Saturday, March 19, 2011

牡丹,moutan

【牡丹】 著名的觀賞植物。古無牡丹之名,統稱芍藥,後以木芍藥稱牡丹。
──《漢語大詞典》 (1990-1993)

我遍查手邊所有的漢英詞典,"牡丹" 要不譯為 peony,要不就是 tree peony。理論上,英文的 peony 是一大類,中文稱之為 "芍藥屬";牡丹為芍藥屬之一員,由於其灌木木本的特徵,故得出 tree peony 這個比較精確的對應。

tree peony noun a shrubby Chinese peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) having biternate leaves and large showy flowers and being the only woody cultivated peony and the source of many horticultural varieties
── Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (1961, 2003)

然而許多人不知道的是,"牡丹" 的英文亦作 moutan (或 moutan peony)。此詞乃源自中文,明顯帶著威妥瑪拼音 (Wade-Giles) 的痕跡,而且首音節 mou 轉寫的是 "牡" 字的舊讀 (音 "某",《廣韻》莫厚切)。

moutan ('muːtən) [Chinese.] The tree peony, Pæonia suffruticosa, of the family Ranunculaceæ [sic], a large shrub bearing pale pink flowers, native to China and Tibet, the parent of many garden varieties producing single or double flowers of many colours.
1808 Curtis's Bot. Mag. XXIX. 1154 The Moutan, though cultivated in China about fourteen hundred years, is considered in that ancient empire..as rather of modern introduction. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XII. 258/1 The Moutans or Tree Pæonies are remarkable for their sub-shrubby habit, forming vigorous plants sometimes attaining a height of 6 to 8 feet. 1963 M. Haworth-Booth Moutan i. 11 In Chinese art each month is represented by a flower, and Moutan is specifically the flower for March.
── The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition (1989, 2009)

俗諺說:「牡丹雖好,還要綠葉扶持。」牡丹雖稱花中之王,國色天香,但仍得有綠葉襯托,無綠葉則難以彰其貴。縱使個人才高八斗,有通天的本事,也需要別人的支持與協助啊!

觀牡丹,心有所感,遂為文記之。

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