"I am 3/4ths Canadian, and one 4th New Englander - I had ancestors on both sides in the Revolutionary war." - Elizabeth Bishop
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Sunday, November 14, 2010

伊丽莎白·毕晓普 -- Elizabeth Bishop in China

Over the past six months the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Blog has had visits from eighty-five different countries. This week we hope to receive our first visitors from the People's Republic of China! Megan Williams, who through the good offices of Strategic Arts Management has been an enormous help to the Centenary Committee in its quest for funding of the year's activities, is visiting Beijing to attend a UNESCO conference on cultural diversity, and plans to bring the blog to the attention of the participants. In celebration of this extension of our international outreach work, we will be making posts throughout the week describing Chinese language resources for Bishop Studies.

Of all Elizabeth Bishop's poems, it is perhaps "One Art" which has been most widely translated. Here are three versions in Chinese:

[1]

要学会失去的本领并不难;
许多事物似乎都充满被失去的意图,
失去对于它们并不是灾祸。

每天失去一些东西。接受失去门钥
和糟塌掉一个小时带来的波动。
要学会失去的本领并不难。

然后练习失去得更多、更快:
场所,还有名字,还有你打算去的
地方。这些都不会带来灾祸。

我失去我母亲的手表。瞧啊!我最后
或倒数最后的三座心爱的房子都没了。
要学会失去的本领并不难。

我失去两座城市,可爱的城市。还有更广阔的,
一些我拥有的王国、两条河、一块大陆。
我想念它们,但这不是什么灾祸。

——甚至失去你(那开玩笑的口吻,我所
喜欢的恣态)我都不应该说谎。显然
要学会失去的本领并不太难
尽管看来有点像(写下来呀!)像灾祸。

[2]

学会失去本非难事,
原有很多东西是不屑被弄失的,
不见了它们不算灾祸。

每天都会不见了一些东西。
已学会忍受不见了钥匙的烦心,
和虚度时光的懊恼。
学会失去真非难事。

于是渐渐失去得更多,忘记得更快:
地点,人名以及想过要去的地方。
这些都是些无妨的失去,失去也无妨。

我弄丢了妈妈的表。你瞧!
连我仅有的心爱之居也没能最后为我留下。
学会失去本页非难事。

两座城市,可爱的城市,但我却记不真切了。还有,
更广袤的,我的故土,两条河流,一片大陆。
我一直念念不忘,但那算不得灾祸。

--即使失去了你(调侃的口吻,我所爱看的身姿)
我还是不能出说违心的话语。诚然,
学会失去本非难事,但这次似乎(还是写下来吧!)
一场未曾遇过的灾祸。

[3]

一门艺术
  
  失去的艺术不难掌握:
  太多事物似乎怀有失去的意愿
  因此它们的丧失不是灾难。
  
  每天都要失去什么。丢了门钥匙
  糟糕度过的时刻,这不安都要接受。
  失去的艺术不难掌握。
  
  接着练习失去的更多,失去更快:
  地方,名字,还有你想要去旅行的
  地方。这一切没一样会带来灾难。
  
  我丢了母亲的表。可是看吧!我最后的,或
  几乎是最后的,三个钟爱的房子中的一个没了。
  失去的艺术不难掌握。
  
  我失去了两个城市,可爱的城市。还有,更广阔些,
  我拥有的一些地域,两条河流,一个大陆。
  我怀念它们,可那不是灾难。
  
  ——甚至失去你(戏谑的语气,我喜爱的
  一种姿态)我不该说谎。很明显
  失去的艺术并不太难掌握。
  尽管它会看起来(写下它!)像灾难。

1 comment:

  1. really nice to see the Chinese translations here!
    I've known at least three other versions of this poem in Chinese. I'd say though villanelle is hardly translatable, they all did a good job. And there're many Bishop lovers in China, including me:)

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