荷塘月色
The Moonlit Lotus Pond
朱自清
Zhu Ziqing
这几天心里颇不宁静。
These past few days I have been exceedingly restless.
今晚在院子里坐着乘凉，忽然想起日日走过的荷塘，
This evening, as I sat in my courtyard enjoying the cool night air, I suddenly thought of the lotus pond along which I was used to taking daily walks,
在这满月的光里，总该另有一番样子吧。
and I imagined that it must look quite different under the light of this full moon.
月亮渐渐地升高了，墙外马路上孩子们的欢笑，已经听不见了；
Slowly the moon climbed in the sky, and beyond the wall the laughter of children playing on the road could no longer be heard.
妻在屋里拍着闰儿，迷迷糊糊地哼着眠歌。
My wife was inside patting Run’er* as she hummed a faint lullaby.
我悄悄地披了大衫，带上门出去。
I gently threw a wrap over my shoulders and walked out, closing the gate behind me.
沿着荷塘，是一条曲折的小煤屑路。
Bordering the pond is a meandering little cinder path.
这是一条幽僻的路；白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。
It is a secluded path; during the day few people use it, and at night it is even lonelier.
荷塘四周，长着许多树，蓊蓊郁郁的。
There are great numbers of trees growing on all sides of the lotus pond, lush and fertile.
路的一旁，是些杨柳，和一些不知道名字的树。
On one side of the path there are some willow trees and several varieties of trees whose names I do not know.
没有月光的晚上，这路上阴森森的，有些怕人。
On moonless nights this path is dark and forbidding, giving one an eerie feeling.
今晚却很好，虽然月光也还是淡淡的。
But this evening it was quite nice, even though the rays of the moon were pale.
路上只我一个人，背着手踱着。
Finding myself alone on the path, I folded my hands behind me and strolled along.
这一片天地好像是我的；我也像超出了平常的自己，到了另一个世界里。
The stretch of land and sky that spread out before me seemed to belong to me, and I could transcend my own experience and enter another world.
我爱热闹，也爱冷静；爱群居，也爱独处。
I love noise, but I also love quiet; I love crowds, but I also love seclusion.
像今晚上，一个人在这苍茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，
On a night like tonight, all alone under this vast expanse of moonlight, I can think whatever I wish, or think of nothing if I wish.
便觉是个自由的人。
I feel myself to be a truly free man.
白天里一定要做的事，一定要说的话，现在都可不理。
The things I must do and the words I must say during the daytime I need not concern myself with now;
这是独处的妙处，我且受用这无边的荷香月色好了。
this is an exquisite secluded spot, a place where I can enjoy the limitless fragrance of the lotuses and the light of the moon.
曲曲折折的荷塘上面，弥望的是田田的叶子。
On the surface of the winding and twisting lotus pond floated an immense field of leaves.
叶子出水很高，像亭亭的舞女的裙。
The leaves lay high in the water, rising up like the skirts of a dancing girl.
层层的叶子中间，零星地点缀着些白花，有袅娜地开着的，有羞涩地打着朵儿的；
Amid the layers of leaves white blossoms adorned the vista, some beguilingly open and others bashfully holding their petals in.
正如一粒粒的明珠，又如碧天里的星星，又如刚出浴的美人。
Just like a string of bright pearls or stars in a blue sky, or like lovely maidens just emerging from their bath.
微风过处，送来缕缕清香，仿佛远处高楼上渺茫的歌声似的。
A gentle breeze floated by, bringing with it waves of a crisp fragrance like strains of a vague melody sent over from distant towering buildings.
这时候叶子与花也有一丝的颤动，像闪电般，霎时传过荷塘的那边去了。
When that happened, the leaves and blossoms trembled briefly, as though a bolt of lightning had streaked across the lotus pond.
叶子本是肩并肩密密地挨着，这便宛然有了一道凝碧的波痕。
The leaves themselves were densely crowded together, pushing back and forth, and they seemed to be a cresting wave of solid green.
叶子底下是脉脉的流水，遮住了，不能见一些颜色；而叶子却更见风致了。
Beneath the leaves restrained currents of water flowed, imprisoned beneath them, the color forever hidden, while the stirrings of the leaves were even more pronounced.
月光如流水一般，静静地泻在这一片叶子和花上。
The moon’s rays were like flowing waters, gently depositing their moisture on the layer of leaves and blossoms.
薄薄的青雾浮起在荷塘里。
A light green mist floated just above the lotus pond.
叶子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗过一样；又像笼着轻纱的梦。
The leaves and blossoms looked as though they had been bathed in milk, or like a blurred dream swathed in airy gauze.
虽然是满月，天上却有一层淡淡的云，所以不能朗照；
Although the moon was full, a light covering of clouds in the sky prevented it from shining brightly;
但我以为这恰是到了好处——
yet I had the pleasant feeling that I had come to a fine spot.
酣眠固不可少，小睡也别有风味的。
For just as one cannot do without deep slumber, still a light sleep has its own delights.
月光是隔了树照过来的，高处丛生的灌木，落下参差的斑驳的黑影，峭楞楞如鬼一般；
The moon’s rays filtered down through the trees, and dark, uneven shadows of varying shades were cast by the dense foliage on the high ground, perilously dark and spooky.
弯弯的杨柳的稀疏的倩影，却又像是画在荷叶上。
The bewitching shadows cast by the sparse, twisted willow trees seemed to be painted on the lotus leaves.
塘中的月色并不均匀；但光与影有着和谐的旋律，如梵婀玲上奏着的名曲。
The moonlight on the pond was spread unevenly, but the rays and the shadows were a concert of harmony, like a celebrated tune played on a violin.
荷塘的四面，远远近近，高高低低都是树，而杨柳最多。
On all sides of the lotus pond, far and near, on high ground and low, there are trees, most of them willows.
这些树将一片荷塘重重围住；只在小路一旁，漏着几段空隙，像是特为月光留下的。
These trees completely envelop the whole of the lotus pond; only by the side of the path are there gaps, here and there showing through, seemingly left there just so the moon can shine in.
树色一例是阴阴的，
The colors of the trees are uniformly dark.
乍看像一团烟雾；但杨柳的丰姿，便在烟雾里也辨得出。
At first glance, they resemble a bank of fog and mist, but the slender, graceful forms of the willows can still be distinguished in that fog and mist.
树梢上隐隐约约的是一带远山，只有些大意罢了。
Above the treetops a row of mountains can be seen ever so indistinctly, just the hint of their shapes,
树缝里也漏着一两点路灯光，没精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。
while one or two faint glimmers of roadside lamps seep through the openings of the branches, appearing like the weary eyes of a tired man.
这时候最热闹的，要数树上的蝉声与水里的蛙声；
Now the spot was at its noisiest, if you count the chirping of cicadas in the trees and the croaking of frogs in the water.
但热闹是他们的，我什么也没有。
But the noise was theirs alone; I added nothing to it.
忽然想起采莲的事情来了。
All of a sudden, I was reminded of lotus gathering.
采莲是江南的旧俗，似乎很早就有，而六朝时为盛；
The gathering of lotuses is an old custom south of the Yangtze, whose origins probably date from very early on but that flourished during the Six Dynasty period.
从诗歌里可以约略知道。
This we know from the poems and ballads of the time.
采莲的是少年的女子，她们是荡着小船，唱着艳歌去的。
The lotus gatherers were young maidens who drifted in small boats and sang their songs of love.
采莲人不用说很多，还有看采莲的人。
It goes without saying that there were great numbers of lotus gatherers as well as those who came to watch them,
那是一个热闹的季节，也是一个风流的季节。
for that was a festive and a romantic occasion.
梁元帝《采莲赋》里说得好：
“The Lotus Gatherers” by Emperor Yuan of the Liang Dynasty tells it well:
于是妖童媛女，
Princely lads and alluring maidens
荡舟心许；
Adrift in a boat, their hearts in accord;
鷁首徐回，
The boat’s prow describes a slow turn
兼传羽杯；
As they exchange wine cups;
欋将移而藻挂，
The oars become intertwined,
船欲动而萍开。
And the boat moves across the floating duckweed;
尔其纤腰束素，
The maidens with their slender waists simply bound
迁延顾步；
Cast glances behind them.
夏始春余，
Summer begins where the spring leaves off;
叶嫩花初，
The leaves are tender, the flowers in bloom.
恐沾裳而浅笑，
Protecting their dresses from the dampness, smiles adorning their faces,
畏倾船而敛裾。
They gather up their skirts, taking care not to capsize the boat.
可见当时嬉游的光景了。
This paints for us a picture of the pleasant excursions of those days.
这真是有趣的事，可惜我们现在早已无福消受了。
They must have been truly memorable events; it is a pity that we can no longer enjoy such pastimes.
于是又记起《西洲曲》里的句子：
I then recalled the lines from “Tune of the West Isle”.
采莲南塘秋，
Gathering lotuses at Nantang in the fall,
莲花过人头；
The lotus blossoms rise above our heads.
低头弄莲子，
Bending over to pluck the lotus seeds,
莲子清如水。
Lotus seeds as transparent as the water.
今晚若有采莲人，这儿的莲花也算得“过人头”了；
If tonight there were lotus gatherers, the lotus blossoms here too would “rise above their heads.”
只不见一些流水的影子，是不行的。
But it is not enough to have before me only these rippling shadows.
这令我到底惦着江南了。
All of this stirred up in me a sense of longing for the South.
——这样想着，猛一抬头，不觉已是自己的门前；
With these thoughts in my mind, I suddenly raised my head and found that my steps had carried me to my own gate;
轻轻地推门进去，
I softly pushed it open and entered.
什么声息也没有，妻已睡熟好久了。
I was greeted by complete silence; my wife had long since fallen fast asleep.
注释：
* The name of one of the author’s children. （Howard Goldblatt 译）
石榴花
Pomegranate Flowers
周领顺
Zhou Lingshun
大千世界，万紫千红；五彩奇花，争艳斗胜。
The world is a blazing brilliance of colors, a dazzling flourish of flowers vying for charm.
名花有人攀附，野花招徕不屑。
While renowned flowers win sycophantic admiration, wild ones simply grow humbly unnoticed.
我却在不经意间瞥见一树红彤彤的石榴花，竟让我对这名花与野花之间之花，生出了一番感慨。
Pomegranate flowers, neither a prized species anymore, nor a wild type, evoked in me an unexpected sentiment of emotion after I, quite by accident, caught sight of a pomegranate tree glowing red with flowers.
或许她太过平常，童年至今，屡次相遇，竟不曾为其娇容所动。
Ever since my childhood, I have had different encounters with pomegranate flowers, and perhaps because they are much too ordinary I should have failed to be touched, not even once, by their charm.
就是在这几日，爱怜却兀自生起。
It is not until recently that I began to generate an affectionate fondness towards them.
六月初这几天，扬州的天气出奇地凉爽，颇有春暖乍寒之意。
Early June of this year saw in Yangzhou an unusually cool temperature, giving one the illusion of a returning early spring.
步行去学校，整整一个小时的路程，健身自不必说。
While I was walking to campus, the one-hour trip, which was definitely a good exercise,
路边的一草一木近在咫尺，多了亲密接触，
also brought closer contact with grass or trees adjacent to the roadside.
而接触时还免不得产生些许思绪。
As I was doing so, thoughts tended to arise involuntarily as well.
随手捡一截干瘪的树枝，推着往前走，童年时学着拖拉机前进的突突声又在耳畔响起；
I casually picked up a dry tree branch and walked it along as if I were maneuvering a tractor, its chugging tune that I once imitated as a child reverberating in my ears once more.
张嘴衔一片树叶，蹩脚的口技还能多多少少再现童年时弄叶的玩姿。
With a tree leaf placed between the lips, I was still able to whistle it, in an awkward fashion, evidencing my remaining competence in this childhood game with tree leaves.
每次步行，都能瞥见路边稍远处长着一棵树，好似结着泛红的果实。
Every time I went along the same route, I could always glimpse a distance away from the roadside a particular tree, which seemed to be bearing reddish fruits.
前两天路过时就光是那么想象：
Two days ago, I passed by it again, doubts in mind.
难道是一棵枇杷树结着生涩的果实？
Was it a loquat bearing astringent fruits?
难道是人家扬州人司空见惯了所以看不上？
Were the fruits so common that people had their nose turned up at them?
难道是人们的文明水平提高了，竟放纵这好果子自在生长？
Or, was it because people were better-nurtured now so that they pampered the free growth of the fruits?
管不了那么多，
Whatever the reason, I would not care.
童年爬树偷果子的情形一时占了上风，
Childhood experiences of stealing fruits in the tree were prompting me to have one more try.
乡间野趣原来就在这里。
What a rustic delight in doing that!
为饱口福，绕绕路，多走它几步。
To have a taste of the fruits, I changed my usual route, which only involved a little extra distance to cover.
可走到树下，不免怅然所望。
However, I approached only to see a pomegranate tree bearing red flowers, which let me down a little bit.
原来是一棵开着红花的石榴树，花太小，远看模糊。
Being small, the flowers were indistinguishable in the distance.
我说呢，
No wonder.
要是结着一树的宝贝，怎躲得过那些个“早起的鸟儿”呢！
How could a fruit-bearing tree have kept away the “early birds”?
既来之，则安之。
As the old Chinese saying goes, “Since I am here, let me stay and enjoy it”.
我对着这满树的红花细细地打量。
I started to observe the flowers intently.
有的花，可谓怒放，绸缎般的“石榴裙”紧束在“细腰”之上；“
Some flowers, in their full blossoms, were silky “pomegranate skirts” as it were, going tight and slender in the waist.
细腰”之侧，总有那么几枚未及开放的花骨朵儿，似“红果”头饰扎在小姑娘的头上。
And the “slender waists” were normally accompanied to the side by a couple of flower buds, which looked just like “red hawthorn fruits” embellishing the hairstyle of a little girl.
咦？小姑娘害羞了吧，
Why, are you shy little girls, blooming flowers?
俏模样藏在婆娑的树叶里，却掖不尽“榴月”（农历五月的古时雅称）里满身的“石榴红”。
You were hiding your pretty faces among rustling leaves, but you were not able to conceal all the “pomegranate red” bursting for this “pomegranate month” (an elegant name in the ancient times for the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar).
悠忽间，未及开放的花骨朵儿变成了二胡上的琴轸，“石榴裙”化作了唢呐，就连黄色的花蕊，也变作了小喇叭若隐若现的穗饰。
Then in a blinking moment, it was as if the flower buds turned into the pegs of urheens, the “pomegranate skirts” into the suona trumpets, and even the yellow stamens or pistils into the indistinct decorations of some hidden horns.
满树“乐器”，怎不闹春！
With all these “musical instruments” in the tree, what a loud celebration it was for the arrival of the spring!
我对石榴花可谓真情所至。
My passion for pomegranate flowers can well be described as true and genuine.
别人知其美却忽略其美，或因石榴花不像其他鲜花那么花香浓郁，
Aware as other people are of their beauty, they tend to turn a blind eye to it, probably because pomegranate flowers are not so scented,
或因石榴树是果树，石榴尚未结出，自然还未实现其最主要的价值。
or because pomegranate trees are fruit producers and can only prove their principal value when fruits are born.
但不管是为着花香，还是为着未来的果实，说到底，都带着那么点功利。是功利之心，遮掩了对美的赏析。
No matter whether for the scent or for the fruit, basically it is utilitarianism that cloaks people’s appreciative eye for the beauty of the flowers.
石榴花虽不馥郁，却有着别样美丽，
Pomegranate flowers, though not smelling sweet, are special in their beauty.
因不以花香媚俗，便不会招惹俗人折枝；
As they never please people by scent, they do not incur picking.
石榴花是“红颜”，不仅未遭“天妒”，且总能颐养天年。
They are “beauties”, and are able to grow elegantly and leisurely, free from “the jealousy of gods”.
石榴花，你个小精灵，我可是读懂了你！
Pomegranate flowers, you adorable little spirits, it’s me who knows you well! （周领顺、Lus Shil 译）
荷塘月色
Moonlight over the Lotus Pond
朱自清
Zhu Ziqing
这几天心里颇不宁静。
It has been rather disquieting these days.
今晚在院子里坐着乘凉，忽然想起日日走过的荷塘，在这满月的光里，总该另有一番样子吧。
Tonight, when I was sitting in the yard enjoying the cool, it occurred to me that the Lotus Pond, which I pass by every day, must assume quite a different look in such moonlit night.
月亮渐渐地升高了，墙外马路上孩子们的欢笑，已经听不见了；
A full moon was rising high in the sky; the laughter of children playing outside had died away;
妻在屋里拍着闰儿，迷迷糊糊地哼着眠歌。
in the room, my wife was patting the son, Run-er, sleepily humming a cradle song.
我悄悄地披了大衫，带上门出去。
Shrugging on an overcoat, quietly, I made my way out, closing the door behind me.
沿着荷塘，是一条曲折的小煤屑路。
Alongside the Lotus Pond runs a small cinder footpath.
这是一条幽僻的路；白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。
It is peaceful and secluded here, a place not frequented by pedestrians even in the daytime; now at night, it looks more solitary,
荷塘四周，长着许多树，蓊蓊郁郁的。
in a lush, shady ambience of trees all around the pond.
路的一旁，是些杨柳，和一些不知道名字的树。
On the side where the path is, there are willows, interlaced with some others whose names I do not know.
没有月光的晚上，这路上阴森森的，有些怕人。今晚却很好，虽然月光也还是淡淡的。
The foliage, which, in a moonless night, would loom somewhat frighteningly dark, looks very nice tonight, although the moonlight is not more than a thin, greyish veil.
路上只我一个人，背着手踱着。
I am on my own, strolling, hands behind my back.
这一片天地好像是我的；我也像超出了平常的自己，到了另一个世界里。
This bit of the universe seems in my possession now; and I myself seem to have been uplifted from my ordinary self into another world,
我爱热闹，也爱冷静；爱群居，也爱独处。
I like a serene and peaceful life, as much as a busy and active one; I like being in solitude, as much as in company.
像今晚上，一个人在这苍茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，便觉是个自由的人。
As it is tonight, basking in a misty moonshine all by myself, I feel I am a free man, free to think of anything, or of nothing.
白天里一定要做的事，一定要说的话，现在都可不理。
All that one is obliged to do, or to say, in the daytime, can be very well cast a side now.
这是独处的妙处，
That is the beauty of being alone.
我且受用这无边的荷香月色好了。
For the moment, just let me indulge in this profusion of moonlight and lotus fragrance.
曲曲折折的荷塘上面，弥望的是田田的叶子。叶子出水很高，像亭亭的舞女的裙。
All over this winding stretch of water, what meets the eye is a silken field of leaves, reaching rather high above the surface, like the skirts of dancing girls in all their grace.
层层的叶子中间，零星地点缀着些白花，有袅娜地开着的，有羞涩地打着朵儿的；正如一粒粒的明珠，又如碧天里的星星，又如刚出浴的美人。
Here and there, layers of leaves are dotted with white lotus blossoms, some in demure bloom, others in shy bud, like scattering pearls, or twinkling stars, our beauties just out of the bath.
微风过处，送来缕缕清香，仿佛远处高楼上渺茫的歌声似的。
A breeze stirs, sending over breaths of fragrance, like faint singing drifting from a distant building.
这时候叶子与花也有一丝的颤动，像闪电般，霎时传过荷塘的那边去了。
At this moment, a tiny thrill shoots through the leaves and flowers, like a streak of lightning, straight across the forest of lotuses.
叶子本是肩并肩密密地挨着，这便宛然有了一道凝碧的波痕。
The leaves, which have been standing shoulder to shoulder, are caught trembling in an emerald heave of the pond.
叶子底下是脉脉的流水，遮住了，不能见一些颜色；而叶子却更见风致了。
Underneath, the exquisite water is covered from view, and none can tell its colour; yet the leaves on top project themselves all the more attractively.
月光如流水一般，静静地泻在这一片叶子和花上。薄薄的青雾浮起在荷塘里。
The moon sheds her liquid light silently over the leaves and flowers, which, in the floating transparency of a bluish haze from the pond,
叶子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗过一样；又像笼着轻纱的梦。
look as if they had just been bathed in milk, or like a dream wrapped in a gauzy hood.
虽然是满月，天上却有一层淡淡的云，所以不能朗照；但我以为这恰是到了好处——酣眠固不可少，小睡也别有风味的。
Although it is a full moon, shining through a film of clouds, the light is not at its brightest; it is, however, just right for me – a profound sleep is indispensable, yet a snatched doze also has a savour of its own.
月光是隔了树照过来的，高处丛生的灌木，落下参差的斑驳的黑影，峭楞楞如鬼一般；
The moonlight is streaming down through the foliage, casting bushy shadows on the ground from high above, dark and checkered, as grotesque as a party of spectres;
弯弯的杨柳的稀疏的倩影，却又像是画在荷叶上。
whereas the benign figures of the drooping willows, here and there, look like paintings on the lotus leaves.
塘中的月色并不均匀；但光与影有着和谐的旋律，如梵婀玲上奏着的名曲。
The moonlight is not spread evenly over the pond, but rather in a harmonious rhythm of light and shade, like a famous melody played on a violin.
荷塘的四面，远远近近，高高低低都是树，而杨柳最多。
Around the pond, far and near, high and low, are trees. Most of them are willows.
这些树将一片荷塘重重围住；只在小路一旁，漏着几段空隙，像是特为月光留下的。
Only on the path side can two or three gaps be seen through the heavy fringe, as if specially reserved for the moon.
树色一例是阴阴的，乍看像一团烟雾；但杨柳的丰姿，便在烟雾里也辨得出。
The shadowy shapes of the leafage at first sight seem diffused into a mass of mist, against which, however, the charm of those willow trees is still discernible.
树梢上隐隐约约的是一带远山，只有些大意罢了。
Over the trees appear some distant mountains, but merely in sketchy silhouette.
树缝里也漏着一两点路灯光，没精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。
Through the branches are also a couple of lamps, as listless as sleepy eyes.
这时候最热闹的，要数树上的蝉声与水里的蛙声；
The most lively creatures here, for the moment, must be the cicadas in the trees and the frogs in the pond.
但热闹是他们的，我什么也没有。
But the liveliness is theirs, I have nothing.
忽然想起采莲的事情来了。
Suddenly, something like lotus-gathering crosses my mind.
采莲是江南的旧俗，似乎很早就有，而六朝时为盛；
It used to be celebrated as a folk festival in the South, probably dating very far back in history, most popular in the period of Six Dynasties.
从诗歌里可以约略知道。
We can pick up some outlines of this activity in the poetry.
采莲的是少年的女子，她们是荡着小船，唱着艳歌去的。
It was young girls who went gathering lotuses, in sampans and singing love songs.
采莲人不用说很多，还有看采莲的人。
Needless to say, there were a great number of them doing the gathering, apart from those who were watching.
那是一个热闹的季节，也是一个风流的季节。
It was a lively season, brimming with vitality, and romance.
梁元帝《采莲赋》里说得好：
A brilliant description can be found in Lotus Gathering written by the Yuan Emperor of the Liang Dynasty:
于是妖童媛女，荡舟心许；鷁首徐回，兼传羽杯；
So those charming youngsters row their sampans, heart buoyant with tacit love, pass on to each other cups of wine while their bird-shaped prows drift around.
欋将移而藻挂，船欲动而萍开。
From time to time their oars are caught in dangling algae, and duckweed float apart the moment their boats are about to move on.
尔其纤腰束素，迁延顾步；
Their slender figures, girdled with plain silk, tread watchfully on board.
夏始春余，叶嫩花初，
This is the time when spring is growing into summer, the leaves a tender green and the flowers blooming –
恐沾裳而浅笑，畏倾船而敛裾。
among which the girls are giggling when evading an outreaching stem, their shirts tucked in for fear that the sampan might tilt.
可见当时嬉游的光景了。
That is a glimpse of those merrymaking scenes.
这真是有趣的事，可惜我们现在早已无福消受了。
It must have been fascinating; but unfortunately we have long been denied such a delight.
于是又记起《西洲曲》里的句子：
Then I recall those lines in Ballad of Xizhou Island:
采莲南塘秋，莲花过人头；低头弄莲子，莲子清如水。
Gathering the lotus, I am in the South Pond, /The lilies in autumn reach over my head; /Lowering my head I toy with the lotus seed. /Look, they are as fresh as the water underneath.
今晚若有采莲人，这儿的莲花也算得“过人头”了；只不见一些流水的影子，是不行的。
If there were somebody gathering lotuses tonight, she could tell that the lilies here are high enough to “reach over her head”; but, one would certainly miss the sight of the water.
这令我到底惦着江南了。
So my memories drift back to the South after all.
——这样想着，猛一抬头，不觉已是自己的门前；
Deep in my thoughts, I looked up, just to find myself at the door of my own house.
轻轻地推门进去，什么声息也没有，妻已睡熟好久了。
Gently I pushed the door open and walked in. Not a sound inside, my wife had been asleep for quite a while.
一九二七年七月，北京清华园
Qinghua Campus, Beijing July, 1927 （朱纯深 译）
背影
My Father’s Back
朱自清
Zhu Ziqing
我与父亲不相见已二年余了，我最不能忘记的是他的背影。
Though it is over two years since I saw my father, I can never forget my last view of his back.
那年冬天，祖母死了，父亲的差使也交卸了，正是祸不单行的日子。
That winter my grandmother died, and my father’s official appointment was terminated, for troubles never come singly.
我从北京到徐州，打算跟着父亲奔丧回家。
I went from Beijing to Xuzhou, to go back with him for the funeral.
到徐州见着父亲，看见满院狼藉的东西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼泪。
When I joined him in Xuzhou I found the courtyard strewn with things and could not help shedding tears at the thought of granny.
父亲说：“事已如此，不必难过，好在天无绝人之路！”
“What’s past is gone,” said my father. “It’s no use grieving. Heaven always leaves us some way out.”
回家变卖典质，父亲还了亏空；又借钱办了丧事。
Once home he sold property and mortgaged the house to clear our debts, besides borrowing money for the funeral.
这些日子，家中光景很是惨淡，一半为了丧事，一半为了父亲赋闲。
Those were dismal days for our family, thanks to the funeral and father’s unemployment.
丧事完毕，父亲要到南京谋事，我也要回北京念书，我们便同行。
After the burial he decided to go to Nanjing to look for a position, while I was going back to Beijing to study, so we travelled together.
到南京时，有朋友约去游逛，勾留了一日；第二日上午便须渡江到浦口，下午上车北去。
A friend kept me in Nanjing for a day to see the sights, and the next morning I was to cross the Yangtze to Pukou to take the afternoon train to the north.
父亲因为事忙，本已说定不送我，叫旅馆里一个熟识的茶房陪我同去。
As father was busy he had decided not to see me off, and he asked a waiter we knew at our hotel to take me to the station,
他再三嘱咐茶房，甚是仔细。
giving him repeated and most detailed instructions.
但他终于不放心，怕茶房不妥帖；颇踌躇了一会。
Even so, afraid the fellow might let me down, he worried for quite a time.
其实我那年已二十岁，北京已来往过两三次，是没有什么要紧的了。
As a matter of fact I was already twenty and had travelled to and from Beijing on several occasions, so there was no need for all this fuss.
他踌躇了一会，终于决定还是自己送我去。
But after much hesitation he finally decided to see me off himself,
我两三回劝他不必去；
though I told him again and again there was no need.
他只说，“不要紧，他们去不好！”
“Never mind,” he said. “I don’t want them to go.”
我们过了江，进了车站。我买票，他忙着照看行李。
We crossed the Yangtze and arrived at the station, where I bought a ticket while he saw to my luggage.
行李太多了，得向脚夫行些小费，才可过去。他便又忙着和他们讲价钱。
This was so bulky that we had to hire a porter, and father started bargaining over the price.
我那时真是聪明过分，总觉他说话不大漂亮，非自己插嘴不可，
I was such a bright young man that I thought some of his remarks undignified, and butted in myself.
但他终于讲定了价钱；就送我上车。
But eventually he got them to agree to a price, and saw me on to the train,
他给我拣定了靠车门的一张椅子；我将他给我做的紫毛大衣铺好座位。
choosing me a seat by the door, on which I spread the black sheepskin coat he had made for me.
他嘱我路上小心，夜里要警醒些，不要受凉。
He warned me to be on my guard during the journey, and to take care at night not to catch cold.
又嘱托茶房好好照应我。
Then he urged the attendant to keep an eye on me,
我心里暗笑他的迂；他们只认得钱，托他们只是白托！
while I laughed up my sleeve at him ­– all such men understood was money!
而且我这样大年纪的人，难道还不能料理自己么？
And wasn’t I old enough to look after myself?
唉，我现在想想，那时真是太聪明了！
Ah, thinking back, what a bright young man I was!
我说道，“爸爸，你走吧。”
“Don’t wait, father,” I said.
他往车外看了看，
He looked out of the window.
说，“我买几个橘子去。
“I’ll just buy you a few tangerines,” he said.
你就在此地，不要走动。”
“Wait here, and don’t wander off.”
我看那边月台的栅栏外有几个卖东西的等着顾客。
Just outside the station were some vendors.
走到那边月台，须穿过铁道，须跳下去又爬上去。
To reach them he had to cross the lines, which involved jumping down from the platform and clambering up again.
父亲是一个胖子，走过去自然要费事些。
As my father is a stout man this was naturally not easy for him.
我本来要去的，他不肯，只好让他去。
But when I volunteered to go instead he would not hear of it.
我看见他戴着黑布小帽，穿着黑布大马褂，深青布棉袍，蹒跚地走到铁道边，慢慢探身下去，尚不大难。
So I watched him in his black cloth cap and jacket and dark blue cotton-padded gown, as he waddled to the tracks and climbed slowly down – not so difficult after all.
可是他穿过铁道，要爬上那边月台，就不容易了。
But when he had crossed the lines he had trouble clambering up the other side.
他用两手攀着上面，两脚再向上缩；他肥胖的身子向左微倾，显出努力的样子。
He clutched the platform with both hands and tried to heave his legs up, straining to the left.
这时我看见他的背影，我的泪很快地流下来了。
At the sight of his burly back tears started to my eyes,
我赶紧拭干了泪，怕他看见，也怕别人看见。
but I wiped them hastily so that neither he nor anyone else might see them.
我再向外看时，他已抱了朱红的桔子往回走了。
When next I looked out he was on his way back with some ruddy tangerines.
过铁道时，他先将桔子散放在地上，自己慢慢爬下，再抱起桔子走。
He put these on the platform before climbing slowly down to cross the lines, which he did after picking the fruit up.
到这边时，我赶紧去搀他。
When he reached my side I was there to help him up.
他和我走到车上，将桔子一股脑儿放在我的皮大衣上。
We boarded the train together and he plumped the tangerines down on my coat.
于是扑扑衣上的泥土，心里很轻松似的。
Then he brushed the dust from his clothes, as if that was a weight off his mind.
过一会儿说，“我走了，到那边来信！”
“I’ll be going now, son,” he said presently. “Write to me once you get there.”
我望着他走出去。
I watched him walk away.
他走了几步，回过头看见我，
After a few steps he turned back to look at me.
说，“进去吧，
“Go on in!” he called.
里边没人。”
“There’s no one in the compartment.”
等他的背影混入来来往往的人里，再找不着了，我便进来坐下，我的眼泪又来了。
When his back disappeared among the bustling crowd I went in and sat down, and my eyes were wet again.
近几年来，父亲和我都是东奔西走，家中光景是一日不如一日。
The last few years father and I have been moving from place to place, while things have been going from bad to worse at home.
他少年出外谋生，独立支持，做了许多大事。
When he left his family as a young man to look for a living, he succeeded in supporting himself and did extremely well.
哪知老境却如此颓唐！
No one could have foreseen such a come-down in his old age!
他触目伤怀，自然情不能自已。情郁于中，自然要发之于外；家庭琐屑便往往触他之怒。
The thought of this naturally depressed him, and as he had to vent his irritation somehow, he often lost his temper over trifles.
他待我渐渐不同往日。
That was why his manner towards me had gradually changed.
但最近两年的不见，他终于忘却我的不好，只是惦记着我，惦记着我的儿子。
But during these last two years of separation he has forgotten my faults and simply wants to see me and my son.
我北来后，他写了一信给我，
After I came north he wrote to me:
信中说道，“我身体平安，惟膀子疼痛利害，举箸提笔，诸多不便，
“My health is all right, only my arm aches so badly I find it hard to hold the pen.
大约大去之期不远矣。”
Probably the end is not far away. “
我读到此处，在晶莹的泪光中，又看见那肥胖的，青布棉袍，黑布马褂的背影。
When I read this, through a mist of tears I saw his blue cotton-padded gown and black jacket once more as his burly figure walked away from me.
唉！ 我不知何时再能与他相见！
Shall we ever meet again? （杨宪益、戴乃迭译）
父子
Father and Son
程习武
Cheng Xiwu
一家人靠采药度日，父亲天天都要爬山去采药。
The father supported his family by gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains.
山大，山险，
The mountains were high and filled with danger.
父亲风中雨中一日日爬，爬过了大半辈子。
However, everyday, rain or shine, the father had to clamber the cliffs and comb every inch of the vegetation.
儿子一天天大起来，父亲让儿子也爬山。
The year soon passed, and his son had grown up. The father asked his son to climb the mountains with him.
父亲拿一根绳子，一头拴了儿子，一头拴了自己，
He took out a rope and tied one end of it to his son and the other end to himself.
父亲在前面爬，儿子在后面爬。
He crawled in front and his son followed.
第一次爬山的时候，站在悬崖下面，父亲问儿子，你腰里的刀干什么用的？
The first time the father took his son to a cliff, he asked the young man, “Do you know the use of the knife at your hip?”
儿子说，到山上挖药用的。
“To dig out herbs.”
父亲说，还有呢？
“What else?”
儿子看看前面的悬崖，看看悬崖上郁郁葱葱的树木，又瞪大眼睛看父亲。
The son scanned the cliff and the lush vegetation growing over it, and then turned to stare at his father, perplexed.
良久，摇摇头。
After a good while, he shook his head.
父亲说，以后你会知道的。
“You’ll find out later.” His father said.
一日，父子两看见绝壁上一大片草成坟状隆起，
One day, they discovered a raised patch of grass on a precipice.
严严密密形成了一个包围圈。
The grass formed a tight circle with something in the center.
是参，是百年老参。
It must be ginseng, a century-old ginseng plant!
父子俩奋力向上爬。
The father and his son quickened their upward climb.
父亲爬在前面，儿子爬在后面。
The father led the way and his son followed.
没有路，只有陡峭的石壁，几乎无处可攀附手足。
Above them towered the sheer cliff, defying any attempt to reach the spot of the precious plant.
父子两一点点往上艰难地移动，
Clinging to the rock face with hands and feet, they inched strenuously upward.
父亲抓住了一丛荆棘，离那棵参只有一步之遥了。
The father got hold of a clump of brambles; the ginseng was within arm’s reach.
突然，父亲感觉系在腰间的绳子猛地向下一坠，
All of a sudden, the father felt a downward pull at the rope around his waist.
抓住荆棘的手几乎要脱开。
So strong was the dragging force that it almost made him lose his grip on the brambles.
紧接着传来儿子的惊呼。
Then came his son’s desperate cry.
父亲低头看，儿子已经离开了石壁，被绳子吊着腰在半空里悠荡。
Looking down he saw the young man dangling on the other end of the rope, swinging back and forth.
儿子的喊声惊惧而又慌乱。
The son continued to cry in panic and confusion.
儿子喊，父亲，救我呀！
“Help! Dad, help!”
儿子的喊声在莽莽苍苍的山间传过去又传过来，传过来又传过去，久久不散。
The voice resounded in the wide valley, leaving a succession of echoes lingering on for quite some time.
父亲不吭声，父亲只是奋力往上爬。
Making no response to his son, the father concentrated all his strength on continuing his upward climb.
父亲要攀住那棵荆棘。
He was making his last effort to hold on to the bramble.
这时候父亲明显地感觉到自己老了。
But as he realized at that very moment, he had grown old:
他感觉到自己的十根手指似乎在一点一点地松下去，松下去。
his fingers were growing weaker with every passing second and his grip was about to slacken.
可是不能松，父亲对自己说，下面有那根紧绷的绳子呀！
“No, I can’t give up! I must hold on!” he thought, “The very life of my son depends on it!”
父亲什么都不顾，他只是向上，向上。
His mind was preoccupied with only one single idea: to climb upward, upward.
后来他的胳膊攀上去了，再后来，他的整个身子都攀上去了。
Thankfully his arms eventually reached over the ridge of the cliff, and soon his whole body was up.
攀上去的父亲又一点点地把儿子拉了上去。
Now he was able to gradually hoist his son up to his position an inch at a time.
在攀上去的过程中，父亲的腰被别在腰上的刀硌了，但父亲没有感觉到。
In his struggle to safety, his waist badly hurt by the rubbing of the knife stuck in his belt, but he didn’t give a second thought to it.
这一次的爬山使父亲大病了一场，然后父亲就明显衰老了。
After that day’s ginseng hunt, the father went down with a serious illness, plunging him into a state of obvious decrepitude.
衰老了的父亲仍然要坚持爬山。
However, the ailing father still insisted on going up into the mountains.
仍然是一根绳子，一头拴了父亲，一头拴了儿子。
As usual, they brought a rope with them, one end of which was tied to the father, the other end to his son.
不过父亲和儿子换了位置，儿子在上面爬，父亲在下面爬。
The only difference was that they had swapped position, the son leading the way and the father following below.
儿子说父亲老了，不让父亲爬。父亲却坚持要爬，父亲不放心儿子。
The son tried to dissuade his father from climbing, but the father was persistent, saying he would be worried to death if he let his son take all the risks alone.
站在山脚下，父亲对儿子说，你该知道刀还能干什么用了。
Coming to the foot of the mountain, the father repeated his question about the use of the knife.
儿子瞪大眼睛看父亲，但父亲没有说。
The son again stared at his father as if begging for an answer, but his father was as evasive as before.
一日又一日，风中雨中。
Days went by, and their life continued.
一日，父子俩又在一面绝壁上看见一棵很大的山参。父子俩奋力向上爬。
One day, they again discovered a big ginseng plant up a cliff, and began to edge toward it with all their might.
在儿子快要爬近山参的时候，爬在下面的父亲手松了，父亲离开了绝壁，在半空里悠悠荡荡。
Just as the son approached the plant, the father’s hands slackened and his body fell off the cliff surface, dangling helpless on the rope.
抓住一丛荆棘的儿子感觉到父亲很重很重，
Despite having taken firm hold of a clump of brambles, the son still felt an overwhelming downward pull from his father.
很重很重的父亲就要把他拉着坠下山谷了。
His father was becoming heavier and heavier and would surely drag him down into the deep valley.
儿子很惊恐地大声喊，天啊，怎么办呀？
“Heavens! What can I do?” the son yelled in panic.
父亲不吭声，
The father gave no reply.
只是很吃力地 从腰间抽出那把刀，朝绳子砍去。
With much effort, he drew out the knife from his belt and hacked at the rope.
刀很锋利，一刀就把绳子砍断了。
Instantly the rope was cut: his knife was indeed very sharp.
绳子断了之后，父亲就朝山谷里坠下去。
Down fell the father.
父亲的身子刚刚接触山岩，
He fell headlong into the depth of the valley, until he hit a flat rock.
便有一截绳子也坠下来，落在父亲的身上。绳子在父亲的身上颤颤地抖，似一条长蛇。
After him a length of rope also fell, trembling and twisting upon him like a snake.
绳子两端的刀痕都是齐刷刷的，刀快极了。
Both ends of the rope were neatly cut by knives that must indeed have been very sharp.
要是父亲能看到他身上颤动的那根绳子，他肯定会笑的——儿子到底明白了刀的用处——
If the father had been able to see the fallen rope, he would have given a knowing smile: his son had found out how to use his knife.
当父亲挥刀砍断绳子的时候，儿子也同时挥起了刀。
When the father hacked at the rope, his son did the same.
儿子终于明白刀可以做什么用了。
The son had finally come to see the true purpose of his knife. （李运兴 译）
窗帘
Window Curtains
杨绛
Yang Jiang
人不怕挤。
People are not afraid of crowding.
尽管摩肩接踵，大家也挤不到一处。
Though shoulder to shoulder and close upon each other’s heels, people don’t jam together.
像壳里的仁，各自各。
Like peas in a pod, each one has his own space;
像太阳光里飞舞的轻尘，各自各。
like dusty clouds dancing in the sun, each has his own sphere.
凭你多热闹的地方，窗对着窗。各自人家，彼此不相干。
However bustling a place is, families have nothing to do with each other although their windows are face to face.
只要挂上一个窗帘，只要拉过那薄薄一层，便把别人家隔离在千万里以外了。
A curtain on a window, when that thin layer is drawn down, you can easily put the other family into a distance of a ten thousand li.
隔离，不是断绝。
Barriers are not disconnections.
窗帘并不堵没窗户，只在彼此间增加些距离——欺哄人招引人的距离。
A curtain doesn’t block up the window; it only increases the distance between the inside and the outside – a deceiving, tempting distance.
窗帘并不盖没窗户，只隐约遮掩——多么引诱挑逗的遮掩！
The curtain doesn’t cover up the window either, only obscuring it – what an enticing obscurity!
所以，赤裸裸的窗口不引人注意，而一角掀动的窗帘，惹人窥探猜测，生出无限兴趣。
Thus a window fully open doesn’t attract attention, whereas a curtain with a fluttering corner arouses curiosity and conjecture, boundlessly tantalizing.
赤裸裸，可以表示天真朴素。
Nakedness may show innocence and simplicity.
不过，如把天真朴素做了窗帘的质料，做了窗帘的颜色，一个洁白素净的帘子，堆叠着透明的软纱，在风里飘曳，这种朴素，只怕比五颜六色更富有魅力，
However, if we turn the innocence and simplicity into the material and color of a curtain, the result is a clean, white curtain, pleated with soft gauze, flapping in the breeze, much more charming than multicolored stuff.
认真要赤裸裸不加遮饰，除非有希腊神像那样完美的身体，有天使般纯洁的灵魂。
If you really want to be naked, you ought to have the perfect bodies of the Greek deities and the pure souls of angels.
培根（Bacon）说过：“赤裸裸是不体面的；不论是赤露的身体，或赤露的心。”
Bacon said, “Nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as body.”
人从乐园里驱逐出来的时候，已经体味到这句话了。
When they left the Garden of Eden, humankind understood the meaning of these words.
所以赤裸裸的真实总需要些掩饰。
Therefore, naked truth should be somewhat covered.
白昼的阳光，无情地照彻了人间万物，不能留下些幽暗让人迷惑，让人梦想，让人希望。
The blazing sunlight, which ruthlessly beats down on everything in the world, do not leave shadows that allow one to be mystified, to dream and to hope.
如果没有轻云薄雾把日光筛漏出五色霞彩来，天空该多么单调枯燥！
Without light clouds and thin hazes sieving the sunshine and creating a colorful glow, how boring the sky would be!
隐约模糊中，才容许你做梦和想象。
Only in dimness and obscurity can one dream and give play to the imagination.
距离增添了神秘。
Distance increases mystery.
看不见边际，变为没边没际的遥远与辽阔。云雾中的山水，暗夜的星辰，希望中的未来，高超的理想，仰慕的名人，心许的“相知”，
We are lost in a boundless remoteness, calling to mind mountains and rivers obscured in mist and clouds, stars on a dark night, the future in our hopes, a transcendental ideal, celebrities worshipped from afar, and a “friend” in one’s wishful thinking.
——隔着窗帘，惝怳迷离，可以产生无限美妙的想象。
Similarly, the barrier of a window curtain obscures and mystifies, inducing endless speculation.
如果你嫌恶窗帘的间隔，冒冒失失闯进门、闯到窗帘后面去看个究竟，赤裸裸的真实只怕并不经看。
Whereas if you burst through the barrier and invade the area behind the curtain, I am afraid the naked truth in there may not be an uplifting sight.
像丁尼生（Tennyson）诗里的“夏洛特女郎”（The Lady of Shalott），看厌了镜中反映的世界，三步跑到窗前，望一望真实世界。
The Lady of Shalott in Tennyson’s poem is fed up with the world in the mirror, so in three steps she rushes to the window to see the real world.
她的镜子立即破裂成两半，她毁灭了以前快乐而无知的自己。
At once her mirror cracks from side to side, and she has forever lost her happy and innocent self.
人家挂着窗帘呢，别去窥望。
See, there’s a curtain on that window, don’t go and peep.
宁可自己也挂上一个，华丽的也好，朴素的也好。
Better hang one out yourself, be it colorful or plain.
如果你不屑挂，或懒得挂，不妨就敞着个赤裸裸的窗口。
If you don’t want to stoop to hanging out curtains and can’t be bothered with the trouble, feel free to leave your window wide open.
不过，你总得尊重别人家的窗帘。
But to respect other people’s window curtains. （哈金 译）
语言的局限
Limitations of Language
林巍
Lin Wei
人们一般认为，“言为心声”，即有何种思想感情便有怎样的语言表达。
It is said “words are the voice of the mind”, that is to say whatever thinking and emotions one may have will finally be reflected in his or her language.
然而，语言在许多情况下，又是有限的，不能尽如人意。
However, in many cases, language is limited and may not be as powerful as one may expect.
在我国古典文学作品中，不乏这样的表述。
Concerning the issue, there is no shortage of descriptions of this kind in Chinese classical literatures.
例如，刘禹锡的《视刀环歌》：“常恨言语浅，不如人意深”；
For examples, Liu Yuxi (772–842) wrote: “How lamentable it is that words are so powerless to express one’s deep feelings;
黄庭坚的《品令》：“口不能言，心下快活自省”；
there is no match between the two” (“Shidao huange”); Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) had a poem: “While my mouth may not be unable to utter what I am feeling, my heart is really content with what I have appreciated” (“Pinling”).
《妙法莲华经•方便品》：“止、止不须说！
Also, a Buddha in the Lotus Sutra: “Stop, stop!
我法妙难思”，
There is no need to utter anymore since my dharma is so marvelous and it is impossible to convey it to anyone” (Miaofa lianhuajing, “Fangbian”).
以及“余欲无言”、“解人难索”、“辞不达意”等等。
Meanwhile, expressions of this kind are: “my feelings can hardly be described in any language”, “it is hard to find someone who can really appreciate what I have meant”, “my language fails to express my idea” so on and so forth.
更为典型是陶潜的《饮酒》：“此中有真意，欲辩已忘言”；
More typically, Tao Yuanming (365–427) said in his “Poems after Drinking Wine”: “There are certain things that move me deeply, which I would like to tell but at the very moment I lose the words”.
而陆机的《文赋》：“恒患意不称物，文不逮意”，透露的则是一种作者与语言之间永恒的挣扎。
The critic Lu Ji (261–303) had a comment in his Rhapsody on Literature: “My constant concern is that my ideas may not have reflected the objects accurately, and my writing may be deficient of my abundant ideas”, revealing a constant struggle between an author and his language.
著名学者钱钟书论道：“谈艺时每萌此感。
As the well-known scholar Qian Zhongshu points out, “Discussing literatures or arts often causes the same frustration.
听乐、读画，睹好色胜景，神会魂与，
When listening to music, viewing a painting, or enjoying fabulous scenery, your heart and soul are merged with the things that have been perceived.
而欲明何故，则已大难，即欲道何如，亦类贾生赋中鹏鸟之有臆无词。
Yet it is almost impossible for you to describe and convey what you have been moved by at the spot; if you do that, you may end up resembling the roc in Jia Yi’s poem where he could not put his thoughts into words properly.
巧构形似，广设譬喻，有如司空图以还撰《诗品》者之所为，纵极描摹刻画之功，仅收影响模糊之效，终不获使他人闻见亲切。
Or, if you imaginatively construct a delicate framework of analogies where abundant metaphors and figures of speech are presented, as Sikong Tu did in his Modes of Poetry, you may have drawn or caved a replica vividly, but still only fashioned a resemblance which never affects others to have the same aesthetic experience as you had.
是以或云诗文品藻只是绕不可言者而盘旋”（《管锥编》）。
That is the reason why it has been widely agreed that literary criticism, for instance, should basically never be expressed in words; it can only be circled around in the field” (Limited Views).
当代作家章诒和亦有一段刻骨铭心的描述：“我拿起笔，也是在为自己寻找继续生存的理由和力量，拯救我即将枯萎的心。
The contemporary writer Zhang Yihe has a heartbreaking writing: “By writing this book, my desire was to relieve my dying heart and to gain some strength and purpose for my survival. However, I was dead wrong!
而提笔的那一刻，才知道语言的无用，文字的无力。
The moment I picked up the pen, I realized how powerless and useless the words, the language!…
它们似乎永远无法叙述出一个人内心的爱与乐，苦与仇”（《往事并不如烟》）。
I doubt they can ever convey a person’s true love, joy, pain or hatred” (The Past Events Have not Vanished like Smoke).
正如刘勰在《文心雕龙•神思》中所说：
This has proved literary critic Liu Xie’s (465–522) point in his Dragon Carvings on the Literary Mind.
“思表纤旨，文外曲致，言所不追，笔固知止”。
“The delicate nuances of language lie at the boundaries of thought and the subtle meanings of a sense of feeling beyond any written words: this is where a speech is held back from its further pursuit and a pen halts without a clear realization”.
同时，语言一旦形成，又有其相对的独立性和多面性。
Meanwhile, once a saying is formed it becomes independent and multifaceted.
例如，墨子的说“言多方”，“行而异，转而危，
As Mozi said that “Utterance has many meanings”, “As the language is being conveyed its meanings may vary gradually; as it changes its course, it may damage someone.
远而失，流而离本”（《墨子•小取》）；
When it is carried far away, it will be lost somewhere; when it is set adrift it will deviate from its original route” (Mozi, “Xiaoqu”).
吕不韦言：“言不可以不察”，“多类非而是，多类是而非”（《吕氏春秋•察传》）。
Also, the historian Lü Buwei pointed out in his The Spring and Autumn Annals of Lü: “Words cannot go without being scrutinized”, “More often than not words appear to be one thing but turn up to be another”.
而这从另一方面证实了语言的“不可靠性”。
These comments have illustrated the “unreliability” of a language from another prospective.
总之，理解语言的局限性，其实有利于我们更深刻地认识和掌握语言。
In short, by realizing its limitations, we may in fact gain certain insights in mastering a language. （林巍 译）
杞人忧天
My Worries: Are They Justified?
吴冠中
Wu Guanzhong
“破四旧”期间，我患牙病，
During the early years of the Cultural Revolution, I had a tooth problem.
医生说臼齿磨损厉害，建议做套，罩住臼齿；套最好用金制，因金的硬度最适合与牙结合，且耐久。
The dentist told me one of my molars was badly decayed and suggested I have a crown fitted, most preferably a gold one, because the hardness of gold is similar to that of enamel and would fit it well.
我觉得金牙太丑，
I was afraid it would look ugly.
医生说那是臼齿上的罩，根本看不见。
However, the dentist assured me that nobody would see it since it was on one of the back teeth.
于是决定用金。但哪里去找金？
So gold was chosen as the material, but where to find the precious metal at that time of political turmoil?
当时金子不是商品，且禁止买卖，
Gold transaction was then forbidden on the market.
“破四旧”将家家户户的金银珠宝抄尽，
And to make things worse, gold products along with jewelry were all being searched and looted by the Red Guards in the ‘Destruction of the Four Olds’ campaign1.
民间已与黄金绝缘。
No one in mainland China had access to even a single ounce of gold.
幸而，我的一位入了泰国国籍的老同窗要返国探亲，他便特意戴了一个大大的金戒指解决了我的治牙问题。
Fortunately, an old classmate of mine, a Thai-Chinese, was planning a trip home and promised to bring me a gold ring by wearing it on his finger when going through customs. That really was an ingenious solution to my tooth crowning problem!
感谢医生的精心设计、制作，
Using the melted gold as raw material the doctor prepared the crown with great care and superb skill.
这金牙罩保护了我的病牙，让我平安度过了能吃食的几十个春秋，以为一劳永逸了。
Protected by the well-fit crown, I was able to eat and chew with much ease for several decades.
然而，竟然发现它日渐耗损，金子也衰老了！
I thought the crown would keep good forever, but, to my dismay, gold too proved to be subject to wear and tear like all other things.
今天金子不稀罕，但那一只假牙确是我半辈子的保卫者，而它却比我先坏，令人感伤。
Now gold is no longer a rarity, but back at that time gold was very hard to get and the gold ring-turned-crown was meant to save me from dental trouble for the rest of my life, so the fact that it was aging even faster than I was actually made me quite sad and sentimental.
世间没有一劳永逸的安全。
I came to understand that nothing in this world will last for good.
但人们竭力追求永逸和永恒，
However, people still spare no effort to pursue ease and permanence.
筑长城、造金字塔、建地下宫……都为了保护权力及掌权者的尸身不朽，待复活。
The Great Wall, the Pyramids, the underground palaces, all these were built in an attempt to eternalize power or to preserve corpses until they can be restored to life someday.
木、石、钢铁……一切的一切都扛不住岁月的消蚀，地震、海啸，大宇宙一次次嘲弄人类的渺小。
Wood, stone, iron and steel, none of them can resist the erosion of time; earthquakes, tsunami and other natural disasters time and again mock the insignificance of mankind.
恐龙的灭绝，庞贝的遗址，早揭示了人类及任何生物都挡不住宇宙之变幻。
The extinction of the dinosaurs, the tragic fate of Pompeii, all these are evidence that neither men nor animals can fend off the changes of the universe.
聪明的人类用科学来自救，为救自身却又加速毁灭自身，
To save themselves, man cleverly resorts to science, yet in doing so they only speed up the process of self-destruction.
首先，自身的超量繁殖早已泛滥成灾。
To top it all, over-multiplication of the human species has already brought disastrous consequences.
毁灭与再生是不可抗拒的规律，人类永远探不尽宇宙之谜。
Destruction and regeneration are irresistible laws of Nature, and the universe still remains a myth to men no matter how hard they endeavor to explore into it.
夏夜，满天美丽的星星，老祖母为此讲的故事依旧没变，牛郎织女永葆青春，鹊桥也永不断裂。
Looking up at the beautiful stars on a summer night, grandmothers have long been telling the same story about the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid2: their romance has always remained fresh and the magpies have never failed to build a bridge for their yearly meeting.
然而，老祖母不知遥远的微小星星可能是大大的太阳，或大于太阳，我们的太阳也并不因后羿已死去而永远安逸。
But grandmothers don’t know the tiny stars in the distant sky may turn out to be as large as or even larger than the sun, and that our sun will not shine steadily for ever, even though Houyi3 is long dead.
人类发觉必须保护地球的体温了，但谁又能阻止又一次冰河期或火山期的爆发。
Mankind has realized that we must keep the earth’s temperature from rising, but who can prevent a volcano from erupting again or stop the coming of another glacial period?
到木星去，也只才出得庭前三五步。
Even if we can flee to Jupiter, we’re still not very far from danger, like only being a few yards from a falling house.
杞人真超前，他预感忧天，
In a Chinese legend, someone in the State of Qi feared that the sky would someday fall.
是神异的先知者。
That man, to me, is a wise prophet having the presentiment that Nature may spell doom to man.
一个假牙的消蚀，等同地球的变质，暗示宇宙的颤栗。
The wearing-away of my tooth crown is a warning sign equal to that of the deterioration of the earth or a tremor of the universe.
人类的苦难还在后头，
Disasters we humans have to endure are yet to come.
惟望科学救命，人之族天长地久！
May science provide for our salvation and the human race live as long as the universe lasts!
注释1
Notes: (1) The campaign to destroy the Four Olds (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas) began in Beijing on August 19, 1966, shortly after the launch of the Cultural Revolution. Red Guards searched houses of famous artists, professors and other social celebrities and confiscated what they deemed belonged to the feudal or the bourgeois, including classics, works of art, jewelry, gold and so on.
注释2
(2) In China, Altair and Vega are known as the Star of the Cowherd and the Star of the Weaving Maid respectively. They are legendary lovers separated by the Silvery River (the Milky Way). Every year on July 7 on the Chinese lunar calendar, magpies in heaven will spread their wings to form a bridge so that the lovers can meet each other.
注释3
(3) A Chinese legend says there used to be ten suns in the sky. Houyi, the god of archery, shot down nine of them and warned the last one to be dutiful. （李运兴 译）
离太阳最近的树
The Trees Closest to the Sun
毕淑敏
Bi Shumin
30年前，我在西藏阿里当兵。
Thirty years ago I served in the army in Ali, Tibet.
这是世界的第三极，平均海拔5000米，
With an average elevation of 5000 meters, this area is known as the Third Pole of the earth.
冰峰林立，雪原寥寂。
Here, ice-covered peaks rise like forests above a vast stretch of deserted snow fields.
不知是神灵的佑护还是大自然的疏忽，在荒漠的褶皱里，有时会不可思议地生存着一片红柳丛。
Either blessed by God or spared by Nature, clusters of Chinese tamarisk trees had impossibly managed to survive in the folds of the valley,
它们有着铁一样锈红的枝干，凤羽般纷披的碎叶，
their stems and branches having the color of rusty iron and their leaves spreading out like soft feathers.
偶尔会开出穗样的细密的花，对着高原的酷热和缺氧微笑。
Occasionally they produce dense tiny flowers crowded into the shape of rice ears, beaming in spite of the heat and thin air on the plateau.
这高原的精灵，是离太阳最近的绿树，
Symbolizing the spirit of the plateau, they are the closest to the sun of all green tree species.
百年才能长成小小的一蓬。
It takes a whole century for them to grow into a small cluster.
在藏区巡回医疗，我骑马穿行于略带苍蓝色调的红柳丛中，竟以为它必与雪域永在。
Riding on my horse through the grayish tamarisk trees on my medical-service rounds, I was even convinced that they would exist as long as the snow-covered plateau itself.
一天， 司务长布置任务——全体打柴去！
One day, our company quartermaster ordered all of us to go to cut firewood.
我以为自己听错了，
At first I thought I’d misheard him.
高原之上，哪里有柴？！
Where on this plateau could we find firewood?
原来是驱车上百公里，把红柳挖出来，当柴火烧。
The answer was that we would drive a hundred kilometers to some tamarisk trees, dig them out and carry them back as kitchen fuel.
我大惊，说红柳挖了，高原上仅有的树不就绝了吗？
I was shocked, “Aren’t we going to kill off the only trees on the plateau?”
司务长回答，你要吃饭，对不对？
The quartermaster retorted, “You need to eat, right?
饭要烧熟，对不对？
Food needs to be cooked, right?
烧熟要用柴火，对不对？柴火就是红柳，对不对？
To cook we need firewood, and the only firewood is tamarisk, OK?”
我说，红柳不是柴火，它是活的，它有生命。
I said, “Tamarisk trees are not firewood. They are living. They have a life.
做饭可以用汽油，可以用焦炭，
We can use gasoline or coke.
为什么要用高原上唯一的绿色！
Why do we have to wipe out the only green color from the plateau?”
司务长说，拉一车汽油上山，路上就要耗掉两车汽油。
He explained, “To haul a truckload of oil up to our place, we burn two truckloads of oil on the road;
焦灰炭运上来，一斤的价钱等于六斤白面。
for a jin of coke, we pay the price of 6 jin of wheat flour;
红柳是不要钱的，你算算这个帐吧！
and tamarisk is free of charge. You do the math!”
挖红柳的队伍，带着铁锨、镐头和斧，浩浩荡荡地出发了。
The soldiers took up their spades, picks and axes, and a large tamarisk-digging contingent set out.
红柳通常都是长在沙丘上的。
Tamarisks usually grow on sand dunes.
一座结实的沙丘顶上，昂然立着一株红柳。
On top of a solid sand dune there may stand a proud tamarisk tree,
它的根像巨大的章鱼的无数脚爪，缠附到沙丘逶迤的边缘。
whose roots, like the many tentacles of an octopus, extend all the way to the indented edges of the dune.
我很好奇，红柳为什么不找个背风的地方猫着呢？生存中也好少些艰辛。
I wonder why the tamarisk trees do not grow on the leeward side of the dunes to avoid the many setbacks of life.
老兵说，你本末倒置了，
A veteran soldier said I put the cart before the horse.
不是红柳长在沙丘上，是因为这红柳，才固住了流沙。
It is not that the trees choose to grow on top of dunes, but that the trees fix the sand to cause a build-up of dunes.
随着红柳渐渐长大，流沙被固住的越来越多，最后便聚成了一座沙山。
With the growth of the trees more drifting sand is fixed, and finally a big sand dune is formed.
红柳的根有多广，那沙山就有多大。
The wider their roots spread, the bigger the dune can be.
啊，红柳如同冰山。
Ah, the tamarisk tree is just like an iceberg.
露在沙上的部分只有十分之一，伟大的力量埋在地下。
Above the sand we see only one tenth of it while a mammoth amount of strength lies underneath.
红柳的枝叶算不得好柴薪，真正顽强的是红柳强大的根系，它们与沙子粘贴得如同钢筋混凝土。
The branches and leaves of tamarisk do not make good firewood, while its roots are strong and tenacious, and can join sand grains, into a cohesive whole as hard as concrete.
一旦燃烧起来，持续而稳定地吐出熊熊的热量，好像把千万年来，从太阳那里索得的光芒，压缩后爆裂出来。
When lit up, they burn steadily to produce a huge amount of energy, as if releasing in an eruptive manner all the radiation they’ve exacted from the sun over the past millennia.
金红的火焰中，每一块红柳根，都弥久地维持着盘根错节的形状，好像傲然不屈的英魂。
Even in the burning flames, the blocks of roots, like dauntless heroic spirits, still manage to stay in their intertwined shapes.
把红柳根从沙丘中掘出，蓄含着很可怕的工作量。
To dig out the roots called for a terrifying amount of work.
红柳与土地生死相依，
The tamarisk trees and the land had long formed an inextricable relationship.
人们要先费几天的时间，将大半个沙山掏净。
We had to spend days scooping most of the sand out of a dune,
这样，红柳就枝桠遒劲地腾越在旷野之中，好似一副镂空的恐龙骨架。
thus leaving the dinosaur-skeleton frame of the tree standing there with its bare roots over the open wilderness.
这里需请来最有气力的男子汉，
Then men of Herculean strength were summoned.
用利斧，将这活着的巨型根雕与大地最后的联系一一斩断。整个红柳丛就訇然倒下了。
Wielding sharp axes they hacked continuously at the roots, a living tree-root sculpture, until these last links with the earth were severed and the whole tree toppled down.
一年年过去，
The year passed.
易挖的红柳绝迹了，只剩那些最古老的树精了。
All the tamarisk trees in sight were dug out except those most aged ones.
掏挖沙山的工期越来越长，最健硕有力的小伙子，也折不断红柳苍老的手臂了。
The digging job took ever longer, for even the strongest men were no match for the unyielding stems and roots.
于是人们想出了高技术的法子——用炸药！
So we resorted to a modern technique – break them with explosives!
只需在红柳根部，挖一条深深的巷子，
A tunnel was dug to the root area.
用架子把火药放进去，人伏得远远的，将长长的药捻点燃。
Having put the explosives in place, we ignited the long fuse and lay down at a safe distance.
深远的寂静之后，只听轰的一声，
After a moment of dead silence, there was a loud bang.
再幽深的树怪，也尸骸散地了。
Even the most weather-beaten tree would be blown up into the sky and fall down in pieces.
我们餐风宿露。
We camped out in the open.
今年可以看到去年被掘走红柳的沙丘，好像眼球摘除手术的伤员，
We saw on some sand dunes large hollows, left by the sand-fixing tamarisk trees which had been pulled out the previous year.
依然大睁空洞的眼睑，怒向苍穹。
The gaping holes looked like the eyeless sockets of a wounded face staring angrily at the sky.
但这触目惊心的景象不会持续太久，待到第三年，那沙丘已烟消云散，
However, this heart-rending scene would not last long: two years later even the dunes themselves would disappear.
好像此地从来不曾生存过什么千年古木，不曾堆聚过亿万颗砂砾。
It is as if there never had been a tree that had survived the hardships over thousands of years and fixed a large heap of sand.
听最近到过阿里的人讲，红柳林早已掘净烧光，连根须都烟消灰灭了。
I was told by someone who had recently been to Ali that the tamarisk trees are no longer to be found there, their stems, roots, leaves and everything of them have vanished in fire and smoke.
有时夜深，我会突然想起那些高原上的原住民，它们的魂魄，如今栖息在何处云端？
Sometimes in the depth of night the images of the aboriginal inhabitants of the highlands would pop into my head: where in the clouds are their spirits anchored now?
会想到那些曾经被固住的黄沙，是否已飘洒在世界各处？
I also think of the sand dunes once fixed firmly by the trees: have they been blown to all corners of the world?
从屋子顶上扬起的尘沙，通常会飞得十分遥远。
Indeed, the sand grains on our roofs can be carried far and wide on the wind. （李运兴 译）
美国编辑的基本常识
Ill-Informed US Newsmen
董鼎山
Dong Dingshan
《纽约时报》一位编辑日前来了电话，叫我将一篇文章中的“延安窑洞”（The Yanan caves）一词解释一下。
The other day, an editor of The New York Times called me to inquire about “the Yan’an caves”, a phrase he had come across in one of my articles.
这个电话立时引起我一阵感慨：美国编辑的年轻（及其对时事历史知识的简陋）反映了我自己的老年。
It struck me immediately, for the young American editor with his ignorance of current affairs and historical events was a reflection of my own old age.
我的文中所讨论的是市上一本新出版的埃德加•斯诺传记。
The article I had written was about a recently published biography of Edgar Snow.
我曾指出，斯诺的《西行漫记》在1938年出版时，曾驱动了无数理想主义的知识青年前往“延安窑洞朝圣”（Make pilgrimages to the Yanan caves），帮助了毛泽东革命的成功。
I pointed out therein that Snow’s Red Star over China, published in 1938, served to spur innumerable aspiring young Chinese intellectuals to make pilgrimages to the Yan’an caves, thus contributing to the success of the Chinese revolution.
那位青年编辑的不解此词用意，让我憾惜那份大报资深老编辑的逐一消逝。
The young American editor’s failure to understand the said phrase made me lament the fading out of elderly senior members on the editorial staff of the renowned newspaper.
美国新一代编辑对中国现代史的生疏并不是近年来的事。
That the new generation of American newsmen are unfamiliar with modern Chinese history is by no means something new.
十年之前，我替该报专论版（OP-ED page）写了一篇有关我初返祖国的经历。编辑打电话来问我文中“法租界”（French Concession）一词是什么意思。
Ten years ago, after I sent in an article for the OP-ED page of The New York Times recounting my first experiences of my first visit to my motherland, the editor phoned me to ask about the meaning of “the French Concession”.
我的解释不能说服他的犹疑。
My explanation, however, failed bring him round.
他说读者不会了解，为了安全起见，他要把“法租界”改成“法侨区”（French Quarter），
He said readers had difficulty understanding it and therefore suggested, for safety’s sake, “the French Quarter” as a substitute for “the French Confession”.
我勉强的同意。
I agreed, but with reluctance.
又有一次，该报书评周刊一篇讨论海伦•福斯特•斯诺的《我在中国的年头》的书评中把张学良称呼为“共党少帅”（The Communist Young Marshal）。
Another time, in the newspaper’s weekly book review, an article on Helen Foster Snow’s My China Years addressed Zhang Xueliang as “Communist Young Marshal”.
