江南的冬景

The Southern Winter Scenes

文/郁达夫   译/黎历

By Yu Dafu /Tr. By Lily

凡在北国过过冬天的人，总都道围炉煮茗，或吃煊羊肉，剥花生米，饮白干的滋味。而有地炉，暖炕等设备的人家，不管它门外面是雪深几尺，或风大若雷，而躲在屋里过活的两三个月的生活，却是一年之中最有劲的一段蛰居异境；老年人不必说，就是顶喜欢活动的小孩子们，总也是个个在怀恋的，因为当这中间，有的萝卜，雅儿梨等水果的闲食，还有大年夜，正月初一元宵等热闹的节期。

Those who have spent winters in the north always mention their nice experiences of brewing tea, eating mutton hotpot, peeling peanuts or drinking white dry liquors by surrounding a fire furnace. And if the household is equipped with the furnace and hot Kang, hiding indoor for two to three months is the best time of the year for seclusion, no matter whether the snow is a few feet deep or the wild wind is as strong as a thunder outdoor. Needless to mention the elderly, even the overactive children, are all nostalgic about this period of time. In winter, carrots, pears and other fruits are available for them and, moreover, the lively festivals are celebrated such as the New Year Eve, the Lunar New Year’s Day and the Lantern Festival.

　　但在江南，可又不同：冬至过后，大江以南的树叶，也不至于脱尽。寒风——西北风——间或吹来，至多也不过冷了一日两日。到得灰云扫尽，落叶满街，晨霜白得像黑女脸上的脂粉似的清早，太阳一上屋檐，鸟雀便又在吱叫，泥地里便又放出水蒸气来，老翁小孩就又可以上门前的隙地里去坐着曝背谈天，营屋外的生涯了；这一种江南的冬景，岂不也可爱得很么?

But it’s different in the south of Yangzte River. After the winter solstice, tree leaves won’t completely fall off. The wind – the northwest wind - occasionally blows over. It turns to be cold only for a couple of days. Then the gray clouds are all gone while the fallen leaves cover all over the streets. In the early morning, the hoary frost is as white as the powder on the face of a black girl. The sun climbing high up on the roof bring about again the bird songs and the rising vapors from the muddy fields. Then the older men and young children with their backs naked in sunbath are chatting in the open space in front of the houses. Isn’t this kind of the southern winter scene also very adorable?

　　我生长江南，儿时所受的江南冬日的印象，名刻特深；虽则渐入中年，又爱上了晚秋，以为秋天正是读读书，写写字的人的最惠节季，但对于江南的冬景，总觉得是可以抵得过北方夏夜的一种特殊情调，说得摩登些，便是一种明朗的情调。

I grew up in the south. The southern winter was so deeply impressed in my minds of childhood. When getting into the middle age, I’ve fallen in love with the late autumn. I thought autumn is the most favorable season for both reading and writing. But for the southern winter scene, I always believe it is comparable to a special ambience of a northern summer. Putting in more modern words, it is a bright sentiment.

　　我也曾到过闽粤，在那里过冬天，和暖原极和暖，有时候到了阴历的年边，说不定还不得不拿出纱衫来着：走过野人的篱落，更还看得见许多杂七杂八的秋花！ 一番阵雨雷鸣过后，凉冷一点，至多也只好换上一件夹衣，在闽粤之间，皮袍棉袄是绝对用不着的！这一种极南的气候异状，并不是我所说的江南的冬景，只能叫它作南国的长春，是春或秋的延长。

I have also ever spent winter in Fujian and Guangdong. The winter there was very warm, extremely warm. Sometimes when it was near the lunar New Year, I might also have to wear silk shirt. Passing by a country garden, I might also find a variety of assorted autumn flowers over the fence! After a thundering shower, it was felt a bit cool. I only need to put on a jacket. In these two areas, the furred rob or the cotton-padded jacket was absolutely no need! This was an extremely abnormal climate in the south, not the southern winter scene I'm talkng about. I can only call it as a long spring in the south, an extension of spring or autumn.

