书名：The Eleventh Son: A Novel Of Martial Arts And Tangled Love
作者：Long Gu
译者：Rebecca S. Tai

封面：

此主题相关图片如下：

目录：

1、the hands of a lover 
2、legs of flying doctor 
3、the sound of singing in the night 
4、the deer carver
5、an extraordinary beauty 
6、the heart of a pretty woman 
7、awe-inspiring lady shen 
8、the hawk king's secret
9、beauty of beauties 
10、a murderous look in the eye 
11、the lady and the bandit 
12、a marriage made in hell
13、the lamp in autumn 
14、gods of thunder and lightning 
15、a wanderer's home 
16、time to bid farewell
17、the heart of an ideal gentleman  
18、hunted down  19、brilliant strategies 
20、doll manor
21、true fellings revealed 
22、the longest day 
23、a stunning bride 
24、an affair to remember
25、splendid sunset

内容简介：

On one of his missions, Xiao (the Eleventh Son, known as the Great Bandit) meets Shen, the fairest woman in the martial world. By the will of fate, he rescues Shen several times, which plants the seed of love in both of them. However, Shen is married to a rich young man who is also an outstanding martial artist. As if things were not complicated enough, Xiao       has his own secret admirer, Feng, an attractive swordswoman with a quick temper. Xiao is drawn into a messy fight for a legendary saber, the Deer Carver, and is accused of stealing it. Xiao finds out that the person who has set him up is a mysterious young man with an angel’s face and a devil’s heart. Before he can pursue any further, Shen’s grandmother is murdered, and Xiao is named the killer. It appears that things are spinning out of control?

作者简介：

One of the top three Chinese martial arts fiction writers, Gu Long (1937-1985) wrote sixty-nine novels in a career spanning twenty-five years. Millions of copies of his books have been sold, and many of them have been repeatedly adapted for TV or cinema. His other important novels include The Compassionate Swordsman and the Merciless Sword (1970), The Orchid at Midnight (1979) and Hunting Hawk, Gambling Game (1984). At the age of forty-eight, he died of liver disease caused by excessive alcohol drinking. Rebecca S. Tai received her master’s degree  from University of California, Los Angeles. She enjoys reading adventure fiction and watching martial arts drama.

版本资料：
Paperback: 366 pages
Publisher: Homa & Sekey Books; 1st American Ed edition (August 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 1931907161

下面是Amazon上几位国外友好人士的评论，都给了five star的高分。瞧哥几个的语气，对古龙小说翻译情况知根知底，估计是华侨。

Excellent translation , July 21, 2006
Reviewer:H. Anwar
                     
This book is the only official translated wuxia novel of by the Late Gu Long (Ku Long, Ku lung) available in English to date. Gu Long is one of the three best wuxia writers ever, so having one his novels finally being recognized is indeed wonderful. While comparing it to other translated wuxia novels are rather unfair, because Gu Long has his own distinct writing style, nevertheless in technical aspect of translating, Becky Tai, the translator, exceeded the rest, mainly when compared John Minfor and Graham Earnshaw.

Becky Tai maintained the writer's original writing style and mood, even if the words and sentences are now in English. Additionally, Becky kept the names and important terms in Chinese pinyin and explained them to her readers, a much better approach than changing character's name into English or ignorantly using the term "Karate" for Chinese martial arts, like Minford did in his translation of The Deer and the Cauldron.

Overall, this book worths every penny and should be collected by anyone who love the "wuxia" (Chinese knight-errand) genre but unable to read Chinese characters nor any other Asian language in which many wuxia novels have been translated. If you are interested to read the second book, it is currently being translated by Gu Long fans at wuxia mania forum, just google it.

an historical fantasy "wuxia pian" at its finest, October 21, 2005
Reviewer:DavidR (Toronto, ON, Canada)

As far as I know, this is Gu Long's second novel published in the West. The first was Christine Courniot's French translation of "Les Quatre Brigands du Huabei" available from amazon.fr. This is the first professional and complete English translation done by Rebecca Tai. Those of us who have an interest in martial arts fiction, seek out novels like this one but you do not have to be a martial arts officionado to appreciate this excellent novel. Gu Long, more than Louis Cha, has a poetic style of writing that is unique to the genre of Chinese martial arts fiction. I find the settings of his novels lush and beautiful which leaves a lot to the imagination. Gu Long has acute psychological insight into human nature combined with the human relational understanding of honour and shame.

All these things aside, this if a fine adventure novel that follows the exploits of Xiao Xiyi Lang, an upstanding martial arts master who acts vis a vis an uncompromising martial code of honour. The characters are fascinating, the situations that these characters find themselves in are at times fantastic but that is typical of literature that encompasses history and fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was a new and refreshing experience.

