《三體》英文版譯者被曝擅自修改翻譯曲解原意，評論區(qū)眾說紛紜

I'm sure there for some, any racism or sexism just slots into their existing preconceptions about these topics. And for others these failings fall into the category of “things that aren't perfect, but which kids today should be less whiney and more thick-skinned about, after all I had to deal with it and I turned out ok”.

我確定對于某些人來說，種族主義和性別歧視是完全符合他們對于科幻這類話題的理解的。而對于其他人來說，這些東西屬于那些“雖然不算完美，但是今天的孩子們也不應該抱怨，應該學著多忍耐一點，畢竟我自己也是這么過來的，現(xiàn)在我也挺好的”的方面。

For my part, I know that even in the 1990s, when I really started reading the sci-fi more extensively, I would sometimes come across some elements like these that would bother me (though in retrospect anything that rose to my level of notice was probably just the tip of the iceberg). And I preferred thar storied not contain these kinds of things. But since it was so prent, it was difficult to avoid without skipping swaths of the genre entirely. And there were a lot of speculative fiction concepts I was too fascinated with to leave behind entirely.

拿我自己來說，就算在上世紀90年代，我開始非常廣泛地閱讀科幻小說的時候，我有時候還是會遇到一些會讓我反感的元素（盡管現(xiàn)在回憶起來，當時讓我意識到的那些東西可能僅僅是冰山一角而已）。我更希望那些故事能不包含那一類元素。但是既然那些元素太普遍了，你除非干脆不讀很多種類的文學，否則你是很難避免的。而且也有很多預測性的虛構概念讓我過于入迷，以至于我沒辦法徹底放下。

So, I developed what I thought of as a “scavenger mindset” when reading this kind of stuff. A bit the same brainspace as digging through the moldering stacks of a used bookstore: “This bit's boring… this bit sucks… this bit is ethically dubious… this shows a poor understanding of women's capabilities/concerns/volition/social interactions… this one… Oh! Here's a bit that's interesting!… and here's a vaguely racist bit… and more boring stuff… etc.”

所以，我在讀這種書的時候產生了一種“拾荒者心態(tài)”。就像在舊書店發(fā)霉的老書架之間找書看時的想法一樣：“這段有點無聊……這段真垃圾……這段從道德上來說可能不太好……這段對于女性的能力/關切/意志/社交行為的理解真糟糕……這段……哦！這段挺有意思的！……這段就太種族歧視了……又是無聊的東西……”等等。

Often it's not so much forgiving the works for their failings (maybe still not liking the work overall), as being so hungry for the interesting bits that one is willing to dig through the crap to get them.
And there were a number of stories that were socially “dry", in the sense that they largely avoided touching on social aspects altogether (though, arguably, the absence of such things could itself be an issue).

而且也有很多的故事從社會的角度來看是“干”的，這些故事很大程度上都沒有觸及社會相關的題材（盡管也可以說，這些方面的缺席本身就是一種問題）。

And there have been a couple stories I remember reading years ago and thinking were free of questionable depictions. But I started reading them to my daughter (probably 11 at the time), and halfway through stumbled across something I'd completely forgotten was in there that made me cringe.

而且我很多年之前也度過一些故事，我本以為那些故事沒有什么有問題的描寫。但是當我給我的女兒讀這些書的時候（她當時大概11歲），我讀到一半就會發(fā)現(xiàn)一些早就被我忘掉了的段落現(xiàn)在讓我覺得尷尬得要命。

Of course these days there are a lot more options that default to a more thoughtful or respectful treatment of other ethnicities, women, gender issues, etc. So I can certainly understand not having the patience to deal with a lot of this crap anymore.

當然今天有更多的作品會默認對于其他種族，女性，性別等問題給出更加深思熟慮的、更加尊敬的態(tài)度。所以我也完全可以理解沒有耐心跟這種垃圾打交道的心情。

These days I'm more likely to wade into it, not for mere interest in thr tropes and innovations themselves anymorr, but partly to get a historical sense of what people were thinking about at what time period.

現(xiàn)在我更可能會趟進去，并不只是為了這些小說里的比喻和創(chuàng)新本身，也是為了理解不同歷史時期的人們在想的是什么。

Antonia Vogel
Thank you for bringing this up, I absolutely didn't know that. I still have to read the book (I found it recently in a “give away box” which are quite common here in Germany). It's the German translation, but I think that would be based on the English version rather than the original.

