第四章 三 我家的院子是很荒凉的。 那边住着几个漏粉的，那边住着几个养猪的。养猪的那厢房里还住着一个拉磨的。 那拉磨的，夜里打着梆子通夜的打。 养猪的那一家有几个闲散杂人，常常聚在一起唱着秦腔，拉着胡琴。 西南角上那漏粉的则欢喜在晴天里边唱一个《叹五更》。 他们虽然是拉胡琴、打梆子、叹五更，但是并不是繁华的，并不是一往直前的，并不是他们看见了光明，或是希望着光明，这些都不是的。 他们看不见什么是光明的，甚至于根本也不知道，就像太阳照在了瞎子的头上了，瞎子也看不见太阳，但瞎子却感到实在是温暖了。 他们就是这类人，他们不知道光明在哪里，可是他们实实在在地感得到寒凉就在他们的身上，他们想击退了寒凉，因此而来了悲哀。 他们被父母生下来，没有什么希望，只希望吃饱了，穿暖了。但也吃不饱，也穿不暖。 逆来的，顺受了。 顺来的事情，却一辈子也没有。 磨房里那打梆子的，夜里常常是越打越响，他越打得激烈，人们越说那声音凄凉。因为他单单的响音，没有同调。 Tales of Hulan River Our compound was a dreary one. The occupants were bean-flour sifters who lived on one side and hog farmers who lived on the other. There was also a miller who lived in one of the side rooms belonging to the hog farmers. This miller would strike his wooden clappers at night, the whole night through. Among the family of hog farmers were several individuals with time on their hands and little to do, who often got together to sing their Shaanxi opera to the accompaniment of a two-stringed instrument called a huqin. On clear days the flour sifter in the southwest corner of our compound liked to sing "Daybreak Lament". Now, although they played their huqin, struct wooden clappers, and sang his song, one must not be misled into believing that these were indications of prosperity or progress; it was certainly not that they could see a bright future ahead of them, nor even that they entertained any hopes for such a future--it meant none of these things. They could see nothing that could be considered bright, nor would they have recognized it for what it was even if they had. They were like a blind man standing in the sun who, though unable to see it above him, can nonetheless feel its warmth on his head. These people were like that: they didn't know where the brightness was, but they were fully aware of the cold that enveloped their bodies. It was the struggle to break free from this cold that brought them to grief. Ushered into this world by their mothers with no real expectations, they could only hope to eat their fill and dress warmly. But they were forever hungry and cold. Foully the affairs came; fairly they accepted. Not in the course of their lifetimes did affairs ever come fairly. The sounds of wooden clappers being struct at night in the mill shed often increased in intensity as the night deepened, and the more vigorously they were struct, the more desolate the sound. That was because they were the lone sounds in the night--they were no others to accompany them. Translated by: Howard Goldblatt
标签: 呼兰河
