Section 2: The Fortune of Hu Village 胡村月令
Translated by Lachlan Thomas-Walters & Huijuan Zhong;
Chen Cao & Yiwei Li;
Jingheng Li & Peiye Han
Please see the PDF version of this text here for footnotes.
Rains of Spring: Awoken Mulberry and Vernal Women | 【陌上桑】 |
Mulberry trees make the people recall times of hardship and struggle. For as long as I can remember, mulberry trees were grown to feed silkworms and have been the bane of our existence. When I was young, I always shared more love for bamboo trees as they were free from adversity. However, when seeing the way my father devotedly cared for his mulberry trees, I realized there is something more important than negligible emotions like love and hate; only when feelings like grief, resentment, sorrow and joy are harnessed into our passions, can we live meaningful lives. | 桑树叫人想起衣食艰难,我小时对它没有像对竹的爱意,惟因见父亲那么殷勤的在培壅,纔知世上的珍重事还有比小小的爱憎更大的,倒是哀怨苦乐要从这里出来,人生纔有份量。 |
Mulberry trees have an important place in history. In the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), when learned recluse and scholar Sima Hui (司马徽), visited admired friend Pang Degong (庞德公), Pang was out the back of his house picking mulberries.[1] Another more famous example, is the story of famed warrior hero and eventual emperor of the Kingdom of Shu Han (蜀汉), Liu Bei (刘备). When Liu Bei was a child, there was a particularly fascinating mulberry tree which grew in his front garden. The tree was strikingly tall, with beautifully fronded leaves which hugged the branches tenderly; from a distance it looked just like a carriage. The young Liu Bei famously proclaimed, ‘if I become emperor one day, I’ll make that mulberry tree my royal carriage!’ Perhaps uncoincidentally, mulberry trees share an association to the great heroes of the past; it is true that greatness is born from humble beginnings. Like the mulberry trees in the story, the ones in my hometown are grew tall and differed from the curving and twisting ones which were planted using the new cultivation methods. After our mulberry trees were planted and began to sprout, they grew the most golden and tender leaves. The newly emerged leaves would glisten in the field making the sunshine seem as radiant as the leaves themselves. During the lifecycle of mulberry leaves, the men and women would take different responsibilities. The women would pick the newborn leaves and place them in bamboo cages. These leaves were known as xiaokouye (小口叶), or little baby leaves, and were perfect for feeding the small mouths of the hungry black silkworms. A field of well cultivated mulberry leaves would make a sea of lush green, making for pleasant shade under the spring sun. The silkworms awakening from their second and third hibernations signaled time for mass feeding.[2] They were ravenous. The men, taking the heavier load, would climb the mulberry trees, pick the leaves, and place them in baskets attached to a carrying pole. Once they had picked one dan (担),[3] they would place the pole on their shoulders and haul the leaves back home. [1] Here it is likely Hu Lancheng’s account of Sima Hui (司马徽) and Pang Degong (庞德公) is not entirely accurate. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义), it is Pang Tong (庞统) who visits Sima Hui and they share a conversation under the mulberry tree in what is famously known as ‘桑下之论’. To be faithful to the source text it has been translated as written by Hu Lancheng. Luo Guanzhong, Three Kingdoms: Translated by Moss Roberts (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2015), 637. — Trans. [2] Silkworms go through three or four cycles of feeding and hibernating each spring and summer before spinning their cocoon. David Hinton, The Selected Poems of Li Po (New York: New Directions Publishing Co, 1996), 127. — Trans. [3] Dan is a traditional Chinese quantifier and equal to fifty kilograms. Cha Qisen 查启森, “Dan yu dan” “石”与“担” [Dan and Dan], Beijing Archives 北京档案 8, (1997): 17. — Trans. |
三国时庞德公在树上采桑,司马徽来访,又刘备小时门前有桑树团团如车盖,英雄豪杰的本色原是出在如此份量的人世的。我乡下的桑树也这样高大条畅,不像新式栽桑法的切短,拳曲纠结。桑树初发芽舒叶,金黄娇嫩,照在太阳光里,连太阳光都成了是新的。女子提笼采新桑,叫做「小口叶」,饲乌毛蚕的。及桑叶成荫时,屋前屋后园里田里一片乌油油,蚕已二眠三眠了,则要男人上树采叶,论担的挑回家。 |
While it was rewarding at times, there were moments when raising mulberry trees was painful. On rainy days, the air was damp, making it was especially difficult to keep the mulberry leaves dry. We did everything we could. Ropes were held and tied everywhere: on the eaves, under the porch, in front of the hall and even upstairs. I was young and tired but knew I could not complain in front of Mother. While fanning the leaves, I would help Mother dry them leaf by leaf with a towel. There were times when the silkworms would get hungry in the middle of the night and needed to be fed. Mother would wake me up, ask me to hold the lantern and we would leave out the backdoor to go pick more mulberry leaves. Even though I was only around six years old and it was dark and windy outside, I knew I had to stay strong for Mother and not be afraid. One time, after the silkworms had finished their third hibernation,[1] we had no more mulberry leaves to feed them. To make matters worse my father and my elder brother were not at home to help with the heavy lifting. My mother was so worried she burst into tears. Luckily, my mother’s brother, who lived in Mijia mountain (宓家山), was passing by, and saw the terrible situation we were in. At first, he was angry and confronted my mother, blaming everything on my father and my elder brother. Thankfully, like putting a blaze out with water, my uncle was a lifesaver that night. He went straight to Xiayan mountain (下沿山) and picked a whole dan of mulberry leaves for us. It was just like Libai’s (李白) famous balled of spring: The lovely Lo Fo of the Western land Plucks mulberry leaves by the waterside. Across the green boughs stretches out her white hand; In golden sunshine her rosy robe is dyed. “My silkworms are hungry, I cannot stay. Tarry not with your five-horse cab, I pray”[2] This poem strongly resonated with my childhood and beautifully captures the devotion one must have when cultivating mulberry trees and caring for silkworms, and of course, the beauty of vernal women. [1] Silkworms, which feed on Mulberry leaves, go through three to four cycles of feeding and sleeping each spring and summer before spinning their cocoons. David Hinton, The Selected Poems of Li Po (New York: New Directions Publishing Co, 1996), 127. — Trans. [2] This poem is called ‘Ballad of Four Seasons: Spring’ (子夜吴歌: 春) and is beautifully translated in: Xu Yuanchong 许渊冲, Libai shi xuan 李白诗选 [Selected Poems of Libai] (Hunan People’s Publishing House, 2007), 77. — Trans. |
惟有雨天檐头廊下堂前,连楼下到处,都牵起绳索晾桑叶,湿漉漉的我很不喜,但虽小孩,亦知道不可怨,只得用扇搧,又帮母亲用毛巾把桑叶一张一张揩干。又有时半夜蚕饥,母亲叫醒我,命我提灯笼,母子二人开出后门去采桑叶。外面月黑风紧,那时我还只六,七岁,也知做人当着大事,不可以害怕。一次蚕已三眠,有十几大匾,家里叶尽,父亲和四哥都不在,我母亲急得哭泣,恰好宓家山娘舅路过,他一见如此,就大骂外甥,又埋怨姐夫,叫姐姐不要哭泣,像泼水救火一样,他去下沿山采了一担桑叶来。李白诗、「蚕饥妾欲去,五马莫留连。」我纔知道这样的写美人实在有斤量。 |
In preparation for spring celebrations, because many people in Hu village relied on silkworms and tea leaves, we would often pray for their prosperity by putting paper flowers into cakes and rice. In the first month of the lunar year, people would decorate their houses with a Spring Cattle Map (春牛图)[1] as a way of bringing good weather and bountiful harvests. People would also have Silkworm Cat Paintings (蚕猫图)[2] pressed on wooded boards and hang them up on the wall of the living room. There was also a man who would dress up like the stove god (灶王)[3] and visit every household in Hu Village. He would stand in front of the kitchen stove and pray for family unity and food abundance. After the prayer, each household would be given ceremonial silkworm flowers (蚕花) and in return, the man would be given a bowl of rice. These silkworm flowers were not real flowers, but were flowers made of paper and twined in a thick incense-like stick. They looked just like a rice flower and were magnificently decorated in the purest shades of yellow, green, red and white. They were so adorable I regarded them as treasures and would always try my luck and ask mother for more. Silkworm flowers were popular in our village, so much so that women would often pray for them by going to the temple and burning incense. [1] Spring Cattle Map is a traditional Chinese wood engraving picture, embodying the expectations of the working people for a good harvest and a better life. Liu Ying 刘莹, “Muban nianhua zhong de chunniutu” 木版年画中的春牛图 [Spring Cattle Map of wood engraving New Year picture], Zhongguo yishu shikong 中国艺术时空4, (2017): 24. — Trans. [2]Silkworm Cat is not a real cat but a symbolic decoration, usually used to protect silkworms from mice. Xu Yizhen 徐艺乙, “Can mao” 蚕猫[Silkworm Cat], Ethnic Arts 民族艺术 4, (2016): 87. — Trans. [3] The stove God, also known as the Kitchen God, is one of the most important Chinese domestic Gods and helps to protect the family health. Phillips Carolyn, “The Kitchen God of Chinese Lore,” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture 13, no.4 (2013): 22. — Trans. |
胡村人春花就靠丝茶。正月里来分春牛图,又便是蚕猫图,都木版印出,家家贴一张在正房间墙壁上。还有绰灶王的人来,到每家灶君菩萨前舞一回,分下蚕花供养,得米一碗而去,蚕花是纸剪出缠在像香棒的细竹条上,形状好像稻花,分黄绿白红四种,都是极正的正色,我小时非常喜爱,问母亲要得几枝当宝贝。正月里妇女去庙里烧香,也是求的蚕花。 |
In February, the Muduo Daoist (木铎道人) would walk through the village, rattling his bronze Muduo.[1] He was adorned in ceremonial Qing Dynasty clothing, wearing a red tasseled hat accompanied with an intricate robe which had closed sleeves that would finish into the iconic horse-hoof shaped cuffs.[2] Going from door-to-door, he practiced dagua (打卦)[3] for the villagers using divination to predict their fortunes for the coming year. The ritual began with him muttering the words “Muduo on government business”, remnants of times gone by — the homage was so seamless it was as if the courtiers, found in the two thousand year old Rites of Zhou (周礼), were leading the sermon themselves.[4] The ritual focused on instilling good values, teaching the people to be virtuous, hardworking and thrifty. I was only young at the time, but I remember hearing: When brothers are of the same mind, they turn dust into gold, When brothers are of diverse mind, they turn gold into dust.
