時間:2021-04-06 09:40:01 作者:宇揚翻譯
“知之為知之,不知為不知,是知也。”
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it; — that is knowledge.”這是英國傳教士、著名漢學(xué)家理雅各(James Legge)十九世紀(jì)的版本,他是第一個系統(tǒng)研究、翻譯中國古代經(jīng)典文學(xué)作品的西方學(xué)者。其后很多學(xué)者都翻譯過這句話,各有值得稱道之處。下面我們選取有代表性的幾種譯文,比較并學(xué)習(xí)。
完整的原文為:子曰:“由,誨汝知之乎!知之為知之,不知為不知,是知也?!?,出自《論語·為政》,是孔子告誡學(xué)生仲由(字子路)的一句名言,意思是:孔子說:“子路,告訴你對待知和不知的態(tài)度吧(即對待學(xué)問的態(tài)度)!知道就是知道,不知道就是不知道,這樣才是真正的智慧?!痹缭?500年前,孔子就指出了養(yǎng)成踏實認(rèn)真的學(xué)習(xí)態(tài)度極其重要,只有承認(rèn)自己有所知、有所不知,才能更好地學(xué)習(xí),從而取得進步。
孔子的政治主張、倫理思想、道德觀念和教育原則在國外也影響深遠?!扒迥┕纸堋?strong>辜鴻銘精通英、法、德、拉丁、希臘、馬來亞等9種語言,他的譯文為:To know what it is that you know, and to know what it is that you do not know, — that is understanding.
“書銷中外六十本,詩譯英法惟一人”的翻譯界泰斗許淵沖則譯為:To admit what you know and what you do not know, that is knowledge.
香港著名翻譯家劉殿爵(D. C. Lau)的版本是:To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not, that is knowledge.
著名翻譯家林戊蓀的譯文同出一脈:Say you know when you know, and say you don't know when you don't, that is true knowledge.
美國翻譯家、漢學(xué)家伯頓·華茲生(Burton Watson)對此的理解則是:When you know, to know you know. When you don’t know, to know you don’t know. That’s what knowing is.
美國詩人龐德(Ezra Pound)的譯文頗有些不走尋常路:To know is to act knowledge, and, when you do not know, not to try to appear as if you did, that’s knowing.
以上均是中外著名學(xué)者、翻譯大師的智慧結(jié)晶,值得我們學(xué)習(xí)和借鑒。如按照“Chinglish”的譯法,將這句話譯為“know is know, no know is no know, is know”,肯定是不可取的。
END