爲什麼美國觀衆看不懂《美猴王:西遊記》

The Lincoln Center Festival, a summer rite for culturally inquisitive New Yorkers that kicked off three weeks of performances over the weekend, is usually an adults-only affair. Not in the sense that its programming regularly features bared flesh and blue talk, but because its mostly foreign-language productions cater to those who don't have trouble sitting still for, say, a five-hour staging of an obscure Austrian novel, or an esoteric German modernist opera.

對於文藝的紐約人來說，林肯中心藝術節(Lincoln Center Festival)是每年夏季的慣例活動，它連續三個週末舉辦藝術表演。通常，這些表演專供成人觀看。並不是因爲節目中經常含有裸露肌膚的場面或者下流的臺詞，而是因爲這些節目大多是以外語表演，適合那些能夠忍受一動不動坐上5個小時，觀看一部由晦澀的奧地利小說改編的戲劇或者一部難懂的德國現代主義歌劇的觀衆。

The festival's centerpiece this year, the boisterous spectacle "Monkey: Journey to the West," is a notable departure. With a mischievous simian for a protagonist, interstitial animation sequences, exuberant low humor (ooh! smelly shoes!), extended martial arts battles and circus-style acrobatics, the production aims to broaden the festival's demographic to include families — and for that matter all fans of those populist entertainments.

該文化節今年的重頭戲《美猴王：西遊記》(Monkey: Journey to the West)非常熱鬧，與以往的節目大不相同。該劇的主角是一隻淘氣的猴子，幕間空隙播放動畫片，劇中的幽默簡單易懂（噢！臭鞋子！），有長時間的武術打鬥場面以及馬戲團風格的雜技表演。該劇的製作團隊意圖把文化節的觀衆羣擴大到整個家庭以及所有喜歡流行娛樂文化的人。

Indie rock fans are a target audience, too: the show's music is by Damon Albarn, best known as the songwriter for the 1990s British rock band Blur (now reassembled and back on tour), and the "visual concept, animation and costumes" are by Jamie Hewlett, Mr. Albarn's partner in the virtual band Gorillaz. (Please don't ask me what a virtual band is.) The participant most familiar to frequent festivalgoers is the director, Chen Shi-Zheng, a regular at the festival, having staged the epic opera "The Peony Pavilion" in 1999, in addition to three other shows.

喜愛獨立搖滾的人也是該劇的目標觀衆：本劇的音樂作曲人是由達蒙·阿爾本(Damon Albarn)。他是20世紀90年代英國搖滾樂隊“污跡”（Blur，該樂隊現在重組之後重出江湖了）的歌曲作者。本劇的“視覺理念、動畫和服裝”設計師是傑米·休萊特(Jamie Hewlett)，他是阿爾本在虛擬樂隊“街頭霸王”(Gorillaz)裏的搭檔（請不要問我“虛擬樂隊”是什麼意思）。在這個創作團隊中，經常觀看該藝術節表演的觀衆最熟悉的是導演陳士爭(Chen Shi-Zheng)，他是藝術節的常客，1999年導演過史詩歌劇《牡丹亭》，另外還導演過其他3部戲劇。

So, props to the festival artistic director, Nigel Redden, for extending an invitation to New Yorkers who might not normally find themselves engaged by this generally high-minded cultural smorgasbord. Now time for a spoilsport alert: As someone with a limited affection for Cirque du Soleil-style entertainments, which "Monkey" generally resembles, I found the show to be visually beguiling but anodyne, juvenile and a little tedious, even at the comparatively brief running time (by the festival's standards) of under two hours. Which proves, I suppose, that in casting a wide net you risk having some folks fall through the holes.

該文化節的藝術總監奈傑爾·雷登(Nigel Redden)想吸引那些通常不會被這個比較高雅的文化節吸引的紐約人。現在我要說一句掃興的話了：我本人不是特別喜歡馬戲團式的娛樂表演——《美猴王》總體來說是這種類型的表演——所以我覺得該劇雖然在視覺上讓人陶醉，但是平淡無奇，幼稚，還有點乏味。雖然它的表演時間相對較短（以該藝術節的標準來看），還不到兩個小時，但依然給人冗長的感覺。所以我覺得，在撒開大網捕魚時，你也有可能丟掉某些以往的觀衆。

Based on a 16th-century Chinese novel, "Monkey" relates a fable that is widely known in Asian cultures, drawn loosely from the historic pilgrimage of a priest from China to India in search of Buddhist sutras. In the novel, the troublemaking creature of the title accompanies the priest on his long trip in search of enlightenment.