张学良怎是共产党？
How could he be a Communist?
我去信更正。他们把我的更正信发表。
So I wrote them to rectify the mistake and they had my letter published.
该报的认真态度是闻名世界的，但是编辑的缺乏常识是不是我们所可谅解？
The New York Times is world-famous for its conscientiousness, but a lack of general knowledge on the part of its editors is nevertheless unpardonable.
美国一般报刊当事者对中国情况（即使是现在，到处多的是“中国通”）的无知是相当普遍的，
Those in charge of the American press are often found ignorant of things in China although the country is said to abound in “China hands”.
例如他们常把中国人的姓氏名字前后倒置，
For instance, they often don’t know how to put Chinese surnames and given names in the right order.
至于电视新闻广播员更是缺乏时事修养，
TV news broadcasters are even more ill-informed about the current affairs.
不只一次，我听到他们把“中华人民共和国”与“中华民国”混为一谈。
I’ve more than once found them mix up “the People’s Republic of China” with “the Republic of China”.
当然，1949年以后出生的人现在也有四十岁了。
US editors born after 1949, the year when the People’s Republic of China was founded, are now in their forties.
有的则根本不能体会上海在解放前的情况。
Some of them have little knowledge of what Shanghai was like in China’s pre-liberation days.
有一个杂志编辑与我争论“外滩”一词的英文字。
One American editor got into a heated argument with me about the English equivalent of Waitan in Shanghai.
他不解我为何要用Bund（他说Bund对他而言，是战前美国一个仿德国纳粹团体的取名）。
He wondered why I should insist on using the word “Bund”, saying that as far as he knew, it referred exclusively to a pro-Nazi organization in the pre-war US.
殊不知英国经商者早已在印度殖民地用了这个字，后来用在上海的外滩，意谓“沿着江海的河堤”。
He didn’t know that the word, first used by British merchant in India during its colonial days to mean “an embarked road along a waterfront”, was later also used to refer to Waitan in Shanghai.
这位编辑终把Bund改为Waterfront，把我所要想形容的昔年上海繁华的外滩，一改而予人以冷落零乱印象的“码头”，完全失却了原意。
He finally choose “the Waterfront” in preference to “the Bund”, which was a misrepresentation giving the picture of a desolate and messy dock instead of the erstwhile thriving Shanghai Bund as I had intended to describe.
凡此种种，只不过表明新闻界也是后浪推前浪，老的退休，新的当家。
Evidently the young have replaced the old to play a leading role in the US press,
在此情形下，我们这些上了年纪的撰稿者好似失去了知音。
and ageing newspaper contributors like me seem to have lost, much to our regret, our understanding friends. （张培基 译）
“隐私”是个公德概念
“Privacy” Is a Sense of Public Morality
林巍
Lin Wei
“隐私”，作为一个相对现代的概念，应当说是改革开放若干年之后的事；在此之前，则是另外一个概念。
The concept of “privacy” in our society is something relatively modern – a term publicly talked about only since the recent Reform and Opening Up.
改革开放前，我们的社会受“极左”思想影响深重，那时任何沾“私”的事情都与“公”相对立，都是落后、不光彩、甚至是反动的；
Before this historical change, China was under the influence of ultra-left thought, where everything related to “self” was deemed as backward, shameful, even reactionary, since they might be in contradiction to public interest.
而“隐私”更是“见不得人”和“肮脏”的代名词。
Needless to say, “privacy” which was almost a synonym for shamefulness or dark soul.
然而，随着我国商品经济的进程及日益参与国际事务，人们逐渐发现，“隐私”其实是每个人所不可或缺的。
With the development of the commodity economy and China’s increasing engagement internationally, however, Chinese gradually realized that privacy is actually in everyone’s interest.
道理很简单，一个人——无论其职业、地位、身份、年龄等——在24小时的生活中，不可能时时刻刻都以同一种面目出现。若有人这样，要么他是个十足的伪君子，要么他就是不懂得如何担当自己不同的角色与责任。
Put simply, regardless of a person’s profession, position, status, identity or age, it is impossible for him or her to appear the same 24 hours a day unless a hypocrite or hiding failure to perform.
通俗来说，“隐私”是指那些与他人无关、或是不愿意让他人知道的私人信息。
Privacy is normally regarded as personal information that is unrelated to others, or that a person is unwilling to reveal.
这些信息可能涉及到宗教、信仰、爱好、性取向、私人活动等，而一旦透露，则会给本人带来歧视与难堪。
Information such as person’s religion, belief, hobbies, sexual orientation or personal activities may cause discrimination or embarrassment if they are unfavorably disclosed.
一个隐私没有安全感的社会，不是安宁的社会。
People may lack of a sense of safety in society where privacy cannot be properly protected.
二十年前，我移民国外，当时感受最深的一点，是对于他人私人空间的尊重。
One thing that impressed me most in a country where I emigrated twenty years ago was the personal space people left for others.
譬如，排队时在人与人之间留够了距离，不想在中国时“贴”得那么紧。
For example, when people are queuing up they keep a quite distance from one another, unlike the Chinese always jostling each other.
又如，对于他人的私人信息绝不打听，而中国人则视之为对于他人关心的细致入微。
Concern for others’ personal information is traditionally a way the Chinese care for others, but in a western country can be regarded as instructive.
一般公认的最基本的隐私信息，例如：政治信息、财务信息、医疗信息、家庭信息等等，
Essential personal information may include a personon’s political affiliation, financial status, medical conditions, family affairs and so on.
都应具有相应的保护措施，甚至是法律。
These ought to be appropriately protected, even by law.
只有具有相当道德的人，才会认同和尊重他人的隐私；而每人如此设身处地，自己的隐私才会得到尊重。
A moral person should recognize and respect others’ privacy, and deserve the same treatment.
这样的人达到一定的数量，才能形成气候和文化，那便是公德。
Social ethics and a healthy culture are thus formed when moral people are evident.
让每个人的隐私都得到认可和尊重，是构成社会安定、和谐的重要因素。
Respecting individuals’ privacy is an integral part of a stable and harmonious society.
可见，“隐私”绝不是一个简单的私人概念，而是一个社会文明程度的标志。
In a way, privacy shouldn’t be simply viewed as a personal concept at all; rather, it indicates how civilized a society is. （林巍 译）
生命需要等待
Life Resides in Waiting
詹克明
Zhan Keming
许多沙漠植物生命周期都很短促，他们能在下雨过后的短短几天内就完成一次生命全程。
Many desert plants have a very brief life cycle: they can run through the whole course of life in just a few days after rain.
听甘肃的一位先生说，戈壁上有一种植物，只要一场雨，它就立即抽芽，急速地生根、长叶、开花、结果，仅在八天里就能完成一株显花植物全部的生命周期。
As described by a friend from Gansu province, a certain flowering plant in the Gobi Desert, on the heels of a soaking rain, is able to sprout, take roots, grow leaves, blossom and bear fruit all within a lifespan of merely eight days.
此后，新一代的种子又会重新归于安静的等待。
Then seeds of the new generation will enter the same inactive, waiting phase of existence.
在这片一年也未必能下场透雨的戈壁滩上，也许等待了两年时间就是为了这历时八天的生命辉煌。
In the Gobi Desert, which seldom sees a single sufficient rain in a whole year, a plant may wait two years for only eight days’ glory of life.
对这些沙漠植物来说，也许等待反倒是生命的主要存在方式。
For these desert plants, contrary to common sense, waiting constitutes the main part of life.
生命必须包含等待，
All life involves a waiting phase.
甚至可以说，没有学会等待的生命就不具备生存的资格。
We can even go so far as to say that a living thing, without the ability to wait, is not qualified for existence in this world.
等的是一种充满生命活力的“零级动态”，
Waiting is “zero-level dynamism”.
如同一辆已发动了的汽车，它是处于“零速率”的动态，一松离合器就可启动。
Just consider: With its engine revving, a car, though still at zero-speed, will start to move when the clutch is released.
又像一座已达链式反应“临界”的核动力堆，它是处于“零功率”动态的核电站，一提控制棒就可以并网发电。
In the same vein, waiting can also be compared to a nuclear reactor at zero-power critical condition, which, upon the removal of the control rods, will begin to generate and send electricity to the grid system.
“等待”是一种积极的预备状态。
Waiting is thus a form of proactive preparation.
它时刻准备着，随时都在等待启动的信号。
The waiting ones are always prepared to start upon receiving the right signal.
等待者永远醒着。
In addition, the waiting ones are sober-minded.
生命的等待既需要一种安于寂寞的静守，又需要一种审时度势的清醒。
They know the waiting phase of life calls for ready acceptance of silence and solitude, as well as a cool head to size up the situation and act at the right moment.
这是一种伺机而发的等待，一种充满着生命张力的等待。
This waiting includes the potential for action and embodies the tensions of life.
可以有失去生命的种子，但决不会有睡过头、唤不醒的种子，也没有怠惰懒散、迷离惝恍的种子。
There may of course be dead seeds, but otherwise, no seeds will oversleep and refuse to wake up or stay idle and hesitate over whether to take action.
它们个个清醒，都对温度、湿度等重要环境因素常备不懈地保持高度警觉，时刻都在捕捉春天的信息。
They are highly alert to the changing temperature and humidity with a view to seizing the right chance.
更令人不解的是，萌发的种子凭着什么感觉器官，竟然能够知觉地球引力方向，
What is more surprising to us is that they even know the direction of gravity.
它会让先钻出来的胚根向“下”生长，而让随后长出的胚芽向“上”伸张。
By dint of a certain sense organ in them they let their young rots strike downward and their sprouts shoot upward.
它们有时还得惠于母本的高级知觉，
Some seeds receive even more care from their mother plants.
例如常春藤叶彩雀花，母体茎干会带着蒴果避开亮光，爬到更适宜种子发芽的阴湿墙角处爆开种子，
For instance, a species of toadflax boasts a sensitive mechanism which directs its stems to carry its capsules away from the light and release the seeds in places cool and moist, thus more congenial to germination.
它竟然能对子代出世体现出一种充满母爱的关怀。
Doesn’t this show a mother’s affection towards her offspring?
生命既要擅长发展又要学会等待，两者相辅相成，
A living being should be good at both growing and waiting, two phases of life which alternate and complement each other.
交替轮回，形成了生命特有的律动周期。
This is the cycle determined by Nature and characteristic of all lives.
次周期当来自于“天”。地球自转一周为“日”，平分昼夜；
The earth’s rotation makes a day, divided into light and dark.
而它绕日公转一周为“年”，
And when the earth has revolved around the sun once, we have a year.
仅仅由于一个23.5度的倾斜角形成的斜转方式，才使大地分出春夏秋冬四个季节。
Seasons are created only because the earth’s axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees.
可见地球生命的生长收藏都是按照“天”的周期来实施的。
So we can see the growth and dormancy of lives on earth are conditioned by the cycles of Nature.
生命体拥有发展与等待这两种生存状态正是一种“与天同步”的顺应天时之举。
The two states of existence of life, growing and waiting, are just the results of life’s adaptation to Nature’s rhythms.
对生命而言，等待永远是一支瞄向“发展”的满弓弦箭，
For all forms of life, the waiting phase can be seen as an arrow on a taut bowstring.
它时刻都在屏息静听，候望天命信号。
Aimed at growth, it silently waits for the right signal from Nature. （李运兴 译）
一句好话
Good Words
张晓风
Zhang Xiaofeng
小时候过年，大人总要我们说吉利话，
When I was a child, the elders took pains to teach me how to express good luck wishes for the Spring Festival.
但碌碌半生，竟有一天我也要教自己的孩子说吉祥话了，
Decades later, I find myself doing the exactly the same thing to my children.
才蓦然警觉这世间好话是真有的，令人思之不尽，但却不是“升官”、“发财”、“添丁”这一类的，
And I have come to realize that besides clichés such as “wish you a promotion at work”, “wish you to be rich”, or “wish you have more children”, there are other good words which give me much food for thought.
好话是什么呢？
What, then, are these words I have heard?
冬夜的晚上，从爆白果的馨香里，我有一句没一句的想起来了。
I often try to recall them on many a winter night, and they flash in my mind amidst the crackling of gingko seeds being roasted in a pan.
好咖啡总是放在热杯子里的！
“Good coffee is always to be found in hot cups.”
经过罗马的时候，一位新识不久的朋友执意要带我们去喝咖啡。
When I traveled through Rome, a new friend of mine insisted on giving me a treat on coffee.
“很好喝的，喝了一辈子难忘！”
“It’s good coffee. Makes one remember it the rest of his life!” he observed.
我们跟着他东抹西拐大街小巷的走，
We followed him through streets and lanes.
石块拼成的街道美丽繁复，走久了，会让人忘记目的地，竟以为自己是出来踩石块的。
Walking for a long time on the stone-paved streets, pleasant and labyrinthine, we almost forget where we were heading for, as if we have come out only to tread on the stones.
忽然，一阵咖啡浓香侵袭过来，不用主人指引，自然知道咖啡店到了。
Suddenly there came a waft of fragrant coffee, and, without the host’s telling us, we knew we were approaching our destination.
咖啡放在小白瓷杯里，
The coffee was poured in a thick white porcelain cup.
白瓷很厚，和中国人爱用的薄瓷相比另有一番稳重笃实的感觉。
Compared with the delicate chinaware the Chinese prefer, it looks sturdy and heavy.
店里的人都专心品咖啡，心无旁骛。
Everyone in the coffee house was focused on his coffee, totally oblivious of the surroundings.
侍者从一个特殊的保暖器里为我们拿出杯子，我捧在手里，忍不住讶道。
A waiter took some cups out of a heated container and gave one to each of us.
“咦，这杯子本身就是热的哩！”
I exclaimed: “How come the cup is hot!”
侍者转身，微微一躬，
The waiter turned around, bowing slightly.
说：“女士，好咖啡总是放在热杯子里的！”
“Madam, good coffee is always to be found in hot cups.”
他的表情既不兴奋也不骄矜，甚至连广告意味的夸大也没有，
He was neither excited nor conceited, nor being in a mode of exaggeration, as can be seen in advertising.
只是淡淡的在说一句天经地义的事而已。
He was simply stating a plain truth.
是的，好咖啡总是应该斟在热杯子里的，
Indeed, good coffee is always to be found in hot cups.
凉杯子会把咖啡带凉了，香气想来就会蚀掉一些，
A cold cup may cool off the coffee in it, thus reducing its taste.
其实好茶好酒不也如此吗？
The same is also true of warmed liquor and good tea.
原来连“物”也是如此自矜自重的，
I came to realize that even “things” have self-respect and tend to be reserved.
庄子中的好鸟择枝而栖，
The legendary good bird, according to Zhuangzi, chooses the right nest to rest on.
西洋故事里的宝剑深契石中，等待大英雄来抽拔，
In a comparable western context, the sword stuck in stone waits for a hero to draw it out.
都是一番万物的清贵，不肯轻易亵慢了自己。
Both stories show that “things” with integrity refuse to lower themselves to vulgarity.
古代的禅师每从喝茶喂粥去感悟众生，不知道罗马街头那端咖啡的侍者也有什么要告诉我的，
It is known that the Zen Buddhists try to enlighten the masses when giving them food and drinks, but I don’t know what that Roman waiter want to reveal to me.
我多愿自己也是一份千研万磨后的香醇，并且慎重的斟在一只洁白温暖的厚瓷杯里，带动一个美丽的清晨。
I wish I could become something fragrant the way coffee is after being roasted and grounded, and carefully poured into a hot white cup, thus making a morning delicious. （李运兴 译）
“压力山大”，幸福在哪里？
With Mounting Stress, Where Is Happiness?
袁浩
Yuan Hao
“‘压力山大’，幸福在哪里？”是当下网友们热议的话题。
A hot topic among netizens these days is: With mounting stress, where is happiness?
一项调查显示，在全球80个国家和地区的1.6万名职场人士中，认为压力高于去年者，中国内地人士占75%，列第一位。
A survey of 16,000 workers in 80 countries and regions has found that seventy-five percent of mainland Chinese workers experience more stress than in the previous year –which is the highest percentage among the regions polled.
许多人甚至形成了与压力“相依”的习惯，认为“有压力时觉得累，没压力时觉得可怕”。
Many have even become inextricably entangled with stress, leading to a perception that while stress wears you out, you’d feel dreadful without it.
很多人觉得生活的幸福指数远不及过着田园生活的农民，而导致这一切的原因就在于没有管理好“压力”二字。
It occurs to many of us that if measured on a happiness scale, today’s life is far less satisfying than a single agrarian lifestyle, and the culprit is no other than the failure at stress management.
压力源于何处？
Where does stress come from?
压力源于工作，源于金钱，源于房子、车子，源于结婚生子的使命，源于物价的飞涨，
It could be work-related, money-induced, compounded by the thirst to own or the burden of owning a home and a car, driven by the mission to get married and have offspring, and exacerbated by soaring consumer prices.
更源于高不成低不就的尴尬，源于恨铁不成钢的愤怒，源于凡事追求完美的奢求。
Moreover, it could stem from an uneasiness that belies our stubborn refusal to settle for less when our goal proves unrealistic, or from the exasperation at our kids’ failure to live up to expectations, or from our relentless pursuit of perfection that is taking us nowhere.
于是，我们每天都在高强度地工作，都要应付职场上复杂的人际关系，都要参悟为人之道、处事之理。
As a result, we find ourselves consumed by hectic schedules day in and day out, navigating gingerly the labyrinth of office politics, executing one balancing act after another in search of elusive solutions satisfactory to all.
内心时时充满压力的我们，
At no time are we free from stress.
就这样你追我赶、不甘落后，担心受穷、担心受伤，导致身心疲惫不堪，健康透支疾病上身。
Locked in a vicious circle of competition, we are in constant fear of being outpaced, out-earned, or outwitted, a fear that gives rise to chronicle fatigue, both physically and mentally, taking a toll on our health.
除了工作和生活上的压力，还有来自社会不公的压力。
In addition to workplace pressures and worries in life, another source of stress is social injustice,
有调查显示，超过40%的人认为，社会不公是给他们生活带来压力的最主要原因。
which over 40 percent of those polled in a survey regard as a primary contributor to stress.
人们感到生活压力不仅来自糟糕的感情问题、吃住条件差、同伴之间的攀比、赡养父母、人际关系不好，还来自各种各样无法言喻的苦衷。
As we all know, stress arises not only from soured relationships, poor living conditions, peer pressure, the obligation to care for aging parents, or lack of interpersonally harmony, but also from myriad dilemmas that inflict unspeakable misery on us.
比如，享受教育、劳动就业、参与竞争、发财致富、社会福利等等方面的不公，让我们感到沉重的压力，
Injustices such as inequality in education and employment, unfair competition, unequal business opportunities, and disparities in social welfare weigh heavily on our minds.
这种压力我们既无法排遣，更无力改变，只能忍气吞声，在隐忍中成为内心之痛、时代之殇。
Unable to escape from its clutch, much less alter its driving forces, we endure in silence this kind of stress, which has become a gnawing pain at heart and a malady of our time.
有人说，幸福就是一种感觉。这话没错。
Some say happiness is but a feeling, and nothing could be truer.
在农耕社会，风调雨顺、庄稼丰收是幸福的，再加上人丁兴盛、六畜兴旺则更是幸福的；
In a bygone agricultural society, favorable weather and bumper harvests would bring happiness to a whole community, and a feeling of being doubly blessed would prevail if there was also a baby boom accompanied by thriving livestock populations.
耕读传家之家族，有人金榜题名，整个家族的人是幸福的，荣耀地幸福着。
For a clan that valued farming and letters, all its members would be feeling on top of the world if one of them was successful in an imperial exam.
而在如今这物质主义泛滥的年代，每个人都在追逐着名和利，倘若突然一问：你幸福吗？
However, in today’s materialistic world where everyone seems to be in a hot pursuit of fame and wealth, people would be at a loss if asked “Are you happy?”
相信很多人都会回不过神来。因为，过多的压力已经销蚀了我们的幸福感。
Indeed, too much stress has eroded our sense of happiness.
无怪乎央视在《你幸福吗》栏目调查中，会有如务工人员一样“我姓曾”的回答，更有如莫言一样“我不知道”的回答——
No wonder when some migrant workers were asked if they were happy in a CCTV happiness survey, their answer was “I don’t know”, just like that of Mo Yan, a famed writer.
不管是务工人员，还是莫言，都有各自所面临的压力。
After all, migrant works and folks like Mo Yan are all experiencing stress, albeit in different ways.
不让压力销蚀我们的幸福感，一方面需要我们的政府努力营造公平正义的环境，不断健全保障体系，
To prevent stress from eroding our sense of happiness, the government for its part has to make constant efforts to build a fair and just social framework and a viable safety net for all,
提高个人抵御各类风险的能力，切实解决社会贫富差距过大的问题，防止出现公众集体焦虑心态。
so as to enhance the ability of individuals to withstand risks and shocks, and take effective measures to narrow the gap between rich and poor, so as to prevent the emergence of collective anxiety among the general public.
另一方面，也需要我们每个人都能努力改变看问题的角度，多从积极的方面认识问题，以积极的心态来考虑问题，
On the other hand, we as individuals should try to look at things from a different perspective, with less attitude and more gratitude.
及时舒缓不良情绪，建立健康的生活心态，平衡好“期望值”与“现实值”的关系，淡泊明志，回归理性，
It pays to free ourselves from the grips of grievances, and harness the power of positive thinking, always aiming for a right balance between expectations and reality, a departure from blind materialistic pursuit towards a more fulfilling self-reinvention, and a return to reason.
以更加平和的心态对待生活，如此，我们才能静心感悟幸福，才能真正拥有幸福。
Only by embracing more equanimity, can we be blessed with happiness, and truly feel blissful. （李运兴 译）
我差点被狼吃了！
My Narrow Escape from a Wolf’s Jaws
冰心
Bing Xin
《儿童时代》的编辑们叫我给小朋友写一篇《我的童年》。
The editors of the Childhood asked me to write for kids an article entitled My Childhood.
关于“童年”，我写过不止一篇了。现在不妨讲一段惊险的故事，给小朋友们听。
Since I have written more than once on the same subject, now I might as well tell you a thrilling story instead.
这大概是一九六〇年的事了，
It was probably in 1906.
那时我的父亲是烟台海军练营的营长，
My father was then in charge of a Yantai naval training camp.
我们的家就住在练营对面的一个职工家属的四合院里，
We lived just opposite in an old-style quadrangle for naval officers’ family members.
这个四合院是盖在从山坡上挖出来的一块平地上。
It stood on a piece of level land dug out of the mountain slope.
我总记得每天我母亲替我梳小辫的时候，我从后窗望去，外面是一堵高高的土墙，在每一个锄头挖过的凹孔里，都长着一小丛的蒲公英，
Every day, I remember, when mother was busy plaiting my hair, I would look out of the back window to set my eyes on a tall earthen wall and small clusters of dandelions growing out of the holes in the ground left by digging.
她是我一生中所结交的“花”的朋友中的第一个！
They were the first flowers I have ever been friends with in my life!
在我家后面的山坡上，有一座和海上兵舰通旗语的旗台，
On the slope behind our house was a platform for exchanging flag signals with warships at sea.
我父亲常常带着一块石板——就是我们小时候上学时用的做算术的那种石板——和一个带着两面彩旗的水兵，上旗台去跟海港里的军舰通话。
Often, armed with a slate – the kind of slate as used by schoolchildren for learning arithmetic, father would mount the platform to communicate with warships in harbor, together with a seaman carrying two coloured flags.
那时候的烟台东山，还是荒凉得很，时常有狼在夜里出来觅食。
Dongshan in Yantai was then a bleak and desolate place, often haunted by wolves at night hunting for food.
我们的厨师父常抱怨说：昨天夜里盖在大鸡笼下，上面还压着一块大石头的鸡笼，又被狼顶开，把小鸡吃了。
Our cook often complained about wolves eating up our chicks the previous night after pushing off the heavy stone on top of the big bamboo coop.
不如砌一个砖头的鸡舍好。
He suggested that a brick hen house be built to replace the bamboo coop.
我从来没看见过狼，也就没把这话往心里去。
I had never seen a wolf, so didn’t take his words too much to heart.
有一天傍晚，父亲又带一个打旗语的水兵，上旗台去了。水兵下来半天了，父亲还在台上，
One evening, father went up the platform again with a signal man, but he remained there long after the seaman came back.
我就跑上旗台去找父亲。
So I started running up to meet him.
夜色苍茫里，我听见身后仿佛有一只大狗在跟着我，
Then, in the midst of the deepening dusk, I became aware of something like a big dog following at my heels.
忽然听见父亲一声断喝：“你快上来！”
All of a sudden, father gave a loud shout, “Come on! Quick!”
我回头看时，只见一双亮得又凉得透骨的、灰蓝的眼睛，
I looked back and saw a pair of grayish blue eyes glittering piercingly.
同时旗台上砰地一声巨响，是石板摔在地上的碎声，
Meanwhile, there was a terrific bang as father’s slate was smashed to pieces on the ground.
那大狗似的，有一双可怕的灰蓝眼睛的东西，拖着一条长长的尾巴，转身就跑了。
The dog-like big beast, with its fearful grayish blue eyes, immediately turned to scurry away with its long tail between its legs.
这一切只发生在几秒钟的时间！
All that lasted but a few seconds!
我跑上了旗台，父亲把我紧紧地搂在怀里说：“刚才追在你后面的是一只狼！
Up on the platform, father hugged me closely in his arms and said, “It was a wolf that pursued you just now!
不是我砸了石板把它吓跑了，你早就让它吃了。
Had I not frightened it away by smashing the slate, it would have eaten you up.
以后在这么晚的时候千万不要自己一个人出来，听见没有？”
From now on, don’t come out by yourself after dark. Understand?”
那时我在父亲怀里只是嘻嘻地笑着，我想象不出被狼咬着吃了是什么感觉。
I giggled in his arms, not knowing what it was like to be eaten up by a wolf.
现在回想起来却有一种“后怕”。
Today, nevertheless, the small incident never fails to strike fear in me whenever I recall it. （张培基 译）
市场不是万能的
The Market Is Not Omnipotent
林巍
Lin Wei
三十多年前，我们开始改革开放时，突然认识到，市场是个好东西，认为以前之所以没搞好，根本原因就是没有尊重市场调节。
In the initial stage of reform some thirty years ago, we seemed to have a sudden realization of the benefits of the market,
现在好了，有了这个法宝，似乎一切便可迎刃而解了。
believing it was a recipe to clear up all flaws from a past that did not follow market forces.
的确，沿着这条路，中国的经济发生了天翻地覆的变化，取得了举世瞩目的成就。
Indeed, China’s economic reform has had tremendous achievements from the market economy, and has stunned the world.
但是，随之也出现了严重的问题。
However, serious problems have also occurred.
其根本原因，抛开其他因素，恰恰是我们太相信市场了。
The fundamental cause is, apart from anything else, precisely we have put too much trust in the market.
市场的核心是竞争，是调动个人积极性，是资源合理调配、优化组合，同时也是肉弱强食、铁面无情。
The core of market mechanism is competition, which motivates individuals to allocate resources rationally, optimize investment and so on, operating ruthlessly according to the law of the jungle.
市场会刺激生产、经营与创造，但同时也会带来两极分化、畸形结构、甚至是危机动荡。
The market can stimulate production, entrepreneurship and innovation, and at the same time polarize society, distort structures or even cause crises.
在这个意义上，市场具有多功能性（而并非万能性）。
In a sense, the market is indeed multifunctional, if not omnipotent.
事实证明，许多领域是不适宜完全引入市场机制的。
It has been proved that market forces are not applicable to every sector in our society,
例如：公众医疗部门、教育事业、公共交通系统、安居工程、某些科研项目等等。
including public health, education, public transportation, public housing, as well as some research projects.
引入了，便破坏了其性质，扭曲了其功能，最后以失败告终。
The law of the jungle, if imported to these areas, will distort their nature and functions and inevitably result in complete failure.
市场的确也会失败。
There is indeed such a thing as market failure.
所以，改革前的“一切不相信市场”和改革后的“一切相信市场”都是片面的。
Therefore, either no market at all or everything as market believed before or after the reform is only part of the truth.
一个健康的社会，不但需要市场这只“看不见的手”，同时更需要政府“看得见的手”。
In a healthy society, both the invisible hands of market forces and the visible role of government are needed.
关键的是在了解客观规律的基础上“该出手时就出手”。
The key question is how to let them function appropriately and effectively based on the objective laws. （林巍 译）
野鹿
Wild Deer
桓夫
Huan Fu
野鹿的肩膀印有不可磨灭的小痣 和其他许多许多肩膀一样
An indelible small mole marks the deer’s shoulder just like so any other shoulders before its eyes
眼前相思树的花蕾遍地黄黄 黄黄的黄昏逐渐接近了但那老顽固的夕阳想再灼灼反射一次峰峦的青春 但玉山的山脉仍是那么华丽俨然
all is yellow with acacia blossom the yellow dusk draws in but the evening sun still wants to reflect all ablaze the youth of the peaks and spurs and the ridge of Jade Mountain as always imposing and lovely
这已不是暂时的横卧脆弱的野鹿抬头仰望玉山 看看肩膀的小痣　小痣的创伤裂开一朵艳红的牡丹花了
this is no longer a temporary recline the frail wild deer lifts its head to look at Jade Mountain looks at the mole on its shoulder the mole’s wound has torn open a scarlet peony
血喷出来 以回忆的速度 让野鹿领略了一切 由于结局逐渐垂下的幔幕 猎人尖箭的威胁已淡薄
Blood spurts out at the speed of remembering letting the deer comprehend everything with the final curtain slowly dropping the threat of the hunter’s sharp arrows weakens
很快地 血色的晚霞布满了遥远的回忆 野鹿习性的谛念 品尝着死亡瞬前的静寂　而追想就是永恒那么一回事嘿 那阿眉族的祖先 曾经拥有七个太阳
Soon blood-red twilight fills far-distant memory the wild deer’s instincts savor the moment of calm before death and recollection is a business of eternity they the forefathers of the Ami tribe once had seven suns
你想想七个太阳怎不烧坏了黄褐皮肤的爱情谁都在叹息多余的权威贻害了欲望的丰收
just imagine: those seven suns were sure to scorch the love of tawny skins everyone sighed as superfluous authority blighted the rich harvest of desire
于是阿眉族的祖宗们曾经组队打猎去了呢 徒险涉水打猎太阳去了呢——血又喷出来
so the Ami patriarchs formed a band and went hunting hunting the suns up hill and down dale – again the blood spurts out
艳红而纯洁的扩大了的牡丹花——现在只存一个太阳
A pure and scarlet growing peony –
现在 许多意志 许多爱情 属于荒野的冷漠
now there is only one sun now so much ambition so much love belongs to the indifference of the wilderness
在冷漠的现实中 野鹿肩膀的血丝不断地痉挛着
in the indifferent reality the trickles of blood on the deer’s shoulder flow endlessly twitch endlessly
野鹿却未曾想过 咒骂的怨言 而创口逐渐丧失的疼痛 曾灼热的光线 放射无尽烦恼的盛衰 那些盛衰的故事已经遥远
but the deer has had no thought of cursing in complaint and the wound gradually stops hurting the shafts of light that once blazed hot shining on the endless tribulation of success and failure those stories of success and failure are distant now
野鹿横卧的岗上已是一片死寂和幽暗 美丽而广阔的林野是永远属于死了的
The knoll where the deer lies is deadly still and dark the vast and beautiful wildwood belongs forever to the dead
野鹿那么想 那么想着　那朦胧的瞳膜已映不着霸占山野的那些狰狞的面孔了 映不着伙伴们互争雌鹿的爱情了 哦！
the deer is thinking and thinking its misted-over cornea can no longer reflect those hideous faces that tyrannize the mountains nor its companions contending for the hind’s love
爱情 爱情在欢乐的疲惫之后昏昏睡去 睡……去……
oh! love after the exhaustion of ecstasy love drifts off to sleep to…sleep… （Jim Weldon and Michel Hockx 译）
躲年
Staying Away from the Chinese New Year
刘齐
Liu Qi
去年春节前夕，我随国内一个旅游团去埃及。
Last year, just before the Chinese New Year – the Spring Festival – I visited Egypt with a tourist group of more than 50 people.
旅游团五十多名成员，有骄傲之人，忧郁之人，天真之人，狡猾之人，俨然一个“小社会”了。
We were actually a small “society”, composed of different personality types: the self-important, the melancholy, the naïve and the crafty.
“小社会”游走他乡，连听带看，满脑子新鲜事，自然有无穷话题，但经常谈起的却是故国春节，
Travelling across the alien land, we saw and heard many new things, which gave us an infinite array of conversation topics, but stubbornly the Spring Festival still remained a talking point.
而且语多抱怨——
And we were full of complaints about it:
有什么呀？
“What’s good about it?
不就是吃喝拜年放鞭炮嘛。
It’s all about eating, guzzling, paying visits and setting off fire-crackers.”
吃喝没劲，鱼啊肉啊，啤的白的，过不过年都一样。
“It is no more than feasting: fish, meat, beer and liquor, which we have had enough of on ordinary days.
还不如恢复票证呢。
Better to go back to the time when foods were rationed.”
中国人报喜不报忧的毛病都是拜年拜出来的。
“When paying New Year visits, we only talk about the good news, as if the world is so nice.
七大姑八大姨的孩子呼呼往上冲，分浮财似的。
And that only boosts the unfortunate practice of covering up the bad news.”
现在这伙新新人类智商忒高，
“Kids nowadays are very smart creatures.
你给他压岁钱他不道谢，他先对着光看，看见暗藏的伟人头了，这才咕咚给你磕个头。
They surround you, grab the gift money, and won’t utter a ‘thank you’ until they hold the notes up against the light and make sure there’s a watermark.”
拎个果匣子看老丈母娘的年代一去不复返了……
“You can no longer please your mother-in-law with a fruit package in hand, that’s too trifling a gift for the occasion these days.”
抱怨完了又庆幸，这回好了，总算躲出来了。
After this spasm of grumbling, we turned to congratulate ourselves: “Now we’re free from the hustle and bustle of the Spring Festival.
眼不见，心不烦。
Out of sight, out of mind.
过去杨白劳躲地主，现在我们躲春节。
Like debtors trying to avoid their creditors, we’ve fled the Chinese festive tradition.
春节啊春节，白白了您哪，
Bye-bye, Spring Festival!
您再有能耐，还能追到埃及来？
I bet you can’t follow us all the way to Egypt.”
埃及的确是躲年的好地方，
Indeed, Egypt provides us with a safe haven where we Chinese could forget about the Spring Festival and find peace of mind.
金字塔光溜溜的，狮身人面像静悄悄的，一点“年气”看不出来。躲年的中国人无牵无挂，悠哉游哉。
The pyramids looked austere, the Sphinx stood in silence, nowhere could you sense a trace of the festive atmosphere at home.
有时一高兴，还踩着异邦鼓点跳舞，或者穿了阿拉伯袍子，跟当地老乡手挽手，照一张水乳交融、乐不思蜀的纪念像。
At the height of your enthusiasm, you could dance to the drumbeats of the alien land, or, changing into an Arabic robe, you could take a picture hand in hand with a native, as a souvenir of friendship as well as a proof that you’d left behind you all about your hometown.
但是，随着年关的临近，好像有谁在远方遥控，全团男女老少的情绪逐渐起了变化。
However, as the Spring Festival approached, and as if controlled by a remote hand, a hidden sentiment began to bubble up among the tourists, men and women, young or old.
年三十清晨，有人闷闷不乐，认为早餐难吃。
On the morning before the Festival some were found in low spirits, complaining about the unpalatable breakfast.
那天上午，参观萨拉丁古堡和阿里清真寺。
Later that morning we visited the Citadel of Saladin and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.
在这两个天下闻名的历史胜地，中国人步履匆匆，显得有些焦躁，有些心不在焉。
Both are world-renowned historic sites, yet the Chinese tourists hurried through them absent-mindedly, as if harassed by some remote concern.
参观完了，旅游大巴徐徐往回返。
Afterwards, we set out on our way back to the hotel. The bus drove slowly into the city of Cairo.
开罗城里楼是楼，树是树，一切如往日般正常。
The buildings and the trees looked every bit the same as usual.
忽然，车上有人大叫：“停车！”
“Stop here!” someone suddenly shouted.
大胡子司机一怔，赶紧刹闸。
Startled, the heavily bearded driver slammed on the brakes.
全体中国人蜂拥而下，三步并作两步，钻进一座建筑物。
The Chinese swarmed off and strode into a building.
街上熙来攘往的埃及人全愣了。
The pedestrians were dumbfounded.
黑衣巡警见状，迅速围拢过来。
The policemen in black uniforms closed in.
建筑物是电信局，算是要害部门，
The building was the telecommunication service center, vital to national security, as it were.
但中国人没干别的，只是争先恐后掏腰包，买一张薄薄的电话卡。
But the Chinese did nothing illegal but taking out money from their purses and paying for a small telephone card.
大厅里，一长排电话间随即爆满。
Instantly, the telephone booths in the hall were filled.
手脚慢些的，又涌到门外。门外有十多个电话亭，转眼功夫被中国人统统抢占。
The latecomers flocked out into the street, where some dozen telephone kiosks were soon taken up by Chinese callers.
埃及警民越发迷惑不解，这是怎么了？
The Egyptians were all the more confused: What has happened?
没听说世界上有什么大事啊？
Haven’t heard there’s any big event in the world!
谁说没有大事？
Who says there isn’t a big event?
你们这边才是中午，我们那边已经到了晚上，
Noon here is evening in China, and not an ordinary evening at that.
不是一般的晚上，是除夕夜！阖家团聚的时候。
This is New Year’s Eve on the Chinese calendar, a time for family reunion.
十几亿口子人一起吃年夜饭，
Just think of it, more than one billion people are having their New Year dinner at the same time!
不是世界大事是什么？
Isn’t this a world event?
电话一个个接通，喂喂声四起，拜年，祝福，
With lines connected one after another, there arose a series of hellos, happy New Years and blessings of the kind.
询问做了什么饭菜，
“What’s on the menu tonight?
放没放鞭炮，
Did you set off fireworks?
包没包饺子，
Are you making dumplings?
煤气足不足，
Does the gas stove work well?
天冷不冷……
Is it cold at home?”
她给我打电话没有？
“Did she call me?”
电视晚会快开始了吧？
“Has the New Year Gala begun?
谁当主持人？
Who are the anchors?”
外婆身体不好，
“Is granny well?
不一定看完。
Ask her not to sit up too late watching TV.”
爹要少喝酒，多吃菜。
“Ask dad not to drink too much, and to eat more vegetables.”
囡囡别淘气，
“Be nice, my child.
给你买好东西了。
I’ve bought you something nice.”
这边不行，
“It’s rather dull here.
连个春联都看不见……
Not even a single New Year decoration is in sight.” …
大家的话语噌噌往中国飞，没有一句是要紧话，也没有一句不是要紧话。
Words were thus being transmitted to China, none was urgent, yet each carried with its messages important to the dear ones.
那一刻，焦躁之人安稳了，狡猾之人诚恳了，忧郁之人欢乐了，欢乐之人更欢乐了。
At the moment of the year, the hot-tempered calmed down, the crafty became sincere, the melancholy cheered up and the happy ones were even happier.
全体躲年者喊叫着，喃喃着，一起向“年”迎上去。
The New Year dodgers, shouting or murmuring into phones, were now ironically caught up in ringing in the Chinese New Year.
天特别蓝，太阳特别亮，
The sky was azure blue, the sun shone brightly.
老天爷——分工负责中国的那个老天爷，他老人家一定在往埃及这边看。
God – or at least the one in charge of Chinese affairs – was surely focusing his gaze upon this part of the world. （李运兴 译）
家在途中
Home: A Changing Concept
白岩松
Bai Yansong
对于我来说，家的概念随着年龄的变化而不断变化。
To me, the concept of home changes continually along with my age.
在童年的时候，家是一声声呼唤。
In my childhood, home was a string of calls.
那时的我似乎比今日的孩子拥有更多的自由。
It seems that I was entitled to more freedom than today’s children.
放学后不会先在父母前露面，而是与住的相邻的同学聚在一起，
I didn’t have to show up in front of my parents right after school, instead I would go to play with my classmates who lived in the neighborhood.
天马行空，玩的天昏地暗，直到炊烟散去，听见父母“喂，回家了，吃饭了”的呼唤才回家，
We frolicked like mad until dinner was ready and our parents called “Come back! Come home for supper!”
这样的声音伴着我慢慢长大，日复一日，
Days passed by as I grew up in the company of those calls.
至今仍在我的耳旁回响。
Even now the ringing voices are still echoing in my ears.
一转眼，童年过去了，
In a wink, my childhood was gone.
当胡须慢慢从嘴角长出，家又成了一个想逃的地方。
When a thin layer of hair began to grow around the corners of my mouth, home became a place I tried to escape from.
书看多了，世界也变大了，
As I read more and more, my world opened up, presenting a broader picture before me.
一张床小了，父母的叮咛也显得多余了，
The bed I used to sleep in became too small, and words of care from my parents began to sound superfluous.
盼望着什么时候我能拥有自己的天空？
How I wished I could have a space of my own someday!
后来，穿上了绿色的军装，
Later I was enlisted into the army and put on the green uniform.
来到了部队，家又变成了一封封信笺，
During my service days, home was the series of letters I received one after another.
每次收到信后，是最想家的时候。
My most homesick moments were when I read those letters from my family.
走上了工作岗位之后，开始“受伤”，开始在人海中翻腾，开始知道，有些疼痛无法对人说，甚至知心的朋友。
When I got a job, I began to get “hurt”, to rise and fall in a sea of people, and to understand that you can’t share all your pains with other people, even with your best friends.
于是，重新开始想家。
So again, another wave of homesickness came over me.
当受了“重伤”时，幻想着飞到远方的家中，
When I was badly hurt, I imagined myself flying home on wings.
在推开家门的一瞬，让自己泪流满面。
Pushing open the door, I let tears flow down my face.
此刻，世界很大，而我所需要的，只是家中那种熟悉的味道，那窗前一成不变的风景……
At that moment I felt that as large as the world was, what I needed was only the familiar smell of home and the unchanged view outside the window of my old house…
远离母亲，在外省生存，工作之余便有无数个周末无处打发，
Struggling for mere existence in a place far from my mother, I was often at a loss what to do after work and on the weekend.
手中的电话本很厚，从头翻到尾，却没有一个号码是为我此时准备的。
Picking up a thick telephone book, I leafed through it from cover to cover but found not a single number I could call.
这个时候，家又变成了自己要和另外一个人建立的那一个新的小家。
At this time home appeared in my mind as a cozy nest I yearned to build with another person.
从相识、相恋到相拥，
From dating to engagement, we finally fell into each other’s arms and decided to step into marriage.
一个平凡的日子里，我拥有了一个平凡的小家。
Thus on an ordinary day we formed an ordinary family.
此时，家的概念又变了，
Then the concept of home changed again:
它是深夜回家时那盏为你点起的灯，是傍晚你看看书我看看电视偶尔交谈几句的那种宁静，是一桌胃口不好时也吃得下的饭菜，
it became the light left on for you when you return late at night; the peacefulness in which you occasionally exchange words, one reading a book, the other watching TV;
是得意忘形时可以呼朋唤友可以张口粗话的地方。
and a place where you can entertain friends and use foul langue when you feel elated.
不久前，我成了父亲，
Not long ago I became a father.
我和一个新的生命在家中相逢，一种奇妙的感受充斥着我的心，
When I greeted into my family the birth of a new life, an odd sensation welled up in my heart.
小生命开始让我“玩物丧志”，
The little creature obsessed me so much that though I tried to get rid of it I only found myself all the more indulging myself with it.
想挣脱却又那么愿意沉溺其中，一种用幸福来缚住你的力量。
That is a kind of force that binds you with a sense of happiness.
家的概念在不停地变换着，生命在这种变换中匆匆地走着。
The concept of home kept changing as my life hurried along.
众多的概念中，家有时也意味着一种悲伤。
Among the many definitions I gave to it, there is one which relates to grief.
比如当年父亲的辞世，便让我知道，世界对你的伤害加在一起有时也不如家中的变故给你的伤害大。
I remember, for instance, how my father’s early death led me to understand all the injuries inflicted by the world added together are sometimes less devastating than a single misfortune in your family.
然而在家中，你也会感受到一种坚强，
However, you may also feel a kind of strength in your family.
比如父亲过世后，柔弱的母亲开始变得坚强，
After my father’s death, my mother, who used to be quiet and gentle, became strong and indomitable.
她带着我们哥俩，一步一步地从变故中走出，
She led my brother and me out of our misery and we got back on our feet again.
之后，家又重新“站立”了起来，又变得祥和，变得不再阴云密布。
Tranquility came back to my home, where happiness reigned as before.
在这个过程中，家又像是一种生命力顽强的植物：野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。
In retrospect, I can compare home to an unyielding plant: it may be burnt down by wildfire, but it will sprout again when the spring breeze blows.
生命起步虽久，前路却还遥远。
Although I already have much life experience behind me, I know there is still a long way ahead and my concept of home will go on evolving.
家的概念还会变换，然而我已经知道，家是奔波的意义，
But already I have come to see that home is where we can find the true meaning of all the hectic rush of life.
只是这家有时是自己的，有时是芸芸众生的。
What makes the concept different is that sometimes it refers to an individual’s home and sometimes to the home of many, many people.
一尺深的热爱
One-Foot-Deep Passion
陈志宏
Chen Zhihong
一位朋友成为《读者》杂志的签约作家之后，好运接二连三，
A friend of mine met with good fortunes in quick succession after he was signed as a writer with The Readers, a highly popular magazine in China.
先是被省作家协会吸收为会员，
He was admitted, first of all, into the provincial Writers’ Association.
然后，从一名小出纳，摇身一变，成了文学院的教师。
And then, a cashier as he had been, he was offered a position to teach in an institute of literature.
那一年，他28岁，已有近六十万字见诸报刊。
That year he was only 28 years old, but had already published literary works of about 600,000 Chinese characters.
很多学生对他所取得的成绩极为欣赏，赞叹不已。
Many students were filled with admiration for his achievement.
不少文学爱好者向他求教：
Quite a few literature fans went to him for advice.
“老师，你的写作那么出名，一定有什么秘诀吧？”
“Sir, would you share with us your secret for writing so successfully?”
他向学生坦言：“两个字：热爱。”
He relied candidly, “Yes. Just one word – passion.”
学生进一步打探：“如果要达到你现在的水平，到底要热爱到什么程度？”
“Then, how much passion do we need if we want to write as well as you do?” they pressed him.
他回答说：“一尺深。”
“One foot deep,” answered my friend.
一尺深的热爱？
One-foot-deep passion?
同学们纷纷向他投去疑惑的目光。
A perplexed look appeared on their faces.
朋友带他的学生来到家里，从床底下搬出一捆纸，纸上密密麻麻写满了字，
My friend took them home and fetched out a bundle of used writing paper from under his bed: all the sheets were filled with small and closely-written characters.
那都是他从未发表过的废稿；足足有一尺厚。
Those were his rejected manuscripts, a good foot in thickness.
他告诉学生：“如果想在写作上有所建树，就要保持一尺深的热爱，
“If you want to achieve something in writing, you must maintain a passion that’s one foot deep.
也就是说，坚持写完一尺厚废稿。
In other words, you should keep on writing until your rejected manuscripts accumulate to one foot thick.
其间，不心急，不绝望，
During this period, you must not become impatient or sink into despair.
心中总有期待和热爱，对前途充满信心和希望。”
Only with expectation and passion can you have confidence and hope for the future,” he told his students.
学生们恍然大悟，这才知道，文满芳华，不是唾手可得，
Enlightened by his words, the students came to realize that success in writing is not something easy to come by.
而是非得下一番苦功夫不可。
On the contrary, it requires painstaking efforts.
他们激情满怀，个个跃跃欲试。
They looked enthusiastic and eager to have a try right away.
朋友接着说：“千万记住，热爱也只能是一尺深！
But my friend continued, “There is one thing you must bear in mind: The passion can only be one foot deep!
如果写了一尺厚的废稿之后，还停留在中学生的作文水平，那注定此路不通，
If after practicing countless times and your writing still remains at the level of a high school student, you might as well try something else, lest you get into a blind alley.
不如改事他行，省得文章误我，蹉跎岁月。”
Any further attempt will just mean a waste of your time and talent.”
其实，做任何事情都是这样，保持一尺深的热爱。
Indeed, whatever we do, we should do it with deep, persevering passion.
爱要深沉执著，但是，如果爱得辛苦无着，请及早抽身而退，趁青春，另寻出口。
However, if our exertion has proved to be fruitless, we should quit as soon as possible and try something different while we are young.
成败，就在转身之间。
Success may be at the corner just when we switch over to a new direction. （孟庆升 译）
痛苦也是财富
Suffering Is Also an Asset
林巍
Lin Wei
人生固然有欢乐，但也一定不乏痛苦。
There’s no rose without a thorn.
有了这种认识和思想准备也是非常必要的，因为这样会使你的生活增加欢乐而减少痛苦。
This thought is absolutely necessary to prepare you to experience less pain and more joy in your journey of life.
鸟瞰人生，可略有领悟。
With a bird’s-eye view, you may realize something meaningful.
上学时，有获得知识的乐趣，便有做功课、考试、排名次的危机与痛苦。
During your school years, while joyfully acquiring knowledge you are also under the pressure of homework, examinations, and ranking. You face crises and agony.
同样，也有同学间相处的融合与纠结。
Meanwhile, all sorts of intricate affairs may happen between you and your classmates.
青年时，春心萌动，幻想联翩，难以实现，亦难免陷入困扰。
In your youth, puberty may fill you with unrealized desires and send you into deeper perplexity.
结婚之后，实际进入了更多的矛盾之中；思想的落差、相处的困难、子女的教育、财务的争执等等，也会陷入婚姻危机。
Entering marriage, you are actually in the center of all the contradictions—the matching of different personalities, enduring of family members, children’s schooling, financial management and so on, you may also fall into marriage crisis.
随后，年龄愈大，健康愈差，事业、家庭中的许多潜在矛盾会日益突出，
As you age, your health may deteriorate and various troubles in your career and family may gradually emerge.
因而又会有中年危机和老年危机，直至步入死亡。
Mid-life and old-age crisis will follow, leading you to your eternity.
所以说，人生在世，如意的事不足一二，不如意的则十有八九。
We may therefore conclude that much of our life may not be spent in contentment.
但这“八九”不是负担，而是有用的，因为人在痛苦中所学到的，要比在欢乐中所学到的多得多。
However, the things that discontent are, in fact, not useless since you may learn more from them than from the things that cheered you up.
“自古欢愉酿糟糠，从来痛苦出杰作”。
As the saying goes, “It seems to be a perpetual rule that flops are produced elatedly and masterpieces painstakingly”.
对此，司马迁早在两千多年前便有精彩论述：“盖西伯拘而演《周易》；
To put it vividly, the great historian Sima Qian had a view even two thousand years ago: “When Emperor Wen of Zhou Dynasty was arrested, he produced the classic Zhou Yi Jing;
仲尼厄而作《春秋》；屈原放逐，乃赋《离骚》；
Confucius wrote the History of Spring and Autumn while he was experiencing adversity; Qu Yuan produced his monumental long poem, On Encountering Sorrow, during his exile.
左丘失明，厥有《国语》；孙子膑脚，《兵法》修列；
When Zuo Qiu lost his sight and Sun Zi had his feet chopped off, they edited their writings and stratagems.
不韦迁蜀，世传《吕览》；
After Lü Buwei was forced to live in Shu, the valuable The Book of Lü was fortunately handed down to posterity.
韩非囚秦，《说难》、《孤愤》；
Similarly, when Han Feizi was imprisoned in Qin, On Difficulty and On Resentment—two precious books—were written by him.
《诗》三百篇，大氐贤圣发愤只所为作也。
Three hundred Classic Poems were also produced in roughly the same way, where the writers’ hearts were smouldering in the doldrums with no way out:
此人皆有所郁结，不得通其道，故述往事，思来者”。
they therefore conveyed everything in words, narrating the past and contemplating the future”.
所以，让我们把人生每一阶段上的痛苦，都当做自己的宝贵财富吧。
Let’s treat all the sufferings at every stage of life as assets which can only do us good. （林巍 译）
谈抄袭
On Plagiarism
吴营洲
Wu Yingzhou
若是“抄袭”之作，无论你怎样改头换面，都会被看出来。
A literary or art work copied from others will be seen through no matter how skillfully it is disguised in a new form.
因为原作那个“魂儿”，你变不不了。
That’s because you cannot assume to have the “soul” of the original.
你以为你把它变成你的作品灵魂了，就是原创了。
You think you’ve changed it into the soul of your work.
可惜你不是。
But you can’t. It’s a pity that yours is not an original piece of work after all.
比如某些画作，
Take a painting for an example.
一看，就知道它的哪一笔是从哪来的，
Just a glance as it can give some idea of its source. One can easily detect how it is delineated.
哪个人物的哪个表情是从哪来的。
The source from which the figure’s facial expression if copied can also be traced.
有幅画，画了一位农民工，蹲在都市一隅，
The painting shows a migratory worker from farmland squatting at a corner of a city.
望着某一奢侈场所进进出出的人。
He looks at people coming into and going out of luxurious places.
那些人，或大肚便便，或婀娜妖冶，或春风满面，或踌躇满志，一个个都很生动。
Those people are depicted vividly, some big-bellied, some slender and coquettish, some radiant with joy and some full of pride and satisfaction.
那个农民工画得也很逼真。
That worker is also vividly delineated:
表情，眼神，衣着，姿势等等都很到位，真实地反映了“农民工”的生存状态。
his expression on his face and in his eyes, his clothing and his bodily attitude are all true to life—showing the real living status of such a worker.
那些建筑，都是他们一砖一瓦砌出来的，但装修完之后，
Those magnificent houses are products of workers like him. It was they who had built them brick by brick and tile by tile until the construction work is finished by final decoration.
他就再也没有机会进去了，更别提进去“享受”了。
That’s also time for him to go, he had no right to stay and enjoy the fruit of his labor.
就画作本身而言，立意和画技的确不错，但若授予某一级别的“创作奖”，似乎就不够格了，
The idea to portray such a scene is praiseworthy, and the painting is also skillfully produced, but it is not qualified for a prize of creation.
因为这幅画是“抄袭”之作。
The reason is very simple: it is a product of plagiarism.
外国曾经有位画家，画过一个马戏团的小丑，疲惫地蹲在剧场的一个角落里，望着散场离去的人。
A foreign painter had produced earlier a picture of a circus clown squatting wearily at a corner near the gate, looking at the audience leaving after the end of the show.
那些离去的人，没有一个在意这个刚刚还给他们带来过笑声的小丑。
They went away paying no attention at all to the clown who had caused them a lot of laughter.
这就是“抄袭”，不是“借鉴”。
So we see what plagiarism is, it’s not what we call “draw on the achievement of others”. （陈文伯 译）
说真伪
True or False
刘瑜
Liu Yu
鉴定真伪，
How to judge whether a thing is true or false?
标准有时不在于选择的那一刻是不是真诚，而在于他们在形成意见之前，讨论是否自由、观念是否多元、信息是否充分。
The criteria sometimes are not based on whether the selection at the moment is made sincerely but on whether the discussion is unrestricted before the decision is made, whether there are multiple ideas and adequate information.
如果美女A盛装在镁光灯下从观众面前惊艳地飘过，而美女B只能带着口罩站在舞台后方黑乎乎的角落里。
Take the beauty contest as an example. Suppose candidate A gorgeously dressed, walked over in a flashing magnesium light before the audience, but candidate B who had to stay in a dark corner appeared with her face covered by a gauze mask.
即使百分之百的观众百分之百真诚地选择了美女A为冠军，
Candidate A was elected champion by 100% audience with 100% sincerity.
那能说明什么呢？
What did it mean by all this?
说明那个镁光灯质量不错，以及那个口罩还挺严实。
It meant that the magnesium lamp was of a high quality and the gauze mask was indeed functional. （陈文伯 译）
日本人的吸收方式
The Japanese Way of Taking In
林巍
Lin Wei
“日本人见好就学”，而且以最简单和实用的方式，这是世人对日本人吸收外来文化和技术的基本态度和做法的评论。
The statement that “Japanese will copy everything suitable to them” in a simplified and practical way may signify a popular view of Japanese attitude towards foreign cultures and technologies.
看看日本的文字和汽车，便会一目了然了。
Japanese writing characters and cars illustrate well this approach.
日本的文字，由“汉字”、“平假名”、“片假名”组成，看上去是拼凑起来的，很不统一；日本的汽车，更是“八国联军”，各显其能。
The Japanese writing system borrows Kanji from Chinese, and creates Hiragana, Katakana characters of its own, with an inconsistent outlook; similarly Japanese cars are made of multinational ideas and advantages with appropriate modifications.
有一个历史故事：德国人第一次把汽车卖给日本人时，曾得意地说，不久日本人会发现我们的质量有多好，从而会大量订购的。
Here is a historical story: when Germen sold their first car to the Japanese, they were pretty much convinced that their partner would come back to them very soon with a bulk order based on the car’s high quality.
但在久等不来之后，发现日本人已“照猫画虎”，造出了更为新颖的汽车，根本不用订购了。
However, they were very disappointed to find out that the Japanese had replicated their car with a slightly improved model, and consequently they didn’t need any order anymore.
就地理位置而言，日本列岛是中国和朝鲜半岛的近邻，从未受到外来文化的侵略和征服，因而在吸取外来文化和科技时，具有很大自主性。
Geographically, Japan is located in between China and the Korean peninsula, a position immune from foreign invasion, capable of taking in foreign cultures and technologies with a high degree of autonomy.
中国文化对于日本文化固然有着巨大影响，但是日本吸收了中国的汉子、法律制度、儒教，却拒绝了不符合日本国情的宦官制度、科举制度及以儒教基本法则为准的“同姓不婚”制度。
The Japanese adopted Chinese writing, legal system and Confucianism, but left the eunuch system, the imperial examination system, and “same surname marriage prohibition” of Confucian doctrine, which were deemed to be contradictory to Japanese culture.
同样的，在吸收日本的佛教文化时，亦允许僧人娶妻、吃荤，形成了一种更为宽容的佛教文化。
Similarly, when embracing Buddhism, the Japanese made it more tolerant religion by allowing monks to marry and eat meat.
在家畜饲养方面，日本人也没有学习中国人的阉割牲畜的技术。
In breed livestock, Japanese didn’t learn the techniques of castration from the Chinese either.
对于西方的先进性技术，日本在模仿、改造的基础上，将其制造得更加精细和廉价。
Western advanced technologies, once imported to Japan, would all be copied and modified to make them finer and cheaper.
所以，日本人对于外部世界的吸收方式是值得借鉴的。
There is surely something to be learnt from the Japanese way of taking in things from the outside world. （林巍 译）
雪
Snow
鲁迅
Lu Xun
暖国的雨，向来没有变过冰冷的坚硬的灿烂的雪花。
The rain of the south has never congealed into icy, glittering snowflakes.
博识的人们觉得他单调，他自己也以为不幸否耶？
Men who have seen the world consider this humdrum; does the rain, too, think it unfortunate?
江南的雪，可是滋润美艳之至了；那是还在隐约着的青春的消息，是极壮健的处子的皮肤。
The snow south of the Yangtze is extremely moist and pretty, like the first indefinable intimation of spring, or the bloom of a young girl radiant with health.
雪野中有血红的宝珠山茶，白中隐青的单瓣梅花，深黄的磬口的蜡梅花；雪下面还有冷绿的杂草。
In the snowy wilderness are blood-red camellias, pale, white plum blossom tinged with green, and the golden, bell-shaped flowers of the winter plum; while beneath the snow lurk cold green weeds.
胡蝶确乎没有；蜜蜂是否来采山茶花和梅花的蜜，我可记不真切了。
Butterflies there are certainly none, and whether or no bees come to gather honey from the camellias and plum blossom I cannot clearly remember.
但我的眼前仿佛看见冬花开在雪野中，有许多蜜蜂们忙碌地飞着，也听得他们嗡嗡地闹着。
But before my eyes I can see the wintry flowers in the snowy wilderness, with bees flying busily to and fro—I can hear their humming and droning.
孩子们呵着冻得通红，像紫芽姜一般的小手，七八个一齐来塑雪罗汉。
Seven or eight children, who have gathered to build a snow Buddha, are breathing on their little red fingers, frozen like crimson shoots of ginger.
因为不成功，谁的父亲也来帮忙了。
When they are not successful, somebody’s father comes to help.
罗汉就塑得比孩子们高得多，虽然不过是上小下大的一堆，终于分不清是壶卢还是罗汉；然而很洁白，很明艳，
The Buddha is higher than the children; and though it is only a pear-shaped mass which might be a gourd or might be a Buddha, it is beautifully white and dazzling.
以自身的滋润相粘结，整个地闪闪地生光。
Held together by its own moisture, the whole figure glitters and sparkles.
孩子们用龙眼核给他做眼珠，又从谁的母亲的脂粉奁中偷得胭脂来涂在嘴唇上。
The children use fruit stones for its eyes, and steal rouge from some mother’s vanity-case for its lips.
这回确是一个大阿罗汉了。
So now it is really a respectable Buddha.
他也就目光灼灼地嘴唇通红地坐在雪地里。
With gleaming eyes and scarlet lips, it sits on the snowy ground.
第二天还有几个孩子来访问他；
Some children come to visit it the next day.
对了他拍手，点头，嘻笑。
Clapping their hands before it, they nod their heads and laugh.
但他终于独自坐着了。
The Buddha just sits there alone.
晴天又来消释他的皮肤，寒夜又使他结一层冰，化作不透明的水晶模样；
A fine day melts its skin, but a cold night gives it another coat of ice, till it looks like opaque crystal.
连续的晴天又使他成为不知道算什么，而嘴上的胭脂也褪尽了。
Then a series of fine days makes it unrecognizable, and the rouge on its lips disappears.
但是，朔方的雪花在纷飞之后，却永远如粉，如沙，他们决不粘连，撒在屋上，地上，枯草上，就是这样。
But the snowflakes that fall in the north remain to the last like powder or sand never hold together, whether scattered on roofs, the ground or the withered grass.
屋上的雪是早已就有消化了的，因为屋里居人的火的温热。
The warmth from the stoves inside has melted some of the snow on the roofs.
别的，在晴天之下，旋风忽来，便蓬勃地奋飞，在日光中灿灿地生光，如包藏火焰的大雾，旋转而且升腾，弥漫太空；使太空旋转而且升腾地闪烁。
As for the rest, when a whirlwind springs up under a clear sky, it flies up wildly, glittering in the sunlight like thick mist around a flame, revolving and rising till it fills the sky, and the whole sky glitters as it whirls and rises.
在无边的旷野上，在凛冽的天宇下，闪闪地旋转升腾着的是雨的精魂……
On the boundless, under heaven’s chilly vault, this glittering, spiraling wraith is the ghost of rain.
是的，那是孤独的雪，是死掉的雨，是雨的精魂。
Yes, it is lonely snow, dead rain, the ghost of rain.
一九二五年一月十八日。
January 18, 1925 （杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）
雪
Snow
鲁迅
Lu Xun
暖国的雨，向来没有变过冰冷的坚硬的灿烂的雪花。
Rains in the warm areas never turn into cold, hard and crystal-clear snowflakes.
博识的人们觉得他单调，他自己也以为不幸否耶？
Scholars think the rains dull, and the rains consider themselves unfortunate.
江南的雪，可是滋润美艳之至了；那是还在隐约着的青春的消息，是极壮健的处子的皮肤。
The snow in Jiangnan, however, is a pleasing sight, extremely beautiful, carrying the message of spring, looking like the fine skin of a healthy young girl.
雪野中有血红的宝珠山茶，白中隐青的单瓣梅花，深黄的磬口的蜡梅花；
In the snow-covered fields there are scarlet Baozhu Camellias and dark yellow Qingkou wintersweet flowers.
雪下面还有冷绿的杂草。
Under the snow there are all kinds of grasses, cold and green.
胡蝶确乎没有；
There are no butterflies, as it seems.
蜜蜂是否来采山茶花和梅花的蜜，我可记不真切了。
I can’t remember if there are bees that come to gather pollens from the camellias and wintersweet flowers.
但我的眼前仿佛看见冬花开在雪野中，有许多蜜蜂们忙碌地飞着，也听得他们嗡嗡地闹着。
But in my imagination I can see winter flowers are blooming everywhere in the snow-covered fields, and a lot of bees are busy there, flying and buzzing.
孩子们呵着冻得通红，像紫芽姜一般的小手，七八个一齐来塑雪罗汉。
In my memory there were seven or eight children busy building a snowman once, while breathing hot breath on their hands which were red with cold, looking like purple gingers.
因为不成功，谁的父亲也来帮忙了。
Their fathers came to help when they failed.
罗汉就塑得比孩子们高得多，虽然不过是上小下大的一堆，终于分不清是壶卢还是罗汉；然而很洁白，很明艳，以自身的滋润相粘结，整个地闪闪地生光。
The snowman had been built, though it didn’t look like a man, much taller than the children, white and bright. It took the shape a gourd, a pile of shinning snow grains stuck together, small in the upper part, big in the lower part.
孩子们用龙眼核给他做眼珠，又从谁的母亲的脂粉奁中偷得胭脂来涂在嘴唇上。
Two longan kernels were put there as his eyes, someone stole rouge from his mother’s cosmetics box and smeared the snowman’s lips.
这回确是一个大阿罗汉了。他也就目光灼灼地嘴唇通红地坐在雪地里。
Now it looked like a real man, giant in size, sitting there is snow with sparkling eyes and red lips.
第二天还有几个孩子来访问他；对了他拍手，点头，嘻笑。
The next day some children came to visit him, clapping hands to him, nodding, and laughing.
但他终于独自坐着了。
But then he was alone again.
晴天又来消释他的皮肤，寒夜又使他结一层冰，化作不透明的水晶模样；
Sunny days thawed his skin, cold nights froze him and coated him with ice, making him crystal-like.
连续的晴天又使他成为不知道算什么，而嘴上的胭脂也褪尽了。
A few successive fine days made him neither fish nor fowl, and the rouge on his lips disappeared.
但是，朔方的雪花在纷飞之后，
But in the north the snows are not of the glutinous type.
却永远如粉，如沙，他们决不粘连，撒在屋上，地上，枯草上，就是这样。
Like powders or sands, they fall on house roofs, in fields and on dry grasses.
屋上的雪是早已就有消化了的，因为屋里居人的火的温热。
The snow on the roofs melts quickly as there are hot fires in the houses.
别的，在晴天之下，旋风忽来，便蓬勃地奋飞，在日光中灿灿地生光，如包藏火焰的大雾，旋转而且升腾，弥漫太空；使太空旋转而且升腾地闪烁。
But the snow elsewhere will fly in the air under the sun when whirlwind blows, shining brightly, looking like a fog containing flames, swirling and rising, filling the air, even making the sky revolve in brightness.
在无边的旷野上，在凛冽的天宇下，闪闪地旋转升腾着的是雨的精魂……
There in the boundless fields under the cold sky revolving and rising are the spirits of rains…
是的，那是孤独的雪，是死掉的雨，是雨的精魂。
the lonely snows are actually the spirits of rains.
