Abstract: Although Lin Shu’s translation views, strategies, and historical context have been investigated extensively, the origins and politics of his translation have not been sufficiently addressed. This essay traces Lin Shu’s translation philosophy back to the political reform and “New Fiction Revolution” in the late Qing dynasty, and uses this as a lens to examine his retranslation of Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle.” Published in Shenbao in 1872, the earliest Chinese translation, “Seventy Years of Sleep,” removes the fictional form and revolutionary theme of Irving’s story, rendering it in the style of Chinese ancient tales of the strange. By comparison, Lin Shu’s retranslation of “Li Po’s Great Dream” in 1907 highlights the genre of “political fiction,” the motif of American and French revolutions, and the “future perfect” fantasy that were popular in the late Qing period. More importantly, Irving’s construction of Rip’s anti-republican manhood and his skepticism about violent revolution converge with Lin Shu’s reformist ideology. Thus, it is the political reform and literary revolution initiated by Wuxu Reform that have determined Lin’s attention to and translation of Irving’s text. The approach of translation and comparative literary study herein sheds new light on Lin’s literary thought and politics of translation. It also demonstrates the value of foreign fiction translation in imagining modern China and its unique place in Chinese literary history.

Key words: Lin Shu, “Rip Van Winkle”, political fiction, masculinity, politics of translation

摘要： 尽管学界对林纾翻译的理念、策略与历史语境皆有相当研究,但其翻译政治及发生源流并未得到充分论证。本文将林纾的译书思想追溯至清季的政治维新与“小说界革命”,并以此观照其对华盛顿·欧文小说“瑞普·凡·温克尔”的重新迻译。在1872年《申报》的原初译本“一睡七十年”中,欧文小说的虚构形式与革命主题皆被删除殆尽,整个故事以古代记异志怪风格呈现。1907年林纾重译“李迫大梦”时则着意突显流行于晚清的“政治小说”形式、美法革命题材及“未来完成式”叙事。更为关键的是,欧文对李迫反共和国男性气质的建构及质疑暴力革命的立场与林纾的改良主义思想不谋而合。可以说,“戊戌变法”开启的政治维新与“小说界革命”决定了林纾重译欧文的文本选择与翻译实践。以翻译和比较文学研究为方法,既能从新的维度体认林纾的文学思想与翻译政治,又能勾画域外小说翻译在想象现代中国进程中的意义价值与文学史坐标。

关键词: 林纾, “瑞普·凡·温克尔”, 政治小说, 男性气质, 翻译政治