謝謝你提起這個話題。我之前完全都不知道有這回事。我仍然得讀這本書（我是最近在一個舊物箱里找到的，德國這里很常見）。是德語版，但是我覺得應該是基于英語翻譯的，而不是基于原文。

I picked it up because I always wanted to read something by a contemporary Chinese author and heard the books were good or at least okay. I didn't have the time yet, and maybe I'm not as enthusiastic now, but at least I didn't pay money for something which would have totally annoyed me for the amount of misogyny that your quotes show.

我選了這本書，因為我一直想要讀一讀由當代的中國作家創(chuàng)作的書籍，我聽說這本書不錯，至少也還可以。我還沒有時間看，或許現(xiàn)在我也沒有這個心情了，但是至少我沒有自己花錢去買包含了你引用的這種程度的厭女的東西找罪受。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處

As for “cleaning up” while translating - I guess if left in original tone, the books wouldn't have the same success in the western world. I mean, yes, people still pay money for George R.R. Martin-style misogyny, but generally media are becoming more aware and more diverse nowadays. Slooowly…

至于在翻譯的過程中“洗白”——如果是用原來的語氣的話，這套書在西方世界可能就不會像這么成功了。當然沒錯，人們仍然會花錢去買喬治.R.R.馬?。ㄗg注：《冰與火之歌》系列的原作者）那種厭女的書籍，但是總體上來說，媒體現(xiàn)在正在變得越來越警惕也越來越多樣化。慢慢地……

Do you know if the translator worked on his own, or did he get the books with the instruction to “make them fit for the western market “? In the end everything is about money (aka “selling better if clean”) and maybe about representing (aka “wonderful author, look how great we are as a publishing house/region/country”).

你知道這個翻譯者他是自己主動翻譯的，還是在拿到書之后得到了指示，“把它翻譯得適合在西方市場銷售”？畢竟到頭來一切都是為了錢（也就是“如果洗干凈的話賣得更好”），或許還有代表的意義（也就是“多么棒的作家，看看我們作為一個出版社/地區(qū)/國家有這樣的人多好”）

On a personal level - I would not want to read the book in the original tone. Now I will probably still have a look just to see what we have been talking about. Is that a goid thing? Can't say.

從個人的角度來說，我可能不想讀他用原本的語氣寫的版本?，F(xiàn)在我可能仍然會看一眼，只是明白我們在聊的是什么。這是好事嗎？不好說。

It is definitely dishonest to change the contents while translating without mentioning it. I don't know if the translator had to comply, or wanted to.

在翻譯的過程中改變原意卻不加告知，這絕對是不誠實的行為。我不知道這個譯者是不得不妥協(xié)，還是主動這么去做的。

If it's not too much to ask: Do you have recommendations for contemporary Chinese authors that I could read in English without being annoyed by misogyny or without being lied to?

如果我還可以問下去的話：你有沒有推薦的當代中國作家，我可以用英語閱讀，但是有不用擔心被厭女傾向煩到，或者被騙？

Feifei Wang
Ken Liu is already a pretty established writer on his own when he translated the book. so I doubt he’d get some instruction to “woke-wash” the work. I think he did it out of his own volition. He likes Liu Ci Xin, he wanted Liu to be successful in the west, and he knew Liu’s misogynistic tone would be a problem, so he made changes.

劉宇昆在接手翻譯工作的時候，自己已經是個很有建樹的作家了。所以我覺得他不一定是接到了指示去把這本書“洗得覺醒一些”。我覺得他應該是出于自己的意愿這么做的。他喜歡劉慈欣，他希望劉慈欣在西方也能獲得成功，他也知道大劉厭女的語氣會帶來麻煩，所以他就改了。

And Liu Ci Xin’s work won the Hugo award.

于是劉慈欣的作品拿了雨果獎。

Carlos Angelo
Not sure about it, but I heard that the German translation was done directly from Chinese and is indeed more faithful to the original.

我不太確定，但是我聽說德文譯本是直接從中文原版翻譯的，并且更加忠實于原文。

Antonia Vogel
Thanks for the info! I'll keep an eye on the possible differences when I finally find the time to check out the books.

