国外英文文学系列祝福THE NEW YEARS SACRIFICE.docx

《国外英文文学系列祝福THE NEW YEARS SACRIFICE.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《国外英文文学系列祝福THE NEW YEARS SACRIFICE.docx（16页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、国外英文文学系列祝福THE NEW YEARS SACRIFICENew Years Eve of the old calendar seems after all more like the real New Years Eve; for, to say nothing of the villages and towns, even in the air there is a feeling that New Year is coming. From the pale, lowering evening clouds issue frequent flashes of lightning,

2、followed by a rumbling sound of firecrackers celebrating the departure of the Hearth God; while, nearer by, the firecrackers explode even more violently, and before the deafening report dies away the air is filled with a faint smell of powder. It was on such a night that I returned to Luchen, my nat

3、ive place. Although I call it my native place, I had had no home there for some time, so I had to put up temporarily with a certain Mr. Lu, the fourth son of his family. He is a member of our clan, and belongs to the generation before mine, so I ought to call him Fourth Uncle. An old student of the

4、imperial college who went in for Neo-Confucianism, I found him very little changed in any way, simply slightly older, but without any moustache as yet. When we met, after exchanging a few polite remarks he said I was fatter, and after saying that immediately started a violent attack on the revolutio

5、naries. I knew this was not meant personally, because the object of the attack was still Kang Yu-wei. Nevertheless, conversation proved difficult, so that in a short time I found myself alone in the study.The next day I got up very late, and after lunch went out to see some relatives and friends. Th

6、e day after I did the same. None of them was greatly changed, simply slightly older; but every family was busy preparing for the sacrifice. This is the great end-of-year ceremony in Luchen, when people reverently welcome the God of Fortune and solicit good fortune for the coming year. They kill chic

7、kens and geese and buy pork, scouring and scrubbing until all the womens arms turn red in the water. Some of them still wear twisted silver bracelets. After the meat is cooked some chopsticks are thrust into it at random, and this is called the offering. It is set out at dawn when incense and candle

8、s are lit, and they reverently invite the God of Fortune to come and partake of the offering. Only men can be worshippers, and after the sacrifice they naturally continue to let off firecrackers as before. This happens every year, in every family, provided they can afford to buy the offering and fir

9、ecrackers; and this year they naturally followed the old custom.The day grew overcast. In the afternoon it actually started to snow, the biggest snow-flakes as large as plum blossom petals fluttered about the sky; and this, combined with the smoke and air of activity, made Luchen appear in a ferment

10、. When I returned to my uncles study the roof of the house was already white with snow. The room also appeared brighter, the great red rubbing hanging on the wall showing up very clearly the character for Longevity written by the Taoist saint Chen Tuan. One of a pair of scrolls had fallen down and w

11、as lying loosely rolled up on the long table, but the other was still hanging there, bearing the words: By understanding reason we achieve tranquillity of mind. Idly, I went to turn over the books on the table beneath the window, but all I could find was a pile of what looked like an incomplete set

12、of Kang Hsis Dictionary, a volume of Chiang Yungs Notes to Chu Hsis Philosophical Writings and a volume of Commentaries on the Four Books. At all events, I made up my mind to leave the next day.Besides, the very thought of my meeting with Hsiang Lins Wife the day before made me uncomfortable. It hap

13、pened in the afternoon. I had been visiting a friend in the eastern part of the town. As I came out I met her by the river, and seeing the way she fastened her eyes on me I knew very well she meant to speak to me. Of all the people I had seen this time at Luchen none had changed as much as she: her

14、hair, which had been streaked with white five years before, was now completely white, quite unlike someone in her forties. Her face was fearfully thin and dark in its sallowness, and had moreover lost its former expression of sadness, looking as if carved out of wood. Only an occasional flicker of h

15、er eyes showed she was still a living creature. In one hand she carried a wicker basket, in which was a broken bowl, empty; in the other she held a bamboo pole longer than herself, split at the bottom: it was clear she had become a beggar.I stood still, waiting for her to come and ask for money.You

16、have come back? she asked me first.Yes.That is very good. You are a scholar, and have travelled too and seen a lot. I just want to ask you something. Her lustreless eyes suddenly gleamed.I never guessed she would talk to me like this. I stood there taken by surprise.It is this. She drew two paces ne

