【原】汪宝荣自译专栏 || 第一章初识港大

李伟荣 2021-05-14

展开全文

初识港大

My First Few Days at HKU

原文与译文 by汪宝荣

作者简介

汪宝荣，香港大学翻译系哲学硕士及哲学博士，浙江财经大学翻译研究所所长，浙江财经大学外国语学院教授。曾为英国伦敦大学亚非学院翻译研究中心（2010）、美国杜克大学东亚系（2015-2016）访问学者。学术兼职有浙江省翻译协会理事，Meta(A&HCI)等国内外核心期刊审稿专家等。主要从事中国文学对外译介与传播、社会翻译学、中国翻译史研究。业余从事英汉翻译实践。出版专著、译著2部，发表学术论文及学术译作80余篇，其中A&HCI、国内核心期刊40余篇。主持及参与完成省部级以上项目5项，目前主持国家社会科学基金项目“翻译社会学视阈下中国现当代小说译介模式研究。

附记

2006年4月中旬的一天，本科背景一般的我被香港大学意外录取为哲学硕士研究生。8月30日是录取通知书上写明的新生报到日。这天清晨，我从尖沙咀临时住处出发，坐天星小轮横渡维港，在中环码头换乘绿巴，向位于薄扶林道上的这所亚洲顶尖学府驶去。入学港大是我命运的转折点，新的人生旅程由此展开。以下文字摘自我在香港的日记，实录了当时见闻与观感。转眼12年将逝，当年情景犹在眼前，却又恍若隔世！

Notes: One day in mid-April 2006, a piece of unexpected news came: despite my modest undergraduate qualifications, I was admitted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as a Master of Philosophy candidate receiving full university funding. August 30 was the registration day as stated in the offer letter. Early that morning, I set off from my temporary home in Tsim Sha Tsui. After crossing Victoria Harbour on a cheap Star ferry, I got onto a green minibus at Central Ferry Piers heading for my destination -- one of Asia’s top universities located on Pokfulam Road. This marks a turning point in my life, and from that day on a new journey started. During my five-year sojourn in Hong Kong I kept a diary at irregular intervals recording my experiences and thoughts. What follows is taken from that diary. It all happened 12 years ago when I seemed to live in another world, yet in my mind’s eyes yesterday and today are often blurred.

这几天正在慢慢熟悉这里的环境和设施。港大的建筑物都是楼与楼相连通，开阔地很少，往往需要从一栋楼的某一层过到另一栋楼，加上问路时对方听不懂也不会说普通话，有时就找不到要去的地方，常常走冤枉路，弄得筋疲力尽。由于我住的地方在山下，步行到校10分钟左右，而学校建在龙虎山的半山腰上，每天来学校就是爬山运动，回宿舍则是下山运动，因此运动量够大了，没有必要进行体育锻炼了。怪不得很多年轻的香港人体型比较小和苗条。在这里我要想长胖也胖不起来了，倒是件好事！

These days I have been trying to familiarize myself with the environments and facilities at HKU. Here big stretches of open land are a rarity; hence, all the buildings are joined together to save space, and people have to walk through one floor of a building to another adjacent one. Sometimes you get lost in this labyrinth of concrete and you stop to ask the people around for directions. More often than not, those locals you inquire know no Putonghua and you end up an exhausted guy after much aimless circling. As I live downhill in a cramped flat, which is about 10 minutes’ uphill walk to the university, and the school buildings all stand on the slopes of Mount Lunghu, every morning I climb up to the university and at dusk walk downhill to the place I rent. I am taking much exercise by walking to and from the university and therefore need no more. Small wonder many local youths are of small and slim build. It appears I cannot put on weight while living here. Things can’t be better!