一九二五年一月十八日。
（方华文 译）
“孩奴”，一个被庸常算计裹挟的流行词
Behind the Vogue Term “Child’s Slave”
张伟
Zhang Wei
如果我们承认流行词汇是风向标，那么，正被许多人挂在嘴边的“孩奴”，代表着一种令人忧虑的倾向。
If vogue words are weathercock of society, the much-mouthed term “child’s slave” is indicative of a disquieting tendency:
它说明，我国的整整一代人都开始为要不要为人父母而犹豫不决。
a whole generation of our country is hesitant about whether to become parents or not.
它甚至能说明，在一个长久以来将亲子之情视作基石的社会里，生儿育女头一次在大范围内被认为是一种负担而不是一种幸福。
The implication is: For the first time ever, parenting is regarded on a large scale as a heavy burden rather than a blessing in our society where parent-child love has long been valued as its cornerstone.
这可不是个好消息。
That is by no means blessing.
关于“孩奴”的讨论已经开始占据报纸和网站的显要位置，
Arguments are making newspaper headlines and dominating websites.
“生孩子要理性”的专家观点颇带暗示意味地传播，“养个孩子要一百万万”的恐慌悄悄蔓延。
Consequently, the experts’ view hinting that “One should not rush into parenthood” is spreading widely; and the panic that “The expense of bringing up a child amounts to one million yuan” is creeping into people’s hearts.
据说，在很多家庭的饭桌上，要不要生孩子，已经是一个不可回避的严肃话题。
Thus, parenting has become an unavoidable serious topic over dinner of many families, as it is said.
我们承认，单个家庭在生育问题上无论作何选择，都应受到尊重。
We admit that any choice concerning childbearing made by individual families should be respected.
但当这种选择表现出一种整体的方向性并开始传染时，就不得不严肃对待。
However, once the choice is channeled into one orientation that is getting contagious, we can’t take it lightly.
我们也承认，养育孩子的成本正在变得高昂，但这却不足以成为将孩子视作负担的理由。
We admit at the same time that the cost of rearing a child is skyrocketing, which, however, cannot justify the opinion that regards children as a burden.
生活成本，尤其是城市生活的成本，让许多人感到压力太重。
The cost of living, especially in cities, is becoming a pressure too heavy to bear for many people.
这是我们正面临的现实，
This is the reality we have to face up to.
它部分是我们为文明发展付出的代价，部分则是我们社会结构失衡的恶性后果。
The high cost of living is, in part, the price we have to pay for the development of civilization, and in part, the undesirable consequence of the imbalance of our social structure.
将“孩奴”一词挂在嘴边的这代人，许多刚独立挑起生活重担。
Many of the generation for whom “child’s slave” has become a pet phrase have just begun to be on their own feet.
他们面临一个正被贫富分化、心态失衡等因素慢慢撕裂的社会，并在对美好生活的期望与现实的落差间挣扎。
What confronts them is a society torn by the widening gap between the rich and the poor and imbalanced mentality of the people, in which they are struggling in the discrepancy between their great expectations of a happy life and the harsh reality.
他们习惯性地将这一切主要归因于外部不公，充满牢骚和抱怨。
They habitually attribute all this to the unfairness of society, thus complaining and grumbling all the time.
看起来，这些压力无可避免地感染到他们对于生儿育女的评判。
Such pressure surely affects the way they view parenting.
这种压力是现实存在的：在北京街头，在上海街头，或者在广州街头，随便拉住一位劳碌的为人父母者，你都会发现，孩子是他（她）奋斗的动力，也是他（她）焦虑的根源。
The existence of this pressure is reality: Anyone who happens to be a busy parent you stop in the street of Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou will tell you that the child is the very motivation that drives them to work hard but it is also the cause of their anxiety.
然而当一对夫妇忙于用奶粉、尿布和学费的价格来衡量生育的价格，并将为承担这种价格的奋斗视为“奴役”时，我们可以确定，一定是哪里出了问题。
However, when a couple hurries to judge the value of childbearing with the sum expense of milk powder, diapers and tuition, and regards their struggle to bear such expenses as being “enslaved”, we are sure that something must be wrong.
养育后代从来不只是一个经济命题。
Rearing a family is more than an economic issue.
它包含亲情之美、伦理之常。
It embraces the beauty of family affection and convention of ethics.
它的利弊，不应该只通过计算器上敲出的数字来评判。
Its merits and demerits cannot be merely judged by the figure shown in the calculator when you have keyed in all the expenses.
亲子之爱、天伦之乐，不仅是我们社会长久以来珍惜保存的传统价值，也是深藏于人性深处不可回避的永恒主题。
Parent-child love or domestic bliss embraces not only a time-honored tradition highly valued by our society, but also an eternal them lying deep in human nature that cannot be avoided.
个体会因种种原因作不同选择，但这种根植于文化和人性本身的传统，并不应该被冷冰冰的成本核算所否定。
The tradition deep-rooted in the Chinese culture and human nature should not be negated by the indifferent estimation of cost, although an individual may decide for or against parenting for various reasons.
在“孩奴”这一词汇流行的背后，我们感受到一种危险。我们担心，被过分强调的集体抱怨，会演化成无法控制的强大潮流，损害我们珍视的亲情传统，从而裹挟许多人的思考，并伤害我们传统的生育观念和家庭观念。
What worries us is, behind the popularity of the term of “child’s slave”, the exaggerated collective complaint may build up into a torrential trend that might shape many people’s independent thinking to the detriment of our treasured family love and of our traditional notion concerning rearing a family.
将生儿育女视为劳役，并与买房、买车相提并论的观念，是草率而不负责任的。
It is rash and irresponsible to view parenting as enslavement and mention it in the same breath as the purchase of one’s own flat or private car.
它是对世界的消极逃避而不是积极面对。
This view reveals a passive escapement from rather than an active face-to-face encounter with the world.
而急匆匆地将这种观点加以传播，并津津乐道，则是一种鲁莽的冒险。
It is a reckless risk to propagandize and enthuse over it.
作为理性的经济人，我们也应该承认，精确地计算养育孩子所可能的花费，并据此规划自己的人生节奏，是明智的行为。
We must also admit that it is sensible for any rational “economist” to accurately calculate the possible expense of rearing a family and coordinate one’s tempo of life accordingly.
但是，这种明智绝不是抱怨这种花费之巨大，并借此发泄自己对于生活成本高昂的不满。
However, the sensibility doesn’t lie in complaining about the enormous expenses and venting one’s discontent with the high cost of living.
要知道，在历史上，即使是最艰难最贫穷的时刻，人类也不曾放弃对于子女的抚育和爱护。
After all, even in the hardest and poorest times in history, mankind never shunned its responsibility of raising and caring for its offspring.
“孩奴”这个称呼，叫我们心存不安。
The term “child’s slave” inflicts us with disturbance,
这种不安，源于我们对民生艰难的体味——如果面对抚育后代这样基本的选择，社会成员也被迫精打细算而犹豫不决，这说明这种艰难已经到了某种必须正视的程度。
which roots from the hard livelihood of the people—if members of a society are forced to calculate meticulously and hesitate when confronting such a basic choice as raising offspring, it means the hard livelihood must be taken up in real seriousness.
这种不安，也因这类流行词汇背后所揭示的传统价值的脆弱而起——凭借那些价值，我们才得以将社会共同体延续至今。
Such a disturbance also hints at the vulnerability of our traditional values, through which our social community maintains to exist till today.
我们希望那些恐惧成为“孩奴”的人，静下心来进行一次深思熟虑，而不是急于跟从一个符号，放任自己随波逐流。
We sincerely hope those who are in fear of becoming “child’s slaves” will calm down to think carefully instead of allowing themselves to follow a code and drift along with the tide.
我们希望对“孩奴”的恐惧早日平息，
We also hope that the fear of becoming “child’s slaves” will be allayed as soon as possible.
这既需要靠整个社会系统尽快地良性化发展，也需要已为人父母或将为人父母者，以更良性的心态，体会生育和养育后代的美妙。
This requires the whole social system develop in a fine way and all parents and would-be parents regard the bliss of childbearing and rearing with a more positive and healthier attitude. （王昌玲 译，陈德彰 改）
雪天
A Snowy Day
萧红
Xiao Hong
我直直是睡了一个整天，这使我不能再睡。
For the whole day I had been sleeping.
小屋子渐渐从灰色变做黑色。
I woke up at the time when the night curtain had gradually fell onto this little room of ours, when I could sleep no more.
睡得背很痛，肩也很痛，并且也俄了。
I had been lying for so long a time that my back was painful, and my shoulders, too, were aching sharply, my stomach empty.
我下床开了灯，在床沿坐了坐，到椅子上坐了坐，
Getting off the bed and turning on the light, I sat on the bedside and in the chair respectively for a little while,
扒一扒头发，揉擦两下眼睛，心中感到幽长和无底，好像把我放下一个煤洞去，并且没有灯笼，使我一个人走沉下去。
then gave the hair a scratch and the eyes a rub, feeling empty and helpless in heart as if thrown into a dark coal mine without a lantern, while I myself was sinking slowly, into the bottomless darkness.
屋子虽然小，在我觉得和一个荒凉的广场样，屋子墙壁离我比天还远，
Although the room in reality was quite small, yet to me it well equaled a lonely square, with its walls as distant from me as the high sky.
那是说一切不和我发生关系；那是说我的肚子太空了！
I said so as neither the room nor its walls could help a little while my stomach was totally empty!
一切街车街声在小窗外闹着。可是三层楼的过道非常寂静。
All the noises of the street were shut outside of the window, thus the passage here on the third floor was unusually quiet.
每走过一个人，我留意他的脚步声，
Whenever a person walked by, I could hear clearly his or her footsteps.
那是非常响亮的，硬底皮鞋踏过去，女人的高跟鞋更响亮而且焦急，
That was the remarkable sound of the hard-soled leather shoes, or that of women’s high-heels with more loudness and somewhat haste.
有时成群的响声，男男女女穿插着过了一阵。
And sometimes it was a succession of sounds by a collection of men and women.
我听遍了过道上一切引诱我的声音，可是不用开门看，我知道郎华还没回来。
I had all the inviting sounds in the passage enjoyed through, but without opening the door to have a check I could conclude that none of them belonged to my Lang Hua.
小窗那样高，囚犯住的屋子一般，
The window was pretty high, very much like that of a prisoner’s cage.
我仰起头来，看见那一些纷飞的雪花从天空忙乱地跌落，
I raised up my head, only to see a riot of downy flakes of snow heading towards the earth hastily.
有的也打在玻璃窗片上，即刻就消融了，变成水珠滚动爬行着，玻璃窗被它画成没有意义、无组织的条纹。
Some falling on the windowpane thawed quickly, turned into water drops and rolled down the glass, leaving behind a mess of meaningless and irregular lines.
我想：
It put me into reverie.
雪花为什么要翩飞呢？
I asked myself: why would the snowflakes keep whirling and dancing without a rest?
多么没有意义！
Was there any meaning in it?
忽然我又想：
Then somehow I thought of myself.
我不也是和雪花一般没有意义吗？
Wasn’t I the very symbol of those meaningless snowflakes?
坐在椅子里，两手空着，什么也不做；口张着，可是什么也不吃。
Sitting in the chair, with a pair of hands empty yet doing nothing, and a mouth lying open yet taking nothing,
我十分和一架完全停止了的机器相像。
I was very much like a discarded machine that had completely stopped working.
过道一响，我的心就非常跳，
A dim yet seemingly familiar sound from the passage put my heart into anxiety.
那该不是郎华的脚步？
Wasn’t that the sound of my Lang Hua’s footsteps?
一种穿软底鞋的声音，嚓嚓来近门口，我仿佛是跳起来，我心害怕：
As the rustling sound of the rubber-sled shoes approached, I almost jumped up, wondering with worry:
他冻得可怜了吧？他没有带回面包来吧？
Was he shivering with cold, and after all, had he earned the bread back home?
开门看时，茶房站在那里：
I opened the door, only to find a hotel attendant standing there.
“包夜饭吗？”
“Would you like to order supper?”
“多少钱？”
“What’s the price?”
“每份6角。包月15元。”
“Zero point six yuan per share, and 15 yuan for a month.”
“……”我一点都不迟疑地摇着头，怕是他把饭送进来强迫我吃似的，怕他强迫向我要钱似的。
Without any hesitation I had my head shaken repeatedly and resolutely, as if dreading that he would throw the meal to me and force me to take it, that he would then ask me for money.
茶房走出，门又严肃地关起来。
Sending the attendant away, I had the door closed tightly again.
一切别的房中的笑声，饭菜的香气都断绝了，
The happy laughter next door plus the inviting smells of the meals all together were shut outside.
就这样用一道门，我与人间隔离着。
The very door isolated me from the world.
一直到郎华回来，他的胶皮底鞋擦在门槛，我才止住幻想。茶房手上的托盘，盛着肉饼、炸黄的蕃薯、切成大片有弹力的面包……
It was not until Lang Gua came back, his rubber-soled shoes stepping on the threshold, that my mind was pushed back from that tray of the attendant’s, with meat pies, golden potato chips and big, soft chunks of bread…
郎华的夹衣上那样湿了，已湿的裤管拖着泥。
His jacket was drenched all over with melted snow, and his trouser legs, too, were wet with mud.
鞋底通了孔，使得袜也湿了。
His soles got holes, thus having his socks soaked as well.
他上床暖一暖，脚伸在被子外面，我给他用一张破布擦着脚上冰凉的黑圈。
He went into the quilt to get some warmth, his dirty and icy feet placed outside, while I was cleaning the mud on them with a rag.
当他问我时，他和呆人一般，直直的腰也不弯：“饿了吧？”
Then, like a puppet unable to bend his body, he inquired without affection, “You are hungry, right?”
我几乎是哭了。我说：“不饿。”
I almost burst into tears, yet only replied a “No”.
为了低头，我的脸几乎接触到他冰凉的脚掌。
Then to droop and hide the tears, I had my back so badly bent that my face nearly touched his cold feet.
他的衣服完全湿透，所以我到马路旁去买馒头。
Since all his clothes were completely wet, I had to cross the road and buy the steamed bread myself.
就在光身的木桌上，刷牙缸冒着气，刷牙缸伴着我们把馒头吃完。
Then with the help of a tooth mug standing on the naked table and the steaming water in it, we finished this meal.
馒头既然吃完，桌上的铜板也要被吃掉似的。
Now that the steamed bread had been up, both of our eyes were shifted to the copper coins on the table, only they were inedible.
他问我：“够不够？”
Then Lang Hua opened his mouth, “Are you enough?”
我说：“够了。”我问他：“够不够？”
“Yeah,” I said, and asked him, “What about you?”
他也说：“够了。”
“Me, too,” he replied.
隔壁的手风琴唱起来，
The accordion next door began to sing.
它唱的是生活的痛苦吗？
Was it the hardship of living that it was singing?
手风琴凄凄凉凉地唱呀！
If not, why was its voice so sad and somber then?
登上桌子，把小窗打开。
Mounting the table, Lang Hua had the small window opened.
这小窗是通过人间的孔道：楼顶，烟囱，飞着雪沉重而浓黑的天空，路灯，警察，街车，小贩，乞丐，
It was the only medium that linked us with the world, where we saw roofs of buildings, chimneys, the heavy and dark sky floating with snowflakes, and streetlights, policemen, buses, hawkers as well as beggars;
一切显现在这小孔道，繁繁忙忙的市街发着响。
all these things revealed themselves in the small opening, to the accompaniment of the din of the busy streets.
隔壁的手风琴在我们耳里不存在了。
Thus the singing of the accordion next door got drowned and disappeared in our ears. （李珍 译）
日本人的“送礼”
The Japanese Way of Gift-Presenting
林巍
Lin Wei
日本人特别爱送礼，从生育、生日、结婚、探病、搬家、过节等等，几乎从未间断。
The Japanese love presenting gifts on various occasions, such as child bearing, birthday, marriage, visiting a patient, moving, festivals…the list goes on.
日语中的“礼物”写作“土産”，即各地的特产。
“Miyage” written in Japanese as “gift”, referring to specialties in various locations.
这从一个侧面反映了日本人的团体意识，以此来联络人际感情，分享体验，互表祝愿。
Presenting gifts partially reflects Japanese group consciousness, in the way affections can be assured, experience shared and good wishes conveyed.
日本人送礼物的意义不在于其价值，而在于其时间、场合和方式。
In Japanese gift presenting, the value of the gift is not as important as its time, the occasion and the ways of presenting it for they are carrying much weight of the presenter.
而且，日本人很注重礼物的包装，因为这代表了对收礼人的尊敬。
Also, packing is much valued by the Japanese as showing respect to the recipient.
这与中国人不同，中国人更注重礼物本身的价值。
In contrast, the Chinese probably regard the gift itself as more valuable.
在日本时，一次分别之际，主人分别送了我们三位每人一份从包装上看是非常贵重的礼物，
In Japan, in a farewell meeting, the Japanese host presented glamorous gifts to three of us.
打开一看，原来是一块手绢。
When we opened the gorgeous packing, only a plain handkerchief appeared,
这一点也不表明他的小气，因为礼物是在此时此刻给的，而且已在包装上给与了我们足够的尊重。
however, given the timing, occasion and packing, the gifts actually carried enough weight and generosity to the guests.
日本人在送礼物时，总不忘加上一句：“不是什么好东西”，哪怕心里觉得的确是好东西。
Gift-presenting is normally accompanied by the Japanese way of depreciation—“It’s a mere trifle”, although in may be worth a lot in their minds.
这一点，倒很像中国人。我在澳大利亚时却完全不同，
In some way, this is very much like the Chinese, but nothing like westerners, such as Australians.
他们会把要送礼物的价值如实告诉你；如果是花费时间自做的，那更会把其中的周折讲出来，唯其如此，才显出对你的尊重。
When we were in Australia, people gave us presents, and they didn’t mind revealing the values of the gifts and the time they spent on them, just to show their sincerity.
送礼的数目，日本人喜欢的是单数，这与中国人“成双成对”的文化又大不相同。
Unlike Chinese, who will always present something in pairs, the Japanese prefer odd numbers.
但也有相同之处：中国人一般不送梨，因为其有“分离”之意；日语中的“梨”发音与“無し”相同，为“没有”之意。
Nevertheless, there is something in common between Japanese and Chinese, such as avoiding the same character “梨”(li), which means “departing” in Chinese and “nothing” in Japanese respectively;
再有，“四”数在日本人的送礼中也是避忌的。
“四”(si/shi)is homonymic to “死”(si/shi), literally means “death” both in Chinese and Japanese, and so on.
总之，日本人的送礼文化有着其浓郁的特色；既有别于中国更不同于西方，而是其独特土壤的产物。
In short, the Japanese gift-presenting culture is deeply rooted in its unique soil, and distinguishingly different from both Chinese and western cultures. （林巍 译）
题王希孟青绿山水长卷《千里江山图》
After Wang Ximeng’s Blue and Green Horizontal Landscape Scroll, A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains
西川
Xi Chuan
绿色和蓝色汇集成空山。
Green colors and blue colors flow together and form empty mountains.
有人行走其间，但依然是空山，就像行走的人没有面孔，但依然是人。
Some people are walking in them, but they’re still empty mountains, as if the people walking there have no faces, but they are still people.
谁也别想从这些小人儿身上认出自己，就像世间的真山真水，别想从王希孟那里得到敷衍了事的赞扬。
No one should try to recognize themselves in these figures, or try to see the real mountains and waters of this world, nor should anyone think of trying to gain casual praise from Wang Ximeng.
王希孟认识这些画面上的小人儿，但没有一个是他自己。
Wang Ximeng knows these small figures, and that on one is he himself.
这些不是他自己的小人儿，没有一个他能叫出名字。
These are not his figures, and he cannot call out a single one by name.
小人儿们得到山，得到水，就像山得到绿松石和青金石，水得到浩淼和船只，就像宋徽宗得到十八岁的王希孟，只是不知道他将在画完《千里江山图》之后不久便会死去。
The figures acquire the mountains and waters, just as the mountains acquire the emerald land lapis, just as the waters acquire vastness and boats, just as Emperor Huizong got Wang Ximeng at eighteen years old, not knowing that Wang would die soon after he finished this thousand miles of rivers and mountains.
山水无名。
The mountains and waters are nameless.
王希孟明白，无名的人物，更只是山水的点缀，就像飞鸟明白，自己在人类的游戏中可有可无。
Wang Ximeng realizes that people without names are just decorations in mountains and waters, just as flying birds know they are insignificant to men’s games.
鸟儿在空中相见。
And the birds meet in the sky.
与此同时，行走在山间的人各有各的方向，各有各的打算。
Meanwhile, people walking in the mountains have their own directions to travel and their own plans.
这些小人儿穿着白衣，行走，闲坐，打鱼，贩运，四周是绿色和蓝色，就像今天的人们穿着黑衣，出现在宴会、音乐会和葬礼之上，四周是金色和金色。
These small figures, in white, walk, sit at leisure, go fishing, trade, surrounded by green colors and blue colors, just like, today, people, in black, go to banquets, concerts, and funerals, surrounded by golden colors and more golden colors.
这些白衣小人儿从未出生，当然也就从未死去，就像王希孟这免于污染和侵略的山水乌托邦，经得起细细的品读。
These small figures in white have never been born and so have never died; just like Wang Ximeng’s landscape utopia, they are immune to pollution and invasion, and that is worth careful consideration.
远离桎梏的人呵谈不上对自由的向往，未遭经验损毁的人呵谈不上遗忘。
So people who are far away from social controls have no need to long for freedom, and people who haven’t been destroyed by experience aren’t concerned about forgetting.
王希孟让打鱼的人有打不尽的鱼，让山坳里流出流不尽的水。
Wang Ximeng let the fishermen have infinite numbers of fishes to go fishing; he allowed limitless waters to run out of the mountains.
在他看来，幸福，就是财富的多寡恰到好处，让人们得以在山水之间静悄悄地架桥，架水车，修路，盖房屋，然后静悄悄地居住，
According to him, happiness means the exact amount of blessing so that, immersed in the silence between mountains and waters, people can build bridges, waterwheels, roads, houses, and live quietly,
就像树木恰到好处地生长在山岗、水畔，或环绕着村落，环绕着人。
just like the trees growing appropriately in the mountains, along the margins of water, or surrounding a village, and surrounding people.
远景中，树木像花儿一样。
In the distance, the trees are like flowers.
它们轻轻摇晃，就是清风送爽的时候。
When they sway, it’s the time when the clear wind is rising.
清风送爽，就是有人歌唱的时候。
When the clear wind is rising, it’s time for people to sing.
有人歌唱，就是空山成其为空山的时候。
When people sing, it’s time for an empty mountain to become an empty mountain. （Arthur Sze and Xi Chuan 译）
题王希孟青绿山水长卷《千里江山图》
On Wang Ximeng’s Landscape Scroll in Blue and Green, A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains
西川
Xi Chuan
绿色和蓝色汇集成空山。
Greens and blues compile into empty mountains.
有人行走其间，但依然是空山，就像行走的人没有面孔，但依然是人。
There are people walking in them, yet they remain empty mountains, as people are faceless when walking yet still remain people.
谁也别想从这些小人儿身上认出自己，就像世间的真山真水，别想从王希孟那里得到敷衍了事的赞扬。
Don’t bother looking for yourself in these figures, any more than the real mountains and waters of this world should look to Wang Ximeng for perfunctory tokens of praise.
王希孟认识这些画面上的小人儿，但没有一个是他自己。这些不是他自己的小人儿，没有一个他能叫出名字。
Though Wang Ximeng knows the figures in his painting, he is not one of them, nor can he call a single one by name.
小人儿们得到山，得到水，就像山得到绿松石和青金石，水得到浩淼和船只，就像宋徽宗得到十八岁的王希孟，只是不知道他将在画完《千里江山图》之后不久便会死去。
The figures have acquired these mountains and waters, just as these mountains have acquired turquoise and lapis, these waters acquired vast expanses and vessels, and Emperor Huizong of the Song acquired an eighteen year-old named Wang Ximeng, unaware that the boy would pass away soon after painting A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains.
山水无名。
The mountains and waters are nameless.
王希孟明白，无名的人物，更只是山水的点缀，就像飞鸟明白，自己在人类的游戏中可有可无。
Wang Ximeng knows that the nameless figures are but embellishments to the landscape, just as the birds of the air know that their presence or absence is immaterial to the comédie humaine.
鸟儿在空中相见。
Birds see each other in flight.
与此同时，行走在山间的人各有各的方向，各有各的打算。
At the same time, people walking through the mountains have their own directions, have their own plans.
这些小人儿穿着白衣，行走，闲坐，打鱼，贩运，四周是绿色和蓝色，就像今天的人们穿着黑衣，出现在宴会、音乐会和葬礼之上，四周是金色和金色。
Tiny figures dressed in white, they walk, rest, fish, and trade amongst themselves, all the while surrounded by green and blue, just as people today dress in black to show up at banquets, concerts, and funerals, surrounded by gold and yet more gold.
这些白衣小人儿从未出生，当然也就从未死去，就像王希孟这免于污染和侵略的山水乌托邦，经得起细细的品读。
These figures clothed in white were never born, and so of course will never die, just as Wang Ximeng’s landscape utopia, mountains and waters immune to pollution or infiltration, lends itself to eternal appreciation.
远离桎梏的人呵谈不上对自由的向往，未遭经验损毁的人呵谈不上遗忘。
Unfettered, they yearn not for freedom; untainted, they need not forget.
王希孟让打鱼的人有打不尽的鱼，让山坳里流出流不尽的水。
Wang Ximeng gives the fishermen more fish than they can fish for and fills the cols with water flowing without end.
在他看来，幸福，就是财富的多寡恰到好处，让人们得以在山水之间静悄悄地架桥，架水车，修路，盖房屋，然后静悄悄地居住，
In his eyes, happiness is having just the right amount of wealth, enabling everyone to build bridges and watermills, roads and homes, and dwell in peace in the mountains and waters,
就像树木恰到好处地生长在山岗、水畔，或环绕着村落，环绕着人。
just as the right amount of trees grow on hillocks and along riverbanks, or encircle hamlets, encircle everyone.
远景中，树木像花儿一样。
In the distance, the trees are like flowers.
它们轻轻摇晃，就是清风送爽的时候。
They sway, which is when the clear breeze refreshes.
清风送爽，就是有人歌唱的时候。
The clear breeze refreshes, which is when the people sing.
有人歌唱，就是空山成其为空山的时候。
The people sing, which is when the empty mountains become empty mountains. （Lucas Klein 译）
长夜属于你
The Full Nighttime is Yours
毛时安
Mao Shi’an
白天的喧嚣与骚动，随着最后一片晚霞的消失而远去。
The hustle and bustle of the day has gone away, as the last wisp of glowing cloud fades with the sunset;
热闹的人际交往与似乎永远都在纠缠的杂事，也随着太白星的闪烁而飘去，
the din of social activities and the seemingly never-ending chores have also ebbed away as Venus starts to glitter.
夜晚渐渐合拢。你脱下带了一整天的面具，慢慢恢复了你的自我，
As the night gradually falls, you take off your “daytime mask” and slowly let out your true self.
你坐在写字桌前，灯光照在雪白的稿子上，中年的脸隐在一片灯的暗影中。
Sitting in front of the desk, with your snow-white sheets of paper in the lamplight and your middle-aged face in the shade,
你想寻找关于生存、关于生命、关于人类、关于一切的终极存在。
you scratch in your mind for the ultimate meaning for living, life, and mankind—everything.
你像一个在浩瀚沙海中跋涉的朝圣者，你不知道你离那块精神的圣地还有多远，但你知道圣地所在的方向。
Like a pilgrim trudging on a sea-like vast desert, you do not know how far away you are from that spiritual shrine, but you know where to head to find it.
在漫漫长夜，你想用语言在万物的存在之上构筑一个理念的世界一个意象的世界。
During this extensive night, you are using words to set up a conceptual and imaginary world upon all things existing.
你用自己柔韧而百折不回的心灵感悟若广漠自然的生机，把生命汇入广交的星空，让清风抚慰你思想着的大脑。
You sit there, with your assiduous and indomitable soul, trying to perceive the vitality of great nature, to merge your life into the vast star-strewn sky, to let the breeze caress your thoughtful mind.
你像一匹北方的狼，一任自己的思想在精神的大地上踽踽独行，经历一次次心灵与精神的探险。
Like a northern wolf, you let your thoughts wander on a spiritual path and explore your soul again and again.
每一个字，每个句子，都来自你心灵的深处，是你耗尽心智的产物。
Every word or every sentence, the result of brain-wracking effort, comes from the inner recesses of your soul.
夜让你的思想在万物的静谧中变得活跃而充满生机。
The quiet night-world activates and enlivens your mind to its fullest capacity.
你已经度过了无数次这样的夜晚，你不知道你还会拥有多少这样富于创造活力的夜晚，
This is just one of those countless creative nights, and you do not know how many more you will have in the future.
为此你感谢造物主的创造，创造了夜晚。
You feel grateful to God for the nights he has created.
远处黑影幢幢的高楼星星点点的灯火开始媳灭，
Lights studding the delineated dark buildings in the distance begin to go off.
一盏又一盏，像一双又一双闭上的眼晴。城市也要酣睡，
One after another, they look like pairs upon pairs of eyes starting to close—a city also needs sleep.
夜慢慢地静下来。很静。
Gradually, the night falls quiet—very quiet,
像深山老林的千年古井，幽深、黝黑、神秘得深不可测。
like a millennium-old water well on a remote, thickly forested mountain, sequestered, deep, dusky, and mysterious—unfathomably mysterious.
你想起一个普通而平凡的女性。
Now your mind turns to an ordinary woman, whose familiar face is remote yet gracious, blurred yet vivid.
她熟悉的面容遥远而亲切，模糊而清晰，她过早地衰老，灰白的头发在北窗的风中飘拂。忧虑期待的目光投向新村的深处。
Beset by early senility, she had grey hair that fluttered in the wind coming through the north window, and her grievous and wishful eyes were fixed on the end of the residential area.
动乱年头孩子的每一次晚归，都使她的生命和等待像在炼狱中煎熬。
It was like going through a purgatorial torture for her every time her child was late in returning home during those years of turmoil.
你将一千次一万次地在不眠的长夜想起她。
You will miss her myriad times during your long, sleepless nights and remember her senile life.
想起她浮云般苍老的生命，她是一颗早逝的彗星，全部的价值就在那短促璀璨的一闪。
Like a prematurely extinct comet, all her life value lies in that moment of brilliant sparkles.
她朴素的生命使你知道人世间原就有着金钱、谎言、权利与名利无法替代的东西。
Her simple life shows you that there is something in this world that money, lies, power, and fame cannot replace.
一个人的价值不是附加的而是内心爱的博大与厚重。
One’s value is not something attached, but is innate—the profound love carried in his or her heart.
她是你的母亲。
And such is the love your mother carried.
你白天生活在属于别人的繁华中，唯有夜晚你才生活在属于你的寂寞与孤独之中。
During the daytime, you live in the vanity of other people; only at night do you live your own solitary and sequestered life.
新村的深处传来轻轻犬吠——先富起来的人们已经流行宠物热——使夜变得更静更深，像一条黑暗而不见尽头的隧道。
From the deep end of the residential area comes a dog’s gentle barking—keeping pets is now fashionable among the newly rich—which instead quiets and deepens the night even more, making it like a bottomless, dark tunnel.
你站在窗前，用心灵聆听。
Standing at the window, you listen with your soul.
你听到了一自己的心脏依然像年轻人一样有力地搏动。
You hear your heart still throbbing, like that of a young man.
你曾一个人静静坐在九寨沟翡翠一般清澈幽冷的湖边，远远逃避着观景的喧闹人群。
To get away from the noisy tourists, you once quietly sat alone by the secluded, cold, limpid, and emerald-like lake in Jiuzhaigou, a natural scenic spot—
空谷纳万景。
for a spacious valley can contain all scenes,
大自然的美丽和温情其实只能用宁静的心灵去体悟去接纳。
but only a tranquil heart can perceive the beauty of and feel the warmth of Mother Nature.
昨夜满天碎玉飞舞。
The night before, the sky had been laden with glittering jade shards of snowflakes,
此刻，艳阳高悬。
but now, at this moment, the bright sun hung high up.
你躲在角落，满眼玉树琼枝。
From a corner, you took a view full of jade-green trees and graceful boughs.
“噗、噗”，
“Flop, flop!”
大块大块白得虚无的积雪从松树枝头，厚实地往地下落。天籁之声。
Large, thick lumps of snow, as white as if they were transparent, thumped down from the branches of pine trees, producing a heavenly sound.
这是大地的呼吸。
That was the breath of the great earth,
唯有大地的儿子才有倾听这大自然给你的神示。
and therefore, only the sons of the earth could hear this divine manifestation of nature.
人生祸福，荣辱浮沉，你都不会忘记这“噗噗”的坠雪声。
Whether you encounter a blessing or a curse, an honor or a disgrace, a rise or fall in your life, you will never forget that flopping sound of snow falling.
不眠的夜像爬满的常青藤笼络着你，你把每一缕紊乱的思绪变化成文字，变成句子。
On such a sleepless night, which wraps around you as evergreen ivy does, you turn each of your tangled thoughts into fine words and sentences,
你在文字和句子中，发现了你自己。
through which you discover yourself:
你的感情依然炽烈，你的心也依然年轻。
You are still ardent in feeling and young at heart.
我想，造物主创造黑夜，原本是让人类静静地享受她那份宁静的诗意和浪漫的情调。
In my opinion, the Creator’s initial purpose in making the night was for humans to enjoy their poetic tranquility and romantic mood,
但是，在这物欲横流、实利至上的年头，现代人却在灯红酒绿、纸醉金迷中奢侈地消费着长夜。
but on the contrary, modern people in this material-craving and profit-seeking age waste these nights in the indulgence of revelry, extravagance and racket—
豪华的消费。
such an expensive waste!
你珍惜着不眠的长夜，唯有长夜属于你。
But you treasure a full, sleepless night time, which is truly yours. （徐英才 译）
日本人的“耳的文化”
Japanese Listening Culture
林巍
Lin Wei
日本式的“莫言”和“微笑”是有名的，有人对此难以忍受。
The Japanese are said to have inscrutable grins and silence unbearable to foreigners.
有人曾忿忿地对我说：跟日本人讲话太累了，
Someone told me uneasily that “I am sick of talking to Japanese!
简直不知道他们在想什么！
You have absolutely no idea of what’s going on in their mind”.
中国人有“口才好”一说，但却没有“听才好”，而日本人则有“善聴”的说法。
In Chinese there is a term for eloquence—kou cai hao (have a talent for speaking), but no such thing as ting cai hao (have a talent for listening), however this is the case in Japanese (zen chou).
在与日本人的交谈中，他们会不断地点头说 “はい、はい”（是的、对的），但这并不代表他们同意你的观点，而只是表面“是的，我在听你讲话”。
During conversation, a Japanese constantly nods and says “hai, hai” (yes, yes), which may not mean he agrees with everything you’ve just said, but merely indicates, “I am listening to you”.
如果说，中国人善说是一种“口的文化”，那么日本人的善听则是“耳的文化”。
Perhaps we may put it in this way, Chinese culture is best presented as a speaking culture, whereas Japanese culture may be described as a listening culture.
在日本看电视，很少看到在中国及其他西方国家的那种唇枪舌战的场面，这大概是出于民族性格的原因。
On the Japanese television screen, you rarely see a lively scene of people engaged in a battle of words, as often appears in China and in Western countries.
他们善于默默地听，把他人的东西拿来，化为己用。
It’s perhaps due to their national characteristic that Japanese are good at quietly listening and efficiently taking in for their own sake.
如同在中国近代史上有“中学为体，西学为用”的讲法，
A tenet in modern Chinese history is “rooted in Chineseness while taking in Western techniques as a means”.
在日本也曾奉行“和魂漢才”的信条，即以日本人的精神为本，学习中国的知识和技术。
Similarly, in Japan there was a creed in ancient times, “taking Japaneseness as the soul while learning Chinese skills”,
近代以后，又有了“和魂洋才”，即以日本人固有的精神，学习西方的文明。
which in modern times shifted to “taking Japaneseness as the soul while learning Western civilization”.
有这样一个段子流传着：英国人作诗，法国人作曲，德国人演奏，意大利人唱歌，美国人付钱来听，而日本人则会一边鼓掌一边喊“再来一次！”
There is a popular passage: while British write poems, French compose, Germans perform and Italians sing, Americans pay for listening, and the only thing the Japanese can do is to shout out “one more!” while clapping.
看来，善听与善学，有着某种内在的关系。
A good listener and a good learner are surely mutually beneficial. （林巍 译）
日本人的“耻感文化”
The Japanese Shame Culture
林巍
Lin Wei
据说，日本人最善于从别人的角度考虑问题，因而也最在意别人对自己怎样看。
It is said that the Japanese are good at putting themselves in others’ shoes, caring very much about how other people view them.
我在日本生活时，有位朋友，下了班还没回家，在我们这里耗着，聊天，
When I was in Japan, a friend of mine came to us after work, chatting and dawdling away his time.
我问他为什么，他说回去早了怕邻居笑话，因为那说明他在公司没事干了，或者不够卖力气。
When asked why he was reluctant to go home earlier, he said he didn’t want rumoring by his neighbors that he was an early home-comer or a lazy worker.
日本社会自古以来，便有“惜名”和“知耻”的行为规范，是用以维系主从关系的“体面”或“脸面”。
Since ancient times, “name” and “shame” have been stable rules of behavior in Japanese society, regulating principal-subordinate relations in terms of maintaining “face”.
在受了侮辱或被冤枉，或被喜欢的女人抛弃后，就会觉得“没面子”，便要不惜一切去“争面子”。
After losing face from humiliation, mistreatment or being dumped by a lover, one should fight to regain it at all costs.
这种“名”和“耻”的意识，构成了日本人思维方式的一大特色。
The super-sensibility of “name” and “shame” characterizes Japanese thinking,
较之个人的自觉意识，日本人更重视现实周围的人伦关系，由此又形成了他们对于“名”和“耻”的格外敏感性。
with Japanese culture paying far more attention to peripheral human relations than self-consciousness. In this sense, it is a sensitive culture.
如果说，西方的基督教文化是一种“罪感文化”，那么日本的集体主义文化便是一种“耻感文化”。罪感的基础，建立在人的内在道德标准上；耻感的制约，则来自外部的强大压力。
Christian culture in the West is deemed to be a guilt culture based on a person’s internal moral standard; while collectivist culture in Japan is a shame culture which relies on external sanction.
然而，一旦没有了这种压力（如外出旅行等），他们的表现又会判若两人。
Once the pressure of this sanction is gone, such as during a journey, a Japanese may behave like a totally different person.
罪责可以通过忏悔来赎过，而耻辱只会一层层更加蒙羞，即日语所说的“耻の上涂り”坦白了便更加耻辱。
While guilt may be redeemed by repentance, shame can only be increased by admission, as a Japanese saying goes, “haji no uwanuri” (confession increases shame).
因而，在日本常常见到这样一种现象，就是日本人没有过错时（如并没有踩到你的脚）会口口声声地道歉，而一旦犯了错误，反而不道歉了。
It is therefore not surprising to see a phenomenon in Japan where a Japanese may constantly apologize to you when nothing happens (such as he didn’t step on your toe), but once he did make a mistake, he might just quietly turn away due to shame.
日本人的害羞也是有名的，如女人的厕所间通常有似水的音乐伴随，以避免让人听到后尴尬（因在同一厕所间的外边通常是男人的小便池）。
Japanese are usually considered to be highly sensitive to shame, such as in ladies toilets where a piece of river-flowing music is gently played to avoid embarrassment since male’s urinals are normally nearby in the same toilet.
然而，让人吊诡的是，日本人可以一家人男女老少三代人一起洗澡，这在中国人（或其他国家的人）看来很是难为情，
However, in contrast, Japanese family members of three generations, including males and females, can bath together.
但日本人却对此不但毫无耻感，反而觉得非常亲近，“赤城相见”。
The practice that the Japanese take for granted as an intimate family routine may embarrass Chinese and other nations’ families.
当然，将世界上的文化划分为“耻感文化”和“罪感文化”未免过于简单化了：
However, dividing cultures of the world into a dichotomy of “shame culture” and “guilt culture” is a bit over-simplified.
两种文化的存在并不是绝对而孤立的，不过是以哪一种为主罢了。
In fact, the two cultures overlap, but each has its dominant feature. （林巍 译）
天籁和回声•桃花
Peach Blossoms
赵丽宏
Zhao Lihong
早晨，有人轻敲我的窗户。
A tap on my window in the morning!
那扇小小的窗户，面对着小河，河边没有路，是谁在敲窗？
It was a small window facing the rivulet with no road on the riverside, so who was tapping?
抬头一看，是一枝桃花，风吹桃树，树枝晃动，碰到了我的窗户。
A closer look revealed the prankster to be a twig of peach flowers, which swayed in the wind and touched my window.
枝头的桃花含苞待放，露水在 花蕾上闪动，早霞照在花枝上，一片玫瑰色的殷红……
The peach flowers, about to go into full blossom, had dewdrops sparkling on the buds, and the morning glow painted the twig a rosy red.
花枝敲窗，是什么美妙的预兆？
What kind of good omen would it bode for a flower twig to tap on my window?
“人面桃花相映红”，
As a Chinese poem goes, “The blush on her face goes with the red of the peach flowers.”
我的苍白的脸，能被这不期而遇的桃花映红？
Would my pallid face borrow from the red of the peach flowers in this unexpected encounter?”
我起床，开窗，让结满蓓蕾的树枝进入我的小草屋。
I got up from bed and opened the window to let the bud-ridden twig into my thatched hut.
你好，春天，
Hello, spring!
谢谢你用这样的方式来到我的身边。
Thanks for coming to me in such a way. （赵英才 译）
母亲的书
Mother’s Book
琦君
Qi Jun
母亲在忙完一天的煮饭，洗衣，喂猪、鸡、鸭之后，就会喊着我说：“小春呀，去把妈的书拿来。”
After a busy day cooking meals, washing clothes, and feeding the pigs, chickens, and ducks, my mother would call to me, “Hey, Little Spring (Hsiao-ch’un 小春), go and get ma’s book and bring it here.”
我就会问：“哪本书啊？”
I would answer, “Which book, Ma?”
“那本橡皮纸的。”
“The one with the rubber-paper pages.”
我就知道妈妈今儿晚上心里高兴，要在书房里陪伴我，就着一盏菜油灯光，给爸爸绣拖鞋面了。
I knew that this evening Mother was happy and would keep me company in the library, would light an oil lamp and embroider a pair of slipper faces for Daddy.
橡皮纸的书上没一个字，
Not a single word was written in this rubber-paged book.
实在是一本“无字天书”里面夹的是红红绿绿彩色缤纷的丝线，白纸剪的朵朵花样。
It was indeed a “tabula rasa” into which were stuffed an assortment of red and green silk threads, design patterns cut from white paper,
还有外婆给母亲绣的一双水绿缎子鞋面，没有做成鞋子，母亲就这么一直夹在书里，夹了将近十年。
and a pair of aqua satin slipper faces that Grandmother had given to Mother, that had never been made into slippers but which Mother had kept pressed between the pages of the book for nearly ten years.
外婆早过世了，水绿缎子上绣的樱桃仍旧鲜红得可以摘来吃似的。
Grandmother had died long ago, but the cherries embroidered on the aqua satin still looked bright red enough to pick and eat,
一对小小的喜鹊，一只张着嘴，一只合着嘴，
and there was a pair of tiny embroidered magpies, one with its beak open, the other with its beak closed.
母亲告诉过我，那只张着嘴的是公的，合着嘴的是母的。
Mother had told me that the one with the open beak was the male and the one with the closed beak was the female.
喜鹊也跟人一样，男女性格有别。
She said that, like people, magpies were differentiated by male and female sexes.
母亲每回翻开书，总先翻到夹得最最厚的这一页。
Each time mother opened the book she would turn first to this page, which was stuffed the fullest.
对着一双喜鹊端详老半天，嘴角似笑非笑，眼神定定的，像在专心欣赏，又像在想什么心事。
She would examine the pair of magpies for a long time, the corners of her mouth seeming to smile without smiling, her eyes fixed in thought as if in profound contemplation or appreciation of some important event.
然后再翻到另一页。
Afterward she would turn not in book to another page,
用心地选出丝线，绣起花来。
carefully select some threads, and begin to embroider,
好像这双鞋面上的喜鹊樱桃，是母亲永久的样本，她心里甚么图案和颜色，都彷佛从这上面变化出来的。
as if this pair of cherry and magpie embroidered slipper faces were Mother’s eternal model, from which the design and colors in her mind seemed to evolve.
母亲为甚么叫这本书为橡皮纸书呢？
Why did Mother call this the book with rubber-paper pages?
是因为书页的纸张又厚又硬，像树皮的颜色，
Because the material from which the pages of the book were made was both thick and rigid, the color of bark.
也不知是甚么材料做的，非常的坚韧，在怎么翻也不会撕破，又可以防潮湿。
I do not know what kind of material it was, but the pages were extremely sturdy and durable.
母亲就给它一个新式的名称──橡皮纸。
No matter how many times they were turned, they would not tear, and because they also repelled water Mother gave them a new name—rubber paper.
其实是一种非常古老的纸，是太外婆亲手裁订起来给外婆，外婆再传给母亲的。
Actually it was some kind of extremely old paper that my maternal great-grandmother had bound with her own hands for my grandmother, who had then handed it down to Mother.
书页是双层对折，中间的夹层里，有时会夹着母亲心中的至宝，那就是父亲从北平的来信，这才是“无字天书”中真正的“书”了。
The book pages were double-layer bound, accordion style, and in between the two leaves of an individual page were often secreted Mother’s most precious possessions, Father’s letters from Peking, the real book within the book without words.
母亲当着我，从不抽出来重读，直到花儿绣累了，菜油灯花也微弱了，我背论语孟子背得伏在书桌上睡着了，她就会悄悄地抽出信来，和父亲隔着千山万水，低诉知心话。
Mother never pulled these out or retread them in front of me, but when she tired of embroidery, when the flame of the lamp burned low and weak, when I, exhausted from reciting The Analects of Confucius or Mencius, fell asleep at the desk, she would silently pull out one of these letters and recite in a low voice the words from father, far away across a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers.
还有一本母亲喜爱的书，也就是我记忆中非常深刻的，
There was another book my mother loved that left an extraordinarily deep impression on my memories.
那就是怵目惊心的“十殿阎王”。粗糙的黄标纸上，印着简单的图画。
That was the fascinating, startling, Shih-tein Yen-wang (Ten Palaces of the King of Death十殿阎王), printed on rough yellow paper with simple pictures depicting the ferocious visage of the King of Death in his ten palaces in hell.
是阴间十座阎王殿里，面目狰狞的阎王、牛头马面，以及形形色色的鬼魂。依着他们在世为人的善恶，接受不同的奖赏与惩罚。
He had the head of an ox, and the face of a horse, and was accompanied by ghosts and spirits of all shapes and descriptions who, depending upon their good or evil merits when alive as human beings, received different rewards or punishments.
惩罚的方式最恐怖，有上尖刀山、落油锅、被猛兽追扑等等。
The most fearsome forms of punishment included climbing a knife-edge mountain, falling into a cauldron of boiling oil, being chased and caught by wild beasts.
然后从一个圆圆的轮回中转出来，有升为大官大富翁的，有变为乞丐的，也有降为猪狗、鸡鸭、蚊蝇的。
Afterward, emerging from a complete cycle of the wheel of transmigration, some would rise as great officials or wealthy gentry others would become beggars, and still others would fall to the status of pigs and dogs, ducks and chickens, or of insects.
母亲对这些图画好像百看不厌，
Mother never seemed to tire of looking at these pictures.
有时指着它对我说：“阴间与阳间的隔离，就只在一口气。
Sometimes she would point to them and say to me, “The difference between life and death, the world and hell, is but the breath.
活着还有这口气，
The living still have this breath.
就要做好人，行好事。”
You must be a good person, do good things.”
母亲常爱说的一句话是：“不要扯谎，小心拔舌耕犁啊。”
An admonition that Mother liked to repeat often was, “Do not lie; beware the plucked tongue that plows the fields.”
“拔舌耕犁”也是这本书里的一幅图画，画着一个披头散发女鬼，舌头被拉出来，刺一个窟窿，套着犁头由牛拉着耕田，
The “plucked tongue that plows the fields” was a picture in this book which portrayed the disheveled head and wild hair of a female ghost whose tongue was plucked out, pierced with a hole, stuck onto a plough handle, and dragged by an ox to plow a field.
是对说谎者最重的惩罚。所以她常拿来警告人。
This was the most extreme punishment for lying, so Mother often brought it out to warn us.
外公说十殿阎王是人心里想出来的，所以天堂与地狱都在人心中。
Grandfather said that The Ten Palaces of The King of Death was the work of someone’s imagination,
但因果报应是一定有的，佛经上说的明明白白的啰。
but there definitely was a law of retribution, of cause and effect, as clearly explained in the Buddhist classics.
母亲生活上离不了手的另一本书是黄历。
Another book which throughout her life never left Mother’s hand was the almanac.
她在床头小几抽屉里，厨房碗橱抽屉里，都各放一本，随时取出来翻查，看今天是甚么样的日子。
In the drawer of a small table at the head of her bed, and also in the cupboard drawer in the kitchen were separate copies of the almanac which she might pull out to consult at any time, to find out what kind of a day it was that day.
日子的好坏，对母亲来说是太重要了。
Whether the day was good or bad was extremely important to Mother.
她万事细心，甚么事都要图个吉利。
She was meticulous about everything, and everything required a calculation of the auspicious omens:
买猪仔、修理牛栏猪栓、插秧、割稻都要拣好日子。
buying suckling pigs, repairing the ox fence or pig pen, transplanting the rice seedlings, and harvesting the grain all required selecting a good day.
腊月里做酒、蒸糕更不用说了。
For making wine and steaming rolls for the winter sacrifice, this went without saying.
只有母鸡孵出一窝小鸡来，由不得她拣在哪一天，但她也要看一下黄历。
The only thing for which Mother could not choose the proper day was when the hen would hatch her nest of little chicks, but Mother would still have to consult the almanac,
如果逢上大吉大利的好日子，她就好高兴，想着这一窝鸡就会一帆风顺地长大，
and if it fell on a highly auspicious day she would be very happy, thinking that this brood of chickens would grow to maturity very smoothly and easily.
如果不巧是个不太好的日子，她就会叫我格外当心走路，别踩到小鸡，在天井里要提防老鹰攫去。
If it was not a very good day she would tell me to be especially careful walking, not to step on one of the little chicks, and to keep the hawks away from the courtyard.
有一次，一只大老鹰飞扑下来，母亲放下锅铲，奔出来赶老鹰，还是被衔走了一只小鸡。
Once a big hawk flew down and Mother set down the cooking spade and rushed out to chase away the hawk, which still made off with one little chick.
母亲跑的太急，一不小心，脚踩着一只小鸡，把牠的小翅膀踩断了。
Mother was running so frantically that she was not careful and stepped on a chick, breaking off its little wing under her foot.
小鸡叫得好凄惨，母鸡在我们身边团团转，咯咯咯的悲鸣。
The chick chirped out most pitifully and the mother hen flapped around and around us, cluck, cluck, clucking mournfully.
母亲身子一歪，还差点摔了一跤。
Mother hen forward and almost fell down.
我扶她坐在长凳上，
I helped her sit down on the bench.
她手掌心里捧着受伤的小鸡，
In the palm of her hand she was holding the wounded chick.
又后悔不该踩到她，又心痛被老鹰衔走的小鸡，
As it awkward she was worried about the chick carried off by the hawk.
眼泪一直的流，我也要哭了。因为小鸡身上都是血，那情形实在悲惨。
Her tears fell in a stream, and I wanted to cry too because the little chick was covered with blood and the whole scene was really tragic.
外公赶忙倒点麻油，抹在牠的伤口，
Grandfather immediately poured some sesame oil and rubbed the wound.
可怜的小鸡，叫声越来越微弱，终于停止了。
The poor chick: its pitiful chirps became weaker and weaker and finally stopped.
母亲边抹眼泪边念往生咒，
As she wiped her tears, mother recited an incantation for the dead.
外公说：“这样也好，六道轮回，
Grandfather said, “It’s for the best.
这只小鸡已经又转过一道，
Of the six cycles of transmigration, these two little chicks have already turned one.
孽也早一点偿清，可以早点转世为人了。”
If their sins are expiated a bit sooner, then they will be able to enter the world as humans sooner.”
我又想起“十殿阎王”里那张图画，小小心灵里，忽然感觉到人生一切不能自主的悲哀。
I again thought of the picture in The Ten Palaces of The King of Death; in my little heart I suddenly felt the sadness that everything in this life is beyond our control.
黄历上一年二十四个节日，母亲背得滚瓜烂熟。
The twenty-four seasonal celebrations of the year in the almanac mother had memorized.
每次翻开黄历，要查眼前这个节日在哪一天，她总要从头念起，一直念到当月的那个节日为止。
Thorovshly each time she opened the almanac to find out the day of the next upcoming celebration she would always recited from the very beginning up to the celebration of that current month.
我也跟着背：“正月立春、雨水，二月惊蛰、春分，三月清明、榖雨……。”
I recited them with her: “First month: beginning of Spring (about February 5), The Rains (about February 19); second month: Insects Awaken (about March 5), Spring Equinox (about March 20); third month: Pure Brightness (about April 5), Grain Rains (about April 20) …
但每回念到八月的白露、秋分时，不知为甚么，心里总有一丝凄凄凉凉的感觉。
But every time we recited down to the White Dews (about September 8) and Autumn Equinox (about September 23) of the eighth month, I don’t know why, but I always sensed a feeling of cold and chill.
小小年纪，就兴起“一年容易又秋风”的慨叹。
Though young, I responded to the sigh of “the year passes quickly and again the autumn wind blows.”
也许是因为八月里有个中秋节，
Perhaps it is because the eighth month contains the Mid-autumn.
诗里面形容中秋节月亮的句子那么多。
Festival and there are so many poems describing the Mid-autumn Festival.
中秋节是应当全家团圆的，而一年盼一年，父亲与大哥总是在北平迟迟不归。
The Mid-autumn Festival is supposed to be a time of homecoming and family reunion, but year after year Father and Eldest Brother tarried at Peiping and did not return.
还有老师教过我诗经里的蒹葭篇：“蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜，所谓伊人，在水一方。
Furthermore, my tutor had taught me the poem “The Rushes” from The Book of Poetry (Shih Ching): “Thick grow the rushes, white dew turns to frost, where is that man?
溯回从之，道阻且长，溯游从之，宛在水中央。”
Somewhere along the river bank, I follow upstream, but the way is long and difficult, follow back downstream, there he is in mid-stream,”
我当时觉得“宛在水中央”不大懂，而且有点滑稽。
and furthermore it seemed a bit facetious.
最喜欢的是头两句。
I liked best the first two lines.
“白露为霜”使我联想起“鬓边霜”，
“White dew turns to frost” reminded me of “hair tinged with frost.”
老师教过我那是比喻白发。
My tutor had taught me that that was a metaphor for white hair,
我时常抬头看一下母亲的额角，是否已有“鬓边霜”了。
and I frequently looked up to see whether or not my mother’s hair on the temples was “tinged with frost.”
母亲当然还有其他好多书，像花名宝卷、本草纲目、绘图烈女传、心经、弥陀经等的经书。
Of course mother also had many other books such as Ming-huan Pao-chuan (Tales of Famous Flowers), Pen-ts’ao Kang-mu (Encyclopedia of Plants and Herbs), Hui-t’u Lieh-n Chuan (the Biographical Sketches of Famous Women), and other classic.
她最最恭敬的当然是佛经。
The ones she treated with most reverence were the Buddhist sutras.
每天点了香烛，跪在蒲团上念经。
Every day she lit incense and kneeled on the grass mat to recite the sutras, turning page after page.
一页一页的翻过去，有时一卷都念完了，也没看她翻，原来她早已会背了。
Sometimes she finished reciting a whole sutra volume and I had not seen her turn the pages; she had long ago memorized it.
我坐在经堂左角的书桌边，专心致志地听她念经，音调忽高忽低，忽慢忽快，却是每一个字念得清清楚楚，正正确确。
I would sit at a desk in the left corner of the temple room and intently listen to her recite the sutra, the tone of her voice suddenly high then low, slow then fast, each word distinct and clear, proper and exact.
看她闭目凝神的那份虔诚，我也静静地坐着一动也不动。
Seeing her close her eyes in reverent concentration, I sat in silence, not moving a muscle.
念完最后一卷经，她还要再念一段像结语那样的几句。
After finishing reciting the sutras she still had to recite a few lines resembling a benediction,
最末两句是“四十八愿度众生，九品咸令登彼岸。”
the last two lines of which were, “forty-eight vows to save all people, nine grades of merits to carry the soul to the other world.”
念完这两句，母亲宁静的脸上浮起微笑，彷佛已经度了终身，登了彼岸了。
After finishing these two lines a light smile floated upon the composed face of my mother as if she had already left her body and crossed over to the other side.
我望着烛光摇曳，炉烟缭绕，觉得母女二人在空荡荡的经堂里，总有点冷冷清清。
I watched the flickering of the candle flame and the thin taper of smoke, and felt that for the two of us, mother and daughter, to be alone in the empty temple room was rather lonely.
本草纲目是母亲做学问的书，
The Encyclopedia of Plants and Herbs was mother’s book for scholarly study.
那里面那么多木字旁、草字头的字，
So many of the characters in it has wood or grass radicals;
母亲实在也认不得几个。但她总把它端端正正摆在床头几上，
mother could really recognize only a few, but she placed this book squarely on the table at the head of her bed.
偶然翻一阵，说来也头头是道。
Occasionally she opened it and could explain something from it clearly and logically.
其实都是外公这位山乡郎中口头传授给她的，
Actually her explanations all came from the mouth of grandfather, who was a country physician with a knowledge in herbal medicine.
母亲只知道出典都在这本书里就是了。
Mother knew only that the sources of this knowledge all derived from this book.
母亲没有正式认过字，读过书，但在我心中，她却是博古通今的。
Mother had never attended school or studies formally, but in my eyes she was a person of broad and extensive learning. （William A. Wycoff 译）
为奴隶的母亲
A Slave Mother
柔石
Rou Shi
她的丈夫是一个皮贩，就是收集乡间各猎户底兽皮和牛皮，贩到大埠上出卖的人。
He was a dealer in animal skins which he bought from hunters in the countryside and sold in town.
但有时也兼做点农作，芒种的时节，便帮人家插秧，
Sometimes he also worked in the fields; early each summer he turned farm-hand, transplanting rice for other people.
他能将每行插得非常直，假如有五人同在一个水田内，他们一定叫他站在第一个做标准。
As he had learned to transplant the seedlings in wonderfully straight rows, the peasants always asked him to help them.
然而境况总是不佳，债是年年积起来了。
But he never made enough money to support his family and his debts mounted with each passing year.
他大约就因为境况的不佳，烟也吸了，酒也喝了，钱也赌起来了。
The wretchedness of his life and the hopeless situation he was in caused him to take to smoking, drinking and gambling,
这样，竟使他变做一个非常凶狠而暴躁的男子，
and he became vicious and bad-tempered.
但也就更贫穷下去，连小小的移借，别人也不敢答应了。
As he grew poorer, people stopped lending him money, even in small sums.
在穷底的结果的病以后，
With poverty came sickness.
全身便变成枯黄色，脸孔黄的和小铜鼓一样，连眼白也黄了。
He grew sallow: his face took on the sickly colour of a brass drum and even the whites of his eyes became yellow.
别人说他是黄疸病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。
People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him “Yellow Fellow”.
有一天，他向他底妻子说：
One day, he said to his wife,
“再也没有办法了，这样下去，连小锅子也都卖去了。
“There’s no way out of it. It looks as if we’ll even have to sell our cooking pot.
我想，还是从你底身上设法罢。
I’m afraid we have to part.
你跟着我挨饿，有什么办法呢？”
It’s no use both of us going hungry together.”
“我底身上？……”
“We have to part?
他底妻坐在灶后，怀里抱着她刚满三周岁的男小孩。
...” muttered his wife, who was sitting behind the stove with their three-year-old boy in her arms.
她讷讷地低声地问。
“Yes, we have to part,” he answered feebly.
“你，是呀，”她的丈夫病后的无力的声音，“我已经将你出典了……”
“There’s somebody willing to hire you as a temporary wife, …”
“什么呀？”他底妻几乎昏去似的。
“What?” she almost lost her senses.
屋内是稍稍静寂了一息。
There followed a brief silence.
他气喘着说：
Then the husband continued, falteringly,
“三天前，王狼来坐讨了半天的债回去以后，我也跟着他去，
“Three days ago, Wang Lang came here and spent a long time pressing me to pay my debt to him. After he had left, I went out.
走到了九亩潭边，我很不想要做人了。
I sat under a tree on the shore of Chiumous Lake and thought of committing suicide.
但是坐在那株爬上去一纵身就可落在潭里的树下，想来想去，终没有力气跳了。
I wanted to climb the tree and dive into the water and drown myself, but, after thinking about it, I lost courage.
猫头鹰在耳朵边不住在啭，我底心被它叫寒起来，我只得回转身，
The hooting of an owl frightened me and I walked away.
但在路上，遇见了沈家婆，她问我，晚也晚了，在外做什么。
On my way home, I came across Mrs. Shen, the matchmaker, who asked me why I was out at night.
我就告诉她，请她代我借一笔款，或向什么人家的小姐借些衣服或首饰去暂时当一当，免得王狼底狼一般的绿眼睛天天在家里闪烁。
I told her what had happened and asked her if she could borrow some money for me, or some lady’s dresses and ornaments that I could pawn to pay Wang Lang so that he’d no longer be prowling after me like a wolf.
可是沈家婆向我笑道：
But Mrs. Shen only smiled and said,
“‘你还将妻养在家里做什么呢，你自己黄也黄到这个地步了？”
“‘What do you keep your wife at home for? And you’re so sick and yellow!’
“我低着头站在她面前没有答，她又说：
“I hung my head and said nothing. She continued,
“‘儿子呢，你只有一个了，舍不得。
“‘Since you’ve got only one son, you might find it hard to part with him.
但妻——’
But as for your wife…’
“我当时想：‘莫非叫我卖妻子么？’
“I thought she meant that I should sell you, but she added,
“而她继续道：“‘但妻——虽然是结发的，穷了，也没有法，还养在家里做什么呢？’
“‘Of course she is your lawful wife, but you’re poor and you can’t do anything about it. What do you keep her at home for? Starve her to death?’
“这样，她就直说出：‘有一个秀才，因为没有儿子，年纪已五十岁了，想买一个妾；
“Then she said straight out, ‘There’s a fifty-year-old scholar who wants a concubine to bear him a son since his wife is barren.
又因他底大妻不允许，只准他典一个，典三年或五年，
But his wife objects and will only allow him to hire somebody else’s wife for a few years.
叫我物色相当的女人：
I’ve been asked to find them a woman.
年纪约三十岁左右，养过两三个儿子的，
She has to be about thirty years old and the mother of two or three children.
人要沉默老实，又肯做事，还要对他底大妻肯低眉下首。
She must be honest and hard-working, and obey the scholar’s wife.
这次是秀才娘子向我说的，假如条件合，肯出八十元或一百元的身价。
The scholar’s wife has told me that they are willing to pay from eighty to a hundred dollars for the right sort of woman.
我代她寻了好几天，终于没有相当的女人。’
I’ve looked around for one for several days, but without any luck.
她说：现在碰到我，想起了你来，样样都对的。
But your wife is just the woman I’ve been looking for.’
当时问我底的意见怎样，
“She asked me what I thought about it.
我一边掉了几滴泪，一边却被她催的答应她了。”
It made me cry to think of it, but she comforted me and convinced me that it was all for the best.”
说到这里，他垂下头，声音很低弱，停止了。
At this point, his voice trailed off, he hung his head and stopped.
他底妻简直痴似的，话一句没有。
His wife looked dazed and remained speechless.
又静寂了一息，他继续说：
There was another moment of silence before he continued,
“昨天，沈家婆到过秀才底家里，
“Yesterday, Mrs. Shen went to see the scholar again.
她说秀才很高兴，秀才娘子也喜欢，钱是一百元，
She came back and told me that both the scholar and his wife were very happy about the idea of having you and had promised to pay me a hundred dollars.
年数呢，假如三年养不出儿子，是五年。
If you bear them a child they will keep you for three years, if not—for five.
沈家婆并将日子也拣定了——本月十八，五天后。
Mrs. Shen has fixed the date for you to go –the eighteenth of this month, that is, five days from now.
今天，她写典契了。”
she is going to have the contract drawn up today.”
这时，他底妻简直连腑脏都颤抖，吞吐着问：
Trembling all over, the wife faltered,
“你为什么早不对我说？”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“昨天在你底面前旋了三个圈子，可是对你说不出。
“Yesterday I went up to you three times, but each time I was afraid to begin.
不过我仔细想，除出将你底身子设法外，再也没有办法了。”
But after thinking it over I’ve come to realize that there’s really nothing to be done but hire you out.”
“决定了么？”
“Has it all been decided?”
妇人战着牙齿问。
asked the wife, her teeth clattering.
“只待典契写好。”
“There’s just the contract to be signed.”
“倒霉的事情呀，我——一点也没有别的方法了么？”
“Oh, what a poor wretch I am! Can’t we really do anything else?”
“倒霉，我也想到过，可是穷了，我们又不肯死，有什么办法？
“It’s terrible, I know. But we’re poor and we don’t want to die. What else can we do?
今年，我怕连插秧也不能插了。”
I’m afraid this year I won’t even be asked to do any transplanting.”
“你也想到过春宝么？
“Have you thought about Chun Bao?
春宝还只有五岁，没有娘，他怎么好呢？”
He’s only five. What will become of him without me?”
“我领他便了。
“I’ll take care of him.
本来是断了奶的孩子。”
You’re not nursing him any longer, you know.”
他似乎渐渐发怒了。也就走出门外去了。
He became more and more angry with himself and went out.
她，却呜呜咽咽地哭起来。
She broke into uncontrolled sobs.
这时，在她过去的回忆里，却想起恰恰一年前的事：
Then, looking back upon the past, she remembered what had just happened one year before:
那时她生下了一个女儿，她简直如死去一般卧在床上。
she was lying on her bed more dead than alive after giving birth to a baby girl.
死还是整个的，她却肢体分作四碎与五裂：刚落地的女婴，在地上的干草堆上叫：“呱呀，呱呀，”声音很重的，手脚揪缩。
The newborn infant was lying on a heap of straw on the ground, crying at the top of her lungs and twitching her little limbs.
脐带绕在她底身上，胎盘落在一边，
The umbilical cord was wound round her body and the placenta left by her side.
她很想挣扎起来给她洗好，
The poor young woman was anxious to get up to wash her baby.
可是她底头昂起来，身子凝滞在床上。
But she could only manage to lift her head while her whole body seemed to remain glued to the bed.
这样，她看见她底丈夫，这个凶狠的男子，绯红着脸，提了一桶沸水到女婴的旁边。
All of a sudden she saw her husband, fierce and flushed, come up to the baby with a bucket of boiling water.
她简直用了她一生底最后的力向他喊：“慢！
“Stop, stop!
慢……”
...,” she threw what little strength she had into yelling at him.
但这个病前极凶狠的男子，没有一分钟商量的余地，
The vicious husband, nevertheless, was uncompromising.
