【原文】

 

[1]我们已快要临到这人世悲惨之境地，在这世界上，稍有人格的民族，都无法忍受的。[2]我们不能不应战，至于战争既开之后，则因为我们是弱国，再没有妥协机会，如果放弃尺寸土地与主权，便是中华民族的千古罪人。……[3]如果战端一开，那就是地无分南北，人无分老幼，无论何人，皆有守土抗战之责任，皆应抱定牺牲一切之决心。

——摘自1937年7月蒋介石在庐山发表的抗战演讲

面对来势凶猛的日本侵略军，蒋介石此时已经发现和平无望，故下了抗战到底的决心。1937年7月31日，蒋在庐山发表了一篇激愤无比的抗战宣言，所选其中这几句尤其感人，可名垂青史。

[1]中，“已快要临到”，参赛译文如“We are almost and nearly come to … /We are almost on the verge of…/…is almost on the brink of…/ We are on the threshold of…”等，似都可以，但还可更简练些。

“悲惨”，大都用了misery、miserable、tragic、pitiful、sad and shocking等，都可接受；而“境地”用得较多的有dilemma、predicament、plight、occasion、stage、circumstance、condition等。分析起来，dilemma的本义为the state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options，如：①He was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to return to his country.（要不要回国，他进退两难。）②The issue raises a moral dilemma.（这个问题引发了一个道德上的两难抉择。）predicament和plight也类似，都有difficult and unpleasant 的性质，如：①the club’s financial predicament（俱乐部的财政困境）②The country’s economic plight is strangling its scientific institutions.（该国的经济困境阻碍了其科研机构的工作进展。）显然，这三个词用在这里，性质上都不够准确。而occasion，其原义为“a time when something happens, or a case of it happening”，如：①It is an occasion for all the family to celebrate.（这是个值得举家庆祝的时刻。）②It is always an important occasion for setting out government policy.（这历来都是阐明政府政策的重要时机。）在此处又显分量不够。至于stage，则相差更远，其义为a period or state that passes through while developing or making progress，即发展进程中的一个阶段。所以，在选择词语时应首先了解其英文原义。就此而言，circumstance、situation、condition是比较适宜的，尽管也有程度和范畴的区别，不过其中有着基本的相通因素：circumstance – the conditions and facts that are connected with and affect a situation, an event or an action；situation – the combination of circumstances at a given time； condition – a state in a particular situation。特别是condition，在不同的语境中有着差异较大的多种含义，如一般来讲，可有“The report can probably provide some information concerning current political, economic or financial situation.（该报告可能提供当前政治、经济或财务等相关方面的一些信息。）”；具体而言，“Conditions for the poor in Los Angeles have not improved.（洛杉矶穷人的境况仍未得到改善。）”；个人来说，“We have all been in similar embarrassing situations.（我们都遇到过类似的尴尬局面。）”，甚至，“他身体欠佳。（He is not in good condition.）”“生命垂危（critical condition）”等。考虑到与前面用到的那些形容词相搭配，condition用在这里似更为适宜。

对于“人格”，参赛译文用得最多的是personality和character，如which is unbearable as long as one has the least personality / which cannot be endured by any nation with a little personality / where even a nation with a least character is not disposed to suffer it / where any nation of character in the world can’t bear等，显然有根据字面意思、查字典寻找对等词的痕迹。其实，personality（the complex of all the attributes-behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental – that characterize a unique individual）主要指人的特性和魅力，如：①a woman of great personality（极有个性的女人）②Through sheer force of personality Hugh Trenchard had got his way.（休·特伦查德完全凭借个人魅力就能随心所欲。）③他很有个人魅力，非常风趣。（He is such a personality – he is so funny.）而the character of a person or place consists of all the qualities they have that make them distinct from other people or places，如：①That is the other side of his character.（那是他性格中的另一面。）②The character of this country has been formed by immigration.（这个国家的国民性是由移民形成的。）③中国特色的社会主义（socialism with Chinese characters/characteristics）有参赛者用了national pride，似乎吻合，但是该词一般用于和平、积极的意义，如：This success has greatly boosted a deep sense of national pride.（这一成功极大地提升了民族自豪感。）而原文的话语是在民族陷于战争灾难、面临亡国灭种之时讲的，所以显得不协调。类似的，还有self-pride、self-respect、self-esteem等。还有参赛者用了human dignity，如“We are going to be confronted with a miserable situation which nations with human dignity can't be unbearable.”，而该词一般是在更大或比较的语境下讲的，如：It’s an affront to human dignity to keep someone alive like this.（如此维持一个人的生命是对人类尊严的冒犯。）同时应当指出的是，can’t be unbearable为否定之否定，成为肯定（bearable），故意思恰好相反，此类错误在参赛译文中并不罕见。其实，dignity即可，如：①We should treat others with dignity and respect.（我们应当尊重和善待他人。）②She’s got too much dignity to descend to writing anonymous letters.（她是个自尊心很强的人，绝不会自贬身份去写匿名信）。

故此，该句不妨译为：We are to be trapped in such miserable conditions that no nation with dignity in the world could bear them anymore.