在寸土寸金的香港，住是头号难题。我入学注册时没能申请到学生宿舍，只好先自行解决住宿。报到后第三天，我被人从尖沙咀免费的临时住处撵了出来，不租房就得睡大街了。当天下午，我通过中介租了一间，位于西边街下半段，往下步行三分钟就到有电车通过的德辅道。由于租得太急，不仅租金偏高，而且住处很不高明，可用“暗无天日”“怪味扑鼻”“螺蛳壳里做道场”来形容。昨天，房东请来的装修工帮我换了房门的锁芯。锁芯我自己买，花了我29元。三把新钥匙在手，感觉安全多了。晚上房东来了，当面签了租房协议。为保险起见，协议需要政府部门核准，就要缴纳印花税，双方各付45元。这笔开销是我事先没有想到的。昨天去便利商场买了一些生活用品，晾衣架、电开水壶、肥皂、脸盆之类。今天上午又叫装修工来，装了挂衣服用的不锈钢杆子和搁板，费用由房东出。我提出要一只书架，可房东要我自己买，真拿他没有办法。

An inch of land is worth a gold bar in Hong Kong, so accommodation is the biggest problem here. As my initial application for a university flat room failed, I had to tackle the housing problem on my own. Two days after registration, I was driven out of my free temporary home in Tsim Sha Tsui and would have to sleep on the street without renting a room. In desperation I rented a flat that evening through a real estate agent. It is situated at the lower section of Western Street, and walking downhill for three minutes you can see Des Voeux Road where trolley cars shuttle east-west. As I took a hasty decision, the rent was a bit too dear and the flat was not sufficiently decent as I later discovered. In fact, one can describe it as “stinky, cramped and as dark as hell even at daytime”. Yesterday I had the workman sent by the landlord change the door lock, which I bought for 29 Hong Kong dollars. Holding the three new keys in hand, I felt much safer. At nightfall, the landlord came, and we signed up the rental agreement. For safety’s sake, though, it had to be verified by the government department, and that required a payment of the stamp tax by both parties. I paid 45 HKD reluctantly for the fee had never crossed my mind. I also bought some household items – wet clothes hangers, an electric kettle, soap and a water basin, etc. -- at a nearby store. This morning the landlord, at his expense, sent for the same workman again, who put in place a stainless steel rod for hanging clothes and some wooden racks. I asked for a bookshelf, but the landlord said, “Buy one for yourself.” I could not talk him into changing his mind.

吃饭问题如何解决呢？如果在学校，我会在学生餐厅吃饭，中西餐都有，价格在10元到50元之间，选择余地较大，我到今天好像还没有吃厌。我一般吃面条或快餐饭，价格在10元到20元之间。如果在山下自己租的房间里，就到德辅道上的茶餐厅（相当于大陆的小吃店）去吃，价钱和学校餐厅差不多。至于早饭，就随便吃了，好像这里的人吃顿早饭也要花20多块钱吧。香港年轻人很多是夜猫子，起床普遍很迟，11－12点钟还在慢条斯文地吃皮蛋瘦肉粥、粉丝什么的，最让我受不了。大陆学生的午饭时间正好是他们的早餐时间：中午过好久了，路上打个照面，他们还跟你说“早晨”（早上好）。

Next comes the eating problem. If I am on campus I usually dine at the students’ canteen. It serves a rich variety of Chinese and Western food, whose prices range from 10 to 50 Hong Kong dollars. Usually I take Chinese noodles or Chinese fast food, priced between 10 and 20 HKD. Simple food as they are, I am not yet fed up. When I happen to be staying in my rented flat, I will walk further down and eat at a tea café (sort of a snack bar in the mainland) on Des Voeux Road. The tea cafés here charge no more than the university canteen. As for breakfast, I am not that choosy; I just stuff into my mouth whatever I lay my hands on. Yet it appears that a typical Hong Kong breakfast costs at least 20 HKD. Many local youths stay up very late and will not rise until 11 or 12 am. Don’t be surprised if you see them savoring a bowl of vermicelli or rice porridge with preserved egg and minced pork at lunch time. But that is what I cannot bear to see. What is lunchtime for mainland students is their standard breakfast time. Don’t call it funny when at midday you run into a local acquaintance and are greeted with a listless “Morning”.

