張培基英譯中國現代散文選(一) 之《養 花》

養 花 
 ——老舍 
   我愛花，所以也愛養花(1)。我可還沒成為養花專家， 因為沒有工夫去作研究與試驗。我只把養花當作生活中的一種樂趣，花開的大小好壞都不計較， 只要開花我就高興。在我的小院中，到夏天，滿是花草，小貓兒們只好上房去玩耍(2)，地上沒有它們的運動場。 
花雖多，但無奇花異草。珍貴的花草不易養活，看著一棵好花生病欲死是件難過的事。我不愿時時落淚。北京的氣候，對養花來說，不算很好。冬天冷，春天多風，夏天不是干旱就是大雨傾盆；秋天最好，可是忽然會鬧霜凍。在這種氣候里，想把南方的好花養活，我還沒有那么大的本事。因此，我只養些好種易活、自己會奮斗的花草(3)。 
   不過，盡管花草自己會奮斗(4)，我若置之不理，任其自生自滅(5)，它們多數還是會死了的。我得天天照管它們，像好朋友似的關切他們。一來二去(6)，我摸著一些門道：有的喜陰，就別放在太陽地里，有的喜干，就別多澆水。這是個樂趣，摸住門道，花草養活了，而且三年五載(7)老活著、開花，多么有意思呀！不是亂吹，這就是知識呀！多得些知識，一定不是壞事。 
   我不是有腿病嗎，不但不利于行，也不利于久坐。我不知道花草們受我的照顧，感謝我不感謝；我可得感謝它們。在我工作的時候，我總是寫了幾十個字，就到院中去看看，澆澆這棵，搬搬那盆，然后回到屋中再寫一點，然后再出去，如此循環(8)，把腦力勞動與體力勞動結合到一起，有益身心(9)，勝于吃藥。要是趕上狂風暴雨或天氣突變哪，就得全家動員(10)，搶救花草，十分緊張(11)。幾百盆花，都要很快地搶到屋里去，使人腰酸腿疼，熱汗直流。第二天，天氣好轉，又得把花兒都搬出去，就又一次腰酸腿疼，熱汗直流?？墒?，這多么有意思！不勞動，連棵花兒也養不活，這難道不是真理么？ 
   送牛奶的同志，進門就夸“好香”！這使我們全家都感到驕傲。趕到曇花開放的時候，約幾位朋友來看看，更有秉燭夜游的神氣(12)——曇花總在夜里放蕊?；▋悍指耍豢梅譃閿悼茫唾浗o朋友們一些；看著友人拿走自己的勞動果實，心里自然特別喜歡。 
   當然，也有傷心的時候，今年夏天這有這么一回。三百株菊秧還在地上（沒有移入盆中的時候），下了暴雨。鄰家的墻倒了下來，菊秧被砸死者約三十多種，一百多棵！全家都幾天沒有笑容！ 
   有喜有憂，有笑有淚，有花有實，有香有色，既須勞動，又長見識，這就是養花的樂趣。

注釋： 
老舍的《養花》于1956年10月21日發表在《文匯報》上。老舍愛花，寫出了養花的樂趣，視花兒為自己生命的一部分，人花合一。文章短小簡練，樸素雋永。 
(1)“所以也愛養花“譯為hence have taken to growing them，其中動詞短語to take to的意思是“開始喜歡”。此句也可譯為are therefore fond of growing flowers。 
(2)“只好上房去玩耍”譯為they have to sport about in our rooms instead，其中動詞短語to sport about的意思是“嬉戲”（to play and jump about happily）。 
(3)“我只養些好種易活、自己會奮斗的花草”譯時稍作靈活處理：I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate，其中用enjoy a high survival rate（成活率高）表達“好種易活”；用hardy（耐寒、耐勞、能吃苦）表達“會奮斗的”。 
(4)“自己會奮斗”譯為able to weather through by themselves，其中動詞短語to weather through的意思是“對付困難”、“渡過風暴”等。此句也可譯為able to carry on the struggle for existence by themselves，但用字太大、太多。 
(5)“任其自生自滅”不宜按字面直譯，現意譯為abandon them to their own fate。 
(6)“一來二去”的意思是“經過一定的時間”，故譯為in the course of time。 
(7)“三年五載”以靈活的辦法譯為year in year out。 
(8)“然后再出去，如此循環”不宜按字面直譯，現譯為I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again，其中定語back-and-forth作“來來往往”解；go through the same process作“重復同一過程”解。 
(9)“有益身心”可有兩種譯法：to keep me fit in mind and body或to keep me mentally and physically fit。 
(10)“就得全家動員”譯為the whole family will have to turn out，其中動詞短語to turn out的意思是“出動”或“出來參加”。 
(11)“十分緊張”譯為feel keyed up，其中動詞短語to key up的意思是“使緊張”，因此keyed up和excited、tense等同義。 
(12)“更有秉燭夜游的神氣”中的“秉燈夜游”是成語，比喻“及時行樂”，今結合上下文按“夜間秉燭作樂”的意思譯為nocturnal merry-making under candle lights。又“更有……神氣”意即“帶有……的味道”，故全句譯為in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights.

