外国网民看中国小说戒毒 外国人如何评价中国网文?
这两天,一则关于美国男孩沉迷中国玄幻小说,无法自拔,成功戒毒瘾的新闻刷屏网络……
据《南方周末》报道,美国男孩凯文·失恋后,卡扎德用毒品麻醉,偶然接触到中国玄幻小说《盘龙》(Coiling Dragon)之后,失控了。他一整天都不吃不喝,连续读了五六部(盘龙共21部),相当于中文一百多万字。
后来,慢慢更新的盘龙已经不能满足他的胃口了。他找到了三个翻译网站,追逐了15部中国网络小说。……
卡扎德,美国男孩
卡扎德说:
“过去,我回家后只想吸毒。现在回家后,我充满了中国小说。它们像毒品一样上瘾,但至少不会伤害我的身体。”
2015年,卡扎德还在翻译连载中国网络文学“武侠世界”(wuxiaworld.com)里留言讲述了自己的故事:
晚上好,我想分享一个沉重的故事,但最终的结果是好的,因为我在这个网站上获得了快乐:
I'll try to be brief, in 2014 I had a breakup with a woman I was with for 2 years. After that I had a bit of a...problem, I got into drugs, I got addicted to Coke.
长话短说,2014年和女朋友分手两年,然后出了问题。我开始吸毒,对可卡因上瘾。
In February of this year I had did my last line and all of a sudden my heart started beating uncontrollably and I felt a deep pressure appear on the left side of my body all the way down. I thought I was having a heart attack. From that day on I felt that pressure every day, sometimes the pressure would build up and as it did I would actually have a hard time thinking clearly and get lightheaded.
2015年2月,吸完最后一道白粉后,心脏突然开始无法控制地跳跃,左半身感到强烈的压迫。我以为我的心脏病发作了。从那天起,我每天都能感受到这种压力。有时压力急剧增加,使我无法清醒地思考和头晕。
And one day I was introduced to Coiling Dragon, immediately I fell in love. Once I got caught up with that I moved on to MGA, ATG and ISSTH etc... Basically Wuxiaworld took up all my time and I was able to forget about wanting any drugs...
然后有一天,有人介绍我看盘龙,我立刻爱上了这部小说。追完那部,我去看了《修罗武神》《逆天邪神》《我要封天》。……基本上“武侠世界”占据了我所有的时间,我甚至忘记了对毒品的渴望……
About a month ago I noticed the pressure started to dissipate, and as it did my vision and thoughts have also started to clear up and also sometimes I can hear a sound in my head like water being slowly drained through a straw...
大约一个月前,我发现压力开始消退,我的视力和头脑变得清晰了。有时候,我能听到一种声音,水被吸管吸走了。……
What would have happened if I never found wuxiaworld and been able to stave off my addiction? I really want to say I feel your novels have probably saved my life so thank you... really.
假如我从未发现“武侠世界”、戒毒瘾会有什么后果?我真的很想说,你的小说救了我一命。所以我真的很感激。
看到这条消息,中国网友反响热烈。回想当年,他们也沉迷于网文。……
“白天上学,两只眼睛都是绿色的,晚上在床上打开小说,两只眼睛闪闪发光”
还有网友为“文学戒毒”结果令人兴奋:
但也有网友表示,他染上了新药……
其实像卡扎德这样狂热的外国玄幻小说粉真的很多……
例如,这位自学汉语是为了阅读网络文学:
我学汉语已经六个月了,只是为了看网络小说,所以我只学汉字和语法。现在,虽然我可以借助弹出式词典理解70%的内容,但一点乐趣都没有。所以现在我决定从零开始学习汉语,读和说,这绝对更有用。
这是肯塔基州的中部“寻常男子”,他非常感谢自愿翻译,但他对盘龙的结尾充满了怨恨,吐槽不止。
还有一个人不能适应小说的结尾。
该死……我现在很难过。我说,盘龙只剩下一章了!我习惯了每天追文!这是我读的第一部中国小说!对我来说意义重大……我真的很喜欢这部小说,真的无法接受再一章就完结了,以后都没有《盘龙》了呜呜呜呜……这本书真是一段神奇的旅程,盘龙将永远占据我心中的特殊地位。只剩下一章了,我太难过了。感谢翻译君。
你一定很好奇外国网友看这些网文的网站是什么样的。让我们介绍一下……
连载中国网络文学“武侠世界”(wuxiaworld.com),由美国深译者RWX成立于2014年底,到去年8月,其全球总访问量已超过10亿次,其中40%来自北美,20%来自欧洲。
该网站共发表了23部中国网络小说(web novels),7部已翻译完毕,包括原文340万字“我吃西红柿”盘龙(作家朱洪志)(Coiling Dragon)。
还包括spcnet几个网站聚集了外国志愿者翻译。
网友整理spcnet每本小说网站的阅读量
翻译得怎么样呢?我们来看一段《盘龙》节选:
↓上下滑动查看全文↓
Book 1, Chapter 1 – Early Morning at a Township
第一章 小镇的早晨
The town of Wushan. An ordinary little town located within the Kingdom of Fenlai, west of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the largest mountain range within the Yulan continent.
