“全世界只有草嬰”

走進各大中城市的書店，都可以看到由上海文藝出版社出版的精裝《托爾斯泰小說全集》。

這部煌煌巨著共12卷，400萬字，是年屆八旬的草嬰翻譯的。他耗時20年，嘔心瀝血，把托爾斯泰的長篇小說《戰爭與和平》《安娜·卡列尼娜》《復活》以及60多部中短篇小說全部翻譯完畢，這真可謂是皓首窮經的工程。俄國高爾基文學研究所研究員、著名漢學家李福清說：“一個人能把托爾斯泰小說全部翻譯過來的，可能全世界只有草嬰”。

草嬰是中國資深翻譯家，堪稱俄語文學的翻譯權威，曾獲得過蘇聯文學最高獎 “高爾基文學獎”、魯迅文學翻譯彩虹獎、俄中友協頒發的“友誼獎章”等。我前不久才知道，這位享譽中外的翻譯家，還是我們浙江寧波人。

2005年國慶前夕，我終于專程赴上海拜訪了這位翻譯界元老。

故鄉寧波：童年時代的記憶

去滬之前電話聯系，接聽的是草嬰夫人盛天民，她也是一位資深的文化工作者，離休前系上海辭書出版社的文藝編輯室主任。她告訴我草嬰因血糖高住院了，我請她代為向草嬰先生問候，并表示等他康復后想對他進行采訪。善解人意的盛夫人溫和地說，這幾天血糖已經降下來了，說說話沒關系，如果要采訪到醫院也行。老太太對夫君家鄉來客，流露出真摯的情誼。

草嬰先生原名盛峻峰，草嬰是他的筆名，寓意自己很普通，就像遍地茁生的小草。在華東醫院我找到了草嬰的病房，他正坐在床邊輸液，身上穿的病號服很舊。老先生的形象真如他的筆名，一副樸實無華模樣。

對于我這個小同鄉的到來，草嬰先生站起來連連說歡迎歡迎，他招呼著我坐。稍后，合照時他示意我靠近些，并按著我的手說：“我們親密無間。”老先生的平易近人，使訪談顯得輕松自由。

草嬰先生說，你要知道什么盡管問。我笑笑說：“寫桑梓人物，最好連根帶土的。您童年時代是在甬江之濱度過的，我首先想知道您在寧波的故事。”

草嬰幽默地說：“噢，你要來一點土特產。”接著，他就對我說起一些鮮為人知的往事。

草嬰祖籍鎮海駱駝，曾祖父是鎮海很有名氣的盛滋記釀造廠的創始人，盛滋記曾經輝煌過，它生產的醬油在第一屆巴拿馬萬國博覽會中榮獲獎章。草嬰的祖父是老中醫，家境一直寬裕，所以草嬰的父親得以留學日本，后因患肺結核回國。祖父去上海同濟醫學院找德國醫生給兒子看病，醫生說要身體好，最好讓他學醫。這樣，父親就進入了同濟醫學院(今同濟大學)。

草嬰1923年3月24日出生于鎮海，因父親同濟醫學院畢業后到寧波鐵路醫院當院長，全家就搬到了寧波。父親正直、善良，同情窮人，髫年草嬰常隨父出診，給轄區內各路站職工看病，父親的人道主義思想對他影響很深。

草嬰幼年就讀于寧波小學。那年9·18日本侵占東三省，為抗日救國，寧波舉行了大規模的募捐活動，父親給草嬰30元大洋叫他拿到學校捐獻。這一筆不小的數目驚動了媒體，寧波的《時事公報》大篇幅作了報道，草嬰至今還清楚地記得這張報紙登載的日期：1931年10月21日，文章題目叫《小學生盛俊峰獨捐30金》。他莞爾微笑：“這是我的名字第一次見報。”

在寧波，草嬰家曾擁有過一處漂亮的住宅，還有一排用于出租的房子。但只住了一年多，抗日戰爭爆發全家就避難到了上海。熱心于公益事業的父親，后來就把這處房地產無償贈送給了甬江女子中學。

草嬰譯本：優秀譯本的標志

記得十多年前學校上外國文學課，講到托爾斯泰、肖洛霍夫、萊蒙托夫時，老師說讀這些作家的作品要選草嬰譯本，它們信、雅、達，是從俄語原版本直接翻譯過來的，不同于那些從英文和日語轉譯過來的三譯本。由此可以證明：草嬰譯本已成為一種品牌，是優秀譯本的象征和標志。