On Growing Flowers 
                ——Lao She 
    I love flowers and hence have taken to growing them. But, short of time to do research and experiment in flower cultivation, I am no gardener at all. I merely take flower cultivation as a pleasure of life. I really don’t care whether or not my flowers will put forth plump and nice-looking blossom. I’ll be delighted as long as they can blossom. In summer, flowers and plants growing in luxuriance in my small courtyard will leave little open space as a playground for the little cats, so they have to sport about in our rooms instead. 
    I grow many flowers, but none of them are exotic or rare ones. It is difficult to grow a precious flower species. And I feel bad to see a good flower dying of illness. I don’t want often to shed tears over that. But Beijing’s climate is more or less unfit for the growing of flowers.  Freezing in winter, windy in spring, and either too dry or too often visited by rainstorms in summer. While autumn is the best of all, it is often plagued by a sudden frost. In a climate like this, it is far beyond my capacity to grow precious flowers of southern breed. Therefore, I only grow flowers and plants that are hardy and enjoy a high survival rate. 
    Although such flowers are able to weather through by themselves, I , however never ignore them or abandon them to their own fate, for otherwise most of them will probably end up dead. I have to care for them every day as if they were my close friends. Thus, in the course of time, I’ve somehow got the hang of flower cultivation some flowers which are accustomed to growing in the shade should not be too much exposed to the sun. Those which prefer dryness should not be watered too often. It gives me much pleasure to know the right way of handling them. How interesting it is to be able to keep my flowers and plants alive and watch them thrive and bloom year in year out! It is no exaggeration to say that there is much knowledge involved in this! And the more knowledge one acquires, the better it is of course. 
    As I have some trouble with my leg, I can’t more around easily, nor can I sit too long. I don’t know if the flowers under my care are grateful to me or not. However, I wish for my part to acknowledge my thanks to them. I often leave off sedentary work after writing a few dozen words and go to the courtyard to take a look at the flowers, watering them and moving about the potted ones.  Then I’ll return to my room to write a bit more. I’ll go through the same back-and-forth process again and again, thus combining mental with manual labour. This is a better way to keep me fit in mind and body than taking medicine. In case of a violent storm or a sudden change of weather, however, the whole family will have to turn out to salvage the flowers and plants. Everybody will then feel keyed up. By the time when we have managed to move the several hundred potted flowers to the rooms in a hurry, we will be dog-tired and wet with perspiration. The next day, when the weather is fine, we will have another round of being dog-tired and wet with perspiration in taking all the flowers out to the courtyard again. How interesting it is! Isn’t it true that without doing manual labour, 
we couldn’t even keep a single flower alive? 
    It filled the whole family with pride whenever the milkman exclaims on entering our gate, “What a sweet smell!” When the night-blooming cereuses are about to be in flower, we will invite some friends to visit us in the evening to feast their eyes on them—in an atmosphere smacking of nocturnal merry-making under candle lights. When the cereuses have branched out, we will pick some of the flowers and give them as a present to our friends. We are of course especially happy to see them take away our fruits of labour. 
    Of course, there is a time to feel sad too. Last summer, a rainstorm hit us when 300 chrysanthemum seedlings in the courtyard were about to be transplanted to pots. Suddenly, 
the wall of our neighbour collapsed and crushed more than 100 seedlings of 30 varieties. The whole family were sad-faced for quiet a few days! 
    Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, flowers and fruit, fragrance and colour, manual labour and increased knowledge—all these make up the joy of flower cultivation.