Guo changhai
Mr. Cheng Zenghou's article "Hugo is a Great Friend of the People of China" introduces in detail Hugo's friendly exchanges with the people of China, which is very enlightening. However, there are some omissions in describing the spread of Hugo's works in China. According to my personal understanding, I would like to make the following additions.
Hugo's name first caught the attention of readers in China in 1902. 165438+ 10 This year, Liang Qichao founded China's first novel magazine, New Novel, in Yokohama. In the centerfold of the second issue, two photos of foreign great writers were printed, one was Byron of Britain, which was translated into Byron at that time; The other is Hugo, who was translated into Russia at that time.
Hugo's life and works were originally introduced by Ma, a China student studying in Tokyo. 1In the 28th issue of Xinmin Cong Bao published on March 27th, 903, there was a film on European studies written by him, and the third section was1two great writers in the 9th century, which was about Byron and Hugo. Ma wrote:
If it rains (a noisy Russia-sic. The author is a great French writer, a celebrity who really loves freedom, a prisoner of a country and a party. He is a great British writer, a great soldier, a great knight, a philosopher and a generous family. If the second son, let a person fall in love, let a person admire, let a person admire, let a person too tired.
Then, Ma introduced Hugo's poetry collections, including five * * * books, namely: short songs and folk songs, oriental books, punishment books, meditation books, legends of past dynasties and bad years, and also introduced Hugo's novels, namely Notre Dame de Paris, Les Miserables and Hugo's plays. Although only the title of the book is introduced, and it is all in French original, it is detailed enough. Then, briefly describe Hugo's life. Although this passage is only over 300 words, it was the only article introducing Hugo at that time and even later 10-20 years, at least before the May Fourth Movement.
More importantly, Hugo's love story when he was young and his love letter with his lover Adele deeply touched the heart of Guangxi Youzima. He translated Hugo's poem recalling the hazy love of that year into Chinese as the end of the above article. What's rare is that Ma used China's traditional old poem form to translate, and he chose the seven laws of strict antithesis to complete it. This poem is as follows:
This is a virtue book for young people, but now I am in tears. Oblique wind and rain increase people's age, and historical events are always empty. Remember love for a hundred years, and go to the national disaster for ten years. Where does the vast kingdom of heaven go? The world is like a dream!
This poem has obviously lost its original flavor of French poetry. It is understandable that the cultural backgrounds of the two nations are different, resulting in estrangement. In particular, Ma's strict antithesis technique embodies the metrical style of the original poem, but adds the China cultural features of this poem, such as the couplet of "oblique wind and rain", which has been praised by some famous artists. Gao Xu, a poet and critic of Nanshe, especially praised this poem, saying that Ma's translation was "quite strange and novel" and that the poet "had a special hug that was beyond words." (See Gao Xu's Poems on Endless Loneliness).
This poem translated by Ma is the first example of Hugo's works entering China. Three months later, Lu Xun translated Regret for the Past, and six months later, Su translated Les Miserables.
19 12, Gao Jun, a young student studying in Shanghai Aurora College, finished an assignment at home during the summer vacation and translated another poem by Hugo: For Peter. The whole poem * * * five. He showed these five translated poems to his cousin Yao Shizi, who was overjoyed and praised while chanting. Immediately put it into his own "Poems on the Sword Flute Tower" and send it to Shanghai Pacific Daily for publication, and publicly recommend it to readers. The whole poem is as follows:
Young people are the hardest to find. Don't envy them. How difficult it is to be in the prime of life, sorrow and joy give birth to resentment. Laughter is more hypocritical than tears.
If you are young, you don't know how to worry. Who cares when you go? Like a long wind, it rushes to infinity. The cheers faded away and the seagulls drifted away.
Don't think about it too hard. You are in the morning, and the spring breeze is a secret. Flowers begin to bloom, but it takes time to climb.
After a long time, Yuner regretted it. Have the courage to make friends and protect your hands with words. There are many joys and sorrows, sighing disloyalty.
Life is hard and joy is fun. Good looks, bright eyes. My eyes are almost bright and my heart is ready to flow. Have fun, don't frown.
Although the translation of these five poems is also in the form of old-fashioned poems, they have greater freedom in language use because of their archaic style. The content is also gratifying in gracefu, which is "moved" (Yao Shizi's language). Unlike Lu Xun and Su's translation of Hugo's works from English, this poem is directly translated from French, so it largely retains the style of the original text.
The translator of this poem, Gao Junping, is named Ping Zi. A native of Jinshan, Songjiang, Jiangsu, was born in a scholarly family. Uncle Gao Chuiwan, brother Gao and cousin Yao Shizi are all celebrities in modern poetry circles and the backbone of the Southern Society. Every elegant school has poems handed down from generation to generation. He was only 24 years old when he translated this poem. Even more surprising, he is Gao, an astronomer in China, who will be famous in the world in the future. There is a mountain peak on the moon, which is named after him and can be a much-told story in Chinese and French literature.