外語翻譯文化（第6輯）-正文第四章文學研究（三）

TimedEternity:Thomas

HardysInfluenceon

XuZhimo

HuMaoshengⅠ.ABriefIntroduction:TheRegainedNameofXu

ZhimothePoetThe1920shaswitnessedChinainadramaticrenewalofacademicthoughts.Socialreforms,civilwarfareandnaturaldisastersalsoarousedgreatsoundandfuryamongthesufferingciviliansalloverthecountry.However,thedarkestskyhasitsshiningrayandtheendlessnighthasitsdawningday.XuZhimoasapoetofflashingthoughtsflickeredintheskyofpoeticwriting.Hehasnowbeenrecognizednotonlyasapoetofsentimentandsensibility,butalsoaninnovationalfigureatthetimeofturmoil.Roundtherealmofgold,hewouldgowhereverhewouldgo,andhecouldalwayshear“askybornmusicstill”.①InEmersonslines,theomnipresentmusic“soundsfromallthingsold/itsoundsfromallthingsyoung/fromallthatsfair/fromallthatsfoul”.②Thus,Zhimokeptsingingalldaylong,eventhoughthethornswerepiecingthroughhisthroat.Throughalltheseendeavors,thethrobbingsoullikearollingcrystalballhasbeenframedinatubeoftime.Itseternalflamehasstoodallthestormsandtempestsoftimeandevents.

Onemayfindgreatcontroversystillremainsaswhetherthispoetisworthyofsomuchattentionandsomanypraises.However,heisapieceofgoldandhisglitteringlightsaredestinedtosweepawayalltheobstaclesontheway.Therefore,MaoDun,oneofthepigheadedfathersinChinesemodernliteratureandtheverypersonthatsuspectedthevalueofZhimoswritings,wrotelaterinhislife:“Personally,Ithinkamongthemanycomposersofnewpoemsafter‘May4thMovement,XuZhimoisasignificantpoetandalsotherepresentativeoneofChinesebourgeoisie.Itiswellworthwhileforustoturntohispoetrywritingandcarryoutresearchesintoit.ButsincethefoundingofPeoplesRepublicofChina,ourattentionhassomewhatswayedfromhisnameandthisisnotwhatwewouldliketoexpect.Nowitisofgreatnecessitytomakeupthisgapsoastoevaluateobjectivelythispoetandalsotodisclosethetruepictureofthepast.”③

(GuYongdai，1997:12)SeventyyearsafterZhimostime,agrowingnumberofChinesescholarsdid“carryoutmoreandmoreresearchintothisenlighteningpoetandthepictureoncesomysteriousandmisleadinghasbeenunearthedbeforethepublic.NowfewwoulddoubtwhetherZhimospoeticworksdeservethekindofattentionsooverlookedinthepast.Instead,hisachievements—allhispoeticendeavorshavebeentransformedintothecrystallikebrightnessrisinguponthedarksky”④(GuYongdai，1997:254).Therefore,histhrobbingsoulofnoontidewouldnothave“rushedintotheendlessdarknessofthenight”⑤(GuYongdai，1997:254).Besides,hewouldnothave“dashedintothewastelandofaboundlessdarkness”⑥(GuYongdai，1997:254)onlytosearchforabrightstar.ThankstotherenewedunderstandingofXuZhimoandhispoetry,agreatreversalofevaluationandjudgmenthasbeenwitnessedbythosecaringeyesthathavebeenwaitingsolongforsuchanoutcome.Astimegoesby,hisreputationgrowstosuchaheightthatChineseliterarycirclecrownedhimwithverydecentesteem.

Ⅱ.HistoricalCluesandTextualAnalysis:The

InfluenceofThomasHardyonXuZhimoAlthoughthenameofZhimoasanoutstandingpoethasbeenreestablished,fewwouldrealizetheglittersofthispoeticmindfallundertheinfluenceoftheVictorianpoetThomasHardy.InasenseitisnotexaggeratorytosaytheyoungerpoetisatrueandfaithfulfollowerofHardy.

Inhistwenties,XuZhimohadtheopportunitytogoabroadforstudy.Andasayoungmanofdiligenceandintelligence,hedidnotonlyreadwidelyforlearningbutalsotravelfrequentlyforknowledge.Hisfather,whowassomethingofagentleman,shotquitehighforhischild.ForthispieceofexperienceabroadZhimorecalledinhisautobiography:

“［...］thereasonwhymyfathersentmeabroadwasthatheexpectedmetomakesomethingofmyowninthefieldoffinance,whilemygreatestambitionatthattimewastobecometheHamiltoninChina!［...］.”⑦(XuZhimo:1)