《美猴王》是根據16世紀的一部中國小說改編的，講述了一個在亞洲廣爲人知的故事，故事取材於一箇中國僧人去印度尋找佛教經典著作的著名朝聖之旅，不過這部小說跟歷史有很大區別。在小說裏，該劇標題中那個愛惹事的猴子陪伴僧人走過了漫長的取經之旅。

An opening animated sequence depicts the birth of the monkey, who is hatched from a stone egg that bumps across mountain peaks in time with the thundering opening bars of music. The scrim on which the video is projected then clears to reveal an exotic playground where Monkey (Wang Lu at the reviewed performance) frolics merrily.

開場的一段動畫片描繪了猴子的誕生，它在一個石頭中孵化，伴隨着轟鳴的開場音樂，石頭在大山之巔彈來跳去。投影到麻布上的視頻清楚地展示了極具異國情調的樂園，美猴王（筆者評論的這一版本中由王璐飾演）在這個樂園裏快樂地嬉戲。

"So much fun!" he exults as gymnasts in monkey suits perform elaborate acrobatics around him. "This is cool!" (The show is performed in Mandarin, with English supertitles projected above the stage.)

“太有趣了！”他歡呼道。一羣穿着猴子戲服的雜技演員在他周圍表演複雜的雜技。“太好玩了！”（該劇是用普通話表演的，英語字幕投影在舞臺上方。）

Innocence dies quickly for our hero, however, when he is suddenly struck by the knowledge of the inevitability of death. Bummer! Being the brash, adventurous creature that he is, Monkey sets out immediately to achieve immortality. The journey takes many an exotic detour, and eventually evolves into an episodic story of a band of hardy sojourners fighting off enemies that resembles a Chinese version of "The Wizard of Oz."

不過，我們的主人公很快就不那麼天真了，他突然意識到自己必死的命運。太氣人了！這隻性急、愛冒險的猴子馬上出發，開始尋找永生的方法。旅程充滿奇異的波折，最終演變成一個由片段組成的故事——一羣勇敢的旅行者打敗了敵人，有點像中國版的《綠野仙蹤》(The Wizard of Oz)。

After acquiring in an undersea kingdom a supply of magical accouterments — a golden rod and armor, cloud-hopping shoes — Monkey becomes the defender of the monk Tripitaka (Li Li) on his journey to India. They are accompanied by Pigsy (Xu Kejia), a lusty Falstaffian Daoist sage, according to the program note, and Sandy (Dong Borui), a disgraced general who has been banished to a river of sand. Together they eventually reach paradise, where the Buddha gives each a reward for heroism and endurance.

這隻猴子在一個海底王國獲得了一套有魔法的裝備——金箍棒、盔甲和能騰雲駕霧的鞋子，之後他成了三藏（李莉[音譯]飾）取經路上的保鏢。與他們同行的還有豬八戒（許克家[音譯]飾）和沙僧（董伯瑞[音譯]飾）。根據節目單上的介紹，前者是一個福斯塔夫式的健壯的道家神仙，後者是一個被流放到流沙河的大將。他們最終一起到達了佛土，佛祖因爲他們的英勇和毅力而獎勵了每個人。

As these fanciful descriptions suggest, the plot may be hard to follow for those who are not already familiar with the legendary figures. In any case plot is merely the scaffolding on which to hang a series of lavishly staged divertissements involving elaborate juggling acts and contortionists attired in bright costumes, hurtling themselves around the stage with irrepressible energy (if occasionally dicey precision).

僅僅根據這些怪誕的描述，不瞭解這些傳奇人物的觀衆很難明白這個故事的情節。不管怎樣，情節只是一個線索，用來展示一系列華麗的舞臺表演，包括精心設計的雜耍和柔體表演——穿着閃亮服裝的表演者以勢不可擋的力量（偶爾看着有點懸）繞着舞臺飛奔。

There are numerous aerial sequences, with demons and gods flitting back and forth high above the stage in flowing gowns, trying variously to tame Monkey's outlandish behavior or defeat him. The climactic battle involves a drawn-out duel with Princess Iron Fan (Chen Jiaojiao), named after the implement that Monkey and his pals must borrow to make their way through a fiery volcano.