The passage of time The many stages of life From daughter to mother From mother to old wife Mother told me that the Muduo Daoist would take naughty children away, so I dared not get too close to him and tried to stay on my best behaviour. Upon finishing the chant, he took out his divination tools – pulling three shoots of bamboo blocks from his robes. These blocks were cut in half, with one side flat and the other rounded. He proceeded to cast lots, tossing the blocks into the air, and sending them clattering onto the floor. After he finished, he would begin reading the deities response. Mother asked several questions, such as: will our family be free from woe, will we have a good harvest, will our silkworms have a good yield, and will the mulberry leaves be of good quality. The Taoist answered all the questions patiently and carefully according to whether the bamboo blocks were flat-up and rounded-down or flat-down and rounded-up. As thanks for the dagua, we gave the Daoist a bowl of rice and he left for the house next door. [1]Muduo(木铎) was a kind of bell-shaped musical instruments in ancient China, which was used to assist in communicating information. The Muduo had several symbolic meanings, usually spreading information from the emperor to the people, or informing the emperor of public opinion. Yong Shen, “China Media Report Overseas,” Muduo: The Traditional Image of Modern Chinese Journalism Enclose the Incident That Shun Pao Registered Muduo as Its Logo 7, no.4 (2011): 101. — Trans. [2] Jennifer Grayer Moore, Patternmaking History and Theory (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019), 184: “The “horse’s-hoof” cuff was designed to reflect upon the Manchu riding heritage and represented protection of the finger when on horseback”. — Trans. [3] Dagua (打卦) is a traditional Chinese divination technique used to tell somebody’s fortune by tossing bamboo blocks onto the floor. Richard. J. Smith, Mapping China and Managing the World: Culture, Cartography and Cosmology in Late Imperial Times (New York and London: Routledge, 2013), 145. — Trans. [4] The Rites of Zhou is one of the three rites of canon and ‘enumerates the official posts required in an ideal bureaucracy, without explaining the relation between ritual and sociopolitical systems’. Michael Nylan, The Five “Confucian” Classics (Yale University Press, 2001), 174. — Trans. |
二月里木铎道人来沿门挨户打卦,是穿的清朝冠服,红缨帽,马蹄袖袍褂,手摇一只大木铎,他先口中念念有词,第一句是「官差木铎」,恐怕还是二千年前周礼里王官的流传,听他说下去都是劝人为善,要勤俭农作之意,我小时只听得懂不多几句,如「三兄四弟一条心,灶下灰尘变黄金,三兄四弟各条心,堂前黄金变灰尘」,以及「廿年新妇廿年婆,再过廿年做太婆」之类,我有些不敢近拢去,因听母亲说小孩不听话就让木铎道人捉去。他念完了,怀里取出三片竹筊,形状像对中剖开的半边冬笋,拍啦啦掷在门坎内地上,说出卦象,我母亲便问家门顺经不顺经?年成可好?蚕花几分?桑叶贵贱?他一一答了,得米一碗,又去到第二家。我有些不敢近拢去,因听母亲说小孩不听话就让木铎道人捉去。他念完了,怀里取出三片竹筊,形状像对中剖开的半边冬笋,拍啦啦掷在门坎内地上,说出卦象,我母亲便问家门顺经不顺经?年成可好?蚕花几分?桑叶贵贱?他一一答了,得米一碗,又去到第二家。 |
The day of silkworm hatching was especially significant in Hu village. The silkworm breeders would hold a solemn ceremony to worship the Silkworm Flower Goddess, praying for a bountiful yield of silk.[1] The ceremony would involve placing the traditional Eight Immortals square table (八仙桌) in front of the living room and only setting one seat.[2] The joss sticks and red candles (香烛) were put in place, followed by serving a zhan (盏)[3] of clear water accompanied by a freshly picked small branch of tea leaves which was placed inside.[4] After worship, Mother would pack up the table and blow out the candles, keeping them as silkworm flower candles. It was still cold, so the freshly hatched silkworms were placed in a cotton-padded jacket to keep warm. According to tradition, the hatching ceremony was led by the women in order of household seniority; starting with the host’s mother or wife, followed by their unwed daughters and then the newlywed wives who had recently joined the family. During the ceremony, they would all hold freshly hatched silkworms in the warm embrace of their cotton-padded bosoms. The congregation of both the younger and older women helped to bring about yearly prosperity as it harnessed the fortune of the old and the happiness of the youth. [1] Li Song, Chinese Festival Culture Series-The Tomb-Sweeping Day (Paths International Ltd, 2015), 39. — Trans. [2] Richard F. S. Yang, “A Study of the Origin of the Legend of the Eight Immortals.” Oriens Extremus 5, no.1 (1958): 8. — Trans. [3] Zhan (盏) is a shallow wine cup and a Chinese traditional unit of measurement. Song Jiang, The Semantics of Chinese Classifiers and Linguistic Relativity (London and New York, Taylor & Francis, 2017), 70. — Trans. [4] Xiang Chunxiang 向春香 and Tao Hong 陶红, “xian canli zai Zhonghua nonggeng shehui zhong de zhuzhi chaunbo fenxi” 先蚕礼在中华农耕社会中的组织传播分析 [An Analysis of the Transmission of “Silkworm First Ceremony” in the Organization of Ancient Chinese Farming Culture] Canxue tongxun蚕学通讯 Newsletter of Sericultural Science 3, (2011): 56. — Trans. |
孵蚕子的一天拜蚕花娘娘,在堂前摆一张八仙桌,只设一个座位,点起香烛,供一盏清水,去茶树上采小小一条鲜茶叶放在盏里,我母亲拜过就收起,吹熄的红蜡烛留下来做蚕花烛。孵蚕子是还穿棉袄的时候,由婆婆或母亲当头,尚未出嫁的女儿与纔来的新妇各人孵一些在怀中,托托老年人的福气,年青人的运气喜气。 |
In preparation of egg laying, the silkworm moths were placed on a special kind of paper known as silkworm paper. After the black silkworms hatched, the women would lightly brush the silkworm paper using a piece of soft goose feather, coaxing the newborn silkworms into a small round bamboo basket. After hatching, the real work began. The baby silkworms’ mouths were so small that the mulberry leaves needed to be cut into tiny pieces for feeding. Only a few days after birth, due to their terrific rate of growth, the silkworms were divided into several bigger bamboo baskets. The silkworm droppings also had to be cleaned every day. Mother would closely observe the hatching, making sure that each piece of silkworm paper was accounted for — every piece when covered in silkworm eggs weighed one liang (两).[1] As the silkworms continued to grow, so did their appetites. To give them adequate room to grow and feed, the ravenous silkworms were divided into ten big bamboo baskets. We would have to make regular trips to our mulberry leave stocks and haul out as many leaves as we could carry, scattering the leaves into the baskets. The hubbub of voracious silkworms crunching into fresh mulberry leaves was like blustering wind and rain, a cacophony of insatiable rustling. No matter how many mulberry leaves we picked, and how many dan were carried back home, there never seemed to be enough. Their appetite was so unrelenting that Mother and I would often have to wake up two or three times a night to feed the hungry whippersnappers. During those times, it was pitch black, so I had to carry a candle to give Mother light while she tossed the leaves into the baskets, satisfying the hungry mouths below. [1] Liang (两) usually refers to the Chinese tael. Since 1959 the unit of measurement was standardised to equal 50 grams and is now part of the Chinese system of weights and currency. The exact quantity is different from period to period and region to region. The traditional one jin (斤) is equal to 16 liang. Wen Shaoxin, Chinese Numerals and Classifiers (simplified Chinese edition) (Hong Kong: Everflow Publications, 2014), 22. — Trans. |
乌毛蚕孵出了,用鹅毛轻轻把它从蚕种纸下掸下,移在小匾里,饲的桑叶剪得很细,每天要扫除蚕沙,每过几天把蚕分一分,从小匾移到大匾。我母亲孵一张蚕子,一张蚕子是一两,分得十大匾,吃起桑叶来像风雨之声,此时饲蚕是从桑蒲里抓起桑叶大捧大捧的铺上去,夜里都要起来两三遍,桑叶一担一担的挑进门来都来不及。我帮母亲饲蚕,夜里饲蚕我执烛照亮。 |
There were many taboos when raising silkworms. The children were not allowed to refer to them as ‘insects’, but instead called them ‘silkworm babies’. Saying silkworms were ‘crawling’ was also banned, instead we had to say they were ‘moving’. The most forbidden was uttering the word ‘mouse’ as mice were natural predators of silkworms and would often be found scurrying near the bamboo baskets looking for a morsel. To combat the mice, we gave cats the run of the place. We would also have to hang nets around their baskets to protect them from the bites of mosquitoes and flies hovering above. Abnormal weather was also a danger, when it was at its worst, silkworms often would suffer and even die. Of course, nature was not the only threat to silkworms. At times, the price of mulberry leaves would soar leaving farmers with not enough money to buy leaves. The remaining leaf stocks were not enough to feed the silkworms and people would be forced to get rid of them. The sight of families pouring their snow-white silkworms into the river was truly shocking. As the silkworms flowed down the river, I felt a deep sadness — it was at this time I realised that the benevolent can feel profound sorrow. | 小孩对蚕不可以说是虫,要说蚕宝宝,亦不可以说蚕爬,要说蚕行。又忌说老鼠,老鼠要吃蚕,所以蚕时猫最当令。蚕又最怕被苍蝇蚊子叮,要挂帐子。还有天时不正蚕要殭。还有因放桑叶钱的利钱太重,市面上桑叶价钱骤贵,自家的桑叶不够了,把蚕倒了的。最是谁家把雪白的蚕倒了,顺溪水流去,叫人看了惊心,我小时因此彷佛晓得了仁者对于万民的哀痛。 |
During the busy silkworm breeding season, men would treat the hardworking women with more understanding and appreciation. They would be polite to their toilsome wives and were kinder to their hardworking sisters, avoiding vulgar words and brash language. The men also avoided saying any unlucky terms which would jinx the silk breeding process as the villagers believed that hoping for the best and harbouring good intentions would bring fortuitous results. During this time, the villagers had no time to dillydally; mealtimes were no place to relax with everyone hastily shoveling down their rice to get back to work. The men would be outside tending to the fields, the women inside raising the silkworms, and the children would continue playing outside on the village road. Households would leave their doors unlatched but no visitors would come to visit, as the whole village was too busy. The smell of fresh silkworm droppings filled the air dissipating as far as the village walls and roads. The village was so still and quiet the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the spring sunshine, beating down on fields, flooding the senses, running through the body, and nestling inside the hearts of the villagers. The quiet and tranquil environment made the people’s minds unadorned and peaceful. Such a busy life brought a certain serenity to Hu Village. It was a quietness brought about by the calm focused hard work of the villagers. Like all the pegs of a finely tuned instrument, everyone worked in concert and harmonised beautifully to ensure the job got done. Perhaps it is the same kind of assiduousness and moral fortitude that applied to all industries. | 蚕时乡下人个个晓得体谅妻子的辛苦,兄弟待姊妹也比平时客气,不可有粗言暴语,亦不可说不顺经的话,做一桩大事情要有好心怀,果然也是应该的。蚕时是连三餐茶饭都草草,男人都在畈里,女人在楼上养蚕,小孩在大路上玩耍,家家的门都虚掩着,也没有人客来,墙跟路侧到处有蚕沙的气息,春阳潋滟得像有声音,村子里非常之静,人们的心思亦变得十分简洁,繁忙可以亦即是闲静,这理该是通于一切产业的德性。 |
When the silkworms were ready to start spinning their silk and constructing their cocoons, they would be placed in wooden and bamboo grids used to oragnise collection of the yield. Merchants from the towns and cities would come to Hu Village looking for high quality silk and would usually stay for days at a time, often lodging with villagers in their homes. The merchants would arrive endowed in an array of foreign goods and trinkets. When seeing their golden rings, scented soaps, snow white facial towels, and items of decadence, the women could not hide their curiosity and desire. Although not all the people who arrived were merchants. Some of the men who came were town and city dwellers who, instead of bringing foreign goods, enjoyed teasing the women while they were on the riverbanks washing their clothes and cleaning vegetables. Despite the men’s attempt to get a reaction out of them, the women were neither annoyed nor fussed by the young outsiders and continued acting polite and respectful, treating them as welcomed guests. The women were neither shy or embarrassed and knew the men’s words would flow away like the clear shallow waves of the river. They had experienced taunts from these kinds of men before and knew that a cordial reaction was the best way to pacify the situation. The silk traders came year in year out, and despite the advances of the young lads, there were never any stories of romance with the village ladies. | 及蚕上簇,城里人就来胡村开秤收茧,行家水客即借住在村人家里。他们戴的金戒指,用的香皂与雪白的洗脸毛巾,许多外洋码头来的新鲜物事儿,妇女们见了都有好意。而且也有是从城里来的少年郎,不免要调笑溪边洗衣洗菜的妇女,但她们对于外客皆有敬重,一敬重就主客的心思都静了,有调笑的话亦只像溪水的阳光浅浪,用不着羞傍人。茧客年年来,我小时却不听见说有过罗曼史。 |
