If you are a global boss, now may not be a propitious time to make promises about your firm’s long-term performance
2005年8月 hc在 simon university 之筆記
今天翻讀《白噪音》（White Noise by Don DeLillo 1985）（朱葉譯，南京：譯文，2002），發現另外的趣事，或許意味深長，又可能與翻譯有關，就筆記下來供參考。
《白噪音》的作者 Don DeLillo 被評為偉大的作家（參見紐約時報1997年評他探討冷戰的大本小說Underworld）。
譯者朱葉在翻譯《白噪音》時，問作者兩主要問題：究竟「白噪音」的諸多意思為何？作者簡答「一切聽不見的聲音（white）」（這是hc以前學「隨機過程」所學的技術義）。不過這在小說可能是第二義，它的第一義是小說中所說的'uniform and white' （始終如一和白色的）。
這「始終如一和白色的」可指「各種廣播的音」，也可能比喻「死亡」無所不在。
朱葉碰到另外一句難題，作者用：
There is no difference between the quick and the dead. They are one channel of vitality.
經朱葉一問之下，才知道 Don DeLillo是選用牛津大學出版的《死亡之書》的
「老子 Chapter 60」的另外一翻譯版本中對於死亡的「詮釋」（翻譯）：
Don DeLillo 回信說：翻譯者為Witter Bynner
Handle a large kingdom with as gentle a touch
As if you were cooking small fish.
If you manage people by letting them alone,
Ghosts of the dead shall not haunt you.
Not that there are no ghosts
But that their influence becomes propitious.
In the sound existence of a living man:
There is no difference between the quick and the dead.
They are one channel of vitality.
譯者知道其出處，說：「……這是一段極為自由移譯的英譯文，因此小說中的引文難於還原……」決定採用《莊子》中老子話：「死生為一條，可不可為一貫。」
附：七月一日談論過的：
「…….然從電視上聽到雷根演講中有一句話："Governing a great state is like cooking small fish."因為老子的「治大國若烹小鮮」太令人難忘…」
……我第一次認真思考「治大國。若烹小鮮。」這比喻的真正意思，坦白說，不清楚，所以必須讀整章：
「治大國。若烹小鮮。以道莅天下。其鬼不神。
非其鬼不神。其神不傷人。
聖人亦不傷人。夫兩不相傷。故徳交歸焉。」
【我認為比較好（清楚）的「翻譯」，是Arthur Waley的：
Ruling a large kingdom is indeed like cooking small fish.
They who by Tao ruled all that is under heaven did not let an evil spirit within them display its powers. Nay, it was not only that the evil spirit did not display its power; neither was the Sage's good spirit used to the hurt of other men...
譯者朱葉在翻譯《白噪音》時，問作者兩主要問題：究竟「白噪音」的諸多意思為何？作者簡答「一切聽不見的聲音（white）」（這是hc以前學「隨機過程」所學的技術義）。不過這在小說可能是第二義，它的第一義是小說中所說的'uniform and white' （始終如一和白色的）。
這「始終如一和白色的」可指「各種廣播的音」，也可能比喻「死亡」無所不在。
朱葉碰到另外一句難題，作者用：
There is no difference between the quick and the dead. They are one channel of vitality.
經朱葉一問之下，才知道 Don DeLillo是選用牛津大學出版的《死亡之書》的
「老子 Chapter 60」的另外一翻譯版本中對於死亡的「詮釋」（翻譯）：
Don DeLillo 回信說：翻譯者為Witter Bynner
Handle a large kingdom with as gentle a touch
As if you were cooking small fish.
If you manage people by letting them alone,
Ghosts of the dead shall not haunt you.
Not that there are no ghosts
But that their influence becomes propitious.
In the sound existence of a living man:
There is no difference between the quick and the dead.
They are one channel of vitality.
譯者知道其出處，說：「……這是一段極為自由移譯的英譯文，因此小說中的引文難於還原……」決定採用《莊子》中老子話：「死生為一條，可不可為一貫。」
附：七月一日談論過的：
「…….然從電視上聽到雷根演講中有一句話："Governing a great state is like cooking small fish."因為老子的「治大國若烹小鮮」太令人難忘…」
……我第一次認真思考「治大國。若烹小鮮。」這比喻的真正意思，坦白說，不清楚，所以必須讀整章：
「治大國。若烹小鮮。以道莅天下。其鬼不神。
非其鬼不神。其神不傷人。
聖人亦不傷人。夫兩不相傷。故徳交歸焉。」
【我認為比較好（清楚）的「翻譯」，是Arthur Waley的：
Ruling a large kingdom is indeed like cooking small fish.
They who by Tao ruled all that is under heaven did not let an evil spirit within them display its powers. Nay, it was not only that the evil spirit did not display its power; neither was the Sage's good spirit used to the hurt of other men...
I can only hope that it is auspicious to entitle these 60th birthday Reith Lectures 'Chinese Vistas'. By using this phrase, I hope to direct our thoughts to the long view that China represents rather than focusing exclusively on the various problems and opportunities that China confronts at the present time.我只能希望這Reith講座'的60周年慶，採取「中國的前景」是吉象—我之所以採用它，希望將諸君的思路導向中國長遠所代表的，而不只將重點放在中國目前面臨的各種問題和機會而已。
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