也不答半句话，就将“呱呀，呱呀，”声音很重地在叫着的女儿，刚出世的新生命，用他底粗暴的两手捧起来，如屠户捧将杀的小羊一般，扑通，投下在沸水里了！
Without saying a word, he held up in both hands the baby with her cry of new life and, like a butcher slaughtering a small lamb, splashed her into the boiling water.
除出沸水的溅声和皮肉吸收沸水的嘶声以外，女孩一声也不喊。
The baby immediately stopped crying. All was silent except for the sizzling of her flesh in the boiling water.
她当时剜去了心一般地昏去了。
The young woman fainted away at the heart-rending scene.
想到这里，似乎泪竟干涸了。
At the painful recollection, she had no more tears to shed,
“唉！苦命呀！”她低低地叹息了一声。
but sighed faintly, “Oh, what a miserable life!”
这时春宝向他底母亲的脸上看，一边叫：“妈妈！妈妈！”
Chun Bao stared at her, whimpering, “Mummy, mummy!”
在她将离别底前一晚，她拣了房子底黑暗处坐着。
On the eve of her departure, she was sitting in the darkest corner of the house.
一盏油灯点在灶前，萤火那么的光亮。
In front of the stove stood an oil lamp, its light flickering like that of a fire-fly.
她，手里抱着春宝，将她底头贴在他底头发上。
Holding Chun Bao close to her bosom, she pressed her head against his hair.
她底思想似乎浮漂在极远，可是她自己捉摸不定远在哪里。于是慢慢地跑回来，跑到眼前，跑到她底孩子底身上。
Lost in deep thought, she seemed absolutely came to, and found herself face to face with the present and her child.
她向她底孩子低声叫：
Softly she called him,
“春宝，宝宝！”
“Chun Bao, Chun Bao! “
“妈妈，”孩子回答。
“Yes, mummy!” the child replied.
“妈妈明天要去了……”
“I’m going to leave you tomorrow. …”
“唔，”孩子似不十分懂得，本能地将头钻进他的母亲底胸膛。
“What?” the child did not quite understand what she meant and instinctively cuddled closer to her.
“妈妈不回来了，三年内不能回来了！”
“I’m not come back, not for three years!”
她擦一擦眼睛，
She wiped away her tears.
孩子放松口子问：
The little boy became inquisitive,
“妈妈哪里去呢？
“Mummy, where are you going?
庙里么？”
To the temple?”
“不是，三十里路外，一家姓李的。”
“No. I’m going to live with the Li family, about thirty li away.”
“我也去。”
“I want to go with you.”
“宝宝去不得的。”
“No, you can’t, darling!”
“呃！”孩子反抗地。
“Why?” he countered.
“你跟爸爸在家里，
“You’ll stay home with daddy.
爸爸会照料宝宝的：
He’ll take good care of you.
同宝宝睡，也带宝宝玩，
He’ll sleep with you and play with you.
你听爸爸底话好了。
You just listen to daddy.
过三年……”
In three years …”
她没有说完，孩子要哭似地说：
Before she had finished talking the child sadly interrupted her.
“爸爸要打我的！”
“Daddy will beat me!”
“爸爸不再打你了，
“Daddy will never beat you again.”
”同时用她底左手抚摸着孩子底右额，
Her left hand was stroking the scar on the right side of the boy’s forehead –
在这上，有他父亲在他刚杀死他刚生下的妹妹后第三天，用锄柄敲他，肿起而又平复了的伤痕。
a reminder of the blow dealt by her husband with the handle of a hoe three days after he killed the baby girl.
她似要还想对孩子说话；她底丈夫踏进门了。
She was about to speak to the boy again when her husband came in.
他走到她底面前，一只手放在袋里，掏取着什么，一边说：
He walked up to her, and fumbling in his pocket, he said,
“钱已经拿来七十元了。
“I’ve got seventy dollars from them.
还有三十元要等你到了后十天付。”
They’ll give me the other thirty dollars ten days after you get there.”
停了一息说：“也答应轿子来接。”
After a short pause, he added, “They’ve promised to take you there in a sedan-chair.”
又停了一息：“也答应轿夫一早吃好早饭来。”
After another short pause, he continued, “The chair carriers will come to take you early in the morning as soon as they’ve had breakfast.”
这样，他离开了她，又向门外走出去了。
With this he walked out again.
这一晚，她和她底丈夫都没有吃晚饭。
That evening, neither he nor she felt like having supper.
第二天，春雨竟滴滴淅淅地落着。
The next day there was a spring drizzle.
轿是一早就到了，
The chair carrier arrived at the crack of dawn.
可是这妇人，她却一夜不曾睡。
The young woman had not slept a wink during the night.
她先将春宝底几件破衣服都修补好；
She had spent the time mending Chun Bao’s tattered clothes.
春将完了，夏将到了，可是她，连孩子冬天用的破烂棉袄都拿出来，移交给他底父亲——实在，他已经在床上睡去了。
Although it was late spring and summer was near, she took out the boy’s shabby cotton-padded winter jacket and wanted to give it to her husband, but he was fast asleep.
以后，她坐在他底旁边，想对他说几句话，
Then she sat down beside her husband, wishing to have a chat with him.
可是长夜是迟延着过去，她底话一句也说不出。
But he slept on and she sat there silently, waiting for the night to pass.
而且，她大着胆向他叫了几声，发了几个听不清楚的音，声音在他底耳外，
She plucked up enough courage to mutter a few words into his ear, but even this failed to wake him up.
她也就睡下不说了。
So she lay down too.
等她朦朦胧胧地刚离开思索将要睡去，春宝又醒了。
As she was about to doze off, Chun Bao woke up.
他就推叫他底母亲，要起来。
He wanted to get up and pushed his mother.
以后当她给他穿衣服的时候，向他说：
Dressing the child, she said,
“宝宝好好地在家里，不要哭，免得你爸爸打你。
“Darling, you mustn’t cry while I’m away or daddy will beat you.
以后妈妈常买糖果来，买给宝宝吃，宝宝不要哭。”
I’ll buy sweets for you to eat. But you mustn’t cry any more, darling.”
而小孩子竟不知道悲哀是什么一回事，张大口子“唉，唉，”地唱起来了。
The boy was too young to know what sorrow was, so in a minute he began to sing.
她在他底唇边吻了一吻，又说：
She kissed his cheek and said,
“不要唱，你爸爸被你唱醒了。”
“Stop singing now, you’ll wake up daddy.”
轿夫坐在门首的板凳上抽着旱烟，说着他们自己要听的话。
The chair carriers were sitting on the benches in front of the gate, smoking their pipes and chatting.
一息，邻村的沈家婆也赶到了。
Soon afterwards, Mrs. Shen arrived from the nearby village where she was living.
一个老妇人，熟悉世故的媒婆，
She was an old and experienced matchmaker.
一进门，就拍拍她身上的雨点为，向他们说：
As soon as she crossed the threshold, she brushed the raindrops off her clothes, saying to the husband and wife,
“下雨了，下雨了，
“It’s raining, it’s raining.
就是你们家里此后会有滋长的预兆。”
That’s a good omen, it means you will thrive from now on.”
老妇人忙碌似地在屋内旋了几个圈，对孩子底父亲说了几句话，意思是讨酬报。因为这件契约之能订的如此顺利而合算，实在是她底力量。
The matchmaker bustled about the house and whispered and hinted to the husband that she should be rewarded for having so successfully brought about the deal.
“说实在话，春宝底爸呀，再加五十元，那老头子可以买一房妾了。”她说。
“To tell you the truth, for another fifty dollars, the old man could have bought himself a concubine,” She said.
于是又变向催促她——妇人却抱着春宝，这时坐着不动。老妇人声音很高地：
Then Mrs. Shen turned to the young woman who was sitting still with the child in her arms, and said loudly,
“轿夫要赶到他们家里吃中饭的，你快些预备呀！”
“The chair carriers have to get there in time for lunch, so you’d better hurry up and get ready to go.”
可是妇人向她瞧了一瞧，似乎说：“我实在不愿意离开呢！
The young woman glanced at her and her look seemed to say, “I don’t want to leave!
让我饿死在这里罢！”
I’d rather starve here!”
声音是在她底喉下，可是媒婆懂得了，走近到她前面，迷迷地向她笑说：
The matchmaker understood and, walking up to her, said smiling,
“你真是一个不懂事的丫头，
“You’re just a silly girl.
黄胖还有什么东西给你呢？
What can the ‘Yellow Fellow’ give you?
那边真是一份有吃有剩的人家，
But over there, the scholar has plenty of everything.
两百多亩田，经济很宽裕，房子是自己底，也雇着长工养着牛。
He has more than two hundred mou of land, has own houses and cattle.
大娘底性子是极好的，对人非常客气，
His wife is good-tempered and she’s very kind.
每次看见人总给人一些吃的东西。
She never turns anybody from her door without giving him something to eat.
那老头子——实在并不老，
And the scholar is not really old.
脸是很白白的，也没有留胡子，
He has a white face and no beard.
因为读了书，背有些偻偻的，斯文的模样，
He stoops a little as well-educated men generally do, and he is quiet gentlemanly.
可是也不必多说，
There’s no need for me to tell you more about him.
你一走下轿就看见的，
You’ll see him with your own eyes as soon as you get out of the sedan-chair.
我是一个从不说谎的媒婆。”
You know, as a matchmaker, I’ve never told a lie.”
妇人拭一拭泪，极轻地：
The young woman wiped away her tears and said softly,
“春宝……我怎么能抛开他呢！”
“Chun Bao … How can I part from him?”
“不用想到春宝。”老妇人一手放在她底肩上，脸凑近她和春宝。
“Chun Bao will be all right,” said the matchmaker, patting the young woman on the shoulder and bending over her and the child.
“有五岁了，
“He is already five.
古人说：‘三周四岁离娘身’，可以离开你了。
There’s a saying, ‘A child of three can move about free.’ So he can be left alone.
只要你底肚子争气些，到那边，也养下一二个来，万事都好了。”
It all depends on you. If you have one or two children over there, everything will be quiet all right.”
轿夫也在门首催起身了，他们噜苏着说：
The chair bearers outside the gate now started urging the young woman to set out, murmuring.
“又不是新娘子，啼啼哭哭的。”
“You are really not a bride, why should you cry?”
这样，老妇人将春宝从她底怀里拉去，一边说：
The matchmaker snatched away Chun Bao from his mother’s arms, saying,
“春宝让我带去罢。”
“Let me take care of Chun Bao!”
小小的孩子也哭了，手脚乱舞的，
The little boy began to scream and kick.
可是老妇人终于给他拉到小门外去。
The matchmaker took him outside.
当妇人走进轿门的时候，向他们说：
When the young woman was in the sedan-chair, she said,
“带进屋里来罢，外边有雨呢。”
“You’d better take the boy in, it’s raining outside.”
她底丈夫用手支着头坐着，一动没有动，而且出没有话。
Inside the house, resting his head on the palm of his hand, sat the little boy’s father, motionless and wordless.
两村相隔有三十里路，可是轿夫的第二次将轿子放下肩，就到了。
The two villages were thirty li apart, but the chair carriers reached their destion without making a single stop on the way.
春天的细雨，从轿子底布蓬里飘进，吹湿了她底衣衫。
The young woman’s clothes were wet from the spring raindrops which had been blown in through the sedan-chair screens.
一个脸孔肥肥的，两眼很有心计的约摸五十四五岁的老妇人来迎她，她想，这当然是大娘了。
An elderly woman, of about fifty-five, with a plump face and shrewd eyes came out to greet her.
可是只向她满面羞涩地看一看，并没有叫。
Realizing immediately that this was the scholar’s wife, the young woman looked at her bashfully and remained silent.
她很亲昵似地将她牵上沿阶，一个长长的瘦瘦的而面孔圆细的男子就从房里走出来。
As the scholar’s wife was amiably helping the young woman to the door, there came out from the house a tall and thin elderly man with a round, smooth face.
他向新来的少妇，仔细地瞧了瞧，堆出满脸的笑容来，向她问：
Measuring the young woman from head to foot, he smiled and said,
“这么早就到了么？
“You have come early.
可是打湿你底衣裳了。”
Did you get wet in the rain? “
而那老妇人，却简直没有顾到他底说话，也向她问：
His wife, completely ignoring what he was saying, asked the young woman,
“还有什么在轿里么？”
“Have you left anything in the sedan-chair?”
“没有什么了，”少妇答。
“No, nothing,” answered the young woman.
几位邻舍的妇人站在大门外，探头张望的；可是她们走进屋里面了。
Soon they were inside the house. Outside the gate, a number of women from the neighbourhood had gathered and were peeping in to see what was happening.
她自己也不知道这究竟为什么，她底心老是挂念着她底旧的家，掉不下她的春宝。
Somehow or other, the young woman could not help thinking about her old home and Chun Bao.
这是真实而明显的，她应庆祝这将开始的三年的生活——这个家庭，和她所典给他的丈夫，都比曾经过去的要好，
As a matter of fact, she might have congratulated herself on the prospects of spending the next three years here, since both her new home and her temporary husband seemed pleasant.
秀才确是一个温良和善的人，讲话是那么地低声，
The scholar was really kind and soft-spoken.
连大娘，实在也是一个出乎意料之外的妇人，她态度之殷勤，和滔滔的一席话：
His wife appeared hospitable and talkative.
说她和她丈夫底过去的生活之经过，从美满而漂亮的结婚生活起，一直到现在，中间的三十年。
She talked about her thirty years of happy married life with the scholar.
她曾做过一次的产，十五六年以前了，养下一个男孩子，据她说，是一个极美丽又极聪明的婴儿，可是不到十个月，竟患了天花死去了。
She had given birth to a boy some fifteen years before –a really handsome and lively child, she said—but he died of smallpox less than ten months after his birth.
这样，以后就再没有养过第二个。
Since then, she had never had another child.
在她底意思中，似乎——似乎——早就叫她底丈夫娶一房妾，可是她并没有说清楚；于是，就一直到现在。
The elderly woman hinted she had long been urging her husband to get a concubine but he had always put it off –either because he was too much in love with his wedded wife or because he couldn’t find a suitable woman for a concubine.
这样，竟说得这个具着朴素的心地的她，一时酸，一会苦，一时甜上心头，一时又咸的压下去了。
This chatter made the young woman feel sad, delighted and depressed by turns.
最后，这个老妇人并将她底希望也向她说出来了。
Finally, the young woman was told what was expected of her.
她底脸是娇红的，可是老妇人说：
She blushed when the scholar’s wife said,
“你是养过三四个孩子的女人了，当然，你是知道什么的，你一定知道的还比我多。”
“You’ve had three or four children. Of course you know what to do. You know much more than I do.”
这样，她说着走开了。
After this, the elderly woman went away.
当晚，秀才也将家里底种种情形告诉她，不过是向她夸耀或求媚罢了。
That evening, the scholar told the young woman a great many things about his family in an effort to show off and ingratiate himself with her.
她坐在一张橱子的旁边，这样的红的木橱，是她旧的家所没有的，
She was sitting beside a red- lacquered wooden wardrobe –something she had in her old home.
她眼睛白晃晃地瞧着它。秀才也就坐到橱子底面前来，问她：
Her dull eyes were focused upon it when the scholar came over and sat in front of it, asking,
“你叫什么名字呢？”
“What’s your name?”
她没有答，也并不笑，
She remained silent and did not smile.
站起来，走到床底前面，
Then, rising to her feet, she went towards the bed.
秀才也跟到床底旁边，更笑地问她：
He followed her, his face beaming.
“怕羞吗？
“Don’t be shy.
哈，你想你底丈夫么？
Still thinking about your husband?
哈，哈，现在我是你底丈夫了。”声音是轻轻的，又用手去牵她底袖子。
Ha, ha, I’m your husband now!” he said softly, touching her arm.
“不要愁罢！
“Don’t worry!
你也想你底孩子的，是不是？
You’re thinking about your child, aren’t you?
不过——”
Well …”
他没有说完，却又哈的笑了一声，他自己脱去他外面的长衫了。
He burst out laughing and took off his long gown.
她可以听见房外的大娘底声音在高声地骂着什么人，
The young woman then heard the scholar’s wife scolding somebody outside the room.
她一时听不出在骂谁，骂烧饭的女仆，又好像骂她自己，
Though she could not make out just who was being scolded, it seemed to be either the kitchen-maid or herself.
可是因为她底怨恨，仿佛又是为她而发的。
In her sorrow, the young woman began to suspect that it must be herself, but the scholar, now lying in bed, said loudly,
秀才在床上叫道：
“Don’t bother.
“睡罢，她常是这么噜噜苏苏的。
She always grumbles like that.
她以前很爱那个长工，因为长工要和烧饭的黄妈多说话，她却常要骂黄妈的。”
She likes our farm-hand very much, and often scolds the kitchen-maid for chatting with him too much.”
日子是一天天地过去了。
Time passed quickly.
旧的家，渐渐地在她底脑子里疏远了，而眼前，却一步步地亲近她使她熟悉。
The young woman’s thoughts of her old home gradually faded as she became better and better acquainted with what went on in her new one.
虽则，春宝底哭声有时竟在她底耳朵边响，梦中，她也几次地遇到过他了。
Sometimes it seemed to her she heard Chun Bao’s muffled cries, and she dreamed of him several times.
可是梦是一个比一个缥缈，眼前的事务是一天比一天繁多。
But these dreams became more and more blurred as she became occupied with her new life.
她知道这个老妇人是猜忌多心的，外表虽则对她还算大方，可是她底嫉妒的心是和侦探一样，监视着秀才对她的一举一动。
Outwardly, the scholar’s wife was kind to her, but she felt that, deep inside, the elderly woman was jealous and suspicious and that, like a detective, she was always spying to see what was going on between the scholar and her.
有时，秀才从外面回来，先遇见了她而同她说话，老妇人就疑心有什么特别的东西买给她了，非在当晚，
Sometimes, if the wife caught her husband talking to the young woman on his return home, she would suspect that he had bought her something special.
将秀才叫到她自己底房内去，狠狠地训斥一番不可。
She would call him to her bought her bedroom at night to give him a good scolding.
“你给狐狸迷着了么？”
“So you’ve been seduced by the witch!” she would cry.
“你应该称一称你自己底老骨头是多少重！”
“You should take good care of your old carcase.”
像这样的话，她耳闻到不止一次了。
These abusive remarks the young woman overheard time and again.
这样以后，她望见秀才从外面回来而旁边没有她坐着的时候，就非得急忙避开不可。
After that, whenever she saw the scholar return home, she always tried to avoid him if his wife was not present.
即使她在旁边，有时也该让开一些，但这种动作，
But even in the presence of his wife, the young woman considered it necessary to keep herself in the background.
她要做的非常自然，而且不能让旁人看出，否则，她又要向她发怒，说是她有意要在旁人的前面暴露她大娘底丑恶。
She had to do all this naturally so that it would not be noticed by outsiders, for otherwise the wife would get angry and blame her for purposely discrediting her in public.
而且以后，竟将家里的许多杂务都堆积在她底身上，同一个女仆那么样。
As time went on, the scholar’s wife even made the young woman do the work of a maidservant.
有时老妇人底换下来的衣服放着，她也给她拿去洗了，虽然她说：
Once the young woman decided to wash the elderly woman’s clothes.
“我底衣服怎么要你洗呢？
“You’re not supposed to wash my clothes,” the scholar’s wife said.
就是你自己底衣服，也可以叫黄妈洗的。”
“In fact you can have the kitchen-maid wash your own laundry."
可是接着说：
Yet the next moment she said,
“妹妹呀，你最好到猪栏里去看一看，那两只猪为什么这样喁喁叫的，
“Sister dear, you’d better go to the pigsty and have a look at the two pigs which have been grunting all the time.
或者因为没有吃饱罢，黄妈部是不肯给它吃饱的。”
They’re probably hungry because the kitchen-maid never gives them enough to eat.”
八个月了，那年冬天，她底胃却起了变化：
Eight months had passed and winter came.
老是不想吃饭，
The young woman became fussy about her food.
想吃新鲜的面，番薯等。
She had little appetite for regular meals and always felt like eating something different –noodles, potatoes and so on.
但番薯或面吃了两餐，又不想吃，又想吃馄饨，
But she soon got tired of noodles and potatoes, and asked for wonton.
多吃又要呕。
When she ate a little too much she got sick.
而且还想吃南瓜和梅子——这是六月时的东西，真稀奇，向哪里去找呢？
Then she felt a desire for pumpkins and plums –things that could only be had in summer.
秀才是知道在这个变化中所带来的预告了。
The scholar knew what all this meant.
他镇日地笑微微，能找到的东西，总忙着给她找来。
He kept smiling all day and gave her whatever was available.
他亲身给她到街上去买橘子，又托便人买了金柑来，
He went on town himself to get her tangerines and asked someone to buy her some oranges.
他在廊沿下走来走去，口里念念有词的，不知说什么。
He often paced up and down the veranda, muttering to himself.
他看她和黄妈磨过年的粉，
One day, he saw the young woman and the kitchen-maid grinding rice for the Spring Festival.
但还没有磨了三升，就向她叫：“歇一歇罢，
They had hardly started grinding when he said to the young woman, “You’d better have a rest now.
长工也好磨的，年糕是人人要吃的。”
We can let the farm-hand do it, since everybody is going to eat the rice cakes.”
有时在夜里，人家谈着话，他却独自拿了一盏灯，在灯下，读起《诗经》来了：
Sometimes in the evening, when the rest of the household were chatting, he would sit alone near an oil lamp, reading the Book of Songs:
关关雎鸠，在河之洲，
“Fair, Fair,” cry the ospreys on the island in the river.
窈窕淑女，君子好逑——
Lovely is the good lady, Fit bride for our lord. …
这时长工向他问：
The farm-hand once asked him,
“先生，你又不去考举人，还读它做什么呢？”
“Please, sir, what are reading this book for? You’re not going to sit for a higher civil service examination, are you?”
他却摸一摸没有胡子的口边，怡悦地说道：
The scholar stroked his beardless chin and said in a gay tone,
“是呀，你也知道人生底快乐么？
“Well, you know the joys of life, don’t you?
所谓：‘同房花烛夜，金榜挂名时。’
There’s a saying that the greatest joy of life is either to spend the first night in the nuptial chamber or to pass a civil service examination.
你也知道这两句话底意思么？这是人生底最快乐的两件事呀！
As for me, I’ve already experience both.
可是我对于这两件事都过去了，我却还有比这两件更快乐的事呢！”
But now there’s a still greater blessing in store for me.”
这样，除出他底两个妻以外，其余的人们都大笑了。
His remark set the whole household laughing –except for his wife and the young woman.
这些事，在老妇人眼睛里是看非常气恼了。
To the scholar’s wife all this was annoying.
她起初闻到她底受孕也欢喜，
When she first heard of the young woman’s pregnancy, she was pleased.
以后看见秀才的这样奉承她，她却怨恨她自己肚子底不会还债了。
Later, when she saw her husband lavishing attentions on the young woman, she began to blame herself for being barren.
有一次，次年三月了，这妇人因为身体感觉不舒服，头有些痛，睡了三天。
Once, the following spring, it happened that the young woman fell ill and was laid up for three days with a headache.
秀才呢，也愿她歇息歇息，更不时地问她要什么，
The scholar was anxious that she take a rest and frequently asked what she needed.
而老妇人却着实地发怒了。
This made his wife angry.
她说她装娇，噜噜苏苏地也说了三天。
She grumbled for three days and said that the young woman was malingering.
她先是恶意地讥嘲她：说是一到秀才底家里就高贵起来了，什么腰酸呀，痛呀，姨太太的架子也都摆出来了；
“She has been spoiled here and become stuck-up like a real concubine,” she said, sneering maliciously, “always complaining about headaches or backaches.
以前在她自己底家里，她不相信她有这样的娇养，恐怕竟和街头的母狗一样，肚子里有着一肚皮的小狗，临产了，还要到处地奔求着食物。
She must have been quiet different before—like a bitch that has to go searching for food even she is going to bear a litter of puppies!
现在呢，因为“老东西”——这是秀才的妻叫秀才的名字——趋奉了她，就装着娇滴滴的样子了。
Now, with the old man fawning on her, she puts on airs!”
“儿子，”她有一次在厨房里对黄妈说，“谁没有养过呀？
“Why so much fuss about having a baby?” said the scholar’s wife one night to the kitchen-maid.
我也曾怀过十个月的孕，不相信有这么的难受。
“I myself was once with child for ten months, I just can’t believe she’s really feeling so bad.
而且，此刻的儿子，还在‘阎罗王的簿里’，谁保的定生出来不是一只癞虾蟆呢？
Who knows what she’s going to have? It may be just a little toad!
也等到真的‘鸟儿’，从洞里钻出来看见了，才可在我底面前显威风，摆架子，此刻，
She’d better not try to bluff me, throwing her weight around before the little thing is born.
不过是一块血的猫头鹰，
It’s still nothing but a clot of blood!
就这么的装腔，也显得太早一点！”
It’s really a bit too early for her to make such a fuss!”
当晚这妇人没有吃晚饭，这时她已经睡了，听了这一番婉转的冷嘲与热骂，她呜呜咽咽地低声哭泣了。
The young woman who had gone to bed without supper was awakened by this torrent of malicious abuse and burst into convulsive sobs.
秀才也带衣服坐在床上，听到浑身透着冷汗，发起抖来。
The scholar was also shocked by what he heard—so much so that he broke into a cold sweat and shook with anger.
他很想扣好衣服，重新走起来，去打她一顿，抓住她底头发狠狠地打她一顿，泄泄他一肚皮的气。
He wanted to go to his wife’s room, grab her by the hair and give her a good beating so as to work off his feelings.
但不知怎样，似乎没有力量，连指也颤动，臂也酸软了，一边轻轻地叹息着说：
But, somehow or other, he felt powerless to do so; his fingers trembled and his arms ached with weariness.
“唉，一向实在太对她好了。
Sighing deeply, he said softly, “I’ve been too good to her.
结婚了三十年，没有打过她一掌，简直连指甲都没有弹到她底皮肤上过，
In thirty years of married life, I’ve never slapped her face or given her a scratch.
所以今日，竟和娘娘一般地难惹了。”
That’s why she is so cocky.”
同时，他爬过到床底那端，她底身边，向她耳语说：
Then, crawling across the bed, he whispered to the young woman beside him,
“不要哭罢，不要哭罢，随她吠去好了！
“Now, stop crying, stop crying, let her cackle!
她是阉过的母鸡，看见别人的孵卵是难受的，
A barren hen is always jealous!
假如你这一次真能养出一个男孩子来，我当送你两样宝贝——我有一只青玉的戒指，一只白玉的……”
If you manage to have a baby boy this time, I’ll give you two precious gifts—a blue jade ring and a white jade…”
他没有说完，可是他忍不住听下门外的他底大妻底喋喋的讥笑的声音，
leaving the last sentence unfinished, he turned to listen to his wife’s jeering voice outside the room.
他急忙地脱去了衣服，将头钻井被窝里去，凑向她底胸膛，一边说：
He hastily took off his clothes, and, covering his head with the quilt and nestling closer to the young woman, he said,
“我有白玉的……”
“I’ve a white jade…”
肚子一天天地膨胀的如斗那么大，
The young woman grew bigger and bigger around the waist.
老妇人终究也将产婆雇定了，而且在别人的面前，竟拿起花布来做婴儿用的衣服。
The scholar’s wife made arrangements with a midwife, and when other people were around, she would busy herself making baby’s clothes out of floral prints.
酷热的暑天到了尽头，旧历的六月，他们在希望的眼中过去了。秋开始，凉风也拂拂地在乡镇上吹送。
The hot summer had ended and the cool autumn breeze was blowing over the village.
于是有一天，这全家的人们都到了希望底最高潮，屋里底空气完全地骚动起来。
The day finally came when the expectations of the whole household reached their climax and everybody was agog.
秀才底心更是异常地紧张，他在天井上不断地徘徊，手里捧着一本历书，好似要读它背诵那么地念去——“戊辰”，“甲戌”，“壬寅之年”，老是反复地轻轻地说着。
His heart beating faster than ever, the scholar was pacing the courtyard, reading about horoscopes from an almanac in his hand as intently as if he wanted to commit the whole book to memory.
有时他底焦急的眼光向一间关了窗的房子望去——在这间房子内是产母底低声呻呤的声音；有时他向天上望一望被云笼罩着的太阳，于是又走向门口，向站在房门内黄妈问：
One moment he would look anxiously at the room with its windows closely shut whence came the muffled groans of the cloudy sky, and walk up to the kitchen-maid at the door to ask,
“此刻如何？”
“How is everything now?”
黄妈不住地点着头不做声响，一息，答：
Nodding, the maid would reply after a moment’s pause,
“快下来了，快下来了。”
“It won’t be long now, it won’t be long now.”
于是他又捧了那本历书，在廊下徘徊起来。
He would resume pacing the courtyard and reading the almanac.
这样的情形，一直继续到黄昏底青烟在地面起来，
The suspense lasted until sunset.
灯火一盏盏的如春天的野花般在屋内开起，婴儿才落地了，是一个男的。
Then, when wisps of kitchen smoke were curling up from the roofs and lamps were gleaming in the country houses like so many wild flowers in spring, a baby boy was born.
婴儿底声音是很重地在屋内叫，秀才却坐在屋角里，几乎快乐到流出眼泪来了。
The newborn baby cried at the top of his voice while the scholar sat in a corner of the house, with tears of joy in his eyes.
全家的人都没有心思吃晚饭。
The household was so excited that no one cared about supper.
一个月以后，婴儿底白嫩的小脸孔，已在秋天的阳光里照耀了。
A month later, the bright and tender-faced baby made his debut in the open.
这个少妇给他哺着奶，邻舍的妇人围着他们瞧，
While the young woman was breastfeeding him, womenfolk from the neighbourhood gathered around to feast their eyes upon the boy.
有的称赞婴儿底鼻子好，有的称赞婴儿底口子好，有的称赞婴儿底两耳好；
Some liked his nose; others, his mouth; still others, his ears.
更有的称赞婴儿底母亲，也比以前好，白而且壮了。
Some praised his mother, saying that she had become whiter and healthier.
老妇人却正和老祖母那么地吩咐着，保护着，这时开始说：
The scholar’s wife, now acting like a granny, said,
“够了，不要弄他哭了。”
“That’s enough! You’ll make the baby cry!”
关于孩子底名字，秀才是煞费苦心地想着，但总想不出一个相当的字来。
As to the baby’s name, the scholar racked his brain, but just could not hit upon a suitable one.
据老妇人底意见，还是从“长命宝贵”或“福禄寿喜”里拣一个字，最后还是“寿”字或与“寿”同意义的字，如“其颐”，“彭祖”等，
His wife suggested that the Chinese character shou, meaning longevity, or one of its synonyms, should be included in his name.
但秀才不同意，以为太通俗，人云亦云的名字。
But the scholar did not like it—it was too commonplace.
于是翻开了《易经》，《书经》，向这里找，但找了半月，一月，x
He spent several weeks looking through Chinese classics like the Book of Changes and the Book of History in search of suitable characters to be used as the baby’s name.
但秀才不同意，以为太通俗，人云亦云的名字。
But all his efforts proved fruitless.
在他底意思：以为在这个名字内，一边要祝福孩子，一边要包含他底老而得子底蕴义，所以竟不容易找。
It was a difficult problem to solve because he wanted a name which should be auspicious for the baby and would imply at the same time that he was born to him in old age.
这一天，他一边抱着三个月的婴儿，一边又向书里找名字，戴着一副眼镜，将书递到灯底旁边去。
One evening, while holding the three-month-old baby in his arms, the scholar, with spectacles on, sat down near a lamp and again looked into some book in an effort to find a name for the boy.
婴儿底母亲呆呆地坐在房内底一边，不知思想着什么，却忽然开口说道：
The baby’s mother, sitting quietly in a corner of the room, appeared to be musing. Suddenly she said,
“我想，还是叫他‘秋宝’罢。”
“I suppose you could call him ‘Qiu Bao’.”
屋内的人们底几对眼睛都转向她，注意地静听着：“他不是生在秋天吗？
Those in the room turned to look at the young woman and listened intently as she continued, “Qiu means autumn and Bao means treasure.
还是叫他“秋宝”吧。
So since he was born in autumn, you’d better call him ‘Qiu Bao’.”
母亲的回忆
Loving Memories of Mother
朱德
Zhu De
得到母亲去世的消息，我很悲痛。
I was deeply grieved to learn of mother’s death.
我爱我母亲，
I love my mother.
特别是她勤劳一生，很多事情是值得我永远回忆的。
Of her hardworking life, in particular, a great many things will forever be cherished in my memory.
我家是佃农，
I come from a tenant farmer’s family.
祖籍广东韶关籍人，在“湖广填四川”时迁移四川仪陇县马鞍场。
My original family home was Shao Guan, Guangdong Province, into which my ancestors had moved from another province as settlers. During the mass migration of peasants from Huguang to Sichuan Province, my ancestors moved to Ma An Chang, Yi Long County, Sichuan.
世代为地主耕种，家境是贫苦的，
From generation to generation, they tilled land for landlord only to eke out a bare subsistence.
和我们来往的朋友也都是老老实实的贫苦农民。
People who associated with them as friends were likewise honest impoverished peasants.
母亲一共生了十三个儿女，
Mother gave birth to thirteen children in all.
因为家境贫穷，无法全部养活，只留下八个，以后再生下的被迫溺死了。
But only the first eight of them survived while the next five were drowned at birth by my parents against their will because they were too poor to raise them all.
这在母亲心里是多么悲痛、悲哀和无可奈何的事啊！
How anguished, sad and helpless mother must have felt!
母亲把八个孩子一手养大成人。
She did manage, however, to have the eight children brought up all by herself.
可是她的时间大半给家务和耕种占去了，没法多照顾孩子，只好让孩子们在地里爬着。
But she was too busily occupied with household chores and farming to look after the kids so that they were left alone crawling about in the fields.
母亲是个“好劳动”。
Mother was a hardworking woman.
从我能记忆时起，总是天不亮就起床。
As far as I can remember, she would always get up before daybreak.
全家二十口人，妇女轮班煮饭，轮到就煮一年。
In our household of more than twenty members, all women would take turns to do cooking for one year.
母亲把饭煮了，还要种田种菜，喂猪养蚕，纺棉花。
Apart from cooking, mother did farming, planted vegetables, fed pigs, raised silkworms and spun cotton into yarn.
因为她身材高大结实，还能挑水挑粪。
Tall and of strong build, she could carry two buckets of water or manure on a shoulder pole.
母亲这样地整日劳碌着，
Mother worked hard from dawn till dusk.
我们到四五岁时就很自然地在旁边帮她的忙，
When we kids were four or five years old, we found ourselves automatically helping her with farm work.
到八九岁时就不单能挑能背，还会种地了。
At the age of eight or nine, I could not only carry heavy loads on a shoulder pole or on my back, but also knew how to farm the land.
记得那时我从学堂回家，母亲总在灶上汗流满面地烧饭，我就悄悄把书本一放，挑水或放牛去了。
I remember whenever I came back from school and saw mother busy cooking in the kitchen with sweat streaming down her face, I would immediately lay down my books and sneak out to carry water on a shoulder pole or graze the cattle.
有的季节里，我上午读书下午种地，
In some seasons, I would study in the morning and work in the fields in the afternoon.
一到农忙便整月停在地里跟着母亲劳动。
During the busy season, I would spend all day working by the side of mother.
这个时期母亲教给我许多生产知识。
It was then that she taught me a lot about the knack of farming.
佃农家庭的生活自然是很苦的。
The life of a tenant farmer’s family was of course hard,
可是由于母亲的聪明能干，却很舒服。
but we somehow managed to scrape along because mother was a clever and able woman.
我们把桐子榨油来点灯。
We used oil squeezed from seeds of tung trees to light our lamps.
吃的是豌豆饭，菜花，红薯饭，杂粮饭，把菜籽榨出的油放在饭里做调料，这种地主富人家看也不看的饭食，
We ate rice cooked with peas, vegetables, sweet potatoes or coarse grain, and all seasoned with rapeseed oil—food which landlords and rich people would scorn to eat.
母亲却能做得使一家吃起来有滋味。
Nevertheless, mother’s cooking was done so well that everybody ate with gusto.
赶上丰年，才能缝上一些新衣服，衣服也是自己生产出来的。
Only in good year, could we afford to have some home-made new clothes to wear.
母亲亲手纺出线，请人织成布，染了颜色，
Mother would spin cotton into yarn and then asked somebody to have it woven into fabric and dyed.
我们叫做“家织布”，
We called it “home spun fabric”.
有铜钱那样厚，一套衣服老大穿过了，老二老三接下来穿还穿不烂。
It was as thick as copper coin and was so durable that after the eldest brother had grown out of the home-spun garment, it could still be used by the second and third brothers in turn without being worn out.
劳动的家庭是有规律有组织的。
It was characteristic of an industrious household to be well-regulated and well- organized.
我的祖父是一个中国标本式的农民，
My grandfather was a typical Chinese farmer.
到了八九十岁还非耕田不可，
He went on doing farm work even he was an octogenarian.
不耕田就会害病，
He would feel unwell without doing farm labour.
直到临死前不久还在地里劳动。
He was found still working on the farm even shortly before his death.
祖母是家庭的组织者，
Grandmother was the organizer of the household.
一切生产事务由她管理分派。
She was in charge of all the farm affairs, assigning tasks to each member of the household.
每年除夕，分派好一年的工作以后，
On each New Year’s Eve, she would work out all job assignments for the coming year.
天还没亮，母亲就第一个起床烧火做饭去了，
Mother would be the first to get up before daybreak.
接着听见祖父起来的声音，
Soon grandfather would be heard to rise from his bed, followed by the rest of the household.
接着大家都离开床铺，喂猪的喂养猪，砍柴的砍柴，挑水的挑水。
Some went about feeding pigs, some cutting firewood, and some carrying water on a shoulder pole.
母亲在家庭里极能够任劳任怨，
Mother always worked without complaint despite hardships.
她和蔼的性格使她从来没有打骂过我们上次，而且也没有和任何人炒过架。
Amiable by nature, she never beat or scolded us, le alone quarreled with anybody.
因此,虽在这样的大家庭里，长幼叔伯妯娌相处都很和睦。
Consequently, large as it was, the whole household, old and young, uncles and sisters-in-law, lived in perfect harmony.
母亲同情贫苦的人——这是她朴素的阶级意识——
Out of her naive class consciousness, she showed sympathy for the poor.
虽然自己不富裕，还周济和照顾比自己更穷的亲戚。
Despite her own straitened circumstances, she often went out of her way to help out those relatives who were even more needy than herself.
她自己是很节省的。
She lived a very frugal life.
父亲有时吸点大烟，喝点酒，
Father would occasionally smoke a long-stemmed Chinese pipe or drink some wine.
母亲管束着我们，不允许我们沾染上一点。
To prevent us from falling into the same habit, mother kept us children under strict control.
母亲那种劳动简朴的习惯，母亲那种宽厚仁慈的态度，至今还在我心中留有深刻的印象。
Her diligence and frugality, her generosity and kindheartedness—all have left a lasting impression on my mind.
但是灾难不因为中国农民的和平就不能降临到他们的身上。
Chinese peasants were honest and peaceable, but disaster befell them just the same.
庚子（一九〇九年）前后，四川连年旱灾，很多农民饥饿破产。农民不得不成群结队去“吃大户”。
Around 1900, when Sichuan Province was hit by successive years of drought, numerous poverty-stricken peasants went hungry and had to go out in crowds to seize food from the homes of landlords.
我亲眼见到六七百著得破破烂烂的农民和他们的妻子儿女，被所谓“官兵”一阵凶杀毒打，血溅四五十里，哭声动天。
Thereupon I saw with my own eyes how a group of shabbily-dressed peasants and their families were savagely beaten up or slain by government troops, the road stained with their blood for some 40 li and their cries rending the air.
在这样的年月里，我家也遭受更多的困难，
In those days, my family also met with increasing difficulties.
仅仅吃些小菜叶，高粱，通年没有吃过白米。
All the year round, we went without rice to eat, and simply lived on edible wild hers and kaoliang.
特别是甲辰（一九〇四）那一年，地主欺压佃户，要在租种地上加租子，因为办不到，就趁大年除夕，威胁着我家要退佃，逼着我们搬家。
In 1904, especially, when land- lords, riding roughshod over tenants, pressed for higher rents on the let-out pieces of land, we, unable to meet their demands, had our tenancy cancelled by them and were forced to move house on New Year’s Eve.
在悲惨的情况下，我们一家人都哭泣着连夜分散。
On that miserable night, my family tearfully separated and thenceforth had to live in two different places.
从此我家被迫分两处住下，人手少了，又遭天灾，庄稼没有收成，这是我家最悲惨的一次遭遇。
Shorthandedness and crop failure due to the natural calamity brought misfortune on my family.
母亲没有灰心，
Mother, however, did not lose heart.
她对穷苦农民的同情，和对为富不仁者的反感却更加强烈了。
Adversity had deepened her sympathy for the poor and needy as well as her aversion to the heartless rich.
母亲沉痛的三言两语的诉说，以及我亲眼看见到的许多不平事实，启发了我幼年时期反抗压迫追求光明的思想，
The painful complaint she had uttered in one or two words and the innumerable injustice I had witnessed aroused in me a spirit of revolt and a desire for a bright future.
使我决心寻找新的生活。
I made up my mind to seek a new life.
我不久就离开母亲，因为我读了书。
Not long afterwards, I had to tear myself away from mother when I began my schooling.
我是一佃农家庭的子弟，本来是没钱读书的。
As the son of a tenant, I of course could not afford to go to school.
那时乡间豪绅地主的欺压，衙门差役的横蛮，逼得母亲和父亲决心要节衣缩食培养出一个读书人来“支撑门户”。
My parents, however, faced with the bullying and oppression of the local evil gentry, landlords and yamen bailiffs, decided to scrape up enough money by living a very frugal life to pay for my education so that they could make a scholar of me for the family to keep up appearances.
我念过私塾，光绪三十一年（一九〇五）考了科举，
At first I was sent to an old-style private school and in 1905 I took the imperial examination.
以后又到更远的顺庆和成都去读书。
Later, I went farther away from home to study in Shunqing and Chengdu, both in Sichuan Province.
这个时期的学费，都是东挪西借来的，总共用了二百多块钱，
All the tuition fees were paid with borrowed money, totaling more than 200 silver dollars.
直到我后来在护国军旅长时才还清。
The debt was not repaid until later I became a brigade commander of the Hu Guo Army.
光绪三十四年（一九〇八），我从成都回来，
In 1908, I came back from Chengdu to set up a higher primary school in Yi Long County.
在仪陇县办高等小学，一年回家二三次去看母亲。
While teaching school, I went home to see mother two or three times a year,
那时新旧思想冲突很厉害，
in those days, there was a sharp conflict between old and new ideologies.
我们抱了科学民主的思想想在家乡做点事情，守旧的豪绅们便出来反对我们。
Due to our leaning towards science and democracy, we met with opposition from the local conservative influential gentry in whatever we attempted for the benefit of our home town.
我下决心瞒着慈爱的母亲脱离家乡，远走云南参加了新军和同盟会。
So I decided to leave, without my mother’s knowledge, for the faraway province of Yunnan, where I joined the New Army and Tongmenhui.
我到云南后，从家信中知道，我母亲对我这一举动不但不反对，还给我许多慰勉。
On my arrival in Yunnan, I learned from my home letters that mother, instead of frowning upon my new move, gave me a lot of encouragement and comfort.
从宣统元年（一九〇九）到现在，我再没有回过家一次，
From 1909 up to now, I have never paid a visit to my home town.
只在民国十年（一九二一年），我曾经把父亲和母亲接出去产，
In 1921, however, I had my parents come out to live with me.
但是他俩劳动惯了，离开土地就不舒服，所以还是回了家，
But, as confirmed farm labourers, they felt unwell without land to till and subsequently had to return home.
父亲就在回家途中死了，母亲回家继续劳动一直到最后。
Father died on the way back, and mother continued to do farm work at home to the very last.
中国革命继续向前发展，我的思想也继续的向前进步。
As the Chinese revolution continued to develop, I became more and more politically aware.
当我发现中国革命的正确道路时，我便加入了中国共产党。
I joined the Chinese Communist party as soon as I discovered the correct orientation of the Chinese revolution.
大革命失败了，我和家庭完全隔绝了。
When the Great Revolution of 1924-1927 failed in China, I completely lost contact with my family.
母亲就靠那三十亩地独立支持一家人生活。
Mother alone supported the whole family by working on the 30 mu of land.
抗战以后，我才能和家里通信。
I did not hear from her until the outbreak of the War of Resistance to Japan.
母亲知道我们所做事业，她期望着中国民族解放的成功。
When she was informed of great cause in which I was engaged, she eagerly looked forward to the success of China’s national liberation.
她知道我们党的困难，依然在家里过着劳苦的农妇生活。
While living the hard life of a peasant woman at home, she was aware of the difficulties and hardships that our Party was then undergoing.
七年中间，我曾寄回几百元钱和几张自己的照片给母亲。
During the seven years after the outbreak of the War, I managed to send her several hundred yuan and some photos of myself.
母亲年老了，
Mother was getting old.
但她永远想念着我，如同我永远想念着她一样。
She was always thinking of me as I was of her.
去年收到侄儿的来信说：“祖母今年已八十有五，
Last year, a letter from my nephew says, “Grandma is 85.
精神不如咋年之健康，饮食起居亦不如前，甚望见你一面，聊叙别后情景。……”
She’s eager to see you and chat about things that have happened since you left home…”
但我献身于民族抗战事业，竟未能报答母亲的希望。
But I never lived up to her expectation because of my dedication to the cause of the War of Resistance against Japan.
母亲最大的特点，是一生不曾脱离过劳动。
The most prominent characteristic of mother was her lifelong participation in physical labour.
母亲生我前一分钟还在灶上煮饭。
She did cooking in the kitchen just one minute before giving birth to me.
虽到老年，仍然热爱生产。
Her ardent love for agricultural production remained undiminished even in her old age.
去年另一封外甥的家信中说：“外祖母大人因年老关系，近年不比往年健康，但仍不缀劳作，尤喜纺棉。……”
My nephew says in another letter to me last year, “because of old age, grandma is no longer in good health, but she still does manual labour, and is particularly fond of spinning cotton into yarn…”
我应该感谢母亲，她教给我与困难作斗争的经验，我在家庭生活中已经饱尝艰苦，这使我在三十多年的军事生活和革命生活中，再没有感到困难和被困难吓倒。
I owe mother a debt of gratitude because she taught me how to cope with the numerous difficulties that I ran into at home so that later during my over 30 years of military and revolutionary life I have never bowed down to any difficulty.
母亲又给我一个强健的身体和一个劳动的习惯，使我从来没有感到过劳累。
She also bequeathed me a strong constitution as well as a strong inclination for labour so that I have been able to work untiringly.
我应该感谢母亲，她教给我生产的知识和革命的意志，鼓励我走上以后的革命道路，
I owe mother s debt of gratitude because she imparted to me knowledge of productive labour and a revolutionary will, thus enabling me to take to the revolutionary path.
在这条路上我一天比一天更加认识了：只有这种知识，这种意志，才是世界上最可宝贵的财产。
By keeping to this path, I have come to realize more and more clearly that this knowledge of productive labour and this revolutionary will are the most valuable assets in the world.
母亲现在离我而去了，我将永不能再见她一面了，
Mother is gone and I shall never see her again.
这个悲哀是无法补救的。
This is an ever-lasting sorrow.
母亲是一个“平凡”的人，她只是中国千百万劳动人民中的一员，但是正是这千百万人创造了和创造着中国的历史。
Mother is an “ordinary” person and one of the millions of labouring people who have made and are still making Chinese history.
我用什么方法来报答母亲的深恩呢？
What can I do to repay her my debt of deep gratitude?
我将继续尽忠于我们的民族和人民，尽忠于我们的民族和人民的希望——中国共产党，使和母亲同样生活着的人能够过一个快乐的生活，
I swear to remain ever loyal to our nation and the people, ever loyal to the Chinese Communist Party—the hope of our nation and the people, so that all those who share the same lot with my mother may live a happier life.
这就是我所能做的和我一定做的。
That is what I can do and what I am certainly able to do.
愿母亲在地下安息！
May mother rest in peace! （张培基 译）
日本人的极端
The Japanese Extreme
林巍
Lin Wei
日本人做事极其认真，对此我有着切身的体会。
From my experience, I know the Japanese are very serious about their work.
在澳大利亚，我为一个日本代表团做导游时，
In Australia, I was once a tour guide for a Japanese group.
接到两个“私人”电话，聊过一阵。
After receiving two private phone calls for a few minutes,
之后，一个团员走到我跟前说，“仕事は仕事てす！
one of the team members came to me and said: “Shi go to was hi go to de su!
分かりますか？”（工作就是工作！ 你懂吗？）。
W aka ri ma su ka?” (“Business is business, do you understand?”)
对此我刻骨铭心。
which left me an indelible impression.
无疑，日本人的这种工作态度是值得推崇的。
Surely, the Japanese work ethics is highly desirable.
他们不做则矣，做则要做到最好。
Once they decide to do something, they want to be the best.
当然，这种民族性格，若用对了地方是好事，若方向错了，也很危险。
National characteristics of this kind can be both good and bad depending on their orientation.
一位日本朋友对我说，对于日本人的这种极端性格，他们自己甚至也会怀疑自己，即需要某种外力加以约束。
A Japanese friend of mine told me that they can’t even trust themselves since it is so easy for them to go to extremes if not confined by external forces.
所以，二战后取消了日本的军队，无疑是一种保险的做法。
Abolishing Japan’s military troops after World War II was undoubtedly one of the safest ways to ensure peace.
就历史渊源而言，日本人没有中国人的“自我中心主义”，即认识到自己没有深厚的文化底蕴，所以必须以他人之先进，补自己之不足，但却由此形成了“最新主义”。
Historically, given the fact that the Japanese culture didn’t encourage egocentrism in the way the Chinese had profoundly, they developed “novelism” to embrace advantages of other nations to complement this cultural difference.
日本人一般的对外借鉴原则是“守”、“破”、“离”。
The guiding principles for the Japanese to capture foreign advantages are summarized in three words: preservation, innovation and culmination.
“守”是指基本功要扎实，“破”是要在此基础上打破原有模式，而“离”则是要脱离原本，以达到最高境界。
Preservation, is to firmly lay a solid national foundation; innovation, to break through the original pattern and create something new; and culmination, to reach the top of all achievements.
日本人并不满足于一般的“拿来主义”，而是在内容、至少在外观上加以改造，以制出有自己特色的made in Japan的产品，从而追求“最新”。
Japanese borrowing is not an ordinary practice; it always pursues the highest standard of Japanese products, retaining their best qualities but adding new features. （林巍 译）
秋夜
Autumn Night
鲁迅
Lu Xun
在我的后园，可以看见墙外有两株树，一株是枣树，还有一株也是枣树。
Behind the wall of my backyard you can see two trees: one is a date tree, the other is also a date tree.
这上面的夜的天空，奇怪而高，
The night sky above them is strange and high.
我生平没有见过这样奇怪而高的天空。
I have never seen such a strange, high sky.
他仿佛要离开人间而去，使人们仰面不再看见。
It seems to want to leave this world of men, so that when folk look up they won’t be able to see it.
然而现在却非常之蓝，闪闪地睒着几十个星星的眼，冷眼。
For the moment, though, it is singularly blue; and its scores of starry eyes are blinking coldly.
他的口角上现出微笑，似乎自以为大有深意，而将繁霜洒在我的园里的野花草上。
A faint smile plays round its lips, a smile which it seems to think highly significant; and it dusts the wild plants in my courtyard with heavy frost.
我不知道那些花草真叫什么名字，人们叫他们什么名字。
I have no idea what these plants are called, what names they are commonly known by.
我记得有一种开过极细小的粉红花，现在还开着，但是更极细小了，
One of them, I remember, has minute pink flowers, and its flowers are still lingering on, although more minute than ever.
她在冷的夜气中，瑟缩地做梦，梦见春的到来，梦见秋的到来，梦见瘦的诗人将眼泪擦在她最末的花瓣上，告诉她秋虽然来，冬虽然来，
Shivering in the cold night air they dream of the coming of spring, of the coming of autumn, of the lean poet wiping his tears upon their last petals, who tells them autumn will come and winter will come,
而此后接着还是春，胡蝶乱飞，蜜蜂都唱起春词来了。
yet spring will follow when butterflies flit to and fro, and all the bees start humming songs of spring.
她于是一笑，虽然颜色冻得红惨惨地，仍然瑟缩着。
Then the little pink flowers smile, though they have turned a mournful crimson with cold and are shivering still.
枣树，他们简直落尽了叶子。
As for the date trees, they have lost absolutely all their leaves.
先前，还有一两个孩子来打他们，别人打剩的枣子，
Before, one or two boys still came to beat down the dates other people had missed.
现在是一个也不剩了，连叶子也落尽了。
But now not one date is left, and the trees have lost all their leaves as well.
他知道小粉红花的梦，秋后要有春；他也知道落叶的梦，春后还是秋。
They know the little pink flowers’ dream of spring after autumn; and they know the dream of the fallen leaves of autumn after spring.
他简直落尽叶子，单剩干子，然而脱了当初满树是果实和叶子时候的弧形，欠伸得很舒服。
They may have lost all their leaves and have only their branches left; but these, no longer weighed down with fruit and foliage, are stretching themselves luxuriously.
但是，有几枝还低亚着，护定他从打枣的竿梢所得的皮伤，而最直最长的几枝，却已默默地铁似的直刺着奇怪而高的天空，使天空闪闪地鬼眨眼；
A few boughs, though, are still drooping, nursing the wounds made in their bark by the sticks which beat down the dates; while, rigid as iron, the straightest and longest boughs silently pierce the strange, high sky, making it blink in dismay.
直刺着天空中圆满的月亮，使月亮窘得发白。
They pierce even the full moon in the sky, making it pale and ill at ease.
鬼睒眼的天空越加非常之蓝，不安了，仿佛想离去人间，避开枣树，只将月亮剩下。
Blinking in dismay, the sky becomes bluer and bluer, more and more uneasy, as if eager to escape from the world of men and avoid the date trees, leaving the moon behind.
然而月亮也暗暗地躲到东边去了。
But the moon, too, is hiding itself in the east;
而一无所有的干子，却仍然默默地铁似的直刺着奇怪而高的天空，一意要制他的死命，不管他各式各样地睒着许多蛊惑的眼睛。
while, silent still and as rigid as iron, the bare boughs pierce the strange, high sky, resolved to inflict on it a mortal wound, no matter in how many ways it winks all its bewitching eyes.
哇的一声，夜游的恶鸟飞过了。
With a shriek, a fierce night-bird passes.
我忽而听到夜半的笑声，
All of a sudden, I hear midnight laughter.
吃吃地，似乎不愿意惊动睡着的人，然而四围的空气都应和着笑。
The sound is muffled, as if not to wake those who sleep; yet all around the air resounds to this laughter.
夜半，没有别的人，
Midnight, and no one else is by.
我即刻听出这声音就在我嘴里，我也即刻被这笑声所驱逐，回进自己的房。
At once I realize it is I who am laughing, and at once I am driven by this laughter back to my room.
灯火的带子也即刻被我旋高了。
At once I turn up the wick of my paraffin lamp.
后窗的玻璃上丁丁地响，还有许多小飞虫乱撞。
A pit-a-pat sounds from the glass of the back window, where swarms of insects are recklessly dashing themselves against the pane.
不多久，几个进来了，许是从窗纸的破孔进来的。
Presently some get in, no doubt through a hole in the window paper.
他们一进来，又在玻璃的灯罩上撞得丁丁地响。
Once in, they set up another pit-a-pat by dashing themselves against the chimney of the lamp.
一个从上面撞进去了，他于是遇到火，而且我以为这火是真的。
One hurls itself into the chimney from the top, falling into the flame, and I fancy the flame is real.
两三个却休息在灯的纸罩上喘气。
On the paper shade two or three others rest, panting.
那罩是昨晚新换的罩，
The shade is a new one since last night.
雪白的纸，折出波浪纹的叠痕，一角还画出一枝猩红色的栀子。
Its snow white paper is pleated in wave-like folds, and painted in one corner is a spray of blood-red gardenias.
猩红的栀子开花时，枣树又要做小粉红花的梦，青葱地弯成弧形了……我又听到夜半的笑声；
When the blood-red gardenias blossom, the date trees, weighed down with bright foliage, will dream once more the dream of the little pink flowers and I shall hear the midnight laughter again.
我赶紧砍断我的心绪，看那老在白纸罩上的小青虫，头大尾小，
I hastily break off this train of thought to look at the small green insects still on the paper.
向日葵子似的，只有半粒小麦那么大，遍身的颜色苍翠得可爱，可怜。
Like sunflower seeds with their large heads and small tails, they are only half the size of a grain of wheat, the whole of them an adorable, pathetic green.
我打一个呵欠，点起一支纸烟，喷出烟来，对着灯默默地敬奠这些苍翠精致的英雄们。
I yawn, light a cigarette, and puff out the smoke, paying silent homage before the lamp to these green and exquisite heroes.
一九二四年九月十五日。
September 15, 1924. （杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）
秋夜
Autumn Night
鲁迅
Lu Xun
在我的后园，可以看见墙外有两株树，
Through the window I can see two trees in my backyard.
一株是枣树，还有一株也是枣树。
The one is a date tree, the other is also a date tree.
这上面的夜的天空，奇怪而高，
The night sky above is a strange and distant.
我生平没有见过这样奇怪而高的天空。
Never in my life have I seen such a strange and distant sky.
他仿佛要离开人间而去，使人们仰面不再看见。
He seems intent on forsaking the world and staying out of people’s sight.
然而现在却非常之蓝，闪闪地睒着几十个星星的眼，冷眼。
But now he is winking—with eyes of a few dozen stars, utterly blue, and cold.
他的口角上现出微笑，似乎自以为大有深意，而将繁霜洒在我的园里的野花草上。
A smile hovers around his mouth, seeming to him to be very profound, and thereupon he begins to spread frost on the wild flowers and wild grass in my courtyard.
我不知道那些花草真叫什么名字，人们叫他们什么名字。
I do not know the names of these flowers and grasses, or what people call them.
我记得有一种开过极细小的粉红花，现在还开着，但是更极细小了，她在冷的夜气中，瑟缩地做梦，
I remember a plant that put forth a tiny flower—the flower is still in bloom, but she is even tiner, trembling in the cold, dreaming.
梦见春的到来，梦见秋的到来，梦见瘦的诗人将眼泪擦在她最末的花瓣上，告诉她秋虽然来，冬虽然来，而此后接着还是春，胡蝶乱飞，蜜蜂都唱起春词来了。
She dreams of the coming of spring, of autumn, of a skinny poet wiping his tears on her last petal, telling her that autumn may come, winter may come, but eventually spring will come, when butterflies will fly gaily about, and the bees will sing their spring song.
她于是一笑，虽然颜色冻得红惨惨地，仍然瑟缩着。
Thereupon she smiles, although she has turned red in the piercing cold and remains curled up.
枣树，他们简直落尽了叶子。
The date trees have shed all their leaves.
先前，还有一两个孩子来打他们，别人打剩的枣子，
Some time ago, a boy or two still came to beat them for the dates that others had left behind.
现在是一个也不剩了，连叶子也落尽了。
Now, not a single one is left; even the leaves have all fallen.
他知道小粉红花的梦，秋后要有春；他也知道落叶的梦，春后还是秋。
The date tree understands the dream of the tiny pink flower, that after autumn spring will come; he also knows the dream of the fallen leaves, that after spring there is still autumn.
他简直落尽叶子，单剩干子，然而脱了当初满树是果实和叶子时候的弧形，欠伸得很舒服。
He has shed all his foliage, leaving only the trunk; he is relieved from bending under his load of leaves and fruit, and now enjoys stretching himself.
但是，有几枝还低亚着，护定他从打枣的竿梢所得的皮伤，而最直最长的几枝，却已默默地铁似的直刺着奇怪而高的天空，使天空闪闪地鬼眨眼；
But a few boughs are still hanging down, nursing the wounds caused by the poles that struck him for his dates, while the longest and straightest of his boughs are like iron, silently piercing the strange and distant sky, making him wink his wicked eyes;
直刺着天空中圆满的月亮，使月亮窘得发白。
piercing the full moon in the sky, making her go pale with embarrassment.
鬼睒眼的天空越加非常之蓝，不安了，
The wickedly winking sky turns an even deeper, perturbed blue.
仿佛想离去人间，避开枣树，只将月亮剩下。
He seems intent on escaping from men, on avoiding the date tree, leaving only the moon behind.
然而月亮也暗暗地躲到东边去了。
But the moon has secretly hid herself in the east.
而一无所有的干子，却仍然默默地铁似的直刺着奇怪而高的天空，一意要制他的死命，不管他各式各样地睒着许多蛊惑的眼睛。
Only the naked trunk is still like iron, silently piercing the strange and distant sky, determined to pierce it to death, regardless of how and how often he winks his seductive eyes.
哇的一声，夜游的恶鸟飞过了。
With a sharp shriek, a vicious bird of the night flies past.
我忽而听到夜半的笑声，吃吃地，似乎不愿意惊动睡着的人，然而四围的空气都应和着笑。
I suddenly hear a slight tittering in the middle of the night, so soft that it seems not to want to awaken those who are asleep, though the titter echoes across the surroundings air.
夜半，没有别的人，
In the dead of night, there is no one about.
我即刻听出这声音就在我嘴里，
I instantly recognize that this laughter is coming from my own mouth.
我也即刻被这笑声所驱逐，回进自己的房。灯火的带子也即刻被我旋高了。
Put to flight by the sound, I go back into my room and immediately raise the wick of my lamp.
后窗的玻璃上丁丁地响，还有许多小飞虫乱撞。
The glass pane of the back window rattles; many insects are still blindly battering against it.
不多久，几个进来了，许是从窗纸的破孔进来的。
Shortly afterward, a few squeeze in, probably through the holes in the paper covering.
他们一进来，又在玻璃的灯罩上撞得丁丁地响。
Once inside, they knock against the glass lampshade, making yet more rattling sounds.
一个从上面撞进去了，他于是遇到火，而且我以为这火是真的。
One plunges in from above, and runs into the flame. It is a real flame, I think.
两三个却休息在灯的纸罩上喘气。
But two or three rest panting on the paper lampshade.
那罩是昨晚新换的罩，雪白的纸，折出波浪纹的叠痕，一角还画出一枝猩红色的栀子。
The lampshade was replaced only last night, its snow-white paper folded in a wavelike pattern, with a sprig of scarlet jasmine painted in one corner.
猩红的栀子开花时，枣树又要做小粉红花的梦，青葱地弯成弧形了……
When the scarlet jasmine blossoms, the date tree will again dream the dream of the tiny pink flower; it will grow lushly and bend in an arc.
我又听到夜半的笑声；我赶紧砍断我的心绪，
I hear again the midnight laughter, and immediately cut the train of my thought.
看那老在白纸罩上的小青虫，头大尾小，向日葵子似的，只有半粒小麦那么大，
I look at these little insects still resting on the snow-white paper—their heads big and tails small, like sunflower seeds, only half the size of a grain of wheat.
遍身的颜色苍翠得可爱，可怜。
How lovely and pitiable they are in their emerald hue.
我打一个呵欠，点起一支纸烟，喷出烟来，
I yawn, and light a cigarette, puffing out the smoke.
对着灯默默地敬奠这些苍翠精致的英雄们。
I stare at the lamp and pay silent tribute to these dainty heroes in emerald green.
一九二四年九月十五日。
（Ng Mau-sang 译）
“无债一身轻”的回味
Recapturing the Feeling of “Out of Debt”
林巍
Lin Wei
二十多年前，当我第一次来到西方国家时，有一件事颠覆了我的传统概念，那就是不要怕借债。
About twenty years ago, when I first came to a western country, I was shocked by one thing—debt.
在中国传统文化里，是“无债一身轻”，证明你可自食其力，不依靠别人；
In traditional Chinese culture, there is a saying that “out of debt, out of pressure”;
而在西方社会里，是“有债一身轻”，因为那样证明你有信用，有人肯把钱借给你，同时也说明了你挣钱的能力。
however, in the west, it is just opposite—when you are in debt, you are trustworthy and financially capable.
就经济的发展规律而言，随着时间的积累，资源的消耗，物价总是上涨的，货币总是要贬值的
It seems to be an economic law that paper currency will always be depreciated as wealth is accumulated, resources reduced and everything inflated.
，因而“今天花明天的钱”，“拿别人的钱来赚钱”便总是上算的。
The golden rule therefore is always to purchase future goods using today’s money, or making money by borrowing from others.
所以，结论是一定要借钱。然而，任何事情都有“限度”，超过了便会走向反面；同时，在长期的总体规律之中，又有着短期的阶段性。
However, everything can go wrong if it goes over the limit during the upturns and downturns of long term economic cycles.
以美国人的生活为例，大部分都为债务人，或者说是靠债务来维持其很高的生活水准。
Taking the United States as an example, most Americans are debtors, having high living standards through borrowing.
在正常情况下，似乎一切都没有问题。
Under usual circumstances, everything seems to be normal.
但是，一旦经济周期进入低谷，债务链条发生断裂，便会引起一系列恶果，整个国家也会陷入经济危机。
However, with troughs in the economic cycle, the chain of the debts may be broken, causing serious consequences or even driving the country into crisis,
这便是2008年以来的现实。
which was the case in 2008.
同样，正是由于欧洲政府的长期负债导致了当前的财政危机。
Likewise, the current financial crisis in Europe is obviously a casualty of the massive amount of debt accumulated by governments over the long term.
看来，量入未出是应永远恪守的一个原则。
So, living within your means still seems to be the golden rule.
毕竟，“无债”比“有债”可以过得更加轻松一些。
You can surely be more relaxed when you are out of debt than when you are in debt. （林巍 译）
与名人通信
My Correspondence with Celebrities
高鲁生
Gao Lusheng
我年轻时，爱和名人通信。
When I was young, I was fond of having correspondence with celebrated persons.
严格地说，是我向名人家写信多，人家回信少，
To be precise, I sent a lot of letters, but received not many replies.
但越是大师级的名人，越是给我回信。
However, those who enjoyed the reputation of “masters” did write back to me.
1947年我曾给当时任北京大学校长的胡适写信，请他指点青年人应该有什么样的抱负和理想。
Some time in 1947, I wrote to Mr. Hu Shi1, then President of Peking University, and asked him what ideal and aspiration we young people should cherish.
没想到胡适先生竟给我回信题词，题词是：“贤者不虚生，陆贾语，胡适”。
To my amazement, Mr. Hu replied with a remark of encouragement: “A man of virtue never wastes his life. Quoted from Lu Gu2 by Hu Shi.”
胡适引用这句话，可能是告诉我要向圣贤学习，才归于善，
I thought Mr. Hu might be hinting that I should learn from sages so as to become virtuous.
但遗憾的是我到老也未学到不虚度一生的诀窍。
However, it is a pity that I still have not found out the secret to a worthy life, even at an advanced age.
我曾向担任北平艺术专科学校校长、大画家徐悲鸿写信求教青年人的努力方向为何。
Once I wrote to Mr. Xu Beihong3, the great artist and then President of Peking Art College, asking him what goal young people should strive for.
