第四届方重翻译奖

英译汉一等奖译文

吾之爱徒：

      夫生活之哲学，人皆有之，或浸于思维，或融于语言，或展露于行为，而自身无意。内藏金玉者或大意忽略，败絮其中者反引以为荣。哲学之芽，伴生命之树沐雨滋长，故欲授此道于青年人，必属徒劳矣。

      青年之辈：明眸炯炯，热血沸腾，呼吸强劲，孔武有力，与哲学何关涉焉？君不闻先哲亚里士多德曾言，哲学之研习，非青年人适也。师者苦心孤诣，听者置若罔闻，故曰学之无益。

      吾于此喋喋不休，盖有忠言相告乎。无关哲学，亦无关道德、宗教。友人曾讽之，演讲应择其一二而谈，集三者即为大成。而吾所言之道，历久弥新，辞简理博。其“简”或有负诸位所望至愤愤离席，盖类叙国民乃缦之心境哉。

      夫组合工具，价五十美分，一手柄并多器械适配之。艺甚次，于鲁班府寻之，亦无果。然劳者，车夫，船人之类，人皆有之，凡整洁有序之家，必于储物室杂物抽屉束之。

      此小物甚善，吾逢困扰之时，常助余以一臂。今日吾所赠之礼，亦即此类哲学，可谓之“万能手柄”。或(似谢菲尔德般)精细也，或粗糙也，短柄小斧，螺丝铁锥，无不适用。

      凡吾所述，道也。何为道也？庸人经历之简述耳，论其生活之哲学，于牧羊人相较，亦不过尔尔。

      吾欲求索康庄大道，虽愚钝之人不至歧途焉。此非黄钟大吕，使人举步维艰，终弃之如敝屐，亦非周虑之计划。吾所欲者，恰如汝既成之习，不论优劣，育之易如吹灰，或则难如登天。

     昔年，有言曰“夫生活，‘老调重弹’，日复如斯也。”人咸书其于圣诞贺卡，遂成时尚。简言之，“生活，习也”，行动，或多或少自然为之。此颠簸不破之理，可谓万事之基，身心之所为亦括于此，其亦为亚里士君教之义矣。于其观之，习乃德之基也。“一言以蔽之，万类之习皆行动重复之果，予此形为一定征即可明矣。”使一七月婴儿立，必摔而碰鼻；一岁，步也；二岁，走也。激肌肉神经之系统，其习成也。屡试屡摔，屡摔屡试，方得神力。手入婴孩之口，乐而吮之，幸福与期许闪烁其眼，不过哺乳动物万年之习已。由此言之，吾亦可成繁难之动作，苦练四肢，日复如斯，便获毫厘不差之技。

      细观乐师作曲，觉其巧指与乐器珠联璧合，妙艺不为身外之物所锢，恰如电动之琴，自奏雅乐。乐师且弹且谈，优哉游哉。此亦为习也，久练之，久过之，遂得此技。同律可释人类精神与道德之养成。普鲁塔克有言，“人格”，精神与道德构之，久养之习也。今时今日，吾所宣之道，亦然。夫身体力行之功课，谓之“生活日密舱”。汝必曰“甚易，易于以利沙之忠告矣”。不急与汝舌辩，论其价值，鄙人感触之深，言不可宣。吾呱呱坠地，万事优越：长于牧师之家，八兄姐伴之，执教于四所高校，出书有成，受命讲学于耶鲁。众人皆以为鄙人学养俱厚，否也。惟二三密友与己自知，吾乃泛泛之辈，世间一庸人哉！或当问，其光鲜教授之冕与身后殊荣又何解？习也，道也，兢兢业业之报也。吾殚精竭虑，此番赤言，望诸位记之，记之！

      一日之初，必沐浴于圣主之神光。教条勿须记，心驰神往，自可得悟于所学。灵魂所披尽思想之色，一日不与《圣经》相伴，岂非遗憾？虽逊于父辈，亦必苦心研习。于人格之健全、行为之塑造而论，《圣经》之威，传诸久远。汝当师以利户，尽信我主之美意与全能。静思静读，每日盏茶功夫，日积月累，便于先圣为友矣。汝亦寻得信心之火。言及先辈时，必恭坐倾听。然则时代相异，精神思想必相异，盖如礼节、娱乐之别。汝固以为自处于一流学府，自处鼎盛之期，何不顾思之前时？必曰：何脏乱乏味至此也！然稍稍深思，后人观今昔之尚，亦觉糟粕焉。时代之变不变也，伟大思想浸于时代长河，凡此生生不息。众生俱言：人类之进步未止也，吾窃以为亘古不变者，人也！爱与希望，惧怖与信念，亦同悲悯之光，经久不息。文学灵感之奥妙无外乎拨动慈悲之弦，触动心灵共鸣，不分时地耳。

