隨改革開(kāi)放步伐進(jìn)入中國(guó)
在改革開(kāi)放之前,由于受極左思潮的影響,我國(guó)長(zhǎng)期對(duì)日本推理小說(shuō)采取排斥態(tài)度。據(jù)國(guó)家版本圖書(shū)館的資料,從1949至1978這30年期間,僅在1965年出版過(guò)1種日本推理小說(shuō),即文潔若翻譯的松木清張的《日本的黑霧》。“十年動(dòng)亂”之后情況大有改觀,僅1979至1986的8年間,就翻譯出版了11位作家的55種日本推理小說(shuō),其中森村誠(chéng)一占15種,松木清張11種,而且發(fā)行量可觀,單本印數(shù)起碼三四萬(wàn),最多的像森村誠(chéng)一的《人性的證明》《野性的證明》《青春的證明》等“三個(gè)證明”,加上不同出版社的不同版本和同名電影劇本,累計(jì)總印數(shù)高達(dá)300萬(wàn)冊(cè)。那時(shí)候社會(huì)上非常流行兩部日本電影:一部是《追捕》,另一部是《人證》。《追捕》就是由西村壽行的推理小說(shuō)《渡過(guò)憤怒的河》改編的,而《人證》則是由森村誠(chéng)一的推理小說(shuō)《人性的證明》改編的。當(dāng)時(shí)不僅它們的故事幾乎眾人皆知,就連《追捕》中追捕杜丘的配樂(lè)以及電影《人證》中女主人公八衫恭子的《草帽歌》,也都流行一時(shí)。隨后,水上勉、赤川次郎、西村京太郎、夏樹(shù)靜子等一批社會(huì)派推理小說(shuō)家的作品也競(jìng)相登場(chǎng)。在這種電影與書(shū)刊互動(dòng)的造勢(shì)下,日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)的影響越來(lái)越大。加上這時(shí)期介紹進(jìn)來(lái)的山崎豐子的《浮華世家》等社會(huì)小說(shuō)以及城山三郎的《官僚們的夏天》等經(jīng)濟(jì)小說(shuō),也從另一個(gè)角度給社會(huì)派推理小說(shuō)加了溫。這樣一來(lái),在80年代的前階段,形成了日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)的鼎盛時(shí)期。
早期日本推理小說(shuō),分為以江戶川亂步為代表的、純粹邏輯推理的“本格派”,以及以橫溝正史為代表的、推理加驚險(xiǎn)和恐怖的“變格派”,二戰(zhàn)以后,又流行以松本清張為代表的“社會(huì)派”,它雖然不屬于通常意義上的文學(xué)流派,但作為日本戰(zhàn)后文學(xué)的一種重要?jiǎng)?chuàng)作潮流,曾對(duì)改革開(kāi)放初期的我國(guó)社會(huì)帶來(lái)較大的影響。
日本“社會(huì)派”推理小說(shuō)改變了以往推理小說(shuō)偏重案情剖析和忽視表現(xiàn)人與人思想感情的缺陷,在保留嚴(yán)密推理的基礎(chǔ)上,重視挖掘案情發(fā)生的動(dòng)機(jī),追究犯罪的社會(huì)原因,并以社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)生活為背景,展現(xiàn)了政界、商界、金融界乃至國(guó)際間復(fù)雜的斗爭(zhēng);小說(shuō)中又常常穿插愛(ài)情和驚險(xiǎn)故事,因此情節(jié)曲折、懸念迭生、結(jié)局意外,就成為它吸引人的重要特點(diǎn)。再加上許多日本推理小說(shuō)都被改編成電影上映,還有不少被改編成連環(huán)漫畫(huà)出版,因而它對(duì)人們的吸引力就更大了。
在中國(guó)熱銷影響可觀
日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)熱銷所帶來(lái)的影響,主要表現(xiàn)在三個(gè)方面:(1)催生了日本推理小說(shuō)出版熱。1879至1989這10年期間,我國(guó)出版日本推理小說(shuō)的出版社至少有40家以上,出版的書(shū)目超百種。那時(shí)期許多期刊也競(jìng)相刊登中短篇推理小說(shuō),電影出版社還出版過(guò)好幾十輯《外國(guó)電影劇本叢刊》,其中僅李正倫翻譯的日本推理劇本就有十來(lái)種;(2)拓寬了許多人的眼界。長(zhǎng)期處在封閉狀態(tài)、特別是剛剛經(jīng)受過(guò)“文革”毒害的中國(guó)讀者,對(duì)西方社會(huì)極為陌生。當(dāng)他們從日本推理小說(shuō)中看到當(dāng)代資本主義社會(huì)形形色色的人與事,既感新鮮,又不禁引發(fā)聯(lián)想與思考。從《追捕》等作品中,人們接觸到了司法陷阱、偽裝臥底、藥品奪命以及法醫(yī)、指紋、血型、測(cè)謊等等偵破手段,而這些,多數(shù)人此前都沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò);(3)豐富了中國(guó)作家的寫(xiě)作手法。日本推理小說(shuō)在設(shè)置謎團(tuán)、制造懸念、渲染氣氛、解謎破案等方面,不僅善于緊扣辦案元素,施展邏輯推理,而且很會(huì)經(jīng)營(yíng)情節(jié),追求情緒感染,注意把知性解謎與感性煽動(dòng)結(jié)合起來(lái)。盡管有人說(shuō)它文學(xué)性不強(qiáng),但它較能抓住讀者,確是不容否認(rèn)的事實(shí)。作為一種創(chuàng)作手法,它顯然具有可資借鑒的價(jià)值。實(shí)際上它也的確對(duì)當(dāng)時(shí)中國(guó)的一些作家產(chǎn)生了影響。例如,群眾出版社出版的程小青《霍桑探案集》和湯保華的“警探司徒川系列”,作家出版社出版的藍(lán)瑪“偵探桑楚系列”等小說(shuō),從中都或多或少可以看到日本推理小說(shuō)的影子。當(dāng)年有部國(guó)產(chǎn)電視連續(xù)劇《保密局的槍聲》,劇中同樣使用了不少推理手法。這些都印證了當(dāng)年日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)產(chǎn)生的影響。
由盛轉(zhuǎn)衰引起的教訓(xùn)
