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苏辛的爱情之歌--世界最古老的爱情诗
原文作者:苏美尔人;作于约公元前2000年 英文译者:Samuel Noah Kramer;翻译于公元1951年 中文译者:蓬草;转译于2016年10月31日(由英文转译)
新郎啊,爱到了我的心里, 你是多么地美,多么地甜蜜, 雄狮啊,闯进了我的心里, 你是多么地美,多么地甜蜜。
你迷住了我,令我在你面前颤抖, 新郎啊,你要把我带入寝室里, 你俘获了我,令我在你面前颤抖。 雄狮啊,你要把我带入寝室里。
新郎啊,让我爱抚你, 我宝贵的爱抚无比甜蜜, 寝室里,充满了甜蜜, 让我欣赏你恢弘的美, 雄狮啊,让我爱抚你,
我宝贵的爱抚无比甜蜜。
新郎啊,你从我这里把快乐提取, 告诉我的母亲,她将送你美味, 而我的父亲,他将赠你厚礼。
你的灵魂,我知道去哪里赞美, 新郎啊,睡在你的房屋里, 黎明而起。 你的心,我知道去哪里去令它欢欣, 雄狮啊,睡在你的房屋里,黎明而起。
你,因为你爱我,
给我吧,你那爱抚的祷告, 我的神主啊,我的保护神, 我的苏辛,你让主神恩利尔欢心,【1】 给我吧,你那爱抚的祷告。 你的所在美妙如蜜,放上你祷告的手, 伸出你的手,如同一身吉士班的圣衣, 覆盖你的手,如同一身吉士班-西金的圣衣。【2】
注释
【1】恩利尔,苏美尔宗教中的主神,主管呼吸,风。他是天地的儿子,出生时用风的暴力把父母分开。 【2】诗文中的“吉士班”(gishban)和“吉士班-西金"(gishban-sikin)的含义不明,可能是英译者Kramer在翻译时采用的译音。此处的中文也采取了音译。
说明
网上搜寻,似乎未见到此诗的中文译文,也未见中文文献提及此诗。故而斗胆翻译,抛砖引玉,望贤者指误。另外,由于未见到对此诗的中文介绍,故将Joshua J Mark教授的英文介绍文章也翻译成中文。
The World's Oldest Love Poem
世界最古老的爱情诗
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In the 19th century CE, archaeologistsdescended on the region of Mesopotamia seekingphysical evidence which would corroborate the biblical narratives of the OldTestament. While this may not have been initially their driving purpose, theirneed for funding (based on public interest to justify such funding) soon madeit so. When the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in1845 CE, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam, he was under so much pressure to findbiblical sites that he jumped to the conclusion the city he had uncoveredwas Nineveh. Hispublished account of the excavations, in 1849 CE, was titled Ninevehand its Remains and, owing to Nineveh’s fame from the Bible, thebook became a best seller. The success of the book sparked further interest inMesopotamian history as a means of corroborating biblical narratives and sofurther expeditions were sent to the region in search of other citiesmentionedin the Bible。
十九世纪,考古学家们汇聚于美索不达米亚地区,去寻找《旧约》中圣经传说的对应证据。虽然这并不是他们的最初动机,但是出于资助的需要(根据公众的兴趣来将这种搜寻合理化),很快如此了。当考古学家奥斯汀∙亨利(Austen Henry)在Hormuzd Rassam的协助下,于公元1845年开始在Kalhu(一个亚述人的城市,位于泰古士河沿岸,在当今伊拉克的Nineveh省内;蓬草注)发掘时, 他承受到如此巨大的压力去发现圣经的遗址,以至于他匆忙地得出结论说,他发掘的城市就是尼尼微(Nineveh)。公元1849年,他以“尼尼微及其遗址”为名发表关于这次发掘的解释;同时,由于尼尼微在《圣经》中的声誉,这本书成了最畅销书。这本书的成功点燃了对于美索不达米亚历史的进一步兴趣,并以此作为对接圣经传说的一种手段;于是更多的考察队投入到这个地区去寻找圣经中提及的其它城市。
Prior to this time, the Bible was considered the oldest book inthe world and The Song of Songs from the Bible (also knownas The Song of Solomon) the oldest love poem. Interestingly, theexpeditions sent to historically corroborate the stories from the Bible didprecisely the opposite. When Layard excavated the actual site of Nineveh in1846-1847 CE he discovered the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal(reigned668-627 BCE) and the cuneiform texts, which were thentranslated by the legendary George Smith, made it clear that the story of theFall of Man and The Great Flood and Noah's Ark were not original compositionsof the authors of the Book of Genesis but were pre-existing Mesopotamian taleswhich were re-worked by later Hebrew scribes. The Song of Songs, dated to the 6th-3rd centuries BCE, could no longer be considered the oldestlove poem once The Love Song for Shu-Sin (written c.2000 BCE) wasdiscovered.
