January 2023 – Page 5 – Chinese Literature

The Ox by Ye Shengtao~ 《牛》（叶圣陶）with English Translations

牛 The Ox 叶圣陶 Ye Shengtao （李运兴译）在乡下住的几年里，天天看见牛。可是直到现在还像显现在眼前的，只有牛的大眼睛。冬天，牛拴在门口晒太阳。它躺着，嘴不停的磋磨，眼睛就似乎比忙的时候睁得更大。牛眼睛好像白的成分多，那是惨白。我说它惨白，也许为了上面网着一条条血丝。我以为这两种颜色配合在一起，只能用死者的寂静配合着吊丧者的哭声那样的情景来相摹拟。牛的眼睛太大，又鼓得太高，简直到了使你害怕的程度。我进院子的时候经过牛身旁，总注意到牛鼓着的两只大眼睛在瞪着我。我禁不住想，它这样瞪着，瞪着，会猛的站起身朝我撞过来。我确实感到那眼光里含着恨。我也体会出它为什么这样瞪着我，总距离它远远的绕过去。有时候我留心看它将会有什么举动，可是只见它呆呆地瞪着，我觉得那眼睛里似乎还有别的使人看了不自在的意味。 Oxen were a daily sight during my years in the countryside, but the only thing that remains fresh in my memory to this day is their big eyes. On winter days, they were tethered outside to bask in the sun. They sprawled out on the ground, […]

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The Season of Snow by Zhou Lingshun~ 《下雪的季节》（周领顺）with English Translations

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下雪的季节 The Season of Snow 周领顺 Zhou Lingshun （周领顺、Lus Shih 译）下雪的季节，稀罕的，也就是那个雪哟！ For the season of snow, a most welcome sight for the eyes is the snow itself. “千里冰封，万里雪飘”的世界晶莹剔透，银装素裹；“山舞银蛇，原驰蜡象”的大地玉洁冰清，清爽而浪漫。 Ice-bound and snow-covered, the vast landscape is a crystal white with all colors drained away from it, and the undulating plain a romantic purity of

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The Melting Snow by Cen Sang~《残雪断想》（岑桑） with English Translations

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残雪断想 The Melting Snow 岑桑 Cen Sang （张梦井、杜耀文译） Unwilling to be driven from the streets, the heavy snow piles sit here and there in the bumpy places, looking stubborn and rough. It is piled so deep and gives off a chilling air that makes people tremble. 残雪不甘沦落，东一堆，西一堆，在那坑坑洼洼的地方，还积得老深，散发出令人战栗的寒气。所以，你还不相信隆冬已尽，春天已经来临了吗？ Don’t you believe that the

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On Winter Sunshine by Feng Zikai~ 《初冬浴日漫感》（丰子恺）with English Translations

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初冬浴日漫感 On Winter Sunshine 丰子恺 Feng Zikai （欧阳利锋译）离开故居一两个月，一旦归来，坐到南窗下的书桌旁时，第一感到异样的，是小半书桌的太阳光。原来夏已去，秋正尽，初冬方到。窗外的太阳已随分南倾了。 After being away for a couple of months, I returned to my old home and took my place by the south window, but was surprised to find that most of my desk was now in the shade. Summer was long gone, and autumn was

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The Spring Festival by Fang Huawen~ 《春节》（方华文）with English Translations

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春节 The Spring Festival 方华文 Fang Huawen 农历正月初一是我国汉族以及其他一些少数民族最为隆重的传统节日——春节。自从汉武帝以来（公元前140年），中华民族一直都将春节视为最喜庆的日子。每逢大年初一，孩子们纷纷走上街头放鞭炮，就连大人们也高高兴兴地在爆竹声中辞旧迎新。北宋诗人王安石曾赋诗：“爆竹声中一岁除，春风送暖入屠苏。千门万户瞳瞳日，总把新桃换旧符。”他的诗生动地描绘了人们迎佳节时喜悦的气氛。 The first day of the first month in Chinese lunar calendar is Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival, celebrated by Han people and some ethnic minorities in China. Ever since the Emperor Wu’s Reign of Han Dynasty (140 BC) the festival has been regarded as the

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An Ugly Stone by Jia Pingwa~《丑石》（贾平凹） with English Translations

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丑石 An Ugly Stone 贾平凹 By Jia Pingwa 翻译：张培基我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的.谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。 I used to feel sorry for that ugly black piece of stone lying like an ox in front of our door; none knew when it was left there and none paid any attention to it, except at the time when wheat was harvested and my

