【看中国2018年5月17日讯】这两天，一段晚清德龄公主的英文演讲视频被华人网友疯传。
据《美国留学快报》报道，德龄公主的真名叫做裕德龄，少年时随父先后在日本和法国生活了6年，精通多国语言。17岁时随父回京，因通晓外文和西方礼仪，和妹妹裕容龄一同被慈禧招入宫中，成为紫禁城八女官之一。
她是首次用英文写作的华人女作家，着有《清宫二年记》、《清末政局回忆录》等作品。1905年3月，德龄离开皇宫。1907年，德龄与美国驻沪领事馆副领事迪厄斯・怀特结婚。
裕德龄（图片来源：网络截图）
下面就是她1930年录制的视频，旨在向美国展示中国文化，促进国家交流与了解。
你可能会觉得，因为德龄公主少年时随父先后在日本和法国生活了6年，所以她才有如此出众的英语。那么，民国时期，其他土生土长中国人的英语水平到底是什么样子呢？
我们先来看看民国第一夫人宋美龄，以及民国的才女，张爱玲和林徽因的英语水平。
传奇一般的民国的第一夫人——宋美龄，拥有着卓越的英文能力。她于1943年2月18日的临时演说，让美国的朝野为其倾倒。
下面是部分演说内容：
I should like to tell you alittle story which will illustrate this belief.When General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo,on their return some of your boys had to bail out in the interior of China.One of them later told me that he had to mail out of his ship.And that when he landed on Chinese soil and saw the populace running toward him,he just waved his arm and shouted the only Chinese word he knew,“Mei-kuo,Mei-kuo,”which means“America,”
Literally translated from the Chinese it means“Beautiful country.”This boy said that our people laughed and almost hugged him,and greeted him like along lost brother.He further told me that the thought that he had come home when he saw our people;and that was the first time he had ever been to China.
I came to your country as alittle girl.I know your people.I have lived with them.I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people.I speak your language,not only the language of your hearts,but also your tongue.So coming here today Ifeel that Iam also coming home.
I believe,however,that it is not only Iwho am coming home;I feel that if the Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue,or if you could understand our tongue,they would tell you that basically and fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause;that we have identity of ideals’that the“four freedoms,”which your President proclaimed to the world,resound throughout our vast land as the gong of freedom,the gong of freedom of the United Nations,and the death knell of the aggressors.
在此，我想说个小故事，来说明此一信念。
杜利特尔将军和部下一起去轰炸东京，回程时有些美国子弟兵不得不在中国内陆跳伞。其中一人后来告诉我，他被迫从飞机跳伞，踏上中国的土地时，看到当地居民跑向他，他就挥着手，喊出他会说的唯一中国话：“美国，美国”，也就是“美利坚”的意思，美国在中国话的意思是“美丽的国家”。这个大男孩说，敝国人民听了都笑起来，拥抱他，像欢迎失散多年的兄弟一般。他还告诉我说，当他看到我们的人民，感觉他已经回到了家，而那是他第一次来到中国。
我来到贵国时是个小女孩，我熟悉贵国人民，我和他们一起生活过。我生命中成长的岁月是和贵国人民一起度过的，我说你们的话，我想的和你们一样，说的也和你们一样。所以今天来到这里，我也感觉我好像回到家了。
不过，我相信不只是我回到家，我觉得，如果中国人民会用你们的语言与你们说话，或是你们能了解我们的语言，他们会告诉你们，根本而言，我们都在为相同的理念奋战。我们有一致的理想；亦即贵国总统向全世界揭示的“四个自由”：自由的钟声、联合国自由的钟声、和侵略者的丧钟响彻我国辽阔的土地。
民国才女张爱玲自幼喜欢英语，后来去了美国人办的教会学校读书。张爱玲可以背诵大段的莎翁的英文剧本，她也会经常一个人演莎翁的话剧玩，一会演哈姆雷特，一会演克劳迪。
张爱玲也从小立志成为一个双语作家。20岁前后，张爱玲就用英文写了《更衣记》、《中国人的宗教》等文章发表在上海租界的英文报刊上，转头再翻成中文投给本土杂志，一篇文章拿两份稿费。
1956年，张爱玲将《金锁记》扩展成英文长篇Pink Tears，后来她将Pink Tears改写成The Rouge of the North（《北地胭脂》），之后又将《北地胭脂》翻译成中文版的《怨女》。
