第19届韩素音青年翻译比赛汉译英原文及参考译文
在义与利之外
周国平
Beyond Righteousness and Interests by Zhou Guoping
“君子喻以义，小人喻以利”。中国人的人生哲学总是围绕着义利二字打转。可是，假如我既不是君子，也不是小人呢？
“Men of virtue are concerned whether they behave righteously while virtueless men are concerned about their personal interests.” The Chinese philosophy of life can hardly go beyond the continuous debate over righteousness and interests. But what am I concerned about if I am neither a man of virtue nor one without it?
曾经有过一个人皆君子言必称义的时代，当时或许有过大义灭利的真君子，但更常见的是借义逐利的伪君子和假义真信的迂君子。那个时代过去了。曾几何时，世风剧变，义的信誉一落千丈，真君子销声匿迹，伪君子真相毕露，迂君子豁然开窍，都一窝蜂奔利而去。据说观念更新，义利之辨有了新解，原来利并非小人的专利，倒是做人的天经地义。
There was once an alleged age of righteousness, in which all men were of virtue. Maybe, few of them were really men of virtue, who vindicated righteousness bysacrificing their own interests. However, most of them were either pharisees, who pursued their personal interests in the name of righteousness, or pedants, who believed in fake morality. Such an era had already elapsed. There was once a period of time when the ethos deteriorated overnight and people’s belief in righteousness greatly declined. Consequently, men of virtue vanished, pharisees revealed their impudent faces and pedants suddenly disenchanted. All people rushed for their own interests. It was said that people had renovated their values and they had endowed their conceptions of righteousness and interests with new contents. For them, the pursuit of personal interests is not a patent right of men without virtue but the primary principle followed by all human beings.
“时间就是金钱！”——这是当今一句时髦口号。企业家以之鞭策生产，本无可非议。但世人把它奉为指导人生的座右铭，用商业精神取代人生智慧，结果就使自己的人生成了一种企业，使人际关系成了一个市场。
Nowadays “Time is money” is a popular slogan. It is reasonable for entrepreneurs to adopt it in their production management. However, if we substitute commercial spirit for life wisdom, taking this slogan as a motto to guide our life, we tend to regard our life as business and our relationship, market.
我曾经嘲笑廉价的人情味，如今，连人情味也变得昂贵而罕见了。试问，不花钱你可能买到一个微笑，一句问候，一丁点儿恻隐之心？不过，无须怀旧。想靠形形色色的义的说教来匡正时弊，拯救世风人心，事实上无济于事。在义利之外，还有别样的人生态度。在君子小人之外，还有别样的人格。套孔子的句式，不妨说：“至人喻以情。”
I once derided the human kindness for its cheapness. But at present it has becomecostly and infrequent. Can you buy a smile, a greeting or a particle of sympathywithout money? However, there is no need to reminisce. In fact, various preaches of righteousness are helpless to the rectification of current social malpractices and the salvation of present public morals. Beyond righteousness and interests, there are other life values. Apart from men of virtue and virtueless men, there are men with other personality. A remark by Confucius might be quoted here, which says: “A perfect man apprehends affection.”
义和利，貌似相反，实则相通。“义”要求人献身抽象的社会实体，“利”驱使人投身世俗的物质利益，两者都无视人的心灵生活，遮蔽了人的真正的“自我”。“义”教人奉献，“利”诱人占有，前者把人生变成一次义务的履行，后者把人生变成一场权利的争夺，殊不知人生的真价值是超乎义务和权利外的。义和利都脱不开计较，所以，无论义师讨伐叛臣，还是利欲支配众生，人与人之间的关系总是紧张。
Righteousness and interests seem opposite on the surface but in nature they have something in common. “Righteousness” requests people to devote themselves to the abstract social noumenon while “interests” impels them to pursue the mundane loaves and fishes. Both of them ignore people’s spiritual life and as a result, they shade their real “selves”. “Righteousness” instructs people to dedicate themselves to the society and turns their life into the performance of an obligation while “interests” tempts people to appropriate material profits and makes their life become a scramble for rights and profits. Nevertheless, the real value of life lies beyond righteousness and interests. As both righteousness and interests can hardly escape from calculation and consideration, the interpersonal relations are always strained no matter when a justice army suppresses a rebellion or when all flesh are dominated by an appetite for personal interests.
