雙語(yǔ)全文 ● 魯迅——社戲

Village Opera

In the past twenty years only twice have I been to see Chinese opera. During the first ten years I saw none， lacking both the wish and the opportunity. The two occasions on which I went were in the last ten years，but each time I left without seeing anything in it.

The first time was in 1912 when I was new to Beijing. A friend told me Beijing had the best opera and that seeing it was an experience not to be missed. I thought it might be interesting to see an opera， especially in Beijing， and hurried in high spirits to some theatre， the name of which escapes me. The performance had already started. Even outside I could hear the beat of the drums. As we squeezed in， gaudy colours flashed into view，then I saw many heads in the auditorium； but when I collected myself to look around there were still a few empty seats in the middle. As I squeezed my way in to sit down， someone addressed me. Already there was such a buzzing in my ears that I had to listen hard to catch what he was saying—“Sorry， these seats are taken！”

We withdrew to the back， but then a man with a glossy queue led us to one side and indicated an unoccupied place. This was a bench only a quarter the width of my thighs， but with legs two-thirds longer than mine. To begin with I hadn’t the courage to get up there. Then， being reminded of some instrument of torture， with an involuntary shudder I fled.

I had gone some way when suddenly I heard my friend’s voice asking，“Well， What’s the matter？” Looking over my shoulder I saw he had followed me out. “Why are you marching along without a word？” he inquired in great surprise.

“I’m sorry，” I told him. “There’s such a dingdong skirling in my ears， I didn’t hear you.”

Whenever I thought back to this it struck me as most strange and I supposed that the opera had been a very poor one—or else a theatre was no place for me.

社戲

我在倒數(shù)上去的二十年中，只看過(guò)兩回中國(guó)戲，前十年是絕不看，因?yàn)闆](méi)有看戲的意思和機(jī)會(huì)，那兩回全在后十年，然而都沒(méi)有看出什么來(lái)就走了。

第一回是民國(guó)元年我初到北京的時(shí)候，當(dāng)時(shí)一個(gè)朋友對(duì)我說(shuō)，北京戲最好，你不去見(jiàn)見(jiàn)世面么？我想，看戲是有味的，而況在北京呢。于是都興致勃勃的跑到什么園，戲文已經(jīng)開(kāi)場(chǎng)了，在外面也早聽(tīng)到冬冬地響。我們挨進(jìn)門(mén)，幾個(gè)紅的綠的在我的眼前一閃爍，便又看見(jiàn)戲臺(tái)下滿是許多頭，再定神四面看，卻見(jiàn)中間也還有幾個(gè)空座，擠過(guò)去要坐時(shí)，又有人對(duì)我發(fā)議論，我因?yàn)槎湟呀?jīng)喤喤的響著了，用了心，才聽(tīng)到他是說(shuō)“有人，不行！”

我們退到后面，一個(gè)辮子很光的卻來(lái)領(lǐng)我們到了側(cè)面，指出一個(gè)地位來(lái)。這所謂地位者，原來(lái)是一條長(zhǎng)凳，然而他那坐板比我的上腿要狹到四分之三，他的腳比我的下腿要長(zhǎng)過(guò)三分之二。我先是沒(méi)有爬上去的勇氣，接著便聯(lián)想到私刑拷打的刑具，不由的毛骨悚然的走出了。

走了許多路，忽聽(tīng)得我的朋友的聲音道，“究竟怎的？我回過(guò)臉去，原來(lái)他也被我?guī)С鰜?lái)了。他很詫異的說(shuō)，“怎么總是走，不答應(yīng)？”我說(shuō)，“朋友，對(duì)不起，我耳朵只在冬冬喤喤的響，并沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到你的話。”

后來(lái)我每一想到，便很以為奇怪，似乎這戲太不好，——否則便是我近來(lái)在戲臺(tái)下不適于生存了。

I forget in what year I made the second venture， but funds were being raised for flood victims in Hubei and Tan Xinpei was still alive. By paying two dollars for a ticket， you contributed money and could go to the Number One Theatre to see an opera with a cast made up for the most part of famous actors， one being Tan Xinpei simply had to be seen. At that， I forgot the disastrous dingdong skirling of a few years before and went to the theatre—probably half because that precious ticket had cost so much that I would feel uncomfortable unless I used it. I learned that Tan Xinpei made his appearance late in the evening， and the Number One Theatre was a modern one where you did not have to fight for your seat. That reassured me， and I waited till nine o’clock before setting out. To my surprise， just as before， it was full. There was hardly any standing-room and I had to squeeze into the crowd at the rear to watch an actor singing and old woman’s part. He had a paper spill burning at each corner of his mouth and there was devil-soldier beside him. After racking my brains I guessed that this might be Maudgalyayana’s mother， because the next to come on was a monk. Not recognizing the actor， I asked a fat gentleman squeezed in on my left who he was. “Gong Yunfu！” he said， throwing me a withering sidelong glance. My face burned with shame over my ignorant blunder， and I mentally resolved at all costs to ask no more questions. Then I watched a heroine and her maid sing， next an old man and some other characters I could not identify. After that， I watched a whole group fight a free-for-all， and after that two or three people fighting together—from after nine till ten， from ten till eleven， from eleven till eleven-thirty， from eleven-thirty till twelve—but still there was no sign of Tan Xinpei.