　　江南的地质丰腴而润泽，所以含得住热气，养得住植物；因而长江一带，芦花可以到冬至而不败，红叶也有时候会保持得三个月以上的生命。像钱塘江两岸的乌桕树，则红叶落后，还有雪白的桕子着在枝头，一点一丛，用照相机照将出来，可以乱梅花之真。草色顶多成了赭色，根边总带点绿意，非但野火烧不尽，就是寒风 也吹不倒的。若遇到风和日暖的午后，你一个人肯上冬郊去走走，则青天碧落之下，你不但感不到岁时的肃杀，并且还可以饱觉着一种莫名其妙的含蓄在那里的生气：“若是冬天来了，春天也总马上会来”的诗人的名句，只有在江南的山野里，最容易体会得出。

The soil in the south is so plump and moist that it retains heat to nourish plants. Thus in areas along Yangtze River, aloe thrives until the winter solstice while the life of red leaves sometimes lasts more than three months. Similarly, the Chinese tallow trees on the shores of QianTang River are studded with the snow-white seeds, single or in clusters, along the branches after their red leaves have fallen off. Their images in a photo can be mistaken as the plum blossoms. At most their green hue turns into ocher, but a tint of green is always found at the root. Not only the wild fire cannot burn them out, but also nor the chilly wind blows them away. If it’s a warm and sunny afternoon, you are willing to go for a walk on the wintery countryside. Under the blue sky, you will feel no chill of winter and get mad with a clear feeling of an inexplicable subtlety in the surrounding: ‘If winter comes, can spring be far away?’, the famous verse of Shelley can only be easily understood in the wilderness of the south.  

　　说起了寒郊的散步，实在是江南的冬日，所给与江南居住者的一种特异的恩惠；在北方的冰天雪地里生长的人，是终他的一生，也决不会有享受这一种清福的机会的。我不知道德国的冬天，比起我们江浙来如何，但从许多作家的喜欢以Spaziergang一字来做他们的创造题目的一点看来，大约是德国南部地方，四季的变迁，总也和我们的江南差仿不多。譬如说十九世纪的那位乡土诗人洛在格(Peter Rosegger1843——1918)罢，他用这—个“散步”做题目的文章尤其写得多，而所写的情形，却又是大半可以拿到中国江浙的山区地方来适用的。

Speaking of the countryside walk in a cold winter, it’s virtually a special boon for the southerner bestowed by the season. Someone growing up in the icy and snowy north won’t have such a great opportunity in his lifetime to enjoy such simple and gay days. I don’t know how about the winter in Germany compared to the south of China. But since many writers prefer to use Spaziergang in their creative writings, the changes of all seasons in the southern Germany should be almost as the same as here. Take the rustic poet Peter Rosegger (1843--1918) in the 19^th century as an example, ‘walking’ was a frequently used topic by him in his numerous articles. The situations he described fit mostly with the mountainous areas of the southern China.

　　江南河港交流，且又地滨大海，湖沼特多，故空气里时含水分；到得冬天，不时也会下着微雨，而这微雨寒村里的冬霖景象，又是一种说不出的悠闲境界。你试想想，秋收过后，河流边三五家人家会聚在一道的一个小村子里，门对长桥，窗临远阜，这中间又多是树枝槎丫的杂木树林；在这一幅冬日农村的图上，再洒上一层 细得同粉也似的白雨，加上一层淡得几不成墨的背景，你说还够不够悠闲?若再要点景致进去，则门前可以泊一只乌篷小船，茅屋里可以添几个喧哗的酒客，天垂暮了，还可以加一味红黄，在茅屋窗中画上一圈暗示着灯光的月晕。人到了这一个境界，自然会得胸襟洒脱起来，终至于得失俱亡，死生不同了：我们总该还记得唐朝那位诗人做的“暮雨潇潇江上村”的一首绝句罢?诗人到此，连对绿林豪客都客气起来了，这不是江南冬景的迷人又是什么?

The southern China is overridden by numerous tributary rivers, marshes, lakes and seas. So its air is heavily humid. In winter, it’s drizzling from time to time. The winter scene of a tiny village shrouded in light rain conveys an undefinable feel of leisure. You may attempt to image that after the autumn harvest,folks from three or five households by the riverbank of a hamlet will go together, with the doors facing the long narrow bridge and the windows overlooking the hills far beyond the thick hardwood trees. When such a painting of winter countryside is sprinkled with a layer of white rain as fine as powder, and then with a shade of backdrop as faint as the undetectable ink, how you can say it’s not leisure enough? You can add more views into it by mooring a black mat boat before the house and drawing a few noisy drinkers inside the thatched hut. You can also add a touch of red and yellow in the sunset sky at dusk or a halo on the window of the hut to imply the lamplight. When someone gets to such a state of mind, he will naturally become so open-minded to forget the difference between loss and win, life and death.We should no doubt remember one verse in a quatrain by a poet of Tang Dynasty ‘A riverside village is shrouded by a late drizzle’. This poet seems even respectful to the rebels in green woods. If it isn’t the enchanting southern winter scene, what it is?