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Spring by Feng Zikai ~ 《春》（丰子恺）with English Translations

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春 Spring 文/丰子恺译/张梦井、杜耀文春是多么可爱的一个名词！ What a lovely word “Spring” is! 自古以来的人都赞美它，希望它长在人间。诗人，特别是词客，对春爱慕尤深。试翻词选，差不多每一页上都可以找到一个春字。 Men have praised it since ancient times, hoping for it to stay in the human world forever. Poets, especially ci [1] composers, cherish it with an especial deep love for spring. Try to leaf through the collection of ci (poetry) and you can

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Yu Guangzhong -Friends: The Four Categories ~《朋友四型》（余光中） with English Translations

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朋友四型 Friends: The Four Categories 文/余光中译/顾丹柯一个人命里不见得有太太或丈夫，但绝对不可能没有朋友。即使是荒岛上的鲁滨逊，也不免需要一个“礼拜五”。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。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。你选别人，别人也选你。被选，是一种荣誉，但不一定是一件乐事。来按你门铃的人很多，岂能人人都令你“喜出望外”呢？大致说来，按铃的人可以分为下列四型： A person may have no wife or husband in their lifetime, but it is absolutely impossible to have no friends. Even Robinson Crusoe on a desolate island was badly in need of a “Friday”. One cannot choose his or her parents, but except for Robinson, everybody can

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Shen Congwen: Chest Precipice (Excerpt)~《箱子岩（节选）》（沈从文）with English Translations

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箱子岩（节选） Chest Precipice (Excerpt) 文/沈从文译/戴乃迭十五年以前，我有机会独坐一只小篷船，沿辰河上行，停船在箱子岩脚下。一列青黛崭削的石壁，夹江高矗，被夕阳烘炙成为一个五彩屏障。石壁半腰约百米高的石缝中，有古代巢居者的遗迹，石罅隙间横横的悬撑起无数巨大横梁，暗红色长方形大木柜尚依然好好的搁在木梁上。岩壁断折缺口处，看得见人家茅棚同水码头，上岸喝酒下船过渡人也得从这缺口通过。那一天正是五月十五，河中人过大端阳节。箱子岩洞窟中最美丽的三只龙船，早被乡下人拖出浮在水面上。船只狭而长，船舷描绘有朱红线条，全船坐满了青年桨手，头腰各缠红布。鼓声起处，船便如一支没羽箭，在平静无波的长潭中来去如飞。河身大约一里路宽，两岸皆有人看船，大声呐喊助兴。且有好事者，从后山爬到悬岩顶上去，把“铺地锦”百子边炮从高岩上抛下，尽边炮在半空中爆裂，形成一团团五彩碎纸云尘，彭彭彭彭的边炮声与水面船中锣鼓声相应和。引起人对于历史回溯发生一种幻想，一点感慨。 Fifteen years ago I chanced to charter a little boat with a bamboo canopy to sail up the River Chen. We stopped at the foot of Chest Precipice. The river here was flanked by looming black cliffs irradiated by the setting sun into a prismatic screen. In crevices

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Zhou Jianren: Ginkgo Tree ~《白果树》（周建人） with English Translations

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白果树 Ginkgo Tree 文/周建人译/张梦井、杜耀文上海真是热闹的地方，也许特别在热天的时候，牌声。留声机或无线电的声音，有时更有爆仗声，往往闹得人不能睡觉。这实在是很窘的。有时候，譬如灯下写了点东西，看看时候已经十一点钟了，赶紧睡下，想望早点睡熟，以便明天起来好做事情。偏偏这边邻居的牌声还没有停止，那边又开起留声机来了。逢年过节还要放爆仗，这自然更其挡不住。而且常常这等声音还没有闹了，卖馄饨的又来了。广东馄饨担是敲竹板的，发出必必剥剥尖脆的声音，本地馄饨担是敲竹筒的，发出沉重的钝声。我的故乡也有这样的馄饨担，但是用短木棒敲在竹筒上，声音比较的低些，上海的馄饨担往往用短铁棒来敲，声音也就特别响亮了。有时候刚把思想制止住，正要睡去，接连的被外面闯进来的声浪数次闹醒之后，便会许多时期睡不着。第二天因为睡眠不足，身体觉得不清爽，就不能好好的做事情了。 Shanghai is indeed a rustling place, perhaps especially in the hot days. All the noises of cards playing, gramophone, wireless radio and sometimes even noise of crackers, often make people unable to sleep. This is indeed very hard for me. For example, sometimes when I am writing under a

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