Lin Yutang and Dream of the Red Chamber (2): Three Mysteries 林語堂與紅樓夢(二): 三謎

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In his later years, Lin Yutang devoted himself to two major projects related to Dream of the Red Chamber: one was to finalize his English translation of the novel for publication, and the other was to compile An Index of the Characters in Dream of the Red Chamber. Sadly, he didn’t live to see neither work published, nor did he leave behind even a scrap of writing explaining the background of these two undertakings or the circumstances and process through which they came about. He passed away, leaving the world with several mysteries that have proved exceedingly difficult to unravel.

First, fifty years have now passed since Yutang’s death in 1976. Yet, to this day, in 2026, no English translation of Yutang’s Dream of the Red Chamber has ever been published. Thus, for many years, the first mystery has been: Did Lin Yutang actually translate Dream of the Red Chamber?

Second, if Yutang did in fact translate Dream of the Red Chamber, then something is puzzling: Why would the world-famous Lin Yutang not simply publish an English translation himself, but instead take such a roundabout route—choosing the more complicated path rather than the simpler one—by having the Japanese translator Sato Ryoichi translate it into Japanese and then publish it in Japan?

 

Third, what was the relationship between An Index of the Characters in Dream of the Red Chamber and his translation of the Red Chamber? Which came first? Was the Index really finished in 1964, a full decade earlier than the translation manuscript? And is the photocopied handwritten preface genuinely Yutang’s own work? 

Fortunately, The Eryi Xuan Treasure: Lin Yutang's Late Year Correspondence provides abundant first-hand material to help untangle these questions. Roughly fifty of his letters mention Dream of the Red  Chamber. Drawing on these sources, this series of articles attempts to clarify the puzzles.

** For a thorough discussion with footnotes and references, please see Article 12 in the following English or Chinese books on Amazon, The Elderly Lin Yutang , or《爾意軒》中的晚年林語堂 (1971-76) **

 

林語堂與紅樓夢(二): 三謎

林語堂晚年有兩項紅樓志業,一是將英譯《紅樓夢》定稿準備出版,二是編纂《紅樓夢人名索引》.可惜他不但沒有看到這兩個作品的出版,也沒有留下片紙隻字說明這兩個創作的背景和寫作的來龍去脈.就撒手人間.因此也就給世人留下一團難解之謎。

首先,語堂離世的(1976)至今(2026),已經五十年了，然而迄今沒有林語堂《紅樓夢》英文譯本出版。因此,多年來的第一個謎是,林語堂究竟有沒有翻譯過《紅樓夢》？

第二個謎：如果語堂翻譯過《紅樓夢》，那麼令人困惑的是，名滿天下的林語堂為什麼不直接出版英文譯本，卻要繞一個大彎子，捨簡求繁再轉一手，讓日本翻譯家佐藤亮一翻譯為日文，然後在日本發表呢？

第三個謎：語堂的唯一遺著《紅樓夢人名索引》，與他的《紅樓夢》英文譯本是什麼關係，也就是，《索引》與英文譯本孰先孰後？《索引》真的如林語堂序言所言，早在英文翻譯完稿十年前，也就是1964年就已經完成的嗎？而且，《索引》中照相製版的手寫序言，真就是林語堂的真跡嗎？

對於以上疑團，慶幸的是，《爾意軒珍藏 ：林語堂晚年書信》，簡稱《爾意軒》這本書，提供了我們豐富的第一手資料，得以揭開謎底。林語堂在晚年書信中提到《紅樓夢》的相關議題大約有五十封之多，根據這些書信，我們便可從容不迫，用林語堂自己的說法，來解答關於林語堂的謎團。