“秦皇扫六合，虎视何雄哉”——李白《古风·其三》英译互鉴与传播

来源：淘生活问答时间：2026-08-01 14:50

今天我们聚焦李白名篇《古风·其三》“秦皇扫六合”。这首诗笔势纵横，前半写秦始皇横扫六合、定鼎天下的雄姿，后半笔锋陡转，写穷奢土木、入海求仙，一扬一抑，道尽千秋霸业的局限，是李白咏古诗作的压卷之作。

诗中“徐氏载秦女，楼船几时回”，引出徐福东渡这段载入史册的远航。这场驶向东海的航行，承载华夏先民走向海洋的最初尝试；而在李白诗境之中，浩荡楼船奔赴缥缈蓬莱，又成为帝王长生幻梦的象征。陆地伟业终有尽处，沧海求索虚实难寻。接下来，我们一同品鉴原诗，研读英译文本，体会霸业雄豪之下，沧海一问的无尽苍凉。

李白《古风五十九首·其三》

秦皇（一作“秦王”）扫六合，虎视何雄哉。

挥剑（一作“飞剑”）决浮云，诸侯尽西来。

明断自天启，大略驾群才。

收兵铸金人，函谷正东开。

铭功会稽岭，骋望琅邪台（一作“琅琊台”）。

刑徒七十万，起土骊山隈。

尚采不死药，茫然使心哀。

连弩射海鱼，长鲸正崔嵬。

额鼻象五岳，扬波喷云雷。

鬈鬣蔽青天，何由睹蓬莱。

徐氏（一作徐市）载秦女，楼船几时回。

但见三泉下，金棺葬寒灰。

今天，我们首先来看看美国汉学家伯顿·沃森的译本

"Ch'in Shih-huang"

By Li Bai (Tang Dynasty)

Translated by Burton Watson

The king of Ch'in swept the Six Harmonies,

Tiger-eyed, how majestic his bearing!

He swung his sword and split the floating clouds,

The feudal lords all came west to him.

Clear judgments, as if Heaven-sent,

Great plans that rode above the throng of talents.

He took in weapons, cast metal statues,

Han-ku Pass stood open to the east.

He carved his deeds on K'uai-chi Ridge,

Gazed out from Lang-ya Terrace.

Criminals and cons, seven hundred thousand,

Raised the mound at the bend of Mount Li.

Still he sought the drug of deathlessness,

Vainly it filled his heart with grief.

Crossbows volleyed at the fish of the sea,

The long whale towered up, vast and high.

Brow and snout like the Five Peaks,

It churned waves, spouted cloud and thunder.

Its fin and mane hid the blue sky's face—

How find the isle of P'eng-lai?

Hsü Shih took the Ch'in maidens aboard,

When will his tower-ship return?

Only see, below the threefold springs,

A golden coffin holding cold ashes.

(Burton Watson: The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century,Columbia University Press, New York,1984, pp.243–244)

具体分析如下：

优点：

一是，专名与底本最稳，精准还原原作。Six Harmonies译六合，更贴天地四方义。地名全用标准汉学罗马字，Criminals and cons, seven hundred thousand把“刑徒七十万”的役夫性质译出。

二是，叙述线完整、句式平实，大学读本友好。逐句对应，无跳行无并句：本科生不靠注就能读完秦始皇一生，是Watson一贯的“先把事说清”强项。

三是，几处动态处理得体。Tiger-eyed, how majestic his bearing!用形容词短语收“虎视何雄哉”。Clear judgments, as if Heaven-sent译“明断自天启”的“自”字留了被动疑味，不坐实成“天授命”。Vainly it filled his heart with grief收“茫然使心哀”，vainly把李白“徒劳”的兴寄点出，不过度悲情。