A great journey, January 29, 2005
Reviewer:Yi Ning Xue (Demarest, NJ USA)
                     
This is one of the first translated novel from the famed Chinese martial arts fiction write Gu Long. It's well translated and takes you back in time to a mythical China thousands of years ago, when martial art and chinese beauties went hand in hand. The world Gu Long creates is romanticized with diverse characters both good and evil, and all well versed in the martial arts. With great character development, Xiao, Feng, and Shen are very believeable and sometimes humorous. This is like a literary version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, or House of Flying Daggers. Kudos to Rebecca Tai for translating and Homa for bringing a great Chinese literary gem to the states!

Great new for fans of films like CTHD and Hero, September 3, 2004
Reviewer:David Chute (Los Angeles, CA USA)
                     
The first official English translation of a novel by the most popular modern writer of "wuxia" (Chinese swordplay) fiction. This one is the source novel of a classic Shaw Brothers movie starring Ti Lung, "Swordsman & Enchantress." It's a lively and readable translation and a fine piece of bookmaking. Congratulations to everyone involved!

下面《萧十一郎》英文版内容，是我从google print上一词词敲下来的，选了比较精彩的开头部分。我试着把英文版再转译成中文，跟古龙原著对比一下，相映成趣。

Chapter 1

The Hands of a Lover

   TT WAS A fine sunny day in early autumn.
   The rays of the sun shone through the thin paper window,touching her fine,silky skin.
   The water was slightly warmer than the sunlight.Feng languished in the tub,resting her delicate feet on the high edge.the sunlight touched her soles as gently as a lover's hands.
   She was greatly pleased.
   After traveling for more than half a month,what could be more relaxing than a hot bath?Her whole body melted into the water.Only her half-opened eyes remained free,to admire her feet.
   This pair of feet had climbed mountains,waded through water,walked in the burning desert for three days,an crossed frozen rivers.
   This pair of feet had kicked three hungry wolves and a bobcat to death.squashed countless vipers,an kicked Cloudy Sky,the notorious bandit of Mount Qilian,off a cliff.
   Yet,this pair of feet was still delicate,exquisite,an flawless-without a single scar.Even those young ladies of noble households,who never stepped out of their mansions,might not have such perfect feet.
   She was more than satisfied.
   Water was still heating on the stove,and she added more to the tub.Although the water in the tub was hot,she wanted it even hotter.She liked the excitement generated by heat.   
   She liked all kinds of excitement.
   She liked to ride the fastest horses,climb the highest mountains,eat the spiciest food,drink the srongest liquors,and use the sharpest knives……to kill most vicious men.
   Some have said excitement makes people age faster,but this saying didn't apply to her.Her breasts were still firm,her waist still slender,her abadomen still flat,her long legs still slim,and her skin still wrinkle free.
   Her eyes were still bright and her laugh was still alluring and radiant. Whoever saw her would find it hard to believe that she was already thirty-three years old.
   In the past thirty-three years,Feng Siniang had never allowed herself to be mistreated,She knew what to wear for each occasion,what to say to any sort of people,what to eat with a particular liquor,and she knew which kind of kung fu would kill which kind of people.She knew about life and how to enjoy it.
   Few people were like her.She was unique.Some envied her;some were jealous of her.She was completely pleased with herself,except for one thing:she was lonely.
   No excitement of any kind could dispel her feeling of loneliness.
   Now,the last thread of her fatigue had dissolved in the water. She picked up a white silk washcloth and stroked her body with it.
   When the soft silk touched her skin,it always brought indescribable joy,yet she wished it were a pair of hands-the hands of a man she liked.
   However soft the washcloth was,it could not match a lover's hands;nothing in the world could take the place of a lover's hands!
   Gazing at her smooth,translucent,and nearly flawless body ,she felt a prick of unspeakable sadness.

