毋忘腊鸭That Unforgettable Cured Duck

邱立本　张喜仪/译

冬天是对食物特别思念的季节。也许在寒风刺骨中，在低温的情境中，对温暖身心的食物会有一种特别的向往。

Winter is a season that always seems to bring back memories of food. Perhaps its on account of the cold winds2 and the drop in temperature; we long for something to warm us up in body and mind.

我往往想起童年时的冬天食品。到了农历新年前后，家里就会买一只腊鸭，吊在厨房的角落。这也吊足了我们一伙嘴馋的小孩的胃口，总渴望可以很快吃这种满昂贵的食物。

I often find my thoughts returning to the winter foods of my childhood days， especially around the Chinese New Year， when the family would buy a cured duck and hang it up in the corner of the kitchen. The children of the house3 were soon attracted to it， a little band of gourmets eager to sample this rare delicacy4.

但祖母的政策是要省着吃，不能吃太多。她说这些客人来吃饭或重要的节日才能吃，平时小孩子就只能望梅止渴，看着那些吊着的腊鸭。

My grandmas policy， however， was that we had to be content with what we already had. It was only when there were guests coming over or on important occasions that we stood any chance of eating what we really wanted.5 On other days， we children could only stare longingly6 at those tasty cured ducks， hanging there above our heads.

不過终于等到吃腊鸭的时刻，总是从嗅觉开始。也许是刚下课回家，就闻到厨房传来这股强烈的味道。祖母把这只腊鸭切成一块一块的，放在饭锅内蒸，让腊鸭的油渗进饭内。因而当舌头还没咬到腊鸭的时候，一家人的鼻腔都在享受这种充满诱惑的味道。

The time for eating nonetheless arrived at last， and when it did， things always began with a sense of smell. I was aware of it the moment I got home from school， that powerful aroma drifting unmistakably from the kitchen7. My grandma first cut the cured duck into pieces. Then she placed them inside the rice steamer， allowing the ducks meaty oil to seep8 into the surrounding rice. That way， even before we had tasted it， the whole family was already enjoying its wonderful flavor， just by sense of smell9.

其实用祖母的话说，这是很“惹味”的香气。它刺激味蕾和神经末梢，在寒冷的冬天里，这成为一种温暖肠胃和心情的美食。那些在今天被视为“健康不正确”的腊鸭肥油和太咸的腊鸭肉，却是当年冬天最滋补、最鼓舞人心的神秘力量。

My grandma had a special way of talking about that aroma—it really ‘perked us up10 as she put it. It stimulated our taste buds and stirred every little nerve ending into life. In those days， that cured duck was the perfect way to warm our stomachs and lift our spirits in the depths of winter. In these more ‘health-conscious11 times， we are told that cured duck meat is too salty， and its oil too greasy for a healthy diet. But in those winter days， that cured duck meat and its greasy oil were the most fortifying and nutritious food you ever saw.

* 香港资深媒体工作者，上世纪九十年代开始担任《亚洲周刊》总编辑。著有《邱立本文集》等十多套书籍。曾分别在2006年、2008年及2012年获评为中国一百位公共知识分子之一。2010年荣获星云新闻奖，2011年获亚洲出版协会SOPA最佳新闻评论奖。

** 博士，2010年毕业于法国巴黎索邦大学高等研究学院宗教学系（EPHE-Sorbonne， Section V），主修郭象玄学。曾任香港职业训练局语言中心、香港理工大学中文及双语学系翻译部全职讲师及香港浸会大学翻译中心研究员，现为香港树仁大学中文语言及文学学系助理教授。

1原文选自邱立本《舌头的记忆》。作者透过描述腊鸭这种南方特色食品去表达对故亲的追忆，以及对儿时生活的回味，尽管文句浅白，却时空交错，放进英语，很不容易处理。译者因此在努力尝试让译文贴近原文的深层意思和风格之余，大量采用地道英语组合，以期将原文的意思和行文再现英译读者面前。  2原文的“寒风刺骨”，译文只是简单地用了the cold winds，而没有采用对应的形容词nippy/ruthless/biting/freezing，原因是香港的冬天不会如北方般冰冷，一般只是遇到寒流（a cold spell），气温下降而已，而且此段也有“低温”（drop in temperature）二字。  3这里的the house是一种填补（interpolation），与前一句的family呼应但用词没有重复，而且避免了译文句子出现宾语归属含糊的情况。

4把“一伙嘴馋的小孩”翻译成a little band of gourmets，既可以营造三五小孩喧闹的情景（a band of），又可以把他们打造成为小小美食家（little gourmets），效果似乎不俗。如果用“glutton （a person who regularly eats and drinks more than needed）”，反而有欠准确。另外，此句中的sample，名词作动词用，并用rare delicacy （等于中国人常说的“山珍海味”） 去处理“满昂贵的食物”，也比较灵活。  5“It was only when… that we stood any chance of eating…”（……才能吃），这是很地道的英语说法。   6“望梅止渴”有很多相对固定的英语翻译，例如quench ones thirst by thinking of plums、console oneself with false hopes、feed on fancies。第一种翻译，中国传统文化色彩太浓厚，对一般的英语读者来说，不太能够产生共鸣，至于第二与第三种翻译，则过于笼统而且呆滞，所以这里把它翻译成could only stare longingly at those tasty cured ducks，把原文句子最后面的部分——“那些……腊鸭”，直接放在stare longingly后面，干脆利落。  7原文里“也许”这个词，用得很奇怪，应该是冗词，故不翻。倒是从厨房飘出来的腊鸭香味，却是真实无误的，所以把后半句翻译成that powerful aroma drifting unmistakably from the kitchen。  8英語seep有液体慢慢渗透的意思，在这里，比penetrate、permeate等词更合适。

9原文的“鼻腔”（nasal cavity）和“诱惑”（seductive/tempting），都没有采用直译，而采用了简单而地道的意译，这主要是考虑到原文是小品文类，而不是科普文体。  10英语惯用语to perk someone up有令人精神为之一振的意思，与接着下一句的“它刺激味蕾和神经末梢”正好相配合。   11若把“健康不正确”翻译成unhealthy，容易令人对腊鸭有负面的评价，尤其这段是作者用来赞美腊鸭在物质困乏的年代所能发挥的强大力量（“最滋补、最鼓舞人心”）。因此，译文用了health-conscious，作肯定式处理。