Ba Jin’s Essay: The Dog – 巴金《狗》

Ba Jin's Essay:  The Dog - 巴金《狗》

Dog “is a short story written by modern writer Ba Jin. It was first published in Volume 22, Issue 9 of the 1931” Fiction Monthly “and was included in the essay collection” Dragon Tiger Dog “in January 1942.

The novel has a compact narrative and simple plot, telling the bitter story of a fatherless “me” struggling to survive in a non-human society. As an intuitive artistic presentation, the novel sharply and vividly reveals the extremely miserable living conditions of ordinary Chinese people who were crawling with life in the old society. While ruthlessly exposing the dark social reality, the author of the novel also told the readers about another more important reactionary group in the society at that time, namely, the bullying and aggression of foreign invaders against the Chinese people.

◎ 巴 金

小时候我害怕狗。记得有一回在新年里,我到二伯父家去玩。在他那个花园内,一条大黑狗追赶我,跑过几块花圃。后来我上了洋楼,才躲过这一场灾难①,没有让狗嘴咬坏我的腿。

以后见着狗,我总是逃,它也总是追②,而且屡屡望着我的影子狺狺狂吠③。我愈怕,狗愈凶。

怕狗成了我的一种病④。

我渐渐地长大起来。有一天不知道因为什么,我忽然觉得⑤怕狗是很可耻的事情。看见狗我便站住,不再逃避⑥。

我站住,狗也就站住。它望着我狂吠,它张大嘴,它做出要扑过来的样子。但是它并不朝着我前进一步。

它用怒目看我,我便也用怒目看它。它始终保持着我和它中间的距离。

这样地过了一阵子,我便转身走了。狗立刻追上来。

我回过头。狗马上站住了。它望着我恶叫,却不敢朝我扑过来。

“你的本事不过这一点点⑦,”我这样想着,觉得胆子更大了。我用轻蔑的眼光看它,我顿脚,我对它吐出骂语。

它后退两步,这次倒是它露出了害怕的表情⑧。它仍然汪汪地叫,可是叫声却不像先前那样地“恶”了。

我讨厌这种纠缠不清的叫声。我在地上拾起一块石子,就对准狗打过去。

石子打在狗的身上⑨,狗哀叫一声,似乎什么地方痛了。它马上掉转身子夹着尾巴就跑,并不等我的第二块石子落到它的头上。

我望着逃去了的狗影,轻蔑地冷笑两声。

从此狗碰到我的石子就逃。

The Dog

◎ Ba Jin

I used to be afraid of dogs when I was a child. One day during lunar new year, I remember, I happened to be chased after by a big black dog while I was playing about in the garden of Second Uncle’s home. Fortunately, after running past several flower beds, I gave him the slip by rushing upstairs in a storeyed building, thus avoiding the mishap of having my legs bitten by the fierce animal.

From then on, I always played the fugitive while the dog the pursuer. He would bark furiously at the sight of me. And the more scared I was, the fiercer he became.

I developed a canine phobia.

As I was growing up, one day it suddenly dawned on me somehow that it was shameful to be afraid of a dog. Hence instead of shying away in fear, I stood confronting him.

I stood firm and so did he. He barked angrily with his mouth wide open as if he were about to run at me. But, nevertheless, he never moved a single step towards me.

He glowered at me, and so did I at him. But he always kept the same distance between us.

After a time, the minute my back was turned he immediately followed in pursuit.

However, as I looked back he stopped right away and stood barking at me savagely, but dared not attack me.

“Aha, he’s now used up all his tricks!” said I to myself, feeling much more emboldened. I stared at him scornfully, stamped my feet and shouted vicious abuse.

He backed up a few steps, it being his turn to show signs of inner fear. He kept barking but with reduced savagery.

Disgusted with the din of barks, I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it right at him.

It hit him on the back. He let out a piteous cry apparently with pain and, before my second stone was to fall upon his head, quickly turned round to run away with the tail between the legs.

I gazed after the fleeing animal and gave a disdainful laugh.

Thenceforth he would promptly take to his heels whenever he saw me with a stone in my hand.

巴金的随笔《狗》是另一脍炙人口的名篇。文章写于1941年7月24日,后编入散文集《龙·虎·狗》。作者托物喻志,揭示了这样一个道理:一切邪恶都是纸老虎,必须奋力反抗,才能伸张正气,不应畏惧退缩。

注释

①“才躲过这一场灾难”译为Fortunately… I gave him the slip,是按“幸而把狗甩掉了”的意思加以表达的,等于Fortunately… I succeeded in escaping from him,其中to give one the slip是成语,作“趁……不备时溜掉”或“把……甩掉”解。

②“我总是逃,它也总是追”未按字面直译为I always ran away while the dog always chased,改译I always played the fugitive while the dog the pursuer,较可取,其中the fugitive也可改用the pursued。

③“屡屡望着我的影子狺狺狂吠”意即“屡屡看见我就凶恶地吠叫”,故译He would bark furiously at the sight of me。译文中用He,不用It,来称呼“狗”,是为了使之拟人化。

④“怕狗成了我的一种病”不宜按字面直译,现译I developed a canine phobia(或a phobia about dogs),其中phobia的意思是“恐惧症”(a morbid or unreasonable fear of something)。

⑤“有一天不知道因为什么,我忽然觉得……”译为one day, it suddenly dawned on me somehow that…,其中用somehow表达“不知道因为什么”,等于for some reason that was not clear或for some reason or other。

⑥“不再逃避”译为instead of shying away in fear,其中to shy away作“避开”、“躲开”解,与to start aside同义。

⑦“你的本事不过这一点点”可译为Ana, he’s now used up all his tricks或So that’s all he can do、See he’s at the end of his resources、Now he’s exhausted all his tricks等。感叹词Aha(啊哈)是增益成分,表示得意、看透等心情。

⑧“这次倒是它露出了害怕的表情”意同“现在轮到它流露出内心的恐惧”,故译it being his turn to show signs of inner fear。

⑨“石子打在狗的身上”不宜译为It hit him on the body,因body指“躯体”或“躯干”,意思太泛,故改译It hit him on the back,较切合实际。

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