翻譯家和作家不同，他們往往默默無聞，但草嬰卻例外，他的名字隨著他的譯作流傳，幾乎婦孺皆知。那是因為他的翻譯總是緊扣時代節拍，他所介紹的俄羅斯作家的作品都具有頑強的生命力。

他在譯苑已整整耕耘了60年，他在50年代譯得最多的是肖洛霍夫的作品《被開墾的處女地》《頓河的故事》《一個人的遭遇》等。一些作品當時甚至是同步翻譯的，如1953年蘇聯《真理報》和《星火》雜志同時連載肖洛霍夫的小說《被開墾的處女地》第二部，連載開始后草嬰就將它翻譯出來，發表在中國《世界文學》雜志上，一直持續到1959年才連載完畢。這段時期的譯作中還有一部不得不提的，那就是尼古拉耶娃小說《拖拉機站站長和總農藝師》。這部作品的主題思想是關心群眾疾苦，反對官僚主義。譯作發表后受到了當時團中央第一書記胡耀邦的重視，發行量達300萬份的《中國青年》雜志連續兩期予以轉載，接著又出單行本，首版124萬冊，打破了翻譯小說印數的記錄。團中央還指定此書為必讀書籍，號召全國青年向女主角娜斯佳學習。這部譯作不僅鼓舞了一代人的革命激情，而且對文學創作也產生了影響。后來，王蒙寫《組織部新來的年青人》就受它的啟迪。

文革結束草嬰創作進入了又一高峰期，他將目標鎖定于列夫·托爾斯泰。這是一座世界文化高峰，草嬰決定把他的小說全部翻譯過來。2004年11月，在上海舉行的草嬰文學翻譯學術研討會上他談到：“我為什么特別選中肖洛霍夫和托爾斯泰呢?因為我感到從他們的作品里所反映出來的人道主義思想和人性的光輝是最強烈的。中國經歷了二千多年的封建專制統治，特別需要培養和喚醒人性的光輝。”

草嬰譯本之所以經典，除了他敏銳的眼光之外還在于他鮮明的翻譯風格。他認為：“一部好的文學翻譯作品應該是譯文讀者的感受相當于原文讀者的感受。”在處理一些冗長而復雜的句式時，既要譯得明白、流暢，符合中國讀者的閱讀、思維習慣，又要不失原文的意思和神韻的傳達，這種語言間的轉換，有時簡直讓人殫精竭慮。有時他為了一個詞的妥貼，一句話的通順，常常是反復地斟酌、反復地推敲，有時甚至到廢寢忘食地步。例如《被開墾的處女地》這一書名后來被草嬰改為《新墾地》，當時翻譯界頗覺意外，但后仔細一想，方始覺得這個名字更中國化。在翻譯《一個人的遭遇》時，他甚至請了一位電影藝術家來朗讀譯稿，聽到與口語節奏稍有不順之處時他就修改，所以草嬰的譯文總是朗朗上口。他說：“我要努力在讀者與托爾斯泰之間架一座橋，把這座橋造得平坦、寬闊，讓人輕松走來不覺得累。”要達到這境界，累的當然是草嬰。

“上海念的俄羅斯大學”

草嬰俄語文學翻譯的造詣之深，使一些人總以為他留過洋，但草嬰風趣地說：“我是在上海念的俄羅斯大學。”

草嬰離開寧波到上海不久，就進了雷士德工學院附中，兩年后又轉入松江中學。年少的草嬰深懷憂國憂民之心，熱心尋找中國的出路在哪里?當他看了《萍蹤寄語》《蘇聯見聞錄》等一些介紹蘇聯的書籍后，他就想學俄語，以便對這個新興的社會主義國家有更多的了解。一天，草嬰在報紙上看到一則俄國教師的招生廣告，他就上門去求教。其實，這個俄國女人根本沒有教學經驗，又不懂中文，只是叫草嬰買了一套哈爾濱出版的俄語教科書《俄文津梁》直接了當地教他讀，連字母也不教，更不用說語法了。但草嬰還是用心地學，一詞一句跟她念了兩年。

一次偶然的機會，草嬰參加了“拉丁化新文字研究會”并有幸遇到姜椿芳。他是中共地下黨員，精通俄語，他對草嬰熱情地予以輔導。1941年蘇德戰爭爆發后，塔斯社在上海創辦《時代周刊》，雜志主持者姜椿芳就介紹草嬰一起參加工作，