一提到雨，也就必然的要想到雪：“晚来天欲雪，能饮一杯无?”自然是江南日暮的雪景。“寒沙梅影路，微雪酒香村”，则雪月梅的冬宵三友，会合在一道，在调戏酒姑娘了。“柴门村犬吠，风雪夜归人”，是江南雪夜，更是夜深人静后的景况。“前树深雪里，昨夜一枝开”又到了第二天的早晨，和狗一样喜欢弄雪的村童来报告村景了。诗人的诗句，也许不尽是在江南所写，而做这几句诗的诗人，也许不尽是江南人，但假了这几句诗来描写江南的雪景，岂不直截了当，比我这一枝愚劣的笔所写的散文更美丽得多?

When rain is mentioned, it is bound to think about snow. ‘It’s going to snow when it gets late, can we have a drink?’is of course a snow scene of the south at late day. ‘Plum blossoms shadow the chilly shone road, while fine snow falls on the village soaked in wine mellow’. The snow, the moon and the plum blossom, three friends at a winter night, together flirt with the waitress in the pub. ‘The dog is barking at the wicket gate，when the home-comer returns at the windy and snowy night’ is also a snow scene of a winter night in the south after all things quiet down. ‘Deep in the snow the trees ahead,a plum tree blooms last night’ It lets us come to the next morning again. A village boy who likes to romp in snow as dogs comes to report on village news. Perhaps not all of these verses quoted here were written in the south and not all their poets came from the south, but borrowing these lines to describe the snow scenes of the south is much more straightforward and elegant than the proses written by my dull pen?  

　　有几年，在江南，在江南也许会没有雨没有雪的过一个冬，到了春间阴历的正月底或二月初再冷一冷下一点春雪的；去年(1934)的冬天是如此，今年的冬天恐怕也不得不然，以节气推算起来，大约大冷的日子，将在1936年的2月尽头，最多也总不过是七八天的样子。像这样的冬天，乡下人叫作旱冬，对于麦的收成或者好些，但是人口却要受到损伤；旱得久了，白喉，流行性感冒等疾病自然容易上身，可是想恣意享受江南的冬景的人，在这一种冬天，倒只会得到快活一点，因为晴和的日子多了，上郊外去闲步逍遥的机会自然也多；日本人叫作Hiking，德国人叫作Spaziergang狂者，所最欢迎的也就是这样的冬天。

There were a few years in the south, it didn’t rain nor snow in winter. At the end of January or the beginning of February on the lunar calendar, it just became a bit chilly and snowed a bit. Last year (1934) was like that situation and so will be the same case this winter. Reckoning by the solar terms, the coldest spell will be around by the end of February of 1936, up to seven or eight days at most. Winter like this is called by the countrymen as the dry winter, perhaps somehow better for wheat harvest. But humans will be naturally affected by diphtheria, influenza and other diseases which take hold easily in a long and dry winter.  But those who enjoy the southern winter scene will ignore the cautions and greet happily to this kind of winter. In the sunny days, there are more opportunities to go for a carefree walk in the countryside. A hiker called by the Japanese or a Spaziergang crazy man called by the German are longing for this kind of winter days.

窗外的天气晴朗得像晚秋一样：晴空的高爽，日光的洋溢，引诱得使你在房间里坐不住，空言不如实践，这一种无聊的杂文，我也不再想写下去了，还是拿起手杖，搁下纸笔，上湖上散散步罢！ 

The weather outside my window is as nice as in late autumn: the sky is clear and lofty, pouring down sunshine and luring you to go outdoor. The empty words are not as good as a simple action. This’s a kind of boring essays I no longer want to write. So pick up my walking stick, put aside my pen and paper and take a walk by the lakeside!