Never in my life have I waited so patiently for anything. But the wheezes of the fat gentleman next to me， the dingdong skirling， gonging and drumming on the stage， the whirling of gaudy colours， combined with the lateness of the hour， suddenly made me realize that this was no place for me. Mechanically turning round， I tried with might and main to shove my way out and felt the place behind me fill up at once—no doubt the elastic fat gentleman had expanded his right side into the space I vacated. With my retreat cut off， naturally there was nothing to do but push and push till at last I was out of the door. Apart from the rickshaws waiting for playgoers，there were practically no pedestrians in the street； but there were still a dozen or so people by the gate looking up at the programme， and another group not looking at anything who must， I thought， be waiting to watch the women come out after the show ended. And still no sign of Tan Xinpei....

第二回忘記了那一年，總之是募集湖北水災(zāi)捐而譚叫天還沒(méi)有死。捐法是兩元錢(qián)買一張戲票，可以到第一舞臺(tái)去看戲，扮演的多是名角，其一就是小叫天。我買了一張票，本是對(duì)于勸募人聊以塞責(zé)的，然而似乎又有好事家乘機(jī)對(duì)我說(shuō)了些叫天不可不看的大法要了。我于是忘了前幾年的冬冬喤喤之災(zāi)，竟到第一舞臺(tái)去了，但大約一半也因?yàn)橹貎r(jià)購(gòu)來(lái)的寶票，總得使用了才舒服。我打聽(tīng)得叫天出臺(tái)是遲的，而第一舞臺(tái)卻是新式構(gòu)造，用不著爭(zhēng)座位，便放了心，延宕到九點(diǎn)鐘才出去，誰(shuí)料照例，人都滿了，連立足也難，我只得擠在遠(yuǎn)處的人叢中看一個(gè)老旦在臺(tái)上唱。那老旦嘴邊插著兩個(gè)點(diǎn)火的紙捻子，旁邊有一個(gè)鬼卒，我費(fèi)盡思量，才疑心他或者是目連的母親，因?yàn)楹髞?lái)又出來(lái)了一個(gè)和尚。然而我又不知道那名角是誰(shuí)，就去問(wèn)擠小在我的左邊的一位胖紳士。他很看不起似的斜瞥了我一眼，說(shuō)道，“龔云甫！”我深愧淺陋而且粗疏，臉上一熱，同時(shí)腦里也制出了決不再問(wèn)的定章，于是看小旦唱，看花旦唱，看老生唱，看不知什么角色唱，看一大班人亂打，看兩三個(gè)人互打，從九點(diǎn)多到十點(diǎn)，從十點(diǎn)到十一點(diǎn)，從十一點(diǎn)到十一點(diǎn)半，從十一點(diǎn)半到十二點(diǎn)，——然而叫天竟還沒(méi)有來(lái)。

我向來(lái)沒(méi)有這樣忍耐的等候過(guò)什么事物，而況這身邊的胖紳士的吁吁的喘氣，這臺(tái)上的冬冬喤喤的敲打，紅紅綠綠的晃蕩，加之以十二點(diǎn)，忽而使我省悟到在這里不適于生存了。我同時(shí)便機(jī)械的擰轉(zhuǎn)身子，用力往外只一擠，覺(jué)得背后便已滿滿的，大約那彈性的胖紳士早在我的空處胖開(kāi)了他的右半身了。我后無(wú)回路，自然擠而又?jǐn)D，終于出了大門(mén)。街上除了專等看客的車輛之外，幾乎沒(méi)有什么行人了，大門(mén)口卻還有十幾個(gè)人昂著頭看戲目，別有一堆人站著并不看什么，我想：他們大概是看散戲之后出來(lái)的女人們的，而叫天卻還沒(méi)有來(lái)……

But the night air was so crisp， it really “seeped into my heart.” This seemed to be the first time I had known such good air in Beijing.

I said goodbye to Chinese opera that night， never thinking about it again， and if by any chance I passed a theatre it meant nothing to me for in spirit we were long since poles apart.

A few days ago， however， I happened to read a Japanese book—unfortunately I have forgotten the title and author， but it was about Chinese opera. One chapter made the point that Chinese opera is so full of gongs and cymbals， shouting and leaping， that it makes the spectators’ heads swim and is quite unsuited for a theatre； if performed in the open and watched from a distance， it has its charm. I felt that this put into words what had remained unformulated in my mind， because as a matter of fact I clearly remembered seeing a really good opera in the country and it was under its influence，perhaps， that after coming to Beijing I went twice to the theatre. It is a pity that， somehow or other， the name of that book escapes me.

As to when I saw that good opera， it was really “l(fā)ong， long ago，” when I could not have been much more than eleven or twelve. It was the custom in Luzhen where we lived for married women not yet in charge of the household to go back to their parents’ home for the summer. Although my father’s mother was then still quite strong， my mother had quite a few domestic duties which made it impossible for her to spend many days at her old home during the summer. All she could spare was a few days after visiting the ancestral graves， and at such times I always went with her to stay in her parents’ house. That was in Pingqiao Village not far from the sea，a very remote little village on a river with less than thirty households of peasants and fishermen， and just one tiny grocery. To me， however， it was heaven， for not only was I treated as a guest of honour but here I could skip reading the Book of Songs.