可商榷之处：

首先，比兴与反讽被“叙述体”熨平。原诗前半颂政、后半嘲仙，转折点在“尚采不死药，茫然使心哀”——李白用“茫然”二字把始皇从英雄拉回凡愚。Watson译成Still he sought…Vainly it filled his heart with grief，把讽刺写成中性生平记事，“茫然”的自失感、唐人咏史“以颂为讽”的口气没了。这是散体读本译法的通病：把比兴坐实为编年。

其次，散文化结构全诗，让读者误以为李白写的诗，就是散文诗。其实，李白的诗，虽是古风，但有韵脚，有节奏，语言精练，气势雄浑，读来抑扬顿挫，铿锵有力。读者很难从这个译本读到李白的神韵和文采。

再次，无韵不加连接，兴寄空隙被填满。原诗“收兵铸金人，函谷正东开”之间本有顿挫留白；Watson用He took in weapons, cast metal statues, / Han-ku Pass stood open to the east两句主谓满装，把五言的“名词并置”换成英语因果叙述，古诗的“不涉理路”没了。

总之，沃森的译本，是最可靠的课堂底本：专名准、事件全、不误导；代价是李白五古的“古质—反讽—顿挫”三层全部让给英语散体叙述。作为学生入门、引注和学者研究对照，是非常好的底本。

接下来我们看看我国著名翻译家许渊冲大师的译本：

The Emperor of Qin

By Li Bai (Tang Dynasty)

Translated by Xu Yuanchong

The Emperor had swept the world of his foes,

Looking around like a tiger he rose.

He broke the floating clouds while wielding swords,

Westward to pay their homage came all lords.

He made great plans and formed decision wise.

In front of him all heroes dwarfed in size.

He melted weapons into statues of brass,

And opened to the East the frontier pass.

He built a monument on Kuaiji Hill,

And rode to Langya Terrace to gaze his fill.

He worked seven hundred thousand slaves

To build in Li Mountain’s nook his graves.

He sought elixir of immortality,

His vain pursuit fills us with misery.

He ordered crossbows shot at giant whale

Whose bulk outtopped all mountains without fail.

Its head and nose loomed high like five great peaks;

It spouted stormy waves and thunder streaks.

Its fins and manes obscured the blue sky’s face.

How could he find Penglai’s immortal place?

Xu Fu set sail with maidens on the sea.

When would his fleets return? We only see

Beneath the springs of netherworld laid low,

Cold ashes in a golden coffin slow.

许译是“三美论”——意美、音美、形美的典型版本，以押韵体英诗重铸汉诗。

优点：

一是，韵式整齐，朗读节奏强。全诗通篇采用连续同韵双行韵式（双行押韵，AABBCC…）贯穿到底，几乎每两行一换韵或连押，作为独立英语叙事诗读，朗朗上口。

二是，专名与典故处理通俗易理解。Kuaiji Hill、Langya Terrace、Penglai都直译，不绕注；crossbows shot at giant whale把“连弩射海鱼”的壮阔动作化，易于读者理解。

三是，个别意象翻译得传神。“break the floating clouds while wielding swords”把“挥剑决浮云”的决断气译出，wielding swords虽把“挥剑”坐实（原诗是比喻秦王威断如剑），但英语侧很提气。“all heroes dwarfed in size”译“大略驾群才”，dwarf作动词用得巧，把“俯视群雄”的体量差压出来。

可商榷之处：

首先，意译过满，李白“古风”的朴拙被许式“英诗华丽”覆盖。原诗五言古风，语气是史家兴亡感+仙道嘲讽，句子短、留白多。许译几乎每行都加修饰：“Looking around like a tiger he rose”原句“虎视何雄哉”仅四字，许加了like a tiger he rose的叙事姿态；“formed decision wise”译“大略驾群才”里“大略”尚可，但wise是许式道德化增译。

其次，细节走样，偏离原意。“额鼻象五岳”，许加head and nose把“额鼻”合并直译，略拙；但押韵需要peaks收尾，意象被韵脚拉着走。许译用“slaves”，而原作“刑徒”指受刑的罪犯或服劳役者，并非奴隶，沃森译“Criminals and cons”更准确。学界认为，秦代骊山役夫包含刑徒、徭役民夫，无奴隶制“slave”阶层，许渊冲此处词汇选用确有史实偏差和概念偏差。

