时间的相对性 The Relativity of Time

林巍

原 文

[1] 时间，可能是世界上最司空见惯也是最不可思议的事。试想，从无到有、从生到死，一切都在时间中演化、发生。然而，时间是从哪里来的，又到哪里去？时间的本质是什么？

[2] 时间也同万物一样，如老子所说，“天下万物生于有，有生于无”；“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物”；“人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然”。英国当代科学家霍金认为，时间是从“宇宙大爆炸”时才开始的，而根据量子物理学的研究，时间最终也要消失。

[3] 在宇宙长河中，时间又是匆匆而过的，对此古人早有感叹：如“人生似白驹过隙”，“君不见，高堂明镜悲白发，朝如青丝暮成雪”，“夫天地者，万物之逆旅。光阴者，百代之过客”，“逝者如斯夫”， “日子匆匆一去不复返”等等。在春节晚会上，一曲《时间都去哪儿了》更是唱得亿万观众为之动容，感慨万分。

[4] 对于时间的衡量，在古代一般是主观估略的，到了伽利略、牛顿时代才有了精确的计算，有了科学的基础。然而，二百多年后，爱因斯坦否定了牛顿，他认为时间具有相对性，从而使我们对时间的本质有了更深刻的认识。

[5] “相对论”似乎很神秘，但爱因斯坦却把它解释得很通俗：当你在夏天守着火炉子，待上一分钟就像过了一小时；而在漂亮姑娘身边，坐了一小时，却如一分钟。

[6] 爱因斯坦的著名公式E=mc2 ， 精辟地阐释了物质的能量、质量和光速的关系。据此，时间与空间和速度是可以互换的，时间旅行（即生活在过去）在理论上也成为可能。他认为纯粹思维足以理解世界，因为自然界存在着精确的、逻辑上的必然一致性。所以，相对论使我们对时间的认识达到了新的科学和人文的高度。

[7] 可见，时间既是客观的，又是主观的；既有共性，又有个性；既可逝去，也可“挽回”，取决于观察和理解角度的不同。苏轼当年就感叹：“盖将自其变者而观之，则天地曾不能以一瞬；自其不变者而观之，则物与我皆无尽也，而又何羡乎？”。这样看来，我们似可不必再感叹“时间都去哪儿了？”而应坦然道“让逝去的逝去吧，只要我没有后悔！”

译 文

[1] Time is perhaps the most common and amazing thing in the universe. In the long river of time， everything happens and evolves from nothing to something， from birth to death. What then the nature of time？ Where does it come from and go to？

[2] Like everything else， time is designated. As Lao Zi pointed out， “All things in the cosmos are generated from being and being arises from non-being”； “The Dao produces one， one produces two， two produces three and the three yields everything on earth”； “Man follows the law of the Earth， which takes its law from Heaven. Heaven is begotten from the Dao and the law of Dao is mingled with the cosmos”. Stephen Hawking， the contemporary British scientist， believes that time began with the Big Bang， originating from nothing. However， quantum physics predicts that time will eventually disappear altogether.

[3] Time always flies in the infinite universe. As it is said in Chinese， “Life is as short as watching a ponys shadow passing by a crevice”； “Havent you seen the bright mirror in Center Hall / Grieving your transient hair， which turned grey from black within a day！” “Concerning heaven and earth， they are nothing more than a temporary inn accommodating all creatures； as regards passing time， it is nothing more than an ephemeral period during which a hundred generations passed”； “Our days leave us never to return”. Also， a song called “Where has time gone？” sung at last years Spring Festival Gala moved billions of listeners since it touched public emotion.

[4] Time was generally measured as a subjective evaluation and time measurement did not become rigid determinism until the age of Galileo and Newton， laying the foundation for science. Two hundred or so years later， however， Einstein revolutionized Newtons idea concerning time by theorizing relativity， and giving us a deeper insight into the essence of time.

[5] The seemingly complicated theory of relativity was once explained by Einstein in such a simple way： if you were taken to a furnace room in summer for a minute it may seem an hour； while seating with a pretty girl， an hour passes as a minute.

[6] Based on Einsteins famous formula E=mc2， which clearly elaborates the relations between energy， mass and speed of light， it is possible to exchange time with space and speed and， theoretically， travel in time （namely “live in the past”）. Einstein believed that pure thought is competent enough to comprehend the world， since there is after all mathematical and logical consistency in nature. Surely， the theory of relativity has culminated in our understanding to a new point where science and humanity are integrated.

