雷州盗记1The Bandit Who Became a Magistrate

古      文

雷于粤为最远郡。2崇祯初，金陵人某3以部曹出守，舟入江遇盗。知其守也，杀之，并歼其从者，独留其妻女。以众中一最黠者为伪守，持牒往，而群诡为仆，人莫能察也。抵郡逾月，甚廉干，有治状，雷人相庆得贤太守，其寮属暨监司使，咸诵重之。4未几，太守出示禁游客，所隶毋得纳金陵人只履，否者虽至戚必坐。于是雷人益信服新太守乃能严介若此也。

亡何，守之子至，入境，无敢舍者。问之，知其禁也，心惑之。诘朝守出，子道视，非父也，讯其籍里名姓，则皆父。子悟曰：“噫！是盗矣！”5然不敢暴语，密以白监司使。监司曰：“止，吾旦日饭守而出子。”于是戒吏，以卒环太守舍，而伏甲酒所。旦日，太守入谒，监司饮之酒，出其子质，不辨也。守窘，拟起为变而伏甲发，就坐捽之。6其卒之环守者，亦破署入。贼数十人卒起格斗，胥逸去，仅获其七。狱具如律，械送金陵杀之。于是雷之人乃知向之守，非守也，盗云。

东陵生7闻而叹曰：“异哉！盗乃能守若此乎？今之守非盗也，而其行鲜不盗也，则无宁以盗守矣！其贼守，盗也；其守而贤，即犹愈他守也。”或曰：“彼非贤也，将间而括其藏与其郡人之资以逸。”曰：“有之。今之守亦孰有不括其郡之藏若赀而逸者哉？”愚山子8曰：“甚哉东陵生言也！推其意，足以砥守。”

译      文

雷州是广东最边远的一个郡。祟祯初年，有一个金陵人，原是中央政府官员，被调派到雷州任太守，所乘船只入江时遇到一群强盗。这群强盗知道他是太守，就把他杀了，又把他的随从也一并杀害，只留下他的妻子和女儿。这群强盗让同伙中最狡猾能干的人冒充太守，拿着公文前往雷州上任，其余的强盗则装作仆人，人们都没察觉。到达雷州一个月以来，假太守又廉洁又能干，当地出现了大治景象。雷州人都互相祝贺来了个好太守，他的部下以及上司监司使也都称赞他。不久，太守贴出告示禁止游客，所辖地区不得接待金陵来的人，不然的话，即使是太守最亲密的人，也要治罪。于是雷州人觉得新太守如此严格耿直，倍加诚服。

没过多久，真太守的儿子来到雷州，入境以后，没人敢让他留宿。他一打听才知道是太守有禁令，心中很是疑惑。次日早晨，太守出来，他在路边观看，果然不是他父亲。他向人讯问太守的籍贯、姓名，竟和自己的父亲一样。他顿时明白了：“啊，这是强盗装的！”他不敢明说，跑到监司使那儿告了状。监司使说：“别声张，我明天请太守吃饭，你出来见见他。”于是让手下加强戒备，派兵包围了太守住宅，并在吃饭的地方埋伏下武装士兵。第二天，假太守前来拜谒。监司使请他喝酒，让太守的儿子出来相见。假太守哪里认得，他窘迫不堪，起身欲反抗，被埋伏的士兵一拥而上按在座位上。包围太守住宅的士兵也冲进屋中，几十个强盗仓促迎战搏斗一番。最终，大部分强盗逃跑了，士兵只抓住了其中七个人。俘获的强盗被依法定罪，带上枷锁，押到金陵处决。这时雷州的人们才知道太守是假的，是强盗装的。

东陵生听到这件事感叹道：“奇怪呀！强盗做太守能做成这样吗？现在那些当太守的不是强盗，可是他们的行为很难说不像强盗，还不如让强盗当太守呢。那个贼太守，是强盗；可他太守当得很好，还真是胜过了真太守啊。”也有人说：“这些强盗不是好人，会伺机盗走太守的库藏，搜刮了郡里百姓的资财，然后逃之夭夭。”东陵生回答道：“是有这种情况。不过你看今天这些太守们，哪有不搜刮全郡资财而溜之大吉的呢？”愚山子说：“说的好！要理解他的意思，现今的太守们要引以为戒呀。”

