《红楼梦》最狠 “人设代码” 翻译:把 “正邪两气” 译成英文,老外秒懂宝玉的 “怪”
《红楼梦》里藏着个 “人物出厂说明书”—— 贾雨村跟冷子兴喝着酒，把宝玉、甄宝玉这些 “怪人” 的来历，归结为 “正邪两气撞出来的混种”。这段揉进中国哲学 “气” 概念的文字，是宝玉 “又痴又怪” 的底层逻辑，译成英文后，居然让老外也接住了这股 “混气” 的妙。一、汉英对照：《红楼梦》的 “人物基因说明书”
【原文】
禹、汤、文、武、周、召、孔、孟、董、韩、周、程、张、朱，皆应运而生，大仁者，修治天下。共工、桀、纣、始皇、王莽、曹操、桓温、安禄山、秦桧等，皆应劫而生，大恶者，挠乱天下。清明灵秀，天地之正气，仁者之所秉也；残忍乖僻，天地之邪气，恶者之所秉也。今当运隆祚永之朝，太平无为之世，清明灵秀之气所秉者，上至朝廷，下至草野，比比皆是。所余之秀气，漫无所归，遂为甘露，为和风，洽然溉及四海。彼残忍乖僻之邪气，不能荡溢于光天化日之中，遂凝结充塞于深沟大壑之内，偶因风荡，或被云摧，略有摇动感发之意，一丝半缕，误而泄出者，偶值灵秀之气适过，正不容邪，邪复妒正，两不相下，亦如风水雷电，地中既遇既不能消，又不能让，必至搏击掀发后始尽。故其气亦必赋人，发泄尽始散。使男女偶秉此气而生者，上则不能成仁人君子，下亦不能为大凶大恶。置之于万万人中，其聪俊灵秀之气，则在万万人之上；其乖僻邪谬不近人情之态，又在万万人之下。若生于公侯富贵之家，则为情痴情种；若生于诗书清贫之族，则为逸士高人；纵再偶生于薄祚寒门，断不能为走卒健仆，甘遭庸人驱驾驾驭，必为奇优名倡。如前代之许由、陶潜、阮籍、嵇康、刘伶、王谢二族、顾虎头、陈后主、唐明皇、宋徽宗、温飞卿、米南宫、石曼卿、柳耆卿、秦少游，近日之倪云林、唐伯虎、祝枝山，再如李龟年、黄幡绰、敬新磨、卓文君、红拂、薛涛、崔莺、朝云之流，此皆易地则同之人也。”子兴道：“依你说，成则王侯，败则贼了？” 雨村道：“正是这意。你不知，我自革职以来，这两年遍游各省，也曾遇见两个异样孩子。所以方才你一说这宝玉，我就猜着了八九，亦是这一派人物。不用远说，只金陵城内，钦差金陵省体仁院总裁甄家，你可知么？” 子兴道：“谁人不知！这甄府和贾府就是老亲，又系世交。两家来往，极其亲热的。便在下也和他家来往非止一日了。”雨村笑道：“去岁我在金陵，曾有人荐我到甄府处馆。我进去看其光景，谁知他家那等显贵，却是一个富而好礼之家，倒是个难得之馆。但这一个学生，虽是启蒙，却比一个举业的还劳神。说起来更可笑，他说‘必得两个女儿伴着我读书，我方能认得字，心里也明白；不然我自己心里糊涂。’又常对跟他的小厮们道：‘这女儿两个字，极尊贵、极清净的，比那阿弥陀佛、元始天尊的这个宝号还更尊荣无对的呢！你们这浊口臭舌，万不可唐突了这两个字，要紧。但凡说时，必须先用清水香茶漱了口，才可说；设若失错，便要凿牙穿腮等事。’其暴虐浮躁，顽劣憨痴，种种异常。只一放了学，进去见了那些女儿们，其温厚和平，聪敏文雅，竟又变了一个。因此，他尊人也曾下死笞楚过几次，无奈竟不能改。每打的吃疼不过时，他便‘姐姐’‘妹妹’乱叫起来。后来听得里面女儿们拿他取笑，‘因何打急了只管叫姐妹作甚？莫不是求姐妹去说情讨饶？你岂不愧羞？’他回答的最妙。他说‘急疼之时，只叫 “姐姐”“妹妹” 字样，或可’【译文】
King Wu, Duke Zhou and Duke Shao, Confucius and Mencius, Dong Zhongshu,Han Yu,Zhou Dunyi,the Cheng brothers,Zhang Zai,and Zhu Xi.³ Examples of the second are Chi You, Gong Gong, Jie, Zhou, Qin Shi Huang, Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Huan Wen, An Lushan and Qin Hui.⁴“The good bring order to the world, the bad plunge it into confusion.The good embody pure intelligence, the true essence of heaven and earth; the bad, cruelty and perversity, the evil essence.“This is a prosperous, long-enduring reign when the world is at peace and there are many people in the court and in the countryside who are endowed with the good essences. The over-abundance of this good essence, having nowhere to go, is transformed into sweet dew and gentle breezes and scattered throughout the Four Seas.“But because there is no place under the clear sky and bright sun for the essence of cruelty and perversity, it congeals in deep caverns and in the bowels of the earth. If wafted by winds or pressed upon by clouds, it is thrown into agitation and traces of it may escape. And should these meet the pure essence, good refuses to yield to evil while evil envies good — neither can prevail over the other. This is like wind, rain, lightning and thunder which cannot vanish into thin air or give way but must battle until they are spent. So in order to find some outlet these essences permeate human beings, who come into the world embodying both. Such people fall short of sages or perfect men, but neither are they out-and-out villains.“The pure intelligence with which they are endowed sets them above their myriad fellow creatures, but their perversity and unnatural behaviour sink them lower than other men too. Born into rich and noble families, such people will become romantic eccentrics; born into poor but cultured families, they will become high-minded scholars or recluses. Even if born into luckless and humble homes, they will never grow up into yamen runners or servants at the beck and call of the vulgar — they’ll turn out celebrated actors or courtesans. People of this type in the past were Xu You, Tao Qian, Yuan Ji, Ji Kang and Liu Ling, the two families of Wang and Xie, Gu Kaizhi, Chen Shubao, the Tang emperor Minghuang, the Song emperor Huizong, Liu Tingzhi, Wen Tingyun, Mi Fu, Shi Yannian, Liu Yong and Qin Guan.