再次，底本小错：“The Emperor had swept the world of his foes”译“秦皇扫六合”，swept the world of his foes是“扫清敌手”，但“六合”是天地四方，许译丢“六合”的宇宙尺度，只留军事义,语义窄化，丢失六合囊括天地四方的空间内涵。

总之，如果用途是诗歌朗诵、唐诗入门、韵文欣赏——许译最好用；如果用途是翻译研究、李白风格保真、比兴留白考察—许译不太可靠。

绝知此事要躬行，笔者不揣谫陋，斗胆试译此诗，向唐代大诗人李白和所有翻译此诗的译者致敬。

Ancient Airs, No.3

By Li Bai (Tang Dynasty)

Translated by Wang Yongli

The King of Qin swept o’er the sixfold sphere,

What tiger-majesty, what lofty cheer!

He drew his sword to cleave the drifting cloud;

From east all lords journeyed west, subdued and bowed.

Clear judgment sprang from innate gift divine;

His grand tact swayed all talents under his reign.

He melted arms to bronze colossi tall;

Eastward Hangu’s gate stood open unto all.

On Kuaiji crest his feats were carved in stone;

From Langya Tower he scanned the seas alone.

Seventy thousand convicts toiled in fear,

Piling earth within Mount Li’s encircling sheer.

He chased the herb that grants eternal life;

Vain wanderings stirred his soul with bitter strife.

He volleyed crossbows aimed at ocean’s giant prey;

A towering leviathan surged up to stay.

Its brow and snout rose like five peaks on high;

Its spout sent billows, thunder through the sky.

Its mane and fins veil all the blue expanse—

How might one reach Penglai’s fairy trance?

Xu Fu embarked with Qin’s young maidens on main;

When shall those towering argosies come again?

But only see beneath the Triple Springs deep,

A golden coffin holds cold ashes in sleep.

Note:

1.Xu Shi, also known as Xu Fu(“徐氏，即徐福”)

2.sixfold sphere= Sixfold Heaven and Earth(六合=六重天地寰宇)

3.Triple Springs= a synonymic enhancement of the extremely deep underground, the netherworld/the underworld, specifically referring to the depth of the underground palace of the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin in Lishan Mountain.(三泉＝地下极深处、黄泉/九泉的同义强化说法，专指秦始皇骊山陵的地宫深度)

本译力图信达雅，还原李白原作的意象美，swept o'er the sixfold sphere，What tiger-majesty, what lofty cheer!“六合”译得精当并加注释，“lofty cheer”带出帝王意气，气韵充沛。无增删、无方向误译、无史实错位；通篇AABB英雄偶句押韵，节奏铿锵，无凑韵痕迹；前半雄阔、后半沉郁，完美复现李白咏史之双重基调；用词雅正（sphere, colossi, leviathan, argosies, main, sheer），符合英文史诗文学传统。

因水平有限，译作存在不足，敬请专家、学者和读者批评指正。笔者愿意尽绵薄之力，为中华文化出海减少“文化折扣”做出些许贡献。

纵观全诗，李白以如椽大笔，写尽秦帝国从鼎盛走向幻灭的完整轨迹。一统六合的赫赫武功终究消散，求仙入海的万千船队杳无归期。徐福扬帆出海，本是人类面向海洋的一次伟大出发，却被帝王永生的执念裹挟，最终化作诗中一声绵长追问。我们通过三版本英译互鉴，探讨了如何信达雅让李白留给人类的宝贵文化遗产走向世界，借助规范押韵的英译向海外传递这份东方哲思，东西方读者都能读懂：一切煊赫权势终成过往，唯有对历史的反思、对天地大道的追问，恒久不息。

来源：北京号

作者: 笔力王永利