"Take an axe to carve a handle" (操斧): On how the translation transforms the literature

ELETA, Relinque Alicia
Granada University

In the preface to his Poem on Literature (Wenfu文賦), Lu Ji (陸機261-303) evokes one of the songs of The Book of Odes (Shijing詩經), "Carving a handle" (豳風，伐柯), to establish the principle that the newly created literature inevitably transforms the existing one. Indeed with such a reference, he himself has transformed the meaning of the poem and even betrayed it: the original idea (the requirement that, to find a good maiden, is imperative comply with relevant rites, meaning which is still preserved today in the expression "carving a handle"伐柯for “matchmaker”) has little to do with the sense that Lu Ji gives to it. The obsession of this author to show the vitality of literature and their need for continuous renewal is evident throughout his work, and bridging the gap, points clearly to what theorists of the twentieth century, such as Julia Kristeva (1941) and Mikhail Bakthin (1895-1975) defined as Intertextuality.

From my point of view, the same principle of using a previous text and transforming it into a new one would apply to translation and literary translation in particular. Literary translation always moves in a shifting ground, the conflict and the need to bargain between fidelity to the original text and the adaptation to the culture that receives it. And we should never forget that we are dealing with "literature", a form of expression which specific tool is language. To illustrate the topic, I’m going to use some specific cases of the Spanish translation of the novel Jin Ping Mei金瓶梅(16th century) to explore the problematic relationships between the transformation of the concept of literariness—with its required effects of estrangement and diversion, or the existence of the idiolect in a work—, the risks of Orientalism, and finally, the fidelity between the original text and its version in a different language.

Unlike the translation of contemporary literature, whose production is a reflection of an important globalization, translation of classical literature can crucially influence new literary concepts, challenge preset approaches and, no doubt, transform language and create new expressions or metaphors that enrich the language and literature of reception. Horace (65 BC - 8 BC) in his Epistolaad Pisones did say: “Just as forests change their leaves year by year and the first drop to the ground, so the old generation of words perishes, and new ones, like the rising tide of the young, flourish and grow strong” (trans. L. Golden). The translation of classical literature thus becomes a perfect tool that nourishes the new literature of the countries that it reaches.

“操斧伐柯”——翻译如何改变文学的面貌

雷琳克
西班牙格拉纳达大学

在《文赋》的序言中，陆机（261-303）以《诗经·豳风·伐柯》为例，提出了如下原则：新生的文本会不可避免地改变现有文本的面 貌。参照这个原则，陆机实际上也改变了诗的原意：诗的原意（为了求得佳人，必须遵循相关礼仪，此即“伐柯为媒”流传至今的意思）和他赋予它的意义相去甚 远。陆机对于文本的生命力以及它们不断求新的兴趣在整篇《文赋》中流露得十分明显。跨越时代的鸿沟，陆机的兴趣清晰印证了20世纪理论家，诸如克里斯蒂娃（Julia Kristeva）（1941）和巴赫金（Mikhail Bakthin）（1895-1975）所定义的互文性。

在笔者看来，使用前文本并将其转换为一个新文本的原则通常同样适用于翻译，特别是文学翻译。文学翻译总发生在变换的语境中，在忠实于原著与适应目的语文化这两者之间寻求平衡。笔者将使用小说《金瓶梅》（16世纪）西班牙语译本中的一些具体案例，探讨文学性这个概念的转变——这个概念本身要求达到陌生化与偏离效果，或作品中存在的个性化表达——同东方主义及译文对原文的忠实性这三者间值得质疑的关系。

当代文学的翻译机制是全球化的一个重要反映，与之不同，经典文学的翻译则根本性地影响着新的文学概念，挑战预设的方法。而且毋庸置疑，经典文本的翻译也可改换语言形式，创造新的表达或隐喻，这能丰富文化接受者的语言和文学。贺拉斯（65 BC - 8 BC）在《诗艺》中说，“正如森林年复一年地代谢，之前的叶子总会落下，旧时代的话语也会消灭，新词汇则像年轻人般涌出，繁荣兴旺，茁壮成长。”（L. 戈登译）古典文学的翻译因而变成了美妙的养料，滋育着新生的民族文学。