⁵ More recent examples are Ni Zan, Tang Yin and Zhu Yunming.⁶ Then there are others like Li Guinian, Huang Fanchuo,Jing Xinmo,Zhuo Wenjun,Hongfo,Xue Tao,Cui Yingying and Zhaoyun.⁷ All of these, in their different fields, were essentially the same.”“You’re saying that such people may become princes or thieves, depending on whether they’re successful or not.”“Exactly. You don’t know yet that since my dismissal I’ve spent two years travelling through different provinces and come across one or two remarkable children. Hence my guess that this Baoyu you mentioned belongs to the same category. Let me give you an example no further away than Jinling. You know Mr. Zhen, who was principal of the Jinling Provincial College?”“Who doesn’t know him? The Zhen and Jia families are interrelated and on a very friendly footing, I’ve done business with the Zhens a number of times.”“Last year when I was in Jinling,” said Yucun, “someone recommended me to the Zhens as a resident tutor. I was surprised to find their household so grand, yet it combined wealth with propriety. Posts like that are not easy to come by. But although my pupil was a beginner, he was harder to teach then a candidate for the Provincial Examination. Here’s an example of the absurd things he’d say: ‘I must have two girls as company while I study, or I can’t learn character — my brain gets muddled.’ He told his pages, ‘The word “girl” is so honourable and pure, not even the supreme Buddhist and Taoist titles can compare with it. You with your filthy mouths and stinking tongues must never violate it. Before you utter this word, mind you rinse your mouths with clear water or fragrant tea. If you don’t, your teeth will grow crooked and rip through your cheeks.’“He had a fearful temper and could be incredibly stubborn and obstreperous; but as soon as classes were over and he joined the girls he became a different person — amiable, sensible and gentle. More than once, because of this, his father thrashed him within an inch of his life, but still that didn’t change him. When the pain became too much for him, he would start yelling, ‘Sister! Little Sister!’ Once the girls in the inner chambers teased him saying, ‘Why do you call us when you’re being beaten? Do you want us to beg you off? For shame!’ You should have heard his answer. He said, ‘The first time I called I didn’t know it would”二、翻译专业解析：这 3 处巧思，让老外懂 “宝玉为什么怪”
这段翻译的核心是 “不丢哲学魂，又让英文读者懂人设”——1. 把中国 “气” 译成英文能懂的 “本质”
原文里的 “清明灵秀之气”“残忍乖僻之邪气” 是中国哲学的核心概念，直接译 “qi” 会让老外懵。译文用 “pure intelligence（纯粹灵性）”“evil essence（邪恶本质）” 替代 “气”，既传递了 “天地本源特质” 的内核，又让英文读者秒懂：“哦，这是两类人的底层属性”。2. 文化名人 + 人设标签：平衡 “陌生” 与 “熟悉”
古代圣贤 / 恶人：孔子译 “Confucius”、孟子译 “Mencius”（是国际通用译名），秦始皇译 “Qin Shi Huang”（拼音 + 身份），既保留文化标识，又不让老外查字典；
人设分类：“情痴情种” 译成 “romantic eccentrics”（浪漫怪人），“逸士高人” 译成 “high-minded scholars or recluses”（清高隐士）—— 用英文读者熟悉的人格标签，对应中式人物分类，瞬间 get 到 “这类人既不圣也不恶，就是怪”。
3. 甄宝玉的 “疯话”：留住孩子气的偏执
甄宝玉那句 “必得两个女儿伴着我读书”，译文译成 “I must have two girls as company while I study”，没删减 “必得” 的执拗；“女儿两个字，极尊贵” 译成 “The word 'girl' is so honourable and pure”，连 “浊口臭舌” 的尖锐都译成 “filthy mouths and stinking tongues”—— 把小孩对 “女儿” 的病态尊崇，精准传到了英文里，老外也能懂 “这孩子是真的怪”。写在最后：好翻译，是让老外也接住《红楼梦》的 “人设魂”
这段对话是《红楼梦》的 “人物密码本”：宝玉、甄宝玉的 “痴”，黛玉的 “敏”，都藏在 “正邪混气” 里。译文没把中国哲学译成 “东方黑话”，反而用 “essence”“eccentrics” 这些词，让老外也懂 “为什么这些人既聪明又怪异”—— 这就是翻译的魔力：让《红楼梦》的 “人设底层逻辑”，跨着语言扎进读者心里。文中所用内容均来自公开文本，相关版权属于原作者所有。本公众号仅为信息传播目的引用，不享有相关版权，若涉及版权问题，请联系原版权方处理。