17、arer, and whispered very confidentially: After a person dies, does he turn into a ghost or not?As she fixed her eyes on me I was seized with foreboding. A shiver ran down my spine and I felt more nervous than during an unexpected examination at school, when unfortunately the teacher stands by ones s

18、ide. Personally, I had never given the least thought to the question of the existence of spirits. In this emergency how should I answer her? Hesitating for a moment, I reflected: It is the tradition here to believe in spirits, yet she seems to be sceptical-perhaps it would be better to say she hopes

19、: hopes that there is immortality and yet hopes that there is not. Why increase the sufferings of the wretched? To give her something to look forward to, it would be better to say there is.There may be, I think, I told her hesitantly.Then, there must also be a Hell?What, Hell? Greatly startled, I co

20、uld only try to evade the question. Hell? According to reason there should be one too-but not necessarily. Who cares about it anyway? . . .Then will all the people of one family who have died see each other again?Well, as to whether they will see each other again or not. . . . I realized now that I

21、was a complete fool; for all my hesitation and reflection I had been unable to answer her three questions. Immediately I lost confidence and wanted to say the exact opposite of what I had previously said. In this case . . . as a matter of fact, I am not sure. . . . Actually, regarding the question o

22、f ghosts, I am not sure either.In order to avoid further importunate questions, I walked off, and beat a hasty retreat to my uncles house, feeling exceedingly uncomfortable. I thought to myself: I am afraid my answer will prove dangerous to her. Probably it is just that when other people are celebra

23、ting she feels lonely by herself, but could there be another reason? Could she have had some premonition? If there is another reason, and as a result something happens, then, through my answer, I shall be held responsible to a certain extent. Finally, however, I ended by laughing at myself, thinking

24、 that such a chance meeting could have no great significance, and yet I was taking it so to heart; no wonder certain educationalists called me a neurotic. Moreover I had distinctly said, I am not sure, contradicting my previous answer; so that even if anything did happen, it would have nothing at al

25、l to do with me.I am not sure is a most useful phrase.Inexperienced and rash young men often take it upon themselves to solve peoples problems for them or choose doctors for them, and if by any chance things turn out badly, they are probably held to blame; but by simply concluding with this phrase I

26、 am not sure, one can free oneself of all responsibility. At this time I felt even more strongly the necessity for such a phrase, since even in speaking with a beggar woman there was no dispensing with it.However, I continued to feel uncomfortable, and even after a nights rest my mind kept running o

27、n this, as if I had a premonition of some untoward development. In that oppressive snowy weather, in the gloomy study, this discomfort increased. It would be better to leave: I should go back to town the next day. The boiled sharks fins in the Fu Hsing Restaurant used to cost a dollar for a large po

28、rtion, and I wondered if this cheap and delicious dish had increased in price or not. Although the friends who had accompanied me in the old days had scattered, even if I was alone the sharks fins still had to be tasted. At all events, I made up my mind to leave the next day.After experiencing many

29、times that things which I hoped would not happen and felt should not happen invariably did happen, I was desperately afraid this would prove another such case. And, indeed, strange things did begin to happen. Towards evening I heard talking-it sounded like a discussion-in the inner room; but soon th

30、e conversation ended, and all I heard was my uncle saying loudly as he walked out: Not earlier nor later, but just at this time-sure sign of a bad character!At first I felt astonished, then very uncomfortable, thinking these words must refer to me. I looked outside the door, but no one was there. I

31、contained myself with difficulty till their servant came in before dinner to brew a pot of tea, when at last I had a chance to make some enquiries.With whom was Mr. Lu angry just now? I asked.Why, still with Hsiang Lins Wife, he replied briefly.Hsiang Lins Wife? How was that? I asked again.Shes dead

32、.Dead? My heart suddenly missed a beat. I started, and probably changed colour too. But since he did not raise his head, he was probably quite unaware of how I felt. Then I controlled myself, and asked:When did she die?When? Last night, or else today, Im not sure.How did she die?How did she die? Why

