bubble50 DH Freelance 中翻英 英翻中

Source(資料來源): http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSPG&NW.html

      This story is a synthesis of three stories from classical Chinese mythology. The stories come from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, an anthology of stories collected in the first century B.C. that were nearly as ancient then as the anthology seems to us today.

      這個故事綜合了三個中國古典神話故事。這些故事來自於《山海經》，這是一部在公元前一世紀所集結而成的故事選集，這些故事對當時而言，幾乎就像是這本選集對我們現在而言一樣古老。

Pan Gu and Nü Wa

盤古和女媧

      Long, long ago, when heaven and earth were still one, the entire universe was contained in an egg-shaped cloud. All the matter of the universe swirled chaotically in that egg. Deep within the swirling matter was Pan Gu, a huge giant who grew in the chaos. For 18,000 years he developed and slept in the egg. Finally one day he awoke and stretched, and the egg broke to release the matter of the universe. The lighter purer elements drifted upwards to make the sky and heavens, and the heavier impure elements settled downwards to make the earth.

      很久很久以前，當天與地仍合為一體之時，整個宇宙都被包在一個蛋形的雲層中。在那個蛋中，宇宙裡所有的物質都混亂地盤繞著。在盤繞物質的深處是一個名為盤古，從渾沌中生成的高大巨人。18000年以來，他在蛋中生長與長眠。終於有一天，他醒來了並伸展一下軀體，使蛋殼破碎，釋放出宇宙的物質。較輕盈純淨的成分向上漂移，形成了天空，較沉重而不純淨的成分則向下沉降，形成了大地。

      In the midst of this new world, Pan Gu worried that heaven and earth might mix again; so he resolved to hold them apart, with the heavens on his head and the earth under his feet. As the two continued to separate, Pan Gu grew to hold them apart. For 18,000 years he continued to grow, until the heavens were 30,000 miles above the earth. For much longer he continued to hold the two apart, fearing the return of the chaos of his youth. Finally he realized they were stable, and soon after that he died.

      在這個新世界中，盤古擔心天與地可能再次混合，所以他決定將他們撐開來，讓他的頭頂著天，他的腳踩著地。隨著兩者持續的分開，盤古也跟著生長著將他們撐開來。他不斷地生長，持續了18000年，直到天空高於大地30,000英里。不過，他仍然持續了一段很長的時間，繼續將兩者撐開來，擔心會回到他初時渾沌的情形。最終，他發現它們已經很穩定了，不久之後他就死了。

      With the immense giant's death, the earth took on new character. His arms and legs became the four directions and the mountains. His blood became the rivers, and his sweat became the rain and dew. His voice became the thunder, and his breath became the winds. His hair became the grass, and his veins became the roads and paths. His teeth and bones became the minerals and rocks, and his flesh became the soil of the fields. Up above, his left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon. Thus in death, as in life, Pan Gu made the world as it is today.

      隨著這個龐大巨人的死亡，大地出現了新的地形。他的胳膊和腿變成了四個方向和山脈。他的血液變成了河流，他的汗水變成了雨露。他的聲音變成了雷聲，他的呼吸變成了風。他的頭髮變成了草，他的血管變成了道路和小徑。他的牙齒和骨頭變成了礦物和岩石，他的肉體變成了田地的土壤。在上方，他的左眼變成了太陽，他的右眼變成了月亮。於是，雖然死亡，但他創造了萬物，就如同活著一樣，是盤古讓今日的世界能夠如此蓬勃。

      Many centuries later, there was a goddess named Nü Wa who roamed this wild world that Pan Gu had left behind, and she became lonely in her solitude. Stopping by a pond to rest, she saw her reflection and realized that there was nothing like herself in the world. She resolved to make something like herself for company.

      數百年之後，有一位名叫女媧的女神漫遊在這個盤古所留下的野生世界，而她因為孤獨而變得寂寞。當她在池塘邊停下來休息時，她看到了她的倒影，並意識到這個世界沒有任何一個像她一樣的生物。她決定製造出一些像她自己的生物來陪她。

      From the edge of the pond she took some mud and shaped it in the form of a human being. At first her creation was lifeless, and she set it down. It took life as soon as it touched the soil, however, and soon the human was dancing and celebrating its new life. Pleased with her creation, Nü Wa made more of them, and soon her loneliness disappeared in the crowd of little humans around her. For two days she made them, and still she wanted to make more. Finally she pulled down a long vine and dragged it through the mud, and then she swung the vine through the air. Droplets of mud flew everywhere and, when they fell, they became more humans that were nearly as perfect as the ones she had made by hand. Soon she had spread humans over the whole world. The ones she made by hand became the aristocrats, and the ones she made with the vine became the poor common people.

      在池塘的邊緣，她取了一些泥，並將它塑造成人的形狀。一開始，她創造出來的東西沒有生命，她就把它放下。然而，當它一碰到土壤時，它就產生了生命，很快地，這名人類跳著舞慶祝它的新生。高興於她的創造，女媧又做了更多的人類，很快地，她的寂寞就消失在小人群的圍繞之中。她製造了兩天的人類，但她還想要做出更多的人。最後，她拉下一根長長的藤蔓，將它拖過泥中，然後她將藤蔓揮舞到空中。一滴滴的泥漿到處飛濺，當它們墜落時，它們變成了更多的人類，幾乎和她手工製作的那批人類一樣完美。不久，她就將人類遍及全世界。她手工製作的那些人成了貴族，而她用藤蔓製作的那些人則成了差一點的普通人。

      Even then, Nü Wa realized that her work was incomplete, because as her creations died she would have to make more. She solved this problem by dividing the humans into male and female, so that they could reproduce and save her from having to make new humans to break her solitude.

      即便如此，女媧也意識到她的作品是有缺陷的，因為當她的創作死亡時，她得再製造出更多的人。所以，她就藉由將人類分為男性和女性來解決這個問題，這樣他們就可以自行製造並使她不用一直製造新的人類來免於孤獨。

      Many years later, Pan Gu's greatest fear came true. The heavens collapsed so that there were holes in the sky, and the earth cracked, letting water rush from below to flood the earth. At other places, fire sprang forth from the earth, and everywhere wild beasts emerged from the forests to prey on the people. Nü Wa drove the beasts back and healed the earth. To fix the sky, she took stones of many colors from the river and built a fire in which she melted them. She used the molten rock to patch the holes in the sky, and she used the four legs of a giant turtle to support the sky again. Exhausted by her labors, she soon lay down to die and, like Pan Gu, from her body came many more features to adorn the world that she had restored.

      許多年過後，盤古最大的恐懼終於出現了。天空坍塌之後，出現了許多的洞；而大地也裂開了，使水從下方湧現，淹沒大地。在其他的地方，有大火從大地中湧出，到處都是野獸從森林中出來捕食人類。女媧將野獸驅趕回來，並封好了大地。為了修補天空，她從河裡取出了許多不同顏色的石頭，並建了爐火，熔化它們。她用熔化的石頭修補了天空中的洞，她還用了一隻巨龜的四條腿再次將天支撐起來。做完這些之後，筋疲力盡的她很快地躺下來，然後死去。如同盤古一般，她的身體化作更多的地形來裝飾這個被她修復的世界。