英 译 文

In the first year of Chongzhen Emperor’s reign in the Ming Dynasty， a central government official was transferred to Leizhou， the most remote prefecture of Guangdong Province， to serve as the magistrate. Traveling by boat along the river， he and his entourage encountered a gang of bandits， who， upon learning he was the new magistrate， killed him and all his attendants， sparing only his wife and daughter. They then selected the most cunning and adaptable among them to impersonate the official， with the others playing the roles of his servants. Bearing the imperial certificate of appointment， this fake official and his accomplices sailed on to the set destination of Leizhou， where he took office， causing not even the slightest suspicion. A month had passed， and the locals saw a clean and capable official and a well-governed community. They congratulated each other on having such a good governor， one who garnered praise and respect from superiors and subordinates alike. Shortly thereafter， the magistrate issued a decree imposing a prohibition on inbound visitors： no one in his jurisdiction should receive any traveler from his hometown of Jinling. Violators， even if they were close relatives of the magistrate， would face severe punishment. This new policy won even more trust and admiration from the local people for its strictness and impartiality.

Not long afterwards， the son of the real magistrate came to Leizhou. When he entered the region， no one dared to accommodate him. He asked why and was told of the magistrate’s prohibition. Perplexed， he decided to investigate the matter. The next morning， he went to stand by the roadside， observing. When the magistrate came out， he saw the man was plainly not his father. He asked people around him about the name and hometown of the magistrate and received answers that were exact copies of his own father’s details. Suddenly he realized that the holder of the office must be an imposter. Remaining calm and unperturbed， he promptly went to report this to the commissioner， the supervisor of local officials. “Keep this a secret，” the commissioner said， “I’ll invite him to come for a banquet， and you can confront him.” Then orders were given that all departments be placed on alert， and that both the magistrate’s residence and the venue of the banquet be surrounded by armed soldiers lying in ambush. The next day， the magistrate came and was feasted by his superior. As they were exchanging toasts， the son of the real magistrate appeared. Unable to recognize him， the bandit-turned magistrate realized what was happening and fell into embarrassment. He rose up and tried to revolt， yet the soldiers flocked in and pinned him down on his seat. At the same time， the soldiers around the magistrate’s residence stormed in， engaging in a fierce fight with dozens of bandits， most of whom managed to escape and only seven were captured. Convicted and shackled， all these bandits were escorted to Jinling， the hometown of the real magistrate， and executed. Only then did the people of Leizhou learn that that man who had been governing their prefecture was actually a bandit.

When Mr. Dongling heard of this， he made the following comments： “Is it not against common sense that a bandit could conduct the duties of an official so remarkably？ The officials at the time are not bandits， yet they are just like bandits in everything they do. This being the case， we would rather have bandits as our governors， for even though they are criminals， they govern well， better than the appointed officials.” Someone else argued： “But they are after all bad men， who are in reality plotting to rob the prefecture treasury and fleece its people， then run away with all the wealth.” Mr. Dongling replied： “This is true， but your description also fits all the local officials here！” In my view， Mr. Dongling’s comments hit the mark： properly understood， his words can serve as a timely admonition to all current officials.

1本文选自明末清初徐芳的《诺皋广志》，是一篇鞭挞封建官场腐败的笔记小说，其中的“土匪为官”情节与2010年电影《让子弹飞》相似。  2此句没有单独译出，而是在译文第一句末以同位语的形式译出。  3此处信息与后文“所隶毋得纳金陵人只履”合并译出。  4这几句叙事文字，按“遇贼被杀”“贼扮太守”“赴任未遭怀疑”“政绩斐然”“雷州人赞扬”五个片段，用五个英语句子重述。注意句中从句等从属成分的运用。  5原文的直接引语译为直陈句，以合行文需要。   6古文十分简约，译为英语不免要增添必要细节，以明事件发展过程。此句译文中的as they were exchanging toasts和“unable to recognize him， the bandit-turned magistrate realized what was happening”就是这种情况。其他部分还有类似译法，请自行留意。这是英语行文的需要，更是“译事而非译字”原则的体现。  7“东陵生”是作者假托的议论者，译文应根据行文需要灵活处理。

8愚山子是作者徐芳的号。