[7] Time， therefore， can be understood as something that incorporates components which are simultaneously subjective and objective； general and personal； usable and redeemable， depending on the perspective from which the issue is being approached. Su Shi （1037—1101）， the well-known poet in the Song Dynasty， realized that “Perceived through the eyes of transformation， everything in the world changes in a transient period shorter than the blink of an eyelid； when seen through the eyes of consistency， however， everyone and everything is blessed with immortality. Why then should we be envious of things？” In this way， we may not have to sigh “where has time gone？” so long as there is nothing to be regretted as time goes by.

译 注

在[3]中，“时间又是匆匆而过的”是指时间在各种文化中的重要性，如法国物理学家伯纳德·德帕尼亚（DEspagnat， B）所说，Time is at the heart of all that is important to human beings.（时间对于人类至关重要）；而就其中所引古文而言，“白驹过隙”这种中国式表达似乎不常用，但在不同的英文语境中仍会找到许多不同表述，如time flies / time has a fleeting appearance / all in the blink of an eye / life may happen so fast / the time will pass quickly / time such as fleeting / life is fleeting like the short / life like the flash of a jumping dolphin / time disappears in a flash / the world is like a fleeting show 等等，而对于该文的出处，“人生天地间，若白驹过隙，忽然而已”（庄子语），似可译成 Life between heaven and earth， if fleeting， suddenly，但从更为客观的角度，不妨更多些原汁原味：Life is as short as watching a ponys shadow passing by a crevice。对于李白的两句名诗，历来有着不同的解读和翻译，如Do you not see the mirrors bright in chambers high / Grieve oer your snow-white hair though once it was silk-black？（许渊冲）；You look into the mirror， bright / Finding to your surprise / In the morning your hair is silk black / But in the evening it turns snow-white？（张炳星）；Dont you see， in the hall the mirror is saddened / By the grey hair？ / Young and dark at dawn， but at dusk snowy！（朱纯深）等。同时，“唱得亿万观众为之动容，感慨万分”，在此体现的是人们对于时间概念饱带感情的主观体验，是一种“意识时间”，因而用了touches public emotion。

在[4]中，“爱因斯坦否定了牛顿”，其中的“否定”不宜简单地为deny， refuse， reject， rebuff 等，而是用了 revolutionized，其意主要为fill with revolutionary ideas， inspirational breakthrough，如 Over the past 20 years or so the Internet has revolutionized the way we live. （在过去20多年里，互联网完全改变了我们的生活方式）； Charles Darwins theories of evolution have revolutionized the way mankind understands its origin.（查尔斯·达尔文的进化理论已经彻底改变了人类对自身起源的理解）等。

在[7]中，涉及时间的主客观性，澳大利亚物理学家保罗·戴维斯对此做过进一步的探究：The flow of time： mind or matter？ In my opinion， the greatest outstanding riddle concerns the glaring mismatch between physical time and subjective， or psychological， time. Experiments on human time perception are in their infancy； we have much to learn about the way the brain represents time， and how that relates to our sense of free will. The overwhelming impression of a flowing， moving time， perhaps acquired through a mental “back door，” is a very deep mystery. Is it connected with quantum processes in the brain？ [时间的流逝，究竟是精神的，还是物质的？我以为，最大的谜团在于物理时间与主观时间 （或“心理时间”）之间的错位，而我们对于人类感受时间的试验仍在初级阶段，对于大脑如何反映时间，如何与我们的自由意愿相关联，还须做大量研究。或许，需要在智力上“另辟蹊径”方可应对我们关于时间变化的强烈印象？然而，这仍是个偌大的谜；或许，时间之流与大脑的量子之流有关？]美国作家金·哈伯德（Kin Hubbard）也说，Bees are not as busy as we think they are. They just cant buzz any slower.（蜜蜂并没有我们想象得那么忙碌；它们不过是不能飞得慢些而已）。

然而，此文毕竟不是科学论著，故重点在于探讨人对于时间的感受，而对此苏轼的名句恰有吻合。对于“自其变者而观之”的“变”，一般容易译成change， 但如前所述，鉴于此处“漫长演化”的语境，故以transformation 为宜；“曾不能以一瞬”，若译成can hardly be the same for a moment / an instant moment 等未尝不可，但考虑到该句的具体人文体验，故以in a transient period shorter than the blink of an eyelid更有实感；“自其不变者”，译成 from the prospect of the unchanged / stability，便略显呆滞，而考虑到宇宙之大、时间亘古，不妨用constancy / consistency 等；“物与我皆无尽”，可有多种译法，如both physical and spiritual things are eternal / everything cannot be exhausted both materially and mentally / everything in this world， including humanity， will be lasting forever 等，然而，出于人的“意识时间”，此处不宜译得过实，而不妨有几分超脱，为everyone and everything is blessed with immortality。