然而夜氣很清爽，真所謂“沁人心脾”，我在北京遇著這樣的好空氣，仿佛這是第一遭了。

這一夜，就是我對(duì)于中國(guó)戲告了別的一夜，此后再?zèng)]有想到他，即使偶而經(jīng)過(guò)戲園，我們也漠不相關(guān)，精神上早已一在天之南一在地之北了。

但是前幾天，我忽在無(wú)意之中看到一本日本文的書(shū)，可惜忘記了書(shū)名和著者，總之是關(guān)于中國(guó)戲的。其中有一篇，大意仿佛說(shuō)，中國(guó)戲是大敲，大叫，大跳，使看客頭昏腦弦，很不適于劇場(chǎng)，但若在野外散漫的所在，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的看起來(lái)，也自有他的風(fēng)致。我當(dāng)時(shí)覺(jué)著這正是說(shuō)了在我意中而未曾想到的話，因?yàn)槲掖_記得在野外看過(guò)很好的好戲，到北京以后的連進(jìn)兩回戲園去，也許還是受了那時(shí)的影響哩?？上也恢涝趺匆粊?lái)，竟將書(shū)名忘卻了。

至于我看那好戲的時(shí)候，卻實(shí)在已經(jīng)是“遠(yuǎn)哉遙遙”的了，其時(shí)恐怕我還不過(guò)十一二歲。我們魯鎮(zhèn)的習(xí)慣，本來(lái)是凡有出嫁的女兒，倘自己還未當(dāng)家，夏間便大抵回到母家去消夏。那時(shí)我的祖母雖然還康健，但母親也已分擔(dān)了些家務(wù)，所以夏期便不能多日的歸省了，只得在掃墓完畢之后，抽空去住幾天，這時(shí)我便每年跟了我的母親住在外祖母的家里。那地方叫平橋村，是一個(gè)離海邊不遠(yuǎn)，極偏僻的，臨河的小村莊；住戶不滿三十家，都種田，打魚(yú)，只有一家很小的雜貨店。但在我是樂(lè)土：因?yàn)槲以谶@里不但得到優(yōu)待，又可以免念“秩秩斯干幽幽南山”了。

There were many children for me to play with. For with the arrival of a visitor from such a distance they got leave from their parents to do less work in order to play with me. In a small village， the guest of one family is virtually the guest of the whole community. We were all about the same age，but when it came to determining seniority many were at least my uncles or granduncles， since everybody in the village had the same family name and belonged to one clan. But we were all good friends， and if by some chance we fell out and I hit one of my granduncles， it never occurred to any child or grown-up in the village to call me “insubordinate.” Ninety-nine out of a hundred of them could neither read nor write.

We spent most of our days digging up earthworms， putting them on little hooks made of copper wire， and lying on the river bank to catch prawns. The silliest of water creatures， prawns willingly use their own pincers to push the point of the hook into their mouths； so in a few hours we could catch a big bowlful. It was the custom to give these prawns to me. Another thing we did was to graze buffaloes together. But， maybe because they are animals of a higher order， oxen and buffaloes are hostile to strangers， and they treated me with such contempt that I never dared get too close. I could only follow at a distance and stand there. At such times my small friends， no longer impressed by my ability to recite classical poetry，would all start hooting with laughter.

What I looked forward to most was going to Zhaozhuang to see the opera. Zhaozhuang was a slightly larger village five li away. Since Pingqiao was too small to afford to put on operas， every year it chipped in towards a performance at Zhaozhuang. At the time， it never occurred to me to wonder why they should put on operas every year. Thinking back to it now， I dare say it may have been a ritual drama for the late spring festival.

The year that I was eleven or twelve， this long-awaited day came round again. But as ill luck would have it， there was no boat for hire that morning. Pingqiao Village had only one big ferry-boat， which put out in the morning and came back in the evening， and it was out of the question to use this. All the other boats were unsuitable， being too small. And the neighbouring villages， when people were sent to ask， had no boats either—they had all been hired already. My grandmother， very vexed， blamed the family for not hiring one earlier and started nagging. To console her， Mother said that our operas at Luzhen were much better than in these little villages， and as we saw several a year there was no need to go today. But I was nearly in tears from chagrin， and Mother did her best to impress on me on no account to make a scene， because it would upset my grandmother； nor must I got with other people either， or Grandmother might worry.

和我一同玩的是許多小朋友，因?yàn)橛辛诉h(yuǎn)客，他們也都從父母那里得了減少工作的許可，伴我來(lái)游戲。在小村里，一家的客，幾乎也就是公共的。我們年紀(jì)都相仿，但論起行輩來(lái)，卻至少是叔子，有幾個(gè)還是太公，因?yàn)樗麄兒洗宥纪?，是本家。然而我們是朋友，即使偶而吵鬧起來(lái)，打了太公，一村的老老小小，也決沒(méi)有一個(gè)會(huì)想出“犯上”這兩個(gè)字來(lái)，而他們也百分之九十九不識(shí)字。

我們每天的事情大概是掘蚯蚓，掘來(lái)穿在銅絲的小鉤上，伏在河沿上去釣蝦。蝦是水世界里的呆子，決不憚?dòng)昧俗约旱膬蓚€(gè)鉗捧著鉤尖送到嘴里去的，所以不半天便可以釣到一大碗。這蝦照例是歸我吃的。其次便是一同去放牛，但或者因?yàn)楦叩葎?dòng)物了的緣故罷，黃牛水牛都欺生，敢于欺侮我，因此我也總不敢走近身，只好遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地跟著，站著。這時(shí)候，小朋友們便不再原諒我會(huì)讀“秩秩斯干”，卻全都嘲笑起來(lái)了。

