【简译】《枕草子》（Makura no Sōshi）

2023-02-08 12:23 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

The Pillow Book (Makura no Soshi) is a personalised account of life at the Japanese court by Sei Shonagon which she completed c. 1002 CE during the Heian Period. The book is full of humorous observations (okashi) written in the style of a diary, an approach known as zuihitsu-style ('rambling') of which The Pillow Book was the first and greatest example.

《枕草子》（Makura no Soshi）是清少纳言对日本宫廷生活的个性化描述，她约在公元1002年（平安时代）完成这本书。书中充满了以日记形式写的幽默观察（okashi），这种方法被称为“随笔”（'漫谈'），《枕边书》是其中最突出的典范之一。

清少纳言

Sei Shonagon was a lady of the Japanese imperial court. Her surname is not her actual name but refers to her role, or more likely the role of her husband, as a 'lesser counsellor' or shonagon. Her family name was Kiyohara, her father being Kiyohara no Motosuke (908-990 CE) who was himself a waka poet of some repute and co-author of Gosenshu, an imperial anthology. Her grandfather, Kiyohara no Fukayabu, was an even more renowned poet. Sei Shonagon was born c. 966 CE, was married at least twice and was known to have visited certain Buddhist and Shinto sacred sites and temples.

清少纳言是日本宫廷中的一位女官。她的姓氏不是她的真实姓名，而是指她的官衔，或者更有可能是她丈夫的官衔，即“小参赞”或“少纳言”。她的姓氏是清原，她的父亲是清原元辅（公元908-990年），他本人是一位有一定名望的和歌诗人，是《御制文集》的共同作者。她的祖父，清原深养父，是一个更著名的诗人。清少纳言生于公元966年，至少结过两次婚，据说曾访问过某些佛教和神道教的圣地和寺庙。

Sei Shonagon was part of a wider group of literary ladies employed to educate Teishi (976-1001 CE), one of the wives of Emperor Ichijo. Sei Shonagon joined the court in 993 CE, and she describes her early experience there as follows:

When I first went into waiting at Her Majesty's Court, so many different things embarrassed me that I could not even reckon them up and I was always on the verge of tears. As a result I tried to avoid appearing before the Empress except at night, and even then I stayed hidden behind a three-foot curtain of state. (Keene, 413)

清少纳言是受雇教育藤原定子（公元976-1001年）的一大批文人女子中的其中一位，藤原定子是一条天皇的皇后。清少纳言于公元993年出仕于中宫藤原定子，她描述了其在那里的早期经历，内容如下：

当我第一次在皇后宫廷中等待时，许多不同的事情让我感到尴尬，我甚至无法思考，我总是处于流泪的边缘。因此，我尽量避免出现在皇后面前，除非是在晚上，即便如此，我还是躲在三尺长的帷幕后面。(Keene, 413)

One of Shonagon's literary rivals and lady at the second imperial court, that of Shoshi (Akiko), was Murasaki Shikibu, authoress of the classic Tale of Genji. Shikibu was scathing of Shonagon's literary skills in her own diary: "She thought herself so clever, and littered her writings with Chinese characters, but if you examined them closely, they left a great deal to be desired" (Ebrey, 199). Still, Shikibu was not above borrowing images and scenes from The Pillow Book for her own work. It is conceivable that Genji was a response to Shonagon's work given the rivalry between the two royal courts when, unusually, there were two reigning empresses.

清少纳言的文学对手之一，也是藤原信孝的夫人，是经典作品《源氏物语》的作者紫式部。紫式部在日记中对清少纳言的文学能力进行了嘲讽。“她认为自己很聪明，在她的文章中到处都是汉字，但如果你仔细检查，它们就会发现有很多不足之处”（Ebrey, 199）。尽管如此，紫式部还是从《枕草子》中借用图像和场景来创作自己的作品。可以想象，《源氏》是对清少纳言作品的回应，因为当时两个皇室之间的竞争很不寻常，有两个在位的皇后。

