翻译：张爱玲《到底是上海人》

我去买肥皂，听见一个小学徒向他的同伴解释：“喏，就是‘张勋’的‘勋’，‘功勋’的‘勋’，不是‘薰风’的‘薰’。”

I went to buy soap and heard a little shop apprentice explaining to his partner: "Hey, the character you want is the xun [merit] in the name Zhang Xun, or 'work of merit,' not the xun [fragrance] in the word `xunfeng' [pleasant breeze]."

新闻报上登过一家百货公司的开幕广告，用骈散并行的阳湖派体裁写出切实动人的文字，关于选择礼品不当的危险，结论是：“友情所系，讵不大哉！”似乎是讽刺，然而完全是真话，并没有夸大性。

The News printed an advertisement for the grand opening of a department store that was written in a genuinely compelling mixture of parallel and free-style prose in the manner of the Qing dynasty Yanghu School.' On the dangers of selecting the wrong gift, the advertisement had this to say: "When friendship hangs in the balance, how great the stakes?" Seemingly a parody, yet quite true nonetheless, and not at all overstated.

上海人之“通”并不限于文理清顺，世故练达。到处我们可以找到真正的性灵文字。去年的小报上有一首打油诗，作者是谁我已经忘了，可是那首诗我永远忘不了。

The knowingness of the Shanghainese is not limited to their facility with language and proficiency in the ways of the world. One can also find specimens of spontaneously spirited and unaffected writing almost anywhere in the city. Last year, one of the tabloids printed a doggerel verse by an author whose name I have already forgotten, although I will never forget the poem itself.

两个女伶请作者吃了饭，于是他就作诗了：“樽前相对两头牌，张女云姑一样佳。塞饱肚皮连赞道：难觅任使踏穿鞋！”

Two actresses had invited the author to share a meal, and the occasion prompted him to write: "At table with two of the greats / Miss Zhang and Miss Yun share lovely traits / After eating my fill I continue to sing their praise / Such an opportunity doesn't come every day."

多么可爱的，曲折的自我讽嘲！这里面有无可奈何，有容忍与放任——由疲乏而产生的放任，看不起人，也不大看得起自己，然而对于人与己依旧保留着亲切感。

Such a lovably roundabout sort of self-deprecation! There is helplessness, magnanimity, and indulgence here— an indulgence born of exhaustion, when one looks down on others but also looks down on oneself and yet still retains a sense of intimacy with both oneself and others. I saw another couplet on a streetcar that expressed the same sentiment with even greater clarity.

更明显地表示那种态度的有一副对联，是我在电车上看见的，用指甲在车窗的黑漆上刮出字来：“公婆有理，男女平权。”一向是“公说公有理，婆说婆有理，”由他们去罢！各有各的理。

The words had been scratched with a finger across the black coating on the window of the tram: "Grandpa and Grandma each have their reasons, men and women their equal rights." The saying has always been "Grandpa has his reasons, and Grandma says she's right," so why bother to ascertain who's really wrong? Both of them are in the right.

“男女平等”，闹了这些年。平等就平等罢！——又是由疲乏而起的放任。那种满脸油汗的笑，是标准中国幽默的特征。

And what with the years of trouble caused by the proposition that "men and women have equal rights," why not just let them be equal? Once again, this is a case of an indulgence that stems from sheer exhaustion. The grin stretched across a face covered in sweat and grime is emblematic of Chinese-style humor.

上海人是传统的中国人加上近代高压生活的磨练。新旧文化种种畸形产物的交流，结果也许是不甚健康的，但是这里有一种奇异的智慧。

Shanghainese are traditional Chinese people tempered by the high pressure of modern life. The misshapen products of this fusion of old and new culture may not be entirely healthy, but they do embody a strange and distinctive sort of wisdom.

谁都说上海人坏，可是坏得有分寸。上海人会奉承，会趋炎附势，会混水里摸鱼，然而，因为他们有处世艺术，他们演得不过火。关于“坏”，别的我不知道，只知道一切的小说都离不了坏人。好人爱听坏人的故事，坏人可不爱听好人的故事。

Everyone says Shanghainese people are mean, but their meanness is measured. Shanghainese know how to flatter and deceive, how to curry favor with those in power, how to fish in troubled waters. But because they also understand the arts of life, their practice of these arts never goes beyond the bounds of propriety. And as far as meanness goes, the only thing I know for certain is that every fiction needs a villain. Good people like to hear stories about mean people, but bad people most certainly do not enjoy stories about those who are good.

因此我写的故事里没有一个主角是个“完人”。只有一个女孩子可以说是合乎理想的，善良、慈悲、正大，但是，如果她不是长得美的话，只怕她有三分讨人厌。美虽美，也许读者们还是要向她叱道：“回到童话里去！”在《白雪公主》与《玻璃鞋》里，她有她的地盘。上海人不那么幼稚。

This is why none of my stories has for its main character a saint. There is only one girl who might be said to approach the ideal, being kind, compassionate, and righteous, but if she weren't so pretty, I am afraid she might end up being more than a little annoying. Even with her beauty, many readers might well feel like telling her to go back to the fairy tale where she came from. She might have a place in a story like "Snow White" or "Cinderella." But Shanghainese people are not that naive.

我为上海人写了一本香港传奇，包括《沉香屑一炉香》、《二炉香》、《茉莉香片》、《心经》、《琉璃瓦》、《封锁》、《倾城之恋》七篇。写它的时候，无时无刻不想到上海人，因为我是试着用上海人的观点来察看香港的。只有上海人能够懂得我的文不达意的地方。写它的时候，无时无刻不想到上海人，因为我是试着用上海人的观点来察看香港的。只有上海人能够懂得我的文不达意的地方。

I have written a book of Hong Kong romances for Shanghainese readers, including the seven stories "Aloeswood Ashes: The First Incense Brazier," "Aloeswood Ashes: The Second Incense Brazier," "jasmine Tea," "Heart Sutra," "Glazed Roof Tiles," "Blockade," and "Love in a Fallen City." The entire time I was writing these stories, I was thinking of Shanghainese people, because I wanted to try to observe Hong Kong through Shanghainese eyes. Only people from Shanghai will be able truly to understand the parts where I wasn't able to make my meaning clear.

我喜欢上海人，我希望上海人喜欢我的书。

I like Shanghainese people, and I hope the Shanghainese will like my book.返回搜狐，查看更多