      若汝于日密舱中宁静度日，定觉心神轻逸，可载旁人与自我之担。溪有蛙鸣，何足留意？夫生活，直简之经营耳，何惧也？寻先辈之指引，瞻先辈之硕果，启先辈之思想，则道明路晰。由心观之，汝廿年后，必双眸坚毅、广博聪慧、光润柔和，世间成功者之范也。不论汝属何类，感性也，理性也，前人精神之酵母必不可缺。俟其酵母发酵蓄力，歧途可避也。《诗篇》有云“遂以所求赐之，惟使其神衰弱兮。”吾鉴约翰生博士之语，琐碎杂事亦有作用。寥寥数语，愿有益于诸君计己之日，终获慧心兮。

第四届方重翻译奖

汉译英一等奖译文

Back in my days as a youngin' , I came across a line in "Family Letters of Banqiao" that stroke a chord with me : "When frigid wind gusts up the freezing land and the poor relatives and friends are coming to visit, first give them a big bowl of boiled parched rice, coupled with a small dish of pickled ginger. It is the best means to drive the aged and the poor out of chill." Banqiao was born in Xinghua, and I was born in Gaoyou, a place with similar custom. Such connection we have is almost incomprehensible for outsiders. Though parched rice is ubiquitous around the country, it is the "swelled rice candy" that most places make. In Sichuan, the "boiled swelled rice candy" is available in all depots and harbors, and that is soaked in hot water. The "swelled rice candy" in Sichuan seems to be made in professional workshops, unlike the one in my home town. In my hometown the "swelled rice candy" is cut into rectangle lumps like all other places. Also, some "swelled rice candies" are rolled into balls; they are called the "happiness balls". These are also made in workshops. Generally speaking, the parched rice is not sticky, but sugar-free and separated as grains. On no account is it produced in workshops because it's homemade.

Homemade as it is claimed to be, the parched rice is in fact cooked by hired craftsmen. After all, skills are required to parch the rice. Otherwise, everyone would do it. When winter sets in-- usually after the winter solstice, a man with a big sieve on his back and a long shovel in his hand can be found roaming on the streets-- that's the cook. Occasionally, he will be accompanied by an apprentice, usually a younger man to kindle the fire. To invite the cook as a guest, one needs to treat him with a free meal and pay some money, and he will work for a whole day. One dou of rice or a half shi will be a considerable amount; however, a family as big as mine asks for one shi each time. The yearly amount of parched rice is done once, not several times because after winter, craftsmen are nowhere to be found. Therefore, parching rice reminds people of the coming new year.   

The jar to store the parched rice is permanent. In other words, it is simply named "the parched rice jar" because it is used for no other purpose. The tool to scoop the rice is permanent as well, and a cigarette can is most often used. My grandmother uses the "hard skin" of grapefruit, which is a rare fruit in my hometown. Cut a large hole around the top of the grapefruit, take out the guts, stuff it with rice bran and air-dry it until a hard-shelled "bowl" results-- a grapefruit "bowl" such as this is used by my Grandmother for a lifelong time.  

My father has a mysterious friend, who goes by the name "Zhang Zhongtao". He is resourceful, and gave me a lecture once on "The Biography of Xiang Yu". He owns a small chunk of land, but he is idling about all the time-- hunching over "The Book of Changes" at home and fortune telling. He uses yarrow to tell his fortune, and he is the only man in the town who does this. It is said that he makes accurate predictions from time to time. Once upon a time, a family lost a gold ring, and they suspected that the maid stole it. The maid felt the family had done her wrong, so she came to Mr.Zhang for a fortune telling. He predicted that the lost ring was still there in their house--on the lid of the parched rice jar. As soon as they searched the place, it turned out that Mr. Zhang was right. I didn't buy his story when I was young because I didn't believe such predictions could be true-- how could one know without a doubt that it was on the lid of a parched rice jar? Nonetheless, his fortune-telling story reveals the truth that there are parched rice jars in almost every household.

It is hard to say that the parched rice is palatable. It is a common dish only because it's easy to make. Boil it with hot water, and the dish is ready. When there's nothing good to eat, a bowl of boiled parched rice will be a substitute for morning or evening tea. When ordinary guests come, a bowl of boiled parched rice can be served as dessert. When Banqiao says, "when the poor relatives and friends are coming to visit, first give them a big bowl of boiled parched rice," the rice is served "first" because it's labor-saving. Boiling parched rice is even easier than making a bowl of noodles. However, parched rice can never fill your stomach. A big bowl of it does not satisfy. In my town, we usually have boiled parched rice with a handful of sugar in it. There are people who will eat it with a small dish of pickled ginger as Banqiao mentions, but few people do that. Considering that I'm growing old, if someone offers me boiled parched rice as a treat, I would prefer it to go with a small dish of pickled ginger; bonus points if it is added with a few drops of sesame oil, and that will be quite a lure. Another good companion will be two lard-fried eggs served sunny side up-- "Dan Bie Zi" as we call it, and we eat it by mixing it all together with a handful of parched rice. Such food is only available for the "spoiled children". If a family always makes this dish for their children, neighbors will talk.