《枕草子》的标题和起名缘由

Although The Pillow Book is a highly personalised series of observations and musings on court life, where the author often employs the aesthetic technique of okashi with its objective of providing witty and surprising revelations, it does give invaluable insight into the protocols, etiquette and behaviour of the Japanese aristocracy in the Heian Period (794-1185 CE). It is written in the style known as zuihitsu meaning 'following the calligrapher's brush' or 'rambling,' and so some of the 300 plus entries are only a single sentence while others can cover a few pages. They are not presented in any particular order, and it is quite possible that later scribes reshuffled the various entries. As the author herself writes:

As a matter of fact, I wrote down, in a spirit of fun and without help from anyone else, whatever happened to suggest itself to me. (Keene, 421)

虽然《枕草子》是一系列高度个人化的宫廷生活观察和思考，作者经常采用早期日本唯美主义，目的是提供诙谐和令人惊讶的启示，但它确实对平安时代（公元794-1185年）日本贵族的礼节、礼仪和行为研究提供了宝贵来源。其写作方式被称为随笔，意思是“跟随书法家的笔触”或“漫无边际”，因此在300多个条目中，有些只有一句话，而另一些则可以涵盖几页。它们没有以任何特定的顺序呈现，而且很可能是后来的抄写员重新调整了各种条目。正如作者自己所写的：

事实上，我本着好玩的目的，在没有任何人帮助的情况下，写下了我所想到的一切。(Keene, 421)

The title of the work is probably not the original one, and The Pillow Book was perhaps selected by a later scribe copying the manuscript inspired by the work's epilogue:

One day Lord Korechika, the Minister of the Centre, brought the Empress a bundle of notebooks. “What shall we do with them?” Her Majesty asked me. “The Emperor had already made arrangements for copying the Records of the Historian.”

“Let them make them into a pillow,” I said.

“Very well,” said Her Majesty. “You may have them.”

(Keene, 415)

作品的标题可能不是原来的标题，《枕草子》也许是后来抄写手稿的抄写员受作品的后记启发而选择的标题：

有一天，中央大臣藤原伊周大人给皇后带来了一捆笔记本。“我们应该如何处理它们？”皇后问我。“皇帝已经安排好抄写《史记》了。”

“让他们把书放进枕头”，我说。

“很好”，皇后说，“你可以拥有它们。”

Here the meaning of 'pillow' may be as a bedside book or private journal kept in the drawer of the wooden pillows refined ladies used. Another interpretation of 'pillow' is a poet's handbook (utamakura), and the work does often read like a list of topics meant to inspire writers and poets, presenting catalogues of plants, places, natural features, amusing human relations and so on.

在这里，“枕头”的含义可能是指保存在文雅女士使用的木枕头的抽屉里的床头书或私人日记。“枕头”的另一种解释是诗人手册（utamakura），该作品确实经常读起来像一份旨在激发作家和诗人灵感的主题清单，提出了植物、地方、自然特征、有趣的人类关系等目录。

开篇

The opening section of the book describes what the author considers the best times to view the four seasons:

In spring it is the dawn that is most beautiful. As the light creeps over the hills, their outlines are dyed a faint red and wisps of purplish cloud trail over them.

该书的开篇部分描述了作者认为观赏四季的最佳时间：

在春天，最美丽的是黎明。当光线翻过山丘时，山丘的轮廓被染成了淡淡的红色，一缕缕紫色的云彩在山丘上飘荡。

In summer the nights. Not only when the moon shines, but on dark nights too, as the fireflies flit to and fro, and even when it rains, how beautiful it is!

In autumn the evenings, when the glimmering sun sinks close to the edge of the hills and crows fly back to their nests in threes and fours and twos; more charming still is a file of wild geese, like specks in the distant sky. When the sun has set, one's heart is moved by the sound of the wind and the hum of the insects.

In winter the early mornings. It is beautiful indeed when snow has fallen during the night, but splendid too when the ground is white with frost; or even when there is no snow or frost, but it is simply very cold and the attendants hurry from room to room stirring up the fires and bringing charcoal, how well this fits the season's mood! But as noon approaches and the cold wears off, no one bothers to keep the braziers alight, and soon nothing remains but a pile of white ashes. (Keene, 416-417)

在夏天的夜晚，不仅是月光照耀的时候，而且在黑暗的夜晚，当萤火虫飞来飞去的时候，甚至在下雨的时候，也是多么的美丽啊!