Several days later, it was time for the breeders to unpack the silkworm grids and take out the beautiful snow-white silk and cocoons. The freshly spun cocoons would shine clear and bright. After the women had finished unpacking the cocoons, the men would put them into two bamboo baskets, attached them with rope to bamboo shoulder poles, and carried the cocoons to the market for sale. The marketplaces or ‘cocoon sites’ (茧行) could be found in every village stretching as far as Sanjie Town (三界镇). The streets were full of cocoon farmers and customers, haggling over the price and comparing them with others. The newly issued Yinyuan (银元) that the villagers made from selling their cocoons, sparkled, and shined through the eyes of the villagers and flowed into their hearts, bringing a warm smile.[1] When the price was unsatisfactory or fluctuating, the villagers would travel to the neighbouring towns and cities to sell their cocoons. Before the men went on their way, the women would make sure to pull out some of the valuable silk from inside the cocoons. The extra silk and cocoons would be stashed away in case the family was in need, or the price suddenly increased. It was always good to have a little extra in case the family fell on hard times. Naturally, that was the way things were. [1] Yinyuan (银元) was a currency which originated in Europe in 15th century and spread to China in late Qing dynasty. In the Qianlong period (1736-1795), the government began coining local Yinyuan. Ma Changlin 马长林, “Qingmo minchu de yinyuan he tongyuan” 清末民初的银元和铜元[Yinyuan and Tongyuan in late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China], China finance 中国金融8, (2014): 87-88— Trans. |
这时家家开簇拆茧,皎洁如雪色,都是妇女与小孩拆了,由男人挑到茧行去卖,茧行在各乡及三界镇上都有开着,路上都是挑茧的人,互相问答,评较各家的价钱,卖茧得来的是新铸的银元,照得人眼里心里明明亮。有价钱不合,亦不等钱用的,则自己缫丝再拿到城里去卖,但各家妇女亦多少都要留下一些茧,缫丝收藏着,为应急或私房积蓄,总总是人世之事。 |
Qingming (清明)[1] [1]Qingming (清明) has rich connotations and profound meaning in China. It is not only one of the 24 solar terms and the optimum time for farming, but also a festival for the worship of ancestors, sorrow, and gratitude. Gao Zhiming高志明, “Qingming xisu yu nongshi” 清明习俗与农事 [Custom and farming of Qingming]. Nongcun shiyong jishu 农村实用技术 4, (2004): 54 — Trans. |
【清明】 |
At different traditional festivals, people enjoy different customs and activities. During the Lantern Festival (元宵节) people celebrate by hanging lanterns in the streets and gathering at night to set them alite and watch as they fly off into the dark sky. Kite-flying is another meaningful spring custom. People believe that cutting off the string and letting the kite fly away with the wind would get rid of the year’s bad fortune. Then there is Qingming Festival. During Qingming, tomb-sweeping and the worship of ancestors is sacred, and attendance was mandatory. All the family, including the unmarried women (who would usually stay at home) all had a filial duty to attend. Therefore, there was an old saying: In the first lunar month, Light the lanterns up. In the second lunar month, Fly the paper-gledes up. In the third lunar month, Tomb-sweep and see pretty women dressing up. Growing up, the closest lantern festival show was in the far away town of Shangyu (上虞) in Sheng County (嵊县), and the people of Hu Village did not fly kites, so the first real festival of the year was Qingming. On the way to sweep the tombs of our ancestors, the only women we met were our sisters or brothers’ wives. Though they were all close family and friends, seeing all the beautiful women in their festive clothing created an attractive scene of elegant femininity and was truly enchanting. There youthful fertility and quiet tranquility was not dissimilar to the peach blossoms; maybe they had reincarnated from actual peach blossoms. It reminds me of a poem by Su Shi (苏轼 (1037-1101).[1] After leaving Sichuan (四川) for Dijing (帝京), Su Shi passed by Hanyang (汉阳) where he wrote a poem about King Wen of Zhou (周文王). The poem told of the King’s reputation amongst his people, and his passion for teaching people to be respectful and well-mannered. His teachings greatly influenced the people. When travellers passed through the many villages, the refined and elegant women were by the stream washing their silk handkerchiefs. When they saw the travellers, they immediately brushed themselves down and stood to attention like the high-ranking officials, flirtatiously arranging their handkerchiefs like an official would do with his ceremonial headdress. The famous Qing Dynasty writer and politician Ji Xiaolan (纪晓岚), criticised the poem for being plain and childish, but I disagree. The poem not only beautifully captures women’s unique feminine attraction and playfulness, but also reflects Su Shi as an honest and sincere young man; unconstrained by convention and bold enough to express his true feelings. [1]Su Shi (苏轼), also known as Zizhan (子瞻) or Dongpo (东坡), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and writer of the Song dynasty. Tan Xinhong 谭鑫红, Zhongguo gudian shici jiaozhuping congshu – Sushici quanji 中国古典诗词校注评丛书—苏轼词全集 [A series of commentaries on classical Chinese poetry- The Complete Works of Su Shi’s Poetry] (Wuhan: Chongwenchuju, 2015), 8. — Trans. |
「正月灯,二月鹞,三月上坟看姣姣」,但是灯市台阁要到嵊县上虞城里去看,我乡下也不放风筝,且上坟没有姣姣可看,因为陌上路上相见都是相识的姊妹,嫂嫂。但是女子有她的正经,恰像桃花的贞静,乃真是桃花了。苏轼初出四川到帝京,过汉阳时作诗,有云「文王教化处,游女俨公卿,过之不敢慢,伫立整冠缨」,纪晓岚批说稚拙,但我很欢喜,这首诗也写出了苏轼自己是个志诚年青人。 |
Wormwood dumplings (菁饺) were specially made for Qingming festival. They would be placed on the tombs as offerings to the ancestors because people believed they could drive out evil spirits and ward off disease. When I was young, regardless of whether it was stormy or sunny, Mother would ask me to run down and collect the wild wormwood leaves which grew by the stream. That might be the reason the wormwood dumplings and other food offerings seemed to be filled with dew and sunlight, the were infused with the goodness of the earth. In case some of the family members were too poor to afford the ceremonial offerings, our grandfather would arrange a fixed amount of money for tomb-sweeping and every fang (房) of our clan would take charge of the arrangements in turn; they were known as the on-duty fang.[1] Traditionally, families would prepare special Qingming pork and tofu. As for the children, only the sons of each fang who were over sixteen would be entitled to receive one jin of tofu and half a jin of pork. The daughters, on the hand, were regarded as guests and would receive Qingming pork and tofu from the moment they were born. Once grown up and married, they would sometimes return to their hometown Niangjia (娘家)[2] to see their ancestors and family during Qingming. Though they had married and become part of another household, they would still receive Qingming food. If someone in our clan worked as an official, he received half a jin more than anyone else, as he was regarded as having provided the ancestors with happiness and relief by bringing honour to the family. As well as the offerings, Mother would also prepare large incense sticks, red candles, paper spirit money (纸钱),[3] and firecrackers, however the sesame seed cakes were handed out by the on-duty fang. Before heading to the ancestral tomb, every item had to be accounted for. Once everything was prepared, each item was put into the appropriate position in a set of layered boxes which were packed one on top of the other. Once in place, Brother Four (四哥) would get out his shoulder pole and haul it to the tomb. As Mother’s ancestors rested in another place, she was only expected to pay her respects to her mother and father-in law, after which she quickly returned home to take care of the family. [1] Fang(房) originally means house in Chinese, however, here fang refers to a branch of the family or clan. He Guoqiang 何国强. “Luelun ‘fang’ gainian de yuyi qufen” 略论“房”概念的语义区分 [A Brief Study of Semantic Distinction of “Fang”], Zhongnan minzu xueyuan xuebao 中南民族学院学报4, (1997): 49-53. — Trans. [2] Niangjia (娘家) means home of a married woman’s parents. Ellen R. Judd, “Niangjia: Chinese Women and Their Natal Families,” The Journal of Asian Studies 48, no.3 (1989): 525-544. — Trans. [3] Spirit Money, Ghost Bills, Joss Money are just some of the English names used to describe the ceremonial paper money burnt as an offering to ancestors. It is believed that by burning paper money, it is being sent to ancestors in the netherworld. The origins of burning paper money are estimated to have arisen in around 86 A.D. alongside Cai Lun’s invention of craft paper. Fred C. Blake, “Origins” in Burning Money: The Material Spirit of the Chinese Lifeworld, (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2012), 76. — Trans. |
上坟做菁饺,我小时就管溪边地里去觅艾菁。菁饺与上坟用的酒馔,只觉是带有风露与日晒气的。还有是去领清明猪肉与豆腐,上代太公作下来的,怕子孙有穷的上不起坟,专设一笔茔田各房轮值,到我一辈还每口领得一斤豆腐,半斤猪肉,不过男孩要上十六岁,女儿则生出就有得领,因为女儿是客,而且虽然出嫁了,若清明恰值归宁在娘家,也仍可以领。若有做官的,他可以多领半斤,也是太公见子孙上达欢喜之意。我母亲把这些都备弁好了,连同香烛纸钱爆竹,及上坟分的烧饼,都把来装在盒担里,由四哥挑了,一家人都去上坟,母亲是只上爷爷娘娘的坟她也去,因为她是新妇,此外她是留在家里看家。 |
The tomb sweeping and worship ceremony was often accompanied by the sounds of beating drums and woodwind which was also organised by the on-duty fang. Every fang would send family members to attend to the tomb and pay respects to the ancestors. After the ceremony, the family members of each fang would gather for the Qingming banquet. The banquet was set up in the ancestral courtyard of Nijiashan, where forty to fifty tables were set for all in attendance. It was custom to sit next to closer relatives. In preparation for the festivities, the women would be formally dressed, in festival skirts and make-up. It was the on-duty fang’s responsibility to prepare the main dish and the side dishes would be brought by each of the other fangs. The banquet would start at dusk. As summer was drawing close the days were much longer so it was still light when our family members started making their way home. On our way back to Hu Village, I followed Mother as we crossed the river bridge with the droves of full-bellied villagers. The day was so long, it felt as if it was a misty morning before daybreak and we were all migrating to some far-off land to start a new life. |
清明太公的坟是由轮值茔田的一家去上,要用鼓吹,各房都要有人去拜。上过太公坟,吃清明饭,各房全家到齐,妇女都穿裙,打扮了去。在倪家山众家大堂前,有四五十桌,小菜自己带去,饭由轮值茔田的一家备弁,坐拢来都是同一个太公的子孙。吃清明饭在傍晚,其时日子已放长,吃了回来,许多人纷纷渡过溪桥,我跟着母亲,只觉暮色像早晨白茫茫天快要亮时,胡村人还要出去到外面打江山。 |
The tomb sweeping would go on for many days. Some families only took a single day to sweep their ancestors’ tombs, while others could take two or three. There were tombs in all kinds of places: the grass next to the road, the foothills, and some as far as halfway up the mountain. The scenery on the way to the tombs was full of greenery. Even though the ideal time for picking had recently passed, the tea leaves were still fresh. The fields were filled with broad beans and were so impeccably cultivated that villagers would marvel at the hard work. Flowers covered the village. As the wheat had already began sprouting, its flowers had blossomed decorating the farmland in a beautiful snow white. Mulberry leaves made pleasant shade and the neat shape of last year’s cut branches was still visible. The streams, mountains and green fields combined to create an endless bed of green which seemed to engulf the entire village. The greenery merged with the black roofs and whitewashed walls of the village houses; the colours contrasting exquisitely. It was as if the flora and fauna was blessing the festival, in a beautiful amalgamation of nature and nurture. The hard-working lives of the people brought happiness to their ancestors. |
上坟要上许多天,各家有迟早,一家祖先的坟都上遍有的也得两三天。坟有的在路边,有的在山脚下,有的在半山里。上坟去的路上,只见茶叶已不久可采,地里谁家的蚕豆今年种得这样好法,麦已晾花,桑叶已成荫,还看得出去年桑树的枝条剪得非常齐整。此地是整个田畈都齐齐整整,日色映溪连山,又照在村子里,只见人家的乌瓦白墙益发显明。做生活有这样勤谨,所以坟前拜扫人也个个都是孝子顺孙了。 |
When I was about five or six years old, my big brother’s wife –who I called Saosao (嫂嫂)[1] – was still at home. She was very fond of me. During Qingming, the adults would give sesame seed cakes to children because it was said that if children ate sesame seed cakes, they would have a life free from hardship. Every time I heard a family making their way to the tombs, I would run with the other children to receive sesame seed cakes. Sometimes I managed to get one cake and other times as many as two, but I would never eat them immediately because they were precious to me. To stop myself from eating them, I gave them to Saosao and asked her to keep them in a safe place. She would put them in a pottery jar placing it on the kitchen beams where nobody would find them. Whenever I ate one, I would be sure to share it with her. Though those cakes were not valuable to adults and were only worth a couple of wen, Saosao knew how important they were to me, and kept those cakes under close watch. Sometimes Saosao and I would attend other nearby tomb sweeping ceremonies and she would help me collect cakes, sometimes getting as many as fifteen to twenty. No matter what she did or where she went, I liked following her around. I followed her to collect water at the well and sat beside her on a wooden stool while she was cooking in front of the stove. Saosao and my brother had a troubled marriage. Mother told me they were both at fault for the way their marriage had unravelled. When my brother was shouting and arguing with Saosao I was worried and distressed because there was nothing I could do to help her. I burst into tears, crying out of anger and fear — hitting my brother as hard as I could. My punches and scratches were in vain as I was too short; my blows only reaching his thighs and waist. Seeing the affect the arguing had on me, my brother stopped arguing and apologised. Like Saosao, my brother loved me deeply and felt guilty for having upset me. At that time, Saosao was so angry that she started packing her belongings and threatened to go back to her Niangjia. I held her dress tightly and begged her not to leave, shouting “Saosao, don’t go! Saosao don’t go!” Hearing my plea, Saosao turned around, sat back down, and shouted at my brother “Its only for the sake of Litte Six!” Thankfully, Saosao decided not to go back to Niangjia, but I was still sobbing and chocked up with tears that it was hard to say a word. Realising my distress, Saosao fetched water and washed my face gently. [1] Sao (嫂) means one’s elder brother’s wife. Deng Ya邓雅, “Saozi yuanhe buneng shuo cheng ‘xiongjie’” 嫂子缘何不能说成‘兄姐’ [Why Saozi cannot be called ‘xiongjie’], Qingnian wenxuejia 青年文学家 8, (2015): 109-111. — Trans. |