感謝您的分享！等我找到時間好好看看這幾本書，我會留神尋找可能存在的不同的。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處

Yì Yáng
Well, I seem to remember Cixin sort of agreed with whitewashing in the translation, but I don’t have any news lix for this.

我其實記得大劉之前同意過在翻譯的過程中洗白，但是我忘了有沒有新聞鏈接了。

—-
And, as for The Three-Body Problem, I don’t have problems with the author’s treatment of female characters. After all, after reading his previous novellas, we all knew he just can’t write good female characters.

此外，關于《三體》這本書，我對于作者對書中女性角色的寫法并沒有什么意見。畢竟在讀了他之前的那些短篇之后，我們都知道他就是寫不好女性角色。

However, the descxtion of a “bitches and trannies” era in the novel, is beyond the excuse of “I can’t write good female character”.

然而，小說里對一個“娘們兒和男娘們兒”的時代的描寫，已經不是“我寫不好女性角色”這一點能概括的了。

I was disgusted with that part of the novel.

小說的那個部分讓我覺得惡心。

—-
I personally don’t feel the problem in his novels big enough for me — when I read novels written by certain Orthodox authors I am very conscious that the authors have very different morals from me. Ditto for Protestant authors, Catholic authors, Muslim authors, Buddhist authors, Confucian authors, com...st authors, etc.

我個人并不覺得他小說里的問題有多大——當我讀某些東正教作者創(chuàng)作的書籍的時候，我非常清楚作者的道德觀念和我有很大的不同。新教徒作者，天主教作者，佛教徒作者，儒家作者，共產主義作者等等，也是一樣。

At certain passages, I just have to tell myself “well obviously the author has funny morals here, let me go on…”

在某些地方，我只是不得不跟自己說，“好吧顯然作者在這里表達的道德觀念挺有意思的，但讓我繼續(xù)讀……”
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處

An obvious example was Dostoevsky. Sometimes I have to say “man, this guy really likes to preach” when reading his works.

最明顯的例子就是陀思妥耶夫斯基。我在讀他的作品的時候，偶爾真的想說“我天，這兄弟可真喜歡布道啊。”

So I applied the same treatment for Cixin’s work. “Hey this guy has funny misogynistic ideas, that clearly doesn’t belong to the story premise but to the author himself. Let me go on…”

所以我讀大劉的時候也用了一樣的方法?！昂龠@家伙厭女的想法挺好笑的，但是這顯然與這個故事無關，只是作者自己的問題。讓我繼續(xù)讀……”

Steve Melnick
I assume when a major work like this is translated, there is some quality control check that is done? That is, someone reviewed the modified version and ok’d it?

我猜當這樣的一部大作被翻譯的時候，應該得做一些相應的質量檢測吧？也就是說，有人看了被修改的版本，然后點頭了？
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處

Shawna RR Nixon
You’re right. I can kind of understand that sort of thing in a movie adaptation, like “Forrest Gump,” because a movie is somewhat expected to be its own thing. Doing it for a supposedly straight translation of a book is dishonest. The tone needs to be preserved for both the sake of the original author and the reader, especially since the reader is unlikely to be able to access the original work. It’s as if he “edited” an audio book.

你說的沒錯。如果是放到電影里面，比如“阿甘正傳”，那么這種改變我還是可以理解的，因為電影本來就應該有自己不一樣的地方。但是為一個本應該忠實地直譯的書籍做這種事情，這就是不誠實。不論是為了原作者還是為了讀者都應該保留原來的語調，尤其是要考慮到讀者可能是無法接觸到原著的。就好像把一本有聲書給“編輯”了一樣。

Shawn Meehan
Not comparing the works at all, but it's got me wondering what it would be like if someone translated something like Hitler's Mein Kampf and removed the antisemitism. But honestly, I've never even tried to read it, so maybe it's a bad example, but you know what I mean.

我并非有比較作品的意思，但是這讓我想起如果有人把希特勒的《我的奮斗》給翻譯了，然后把里面的反猶主義刪掉會是什么樣子。但是說實話，我從沒試著讀過這種東西。所以或許是個不好的例子，但是你懂我意思。

A genre of translator-cleaned terrible works.

這是一類被翻譯給洗干凈的爛書。

Jenny Simpson
Wow, thanks for this post. I read the translated version and was pleased to read hard sci-fi with a female scientist featured. Dishonest for a translator to make such decisions, but I doubt it was just Ken Liu alone - I guarantee the publishing company knew they needed to please English readers by making these edits. So, it was a wise business decision…. but perhaps an unethical one from an artistic standpoint.