玉兰大陆第一山脉乌山镇‘魔兽山脉’芬莱王国西部的一个普通小镇。
As the morning sun rose, in the town of Wushan, there remained a slight hint of the cold, pure pre-dawn air. However, virtually all of the citizens of this small town had already come out to begin working. Even the six or seven year old children had already gotten out of bed and were preparing to begin their traditional morning exercises.
日出初升,乌山镇清晨依然有一丝寒意,但镇上几乎所有的居民都出来工作了。即使是六七岁的孩子也几乎起床开始了传统的晨练。
On an empty area in the eastern region of Wushan town, the warmth of the rays of the morning sun passed through the surrounding trees, leaving behind scattered spots of light on the empty ground.
乌山镇东部的空地上,早晨温暖的阳光透过空地旁边的大树,在空地上留下斑驳的光点。
A large group of children could be seen there, approximately one or two hundred in number. These children were separated into three groups, each group divided into several lines. All the children stood there silently, their faces solemn. The northernmost group of children were approximately six years old. The group in the middle, approximately nine to twelve years old. The ones in the south, the thirteen to sixteen year olds.
我看到一大群孩子,看着过去估计几乎有一两百个。这群孩子被分成三个团队,每个团队被分成几排,孩子们静静地站在空地上,看起来很严肃。这群孩子最北端的孩子大约六到八岁。中间的一个团队几乎是9到12岁,最南端的是一群13到16岁的青少年。
In front of this large group of children, there were three sturdily-built middle-aged men. All three of them wore short-sleeved shirts and roughly cut trousers.
在这群孩子面前,有三个强壮的中年人,三个中年人都穿着短背心和粗布裤。
“If you want to be a powerful warrior, then you must work hard from youth.” The leader of the middle-aged men, head raised high, hands clasped behind his back, said to them coldly. He swept his cold, fierce gaze across the northernmost group of children. All of those six and seven year olds tightened their lips. Gazing at this man with their big, round eyes, none of them dared to make a sound.
“如果你想成为一名伟大的士兵,你必须从小努力工作。”领导的中年人背着双手,抬起头冷冷地说,冷冷的眼睛扫过了最北端的一个团队,六七岁的孩子一个接一个地抿着嘴,黑眼睛盯着中年人,不敢说话。
The leader’s name was Hillman (Xi’er’man). He was the captain of the guard for the Baruch (Ba’lu’ke) clan, the noble clan which owned Wushan town.
以希尔曼为首的中年人是乌山镇的主人‘巴鲁克家族’护卫队队长。
“All of you are commoners. Unlike those noble families, you won’t have access to any secret manuals teaching you how to cultivate battle qi [dou qi]. If you want to become someone of worth, if you wish to be respected, then all of you must use the most ancient, most simple, and most basic ways of improving yourselves – through exercising your bodies, and building up your strength! Am I clear? Am I clear?!”
“你们都是普通人。你不可能像那些大贵族那样有强大的斗气密典。如果你想出人头地,不被人看不起,你必须按照最古老、最简单、最基本的方法锻炼,锻炼身体,努力工作。你明白吗!”
Hillman swept the group of children with his gaze.
希尔曼的目光扫向这群孩子。
“Understood.” The voices of the children replied brightly in unison.
“明白。”一群少年大声吼道。
“Good.” Satisfied, Hillman coldly nodded. The eyes of the six year old children displayed their confusion, while the eyes of the teenagers became very determined. They understood the meaning behind Hillman’s words.
“很好。”希尔曼满意地冷冷地点了点头。大多数六七岁的孩子都很无知,而那些十几岁的孩子则非常坚定,因为他们理解希尔曼的意思。
Virtually every male in the Yulan continent would exercise very hard from a very young age. If anyone slacked off, in the future, they would be looked down upon by others! Money and power – these were the things that determined a man’s status! Money and power – these were the things that determined a man’s status! A man without power would be looked down upon even by women.
