雙語詩歌翻譯|蘇軾-《凌虛臺記》

《凌虛臺記》是北宋文學家蘇軾創(chuàng)作的一篇散文。這篇文章在記敘土臺修建的經過，聯(lián)系到古往今來的廢興成毀的歷史，感嘆人事萬物的變化無常，指出不能稍有所得就“夸世而自足”，而應該去探求真正可以永久依靠的東西。反映了蘇軾思想中對生活積極樂觀和對理想執(zhí)著追求的一面。

《凌虛臺記》 蘇軾

國于南山之下，宜若起居飲食與山接也。四方之山，莫高于終南；而都邑之麗山者，莫近于扶風。以至近求最高，其勢必得。而太守之居，未嘗知有山焉。雖非事之所以損益，而物理有不當然者。此凌虛之所為筑也。

方其未筑也，太守陳公，杖履逍遙于其下，見山之出于林木之上者，累累如人之旅行于墻外，而見其髻也，曰：“是必有異?！笔构よ徠淝盀榉匠?，以其土筑臺，高出于屋之檐而止。然后人之至于其上者，恍然不知臺之高，而以為山之踴躍奮迅而出也。公曰：“是宜名凌虛?！币愿嫫鋸氖绿K軾，而求文以為記。

軾復于公曰：“物之廢興成毀，不可得而知也。昔者荒草野田，霜露之所蒙翳，狐虺之所竄伏。方是時，豈知有凌虛臺耶？廢興成毀，相尋于無窮，則臺之復為荒草野田，皆不可知也。嘗試與公登臺而望，其東則秦穆之祈年、橐泉也，其南則漢武之長楊、五柞，而其北則隋之仁壽、唐之九成也。計其一時之盛，宏杰詭麗，堅固而不可動者，豈特百倍于臺而已哉！然而數(shù)世之后，欲求其仿佛，而破瓦頹垣，無復存者，既已化為禾黍荊棘丘墟隴畝矣，而況于此臺歟！夫臺猶不足恃以長久，而況于人世之得喪、忽往而忽來者歟？而或者欲以夸世而自足，則過矣。蓋世有足恃者，而不在乎臺之存亡也。”

既已言于公，退而為之記。

The Towering Terrace
Shu Shi

At the foot of the Zhongnan Mountain, the daily lives of the city people seemed inseparable from the mountain. Of the mountains around the cities, none were as high as the Zhongnan mountain, and, of the cities nearby, none were as close to the Zhongnan Mountain as Fufeng County. Needless to say, Fufeng County, because of its close proximity to the Mountain, was the best place to view its summit. But the prefect did not know that the Mountain was there. Thought this oversight did not impact the prefect's government affairs, it defied common sense. This was the reason why the Towering Terrace was built.

Before he constructed the Terrace, Prefect Chen used to stroll leisurely about the foot of the mountain, with a stick in hand. He noticed the mountain peaks rising one after another over the tops of the trees like knots of hair on the heads of passerby, as seen from within the walls of the courtyard. He noted, "There is something remarkable about this place." He therefore ordered that a pond be dug, and with the excavated earth, he built a terrace that surrounded the very eaves of his estate. Then the visitors who ascended the Terrace were confounded at the height of the Terrace, thinking that they were standing on a hill newly sprung from a vigorously active mountain. With pride, Prefect Chen said, "It should be named the Towering Terrace." and asked his subordinate Su Shi to write an account of its creation.

Su Shi replied, "It is beyond man's ability to predict the rise and fall of the affairs in the world. This place used to be a wilderness choked with weeds, blanketed by frost and frequented by foxes and poisonous snakes. Who could then tell where would be a Towering Terrace? A rise is always followed by a fall, in an eternal cycle for balance. Thus no one can tell when the Towering Terrace will turn into wilderness again. I have ascended this Terrace with you, and have observed the landscape. To its east were the Qinian Palace and Tuoquan Palace of King Mu of the Qing Dynasty; to its south were Changyang Palace and the Wuzuo Palace of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty; and to its north were the Renshou Palace of the Sui Dynasty and the Jiucheng Palace of the Tang Dynasty. In the prime of their prosperity, their magnificence, splendor and unshakable stability surpassed the Terrace by no less than a hundredfold. But in a few generations, it became impossible to imagine their former wonder, for even the broken tiles and rubble no longer existed. They were supplanted by crop-growing fields and thorny hills. What of this simple Terrace? We cannot even trust the Terrace to last forever, let alone human affairs! One's life is marked by vicissitudes, drifting from gain to loss and from success to failure. It would be wrong to take pride in one's good fortune, and be self-complacent, for there are many other things in the world which we may count on. Why should we mind the survival or extinction of a Terrace?"

After this talk with Prefect Chen, I went home and put it down in writing.