我五,六岁时,大嫂还在家,我顶与她要好,听见谁家上坟我就与别的小孩去接烧饼,有时一个,有时一双,不舍得吃掉,都交给嫂嫂,嫂嫂给我盛在一个瓦罐里,搁在灶梁上,吃时我也总要分给嫂嫂。嫂嫂是大人,当然不在乎这种一两文钱一个的小烧饼,但她也当大事替我保管,有时近处上坟她也去接烧饼,要帮我积成十五到二十个。嫂嫂去井头拎水,我跟去,她烧饭时我与她排排坐在烧火凳上。可是他们夫妻不和,母亲说两人都不好。他们两人常时打拢来,我帮嫂嫂不得,就一面大哭,一面抓打大哥,但因人小,只打得着他的腿与腰身,大哥道、「我难为六弟。」总算不打了,因为大哥也是顶喜欢我的。可是嫂嫂又动了气,当下整整包袱必要回娘家,我牵住她的衣裙不放,叫、「嫂嫂呵,不要去!嫂嫂呵,不要去!」嫂嫂只得又坐下来,骂大哥道、「我是难为六叔。」她不走了,打水给我洗脸,我还哽咽难言 |
The next day, when Saosao was doing needlework with my cousins in the back living room, she asked me to sit beside her on a small bamboo stool. While sitting there she compared a piece of instep from a pair of shoes she was making and measured it against my foot. After measuring, she began making new shoes for me and sang: Canola blossoms strew the ground like gold. Radish blooms open as bright as silver. Broad bean flowers open to reveal their black hearts.[1] Finally, she added: “This broad bean flower’s black heart is just like that of your big brother”. [1] Jonathan P. J. Stock, Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 74. — Trans. |
嫂嫂在后屋与堂姊妹们做针线,叫我坐在小竹椅上,拿手中的鞋面布比比我的脚寸。比对过了,她一面做,一面唱、「油菜开花黄如金,萝卜籽开花白如银,罗汉豆开花黑良心。」说道、「黑良心就是你大哥。」 |
Picking Tea Leaves |
【采茶】 |
The mountains around Hu Village were high and cold. To avoid the cold weather, villagers would pick the tea leaves on the flatter foothills where it was warmer. Once people had finished picking their tea for the day, they would help other families get the work done. As some buyers would want their tea earlier, a small amount of leaves would be picked before the grain rain (谷雨) fell.[1] This tea had a slightly different texture and aromatic taste and would be called the ‘before the rains tea’ (雨前茶).[2] The people of Hu Village believed that one had to wait until the produce was fully developed and mature before harvesting. For instance, villagers would wait until the broad bean pods were full of seven plump beans and knew not to rush over to taste the newly sprouted cucumber, pumpkin, or eggplant. Unlike the town and city dwellers, we knew when everything was ready to be harvested. They had no regard for proper farming and would go so far as to eat chicks and suckling pigs before they had grown to maturity. [1] Grain Rain (谷雨) comes from an old Chinese saying: Rain aids the growth of countless grain. This illustrates the importance of rain for crops at this time of year. The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms. Each solar term was named based on the seasonal changes of climate. Grain rain (谷雨) is the 6th solar term. Chen Chao 陈超, “Shui yu ershisi jie zhi Qingming guyu” 水与二十四节气之清明谷雨 [Rain and Qingming, Grain Rain of Twenty-Four Solar Terms], Zhongguo sanxia 中国三峡 4, (2018): 108-109; see also Wu 无, “Guyu” 谷雨 [Grain Rain], China Today: English Version今日中国: 英文版, 4, no.1. (April 2017): 77. — Trans. [2] ‘Before the rains tea’ is a kind of tea picked at the beginning of tea picking season. The tea picked before the rains is usually picked in late March and has a distinct taste and texture. Commentators note how tea picked at the beginning of Spring ‘are especially flavoursome and aromatic – the flavour of some spring tea suggests that the crisp chill of the last snow was still in the air’. Mazy Lou Heiss, “China’s Legendary Spring Green Teas”, The Leaf Magazine, Issue no 1, December 2007, 1. — Trans. Brother Five came up with the ingenious idea of covering the bamboo shoots with two clay wine jars. As the bamboo was in a dark environment and starved of sunshine it was unable to grow freely but nonetheless grew large, curved, flavoursome and tender yellow bamboo shoots. Mother looked on in disapproval and believed it was a sin to grow bamboo in such a way. To her, it should be left to grow naturally as the most flavoursome bamboo would come from the shoots which grew by absorbing in the sun, soaking in the rain, and blowing in the wind. Mother’s words ring true as it is always a shame to see a reckless waste of nature and resources. Wasting sunlight, rain and wind is perhaps no different to the thoughtless student protests happening around that time.[1] In any event, the busy tea picking season was a fortuitous time. The whole village was bustling with activity and the mountains were filled with the sound of folk songs. While picking the before the rains tea the sound of joyful singing was so beautiful that the cold weather and rain could not ruin the joyful scene. [1] It is likely Hu Lancheng is referencing the 1915-1919 May Fourth Movement where young intellectuals began protesting traditional Confucian values and exulting Western ideas of democracy and science. They were heavily critical of Chinese religion, philosophy, and politics. For more information see: Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China, (Harvard University Press, 1960), 5. — Trans. |
我乡下山地高寒,采茶先从平阳地方采起,自己的采了便帮人家采。亦有谷雨之前采的,叫雨前茶,但只是少量为供客之用。胡村人是甚么都要长成了纔拿来派用场,蚕豆必要荚里的豆粒七分饱满纔摘来吃,黄瓜南瓜茄子纔结下来也不作兴就摘来尝时新,像城里人的吃雏鸡乳猪当然更没有。我五哥不知如何想得出来,他用二只酒瓮覆住竹笋,那笋在瓮里不见天日,弯弯曲曲,长得很大亦仍是极嫩的黄芽笋,我母亲见了亦不许,说是罪过的,要让它自然长大,作了肴馔亦饶有日月风露。依这来说,今时把未成年人来派政治的用场,当然亦与暴殄天物是一样。何况采茶是有个旺时,前山后山处处山歌,而采雨前茶则单是那冰冷淅索就不成风景。 |
As the tea leaves were flourishing, the tea picking maidens from Yanjiang (沿江) would come in their droves. Seven to eight maidens were called a group, but anything over ten was a team. They would travel from village to village, eventually arriving at Hu Village. I would watch as the pretty maidens walked down the main road passing my house. They styled their hair in a fringe, combed to sit just above their eyebrows and wore newly woven bamboo hats which were decorated with green beads placed around the brim. They wore light cotton blouses accompanied with a cerise coloured handkerchief and carried bamboo baskets on their backs. The maidens were in Hu Village for no longer than three to four days at a time and would help the overburdened families go up the mountain and pick tea leaves. The young men in Hu Village normally did seasonal labour and would make a bit of extra money by hauling loads on their shoulder poles. They would use the money they saved to buy rouges and make-up powder for the tea picking maidens. Sometimes young men would treat the maidens to Dagao (大糕), which was a square shaped cake, two cun (寸) long, five fen (分) thick, boiled in glutinous rice flour and had the red characters ‘luck wealth health happiness’ 福禄寿禧printed on top.[1] The cake crust was so thin that the brown filling made from lard and sweet bean paste could be seen from the outside. One bite and the paste would ooze out of the four snow-white edges. The cakes square shape and regal decadence resembled the emperor’s imperial jade seal (玉玺).[2] While Dagao was common in Shaoxing and could be found all over the city, it was rare in Hu Village. They were only sold during tea season when people would freshly steam them and sell them in the luting next to the bridge. The young men were eager to impress the maidens who were busy picking in the mountains and would saunter over to the bridge and buy a whole longs (笼) worth, giddily carrying them up to the young women.[3] Knowing the maidens would be hungry, the young lads would also offer them lunch and help them weigh the haul. The tea picking maidens were paid depending on the weight of the tea leaves so for the especially good-looking maidens, the men would go behind their parents back and slightly botch the scales; turning five and a half jin of tea leaves into six. During these few days, the young men and maidens would constantly flirt with one another, laughing and joking atop the mountain. They would play games often singing to each other and even though the women outnumbered the men, both sides would give back just as much as they got to impress the other. [1] Cun (寸) and fen (分) are traditional Chinese length units, 1 cun equal to 10 fen and equal to 3.33 centimetres. Qiu Guangming, The History of Ancient Chinese Measures and Weights (Anhui Science and Technology Publishing House, 2016), 76. — Trans. [2] The Emperor’s Imperial Jade Seal or Yuxi (玉玺) was also known as the Heirloom Seal of the Realm. They were used throughout the Chinese Dynasties and has considerable importance. Li Yujun. “The ‘Sino-Barbarian Dichotomy’ amid the Political Chess of China’s Dynasties: In the Examples of the Song, Liao, and Jin Dynasties.” Chinese Studies in History 51, no.1 (2018): 37. — Trans. [3] A round container woven by bamboo splits or wood sticks, usually used to contain cakes or food, and can be put into pot to steam. — Trans. |
茶叶旺时,沿江村里来的采茶女,七八人一伙,十几人一队,一村一村的采进去,多是经过我家门前大路上。她们梳的覆额干丝发,戴的绿珠妆沿新笠帽,身上水红手帕竹布衫,各人肩背一只茶篮。她们在胡村一停三,四天,帮茶山多的人家采茶叶,村中的年青人平日挑担打短工积的私蓄,便是用来买胭脂花粉送她们。还有买大糕请她们,大糕是二寸见方,五分厚,糯米粉蒸的,薄薄的面上用胭脂水印 “福禄寿禧”,映起猪油豆沙馅的褐色,流流动,留出雪白的四边,方方的像玉玺印。这大糕在绍兴城里长年有,胡村则只茶时有人蒸来桥头路亭里卖,年青小伙子一笼一笼买去茶山上送给采茶女。他们又给采茶女送午饭,顺便秤茶叶,背着爹娘,把秤棒放给美貌的,五斤半秤成六斤。茶山上男女调笑,女的依仗人多,却也不肯服输。 |
The green tea leaves picked during the daytime would be piled on the floor in the hall. After dinner, the villagers began roasting the tea leaves in the back room by putting them into a specially made shallow iron wok. The tea picking maidens and young men from the household would all congregate, and before long, the whole room would be filled with conversation and laughter. The roasting required a fierce flame — the fire had to be stoked with pinewood which was prepared during the last half of the year before. After the pinewood was cut down, it was cut into smaller logs, piled up like a dry-stone dyke and placed under the sun until they were sufficiently dry and splintered. The young men all knew that cutting and drying the firewood signaled it was close to the tea maidens’ arrival, so they tended to the wood carefully, eagerly anticipating the days ahead. When I was young, I also helped tend to the fire and would move the green tea leaves into position. Once the bottom of the wok was red hot, I would pour the whole benji (畚箕)[1] of tea leaves in and watch as they filled the wok, crackling and popping. As soon as the leaves hit the wok, the maidens were quick to react, immediately using their hands to turn the leaves. Even though the woks were hot and there were many utensils which could have helped turn the green leaves, the villagers knew that nothing compared to hand roasted leaves and were skillful enough to turn the leaves without getting burnt. As the steam and smoke from the fire continued to fill the room, the tea leaves were popping like firecrackers as they were continually turned so as not to burn or stick. It was so hot that the maidens would only wear their tight-fitting light pink blouses accompanied with willow patterned bow trousers. They would break out into such a sweat that clothes would stick to their bodies, the perspiration pasting their fringes to their foreheads. They were unphased by the heat and continued chatting, joking, and singing folk songs as they roasted the leaves. Once the leaves began absorbing too much water and the crackling had subsided it was time to take them out. They would put the benji face down in the wok so that all the leaves were completely covered and then in one motion turned the wok upside down so that the leaves fell neatly back into the benji. Finally, the wok was swept with a brown brush to make sure that all the leaves were accounted for. The timing was paramount. If the leaves were left to roast for too long, they would be charred, overcooked, and lost their flavour. Once the leaves finished roasting, they would be emptied and placed on a table where the men would knead them into solid rolls. As the men were kneading the leaves, small amounts of jade coloured tea water would seep out, after which the leaves would be spread into round bamboo baskets and given another light roasting over a gentle flame. [1] Benji (畚箕) is a woven bamboo container normally found in the Chinese countryside, usually used as a farm tool. Huang Jinmin 黄金明, “Qiwu ji” 器物记 [Collection of Utensils], Wenxue gang文学港 3, (2015): 127. — Trans. |