至于我在那里所第一盼望的，卻在到趙莊去看戲。趙莊是離平橋村五里的較大的村莊；平橋村太小，自己演不起戲，每年總付給趙莊多少錢(qián)，算作合做的。當(dāng)時(shí)我并不想到他們?yōu)槭裁茨昴暌輵颉，F(xiàn)在想，那或者是春賽，是社戲了。

就在我十一二歲時(shí)候的這一年，這日期也看看等到了。不料這一年真可惜，在早上就叫不到船。平橋村只有一只早出晚歸的航船是大船，決沒(méi)有留用的道理。其余的都是小船，不合用；央人到鄰村去問(wèn)，也沒(méi)有，早都給別人定下了。外祖母很氣惱，怪家里的人不早定，絮叨起來(lái)。母親便寬慰伊，說(shuō)我們魯鎮(zhèn)的戲比小村里的好得多，一年看幾回，今天就算了。只有我急得要哭，母親卻竭力的囑咐我，說(shuō)萬(wàn)不能裝模作樣，怕又招外祖母生氣，又不準(zhǔn)和別人一同去，說(shuō)是怕外祖母要擔(dān)心。

In a word， it had fallen through. In the afternoon， when all my friends had left and the opera had started， I imagined I could hear the sound of gongs and drums and knew they were in front of the stage buying soyabean milk to drink.

I caught no prawns that day， did not eat much either. Mother was very upset but could not think what to do. By supper time Grandmother too had finally caught on and she said I was right to be cross， they had been too remiss， and never before had guests been treated so badly. After the meal，youngsters back from the opera gathered round and gaily described it to us. I was the only one silent. They all sighed and said how sorry they were for me. Suddenly one of the brightest， Shuangxi， had an inspiration and asked，“A big boat？ Hasn’t Eighth Granduncle’s ferry-boat come back？” A dozen other boys cottoned on and at once started agitating to take the boat and go with me. I cheered up. But Grandmother was nervous， thinking we were all children and undependable. And Mother said it would not be fair to ask grown-ups to stay up all night and go with us， as they all had to work the next day. While our fate hung in the balance， Shuangxi went to the root of the problem， declaring loudly， “I guarantee it’ll be all right！ It’s a big boat，Brother Xun never jumps around， and all of us can swim！”

It was true. Not a boy in the dozen but could swim， and two or three of them were first-rate swimmers in the sea.

總之，是完了。到下午，我的朋友都去了，戲已經(jīng)開(kāi)場(chǎng)了，我似乎聽(tīng)到鑼鼓的聲音，而且知道他們?cè)趹蚺_(tái)下買豆?jié){喝。

這一天我不釣蝦，東西也少吃。母親很為難，沒(méi)有法子想。到晚飯時(shí)候，外祖母也終于覺(jué)察了，并且說(shuō)我應(yīng)當(dāng)不高興，他們太怠慢，是待客的禮數(shù)里從來(lái)所沒(méi)有的。吃飯之后，看過(guò)戲的少年們也都聚擾來(lái)了，高高興興的來(lái)講戲。只有我不開(kāi)口；他們都嘆息而且表同情。忽然間，一個(gè)最聰明的雙喜大悟似的提議了，他說(shuō)，“大船？八叔的航船不是回來(lái)了么？”十幾個(gè)別的少年也大悟，立刻攛掇起來(lái)，說(shuō)可以坐了這航船和我一同去。我高興了。然而外祖母又怕都是孩子們，不可靠；母親又說(shuō)是若叫大人一同去，他們白天全有工作，要他熬夜，是不合情理的。在這遲疑之中，雙喜可又看出底細(xì)來(lái)了，便又大聲的說(shuō)道，“我寫(xiě)包票！船又大；迅哥兒向來(lái)不亂跑；我們又都是識(shí)水性的！”

誠(chéng)然！這十多個(gè)少年，委實(shí)沒(méi)有一個(gè)不會(huì)鳧水的，而且兩三個(gè)還是弄潮的好手。

Grandmother and Mother， convinced， raised no further objections. Both smiled. We immediately rushed out.

My heart after being so heavy was suddenly light， and I felt as though floating on air. Once outside， I saw in the moonlight a ferry-boat with a white awning moored at the bridge. We all jumped aboard， Shuangxi seizing the front pole and Afa the back one， while the younger boys sat down with me in the middle and those a little older went to the stern. By the time Mother followed us out to warn “Be carefull！” we had already cast off. We pushed off from the bridge， floated back a few feet， then moved forward under the bridge. Two oars were set up， each manned by two boys who changed shifts every li. Chatter， laughter and shouts mingled with the lapping of water against our bow； to our right and left stretched emerald green fields of beans and wheat， as we flew forward towards Zhaozhuang.

The scent of beans， wheat and river-weeds wafted towards us through the mist， and the moonlight shone faintly through it. Distant grey hills，undulating like the backs of some leaping iron beasts， seemed to be racing past the stern of our boat； but I still felt our progress was slow. When the oarsmen had changed shifts four times， we began to make out the faint outline of Zhaozhuang and to catch the sound of singing and music. There were several lights too， which we guessed must be on the stage unless they were fishermen’s lights.