下面为大家奉上一小段张爱玲早期的英文习作，和自己的essay相比，用词有没有觉得更精湛一点呢？
The Sun Parlor
My favourite spot in St.Mary's Hall is the Sun Parlor.It gives me the same impression as its name;a warm,bright room constantly filled with sunshine.It is arectangular room.The walls are painted in white,but the lower half of them is hidden behind acover of black wood.In the middle of the room there is along black table,and around it are many chairs.These are prepared for the girls to have achance for reading newspapers.In one corner of the room there is awooden box placed on the shelf.This belongs to the Phoenix Broad,and every girl has the privilege of putting her own themes in it.The box is locked,and we always dream of how we would open this mysterious box and see the things within.On the wall there hang many interesting pictures and records that attract girls'attention every time they pass the Sun Parlor.The room is very bright,because one side of it faces the big glass door that leads to the school gate,and one side of it is composed of three glass doors which face the school garden.Sunlight can reach the room in both directions.When we stand before the glass door,we can see the whole view of our lovely school garden.In winter afternoons,when the pale yellow sunlight lies lazily on the stone ground,we sit beside the steam heaters,with newspapers in our hands.We feel nice and warm and pleasant,and thoroughly enjoy the charm of the"Sun Parlor".
TSANG AI-LING,1937
同样是民国才女，林徽因的英文也很出众。
民国才女林徽因（图片来源：网络）
林徽因是中国著名建筑师、诗人、作家，代表作有《你是人间四月天》等等。
19岁时，林徽因在1923年12月1日《晨报五周年纪念增刊》上尝试翻译了王尔德的《夜莺与玫瑰》（The Nightingale and the Rose），下面节选一段，感受一下林徽因的翻译功底：
"No red rose in all my garden!"he cried,and his beautiful eyes filled with tears.
"Ah,on what little things does happiness depend!I have read all that the wise men have written,and all the secrets of philosophy are mine,yet for want of ared rose is my life made wretched."
青年哭道，“我园中并没有红玫瑰！”他秀眼里满含着泪珠。
“呀！幸福倒靠着这些区区小东西！古圣贤书我已读完，哲学的玄秘我已彻悟，然而因为求一朵红玫瑰不得，我的生活便这样难堪。”
林语堂是我国现代著名作家、学者、翻译家、语言学家，新道家代表人物。早年留学美国、德国，获哈佛大学文学硕士，莱比锡大学语言学博士。他也于1940年和1950年先后两度获得诺贝尔文学奖提名。
下面是林语堂参加NBC访谈的对话。
Lin:China is…the oldest self-governing nation in the world.
林语堂:中国是世界上最古老的自治国家。
Anchor:Oh,wait amoment.You are pulling my leg.
主持人：等等。你在开玩笑嘛。
Lin:No,I am quite serious…Mencius long ago said that all men are created equal and any man is capable of development to the moral stature of the saint emperors.And that is about 2500 years ago.Mencius further said that in astate,the people are the most important factor and the king is the least important…Mencius is as modern as Thomas Jefferson.
林语堂：不，我是认真的。早在2500年前，孟子就提出了人生而平等的理念，“圣人，与我同类者”。孟子还指出，民贵君轻。孟子和托马斯・杰斐逊一样先进。
虽然当年的英语学习条件并没有现在这么优越，但是他们凭借自己的努力，拥有一口流利的英语口语表达能力，和精湛的写作能力。处于新时代的我们，是不是应该更加努力学习英语，而不是感叹自己的英语水平还不如一百年前的国人呢？
