忠實之外：日譯《古都》的章節重構

Beyond Fidelity: Chapter Reordering in the Japanese Old Capital

本研究探討朱天心《古都》日譯本中章節重構的翻譯現象。原著的章節安排是由〈威尼斯之死〉至〈古都〉推進，全程充滿情感張力，並以展望未來的開放書寫收尾做結。日譯本的章節安排卻逆向而行，將〈古都〉置於開篇、〈威尼斯之死〉移至結尾，改變敘事起點與情感節奏，此譯案促使我們再思譯者是否可以改變原文章節及譯者主體性相關的譯學問題。本研究採用文本對照、多重理論應用與比較案例的研究方法進行探討。理論方面以操縱理論、目的理論、歸化／異化策略及結構性顯化概念進行分析。結果顯示，清水賢一郎作為文化中介者，有意透過章節重構強化主題並契合日本讀者的閱讀習慣。其次，日譯本將原作的開放性轉化為「苦痛記憶」，而在翻譯策略上，譯本的宏觀結構採用歸化策略，文化細節則以「漢字加假名」與「夾注」等翻譯技法保留了異化特徵。相較其他譯案，本研究進一步將此重構策略定位為一種溫和且高效的「跨國出版策略」。與村上春樹《發條鳥年代記》英譯本的大幅刪減或《道德經》因思想邏輯重組而改章皆有不同，《古都》日譯本在完整保留內容的前提下，僅以章節順序的重構便實現了文化適應與情感調整，避免了因內容刪改而引發的忠實爭議。此譯例挑戰了翻譯學中「忠實」與「創造」的二元劃分，並彰顯出譯者主體性可在結構層面發揮創造力。譯者在此譯例中扮演了多重角色，既是語言轉換者、文本重構者，也是閱讀路徑的設計者，並使翻譯成為其與作者的對話。

This study explores the phenomenon of chapter reconfiguration in the Japanese translation of Chu Tien-Hsin’s Old Capital. The original arranges chapters from“Death in Venice”to“Old Capital,”sustaining emotional tension and closing with an ending framed as an open, future-oriented vision. The Japanese version, however, reverses the order, opening with“Old Capital”and concluding with“Death in Venice.”This inversion shifts narrative entry and affective rhythm, prompting a reconsideration of whether translators can or are permitted to alter textual structure and how such practice reflects translator subjectivity. Employing textual comparison, a multi-theoretical analytical approach, and comparative case analysis, the study draws on manipulation theory, Skopos theory in translation, domestication/foreignization strategies, and structural explicitation. Findings reveal that Shimizu Kenichiro, as cultural mediator, deliberately restructures chapters to reinforce themes and accommodate Japanese readership. The translation recasts the source’s openness as“painful memory.”At the macro level, it follows a domestication strategy, while cultural details retain foreignizing features through devices such as“kanji glossed with furigana”and annotations. Unlike the extensive cuts in the English Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which triggered debates over fidelity, or the logical reordering of the Dao De Jing, the Japanese Old Capital preserves the full content, a mild yet effective transnational publishing strategy, achieving cultural adaptation and emotional recalibration solely through sequencing. This case challenges the binary of fidelity versus creativity, highlighting translator agency at the structural level. Here, the translator acts simultaneously as linguistic mediator, textual reconfigurator, and architect of reading paths, rendering translation a dialogic engagement with the author.