花箋與跪書——探春賈芸給寶玉的信

《紅樓夢》的魅力，在於作者對人性的洞察描摹，也在於那亦莊亦諧、即雅即俗、彷彿百無禁忌的文體。第二十八回「情贈茜香羅」裏，先有賈寶玉唱那悽美宛轉的《紅豆詞》，——借劉雪庵1943年的旋律流傳至今——緊接著便來個轟然落地，讓薛獃子口占他那些不堪入文又令人噴飯的湊韻酒令。林黛玉的葬花詞傷感已極，作者卻不忘在後回寫瀟湘館的鸚哥聒聒地學舌「花落人亡兩不知！」逗得黛玉紫鵑兩人都笑起來。作者不偏寵哪個人物，鸚哥的滑稽模仿，反高潮，嘲弄了黛玉的自戀自憐。寫悲劇未必要一悲到底，因為生活往往哀樂交雜、交纏，而且情調的反差出人意表，更能打動讀者，造成雋永難忘的真實感。這一點莎士比亞懂，曹雪芹當然也懂。

又如結社吟詩的第三十七回，中秋過後，趁賈政出門，寶玉日日在大觀園中「任意縱性的逛蕩」，這天忽然收到兩封信，一封是新恙初癒的妹妹探春的花箋，一封是他新認的乾兒子賈芸的「跪書」：

[前略] 只見翠墨進來，手里拿著一副花箋送與他。寶玉因道：“可是我忘了，才說要瞧瞧三妹妹去的，可好些了，你偏走來。”翠墨道：“姑娘好了，今兒也不吃藥了，不過是涼著一點兒。”寶玉聽說，便展開花箋看時，上面寫道：

娣探謹奉二兄文几：前夕新霽，月色如洗，因惜清景難逢，詎忍就臥，時漏已三轉，猶徘徊于桐檻之下，未防風露所欺，致獲采薪之患。昨蒙親勞撫囑，复又數遣侍兒問切，兼以鮮荔并真卿墨跡見賜，何瘝痌惠愛之深哉！今因伏几憑床處默之時，因思及歷來古人中處名攻利敵之場，猶置一些山滴水之區，遠招近揖，投轄攀轅，務結二三同志盤桓于其中，或豎詞壇，或開吟社，雖一時之偶興，遂成千古之佳談。娣雖不才，竊同叨栖處于泉石之間，而兼慕薛林之技。風庭月榭，惜未宴集詩人，帘杏溪桃，或可醉飛吟盞。孰謂蓮社之雄才，獨許鬚眉，直以東山之雅會，讓余脂粉。若蒙棹雪而來，娣則掃花以待。此謹奉。

探春這封信充斥駢辭儷句，風雅之至，今人要逐字明白也未必容易。我特地查了霍克思（David Hawkes）的譯文，果然優雅勝任，讀來多少聯想到我自己譯過的約翰·威廉斯書信體小說《奧古斯都》裏那些羅馬貴女的手筆。比較楊憲益夫婦不失曉暢的譯文（二人對「蓮社」和「東山」兩個典故作了腳註說明），霍克思顯然更精細典雅。錄之如下：

“Dear Brother,

Some nights ago, when the moon came out in a sky freshly clear after the rain, the garden seemed veritably awash with moonlight, and sleep in the face of so rare a spectacle was unthinkable. Thrice the clepsydra had been turned, and still I lingered beneath the tall paulownias, reluctant to go in. But in the end the treacherous night air betrayed me, and by morning I was lamentably indisposed.

How kind of you to have visited me in my sickroom! and how exquisitely thoughtful to have sent your maid-servant shortly afterwards with solicitous inquiries and with those delicious lychees and the calligraphy by Yan Zhen-qing!

While I have been lying here quietly on my own, I have been thinking how in the olden days even men whose lives were spent amidst the hurly-burly of public affairs would keep some quiet retreat for themselves with its tiny corner of mountain and trickle of running water; and how they would seek, by whatever arts and blandishments they knew of, to assemble there a little group of kindred spirits to share in their enjoyment of it; and how, on the basis of such leisure-time associations, rhymers’ guilds and poetry clubs were then founded, so that the fleeting inspirations of an idle hour might often be perpetuated in imperishable masterpieces of verse.

Now although I am no poet myself, I am privileged to live ‘midst rocks and streams’ and in the company of such gifted practitioners of the poetic art as Xue and Lin; and it seems to me a great pity that the romantic courts and pavilions of our Garden should not echo with the jocund carousal of assembled bards, and its flowering groves and blossoming banksides not become places of wine and song. Why should the founding of poetry clubs be the sole prerogative of the whiskered male, and female versificators allowed a voice in the tunable concert of the muses only when some enlightened patriarch sees fit to invite them?