白天采来的茶叶都堆在堂前地上,叫青叶子。吃过夜饭在后屋茶灶镬里炒青叶子,采茶女与主家的年青小伙子男女混杂,笑语喧哗,炒青叶子要猛火,烧的松柴都是头一年下半年就从山上砍来,劈开迭成像墙头的一堆堆,晒得悉嚓粉燥,胡村的年青人惟有做这桩事顶上心。我小时就帮烧火及搬青叶子,茶灶镬底已烧得透红,一畚箕青叶子倒下去,满满的一镬,必烈拍啦乱爆,采茶女立在灶前就伸手下去炒,要非常快,本来有茶叉的,但是她们不用。她们左右手轮换着炒,茶镬里就像放鞭炮,水蒸汽直冒,热得她们只穿贴身一件水红衫,系一条长脚管柳条裤,粉汗淫淫的,额上的干丝发都被汗贴住。她们一面炒,一面哄笑说话唱小调。等到青叶子浅下去,爆声也小下去了,就可盛起,是用畚箕覆向镬里一阖,随手翻转就盛起,再用棕帚掸两掸,镬里不留一粒,这都要手脚快,不然青叶子会焦掉老掉。然后夹手又是第二镬。炒过的青叶子倒在板桌上,男人双手把它来搓揉,揉成紧紧的一团,碧绿的浆水微微出来了,纔又抖散摊在竹匾里,明天用幽幽的火炒。 |
As nightfall descended on Hu Village, the young men and women were still roasting the tea leaves. The old folks had already gone to bed giving the youth an opportunity to do whatever they wanted without the gaze of prying eyes. The tea roasting would usually go on until around midnight, then the young men and maidens would like to get up to some mischief. They would sneak out the back door, go into the neighbour’s farmland and run off with handfuls of stolen beans. The night was still and tranquil. The young men and women could hear the trickling sound of the river and would look around at the peaceful moonlit village. Amidst the stillness of night, you could hear the ebullient sounds of nature as the leaves rustled and watched as the dew filled farmlands turned silver as it twinkled underneath the clear moonlit sky. Once the young men and women had finished grabbing the beans, they returned to the house and dragged the beans to the back room. The fire was still burning. The beans looked like precious jade under the light, so they wasted no time in peeling the precious little gems, putting them in a pot and cooking them over the fire. It was not long before the beans were cooked and with a touch of salt, they were ready to eat. They would all sit around the table together and went off to sleep as soon as they had filled their bellies. Tomorrow was another busy day and they would all have to be up early. |
夜里炒青叶子,主家的老年人都已先睡,由得一班年青人去造反为王。他们炒青叶子炒到三更天气,男女结伴去畈里邻家的地上偷豆,开出后门,就听得溪里水响,但见好大的月色,一田亩里都是露水汤汤的。他们拔了大捆蚕豆回来,连叶连茎,拖进茶灶间里,灯下只见异样的碧绿青翠,大家摘下豆荚,在茶灶镬里放点水用猛火一煠,撒上一撮盐花,就捞起倒在板桌上,大家吃了就去睡,因为明天还要起早。 |
Even though the tea picking maidens and the young men would often stay in close proximity, we seldom heard of any love stories or romances between them. In a way, youthful freedom was still bound by one’s own moral character. The youth were still pure and spotless, just like how the new branches of willow trees would grow anew with fresh sprouts. This was not only true for the youth. Hu Village was hardly a place of sexual promiscuity. Out of the one hundred and fifty households I had only heard of around six or seven instances of secret love affairs or extramarital relations. Two of which were regarding widowers in their fifties, and another two more were involving salesmen who were not averse to the occasional dalliance with middle aged women. Perhaps the most scandalous were the last four, which involved four women who had gone to Shanghai to work as concubines. Upon returning to Hu Village, the village men would be attracted to them like bees to honey which unsurprisingly brought about many rumours of those four women entertaining their male pursuers. However, there were never any stories of unmarried girls engaging in sexual relations. |
但是也很少听见恋爱的故事,因为青春自身可以是一种德性,像杨柳发新枝时自然不染埃尘。以胡村来说,上下三保大约一百五十份人家,我小时十年之中,听人说有男女暧昧事情的也不过六七件,其中两件是五十以上的鳏夫,二件是店员,对象皆是中年妇人,尚有四个年青妇人是在上海做娘姨的,到时到节回来家乡,有些引蜂沾蝶,但末出嫁的女儿则没有过一件。 |
During last year’s salt smuggling, the Hu villagers would stop by Yanjiang (沿江) and meet with the tea picking maidens to arrange the plans for next year. When next year came around, after the people from Hu village had finished harvesting their rice fields, the strong bodied would travel by foot to Yuyao (余姚) to start the salt smuggling operation.[1] They would hide during the day and travelled with the cover of nightfall, moving through the unpatrolled mountains and ridges. The journey was long and arduous so everyone packed light, taking a satchel of food supplies and a heavy shoulder pole to carry the salt. The round trip was two hundred li and would take around six to seven days all up. It was an incredibly heavy load. The shoulder poles were iron rimmed and the strongest amongst the group could carry one hundred and sixty jin in one trip. They would usually manage two round trips a month and were able to turn two yinyang (银洋) into six.[2] It was incredibly lucrative work, although the smuggling was not without risk. Salt inspectorates were under strict orders to police the trade and blocked many of the well-known smuggling routes. The inspectorates were often hostile and would sometimes come to blows with the villagers.[3] The region had a long history of salt smuggling. It was no different to King Qian Liu (钱镠) who lived during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-979). Qian Liu was born in Lin’An (临安) not far from Hangzhou to a family of farmers and fisherman. From a young age he turned to salt smuggling as a source of income, becoming a commander of the infamous salt smuggling militia which would pillage the eastern regions of the Zhe (浙东). It was through his salt smuggling that he was able to rise to prominence.[4] Then there was the famous 14th century salt-smuggler Fang Guozhen (方国珍) who attacked Yuan Dynasty (元朝) Mongol officials and established the coastal satrapy of Zhejiang.[5] The Hu villagers certainly took up regions historical trade, making sure not to miss out on the profitable opportunity. After the villagers had bought the salt, they would stop by Yanjiang to see the tea picking maidens. They were treated cordially, and would all discuss the plans for the following year. [1] During the early-mid twentieth century there were several government policies which monopolised the salt industry in China. Salt was heavily regulated with high tariffs and oppressive tax rates, as such illicit smuggling of salt was rife. Ralph Thaxton, Salt of the Earth: The Political Origins of Peasant Protest and Communist Revolution in China (University of California Press, 1997), 66. — Trans. [2] Yinyang (银洋) also known as the silver dollar, has an identical meaning to Yinyuan (银元) found earlier in the text. During the Qing Dynasty mountainous villages relied heavily on the Yinyang as a currency. The price of Yinyang always changed due to market fluctuations. Wu Bingkun 吴秉坤, “Qingdai Huizhou Yinyang jiage wenti” 清代徽州银洋价格问题 [The Price of Silver Dollar in Huizhou in the Qing Dynasty] Journal of Huangshan University 黄山学院学报 12, no.1 (2010): 38-41. — Trans. [3] Esson M. Gale. “Public Administration of Salt in China: A Historical Survey.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 152, (1930): 249. ‘A Chief Inspectorate of Salt Revenue, represented in the provinces by District Inspectorates, and in the Yangtze transportation offices by the Chief Auditors of the Salt Revenue, was accordingly created as an integral part of the Central Salt Administration’. — Trans. [4] Hugh R. Clark, “Scoundrels, Rogues, and Refugees: The Founders of the Ten Kingdoms in the Late Ninth Century” in Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, ed. Lorge, Peter Allan (Chinese University Press, 2011) 49-77, 51. — Trans. [5] John Makeham, China: The World’s Oldest Living Civilization (Thames & Hudson, 2008), 275. — Trans. |
沿江来的采茶女是头年下半年挑私盐去就约定的。胡村人下半年田稻收割后,身刚力壮的就结队去余姚挑私盐,他们昼伏宵行,循山过岭,带着饭包,来回两百里地面,要走六七天,用顶硬的扁担,铁镶头朵柱,力大的可挑一百六十斤至一百九十斤,一个月挑两次,一次的本钱两块银洋钱变六块。但也有路上被缉私兵拦去,又亦有与缉私兵打起来的,五代时的钱武肃王及元末浙东起兵的方国珍,就是这样挑私盐出身。胡村人挑私盐经过下沿江,村村保保有相识的采茶女把他们当人客款待,而亦即在此时约定了明年茶时与女伴们再来。 |
The first harvest of tea was ready to be picked around the same time as the second cycle of silkworms. The second batch of tea was picked after the rice beds had been planted. As the sun was beating down on water covered the rice fields, we could always hear the field frogs, known as the ‘chickens of the field’ (田鸡), croaking in the water. The water was clear the field snails could be easily spotted due to the spiraling coiled whorls on their shell. The top dimple of the shell would be cracked open for cooking. The farm was a hunting ground for children and swallows alike who would spend all day gathering field snails, picking mulberries and collecting wild bamboo shoots (乌筱笋).[1] Upon hearing the chickens cawing in the afternoon, it was time to return home. We all barefooted and wore hand-woven grass coloured thin jackets and would follow the river, taking the paths between the fields to get back. On colder days we would sometimes wear a small cotton-padded mian’ao (棉袄) over the top.[2] Faces bright red, as the rays of sun continued to beat down on the village. [1] The term ‘wuxiaosun’ (乌筱笋) is local dialect for all wild bamboo. This is explained in: Xiao Yan 晓燕, “ruguo meiyou sun, rensheng jiu shao le lequ” 如果没有笋,人生就少了乐趣 [If there was no bamboo, life would be without joy”. Shangyu Daily Newspaper 上虞日报, May 13, 2019. — Trans. [2] A mian’ao is a special kind of cotton-padded jacket. Depending on the context it has been translated as ‘jacket’, ‘veste’, ‘robe’ ‘tunic’, ‘coat’ etc. A mian’ao was a common piece of clothing for farmers and would be used to keep warm. Zhe Yuan, “Study on the Translation of Clothing Names in A Dream of Red Mansions based on its English and French Versions” Francis Academic Press, (2018) 798. — Trans. |
采头茶时养二蚕,采二茶时是秧田已经插齐了,畈里被日头气所逼,田鸡叫,田螺开靥,小孩与燕子一样成天在外,摘桑椹拾田螺,拔乌筱笋,听得村中午鸡啼了,纔沿溪边循田塍路回家,赤脚穿土布青夹袄,有时身上还穿小棉袄,满面通红,一股热晒气。 |
The passing of spring signaled the beginning of summer. The men would be outside tending to the fields, while the women were inside raising the silkworms—nurturing them through their second seasonal cycle. The village become quiet at this time, the roads were peaceful, and the families were still. The only noises would come from the red bellied pigeons who would perch themselves on the newly built bamboo roofs, coo-cooing aloud. Though they were close by, the sound they made sounded was as if they were atop the mountains calling out far and wide. It was a beautiful time to be in the kitchen. The rays from the sun would reflect off the mulberry trees outside, splitting into separate beams which would shine through the kitchen window. The kitchen cupboards, pots and chopping boards had all been washed and put away leaving room for the children who would sit on the kitchen stools; tending to a shallow bucket full of field snails they had caught earlier that morning. After laying her eggs, the mother hen would call out “ge ge dai, ge ge ge ge ge dai” as if she was telling the farmers her eggs were ready. As if in unison, the rooster would suddenly let out one large “cock-a-doodle-doo” as he flapped his wings and shook the comb atop his head. Stretching his neck he called out again “cock-a-doodle-doo”. When I was young, Mother told me that back in ancient times roosters antlers like stags and dragons were only in their infancy and were not yet fully formed. The Jade Emperor (玉帝) invited the animals to meet him in his celestial palace to celebrate New Year. The night before the celebration the dragon was swimming in the river and the rooster came strutting by looking magnificent. The dragon asked if the rooster would be so kind as to lend him his antlers, and the rooster agreed, on the condition the dragon returned his antlers after the Jade Emperor’s celebration. The dragon was the talk of the festivities and never returned the antlers. Mother told me that every time the rooster calls out “cock-a-doodle-doo” he is calling out “Dragon, return my antlers!”.[1] On that early summer’s day, the sun was bright and the sky was clear, even though the village was quiet and tranquil, the rooster’s cries always fell on deaf ears. At that time, the villagers were in the back room, preparing tea leaves by hand-roasting them in a wok over an oven fire. Once they were roasted, the green leaves had to be grounded down, roasted two more times, and then dried over the fire. To ensure quality tea, the oven was kept at a low flame and stoked with a small amount of pine wood. Amidst the tranquillity, the only sound you could hear was the tea maker’s gentle blowing of the fire while his two hands turned the tea leaves. The days spent tea picking were long indeed. [1] Eric, Kimmel, The Rooster’s Antlers: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac (Reed Business Information, 1999) — Trans.
