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作为中国儒家思想的经典作品，《论语》所反映的孔子的思想不仅深深融入了整个中华民族，也影响了整个世界。自十六世纪以来，众多国内外学者都相继推出《论语》的英译本。由国外学者翻译的英译本，较为广泛流传的是理雅各和威利版本，国内翻译或节译过的学者有辜鸿铭、林语堂、丁往道等。
《论语》中“君子”和“小人”出现的频率极高，因此准确解读“君子”和“小人”的内在含义，对《论语》的整体翻译尤为重要。在各种英译本中对“君子”一词有多种译法，比如“the gentleman”, “the scholar”，“the good man”，“the superior man”，“intelligentle man”等，对“小人”一词也有多种译法，如“common people”，“the inferior man”，“the small man”，“the unworthy man”等。本文将以不同译本为参考，探讨两个词语在不同语境下的含义极其译法。
例1、君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚。
威利译：The gentleman is calm and at ease; the Small Man is fretful and ill at ease.
丁往道译：The gentleman is open and at ease; the small man is full of worries and anxieties.
鲁金华译：The superior man is broad-minded and free of worries, while the inferior man is always heavy-hearted and sorrowful.
周仪译：A man of virtue is open-minded and always at ease; a man of meanness is full of distress at all times.
解析：三位译者的译文句式工整，用词简洁。此句表示君子心胸坦荡，思想坦率，其面容行为自然安定舒畅。而小人欲念丛生，心事满满，其外貌动作就会表现得忐忑不安，心神不宁。鲁金华译为“the superior man”和“the inferior man”强调的是君子和小人地位的差别，其他两位译者选用的“the gentleman”和“the small man”强调的仍是出身高贵与低贱的差异。周仪译为“a man of virtue”和“a man of meanness”较为接近原意，此句中“君子”和“小人”的主要区别在于个人的德识修养上。
例2、子曰：“君子不重，则不威;学则不固。”
理雅各译：The master said, “ If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid.”
辜鸿铭译：Confucius remarked, “ A wise man who is not serious will not inspire respect; what he learns will not remain permanent.”
威利译： “If a gentleman is frivolous, he will lose the respect of his inferiors and lack firm ground upon which to build up his education.”
许渊冲译： An intelligentle man, said the Master, should not be frivolous, or he would lack solemnity in his behavior and solidity in his learning.
解析：原文的意思是君子应以虔诚笃诚之心，严肃庄重之态来学习和待人。本句中的“君子”偏重学识抱负方面，因此理雅各译为“the scholar”较为准确传达原文的意思。而辜鸿铭译为“a wise man”范围过于空泛。威利译为“gentleman”在此处并不十分合适，因为“gentleman”更侧重家境较好，受过良好教育，彬彬有礼的男士。而许渊冲更是别出心裁地创造了一个新词“intelligentle man”,将“intelligent”和“gentleman”合并在一起，充分发挥了译者的主观能动性。
例3、子曰：“君子周而不比，小人比而不周。”
理雅各译： The Master said, “ The superior man is catholic and no partisan. The mean man is a partisan and not catholic.”
辜鸿铭译：Confucius remarked, “ A wise man is impartial, not neutral. A fool is neutral but not impartial.
丁往道译：Confucius said, “ The gentleman unites and does not plot with others; the small man plots and does not unite with others.”
解析：“小人”在《论语》中主要有两种意思，一是平民百姓，二是道德低下，见识简陋的人。显然，此处的小人指后者。三位译者的对“小人”的译法都不相同，辜鸿铭译为 “a fool”，理雅各为“mean man”，丁往道为“small man”，相比而言后两种译文更贴切原文传达的意思，表现出小人卑鄙自私，心胸狭隘的特点。另外对“周”的翻译也不同，分别为“catholic”, “impartial”，“unite”都较好地反映了本意。不过“catholic”源于“宗教”一词，更符合西方读者的思维。
例4、子曰：“君子怀德，小人怀土;君子怀刑，小人怀惠。”
理雅各译：The Master said, “ The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks of favors which he may receive.”
辜鸿铭译：Confucius remarked, “ A wise man regards the moral worth of a man; a fool only his position. A wise man expects justice; a fool, only expects favours.”
丁往道译：Confucius said, “ The gentleman bears in mind virtues; the small man his homeland. The gentleman bears in mind the law; the small man favours.”
解析：本句再次对比“君子”和“小人”不同的人生境界。君子心系天下，胸怀远大，道德高尚。而小人思乡恋土，计较恩惠，考虑个人生计。但此处的“小人”虽不及君子品行高尚，但表现出来的也无功无过，只是普通百姓的想法和行为罢了。所以，此处若还将“小人”翻译为“a fool”,“small man”语气不免太重了，可译为“ordinary man”或“common people”。
译无定法，每位译者和读者都有自己的理解和偏好。本文的目的只是想借名家译文，说明“君子”和“小人”蕴含的意义是多层面的，不可一言概之。
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