SH01翻译：边城 (第七章:一至八章)(沈从文)
Translation: Border-City (Shen Congwen)
(translated by: alexcwlin; edited by: Adam Lam)
七
Chapter Seven
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到了端午。祖父同翠翠在三天前业已预先约好，祖父守船，翠翠同黄狗过顺顺吊脚楼去看热闹。
When Dragon Boat Festival Day arrived, Grandpa and Cuicui had made arrangements three days in advance that Grandpa would take care of the boat while Cuicui and the dog would go to Shunshun’s stilted building to watch the excitements.
翠翠先不答应，后来答应了。
At first, Cuicui refused to go along with the plan, but later she concurred.
但过了一天，翠翠又翻悔回来，
But then a day later, she changed her mind.
以为要看两人去看，要守船两人守船。
She insisted either both of them would go to watch or stay behind to look after the ferry together.
祖父明白那个意思，
Grandpa understood what that meant.
是翠翠玩心与爱心相战争的结果。
It was the result of a struggle between her penchant for fun and her love for him.
为了祖父的牵绊，应当玩的也无法去玩，
With him as a burden, she was not able to enjoy herself when she was able to.
这不成!
That should not be the case.
祖父含笑说：“翠翠，你这是为什么?
So Grandpa said with a smile, “Cuicui, why are you doing this?
说定了的又翻悔，
You can’t make a promise and renege on it later.
同茶峒人平素品德不相称。
That is at odds with the inherent integrity of Chadong people.
我们应当说一是一，不许三心二意。
We have to mean what we say, and we can’t be wishy-washy.
我记性并不坏到这样子，把你答应了我的即刻忘掉!”
My memory is not that far gone such that I have forgotten what you promised me.”
祖父虽那么说，很显然的事，祖父对于翠翠的打算是同意的。
Although Grandpa was saying those words, obviously he was agreeable to the plan she had in mind.
但人太乖了，祖父有点愀然不乐了。
But he was not too pleased when she put his well-being ahead of her own.
见祖父不再说话，翠翠就说：“我走了，谁陪你?”
At seeing Grandpa did not say anything, she said, “Who is going to stay by your side when I’m gone?”
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祖父说：“你走了，船陪我。”
Grandpa said, “Once you are gone, the boat will keep me company.”
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翠翠把眉毛皱拢去苦笑着，“船陪你，嗨，嗨，船陪你。
Cuicui squeezed out a bitter smile with locked eyebrows and said, “Yeah, the boat will keep you company.
爷爷，你真是……”
Grandpa, are you for real?”
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祖父心想：“你总有一天会要走的。”
In his mind, Grandpa thought: “Eventually you will leave me one day.”
但不敢提这件事。
But he no longer had the heart to bring the subject up.
祖父一时无话可说，
He didn’t have anything to say for the time being.
于是走过屋后塔下小圃里去看葱，
So he went to the vegetable plot (which was dug out behind the house underneath the tower) to look at green onion.
翠翠跟过去。
Cuicui followed him.
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“爷爷，我决定不去，
“Grandpa, I have decided not to go.
要去让船去，
If someone is going, let the boat go.
我替船陪你!”
I’ll keep you company instead of the boat.”
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“好，翠翠，
“That’s fine, Cuicui.
你不去我去，
If you don’t go, I’ll go.
我还得戴了朵红花，装刘老老进城去见世面!”
I’m going to wear a red flower and disguise as Liu Laolao to see what the world is all about in the city.”
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两人都为这句话笑了许久。
The two of them laughed a long time on that quip.
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祖父理葱，
Grandpa went to work on the green onion plants.
翠翠却摘了一根大葱呜呜吹着。
Cuicui plucked a big stem of green onion and started blowing noises from it.
有人在东岸喊过渡，
Someone from eastern shore called out for a ferry ride.
翠翠不让祖父占先，
Cuicui did not allow Grandpa to get ahead of her in response.
便忙着跑下去，跳上了渡船，援着横溪缆子拉船过溪去接人。
She rushed down quickly, jumped on the ferry and pulled against the horizontal cable to get across the stream in picking up those people.
一面拉船一面喊祖父：
While she was pulling the boat, she called out to Grandpa,
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“爷爷，你唱，你唱!”
“Grandpa, sing for me.”
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祖父不唱，
Grandpa did not sing.
却只站在高岩上望翠翠，把手摇着，
He stood on a rock high up above and looked at Cuicui while waving his hand from side to side.
一句话不说。
Not a word was uttered by him.
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祖父有点心事。心事重重的，
Something was bothering Grandpa and it was weighing heavily on his mind.
翠翠长大了。
And that was because Cuicui had grown up.