33、, of poverty of course. He answered placidly and, still without having raised his head to look at me, went out.However, my agitation was only short-lived, for now that something I had felt imminent had already taken place, I no longer had to take refuge in my Im not sure, or the servants expression

34、dying of poverty for comfort. My heart already felt lighter. Only from time to time something still seemed to weigh on it. Dinner was served, and my uncle solemnly accompanied me. I wanted to ask about Hsiang Lins Wife, but knew that although he had read, Ghosts and spirits are properties of Nature,

35、 he had retained many superstitions, and on the eve of this sacrifice it was out of the question to mention anything like death or illness. In case of necessity one could use veiled allusions, but unfortunately I did not know how to, so although questions kept rising to the tip of my tongue, I had t

36、o bite them back. From his solemn expression I suddenly suspected that he looked on me as choosing not earlier nor later but just this time to come and trouble him, and that I was also a bad character; therefore to set his mind at rest I told him at once that I intended to leave Luchen the next day

37、and go back to the city. He did not press me greatly to stay. So we quietly finished the meal.In winter the days are short and, now that it was snowing, darkness already enveloped the whole town. Everybody was busy beneath the lamplight, but outside the windows it was very quiet. Snow-flakes fell on

38、 the thickly piled snow, as if they were whispering, making me feel even more lonely. I sat by myself under the yellow gleam of the vegetable oil lamp and thought, This poor woman, abandoned by people in the dust as a tiresome and worn-out toy, once left her own imprint in the dust, and those who en

39、joy life must have wondered at her for wishing to prolong her existence; but now at least she has been swept clear by eternity. Whether spirits exist or not I do not know; but in the present world when a meaningless existence ends, so that someone whom others are tired of seeing is no longer seen, i

40、t is just as well, both for the individual concerned and for others. I listened quietly to see if I could hear the snow falling outside the window, still pursuing this train of thought, until gradually I felt less ill at ease.Fragments of her life, seen or heard before, now combined to form one whol

41、e.She did not belong to Luchen. One year at the beginning of winter, when my uncles family wanted to change their maidservant, Old Mrs. Wei brought her in and introduced her. Her hair was tied with white bands, she wore a black skirt, blue jacket and pale green bodice, and was about twenty-six, with

42、 a pale skin but rosy cheeks. Old Mrs. Wei called her Hsiang Lins Wife, and said that she was a neighbour of her mothers family, and because her husband was dead she wanted to go out to work. My uncle knitted his brows and my aunt immediately understood that he disapproved of her because she was a w

43、idow. She looked very suitable, though, with big strong feet and hands, and a meek expression; and she had said nothing but showed every sign of being tractable and hard-working. So my aunt paid no attention to my uncles frown, but kept her. During the period of probation she worked from morning til

44、l night, as if she found resting dull, and she was so strong that she could do a mans work; accordingly on the third day it was settled, and each month she was to be paid five hundred cash.Everybody called her Hsiang Lins Wife. They did not ask her her own name; but since she was introduced by someo

45、ne from Wei Village who said she was a neighbour, presumably her name was also Wei. She was not very talkative, only answering when other people spoke to her, and her answers were brief. It was not until a dozen days or so had passed that they learned little by little that she still had a severe mot

46、her-in-law at home and a younger brother-in-law more than ten years old, who could cut wood. Her husband, who had been a woodcutter too, had died in the spring. He had been ten years younger than she. This little was all that people learned from her.The days passed quickly. She worked as hard as eve

47、r; she would eat anything, and did not spare herself. Everybody agreed that the Lu family had found a very good maidservant, who really got through more work than a hard-working man. At the end of the year she swept, mopped, killed chickens and geese and sat up to boil the sacrificial meat, single-h

48、anded, so the family did not have to hire extra help. Nevertheless she, on her side, was satisfied; gradually the trace of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She became plumper and her skin whiter.New Year was scarcely over when she came back from washing rice by the river looking pale, an

49、d said that in the distance she had just seen a man wandering on the opposite bank who looked very like her husbands cousin, and probably he had come to look for her. My aunt, much alarmed, made detailed enquiries, but failed to get any further information. As soon as my uncle learned of it he frowned and said, This is bad. She must have run away from her husbands family.Before long this inference that she had