A Portrayal of the Painted Pleasure Boat Studio畫舫齋記

歐陽修/文　宋定宇/譯注

予至滑之三月，即其署東偏之室，治為燕私之居，而名曰畫舫齋。齋廣一室，其深七室，以戶相通，凡入予室者如入乎舟中。其溫室之奧，則穴其上以為明；其虛室之疏以達，則欄檻其兩旁以為坐立之倚。凡偃休于吾齋者，又如偃休乎舟中。山石崷崒，佳花美木之植列于兩檐之外，又似泛乎中流，而左山右林之相映，皆可愛者。故因以舟名焉。

Three months after assuming office in the Prefecture of Hua， I renovated the wing rooms2 in the east of the Prefectural Yamen into a dwelling place for me， and named it “Painted Pleasure Boat Studio”. The Studio measures the size of one room in width and seven rooms in depth3. All the rooms are interconnected with doors. Whoever enters the studio would feel as if he were on board a boat. The inner rooms being poorly lit， windows were chiseled in its ceiling to let in light. The outer well-illuminated and commodious rooms were installed with rails to sit on or lean against. Anyone who puts up at my studio would fancy as if he were ensconced on a boat. Outside the studio were lofty and forbidding rockeries， and lush grass and delightful trees flanking the areas beneath the two opposite sides of the eave， evoking a feeling4 of sailing on the river， with hills on the left bank and woods on the right setting off each other. They are both lovesome， so I labeled the studio Painted Pleasure Boat.

《周易》之象，至于履險蹈難，必曰涉川。蓋舟之為物，所以濟險難，而非安居之用也。今予治齋于署，以為燕安，而反以舟名之，豈不戾哉？矧予又嘗以罪謫走江湖間，自汴絕淮，浮于大江，至于巴峽，轉而以入于漢沔，計其水行幾萬余里。其羈窮不幸而卒遭風波之恐，往往叫號神明以脫須臾之命者數(shù)矣。當其恐時，顧視前后，凡舟之人非為商賈則必仕宦，因竊自嘆，以謂非冒利與不得已者孰肯至是哉？賴天之惠，全活其生，今得除去宿負列官于朝，以來是州，飽廩食而安署居。追思曩時山川所歷，舟楫之危，蛟鼉之出沒，波濤之洶欻，宜其寢驚而夢愕。而乃忘其險阻，猶以舟名其齋，豈真樂于舟居者邪！然予聞古之人，有逃世遠去江湖之上終身而不肯反者，其必有所樂也。茍非冒利于險，有罪而不得已，使順風恬波，傲然枕席之上，一日而千里，則舟之行豈不樂哉！顧予誠有所未暇，而舫者宴嬉之舟也，故以名予齋，奚曰不宜？

Any hexagram in the book of I Ching （The Book of Changes）， if involving surmounting difficulties and hardships， is always termed “forcing the river”， probably because a boat is used as a rescue， rather than a place for settlement. Though my residence at the Yamen was built for accommodation， I dubbed it “Painted Pleasure Boat”. Does this run counter to the common sense？ Demoted for conviction， I have travelled rivers and lakes， starting from the Bian River， crossing the Huai River， drifting down the Yangtze River to the Ba Gorge， and then moving to the Han River and the Mian River， covering a trip of tens of thousands li. The trying trip was rife with adversities. It happened quite a few times that I， when caught in a sudden storm， invoked5 the divinities help to lift me out of danger for the very moment. When seized with terror， I eyed the passengers aboard from the bow to the stern， only to find that they were either officials or businesspeople. I sighed silently that who would come here if not for personal interests or if they still have the right to choose. It is only by the grace of heaven that I can manage to survive. I was cleared of the unfounded charges， secured a position at the imperial court， and came here， the Prefecture of Hua， to feed on a surfeit of official grain6 and live comfortably in an official building. I was often startled from sleep when bringing to mind my travels through rivers and over mountains， during which I had to negotiate the danger of sailing， the faceoff with ferocious water predators7， and the surging waves. I， however， oblivious of the sufferings， even call my studio “boat”. Do I really enjoy the life on board a boat？ I heard say that some people in ancient times renounced the world and left the Rivers and Lakes （a byword referring to the mundane world）8， never seeking to return. They must have found their pleasure in reclusion. If a traveller does not venture for gains or knows no alternative on charges， a boat trip would be a great pleasure if he， lying in bed， can travel downwind a thousand li on a peaceful watercourse. I have been having my hands full， and a painted pleasure boat serves for entertainment and rest， so how can one think it improper to name my studio boat？

予友蔡君謨善大書，頗怪偉，將乞其大字以題于楹。懼其疑予之所以名齋者，故具以云。又因以置于壁。

I asked my friend Cai Junmo， an expert in writing large characters which are vigorous and majestic， to inscribe calligraphic characters on the lintel of the studio. Fearing that he would throw doubt on the name of my studio， I penned this article for elaboration and mounted it on the wall.

1《畫舫齋記》乃北宋文學家歐陽修被貶滑州（今滑縣）任職時所寫的一篇抒情散文。文章以景寫情，闡釋了歐陽修將居所命名為“畫舫齋”之因，記述了其被貶途中的艱辛旅程，也展現(xiàn)了身處逆境，仍豁達曠然的心態(tài)。? 2偏室可譯為wing room，亦可以譯為side room。

3住房的進深指住房從前到后的長度，在英語中稱為depth，不宜譯為length。在翻譯“齋廣一室，其深七室”時，譯文盡量力求準確。也可以簡短翻譯為：The Studio is one room wide and seven rooms deep. is亦可用measures或者stands代替。? 4“又似泛乎中流”中的“似”，譯者沒有譯為like一詞，用了evoking a feeling，避免了老是用like表示“像”“似”。

5此處使用invoke來表示尋求幫助。? 6采用直譯法將“飽廩食”譯為feed on a surfeit of official grain，亦可稍作變通譯為live a well-off life on official salaries。? 7采用“泛化”的方式將“蛟鼉”譯為water predators，這樣更符合原文的意境，因為作者并非真指就是這兩種動物，而是采用提喻的方法，指水中的兇猛動物。? 8采用直譯加同位闡釋的方式翻譯“逃世遠去江湖之上”，既保留原文的風采，亦能讓目的語讀者了解“江湖”的含義。