秋天的夜晚，当闪闪发光的太阳沉到山的边缘，乌鸦三三两两地飞回它们的巢穴；更迷人的是一排排的野鹅，像远处天空中的斑点。当太阳落山后，人们的心被风声和昆虫的嗡嗡声所感动。

冬天的清晨，夜里下了雪的时候，确实很美，但当地面上结了白霜的时候，也很美；甚至当没有雪或霜，只是非常冷的时候，仆人们匆匆忙忙地从一个房间到另一个房间，搅动火堆，带来木炭，这多么符合这个季节的心情啊！但当中午临近的时候，寒气逼人，人们被风声和昆虫的嗡嗡声所感动。但是，随着中午的到来，寒气渐渐消退，没有人再去保持火炉的火势，很快就只剩下一堆白灰了。(Keene, 416-417)

观察示例

When I make myself imagine what it is like to be one of those women who live at home, faithfully serving their husbands - women who have not a single exciting prospect in life yet who believe they are perfectly happy - I am filled with scorn. (Keene, 426)

当我让自己想象成为那些生活在家里、忠实地服侍丈夫的妇女之一是什么样子（这些妇女在生活中没有一个令人兴奋的前景，但她们却认为自己非常幸福）我就充满了蔑视。(Keene, 426)

A preacher ought to be good-looking. For, if we are properly to understand his worthy sentiments, we must keep our eyes on him while he speaks. (Ebrey, 199)

传道人应该是漂亮的。因为，如果我们要正确地理解他有价值的情感，我们必须在他说话的时候盯着他。(Ebrey, 199)

In the winter, when it is very cold and one lies buried under bedclothes listening to one's lover's endearments, it is delightful to hear the booming of a temple gong, which seems to come from the bottom of a deep well. The first cry of the birds, whose beaks are still tucked under their wings, is also strange and muffled. Then one bird after another takes up the call. How pleasant it is to lie there listening as the sound becomes clearer and clearer! (Keene, 419)

在冬天，当天气非常寒冷，一个人斜靠着床聆听爱人的呢喃时，听到寺庙里锣鼓喧天的声音，似乎是从深井底传来的，让人很高兴。鸟儿们的第一声啼叫也很奇怪，它们的嘴还被塞在翅膀下面，声音很低沉。然而，一只又一只的鸟儿接上了这一叫声。躺在那里听着声音越来越清晰，这是多么令人愉快的事情啊！（Keene, 419）

A good lover will behave as elegantly at dawn as at any other time. (Ebrey, 199)

一个好的情人会在黎明时分表现得像其他任何时候一样优雅。(Ebrey, 199)

A lover who is leaving at dawn announces he has to find his fan and his paper. “I know I put them somewhere last night,” he says. Since it is pitch dark, he gropes about the room, bumping into the furniture and muttering, “Strange! Where on earth can they be?” finally he discovers the objects. He thrusts the paper into the breast of his robe with a great rustling sound; then he snaps open his fan and busily fans away with it. Only now is he ready to take his leave. What charmless behaviour! “Hateful” is an understatement. (Keene, 419)

一个即将在黎明离开的情人说，他必须找到他的扇子和画纸。他说：“我知道我昨天晚上把它们放在某个地方了。”由于天色漆黑，他在房间里摸索着，撞到了家具，喃喃自语道：“奇怪！它们究竟在哪里？它们究竟会在哪里呢？”最后他发现了这些东西。他把纸塞进长袍的胸前，发出巨大的沙沙声；然后他扣开扇子，忙不迭地扇了起来。直到现在，他才准备离开。多么可恶的行为啊！ “可憎”是一种轻描淡写的说法。(Keene, 419)

An admirer has come on a clandestine visit, but a dog catches sight of him and starts barking. One feels like killing the beast. (Keene, 423)

一位仰慕者前来秘密访问，但一只狗看到了他并开始吠叫。人们感觉要杀死这只野兽。(Keene, 423)

One day, when the snow lay thick on the ground and it was so cold that the lattices had all been closed, I and the other ladies were sitting with Her Majesty, chatting and poking the embers in the brazier.