如果说“义”代表一种伦理的人生态度，“利”代表一种功利的人生态度，那么，我所说的“情”便代表一种审美的人生态度。它主张率性而行，适情而止，每个人都保持自己的真性情。你不是你所信奉的教义，也不是你所占有的物品，你之为你仅在于你的真实“自我”。生命的意义不在奉献或占有，而在创造，创造就是人的真性情的积极展开，是人在实现其本质力量时所获得的情感上的满足。创造不同于奉献，奉献只是完成外在的责任，创造却是实现真实的“自我”。至于创造和占有，其差别更是一目了然，譬如写作，占有注重的是作品所带来的名利地位，创造注重的只是创作本身的快乐。有真性情的人，与人相处唯求情感的沟通，与物相触独钟情趣的品味。更为可贵的是，在世人匆忙逐利又为利所逐的时代，他接人待物有一种闲适之情。我不是指中国士大夫式的闲情逸致，也不是指小农式的知足保守，而是指一种不为利驱、不为物役的淡泊的生活情怀。仍以写作为例，我想不通，一个人何必要著作等身呢？倘想流芳千古，一首不朽的小诗足矣。倘无此奢求，则只要活得自在即可，写作也不过是这活得自在的一种方式罢了。
If “righteousness” represents an ethical value of life and “interests”, a utilitarian attitude towards life, the “affection” that I have mentioned represents aesthetic attitude towards life. It claims that we should behave frankly and properly and all of us should maintain our real temperament. You are neither the teachings that you believe in nor the resources that you are possessed of, but your true “self”, which is the very reason why you are yourself. The value of life does not consist in dedication or possession, but creation. Creation is the outspread of one’s true temperament and the affectional satisfaction that one obtains when achieving his/her essential potence. Creation differs from dedication in that the former is the realization of the true “self” but the later, only the fulfillment of the exterior responsibilities. As for creation and possession, the difference between them is distinct at a glance. For instance, in writing possession means the concern for the fame and the status brought by works but creation means the concern for the happiness of writing itself. A person with true temperament only seeks for emotional communication when getting alone with others while he is only in deep love with the taste of sentiment when in contact with things. More importantly, he is always in a tranquil mood in such an era when others scramble for personal interests and are driven by material benefits. It is neither the leisurely and carefree mood of the Chinese scholar-bureaucrats nor the content and conservative mood of the petty farmers, but a quiet mood free from hollow fames and material interests. Still take writing as an instance. I can hardly figure out why one must produce as many famous works as he can. An enduring poem is enough to make one renowned forever. Without such an extravagant hope, one only needs to live to his content. Writing is just one means to such an end.
肖伯纳说：“人生有两大悲剧，一是没有得到你心爱的东西，另一是得到了你心爱的东西。”我曾经深以为然，并且佩服他把人生的可悲境遇，表述得如此轻松俏皮。但仔细玩味，发现这话的立足点仍是占有，所以才会有占有欲未得满足的痛苦和已得满足的无聊这双重悲剧。如果把立足点移到创造上，以审美的眼光看人生，我们岂不可以反其意而说：人生有两大快乐，一是没有得到你心爱的东西，于是你可以去寻求和创造；另一是得到了你心爱的东西，于是你可以去品味和体验？当然，人生总有其不可消除的痛苦，而重情轻利的人所体味到的辛酸悲哀，更为逐利之辈所梦想不到。但是，摆脱了占有欲，至少可以使人免除许多琐屑的烦恼和渺小的痛苦，活得有器度些。我无意以审美之情为救世良策，而只是表达了一个信念：在义与利之外，还有一种更值得一过的人生。这个信念将支撑我度过未来吉凶难卜的岁月。
George Bernard Shaw once said: “There are two tragedies in our life. One is that you have not obtained what you love while the other is that you have obtained what you love.” I took his remark for granted and admired him for his easy and witty expression of the lamentable plight in life. But when carefully relishing it, I discover that the stand of this remark is still possession, which is the very reason why there are two tragedies: the affliction of not satisfying one’s appetite for possession and the vacuity of satisfaction. If we regard creation as our stand and have an aesthetic vision for life, can’t we say that there are two enjoyments: one is that you have not attained what you love and you can continue your pursuit and creation while the other is that you have attained what you love and you can commence your appreciation and experience? Certainly, there are always some agonies in our life and the sufferings experienced by those who value affection but despise profits are out of the consideration of those who pursue interests. However, if we can get rid of the appetite for possession, we, at least, can avoid a great deal of inconsiderable vexations and trivial afflictions and live a life of more tolerance. Rather than intending to suggest the aesthetic affection as an excellent tactics of salvation, I merely express such a belief that there is a life more worthy of living beyond righteousness and interests. This faith will support me through the precarious and unpredictable future.
