可表演性视角下《牡丹亭》中诙谐双关语的英译对比研究

A Comparative Study on the English Translation of Humorous Puns in The Peony Pavilion from the Perspective of Performability

摘要: 《牡丹亭》作为汤显祖的经典之作，其语言艺术兼具文学性与舞台性，诙谐双关语更是塑造戏剧冲突、营造喜剧氛围、彰显人物性格的重要载体，成为作品可表演性的核心构成要素之一。本文在可表演性的翻译原则下，聚焦《牡丹亭》中的诙谐双关语英译案例，对比分析白之(Cyril Birch)、张光前、黄必康三大译本对诙谐双关语的处理方式，探究不同译者如何在复现双关结构、还原双关语义、满足可表演性需求三个维度下做出取舍，剖析不同选择对戏剧诙谐内核的传递效果。研究发现，白之译本在双关英译中最贴合戏剧可表演性要求，张光前译本在双关英译中实现了双关结构的复现，而黄必康译本则偏重语义完整却弱化了戏剧诙谐性。《牡丹亭》双关语英译呈现出三重构因的此消彼长，难以实现三者兼顾，使得戏剧双关语的英译成为一种充满遗憾的艺术。

Abstract: As a classic work by Tang Xianzu, The Peony Pavilion features linguistic art that integrates both literary quality and theatricality. Its humorous puns serve as a crucial device for shaping dramatic conflicts, creating comic effects, and highlighting character personalities, thus constituting one of the core elements of the play’s performability. Guided by the translation principle of performability, this paper focuses on the English translation cases of humorous puns in The Peony Pavilion, and conducts a comparative analysis of the rendering strategies adopted in three major versions translated by Cyril Birch, Zhang Guangqian, and Huang Bikang. It explores how different translators make trade-offs among three dimensions: reproducing the pun structure, restoring the pun meaning, and meeting the requirements of performability, and analyzes the effects of different choices on conveying the comic essence of the drama. The study finds that Birch’s translation best conforms to the performability of drama in rendering puns; Zhang’s translation realizes the reproduction of pun structures; while Huang’s translation prioritizes semantic completeness at the cost of weakening the theatrical humor. The English translation of puns in The Peony Pavilion reveals a trade-off among the three factors, making it impossible to achieve all three at the same time. Consequently, the English translation of dramatic puns proves to be an art full of regrets.