有一天，地上的雪很厚，天气很冷，格子都关上了，我和其他女士们和皇后坐在一起，边聊天边拨弄炉子里的火苗。

“Tell me, Shonagon,” said the Empress, “how is the snow on Hsiang-lu Peak?”

“告诉我，少纳言，”皇后说，“香鹿峰（Hsiang-lu Peak直译）的雪怎么样了？”

I told the maid to raise one of the lattices and then rolled up the blind all the way. Her Majesty smiled. (Keene, 422)

我让女仆把其中一个格子升起来，然后把窗帘全部卷起来。皇后笑了。(Keene, 422)

A lean, hirsute man taking a nap in the daytime. Does it occur to him what a spectacle he is making of himself? Ugly men should sleep only at night, for they cannot be seen in the dark and, besides, most people are in bed themselves. But they should get up at the crack of dawn, so that no one has to see them lying down. (Whitney Hall, 445)

一个瘦削、多毛的男人在白天打盹。他有没有想过，他正在使自己成为一个什么样的景象？丑陋的人应该只在晚上睡觉，因为他们处于黑暗中，别人也是看不到的，而且，大多数人自己也在床上。但他们应该在黎明时分起床，这样就不会有人看到他们躺着。(Whitney Hall, 445)

I remember that once I was overcome by a great desire to go on a pilgrimage. Having made my way up the log steps, deafened by the fearful roar of the river, I hurried into my enclosure, longing to gaze upon the sacred countenance of Buddha. To my dismay I found a throng of commoners had settled themselves directly in front of me, where they were incessantly standing up, prostrating themselves, and squatting down again. They looked like so many basket-worms as they crowded together in their hideous clothes, leaving hardly an inch of space between themselves and me. I really felt like pushing them all over sideways. (Keene, 423)

我记得有一次，我被一种想要去朝圣的巨大愿望所征服。我沿着原木台阶走上去，被可怕的河水咆哮声震耳欲聋，我急忙走进围墙，渴望瞻仰佛祖的神圣面容。我惊愕地发现一群平民在我面前安顿下来，他们不停地站起来，跪下，再蹲下。他们看起来就像许多篮子里的虫子，他们穿着丑陋的衣服挤在一起，在他们和我之间几乎不留一英寸的空间。我真想把他们都推到一边去。(Keene, 423)。

流传

The Pillow Book was already in circulation at court before Sei Shonagon had even finished it, as revealed in this passage from the final part of the book:

When the middle general of the Left was still the governor of Ise [Minamoto no Tsunefusa], he came to visit me at my home. I put out for him the mat closest to hand, only to notice to my horror that this notebook was on top. In confusion, I pulled back the mat, but he kept his grip on the notebook and took it off with him. It did not come back until a considerable time later. That, I imagine, is when it first began to circulate. (Keene, 420)

正如书中最后一部分的这段话所揭示，《枕草子》在完成之前就已经在宫廷中流通了：

当内宫侍卫左师的中队长还是伊势国临时知事[Minamoto no Tsunefusa，源経房（みなもとのつねふさ）]时，他来我家拜访我。我把离手边最近的垫子拿出来给他，但我惊恐地发现，这个笔记本在上面。混乱中，我把垫子拉了回来，但他一直抓着笔记本，并把它带走了。直到相当长一段时间后，笔记本才被还回来。我想，那是它第一次开始流传的时候。(Keene, 420)

The Pillow Book was popular during the Heian Period and was much imitated, referred to in later works and quoted directly, but it was eclipsed in popularity by Tale of Genji and the 905 CE poem anthology Kokinshu over the centuries. A revival has occurred in more recent times, and the work is now widely regarded as a masterpiece of Japanese literature, the first and still finest example of the zuihitsu genre, and one of the most humorous works produced in the Japanese language.

《枕草子》在平安时代很受欢迎，被很多人模仿，在后来的作品中被提及，并被直接引用，但几个世纪以来，它的受欢迎程度被《源氏物语》和公元905年的诗选《古今集》所取代。近代以来，《枕草子》得到了复兴，这部作品现在被广泛认为是日本文学的杰作，是随笔体裁第一个也是最典型的例子，是日本文学中最幽默的作品之一。