英譯現(xiàn)代散文●說起香港 ◎ 蕭乾

說起香港

About Hong Kong

◎　蕭乾

◎　Xiao Qian

除非是研究近代史的，很少人會知道中俄戰(zhàn)爭后，從本世紀初英國即與日本結(jié)為同盟。這一特殊關(guān)系一直延續(xù)到一九四一年的“珍珠港事變”。這期間，英國老百姓自然始終堅定地站在中國一邊。我先是在“七七事變”頭一年就有所察覺。當時上海還有租界，而大公報館無論在津、滬、港，都始終位于洋人管轄的地方。事變前的一年——一九三六年，《大公報》就由于我發(fā)表的陳白塵一個劇本中多處提到“×洋人”(“×”是編者打的)而三次被英、日控制的工部局傳到法院，最終還是由于事先打了叉叉而沒坐牢。

Most people, apart from those familiar with modern history, are unaware that as early as the turn of the century (after the Sino-Russian War), Britain entered into alliance with Japan. The special relationship lasted until the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor Incident in 1941. Meanwhile, however, the British people remained firm in siding with China. It was in the year when the July 7 Incident broke out that I first became aware of the said alliance between Britain and Japan. In those days, there were foreign settlements in Shanghai. And The Dagong Bao had its office successively located in the foreign-controlled districts of Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In 1936, one year before the July 7 Incident, because I had one of Chen Baichen's plays published, in which there appeared several times the expression“X foreigner”(the cross X had been added by the editor), I was summoned to court by the Shanghai Municipal Council under British and Japanese control. Finally, thanks to the cross put into the manuscript, I was exempted from imprisonment.

三八年至三九年間，我在香港《大公報》編文藝副刊時，因所登的稿件而與英國新聞審查官起沖突的事，更是屢見不鮮。說是“沖突”，其實，他是主子。在送審的校樣上他隨便打個紅叉，我就只好抽掉。可臨時補稿不方便，我就索性讓版面“開天窗”，空白著。如果翻閱那一時期的香港《大公報》，天窗是不少的。有一回審查官甚至把半個版面全給槍斃了。

From 1938 to 1939, when I was in charge of editing the Art and Literature Supplement of The Dagong Bao, I often got into disputes with British censors (or rather with my masters) over manuscripts. When a British censor put in a red cross at will, all I could do was withdraw the entire manuscript. Sometimes, being hard pressed to find a replacement for it, I had to leave a blank on the page to show that something had been suppressed by censorship. Take a look at The Dagong Bao published in Hong Kong in those days, and you'll find lots of blanks. Once the British censor even had half a page killed.

為什么?因為中日雖在開戰(zhàn)，英、日仍在結(jié)盟。香港殖民當局不許在它管轄的地方對日軍的在華暴行進行抗議。統(tǒng)治者說了算，沒什么道理可講!

Why? Because China and Japan were at war, and Britain and Japan were allies. The Hong Kong colonial authorities prohibited any protest staged in a region under their jurisdiction against the atrocities of the Japanese troops in China. Their word was law. There was no reasoning with them!

三九年秋，我應(yīng)倫敦大學東方學院之邀，赴英教書。坐的是法國輪船。行至西貢，輪船被征調(diào)。其他國家的客人均可自覓旅館，惟獨幾十名中國旅客，被押往集中營。幸而我在途中托人給當?shù)乜傤I(lǐng)事(我的燕京同學)送去一名片，才又改為軟禁。

In the autumn of 1939, I went to England to teach at the invitation of the College of Oriental Studies of the University of London. I sailed on a French steamer. When the ship arrived at Saigon, it was requisitioned and all passengers were to look for hotels for themselves except the several scores of Chinese who were escorted to concentration camps. Luckily, I was instead put under house arrest after I asked somebody to pass on my visiting card to the local Chinese consul general, who happened to be a former schoolmate of mine at Yenching University, Beijing.

經(jīng)過多方周折，我于十月最終來到英國港口?？怂雇ㄞk理登陸手續(xù)時，官員發(fā)給我的竟是一紙“敵性外僑”的入境證。我向主管人質(zhì)問，回答得簡單：中、日在交戰(zhàn)，而英、日是同盟國，因此，只能那樣定性。

After going through a lot of trouble, I finally arrived at the port of Folkestone, England. But, while going through entry formalities, the entry certificate issued to me by the British officials turned out to be one for an“enemy national residing abroad.”When I asked the official in charge for the reason why, the answer he gave was very simple,“China and Japan are at war while Britain and Japan are allies. So, that's that!”

這黑鍋我一直背到一九四一年“珍珠港事變”。一天之內(nèi)，我又成為“偉大盟友”了。英、日締結(jié)的盟約，隨著太平洋上的烽火自然也就煙消云散了。

I remained a scapegoat until 1941 when I became a“great ally”overnight at the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor Incident. The alliance between Britain and Japan then vanished into the air with the flames of war raging over the Pacific.

對香港本身，我當然有許多美好的記憶。我在那島上戀愛過，在淺水灘柔軟的沙灘上翻滾過，我曾多次登山看夜景，尤其八六年至八七年我還以訪問學人身份在沙田中文大學(世界上最美麗的大學)有過一段難忘的勾留。也正因為如此，我對香港的回歸祖國，倍感欣悅。

As to Hong Kong, I of course cherish many beautiful memories. I had my love affair on that island, I played on the fine sands of its beaches, I many times climbed up its mountains to watch the night scenes. From 1986 to 1987, in particular, I spent a period of unforgettable days as a visiting scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, which had the most picturesque campus in the world. All that accounted for my redoubled joy over the return of Hong Kong to our motherland.

蕭乾(1910—1999)，北京人，著名老報人、作家、翻譯家，1935年畢業(yè)于燕京大學新聞系，先后主編過天津、上海、香港等地《大公報》文藝副刊。所著《說起香港》乃一篇香港回歸祖國感言，歷數(shù)作者在英、日長期結(jié)盟的年代身受英國政府種種刁難與歧視。