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翠翠一天比一天大了，
Cuicui was growing up day by day.
无意中提到什么时会红脸了。
When something sensitive was mentioned casually, she would blush.
时间在成长她，似乎正催促她，使她在另外一件事情上负点儿责。
Time was maturing her and seemingly also urging her to take responsibility in another matter.
她欢喜看扑粉满脸的新嫁娘，欢喜说到关于新嫁娘的故事，欢喜把野花戴到头上去，还欢喜听人唱歌。
She loved seeing newlywed brides with powdered faces, listening to stories on new wives-to-be, wearing wild flowers on her head, and hearing songs sung by other people.
茶峒人的歌声，缠绵处她已领略得出。
Amidst the singing of Chadong people, she could appreciate the romantically intriguing sentiments.
她有时仿佛孤独了一点，
Sometimes she seemed to be a bit too lonesome.
爱坐在岩石上去，向天空一起云一颗星凝眸。
She enjoyed sitting on a rock and staring fixedly at a cloud or a star.
祖父若问：“翠翠，想什么?”
If Grandpa asked, “Cuicui, what are you thinking?”
她便带着点儿害羞情绪，轻轻的说：“在看水鸭子打架!”
She would be a little abashed in answering softly, “I’m watching water-ducks fight.”
照当地习惯意思就是“翠翠不想什么”。
In local terms, that meant “Cuicui is not thinking about anything.”
但在心里却同时又自问：“翠翠，你真在想什么?”
But in her mind she was asking herself at the same time, “Cuicui, really, what are you thinking about?”
同是自己也在心里答着：“我想的很远，很多。
Concurrently she answered herself with unspoken words, “What I am thinking about is very many things far, far away.
可是我不知想些什么。”
But actually I don’t know what I’m thinking about.”
她的确在想，又的确连自己也不知在想些什么。
Certainly she was thinking, but really she did not know what she was thinking about herself.
这女孩子身体既发育得很完全，
This girl’s body was well-developed.
在本身上因年龄自然而来的一件“奇事”，到月就来，也使她多了些思索，多了些梦。
Because of her age, a “peculiar thing” naturally happened once a month which made her contemplate and dream a lot.
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祖父明白这类事情对于一个女子的影响，
Grandpa understood how this sort of thing affected a girl.
祖父心情也变了些。
His mood also had changed somewhat.
祖父是一个在自然里活了七十年的人，
For seventy years, he had lived in nature.
但在人事上的自然现象，就有了些不能安排外。
But in certain natural human phenomena, there were things which could not be arranged.
因为翠翠的长成，使祖父记起了些旧事，
Cuicui’s growing up triggered Grandpa’s memory of incidents in the old days.
从掩埋在一大堆时间里的故事中，重新找回了些东西。
In all the stories that had been buried over times, once again he recovered certain things.
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翠翠的母亲，某一时节原同翠翠一个样子。眉毛长，眼睛大，皮肤红红的。
During some particular times in the past, Cuicui’s mother looked exactly like Cuicui with long eyebrows, big eyes and rosy complexion.
也乖得使人怜爱
She was such a well-mannered girl that other people were dotingly fond of her.
——也懂在一些小处，起眼动眉毛，使家中长辈快乐。
By making certain small gestures, such as looking up or twitching eyebrows, she could rejoice elders in the family.
也仿佛永远不会同家中这一个分开。
It seemed she would never be separated from the rest of her family.
但一点不幸来了，她认识了那个兵。
But misfortune struck, and she came upon knowing that soldier.
到末了丢开老的和小的，却陪那个兵死了。
At the end, she abandoned the old and the young (1), and died with the military man.
这些事从老船夫说来谁也无罪过，只应“天”去负责。
From the perspective of the old boatman, it was nobody’s fault and only “heaven” should be held responsible.
翠翠的祖父口中不怨天，
From the words of Grandpa, he did not blame destiny.
心却不能完全同意这种不幸的安排。
However, he was not totally at peace with the misfortune.
摊派到本身的一份，说来实在不公平!
In his mind, it was unfair for those cards to be dealt to him.
说是放下了，也正是不能放下的莫可奈何容忍到的一件事!
Though he was supposed to have let bygones be bygones, it was exactly one of those things which he could not let go, but had to live with it because there was nothing he could do.
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那时还有个翠翠。
At that time there was still Cuicui to think about.
如今假若翠翠又同妈妈一样，
Supposed what happened to the mother happened to Cuicui again?
老船夫的年龄，还能把小雏儿再育下去吗?
At that age of the old boatman, could he still hang on to bring the little girl up?
人愿意神却不同意!
Even if the human was willing to do it, the Creator might not.
人太老了，应当休息了，
When a person got too old, he should be resting.