由于80年代我國(guó)尚未加入世界版權(quán)公約,翻譯出版日本推理小說(shuō)無(wú)須作者授權(quán),于是在獲利的驅(qū)動(dòng)下,許多出版社還包括書(shū)商把出版推理小說(shuō)當(dāng)成“搖錢(qián)樹(shù)”,以致出現(xiàn)了由“熱”向“濫”的滑變。他們出書(shū)不做選題選擇,內(nèi)容只求刺激好賣(mài),封面更是百般挑逗,以致不僅造成格調(diào)低下的推理小說(shuō)充斥市場(chǎng),甚至還出現(xiàn)了雇“槍手”仿寫(xiě)的假日本推理小說(shuō)。這種對(duì)日本推理小說(shuō)的盲目追逐,一是導(dǎo)致讀者對(duì)它“倒了胃口”,看膩了不值得再看;二是引起了出版主管部門(mén)的警覺(jué)。例如西村壽行的作品,80年代前期出版的《追捕》《污染的海峽》等多屬健康和揭示社會(huì)矛盾的,而后期出版的《暴力與色欲》《暴虐》《血火大地》《失蹤的女人》等,則渲染性虐待、性暴力、性變態(tài)等細(xì)節(jié),大都格調(diào)低下,有些還沾上淫穢的邊。主管部門(mén)為凈化圖書(shū)市場(chǎng),自然要予以限制出版。1989年以后,在上述諸多因素的影響下,日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)出現(xiàn)了由盛轉(zhuǎn)衰的變化。1992年起,隨著我國(guó)加入世界版權(quán)公約,出日本推理小說(shuō)要先買(mǎi)版權(quán),于是這種衰落的進(jìn)程更加明顯。像森村誠(chéng)一的《人性的證明》,1979年《譯林》以江蘇人民出版社名義最早出版時(shí),初版就發(fā)行45萬(wàn)冊(cè),而1992年至今,國(guó)內(nèi)好像一本也沒(méi)再出過(guò)。
當(dāng)前日本推理小說(shuō)受到冷淡,可以從兩方面得到印證:一是出版社熱情大減。現(xiàn)在還在出日本推理小說(shuō)的,只有珠海、群眾、時(shí)代文藝、貴州人民等為數(shù)不多的幾家出版社,而且出得很零散;二是號(hào)稱推理小說(shuō)新秀的“新本格派”作品,也同樣難有當(dāng)年“社會(huì)派”的風(fēng)光。以島田莊司為代表的日本推理小說(shuō)“新本格派”,不像“社會(huì)派”那樣立足于社會(huì)生活反映時(shí)代現(xiàn)實(shí),而是追求謎題的幻想性,精心設(shè)計(jì)案件的詭計(jì)范式,乃至異想天開(kāi),使看來(lái)不可能發(fā)生的事硬是發(fā)生了。近些年“新本格派”較有影響的有兩個(gè)系列:占星師御手洗潔系列和刑警吉敷竹史系列。前者把占星術(shù)用來(lái)破案,魔法加推理,渲染神秘感,為首藤瓜于的《腦男》塑造了一個(gè)有人類體形、卻無(wú)常人感情的“怪人”,在幻想中產(chǎn)生推理,依靠星占術(shù)破案,很難引起讀者的共鳴。后者熱衷在幻想中進(jìn)行推理,有“解謎至上”傾向。盡管“新本格派”的《被詛咒的木乃伊》得過(guò)第92屆直木獎(jiǎng),但這類小說(shuō)似乎并未贏得中國(guó)讀者的廣泛青睞,市場(chǎng)上也偶爾僅見(jiàn)珠海出版社出版的有棲川有棲的《四十六號(hào)密室》等一兩種。可見(jiàn),至少在可預(yù)見(jiàn)的近期內(nèi),日本推理小說(shuō)恐較難走出不景氣的陰影。
回顧日本推理小說(shuō)在中國(guó)由盛轉(zhuǎn)衰的歷程,其中固然有推理小說(shuō)本身的原因,比如寫(xiě)法趨于模式化,敘述過(guò)于累贅,色情描寫(xiě)太露骨,以及缺乏像英國(guó)的福爾摩斯、美國(guó)的杜賓、法國(guó)的亞森羅蘋(píng)等這類神探形象人物等等,但我認(rèn)為,出版界的盲目追捧和劣質(zhì)引發(fā)倒胃、濫出導(dǎo)致衰落等市場(chǎng)現(xiàn)象應(yīng)該值得人們深思。
(本文作者為著名翻譯、出版家,譯林出版社原社長(zhǎng))
Japanese Whodunits in China: from Popularity to Unpopularity
By Li Jingduan
In the 30 years between 1949 and 1978, only one detective story by a Japanese writer was published in China when it was under the influence of ultra \"left\" trend of thought. It was in the year of 1965. After the 10-year tumult, Chinese readers suddenly found the charm of the genre. In the eight years between 1979 and 1986, 55 kinds of whodunit books by 11 Japanese writers were published in China. Some books were printed more than 3 million. Japanese movies adapted from novels boosted the popularity of the genre further.
In the early period of the 1980s, whodunit books from Japan enjoyed a growing popularity in China. In their heyday, they greatly influenced the Chinese society. The Japanese mystery and detective stories brought about three major phenomena in China.
First, Chinese publishers were all maniac about the whodunit books from Japan. In the ten years from 1979 to 1989, more than 40 publishers in China printed more than over 100 kinds of whodunits from Japan. Literary magazines vied each other in printing short stories and novelettes of the genre from Japan.
