The four books, "New Stories of the World (First and Second)", "Memories of Tao An's Dream", "Six Chapters of a Floating Life", and "Memories of Autumn Lantern (Second)", were collected as "the most beautiful classics newly translated by young writers", and the planning idea of finding contemporary young writers to re translate the full text was just a flash of inspiration at the beginning. One day, I thought of Shi Shuo Xin Yu unintentionally, and I thought of three other books in succession. Out of intuition, I felt that "maybe we can do this", and then I dug deeply. In the process of implementation, the internal links between them emerged, and little by little verified this intuition.
As we all know, Shi Shuo Xin Yu is a notebook novel created by Liu Yiqing, nephew of Liu Yu, Emperor Wu of the Song Dynasty of the Liu Song regime in the Southern Dynasty, and the second son of Liu Daolian, King of Changsha (a masterpiece of Liu Daolin), who organized a group of literati. Since its inception, it has been loved by readers because of the characteristics of "keeping a record of words is profound, cold and meaningful, while keeping a record of deeds is simple and marvelous" (Lu Xun's A Brief History of Chinese Fiction). It records the interesting stories and anecdotes of the aristocratic celebrities from the Han and Wei Dynasties to the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the form of a "collection of jokes". It is concise and vivid, and its charm is flowing. It not only reflects the lifestyle, mental outlook and the style of empty talk and absurdity of the people at that time, but also passes on the "Wei and Jin demeanor", which is straightforward and free of charge, handsome and unrestrained, from a long history. This continuous stream has a long echo in the late Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and even in modern times.
"Memories of a Dream in a Tao An" is a prosperous dream performed by Zhang Dai for the late Ming Dynasty. In a quiet and lonely place, there is heavy snow on the West Lake, and three or four people in the pavilion in the middle of the lake go home late at night after drinking three big drinks; In the beautiful and bustling place, hundreds of thousands of people often watch the opera, watch the moon, and watch the lights... Such luxury, not only makes Zhang Dai drunk, but hundreds of years later, scholars are also shocked. But after waking up, just as "A Dream of Red Mansions" said, "The vast white land is really clean". The collapse of the Ming Dynasty, the entry of the Qing army into the Shanhaiguan Pass and the change of political power not only meant the great disruption and change of the social stratum, but also the great impact and collapse of culture. Zhang Dai, who was born in a family of official literature and art, suffered more. According to textual research, after his family and country were broken, Zhang Dai even secretly participated in the action of "fighting against the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty". In the second half of his life, he swore not to become an official in the Qing Dynasty and lived a reclusive life writing books. His words are pure, bold, arrogant and self conceited, which are in the same line with "Wei Jin demeanor". It is no coincidence that Zhang Dai has quoted many allusions in Shi Shuo Xin Yu in Tao An Meng Yi, and the use of them is appropriate and natural, showing that they have already been integrated with their own temperament and insight.
Coincidentally, Dong Bai, a famous prostitute who was listed on the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai" list at that time, was mentioned twice in "Memories of a Taoist Nunnery". She was the heroine of "Memories of Yingmei Nunnery", and the author pretended to marry Dong Xiaowan, the concubine room. The woman in Zhang Dai's works flashed by. When her father was addicted to gambling and was forced to pay debts and was ill, she suddenly met with an official prince and a generation of celebrities who had only met once. Then she said goodbye and fell in love with him and vowed to commit herself to him. Xiangxiang refused her out of various considerations. Dong Xiaowan was as obsessed as iron. He followed Feixiang 27 days and was rejected 27 times. Finally, with the help of Qian Qianyi and others, she married Feixiang. After only nine years of marriage, Dong Xiaowan died early because of overwork. He was only 27 years old when he died. This memoir written by Xiangxiang for mourning is based on real life, and also has the epitome of the times. The words cannot be written without hair in the tense place, but are graceful and colorful in the beautiful place, which directly inspired the following memoir style works: Memories of Xiangwan Tower, Memories of Autumn Lanterns, and Six Chapters of Floating Life. In contrast, in the mourning of "Memories of Xiangwan Mansion", the author did not forget to show off his poems and ambitions; A Little Memories of Autumn Lantern is charming and lovely, but it is lost because of its small size. It is like drinking wine. The wine jar has been exhausted before getting drunk; Only Six Chapters of a Floating Life, no matter the characters, feelings or characters, is lovely enough. Although two records have been lost, it is enough to make people drunk.