The music was probably fluting. Eddying round and round and up and down， it soothed me and set me dreaming at the same time， till I felt as though I was about to drift far away with it through the night air heavy with the scent of beans， wheat and river-weeds.

As we approached the lights， they proved to be fishermen’s lights and I realized it was not Zhaozhuang that I had been looking at. Directly ahead of us was a pine-wood where I had played the year before and seen a broken stone horse， fallen on its side， as well as a stone sheep couched in the grass. Once past the wood， our boat rounded a bend into a cove， and Zhaozhuang was really before us.

外祖母和母親也相信，便不再駁回，都微笑了。我們立刻一哄的出了門(mén)。

我的很重的心忽而輕松了，身體也似乎舒展到說(shuō)不出的大。一出門(mén)，便望見(jiàn)月下的平橋內(nèi)泊著一只白篷的航船，大家跳下船，雙喜拔前篙，阿發(fā)拔后篙，年幼的都陪我坐在艙中，較大的聚在船尾。母親送出來(lái)吩咐“要小心”的時(shí)候，我們已經(jīng)點(diǎn)開(kāi)船，在橋石上一磕，退后幾尺，即又上前出了橋。于是架起兩支櫓，一支兩人，一里一換，有說(shuō)笑的，有嚷的，夾著潺潺的船頭激水的聲音，在左右都是碧綠的豆麥田地的河流中，飛一般徑向趙莊前進(jìn)了。

兩岸的豆麥和河底的水草所發(fā)散出來(lái)的清香，夾雜在水氣中撲面的吹來(lái)；月色便朦朧在這水氣里。淡黑的起伏的連山，仿佛是踴躍的鐵的獸脊似的，都遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地向船尾跑去了，但我卻還以為船慢。他們換了四回手，漸望見(jiàn)依稀的趙莊，而且似乎聽(tīng)到歌吹了，還有幾點(diǎn)火，料想便是戲臺(tái)，但或者也許是漁火。

那聲音大概是橫笛，宛轉(zhuǎn)，悠揚(yáng)，使我的心也沉靜，然而又自失起來(lái)，覺(jué)得要和他彌散在含著豆麥蘊(yùn)藻之香的夜氣里。

那火接近了，果然是漁火；我才記得先前望見(jiàn)的也不是趙莊。那是正對(duì)船頭的一叢松柏林，我去年也曾經(jīng)去游玩過(guò)，還看見(jiàn)破的石馬倒在地上，一個(gè)石羊蹲在草里呢。過(guò)了那林，船便彎進(jìn)了叉港，于是趙莊便真在眼前了。

Our eyes were drawn to stage standing in a plot of empty ground by the river outside the village， hazy in the distant moonlight， barely distinguishable from its surroundings. It seemed that the fairyland I had seen in pictures had come alive here. The boat was moving faster now， and presently we could make out figures on the stage and a blaze of gaudy colours. The river close to the stage was black with the boat awnings of the spectators.

“There’s no room near the stage， let’s watch from a distance，” suggested Afa.

The boat had slowed down now， and soon we arrived. True enough， it was impossible to get close to the stage. We had to make fast even further away from it than the shrine opposite. But， in any case， we did not want our boat with its white awning to mix with those black ones and， besides， there was no room....

While we hastily moored， there appeared on the stage a man with a long black beard and four pennons fixed to his back. With a spear he fought a whole group of bare-armed men. Shuangxi told us this was a famous acrobat who could turn eighty-four somersaults one after the other. He had counted for himself earlier in the day.

We all crowded to the bow to watch the fighting， but the acrobat did not turn any somersaults. Only a few of the bare-armed men turned over heels a few times， then trooped off. Then a girl came out and sang in a shrill falsetto. “There aren’t many watching in the evening，” said Shuangxi， “and the acrobat’s taking it easy. Who wants to show off to an empty house？”That made sense to me， because by then there were not many spectators. The country folk， having work to do the next day， could not stay up all night and had gone home to bed. Standing there still were just a scattering of a few dozen idlers from Zhaozhuang and the villages around. The families of the local rich remained in the boats with black awnings， but they were not really interested in the opera. Most of them had come to the opera to eat cakes， fruit or melon-seeds. So it could really be reckoned an empty house.

As a matter of fact， I was not too keen on somersaults either. What I wanted most to see was a snake spirit swathed in white， its two hands clasping above it a wand-like snake’s head， and next a leaping tiger dressed in yellow. But I waited a long time in vain. As soon as the girl left， out came a very old man acting the part of a young one. Feeling tired， I asked Guisheng to buy me some soyabean milk. He came back presently to say，“There isn’t any. The deaf man who sells it has gone. There was some in the daytime， I drank two bowls then. I’ll get you a dipperful of water to drink.”