徐悲鸿先生没有给我题词，但画了一幅小画，
Instead of an encouraging remark, Mr. Xu sent me his picture.
上面画着几只栩栩如生的麻雀，正欲展翅飞翔，画上有“悲鸿”签名。
The small picture shows a few lifelike sparrows with wings spreading as if to fly, and there is also the artist’s signature “悲鸿”(Beihong).
我当时的理解是：青年人应该像小鸟那样展开稚嫩的翅膀到广阔的天空中去经风雨，锻炼飞翔的本领，才能求得生存。
As far as I could understand at that time, the picture conveyed a message: young people should learn to survive as those little birds who, with tender wings wide-spread, would launch into the sky and practise flying skills against winds and storms.
我很喜欢这幅小画，也可见徐悲鸿先生对青年人的关心和希冀。
I really loved this picture, and perceived from it Mr Xu’s concern and expectations for us young people.
我曾向居住在上海的著名漫画家丰子恺先生请教，
Another time, I wrote to consult Mr. Feng Zikai4, the well-known cartoonist in Shanghai.
但他没有题词或画画给我，只寄给了我一张他的亲笔签名。
He sent me neither remark nor picture, but only his autograph “丰子恺” (Feng Zikai).
丰先生是漫画家，极富幽默感，也许是他故意让我从他的签名中去猜测其良苦用心。
As Mr. Feng was a cartoonist with a good sense of humour, I thought he might have imbedded some well-considered message in it for me to discover.
于是我想“丰”是知识要丰富的意思，“子”是孺子，即青年人的意思，“恺”是欢乐喜悦的意思。
So I racked my brains and worked out the following implication: “丰”, meaning “abundance”, refers to an abundance of knowledge; “子”, meaning “child”, refers to young people; as for “恺”, it certainly means “joy and happiness.”
噢！我明白了，是丰先生在告诉我：“青年人应该要掌握丰富的知识和本领，才会有光明的前程和快乐的人生。”
Ah, yes, I had got Mr. Feng’s message—“Only by acquiring an abundance of knowledge and skills, can young people have a bright future and a happy life.”
1949年10月， 我向大文学家、历史学家郭沫若先生写信求教。
In October, 1949, I wrote to Mr. Guo Moruo5, the great writer and historian, to seek advice.
当时郭老刚从香港绕道大连转赴北京参加全国政协会议，
He had just come to Beijing (Peking) from Hong Kong by a detour via Dalian, to attend plenary session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference6.
他尚住在北京饭店内，虽然很忙，还是很热情地给我回信，并题词：“
While still staying in Peking Hotel, Mr. Guo managed, out of his tight schedule, to send me a warm reply with some remarks of encouragement:
临事而惧，好谋而成，这两句古话是很好的。
The ancient saying “Approach an encounter with apprehension, and strive to succeed by strategy” is very enlightening.
惧是怕做不好，有警惕的意思。
As apprehension arises from anxiety about one’s own incapability, the saying calls for caution and vigilance.
做事不掉以轻心，肯用苦心思索办法，自然是可望成功的。”
One will eventually succeed if he takes pains and devises ways to do everything without negligence.
郭老引用的这两句古话出自《论语》，原文是：
As a matter of fact, Mr Guo’s quotation comes from the Chinese classic The Confucian Analects7, as the part of the text goes,
“子路曰：子行三军，则谁与？
…Zilu said, “If you, Master, were given command of all the three armies of a great state, whom would you take to help you?”
子曰：暴虎冯河，死而无悔者，吾不与也。
The Master said, “The man who would fight a tiger bare-handed or cross a river without a boat, and even die without regret—that sort of person I would not take.
必也临事而惧，好谋而成者也。”
My associate must be one who would approach an encounter with apprehension, and strive to succeed by strategy.” 8
郭老引用了“临事而惧，好谋而成”八个字，又在后面加了一段精辟的注解，
So you see, Mr Guo had not only quoted “approach an encounter with apprehension, and strive to succeed by strategy”, but also briefly illuminated its implication.
特别强调了遇事要有警惕，不要掉以轻心，肯用苦心想办法，可望成功的精神，
He emphasized caution and vigilance as against rashness and negligence, and advocated the spirit of trying to win success by deliberate, painstaking efforts.
使我深受启迪。
His advice greatly inspired me.
与名人通信是很有意义的事，但我没有坚持下去。
It was worthwhile corresponding with celebrities, but nevertheless I did not keep it up.
自1950年初参加工作以后，我没有再去找名人的麻烦，主动和人家通信。
After I had taken a job in early 1950, I stopped writing to celebrated persons, so as not to inflict inconvenience.
但自80年代开始，我又有了和名人通信的兴趣。
It was not until the 1980s that I resumed that interest.
至今我已保存各种名人给我的信百余封，
Over the years I have received from various celebrities more than one hundred letters, and have preserved them carefully.
有时翻读一番，也感到非常惬意。
When I sometimes browse through them, I feel great delight and satisfaction. (From Tianjin Daily, January 22, 2000)
注释：
Note 1: 1. Hu Shi (1891-1962), contemporary Chinese philosopher and essayist.
注释：
2. Lu Gu (c. 240-170BC), ancient Chinese thinker, writer and poet in the Western Han Dynasty.
注释：
3. Xu Beihong (1895-1953), contemporary Chinese artist and art educationist.
注释：
4. Feng Zikai (1898-1975), contemporary Chinese artist, cartoonist, essayist and art educationist.
注释：
5. Guo Moruo (or Kuo Mo-jo, 1892-1978), a major Chinese cultural figure: poet, playwright, historian, archaeologist, philologist and social activist.
注释：
6. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the patriotic united front organization led by the Communist Party of China, promoting multi-party cooperation and political consultation.
注释：
7. The Confucius Analects (or The Analects of Confucius), one of the 13 classics of Chines philosophy and literature, attributed to Chinese sage Confucius (c.551-479 BC), but probably written either by his disciples or by their pupils. The book consists of the answers Confucius gave to questions put to him and is the basic source for the main concepts of Confucianism.
注释：
8. This passage comes from Book VII of The Confucian Analects. “The Master” refers to Confucius. Zi Lu (542-480BC) was one of the disciples of Confucius. （谷启楠 译）
仰望父亲
My Father (Excerpt)
加天山
Jia Tianshan
至今我难以忘怀父亲教我写字、教我明理、教我立志的情景，难以忘怀父亲送我上学的背影。
Till Today, I still remember clearly what I learned from Father’s instructing me to practice calligraphy, to be reasonable and to be aspirational, and his sending me to school.
正是父亲的教行，使我的童年、少年在快乐中成长，有了自信、自立、自强的心。
It was Father’s instruction and deeds that gave me a happy childhood and healthy growth and equipped me with self-confidence, self-support, and self-determination.
父亲的力行，让人仰望。
What Father did was worth looking up to with respect.
父亲是一个支撑门事、忠厚力行的人。
Father was an honest, tolerant and industrious man and was counted upon as the backbone of our family.
50年代后期，爷爷患病，大伯因病早逝，家道中落，
In the 1950s my grandfather’s health collapse and my eldest uncle’s early demise resulted in our financial hardship.
家庭一下子跌到谷底。
Our family had an unprecedented hart time.
上有爷爷奶奶，中有未成家的四叔，下有大伯留下的女儿和我的哥哥姐姐，
Father had to support a family of ten, including my old grandparents, my youngest bachelor uncle, my eldest uncle’s daughter, and my brothers and sister.
十口之家在严重的自然灾害年景，吃饭都成问题。
In those days when serious natural disasters prevailed, insufficiency of food was the biggest problem to us.
父亲上上下下要照应，里里外外要兼顾。
Father had to look after the whole family, and give attention to several things at a time.
有了吃的穿的，总是首先考虑大伯留下的未成人的女儿，而后才是我的哥哥姐姐。
Whenever there was food and clothing available, Father would think of my uncle’s underage daughter first before his own children.
父亲不顾家境困难，想尽办法，为四叔成了家。
In spite of great difficulties, Father managed to have my youngest uncle married.
家族中谁家有了困难，父亲总要尽力拉扯一把。
Father was always ready to give a hand to whoever was in need in our family.
父亲是一个勇于担当、守信力行的人。
Father was a man who never failed to should his responsibilities and keep faith.
听哥哥说大伯去世前，曾借了邻村一户人家300元钱。
My elder brother told him that my eldest uncle had borrowed 300 yuan from someone else in the neighboring village before he died.
大伯去世后，人家上门讨债，父亲答应10天后还。
Later, the owner came to our home for the money, and Father promised to pay him back in ten days.
到了第9天，父亲没有筹到钱，
But nine days passed before father could get the money.
下狠心卖了自家耕地磨面的犍牛，偿还了大伯欠下的外债。
Then he had no choice but to make up his mind to sell our own bullock which we used for farm work and milling, and paid off the debt.
好长一段时间，父亲亲自拉碨磨面。
For a long time afterwards, Father did the milling all by himself manually.
父亲时常跟我们讲：“应人事小，误人事大。
He often said to us, “When you make a promise, you should keep it.
一个人不守信用，谁还敢跟他打交道。”
If you cannot keep faith, nobody dares to deal with you.”
父亲是一个历经挫折、坚韧力行的人。
Father was a man who suffered many misfortunes and remained firm and tenacious.
父亲20多岁被抓壮丁，经受过枪林弹雨的战场，
At the age of twenty, he was press-ganged and experienced a hail of bullets in many battles.
解放后遭受过不明不白的批斗；
After liberation, he was once criticized and denounced for that unjustly.
父亲先后有两次婚姻，前妻因病早逝，生有一子，感情上遭受过挫折；
Father got married twice, and his ex-wife died early and left him a son, which was a heavy blow to him.
父亲30岁到40岁，领头创办县级国营黄土坡、老虎沟、马匹凹煤矿，曾任总经理，
In his 30s, he initiated with others the construction of the state-run coal mines at Huangtupo, Laohugou and Mapiwa of our county, and worked as the general manager.
取得过骄人的业绩，但更遭受过莫大的委屈……
He made great achievements in his work but also received the utmost ill-treatment.
但是，父亲愈挫愈奋，以坚韧不拔的毅力，
However, all these sufferings didn’t result in depression but gave him greater toughness and tenacity.
默默地承受各种压力，脸上很难看到笑容，
He shouldered the burden and pressure silently, and no smile was ever seen on his face.
给人的印象是只知道劳动。
What impressed us most was his industriousness. （刘连章 & Norman A. Pritchard 译）
男人的一半是女人
Half Man is Woman (Excerpt)
张贤亮
Zhang Xianliang
“‘八年啦，别提啦！’”
‘Me? Don’t even ask.’
她笑着，学了一句革命样板戏《智取威虎山》里的唱词。
She laughed, as she reeled off a line from a model revolutionary play.
随后，两脚倒着把我埋下的土踩瓷实，眼睛看着地面说，“这八年，结了两次婚，离了两次婚，就这些。
Then she stamped down the earth that I had shoveled in. ‘Eight years: I married twice and divorced twice. That was about it.
幸亏没生娃娃。”
Luckily there weren’t any children.’
我不停地干着活，一点也不惊奇。
I kept on working, not at all surprised.
我看见、听见的出乎意料的事太多了，
I had seen too much, and heard too much.
到后来，竟没有一件事能出乎我的意料。
In the end, there was very little that I could not imagine.
她不那样生活还能怎样生活？
If she didn’t get along that way, how was she to live?
幸福是一种奇迹，不幸才是常规。
Good fortune was a kind of miracle, misfortune was the norm.
她对我的坎坷也没有感到惊奇。
She, in turn, felt no surprise at my own experience.
这样，我们倒是真正地相互理解了。
In that respect we both totally understood each other.
她不说那些安慰的话语也好，这些年，我最怕那种老太婆式的絮絮叨叨的同情。
Her lack of any commiseration was fine—through the years, I had come to dislike the simpering sympathy of other people.
“你别笑话，”她接着说，“你蹲了两次监狱，我结了两次婚，其实结婚跟蹲监狱一样，
‘You’ve been in jail twice over these years, well, don’t laugh, I’ve been married twice. Comes to the same thing.
有的时候比蹲监狱还要难受。
At times, I think jail must be easier to take than marriage.
前一次，我没告诉他我劳改过，成天提心吊胆的，怕他知道了。
The first time, I didn’t tell him I’d been in the camps, and I lived in fear that he would find out.
可他还是知道了，跟我打了离婚。
When he eventually did, he asked for a divorce.
后一次，在白银滩农场，我一开始就跟他说清楚了，
The second time, at the White Sands Commune, I told him all about my past from the very start.
可他老把这事拿捏我，
After that, he was always bringing it up again holding it against me.
我受不了，跟他打了离婚。
In the end I couldn’t take it, and I asked him for a divorce.
前一次是人家不要我，后一次是我不要人家，
First time, he didn’t want me; second time, I didn’t want him.
一比一，平了！
One to one, even!
唉，人一辈子就是这么回事。我以后再不结婚了！”
So that’s life, I’m not getting married again.’ ‘That’s easy enough.
“你打定主意再不结婚容易办到，
If you don’t want to marry, you don’t have to.
我打定主意再不蹲监狱可不容易。”
But me, if I don’t want to go to jail it isn’t my decision.’
我笑着和她打趣。“结不结婚由你，蹲不蹲监狱可不由我。
I teased her, ‘Marriage is up to you, jail’s not up to me.
这么说来，你还是比我强。”
You’ve been a lot better than I have.’
我们一见面就像老朋友似地嘻嘻哈哈，无拘无束。
From the start we spoke to each other like old friends.
友谊的关系有各种各样的格局，
There are all kinds of patterns in friendship.
有的格局是一见面就自然地很亲切，有的是必须在一段时间里逐渐啮合好齿轮，
With some, you find it natural to be close from the beginning, with others it takes some time before the wheel engage.
如果啮合不到一起便不能运转，
If the gears don’t mesh, the thing does not go at all.
我们都无视对方的痛苦，因为我们各自的遭遇就够自己心烦的了。
We both ignored the hardships of the other, because we had encountered enough in our own lives.
但我们却能真正地同情对方，因为我们都亲身经历过那种痛苦，虽然在形式上不同——蹲监狱和结婚二者虽有区别，但感觉的实质和程度是一样的。
At the same time, we understood each other, because although the form of suffering we each had endured was different the essence of what we had felt was the same. （Martha Avery 译）
门的故事
The Door of an Office Building
乔志峰
Qiao Zhifeng
我们乡政府的新办公楼南面临大路，东边是小路和麦田，北边有条小河。
The new office building of our township is so situated: its south faces a main road, on its east are a path and wheat fields, and on its north is a small river.
本来把大门开在南边最合适，可领导表示门冲大路太吵，
It’s most suitable for the door facing the south, but the township leader thinks otherwise, deeming it would bring a lot of noise from the road.
指示施工单位把门开在了东边。
He directs the construction company to have the door open towards the east.
大家都感到很不方便，可这是领导的意思，所以谁也不敢说什么。
This creates much inconvenience for all who have to enter it, but none dares to complain.
过了不久换了领导。
Not long after a new leader takes over.
新领导一来就皱着眉头说：“怎么把门留在东边呢？
He frowns at the position of the door, “How could it be so arranged?
这不是旁门左道吗？”
Facing the east actually makes it a side door that gives an impression of woefulness.”
大家很高兴，认为这下可以走大路了。
Everybody is happy at his remarks, thinking it possible for the door to face the main road.
不料领导的指示却是把门开在北面，也就是朝河的方向。
But what turns out is beyond people’s expectation. The leader orders the door be changed towards the north, i.e. facing the river.
这下好了，还不如原先走小路方便。
That’s even worse than before, for it brings greater inconvenience.
可这是领导的意思啊，谁也不敢说什么。
But this is the leader’s decision; nobody dares to protest.
过了一阵，又换了领导。
Soon afterwards the leader is replaced by a new one.
这位领导一来就皱着眉头说：
On his arrival he shows a great dislike about the direction of the door.
“怎么把门留在北面呢，这不是让大家走后门吗？”
“How is it to let the door open northward? Don’t you mean to go by a back door?”
然后果断指示：把门开在南边，正对大路。
Then he resolutely decides to change it into a southward one: facing the main road.
这下子皆大欢喜，
This decision is warmly supported by all.
大家都夸赞这位领导英明。
Everyone is contented and regards the leader as a wise official. That’s not the end of the story.
直到有一天，办公室刘主任喝醉了，才泄露了三个领导三个门的玄机：
One day truth is eventually revealed when Mr. Liu, chief of the township office lets slip, as a result of drunkenness, the secret motives of the three successive leaders.
第一位领导姓牛，把门开在东边有麦田的方向，暗藏“牛得草”的吉利喻意；
The first leader is named Niu, meaning “cattle”, so he likes the door opening towards the east where wheat fields are situated, implying “plenty of grass for the cattle to graze”.
第二位领导姓庞，庞就是“螃”，即螃蟹，
The second is named Pang, a homophone to “crab” in Chinese.
这螃蟹是离不开水的，所以门要冲着小河；
As the crab lives where there is water, he then wants to the door to face the river.
第三位领导姓马，
The third is named Ma, meaning “horse.”
要想一马当先、马到成功，当然得跑大路了……
Since the horse likes to gallop on highways he naturally chooses the south as the suitable position of the door.
听了刘主任的解释，大家惊得目瞪口呆。
Liu’s remarks leaves all of us amazed and stunned. （陈文伯 译） 1984年9月
我读莫言
How I Read Mo Yan’s Oeuvre
林巍
Lin Wei
我读第一次读到莫言，是他的《红高粱》，大约是在20世纪80年代末。
The first Mo Yan novel that I read was Red Sorghum at the end of 1980s.
那时我想它应是上了年纪的作家，因为他知道那么多过去的故事，如抗日战争，辛亥革命等。
I expected to meet a much more senior person, since his writings mostly involve in old stories happening in Anti-Japanese War, Revolution of 1911 (which overthrew the Qing Dynasty) and so on,
后来见了面才知，他其实比我大不了多少。
but he actually turned out to a little bit older than me.
然而，他的经历和想象何以如此丰富？
The question is how could he have such rich experience and unbelievable imagination?
我印象最深的是，是他忒能讲故事，且叙事的方式很特别。
I was amazed by his ability to tell a story and the peculiar way of his narration.
他经常是一气呵成，不循规蹈矩，又颇带自我嘲讽与哲理意味。
Using ridicule and sarcasm, Mo Yan knows very well how to write unconventionally, philosophically as well as quite consistently.
例如，《红高粱》中有一段：
Taking a typical passage in his Red Sorghum as an example,
“秋风苍凉，阳光很旺，瓦蓝的天上游荡着一朵朵丰满的云，高粱上滑动着一朵朵丰满白云的紫红色影子。
“The autumn winds are rather chilly even on a perfect sunny day, while white clouds float in the tile-blue sky and cast full purple shadows onto the sorghum fields below.
一队队暗红色的人在高粱棵子里穿梭拉网，几十年如一日。
Teams of scarlet fighters shuttle among the sorghum stalks to interlace human network during a slip in time when decades seem like a moment.
他们杀人越货，精忠报国，他们演出郭一幕幕英勇悲壮的舞剧，使我们这些活着的不肖子孙相形见绌，
There were killings, plundering, loyal defense played out on the stage of life by these brave men who dwarfed us unfilial descendants occupying this land.
在进步的同时，我真切地感到种的退化”。
Progress may have been made, but I do have a nagging sense of our species’ regression”.
后来我知道，莫言出生在一农民家庭，小学五年级都没有上完，就辍学放牛了。
I later on found out that Mo was born in a farmer’s family, and dropped out of school to be a cowherd at Grade Five.
那时他最大的特点是爱读书，在书荒的时代，他甚至来回诵读了一本仅有的《新华字典》。
He was a bookworm early in his life, and when there were hardly any books to be found, he could read a Xinhua Dictionary from cover to cover.
后来，他又读了大量的中国古典小说，加上喜欢听民间故事，特别是受齐鲁文化“泛种论”的影响，使他对周围既熟悉又陌生的环境充满了奇特的想象，形成了他奇特的魔幻现实主义写作风格，最终于2012年赢得了诺贝尔文学奖。
Having read a great number of classical Chinese novels and heard many folktales, especially under the spell of pantheism of Qi-lu culture, he developed his imaginary world that is both familiar and strange, formulating his unique magic realism, which eventually made him a Nobel Laureate in literature in 2012.
他原名是管谟业，用“莫言”这个笔名是为了告诫自己要少说为佳，因为小的时候祸从口出，吃了大亏。
Originally named Guan Moye, he adopted “Mo Yan”—meaning “don’t speak” in Chinese—as his pseudonym to remind himself of the lesson from a loose tongue in his childhood.
但他在自己的作品中却胆大妄言，甚至“色胆包天”，写得非常之淋漓，用他的话说，也算是一种弥补。
However, he is extremely audacious in depicting scenes, including sexual ones, sometimes quite vividly in his writings, to make up the loss, as he put it.
莫言认为，“文学艺术永远不是唱赞歌的工具，而是应该暴露黑暗，揭示不公正”。
Mo Yan believes that “Literature and art ought never to be a means of eulogizing life; rather, they have to expose the dark side of life and injustice”.
在他看来，人性是多面的，好人身上也有缺陷，坏人身上亦有优点，优秀作品便应体现这些。
In his view, human nature is multifaceted, as the kind-hearted have their shortcomings and the evil-minded have their merits, which should all be reflected in a masterpiece.
我在他的作品中，特别是《透明的红萝卜》、《宏观了家族》、《白狗秋千架》、《酒国》、《丰乳肥臀》、《檀香刑》、《生死疲劳》、《蛙》中，读到了人的复杂性及作者的正义感。
I can certainly sense this kind of complexity and justice in his oeuvre, particularly in A Transparent Radish, Family Stories of Red Sorghum, White Dog Swing, The Republic of Wine, Big Breasts & Wide Hips, Sandalwood Penalty, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, Frog and so on.
文学，毕竟是语言的艺术。
As we all believe that literature is after all a language art,
莫言的语言也颇具特色，他糅合了大量的山东土语，别有风味。
Mo Yan’s language is very artistic, saturated with the flavor of Shandong dialect.
正如他所说的，“一个真正的文学家，应该千方百计地丰富本民族的语言”。
As he once put it, “An innovative writer should spare no efforts and go to devious endless lengths to enrich the national language”.
同时，他又用一种难以掩饰的戏谑感来揭示虚伪和黑暗，从容地塑造了种种富有含义的艺术形象。
Indeed, he reveals the hypocrisy and murkiest aspect of life with an ill-disguised delight, portraying various images of symbolic weight inadvertently. （林巍 译）
谈生命
On Life
冰心
Bing Xin
我不敢说生命是什么，我只能说生命像什么。
I would not venture to say what Life is; I would only say what Life is like.
生命像向东流的一江春水，他从最高处发源，冰雪是他的前身。
Life begins like a nascent river flowing eastward, having emerged from ice and snow somewhere up high.
他聚集起许多细流，合成一股有力的洪涛，向下奔注，他曲折的穿过了悬崖峭壁，冲倒了层沙积土，挟卷着滚滚的沙石，
Converging with many a rivulet to form a powerful torrent, he embarks on his downward dash, zigzagging by cliffs, flattening dunes and mounds, churning up sands and pebbles.
快乐勇敢地流走，一路上他享受着他所遭遇的一切：
He rushes along with joy, with confidence, with license.
有时候他遇到巉岩前阻，他愤激地奔腾了起来，怒吼着，回旋着，前波后浪地起伏催逼，直到冲倒了这危崖，他才心平气和地一泻千里。
When blocked by rocks, he charges with rage, roaring, twirling and swirling, wave after wave, until finally clearing the imposing obstacles and continuing his journey on a light-hearted note.
有时候他经过了细细的平沙，斜阳芳草里，看见了夹岸红艳的桃花，他快乐而又羞怯，静静地流着，低低地吟唱着，轻轻地度过这一段浪漫的行程。
Sometimes he rolls quietly on leveled terrain through green grass in the setting sun, caressing fine sand, giving now and then a shy gaze at the bright peach blossoms on the banks, and singing softly while stepping gently into the romantic rhythm of this joyful leg of his voyage.
有时候他遇到暴风雨，这激电，这迅雷，使他心魂惊骇，
Sometimes he is caught in storms, with horrifying burst of thunder and lightning.
疾风吹卷起他，大雨击打着他，他暂时浑浊了，扰乱了，而雨过天晴，只加给他许多新生的力量。
Ripped by ferocious gales and beaten by punishing downpours, he becomes, for a time, ruffled and muddy, only to find himself refreshed and energize when embraced by the sunshine again.
有时候他遇到了晚霞和新月，向他照耀，向他投影，清冷中带些幽幽的温暖：
At calmer moments he is charmed by the clouds waltzing along the horizon at dusk, and smiling at him, and then by the arrival of the new moon, which sketches his silhouette, and bestows a touch of warmth in the midst of a chilly night.
这时他只想憩息，只想睡眠，而那股前进的力量，仍催逼着他向前走……
A yearning for a respite or slumber gnaws at him, but eventually gives way to the impetus to move on.
终于有一天，他远远地望见了大海，呵！
Finally one day the ocean leaps into his view from afar. Alas!
他已到了行程的终结，
He is at the end of his journey.
这大海，使他屏息，使他低头，她多么辽阔，多么伟大！多么光明，又多么黑暗！
So vast, so imposing, so bright, and yet so dark, the ocean is breath-taking and humbling!
大海庄严的伸出臂儿来接引他，他一声不响地流入她的怀里。他消融了，归化了，说不上快乐，也不有悲哀！
When she greets him solemnly, he lets himself drop into her massive arms, dissolved and naturalized, experiencing neither joy nor sorrow.
也许有一天，他再从海上蓬蓬地雨点中升起，飞向西来，再形成一道江流，再冲倒两旁的石壁，再来寻夹岸的桃花。
Perhaps, one day he would again rise from the sea in the form of fine vapors and travels westward, to form again a river that would dash by cliffs, and look for peach blossoms on the banks.
然而我不敢说来生，也不敢相信来生！
But I dare not say that’s the rebirth of his previous life, for I couldn’t bring myself to believe in an afterlife.
生命又像一颗小树，
Life begins also like a young tree.
他从地底聚集起许多生力，在冰雪下欠伸，
He starts his journey underground where he gathers vitality and struggles to extend his tiny self to the snow above.
在早春润湿的泥土中，勇敢快乐的破壳出来。
When dew drops in early spring have moistened the soil, he musters his courage to push up, and out comes he!
他也许长在平原上，岩石上，城墙上，只要他抬头看见了天，呵！
It doesn’t matter to him whether he happens to be on a level stretch of land, or on a rock, or on a wall, as long as he can see the sky when he looks up.
看见了天！
Oh, he sees the sky! He’s thrilled!
他便伸出嫩叶来吸收空气，承受阳光，在雨中吟唱，在风中跳舞。
Eagerly, he stretches his tender leaves upwards, inhaling fresh air, basking in the sun, singing in the rain, dancing in the wind.
他也许受着大树的荫遮，也许受着大树的覆压，而他青春生长的力量，
He may be overshadowed and oppressed by the big trees towering over him, but empowered by his youthful vigor he manages to break free.
终使他穿枝拂叶的挣脱了出来，在烈日下挺立抬头！
Branching out strong, he positions himself squarely in the burning sun.
他遇着骄奢的春天，他也许开出满树的繁花，蜂蝶围绕着他飘翔喧闹，小鸟在他枝头欣赏唱歌，
When balmy spring breezes kiss him into full blossom, he finds himself surrounded by humming bees, fluttering butterflies, and chirping birds.
他会听见黄莺清吟，杜鹃啼血，也许还听见枭鸟的怪鸣。
He also hears orioles whistling, cuckoos crying, or owls hooting.
他长到最茂盛的中年，他伸展出他如盖的浓荫，来荫庇树下的幽花芳草，
In his prime, his thick foliage spreads out like a colossal green cover, giving shake to budding flowers and young grass below.
他结出累累的果实，来呈现大地无尽的甜美与芳馨。
The abundant fruit he produces is so inexhaustibly rich and sweet, flavored by Mother Earth.
秋风起了，将他叶子，由浓绿吹到绯红，
Then comes the autumn wind in sharp gusts, turning his dark green color into many shades of red, yellow and orange.
秋阳下他再有一番的庄严灿烂，不是开花的骄傲，也不是结果的快乐，而是成功后的宁静和怡悦！
Standing in the autumn sun, he radiates a stately calmness, tinged not with an indulgence in the pride in his foregone blooming prowess or the bliss of sweet fruition, but rather with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
终于有一天，冬天的朔风把他的黄叶干枝，卷落吹抖，
One day, winter’s bitter air bits off the last of his withered leaves and parched twigs.
他无力的在空中旋舞，在根下呻吟，
His roots wobbly and his trunk shaken, he leaves himself at the mercy of elements.
大地庄严的伸出臂儿来接引他，他一声不响的落在她的怀里。他消融了，归化了，他说不上快乐，也没有悲哀！
When Mother Earth greets him solemnly, he collapses quietly into her massive arms, dissolved and naturalized, experiencing neither joy nor sorrow.
也许有一天，他再从地下的果仁中，破裂了出来。
Perhaps, someday he would again push up from underground, where he has been gathering vitality as a seed, to become a young tree again.
又长成一棵小树，再穿过丛莽的严遮，再来听黄莺的歌唱，
Once again he would break free from the entanglements surrounding him, and once again he would be listening to orioles singing.
然而我不敢说来生，也不敢信来生。
But I dare not say that’s the rebirth of his previous life, for I couldn’t bring myself to believe in an afterlife.
宇宙是个大生命，我们是宇宙大气中之一息。
The universe represents an all-encompassing life, in which we are but tiny breathing souls.
江流入海，叶落归根，我们是大生命中之一叶，大生命中之一滴。
While rivers and streams merge into the ocean, and fallen leaves return to where the roots are, we are no more than specks that join all that exits in the universe.
在宇宙的大生命中，我们是多么卑微，多么渺小，而一滴一叶的活动生长合成了整个宇宙的进化运行。
However insignificant, and however seemingly negligible, the tiniest particles, by virtue of their never-ending motion, join forces to power the evolution of the universe.
要记住：不是每一道江流都能入海，不流动的便成了死湖；
But we have to remember: all rivers or streams would not end up blending into the ocean, since those that do not flow would become stagnant;
不是每一粒种子都能成树，不生长的便成了空壳！
all seeds would not transform themselves into trees, since those that fail to grow would be reduced to empty hulls.
生命中不是永远快乐，也不是永远痛苦，快乐和痛苦是相生相成的。
Life is neither a joy forever, nor an ever-lasting woe, for the two shape each other and are mutually balancing,
等于水道要经过不同的两岸，树木要经过常变的四时。
much in the same manner as a river is bound to wash against different banks, and a tree is destined to experience seasonal changes.
在快乐中我们要感谢生命，在痛苦中我们也要感谢生命。
In happiness we owe our thanks to Life, and in agony we are no less indebted to Life.
快乐固然兴奋，苦痛又何尝不美丽？
Bliss is, needless to say, heartening, but who can claim that beauty is absent from pain and suffering?
我曾读到一个警句，它说“愿你生命中有够多的云翳，来造成一个美丽的黄昏”。
As an adage goes, “may there be enough clouds in your life to make a beautiful sunset”. （蔡力坚 译）
悼丁君
Mourning Ding Ling
鲁迅
Lu Xun
如磬夜气压重楼，
Stone-heavy lies the night on city buildings;
剪柳春风导九秋。
Spring winds that shaped the willow leaves bring autumn on.
瑶瑟凝尘清愿绝，
Thick is the dust on the lute of jade, and silent the music.
可怜无女耀高丘。
You will, alas, no longer bring glory to our land.
一九三三年
1933 （W.F. F. Jenner 译）
虎爪
Tiger Paw Nail
琦君
Qi Jun
今年是虎年，我陡然想起了我的虎爪。
As this year is the year of the tiger, I suddenly remembered my tiger paw nail.
那是整整六十年前，我九岁的时候，母亲吧它用红棉绳拴了，挂在我的脖子上，
It was sixty years ago when I was nine that my mother hung a tiger paw nail around my neck with a piece of red cotton string.
我嫌它难看，又有点害怕。就把它塞进贴肉的粗布肚兜里面。
I was scared of it and thought it very ugly, so I hid it under my coarse cotton undershirt.
爪子尖有时刺到我，害得我夜里做慌梦，就把它脱下来放到母亲的针线盒里了。
The tip of the nail scratched my bare skin, and I had nightmares, so I took it off and put it in my mother’s sewing box.
虎爪是怎么来的呢？那是有一个大清早，
I remembered it was early morning.
我正跟母亲跪在蒲团上念经，
My mother and I were kneeling on the grass mat and chanting Sutras.
却听得一群人拥到我家门口敲锣打鼓地喊：
We heard noises at the front gate. There were the sounds of drums and cymbols.
“老虎打倒啦，打倒老虎啦！”
Someone was shouting, “We have killed the tiger! We have killed the tiger!”
母亲和我都忍不住奔出去，
Mother and I ran outside.
看见几个村子里的壮汉，
We saw several rough villagers carrying a wooden plank.
用一条木板凳扛着一条比狗大一点，满身深浅黄条纹的山兽，
On top of it lay an animal with yellow and black stripes, not much bigger than a dog.
放在我家大院子里，
They put it down in our big courtyard.
那一定就是老虎了。
The animal must be a tiger, I thought.
它趴着一动不动，眼睛紧闭着，
It lay there still, with its eyes tightly shut.
血从肚子底下一滴滴流在水泥地上，
Blood was dripping from its underbelly.
它已经被打死了。
It was already dead.
母亲连声念阿弥陀佛，
My mother, a devoted Buddhist, started to chant the Sutra of Mercy.
我不敢多看，回头就跑进屋子了。
I was frightened and ran into the house alone.
却听一个壮汉对母亲说：“老虎肉要吗？
I heard a villager saying to my mother, “Do you want to buy some tiger meat, Lady?
吃了冬天不怕冷哟！”
It will keep your body warm this winter.”
母亲说：“不要！
“We don’t want it.
你们快走吧，罪过死了。”
Please take it away. Heaven have mercy!”
壮汉说：“什么罪过，老虎最恶毒，会吃人的。”
“What mercy?” The villager asked out loud, “What mercy? Tigers are most vicious and eat people.”
“母亲说：“你不去伤它，它也不会吃你的。”
“If you don’t harm them, they will not harm you,” Mother said.
壮汉说：“太太，你太仁慈了，人都没那么好，别说畜生了。”
“You are too merciful, Lady. Even people harm people. To say nothing of beasts!”
母亲生气地说：
My mother started to get angry.
“你们把虎抗走，要把我地上的血水冲干净，
“Please take the tiger away and clean up the blood stain on the ground.
大清早的，怎么抗来打死的小老虎，母老虎才不和你们甘休呢。”
Why did you kill this baby tiger? Its mother will be after you!”
壮汉大笑说：“母老虎来了，再把它打来，老虎皮、老虎骨都好值钱哪。”
The villager laughed and said, “Ha! Mother tiger. We’ll kill her when she comes. The tiger skin and the tiger bones are all very expensive!”
母亲不想再听下去，就进来了。
My mother would not argue with the villagers anymore. She came into the house.
她跪在佛前，合掌闭目念往生咒，念了一遍又一遍。
She knelt down in front of the Buddha shrine and chanted the Sutra of Mercy. She repeated it over and over.
我心里一直在想着那闭着眼睛趴着一动不动的小老虎。
I kept thinking of the tiger with its eyes tightly shut.
它妈妈一定到处在找它，
Its mother must be looking for it everywhere by now.
一定哭得好伤心。
She probably is very sad.
果然，后山的老虎，出没悲号了好多天，
Surely, we heard the mother tiger crying sadly that night and several nights afterwards.
村子里再没一个人敢去打它，
No villager dared to kill her.
好多日子后，才不再听到声音了。
Then we did not hear her crying anymore.
很多天以后，五叔婆却从口袋里摸出一只小小的虎爪子，递给母亲书：
One day, Grandaunt took out a small tiger paw nail and gave it to my mother.
“小春看见过那只死掉的老虎了，
She said, “Hsiao Chun has seen the baby tiger.
我特别买来它这个爪子，挂在她身上，以后才会平安无事。”
I bought this tiger paw nail especially for her so she can be kept from evil.”
母亲呆呆地半晌才接过来，放在饭桌上。
Mother was stunned for a while and put it on the kitchen table.
五叔婆走开以后，母亲对我说：“虎爪是辟邪的，
After Grandaunt left the room, my mother said, “The paw nail of the tiger is a charm, and it will keep evil from you.
我把它用银子镶了给你戴。”
I will have it set in silver and let you wear it.”
我说：“妈妈，我不要戴虎爪，
“I don’t want to wear it.
我好怕，
I am so scared.
一看见它就会想起可怜的小老虎，和失去孩子的伤心母老虎。”
Whenever I see this nail, I will think of the dead baby tiger and its poor mother!”
母亲笑了下说：“你心肠这么好，
“You have a kind heart,” My mother said, “Wear the paw nail.
挂了它，就常常记得念经超渡那只小老虎吧。”
You will remember to say the Sutra of Mercy for the baby tiger.”
母亲的好意我不忍心违背。
I did not want to disobey my mother.
不久她真的把虎爪镶了银托子给我挂上，我还是把它脱下了。
She had the silver casing made and hung it over my neck. But I took it off later on.
出门求学时，我没有带着虎爪，
Many years later, when I went away to college, I did not bring the tiger paw nail with me.
它一直放在母亲的针线盒里。
It lay in my mother’s sewing box.
直到我毕业回到故乡，母亲已经去世，
I came home after graduating from college, but my mother had already passed away.
她的针线盒也不知去向了。
Her sewing box was gone.
整理她的衣物时，却发现虎爪竟然和我的意见旧短袄包在一起，
I was going through her old clothing and found an old jacket of mine. Wrapped in it was the tiger paw nail.
红棉绳已剪短，拴上了一个小小红缎包，
The red cotton string had been cut short, and on it hung a little red silk purse.
打开一看里面是一本小小的心经。
When I opened the purse, there was a tiny book of Sutras.
想想母亲一定还是记挂着那只小老虎，
I knew my mother must have remembered the tiger all these years.
所以把虎爪和心经拴在一起，求菩萨超渡它。
She had tied the paw nail and the tiny Sutras together.
母亲又把它们和我的短袄包在一起，明明是不放心我只身在外，要虎爪为我辟邪，求菩萨保佑我平安。[母亲遥远的挂念，无言的祝福，我竟懵然不知。]
This was to ask the Buddha to have mercy on it, and when she tied it with my jacket, she must have thought that it was a charm and would help keep evil away from me.
抚摸着小小的虎爪，我又想起那只被杀害紧闭眼睛的乳虎，和终日悲鸣的母虎。
I held the tiger paw nail in my hand and thought of the baby tiger with its eyes tightly shut,
更体会到母亲对我的担忧该有多么的深！
and how its mother would cry and how my mother must have worried about me.
虎爪和小本心经，由于战乱搬迁，再也找不到了。
The tiger paw nail and the tiny book of Sutras were lost during the war.
六十年为一甲子，
Sixty years have since passed.
如真有轮回的话，那只小老虎想来也业障早满，转世为人了。
According to reincarnation, I hope the baby tiger’s time was served and it has already turned into a person by now.
[但愿在人世不要再有母子生离死别之苦，可是充满忧患的人生，这样的愿望，要多么有福的人，才能达到呢？ ]——选自九歌出版社《玻璃笔》
（王克难 译）
“相对优势”的优势
The Advantage of “Comparative Advantage”
林巍
Lin Wei
世界上，在某一领域有着绝对优势的人或产业永远是少数，大部分，是有着“相对优势”。
There are always minorities, either people or enterprises, that have absolute advantage in a field; the majority apply their comparative advantage to professions where they do their best to be effective players.
正因为利用了相对优势，才有了各领域的杰出人才，有了不同行业的分工，也才有了国际间的贸易，有了全球化的经济。
Based on comparative advantages, different divisions are formed as international trade and the globalized economy develop.
美国的佛罗里达州适合种植柑橘，中国的温州擅长做鞋子。
Oranges are flourishing in Florida in the United States, for example, shoes are made perfectly in Wenzhou of China,
两地的人们同样都需要柑橘和鞋子。
and people in both areas need oranges and shoes.
若将温州地区的土壤改造成可种植进口柑橘的条件，或者将佛罗里达州地区的工人训练成可做温州人质量的鞋子，
In Wenzhou, one could try to create an artificial environment for citrus trees of an international standard, and in Florida workers could be trained to make shoes as effectively as workers in Wenzhou using the same resources.
不是不可以，但是成本太高了。
However, the costs would be too high.
所以，不如两个地区的人都集中做本地区适宜病擅长做的事，在满足自己需要后，将其余的出口，
The best solution, therefore, is to allow each location to specialize in its own product, producing enough to meet local needs and exporting the rest.
结果双方都获得了比各自经营两种产品更为合算的成本低二质量高的产品。
As a result, people in both areas end up with lower cost and higher quality goods than if each tried to produce both.
不言而喻，这其中双方利用的是自己的绝对优势。
It is self-evident that absolute advantage occurs in this process.
然而，即便是有了绝对优势，也不一定要利用。
However, absolute advantage may not necessarily apply everywhere.
例如，我认识一位出色的公司老板，他很爱车，并精通如何给汽车换油，甚至比专业技工还快，
For instance, I know a capable company boss, who is also an expert in private cars and very skillful at changing car oil, even more efficiently than a mechanic.
但是他自己的车，大部分时间，还是开到专业车店去换油。原因是，他可以利用那段时间做一些更有价值的事。
But, almost every time he drives his car to a garage to have the oil changed by a mechanic since he believes he can use the time to do something more valuable.
这里，利用的不是他的绝对优势，而是相对优势。
What he uses here is his comparative advantage rather than absolute advantage.
同样道理，也适用于个人事业。
The same rationale may also apply to individual careers.
每个人在某一领域，可能不是最好的，但他一定会有自己的相对优势。
You may not be the best in a certain area, but still have a comparative advantage,
这种优势并不会因为别人的绝对优势而减弱，但却会因为自己的弱势小于别人的弱势而增强。
which will not be reduced in relation to others’ absolute advantage, and you can still find an advantaged position in which your disadvantages is smaller relative to others.
一个在才智方面平平的人，可以因为认准、用对了自己的“相对优势”而成就甚大。
An ordinary talent can, therefore, achieve outstanding results by rightfully exploring his or her comparative advantage.
所以，在某种意义上，“相对优势”的优势才是真正的优势。
In this sense, we may say that comparative advantage really works. （林巍 译）
七律•牡丹
The Peony --a seven-character regulated poem
马凯
Ma Kai July 2009
从来不与众花争，绿叶相扶默默生。
Competition and contention you never know; Amid escorting green quietly you grow.
广纳千娇成国色，兼收万态冠群英。
Queen of the land with charms a thousand, All blossoms you lead in poses a myriad.
曾居华贵高堂客，早泛天香百姓朋。
Favored erstwhile in mansions on high, Your divine aroma sweeps far and nigh.
纵使春阑才吐艳，依然无愧状元名。
A latecomer in springtime rails, be you may, The same coronals on you never sway. （凌原 译）
土墙上的划痕
A Long Line Cut on the Earthen Wall
铁凝
Tie Ning
作家成功的路径千差万别，
There are various ways for writers to reach success.
但有两点是他们必备的，那就是爱与意志。
But two factors are essential for them to do so – love and strong will.
很多年前，一位年老的女作家给我讲起过她的初恋。
Many years ago, an old woman writer told me about her first love.
那是中国的抗日战争年代，
It was in the time of war against Japanese aggressors.
她是八路军中一名14岁的战士。
She joined the Communist-led Eighth Route Army at the age of 14.
她暗恋着一个大她几岁的士兵，当时他们的部队驻扎在一个村子里。
The branch of troops to which she belonged stayed at a village. She was then secretly in love with a young soldier several years her senior.
一天那士兵被派去前线，她和战友们去送。
One day the soldier was sent to the front. She went with others to see him off.
她知道他可能一去不回，却没有能力也没有勇气说出她心中汹涌的爱和巨大的悲伤。
She knew it was quite possible that he would never return. She could not and dared not express the surging love and tremendous sorrow when she walked in the rear of the sending-off crowd.
她就那么走在人群后边，沿着村口一户农民家的院墙一直到村外。
They went along the wall surrounding a farm house at the end of the village.
那是中国北方农村常见的一种“干打垒”土墙，
It was a rammed-earth wall commonly seen in the north of China.
她一路走着，一边用大拇指在土墙上深深划着，
As she walked, she subconsciously cut with the nail of her thumb on the wall, leaving a long line on it.
一直划到墙尽头，一直到那士兵消失在原野上。
The marked line stretched to the end of the wall, and seemingly went beyond it, disappearing into the fields where the back shadows of the soldier vanished.
后来，那士兵牺牲了，
At last the news came of his death on the battlefield.
女孩每天都到村口去看土墙上被她划出的那条长长的深痕。
The girl went every day to look at the line cut deep on the wall. It bore witness to her first love.
半个多世纪过去了，年过80岁的女作家告诉我说，即使在今天，每当想起初恋，她的大拇指仍然会升腾起一种炽热。
Even today, more than 50 years later, as an 80-year-old writer she still felt hot at her thumb when she thought of her first love.
我记住了那灼热的大拇指，那是独属于这位女作家的简朴而诚挚的爱。
I kept in mind the unique scorching-hot thumb that symbolizes the simple and pure love of the woman writer.
而这样一种隐忍的纯情，我相信不同民族的听众都能够理解，因为这是人类的心灵能够共同感受到的东西。
This carefully-concealed pure love is something universal, capable to be felt and understood by every human mind, no matter what race or nationality it belongs to.
当我在书桌前坐下拿起笔，有时会莫名其妙地想起这位作家的初恋故事。
When I sit at my desk and pick up the pen, I’m often involuntarily reminded of the woman writer’s first love.
进而相信，
It sets me thinking a lot.
如果作家的语言和感情是不诚实的，如果作家是在做作，如果他是在写他并不真正关心或相信的东西那么也没有人会关心他的作品，不论那读者是你的老乡或者是生活在异邦。
If a writer is not honest about his language and feelings; if he is affected or put on an act; if what he writes is what he doesn’t mind or believe his works will naturally not be cared for, no matter who the reader is, whether he is his fellow townsman or he lives in a foreign country.
而当这种不愉快的景况出现时，我们决不能推卸责任搬地去怪罪“这都是全球化惹的祸”。
When this unpleasantness occurs, we should not shift responsibilities, blaming “All this is the fault of globalization”.
“西方之上”或狭隘的民族主义对文学的发育和进步都没有益处。
Neither the belief “The West is supreme” nor the narrow-minded nationalism will do anything good for literature’s development and progress.
在全球化的喧嚣中，我们应该有勇气重振爱与意志，写下有体温的字，如同那位女作家讲述过的灼热的拇指，那儿有生命的质感，有作家活生生的个人面目。
In the clamor of globalization, we should have the courage to emphasize love and strong will, and be able to produce writings with physical warmth like the hot thumb told by that woman writer, a vivid expression of the writer’s personal feelings. （许瑛 译）
“诺诺”误国，“谔谔”兴邦
Yes-Man or No-Man, Determines the Fortune of a Nation
高深
Gao Shen
“诺诺”者，唯命是从，凡事好好好，
“Nuo” (meaning “yes”) is the pet word of yes-men, who are obedient to every order and say “nuo, nuo” to everything.
是是是，逢人点头哈腰，遇事不辨青红皂白，正所谓“唯唯诺诺”。
Such people bow and scrape to everybody obsequiously and agree to everything servilely, never care whether it is right or wrong.
“谔”，指正直的言论。“谔谔”，表示勇于讲真话，有分歧时也敢于据理力争。
“E,e” (“e” means “speak frankly”) is used to describe no-men, the opposite of yes-men, who dare to speak up the truth and to argue when they don’t see eye to eye with others.
先秦时期有过“千人之诺诺，不如一人之谔谔”的说教。
A saying was popular and widespread in the pre-Qin days (that is before 221 B.C.) that “it is better if there is one no-man who dares to say ‘no’ than there are a thousand yes-men who always say ‘yes’”.
说明当时很敬重直言争辩，哪怕争辩者只是一人孤军奋战。
This shows that straightforward argument was respected then, even there was only a single person fighting a lonely battle.
待到后来，谔谔之士则成了“珍稀动物”，
However, as time went by, fewer and fewer people dared to speak up the truth, and finally such people reduced to become “rare species”.
许多人邀欢尚且不暇，哪里还有直言的心思！
Many people felt they didn’t have enough time to curry favor, therefore, how could they have the mind or mood to speak up the truth?
《论语》中说：“君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚”，
The Analects recorded Master Confucius’ saying: “A true gentleman is calm and at ease, the small man is fretful and ill at ease.”
有些读书人把“坦荡荡”没挂在心上，
Some scholars didn’t follow the master’s sincere and earnest teaching and thus they failed to live up to be gentlemen.
“戚戚之态”倒是如影相随，辜负了老夫子的语重心长。
They were never calm or at ease, and as a result, fret seemed to follow them all the time like their own shadows.
近几年的“两会”，一改若干年前召开 “没有杂音”的团结大会的传统，
For many years the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have followed an established practice of “meetings of solidarity without the least dispute”.
竟开成在某些问题上“有些争论”的大会，
In last few years, things have changed greatly as there have emerged arguments on some issues.
一些代表、委员直言不讳论国事，
Some representatives and committee members are very outspoken when discussing state affairs.
有的代表、委员还发表了与个别政府部门 “大政方针”不同的声音；
A number of them even voiced different opinions concerning some “major policies” of certain governmental departments.
也有些代表、委员之间展开了辩论，有的人甚至向某些部委叫板“发难”。
There were debates among them while some of them even challenged certain ministries or commissions of the State Council.
真可谓各抒己见，议论纷纷。
Each voiced his or her own opinion, putting forward various remarks and suggestions.
其实议论纷纷很好。
As a matter of fact, it is only fine to hear different opinions and suggestions.
有文章说，简写的开会“会”字，拆开来就是“人云”，
There is an essay which analyses the simplified Chinese character 会 (which means “meeting”) in this way: Its upper part is the character 人 meaning “people”, while its lower part is the character 云 meaning “speaking”.
开会的人议论纷纷才像个会议，也说明我们的政治生活很正常，民主空气高涨，凡事能够集思广益，群策群力。
Only in this way can we claim to enjoy a normal political life in a truly democratic atmosphere, and only in this way can we pool the wisdom of everyone and benefit our courses.
是啊，如果像有些基层把“两会”开成每年一次的“例行公事”，
But the annual sessions of the NPC and CPPCC at some grass-root levels have become no more than routines,
与会人员见面时“握握手”，开会时“拍拍手”，表决时“举举手”，散会时“挥挥手”，
at which the representatives and committee members shake hands with each other when coming to the meeting, clap their hands when the meetings open, raise their hands to show their unanimous support when voting, and wave their hands to say good-bye to each other when the meetings come to an end.
这类兴师动众、劳民伤财的会议，开与不开能有多大区别？
What good is there for such costly meetings?
有个别领导同志一时还不大习惯与会者“七嘴八舌”，尤其反对“唇枪舌剑”地辩论。
A few leaders are still not used to hearing different opinions raised by those attending such sessions, especially when heated debates take place.
他们不明白，所谓“民主协商”、“兼听则明”，都少不得“七嘴八舌”。
They do not know that true democratic consultation means letting everyone have their say, and that real wisdom requires one to listen to both sides.
君子和而不同。
True gentlemen remain on good terms with each other despite their different opinions,
从不尽一致走向一致，那是真正的和谐共识。
and true harmonious common understanding should be reached through discussion over different opinions.
相反，不论多么重要、多么复杂的问题，举国上下，从无异议，从无杂音，那就有点假了。
It would only give people a false impression if there is not the least challenge or opposition in the whole nation concerning matters however important or complicated.
上古之人，不重“千人之诺诺”，而重“一士之谔谔”，
People in ancient times laid much stress on having one no-man who dared to speak up the truth rather than having a thousand yes-men who agreed to everything.
是心胸开阔与襟怀坦荡的表现。
This showed their candidness and broad mind.
一千人说顺从与阿谀奉承的话，不如一个人直言不讳更有意义与价值。
It is far more significant and valuable when there is even one fearless no-man who is outspoken and voices his disagreement straightforwardly than there are a thousand slavishly obedient yes-men who did nothing but curry favor (陈德彰 译)
心路历程
Escalation of Feelings
马未都
Ma Weidu
偶尔听到后辈说“羡慕嫉妒恨”，煞是新奇，
The following words occasionally heard from a person of younger generation evoked my great curiosity: “Envy-jealousy-hate.”
一打听才知已是流行之语。
I made an investigation and found it had already become a vogue phrase.
[这三个词本身词义明确，关联性很差，但生生被今人捏在一起，中间没有缓冲，直接粘合，读之反而颇具文学表现力。]
In the ancient times people knew that each creature in nature has its strengths and weaknesses.
[我们的传统文化中本无这一课，]古人知天生万物长短不齐，故云：尺有所短，寸有所长。[(屈原《卜居》)说的是天生我材必有用，并无长短之分，只是长处不同罢了。一部《老子》，没少讲这方面道理。]
That’s why we have such a saying, “A foot may sometimes prove short while an inch may prove long.”
但生活中往往不是这样。
However, things are quite different in actual life.
低者羡慕高者，多为财富，
On the social scales those at lower level envy those on the higher, especially in regard of riches.
尤其这些年不乏一夜暴富者。
It is not rare now that a millionaire pops up overnight.
公众看得见的是丰收，看不见的是耕耘；
What is visible to the public is the harvesting, not the plowing.
加之信息的革命，拢财的手段改变，让财富的积累摆脱了公众熟悉的模式，变得扑朔迷离。
The rapid development of information technique has made it possible to change ways and means of gathering riches so that they became vague and complicated, no longer familiar to the public eye.
于是，羡慕很容易转化成为嫉妒，尤其是身边人发财，
Thus it is easy for envy to turn into jealousy, especially when people witness those around them suddenly became rich.
妒火中烧，醋意大发，[有时候堪比失宠的怨妇。]
Inevitably they will be greatly affected by jealousy.
怨天尤人[久而久之，心胸就变得狭隘，窄如针鼻，难以容物；棘刺满胸时，只有生恨才能缓解]。
They will complain, blame others and curse fate.
羡慕嫉妒恨，很清晰的一幅心路历程图。
Envy-jealousy-hate shows up a clear picture of the escalation of a person’s feelings.
今天不仅在生意场上，在学术场、职场、官场上，由于竞争之惨烈，
Nowadays in either officialdom, academic circles or business world competitions are becoming fiercer and fiercer.
让那些不习惯竞争的[中国]人切身感受到了竞争的残酷，
The cruelty of competitions is being felt deeper and deeper by those who are not accustomed to it.
也让松懈了多年的一些[中国人]紧张起来，
It makes people nervous who have relaxed for many years.
不知所措者，一定会“羡慕嫉妒恨”。
Those who are quiet at a loss will certainly be caught in the net of envy-jealousy-hate.
[羡慕嫉妒恨，羡慕是欲，欲如水，不遏止则滔天；恨是忿，忿如火，不遏止会燎原；而嫉妒是醋，酸不溜溜的，少饮开胃，多饮反酸。]其实，与其羡慕嫉妒恨，不如[上策]安于现状，或[下策]奋起直追。
It’s much better for one to reconcile oneself to the status quo or exert oneself to catch up than fall a victim to envy-jealousy-hate.
为什么这么说呢，因为古人早有总结，事物的两个方面互为补充：“清浊，小大、短长、疾徐、哀乐、刚柔、迟速、高下、出入，周疏，以相济也”，并不相克。
Why? Because the ancient already had a wise summary: things all have two opposites that are mutual complementary: “Pure-impure; large-small; long-short; rapid-slow; joy-sorrow; hard-soft; early-late; meticulous-sketchy etc.,” all these do not deny or vanquish each other; they co-exist and complement each other.
注：[ ]内中文原文，译文未译。
(郑达 译)
党员干部“厌学假学”折射浮躁思想
Restlessness Reflected in Study-Weary and Study-Pretense of Leading Cadres
熊建华
Xiong Jianhua
“读书读个皮儿”，“看报看个题儿”、把报纸当“废纸”，
To read a book, read only the cover, and to read newspapers, read only the major titles.
把书本当“样本”，这是当前一些党员干部“厌学假学”态度的一种真实写照。
Books are kept only for show and newspapers are treated simply as waster paper.
很显然，这种“厌学假学”的现象折射出的是一种典型的不想学、不愿学、学不进的浮躁思想。
Obviously study-weary and study-pretense reflects a typical restlessness that is manifested in some cadres’ attitude towards reading: They have neither interest in studying nor willingness to or are in any mood to study.
在实际生活中，持有类似学习态度的党员干部还不在少数。
As a matter of fact, quite a few Party carders hold similar attitude like this.
例如：有的基层领导，虽说官不大，却患有严重的“依赖症”。
For example, some grass-root level leading members are suffering from serious dependent mentality though they are but minor officials.
无论是作报告还是上党课，一切由秘书代劳，自己只是读读文、念念稿，照本宣科，装模作样。
They let their secretaries do everything from writing reports to attending Party lectures, while they themselves only put up a show by reading out documents or written drafts word for word.
有的领导干部学习患有“逃避症”。
Some leading cadres are suffering from habitual evasion.
搞调查研究，只是名单上“挂帅”，却很少行动上“出征”，
Their names always appear in the list for investigation but they actually seldom take part in real investigations.
不重视向实践学、向群众学。
They simply ignore any chance to study through practice or from the masses.
有少数干部患有“虚假症”。
Some leading cadres are suffering from the bad habit of resorting to deception.
学习弄个“假文凭”，搞个假“知识护照”，
They manage to obtain fake diplomas as their “passport of knowledge”.
一副玩弄学识的假把式，不注重向书本学。
They are nothing but fake academic masters who never attach any importance to reading but are good at playing tricks.
还有一些党员干部染上了“厌学症”。
Still some Party cadres have caught study-weariness.
学习起来总是不在状态，
They are never in a proper state when studying.
听起课来总是无精打采，心不在焉，别人在台上辛苦讲，他在台下当“瞌睡虫”，
When listening to lectures, they are always listless and absent-minded, or nodding off when the lecturer is speaking in earnest.
个别的干脆挂个号、签个到，一走了之。
Some of them simply went off after registering their names in the attendance book.
这些党员干部嘴里也常常喊着“知识陈旧”、“本领恐慌”，可行动就是不慌不忙，若无其事。
Though such cadres often say that “I have fallen behind the times in learning” and that “I feel the urgent need to enhance my ability”, when it comes to actual study there are nonchalant, showing no urgency at all.
这种赤裸的厌学、怠学、弃学之态，若日复一日，年复一年，那将有多少宝贵的学习之时、学习之机付之东流；
If such weariness, and sluggishness in and desertion of study go on day by day and even year by year,
有多少自己应当经常学、关心学、必须学的东西从眼前一晃而过，一挥而去。
great amount of valuable time and opportunities of study will be lost, and large number of things that must be studied constantly will flash away before one’s eyes and may never come back again.
试想想，各级领导干部都有自己的“一亩三分地”，都是领率一方的带头人，[其加强学习，提升素质，增强能力的根本目的就是为了能够更好的治理一方、建设一方、发展一方、振兴一方、造福一方，]
Leading cadres at different levels all have their own “domain” whose people they are supposed to lead.
假如总是以“假学厌学”的思想行为来对待学习，总是想用老经验、老套路、老办法来解决和处理问题，那显然是难以驾驭科学发展这艘“前进航母”的。
If they are always weary of study or put on a pretense of study, and want to treat and solve new problems with old methods according to their old experience, they shall never be able to pilot the aircraft of scientific development “Forward” (陈德彰 译)
世界是一个系统
The World Is a System
林巍
Lin Wei
对于我们所生存的这个世界，千百年来有着各种认识；
For thousands of years, there have been various kinds of understandings about the world where we live.
然而，归根到底，它是一种系统。这系统包括了天体、地理、社会、人体、思维等等。
The world may be best presented, however, as a system including cosmology, geography, society, human beings, thinking mode and so on.
牛顿发现的万有引力，爱因斯坦创立的相对论，使人类对这个大系统有了最基本的理解，但还仅仅是个基础。
Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation and Einstein’s Relativity have merely laid a foundation for us to grasp the essence of the system.
一切事物都是复杂的系统集合，有宏观亦有微观。
Everything exists in a complex system consisting of macro-cosmos and micro-cosmos,
各系统之间、各层次内部，又发生着永无休止的相互影响。
and there are everlasting interactions among different systems at various levels.
只有从系统的角度，才能真正认识事物、把握事物。
The best realization comes of a systematic approach.
物质的本质其实是同一的；任何物质的属性，既不会增加也不会减少，
The intrinsic quality of substance is ever unvarying; it has neither increased nor reduced.
所不同的是其形式进行了转化，所谓“万变不离其宗”。
What has actually been altered is merely its forms: this is the so-called the “law of conservation of matter”.
世界上的千变万化，原来都是实质内容的不同形式。
Matter is bound to be manifested in diversified ways.
人们对于世界的认识，所以要分门别类，是出于理解的便利，而非事物本身的面目。
Categorization of the world into academic disciplines have blurred its originality, for no purpose other than easy understanding.
在古希腊，最初并没有“分科”的学问，而只有唯一的“学问”——哲学，因为那里概括了人类对世界的所有认识。
In Ancient Greece, there was no such thing as different branches of learning except “philosophy”, which was believed to embrace all human knowledge of the world.
在中国，对学问的分类，也是到了汉代司马谈的《论六家要旨》才出现的。
Similarly, in China the disciplines did not occur until “On the Theme of the Six Scholarships” was written by Sima Tan (?—BC. 110) in the Han Dynasty.
所以，“学问”是认为的，是人做出来的；而人的认识系统与客观世界的系统之间永远有着差距。
Knowledge of any kind is, after all, designed and produced by man, who may fail to reveal the totality of the world.
在这个意义上讲，学问应当永远让位于真相。
In this way, scholarship is always vulnerable when confronted with newly revealed truth.
人无论多么复杂，都是一个有限系统，而认识的对象——世界，却是一个无线系统，
No matter how complicated a human is as a system, it is a limited one compared with the unlimited world that he tries to understand.
这就要求人在信息处理方面要具有以简奴繁、以有限形式去容纳无限内容的能力。
In handling the overwhelming information that human beings are confronted, highly efficient approaches have thus been developed.
在生理结构和功能上，人的感觉器官并不比其他高等生物更敏锐，但却可以在本质上认识无限的物质世界，这主要要得益于人的抽象思维能力和与之配套的语言系统。
In terms of biological structure and functions, the sensory organs of human beings are in fact no more developed than other highly evolved creatures, and yet humans can catch more of the essence of the world, mainly due to their abstract thinking capacity and their language systems.
人的所谓“预知”或“触类旁通”，其实都是系统功能的作用。
What is so-called “prediction” or “knowing the rest by analogy” is essentially generated by systematic analysis.
俄国化学家门德列捷夫，在发明了化学元素周期表后，从该表中的几个空洞，预测了新元素的存在。
Taking chemistry as an example, some gaps in the Periodic Table discovered by the Russian chemist Mendeleyev predicted several new chemical elements;
果然，十五年后，其他科学家发现了与预测相符的三种元素。
three of which were found by other chemists fifteen years later.
理论物理学家狄拉克研究电子的性质，认为“真空”正如充满电子的海洋，那里其实没有电子的“泡泡”，却预测了正子的存在。
Similarly, the theoretical physicist Diac revealed that there were no electronic “bubbles” in a vacuum during his research into the nature of electrons, and then predicted that something called positron might exist.
在物理学上，许多基本粒子的发现，都是先用对称理论预测，然后通过复杂试验找寻出来的，从而弥补了主观与客观间的差距。
In physics, many basic particles are found by way of repeated experiments based on a symmetrical theory, thus bridging the gap between the subjective and objective world.
系统的核心是结构；不同的结构决定了不同的性质与功能。
The core of a system is the structure which determines its nature and functions.
金刚石和石墨，都是由碳元素组成的单质，
Diamond and graphite, for example, are both solely made of carbons.
但由于其碳原子排列顺序的不同，形成了世界上最硬和最软的物质。
However, their different arrangements of carbonaceous atoms result in the hardest and softest substance in the world.
人的认识体系、知识结构也是如此。
The same principle applies to our perceptual and knowledge systems,
同样的信息量在不同人身上会产生不同的效果。
where the same amount of information may cause different effects.
所以，学习“系统”，搭建“结构”，有时比学习“零件”更重要。
In this way, one could say that learning “parts” sometimes may not be as effective as mastering a “system” or a “structure”.
系统可以是封闭或开放的。
A system can be closed or open.
一个鸡蛋，若蛋温与外界温度相同，便是一个封闭系统；
An egg, for instance, could be a closed system when the temperature is even inside the eggshell.
若母鸡坐在上面孵蛋，母鸡体温输入蛋内，则成为一开放系统。
As soon as a hen starts incubating, however, the system is opening up as her body temperature has been conducted into the egg.
生命现象的根本特征，在于生物体能够与外界环境保持相对稳定的物质能量交换，以维持不断的自我更新与发展。
The biological nature of life and its renewal in fact depend on sustainable exchange of energy between a body and its environment.
同时，系统又有高低之分。高级系统可以获得由低级系统传出的信息，而低级系统却不能接收高级系统发出的信息。
Also, there are layers of systems where a superior one can receive information from an inferior one and vice versa.
“对牛弹琴”所以不起作用，是因为牛的神经系统中的编码低于音乐的编码，而入的语言符号系统却能接收或反映极其复杂的系统属性。
“Playing the lute to a cow” (meaning appealing to an unappreciated audience), for instance, receives no response since the receptive code in a cow’s nervous system is inferior than the music code in humans, which can transmit and receive complicated signals with its sophisticated linguistic system.
所以，世界不但是平的，而且更是多层次、立体化和开放性的系统。
Really, the world is not so much flat, as it is a multilevel, multi-dimensional open system.
煮熟的蚕茧
The Past Is a Boiled Silk Cocoon
郭翠华
Guo Cuihua
我们已越来越深入一种现实。
We have sunk deeper and deeper into reality.
现实的人已不再会像夸父那样为了太阳而做长长的跋涉。
In reality, no one would chase after the sun over immensely long distances like kuafu, the sun chaser in Chinese mythology.
黑暗总是悄悄地吞没了一切光明的灵性。
Therefore, darkness always quietly swallows all the wonders of light.
是越是得不到的，人们越是想得到它，还是得到了这样我们又想起那样尚未得到的？
Is it that not the more something is unobtainable, the more we want it, or once we have obtained one thing, we want another?
我们的童年已不复存在，
Our childhood is gone forever.
存在的只是残缺不堪的梦境。
What remains is a broken dream.
无法忘却的是在春天我们依旧放飞了手中那只古老而又美丽的风筝，无法忘却的是在秋天，那只折断了翅膀的风筝忽然摔得粉碎。
What we cannot forget is that when spring arrives, we will still fly that ancient, beautiful kite, and when autumn comes, that broken-winged kite suddenly slams to pieces.
为什么不来南方呢？
Why don’t you come to the south?
为什么不可以重新开始一种新的生活方式呢？
Why don’t you start a new life?