在此之前,《圣经》被认为是世界上最古老的书,而来自圣经的“歌中之歌”,也就是人们所知的“所罗门之歌”(又被称为“雅歌”或“歌中之雅歌”,蓬草注),则被认为是世界上最古老的爱情诗。有趣的是,派往这个地区为圣经故事提供历史依据的考察队恰恰是做了相反的事情。当Layard于公元1846-1847年间发掘了实际的尼尼微遗址时,他发现了亚述国王Ashurbanipal(在位时间为公元前668-627年)的图书馆和楔形文字文件;这些文字随后被传奇的乔治∙史密斯(George Smith)翻译。于是事情就很清楚了,人类堕落的故事、大洪水和诺亚方舟不是创世纪作者的原始作品集,而是早先存在于美索不达米亚的传说,其后又经过了希伯来文字的改写。苏辛之歌(The Song of Shu-Sin,写于大约公元前2000年)一经发现,“歌中之歌”(公元前6-3世纪)就不能够再被认作是最古老的爱情诗了。
When it was found, the cuneiform tabletof The Love Song for Shu-Sin was taken to the Istanbul Museumin Turkey whereit was stored in a drawer, untranslated and unknown, until 1951 CE when thefamous Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer came across it while translating ancienttexts. Kramer was trying to decide what works to translate next when he foundthe love song in the drawer. He describes the moment in his work History Begins at Sumer:
当它被发现时,“苏辛之歌”的楔形文字泥板被带到土耳其的伊斯坦布尔博物馆;在那里它被收藏在一个抽屉里,没有被翻译也不被人知,直到公元1951年著名的苏美尔学学者Samuel Noah Kramer才在翻译古文时碰到它。当Kramer在抽屉里发现这首爱情诗的时候,他试图决定下一步翻译哪篇作品。他在其著作“历史从苏美尔开始”中描述了这一时刻:
Thelittle tablet numbered 2461 was lying in one of the drawers, surrounded by anumber of other pieces. When I first laid eyes on it, its most attractivefeature was its state of preservation. I soon realized that I was reading apoem, divided into a number of stanzas, which celebrated beauty and love, ajoyous bride and a king named Shu-Sin (who ruled over the land of Sumer closeto four thousand years ago). As I read it again and yet again, there was nomistaking its content. What I held in my hand was one of the oldest love songswritten down by the hand of man (245).
这块编号为2461的小泥板躺在一个抽屉里,被其它东西包围着。当我的目光第一次接触到它,它最引人注目的特点是其保存的状态。我很快意识到我是在读一首诗,它分成段落,它歌颂美和爱情,一个喜悦的新娘和一位名为苏辛的国王(他在将近4000年前统治了苏美尔土地)。当我一遍又一遍地阅读它时,它的内容没有一点错误。在我手中握着的是人类之手所写下的最古老的爱情诗之一。
The poem was not just a love poem, however,but a part of the sacred rite, performed each year, known as the "sacredmarriage" in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, matewith her, and ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. Kramerwrites:
然而,这不仅仅是一首爱情诗,它还是神圣仪式的一部分;在每年举行一次,为人所知的“神圣婚姻”中,国王回象征性地与伊南娜(Inanna)女神结婚,与它同房,并确保来年的多产和繁荣。Kramer写道:
Once ayear, according to Sumerian belief, it was the sacred duty of the ruler tomarry a priestess and votary of Inanna, the goddess of love and procreation, inorder to ensure fertility to the soil and fecundity to the womb. Thetime-honored ceremony was celebrated on New Year's day and was preceeded byfeasts and banquets accompanied by music, song, and dance. The poem inscribedon the little Istanbul clay tablet was in all probability recited by the chosenbride of King Shu-Sin in the course of one of these New Year celebrations (245-246).