[2]中，“不能不”不宜简单理解为“能”，can没有译出不得已的语气，可为have to、cannot but，或更重一点的“… have no choice but …”等。

“战争既开”，有参赛者用了we resort to the war，好像是主动利用战争去解决问题，如：She would never resort to the law courts to resolve her marital problems.（她无论如何不会上法庭去解决婚姻问题。）这显然不合适。

“妥协”，参赛译文用得最多的是compromise、relinquish、abdication、concede、concession等。一般而言，compromise（a middle way between two extremes）有一种对等条件下的平和语气，如：Some protagonists may come to their senses and seek a compromise.（对抗双方中有些人可能在理性思考后达成妥协。）故在此处性质有所不同。而relinquish多指财产和权利方面的分割（part with a possession or right），如：①She relinquished possession of the house to her sister.（她将房子让给了妹妹。）②他被迫放弃对公司的控制权。（He was forced to relinquish control of the company.）显然范畴有别。类似的还有abdication，其义为a formal resignation and renunciation of powers，参赛译文如“The abdication of territory and sovereignty will degrade us to be eternal sinners.”应当说用词造句还是比较讲究的。concede与concession类同，因concession 的原义为the act of conceding or yielding，如：①We cannot concede any of our territory.（我们决不能放弃一寸国土。）②There is a call for the concession of certain rights.（人们要求承认某些权利。）

值得一提的是，“主权”不同于一般的“权利”“权力”和“控制权”，而是sovereignty，如澳门的回归与香港的回归不同，不是resume sovereignty, 而是收回了“管制权”（administration and jurisdiction），因葡萄牙从未对澳门拥有领土主权。

将“是中华民族的千古罪人”译成we shall be guilty of committing an unpardonable offense against our race，值得商榷：offense是“a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or others”，用在此处显然太“轻”了，如：The book might be published without creating offense.（出版这本书可能不会引起人们的反感。）当然，criminal offense、fatal offense则又有所不同；而our race属多余，因这里不言自明。

故此，该句不妨译为：We have no choice but to stand up and fight back. Once the war breaks out, as a weak nation, there will be no chance for us to make any concessions – a bit of loss of territory or sovereignty will stand condemned throughout the ages…

[3]中，对于“地无分南北”，许多参赛者译成“the land will not distinguish between north and south/ Anyone, no matter they come from north or south / regardless of the north or the south”等，其实这只是一种笼统说法，难道就不包括东西吗？故可统而述之。

“有……之责任”，一般译文用了responsibility、duty等，但应注意前面的动词或介词的固定搭配，如accept、assume、bear、carry、recognize、shoulder、take、take on、take over、place、acknowledge等，而不是demonstrate、stay、 show等，不应过于随意。

对“皆应抱定牺牲一切之决心”，许多人翻译得很带感情，似乎用了最重的词句，如“…with last full measure of devotion / Everyone will have to give up everything that he has /shall combat valiantly at whatever cost unless being subjugated”等，但还应力求找到最恰当、简约的“那一个”；例如，相比参赛译文中的to give up，此处用sacrifice更带一种庄重与仪式感。

故此，该句不妨译为：From day one of the war, everybody across the country, the young and the old, will all be mobilized and determined to sacrifice everything as they assume duties to fight against the enemy and defend our motherland. 

由此可见，翻译中的选词用语首先要注重其译入语的原义，其次才是其引申含义；更重要的是，译者要能设身处地到原文当时的语境之中，反复体会、比较，从而找到最恰当的表达方式。

优胜译文：

 

@睡不醒的顾冰

 

We are about to descend into the most miserable situation that life could render, a situation which any nation with a slight bit of dignity could not bear.

There's nothing we can do but fight this war against the Japanese invasion. As a weak country, we have before us no chance of compromise once the war begins. To lose any bit of our territory or sovereignty to compromise will make us the "sinner for a thousand generations" of the Chinese nation.

...When the war begins, every part of this land, south or north, shall be the battlefield and every single man in this country, young or old, must do his duty to defend our country, to have the resolve to win at all costs.

– From "Chiang Kai-shek's Lushan Adress on the Anti-Japanese War. July,1937"

 

@manny

 

We are on the verge of such a miserable and tragic life as any nation across the world with even slightest dignity can in no way bear. We must fight by all means. The moment we go to war against Japan, we will be in no position to come to terms with them as it is not in our favor in terms of strength. He who gives away the smallest portion of land or sovereignty would stand condemned through the ages to come. …When the war begins, any man of any age from any part of the country shall have the responsibility to fight with the enemy and defend the land, with the determination to sacrifice all.

 

@Nicholas

 

We are on the verge of descending into such a miserable state that any nation with a trace of dignity would deem it intolerable. We have no choice but to conduct armed resistance, and entering into battle would leave a weak country like us no room for compromise and concession . If we gave up even an inch of China's territory and sovereignty, we would stand condemned in the history of the Chinese nation......Once the war breaks out, then all Chinese, south and north, young and old, share the responsibility to resolutely defend our homeland against the Japanese invaders at any cost.

– Excerpts from Chiang Kei-shek's Lushan speech calling on all Chinese to resist Japan in July, 1937

 

@Lorna

 

We are on the verge of a tragic stage where no nation with some dignity can bear. We can’t sit on our hands without answering the attack. But in case the war starts, as we are a weak nation, never do we have the chance to give in. Once giving up an inch of our land and sovereignty, we will stand condemned through the ages in Chinese history…. Upon it breaking out, anyone in this nation, no matter where you live, South or North, no matter how old you are, young or old, should have the responsibility to defend our land and the resolve to sacrifice all for it.

– Excerpt from the Lushan Speech made by Chiang Kai-shek in July, 1937.