作者與讀者

文、譯/林巍

作者與讀者是天然的一對。作者自然希望有讀者，否則似乎沒了寫作意義，即便傷心欲絕的司馬遷寫完《史記》后“藏之名山”，也希望“俟后世圣人君子”來讀。當然，也有不為他人而只為自己心靈寫作2“只為自己心靈寫作”未必是to write only for their own soul，而express themselves含義很多，類似的，如：The value of this exercise is that it challenges the students to express themselves freely.（這項練習的價值在于它能促使學生自由地表達自己的思想。）的，那么讀者便是自己——作者與讀者合二而一了。

[2]特別是人文類的作品，作者根據自己的經驗與理解寫作，呈現給讀者的無疑是經過加工的“現實”，當然又越“真”越好。其中，作者的誠實不應輕易受到懷疑，因為作者是在自己的四維時空3“四維時空”，在數學上有各種多維空間，但目前為止，人類認識的物理世界只是四維，即三維空間加一維時間；現代微觀物理學提到的高維空間是另一層意思，只有數學意義。一般譯成fourdimensional space-time，此處稍作變通。里書寫現實，自然含有其“合理想象”——甚至是無限的。唯其如此，才體現出作者的創意。

[3]一旦成書，作者便把這一時空交給了讀者。二者的時空不可能完全吻合，原因是讀者在第五維時空4鑒于空間是一個集合，最基本的元素是點（零維空間），點的集合便是線面體（一維、二維、三維空間），即在一個“無”到“有”的發展中，而時間是個矢量，是空間運動的順序性和持續性，即空間也就是時間的片斷。所謂“五維時空”是指在基本點上，又衍生出空間集合長寬高三值、時間矢量和速度矢量，這里借以比喻讀者的想象力是在作者維度上任意方向的延伸。上發揮著想象力——調動起自己的經驗與理解進行另一種創作5此句的詞序作了較大調整，若完全按原文，試比較：The two kinds of space-time may not be completely consistent,because readers fire their imagination in the fifth-dimension—mobilize their experience and understanding to engage in another kind of creation.。有作者對讀者說，“我提供文字，你們制作畫面”，形成了“共同創作”，但效果卻是擴散性的。正如魯迅所說，由于人們的經歷、觀念、學養及興趣不同，在閱讀《紅樓夢》時，自然會從中讀出不同的內容：“經學家看見6原文連用了五個“看”，在譯文里則不妨根據英文特點加以變換，如realize、see、sense、witness、discover等，以豐富其表現力。《易》，道學家看見淫，才子看見纏綿，革命家看見排滿，流言家看見宮闈秘事……”在西方也說，有一千個讀者便有一千個哈姆雷特。

[4]同時，作者與讀者的關系又非直線、單向的，而是動態、多維的。讀者不同于觀眾（特別是電視、電影等觀眾），因為他們有更多的余地去想象7前面的“想象”用了stretching of the imagination，此處用了fire their imaginations；此外還可用use/fuel/ignite/stimulate/stir imaginations等。、還原、擴展“真相”，因而更利于其知識和智力的滋養8“滋養”一般譯成nourish、cultivate、nurture等，但這里結合“（智力的）滋養”，不妨譯為develop further intellectually，以更合原義。；而作者從讀者的反饋中也會有新的發現，收到“結局大于期 望 ”9“結局大于期望”似可譯成the outcome is greater than the desired effect，但此處可更為簡約。的 效果，有助于原著的再版和新著的創作。

[5]閱讀的魅力在于把人帶入一個未曾經歷或未曾深入理解的境況，好奇、挑戰、獲益，豐富和開闊了有限的生活時空，也相對10“相對”，可有多種對應詞，如relatively、comparatively等，但亦可用其他方式，如in a way，類似的：In a way, the smallness of the room added to its luxury.（相對來講, 房間窄小反倒顯得更加華麗。）延長了人生，因而真正嘗到閱讀甜頭的人是會上癮、樂此不疲的。

[6]其實，閱讀的最高境界11“最高境界”，可有tidemark、the highest kind、high ground、the best of optimism等，這里用了zenith, 其意為“the most successful point in the development of something /the time when something is most successful or powerful”，如：His career is now at its zenith.（他的事業現在正處于巔峰時期。），不是讀到了別人的世界，而是讀出了自己的內心世界——在更深、更廣的領域發現、豐富了“自我”，更加充實，更愛生活，更有創造力。

[7]作為“合作人”，作者應當首先是個好的讀者——不會閱讀12這里的“會閱讀”，一般可用“(someone)can read/capable of reading…”等，reading skills為名詞詞組，與前面的competent writer對應。何以寫作？而好的讀者不妨拿起筆來，體會遣詞造句的經歷，從而在閱讀中獲得更豐厚的感悟。□

The author and the reader are a natural pair.It is only meaningful for an author to write if there are readers.Even Sima Qian(145–90 BC), the well-known heart-broken historian of theRecords of the Grand Historian, who decided to“conceal his writings in a sacred mountain”, was still hopeful that a“certain kind of sage or gentleman”would appreciate them.There are certainly some writers who wish to express themselves only to themselves—in that case, the author and the reader are united as one.

[2]Works in the humanities, in particular, are presented to the reader by the author based on“processed reality”(it ought to be as“real”as possible)according to his or her personal experiences and understanding.The author’s sincerity should not be questioned lightly for what he or she writes is actually nothing more than their“reasonable”(sometimes inf inite)stretching of the imagination—their creativity within their four-dimensional plane of space and time.

[3]Once the book is released, the author hands control to the reader, who start their own process of imagination—their creativity based on their own experiences and understanding, producing a“fifth dimension”, which may not overlap totally with the author’s.As one author says,“I make the words, you make the pictures”;in a way, they are“co-creators”, proliferating results.In readingA Dream of Red Mansions, as Lu Xun(1881–1936),the famous Chinese writer, pointed out,people naturally have different views and opinions due to their different experiences, ideas, learning and interest:“The Orthodox realizeChangein it; moralists see pornography; scholars sense romance;revolutionaries witness anti-Manchurian actions; gossips discover royal court secrets and scandals…”In the West, there is also a saying that“There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes.”

[4]In fact, the relations between the author and the reader are not unidimensional and one-way, but dynamic and multidimensional.Unlike, say, TV or film audiences, readers are left adequate leeway to fire their imaginations in terms of retracing(even expanding)the“truth”, and consequently they obtain more knowledge and develop further intellectually.By receiving feedback from readers, on the other hand, authors discover more“unexpected effects”, which in turn benef i ts the revision or new books of their creative writing.

[5]The charm of reading lies in venturing into uncharted or unknown waters,where wonders, challenges as well as benef i ts only bewitch the journey, enrich and enlarge the horizon of life and, in some way, prolong life, for those who have tasted the sweetness of reading will be addicted to and never bored with it.

[6]The zenith of reading, in fact, is to explore no world of others except your own—discovering more of the self in a more in-depth and substantial way, feeling fulfilled by more love and creativity in your daily life.

[7]As a“co-creator”, then, the author should first be a good reader, for how can an author be a competent writer without reading skills? Likewise, a good reader should also pick up the pen to experience the pain and joy of writing, in order to enjoy reading more abundantly.■