However,ZhimopreferredthecareerofOvidtothatofHamilton.Beforetheageof24,hewasmoreinterestedintheTheoryofRelativityandSocialContractthanwhateverpoemsroundthegoldrealm.Asthesunisdailynewandold,hisattentionhasbeencaughtbysongsandlyricsofvariouskinds.Therefore,hebegantowritepoemsandneverbeforehadhispoeticthoughtbeensharpenedtosuchanextent.Likemanyotheryoungmenofhistime,hisdiligenceandtheeagernesstolearnpushedhimintoaworldofattractionlikethatofastonishingchildrenbeforeawondrousshopwindow.Thus,undertheguidanceandprotectionofwhatHaroldBloomterms“coveringcherubs”,Zhimoenteredaworldofextensiveinfluences.Amongallthesetherewasonewhoappealedtohimmost.Andhiscoveringcherub,ThomasHardytheVictorianpoet,waswellwithinZhimoseagerimitationandfaithfuladmiration.Therefore,onafineafternooninthefifthmonthof1925,XuZhimofinalizedhisideaofcommunicatingwiththisgreatheroofhis.Inhiswords,themeetingwasoneof“20minutesimmortality”(“不朽的20分鍾”).Asherecalledlaterinhisautobiography:

“Oncemet,youandI

Immortalwasthe20minutestime!”⑧(XuZhimo:99)

ThoughthetwolineswerecomposedafterhismeetingwithKatherineMansfield,thesentimentsheexpressedwerethesamesentimentshewouldliketoconveyafterhismeetingwiththe“oldhero”.⑨Furthermore,XuZhimocomparedhismeetingwithHardytothatwithMansfieldbysayingthatitwasanamazingthingtofindsuchgreatmindsunderthesky.ShortlyafterthefacetofaceinteractionwithThomasHardy,Zhimowroteadetailedandvividarticlecommemoratingthemeetingandthepieceofwritingwasentitled“MeetingwithHardyonanAfternoon”.Besides,hementionedhislastmeetingwiththewomanwriterinregrettingthelimitedtimewhileconversingwithHardy.Inthispieceofwriting,hestartedwiththefollowingwords:

“Hardy.ThankstotheintroductionbyMr.Dickens,IhadtheopportunitytomeetwiththisoldherolastJulyinLondon.Thoughthemeetinglastedlessthananhour,onmyside—ahumbleyoungmanlikeme,itwasmorethananhonoursomuchsothatIcouldnothelptakingdownsomeimpressionsoftheevent.NeverinmylifedidIdenymysentimentof‘heroworship［...］.”⑩(XuZhimo，1997:98)

HisadmirationofhischerubamountedtosuchadegreethatmanyofHardyspoemshadbeentranslatedintoChinesebyZhimo.Inallhehadrenderedmorethan21piecesofHardyspoemsintoChinese,andamongthemincludedHardysearlypoemslike“HerInitials”(1869),“ILookintoMyGlass”(1873),“SheatHisFuneral”(1876),andthelatepoemslike“TheDivision”(1893),“TheManHeKilled”(1902).AllofhisendeavorsintranslatingHardyspoemsmakeitclearthatZhimoacceptedHardyandhispoeticworkswholeheartedlyandinthiswayorthathewouldwillinglycomposehissongsandlyricsintheverystyleofHardys.Therefore,itisofsensibilitytosaytheVictorianpoetsinfluenceonZhimoismorethantremendous.And,theyoungerpoethadtakensuchinfluenceforgranted.

Moreover,theyoungerpoethadfullyfollowedHardyinhispoeticcareer.Generallyspeaking,Hardyhaslongbeenseenas“atransitionalpoet—asboththelastVictorianandthefirstModern”(WilliamW.Morgan，2006:154).Andhispoemsarehistoricallyandtemperamentallyambivalent.Thatswhysimilarlinessuchas“buttime,tomakemegrieve/partsteals,letspartabide/andshakesthisfragileframeateve/withthrobbingsofnoontide”arefrequentlyreadinhismorethanonethousandpoems.Theambivalencebetweentheagingprocess(“thefragileframeateve”)andtheunremittingefforts(“thethrobbingsofnoontide”)isvividlypresentedbeforethereadersandobviouslythepoetisstrugglingbetweenbothendsinordertofightawayout.Allthroughhispoeticlife(1860s—1928),thehistoryofEnglishpoetryhassurvivedthetimeofVictorian,thatofGeorgianandmodernisminthetwodecadesafterWorldWarⅠ.Inhispoetrywriting,fromtheverybeginningtohislastyearsHardy“insistedonastyleofhisownandtherewasnostrikingdifferencebetweentheearlypoemsandthelatepoemsintermsofpoeticstyle”(ZhangZhongzai，1987:83).Butonemayask:“Whereonearthdoesthisambivalencecomefrom?”Asamatteroffact,alotofgreatpoetsaremetinthisoneHardy.Inhischildhood,hewasextremelyinterestedinhisbirthdaypresent—aneditionofGoldenTreasury.DennisTaylorwrotewhenrecallingtothelifestoryofHardy:

“HardybeganaseriousstudyofTheGoldenTreasury,andmademarkingsagainstvariousshortRenaissancepoems,especiallysonnetsbyShakespeare;alsoSpensers“Prothalamion”,Miltons“Lycidas”,andvariouspoemsbyGray,Collins,Burns,Wordsworth,Shelly,andothers...”(DaleKrammer，2000:184)

Therefore,itisnotdifficulttoexplainwhythebewilderingambivalenceisdeeplyandwidelyrootedinhispoems.ProbablythemostsensibleexplanationwillbethatThomasHardylivesasonepoetandhewritesasmany.Ononehand,hehasinheritedthetraditionalsentimentsinpoetrythathaslongbeenpopularamonghiscontemporaries.Ontheotherhand,astreamofmodernismisflowingconstantlythroughhispoeticalveins.Onemayneverfeelpuzzledtoreadthewholeandcomplexstoryepicof“Dynasties”whichisrootedinthetraditionalpoeticform.Andatthesametimeonemaynotfrownwhenhereadsthelines“closeupthecasement,drawtheblind/...withinthecommonlamplitroom/prisonmyeyesandthought...”simplybecausetheydiffergreatlyfromthetraditionalpoeticform.

XuZhimohadalsoexperiencedatimewhenthehistoricityoftraditionandtherenovationofmodernismmetinChineseliterature.Asmentionedattheverybeginning,May4thMovementhaslongbeenheldasamilestoneforthemodernisminChineseliterature.Itisthespringofallthingsnewanditistheknellofallthingsold.XuZhimoasapoethadsuccessfullyabsorbedthefreshairblowingfromthewestandasaninnovationalfigureheadvocatedanindustryorientedmethodtoimproveChinaspoorstatusineconomy.Inatimewhentheoldandthenewmingled,ZhimohaddevelopedapoeticthoughtquitesimilartothatofThomasHardythoughtheformerwasmorethan50yearsyoungerthanhiscoveringcherub.Theambivalence—theorderandtranquilityfromtraditionaswellasthefuryandpassionoutofmodernismaremingledinthepoeticveinofthisyoungcreativesoul.OnonehandthetraditionalChineseversesandsongsimprintedhisthoughtwiththemarkofstaticbenevolenceandthemarkhadservedasanenginesupplyingregularpowerinhiswriting,ontheotherhandstreamofconsciousnesshadledhimintoawastelandsereneandsordid.Followingtheambivalenceofwhateverkinds,therewouldalwaysariseatouchoffrustrationthoughthepoettriedtomaintaintranquilityfromallthechaosaroundhim:

“Iknownotwhere

Thewindisblowing—

Iaminadreamfair,

Driftingonthefoamsofadream.”

“我不知道風

是在哪一個方向吹——

我是在夢中，

在夢的輕波裏依洄。”(GuYongdai，1997:464)

Thesamesentimentofponderingaboutandthatofseekingsolutionaresomixedthattheyhavetofightconstantlyfortheconsolationoftheirsouls.ThomasHardyhasbeencaughtinthegriefofimpotenceinthepassingoftimewhileXuZhimohasalwaysbeenwanderinginhis“dream”forasolutiontohispuzzlesandworries.Doubtlesstosay,theysharethesamepoeticsentimentandtheyoungeroneisderivedbyandlargefromtheinfluenceofHardy.TheotherpoembelowbyZhimocanwellillustratetheinfluence:

“Asacloudinthesky,

OccasionallyI—

Castuponyourbubblingface

Thou,notastonishedandlessgay

WhileI,dyinginaflickoftime.”

“我是天空裏的一片雲，

偶爾投在你的波心——

你不必詫異，

更無須歡喜——

在瞬間消滅了蹤影。”(GuYongdai,1997:433)

TheshortpoemaboveisentitledexactlythesameasthatofHardyssonnet“Hap”.Andbothpoemsarecharacterizedbythekindofperplexityandmelancholywhenconfrontingtheomnipresentandomnipotentouterforce.Theoccasionalismomentaryandhardtokeepwhileitseternalbeautyisalwaysappealing.Itistheveryreasonwhytheyarecaughtinthesamedilemma.Butthetwohasmadequitedifferentalternativesunderthesamecircumstance.Knowing“Icastoccasionallyuponyourbubblingface”,Zhimochoseto“dieinaflickoftime”.However,Hardytriedtoexplainthetragedycausedby“hap”andhesighedalongsighattheendofthepoem:“ThesepurblindDoomstershadasreadilystrown/Blissesaboutmypilgrimageaspain”.(Hardy:52)Fromtheirpoems,itiseasytodetectthat“Hap”isthoughtasthesourceoftragedy.Theyoungerpoetwouldratherdieinthehapwhiletheelderonewasbestowedabravehearttocomplainandto“singheavenspraisewithanearthlytone”.