根据苏美尔人的信仰,统治者的一项神圣职责就是每年与一位伊南娜女神的女巫结婚(伊南娜是爱情和繁殖女神)以确保土地的丰产和子宫的多产。择时而临的大典每年在新年庆祝,由宴会、音乐和歌舞作为前导。极有可能,刻在伊斯坦布尔泥板上的诗是由国王苏辛选定的新娘在诸多新年庆典过程中来背诵。
The scholar Jeremy Black, also well respectedfor his work with Mesopotamian texts, interprets the poem along the same lines.Black writes:
学者Jeremy Black,也因其关于美索不达米亚文字的工作而备受尊敬,对这首诗的解释采取了同一思路:
This isone of several love songs composed for this king which articulate a belief inhis very close and personal relationship with the goddess of love. In somesongs of this type, the king's name seems to have been merely substituted forthat of Dumuzi [Inanna's celestial lover in myth]. Almost certainly they wereperformed in the context of certain religious rituals which have been referredto as the `sacred marriage' but the precise details are unknown. The beliefthat the king could in some sense actually have sexual intercourse with thegoddess is intimately connected to the belief in the divinity of the kings ofthis period (88-89).
这是为这位国王所作的几首诗之一;它们表达出一种对于他和爱情女神之间亲密关系和私交的信仰。在一些这类的歌曲中,国王的名字似乎仅仅是取代了杜木兹(Dumuzi)的名字(杜木兹在神话中是伊南娜的天界情人)。几乎可以肯定,这些歌曲是在某种“神圣婚姻”的宗教仪式氛围里演唱的,但是准确的细节却不知晓。关于国王可以和女神发生某种意义的性关系的信念直接联系到关于这个时期国王神性的信念(88-89)。
It is likely that the king, in having sexualrelations with one of Inanna's priestesses, was thought to be having sex withthe goddess herself but, as Black notes, the details of the sacred marriageritual are unknown. While the recitation of the poem by the `bride' served areligious and social function in the community by ensuring prosperity, it isalso a deeply personal and affectionate composition, spoken in the femalevoice, concerning romantic and erotic love.
有可能是这样,国王因其与伊南娜的女巫发生性关系从而被认为与女神发生了性关系,但是如Black所说,神圣婚姻仪式的细节无从知晓。
Shu-Sin reigned as king in the city of Ur from 1972-1964 BCEaccording to what is known in scholarly circles as the `short chronology' but,according to the `long chronology' used by some scholars, reigned 2037-2029BCE. The poem, therefore, is dated according to either 1965 BCE or 2030 BCE butis most often assigned a general date of composition at around 2000 BCE. Shu-Sinwas the younger son of Shulgi of Ur(reigned 2029-1982 BCE)who was the last great king of the Ur III Period (2047-1750 BCE). According tothe historian Stephen Bertman, besides this poem, "Shu-Sin was also themale lead in a series of erotic poems in Akkadian written in dialogue formsimilar to the later biblical Song of Songs" (105). Long before thebiblical narratives were set down,then, the Mesopotamians were writing the`first drafts' of some of the most influential works in world history.