最惹眼的是屹立在莊外臨河的空地上的一座戲臺(tái)，模胡在遠(yuǎn)處的月夜中，和空間幾乎分不出界限，我疑心畫(huà)上見(jiàn)過(guò)的仙境，就在這里出現(xiàn)了。這時(shí)船走得更快，不多時(shí)，在臺(tái)上顯出人物來(lái)，紅紅綠綠的動(dòng)，近臺(tái)的河里一望烏黑的是看戲的人家的船篷。

“近臺(tái)沒(méi)有什么空了，我們遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的看罷?！卑l(fā)說(shuō)。

這時(shí)船慢了，不久就到，果然近不得臺(tái)旁，大家只能下了篙，比那正對(duì)戲臺(tái)的神棚還要遠(yuǎn)。其實(shí)我們這白篷的航船，本也不愿意和烏篷的船在一處，而況并沒(méi)有空地呢……

在停船的匆忙中，看見(jiàn)臺(tái)上有一個(gè)黑的長(zhǎng)胡子的背上插著四張旗，捏著長(zhǎng)槍，和一群赤膊的人正打仗。雙喜說(shuō)，那就是有名的鐵頭老生，能連翻八十四個(gè)筋斗，他日里親自數(shù)過(guò)的。

我們便都擠在船頭上看打仗，但那鐵頭老生卻又并不翻筋斗，只有幾個(gè)赤膊的人翻，翻了一陣，都進(jìn)去了，接著走出一個(gè)小旦來(lái)，咿咿呀呀的唱。雙喜說(shuō)，“晚上看客少，鐵頭老生也懈了，誰(shuí)肯顯本領(lǐng)給白地看呢？”我相信這話對(duì)，因?yàn)槠鋾r(shí)臺(tái)下已經(jīng)不很有人，鄉(xiāng)下人為了明天的工作，熬不得夜，早都睡覺(jué)去了，疏疏朗朗的站著的不過(guò)是幾十個(gè)本村和鄰村的閑漢。烏篷船里的那些土財(cái)主的家眷固然在，然而他們也不在乎看戲，多半是專到戲臺(tái)下來(lái)吃糕餅水果和瓜子的。所以簡(jiǎn)直可以算白地。

然而我的意思卻也并不在乎看翻筋斗。我最愿意看的是一個(gè)人蒙了白布，兩手在頭上捧著一支棒似的蛇頭的蛇精，其次是套了黃布衣跳老虎。但是等了許多時(shí)都不見(jiàn)，小旦雖然進(jìn)去了，立刻又出來(lái)了一個(gè)很老的小生。我有些疲倦了，托桂生買豆?jié){去。他去了一刻，回來(lái)說(shuō)，“沒(méi)有。賣豆?jié){的聾子也回去了。日里倒有，我還喝了兩碗呢?，F(xiàn)在去舀一瓢水來(lái)給你喝罷。”

Instead of drinking the water， I stuck it out as best I could. I cannot say what I saw， but by degrees something strange seemed to happen to the faces of the players， whose features blurred as if melting into one flattened surface. Most of the younger boys yawned， while the older ones chatted among themselves. It was only when clown in a red shirt was fastened to a pillar on the stage， and a greybeard started horsewhipping him， that we roused ourselves to watch again and laughed. I really think that was the best scene of the evening.

But then the old woman came out. This was the character I dreaded most， especially when she sat down to sing. Now I saw by everybody’s disappointment that they felt just as I did. To start with， the old woman simply walked to and fro singing， then she sat on a chair in the middle of the stage. I felt most dismayed， and Shuangxi and the rest started swearing. I waited patiently till， after a long time， the old woman raised her hand. I thought she was going to stand up. But dashing my hopes she lowered her hand slowly again just as before， and went on singing. Some of the boys in the boat could not help groaning； the rest began to yawn again. Finally Shuangxi， when he could stand it no longer， said he was afraid she might go on singing till dawn and we had better leave. We all promptly agreed，becoming as eager as when we had set out. Three or four boys ran to the stern， seized the poles to punt back several yards， then headed the boat around. Cursing the old woman， they set up the oars and started back for the pine-wood.

Judging by the position of the moon we had not been watching very long， and once we left Zhaozhuang the moonlight seemed unusually bright.When we turned back to look at the lanternlit stage， it appeared just as it had been when we came， hazy as a fairy pavilion， covered in a rosy mist. Once again the flutes sounded melodiously in our ears. I suspected that the old woman must have finished， but could hardly suggest going back again to see.

我不喝水，支撐著仍然看，也說(shuō)不出見(jiàn)了些什么，只覺(jué)得戲子的臉都漸漸的有些稀奇了，那五官漸不明顯，似乎融成一片的再?zèng)]有什么高低。年紀(jì)小的幾個(gè)多打呵欠了，大的也各管自己談話。忽而一個(gè)紅衫的小丑被綁在臺(tái)柱子上，給一個(gè)花白胡子的用馬鞭打起來(lái)了，大家才又振作精神的笑著看。在這一夜里，我以為這實(shí)在要算是最好的一折。

然而老旦終于出臺(tái)了。老旦本來(lái)是我所最怕的東西，尤其是怕他坐下了唱。這時(shí)候，看見(jiàn)大家也都很掃興，才知道他們的意見(jiàn)是和我一致的。那老旦當(dāng)初還只是踱來(lái)踱去的唱，后來(lái)竟在中間的一把交椅上坐下了。我很擔(dān)心；雙喜他們卻就破口喃喃的罵。我忍耐的等著，許多工夫，只見(jiàn)那老旦將手一抬，我以為就要站起來(lái)了，不料他卻又慢慢的放下在原地方，仍舊唱。全船里幾個(gè)人不住的吁氣，其余的也打起呵欠來(lái)。雙喜終于熬不住了，說(shuō)道，怕他會(huì)唱到天明還不完，還是我們走的好罷。大家立刻都贊成，和開(kāi)船時(shí)候一樣踴躍，三四人徑奔船尾，拔了篙，點(diǎn)退幾丈，回轉(zhuǎn)船頭，架起櫓，罵著老旦，又向那松柏林前進(jìn)了。