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夏始春余,男人在畈上,女人在楼上养二蚕,大路上及人家门庭都静静的,惟有新竹上了屋檐,鹁鸪叫。鹁鸪的声音有时就在近处,听起来只当它是在前山里叫,非常深远。灶头间被窗外的桑树所辉映,漏进来细碎的阳光,镬灶砧板碗橱饭后都洗过收整好了在那里,板桌上有小孩养在面盆里的田螺。母鸡生了蛋亦无人拾,「各各带,各各各各各带!」的叫。而忽然是长长一声雄鸡啼,啼过它拍拍翅膀摇摇鸡冠,伸直脖子又啼一声。我小时听母亲说,龙的角本是雄鸡的,借了去不还,雄鸡啼「哥哥哥!」就是叫龙,可是此刻青天白日,人家里这样静,天上的龙亦没有消息。惟后屋茶灶间里有人在做茶叶,即是把炒过搓揉过的青叶子再来二度三度焙干,灶肚里松柴微火,只听他悠悠的嘘一声,双手把镂里的茶叶掀一掀,日子好长。 |
The Dragon Boat Festival | 【端午】 |
When I was young, it was my job to pull some sweet flags on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. After arriving in Japan, I went to see flowers of sweet flags at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden (新宿御苑) the year before last year and also a year before that. Today I am living at Ryu-ùn Temple (龙云院)[1]. The niece of the abbot is learning how to arrange flowers. Her teacher came the day before yesterday to teach and finally there was a pot of sweet flags in my room. I thought that was a pot of narcissus because the sweet flag in my hometown, near the stream, had a pungent smell, which was so strong, and I was afraid of it. Roots of the sweet flag were firm and tenacious, growing between rocks in the water. If they pull the wrong way, children could fall with their faces towards the sky and broken sweet flag in their hands. I brought sweet flags home and my mother would cut the leaves in the shape of swords and stick them on the door together with red papers. My fourth elder brother would chop some Huangjing grass (黄经草)[2] and burn it in the yard, using the acrid smoke to drive snakes and insects away. Adults would put realgar in the yellow wine, which was stored for years, and every one of them would take a sip of it. They would also write a wang (王) on the forehead of children with the wine. People living in cities would hang a painting of Zhong Kui (钟馗) in their house and eat loquats, but we would not do so in the countryside. We ate yellow croaker instead. [1] A Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Japan. [2] Huangjing grass 黄经草, a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. There, it might be polygonatum sibiricum, also know as 黄精 in Chinese. |
小时每年端午,总是我去拔菖蒲。来日本后,新宿御苑的菖蒲花前年大前年我都去看过,今天我住在龙云院,方丈的侄小姐学插花,前天又是先生来教,插得一盆菖蒲摆在我房里,起先我还当它是水仙,但我乡下溪涧边的菖蒲是一股辛辣气很强烈的,小时我对它很有些敬畏。而且菖蒲的根生在水石里非常坚韧,小孩用力不得法,一拔拔断,人会仰天跌一跤。我找来菖蒲,母亲便把来剪成像两股宝剑,用红纸黏在门上。我四哥是拿了柴刀去斫来黄经草,一大把堆在庭前燎烟,也是一股辛辣气味,除蛇虫百脚的。又吃雄黄酒,把雄黄放在老酒里,浓浓的,各人呷一口,还用指头蘸了在小孩额上写个王字。只是我乡下不像城里人的还挂钟馗,且亦没有枇杷。惟吃黄鱼。 |
The Dragon Boat Festival is also a good day for married daughters to visit their parents. Sister A’huang (阿黄) is the daughter of uncle Yuxiu (秀煜). In the first year of her marriage, she was invited to spend the Dragon Boat Festival with her family. I did not understand why people treated her as a guest. Rouge and powder were on her face. A silver necklace was around her neck. After meeting with her parents, she had to see the neighbors. My mother invited her to drink some tea, she talked, sitting there, composedly. I went closer to see. She stood up and called me brother six[1]. She was quite arrogant and imperious when she wasn’t married, and she wasn’t very close to me then. [1] Hu Lancheng’s mother gave birth to seven sons, and Hu Lancheng is the sixth son. |
端午也是出嫁了的女儿归宁娘家的好日子。秀煜叔叔家的阿黄姊姊出嫁头年,被接回来娘家过节,不知如何她就变得是人客了,脸上擦的水粉,项间戴的银项圈,见过了父母见四邻,我母亲请她吃茶,她安详的坐着说话。我走近去望望,她叫我六弟弟,而且站起来,她在家做女儿时是颇为骄横,和我没有这样亲热要好的。 |
Sister A’huang (阿黄) also brought festival presents from her husband’s family, including a set of Hedan (盒担)[1] and 50 kilograms shoots of moso bamboo. There were several cases in Hedan, filling with steamed buns, yellow croaker, and living chicken, all put on plates. And there were also desserts made of pine pollen and glutinous rice flour, with imprints in the shapes of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, and the pattern “zhuangyuan jidi” (状元及第)[2] in Chinese characters. A pair of steamed buns stuffed with dried longan and white sugar was specially made for her parents. Steamed buns, desserts, and fans were given to neighbors. Fans included circular fans and fans with a peach painted on. For me, it was a peach fan. On the covering of the fan, there was a big peach with branches and leaves. The leaves were green, while the blush pink of the peach was like the rouge well blended. The bones of the fan were made from bamboo, without any processing, retaining its natural color. This kind of fan could be sold for 10 wen[3]. I really liked it, and even felt the weather was like the early summer. [1] A traditional present in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. It consists of several boxes and can be lifted by the carrying pole. [2] “状元及第” literally means that one person becomes the Number One Scholar in the imperial civil examination. In Chinese, it also contains people’s good wish, hoping that children and young adults could have a great future. And it is also a traditional pattern in China, which can be printed on desserts. [3] A kind of monetary unit used before 1914 in mainland China. |
阿黄姊姊带来的婿家节礼是一付盒担,此外一担毛笋。盒担揭开来,一盒一盒是馒头,黄鱼,活鸡,都用盘盛着,还有松花糕饼印出梅兰竹菊或状元及第,又一对桂圆白糖包,及团扇,桃子扇。桂圆白糖包是专敬爹娘的,馒头糕饼扇子分赠四邻,我分得的是一把桃子扇,扇面是白纸上画一只带有枝叶的大桃子,枝叶是绿的,桃子半边擦的红色像臙脂渗开来,扇的竹骨是竹肉的本来颜色,没有加工过,这种十文钱一把的扇子我可是很欢喜,只觉节气真是初夏了。 |
Madam White Snake | 【白蛇娘娘】 |
I lived in the countryside, so I knew nothing about Qu Yuan (屈原). I only knew that the Dragon Boat Festival was something about the Madam White Snake. The White Snake was even willing to give up her life for Xu Xian (许仙) because of her love and gratitude. She stole the celestial herb and the government money, and she risked her life to fight with Fa Hai (法海) and White-Crane. Such a rebellious woman also can be a docile wife. We can see that the virtues of women in Chinese folktales are magnificent and deep. | 我乡下不晓得屈原,只知端午节是与白蛇娘娘的事。白蛇为许仙,真是宛转蛾眉马前死,都只为人世的恩情。她又是个烈性女子。而她盗取官库,且偷了天上的仙草,对白鹤童子及法海和尚都是舍了性命去斗,这样叛逆,也依然是个婉顺的妻子,中国民间的妇道实在华丽深邃。 |
The greatest folk stories in the Yangtze River Valley are the story of Liang Shanbo梁山伯 and Zhu Yingtai (祝英台) and the Legend of Madam White Snake. Hundreds of millions of people from generation to generation have heard and talked about these stories. In the Jin dynasty, there was a story about Xu Jingyang (许旌阳)[1], who killed the flood dragon to eliminate flood; This story is from Chu culture. However, the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai and the Legend of Madam White Snake are set in the ordinary lives of people living in the Han civilization. The prosperous Xiang City[2] of the West Lake, belonged to the ordinary people. Xu Xian was a shop assistant, the Madam White Snake and her maidservant, the Green Snake, were also the common female. People would feel grateful to live in such a world, so, when the White Snake saw Xu Xian for the first time, she felt fall in love. She practiced magic to bring rain, then she borrowed an umbrella from Xu Xian, and she asked Xu Xian to go to her house with the excuse of returning his umbrella. When Xu Xian came, she treated him politely and proposed marriage to him by herself. Chinese folk marriage concerns marriage is the important affair of a final settlement in life. It has a more significant meaning than the love affair. Xu Xian is an honest man,so the Madam White Snake had to advise him carefully. In this situation, the White Snake will not envy the fairy in Yaochi[3]. [1] Xu Jingyang, also known as Xu Xun, the founder of the Jing Ming School of Taoism. [2] A great gathering of Buddhist pilgrims. [3] Abode of the fairy mother goddess. A pool in the Kunlun Mountains. |
长江流域民间故事最伟大的一是梁山伯祝英台,一即是白蛇传,一代一代有几亿人听讲说。以前晋朝时有许旌扬斩蛟,那还是楚民族的,而梁山伯与白蛇传则出在汉文明的平人的天下,白蛇传里西湖香市之盛,即是庶民的,而许仙亦不过是店伙,白蛇娘娘与她随身的青蛇丫鬟亦不过是众中女郎。生在这样的人世,即使毫无缘故,亦使人觉得有一种知恩感激,所以白蛇娘娘在众人中见了许仙,她即刻心里对他非常亲。她作法下起一阵大雨,同许仙借伞,又借故还伞,要许仙第二天到她家去取。她等得许仙来了,献茶置酒殷勤相待,便自己开口提出婚事,中国民间原来只说婚姻是终身大事,还比谈恋爱更意思绵密深长,当下是许仙惟老实,白蛇娘娘则珍重叮咛嘱咐,而单是这样,彼女亦已可以不羡瑶池了。 |
It is said in the Sutra[1] that ‘honest is the good virtue of man, people feel happy for the beauty of women[2]’. Both Liang Shanbo and Xu Xian are so honest that they even make people angry. However, women are daring. Besides Zhu Yingtai, even Qiu Xiang (秋香) in Laugh in the Sleeve (三笑姻缘) is more naughty than Tang Bohu (唐伯虎). The Madam White Snake is also the active one among her and Xu Xian. Everything has a plan. After the Madam White Snake got married to Xu Xian, they called each other ‘Guanren (官人)[3]’ and ‘Niangzi (娘子)[4]’. The White Snake would give a bride salute when she met the sisters of Xu Xian or the neighbors. Xu Xian was a shop assistant in his sister’s husband’s herbal medicine store. The White Snake talked with Xu Xian about setting their own store. That is the aspiration and plan a newly-married couple should have. To establish their store, the White Snake practiced magic to steal the government money. According to the spirit in the Chinese folk customs, if you want to fight, fight for sovereignty over rivers and mountains, if you’re going to steal, steal the official treasury. In Madam White Snake (白蛇传), there is a similar scene to Ruan Xiaoqi (阮小七) punting his fishing boat and singing before the soldiers in The Water Margin (水浒传). While, several months later, the theft came to light. Although Xu Xian knew nothing about it, he was deported and sent into exile. The White Snake and the maidservant, the Green Snake, had gone away when the yamen runner came to the house. The Queen Mother asked the White Snake to the human world is just like the peacock feather coat that Mrs. Jia[5] gave Jia Baoyu (贾宝玉)[6]. He wore it on an auspicious day, but the coat was unluckily burned a hole on that day. [1] One of the discourses of the Buddha that constitute the basic text of Buddhist scripture. [2] The original text of Vimalakirt Sutra is ‘people feel happy for the beauty of wife, and Bodhisattva feel happy for seeing the truth through Buddha Dharma’. [3] Refers to husband. [4] Refers to wife. [5] One of the main characters in Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Baoyu’s grandmother. [6] The main character of Dream of Red Mansions. |
佛经有「善心诚实男,法喜以为女」,梁山伯与许仙就都老实到简直叫人生气,倒是女的大胆,祝英台不用说,连三笑姻缘里的秋香亦远比唐伯虎调皮,白蛇娘娘与许仙也是白蛇娘娘主动,且凡事会得安排。白蛇娘娘与许仙成亲后,便一个口称官人,一个叫她娘子,娘子见了夫家的姊姊姊夫及四邻便有做新妇的礼。许仙是在姊夫开的药店里做伙计的,现在娘子便和官人商量要自己开店,这都是民间新做人家理该有的志气与打算,娘子是为此作法盗取了官库的银子,中国民间的气概,要打就打江山,要偷就偷官库,白蛇传里便也有像水浒传里阮小七在水泊用篙撑渔船在官兵面前唱的歌声。但是过得几个月,库银事发,遭了官司,许仙虽然不知情,到底被递解充军,白蛇娘娘与丫头青蛇是差役到了家门被遁走了。王母要白蛇娘娘来人世,恰如贾老太太给宝玉的一件孔雀裘,吉日良辰纔穿得一回,可可儿的就烧了一个洞。 |
Madam White Snake found solutions in many ways, and she won the case in the end. Xu Xian was back, and the couple got together. Unluckily, a monk called Fa Hai (法海) came. It is the fault of Xu Xian that he should not go to the Jinshan Temple and visit Xiang City. Fa Hai told Xu Xian to ask the White Snake to drink the realgar wine on the Dragon Boat Festival. Because of her husband’s urging, the White Snake could not refuse it, and she thought that maybe she could resist its power, so she drank the wine. After that, she sat with difficulty, and she asked Xu Xian to go out for a while. She closed the door and showed her real appearance on the bed. Xu Xian was back in a hurry. He ignored the obstructing from the Green Snake, went into the room, and just saw a thick white snake on the bed curtain. He died of fright instantly. Fa Hai is so hateful. It is none of his business; why should he interfere? The thing Fa Hai hates most is that Madam White Snake became human. We know nothing about what he thought. | 结果是白蛇娘娘去多方营谋,纔了得官司,许仙回来又夫妻团圆。可是偏又来了个法海和尚,这要怪许仙不该去金山寺看香市,法海和尚给他点明了,教许仙端午节要白蛇娘娘吃雄黄酒。娘子因是官人相劝,不忍固拒,又想自己也许抵挡得住,就接来饮了,勉强又坐得一回,央请官人出玩一回,自己掩上房门,到床上就现了原形。许仙偏又急急回家来,青蛇拦阻也不听,开进房去,只见床栏帐顶盘着一条碗口粗细的白蛇,他当场吓死了。这个法海,实在可恶,人家的事与他何干,要来僭越干涉?白蛇娘娘得了人身这件事他最最恨,亦不知他是甚么心思。 |