哇，感謝您的回帖。我讀了翻譯版，我還很開心能夠看到一個有女性科學家參與的硬科幻作品。對于一個譯者來說這么做顯然是不誠實的，但是我感覺這不像是劉宇昆自己的行為——我打賭出版商知道他們需要作出這樣的修改，來讓英語讀者更開心。所以，這是一個明智的商業(yè)決定……但是從藝術審美的角度來講，或許也是一個不道德的決定。

Feifei Wang
It's not their job to “woke wash” a problematic work. Liu is a shitty writer and people should know about it.

把一個本來就有問題的作品“洗得更覺醒”不是他們的工作。大劉就是個糟糕的作家，人們應該意識到這一點。

Kristen Wegner
Thank you for elucidating this. I enjoyed reading Liu Cixin's novels (in English translation), and as someone who loves Chinese art and literature (in translation), I was curious about what might not have come through. I think you are right about Western Sci Fi readers being more tolerant of sexism. Perhaps we have developed more agile muscles for suspension of disbelief than other audiences, or perhaps we accept that the genre, especially the works of male authors (with many exceptions), tends to carry cultural baggage from the first half of the 20th century. I admit I found "Ball Lightning" more to my taste than the "Three-Body Problem" trilogy, but the "Three-Body Problem" was the first of his novels I read, and I was thrilled to read Sci Fi with a Chinese flavor, so perhaps I gave it more leeway than I might have normally.

感謝您的闡釋。我很喜歡閱讀劉慈欣的小說（英譯本），作為一個喜愛中國藝術和文學（翻譯本）的人，我很好奇翻譯的過程中失去了哪些東西。我覺得你對于西方的科幻讀者更能忍受性別歧視的說法是對的?；蛟S我們比起其他讀者來說，已經養(yǎng)成了更能暫時防止不相信的能力，亦或是我們承認這一類作品，尤其是男性作者的作品（當然也有很多例外），仍然承擔著來自20世紀前半葉的包袱。我承認比起《三體》三部曲，《球狀閃電》更急和我的口味，我也因為能夠讀到中國風味的科幻小說而感到非常興奮，所以或許我與平常相比，給了它更大的寬容。

Alan Wright
Can I ask why you disliked Ken Liu before this?

我能問一下你為什么在此之前也不喜歡劉宇昆嗎？

Feifei Wang
He represented the worst kind of Chinese American, the kind who hate their cultural heritage and wear their internalized racism, their disdain of their own people, their own parents, like a badge of honor; and yet, at the same time, never hesitate to use the cultural heritage he hated so much to make money, to use orientalism, exoticism when it’s popular when it makes his works stand out against a sea of white fantasy writers.

他代表的是最糟糕的那一種華裔美國人。那種厭恨自己的文化遺產，把自己內化的種族主義、對同胞和父母的不屑當做榮譽勛章一樣佩戴起來的人；與此同時，他們?yōu)榱藪赍X，用起自己如此看不起的這份文化遺產來也毫不猶豫，只要能讓他們的作品從一票白人幻想作家中脫穎而出，那么他們樂意使用東方主義、異域風情的東西。

He’s the Andrew Yang in fantasy writing. He wants to be more American than Americans, and yet take advantage of every positive racism for Chinese (model minority stereotype).

他就是幻想小說屆的楊安澤。他想要比美國人還美國人，同時還要把針對華裔的所有積極的種族歧視都大家利用（身為少數(shù)族裔楷模的刻板印象）。

Alan Wright
Wow, I didn't know much about him except that he has been successful academically and in several fields (tech, legal work, writing awards, etc.) and I read the dandelion dynasty trilogy (which I thought was thoroughly enjoyable) but I will try to read up on the aspects you mentioned. I haven't read Paper Menagerie but I thought it explored the tragedy of someone who grows up hating their own heritage and being cruel (completely unfairly) to their mother while trying to blend in as an immigrant's child.

