2011年孫儷（中）領銜主演電視劇《甄嬛傳》劇照。圖片來源：中國日報

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，中國的《甄嬛傳》的粉絲時不時地了解到他們引以為傲的小主要占領北美電視劇高地，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年的電視劇風靡中國，之后又席卷亞洲其他國家。

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，有報道稱，美國紐約的付費有線電視網HBO將會在北美播放編輯版《甄嬛傳》。現在，《甄嬛傳》的精簡版在Netflix網站在線播出。該版僅配有英文字幕，沒有英語配音。

Now, a condensed version that provides English subtitles but no dubbing has finally been made available on Netflix for online streaming.
現在，《甄嬛傳》的精簡版在Netflix網站在線播出。該版僅配有英文字幕，沒有英語配音。

This version, highly anticipated as a milestone in China's cultural foray overseas, has been widely panned by its home audience.
這個精簡版被視為中國文化進軍海外市場的一個里程碑備而受矚目，但是卻引發中國觀眾的廣泛批評。

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》從原來的76集，每集45分鐘的長度精簡為6集，每集90分鐘，劇名改為Empresses in the Palace(意為《宮中后妃》)。每集過快的節奏令美國觀眾很是不滿，因為他們習慣了更加輕松的日間肥皂劇式的敘述節奏。（中國的電視臺每天播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.
我沒有看完完整版，但是覺得精簡版也不難理解。我認為精簡版丟失的是一些有趣的情節設置及停頓，這是中國敘事藝術的精華。大部分情節還是保留了，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.
美版在每一集的開頭和結尾都采取甄嬛在晚年回憶的方式進行鋪陳，暗示接下來的情節，概括主要情節。原版并未采用這種敘事方式。精簡版這樣設置在文化方面可以理解，但藝術表現平平。

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.
最令我費解的是新的片頭和片尾曲。歌詞是英文的，但卻是由中國歌手以感覺怪怪的口音演唱的。顯然是想用這兩首歌來吸引外國人，但卻與中文對白很不相符。

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.
說到對白，在我看來，其英文翻譯太過于直譯化，更別提一些中國觀眾的批評了。我能想象出一個普通美國人會被宮庭等級搞暈了，如尊位等級、稱謂、問候語甚至同一個人有多個名字和頭銜。前半個小時必定是名字的熟悉梳理等級，就像是我閱讀托爾斯泰的大部頭巨作時，那些冗長的音譯中文名字常令我費解。

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異國情調，這些翻譯是相當稱職，并沒有錯，但是卻很難擺脫字句的束縛，捕捉到語言的精華。

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－how 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.
一種文化產品跨洋過海來到異國他鄉，通常首先要突出它的文化共性。然而，不論在國內還是國外，都主要是以文化的個性為賣點。當然，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化，這是文化產品出口的必要手段。從觀眾反應來看，這部劇完全是虛構的，與美版預告片宣稱的不相符，因此，這部影片雖已從中國市場走出去，但是還未真正得到美國市場的接受。

(作者：周黎明 中國日報網英語點津 彭娜 編輯)