中译英｜徐涛《历史的面孔》之播种者梁启超：以今日之我战昔日之我

2023-11-14 03:11

【原文】

梁启超似乎是一个没有原则的人，在政治上总是不停地倒戈。但是，他变的是手段和主张，而不变的是本质。正如他自己所说的，他的本质就是爱国。

他起初“保皇”是为了爱国，后来认为“保皇”不对，参加“革命”也是为了爱国，主张“君主立宪”，是因为他当时认为君主立宪制更适合这个国家。后来他发现不对，君主立宪制在中国行不通，转而主张民主共和，这都是在寻找解决国家问题的最好方案。坚守本质和目标不变，当某种手段和主张不合时宜的时候，不断地更换方式，这种“善变”，不是贬义的。

【参考译文】

As a man of politics, time and again Liang Qichao switched sides, appearing to be a man without principles. However, what changed were the means and ideas he adopted; what changed not was his aspiration, which, as he said, was to better his country.

At first, he championed monarchy because he thought it to be the best for his country; later, he came to realize that monarchy was an impasse and turned reformist; he then advocated for constitutional monarchy, thinking that it suited China better; but upon finding out that it did not, he became a proponent of a democratic republic. He was seeking the best solutions to the many malaises of China. He, who kept adjusting his approach in response to the call of the times while remaining true to his original aspiration, may be called changeable, but by no means in a bad way.

翻译组：

Iris，博物馆小可爱

校对组：

Very，男，电气民工，经济学人资浅爱好者

Ithil，男，胡辣汤爱好者，世界杯冠军、三星阿根廷球迷

解析组：

Ithil，男，胡辣汤爱好者，世界杯冠军、三星阿根廷球迷

【翻译解析】

要把这一段翻好，最关键的是要把握住梁启超政治思想变化的历程。“保皇”，指的是甲午新败、公车上书之时，梁启超还是意欲维护封建君主专制的，所以这里翻译为championed monarchy。所谓“参加革命”，指的其实是戊戌变法，所以处理为turned reformist，指梁启超试图以改良主义救国。君主立宪制自不必说，“转而主张民主共和”，可以理解为“梁启超转而呼吁建立民主共和国”，就是说此时他已彻底放弃了改良主义，认为必须推翻君主制，才能救中国，因此处理为he became a proponent of a democratic republic。