Will you come, then, and rhyme with us? The pathway to my door is swept to receive you and your arrival is eagerly awaited by

Your affectionate Sister,

Tan-chun

但曹雪芹構思的精彩之處在於他能夠筆鋒一轉，立刻接以賈芸贈來秋海棠所附的「俚俗可笑」（張愛玲語）的信。一副花箋、一封跪書，互映成文，構成風格的跌宕落差。

寶玉看了，不覺喜的拍手笑道：“倒是三妹妹的高雅，我如今就去商議。”一面說，一面就走，翠墨跟在後面。剛到了沁芳亭，只見園中後門上值日的婆子手里拿著一個字帖走來，見了寶玉，便迎上去，口內說道：“芸哥兒請安，在後門只等著，叫我送來的。”寶玉打開看時，寫道是：

不肖男芸恭請父親大人萬福金安。男思自蒙天恩，認于膝下，日夜思一孝順，竟無可孝順之處。前因買辦花草上託大人金福，竟認得許多花兒匠，並認得許多名園。因忽見有白海棠一種，不可多得。故變盡方法，只弄得兩盆。大人若視男是親男一般，便留下賞玩。因天氣暑熱，恐園中姑娘們不便，故不敢面見。奉書恭啟，並叩台安。男芸跪書。

關於賈芸此信，張愛玲在《紅樓夢魘》的「四詳」一文中只說「表示他這人幹練而沒有才學，免得他那遺帕拾帕的一段情太才子佳人公式化。」這是僅就賈芸小紅的故事而言。從這一回的功能來講，曹雪芹分明要我們將它與探春的信對看。能幹的同族子弟賈芸討好了鳳姐，當上為大觀園採買栽種花木的差事，又少見多怪，想到用他以為稀罕的白海棠孝敬乾爹寶玉。他為人乖巧，不過胸無點墨，寫的信就難免附庸風雅，誇張失衡，跟探春的一比更令人絕倒了。所以庚辰本連批「直欲噴飯。真好新鮮文字。」「皆千古未有之奇文。初讀令人不解，思之則噴飯。」

庚辰本《石頭記》

英譯者如何再現這妙文？

創辦《譯叢》的宋淇1979年8月19日致張愛玲信上說：「再影印Hawkes和楊憲益夫婦合譯的賈芸那封信各一份，相形之下，真有天淵之別。」張9月4日回信道：「Hawkes與楊夫婦譯的第37回真是『只怕貨比貨』。Hawkes實在好。另一的壞處也普通常見。」先來看看楊憲益：

文法太正確了，與前面探春的信一樣文從字順，就看不出探春賈芸二人文化水準的落差，原文意趣至此蕩然無存。賈芸「認得許多名園」想必僅只是聞名，不見得能混進去遊覽，如楊氏夫婦筆下的"visit"那樣。楊譯把賈芸的套話「託大人金福，竟認得許多花兒匠，並認得許多名園。」認得太實，那是吹捧，翻成"thanks to your great influence"當然不對。否則乾爹寶玉既有great influence，他又何至於「變盡方法，只弄得兩盆」呢？

霍克思的處理十分精彩。首先他略去「不肖兒」未譯（楊譯unworthy child是對的，但也不妨省略），然後隨機應變，利用英文的特點來凸出賈芸如何捉襟見肘：濫用大寫、用語疊床架屋、單複數不搭配等等，造成一種特殊錯亂的滑稽感。這才叫人捧腹！

Dear Father,

I have the Honour to present my Humble Duty and hope this finds you as it leaves me in the Best of health, ever since you did me the great Kindness to recognize me as your Son I have been looking for some means of showing my appreciation of your great kindness but so far no opportunity has presented itself, to date. However, thanks to your esteemed Advice I have got to know several Nurserymen also a number of famous gardens and now through this contacts I have come across a very rare Variety of autumn crab flower (Pure White) only very little to be had, but using every means possible I have got two pots of it I hope you will think of me as a real Son and not refuse to keep them for your enjoyment. However, owing to the present Hot Weather I did not like to call in Person as the Young Ladies are outside in the Garden a lot owing to the heat, and not wishing to give Inconvenience

I remain,

Honoured Father,

Your Dutiful and Affcte. Son,

Jia Yun

不過賈芸送來的白海棠，到底成了大觀園諸艷吟詠的第一個題目。既是海棠詩開端，詩社便叫了海棠社。順便說說，楊憲益用begonia譯秋海棠完全正確，倒是霍克思的autumn crab flower（秋蟹花）以形而名，富於異國情調，但我沒有查到植物學或俗名上的依據，不知是否自創。想來它跟後文有關：因為書中緊接著寫到湘雲作東道，請大家吃螃蟹，也有吟詠。總之crab flower一名成了題眼，霍克思譯本第二卷即命名為《The Crab-Flower Club》。

P.S.寫完才發現霍克思的女婿閔福德（John Minford，後四十回譯者）早有一篇筆記"Two Letters from the Stone"是關於這段翻譯的，而且技術細節講得相當深入。

探春信中的雅言，其實已是遊戲筆墨，霍克思所謂meant to be mildly comic，賈芸則是費盡力氣而自曝其短，可笑可嘆。

https://chinaheritage.net/journal/two-letters-from-the-stone/