整个玉兰大陆几乎每个人都必须从小努力锻炼。如果有人不努力训练,他将来会被鄙视!代表男人地位的是力量和金钱!一个没有力量的男人,即使是女人也会鄙视他。
这些外国志愿理解,这些外国志愿者翻译还提供了武器提示:
中国称号:
还有一些文化tips:
早在2011年,南派三叔的《盗墓笔记》就出版了英文版Cavern of the Blood Zombies。
如今,国外的自愿翻译网站几乎形成了自己的运营模式——奖励模式建立了翻译团队。据说很多原本是日韩轻小说被抢走了(light novels)的粉丝。
几个主要网站正在更新连载译文:
不乏猫腻、天蚕土豆等大神的作品。
你可能想知道为什么外国读者能理解中国独特的文化元素,如仙侠和武侠……
阅文集团(China Reading Group)的CEO吴文辉在接受《中国日报》时说:
“关键是你的文化产品太好了,他们愿意跨越文化去了解你。这不是谁迎合谁的过程,而是你有文化魅力征服别人心灵的问题。”
他认为中国网络文学的优势在于丰富的想象力和不断成长的故事主线。
阅文集团CEO吴文辉和演员胡歌共同宣布2016年中国原创文学风云榜TOP1、2、3名得主
吴文辉介绍,目前,海外用户最喜爱的中国网络小说主要有幻想、武侠、仙侠等类型。
“这种网络文本的灵感来自于在中国流传和演变了数千年的神话传说、历史经典等。作品构建了深深植根于中国传统文化的巨大世界观,与西方世界的文化背景完全不同,给海外读者带来了前所未有的阅读体验。同时,它也充满了曲折和奇怪的情节,以及英雄的斗争经历。”
另一份统计:
▷ 在十大外国人最喜欢的网文中,“重生”“穿越”“种马”“炼丹”“开金手指”情节出现率极高;
▷ 50%出现在十大热书中。血统、族系(Bloodlines、Clan Politics)内容,主角50%修真(Cultivation),主角在50%炼体(Body Tempering),50%的主角会穿越异界(Transported to Another World),60%的主角有储物空间(Interspatial Storage);
▷ 怪物和兽类出现在80%的故事中(Monsters、Beast);
▷ 有很多60%的故事界域(Multiple Realms);
▷ 90%讲的是男主角由弱变强的故事(Weak to Strong)。
盘龙的作者“我吃西红柿”反应如下:
“的确想过作品传播到海外,不过没想到是读者自发翻译在论坛上传播,我挺喜欢这样的事的。”
他认为故事和感情是共同的,会有爱和亲情。
唯一担心的是翻译。毕竟网络小说很长。有人愿意翻译这么长的小说,准确翻译吗?
那是谁在翻译呢?
前面提过的RWX其实就是“任我行”,1986年出生于四川成都,3岁与父母一起去美国学习UC伯克利,毕业后考入了“本科生很难进入”国务院下的外交部门。
这位武侠爱好者翻译了金庸古龙,一边工作一边完全翻译。“我吃西红柿”长文《盘龙》,340万字,花了他一年半的业余时间,被他称为“a hell of a ride”。
RWX在过去的15年里,他辞去了外交官的工作,专注于中国网络文学对英语世界的翻译和推广。他说,现在网站的平均日期PV为400万,吸引了24名译者做志愿翻译,其中还有金发碧眼学中医的小伙伴。
任大侠说他的话翻译速度为每周10-20章,中间一度翻译不了,全靠热心粉丝的自愿奖励:
A cycle had begun, and others scrambled to donate as well. This was far more work than I had bargained for…but I did what I promised, and this resulted in a virtuous (albeit exhausting) cycles of more updates=>more viewers=>more donations=>more updates.
然后一个无法停止的日常循环开始了,网民们争相奖励。我没想到工作量会这么大,但我完成了我的承诺。这促成了另一个良性循环(尽管它也很累):更多的更新=>更多读者=>更多打赏=>更多更新。
The 90 hour workweek for a year has taken its toll; it’s been rewarding in many ways, both financial and personal, but at the same time, it’s been a killer. I’ve had no social life for a year, I’ve gained ~30 lbs from all that sitting in front of a computer, my right hand cramps at the pinky (from continuous stretching to the ‘shift’ button) , I haven’t gone out for a date in ages…the list goes on and on.
每周工作90小时,持续一年,它确实让我收获良多,无论是经济上还是个人成长上,但也辛苦之极。我几乎没有社交生活,长期坐在电脑前长胖了30磅,右手小指时而抽筋,因为总要按shift键,没机会出去约会……所有这些列都完。
除了翻译,还有很多外国大神用中国网络小说模式原创英文小说。
看看Gravity网站上的原创作品列表:
其中《蓝凤凰》(Blue Phoenix),作者是Tina Lynge,据说是住在丹麦,25岁左右的美少女。
《蓝凤凰》已经在亚马逊出版了一本电子书,讲述了一个叫做的故事Hui Yue(主角名字都是拼音)英雄在“弱肉强食的世界如何靠自己的力量生存?”故事。这本书是外国人的“豆瓣”Goodreads评价266人,褒贬不一。
Tina Lynge还有一部小说叫Escaping Fate。
作家说:
My writing is inspired by popular genres of Chinese web novels. These stories usually takes place in a world unlike our own. A world filled with demonic beasts and cultivation of both body and soul. This is a world where a person's level of strength is what determines their future accomplishments.
我的创作灵感来自流行的中国网络小说。这些故事通常发生在一个完全不同的世界里,充满了怪物、身体和精神的双重培养。这是一个由个人力量决定他们未来成就的世界。
Blue Phoenixis a story that I have been spending a very long time on planning. It is a story that has caused me to use countless of hours to research the Chinese culture and Taoism. Even now there is so much to know, that I still spend hour after hour on researching the fundamentals while writing a chapter.
我的《蓝凤凰》构思了很长时间。我花了很多时间研究中国文化和道教。虽然我已经掌握了很多知识,但我仍然需要花很多时间来研究每一章的背景。