2011年孫儷（中）領(lǐng)銜主演電視劇《甄嬛傳》劇照。圖片來(lái)源：中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)

There was a palpable dull thud of disappointment that accompanied the return of the imperial entourage of Zhen Huan to her homeland.
甄嬛以及眾多小主的回歸卻讓人明顯地感到一陣陣的失望。

It followed a couple years of hushed excitement as Chinese fans were fed tidbits about their proud concubine who was supposed to conquer the high ground of the North American market.
近一兩年來(lái)，中國(guó)的《甄嬛傳》的粉絲時(shí)不時(shí)地了解到他們引以為傲的小主要占領(lǐng)北美電視劇高地，并竊喜不已。

Zhen Huan is, of course, the title character ofThe Legend of Zhen Huan, a 2011 television series that swept China off its feet and later took other Asian countries by storm.
甄嬛是電視劇《甄嬛傳》的主角——這部2011年的電視劇風(fēng)靡中國(guó)，之后又席卷亞洲其他國(guó)家。

Two years ago, it was reported that HBO, a premium cable service headquartered in the United States, was going to air it in North America after some modification.
兩年前，有報(bào)道稱，美國(guó)紐約的付費(fèi)有線電視網(wǎng)HBO將會(huì)在北美播放編輯版《甄嬛傳》?，F(xiàn)在，《甄嬛傳》的精簡(jiǎn)版在Netflix網(wǎng)站在線播出。該版僅配有英文字幕，沒(méi)有英語(yǔ)配音。

Now, a condensed version that provides English subtitles but no dubbing has finally been made available on Netflix for online streaming.
現(xiàn)在，《甄嬛傳》的精簡(jiǎn)版在Netflix網(wǎng)站在線播出。該版僅配有英文字幕，沒(méi)有英語(yǔ)配音。

This version, highly anticipated as a milestone in China's cultural foray overseas, has been widely panned by its home audience.
這個(gè)精簡(jiǎn)版被視為中國(guó)文化進(jìn)軍海外市場(chǎng)的一個(gè)里程碑備而受矚目，但是卻引發(fā)中國(guó)觀眾的廣泛批評(píng)。

RetitledEmpresses in the Palace, the American version has been shortened from its original 76 episodes at 45 minutes each, to six 90-minute episodes. The quick pacing threw off many native viewers, who are accustomed to a more leisurely daytime-soap-style narrative rhythm. (Chinese TV stations would run two or three episodes every day.)
美版《甄嬛傳》從原來(lái)的76集，每集45分鐘的長(zhǎng)度精簡(jiǎn)為6集，每集90分鐘，劇名改為Empresses in the Palace(意為《宮中后妃》)。每集過(guò)快的節(jié)奏令美國(guó)觀眾很是不滿，因?yàn)樗麄兞?xí)慣了更加輕松的日間肥皂劇式的敘述節(jié)奏。（中國(guó)的電視臺(tái)每天播2-3集）

I did not finish the full-length version and found the truncated one not difficult to follow. What's lost, I believe, are the interesting setups and pauses that illuminate the Chinese art of storytelling. Much of the plot is still there. It is the flavor that was sacrificed.
我沒(méi)有看完完整版，但是覺(jué)得精簡(jiǎn)版也不難理解。我認(rèn)為精簡(jiǎn)版丟失的是一些有趣的情節(jié)設(shè)置及停頓，這是中國(guó)敘事藝術(shù)的精華。大部分情節(jié)還是保留了，只是少了那種味道。

The American edition uses the framework of the Empress Dowager in her senior years reminiscing at the beginning and the end of each episode, hinting at what's to come and recapping the key points. This device, not used in the original, is culturally understandable but artistically mediocre.
美版在每一集的開(kāi)頭和結(jié)尾都采取甄嬛在晚年回憶的方式進(jìn)行鋪陳，暗示接下來(lái)的情節(jié)，概括主要情節(jié)。原版并未采用這種敘事方式。精簡(jiǎn)版這樣設(shè)置在文化方面可以理解，但藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)平平。

What puzzles me is the two new songs for the opening and end credits. They were written in English, but sung by Chinese with an uncomfortable accent. They were obviously designed to appeal to an English-speaking base, but do not jibe with the Chinese dialogue.
最令我費(fèi)解的是新的片頭和片尾曲。歌詞是英文的，但卻是由中國(guó)歌手以感覺(jué)怪怪的口音演唱的。顯然是想用這兩首歌來(lái)吸引外國(guó)人，但卻與中文對(duì)白很不相符。

Speaking of the dialogue, the English translation, picked apart by some Chinese, is too literal for my taste. I can imagine a typical American hit by a flurry of royal ranks, addresses and greetings, even multiple names and titles for the same person. The first half hour must be a swamp to wade through, very much like my experience of getting through a Tolstoy tome with its endless inflections of names transliterated into lengthy Chinese.
說(shuō)到對(duì)白，在我看來(lái)，其英文翻譯太過(guò)于直譯化，更別提一些中國(guó)觀眾的批評(píng)了。我能想象出一個(gè)普通美國(guó)人會(huì)被宮庭等級(jí)搞暈了，如尊位等級(jí)、稱謂、問(wèn)候語(yǔ)甚至同一個(gè)人有多個(gè)名字和頭銜。前半個(gè)小時(shí)必定是名字的熟悉梳理等級(jí)，就像是我閱讀托爾斯泰的大部頭巨作時(shí)，那些冗長(zhǎng)的音譯中文名字常令我費(fèi)解。

I see the choice of verbatim translation as an effort for conveying exotica. It is fairly competent, with no error that I could detect, but fails to rise above words or capture the essence of the language.
逐字逐句的翻譯可以體現(xiàn)異國(guó)情調(diào)，這些翻譯是相當(dāng)稱職，并沒(méi)有錯(cuò)，但是卻很難擺脫字句的束縛，捕捉到語(yǔ)言的精華。

A cultural product usually crosses over to a foreign territory first by an emphasis on the commonalities. But whether inside or outside China, the temptation to sell it for the differences is just too great. Sure, the sumptuous sets and costumes are a big attraction, but the narrative technique has become－h(huán)ow shall I put it?－a bit anglicized, which is necessary for cultural export. Judging by the responses, this legend, which, contrary to the claim of the English trailer, is totally fictitious, has departed from China but not yet landed on American shores.
一種文化產(chǎn)品跨洋過(guò)海來(lái)到異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)，通常首先要突出它的文化共性。然而，不論在國(guó)內(nèi)還是國(guó)外，都主要是以文化的個(gè)性為賣(mài)點(diǎn)。當(dāng)然，豪華布景和服裝都具有很大的吸引力，但在敘事技巧上略顯英語(yǔ)化，這是文化產(chǎn)品出口的必要手段。從觀眾反應(yīng)來(lái)看，這部劇完全是虛構(gòu)的，與美版預(yù)告片宣稱的不相符，因此，這部影片雖已從中國(guó)市場(chǎng)走出去，但是還未真正得到美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的接受。

(作者：周黎明 中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 彭娜 編輯)