月還沒(méi)有落，仿佛看戲也并不很久似的，而一離趙莊，月光又顯得格外的皎潔。回望戲臺(tái)在燈火光中，卻又如初來(lái)未到時(shí)候一般，又漂渺得像一座仙山樓閣，滿被紅霞罩著了。吹到耳邊來(lái)的又是橫笛，很悠揚(yáng)；我疑心老旦已經(jīng)進(jìn)去了，但也不好意思說(shuō)再回去看。

Soon the pine-wood was behind us. Our boat was moving fairly fast，but there was such thick darkness all around you could tell it was very late. As they discussed the players， laughing and swearing， the rowers pulled harder on the oars. Now the plash of water against our bow was even more distinct. The ferry-boat seemed like a great white fish carrying a freight of children through the foam. Some old fishermen who fished all night stopped their punts to cheer at the sight.

We were still about one li from Pingqiao when our boat slowed down，the oarsmen saying that they were tired after rowing so hard， with nothing to eat for hours. It was Guisheng who had a bright idea this time. He said the broad beans were just ripe， and there was fuel on the boat—we could filch some beans and cook them. Everybody approving， we promptly drew alongside the bank and stopped. The pitch-black fields were filled with plump broad beans.

“Hey， Afa！ They’re your family’s over here， and Old Liu Yi’s over there. Which shall we take？” Shuangxi， the first to leap ashore， called from the bank.

As we all jumped ashore too Afa said， “Wait a bit and I’ll have a look.”He walked up and down feeling the beans， then straightened up to say，“Take ours， they’re much bigger.” With a shout we scattered through his family’s bean field， each picking a big handful of beans and throwing them into the boat. Shuangxi thought that if we took any more and Afa’s mother found out， she would make a scene， so we all went to Old Liu Yi’s field to pick another handful each.

Then a few of the older boys started rowing slowly again， while others lit a fire in the stern and the younger boys and I shelled the beans. Soon they were cooked， and we let the boat drift while we gather round and ate them with our fingers. When the beans were finished we went on again， washing the pot and throwing the pods into the river， to destroy all traces. What worried Shuangxi now was that we had used the salt and firewood on Eighth Granduncle’s boat， and being a canny old man he was sure to find out and berate us. But after some discussion we decided that we had nothing to fear. If he swore at us， we would ask him to return the tallow branch he had taken the previous year from the river bank， and to his face call him “Old Scabby.”

不多久，松柏林早在船后了，船行也并不慢，但周圍的黑暗只是濃，可知已經(jīng)到了深夜。他們一面議論著戲子，或罵，或笑，一面加緊的搖船。這一次船頭的激水聲更其響亮了，那航船，就像一條大白魚(yú)背著一群孩子在浪花里躥，連夜?jié)O的幾個(gè)老漁父，也停了艇子看著喝采起來(lái)。

離平橋村還有一里模樣，船行卻慢了，搖船的都說(shuō)很疲乏，因?yàn)樘昧?，而且許久沒(méi)有東西吃。這回想出來(lái)的是桂生，說(shuō)是羅漢豆正旺相，柴火又現(xiàn)成，我們可以偷一點(diǎn)來(lái)煮吃的。大家都贊成，立刻近岸停了船；岸上的田里，烏油油的便都是結(jié)實(shí)的羅漢豆。

“阿阿，阿發(fā)，這邊是你家的，這邊是老六一家的，我們偷那一邊的呢？”雙喜先跳下去了，在岸上說(shuō)。

我們也都跳上岸。阿發(fā)一面跳，一面說(shuō)道，“且慢，讓我來(lái)看一看罷，”他于是往來(lái)的摸了一回，直起身來(lái)說(shuō)道，“偷我們的罷，我們的大得多呢?！币宦暣饝?yīng)，大家便散開(kāi)在阿發(fā)家的豆田里，各摘了一大捧，拋入船艙中。雙喜以為再多偷，倘給阿發(fā)的娘知道是要哭罵的，于是各人便到六一公公的田里又各偷了一大捧。

我們中間幾個(gè)年長(zhǎng)的仍然慢慢的搖著船，幾個(gè)到后艙去生火，年幼的和我都剝豆。不久豆熟了，便任憑航船浮在水面上，都圍起來(lái)用手撮著吃。吃完豆，又開(kāi)船，一面洗器具，豆莢豆殼全拋在河水里，什么痕跡也沒(méi)有了。雙喜所慮的是用了八公公船上的鹽和柴，這老頭子很細(xì)心，一定要知道，會(huì)罵的。然而大家議論之后，歸結(jié)是不怕。他如果罵，我們便要他歸還去年在岸邊拾去的一枝枯桕樹(shù)，而且當(dāng)面叫他“八癩子”。

“We’re all back！ How could anything go wrong？ Didn’t I guarantee that？” Shuangxi’s voice suddenly rang out from the bow.