哇，我之前對他并沒有什么了解，我只知道他在很多領域都有學術上的成功（科技，法律工作，寫作獎項，等等），我也讀過他寫的蒲公英王朝三部曲（我覺得從頭到尾都很有意思），但是我會試著去看看你所提到的這些方面。我還沒讀過《折紙》，但是我以為這部小說探索了一個在成長過程中痛恨自己的文化遺傳，并且對母親（毫不公平地）殘忍，作為移民的孩子又想要融入群體的一個孩子的悲劇。

Everyone is Entitled to my Opinion
I wouldn’t have liked it if he hadn’t done that though.

如果他沒這么做的話，我可能就不喜歡這本書了。

Kelly Harvey
Respectfully, Feifei, I disagree. It may have been dishonest translation, but it was an act of courage as a feminist, and to me, women need male allies who are also feminists. To translate truly and literally is to support and perpetuate the original vision of women as weak and inferior. To ‘rewrite history’ as it were, is to create a clearer, stronger image of the Chinese woman as something stronger, smarter and more capable than the author originally imagined, but which the translator believes in, and which (I hope) the reader, and every Asian woman can also imagine.

我尊重你的觀點，F(xiàn)eifei，但是我不同意?；蛟S存在著翻譯不誠實的問題，但是那是作為女權主義者的一種勇敢的行為，并且對我來說，女性同樣需要作為女權主義者的男性盟友。誠實地、逐字逐句地翻譯，就是對原版里把女性看得弱小、低劣的觀點的支持和傳播。像這樣“重寫歷史”，就是為了創(chuàng)造出一個比原作者所想象的更加強大、智慧、更有能力的中國女性形象，并且是譯者所相信的，同時（我希望）也是讀者，以及每一名亞裔女性都能想象的。（譯注：給我看樂了）
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://top-shui.cn 轉載請注明出處

Feifei Wang
… and a misogynistic writer got a Hugo award? The misogynistic writer never got called out for his shitty writing? A misogynistic writer got huge profit from overseas sales?

于是一個厭女的作家就拿了雨果獎？一個厭女的作家卻從未因為他糟糕的寫作方式而被指出來？一個厭女的作家從海外銷售中得到巨大的利潤？

No. Ken Liu didn’t do it out of feminist ideals or he believes Chinese women of this or that. Even if he didn’t get profit shares from the book sales, being a translator of an award-winning book is still a huge boost of his fame.

不。劉宇昆這么做并非出于女權主義的理想，也不是因為他相信中國女性這樣那樣。就算他無法從這本書的銷售中分到利潤，作為一個獲獎書籍的譯者，他仍然能夠收獲巨大的名望。

If Ken Liu really care about feminism, he should have talked about it in his interviews as the translator of the book. He should make it clear in the translator‘s preface.

如果劉宇昆真的在乎女權主義，那么他就應當在身為本書譯者接受的采訪中說起這件事。他就應當在譯者序中說明白。

No. He did it out of money and fame. Nothing more. You’re giving him way too much credit.

不。他就是為了金錢和名聲。沒別的。你把他看得太高了。

Feifei Wang
If Liu Xin Ci knew about it, why don’t he upxe this Chinese version as well? What? somehow these shitty bits aren’t shitty in China? Let me tell you, it’s shitty. It’s bad. People have been calling him out in China for years.

如果劉慈欣真的知道這回事，那他為什么不把中文原版也修正過來？怎么了？這些糟爛的情節(jié)在中國就不叫事兒了嗎？我告訴你吧，這就是爛。這就是不好的。中國國內聲討他的行為已經持續(xù)了好幾年了。

Now, this is dishonesty on both translator and the author. They “woke-wash” their work for western readers without updating the original text, without even mentioning it anywhere. They just pretend “yeah, that’s how I wrote it.”

而現(xiàn)在，作家和譯者雙方都有不誠實的行為。他們?yōu)榱宋鞣阶x者把自己的作品“洗得更覺醒”，但原文卻沒有修改更新，甚至沒提這件事。他們干脆裝出一副“對，我就是這么寫的?！钡臉幼?。

And Liu got a Hugo award? His work is praised without anyone even knowing he’s a sexist?

大劉還拿了雨果獎？他的作品受到了眾人的稱贊，卻沒有任何人知道他是個性別歧視者？

The mental gymnastics you guys do to defend an asshole writer you like, even when facing overwhelming evidence…

你們這幫人為了捍衛(wèi)一個你們喜歡的狗屎作家，在這么多的證據面前也要做思維體操的樣子真是可笑。

Off you go.

滾吧。