朋友在电话的那端总是娓娓地劝我。
My friend has been enticing me over the phone in a sweet tone.
朋友是单身贵族，以她认为很适合自已的生活方式很惬意地生活着。
She is a well-off, single woman, comfortably living a life that she believes is the best for her.
然而如果在内地，一切都将是另一种模样。
But things would be different if she were living in an inland town.
常常在黑夜中醒来，想梦中的事。
I often wake up in the dark night and then think about what I have just dreamt,
不去想明天，所有的明天都是一个样。
but not about the following day, for all tomorrows are the same,
你不可能有更多的改变。
and you cannot change much in them.
一条新闻在五分钟之内，可以从市区的东头传到西头，而且是在公共汽车上。
A piece of news can travel in five minutes from the east of the town to the west—on a bus!
我无法忘却曾经的飞翔已化作深蓝色的记忆。
I cannot forget that the flying I once did has now turned into a deep-blue memory.
只因为曾经飞过，并且带着飞过蓝天白云的超越，我小心地珍藏起那对受伤的翅膀。
Because I have once flown—flown with the transcendental feeling of crossing the blue sky and the clouds, I have carefully treasured my pair of broken wings.
不愿去想的是我们无法超越自己的悲哀，那种深藏不露的悲哀。
What I do not want to think about is the sorrow that we cannot go beyond ourselves—that deep, hidden sorrow.
当我们痛苦着，困惑着，我们不是向前，而是退缩着回到了从前。
When we are in pain or confusion, we are not moving forward, but back to the past, instead.
从前是一只煮熟的蚕茧。
And the past is boiled silk cocoon.
我们得学会在这个时代不断冶炼自己，我们只能学会在冷酷的现实面前泅渡自己，
We have to learn to continuously temper ourselves in this age and learn to swim across the sea of cold reality.
我们终将带着微笑走向明天。
In this way, we will be able to enter tomorrow with a smile.
曾经一次次地爬上华山，曾经一次一次地去教堂，不是怀着某种欲望，而是带着一颗虔诚的心登上佛坛、教坛，只求一块净土，让心安宁。
Time and again, I have visited Mount Hua, and time and again I have visited churches, in search of pure land in which my heart can be at peace.
我对一位朋友说，真正超脱的境界，不是脱离了现实的逃避，而是身居滚滚红尘中可以心静自然凉。
I told one of my friends: The true transcendental realm is not to avoid reality but to keep a peaceful heart in the turbulent terrestrial world.
人生就是台阶，
Life is a flight of step.
我们得一级接一级地去拾。
We have to climb it step by step.
拾得天荒地老，拾得辗转难眠，拾得泪流满面，拾得心静如洗。
And this climbing may be time-consuming, exhausting, and filled with emotion, but it is all for the purpose of pacifying your heart.
就像那天来了一位朋友，
It is like what happened the other day when a friend came over.
他就坐在我的对面，他不紧不慢地说着，就有一种风景从他的背后冉冉升起，蓝天衬着白云，白云拖着微风，微风轻拂着窗前一树金黄的枯叶，
He sat in front of me, taking his time to talk, while a scene rose from behind me: A blue sky projected white clouds; the white clouds rode the breeze; the breeze swung a tree full of golden-colored, withered leaves by the window.
静静的如水的轻轻流动让我的心淡淡地弥漫开来如晨雾。
The quiet, light, and water-like flow unfolded my heart into a morning mist.
我知道朋友正站在一个我看不见的山头上看自己的过去，
If I knew my friend was standing on a mountaintop invisible to me, watching his past.
他不去数那无聊的琐琐碎碎，他数自己走过了多少台阶，他在收自己的高度，
He was not counting those trivialities, but instead, he counted how many steps he had scaled, measuring the height he had ascended.
我在他的志向中进入了一种境界，看见一个博大的世界。
This took me into a realm where I saw a broader world.
渐渐明了心中的日子，便是在一张没有铺垫的木桌上，端起一杯清淡的茶水，一口一口咽下去，一点一点地品过去，
I understand now that an ideal day’s activity in my heart would be just to pick up a cup of light tea from an unclothed wooden table, sip at it bit by bit and taste it little by little.
生活的面貌本来不过如此，
The nature of a true life is nothing more than that.
平平淡淡才是真。
What is plain is real (徐英才 译)
现代人的流行病
Common Epidemics Infecting Modern People
辛泊平
Xin Boping
把信息当做知识，把知识当做智慧。
Modern people tend to equate information with knowledge, and knowledge with wisdom.
许多人日夜在网上泡着，四处收集新闻热点，
That’s why many of them are mouse potatoes, searching for hot news day and night.
说起来滔滔不绝，仿佛天下大事尽在心中，联合国秘书长就是给他打工的小马仔。
They would rattle on and on once such people strike a conversation with you, as if they knew everything about all major events in the world and the secretary-general of UN were always at his beck and call!
可是如果你仔细听听，认真想想，却发现他嘴里没有一句是他的话。
However, if you listen attentively and think carefully you will find they are but parrots that only repeat what others have said without a single word of their own.
他根本没有兴趣咀嚼和消化那些信息。
They never bother to chew and digest the information rounded up.
他只是一个信息的贩卖者，是一个廉价的传声筒。
They are no more than mongers of information or cheap megaphones.
把品牌当做品位，把冷漠当做修养。
They tend to take brand for taste and indifference for cultivation.
一身高档的行头，却在大街上随地吐痰、满口脏话；
They never open their mouths without dirty filthy language. They were well dressed but spit at will on the street.
捧着时尚杂志，却不肯为老人让一下座。
They always carry some vogue magazine in hand but would not even offer their seats to senior citizens on buses.
身体早熟，能力超低；
They are precocious physically but deficient mentally.
物质丰富，营养过剩。
As material affluence tend to cause over-nutrition,
有的孩子上了大学竟然还不会叠被子、洗衣服，甚至不会系鞋带。
nowadays physically premature children are very common and many of them catch up with their parents in height in their teens. But many of them do not know how to make their bed, wash clothes, or even tie their shoestrings after they become college students!
疯狂跳槽，一事无成。
Many of them become frequent job-hoppers upon graduation from college and will hardly make any achievement.
总想着“天生我材必有用”，总想着“此处不留爷，自有留爷处”，
They always hold that they were bestowed with genius and would sooner or later find some place to bring their genius into full play.
不是踏踏实实做人，扎扎实实做事，而是在哪里呆着都觉得委屈了自己，
As a result, they would not take a down-to-earth attitude in doing anything but feel wronged no matter what jobs they get.
看什么都不顺眼，做什么都不顺心，这山望着那山高。
To them, nothing is right or satisfactory, just like the saying goes: “Distant mountains are always greener and taller.”
跳槽成了习惯，甚至成了生活方式。
Thus, job-hopping becomes
不怕丢丑，出名至上。
In modern peoples’ eyes, disgrace is nothing, whereas, fame is everything.
人人都想在电视上露一回脸，
Thus, everyone is overeager to show his face on the TV.
抢不到这机会的就在网络上晒自己，多难看的相貌、多丢人的事，也敢发布出去。
He who can’t grasp such an opportunity rushes to “strip” himself online, no matter how ugly he might look,
只要能出名，什么都在所不惜。
how disgraceful the thing might be, as long as he can fish for fame in return.
“做秀”一说，也走向了自我的反面，摇身一变，不再羞羞答答，而是风光无限。
“Show” swiftly goes to the reverse: no shyness, all showiness.
买房装修给人看，身背包袱日子难。
They buy houses only for the purpose of showing off, even if they are heavily burdened by mortgage.
见面说不了三句话，就扯到房子上。
Housing is the inevitable topic of conversation no matter what you may talk about with them.
没有房的要买房，有了房的想换大的，有的大的还想买第二套。
Those who haven’t bought a flat want to buy one, those who already bought one want to buy a bigger one, and those who already have big ones want to buy a second one.
明明自己掏腰包已瘪，可看见新楼盘开张，就浑身热血沸腾，野心横生。
Flat as their wallets are, their blood boils with sudden urges to buy whenever some new building opens for sale.
装修也相互攀比，你装修成皇宫模样，我就装修成总统套房。
When it comes to interior decoration, they will also strive to score off their neighbors. You make a palace of your flat? Well, I shall make a presidential suite of mine.
但收入就那么多，无奈只好节衣缩食，
However, as their salaries are limited, they cannot but save every penny in order to make ends meet.
背负着巨大的精神压力一日挨一日。
Thus, they drag out a miserable existence under heavy spiritual burden from day to day.
买车争先恐后，哪管寸步难行。
When it comes to the purchase of private cars, they also keep vying with each other, ignoring the already serious traffic jam.
为了面子买车，人有我无，总怕遭人小瞧；女孩子更是把车当作了婚姻的要素。
Many of them buy cares only to save their faces: they are afraid to be looked down upon if they don’t own cars when others do. Some girls even demand private cars as a must for marriage.
开自己的车不如打车省钱，但人们还是争先恐后地去买。
Though driving one’s own car costs more than hiring a taxi, they still rush to buy.
结果车越来越多，城市道路越来越拥挤，开车常常不如步行快。
As a result, there are more and more cars to cram the already crowded streets, and very often walking proves to be quicker than driving.
购物变弱智，消费落陷阱。
Very often shopping reduces their wisdom and they fall into traps set up by businessmen.
眼睛不能看到“打折”两个字，只要发现有商品打折，不管需要不需要，也要挤进去买。
The mere sight of “discount” of any commodity will urge them to squeeze into the crowded store to buy it no matter whether they really need it or not,
这已成了一种嗜好，
and this practice has become an obsession.
导致许多没有用处的东西堆积如山，弄得家里恰似垃圾场。
As a result, heaps of unwanted things reduce their homes into dumping grounds.
有时自己也知道，打折的大多没好货，也经常发誓不再上当，
As a matter of fact, sometimes they know very well that no discounted goods is of high quality and they even swear not to be taken in any more.
但每次看到打折的招牌，还是身不由己。
However, they cannot help themselves as soon they see signs of “discount” or “promotion” (陈德彰 译)
哭与笑
When a Person Weeps or Cries
倪匡
Ni Kuang
倔强的孩子在外面打架、游戏，
A child plays away from home and fight with others.
吃了亏，受了损，
He’s defeated, gets hurt and suffers shame.
一定咬紧牙关忍下来，不会在别人的面前流眼泪。
If he (or she) is strong-willed, he would clench his teeth, making a firm grip on himself from shedding tears in front of others.
但是当他回到家中，遇上自己的亲人时，想起在外面的委屈，一定会哭得一把鼻涕一把眼泪。
But as soon as he returns home he would burst out crying at the first sight of his close relatives. He would be all tears pouring out his sufferings.
倔强的成年人，也是一样，
The same is true for a strong-willed grown-up.
不论受了什么样的伤害，都善于掩饰自己的感情，
No matter what harm he sufferers he would do his best to disguise, trying not to reveal his feelings.
眼泪只会往肚里吞，给人看的是毫不在乎的欢笑。
He would swallow his bitter tears and show a smiling face at others as if he doesn’t care a bit.
然而，再倔强的人，一旦在自己的亲人面前，可以肯定这个人对自己的情爱，毫无保留之际，一样会哭，
But however strong-willed he is, most probably he would cry as soon as he meets his close relative who loves him and to whom he can pour out his heart unreservedly.
不但哭，而且会哭得十分伤心。
Not only he’d weep but he’d cry his eyes out in grief.
如果有人对你哭，而这个人平时又绝不是会哭的那种人，那么，就让他对着你哭个痛快。
If somebody weeps in your face—the person never of the type shedding tears in front of others, you’d better sit by and let him (or her) cry out to his heart’s content,
因为在那个哭的人心中，你是他最亲近的人。
for it shows you are regarded as his dearest or the most reliable one.
有人能在你面前哭，比只有人在你面前笑好得多。
It’s much better to have someone weeping in your face than be met exclusively by a smiling face.
笑，谁不会？ 哭，有多么困难！
Anyone can smile at you, but very few will weep in your face, because the latter is much harder for one to do than the former (陈文伯 译)
战士和苍蝇
Fighters and Flies
鲁迅
Lu Xun
Schopenhauer说过这样的话：要估定人的伟大，则精神上的大和体格上的大，那法则完全相反。
Schopenhauer has said that, in estimating men’s greatness, the laws governing spiritual stature and physical size are the reverse of each other.
后者距离愈远即愈小，前者却见得愈大。
For the further they are from us, the smaller men’s bodies and the greater their spirit appear.
正因为近则愈小，而且愈看见缺点和创伤，所以他就和我们一样，不是神道，不是妖怪，不是异兽。
Because a man seems less of a hero at close quarters, where his blemishes and wounds stand out clearly, he appears like one of us, not a god, a supernatural being or a creature of a strange new species.
他仍然是人，不过如此。
He is simply a man.
但也惟其如此，所以他是伟大的人。
But this precisely is where his greatness lies.
战士战死了的时候，苍蝇们所首先发见的是他的缺点和伤痕，
When a fighter has fallen in battle, the first thing flies notice is his blemishes and wounds.
嘬着，营营地叫着，以为得意，以为比死了的战士更英雄。
They suck them, humming, very pleased to think that they are greater heroes than the fallen warrior.
但是战士已经战死了，不再来挥去他们。
And since the fighter is dead and does not drive them away,
于是乎苍蝇们即更其营营地叫，自以为倒是不朽的声音，因为它们的完全，远在战士之上。
the flies buzz even more loudly, and imagine they are making immortal music, since they are so much whole and perfect than he is.
的确的，谁也没有发见过苍蝇们的缺点和创伤。
True, no one pays any attention to the blemishes and wounds of flies.
然而，有缺点的战士终竟是战士，完美的苍蝇也终竟不过是苍蝇。
Yet the fighter for all his blemishes is a fighter, while the most whole and perfect flies are only flies.
去罢，苍蝇们！
Buzz off, flies!
虽然生着翅子，还能营营，总不会超过战士的。 你们这些虫豸们！
You may have wings and you may be able to hum, but you will never surpass a fighter, you insects!
三月二十一日。
(杨宪益、戴乃迭 译)
钱的另一种价值
Another Value of Money
周海亮
Zhou Hailiang
花三十块钱，买瓜一个，
I spent 30 yuan (RMB) for a melon.
回来吃，却是苦的。
When I ate it at home I found it more bitter than sweet.
扔掉？舍不得，毕竟这个瓜花掉三十块钱；
I was reluctant to throw it away for it cost me money after all.
吃掉？太痛苦，比吃黄连，绝对好不到哪里去。
But to eat it was a painful thing no better than tasting goldthread.
不仅瓜，生活里，常常可见类似的事情。
Things like this occur frequently in one’s daily life.
去某地旅游，去后非但不觉得开心，
For example, when going on a tour one fails to find the pleasure one seeks.
反而坐卧难安，
On the contrary, one is so uncomfortable as if on pins and needles.
就想立刻掉头回去。
In such a case one would like to return immediately.
但绝大多人仍然会硬撑着将所有景点游完，尽管游览时，必定是不开心的。
But most tourists still choose to continue their way until they finish visiting all the scenic spots, though they do not quite enjoy them.
放弃，这笔钱什么也没有买到；
If you give up, you’ll get nothing; you would have spent money in vain.
不放弃，这笔钱买到的是难受，是痛苦，甚至是灾难。
If you don’t give up, what you’ve got is something to cause you suffering or pain, or even disaster.
既如此，为何仍然舍不得它？
Since that’s the case, why are you still reluctant to part with it?
只因为，那是钱。
The only reason is: it means money.
可是，钱到底有什么价值？
To pursue the question to the bottom, what value does money contain after all?
钱的价值，无非有二：一为生存，一为生活。
Its value is none other than the following two aspects: (1) it can be used for one’s living; (2) it can be used for one’s daily life.
当一笔本该买到享受或者快乐的钱注定买不到享受和快乐，
When a sum of money that should be able to obtain joy or enjoyment is destined to fail the purpose, isn’t it wise to give it up?
那么这时候，放弃这笔钱，是不是一种花钱甚至做人的智慧？
Isn’t it a sort of wisdom for money-spending or even for behaving oneself?
将一笔注定不会产生价值或者产生负价值的钱放弃掉，也是钱的一种价值吧？
To abandon and forget a sum of money that’s doomed to be void of value or to produce negative values can be counted as another value of money. Isn’t it so? (李文茂 译)
“抵制日货”质疑
Doubts about Boycotting Japanese Goods
林巍
Lin Wei
由于钓鱼岛事件，近日全国不少地方又出现了抵制日货的浪潮。
A new wave of boycotting Japanese goods has been organized recently by people across the country angry about the dispute over Diaoyu Island.
民众的情绪是可以理解的，但民众的情绪不一定都是理性的。
While the fury of the mass movement is perfectly understandable, rationality may be missing.
特别是，最近有人对学日语的大学生发起了攻击，一些日本书籍从书店和图书馆下架等等，便不免真的有点令人担忧了。
It is especially worrying to know that students of Japanese language at universities have been attacked, and Japanese books are being removed from bookshelves in some bookstores and libraries.
从全球角度看，各国经济与经营已日益融为一体，很难再有纯粹的“日货”，
Taking a global view economies and businesses in different countries or regions have become increasingly integrated; there are hardly such things as “Japanese products” anymore.
尤其是在华的日本投资企业，其中60%的成分为中方资产，打击了他们，受损的首先是中方，无论是在收益还是在就业方面。
Japanese joint-ventures in China, in particular, have on average more than half of the capital actually invested by Chinese companies, which will be the first to suffer in profitability and employment as a result of boycotting “Japanese products”.
从历史文化脉络看，在中日交往的两千多年的长河里，双方受益巨大。
In the river of long history, cultural exchanges between China and Japan over the past two thousand years have benefited both countries tremendously.
我曾在日本生活过，亲身感受到日本深受中国文化的影响，从文字到医药、建筑、哲学等等；
I was deeply impressed by the profound influence of Chinese culture on Japan as a nation during my stay there, ranging from language to medicine, architecture, philosophy and so on.
而中国现代语言文化中亦浸透了日本因素，如现代意义的“政治”、“经济”、“文化”、“哲学”、“干部”、“社会主义”、“共产主义”、“人间蒸发”、“上班族”等等，都是通过日语“反译”过来的。
Likewise, modern Chinese language and culture are also extensively infused with Japanese elements. Current concepts and ideas such as Zhengzhi (politics), jingji (economy), wenhua (culture), Zhexue (philosophy), ganbu (cadre), shehuizhuyi (socialism),gongchanzhuyi (communism), ren jian zheng fa (evaporated from society), shang ban zu (salary man) just to mention a few, were are translated from the Japanese language. In fact, it first borrowed from Chinese characters, which were then “re-entranced” with modern connotations.
当年，日本“当仁不让”，拼命地向我们学，于是超过了我们。
In the past, Japanese seized the opportunity to learn from us at all costs and then far surpassed us.
现在，我们要超过他们，又有什么理由对他们“视而不见”？
Now, facing challenges, how can we afford to turn a blind eye to them?
抵制、排斥从来不是明智、勇敢、有效的，所以是不足取的。
Surely, boycotting is not the smart, brave or even the logical approach to the issue.
而且，正因为我们与日本国有矛盾，才更应学习其语言与文化，需要更全面、深入地了解、把握他们；
A more demanding task is for us to learn Japanese language and culture, and to put ourselves in their shoes when we have conflicts,
诚如美国开展“反恐”以来，最渴求的是精通阿拉伯语极其文化的人才。
in the same way that Americans have needed urgently more Arabic experts who are at home in their opponents’ language and culture since the war on terrorism began.
六十亿个世界
Six Billion Worlds
赖声川
Lai Shengchuan
记得某个下午，我坐在尼泊尔寺庙的楼梯上。
I can still recall the day when I sat on the stairs of a temple in Nepal.
雨水把整个寺庙广场弄得泥泞不堪，
The square before the temple became very muddy as a result of the rain.
我们在地上铺砖块做走道。
We had to walk on a path made by a line of bricks on the muddy ground.
一位朋友边抱怨边踏着砖块走来。
A friend of mine complained all the way while she stepped on the bricks walking towards me.
她走到我面前，以一种极为不耐烦的态度环顾四周，然后说：“真恶心！
Looking around she said very impatiently, “disgusting indeed!
如果我掉进这些脏水里怎么办？”
What if I fall into the dirty water?”
因为十分了解她，所以我谨慎地点点头，希望通过这些无言的同情，令她舒服些。
Since I knew her very well, I nodded cautiously, hoping to comfort her by my silent sympathy.
几分钟后，另一个朋友拉斐尔也来到这个泥泞的广场，
A few minutes later another friend of mine came to the same scene.
她一面在砖块上跳着，一面唱着：“跳，跳，跳！”
She stepped on the brick path dancing briskly and singing, “Jump, jump, jump!” until she reached the dry ground.
最后踩到干地上时，还大呼：“真好玩！”
She couldn’t help shouting, “What a fun it is!”
她的双眼闪烁着喜悦的光芒，然后说：“雨季最棒的就是没有灰尘。”
Eyes beaming with joy, she made the remarks, “The most pleasant thing of the rainy season is that one can entirely be free from dust.”
两个人，两种不同看世界的方式；
In the eyes of the two there were two different worlds.
60亿人，60亿个世界。
As the world has a population of 6 billion, it follows that there should be 6 billion worlds.
平等的待遇
Equal Treatment
王承磊
Wang Chenglei
某市新上一座高档火化炉。
A sophisticated crematory furnace was recently installed in the mortuary house of xx city.
有钱用高档的，费用五千。
Of course it served the rich people, who could afford the cost—5000 for each use.
没钱用低档的，费用一千。
The poor people could only make use of the ordinary furnace. Its cost was only 1000.
低档与高档的区别是骨灰全与不全。
What made the difference between the sophisticated and the ordinary was whether the ashes gathered were full or partial.
但谁都想给老人留个全骨，
Who didn’t want to keep full ashes, the only remains of the ancestor?
只是价格太高。
But the cost was indeed too high.
有人将此事诉至市长信箱。
Somebody made an appeal to the mayor through the channel of the mayor’s mailbox, deeming the practice unfair.
分管市长见后，不以为然。
The deputy mayor in charge of the matter didn’t see eye to eye with the appeal. He thought there was nothing wrong about it.
有钱的进高级酒店，没钱的进小吃店，
Rich people went to high-ranking restaurants, while the poor had their meals at snacks.
有钱的开车，没钱人骑车。
Rich people drove their private cars while the poor rode their bicycles.
有点档次，很正常嘛。
It was quite natural for the existence of such different social ranks.
没几天，这市长的亲爹没了。
Just a few days later, the father of the related mayor died and was sent to the crematorium.
去火化时，不巧，高档楼坏了，只好在低档炉烧了。
Unfortunately the sophisticated furnace was out of function at the moment and the body had to be committed to the flames in the ordinary one.
三天以后，殡仪馆接到了市里的一红头文件：
Three days since this incident happened, an official notice in red heading was issued to the crematorium from the municipal authorities.
关于取缔高档炉的决定。
It conveyed the formal decision of abolishing the sophisticated furnace.
其中一句是：要给死者一个平等的待遇。
The decision contained such an argument as: all the dead were entitled to an equal treatment.
性爱，成就了我一世姻缘
Eros, Cornerstone of Our Marriage
平原
Ping Yuan
说实话，我和妻最初的结合是因为性，而非爱。
To be frank, it was sex, not love that brought my wife and me together.
我们从见面相识到举行婚礼，这中间也就短短的一个月，能有多少的“爱”可言呢？
The time between our first meeting and wedding was no more than one month, so how much love could we expect to build up?
然而，我们似乎很“一见钟情”的相恋并闪电般结婚，没有爱也是不可能的。
However, it was equally unbelievable that a whirlwind romance like ours was founded on no love at all.
不过，这极其仓促的爱绝对来自于一见钟情，而这个“情”从很大程度上来源于“性”，
The brash love was absolutely derived from “love at first sight,” while the passion primarily originated in sex.
是神奇的性魅力成就了我们的姻缘。
It was the sex appeal that fueled our marriage..
在与妻子相识前，我也结识过不少女孩子，并且，和其中的好几个“拍拖”过。说真的，无论从相貌、学识，还是职业、家庭，我“绕”过的那几个女孩子都绝对地远远超过现在的妻。
Truthfully, the girlfriends I had before I met my wife were far superior to her in appearance, education, occupation and family background.
尽管我至今仍有点后悔没有去娶她们中间的某一个，也一直很牵挂她们，
Even today they live vividly in my memory, and I still regret not having married one of them.
但当时跟她们在一起时，却极少有过那种赤裸裸的原始冲动。
Oddly, though, while I was with them I rarely felt much sexual desire for them.
与妻结婚前，我已经在这个世界上活了26年，却始终未破“金童”之身。
Before I got married at 26, I hadn’t had sex,
纵然有过那“罪恶的一闪念”，却都在理智的剑光下倏忽而逝。
even though occasionally some “evil idea” flashed into my mind, which I stamped out with a reasoning mind.
我敢说，凡与我恋爱过的女孩无论最终嫁与谁，都绝对地“完壁归赵”。
I can swear that my ex-girlfriends left me as virginal as the day they’d met me.
两只小鸟
Two Small Birds
古保祥
Gu Baoxiang
1973年，美国加利福尼亚州某小学某班级，一个调皮的小男孩托马斯在课间休息时逮了一只鸟儿握在手心里。
In 1973, Thomas, a schoolboy in California of the U. S, caught a small bird during an interval between classes and mischievously hid it in the classroom.
他并非恶作剧，
He didn’t mean playing tricks.
只是对鸟儿的啁啾声和生活习惯充满了兴趣。
He was only interested in a bird’s chirping and wanted to know its life and habits.
语言老师上课了，但小鸟的鸣叫突然响起，
The teacher was giving a language lesson when he heard the bird’s chirping.
语言老师直皱眉，
He couldn’t help frowning on it.
但他并没有责怪小托马斯，
However, he didn’t blame the child.
而是郑重地告诉大家：我想讲一下鸟儿的生活习性问题，
He only said in a solemn way that he would like to say a word about birds’ habits.
鸟儿不喜欢被圈养着，它们喜欢自由飞翔，
Birds like flying freely and hate being confined.
大自然才是它们的暖巢，
It’s in the nature that they find their warm nest.
下面，继续上课。
Then he went on with his lesson.
小男孩托马斯受宠若惊，下课后将那只鸟儿放回了大自然。
Thomas felt he was flattered by the teacher’s attention and immediately took action to send the bird back to the nature when the class was over.
同一时间，不同地点，中国某城市的某所学校，
Almost at the same time a small boy at a certain school of a certain city in China did the same thing as his American counterpart.
一名小男孩也将一只不知名的小鸟握在手心里，他也对它的叫声充满了兴趣。
He held the small bird in hand, very interested in its chirping, which greatly interfered with the class that was going on.
小鸟不知疲倦地在课堂上发出了怪声，惹得大家的目光锁定在他的身上，语文老师怒气冲冲，显然他觉得这妨碍了自己的课堂纪律与教学质量。
The teacher giving a lesson of Chinese language and literature was enraged.
他走过去，毫不客气地将小男孩拽了起来，将小鸟从他的手心里抢了过来，打开窗户放飞了小鸟。
He relentlessly dragged the boy up from his seat, robbed him of the bird and set it free through the window.
小男孩受了批评，他不得不抄写近一百遍的某首古诗。
He blamed the boy and ordered him to copy an ancient poem 100 times as a sort of punishment.
2010年，美国加利福尼亚州某大学的演讲台上，一位鸟类专家在生动地讲他小时候的故事：
In 2010 on the platform of a certain university in California an ornithologist was telling a story about his childhood.
他说十分感谢当初老师的仁慈，没有扼杀他对鸟儿的憧憬和兴趣，
He said he was very grateful to his language teacher whose kindness helped him to keep up his interest in birds.
兴趣是决定人初始开发的一个重要因素，
Interest was an important factor to begin subsequent development.
我们需要沿着兴趣走而不是改变它。
What we needed was to follow our interest, not to change it.
同样的时间，在中国某大学的讲台上，一位中文博士也在讲他小时候的故事，
Meanwhile on the platform of a certain university in China a doctor specialized in Chinese language and literature made a speech about his childhood.
他说道：语文老师将自己引入了正途，
He said it was his language teacher that prevented him from going astray.
他现在已经成为一位优秀的语文博士。
Thus he was able to pursue his studies that resulted in his becoming an excellent doctorate scholar of Chinese language and literature.
他们同样都是优秀的人才，只是有些遗憾罢了，
Both of them were outstanding talents, though there might be something regretful.
传统意识与创新习惯的不同，
A traditional ideology is quite different from a habit of creating something new.
改变了一个人甚至一个民族的兴趣和方向。
This difference decides two little boys’, even two nations’ different interest and orientation.
童年有两只鸟，现实中有两种教育，
The different treatment of birds in their childhood points to two different education thoughts in the present time.
世上有两种人。
That, in turn, creates two types of people in the world.
写什么
What Are We to Write?
张爱玲
Zhang Ailing
有个朋友问我：“无产阶级的故事你会写么？”
A friend of mine asked, "Can you write stories about the proletariat?"
我想了一想，说：“不会。
I thought it over and replied, "No.
要么只有阿妈她们的事，我稍微知道一点。”
Except perhaps about amahs, because I know a little something about them."
后来从别处打听到，原来阿妈不能算无产阶级。
Later, I looked into the matter and discovered that amahs don't count as proletarians, anyway.
幸而我并没有改变作风的计划，否则要大为失望了。
It's a good thing that I'm not planning to change my style, since it would only result in disappointment.
文人讨论今后的写作路径，在我看来是不能想象的自由——仿佛有充分的选择的余地似的。
The discussions taking place among writers as to our present course and our path forward seem to me an unimaginable liberty—as if there were any choice in the matter.
当然，文苑是广大的，游客买了票进去，在九曲桥上拍了照，再一窝蜂去参观动物园，
No doubt the garden of literature is broad and inclusive: when visitors buy their tickets and enter its precincts, they can have their pictures taken on the Nine-Bend bridge, swarm over to the zoo, or roam as they wish across the grounds.
说走就走，的确可羡慕。
Their freedom of movement is truly enviable.
但是我认为文人该是园里的一棵树，天生在那里的，根深蒂固，
But I believe that writers themselves should be like trees in the garden, growing naturally within its confines, with their roots extending deep into the ground below.
越往上长，眼界越宽，看得更远，要往别处发展，也未尝不可以，风吹了种子，播送到远方，另生出一棵树，
As they grow, their viewpoint will begin to grow wider, and as their field of vision expands, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to develop in new directions, for when the wind blows, their seeds will disperse far into the distance engendering still more trees.
可是那到底是很艰难的事。
But there is the most difficult task of all.
初学写文章，我自以为历史小说也会写，普洛文学，新感觉派，以至于较通俗的“家庭伦理”，社会武侠，言情艳情，
When I was first learning how to write, I believed that I could write whatever I pleased: historical fiction, proletarian fiction, modernist fiction, even the relatively vulgar genre of "family ethics" fiction, not to mention social expose and martial arts novels or decadent stories of romance and seduction.
海阔天空，要怎样就怎样。
The sky really was the limit.
越到后来越觉得拘束。
But later I felt more and more constrained.
譬如说现在我得到了两篇小说的材料，
Here is an example. I have at present enough material assembled for two stories.
不但有了故事与人物的轮廓，连对白都齐备，
Not only do I have outlines of the plots and all the characters; even the dialogue has already been prepared in advance.
可是背景在内地，所以我暂时不能写。
But the stories are set in the interior, and that is why I cannot write them, as least for the time being.
到那里去一趟也没有用，
And even if I could go there, it wouldn't really be any use.
那样的匆匆一瞥等于新闻记者的访问。
If I were to take a hurried look around, I would be no better than a news reporter on assignment.
最初印象也许是最强烈的一种。
Perhaps it's true that first impressions are the most important.
可是，外国人观光燕子窝，印象纵然探，我们也不能从这角度去描写燕子窝顾客的心理罢？
But while a foreigner might well take away extremely vivid impressions from a visit to a "swallow's nest," his perspective won't necessarily reveal very much about the psychology of those who frequent it.
走马看花固然无用，
"Observing the flowers from astride a horse" will only take you so far.
即使去住两三个月，放眼搜集地方色彩，也无用，因为生活空气的浸润感染，
But even if you were to live someplace for a few months, searching high and low for dollops of local color, you might well fail to achieve your objective.
往往是在有意无意中的，
True immersion in the atmosphere of life usually takes place spontaneously.
不能先有个存心。
It isn't something that can be forced or willed into being.
文人只须老老实实生活着，
All a writer can strive for is to live with integrity.
然后，如果他是个文人，他自然会把他想到的一切写出来。
A real writer can only really write about what he himself thinks.
他写所能够写的，无所谓应当。
He will write about what he can write; what a writer should or should not write is ultimately beside the point.
为什么常常要感到改变写作方向的需要呢？
Then why do we often feel that we need to change the direction of our literary work?
因为作者的手法常犯雷同的毛病，因此嫌重复。
Because a writer will often make the same technical mistakes over and over again and come to abhor the constant repetition.
以不同的手法处理同样的题材既然办不到，只能以同样的手法适用于不同的题材上——
If there is no way to treat the same material with different techniques, might there be a way to apply one's old techniques to new material?
然而这在实际上是不可能的，因为经验上不可避免的限制。
This second option is almost impossible to achieve, because of the limits of individual experience.
有几个人能够像高尔基像石挥那样到处流浪，哪一行都混过？
How many people are like Gorky or Shi Hui, wandering the world throughout their lives and seasoned in any number of different professions?
其实这一切的顾虑都是多余的吧？
Perhaps in the end these anxieties about what and how to write are merely superfluous.
只要题材不太专门性，像恋爱结婚，生老病死，这一类颇为普遍的现象，都可以从无数各个不同的观点来写，一辈子也写不完。
As long as one's subject matter isn't too specialized, one can write about common experiences—love and marriage, birth, growing up, growing old, getting sick, and dying—from any number of disparate angles and never lack for material.
如果有一天说这样的题材已经没的可写了，那想必是作者本人没的可写了。
If there came a day when an author could no longer write anything about such things, I imagine it would be because he had nothing left to say, even for himself.
即使找到了崭新的题材，照样的也能够写出滥调来。
And even if he came across some brand-new subject, he would still only be able to produce clichés.
爱老师但别怕老师
Cultural Differences as Seen by a Scholar
杨福家
Yang Fujia
大约十年前的这个时候，我接到了英国诺丁汉大学的邀请担任校长。
About this time 10 years ago I received an invitation for me to become president of Nottingham University in Britain.
七年前，宁波诺丁汉大学在中国创办。
7 years ago, a counterpart of the university was established in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province of China.
在这个过程中，我充分体会到中西文化是怎么交流的。
In the course of these things I got plenty of chances to understand how cultural exchanges were made between the East and the West.
举一个现在很难想象的例子。
I’d like to cite an example to illustrate my point of view.
当时我们计划招4000名学生，
The university we wanted to establish in Ningbo planned to enlist 4000 students.
宁波方面说可以给学校900亩土地。
Ningbo authorities provided us with 900 mu of land for the school, but the British sponsor didn’t accept the offer.
没想到英方不要，六次谈话六次拒绝，因为英方认为按照中国的法律，十名学生一亩地，4000名学生400亩地，他们怎么能够接受900亩呢。
The latter held that, according to the Chinese legal regulations, the land allocation ratio should be one mu for ten students, then 400 mu for 4000 students was the right number, how could they accept 900?
按照法律办事，这是英国文化中非常强的因素。
Consultations between the two parties were conducted six times without any result.
最后的折中方案是，
At last a compromise was reached.
中间划一条河，这边的400亩算资产，另外的400亩搞运动设施等。
The assigned land would be divided into two parts, one part (400 mu) was the school asset, the other part (400 mu) should be the site of the school’s installations such as sports ground etc. this example shows a very strong factor in British culture, that is, things should be done according to legal regulations.
雅典学派是一张画，这个画的中间是两个人：老师和学生，旁边有很多学者都在议论。
The school of Athens can be described as a picture with a teacher and a student sitting in the center and many scholars around discussing on a certain topic.
有一句名言，吾爱吾师，更爱真理。
There’s a famous saying in the West: I love my teacher, but I love truth even more.
前面一句话，孔子学派里面有，但后面一句话中国少了一点。
The first part of the saying can be found in Confucius’ teaching but the second part can rarely be found in China.
少的结果就是我们比较怕老师，不大敢提问题，不大敢争议。
The result is that the Chinese students are rather afraid of their teacher, afraid of raising questions or evoking disputes.
在西方的一所小学里，一名八岁的小孩在一堂课里面提了八个问题，
On the contrary, students in the Western countries like discussions, for example, a school boy of 8 in a primary school can raise 8 questions in a class.
这会发生在中国的小学里吗？
Would such things happen in China?
这让我想起了钱学森。
This reminds me of Qian Xue-sen, a contemporary Chinese scientist.
钱学森的老师和他争得厉害，
When he studied in America, he had once a heated dispute with his professor, a very famous rocket expert.
老师到后来都有点恼了，说他都讲了多少次了，然后把书往地上一扔就离开了。
Rather enraged, the professor threw his book and left abruptly.
但是，第二天，钱学森的老师、一位那么有名的火箭专家，跑到钱学森的办公室，冲他鞠了一躬，说“你是对的，我错了”。
But the next day the professor came to Qian’s office and bowed to him, saying, “I was wrong. You were right.”
不要直起腰
No Letup in Work
马丽
Ma Li
很多人询问作家刘震云“高产”的秘诀，
Many people asked Liu Zhenyun, a well-known Chinese writer, about the secret of his “high productivity”.
他笑了笑，讲了祖母的故事。
He smiled and told a story about his grandmother as a sort of an answer.
刘震云的祖母年轻时身体并不强壮，
His grandmother, when young, was not very strong physically.
身高只有1.5米多。
Only 1.5-odd meters tall, yet she was a good worker in the fields.
可每到农忙季节，她一直是东家们抢夺的短工。
Landowners all liked to hire her on short terms in busy farming seasons.
有一次，她与当地最得力的男劳力一起下地割麦子，
Once she worked together with a male laborer who was the most capable farmer in that locality.
3里长的一垄麦子，
In a length of 1.5 km field ridge they began cutting wheat side by side.
她割完了，男人才割了不到一半。
When she finished, the man was left far behind, not reaching half of the length.
刘震云很好奇，他问祖母有什么诀窍？
Liu was very curious and asked his grandmother how she could do so.
祖母笑了笑，回答简单而质朴：
She smiled and answered, “It’s very simple.
“下地之前，我就深吸一口气，
Before I began I drew a deep breath and told myself.
对自己说一直割到底，中间不要直起腰来。
Hold on cutting to the end, keep bending and never straighten up.
因为如果直了一次，歇了一次，就会有第二次、第三次。”
If I straighten once for a pause, I’d do so twice and thrice.”
自此，祖母在地里被漫无边际的麦田掩盖的情景，
Liu was so deeply impressed by his grandmother’s story that from then on he often reminded himself of her being buried in a boundless sea of fields cutting wheat.
深深地印刻在刘震云的心里，影响了他的一生。
This image has a lifelong influence on him.
他说，“我一直以祖母为榜样，
He said, “I have all along taken my grandmother for a good example.
在干活时尽量不直起腰，
When I work I do my best not allowing myself a letup.
要干就干到底。
I’ll hold on to the end.
只有这样，我才能取得一点成就，才能进北大，才能混迹于文艺圈。”
Only so doing can I achieve a little in my career—be able to succeed in entering Beijing University and winning a place in the literature circles.”
位子
The Seat
米国勇
Mi Guoyong
成都境内有座四姑娘山，半山腰上原来有一座小庙，
There was a small Buddhist temple standing halfway up Four Girls Mount, within the boundaries of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in China.
庙里有个老和尚带着几位徒弟。
Within the temple there was an old monk with several novices.
庙虽不大，但游人如织，香火鼎盛，师徒几个日子过得很是滋润。
They lived comfortably as the temple, though insignificant in name and size, attracted an endless stream of pilgrims and tourists.
一天夜里，大殿上供奉的两米多高如来佛像，不知怎么的跌了下来，摔得粉碎，
One night, the huge statue of the Buddha, as tall as two meters, fell suddenly from its seat and broke in pieces.
只剩下两个原来摆在佛像两旁的小塑像，一个是金童，一个是玉女。
But two smaller statues on either of his sides, Gold Boy and Jade Girl, still remained intact.
明天就是一年一度的禅会，香客会更多，
As it so happened, the annual Buddhist meeting had to be held the next day and a large number of pilgrims were expected.
没有了佛像，这可怎么办？
What would the monks do to deal with the unusual situation?
小和尚们没了主意。
They were quite at a loss.
倒是老和尚还算镇定。
The old monk managed to keep calm.
他指挥几个小和尚把散落的泥块搬了出去，把玉女像丢到了柴房，又把金童像摆在了佛像的位置上。
He arranged to have the broken pieces moved away, put the statue of Gold Boy on the vacant seat and leave the statue of Jade Girl in the firewood room.
徒弟们心中纳闷，
The younger monks were rather puzzled.
这个金童像，矮小不说，嬉皮笑脸的，哪能充作佛像呢？
They couldn’t understand how Gold Boy could take over as the image of the Buddha, for he was not only much shorter but also grinning cheekily.
明早香客来了，还不炸开了锅，
If he was found out by the pilgrims there would be a great farce.
哪还肯跪拜，捐献香火钱呢？
Nobody would do worshipping and offer money for incense.
没想到，第二天，
What they didn’t expect was: nothing happened.
一切都和平常一样。
Everything went well as usual.
青烟缭绕，香客如云，
Pilgrims came in large numbers and incense was burnt abundantly.
人们在跪拜的时候，依旧念念有词，一脸的敬畏与虔诚。
People knelt before the statue and murmured their prayers in awe and piety.
到晚上，清点香火钱，一点也没见少。
When it was evening and the monks counted the incense money, they found they received as much as ever.
老和尚笑了，道：人们有一个特性，不管是谁，只要坐在神的位子上，他们就对谁顶礼膜拜。
The old monk smiled, saying, “The pilgrims will prostrate in respect at the statue on the seat of the Buddha, no matter who occupies the seat at the moment. That’s one of the characteristics of human beings.”
小和尚感慨不已，看来位子才是硬道理，
The younger monks took it to heart, quite impressed by the hard fact that the seat is the most important thing.
至于位子上坐的是个什么东西，是怎么登上这个位子的，似乎并不重要。
Who occupies it and how it is occupied—all these things seem nothing to be considered.
等待
Waiting
黄国彬
Huang Guobin
我的臂，如仲夏的海湾
My arms, like the bay in mid-summer,
等待水平线外的一片帆，
Waiting for the sail beyond the horizon
张开，等待你归来，
Wide open, wait for you to come home;
归来，如温柔的一片帆，
Come home to me, like the tender sail that returns
在星光下，在海风里，
In the starlight in the sea breeze
默默地停泊。
Quietly, and stay.
1976年6月22日
22nd June, 1976 (Mok Wing-yin 译)
优雅地辛劳
Graceful at Work
周凯莉
Zhou Kaili
很难有人把公交车女司机与“优雅”二字挂上钩。
When you see a woman bus-driver you wouldn’t think she has anything to do with gracefulness.
这个职业，注定是女性的天敌。
It seems this occupation is entirely at odds with womanhood,
嘈杂的马路，鼎沸的人声，淹没女人特有的娇媚、羞涩和矜持。
for the street noise and hubbub would drown out all the charm, shyness and pride that characterize a young woman.
不过，这个叫毕桂霞的南京女司机，
But a woman driver named Bi Gui-xia from Nanking is quite peculiar.
却把旗袍穿到了方向盘前。
When she is at the wheel she wears a mandarin gown (a graceful Chinese dress for women).
她骄傲地承认，至少有6件颜色不同、款式各异的旗袍，是她的“工作服”。
She admitted with pride that she has at least 6 such gowns of different colors and styles to serve as her “working uniform”.
39岁的女人，曾是下岗工人，
Now 39, she used to be a laid-off worker.
以34岁“高龄”学习公交车驾驶技术。
She began to learn bus-driving when she was already as old as 34.
为了生存，这个纤细的女人开始承受烈日的曝晒，以及焦头烂额的路况。
This slender woman has to struggle for survival under a scorching sun and on rough roads.
可即便成为最易暴怒的人群中一员，
Passengers tend to fly into a rage but she seldom loses temper.
毕桂霞也很少生气，她时时微笑，只是为了让自己“更开心”。
She often keeps a smile to make herself “more cheerful”.
所以，对无奈的生活，总要摆出一个优雅的姿态。
She could do nothing about this sort of life, so she tries to remain graceful.
人生是不能放弃的，不管何地、何处、何职业，总须不懈前行。
As life goes on, one has to go with it. No matter where you are and what occupation you are engaged in, you have to go forward, never give up.
譬如毕桂霞，她穿着世界上最女人的服饰，从事一份更适合男人的工作。
This woman driver is a typical example: she is in the most womanly dress while doing a job that’s most suitable for a man.
用“同时”代替“但是”
Better Meanwhile Than But
毕淑敏
Bi Shumin
一位心理学家主张大家应该废弃“但是”，改用“同时”。
A psychologist suggests using “meanwhile” instead of “but” in one’s daily conversation.
比如我们形容天气的时候，早先说：今天的太阳很好，但是风很大。
For example, when we talk about weather, we usually say, “Today the sun shines bright but the wind is very strong.”
今后说：今天的太阳很好，同时风很大。
Now you had better say “Today the sun shines bright meanwhile the wind is very strong.”
但是风很大——会把人的注意力凝固在不利的因素上。
If you say “but the wind is very strong”, you would direct the listeners’ attention to something unfavorable.
觉得太阳好不是件值得高兴的事，风大才是关键。
It seems the focal meaning is on the wind while the bright sun can be ignored as nothing to be glad about.
借助了“但是”的威力，风把阳光打败。
The word “but” is so linguistically effective as to make “the wind” get the upper hand over “the sunshine”.
同时风很大——它更中性和客观，
If you say “meanwhile the wind is very strong”, your meaning is neutral and objective.
前者余音袅袅，后语也言之凿凿。
When you go from the first part of the sentence to the second, the former still remains lingering in your mind while the second stands out in a clear contrast.
不偏不倚，公道而平整。
It’s not lopsided; it’s fair and even.
它使我们的心神安定，目光精确，两者都观察得到，头脑中自有安顿。
It sets our mind at ease and makes our eyesight sharp; enabling us to observe both sides and know how to judge things in a right way.
一词背后，
A single word makes such a big difference.
潜藏着是如何看待世界和自身的目光。
It actually involves how we look at the world as well as ourselves.
花和虫子一并存在。
Flowers and insects co-exist in nature.
我们的视线落在哪里？
Which do you direct your attention to?
“但是”，是一副偏光镜，
“But” is something like a polariscope.
让我们聚焦于虫子，把它的影子放得浓黑硕大。
If you say “There are flowers, but there are also insects”, you put the focus on insects, and enlarge and blacken their image to attract attention.
“同时”，均衡地透视整体，
On the other hand, “meanwhile” gives a balanced view for us to see the whole picture.
既看见虫子，也看见无数摇曳的鲜花。
When we see the insects we also see countless flowers in bloom.
尝试着用“同时”代替“但是”吧。
That’s why we advise trying to use “meanwhile” in place of “but”.
“反对”的力量
Opposition
李刚
Li Gang
李世民之所以能够成为中国历史上出了名的好皇帝，
Li Shimin is well-known as an eminent emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-917) in Chinese history.
有着魏征这样的反对的力量，是一个重要的原因。
That’s because he had Wei Zheng, his prime minister, to play the role of opposition.
那么，“反对”究竟是什么？
What does it mean by opposition?
为什么“兼听则明，偏听则暗”？
Why the saying is true: listen to both sides and you’ll be enlightened; heed only one side and you’ll be biased?
科学家们很爱做实验，于是他们也对“反对”的真正作用进行了实验。
Scientists have made an experiment on the true meaning of opposition.
他们找来一些人，让这些被试者就一个有着明确答案的问题进行讨论，
They gathered a group of people, letting them discuss a problem that already had a definite answer.
结果很惊讶，那些看似一团和气、全体一致的讨论，
A part of them talked amiably and soon reached unanimity.
得出的结果距离答案很可能差得很远，
They gave their answer, which turned out to be far apart from the correct one.
而那些各有各的意见、表面上很喧嚣的讨论，
Another part seemed very noisy in discussing, with each holding a different opinion.
居然距离正确答案越来越近。
But their answers were more and more approaching the solution.
于是，科学家们恍然大悟，所谓“反对”其实并不是一种冲突，
Not until then did the scientists become awakened to the truth: opposition doesn’t mean conflict.
而更多的是一种防止偏执和错误的有力保证。
It actually provides an effective guarantee against stubborn bias and fault of one-sidedness.
而放至如今的互联网时代，意见纷呈，众说纷纭，
Now is an era of internet, it’s bound to be full of various opinions and all sorts of ideas.
但是当大多数人都希望能够更好地解决一个问题时，
When a question on it needs an answer, people will offer answers, each hoping his better than others.
即使各自水平参差不齐，而最终的主流答案，也往往是能够带来更好结果的选项。
Though they are on different levels of correctness, the ones chosen as most representative will surely bring out the best options.
这，其实就是互联的精髓所在。
This indicates the essence of internet function.
所以，我们在讨论方韩之争的时候，才会发现，正是有了一种反对力量的存在，那个如日中天的韩先生才会努力扮演出一种公知的形象，如果没有制约，那么这个拥有强大话语权的人物，只有一件事可以做了，那就是滥权！
However, if control or restriction is lacking, the man possessing an influential say will definitely do one thing; abuse his power.
善的第一反应
First Reaction at a Narrow Escaped Disaster
王兆贵
Wang Zhaogui
当旅游大巴进入山区一个拐弯处时，
The tourist bus winded its way into a mountainous area.
车上一对情侣被窗外的美景所吸引，便招呼司机停车。
When it was about to make a turn two passengers—a couple of young lovers—were so attracted by the beautiful scenery that they called for a halt to get off.
他们下车后，巴士继续前行。
They were left behind and the bus went on.
就在这对情侣驻足欣赏山景时，只听前方轰隆一声巨响，
As they were admiring the landscape they heard a loud boom ahead the road.
那辆大巴被山体滑坡滚下来的巨石砸中，落入了万丈深谷。
It was a huge rock rolling down in a landslide hit the bus and fell with it into a deep valley.
事后得知，车上乘客无一生还。
The lovers were greatly struck by the news that no passengers on board survived.
惊魂甫定之后，这对情侣不无感慨地说了一句话。
When they calmed down they sighed and expressed their feelings in a few words.
当时我们正坐在前往一座名山的旅游车上，
The above story was told by a woman guide when were riding a tourist bus to a scenic mountain.
导游小姐讲到这里，神秘地卖了一个关子，让大家猜猜看，那对情侣会怎样表达自己劫后余生的心情。
She left us in a mysterious suspense and asked us to guess what the lovers said immediately after the catastrophe that they had narrowly escaped.
大家给出的答案五花八门。
On our bus passengers' response to the guide were various, all possible guesses were given.
在许多有关交通事故的报道中，我们经常会读到因临时变故错过班车而幸免于难的新闻。
Often we read reports about traffic accidents, among which there were lucky ones who missed the bus and avoided the disaster.
按常理，一般人都会说，幸好我们不在车上！
Those people usually uttered a sigh of relief. "Fortunately I was not on board."
不料，这个故事的答案却是：
But the answer was quite out of our expectation.
假如我们不中途下车，那辆大巴就能赶在山石滑落之前驶过，车上的人也许就不会遭遇这场劫难。
"If we hadn't got down1 and delayed the bus, it would have passed the dangerous spot and all the passengers would have been saved."
传播这个段子的人，都把这件事看做是对人生智慧的测试，
The story passed from person to person as a sort of wit test, but I think otherwise.
而我则认为这是对人的心灵的拷问，
It actually serves as an examination of a person's mind.
并为这对情侣面对灾难首先想到他人的心态由衷地敬佩。
I pay my heartfelt respect to the couple of lovers who, instead of feeling lucky for their narrow escape, blamed themselves for causing the loss of lives inadvertently.
慈悲之心，虽然人皆有之，但善恶之分，往往系于一念。
People all have a heart for mercy, but it is often a flashing thought across one's mind that decides whether it is good or evil.
我的书斋
My Study
季羡林
Ji Xianlin
最近身体不太好，
I've not been in good health lately.
内外夹攻，头绪纷繁，我这已届耄耋之年的神经有点吃不消了。
With troubles from both within and outside and, with far too many things to attend to, I'm finding myself under stress.
于是下定决心，暂且封笔。
So I made up my mind to suspend writing.
乔福山同志打来电话，约我写点什么。
Comrade Qiao fushan, though, phoned me a few days ago, asking me to write something for his magazine.
我遵照自己的决心，婉转拒绝。
Following my decision, I declined.
但一听这题目是《我的书斋》，于我心有戚戚焉，
But he told me that he would like me to write an essay entitled "My Study," which touched my soft spot.
立即精神振奋，暂停决心，拿起笔来。
I felt energized immediately and decided to suspend my decision and take up the pen.
我确实有个书斋，我十分喜爱我的书斋，
I do have a study, and I love it dearly.
这个书斋是相当大的，大小房间，加上过厅、厨房，还有封了顶的阳台，大大小小，共有八个单元。
It is pretty big: there are altogether eight units when you count in rooms big and small, the lobby, the kitchen, and a shingle-topped balcony.
册数从来没有统计过，总有几万册吧。
I have never counted the number of my books; probably they exceed tens of thousands.
在北大教授中，“藏书状元”我恐怕是当之无愧的。
Of all the professors at Peking University, I'm deservedly "No. 1" in terms of stored books.
而且在梵文和西文书籍中，有一些堪称海内孤本。
What's more, some of the books in Sanskrit and other foreign languages are the only ones available in China and overseas.
我从来不以藏书家自命，然而坐拥如此大的书城，心里能不沾沾自喜吗？
I have never prided myself on being a book collector, but who wouldn't feel complacent when he owns such a "mountain of books?"
我的藏书都像是我的朋友，而且是密友。
All the books I have are like my friends. They're my close friends, indeed.
我虽然对它们并不是每一本都认识，它们中的每一本却都认识我。
I don't know every one of them, but every one of them knows me.
我每一走进我的书斋，书籍们立即活跃起来，
The moment I set foot in my study, all the books seem to be activated and they vie with each other in greeting me.
我仿佛能听到它们向我问好的声音，我仿佛能看到它们向我招手的情景，
I could almost see their hands waving to me and hear their voices saying "Hi" to me.
倘若有人问我，书籍的嘴在什么地方？而手又在什么地方呢？
If anyone asks me where the books' mouths are or where their hands are,
我只能说：“你的根器太浅，努力修持吧。
I will say, "You haven't cultivated yourself well enough.
有朝一日，你会明白的。”
Work hard and some day you'll understand what I mean."
我兀坐在书城中，忘记了尘世的一切不愉快的事情，怡然自得。
As I sit straight in my study, I forget all the troubles in the world and feel happy and pleased with myself.
以世界之广，宇宙之大，此时却仿佛只有我和我的书友存在。
It seems as if only my book friends and I existed in the vast world and the even vaster space.
窗外粼粼碧水，丝丝垂柳，阳光照在玉兰花的肥大的绿叶子上，这都是我平常最喜爱的东西，现在也都视而不见了。
The rippling water in the pond outside the window, the weeping willows, and the sunshine on the big leaves of magnolia all seem to have disappeared from my field of vision, although they are what I love most in ordinary times.
连平常我喜欢听的鸟鸣声“光棍儿好过”，
The same is true of the songs of birds, one of which says "It's good to be single."
也听而不闻了。
They have lost their meaning though I hear their sound.
我的书友每一本都蕴涵着无量的智慧。
Every one of my book friends embodies boundless wisdom.
我只读过其中的一小部分。
I have read only a small part of them,
这智慧我是能深深体会到的。
but I have come to deeply appreciate their wisdom.
没有读过的那一些，好像也不甘落后，
Now those unread books seem determined not to be left behind.
它们不知道是施展一种什么神秘的力量，把自己的智慧放了出来，像波浪似涌向我来。
Somehow, they exercise a mysterious force to release their wisdom, which rushes to me like waves.
可惜我还没有修炼到能有“天眼通”和“天耳通”的水平，
It's a shame that I haven't been able to cultivate myself long or well enough to become a person who has "eyes to see distant things and ears to hear distant sound."
我还无法接受这些智慧之流。
2 As a result, I'm not yet able to absorb all the wisdom.
如果能接受的话，我将成为世界上古往今来最聪明的人。
If I were able to , I would surely become the smartest man in the world for all time.
我自己也去努力修持吧。
I'll have to go on cultivating.
我的书友有时候也让我窘态毕露。
Sometimes my book friends put me on a hot spot.
我并不是一个不爱清洁和秩序的人，
I'm by no means a person who doesn't love cleanliness and order.
但是，因为事情头绪太多，脑袋里考虑的学术问题和写作问题也不少，而且每天都收到大量的寄来的书籍和报刊杂志以及信件，转瞬之间就摞成一摞。
As, however, I have so many things to attend to, and so much to consider, academic or writing, and so many books, magazines, newspapers, and letters to read—they come in huge numbers every day—
在这样的情况下，如果我需要一本书，往往是遍寻不得。
I often cannot find the book I want to use, no matter how hard I try.
“只在此屋中，书深不知处”，
"Though I know the book is in the study, I cannot find it because it's hidden deep."
急得满头大汗，也是枉然。
3 I might break a sweat, but my effort would be futile.
只好到图书馆去借，
All I could do was to go to the library and borrow the book for my writing.
等我把文章写好，把书送还图书馆后，
When the writing was done, I would return the book to the library.
无意之间，在一摞书中，竟找到了我原来要找的书，
And then, as if by miracle, the book I was looking for popped into my sight.
“得来全不费工夫”，
"Effortless, I got what I had been looking for."
然而晚了，工夫早已费过了。
4 But it was too late: I had spent much time and effort on it.
我啼笑皆非，无可奈何。
I could neither laugh nor cry.
等到用另外一本书时，再重演一次这出喜剧。
And this might happen again with another book, and I had to play the comedy again.
我知道，我要寻找的书友，看到我急得那般模样，
I believe that the book friend I'm looking for would shout to me loudly when it sees me act like an ant on a hot wok.
会大声给我打招呼的，但是喊破了嗓子，也无济干事。
But it might shout till its voice goes hoarse and I still could not hear or understand it.
我还没有修持到能听懂书的语言的水平。
I'm sorry I haven't cultivated myself long enough to understand the language of the book world.
我还要加倍努力去修持。
I have to go on cultivating.
我有信心，将来一定能获得真正的“天眼通”和“天耳通”。
I am confident that one day I'll acquire the ability to know everything under heaven.
只要我想要哪一本书，那一本书就会自己报出所在之处，我一伸手，便可拿到，如探囊取物。
Every time I want a book, it will report itself to me, telling me where it is, and I'll stretch out my hand and get it as easily as taking something out of my pocket.
这样一来，文思就会像泉水般地喷涌，我的笔变成了生花妙笔，写出来的文章会成为天下之至文。
In those times, I'll be able to write the best essays and papers in the world because my stream of thought would gush out like a spring and my pen would write as if it were gifted.
到了那时，我的书斋里会充满了没有声音的声音，布满了没有形象的形象。
In those times, too, my study would be filled with voices without a sound and images without a shape.
我同我的书友们能够自由地互通思想，交流感情。
I would be able to exchange thoughts and feelings with my book friends freely.
我的书斋会成为宇宙间第一神奇的书斋。
My study would become the most magical study in space.
岂不猗欤休哉！
How wonderful that would be!
我盼望有这样一个书斋。
I wish I had such a study.
磕磕绊绊到百年
Quarrels and Squabbles Enliven a Marriage
丁敏
Ding Min
街头，偶遇多日不见的好友，
One day in the street I ran into a good friend whom I had not seen for a long time.
正与未婚夫一起选购结婚用品，
She was shopping with her fiancé for their wedding.
花花绿绿五彩缤纷的东西，抱了满怀。
In her arms were many fancy and gaudy things, among which I was particularly attracted by several small aluminum basins.
我独被一摞镀光的小号铝盆吸引，数了数足有四五个。
I reckoned no fewer than four or five.
朋友笑道：“成了新家，少不了要用，淘米，洗菜，作汤盆、菜碗都可以。
My friend said with a smile, "These are a must for our new family, and they come in handy when you wash rice and vegetables or serve soup and other dishes.
又光洁又明亮，多好看。是吧？”
They are clear, bright and very presentable, aren't they?"
她把头一歪，娇憨地看了看未婚夫。
With her head tilted to her sweetheart, she looked at him charmingly.
那高高大大的未婚夫回了一个蓄满温情的微笑。
In return, her towering husband-to-be gave her a tender and sweet smile.
看着渐渐远去欢欢喜喜的一对儿，让人不由得祝福：但愿恩爱百年。
As the merry couple disappeared out of my sight, I couldn't help wishing their attachment would last forever.
忽然有想到自己结婚时，也曾买过一个铝盆，
This immediately reminded me of the glistening new basin I bought for my wedding.
初时也是明光可鉴，如今却是遍体坑坑洼洼，凸凹不平。
Then it was very new and bright but it is now rough, worn and dented.
又想到约会时的浪漫，想到初婚时的如胶似漆，想到后来的埋怨、指责、争吵，想
Fresh in my mind are the romance of dating, the strong attachment in the honeymoon, and the ensuing skirmishes such as complaints, accusations and squabbles.
到第一次怒不可遏时那只摔在地上的铝盆……
I remember how I, for the first time, dashed the basin onto the floor in a fit of rage.
生活不是童话，家庭也不仅仅只充满着爱情。
As life is no fairy tale, marriage is by no means a bed of roses.
成了家，朝夕相处代替昔日的“人约黄昏后”；
Once you get married, romantic dating gives way to monotonous routine.
柴米油盐取代了以往的呢喃爱语；
Daily necessities take the place of loving words.
神秘感消失了，新鲜感没有了。
The mystery and novelty soon worn off.
琐琐碎碎没完没了的家务事，孩子的吵闹拖累；
Endless household chores as the burden of raising the kids will tire you out.
于是开始了争吵、责骂，很多人因此离异……
Therefore, you begin to complain, to quarrel and some would like to divorce. As a result, many couples split up in the end.
要走出这婚姻的误区，须明白恋爱和家庭是个永恒的不等式，
To dispel the myth of marriage, you are to realize that marriage is never the same as love.
任何人都不能在罗曼蒂克中终老一生。
One can never expect to live in romance throughout their life.
争争吵吵、摔摔打打，你冲着那出门的背影喊：“最好死在外面别回来！”
After you wrangle and fight with your beloved, you may angrily scream at his receding figure, "Go to Hell! Get out of my sight for good!"
然而，若过了往日归家的那个钟点，你的大脑便飞速地运转起来，会不会喝多了酒倒在路上？
However, when he fails to show up at the usual time, you begin to worry, "Is he drunk and lying flat in the road?
会不会被车撞了住进医院，
Has he been knocked down by a car and rushed to a hospital?
会不会……
What has become of him?"
世上有多少种意外，你便有多少种假设。
Your anxiety may stir at any possibility.
终于望定了钟表，在台灯底下看秒针艰难地爬上爬下，想着时针走到某一个位置时，就出门去寻找。
Staring at the clock, you find the second hand ticking so slowly and decide to look for your hubby when the hour hand climbs to a certain point.
来来去去的脚步声里你忽然听见了惟一属于你的那个足音，
Suddenly, from among the miscellaneous footsteps you discern the steps familiar to you.
于是急忙回到家里，闭上眼睛装睡，
You return to the bedroom hurriedly and lie in bed, pretending to be asleep.
然后听见轻轻地开门，蹑手蹑脚地走路；
Then the door opens gently and you may hear him tiptoeing into the room.
然后有一双手在为你掖了被角；
A moment later, you feel his hands softly tuck in the quilt around your neck and shoulder.
然后就有微笑开在你的心里，伴你入梦……
Then you happily fall asleep with a smile on your rosy face.
爱是什么？
What is love?
爱是牵挂。是彼此那一份由衷的关切。
If love exists, love is care and concern.
不要怕争吵，
Quarrels are no detriment.
只要有爱在，一切都会好起来，
With love, you will overcome all the disputes.
在争吵与和解中，你慢慢学会了宽容与忍耐。
It is only in the alternate quarrelling and reconciling that you can learn to be tolerant and restrained.
丈夫到了湘西旅游，
I still remember that once my beloved went sightseeing in western Hunan Province.
回来告诉我张家界自然保护区有一恩爱泉，
When he came back, he told me that there is a Love Spring in the Zhangjiajie Nature Reserve.
说是喝了此泉的水，便能夫妻恩爱，白头百年。
It is rumored that anyone who drinks the water there will enjoy conjugal love forever and remain devoted until the end of their lives.
丈夫平素肠胃不好稍着凉便胃疼，
My husband often suffers from indigestion and easily gets a stomachache with a bit cold.
他不痴不傻，却灌了满肚子泉水回来，
He filled his stomach with a lot of the water though he had known better than to do so.
且笑哈哈地说那感觉就是不一样。
Coming back, he was overjoyed, telling me that the spring water did taste great.
听后心中一阵默然，
His words left me in silence.
回想结婚多年，数不清多少次赌气争吵，多少次瞪着眼睛各不相让……
Over years of marriage life, we have complained, quarreled, and many times angrily glowered at each other, neither willing to give in.
日子还长，今后的生活中仍会有数不清的风风雨雨、磕磕绊绊，
It is true that we have a long way to go, and in the future, we may experience more skirmishes and squabbles.
但为了他这满肚子的泉水，为了他和泉水的那份心愿，我不后悔！
But for his bravery to drink the water and the best wishes he had, I never regret marrying him.
千里姻缘一线牵。
Though poles apart, two individuals may get tied to each other by destiny.
两个彼此陌生的人，由偶然或者必然的原因，走到一起，由相识、相爱而结为一体，
For one reason or another, they get to know each other, fall in love and build a family.
无论天意也好，人意也罢，总是有缘。
Be it heavenly or human, the arrangement is a welcome one.
不然大千世界，芸芸众生，靓女俊男举目皆是，为何独与他(她)结为夫妻？
Otherwise how come you single your spouse out of the sea of handsome guys or pretty girls?
珍惜这份缘分，庆幸这缘分，你心中便有了欣喜，
So you should cherish this love bond and be happy about it.
有了满足，有了争吵过后那缕揪心扯肺的牵挂。
If you do, you will feel happy and contented, hence your gnawing anxiety after a row.
不求夫唱妇随，不求相敬如宾，
A husband and wife may not always enjoy perfect harmony or eternal courtesy.
只愿磕磕绊绊到百年。
It is only by quarrels and squabbles that a marriage can last.
月，阙也
The Moon, the Imperfect
张晓风
Zhang Xiaofeng
“月，阙也”。这是一本两千年前的文字学专著的解释。
"The moon, the imperfect," was an interpretation written in a literary treatise about two thousand years ago.
阙，就是“缺”的意思。
Imperfect implies "defective."
那解释使我着迷。
That interpretation fascinates me.
曾国藩把自己的住所题作“求阙斋”，求缺？
Tseng Kuo-fan1 named his residence "Seeking Imperfection." To seek defects?
为什么？
Why?