翻譯關于蘇德戰爭的通訊、特寫等。后該社又出版《蘇聯文藝》雜志，草嬰的第一篇文學譯作普拉多諾夫的短篇小說《老人》，就發表在該雜志的第二期上。1945年5月草嬰被聘為《時代周刊》編輯，從此開始了他的職業翻譯生涯。

新中國成立時，草嬰已是具有一定成就的翻譯家了。1952年華東作家協會成立，草嬰和巴金、傅雷等一起成為最早的一批專業會員。草嬰說，他一直沒有編制，沒有級別，沒有固定收入，生活純粹靠稿費。50年代除了翻譯了大量的蘇聯文學作品外，他還參加了《辭海》的修訂工作，是《辭海·外國文學科》的主編。

1960年，中蘇關系惡化。肖洛霍夫被視為“修正主義文藝的鼻祖”，草嬰作為其在中國的“代言人”、“吹鼓手”，自然厄運當頭。1975年冬天他從五七干校回到上海，在出版社接受“改造”，不幸被水泥包壓倒，胸椎壓縮性骨折，半年中他躺在硬板床上一動都不能動，但有著堅強信念和意志的草嬰硬是挺了過來。在夫人的精心照料下，一年后他終于能夠下床了。

歷盡磨難的草嬰分外珍惜光陰。“四人幫”粉碎后上海譯文出版社成立，市委有關方面領導想請他當總編，但他婉言謝絕，他想翻譯托爾斯泰小說全集。

1985年草嬰隨中蘇友好代表團出訪蘇聯，他最大的收獲是親眼看到了他在俄蘇文學作品中所熟悉的場景，尤其是托爾斯泰的故居。他說：“那莊園可真大，占地380公頃，就是5700畝地呀!當時托爾斯泰家里有330個農奴，但托爾斯泰卻放棄了這樣豪華的貴族生活而去關心勞苦大眾，揭露黑暗現實，探求社會真理，這是多么難能可貴!”

蘇聯之行，草嬰感性地觸摸到了這顆“十九世紀世界的良心”，對托爾斯泰的人道主義精神有了更深刻的認識。被作家王西彥譽為“忘我的虔誠態度和傻子精神”的草嬰，憑借堅定的信念和驚人的毅力，就在這整整20年的歲月里實現了翻譯《托爾斯泰小說全集》的夙愿。

1987年6月在莫斯科舉行的國際文學翻譯會議上，草嬰被授予蘇聯文學最高獎——“高爾基文學獎”，成為我國惟一獲得此項殊榮的人；2003年草嬰80歲壽辰，俄羅斯駐滬總領事及全體成員為他舉辦了祝壽酒會。俄羅斯駐華大使羅高壽來函向草嬰祝壽說：“您在我國受到深度尊敬，因為通過您的才華和勤勞，中國讀者能認識托爾斯泰、肖洛霍夫的許多作品以及其他俄蘇作家的杰作。我們特別高興指出您的譯作總是在加深俄中兩國人民的互相理解和友誼。我們高度評價您對發展我們兩國之間文化交流的貢獻。”

眼前，病房中草嬰略有些清瘦，但精神不錯，思維敏捷。他微笑道：“這次腦電圖做出來，醫生說八十多歲人了，難得腦子還這么好。我想，那可能和自己一生都在動腦有關。”

Cao Ying Translates Tolstoy Single-Handedly

By Bao Danhong

Nowadays， Collected Works of Leo Tolstoy， a tour de force translation work of 4 million words in 12 volumes， is available in bookstores in cities across China. Cao Ying， a Chinese literary translator of Russian literature over the past 60 some years， has spent the last 20 years on this work of art and love in solitude. Some experts say that Cao Ying is probably the only one in the world who has translated all of Leo Tolstoy’s novels and stories.

Cao Ying is a penname used by Sheng Junfeng. Cao means grass and Ying means a child. By adopting the penname， the linguist meant to deliver his life philosophy: to be ordinary. But he is by no means ordinary. His penname is famous and his real name is little known.

After learning Cao Ying is a Ningbo native， I decided to pay a visit to the translator in Shanghai. Before I went to Shanghai， I made a call and was told by his wife that he had been hospitalized for hyperglycemia.He was much better now. I could visit him in hospital. So I went to visit the famed translator before the National Day.

I walked into the ward and saw him sitting in bed and having a transfusion. In a patient’s garment， he looked as modest and simple as suggested by his penname.