这是我的译文，在不参考古龙原著的情况下，尽量做到忠实英文版：

       这是初秋的一个美好日子，阳光明媚。
       阳光穿过薄薄的纸窗，照在她漂亮、丝绸般的皮肤上。
       水比阳光更加温暖。风呆呆坐在浴盆里，把她精致的脚搭在高高的浴盆边缘。阳光轻抚她的脚底，好似情人温柔的双手。
       她觉得舒服极了。
       经过半个月的劳累奔波，还有什么比洗个热水澡更让人松弛呢？她全身浸在水里，眼睛半开半闭，欣赏自己的双脚。
       这双脚曾经跋山涉水，在快要燃烧的沙漠上穿行三日，也曾渡过冰冷的河水。
       这双脚曾经踢死过三只恶狼，一只山猫，踩死无数条毒蛇，还把祁连山上声名狼藉的恶盗“多云天空”踢下悬崖。
       现在，这双脚依然精致、优美，寻不到半点伤疤和瑕疵。就算是一步未出家门的皇宫公主，也不可能拥有这么完美的一双脚。
       她觉得更惬意了。
       炉上还在烧水，她把更多水倒进浴盆，虽然盆里的水已经够热，但她却还想弄得更热一点。她喜欢热带来的刺激。
       她喜欢一切形式的刺激。
       她喜欢骑最快的马，爬最高的山，吃最辣的菜，喝最烈的酒，玩最利的刀……杀最狠的人。
       不少人认为刺激使生命过得更快，但这种说法不适合她。她的乳房依然坚挺，她的腰依然盈盈一握，她的小腹依然平坦，她的长腿依然纤细，她的皮肤没有一丝皱纹。
       她的眼睛依然明亮，她的笑容依然迷人，不可抵挡。见过她的人，都不敢相信她竟然已经三十三岁。
       在过去的三十三年里，风四娘从没有虐待过自己，她知道什么场合要穿什么衣服，跟什么人要说什么话，吃什么菜时喝什么酒，她也知道用什么样的功夫杀死什么样的人。她深深了解并享受生活。
       没有多少人像她。她特立独行。有些人羡慕她，有些人妒忌她，她对她的生活完全满意，除了一件事：她很寂寞。
       没有任何一样刺激可以驱散她寂寞的感觉。
       现在，最后一丝疲劳也溶解在水里。她捡起白丝巾，轻抚她的身子。
       丝绸触摸她的肌肤，带来一种难以言传的愉悦，她希望这是一双手——一双她喜欢的男人的手。
       不管丝巾多么光滑柔顺，它都不能代替爱人的手，世上没有任何一样东西可以代替爱人的手！
       看着自己平滑、透明、完美无暇的身子，她忽然觉得有种无法形容的忧伤向她袭来。

这是古龙的原文：

       初秋，艳阳天。
       阳光透过那层薄薄的窗纸照进来，照在她光滑得如同缎子般的皮肤上，水的温度恰好比阳光暖一点，她懒洋洋地躺在水里，将一双纤秀的脚高高地跷在盆上，让脚心去接受阳光的轻抚——轻得就像是情人的手。
       她心里觉得愉快极了。
       经过了半个多月的奔驰之后，世上还有什么比洗个热水澡更令人愉快的事呢？她整个人都似已溶化在水里，只是半睁着眼睛，欣赏着自己的一双脚。
       这双脚爬过山、涉过水，在灼热得有如热锅般的沙漠上走过三天三夜，也曾在严冬中横渡过千里冰封的江河。
       这双脚踢死过三只饿狼、一只山猫、踩死过无数条毒蛇，还曾经将盘据祁连山多年的大盗“满天云”一脚踢下万丈绝崖。
       但现在这双脚看来仍是那么纤巧、那么秀气，连一个疤都找不出来，就算是足从未出过闺房的千金小姐，也未必会有这么完美的一双脚。
       她心里觉得满意极了。
       炉子上还在烧着水，她又加了些热水在盆里；水虽然已够热了，但她还要再热些，她喜欢这种“热”的刺激。
       她喜欢各式各样的刺激。
       她喜欢骑最快的马，爬最高的山，吃最辣的菜，喝最烈的酒，玩最利的刀，杀最狠的人！
       别人常说：“刺激最容易令人衰老。”但这句话在她身上并没有见效，她的胸还是挺得很，腰还是细得很，小腹还是很平坦，一双修长的腿还是很坚实，全身上下的皮肤都没有丝毫皱纹。
       她的眼睛还是很明亮，笑起来还是很令人心动，见到她的人，谁也不相信她已是三十三岁的女人。
       这三十三年来，风四娘的确从没有亏待过自己，她懂得在什么样的场合中穿什么样的衣服，懂得对什么样的人说什么样的话，懂得吃什么样的菜时喝什么样的酒，也懂得用什么样的招式杀什么样的人！
       她懂得生活，也懂得享受。
       像她这样的人，世上并不多，有人羡慕她，有人妒忌她，她自己对自己也几乎完全满意了——只除了一样事。
       那就是寂寞。
       无论什么样的刺激也填不满这份寂寞。
       现在，连最后一丝疲劳也消失在水里了，她这才用一块雪白的丝巾，洗擦自己的身子。
       柔滑的丝巾摩擦到皮肤时，总会令人感觉到一种说不出的愉快，但她却不知多么希望这是一只男人的手。
       她所喜欢的男人的手！
       无论多么柔软的丝巾，也比不上一只情人的手，世上永远没有任何一样事能代替情人的手！
       她痴痴的望着自己光滑、晶莹、几乎毫无瑕疵的胴体，心里忽然升起了一阵说不出的忧郁……

诗不可译。看来，经过另一种语言的洗礼，古龙小说很难让友邦惊诧了。
   
再来瞧瞧法国佬的品味。有谁猜得出下面是哪部古龙小说？

此主题相关图片如下：

答案揭晓：《欢乐英雄》。

迄今为止，翻译到欧美的古龙小说似乎只有以上两部：英文版《萧十一郎》和法文版《欢乐英雄》。比起金庸，差距客观存在。

聊可告慰的是，《The Story of the Stone》在西方的影响力也远远不如《Monkey》。

难道说故事的魅力，永远是第一位的？