为什么不求完美？
Why not seeking perfection?
那斋名也使我着迷。
The name of his residence also fascinates me.
“阙”有什么好呢？
What's so good about "imperfection"?
“阙”简直有点像古中国性格中的一部分，我渐渐爱上了“阙”的境界。
"Imperfection" is almost like a part of the disposition of ancient China and I have gradually become attracted to the realms of imperfection.
我不再爱花好月圆了吗？
Is it because I no longer love the blooming flowers and the full moon?
不是的，我只是开始了解花开是一种偶然，但我同时学会了爱它们月不圆花不开的“常态”。
No. I have simply begun to understand that the blooming flowers are an accidental occurrence, while also learn to appreciate "normal situations" when the moon is not full and the flowers are not blooming.
在中国的传统里，“天残地缺”或“天聋地哑”的说法几乎是毫无疑问地被一般人所接受。
In Chinese tradition, the concept of "defective heaven and earth" or "insensible heaven and earth" has been accepted by most people without any question.
也许由于长期的患难困顿，中国神话对天地的解释常是令人惊讶的。
Maybe due to the long-standing tribulations and adversities experienced by the people, the portrayals of Heaven and Earth in Chinese mythology are often quite amazing.
在《淮南子》里，我们发现中国的天空和中国的大地都是曾经受伤的。
From the book Huai Nan Tzu, 2, we discover that both the sky and earth of China have been damaged before.
女娲以其柔和的慈手补缀抚平了一切残破。
The Goddess Nuwa, using her gentle hands, mended and ironed out all the fragments.
当时，天穿了，女娲炼五色石补了天。
At a time when the sky was broken, she melted five-colored stones to mend it.
地摇了，女娲折断了神鳌的脚爪垫稳了四极(多像老祖母叠起报纸垫桌子腿)。
When the earth was shaken, she snapped off the feet of the legendary Turtle to stabilize its four corners—in very much the same way as our old granny would pile up newspapers to support the legs of a table.
她又像一个能干的主妇，扫了一堆芦灰，止住了洪水。
She also swept up a pile of dried reeds, like a competent housewife, to stop the flood.
中国人一直相信天地也有其残缺。
Chinese people have always believed that Heaven and Earth are also not without defects.
我非常喜欢中国西南部么些族的神话。
I very much enjoy the mythology of Moso Tribe in Southwestern China.
他们说，天地是男神女神合造的。
According to them, the sky and the earth were created jointly by male and female gods.
当时男神负责造天，女神负责造地。
The male gods were responsible for making the sky and the female gods the earth.
等他们各自分头完成了天地而打算合在一起的时候，可怕的事发生了；
Just as they had separately finished their tasks and were ready to join them together, something terrible happened—
女神太勤快，她把地造得太大，以至于跟天没办法合得起来了。
the female gods were so over-zealous in their work that they had made the earth too big to meet the sky.
但是，他们终于想到了一个好办法，
However, they eventually found a way to deal with it.
他们把地折叠了起来，形成高山低谷，然后，天地才虚合起来了。
By folding the earth into mountains and valleys, they finally were able to join the sky and earth.
是不是西南的崇山峻岭给他们灵感，使他们想起这则神话呢？
Did the sublime mountain ridges of Southwestern China inspire such a legend?
天地是有缺陷的，但缺陷造成了皱褶，皱褶造成了奇峰幽谷之美。
Neither the sky nor the earth is without defects, but these defects give rise to folds, and the folds bring about the beauty of majestic mountains and deep valleys.
月亮是不能常圆的，人生不如意事十常八九，
The moon cannot be full all the time, just as the course of life often goes against one's wishes.
当我们心平气和地承认这一切缺陷的时候，我们忽然发觉没有什么是不可以接受的。
When we acknowledge all these imperfections with a peaceful mind, we suddenly realize that there is nothing intolerable in life.
在另一则汉民族的神话里，说到大地曾被共工氏撞不周山时撞歪了——
Another legend of the Han people tells us that the earth was knocked lopsided when Kong-kong, the superintendent of works under Emperor Yao, was ramming Pu Chou Mountain.
从此“地陷东南”，
From then on, the earth sloped southeastwards.
长江黄河便一路浩浩淼淼地向东流去，流出几千里地惊心动魄的风景。
With it, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in all their immensity flowed unceasingly towards the east, creating thousands of miles of soul-stirring landscape.
而天空也在当时被一起撞歪了，不过歪的方向相反，是歪向西北，
At the same time, the sky was also thrust, though in the opposite direction, to the northwest.
据说日月星辰因此哗啦一声大部分都倒往那个方向去了。
It was said therefore that the sun, the moon, and most of the stars all slumped towards that direction after the crash.
如果某个夏夜我们抬头而看，忽然发现群星灼灼然的方向，就让我们相信，属于中国的天空是“天倾西北”的吧！
If one summer night we look up towards the sky and find stars twinkling in that direction, we may awaken the belief within us that the sky over China does lean towards the northwest.
五千年来，汉民族便在这歪倒倾斜的天地之间挺直脊骨生活下去，只因我们相信残缺不但是可以接受的，而且是美丽的。
For more than five thousand years, the Han people have been living between the leaning sky and sloping earth with their backs straightened, simply because we believe that the imperfections are not only acceptable but also beautiful.
而月亮，到底曾经真正圆过吗？
As for the moon, has she ever at any time been perfectly round?
人生世上其实也没有看过真正圆的东西。
If fact, there is nothing perfectly round in this universe.
一张葱油饼不够圆，一块镍币也不够圆。
A pancake is not round enough, neither is a coin.
即使是圆规画的圆，如果用高度显微镜来看也不可能圆得很完美。
Even a circle drawn with a pair of compasses, viewed under a high-powered microscope, is unlikely to be perfectly round.
真正的圆存在于理念之中，
A perfect example exists as a concept.
而在现实的世界里，我们只能做圆的“复制品”。
But in the real world, we can only produce replicas of a circle.
就现实的操作而言，一截圆规上的铅笔心在画圆的起点和终点时，已经粗细不一样了。
To carry out the task in reality, the thickness of a pencil lead in the compasses would have varied from the starting point to the end point of a circle.
所有的天体远看都呈球形，但并不是绝对的圆，地球是约略近于椭圆形。
All the celestial bodies look like globes from a distance, but they are not absolutely round and the earth is only approximately an oval shape.
就算我们承认月亮约略的圆光也算圆，它也是“方其圆时，即其缺时”。
Even if we accept the approximate roundness of a full moon as nearly exact, the reality is that no sooner has the moon become full than it also begins to wane.
有如十二点正的钟声，
It is the same as the clock striking twelve.
当你听到钟声时，已经不是十二点了。
The instant when you hear the bell ringing, it is no longer twelve.
此外，我们更可以换个角度看。
Furthermore, we can take another viewpoint.
我们说月圆月阙其实是受我们有限的视觉所欺骗。
We may say that the waxing and waning of the moon is actually a deception of our limited vision.
有盈虚变化的是月光，而不是月球本身。
It is the moonlight, not the globe itself that changes.
月何尝圆，又何尝缺，
The moon does not wax or wane.
它只不过像地球一样不增不减的兀自圆着——以它那不十分圆的圆。
It simply remains round—albeit with imperfect roundness—like the earth, without ever increasing or decreasing in size.
花朝月夕，固然是好的，只是真正的看花人哪一刻不能赏花？
Although the morning flowers and evening moonlight are wonderful, wouldn't a real flower lover appreciate them at any other times?
在初生的绿芽嫩嫩怯怯的探头出土时，花已暗藏在那里。
When the new sprouts first poke timidly through the ground,
当柔软的枝条试探地在大气中舒手舒脚时，花隐在那里。
when soft branches start to stretch their limbs in the air, the flowers are already hiding within.
当蓓蕾悄然结胎时，花在那里。当花瓣怒张时，花在那里。
When the buds are secretly formed or when they are in full bloom, the flowers are present.
当香销红黯委地成泥的时候，花仍在那里。
When the petals wither and fall, becoming part of the muddy ground,
当一场雨后只见红稀绿遍的时候，花还在那里。
when the plants are covered with green leaves after a rain shower, the flowers are still there.
当果实成熟时，花恒在那里，甚至当果核深埋地下时，花依然在那里……
When the fruit becomes mature or even when the seeds of the fruit have been buried deep in the ground, the flowers are there forever…
或见或不见，花总在那里。
Whether one can see them or not, the flowers are always there.
或盈或缺，月总在那里，
Whether it waxes or wanes, the moon is always there.
不要做一朝的看花人吧！
Don't be a flower lover for one morning only.
不要做一夕的赏月人吧！
Don't simply watch the moon in one odd evening.
人生在世哪一刻不美好完满？
Which moment in our life is not perfect?
哪一刹不该顶礼膜拜感激欢欣呢？
Which moment shouldn't we count our blessings and be thankful?
因为我们爱过圆月，让我们也爱缺月吧——
Because we have loved the full moon, let us also love her waning phases.
它们原是同一个月亮啊！
After all, they are exactly the same moon.
你的年龄
Your Age
林巍
Lin Wei
“你知道自己的年龄吗？”
If you were asked “Do you know your age?”
如果别人这样问你，你可能觉得问话的人不大礼貌；
You might feel being intruded.
但是，听清楚，问题是：“你”知道“你自己”的年龄吗？
But listen, the question is: Do “you” know “your age”?
这似乎是一个不需要回答的问题：
The question doesn’t seem to need an answer.
每个人的年龄似乎都是与生俱来的，还有不知道的吗？
Is there anyone who doesn’t know his or her own age?
那么，下一个问题，可能就更让人迷惑了：“你有几个年龄？”
The next question may be even more puzzling: “How many ages do you have?”
不错，一个人从出生之日起便有了自己的年龄，但那只是人的“部分年龄”。
Sure, everyone was born with an age, but that’s only part of the question.
社会心理学家告诉我们，每个人其实有三个年龄——生理年龄、心理年龄和社会年龄，且各含义不同。
Socio-psychologists tell us everyone has three ages—biological age, psychological age and social age, each with different connotations.
“生理年龄”是无法选择的，但另外两个却可以。
Of the three ages, apart from the first one, the other two one can have, to a large degree, discretionarily.
所谓“心理年龄”，是自我心态的感受，以及适应环境变化的能力，
The so-called “psychological age” refers to the notion of subjective awareness about self-mentality and the ability to adapt to a changing environment.
而“社会年龄”则是社会期待某人所应承担的角色，是别人对你年龄的感觉与评估。
“Social age”, on the other hand, is sensed and judged by others to perform a certain social role of that age.
这三种年龄可以相互吻合，亦可彼此不同，甚至距离拉得很大。
These three ages can be overlapped or torn apart and, the discrepancies among them
据研究，可以大到相差10岁、20岁，甚至更多。
may be as large as twenty, thirty years, or even more, according to some research.
特别是后两种年龄，是非常主观、甚至是“可控”的。
The last two ages, in particular, are highly subjective and even “manageable”.
我有一位著名老作家朋友，他说自己的年龄永远停留在了32岁，以后再写什么，都离不开那个年龄。
A good friend of mine, a well-known senior writer, once told me that his age had “stalled” at thirty-two and seemed to have never progressed with his writing of all those years.
还有一些我所认识的朋友，虽年纪不大，但内心沉重，老气呈现。
Some of my other friends, however, though young, are heavy-hearted and old for their ages.
其实，“心理年龄”和“社会年龄”又会反过来影响“生理年龄”。
In reality, psychological age and social age may in turn affect one’s biological age, even one’s life in a more significant way.
正所谓“心老了人便老了”，而“心高自然年少”。
As the saying goes, “people are rejuvenated by high aspiration and aged by disheartenments”.
所以，你积极对待生活，生活最终便会积极对待你。
Believe or not, in the end, life always rewards active participants.
遭遇
The Encounter
孙维民
Sun Weimin
由于命运的指使他忽然走出停靠在黄昏的南下快车逆向穿过人影稀疏的月台走近一列北上的平快
A twist of fate, and he suddenly steps out of the evening southbound express, walks through a scattering of commuters on the station platform, and heads to the northbound local express.
他先攀登第５车厢的梯级稀薄的日光灯色与电扇的呼吸声响在每一个车厢反覆出现
First he climbs the steps to the number 5 car, with its weak fluorescent lighting and breathing electric fans—a sound repeated in every car he passes through.
然而稍微犹豫之后他即决定坐在第７车厢
Then, after hesitating, he finally chooses to sit in the number 7 car.
当他携带皮包与梦魇通过中间一节几乎空洞荒凉的车厢时他看见了下班之后偎倚着疲惫和挫折双手犹如秋末的芒草植根于膝上一册图解山海经的我
With his briefcase and bad dreams, he passes through a nearly deserted section of the car, at which moment he sees me huddling after work, exhausted, defeated; my hands like roots of late fall mangcao1 on the illustrated Classic of Mountains and Seas.2
注释一
1. Mangcao, or Miscanthus sinensis, is a grass with long serrated leaves and tall plumes in fall.
注释二
2. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing) is an ancient geographical work, possibly of second–third centuries B.C., describing China and the neighboring lands. It contains much ancient myth and folklore, and originally was accompanied by illustrations (Mike O’Connor 译)
《蝴蝶风》
Butterfly Air
“南半球蝴蝶一万只翅膀的拍动，造成北回归线附近被爱追逐又背弃爱的女子，夏日午梦的台风……”这些句子，我在你房间梳妆台上一本有彩色插图的气象学书上读到，
"The fluttering of ten thousand butterfly wings in the Southern Hemisphere causes a typhoon in the summer mid-day dream of a woman near the Tropic of Cancer, who was chased by love but betrayed love…" I found this sentence in the meteorology book with color illustrations lying on the dressing table in your room.
啊，有著金属墙壁，玻璃地板，我一度走进过而后丢失了钥匙，不得其门而入的记忆的楼阁。
Ah, the terrace of memory with metallic walls and glass floor, where I once entered but later lost the key and could not get in.
你用深蓝的眉笔在书上画下重点：“这些蝴蝶以情诗为主食，特别是哀伤的，无法一口下咽的，需要反覆咀嚼的……”
With a navy blue eyebrow pencil you highlighted in the book: "The staple food of the butterflies is love poems, especially sad ones, ones that cannot be swallowed in one gulp and need to be chewed over and over…"
我反覆思索重新到达你的途径：把昨日分尸吊起如一只蜘蛛飘浮在你住的高楼外？
I mull over ways to reach you again: Dismember yesterday, hang it up and let it float outside your building like a spider?
或者通过一张张蝴蝶邮票的飞行把渴望和绝望的包裹空投到你的门口？
Or, on the wings of one butterfly stamp after another, deliver a parcel of longing and despair to your door?
你光滑，紧闭的金属墙壁，让每一只试图攀附，接近你的我思想的爬虫失足，坠楼
Your smooth, tightly closed metallic walls make every single crawling insect trying to climb up slip and fall off the building
我于是期待南半球蝴蝶翅膀的拍动，造成你夏日午梦的台风，让那些被哀伤秘密发行的蝶影拍打，撞击你心的门窗。
So I wait for the fluttering of butterfly wings in the Southern Hemisphere to cause a typhoon in your summer mid-day dream, to allow the butterfly shadows secretly issued by sorrow to flap and strike the doors and windows of your heart,
让尚未被完全消化的诗中的一个问号，一个逗点，像小小的螺丝起子启动你的回忆，鬆开你床头那瓶旧香水瓶的瓶塞，
and let a question mark, a comma, in the incompletely digested poem stir up your memory like a tiny screw, pop the top of the old perfume bottle sitting on your nightstand,
让你重新听到储藏在里头我们一同听过的虫鸣，狗吠，掉了鼻子的小丑的歌唱，让你重新闻到储藏在里头我们一同滚出的汗味，泥香：
so that you can hear anew the chirping insects, barking dogs, singing clowns without a nose that we once heard together and are stored inside, so that you can smell anew the perspiration and scented mud that we once rolled on:
深深的湖底无法被阻绝的夏夜的对话
at the bottom of a deep lake a summer night's conversation that cannot be stopped.
如今我们的心已遥如两极，虽然我的眼睛始终如图钉钉视着地图上你所在的经纬度，
Now our hearts are as far apart as the two poles of the globe, although my eyes, like a thumbtack, still fix on the longitude and latitude of where you are on the map.
我只能写一首诗，一首哀伤的诗，让南半球蝴蝶争食，让它们拍动一万只翅膀造成北回归线附近高楼金属墙壁后面的你，夏日午梦的台风
I can only write a poem, a sad poem, to make the butterflies in the Southern Hemisphere fight for food and make them flutter ten thousand wings so as to cause a typhoon in the summer mid-day dream of you, behind metallic walls in a tall building near the Tropic of Cancer.
《秋歌》
Autumn Song
当亲爱的神用突然的死 测验我们对世界的忠贞 我们正坐在夏天与秋天尾巴结成的秋千 企图荡过一堵倾斜了的经验的墙 向迎面而来的风借一只别针
When dear God uses sudden death to test our loyalty to the world, we are sitting on a swing woven of the tails of summer and autumn, trying to swing over a tilting wall of experience to borrow a brooch from the wind that blows in our faces.
而如果突然，我们紧握住的手 在暮色中松开了 我们势必要抓住奔跑中的平原的身体 向无边界的远方大声说出我们的颜色，气味，形状
But if all of a sudden our tightly clenched hands should loosen in the dusk, we have to hold on to the bodies of galloping plains, speaking out loud to the boundless distance about our colors, smells, shapes.
像一棵用抽象的存在留下签名的树 我们陆续解下树叶与树叶的衣裳 解下过重的喜悦，欲望，思想 成为一只单纯的风箏 别在所爱的人的胸前
Like a tree signing its name with abstract existence, we take off the clothes of leaves one after another, take off the overweight joy, desire, thoughts, and turn ourselves into a simple kite to be pinned on the breast of our beloved:
一只单纯而美的昆虫别针 在黑暗的梦裡翻飞 在抽走泪水与耳语的记忆裡攀爬 直到，再一次，我们发现爱的光与孤寂的光等轻，而漫漫长日，只是漫漫长夜的孪生兄弟
A simple but pretty insect brooch, flying in the dark dream, climbing in the memory devoid of tears and whispers till, once more, we find the light of love is as light as the glow of loneliness, and the long day is but the twin brother of the long night.
我们于是更甘心坐在夏天与秋天 交尾而成的秋千上，甘心修补 一堵倾圮了的感情的墙 当亲爱的神用突然的死 测验我们对世界的忠贞
Therefore, we sit all the more willingly on a swing interwoven of summer and autumn, and willingly mend the tilting wall of emotion when dear God uses sudden death to test our loyalty to the world.
关于“人才”
Something About Talent
林巍
Lin Wei
我们常说“培养人才”，
It is often said that “we should cultivate talent”.
但认真研究古今中外，发现所谓对人才的“培养”，充其量是为人才的成长提供了环境与影响；人才不是被别人培养出来的。
By examining various qualified personnel across-the-board, the word “cultivate” has become questionable to me; the best it can do in fact is to provide an environment or conditions for talents to come forth.
正如教育的实质不是“教”而是“学”，人才其实是“学”出来和“用”出来的。
In the same way that education is not about teaching but about learning, talent is produced by learning and applying.
世界上没有单纯的“教”，却有单纯的“学”；“教”一定要有对象，“学”却不一定以”教”为前提：“教”不是到处都有，“学”却可随时发生。
Teaching is conditioned by various factors, such as object, subject, lectureship and so on, whereas learning is not preconditioned by teaching and can take place everywhere, at any time.
“学”的另一端是“用”，“用”的效果又可促进“学”。
While learning leads to application, applying what has been learnt in turn inspires one’s learning.
人不被“用”永远也不是“才”；人才只有在“用”中才会不断增值。
A person’s talent potential may never be explored unless he or she is being put in place,
同样，用错地方的人才，便是“庸才”，甚至是“废材”。
and misplacing a talent may produce mediocrity or even a waste of potential.
人才的基本要素是德、才、学、识。
There are four basic components constituting a talent—virtue, capability, knowledge and insight.
以工匠的斧头作比喻，“德”是斧头的质量，“才”是斧刃，“学”是重量，“识”是斧头做功的方向，
A talent may bear some analogy to a functional axe, with which virtue is quality, ability the edge, knowledge the weight and insight directs it to the point.
四样俱全，左右逢源，才能取得功效。
Any achievement is actually the result of the effective combination of these four.
其中“德”和“才”的关系至关重要。
Of these four basic components, virtue and capability are of crucial importance.
古人讲：“才盛于德，谓之小人；德盛于才，谓之君子；德才兼备，谓之圣人”。
As it is quoted from the ancient saying: “He whose capacity exceeds his virtue is considered to be an inferior man; he whose virtue exceeds his capacity is a superior man; he who possesses both decent virtue and brilliant capacity can be regarded as a sage”.
可见，只有二者的次序、比重正确，方可成为真正意义上的人才。
Clearly, only when these components are appropriately defined can a person become a true talent.
人才又有“专才”与“通才”之分。
There are also distinctions between a generalist and a specialist.
一般来讲，做具体工作的是专才，做管理的是通才；当然，也有二才兼备者。
Generally speaking, the person assigned to perform specialized duty is a specialist and, the person in a management position is a generalist with the exception of people with both talents.
造原子弹的是专才，但使用原子弹的一定是通才，二者位置不可颠倒。
Make no mistake, the person who constructs an atomic bomb never has the power to use it but has to leave it to a generalist.
世界上需要各种各样的人才，但却都要以“学”和“用”为契机，而没有“被”培养的捷径。
Various talents are required in the world, and for such talents to be developed, one first has to go through the arduous process of learning and applying; there is obviously no shortcut for being “cultivated talents”.
独立思考
Independent Thoughts
巴金
Ba Jin
读了玄珠同志的《谈独立思考》，我有点感想。
The text, “On Independent Thought” of Xuan Zhu has set me thinking a little bit.
现在是不是我们就不知道怎样独立思考呢？
Nowadays, we all do not know how to think independently, do we?
现在是不是我们就丧失了独立思考的能力呢？
Don’t we unlearn how to think in an independent way?
我想，绝不是。我们并没有丧失独立思考的能力。
I think: no, we have not forgotten to think independently.
问题在于：有些人自己不习惯“独立思考”，也不习惯别人“独立思考”。
The problem is, that some are not used to “thinking differently”, and they are also not used to the fact, that others have independent thoughts.
他们把自己装在套子里面，也喜欢硬把别人装在套子里面。
They are wrapped up in layers like coats and they may also wrap up others.
他们拿起教条的棍子到处巡逻，要是看见有人从套子里钻出来，他们就给他一闷棍，
They take out the stick of dogmatism, patrol with it everywhere, and if they see somebody piercing his coat, they hit him hard.
他们听见到处都在唱他们听惯了的那种没有感情的单调的调子，他们就满意地在套子里睡着了。
They are not satisfied and cannot fall asleep in their coats, before they not hear from everywhere that usual emotionless talk.
他们的棍子造成了一种舆论，培养出来一批应声虫，好像声势很浩大，而且也的确发生过起哄的作用。
Their sticks have generated a kind of public opinion, and created a chorus of yes-men, that obviously have loud voices and really could drown out everything.
可是这种棍子并没有打掉人们的独立思考的能力。
But these sticks were not able to stop the ability of the people to think independently.
事实上单调的调子中间一直有各种各样的声音，不过教条主义者没有听见或者不去听罢了。
Actually, among these monotonous remarks there have always been different voices, but the dogmatists haven’t heard them or simply don’t want to hear them.
有些在套子里住惯了的编辑同志喜欢把别人的文章改来改去，
Some editors have already gotten used to a life in coats.
一定要改得可以装进套子才甘心，
They do not rest, until they have revised your essay so often that it fits into the coats, only then they are willing to publish it.
但是写稿的人仍然要从套子里钻出来。
But the authors of those essays still want to pierce through their coats as usual.
打闷棍，头一次也许有用处，
A powerful hit will perhaps be effective already for the first time.
我再来，别人早已提防了。
To avoid the second one, they dodge in ahead-running obediently.
谁都知道，教条是死的，人是活的，所以教条代替不了“独立思考”。
Everyone knows, that people are living human being, and therefore, the “independent thought” cannot be represented by dogmatists.
在中国能够独立思考的人还是占大多数，
Most people can still think independently in China.
他们对大小事情都有他们自己的看法。
They have their own opinions on everything.
他们并不习惯别人代替他们思考，但是他们也不习惯公开发表自己的意见，
In no way would they come to terms with the cast that other people thought for them, but they are also not used to expressing their opinions publicly.
却喜欢暗地里吱吱喳喳
Instead of this, they like to chatter in the dark, which has the opposite effect.
(这倒有助于教条主义者的虚张声势)。
It helps the exaggerating of the dogmatists.
所以“百家争鸣”的号召对他们是有很大的作用的。
Therefore, the slogan of the “free completion of the 100 schools” would especially apply to them.
他们需要“鸣”，
They must “make themselves heard.”
也应当鼓励他们大“鸣”。
We should encourage them also to do this loudly.
要是他们真的大“鸣”起来，教条主义者的棍子就只好收起来了。
If they would really “cry out,” the dogmatists could pack up their sticks and leave (Martin Woesler 译)
“一心二用”的境界
Two Tasks are Managed Simultaneously
林巍
Lin Wei
学生一向被告知要“专心致志”才能学有所成，这是一般意义上的理解；
In a general sense, students have always been told to study with single-hearted devotion.
在特殊意义上，“一心二用”则是更高层次上的一种心智。
In a particular sense, however, being able to manage two tasks (or multiple tasks) at the same time is the advanced capacity required for carrying out sophisticated missions
学习翻译，特别是同声传译，则一定要一心二用。
such as translation, specially simultaneous interpreting.
“一心二用”的生理基础，是注意力的分配。
The biological foundation of the dull-ability lies in attention distribution.
人的注意力的总量是有限的，但实验正面，这个总量又是可以进行分配的。
While its total capacity is confined, attention can still be distributed as experiments have proved.
没人怀疑，一般人都可以一边走路一边接电话。
Cases can be easily found of people possessing the ability to walk while talking on the phone.
但一边开车一边接电话呢？
However, the ability to juggle drive and conduct a telephone conversation is obviously more demanding,
就要取决于两种因素：一是谈话的内容，一是交通的路况。
depending very much on the contents of conversation and the conditions of traffic.
同时从事两种任务的复杂程度，影响、决定着注意力分配的质量。
The complexity of the tasks carried out concurrently determines the quality of attention distribution.
在翻译中，鉴于大部分人不是真正意义上的“双语人”，而是“双语使用者”，故其注意力分配的布局就要有所不同。
Given the fact that most translators engaged in Chinese-English translation are not "bilinguals" in its true sense but "diglossias",
对于母语这一边要相对占有优势，而外语那一边则会牵涉更多的精力。
the layout of their attention distribution may vary accordingly, virtually taking up more attention from foreign language side.
在同声传译的教学中，“一心二用”的练习是一种基本功，即训练学生同时听——想——译——讲的能力。其中，注意力的分配当然不是平均的，且每人各不相同。
In daily practice, the drills of "spin and reel at the same time" are often adopted in simultaneous interpreter-trainings, where the trainees' concurrent ability of listening, evaluating, converting and speaking are expected to develop in terms of attention distribution, not evenly but individually.
据研究，在一般大会的同声传译期间，大会发言者与同声传译员之间会大致出现如下的互动情况：
According to research, certain typical interactions between the speaker and the simultaneous interpreter during an average conference can be viewed as follows,
讲者发言 译员传译 42%
Speaker speaks Interpreter interprets 42%
讲者发言 译员沉默 18%
Speaker speaks Interpreter silent 18%
讲者沉默 译员沉默 12%
Speaker silent Interpreter silent 12%
讲者沉默 译员传译 28%
Speaker silent Interpreter interprets 28%
作为同声传译员，本人深知其中会出现多次的“不平衡”，但两条原则必须把握：一是要点不可漏译，二是要在单元的总体上达到平衡。
As a simultaneous interpreter, I have some insights into certain "imbalances" during the interpreting and the efforts to "balance out" the process phase by phase without missing out the main points,
这可说是“一心二用”的一种理想境界。
which are deemed to be an ideal outcome for an interpreter to achieve.
途中
On the Road
梁遇春
Liang Yuchun
今天是个潇洒的秋天，飘着零雨，
It is a nonchalant autumn day, with flurries of cold rain.
我坐在电车里，看到沿途店里的伙计们差不多都是懒洋洋地在那里谈天，看报，喝茶──喝茶的尤其多，因为今天实在有点冷起来了。
I sit in the train and see the assistants in the shops lining the route are almost all languidly talking, reading the papers, and drinking tea—especially drinking tea, because there is really a nip in the air today.
还有些只是倚着柜头，望望天色。
There are some, too, just draped over the counter, looking at the weather.
总之纷纷扰扰的十里洋场顿然现出闲暇悠然的气概，
In sum the teeming streets of the foreign concession have suddenly taken on a relaxed and casual air.
高楼大厦的商店好像都化做三间两舍的隐庐，里面那班平常替老板挣钱，向主顾陪笑的伙计们也居然感到了生活余裕的乐处，正在拉闲扯散地过日，仿佛全是古之隐君子了。
The towering commercial palaces all seem to have been transformed into small country huts, and the staff of assistants who normally are busy making money for the boss and buttering up the customers have actually become aware of the pleasures of affluence, and pass the time in idle badinage, just like the retired scholars of old.
路上的行人也只是稀稀的几个，连坐在电车里面上银行去办事的洋鬼子们也燃着烟斗，无聊赖地看报上的广告，平时的燥气全消，
There are very few pedestrians in the streets, and even the foreign devils on the tram, on their way to the bank, are smoking their pipes and reading the adverts in their newspapers for something to do, with no sign of their usual irritability.
这大概是那件雨衣的效力罢！
That probably attests to the effectiveness of their raincoats!
到了北站，换上去西乡的公共汽车，
At North Station I change to a bus going to the western country district.
雨中的秋之田野是别有一种风味的。
The autumn countryside has a special quality in the rain.
外面的蒙蒙细雨是看不见的，看得见的只是车窗上不断地来临的小雨点同河面上错杂得可喜的纤纤雨脚。
You can't actually see the thin drizzle falling, you can only see the little raindrops turning up on the window panes, and the faint footprints of rain that skitter attractively across the surface of the river.
此外还有粉般的小雨点从破了的玻璃窗进来，栖止在我的脸上。
Then there are the powdery raindrops that puff in through the broken pane and come to rest on my face.
我虽然有些寒战，但是受了雨水的洗礼，精神变成格外地清醒。
I feel like shivering, but the baptism of rainwater makes me wonderfully refreshed.
已撄肚网，醉生梦死久矣的我真不容易有这么清醒，这么气爽。
Having long been caught up in the toils of mundane life, and habitually peering out on life through bleary eyes, it is rare for me to experience such freshness and clear-headedness.
再看外面的景色，既没有像春天那娇艳得使人们感到它的不能久留，也不像冬天那样树枯草死，好似世界是快毁灭了，却只是静默默地，
Looking again at the scenery, it has neither the delicate sheen of spring, which makes one feel it must soon pass, nor the dieback of winter, which suggests the end of the world is nigh; it is just quiet and patient.
一层轻轻的雨雾若隐若现地盖着，把大地美化了许多，
The fine haze of rain, now lifting, now closing, covers the land and enhances its beauty.
我不禁微吟着乡前辈姜白石的诗句，真是“人生难得秋前雨”。
I cannot help reciting to myself the line of the Song poet Jiang Baishi, my fellow countryman: how true it is that "One of best things in life is the rain that heralds autumn."
忽然想到今天早上她皱着眉头说道：“这样凄风苦雨的天气，你也得跑那么远的路程，
I suddenly recall her beetling her brows this morning and saying, "Look at this weather, all wet and windy, and you've got to go such a long way.
这真可厌呀！”
It's really too bad!"
我暗暗地微笑。
I have a little laugh to myself:
她哪里晓得我正在凭窗赏玩沿途的风光呢？
it wouldn't occur to her that I am looking out of the bus window enjoying some nice scenery, would it?
她或者以为我现在必定是哭丧着脸，像个到刑场的死囚，万不会想到我正流连着这叶尚未调，草已添黄的秋景。
I guess she thinks I am feeling as miserable as sin, like a condemned man riding in his tumbrel, when in fact I am enthusing over this spectacle of autumn grasses turning yellow, autumn leaves still on the trees.
同情是难得的，就是错误的同情也是无妨，所以我就让她老是这样可怜着我的仆仆风尘罢；
One should be grateful for all sympathy, even misdirected sympathy, so I let her go on pitying me as weary and stained from battling against the elements.
并且有时我有什么逆意的事情，脸上露出不豫的颜色，可以借路中的辛苦来遮掩，
Besides, if something disagreeable happens to me, and my displeasure unintentionally shows itself on my face, I can always blame it on the strain of my journey.
免得她一再追究，最后说出真话，使她凭添了无数的愁绪。
In that way she doesn't have to keep probing until I tell her the truth, which will just add to her worries for nothing.
其实我是个最喜欢在十丈红尘里奔走道路的人。
Actually I am very fond of taking to the road.
我现在每天在路上的时间差不多总在两点钟以上，
At present my daily travel time is almost always over two hours.
这是已经有好几月了，我却一点也不生厌，
This has been going on for quite a few months, but I am not in the least fed up with it.
天天走上电车，老是好像开始蜜月旅行一样。
Every day when I board the tram it is like starting a honeymoon journey.
电车上和道路上的人们彼此多半是不相识的，所以大家都不大拿出假面孔来，
The people on the tram and the people on the street are mostly unacquainted with each other, so they don't put on false faces.
比不得讲堂里，宴会上，衙门里的人们那样彼此拼命地一味敷衍。
There is no comparison with lecture halls, banquets, and government offices, where everyone is so intent on going through the prescribed motions.
公园，影戏院，游戏场，馆子里面的来客个个都是眉花眼笑的，最少也装出那么样子，
In parks, playhouses, amusement parks, and restaurants the visitors brim over with jollity, at least they pretend to,
墓地，法庭，医院，药店的主顾全是眉头皱了几十纹的，
while in cemeteries, law courts, hospitals and druggists, the patrons all have deeply furrowed brows.
这两下都未免太单调了，使我们感到人世的平庸无味。
Monotony prevails in both respects, and leaves us with a depressing sense of staleness.
车子里面和路上的人们却具有万般色相，
In contrast, people in the street and on buses and trams display a whole kaleidoscope of visages.
你坐在车里，可要从睁大眼睛不停地观察了卅分钟，你差不多可以在所见的人们脸上看出人世一切的苦乐感觉同人心的种种情调。
You only need to sit on a tram and keep your eyes peeled for thirty minutes to discover on the faces of the people you see practically all the expressions of joy and sorrow in the human repertory, as well as every mood.
你坐在位子上默默地鉴赏，同车的客人们老实地让你从他们的形色举止上去推测他们的生平同当下的心境，外面的行人一一
You sit quietly in your getting on with your appraisal, and the other passengers are good enough to let you infer from their appearance and behavior their life story and their present state of mind.
现你眼前，你尽可恣意瞧着，他们并不会晓得，
The pedestrians outside enter your field of vision one after another, and you are quite free to observe them impudently, for they will not know you are doing so.
而且他们是这么不断地接连走过，你很可以拿他们来彼此比较，
What is more, they pass by in a steady stream, which means you can compare one with another.
这种普通人的行列的确是比什么赛会都有趣得多，
These ranks of ordinary people are a lot more interesting, I'm sure, than any carnival procession.
路上源源不绝的行人可说是上帝设计的赛会，当然胜过了我们佳节时红红绿绿的玩意儿了。
Indeed the continuously renewed passage of pedestrians may be described as God's own carnival, and as such is of course far superior to the garish entertainments of our festivals.
并且在路途中我们的心境是最宜于静观的，最能吸收外界的刺激的。
Another thing is that our mental state while travelling is best adapted to detached observation, most receptive to external stimuli.
我们通常总是事干，正经事也好，歪事也好，我们的注意免不了特别集中在一点上，
We normally have some business in hand, either proper or improper, so our attention is inevitably concentrated on one object.
只有路途中，尤其走熟了的长路，在未到目的地以前，我们的方寸是悠然的，不专注于一物，却是无所不留神的，
It is only while travelling, particularly in the course of a long, familiar journey, that our mind is untrammeled, not preoccupied, and therefore occupied with everything.
在匆匆忙忙的一生里，我们此时才得好好地看一看人生的真况。
This is about the only opportunity we have in the midst of our rushing and scurrying to get a good eyeful of life in its true colors.
所以无论从那一方面说起，途中是认识人生最方便的地方。
Whichever way you look at it, then, travelling is our best chance to get to know life.
车中，船上同人行道可说是人生博览会的三张入场券，
The tram, bus, boat and pavement are as it were admission tickets to the grand exhibition of life.
可惜许多人把它们当做废纸，空走了一生的路。
Sad to say, many people look on them as waste paper, and take their life's journey in vain.
我们有一句古话：“读万卷书，行万里路。”
An old saying of ours refers to "reading ten thousand books, travelling ten thousand miles."
所谓行万里路自然是指走遍名山大川，通部大邑，但是我党换一个解释也是可以。
Of course, the bit about ten thousand miles means seeing famous mountains and majestic rivers and visiting great cities, but I prefer to put another interpretation on it.
一条的路你来往走了几万遍，凑成了万里这个数目，只要你真用了你的眼睛，你就可以算是懂得人生的人了。
You can notch up you ten thousand miles by travelling the same stretch of road ten thousand times, and as long as you really use your eyes, I guarantee you will equally count as someone who has seen the world.
俗语说道：“秀才不出门，能知天下事”，
The adage says "The scholar can know the affairs of the world without leaving his gate."
我们不幸未得入泮，只好多走些路，来见见世面罢！
Unfortunately the halls of learning of the scholars of old are closed to us, so we had better hit the road, and look about us!
对于人生有了清澈的观照，世上的荣辱祸福不足以扰乱内心的恬静，我们的心灵因此可以获到永久的自由，
Once we have a clear-sighted view of life, the accidence of reputation and fortune will be unable to disturb our inner serenity, and our souls will thereby gain eternal freedom,
可见个个的路都是到自由的路，并不限于罗素先生所钦定的：
for many are the roads that lead to freedom, not just the one ordained by Mr. Bertrand Russell.
所怕的就是面壁参禅，目不窥路的人们，他们自甘沦落，不肯上路，的确是无法可办。
The people we have to fear are those who ponder questions with their fact to a wall, not giving the road outside a glance: there is really nothing you can do with them, for they condemn themselves by their own inertia.
读书是间接地去了解人生，走路是直接地去了解人生，
Reading books is an indirect way of understanding life, taking the road is a direct way of understanding life.
一落言诠，便非真谤，所以我觉得万卷书可以搁开不念，万里路非放步走去不可。
Truth is lot when committed to words, which is why I feel that the ten thousand books can be put aside unread, but the ten thousand miles require you to get up and go.
了解自然，便是非走路不可。
To understand nature there is no alternative to getting out and about,
但是我觉得有意的旅行倒不如通常的走路那样能与自然更见亲密。
but I think that planned travel does not give you as close as feel for nature as ordinary walking about.
旅行的人们心中只惦着他的目的地，精神是紧张的。
The tourist is always intent on where he is going, and so is under pressure,
实在不宜于裕然地接受自然的美景。
which is surely not the right frame of mind if you are to receive the beauties of nature in your own good time.
并且天下的风光是活的，并不拘泥于一谷一溪，一洞一岩，
Furthermore, a scene is a living thing: it can by no means be reduced to a valley, a stream, a cave, or a cliff.
旅行的人们所看的却多半是这些名闻四海的死景，人人莫名其妙地照例赞美的胜地。
Yet what tourists mostly see is indeed these dead scenes of nationwide fame, famous sights which everyone automatically praises, for some unknown reason.
旅行的人们也只得依样葫芦一番，做了万古不移的传统的奴隶。
The tourists, stuck in the same groove, become new prisoners to a tradition of unchallengeable antiquity.
这又何苦呢？
Is it worth the trouble? You might well ask.
并且只有自己发现出的美景对着我们才会有贴心的亲切感觉，才会感动了整个心灵，而这些好景却大抵是得之偶然的，绝不能强求。
They ought to realize that only the fine views that we ourselves discover have close attachments for us, can reach into our souls, and these fine sights are mostly come upon by accident, they cannot be had on demand.
所以有时因公外出，在火车中所瞥见的田舍风光会深印在我们的心坎里，
So it is that vistas of fields and cottages we might glimpse from the train window on a business trip can imprint themselves deeply on our heart,
而花了盘川，告了病假去赏玩的名胜倒只是如烟如雾地浮动在记忆的海里。
whereas the beauty spots we apply for sick leave to visit, at our own expense, only float like mist or smoke in our store of memories.
今年的春天同秋天，我都去了一趟杭州，每天不是坐在划子里听着舟子的调度，就是跑山，恭敬地聆着车夫的命令，
I took a trip to Hangzhou this spring and autumn, and every day I either sat in a rowing boat following the directions of the boatman, or was driven round the hills, respectfully obeying the orders of the drivers.
一本薄薄的指南隐隐地含有无上的威权，
A slim little guidebook insidiously exerted supreme authority.
等到把所谓胜景一一领略过了，重上火车，我的心好似去了重担。
When I had gone the round of all the famous sights and got back on the train for home, I felt relieved of a heavy burden.
当我再继续过着我通常的机械生活，天天自由地东瞧西看，再也不怕受了舟子，车夫，游侣的责备，再也没有什么应该非看不可的东西，我真快乐得几乎发狂。
And when I resumed my quotidian mechanical existence, looking freely to left and right, no longer in fear of the boatman's, driver's or travelling companions' remonstrances, on longer obliged to see things that had to be seen, I was so happy I could have cried.
西泠的景色自然是渐渐消失得无影无迹，
The West Lake scenery had naturally dissolved, leaving not a rack behind.
可惜消失得太慢，
The trouble is, it dissolved too slowly.
起先还做了我几个噩梦的背境。
At first it still formed the backdrop to several nightmares of mine.
当我梦到无私的车夫，带我走着崎岖难行的宝石山或者光滑不能住足的往龙井的石路，
Whenever I dreamed of our selfless driver leading us over the rugged rocks of Jewel Mountain or along the slippery stone path to Dragon Well,
不管我怎样求免，总是要迫我去看烟霞洞的烟霞同龙井的龙角。
no matter how I pleaded with him he would always force me to go and see the roseate clouds of Roseate Cloud Cavern and the dragon's horn of Dragon Well.
谢谢上帝，西湖已经不再浮现在我的梦中了。
Thank the Lord, the West Lake no longer appears in my dreams.
而我生平所最赏心的许多美景是从到西乡的公共汽车的玻璃窗得来的。
As I said, many of the fine scenes that have meant most to me in my life have been got through the windows of the bus that goes to the western country district.
我坐在车里，任它一上一下，一左一右地跳荡，看着老看不完的十八世纪长篇小说，
I sit in the bus, being bumped up and down and jolted right and left, reading an interminable 18th-century novel.
有时闭着书随便望一望外面天气，忽然觉得青翠迎人，遍地散着香花，晴天现出不可描摹的蓝色。
Sometimes I close the book and glance casually out at the weather, and suddenly get this impression of emerald green, fragrant flowers all over the place, and a cloudless sky of indescribable blue.
我顿然感到春天已到大地，这时我真是神魂飞在九霄云外了。
Shocked awake to the coming of spring, my soul truly takes leave of my body and flies up to cloud nine.
再去细看一下，好景早已过去，剩下的是闸北污秽的街道，
When next I look again, the good scenery is far behind us, and what is left of the journey is the mucky streets of Zhabei.
明天再走到原地，一切虽然仍旧，总觉得有所不足，与昨天是不同的，
The next day I pass the same spot again, and everything is as before, yet I can't help feeling that something is missing, something has changed.
于是乎那天的景色永留在我的心里。
Thereupon that day's scene remains forever in my mind.
甜蜜的东西看得太久了也会厌烦，真真的好景都该这样一瞬即逝，永不重来。
Sweet things when looked on too long will cloy; genuinely fine scenes should fleet past like that, and never return.
婚姻制度的最大毛病也就是在于日夕聚首：将一切好处都因为太熟而化成坏处了。
The worst thing about marriage is that you are together night and day; this turns all good things into bad things through overfamiliarity.
此外在热狂的夏天，风雪载途的冬季我也常常出乎意料地获到不可名言的妙境，滋润着我的心田。
At other times, on madly hot summer days, in snowbound winter, I also come across unforeseen sights of unspeakable fascination: they are water to the dry fields of my heart.
会心不远，真是陆放翁所谓的“何处楼台无月明”。
Soulmates are not hard to find: did not Lu You write "There are no places where a tower does not catch the light of the moon?
自己培养有一个易感的心境，那么走路的确是了解自然的捷径。
To those who make themselves susceptible, taking the road is without doubt a short cut to understanding nature.
偷窃狂
The kleptomania
林枕客
Lin Zhenke
“十疯九偷”，精神学家承认这句话。
It is believed to be true by psychopathists that nine of ten insane people have an inclination to steal.
十个疯子有九个患“偷窃狂”。
In fact, kleptomania is the commonest symptom of insanity.
“偷窃狂”是精神病中最通常的病症，可怜他，
Poor souls!
起初都被人认为“道德堕落者”，根本不把他当病人看待。
They are supposed to have morally degenerated and will never be treated as kleptomaniacs until their insanity is beyond cure.
直至其疯到不可救药，才认做疯子。
In that case, they are regarded as lunatics.
“偷窃狂”和通常偷窃很易分别，
The distinction between kleptomania and theft can easily be made.
窃贼偷东西是有目的的，
A theft is committed with an aim, while kleptomania without any object at all.
偷窃狂则无目的不问其需要与否，常感觉有些东西非偷不可，仿佛把“偷”当作一种享受。
A person suffering from kleptomania steals all sorts of things whether he needs them or not; he considers larceny a kind of enjoyment.
读者不难遇见一些人，经济颇有办法，
You are apt to find some people who are rather well off, indulge in stealing from others things which they are never in want of.
对于有些他们家中决不缺乏的东西，也爱顺手窃取，或揩油带回家去。不论其需要与否，一拿到手满高兴。
They would be very pleased with the thing they have stolen even if it is quite useless to them.
这实在是极可怜的心理病态。
This irresistible tendency to steal we may easily ascribe to the mental disease just mentioned.
“偷窃狂”虽然多是精神病的病症，但也有是童年时期在不良家庭生活中所养成的习惯。
Although kleptomania is a symptom of mental weakness, the habit may be formed during one's childhood in a depraved family.
我在师范学校一年级读书时，发现一件怪事：
Something strange had come about while I was a first year student of the normal school.
大半同学的圆规、三角板、看地图用的放大镜都遗失了。
I occurred that my compasses, set-squares, magnifying glasses for reading maps were always missing.
我连续买过四次，也弄得没有一件器具用。
Though I had bought four sets of them, yet I could not find them when I wanted to use them.
校长据报后，请老师抽查学生箱箧，所注意的对象多是贫苦学生。
After being told of what had happened, the principal asked our teacher to search for them among the belongings of the students, especially the poor ones, in the school.
查了一个月，不但毫无下落，而且这种窃案继续发生。
The search continued for a month, but resulted in nothing.
我看见情形很严重，决心自己来捉贼。
As the same thing happened again and again, I set to work to seek the mystery of the case myself.
那个星期天，我再买了一套新的，放在床前书桌上，
I bought another new set of the above-mentioned instruments on a Sunday, and put it out on the desk just in front of my bed.
躺在床上装做午睡。
Then I pretended to be asleep.
妙极了！
Fancy!
我从眼睛眯缝里，果然发现一个人影迫近桌前。
With half an eye, I saw a form moving stealthily towards my bed.
我得意极了，我就要抓到贼了。我高喊一声“嘿！”
I was so excited that I cried out "Hi!",
跳下床来，定睛一看，那一刹那间，我失望极了。
and jumping up from my bed, ready to catch the thief on the spot, I found, to my disappointment,
而贼不是别人，居然是本级最富有人家的子弟吴津同学。
that he was no other than Wu Tsing, a classmate of mine, who was from one of the richest families,
他的学问品德都好，又乐于助人，决不至偷窃这些小东西的。
and who was very generous in helping others.
然而，事实表现得太残酷了。
It seemed improbable that he, who conducted himself well at school, would steal such trifles.
他听见我“嘿”的一声，立即扑通一声跪地哀求着：
But on hearing my voice, he dropped down on his knees in a panic, imploring:
“老林！
"Forgive me, Old Lin, for Heaven's sake.
我错得很，饶恕我吧！”
I know it's very wicked of me to do so."
我仍半信半疑，
I was confounded and could not believe my eyes.
老吴做贼？
It was beyond my comprehension that Wu Tsing should commit a larceny.
巧妙地笑着说：
In a moment I gathered my senses and answered:
“哈哈！
"Ha, ha!
老吴！
Old Wu, that's enough.
够了吧，别再开我的玩笑，借去用吧！”
Don't make fun of me any more. You are welcome to use them."
我放了他，可是没有救他。
I let him go, but I did not succor him.
有一天，他终于被捕了，
Some days later, he was caught at last.
搜出百多套同样的用具。
More than hundred sets of similar instruments were found in his suitcase.
这件事，在别的学校，开除了事，幸好师范学校有教育心理学的老师，反对开除“问题学生”，
If it happened in other schools, he would be dismissed at once, but ours was a normal school, and the teacher of educational psychology objected to dismissing the student in question.
请求校长准予留校察看，以供研究，并加以感化。
He asked the principal to keep Wu Tsing in school for some time for investigation.
因此组织了“研究小组”研究吴津为什么偷窃。
A committee was formed to find out the reason why Wu Tsing should steal and how he could be "cured".
这问题终于在家庭访问时获得解答：
The answer to this problem was finally derived from a visit they paid to his family.
吴津家富，兄弟姊妹共有七人，他居最小，最受父母溺爱，亦最缺乏教养，
As he was the youngest of seven children of a well-to-do family, his parents doted on him so much that they spoiled him.
年幼时他喜爱个个姐姐们手上的东西就要，要不到就哭，
Whenever he saw anything interesting which his brother or sister had, he would cry for it if it was not given him.
母亲就对他说：“等三姐不在时，我去偷来给你！”
Having a weakness for the youngest, his mother would pacify him with these words: "Don't cry, my boy, I'll steal it for you when your sister is not in,"
或是说：“等四哥出去了，我就拿来给你。”
or "You can have it afterwards when your brother is out."
果然，兄姐们一走开，母亲便去拿给他，而且教他玩的时候，别让哥哥姐姐看见。
Every time when his brother or sister was away from home, his mother would fetch him the thing he liked to have without fail.
他一拿到手，老是藏起来不玩。
Moreover, he was old then not to play with it in his or her presence.
他从小便得到了这样的经验，要什么，只要在人家不在时去拿好了。
Having had gained the experience that anything he wanted could be obtained during the absence of its owner, he did not realize that taking things away from others secretly was a crime.
这种拿的办法，在家庭里无所谓，在学校中或社会上，就成为“偷”了。
Of course, it would not be regarded as a theft by his brothers and sisters at home, but it was not so in the school or society.
他长大以后，也不自知其为偷，但那已经成为顽固的怪癖了。
He came to know it was theft when he grew up, but the habit had been formed and could never be shaken off.
狐疑
Smoke Without Fire
林枕客
Lin Zhenke
我有一个漂亮的表姐，跟一个工程师结了婚，感情和好，生活美满。
After three happy years of conjugal life there came a sudden change in my pretty cousin’s sensual nature.
婚后三年，她突然变态：凭空指责她丈夫有外遇，日夜悲泣不已。
She suspended her husband, an engineer, to be unfaithful and reproved him for his disloyalty without any reason.
任凭她的丈夫怎样解释，都无济于事。
Her husband tried in every way to explain but in vain. She was in so great a distress that she wept all the time.
他只好寸步不离她，
He had to stay at home with her in the hope that he might get rid of her doubt about him.
她的疑心犹不减，
But, to his amazement, this only led to her new suspicion.
责备他每日死守家屋，意在追恋女佣。
She thought that he remained at home all day because he was in love with the maid.
他换了一个女佣，她又说是他的新恋人。
He dismissed the maid and hired a new one whom his wife would call his new love.
换上别个女佣，无论老妇童女，她无不怀疑。
In short, she regarded any maid, irrespective of age, as the object her husband was in pursuit of.
终于他的丈夫决心一个女佣都不用，她却乐得自己烧饭洗衣。
At last, her husband decided not to keep a servant in his house, leaving all the domestic work to his wife, which she undertook without a complaint.
不久以后，她的疑心更多了。
Not many days had elapsed before she entertained more doubts about him.
她认为妹妹、嫂嫂、姑姑，都是丈夫的恋人。
She suspected even her female relations, such as her sisters-in-law, being also in love with her husband.
于是，大家相信她发了狂，
This made people think that she had gone out of her mind.
这才将她送进神经病院，施行电疗、打针，用尽百法，毫无效果。
She was then sent to a hospital where she was put under various medical treatments; but all of them had no effect upon her.
在完全绝望的时候，我介绍一位心理学家去看她，
Such being her case, I recommended her to a psychologist.
单独与她密谈两小时后，他有了骇人的发现。
After two hours’ tete-a-tete with her, the psychologist made a startling discovery.
“夫人”，心理学家诚恳地说：“我愿为你摘去内心的痛苦，但请坦白见告，
“My dear madam,” began the expert in a most sincere manner, “I should be able to remove all the worries from mind if you would tell me everything frankly.
你曾经有什么不可告人的遭遇吗？”
Have you anything to be kept secret?”
这一问，好像一股电流触及她的内心痛处，她惊跳一下，低头啜泣。
Thus asked, she started as if she were electric-stricken and began to weep.
“愿向上苍指誓，为夫人严守秘密”，专家继续说：
“If you will let me into the secret, I promise to keep it from the knowledge of others,” he continued.
“夫人，为了你的终身幸福，愿坦白见告。”
“For your own good, and for the happiness of your life, do tell me, madam!”
她终于说出了：半年前，她曾为一个青年而坠入情网，
She sobbed bitterly and then gave the following account: It was about half a year ago when she met a young man with whom she fell in love.
事后，荣誉心迫她回头改正，
But before long, her sense of honor made her repent of her folly, and she came back to her husband again.
然而，她始终不敢正视自己既往的可耻事实，却在心理另觅一种自慰：那便是她的丈夫在外必定也有与她相似的不贞行为。
What a shame it was to recall her past conduct, so she consoled herself by thinking that her husband must have done the same thing as she did.
久而久之，造成她反常的疑惧心理。
By and by this developed into an abnormal apprehension.
心理学家明白了她的病根所在，便轻易为她拔除掉了。
When the psychologist had found out the root of her disease, it was easy for him to uproot it.
使她逐渐领悟，她的不贞行为，乃属于她的偶然性错失，而非人人必然性的现象，
He told her that her disloyalty was due to her casual wrongdoing, not to the inevitable conduct of everybody.
更不能转移于丈夫身上。
Nor could it be transferred to her husband.
过分多疑的心理，因素很是复杂，
That which gives one the feeling of distrust is rather complicated.
绝非单纯神经过敏可以解释。
It cannot be explained merely by nervousness.
多疑往往由于自己的“内疚”反射于他人，
To have a suspicion against others usually comes of one’s own sick conscience.
在心理学上称之为“投射作用”，
Psychologically speaking, it is called the project action, that is the process of acting upon others.
我用最简单的一句中国俗语，可以说明“心理投射作用”的深奥原理。
A Chinese proverb that presents fully the gist of this psychological action runs,
这句俗语是：“有此心，反疑心”。
“Suspicious are those who take an interest in the matter themselves.”
秋
Autumn
丰子恺
Feng Zikai
我的年岁上冠用了“三十”二字，至今已两年了。
It is now two years since my year of age carried the prefix "thirty".
不解达观的我，从这两个字上受到了不少的暗示与影响。
Never one to take things philosophically, I have felt the influence and intimations of this world in several ways.
虽然明明觉得自己的体格与精力比二十九岁时全然没有什么差异，但“三十”这一个观念笼在头上，
Though I am fully aware that in health and spirits I am in no way different from what I was at the age of twenty-nine, this notion of "thirty" hangs over my head.
犹之张了一顶阳伞，使我的全身蒙了一个暗淡色的阴影，又仿佛在日历上撕过了立秋的一页以后，
It is like the opening of a parasol that casts one in dark shade, or like the tearing off of the page that marks the first day of autumn from the calendar:
虽然太阳的炎威依然没有减却，寒暑表上的热度依然没有降低，然而只当得余威与残暑，或霜降木落的先驱，
although the sun's power has not diminished, and the thermometer's reading has not dropped, one thinks of it only as fading strength or swan song, or as the prelude to frost and leaf-fall;
大地的节候已从今移交于秋了。
from now on the natural world has shifted to the autumn season.
实际，我两年来的心情与秋最容易调和而融合。
In truth my mood over the last two years has been of a kind to harmonize or blend with autumn.
这情形与从前不同。
This is a change.
在往年，我只慕春天。
In years gone by I only hankered after spring.
我最欢喜杨柳与燕子。
I loved willows and swallows.
尤其欢喜初染鹅黄的嫩柳。
Especially the young willow wands newly tinged with gosling yellow.
我曾经名自己的寓居为“小杨柳屋”，曾经画了许多杨柳燕子的画，又曾经摘取秀长的柳叶，在厚纸上裱成各种风调的眉，
I named my lodging "Little Willow Hut", and did lots of paintings of willows and swallows, and also cut slender willow shoots and mounted them on cartridge paper as different styles of eyebrow,
想象这等眉的所有者的颜貌，而在其下面添描出眼鼻与口。
imagined the faces that would go with those eyebrows, and sketched in eyes, nose and mouth below them.
那时候我每逢早春时节，正月二月之交，看见杨柳枝的线条上挂了细珠，带了隐隐的青色而“遥看近却无”的时候，我心中便充满了一种狂喜，
At the first signs of spring in those days, around the end of the first month by the lunar calendar, when I saw tiny knobs breaking the smooth lines of the willow branches, with a suggestion of green that seemed to vanish close up, my heart was filled with delirious joy.
这狂喜又立刻变成焦虑，似乎常常在说：“春来了！
But this joy immediately turned to anxiety, as if I was always telling myself: "Spring has come!
不要放过！
Don't let it go by!
赶快设法招待它，享乐它，永远留住它。”
Quick, think how to entertain it, enjoy it, keep it with you forever."
我读了”良辰美景奈何天”等句，曾经真心地感动。
I had been genuinely moved by such lines as "The golden hour, the beautiful scene, alas the ravages of time";
以为古人都太息一春的虚度。前车可鉴！
I took to heart the lesson of our forebears when they sighed over spring passing neglected.
到我手里决不放它空过了。
Now it was in my hands, I vowed it should not go by in vain!
最是逢到了古人惋惜最深的寒食清明，我心中的焦灼便更甚。
When the Qingming Festival, that time of deepest sorrowing for our forefathers, came around, my anxiety was intensified.
那一天我总想有一种足以充分酬偿这佳节的举行。
I always wanted to make that day an occasion, so as to render fitting tribute to the season.
我准拟作诗，作画，或痛饮，漫游。
I planned to write poems, do paintings, or go on a binge or an excursion.
虽然大多不被实行；或实行而全无效果，反而中了酒，闹了事，换得了不快的回忆；
Although most of those plans were not carried out, or if carried out proved entirely fruitless, resulting adversely in drunken stupor, disturbances, and unhappy memories,
但我总不灰心，总觉得春的可恋。
yet I was never discouraged, and always felt spring was lovable.
我心中似乎只有知道春，
To my mind spring was the only season.
别的三季在我都当作春的预备，或待春的休息时间，
The other three were either the preparation for spring, or the interval when spring was awaited.
全然不曾注意到它们的存在与意义。
I completely ignored their existence and meaning.
而对于秋，尤无感觉：因为夏连续在春的后面，在我可当作春的过剩；
I was especially indifferent to autumn, because summer succeeded spring, and I could see it as spring taken to excess;
冬先行春的前面，在我可当作春的准备；独有与春全无关联的秋，在我心中一向没有它的位置。
winter preceded spring, and so could be seen as making ready for spring; but autumn had no connection at all with spring, and so had no place in my mind.
自从我的年龄告了立秋以后，两年来的心境完全转了一个方向，也变成秋天了。
In the two years since my year of age reached the start of autumn on life's calendar my mindset has had an entirely different orientation: it has become autumn too.
然而情形与前不同：
But my state is different orientation: it has become autumn too.
并不是在秋日感到像昔日的狂喜与焦灼。
But my state is different from what it was, I do not feel in autumn the extravagant joy and anxiety of former days.
我只觉得一到秋天，自己的心境便十分调和。
I just feel when autumn comes round that my state of mind is perfectly attuned to it.
非但没有那种狂喜与焦灼，直常常被秋风秋雨秋色秋光所吸引而融化在秋中，暂时失却了自己的所在。
Not only has that joy and anxiety left me, I am often drawn by autumn wind, autumn rain, autumn colors and shades, into melting into the season, and losing for a time my own identity.
而对于春，又并非像昔日对于秋的无感觉。
What's more, my attitude to spring is not the indifference that I formerly felt for autumn.
我现在对于春非常厌恶。
I now detest spring.
每当万象回春的时候，看到群花的斗艳，蜂蝶的扰攘，以及草木昆虫等到处争先恐后地滋生繁殖的状态，
Whenever the myriad signs of spring appear, and I see the beauty pageant of flowers, the bustle of bees and butterflies, and everywhere the mad rush of plants, insects and other things to multiply and procreate,
我觉得天地间的凡庸，贪婪，无耻，与愚痴，无过于此了！
it seems to me that nothing could better illustrate the vulgarity, greed, shamelessness and senselessness of this world.
尤其是在青春的时候，看到柳条上挂了隐隐的绿珠，桃枝上着了点点的红斑，最使我觉得可笑又可怜。
Particularly when in the first flush of spring I see the hint of green knobs on the willow branches, and the speckling of red petals on the peach trees, I find it both ridiculous and pathetic.
我想唤醒一个花蕊来对它说：“啊！你也来反覆这老调了！
I want to wake up a flower bud and tell it, "So, you've come too to replay that old refrain!
我眼看见你的无数的祖先，个个同你一样地出世，个个努力发展，争荣竞秀；不久没有一个不憔悴而化泥尘。
I've seen with my own eyes countless ancestors of your being born like you, and striving each and every one to outdo the others in splendor; not one of them hasn't withered and turned to dust.
你何苦也来反覆这老调呢？
What is the point of you too repeating that old refrain?
如今你已长了这孽根，
Born into sin, what does the future hold?
将来看你弄娇弄艳，装笑装颦，招致了蹂躏，摧残，攀折之苦，而步你的祖先们的后尘！”
You'll drink and posture and play the flirt, and what you'll get for your trouble is being trampled and crushed and broken off, the same fate as all your ancestors suffered!"
实际，迎送了三十几次的春来春去的人，对于花事早已看得厌倦，感觉已经麻木，热情已经冷却，
To face facts, someone who has welcomed and seen off thirty-odd springs gets thoroughly fed up with the business of flowers: his senses are numbed, his passion is cooled.
决不会再像初见世面的青年少女地为花的幻姿所诱惑而赞之，叹之，怜之，惜之了。
He will not be bewitched like a young virgin seeing the world for the first time by the magic of flowers, and praise them, sigh over them, take pity on them, mourn them.
况且天地万物，没有一件逃得出荣枯，盛衰，生灭，有无之理。
For of all things under the sun there is not one that escapes the law of flowering and fading, growing and decaying, living and dying, being and not being.
过去的历史昭然地证明着这一点，无须我们再说。
Past history amply proves this point; we need not say more.
古来无数的诗人千遍一律地为伤春惜花费词，
Countless poets down the ages have written reams of verses, all like, to express their sorrow at the passing of spring and their regret over the fading of flowers.
这种效颦也觉得可厌。
This aping of each other is detestable.
假如要我对于世间的生荣死灭费一点词，我觉得生荣不足道，而宁愿欢喜赞叹一切的死灭。
If I were to waste words myself on the subject of birth and ripening, death and extinction, it would be to say that birth and ripening are not worth mentioning; my praise goes to death and extinction.
对于死者的贪婪，愚昧，与怯弱，后者的态度何等谦逊，悟达，而伟大！
Compared with the greed, stupidity and spinelessness of the former, how modest, enlightened and dignified is the attitude of the latter!
我对于春与秋的舍取，也是为了这一点。
My preference for autumn over spring is based on that.
夏目漱石三十岁的时候，曾经这样说：“人生二十而知有生的利益；二十五而知有明之处必有暗；至于三十的今日，更知明多之处暗亦多，欢浓之时愁亦重。”
Natsume Suseki said this when he was thirty: "Twenty years into life I learned the value of being alive; at twenty-five I learned that where there is light there must be darkness; now at thirty I know even better that where there is much light there is also much darkness, and when joy is abundant sorrow is also heavy."
我现在对于这话也深抱同感；
I now deeply sympathize with this view.
有时又觉得三十的特征不止这一端，其更特殊的是对于死的体感。
At the same time I feel that this is not the only facet of being thirty; a more particular one is the sense of death.
青年们恋爱不遂的时候惯说生生死死，然而这不过是知有“死”的一回事而已，不是体感。
When young people are thwarted in love they like to talk about death and dying, but that is only knowledge of the thing called death, no the sense of it.
犹之在饮冰挥扇的夏日，不能体感到围炉拥衾的冬夜的滋味。
It is similar to not being able to sense what it is like to sit round a winter fire huddled in blankets when one is drinking iced drinks and fanning oneself on a summer's day.
就是我们阅历了三十几度寒暑的人，在前几天的炎阳之下也无论如何感不到浴日的滋味。
Even we who have known thirty-odd changes of seasons could not in the recent keatwave get the sense of a nice crisp dawn.
围炉，拥衾，浴日等事，在夏天的人的心中只是一种空虚的知识，不过晓得将来须有这些事而已，但是不能体感它们的滋味。
Things like crisp dawns, winter fires and huddling in blankets are just abstract data in the mind of people in the middle of summer: they merely know that such things lie in the future, but cannot experience the sensation of them.
须得入了秋天，炎阳逞尽了威势而渐渐退却，汗水浸胖了的肌肤渐渐收缩，身穿单衣似乎要打寒噤，而手触法郎绒觉得快适的时候，
One has to wait for autumn, when the broiling sun has displayed its might and is gradually receding and flesh which has been swelled with sweat gradually draws in, when the wearing of unlined clothes inclines one to shiver and flannel is pleasant to the touch,
于是围炉、拥衾，浴日等知识方能渐渐融入体验界中而化为体感。
for the knowledge of crisp dawns, winter fires and huddling in blankets to gradually enter the realm of experience and become sensation.
我的年龄告了立秋以后，心境中所起的最特殊的状态便是这对于“死”的体感。
After my year of age reached the start of autumn, the most special state of mind it gave me was indeed this sensation of "death".
以前我的思虑真疏浅！
How shallow were my thoughts prior to that!
以为春可以常在人间，人可以永在青年，竟完全没有想到死。
I believed that spring could be our constant companion, that man could stay forever young, and actually never thought of death.
又以为人生的意义只在于生，我的一生最有意义，似乎我是不会死的。
And I believed that the meaning of human life was only in living, and my own life was most meaningful; it seemed I couldn't die.
