On the English Version of A Dream in Red Mansions Translated byLiu Wuji〔＊〕

Chen Lin

（1．Postdoctoral Research Station Fudan University，Shanghai 200433；2．School of Foreign Languages Anhui University of Technology，Maanshan Anhui 243032）

Ⅰ．Introduction —two suspicions

The deceased professor，scholar and poet Liu Wuji endeavored to research and spread Chinese literature since 1950s，and wrote An Introduction to Chinese Literaturein1966，which has been quite influential both home and abroad．The Chinese version of An Introduction to Chinese Literature was published in 1993．Recently，there are some articles that focus on the English translation of A Dream in Red Mansions （Liu Wuji version）in Chapter 16 Great Novels by Obscure Writers of the book．Therefore，there are two doubts that need to be clarified as to An Introduction to Chinese Literature and relevant researches．

First，there is doubt about the original text of A Dream in Red Mansions provided in An Introduction to Chinese Literature．As is known to all，it is a complex process to finish the A Dream in Red Mansions，and it has many versions of translation，including the version system of Zhiyanzhai and Chengyi．The first 80 chapters of the original text provided by An Introduction to Chinese Literature belong to the Zhiyanzhai system，while the last 40 chapters refer to Chengjia version．However，some parts of it cannot be correspondent to the translation of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature．Second，there is doubt about the translator of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature．Some scholars think that the six translations of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature are all“quoted”from the translation of Wang Jizhen or McHugh version by Liu Wuji．However，they are not exactly correspondent when compared carefully．Considering this，this paper focuses on the original text and the author of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature and maintains that the six translations of A Dream in Red Mansions should be fulfilled by Liu Wuji himself with the reference to Chengyi version．

Ⅱ．Research on the master copy

There are two systems of the existent version of A Dream in Red Mansions．The first one only keeps the first 80 chapters，which is referred to AS Zhiyanzhai system．The second one is called Cheng version，including Chengjia version（1791）and Chengyi version （1792）．There are some differences concerning the choice of words in the two systems and the different versions of the same system．

For example：

How can one hold them up？（241-242）

（Cheng）那里拿的动他？（489）

（Zhi／ Introduction）那里犟的过他。（222）

In this example，Cheng version writes那里拿的动他？”while Zhiyanzhai version writes“那里犟的过他。”The words of An Introduction to Chinese Literature are correspondent to the Cheng version．

Due to the space limit，many other examples are omitted．But the examples show that A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature refers to Chengyi version．Besides，there are many other reasons．First，the Chengyi version is available in the folk as it was quite popular in the 1950s and 1960s．Second，Liu Wuji is a close friend of Hu Shi’s，and Hu Shi collected the Chengyi version．Third，the translation of Chapter 60 of Wang Jizhen version（1958）mainly refers to Chengyi version．

Ⅲ．Research on the translator

By carefully comparing the three versions，it can be found that the most of Liu Wuji’s version is different from that of Wang Jizhen and McHugh．

1．Translation of name

Figure1 Translation of name

2．Liu Wuji version and Wang Jizhen version

Figure2 Translation of two poems by Liu and Wang

Due to the space limit，we take parts of Chapter 41 as an example．

那刘老老正夸鸡蛋小巧，凤姐儿笑道：“一两银子一个呢！你快尝尝罢，冷了就不好吃了。”（486）

（Liu）Old Dame Liu was still exclaiming about how tiny and dainty the eggs were when Phoenix said jocularly to her：“They cost an ounce of silver apiece．YOU had better hurry up and taste one before they get cold．”（242）

（Wang）Phoenix continued to urge Liu Lao-lao to help herself．“Go ahead and eat，”she said．“These eggs cost a tael each and won’t be good cold．”（279）

In this example，the part“那刘老老正夸鸡蛋小巧”is deleted in the Wang Jizhen version，but kept in Liu Wuji version，“Old Dame Liu was still exclaiming about how tiny and dainty the eggs were．”

3．Liu version and McHugh version

An Introduction to Chinese Literature selects Chapter 120 of A Dream in Red Mansions．We can find differences by comparing the translation of An Introduction to Chinese Literature and McHugh version．

（1）自己在船中写家书，先要打发人起早到家。（1510）

（Liu）He then set himself to composing a letter home，which he intended to dispatch with a servant by the faster land route．（244）

（McHugh）He himself was sitting all alone in the ship’s cabin，writing to his family．（579）

Liu translates“先要打发人起早到家”into“which he intended to dispatch with a servant by the faster land route”，while it is omitted in McHugh version．

（2）写到宝玉的事，便停笔。（1510）

（Liu）He laid down his pen when he came to Pao-yu’s disappearance．（244）

（McHugh）He was just about to speak of Pao Yu；he laid down his writing brush and looked up to reflect for a moment．（579）

In this example，the types of“笔”are different in the two translation．Liu uses“pen”while McHugh uses“writing brush”．Considering the social reality of that time，the latter seems to be more probable．Besides，McHugh adds“looked up to reflect for a moment”while there is no correspondent content in Liu version．

Besides，we can find proof from other sources．Liu Wuji starts Chinese literature translation since early times，which suggests that it is likely that Liu has already translated the four classics（or parts of them）of China．It is quite popular among scholars to adopt their own translations in their research，which is by no means a trendy move but has profound social background and historical source．

Ⅳ．Conclusion

By carefully comparing the various versions of A Dream in Red Mansions in Zhiyanzhai system and Chengyi system as well as six translations of A Dream in Red Mansionsin An Introduction to Chinese Literature，it can be concluded that the six translations refer to the Chengyi version instead of Zhiyanzhai version．By carefully comparing the six translations of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature and Wang Jizhen version in 1958 as well as the McHugh version in 1958，we can find out a lot of clues which suggest that the six translations of A Dream in Red Mansions in An Introduction to Chinese Literature should be done by Liu Wuji himself instead of“copying”others．What’s more，relevant documents，including the life records and letters of Liu Wuji also provide convincing proof．

Notes：

〔1〕柳无忌：《An Introduction to Chinese Literature》，倪庆饩译，中国人民大学出版社，1993年。

〔2〕江帆：《经典化过程对译者的筛选——从柳无忌〈中国文学概论〉对〈红楼梦〉英译本的选择谈起》，《中国比较文学》2011年第2期。

〔3〕朱淡文：《红楼梦论源》，江苏古籍出版社，1992年，第263-268页。

〔4〕刘心贞：《〈红楼梦〉方言及难解词词典》，东方出版社，2010年，第257页。

〔5〕叶雪芬：《柳无忌年谱》，社会科学文献出版社，1992年。

〔6〕马蹄疾：《新见胡适致柳无忌的三封佚简》，《社会科学辑刊》1994年第1期。