Looking past him， I saw we were already at Pingqiao and someone was standing at the foot of the bridge—it was my mother to whom Shuangxi had called. As I walked up to the bow the boat passed under the bridge， then stopped， and we all went ashore. Mother was rather angry. She asked why we had come back so late—it was after midnight. But she was pleased to see us too and smilingly invited everyone to go and have some puffed rice.

They told her we had all had a snack to eat and were sleepy， so we had better get to bed at once， and off we all went to our different homes.

I did not get up till noon the next day， and there was no word of any trouble with Eighth Granduncle over the salt or firewood. That afternoon we went to catch prawns as usual.

“Shuangxi， you little devils stole my beans yesterday！ And instead of picking them properly you trampled down quite a few.” I looked up and saw Old Liu Yi on a punt， coming back from selling beans. There was still a heap of left-over beans at the bottom of the punt.

“Yes， we were treating a visitor. We didn’t mean to take yours to begin with，” said Shuangxi. “Look！ you’ve frightened away my prawn！”

When the old man saw me， he stopped punting and chuckled，“Treating a visitor？ So you should.” Then he asked me， “Was yesterday’s opera good， Brother Xun？”

I nodded. “Yes， it was.”

“Did you enjoy the beans？”

“都回來(lái)了！那里會(huì)錯(cuò)。我原說(shuō)過(guò)寫(xiě)包票的！”雙喜在船頭上忽而大聲的說(shuō)。

我向船頭一望，前面已經(jīng)是平橋。橋腳上站著一個(gè)人，卻是我的母親，雙喜便是對(duì)伊說(shuō)著話。我走出前艙去，船也就進(jìn)了平橋了，停了船，我們紛紛都上岸。母親頗有些生氣，說(shuō)是過(guò)了三更了，怎么回來(lái)得這樣遲，但也就高興了，笑著邀大家去吃炒米。

大家都說(shuō)已經(jīng)吃了點(diǎn)心，又渴睡，不如及早睡的好，各自回去了。

第二天，我向午才起來(lái)，并沒(méi)有聽(tīng)到什么關(guān)系八公公鹽柴事件的糾葛，下午仍然去釣蝦。

“雙喜，你們這班小鬼，昨天偷了我的豆了罷？又不肯好好的摘，踏壞了不少?！蔽姨ь^看時(shí)，是六一公公棹著小船，賣了豆回來(lái)了，船肚里還有剩下的一堆豆。

“是的。我們請(qǐng)客。我們當(dāng)初還不要你的呢。你看，你把我的蝦嚇跑了！”雙喜說(shuō)。

六一公公看見(jiàn)我，便停了楫，笑道，“請(qǐng)客？——這是應(yīng)該的。”于是對(duì)我說(shuō)，“迅哥兒，昨天的戲可好么？”

我點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)頭，說(shuō)道，“好?！?

“豆可中吃呢？”

I nodded again. “Very much.”

To my surprise， that gratified Old Liu Yi enormously. Sticking up one thumb he said complacently， “People from big towns who have studied really know What’s good！ I select my bean seeds one by one， yet country folk who can’t tell good from bad say my beans aren’t up to other people’s. I’ll give some to your mother today for her to try....” With that he punted off.

When Mother called me home for supper， on the table there was a large bowl of boiled beans which Old Liu Yi had brought for the two of us. And I heard he had praised me highly to Mother， saying， “He’s so young， yet he knows What’s what. He’s sure to come first in the official examinations in future. Your fortune’s as good as made， ma’am.” But when I ate the beans，they did not taste as those of the night before.

It is a fact， right up till now， I have really never eaten such good beans or seen such a good opera as I did that night.

Oct-22

我又點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)頭，說(shuō)道，“很好?！?

不料六一公公竟非常感激起來(lái)，將大拇指一翹，得意的說(shuō)道，“這真是大市鎮(zhèn)里出來(lái)的讀過(guò)書(shū)的人才識(shí)貨！我的豆種是粒粒挑選過(guò)的，鄉(xiāng)下人不識(shí)好歹，還說(shuō)我的豆比不上別人的呢。我今天也要送些給我們的姑奶奶嘗嘗去……”他于是打著楫子過(guò)去了。

待到母親叫我回去吃晚飯的時(shí)候，桌上便有一大碗煮熟了的羅漢豆，就是六一公公送給母親和我吃的。聽(tīng)說(shuō)他還對(duì)母親極口夸獎(jiǎng)我，說(shuō)“小小年紀(jì)便有見(jiàn)識(shí)，將來(lái)一定要中狀元。姑奶奶，你的福氣是可以寫(xiě)包票的了?！钡页粤硕?，卻沒(méi)有昨夜的豆那么好。

真的，一直到現(xiàn)在，我實(shí)在再?zèng)]有吃到那夜似的好豆，——也不再看到那夜似的好戲了。

一九二二年十月。

最惹眼的是屹立在莊外臨河的空地上的一座戲臺(tái)，模胡在遠(yuǎn)處的月夜中，和空間幾乎分不出界限，我疑心畫(huà)上見(jiàn)過(guò)的仙境，就在這里出現(xiàn)了。這時(shí)船走得更快，不多時(shí)，在臺(tái)上顯出人物來(lái)，紅紅綠綠的動(dòng)，近臺(tái)的河里一望烏黑的是看戲的人家的船篷。