根据学术界所知的“短编年史”,苏辛作为统治乌尔(Ur)城的国王是在公元前1792-1964年间;然而根据有些学者应用的“长编年史”,则是在公元前2037-2029年间。因此,这首诗的年代可定于公元前1965年或公元前2030年,但大多被泛指为作于公元前2000年左右。苏辛是“乌尔的Shulqi”(公元前2029-1982年)之幼子,Shulqi是乌尔第三王朝时期(公元前2047-1750年)的最后一位伟大的国王。
The archaeological work done in Mesopotamia inthe 19th century CE completely changed the way history, and the world, could beunderstood. Once upon a time, the ancient past stopped with the Bible and theversion of history presented in the biblical narratives. Following thediscovery of Mesopotamia's ancient past, history was enlarged, deepened, andhumanity's story became much more complex and interesting. The literature ofancient Mesopotamia provided the first forms of world literature, the firstexpressions of human emotion and experience and, among them, the experience ofromantic love and passion through the world's oldest love poem.
公元19世纪在美索不达米亚的考古工作完全改变了理解历史以及世界的方式。曾经,古代的过去止步于《圣经》及其对历史的描述。随着美索不达米亚古代过去的发现,历史变大了,加深了,人文故事也变得更为复杂和有趣。古美索不达米亚的文献提供了世界文学的第一种形式,第一种人类情感和经验的表现,这其中也有通过世界最古老爱情诗提供的体验,即浪漫的爱情和激情。
The following translation of The Love Song of Shu-Sin is from Samuel Noah Kramer's work History Begins at Sumer, pp 246-247:
下面“苏辛的爱情之歌”的译文来自Samuel Noah Kramer的著作《历史从苏美尔开始》:
Bridegroom,dear to my heart, 新郎啊,爱到了我的心里,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet, 你是多么地美,多么地甜蜜, Lion, dear to my heart, 雄狮啊,闯进了我的心里, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet. 你是多么地美,多么地甜蜜。
Youhave captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you. 你迷住了我,令我在你面前颤抖, Bridegroom,I would be taken by you to the bedchamber, 新郎啊,你要把我带入寝室里,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you. 你俘获了我,令我在你面前颤抖。
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber. 雄狮啊,你要把我带入寝室里。
Bridegroom,let me caress you, 新郎啊,让我爱抚你,
My precious caress is more savory than honey, 我宝贵的爱抚无比甜蜜,
In the bedchamber, honey-filled, 寝室里,充满了甜蜜,
Let me enjoy your goodly beauty, 让我欣赏你恢弘的美,
Lion, let me caress you, 雄狮啊,让我爱抚你,
My precious caress is more savory than honey. 我宝贵的爱抚无比甜蜜。
Bridegroom,you have taken your pleasure of me, 新郎啊,你从我这里把快乐提取,
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies, 告诉我的母亲,她将送你美味,
My father, he will give you gifts. 而我的父亲,他将赠你厚礼。 Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit, 你的灵魂,我知道去哪里赞美,
Bridegroom, sleep in our house until dawn, 新郎啊,睡在你的房屋里, 黎明而起。 Yourheart, I know where to gladden your heart, 你的心, 我知道去哪里去令它欢欣,
Lion, sleep in our house until dawn. 雄狮啊, 睡在你的房屋里,黎明而起。
You, because you love me, 你,因为你爱我,
Give me pray of your caresses, 给我吧,你那爱抚的祷告, My lord god, my lord protector, 我的神主啊,我的保护神,
My Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil’s heart, 我的苏辛,你让主神恩利尔欢心,
Give my pray of your caresses. 给我吧,你那爱抚的祷告。 Your place goodly as honey, pray lay your hand on it, 你的所在美妙如蜜,放上你祷告的手, Bring your hand over like a gishban-garment, 伸出你的手,如同一身吉士班的圣衣,
Cup your hand over it like a gishban-sikin-garment 覆盖你的手,如同一身吉士班-西金的圣衣。
It is a balbale-song of Inanna. 这是一首伊南娜的巴贝尔式歌曲(巴贝尔是苏美尔人的一种歌曲形式)。
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A freelance writer and part-time Professor of Philosophy atMarist College, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany andtraveled through Egypt. He teaches ancient history, writing, literature, andphilosophy.
关于作者 Joshua J. Mark是一名自由工作者和纽约Marist学院的兼职哲学教授,曾居住于希腊、德国,并曾经旅行埃及。他教授古代历史、写作、文学和哲学。
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