school of chinese.jpg

今天下午，中文系开了“迎新茶会”，系主任和三四位研究生导师都来了，还有新入学的全体研究生和部分老研究生。会议主要内容是明确专业选课和毕业论文要求，以及自我介绍和相互认识熟悉。中文系新入学研究生好像有10多个，只有３－４人来自内陆，其他全是本地学生。据系主任单周尧教授说，以前他们招的研究生几乎都是本地人，这几年情况有所改变。言下之意，此前内陆学生想就读港大，几乎是不可能的。显然，10多个新生中我的年纪最大，他们都在30岁以下，有的甚至大学刚毕业，只有23－24岁。会后跟导师潘先生谈了10几分钟。他说这段时间的任务主要是熟悉学校和图书馆，也可以自己找书看。本来应该分配给我的办公室还没有安排好，我就觉得没有着落，没有属于自己的电脑，也没有一个安静舒适的学习环境，宿舍只能用来休息和睡觉。

This afternoon a brief party was held at the Chinese Department to welcome newly enrolled research postgraduates (RPG). The Department Head and three or four RPG supervisors showed up; also present were all the new entrants and some of the senior RPGs. We were briefed on the university requirements for a degree thesis and for taking departmental courses in our chosen field. We were also given several minutes each to introduce ourselves. Finally, half an hour was set aside for us to chat over soft drink and beer. There appeared to be more than ten new entrants, among whom three or four (including me) come from the mainland, while the others are all locals. According to Professor Sin Chow-Yiu, the Department Head, the Chinese Department used to accept only local research students, yet now things have changed. What he suggested was that it had been virtually impossible for mainland students to be enrolled by HKU. Apparently I am the most senior one among the new arrivals, as most of them appear to be well under 30 years of age, and several of them are just fresh from university in their early twenties. After the party I talked to my supervisor Mr. Poon for ten or so minutes. He said for the present I would not be engaged otherwise, and my “main job” was to familiarize myself with the university and the libraries. Also I could read whatever books that met my eyes, he said. When I learned from the department clerk that the office reserved for me is not yet ready to receive its new occupant, I felt unsettled. That means for the moment I have no access to a personal computer or a quiet and comfortable working environment. I can do nothing in my poor flat but rest and sleep.

香港大学西门

hku west gate.jpg

hku 4 east gate.jpg

香港大学东门

接下来要去办香港身份证和港大学生证。据说有了香港身份证，才能在银行开户头，大学拨发的奖学金才能在每个月月底打进我的户头。有了学生证，才能自由出入、免费使用大学的各种服务和设施。真是头大！来到一个完全陌生的地方，一切就是难和烦啊！我开始怀疑自己来香港的决定是不是明智。但一切只能走着瞧了！对了，刚才听导师说大学给的奖学金一般是一次性的，也就是说，今后要继续在港大读博就拿不到奖学金了。虽然初次见面，导师好像有点看得起我，说可以想其他办法先留在香港，然后再找机会读博。一时间我无语了。抛妻别子、路远迢迢来到这里读书，就是为了学有所成、拿到博士学位荣归故里！唉，走一步看一步吧。

Then I will have to get a Hong Kong ID and a university card. I was told a Hong Kong ID is required by the bank before an account can be opened and the monthly stipend (i.e. university studentship) can be credited to my personal account. And a university card will entitle me to the university facilities and services. What a big headache! Being a perfect stranger here, I should have been better prepared for these matters. I begin to doubt if I made a wise decision to pursue further studies in Hong Kong, but I decide to let things go in their own way. Mr. Poon is on the DRPC (Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee) and knows a lot about the university politics. He said normally HKU offers studentship to each applicant only once. If he is right, I will not be able to pursue a doctoral degree with financial support from the university. Our first meeting, however, seemed to impress him favorably, and he tried to console me by saying, “Don’t worry. Get your M.Phil. first, then find a job in Hong Kong and seek other opportunities”. I thanked him and then fell silent. I am here to read for a Ph.D. and then return home a real scholar. That is why I left behind my beloved wife and son and came all the way from Shaoxing to this distant island. But what else can I do for now?

（未完待续）