凡是一个良善的乡下人，所应得到的劳苦与不幸，全得到了。
All the toiling and disaster that ought to befall a good-natured rural person had occurred.
假若另外高处有一个上帝，这上帝且有一双手支配一切，很明显的事，十分公道的办法，是应把祖父先收回去，再来让那个年青的在新的生活上得到应分接受那幸或不幸，
If in high place there was a Creator and His two hands dictated everything, obviously the fairest way would be to take back Grandpa first and then let the young one accept what would be coming to her—be it something fortunate or unfortunate.
才合道理。
Only that would make sense.
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可是祖父并不那么想。
But Grandpa did not think along those lines.
他为翠翠担心。
He was worried about Cuicui.
他有时便躺到门外岩石上，对着星子想他的心事。他以为死是应当快到了的，
Sometimes when he lay down on the rock outside the door and thought about things in looking at the stars, he assumed his time should be fast approaching.
正因为翠翠人已长大了，证明自己也真正老了。
Cuicui’s evolvement into an adult meant he was really getting old.
无论如何，得让翠翠有个着落。
No matter how, he should find someone that Cuicui could settle down with.
翠翠既是她那可怜母亲交把他的，翠翠大了，他也得把翠翠交给一个人，
Since the piteous mother entrusted Cuicui to him, he should pass Cuicui to someone else now that she had grown up.
他的事才算完结!
Then, and only then, his job would be done.
交给谁?
But whom could he entrust Cuicui to?
必需什么样的人方不委屈她?
What type of person was needed so that Cuicui would not be mistreated?
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前几天顺顺家天保大老过溪时，同祖父谈话，
A few days ago, Tianbao, Master One in Shunshun’s family, crossed the creek and talked to Grandpa.
这心直口快的青年人，第一句话就说：
The first thing this straight-talking young man said was,
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“老伯伯，你翠翠长得真标致，象个观音样子。
“Sir, your Cuicui has grown up to be really cute and she looks like a Bodhisattva.
再过两年，若我有闲空能留在茶峒照料事情，不必象老鸦到处飞，我一定每夜到这溪边来为翠翠唱歌。”
A couple of years later when I have time to look after business in Chadong and don’t need to travel around like an old crow, I will come every night to sing for Cuicui at this creek.”
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祖父用微笑奖励这种自白。
Grandpa responded to the confession with an encouraging smile.
一面把船拉动，一面把那双小眼睛瞅着大老。
As he was pulling the boat, he gazed at this older son with his small eyes.
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于是大老又说：
So the older son continued to speak,
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“翠翠太娇了，
“Cuicui is too delicate.
我担心她只宜于听点茶峒人的歌声，不能作茶峒女子做媳妇的一切正经事。
I am afraid she is only suitable for listening to songs of Chadong people and is incapable of doing all the regular things that a Chadong daughter-in-law would do.
我要个能听我唱歌的情人，却更不能缺少个照料家务的媳妇。
I need a lover that could appreciate my singing and more importantly, I could not do without a housewife that is capable of doing chores of a household.
‘又要马儿不吃草，又要马儿走得好，’唉，这两句话恰是古人为我说的!”
I think the old saying ‘I want my cake and eat it too’ appropriately applies to what I want.”
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祖父慢条斯理把船掉了头，让船尾傍岸，
Grandpa took his time in turning the boat around, and let the stern of the boat lined up alongshore.
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就说：“大老，也有这种事儿!
Then he said, “Master One, things happen.
你瞧着吧。”
You just stick around and watch.”
究竟是什么事，祖父可并不明白说下去。
However, Grandpa did not clarify exactly what he was talking about.
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那青年走去后，祖父温习着那些出于一个男子口中的真话，
After the young man left, Grandpa thought over the heartfelt words which came out of a man’s mouth.
实在又愁又喜。
Grandpa had mixed feelings of worry and glee.
翠翠若应当交把一个人，这个人是不是适宜于照料翠翠?
If Cuicui was to be handed to a particular man, would this man be suitable in looking after Cuicui?
当真交把了他，翠翠是不是愿意?
If in fact Cuicui was entrusted to him, would Cuicui be willing to go along?
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附注：
(1) the old and the young
The two adjectives here—“old” and “young” functioning as nouns are called “nominals” (名词性词). Another example is “The wealth disparity between the rich and the poor in this country is widening.”
Other examples of nominals are:
(a) His child is a gift from above. (“above” is an adverb functioning as noun being an object of the preposition “from” in a Preposition Phrase “from above”.
(b) Running is good for your heart. (“running” is a Gerund 动名词, a verb form of noun).
(c) To donate is against his nature. (“to donate” is an Infinitive 不定式, another verb form of noun)
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