces, and the one who accumulates the great number of vacant places wins the game.The magistrates are very keen about this game and frequently use up the greater part of a day playing it. Sometimes it takes players an hour to play a single game. An expert at this particular play will always have a great following, and he is sure to be well known even though this may be his only accomplishment. In fact, some people select these experts as instructors and show them special favor in order to acquire an accurate knowledge of this intricate game.”
众所周知,围棋盘上并没有洞。那么英译本中围棋盘上的“洞”又是从哪里来的呢?根据研究早期欧洲围棋史的荷兰人Jaap K. Blom先生的研究(注9),问题出在金尼阁的拉丁文译本上。金尼阁在翻译“棋盘”时用了一个拉丁文词“alveus”(有的版本是“alueo”),这个词一般专指古代欧洲一种有洞的骰子游戏盘。对于会下围棋的译者,知道围棋盘是什么模样,自然不会出错。但对于从来没见过围棋的译者,这就成了大问题了。事实上,出现错误的并不只是英译本,这将在本文的最后一部分谈到。
翻译产生的歧义:利玛窦的意大利原文与金尼阁的拉丁文译本之比较
利玛窦的意大利文手稿在耶稣会罗马档案馆里深藏了整整三百年,直到1910年,在纪念利玛窦逝世三百周年之际,由汾屠立(Pietro Tacchi Venturi)神父将利氏手稿及其他书稿整理刊行,题为《利玛窦神父历史著作集》(Oprere Storieche de P. Matteo Ricci)。1942年,德礼贤神父(Pasquale M. D'Elia)开始编辑出版《利玛窦全集》(Fonti Ricciane),历时数年方成,共分三卷,广征博引东西方史料,详加注释,是迄今为止最重要最完整的有关利玛窦的文献。
(注8),艾儒略(Giulio P. Aleni,1582-1649)《大西西泰利先生行迹》,转引自方豪《中国天主教史人物传》上册(中华书局,1988),第117页。
(注9)Jaap K. Blom,Go in Europe in the 17 Century,Go World,1982,No.27,p.50-56.
(注10)Gustavus Selenus,Das Schach-Oder Konig-Spiel,Leipzig,1616(注11)Samuel Purchas,Purchas his Pilgrimage,London,1617
(注12)Alvaro Semedo,Relacao da propagacao da fe no reyno da China e outros adjacentes,Madrid,1641.中译本从英译本转译:《大中国志》,何高济等译,上海,上海古籍出版社,1998
(注13)Daniello Bartoli,Dell'historia della Compagnia di Giesv la Cina terza parte dell'Asia,Rome,1663
(注14)Johan Nieuhof,Het gerantschap Der Neerlandtsche Oost IndischeCompagnie, aan den grooten Tartarischen cham, Den Tegenwoordigen Keizer van China,Amsterdam,1665