劇中有很多在空中飛舞的片段，妖怪和神仙穿着飄逸的袍子在舞臺上空飛來飛去，用各種方法試圖馴服或者打敗猴子。打鬥戲的高潮是與鐵扇公主（陳嬌嬌[音譯]）的漫長決鬥。猴子和他的同伴們在取經路上要翻過一個熾熱的火山（實爲火焰山——譯註），必須跟鐵扇公主借扇子。鐵扇公主就是因她的這件寶物得名的。

As portrayed by the impishly funny Mr. Wang, wearing a yellow track suit and a floppy tail, Monkey exudes animal spirits that are more or less untameable. When the Buddha himself intervenes in Monkey's fate, stretching forth a giant blue hand to tamp down his unruly excesses, this ornery creature has the nerve to urinate in his palm, for which he pays a heavy price. Even at his lowest points, he finds the energy to keep scratching away at his crotch and emitting the high-pitched oo-oo-ing and ah-ah-ing that signify monkeyhood.

王璐扮演的美猴王十分調皮好玩，他穿着一身黃色的運動服，拖一條鬆垮垮的尾巴，散發着有點難以馴服的動物野性。佛祖本人後來也被請來制服猴子，他伸出巨大的藍色手掌壓制猴子不守規矩的過分行爲，這隻壞脾氣的猴子居然還有膽量在他的手掌上撒尿，他爲此付出了沉重的代價。即使在他最落魄的時候，他還有力氣不斷抓撓自己的胯部，發出尖利的“嗚嗚——”“啊啊——”的聲音，那展現出了他的猴性。

Mr. Albarn's ambitious and inventive score will probably not please rabid Blur fans expecting throbbing electronic pop songs. Sometimes taking on the trancelike qualities associated with composers like Philip Glass, it is firmly rooted in Chinese styles of music. (Mr. Albarn has said he drew primarily on the Chinese pentatonic scale.) The eclectic score — which includes such oddities as honking car horns and the (recorded) sound of an elevator bell ringing — is capably performed by the New York group Ensemble Signal, which specializes in the work of contemporary composers.

阿爾本雄心勃勃的、別出心裁的配樂很可能不會讓“污跡”樂隊的粉絲們很高興，因爲他們期待的可能是激動人心的電子流行音樂。有的音樂聽起來很迷幻，跟菲利普·格拉斯(Philip Glass)等作曲家的風格有點接近，但實際上它深深植根於中國的音樂風格（阿爾本說他主要從中國的五聲音階中尋找靈感）。其中的電子配樂——包括汽車喇叭和電梯鈴聲（是錄製的）等古怪的聲音——是由紐約樂隊Ensemble Signal精彩出演，該樂隊善於演奏當代作曲家的作品。

The singing sometimes superficially resembles the style of traditional Chinese opera, with its eerie pitches, but the performers eschew a regimented style of performance for a looser, more physically fluid and natural approach that's more accessible to Western audiences. They all give vivid, animated performances as the tale's whimsical assortment of seekers after wisdom.

劇中的某些唱段是從表面上模仿傳統中國戲劇的風格，比如怪異的高音，但是表演者並沒有受限於那種風格，而是採用更鬆散、姿態更流暢、更自然的方式，這更符合西方觀衆的口味。他們的表演生動、活潑，就像故事中各種異想天開、追求智慧的人們那樣。

For all its enticing visual flourishes, however, "Monkey" didn't supply the food for thought or emotional engagement that might make for a truly memorable experience. Perhaps because there wasn't much to draw me in, I found myself idly pondering the bits of gnomic Buddhist thought that occasional flashed onto the supertitles, only to disappear before their paradoxical ideas could be properly digested.

儘管該劇的視覺效果華麗迷人，但是它沒有提供精神食糧，也不能引起情感上的共鳴，所以並不是一場真正讓人難忘的表演。也許是因爲劇中沒有太多吸引我的地方，我發現自己在漫不經心地思索那些偶爾出現在字幕中的精闢的佛家箴言，只不過還沒等我看明白那些自相矛盾的語句，它們就消失了。

What to make of notions like "the bodiless body is the true body, and real form has no form," or "a grain of sand the whole universe holds," or "no difference, no sameness, real or unreal"? Like the picaresque tale of "Monkey" itself, which may delight those already familiar with its colorful characters, these obscurities are no doubt best appreciated by those already well-versed in the tenets of Buddhism.

“無身之身是謂真身，無形之形是謂真形”，“一沙一世界”，“無同無異，亦真亦幻”——這些話到底是什麼意思呢？本來就熟悉這些有趣人物的人可能纔會覺得這部講述冒險傳奇故事的《美猴王》很好看；同樣地，只有本來就熟知佛教箴言的人才最能欣賞這些隱晦的語句。