From Shishuoxinyu to Six Chapters of a Floating Life, several authors mostly lived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which was called Jiangnan by the ancients, and their activity areas were also in Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Suzhou and other places. So the place names mentioned in this book appear in that book; The characters described in the book appear again in this book, which has a kind of interest of seeing each other, drawing and interspersed, from which we can also feel the spread of traditional culture and literati character. Zhang Dai's unconscionable and pure pride is the predecessor of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest"; Shen Fu's seclusion and aloofness are exactly the same as those of Zhang Dai. The character is similar but the circumstances are different, which more reflects the ups and downs of life and personality.
This kind of penetration of the spirit of time is exactly through this set of classic dark lines. Beyond the dark line, there is a layer of brilliant Chinese clothing - the beauty of words. When I read the sentence "When the morning is clear, the new Tongs are beginning to be introduced" in Shi Shuo Xin Yu, I felt the vitality of the word "introduction"; When I read the words "The sky and clouds, the mountain and the water are white up and down. The shadow on the lake is only a trace of the embankment, a little pavilion in the lake, a mustard with the remaining boat, and only two or three people in the boat" in the Dream of the Tao Nunnery, I was shocked and chanted repeatedly; After reading Six Chapters of a Floating Life, "Yun said, 'Love is what you like, though it's ugly.'"; When I read the "Little Memories of Autumn Lantern", "I made plum flower painting clothes for autumn lotus, covered with fragrant snow, and looked like a green calyx fairy, floating on the earth", I felt carefree and fascinated. The beauty of words alone is enough to make people feel impressive.
Today's people often need translation to help them appreciate the beauty of ancient words. It is often said that the artistic conception of ancient prose is often destroyed by the translation. However, the translation is originally a bridge to help readers move from the difficult side to the elegant side, but it is not intended to replace the scenery of the other side. A good translation is a shorter and better bridge; A poor translation may be a squeaky wooden bridge, which will make people fall into the ditch carelessly and cannot be used. A good translation comes from a good translator, and a good translator not only needs to pass the test of writing skills, but also needs to share the same spirit with the original author in temperament.
As it happens, we have found four young translators. The noon song is sharp, cheerful and swift. If you meet Zhang Dai, you will be able to drink and sing with him, and you can translate the Dream of Tao An; Xiaoyanjing is romantic, gentle and graceful, and a bit of Ruan Ji's carefree, so he can take Shishuoxinyu; Wu Ting is smart, graceful and tender. The original "Say Later", which describes the past and the present of human beings, is just right for "Six Chapters of Floating Life"; Zhang Qiuhan is gorgeous and elegant. He is exquisitely carved, and has an immovable spirit, so he is the best candidate for Autumn Lantern Trivia (the other two chapters).
What is rare in the world is just good. This time, they are all here.
In addition to finding a suitable translator to translate on a reliable basis, we also provide you with some appendices to help you understand the author's creative background: each book provides a preface to the translator's creation; Shi Shuo Xin Yu added historical background introduction and important historical facts; The Tao An Dream has obtained the authorization of Mr. Li Jingze's One World's Liveliness, One Man's Dream, and the preface written by Mr. Zhou Zuoren for Yu Pingbo's republishing of the book in 1926, and 49 brief reviews provided by the translator of the Wu Ge, enriching the text from multiple dimensions; In the appendix of Six Chapters of a Floating Life, two prefaces, one postscript and Shen Funian's table of the first edition in the third year of Guangxu's reign (1877) are included, and the article Five Men Who Achieved Six Chapters of a Floating Life written by the editor combs the important points of the book's discovery, publication, circulation and promotion; In "A Brief Review of Autumn Lantern (the other two chapters)", each article is attached with relevant preface, postscript, biography and other words, providing multiple perspectives, making the article more full, and hoping to provide a better reading experience for everyone.
This book took more than a year from planning to publication, during which the hardship was insignificant, but the happiness was more. On the occasion of this publication, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the translators of the series, the teachers of the publishing house and all the staff! Due to the limited level, although we have tried our best, the mistakes and omissions in the book are inevitable. We sincerely ask you to criticize and correct them while you are understanding.
Susin