直到现在，仗了秋的慈光的鉴照，死的灵气钟育，才知道生的甘苦悲欢，是天地间反覆过亿万次的老调，又何足珍惜？
Only now, with the benefit of the illumination of autumn rays, and under the benign influence of the spirit of death, have I comprehended that life's sweetness and bitterness, joys and sorrows are an old refrain that has been played billions of times under our skies, and are nothing to treasure.
我但求此生的平安的度送与脱出而已。
I seek only peaceful passage through and release from this life.
犹之罹了疯狂的人，病中的颠倒迷离何足计较？
To make a comparison, if a person suffers from madness, it is pointless to try to make anything of his confusion and delusions:
但求其去病而已。
one hopes only to rid him of his sickness.
我正要搁笔，忽然西窗外黑云弥漫，天际闪出一道电光，发出隐隐的雷声，
As I lay down my pen, I see from my western window black clouds filling the sky, a flash of lightning on the horizon, and hear a faint rumble of thunder.
骤然洒下一阵夹着冰雹的秋雨。
A sudden shower of autumn rain mixed with hail pours down.
啊！
Oh!
原来立秋过得不多天，秋心稚嫩而未曾老练，不免还有这种不调和的现象，可怕哉！
So few days after the start of autumn, while the autumn mind is still young and green, it turns out that such discordance occurs: it scares me!
打人
A Beating
张爱玲
Zhang Ailing
在外滩看见一个警察打人，没有缘故，只是一时兴起，
I saw a policeman hitting someone on the Bund, for no reason, simply because he felt like it.
挨打的是个十五六岁的穿得相当干净的孩子，棉袄棉裤，腰间系带。
It was a boy of fifteen or sixteen, quite neatly dressed, in padded jacket and trousers, with a belt around his waist.
警察用的鞭，没看仔细，好像就是警棍头上的绳圈。
I did not see clearly what the policeman was whipping him with—it seemed to be the long loop attached to the end of his truncheon.
“呜！”抽下去，一下又一下，把孩子逼在墙根。
Down came his arm, thwack!, time after time, driving the boy up against a wall.
孩子很可以跑而不跑，
The boy did not try to run away, though he could have.
仰头望着他，皱着脸，眯着眼，就像乡下人在田野的太阳里睁不开眼睛的样子，仿佛还带着点笑。
He looked up at him, screwing up his eyes, in the way country people squint against the glare of the sun in the open fields, and there was even the hint of a smile on his face.
事情来得太突兀了，缺乏舞台经验的人往往来不及调整面部表情。
It had all happened too suddenly: people without stage experience often lag behind in adjusting their expression.
我向来很少有正义感。
I have never had a strong sense of justice.
我不愿意看见什么，就有本事看不见。
If I don't want to see something I can shut it out.
然而这一回，我忍不住屡屡回过头去望，
But this time I couldn't help it, I kept looking round at them.
气塞胸膛，
I felt choked.
打一下，就觉得我的心收缩一下。
With every blow my heart contracted.
打完之后，警察朝这边踱了过来。
When he had finished his beating, the policeman sauntered over in my direction.
我恶狠狠盯住他看，恨不得眼睛里飞出小刀子，
I fixed him with a venomous star, only sorry that I could not look real daggers.
很希望我能够表达出充分的鄙夷与愤怒，对于一个麻风病患者的憎怖。
I hoped I could express my utter contempt and anger, the kind of disgust one feels for a leper.
然而他只觉得有人在注意他，得意洋洋紧了一紧腰间的皮带。
But he was only aware he was the object of attention, and smugly tightened his belt.
他是个长脸大嘴的北方人，生得不难看。
He was a northerner with a long face and a big mouth, not at all bad looking in fact.
他走到公众厕所的门前，顺手揪过一个穿长袍而带寒酸相的，
He walked over to the door of the public lavatory, and laid hold of a shabby looking man in a long gown who happened to be standing there.
并不立即动手打，只定晴看他，一手按着棍子。
He did not set about him straight away, he just glared at him as he fingered his truncheon.
那人于张煌气恼之中还想讲笑话，问道：“阿是为仔我要登坑老?”
Torn between panic and indignation, the man actually came out with a witticism: "Is it because I was going for a crap?"
大约因为我的思想没受过训练之故，这时候我并不想起阶级革命，一气之下，只想去做官，或是做主席夫人，可以走上前给那警察两个耳刮子。
Probably because of my lack of ideological training, I forgot all about the class revolution, and in my anger wished I were a high official, or else the First Lady, so that I could have stepped up to the policeman and boxed his ears.
在民初李涵秋的小说里，这时候就应当跳出一个仗义的西洋传教师，或是保安局长的姨太太，(女主角的手帕交，男主角的旧情人。)
In the novels of Li Hanqiu, written in the early years of the Republic, there would have come at this juncture the intervention of a public-spirited Western missionary or the concubine of the Chief of Police (the confidante of the heroine, the old flame of the hero).
偶尔天真一下还不要紧，那样有系统地天真下去，到底不大好。
Momentary naivety is excusable, but systematic naivety is really not a good thing.
余光中 《朋友四型》
Friends: The Four Categories
一个人命里不见得有太太或丈夫，但绝对不可能没有朋友。
A person may have no wife or husband in their lifetime, but it is absolutely impossible to have no friends.
即使是荒岛上的鲁滨逊，也不免需要一个“礼拜五”。
Even Robinson Crusoe on a desolate island was badly in need of a "Friday".
一个人不能选择父母，但是除了鲁滨逊之外，每个人都可以选择自己的朋友。
One cannot choose his or her parents, but except for Robinson, everybody can have the freedom to choose friends.
照说选来的东西，应该符合自己的理想才对，但是事实又不尽然。
It is true that one's choices should be to one's liking, but it's not always the case.
你选别人，别人也选你。
You pick and choose, and at the same time, are picked and chosen by others.
被选，是一种荣誉，但不一定是一件乐事。
Being chosen is an honor, but is may not be a pleasure.
来按你门铃的人很多，岂能人人都令你“喜出望外”呢？
There are many who come to press your doorbell, but how many of them can make "go into raptures?" generally speaking, doorbell pressers fall into the following four categories.
大致说来，按铃的人可以分为下列四型：
The first category: refined and humorous.
第一型，高级而有趣。
Friends of this category are ideal,
这种朋友理想是理想，只是可遇而不可求。
but they can only be chanced upon rather than be sought after.
世界上高级的人很多，有趣的人也很多，又高级又有趣的人却少之又少。
There are as numerous refined people as there are humorous ones, but how many can you find who are refined as well as humorous?
高级的人使人尊敬，有趣的人使人欢喜，又高级又有趣的人，使人敬而不畏，亲而不狎，
Refined people are respectable, humorous people are loveable, and people who are both refined and humorous are respectable but not awesome, intimate but not improperly familiar.
交接愈久，芬芳愈醇。
The longer you are with them, the closer you will be,
譬如新鲜的水果，不但甘美可口，而且富于营养，可谓一举两得。
just as the fresh fruit you eat, which is not only delicious but also nutritious: it kills two birds with one stone.
朋友是自己的镜子。
Friends are a mirror of one's own self.
一个人有了这种朋友，自己的境界也低不到哪里去。
If one has a friend of this kind, his or her own taste will not be low.
先生杖履所至，几曾出现过低级而无趣的俗物？
How many vulgar and humorless people have you found wherever Su Dongpo, a great genius of the Song Dynasty, went?
第二型，高级而无趣。
The second category: refined but humorless.
这种人大概就是古人所谓的诤友，甚至畏友了。
These people are virtually zhengyou (friends who will give forthright admonition) or even weiyou (friends with stern moral integrity), as defined by people of olden times.
这种朋友，有的知识丰富，有的人格高超，有的呢，“品学兼优”像一个模范生，
Of these friends, some are with profound knowledge, some with noble character, and still some with "both character and knowledge" like a good model student.
可惜美中不足，都缺乏那么一点儿幽默感，活泼不起来。
The pity is that these people have little sense of humor, seldom lively.
你总觉得，他身上有那么一个窍没有打通，因此无法豁然恍然，具备充分的现实感。
You are always feeling that there is something missing in him or her, so it is impossible for you feel that something suddenly dawns on him or her, or to have the necessary sense of reality.
跟他交谈，既不像打球那样，你来我往，此呼彼应，也不像滚雪球那样，把一个有趣的话题愈滚愈大，
Your chat with that person is not like playing basketball with the ball coming and going frequently between the players; neither is it like snowballing, getting the ball larger with each rolling.
精力过人的一类，只管自己发球，不管你接不接得住。
People who are extremely active only care about their serving of the ball, without considering whether you could get it or not.
消极的一类则以逸待劳，难得接你一球两球。
But the passive people are just the opposite, as they would be idle instead of being hardworking, and they seldom catch your ball.
无论对手是积极或消极，总之该你捡球，你不捡球，这场球是别想打下去的。
Whether they are active or passive, it is you who should always pick up the ball, and if you don't pick the ball up, the match will be very unlikely to go on.
这种畏友的遗憾，在于趣味太窄，所以跟你的“接触面”广不起来。
The pity of these friends with stern moral integrity is that their scope of interest is too narrow, and therefore, you cannot have a "wider contact" with them.
天下之大，他从城南到城北来找你的目的，只在讨论“死亡在法国现代小说中的特殊意义”，或是“爱斯基摩人对性生活的态度”。
The world is so big, but the sole purpose of his coming to you from one end of the city to the other is to discuss "the special significance of death in modern French novels", or "the attitude of the Eskimos towards sexual life".
为这种畏友捡一晚上的球，疲劳是可以想见的。
You can imagine how tiresome it is to pick up the ball the whole night for these friends.
这样的友谊有点像吃药，太苦了一点。
And friendship of this kind is something like taking medicine, which is a bit too bitter.
第三型，低级而有趣。
The third category: vulgar but humorous.
这种朋友极富娱乐价值，
Friends of this type are highly amusing.
说笑话，他最黄；说故事，他最像；消息，他最灵通；关系，他最广阔；好去处，他都去过；坏主意，他都打过。
When joking, they will offer you the most obscene; when telling stories, theirs will be the most vivid; when talking about rumors, they are the best-informed; when socializing, they are the most popular; they have been to all good places and they have nurtured all evil thoughts.
世界上任何话题他都接得下去，至于怎么接法，就不用你操心了。
There is no topic that they cannot say something about, but how they manage to do this is none of your business.
他的全部学问，就在不让外行人听出他没有学问。
Their learning lies in the way that no laymen will find that they are not knowledgeable.
至于内行人，世界上有多少内行人呢？
As to those who are adept …, but how many adept people have seen in this world?
所以他的马脚在许多客厅和餐厅里跑来跑去，并不怎么露眼。
That is why they can be active in the living room and the restaurant without letting the cat out of the bag.
这种人最会说话，餐桌上有了他，一定宾主尽欢，
These people have glib tongue, and if dining with others, both the host and the guests will be happy.
大家喝进去的美酒还不如听进去的美言那么“沁人心脾”。
What goes into the ear is much better than what goes into the mouth.
会议上有了他，再空洞的会议也会显得主题正确，内容充沛，没有白开。
If they were in a meeting, a least meaningful meeting would seem to be the most significant, full of content and instructive.
如果说，第二型的朋友拥有世界上全部的学问，独缺常识，
If the second category of people possess all the learning in the world but common sense, people of this category are just the other way round:
这一型的朋友则恰恰相反，拥有世界上全部的常识，独缺学问。
they possess all the common sense of the world but no true learning.
照说低级的人而有趣味，岂非低级趣味，你竟能与他同乐，
In the ordinary course of events, if vulgar people are humorous, their humor would be vulgar, so how can you share pleasure with them?
岂非也有低级趣味之嫌？
Or are you yourself vulgarly humorous?
不过人性是广阔的，
No. Human nature is heterogeneous.
谁能保证自己毫无此种不良的成分呢？
Who can pledge that you yourself are completely void of this unhealthy element?
如果要你做鲁滨逊，你会选第三型还是第二型的朋友做“礼拜五”呢？
If you wanted to be Robinson, which "Friday" would you like to choose, from the third category or from the second?
第四型，低级而无趣。
The fourth category: vulgar and humorless.
这种朋友，跟第一型的朋友一样少，或然率相当之低。
Friends of this type are as few as those of the first type, and the chances of meeting them are slim.
这种人当然自有一套价值标准，非但不会承认自己低级而无趣。
These people certainly have a set of principles of valuing things.
恐怕还自以为又高级又有趣呢？
Most likely they will not admit that they are vulgar and humorless, instead they will think that they are refined and humorous.
然则，余不欲与之同乐矣。
However, they are not the type of people that I will share pleasure with.
冯骥才 《春运是一种文化现象》
Spring Transport Is a Cultural Phenomenon
如今，报知春节迫近的已经不再是腊八粥的香味，而是媒体上充满压力的热火朝天的春运了。
Today, the advent of Spring Festival is no longer heralded by the aroma of laba porridge1, but by the hustle and bustle of Spring transport, or "Spring travel" from the passengers' point of view, that gets thickly covered in the media.
每入腊月，春运有如飓风来临，很快就势头变猛，愈演愈烈；
When the year enters its twelfth lunar month, "Spring transport" gets under way like a hurricane, gathering momentum each day.
及至腊月底那几天，春运可谓排山倒海，不可阻遏。
Toward the end of the month, it sweeps all over the country with an overwhelming force.
每每此时我都会想，世界上哪个国家有这种一年一度上亿人风风火火赶着回家过年的景象？
When this happens, I cannot help wondering if there is such a thing in any other country that, once a year, millions upon millions of people rush home for their New Year.
我们一直把春运当做一种客运交通的非常时期，并认为这是中国社会发展到现阶段千千万万农民进城打工带来的特殊的交通狂潮，
We look at "Spring transport" as a special period of passenger transport, and think of it as a crazy traffic torrent resulting from the movement of hundreds of thousands of rural people into the cities for employment, a phenomenon of China, characteristic of its development at current stage.
春运的任务只是想方设法完成这种举世罕见的客运重负。
The object of "Spring transport" is, by resorting to all kinds of resources available, to fulfill the unparalleled heavy task of taking the passengers to their destinations.
可是，如果换一双文化的眼睛，就会发现，春运真正所做的是把千千万万在外工作的人千里迢迢送回他们各自的家乡，去完成中国人数千年来的人间梦想：团圆。
However, if we perceive it as a cultural phenomenon, we will see that what "Spring transport" does is to take the people working elsewhere back home for family reunion, a highly cherished dream of the Chinese people over history.
前些年在火车站碰到的一个情景使我至今难忘。
I still remember an incident I witnessed at a railway station a few years ago.
大约是农历腊月二十九吧，
It was probably the day before the Eve of the Lunar New Year.
一个又矮又瘦的中年男子赶火车回家。
A short, thin middle-aged man was hurrying to catch a train home.
火车马上要开，车门已经关上。
As it was about to leave, all its doors closed,
这男子急了，大概他怕大年夜赶不回去，就爬车窗。
the man became so desperate that he began to climb in at a window, fearing that if he missed it, he would not be able to get home in time for the New Year's Eve.
按常规，月台上的值勤人员怕他出事，一定要拉他下来，车上的人一准也要把他往外推。
Usually, the platform workers on duty will pull him back for his safety, and the passengers in the car will push him out.
但此刻忽然反过来，
But what happened was the reverse.
车上的人一起往窗里拉他，月台上值勤人员则用力把他推进车窗。
The passengers inside began to drag him in, while the platform workers helped to push him in from outside.
那一刻，车上车下的人连同那中年男子都开心地笑，
The small adventure evoked hearty laughs in and out of the car, including the adventurer himself.
列车就载着这些笑脸轰隆隆开走了。
The train rumbled off, the car carrying a crowd of passengers with broad smiles on their faces.
为什么？
Why?
因为人们有着共同的情怀——回家过年。
It is the common sentimental desire – to go home for the Festival.
为此，每每望着春运期间人满为患的机场、车站和排成长龙的购票队伍，我都会为年文化在中国人身上这种刻骨铭心而感动。
So, when I find myself in an overcrowded airport or a railway station with long queues scrambling for tickets, I am simply moved by the festival culture deeply engraved in the minds of the people.
春运的人潮所洋溢的不正是年文化的精神核心——合家团聚吗？
Isn't the enthusiasm exhibited by the eddying crowds the core of the festive culture – family reunion?
还有哪一种文化能够一年一度调动起如此动情的千军万马？能够凸显故乡和家庭如此强大的亲和力？
Is there any other culture that can set so many people on the move around the country once a year who demonstrated so strong a sense of affinity with their hometowns and families?
春运是超大规模的农民进城打工带来的，没错。
"Spring transport" is brought about by the people from the country for employment in the cities. There is no doubt about it.
但它又是近二十年出现的最独特的一种文化现象。
But it is also a unique cultural phenomenon that has emerged in the past two decades.
因为民间文化是生活文化，它往往从生活的形态而非从纯文化的形态中表现出来，所以我们不会一下子认识到春运的文化内涵。
As folk culture reflects people's lives and is represented in the form of everyday life rather than of pure culture, we are not aware of its cultural connotations right away.
由此，我想到前些年每逢春节都会出现的一个话题，就是年的淡化。
This reminds me of a topic coming up during Spring Festival in the past few years: the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year is thinning out.
淡化的原因有二，
I think there are two possible causes for it.
一是生活方式的骤变，致使数千年里超稳定的生活中形成的严谨的年文化松解了，而一时又难以构成新的年文化体系，淡化的现象必然出现；
One is the change of life style, so fast that the well-fabricated festival culture, established on the basis of the super-stable life over the past several thousand years, is relaxing, and it is difficult to reconstruct a new one in a short time.
二是由于我们对年文化的无知，把传统习俗视为陈规旧习，认为可有可无，主动放弃，如燃放烟花炮竹和祭祖等等；甚至提倡休闲度假，或把春节变成西方的嘉年华。
The other is that, due to our misconceptions about the festival culture, we look at traditional customs as outmoded practices and cast them aside of our own accord, such as celebrations with fireworks and firecrackers, and sacrifices to ancestors, etc. Some people even advocate celebrating it as a leisure break, or simply transforming it into a western carnival.
失去了民俗的节日自然变得稀松平常。
A festival without folk customs would naturally become prosaic,
特别是有些民俗深刻嵌在人们的记忆里，
especially the ones embedded in people's memory.
一旦扔掉，无以填补。
Once they are cast aside, you cannot find substitutes for them.
应该说，这种主动地去瓦解自己的文化才是最致命的。
I should like to say that the breaking up of our culture by our own hand is most fatal.
记得十多年前看过一篇文章说，未来的春节将成为五花八门的多元节日之一，并预言它将不再是主角。
I remember an article I read about a decade ago, which predicted that the Spring Festival would become one of the multifarious festivals, and it would cease to be the annual principal one in China.
可是就在这时，春运形成了。
Just at this time, however, "Spring transport" came about.
五星级酒店里、歌舞厅和酒吧里、高尔夫球场上可以不要春节，但人们心中“年的情结”依然执着，
You can do without Spring Festival in five-star hotels, dance halls or bars, or on golf courses, but in the hearts of the people the festival complex still holds fast.
而且每逢春节就必然吐蕊开花——
When the Lunar New Year comes, the festival complex will be budding and blooming.
回家过年，亲人相聚，
People will go home to celebrate it and reunite with their families.
脱旧穿新，祈安道福，以心亲吻乡土里的根。
They will wear new clothes, pray for a peaceful happy life and kiss the earth of their hometown.
由于那时没有看到春运人潮中的文化心理与文化需求，也就想不到在社会转型时期怎样去保护传统，想不到在传统的年俗出现松解时应该做些什么。
Because we did not understand their cultural psychology and failed to meet their cultural needs, we had no idea how to preserve traditions when society was undergoing transformation and what to do when some traditional festival customs were thinning out.
现在明白了，年在人们心里并没有淡化，淡化的只是传统的方式与形态。
Now we understand that, in the hearts of the people, the Spring Festival is not thinning out; what is thinning out is the declining old ways and forms of celebrations.
周作人 《故乡的野菜》
Wild Vegetables of My Home Region
我的故乡不止一个，
I call more than one place my home.
凡我住过的地方都是故乡。
Every place I have lived is my home.
故乡对于我并没有什么特别的情分，只因钓于斯游于斯的关系，
I feel no special love for my home, only because I go there to fish and swim.
朝夕会面，遂成相识，正如乡村里的邻舍一样，
I meet my home in the morning and in the evening and then I make acquaintance with it little by little, like with a neighbor in the same village.
虽然不是亲属，别后有时也要想念到他。
Although it is not my relative, sometimes it comes into mind since I have left the village.
我在浙东住过十几年，南京东京都住过六年，这都是我的故乡，
I have lived over ten years in the eastern part of Zhejiang province, then six years each in Nanking and Tokyo, all of these places I would call home.
现在住在北京，于是北京就成了我的家乡了。
Now I live in Peking, and this city also has turned into my home.
日前我的妻往西单市场买菜回来，说起有荠菜在那里卖着，
Recently my wife came back from the Xidan market and said they were selling Jicai there.
我便想起浙东的事来。
That reminded me of a tradition in the eastern part of Zhejiang province.
荠菜是浙东人春天常吃的野菜，乡间不必说，
Jicai is a wild vegetable that people often eat in spring there, particularly in the countryside.
就是城里只要有后园的人家都可以随时采食，
Even in the city, people with gardens can pick it and eat it any time.
妇女小儿各拿一把剪刀一只“苗篮”，蹲在地上搜寻，
With a pair of scissors and a "harvest basket" in each hand, women and children squat and search for it on the ground.
是一种有趣味的游戏的工作。
What interesting and enjoyable work!
那时小孩们唱道：“荠菜马兰头，姊姊嫁在后门头。”
In these times the children sang, "Horse-orchid-header and Jicai, the older sister marries the neighbor.
后来马兰头有乡人拿来进城售卖了，但荠菜还是一种野菜，须得自家去采。
"Later the farmers bring Horse-orchid-header to the city market, but Jicai still remains a type of wild vegetable, that is not sold, but is collected by oneself.
关于荠菜向来颇有风雅的传说，不过这似乎以吴地为主。
Since time immemorial, there are legends about the Jicai, mainly in the south.
《西湖游览志》云：“三月三日男女皆戴荠菜花。
In the Trip to the West Lake, it says, "On the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar, all women and men wear blooms of the Jicai.
谚云：三春戴养花，桃李羞繁华。”
There is a saying: In the three months of spring, one wears the bloom of the Jicai, that bursts more powerfully into bloom than peach and plum blossoms."
顾禄的《清嘉录》上亦说，“荠菜花俗呼野菜花，
Also in the Records of Qing Jia from Gu Lu, it says, "Jicai popularly is also called wild vegetable flower.
因谚有三月三蚂蚁上灶山之语，三日人家皆以野菜花置灶陉上，以厌虫蚁。
Because there is a saying, that the ants scrawl over the stove on the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar, people put the flower of this will vegetable in the cooking plate on this day in order to keep away the ants.
清晨村童叫卖不绝。
In the village children call out to sell these blossoms in the morning.
或妇女簪髻上以祈清目，
The women wear them in their hair hoping for bright shining eyes.
俗号眼亮花。”
Therefore this bloom popularly is also called ‘bright eye'."
但浙东人却不很理会这些事情，
But the people in the eastern part of Zhejiang province heed these beliefs less.
只是挑来做菜或炒年糕吃罢了。
They only collect it in order to prepare meals with it or to use it as an ingredient in their New Year's Day cakes.
黄花麦果通称鼠曲草，系菊科植物，
The yellow-blooming-wheat-fruit, also called dysentery herb, belongs to the chrysanthemum family.
叶小微圆互生，表面有白毛，
Its small, round leaves have a fuzzy, white texture and grow in pairs on either side of the stem.
花黄色，簇生梢头。
Its flowers are yellow and grow only at the tip of the branches.
春天采嫩叶，捣烂去汁，
In the spring, people pick its young leaves, grind them, and skim off the juice.
和粉作糕，称黄花麦果糕。
They then add flour to the juice and bake it to make a yellow-blooming-wheat-fruitcake.
小孩们有歌赞美之云：
This fruit is praised in a children's song:
黄花麦果韧结结，
The yellow-blooming wheat fruits are tough,
关得大门自要吃，
I shut the front door and eat it:
半块拿弗出，
Half a piece I cannot pass up on,
一块自要吃。
I eat a whole piece of fruit on my own.
清明前后扫墓时，有些人家——大约是保存古风的人家——用黄花麦果作供，
When they remember a deceased person, standing beside his grave on "All Souls' day", some families—presumably those which uphold old traditions—bring the yellow-blooming wheat fruits.
但不作饼状，做成小颗如指顶大，或细条如小指，
Instead of cakes they make them into either pearls the size of fingertips, or into thin rolls that look like small fingers.
以五六个作一攒，名曰茧果，
Five or six of them together form a so-called cocoon fruit.
不知是什么意思，
I don't exactly know its meaning.
或因蚕上山时设祭，也用这种食品，故有是称，
Maybe this food is so named deliberately in order to remind people that the silkworms spin their cocoons during the sacrificial times.
亦未可知。
Nobody knows why for certain.
自从十二三岁时外出不参与外祖家扫墓以后，不复见过茧果，
Since I left home when I was 12 or 13, I stopped taking part in the All Soul's commemorations and stopped seeing the cocoon fruits.
近来住在北京，也不再见黄花麦果的影子了。
Since I moved to Peking, I haven't seen any of the yellow-blooming-wheat-fruit.
日本称做“御形”，与荠菜同为春天的七草之一，
In Japan, its name is "Go-gyo" (imperial appearance) and it belongs, like the Jicai, to the seven spring-herbs.
也采来做点心用，状如艾饺，名曰“草饼”，
The Japanese create snacks like mugwort dumpling out of it, that they call "herb-cakes".
春分前后多食之，
One eats it most often during the time of the Spring Equinox.
在北京也有，但是吃去总是日本风味，不复是儿时的黄花麦果糕了。
The herb-cakes in Peking always taste Japanese, no longer like the yellow-blooming-wheat-fruitcake of my childhood.
扫墓时候所常吃的还有一种野菜，俗称草紫，通称紫云英。
During "All Soul's day," one often eats another type of wild vegetable at the gravesite, Chinese tragant, popularly called herb purple.
农人在收获后，播种田内，用做肥料，是一种很被贱视的植物，
After the harvest, the farmers plant these herbs to fertilize the field, but they don't appreciate the plants many other good qualities.
但采取嫩茎滴食，
Its delicate stalk is edible.
味颇鲜美，似豌豆苗。
It is very palatable, it has a delicious taste similar to the pea-sprouts.
花紫红色，数十亩接连不断，一片锦绣，如铺着华美的地毯，非常好看，
Clustered in field, its flowers form a rich purple red carpet larger than a hectare.
而且花朵状若蝴蝶，又如鸡雏，
The shapes of the flowers resemble butterflies or chickens.
尤为小孩所喜，
Children enjoy them above all.
间有白色的花，相传可以治痢。
Occasionally one finds a rare white Chinese tragant.
很是珍重，但不易得。
They are very precious, according to the traditions, they can heal dysentery.
日本《俳句大辞典》云：“此草与蒲公英同是习见的东西，从幼年时代便已熟识。
In the Japanese Large Dictionary of the Pai-sentences, it says, "As common as a dandelion, people have become familiar with it since their childhoods."
在女人里边，不曾采过紫云英的人，恐未必有罢。”
There is probably no woman who has never picked Chinese tragant.
中国古来没有花环，
In ancient China, flower-wreaths were unknown.
但紫云英的花球却是小孩常玩的东西，这一层我还替那些小人们欣幸的。
But children now make wreaths with balls of Chinese tragant blossoms, that they also enjoy playing with.
浙东扫墓用鼓吹，所以少年常随了乐音去看“上坟船里的姣姣”；
In the eastern part of Zhejiang province, one uses drums and wind instruments at the commemoration at the gravesite, so that young men can follow the sounds of the music and find the "beautiful girls driving with the boat to the grave."
没有钱的人家虽没有鼓吹，但是船头上篷窗下总露出些紫云英和杜鹃的花束，
Poor families admittedly have not drums—and no wind instruments, but one can see some bouquets of Chinese tragant and azaleas on the tip of their boats and beneath the windows.
这也就是上坟船的确实的证据了。
These bouquets also decoratively identify these boats.
周作人 《北京的茶食》
The Tea Pastries of Peking
在东安市场的旧书摊上买到一本日本文章家五十岚力的《我的书翰》，
From a secondhand book stall in the Dongan Market, I bought a copy of My Books and Writings written by the Japanese writer Igarashi.
中间说起东京的茶食店的点心都不好吃了，只有几家如上野山下的空也，还做得好点心，
In it, Igarashi suggested that tea pastries served in the in the pastry shops of Tokyo were no longer very good, with a few notable exceptions such as those found in shops at the foot of Ueno Mountain.
吃起来馅和糖及果实浑然融合，在舌头上分不出各自的味来。
There, one could still find such fine delicacies where filling, sugar and nuts blend on the tongue in a unified splendor.
想起德川时代江户的二百五十年的繁华，当然有这一种享乐的流风余韵留传到今日，虽然比起京都来自然有点不及。
It is no wonder that, after the two hundred and fifty years of Edo’s flourishing, during the Kamakura period, there still lingers an aroma of its luscious past, even if it may not measure up to Kyoto.
北京建都已有五百余年之久，论理于衣食住方面应有多少精微的造就，
One would expect that Peking, the capital for more than five hundred years, would itself have much to offer by way of achievements in style, taste and accommodations.
但实际似乎并不如此，郎以茶食而论，
The reality, however, is seemingly different, a view inspired by tasting the city’s tea pastries.
就不曾知道什么特殊的有滋味的东西。
To this day I have yet to taste any pastries worthy of merit.
固然我们对于北京情形不甚熟悉，只是随便撞进一家悸悸铺里去买一点来吃，但是就撞过的经验来说，总没有很好吃的点心买到过。
Admittedly, we are not all that familiar with Peking, but whenever I’ve happened to enter a pastry shop for a bite to eat, I have not once managed to buy anything I would consider tasting good.
难道北京竟是没有好的茶食，还是有而我们不知道呢？
Is it possible that Peking has no delicious pastries to offer, or is it that we just don’t know where they are?
这也未必全是为贪口腹之欲，总觉得住在古老的京城里吃不到包含历史的精炼的或颓废的点心是一个很大的缺陷。
My attention to this is not merely a function of my discerning taste; I just feel a great sense of regret if I cannot enjoy a pastry which embodies some historical character—refined or decadent—in this ancient capital.
北京的朋友们，能够告诉我两三家做得上好点心的饽饽铺么？
So, my Peking friends, could you direct me to a shop that serves really palatable pastries?
我对于二十世纪的中国货色，有点不大喜欢，粗恶的模仿品，美其名曰国货，要卖得比外国货更贵些。
I bear a bit of dislike for so-called twentieth-century Chinese stuff; the goods are labeled soundingly “Make in China” but are actually vulgar imitations more expensive than those from abroad.
新房子里卖的东西，便不免都有点怀疑，
As for the things being sold in these new-fashioned stores, I cannot help but be a bit leery.
虽然这样说好像遗老的口吻，
Though I may sound old-fashioned, it may seem that I am reacting against wickered tendencies.
但总之关于风流享乐的事我是颇迷信传统的。
I must admit that I do have a kind of blind faith in tradition.
我在西四牌楼以南走过，望着异馥斋的丈许高的独木招牌，不禁神往，
When walking south of the Xisi triumphal arche, looking up and seeing the wooden, three feet long sign of the Yifu Bakery, I am irresistibly charmed.
因为这不但表示他是义和团以前的老店，那模糊阴暗的字迹又引起我一种焚香静坐的安闲而丰腴的生活的幻想。
Not only does the sign mark the shop as predating the Boxer Rebellion, the dimly carved words on the sign also convey a kind of quiet gloom reminiscent of a life of leisure and plenty, of meditation amidst a haze of burning incense.
我不曾焚过什么香，却对于这件事很有趣味，然而终于不敢进香店去，因为怕他们在香盒上已放着花露水与日光皂了。
Although I have never done it, I would be interested in burning incense, though I would never dare enter an incense store nowadays for fear that they put bottles of toilet water and bars of soap on their incense boxes.
我们于日用必需的东西以外，必须还有一点无用的游戏与享乐，
In addition to the daily necessities, I also need a bit of play and pleasure beyond utility.
生活才觉得有意思。
Only with these would life be more fun.
我们看夕阳，看秋河，看花，听雨，闻香，
I watch the setting sun, the autumn river, the flowers; I listen to the raindrops and smell their fragrance.
喝不求解渴的酒，吃不求饱的点心，
I drink not for thirst alone but for pleasure, and eat pastries for satisfaction and not mere hunger.
都是生活上必要的--虽然是无用的装点，
All of these are indispensable to life though to some they are just some “useless” decorations.
而且是愈精炼愈好。
The fancier the better if one were to ask me.
可怜现在的中国生活，却是极端地干燥粗鄙，
It is a pity that life in today’s China has become so extremely dull and vulgar.
别的不说，我在北京彷惶了十年，终未曾吃到好点心。
I won’t get into it more than to say that in ten years of wandering around Peking, I have yet to find satisfaction with any delicious pastries.
周作人 《美文》
The Aesthetic Essay
外国文学里有一种所谓论文，其中大约可以分作两类。
In foreign literature there is the so-called lunwen (treatises), which is roughly divided into two groups:
一批评的，是学术性的。
the reflecting ones, piping (critical), are scientific articles.
二记述的，是艺术性的，又称作美文。
The others are jishu (descriptive) and yishuxing (artistic), they are also called meiwen (aesthetic essay).
这里边又可以分出叙事与抒情，
Within these texts, one can distinguish between xushi (narrative) and shuqing (lyric).
但也很多两者夹杂的。
But there are also many mixed texts.
这种美文似乎在英语国民里最为发达，
It seems to me, that in the field of the aesthetic essay, English literature has achieved the greatest success.
如中国所熟知的爱迭生，阑姆，欧文，霍桑诸人都做有很好的美文，
For example, Joseph Addison, Charles Lamb, Robert Owen, and Nathaniel Hawthorne are all well known for their aesthetic essays.
近时高尔斯威西，吉欣，契斯透顿也是美文的好手。
In addition, the younger generation including John Gabsworthy, George Robert Gissing, and Gilbert Keith Chesterton is elegant in writing aesthetic essays.
读好的论文，如读散文诗，因为他实在是诗与散文中间的桥。
Reading a good treatise is just as enjoyable as reading a sanwenshi (prose-poem), because the latter accurately acts as a bridge between poetry and prose.
中国古文里的序，记与说等，也可以说是美文的一类。
In the three genres of pre-modern literature xu (foreword), ji (record), and shuo (explanations) one can also see forms of the aesthetic essay.
但在现代的国语文学里，还不曾见有这类文章，
But in modern literature so far aesthetical wenzhang (essay) have yet to appear.
治新文学的人为什么不去试试呢？
Why don't the people that shape the New Literature try to write it?
我以为文章的外形与内容，的确有点关系，
In my opinion, there is a relationship between an essay's form and its content.
有许多思想，既不能作为小说，又不适于做诗，(此只就体裁上说，若论性质则美文也是小说，小说也就是诗，
Many ideas, that cannot be expressed in either a poem or story, can still be expressed in a treatise. Here, the word "treatise" refers to its literary form. Because of its essence, the aesthetic essay belongs to the story, and the story is nothing else but a poem.
《新青年》上库普林作的《晚间的来客》，可为一例，)便可以用论文式去表他。
An example for this is "The guest in the evening" by Alexander Kiprin, which appeared in the New Youth.
他的条件，同一切文学作品一样，只是真实简明便好。
As in other works of literature, truth, simplicity and clarity are the prerequisites.
我们可以看了外国的模范做去，但是须用自己的文句与思想，不可去模仿他们。
We can imitate the foreign form of aesthetic essays, but we can never copy them, because we have to express our own thoughts in our own sentences.
《晨报》上的浪漫谈，以前有几篇倒有点相近，
Articles similar to these were published in the rubric "On romanticism" of the Morning Post some time ago.
但是后来(恕我直说)落了窠臼，
But later (please excuse my openness) they returned to the restrictions of the old norms again.
用上多少自然现象的字面，衰弱的感伤的口气，不大有生命了。
However natural they might have appeared upon a first glance, they did not show any strong vitality with their weakened, sad and sentimental styles.
我希望大家卷土重来，给新文学开辟出一块新的土地来，
I hope that the aesthetical essay is encouraged to come back, and will open up a new field for the New Literature.
岂不好么？
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
林巍 《注意力的质量》
Quality of Attention
人们接收外部的信息，靠的是注意力；而注意力是有质量的——这决定了对所接收信息的处理、储存及提取的质量。
Information is received into our sensory system by attention and its quality determines how well it will be processed, stored and retrieved afterward.
同样的信息，对于不同的人，所吸引的注意力是不同的。
The same information may attract different forms and levels of attention from different people.
为什么有时会过目不忘，有时则又视若罔闻？
We may all have experienced times when information has been photographically retained, or ignored.
有的细节会记忆深刻，有的部分却又全无印象？
It may be vividly imbedded in detail, or discarded as we turn a blind eye.
人接收的事物，都是经过注意力筛选的；注意力的质量，离不开注意力的选择与分配。
All information we receive in fact is filtered by our attention, and the way to select and distribute attention determines its quality.
对我们注意力产生影响的，有兴趣、经历、能力、情绪、知识结构、环境及时间等等；这些因素的综合搭配，产生了不同效果，有时相差甚远。
Factors affecting our attention are personal interest, experience, ability, emotion, knowledge structure, environment and timing and so on, and the combination of these may lead to results which are sometimes vastly divergent.
一个人的注意力，在一定时段内，其总量是有限的，是个“常数”；
A person's attention capacity as a "constant" is limited within a certain time-span.
但在具体的环节上，又是可以相对集中的，是个“变数”，可“以局部优势”解决问题。
In dealing with certain issues, however, it can be organized as a "variable", concentrating on a targeted area by its comparative edge.
所以，我们常可以见到，智力看似平平的人，可以在某些方面有着超群的表现——注意力的合理分配，不能不说是其中的一个要素。
Therefore, it is not surprising to observe that somebody with an average intelligence can have an outstanding performance in certain fields, supported presumably by a rational attention distribution, psychologically speaking.
有人认为，要做翻译主要得学好外语。
Learning translation has long been regarded as learning a foreign language, which is not wrong but is not in itself adequate.
固然不错，但这还只是注意力分配中的一部分，还有两部分——母语的质量和在两种语言间转换的质量。
Concerning the quality of attention, the package should include foreign language, mother tongue and the convertibility between the two languages.
特别是在口译中，注意力合理分配的作用就更加突出。
When it comes to oral interpretation, rational attention distribution plays an even more crucial role.
令人欣慰的是，在生理学上讲，人的注意力是可以塑造、训练和加强的。
The good news is that biologically speaking, a person's attention can be shaped, trained and strengthened by effective exercises.
所以，不断提高我们注意力的质量，是个值得重视的问题。
With that in mind, we should constantly improve the quality of our attention.
吴冠中 《夕阳与晨曦》
Sunrise vs. Sunset
诗人却钟情于夕阳，吟唱：夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。
Poets love sunset, chanting: "O, the splendor of sunset, only to be marred by the approach of night."
画家爱画夕阳，只惑于眼前景色，未必缘于诗人的感伤。
So do painters, although usually for a different reason—they're only triggered by the visual impact itself, not by a deep feeling for departing beauty.
我有时下午一点钟便背着画箱出发，赶到那遥远的高地或海岸，早早守候着，准备捕捉无限好的夕阳。
Sometimes I will set off at one in the afternoon, with the painter's box on my back, towards the highland or the seashore, waiting to capture the splendor of sunset.
日西斜，我和我已支撑开的画架的投影不断伸长的时候，
As the fiery ball sinks to its daily doom, the shadows of my own figure and the easel I had brought were increasingly lengthened on the sandy ground.
明蓝的天空渐渐转向紫蓝，紫红，
The sky, once so blue, turns a purplish blue and then a purplish red.
于是晚霞满天，
It soon changes into a vast expanse of multihued clouds.
满天的晚霞卫护着，隐蔽着太阳归去。
Escorted by them, the sun disappears below the horizon.
日落西山，黑夜很快就吞噬了眼前的世界。
Darkness finally falls, engulfing everything within its sphere.
这瞬息万变的夕照与晨曦同样不易绘画，
This fleeting splendor is just as hard to catch in a painting as daybreak.
摄影师捕获的夕阳也往往与晨曦不易区分。
Sunset glows captured by a photographer are, too, hardly distinguishable from the first glimmer of day.
莫奈的名作《日出的印象》似乎也可混淆为日落的印象。
Even Monet's renowned piece, "Impressions, Sunrise (Impression, Soleil Levant)," can easily be mistaken for a sunset scene.
殷红的太阳在地平线上升起来，又在地平线上沉落下去，
A bright sunrise, after all, isn't that different from a bright sunset.
她在太空中放出的热与光芒原是一样的，
The sun emits the same heat and splendor whether it's sunrise or sundown.
只是由于地面上早晚热量发散的差异，显示了不同的天际色彩反映。
Only due to the different ways heat spreads on the earth's surface in the early mornings and late afternoons, different hues are seen around the horizon at different times of day.
晨曦的背景略偏温凉，偏冷调，夕阳则沐浴于温暖的氛围中。
The background for first streaks of daylight tends to be lukewarm or chilly, whereas the setting sun is usually immersed in an aura of profuse warmth.
这些微妙的色调变化对画家最敏感，但笔底的色调却还是难于到位，
A painter can be sensitive enough to such slight variations in tone, but sometimes he finds it hard to adjust them to his satisfaction.
故人们往往不易区别作品中表现的是晨曦还是夕阳。
The subtle difference between sunrise and sundown is hard to define anyway.
然而人生的晨曦与夕阳却是那么分明，会有人错认青春与迟暮吗？
However, the distinction between sunrise and sundown in a man's life is clear-cut.
人们爱晨曦，也爱夕阳。
Nobody will confuse senility with the flowering of youth.
人们爱青春，也爱迟暮吗？
People can love both sunrise and sundown.
旭日东升，夕阳西下，
But whereas they love youth, do they also love old age?
虽相隔只12个小时，短短的12个小时，但她们永远不会相见。
There is only a gap of twelve hours between sunrise and sundown, yet the one will never have the chance to greet the other.
有人幻想晨曦与夕阳有朝一日碰面了，
Well-intentioned people like to imagine a meeting of the two.
那将是怎样的欢欣啊!
How wonderful if this fantasy could become a reality!
那是青春与迟暮的拥抱，人之始与人之终的交接，父与子的继承。
It would be a hug between youth and age, the beginning of a human life linking hands with its end, the continuation of a father's existence through is son's flesh and blood.
太阳，独自悠悠在寰宇循行，无端被晨曦和夕阳各分了一半，
The sun, traveling alone across the heavenly dome, is bound to be split up, with one half of it going to dawn, and the other half, dusk.
难道只是缘于对人生朝暮的呼应？
Doesn't this coincide with the futility of life's sunrise and sundown trying to look each other in the face?
吴冠中 《都市之夜》
A City Night
“红灯区，绿灯区，人间甘苦，都市之夜入画图。”
"Red-light district or green-light district, men's joy and misery are all told in a night-scene painting."
这是我对自己80年代所作油画《香港夜景》的画外题词。
These are the words I added to the piece I did during the 1980s, "A Night in Hong Kong."
自50年代别离了巴黎的霓虹灯，30年来没有见过城市的花花世界。
Since I parted with Paris's neon lights in the 1950s, I had lived away from cosmopolitan glamour for about thirty years.
80年代突然从北京来到繁华的香港，
Then suddenly, I found myself in a prosperous Hong Kong of the 80s, far removed from Beijing's quietude.
却首先想到红灯背后的苦难的人群，享乐的人们，人生的纷乱。
Despite that initial shock, what subsequently crossed my mind were still life's sufferings, joy and clutter, be it in Hong Kong or anywhere else.
不同于夜晚的彩色缤纷，白天从高楼上看香港，满眼楼房屋宇，道路奔驰，
Looking down from a skyscraper during the day, with blocks of buildings rising over each other, and streets and roads crisscrossing amongst them, I was a Hong Kong different from the one at its varicolored self at night.
密密层层的线、面交错，构成直与曲的协奏。
Lines and planes overlapped and were tightly knit together, creating a concord of straightness and curviness.
我用线勾勒那天旋地转的海市蜃楼，
I used lines to sketch the contours of this swirling mirage.
画面已经密不通风了，更加彩点击节，煞是热闹。
Upon the already overloaded picture, I threw colored dots here and there to highlight all that hustle and bustle.
90年代初，香港土地发展公司邀我前去画“吴冠中眼中的香港”专题，
In the early 1990s, the Land Development Corporation in Hong Kong invited me to paint a "Hong Kong in Guangdong Wu's Eyes."
画了一个月的素材，
I did my rough drawing for a whole month.
返京后用油彩及水墨表现香港的旧貌与新装，及用水墨表现夜香港，却屡屡失败。
After I was back in Beijing, I tried using both oil and ink colors to depict a Hong Kong at once new and old, as well as ink colors to show it at night, but without success.
水墨之优势在于渲染，所谓水墨淋漓。
The advantage of ink and wash lies in its use of bold colors, or what we call "a profuse spattering of water ink."
昏昏暗暗的一片水墨夜色中浮现灯光闪烁，
Lights flicker amid a murky expanse of ink-and-wash night.
总嫌太弱，
Wouldn't that look too weak?
易落入灯光渔火之冷落旧腔。
Besides, such a scene fell into the stereotype of twinkling lights and fishing fires, all too familiar to the Chinese eye to be truly creative.
我作了各种探索，竭力想表现夜都市之亮度。
I wavered between different tricks, trying to bring out a brightness that would match the metropolis's night.
中国水墨画虽着重讲究所谓笔墨，但这只属局部表现手法中的变化，
Notwithstanding traditional Chinese painting's stress on "ink-splashing," it is, after all, a technique used for local variation.
大部分作品挂上墙后，因缺乏强力的整体效果，显得极其虚弱，观众享受不到视觉美感。
Once they are hung on the wall, due to the lack of a compelling overall effect, they mostly look very feeble, incapable of arousing a desire for aesthetic appreciation in the viewer.
我竭力在构架方面经营，我感到传统水墨特别在构架方面日趋衰颓，弱不禁风。
I am keenly aware of the constant decline of traditional ink painting, especially insofar as its general layout is concerned, and I've been trying to find a way out.
要讲构架，必须重视整体面积的分割，
Artists must give due attention to planar partitioning for an overall effect.
不可浪费画面方寸之地，
We should not waste any of the space available on paper.
我不让自己的作品留有多余的或非属结构的空白，
I, for one, make a point of leaving no unnecessary or nonstructural space when painting.
尽力追求画幅上墙后的视觉效果。
I'm all for the visual effect of a painting, focusing on how it will look after it gets hung on the wall.
以上这些构想和因素无意中都体现在这幅1997年所作的水墨《都市之夜》中。
These thoughts and factors have all been unwittingly embodied in this piece, "A City Night," done in 1997.
我首先着力于浓墨粗笔的横与直的交错，楼层间参差错落的错觉，似楼非楼都是楼，
First of all, I used heavy strokes to show crisscrossing vertical and horizontal lines and building's varying heights, enhancing a feeling of dreamy soulfulness.
前楼后楼碰撞不相让，
Front and back buildings collide without yielding.
极目层楼，谁主沉浮，顶天立地争春秋。
Looking across the rooftops, one might feel lost as to which of all the buildings were the highest.
其实画面表现的是楼群之整体而非具体的楼与楼的加法，
In fact, the painting is intended to show the cluster of buildings as a whole, not buildings individually.
因而其中并无某一座具体而独立的楼，
There is no concrete or isolated building.
而且也不是香港，
For that matter, the scene is not taken from Hong Kong.
不是东京，不是纽约，不是北京、上海或深圳。
It is not taken from Tokyo, New York, Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen.
大点小点，是窗是户，非窗非户，都属楼形之辅助，线、面之帮腔。
The dots, big or small, are windows but at the same time no windows at all—they are symbolic additions to symbolic buildings and "servants" of lines and planes.
那浓重的红、黄、绿色块色点，跳跃着镶嵌在黑、白、灰的层面上，
Those heavy red, yellow or green patches and dots are vividly inlaid on planar layers of black, white and gray.
是夜之眼，灯红酒绿的喷发，画面的最强音。
They are evening's eyes and the strongest touches of the whole picture.
积累多次表现夜都市的成败，这幅作于78岁的《都市之夜》，可说体现了我对中国画现代化的观念，
Drawing lessons from past attempts to show a metropolis's night, this piece, done at age 78, embodies my perspective on how to modernize Chinese painting.
透露了我所感到的芸芸众生的挣扎之苦乐，
Meanwhile, it bespeaks ordinary mortals' joy and sorrow as I feel both.
时代飞速变化，令人目眩。
Time elapses at a dizzying speed, indeed.
怕伞的姑娘
The Girl Who Feared an Umbrella
林枕客
Lin Chen-ko
女孩子如有特癖，出嫁后非常痛苦。
A girl with idiosyncrasies often suffers greatly after getting married.
在家时，父母会容忍她的特癖，
While at home, she would not be unbearable, for all her personal peculiarities, to her parents.
但婚后丈夫未必能谅解她，
But it is not probable that her spouse would understand her.
这里有一个悲剧为例证：
Here is a tragic case to illustrate the truth:
有个女人，名陈竹竹。
There was a girl whose name was Chen Chu-chu.
她跟一个二十岁的青年吴铭结婚。
She was married to Wu Ming, a young man twenty years old.
过了一个秋天，生活都很愉快。
Their married life was full of happiness during the first autumn.
入冬雨季却带来了悲剧：
But the rainy season of winter brought them unexpected misfortunes.
她上班去，穿雨衣走，
One day when she was setting for her office, she put on her raincoat.
吴铭要她再带把伞，她不肯，说她从来不用伞。
Her husband asked her to take an umbrella along; but she refused, saying she had never used an umbrella.
他实在太爱她，便拿把美丽雨伞交给她，
As he loved her very much, he handed her a beautiful umbrella.
她一触到伞柄，状极惊恐，急推地上。
As soon as she touched its handle, she dazed with horror, threw it on the ground.
吴铭大为骇异，便问：“竹竹！
“What’ up, my dear?
你怎么啦……”
asked her husband, greatly perplexed.
“我害怕……”竹竹说。
“I’m afraid of ……” said the wife.
“雨伞有什么可怕呢？”吴铭问。
“There’s nothing to be afraid of in an umbrella, is there?” said Wu Ming.
竹竹默然不答。
Chu-chu remained silent.
青年人意气刚强，他的太太越怕伞，他越要给她伞，企图改变她的怪癖。
As young men are very obstinate, Wu Ming insisted upon his wife’s taking with her umbrella, in order to do away with her peculiarity.
竹竹在他的情感威严的压力下，不得不拿，
Because of his affection for her and in deference to his wishes, Chu-chu had to take it.
可是，她每提起伞，都要惊哭一阵，昏厥过去为止。
But every time she took the umbrella, she was horrified, burst into tears and fainted.
这件事屡屡发生后，竹竹终于向法院请求离婚，
This happened so often that Chu-chu at last had to appeal to the court for a divorce.
理由是：不堪丈夫虐待，
Her reason was that she could not stand the ill-treatment of her husband.
饱受强迫提伞的苦刑。
He tortured her by forcing her to take an umbrella.
当法官在庭上听吴铭申诉竹竹下雨不肯带伞的事，觉得很希奇。
On hearing the statement of the husband the judge felt it was rather odd.
便问竹竹，她说生平怕伞，其夫偏用伞来恐吓她，不胜惊扰之苦，非离异不可。
In answer to the judge’s inquiry, Chu-chu said that as her husband terrified her with an umbrella and made her suffer a great deal, she had to divorce him.
法官不信，令刑事取伞给她，果见她吓得脸色发青，掩面大哭。
The judge did not believe it and ordered an umbrella to be brought to her, which indeed made her turn pale and weep bitterly.
法官认为她有神经病，吴铭加以否认说，她除怕雨伞之外，其他完全正常。
The judge thought she was neurotic, but her husband denied it, saying that she was normal with everything except with the umbrella.
这一对好夫妇终于双方同意地离婚了。
Consequently the well-matched couple agreed to put an end to their marriage.
离婚后，陈竹竹的生活正常，当然心情枯寂悲愁，
After the separation Chen Chu-chu lived a normal life, though she felt very lonesome and miserable.
幸而，嗣后，她遇见了救星，一个精神学家替她揭去内心之谜。
Before long, to her relief, there came an alienist, who solved the riddle of her fear of umbrellas.
原来陈竹竹幼年失母，她的继母冷酷无情，
It was said that Chen Chu-chu lost her mother when she was only a few years old, and was brought up by her step-mother who was very severe to her.
竹竹在七岁时，每天上学，没有鞋穿，没有书包用，也没有一把伞，下大雨，就不上学。
At seven, she went to school every day without shoes or bag.
有一天适逢学校大考，
As no umbrella was given her, she was obliged to stay at home if it rained heavily.
偏偏天下大雨，
One day, it was raining cats and dogs.
她不能去，
But she had to go to school for her final examinations.
情急了，偷了继母的雨伞走。
Under mental stress, she stole her step-mother’s umbrella, and was ready to go.
一撑开伞，她吓坏了，伞里爬出一条青蛇，立即昏迷过去。
But alas! When she opened the umbrella, there crawled out a green snake which terrified her and made her faint on the spot.
从此以后，有个恐怖的观念占据着她的；
Since then, a certain terror had dominated her thoughts.
至今长大，她仍怕伞，但已忘其所以然了。
She was now a grown-up woman, but she still feared the umbrella, though she could not tell why she was afraid of it.
心理学家用“联想法”使她回想起当年旧事，再以“提示法”剔除她内心所潜伏的顽固意识。
The psychologist used the method of association to make her recollect the bygones, and then, by means of “suggestion”, got rid of the obstinacy hidden in her mind.
最后，当她听见心理学家亲切的声音：“你也可以有一把伞，像任何人一样。”
At length, she heard the psychologist say in a kind voice: “Like everyone else, you too may have an umbrella.”
她何等惊喜！
How glad she was to hear this!
在医师协助下，她伸出发抖的手，握住伞
With the help of the doctor, she held out her trembling hand and took the umbrella.
，撑开来，她觉得那是多么新奇、安全、有趣的伞呀！
Opening it, she felt it was so novel, interesting, and there was nothing treacherous in it.
她忽感到一阵害羞袭来，急把伞儿遮住脸。
With shyness she hid her face behind the umbrella.
老与少
Old Age and Young
喻血轮
Yu Xuelun
老年为少年之过来人，少年为老年之候补者，
The aged are the antecedents of the young, and the young are the candidates of the aged.
老与少，只不过时间上之差别而已。
The difference between age and youth is only a matter of time.
然中国习惯，对老少之间，往往划有无形界限。
But, according to the Chinese custom, there is always an invisible line of demarcation between them.
在客观上，有时重老而轻少，有时重少而轻老。
Objectively speaking, sometimes the aged are held in esteem and the young are made light of; sometimes it is just the other way round.
在主观上，老者自恃其老，少年自矜其少。
Subjectively speaking, the aged are self-conceited because of their good old age, while the young think no small beer of their own youth.
几千年来，遂形成老者自以为持重练达，而菲薄少年为少不更事；而少年自以为新锐精进，而輘轹老者为老朽昏庸。
For thousands of years it has been assumed that the aged, thinking themselves experienced and more skillful, look down upon the young for their greenness in worldly affairs, while the young, thinking themselves fresh in life and more energetic, call the aged old fogies.
此真所谓偏颇两失之见也！
Either of these views, of course, is far from being impartial.
曩梁任公在其《少年中国》一文中，对老年人与少年人曾有一适当对比。
Liang Qi-chao in an article entitled “Young China” made a proper contrast between the aged and the young.
其言曰：“老年人如夕照，少年人如朝阳；
He said: “The old man is like the setting sun; the young man, the morning sun.
老年人如瘠牛，少年人如乳虎；
The old man is like a lean ox; the young man, a cub tiger.
老年人如僧，少年人如侠；
The old man is like a monk; the young man, a knight.
老年人如字典，少年人如戏文；
The old man is like a dictionary; the young man, the text of a play.
老年人如鸦片烟，少年人如白兰地酒；
The old man is like opium; the young man, brandy.
老年人如别行星之陨石，少年人如大海洋之珊瑚岛；
The old man is like a shooting star; the young man, a coral island.
老年人如埃及沙漠之金字塔，少年人如西伯利亚之铁路；
The old man is like the pyramid of Egypt; the young man, the Siberian railroad.
老年人如秋后之柳，少年人如春间之草；
The old man is like the willow after autumn; the young man, the grass in spring.
老年人如死海之潴为泽，少年人如长江之初发源……”
The old man is like the dead sea that turns into a lake; the young man, the source of the Yangtze River.
观此，则知老年与少年，各有所长，各有其用，
From this, we know that the aged and the young both have their own merits and uses.
如能祛除成见，同为国家效力，则裨益民族，定非浅鲜。
If they will cast away their prejudices and work together for the country, their services to the people shall be immense.
中国的山水画
Chinese Landscape Painting
要说明山水画的布置，先得说明山水画的构图原理。
In order to explain the disposition of a landscape painting, we have to make clear at first the principle of its composition.
原来山水画的构图，不是对景写实，而是用鸟瞰的方法，将真景缩小，然后加以描写的。
Originally the composition of landscapes is not to paint a real picture as we see it, but to depict by means of a bird’s eye view, namely, to diminish the subject matter in a nutshell.
眼睛中所能看到的，只有一重山或一重水，
What we can see with our naked eyes is generally only a single layer of mountains or rivers.
这样简单的景物，是不容易构成山水画面的。
This of course is not enough for us to compose a scene of the landscape.
作画的人，得走入山水的深处，遍观所有的风景，回到家里，把所经历的地方，像画地图似的缩写出来，
The one who paints ought to go into the heart of mountains and rivers, inspecting all the scenery before he puts down from memory on returning home the whole scope of his travelled regions as a miniature as he draws a map.
还得把自己放的很大，把风景缩的很小，好像看假山似的，才能构成“咫尺千里”的画面。
In doing so, he has to enlarge himself as big as possible and contract the scenery as small as a rock-work to look upon, then he can for the first time compose a picture of thousand miles represented on a few-foot piece of paper or the like.
《养成好习惯》
Cultivating Good Habits
梁实秋
Liang Shiqiu
人的天性大致是差不多的，但是在习惯方面却各有不同，
Men are about the same in human nature, but differ in habit.
习惯是慢慢养成的，在幼小的时候最容易养成，
Habit is formed little by little, and most easily in one's childhood.
一旦养成之后，要想改变过来却还不很容易。
Once it is formed, it is difficult to break.
例如说：清晨早起是一个好习惯，这也要从小时候养成，
For example, the good habit of early rising also starts from one's early life.
很多人从小就贪睡懒觉，
Many people, however, have been in the habit of sleeping late ever since they were kids.
一遇假日便要睡到日上三竿还高卧不起，平时也是不肯早起，
They won't get up till late morning on holidays and even oversleep on work days.
往往蓬首垢面的就往学校跑，结果还是迟到，
Children are often late for school though they make a rush even without washing up.
这样的人长大了之后也常是不知振作，多半不能有什么成就。
Such children, when they grow up, will often lack drive and most probably get nowhere.
祖逖闻鸡起舞，那才是志士奋励的榜样。
The story of Zu Ti1 rising at cockcrow to practise swordplay should be a good example for all men of resolve to learn from.
我们中国人最重礼，因为礼是行为的轨范。
We Chinese set great store by propriety because it is the accepted rules of social behavior.
礼要从家庭里做起。
Propriety begins from the family.
姑举一例：为子弟者“出必告，反必面”，
For example, children should keep their parents informed of their whereabouts.
这一点点对长辈的起码的礼，我们是否已经每日做到了呢？
That is the ABC of good manners on the part of children.
我看见有些个孩子们早晨起来对父母视若无睹，晚上回到家来如入无人之境，
Yet some children just ignore their parents when they get up in the morning or come back from school.
遇到长辈常常横眉冷目，不屑搭讪。
They often pull a long face and refuse to converse when they meet their elders.
这样的跋扈乖戾之气如果不早早的纠正过来，将来长大到社会服务，必将处处引起摩擦不受欢迎。
If they continue to be so cocky and willful without correcting themselves as soon as possible, they will never get along well with other people some days as members of society.
我们不仅对长辈要恭敬有礼，对任何人都应维持相当的礼貌。
We should be polite not only to our elders, but also to all people.
大声讲话，扰及他人的宁静，是一种不好的习惯。
It is a bad habit to talk loudly to the disturbance of others.
我们试自检讨一番，在别人读书工作的时候是否有过喧哗的行为？
Ask yourself if you ever made a lot of noise while others were at their studies or at work.
我们要随时随地为别人着想，维持公共的秩序，顾虑他人的利益，不可放纵自己，
We should be considerate of others at all times and places, caring for public order and interests and abstaining from self-indulgence.
在公共场所人多的地方，要知道依次排队，不可争先恐后地去乱挤。
In crowded public places, you should line up and never push through to get ahead of others.
时间即是生命。
Time is life.
我们的生命是一分一秒的在消耗着，我们平常不大觉得，
Our life is ticking away unnoticed minute by minute and second by second.
细想起来实在值得警惕。
It is certainly alarming when we come to think of it.
我们每天有许多的零碎时间于不知不觉中浪费掉了，
Every day we are unconsciously wasting many odd moments.
我们若能养成一种利用闲暇的习惯，一遇空闲，无论其为多么短暂，都利用之做一点有益身心之事，
We should acquire the habit of utilizing leisure time, and snatch every odd moment to do whatever is beneficial to our body and mind.
则积少成多终必有成。
That will enable us to achieve good results little by little.
常听人讲过“消遣”二字，最是要不得，好像是时间太多无法打发的样子，
People often talk most improperly about "seeking relaxation" as if they had more than enough time for them to while away.
其实人生短促极了，
Life is, in fact, extremely short.
哪里会有多余的时间待人“消遣”？
How can you find so much surplus time for you to fool away?
陆放翁有句云：“待饭未来还读书。”
Lu Fangweng says in one of his poems, "Spend even the pre-meal odd moment in reading."
我知道有人就经常利用这“待饭未来”的时间读了不少的大书。
As far as I know, many people did snatch the odd moment before a meal to do a lot of reading.
古人所谓“三上之功”，枕上、马上、厕上，
Our ancients recommended "three on's", that is, doing reading even while you are on a pillow, on a horse or on a nightstool.
虽不足为训，其用意是在劝人不要浪费光阴。
All that, though impracticable, serves the purpose of advising people not to waste time.
吃苦耐劳是我们这个民族的标志。
Ours is a nation known for industry and self-denial.
古圣先贤总是教训我们要能过得俭朴的生活，
Frugality has always been the teaching of our ancient sages and wise men.
一个有志的人之能耐得清寒。
A man of strong will should be able to endure Spartan living conditions.
恶衣恶食，不足为耻，
It should not be regarded as a disgrace to live a simple life.
丰衣足食，不足为荣，
Nor should it be regarded as a glory to live a luxurious life.
这在个人之修养上是应有的认识，
That should be the correct understanding one needs for self-cultivation.
罗马帝国盛时的一位皇帝，Marcus Aurelius，他从小就摒绝一切享受，从来不参观那当时风靡全国的赛车比武之类的娱乐，
Marcus Aurelius, emperor of the Roman Empire in its heyday, refused to enjoy all comforts of life from childhood and always keep kept away from amusements like the chariot race then in vogue and other fighting-skill competitions.
终其身成为一位严肃的苦修派的哲学家，而且也建立了不朽的事功。
He remained a life-long staunch Stoic philosopher and meanwhile distinguished himself by numerous exploits.
这是很值得钦佩的，我们中国是一个穷的国家，所以我们更应该体念艰难，弃绝一切奢侈，尤其是从外国来的奢侈。
Ours is a poor country, so it is even more necessary for us to see the tough conditions facing us and renounce all luxuries, especially those coming from abroad.
从小就养成俭朴的习惯，
We should build up the habit of leading a thrifty life.
更要知道物力维艰，竹头木屑，皆宜爱惜。
We should bear in mind that all material resources are hard to come by and should be treasured, even including their odds and ends.
以上数端不过是偶然拈来，
The above points have been picked by me at random.
好的习惯千头万绪，“勿以善小而不为”。
Good habits are too numerous to be dealt with one by one, but none, however, are too small to keep.
习惯养成之后，便毫无勉强，临事心平气和，顺理成章。
Habit, once formed, will become your natural and spontaneous behaviour.
充满良好习惯的生活，才是合于“自然”的生活。
A life full of good habits will be a life conforming with the law of nature.
误区
Erring Area
张智
Zhang Zhi
你伸开粗壮的手指
You stretch out your brawny fingers
试图触摸墙上的世界
To try to feel the world on the wall
你以为你还是太阳
You assume you are still the sun
会不断释放温暖
That continues to give out warmth
你以为你是天空的主人
You assume you are still the host of heaven
世界是你的孩子
And the world is your kid
可以随便摆弄她的身体
And you can fondle her body at will
你以为她此刻很冷
You assume she feels cold now
且会感动得泪雨纷纷
And feels moved to showers of tears
你以为你还是麦地的守望者
You assume you are still the watcher of the wheat field
你以为你带血的歌声
You assume your bloodshot song
没有射向真理的墙壁
Has not shot at the wall of truth
你以为……于是
You assume…then
你张开白骨的指爪
You open your claws of white bones
1989年8月1日
August 1, 1989 (张智 译)
无题十四行——献给小秋
Sonnet – To Xiao Qiu
张智
Zhang Zhi
当你携着一缕曙光悄然闪现，
When you appear with the first light of morning,
命运的列车正把我推向遥远。
The train of fate is carrying me faraway.
人生的航班啊为何总是晚点？
Why the scheduled train of life is always late?
两颗星球在不同的轨道盘旋。
Two stars turn in different orbits for aye.
你以何种姿势穿越我的双眼？
You are to traverse my eyes with what posture?
一叶孤帆沉浮于岁月的浪尖，
A lonely sail sails in the spoondrifts of years,
请转过你的脸让我寻觅答案。
Please turn back your face for me to find answer.
人生的航班啊为何总是晚点？
Why the scheduled train of life is always late?
一蛇闪电撕裂天空无尽的蓝。
A snake of lightning rips boundless blue thither.
你的倩影已在我的内心存盘，
Saved in my heart is your beautiful image,
时光的酸雨无力将魔法施展。
The acid rain of time fails to work magic.
不要说浴火的凤凰都会涅槃，
All nirvana of phoenix is wrong message.
不要问生命之舟在哪儿搁浅，
Ask not where the ship of life does run aground,
人生的航班啊为何总是晚点？
Why the scheduled train of life is late for age? (张智中 译)
笑佛
The Smiling Buddha
黄淮
Huang Huai
笑，世人之笑浮浅
He smiles at the world’s smile, a shallow beam
笑，世人之笑虚幻
He smiles at the world’s smile, a vacant dream
自己做个笑的榜样
He sets the world an example of smile
又笑世人学得不像
But the world can’t catch the spirit or style (赵彦春 译)