Now, we come back to the story. When Madam White Snake recovered and saw that Xu Xian died, she burst into tears. The Green Snake was a spirited maidservant. Her face turned purple with anger because she thought that Xu Xian was not considerate of the White Snake’s misery. However, when she saw the White Snake was crying, she had to comfort her. The White Snake asked her to keep watching the body. She went to the Kunlun Mountains and stole the celestial herb to save her husband. Unfortunately, the White Crane who guarded the celestial herb chased her. He laughed and said that there would be a big meal for him. The crane often ate snake. When I was young and heard this from brother Mei Xiang (梅香), the nonhuman laughter of the White Crane made me feel scared. I also worried about whether Madam White Snake could escape or not. It felt as though that in the situation the White Snake was my relative such as my sister or sister-in-law. I wanted to cry and called her name. During the fighting, the White Snake was overwhelmed. She had an ache and delivered a baby. The blood repelled the White Crane. The birth of a human came in conflict with such a supernatural force and won. | 即说白蛇娘娘恢复过来,见许仙吓死在地,当下大哭,青蛇是个烈性丫鬟,她本已气得脸色发青,恨许仙不晓得体谅主母的苦楚,但见主母如此,也只得上前相劝。白蛇娘娘命她守尸,自己去天上盗取了仙草要救丈夫,却被守仙草的白鹤童子追来,牠哈哈大笑,说今天有一顿大面吃了,鹤是顶会吃蛇的。我小时听梅香哥哥讲到这里,这白鹤童子的非人的笑声使我非常惊骇,又着急白蛇娘娘,不知逃得了逃不了,只觉在这样的情景中白蛇娘娘就像嫂嫂姊姊的是亲人,想要哭起来叫她。而后来是白蛇娘娘招架不住,一阵急痛产下婴孩,血光把白鹤童子冲退了,是这样一幕人之出生,对一个超自然的大力的威吓争斗,而且斗胜了。 |
The White Snake went back home with sadness and brought Xu Xian back to life. She begged Xu Xian do not go to Jishan Temple (金山寺) again. The only thing she wanted was to just live together with Xu Xian. But shortly after, Xu Xian went to meet Fa Hai again. Fa Hai hid him in Jinshan Temple and not allowed him to go back home. Fa Hai defended the principle. Since he defended his principle, Madam White Snake became a demon. As for me, I would rather be a demon. Madam White Snake went to Jinshan Temple to ask Fa Hai to give her husband back. She made the flooding of Jinshan Temple. Divine troops descending from Heaven to take Fa Hai’s side, while shrimp soldiers and crab generals took Madam White Snake’s side. The flood damaged fields and harmed so many lives. Thus, the White Snake broke the principle of Heaven. Now, Fa Hai had reason. He was like the Communist Party, for which mistaken ideas always belonged to the people. However, people were like the sentence in Tao Yuanming’s陶渊明[1] poem, always regretting.[2] They often had wrong thoughts, but there was no way. [1] One of the greatest poets in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). [2] This quotation is from “Yin Jiu Twentieth 饮酒 二十”by Tao Yuanming 陶渊明. —Trans. |
她满心凄凉,回家救活了许仙,央求他不要再上金山寺了,天上人间但愿只是这样的夫妻相守。可是过不得多久,许仙又去见法海,法海把他藏在寺里不放回家。这个法海,他是为卫道,而且因他那样的是道,所以白蛇娘娘是妖了。要我做宁可做妖。白蛇娘娘去索夫,便演了水漫金山寺,天兵天将都在法海那一边,虾兵蟹将则都帮白蛇娘娘。水漫金山伤害田稻生灵无数,如此白蛇娘娘就犯了天条了,又是法海有了理,他像共产党,思想错误的总是人民。但是要做人,像陶渊明的饮酒诗「但恨多谬误」,常常会得思想错误,也是没有法子的。 |
After that, Fa Hai let Xu Xian return and gave him an earthen bowl. The White Snake saw her husband was back, and she was half happy, half sad. When she was combing her hair, Xu Xian hit her head by the earthen bowl. The White Snake became small and was caught in the bowl immediately. The White Snake was holding her hair and only saying “Xu Xian!”. When I heard this in my younger age, I was angry and crying and was going to hit brother Mei Xiang. He told me the rest of the story that Xu Xian did not know things would happen like that. He was crying and wanted to take the earthen bowl. But he failed. Once the White Snake was sucking into it, she became a little white snake. Fa Hai came and took it, and he put it beneath the Leifeng Pogoda. | 如此,法海便放许仙回去,教给他一个钵。白蛇娘娘见丈夫回来了,又是凄惶,又是欢喜,许仙却趁她梳头的时候,把那钵往她头上一阖,实时就陷进内里,白蛇娘娘一手还握着发,只叫得一声「许仙呀!」我小时听到这里,大哭大怒起来,要打梅香哥哥,但是仍听他讲下去,原来许仙并不知道会这样,当下他亦泪流满面,要扳那钵,可是扳不下来了。一时白蛇娘娘便被收进钵里,变成一条小小的白蛇,法海来取去镇在雷峰塔下。 |
The son of Madam White Snake worshipped the pagoda after he received first place in the highest imperial examination. It must be the nature of mother and son. Once when he prayed, the pagoda was shaking. When he worshipped again, the White Snake leaned out of the window and said: “I will come out for revenge!”. If he prayed a third time, the pagoda might collapse. People in Hangzhou were scared. They pulled him away and did not allowed him to pray there that again. The legend goes that if the Leifeng Pogoda collapses, the West Lake will dry up; Madam White Snake will come out, and the dynasty will change. | 白蛇娘娘的儿子中状元回来祭塔,母子天性,他纔拜下去塔就摇动,再拜,白蛇娘娘在塔头窗口伸出上半身来,叫道、「我要出来报仇!」拜三拜塔就倒的,可是杭州人都恐惧起来,拽住他不让拜了。所以传说下来,雷峰塔倒,西湖水干,白蛇娘娘出世,天下要换朝代。 |
Madam White Snake said that she would get revenge. Unlike in the western world, kindness and hatred were distinguished. This was the spirit of the Chinese heroes. As for Fa Hai, the Heaven hated his arrogance, so he had to run away and hide in a crab shell. Till now, there is a small crab in Shaoxing. The shape of the crab roe is like a monk, so people called it monk crab[1]. Compared to Madam White Snake, he was so despicable. I never ate the monk crab. But one Saturday afternoon when I studied in Hangzhou, I heard a big noise on Bai Causeway. There was dust all over the sky near Jingci Temple (静慈寺). I saw the collapse of the Leifeng Pogoda with my own eyes. [1] Mictyris brevidactylus. |
白蛇娘娘说要报仇,亦并非像西洋那样的,却依然是中国豪侠的生平重意气,恩怨在人世。而那法海和尚则后来天上亦憎恶他的僭越,他逃去躲在蟹壳里,至今绍兴有一种小蟹,蟹黄结成一个和尚形,名称便叫和尚蟹,比起白蛇娘娘的轰轰烈烈来,他的真是卑劣了。和尚蟹我没有吃过,可是后来我在杭州读书时,一个星期六下午在白堤上,忽听得一声响亮,静慈寺那边黄埃冲天,我亲眼看见雷峰塔坍倒。 |
Sanjie Ferry | 【三界渡头】 |
It’s about 10 miles from Hu Village to Sanjie Town (三界镇). We needed to cross a river to get to the other side. There is a Dafeng Tea Station (大丰茶栈) at Hu Village’s (胡村) side. The business started at the tea harvest time, and it ended in autumn. They brought tea from the people living in the mountains. They picked and chose the tea again to put it into different levels, then they packed the tea to Shanghai and sold it to the foreign firms. My father worked there and selected tea. He also sold the tea he brought from the people who lived in the mountains to the tea station. When I was a child, my mother often asked me to go to the tea station and ask for money from my father. Then I would cross the river and brought rice back home. | 胡村到三界镇十里,要渡过一条江水,靠这边渡头有个大丰茶栈,茶时开秤,秋天收场,专收里山人家的茶叶,配搭了重新拣过做过,分出等级,装箱运到上海卖给洋行。我父亲也在那里帮鉴别茶叶,且把自己向山户收来的卖给茶栈。我小时常奉母亲之命去茶栈问父亲要钱,又渡江到街上籴米回家。 |
The tea station was in a big yard lent from the Zhou family (周家). Once the business began, all experts from the neighboring villages would come. After the tea was selected, from the courtyard to outside the gate, bookkeepers and stewards worked together to evaluate and make a price. They weigh the tea and pay the cash. Teabags were piled, and later they would be matched, made, selected and packed by workers conducted by A Bao (阿宝). After a busy, the day was long, and the night was quiet. Under the scorching sun in June, there was shading outside. Bookkeepers were playing mah-jong, reading books, and chatting. The courtyard was large; the stewards were busying. It’s like a hive of bees. Life was long and peaceful. | 那茶栈是借用周家的大院落,一开秤就四乡山庄的行客行家都赶来,一批一批茶叶挑到时,从庭前歇起歇到大门外,账房间的先生们与老司务一齐出动,鉴别作价,过秤记帐付现,先把茶叶袋头都堆栈起来,由阿宝头脑来安排指挥配茶做茶拣茶装箱。每忙乱一阵,随又昼长人静,六月骄阳,外面桑荫遍野,账房间的先生们打牌歇午觉,看闲书,聊天,且又庭院廊屋这样开畅疏朗,便是老司务们各在做生活,亦像蜜蜂的营营,反为更增加这昼长人静。 |
Under the corridors in the yard, the tea boxes workers were busying working. The carpenters were cutting woods; the coppersmiths were smelting; the painters were brushing. People from the countryside had a special feeling for the craftsman. People in Hu Village would not buy ready-made containers or furniture. They would like to ask the craftsman to make it for them. They thought the ready-made goods were frail. Even the knives, people would like to buy the pig iron and ask the ironsmith from Taizhou to make knives for them. It was fun to see something to be produced. As the workers and peasants were not separated, they would feel glad to treat the craftsman with food. Needless to say weeding, the wealthy family always had craftsmen. Of course, the Dafeng Tea Station was a wealthy family. | 大院子里两廊下,是做茶箱的竹木工匠,铜锡工匠,油漆工匠,各在抡斧施凿,劈竹锯板,扯炉炽炭,溶铸锡皮,焊铜打铰炼。我乡下对百作工匠特有一种亲情,胡村人家放着街上有现成的簟箩桶柜不买,说买来东西不牢靠,必要自请木匠簟匠箍桶匠来做,连厨刀柴刀,锄镰犁耙亦宁可买了生铁请台州铁匠来打,因为一样东西要看它做成纔欢喜,且农业与工业本来是亲戚,用酒饭招待百作工匠也情愿。嫁女娶妇不必说,较为殷实之家常年百作工匠不断,而现在大丰茶栈便亦好像是份大户人家。 |
The door leaves of the rooms in the backyard were taken down, and the earth was swept. The stewards were blending the tea. They poured tens of baskets of raw tea onto the ground and mixed them by the harrows, just like raking grains. After that, they sifted the tea by big sifters. The tea produced in the countryside was Yuancha (圆茶)[1]. The sifted tea was called Canmu (蚕目), Xiamu (虾目), or Fengmu (凤目). The thick one was still divided into many different sorts, and each sort had its name. The thickest one was cut into thinner one by straw chopper; the mid-level one needed to be baked. There were two large tea stove rooms. Tea was stir-fried slowly by tens of stoves. People selected tea in the courtyard outside the accountant. There were many tables. People were hired to pick tea fruit and tea stem, and they were paid depending on the weight of the tea. These people were women from the other side of the river. They dressed differently from those women who picked tea in the mountain. The younger woman wore white cloth with a wide margin and black yarn trousers, or sky blue cloth and trousers with crisscross at the cuff and the bottom of the trouser legs. At that time, people liked the thin cuff and trouser legs. Women of the Republic of China (1912-1949) were like the apsara in the frescoes in India and Burma. They wore a necklace and bracelet. The only difference was that they didn’t wear a foot ring. [1] One of the famous traditional Chinese tea. |
后院一排房间取下门扉,地下打扫得非常干净,老司务在配茶,把十几担毛茶倒在地上,用耙来拌勺,就像谷仓里耙谷。然后用大筛来筛,我乡下出的是圆茶,筛下来的头子标名蚕目虾目凤目,粗粒的亦还要分出几种,各有名称。顶粗的用铡刀铡细,中档货则多要重新焙过,后院就有两个大茶灶间,一间里几十口茶灶镬,用微火在悠悠炒做。还有拣茶叶是在账房间外边堂前,排起许多板桌,雇人拣出茶子茶梗,论两算工钱。拣茶叶的都是从江对岸来的妇女,街上打扮比山村采茶女的又自不同,年轻的穿白洋布衫阔滚边,底下玄色洋纱裤,而或是一色天青衫裤,袖口及裤脚都钉阑干,那时作兴小袖口窄裤脚,民国世界的女子好像印度及缅甸壁画里忉利天女的肢体,项圈手铁都是有的,只差没有带脚镯。 |