Secondly, these books widened the field of vision of many Chinese readers. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1979) had just become history and the door to the outside world was just open. The vista of the western societies appeared strange and exciting. The colorful dimensions of the West fascinated the Chinese readers and prompted them to ponder and compare. It was the first time most Chinese readers learned from these books about loopholes in law, undercover agents, drugs used as murder tools, forensic doctors, fingerprints, blood types, lie detectors, etc.
Thirdly, these books served as an education for Chinese writers. The Japanese writers are good at creating mysteries and suspense, playing up moods, and searching for the solution. In cracking a mystery, a brainy detective follows clues closely, and uses all kinds of methods of thinking. Plots thicken in a fascinating way. Cerebration and sensuous details are interwoven. Some critics say these books are not literary masterpieces, but they undeniably hold the reader's attention. Some Chinese writers followed suit. The books by Chinese whodunit writers of that time reflected the influence of the Japanese pioneers.
As China was not yet a signatory of the Universal Copyright Convention in the 1980s, publishers in China simply printed Japanese whodunits without authorization. Some publishers treated these books as a cash cow. Books of the genre flooded the market. Some publishers did not care about the quality of their publications, and the book covers were designed to appeal to base senses. Some publishers even hired ghostwriters to fabricate mysteries and detective stories and published them as if they had been written by Japanese masters. Gradually, the vogue deteriorated. Fed up with such books of vulgar interests, readers shied away gradually. And the alerted regulators cracked down on some books that exposed readers to excessive details of sex and violence. These factors brought the downfall of Japanese whodunits in China. In 1992, China signed the Universal Copyright Convention. Publishers were reluctant to buy copyrights of such novels.
Nowadays, Japanese whodunits are hardly available on the Chinese book market roughly for two reasons: Publishers are no longer enthusiastic about the genre and Japanese whodunit writers are pursuing styles that do not appeal to Chinese readers. They seemingly resort to extremes and write about the impossible. More often than not, detectives turn to astrology, illusion, and magic for solutions. It is said that in the foreseeable future, the current Japanese whodunits are unlikely to please and interest Chinese readers.
(Translated by David)