He immediately understood why I wanted to know more about his childhood years in Ningbo and said humorously， “I see. You want something of local flavor.”

Then he began to tell me about his family and his career.

His great grandfather was the founder of a local brewage in Ningbo. Its product of soy sauce won a golden prize at the world exposition in Panama in 1915. His grandfather was a wealthy TCM doctor so that his father was able to study in Japan. When his father had tuberculosis in Japan and came back home， the grandfather took him to see a German doctor in Shanghai. The German recommended that the patient should study medicine if he wanted to get better. So his father went to the Tongji Medical College. After graduation， his father came back to Ningbo to work as director of a railroad hospital.

Cao Ying was born in 1923 in Zhenhai， Ningbo. His father was an honest and kind-hearted man. The father often took the son with him when paying home visits to the railroad workers. Cao Ying was greatly influenced by his father’s humanitarian attitude.

When Japanese troops began to occupy the northeast China on September 18， 1931， Cao Ying was a pupil in Ningbo Primary School. Local residents in Ningbo initiated a city-wide donation program for the northeast people. His father gave him thirty silver dollars and he donated them at the school. It was big money for a primary pupil. A local newspaper reported Cao Ying’s donation. Even today， Cao Ying remembers the date the story was published and the title in which his name first appeared.

I remember my teacher saying in a class during my college days that we students should read Leo Tolstoy， Mikhail Lermontov， and Mikhail Sholokhov translated by Cao Ying. I learned that these books were directly translated from the Russian language by Cao Ying， unlike other titles translated from English or other languages. Cao Ying’s translations well embody fidelity， expressiveness and affinity in style， a guideline for translation first suggested more than 100 years ago by Yan Fu， a scholar who first introduced Evolution and Ethics to Chinese readers in 1895， two years after the original was published. Cao Ying’s translations are lauded as a brand， signifying excellence and quality a translator should achieve.

Cao Ying has labored as a translator for 60 years. In the 1950s， he translated Virgin Soil Upturned， Tales of the Don， and One Man's Destiny， all by Mikhail Sholokhov. Pravda began to serialize the second book of Virgin Soil Upturned in 1953. Cao Ying’s translations were synchronous with the installments and were published in World Literature， a Chinese literary periodical. The book was serialized until 1959. Another influential USSR literary work translated by Cao Ying during that period was The Manager of an MTS and the Chief Agronomist by Galina Nikolayeva. The theme of the book was about ordinary people’s sufferings and a fight against bureaucracy. After the translation was published， Hu Yaobang， then first secretary of the Communist Youth League， attached great importance to the relevance of the book in China. The novella appeared in Chinese Youth， a magazine with a readership of 3 million. It was printed later as a separate edition. For the first edition， 1.24 million copies were printed， breaking a national record of that time for a translated literary work.

After the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)， Shanghai Translation Publishing House came into being in 1978. Cao Ying was approached and asked if he was willing to take the post of the editor-in-chief of the house. He turned down the offer， saying he wished to have more time on the introduction if Leo Tolstoy to Chinese readers. At a symposium held in his honor in November 2004， Cao Ying reminisced about the decision he made in 1978 to focus on translating the great Russian writer: “I， at that time， felt that the humanitarian thought and humanistic concerns in his works were most perceptible. In China， a country ruled by the feudal despotism for over 2，000 years， we should go out of our way to cultivate humanistic concerns and wake people up.”

The remarkable linguist did not go anywhere to study Russian. He desired to study Russian as he was fascinated by changes taking place in Russia when he was a student at Lester Institute Middle School in Shanghai. He wanted to read books on the Soviet Union. Answering an ad in a newspaper， he went to a Russian woman and began to study the language with her help. But she actually had no practical experience as a language teacher. She asked him to buy a primary Russian book and Cao Ying studied with her for two years. Cao Ying later met Jiang Chunfang， a communist in Shanghai， who warm-heartedly helped Cao Ying study the language. In 1941， the Germany troops invaded the Soviet Union. The Tass News Agency set up Epoch Weekly in Shanghai to break the war news to Chinese readers. Jiang Chunfang was the chief editor of the weekly. Cao Ying was brought in to help translate news in Russian. Later the Epoch Weekly started another regular publication to introduce literary works from Soviet Union. Cao Ying’s first translation of literary works was a short story， which appeared in the second issue of the magazine in the name of Cao Ying. Thus his legendary career was initiated.