People in the tea station spent money like water. It was a prosperous and bustling scene. People were generous. They all ate well. The stewards and the craftsmen had liquor every meal. The meal of the bookkeepers was the most tasteful. They had stewed pork leg, stewed duck, fresh flatfish, shell, stewed ham with the soft-shelled turtle, and sautéed eel slices with yellow chives every day. Although in Hangzhou and Shanghai, except for the people who worked in the machine industry and bank, they needed to pay for their foods, the firms, and workshops in China all treated well in foods. The new workshops, banks, and firms spent a lot in the club or social party, but they can’t do this in ordinary life. No matter how large the international scale the modern capitalism or socialism industry have, they will not as imposing as the Dafeng Tea Station. | 茶栈里使人只觉铜钱银子像水流,场面开阔,百业兴旺,人情慷慨。他们都吃食很好,连老司务及工匠亦每餐有酒,账房里尤其讲究,天天吃炖蹄膀,炖老鸭,江水里新网获的扁鱼,白蛤,火腿炖鳖,黄芽韭菜炒鳝丝,中国的商号与工场,虽在杭州上海,除了机器工业与银行等是伙食自理之外,皆是酒饭款待很体面的。新式的工场,银行与公司虽有俱乐部及外面的交际宴会亦可以一掷千金,但寻常生活总没有这样的慷慨。而且现代资本主义或社会主义的产业无论它有怎样大的国际规模,也不能像大丰茶栈的有生在一统山河里的气宇轩昂。 |
Every time I went to the tea station and saw my father, and after I brought goods and went back home from the ferry, the rice seeding bed was along the street miles away. The sunshade was on the dam. It seemed that the earth under my feet was made of gold. | 我小时每去茶栈见了父亲,又到街上买了东西,从渡头走回家,十里桑地秧田,日影沙堤,就像脚下的地都是黄金铺的。 |
Summer Night | 【暑夜】 |
Many people gathered together at Hucun (胡村 bridge in summer night to enjoy the cool. The wooden handrails were missing, and the bridge was one zhang (丈) two chi (尺)[1] in width, and five zhang in length. Some people sat on the pillars of the handrails, chatting and waving palm-leaf fans. Some people slept on the bridge, taking the large black cloth as a sheet, and didn’t worry about falling into the river. Moonlight spilled everywhere over the land. With people’s voice fading and dew forming gradually, the only sound could be heard was the stream gurgling. [1] Zhang 丈 and chi 尺 are traditional Chinese units of length. One zhang equals to ten chi and equals to about 3.33 meters. |
夏天夜里胡村大桥上尚有许多人在乘凉,那石桥少了木栏杆,大约一丈二尺阔,五丈长,他们有的坐栏杆柱上,拍拍芭蕉扇聊天,有的就用围身青布大手巾一摊,睡在桥上,也不怕睡着了滚下去。只见好大的月色。渐渐起露水,人声寂下去,只听得桥下溪水响。 |
There was a man playing the bamboo flute. Rivers, mountains, moonlight and roofs were deeply immersed in the melody, and the melody was also becoming rivers, mountains, moonlight and roofs. The sound was so loud and clear, rising and falling, that had the ability of opening everything. Not only people’s feelings but also all the things, in the sky or on the ground, a star or a man, were showing their nature and becoming serious. As the poem said, “The River of Stars mute, a jade plate turns on high”.[1] In the whole world, either in the past or in the present, there was no life or death; there was no achievement or ruin and there was no hero or sage; if there is an affectionate couple, what they can do is to be always courteous to each other like guests. [1] Xu Yuanchong 许渊冲, Library of Chinese Classic (Chinese-English): Selected Poems of Su Shi《大中华文库:苏轼诗词选》(汉英对照),Hunan People’s Publishing House湖南人民出版社,108. Su Shi 苏轼 is a famous Chinese poet of the Song Dynasty. This is an excerpt of the poem, Song of the Sunny Pass: the Mid-autumn Moon《阳关曲·中秋作》, written by Su Shi in 1077. The original text is “银汉无声转玉盘”. |
这时有人吹横笛,直吹得溪山月色与屋瓦变成笛声,而笛声亦即是溪山月色屋瓦,那嘹亮悠扬,把一切都打开了,连不是思心徘徊,而是天上地下,星辰人物皆正经起来,本色起来了,而天下世界古往今来,就如同「银汉无声转玉盘」,没有生死成毁,亦没有英雄圣贤,此时若有恩爱夫妻,亦只能相敬如宾。 |
At the moment, inside our taimen (台门)[1], my mother, my youngest anut and my sister-in-law A’yu (阿钰) were cutting the stems of wheat, sitting under the roof where illuminated by moonlight. On the table there was a big bowl, filled with Liujinu (刘季奴)[2] tea. Whoever walked near would drink some of it. Brother A’yu just came back from checking the edge of fields and sat on the stair. Frogs croaked on the other side of our home, where people drew water from the well. Winds blew and the jiegao (桔槔)[3] squeaked. Brother Bing (炳) living at Nijia (倪家) mountain came to chat with others. What they talked was nothing but difficult life of farming and the draught animals this year. Glowworms stopped in the yard, flew over the clothesline pole and over the rooftop. I caught a glowworm, put it into the stem of wheat and took it to a dark place to watch the glow. Sister A’wu (阿五) was afraid of darkness, so I took the glowworm under the roof. And we sang. [1] Taimen 台门 is a form of traditional housing in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. All family members can live together. In the ancient time, only people with relatively high status, their house could be called a taimen, but now closed and isolated houses in large size can also be called a taimen. [2] Liujinu 刘季奴, Artemisia anomala, is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, usually written as 刘寄奴 in Chinese. [3] Jiegao 桔槔 is a tool using the lever principle to draw water from the well. |
此时我们家台门里,是我母亲与小婶婶及阿钰嫂嫂坐在檐头月亮地下剪麦茎,板桌上放着一只大钵,泡的刘季奴茶,谁走来就舀一碗吃,阿钰哥哥坐在沿阶石上,他刚去看了田头。对面畈上蛙鸣很热闹,有人车夜水,风吹桔槔声。倪家山的炳哥哥来跄人家,大家讲闲话,无非是说田地里生活来不及,及今年的岁口。火萤虫飘落庭前,闪闪烁烁掠过晒衣裳的晾竿边,又高高飞过屋瓦而去。我捉得火萤虫,放进麦茎里,拿到堂前暗处看它亮,但是阿五妹妹怕暗处,两个小孩便又到檐头,齐声念道、 |
“A beautiful girl has two long nipples, enjoying the cool in front of clothesline poles. Suddenly winds blow, and she is in the middle of the sea. A boatman passes by, and marries her as wife.” I pointed sister A’wu and said, “you are the one in the middle of the sea.” She cried right away. Brother A’yu shouted at us, “Too loud! Ruisheng (蕊生)[1] and A’wu!”. [1] Hu Lancheng used to use the name, Hu Jirui胡积蕊. Ruisheng is a nick name. |
「大姑娘,奶头长,晾竿头里乘风凉,一蓬风,吹到海中央,撑船头脑捞去做婆娘。」唱毕,我伸一个手指点着阿五妹妹的鼻头,说、「吹到海中央就是你。」她当即哭起来,阿钰哥哥叱道、「蕊生阿五都不许吵!」(※按:作者本名胡积蕊。) |
At the moment, Grandpa Jianzhang (建章) living near Lotus Pond also came to chat with people, carrying a bunch of wormwood. Brother Meixiang (梅香) was back from selling melon at the neighbor village. His wife brought meals to the yard, including pumpkin, eggplant and li’ao (力鳌)[1]. While eating, he told us the stories of people who lived at Tongshi mountain (桐石山) and Dingjia Ling (丁家岭). After brother Meixiang finishing his meal, people started to talk about Wulonghui (五龙会) in the opera, which was about the gathering of Han Tong (韩通), Liu Zhiyuan (刘智远), Guo Wei (郭威), Chai Rong (柴荣), and Zhao Kuangyin (赵匡胤) to assault Dengzhou (登州) in later Tang Dynasty.[2] They used to be people like us who needed to cut stems of wheat under the moonlight. So, peasants might know better about the emotions than historians when telling those stories. [1] It may be a kind of food or an ingredient. [2] Wulonghui 五龙会 means the meeting of five dragons, which refers to the gathering of the five people. Han Tong, Liu Zhiyuan, Guo Wei, Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin were leaders of the peasant uprising in later Tang Dynasty. And Zhao Kuangyin is the first emperor of Song Dynasty. |
此时荷花塘的建章太公亦手执艾烟把,来跄夜人家。还有梅香哥哥亦挑黄金瓜去邻村叫卖了回来,他叫梅香嫂嫂饭就搬到檐头来,嗄饭是南瓜,茄子,力鳌,他一人在板桌上吃,就讲起桐石山与丁家岭人家的前朝后代事。一时梅香哥哥吃过饭,众人的话头转到了戏文里的五龙会。原来残唐五代时,刘智远他们亦是出身在月亮地下剪麦茎这样人家的,五龙会是韩通打登州,刘智远郭威柴荣赵匡胤等来相会,这种故事由耕田夫来讲,实在是远比史学家更能与一代豪杰为知音。 |
Then my father and my youngest uncle came back from taking a walk around the bridge. My uncle planned to come by in the afternoon and go back home soon. Father said it was late and invited him to stay overnight. A’yu sister-in-law asked, “Please do the Xuanbaojuan (宣宝卷)[1], will you, uncle? I’ll make a light.” Women heard of that; all drew near to listen. People moved the table out from the room and put it under the roof. Uncle opened the Buddhist book, sang by the candlelight and people sit around. After singing two sentences, he would say, ”Nanwu Fo (南无佛), Emituofo (阿弥陀佛).” In this story, a young lady ran away from home because her parents break off her engagement and would let another man to marry her. At the end, her fiancé ranked the first place in the Imperial Exam as a Zhuangyuan (状元), and marry her. Women listened to him carefully, making deep sighs and comments time to time
[1] Xuanbaojuan宣宝卷, also known as xuanjuan宣卷 or baojuan宝卷, is a kind of traditional performance in the form of narrative singing in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. The main contents are usually about Buddhist texts or folk stories. The instrument used in the performance normally include erhu二胡, yueqin月琴 and a woodblock. It is an intangible heritage of China. |
随后是我父亲与小舅舅月下去大桥头走走回来了。小舅舅下午来做人客就要回去的,我父亲说天色晏了留住他,现在阿钰嫂嫂即说、「小舅公来宣宝卷好不好?我去点灯。」一声听说宣宝卷,台门里众妇女当即都走拢来,就从堂前移出一张八仙桌放在檐头,由小舅父在烛火下摊开经卷唱,大家围坐了听,每唱两句宣一声佛号、「南无佛,阿弥陀佛!」故事是一位小姐因父母悔婚,要将她另行许配别人,她离家出走,后来未婚夫中状元,迎娶她花烛做亲,众妇女咨嗟批评,一句句听进去了心里。 |
I listened to that Baojuan again in another summer night when I went to visit my youngest uncle at his home near the Fujia mountain (傅家山). I was fifteen or sixteen years old then. I can’t remember the exact lyrics now. There was scene describing the servant girl helping the young lady to get over her worries, the lyrics are roughly as follows. | 那宝卷我十五,六岁时到傅家山下小舅舅家做人客,夏天夜里又听宣过一次,现在文句记不真了,我只能来摹拟,其中有一段是海棠丫鬟解劝小姐、 |
Sing: Please listen to my words, my young lady. Haitang海棠, me, have things to say. Parents always love their child, Though yours shouldn’t break off your engagement. It’s your fault to make light of your own life. |
唱、 禀告小姐在上听 海棠有话说分明 爹娘亦为儿女好 只是悔婚不该应 但你因此来轻生 理比爹娘错三分 |
Then think of that man He cherishes his dignity and he will take the imperial exam for whom, My young lady, you, my young lady. You have the gut to die, Why not use it to chase your happiness? Marriage comes by destiny, And it won’t change anyway. |
你也念那读书子 他是呀、男儿膝下有黄金 此番发怒去赶考 不为小姐为何人 女有烈性去就死 何如烈性来求成 况且姻缘前生定 那有失手堕埃尘 |
Dialogue: In my opinion, |
白、 依海棠寻思呵 |
Sing: You are like silk, my young lady. Easy to weave but tough to cut. |
唱、 小姐好比一匹绫 裁剪比布费精神 |
Dialogue: My lady, how about running away from home together? |
白、 小姐小姐,不如主仆双双出走也 |
Sing: You are good at making embroidery and I am familiar with tiny things in social life. |
唱、 侯门绣户小姐惯 街坊之事海棠能 |
In this way, the young lady together with her servant girl ran away from home and made living on making embroidery and spinning thread. | 如此,小姐就逃出在外,与海棠刺绣纺绩为生。 |
When the Zhuangyuan came to marry her, she was scared and didn’t want to be married at all. Her servant girl, Haitang海棠 hurried her to making up and sitting in the palanquin and said, “my young lady, you were glad when you suffered for him, and you are actually surprised by him now when things go well and follow your wish. The bond between you two has already been like what couples have. You are the way you are and so is he.” | 及那书生中了状元来迎娶,小姐反而害怕起来,说我不去也罢,海棠催她妆扮上轿,说道,当初吃苦受惊,其实也喜,如今天从人愿,喜气重重,其实也惊,当初亦已是夫妻的情份,如今亦小姐仍是小姐,官人仍是官人也。 |
It is because the society then has the tendencies of being firm-minded and righteous that there were heroes appeared in turmoil like those in Wulonghui. When the Xuanjuan(宣卷) was finished and people were about to go home, I remembered the moon was bright upon the sky, and the horizon looked white in night. Grandpa Jianzhang said it was the same weather when “the long-hair”[1] rose in rebellion. There might be wars during the Republic of China period. [1] “The long-hair” is a literal translation of the rebel people who joined in Taiping Heavenly Kingdom 太平天国 to against the Qing Dynasty. Under the governance of the Qing Dynasty, people needed to shave hair and to have a braid, which the rebel people didn’t do, so they were called the long-hair. |
是这样清坚决绝而情理平正的人世,所以大乱起来亦出得五龙会里的英雄。记得那天晚上宣卷完毕,众人起身要散,但见明月皓皓,天边有一道白气,建章太公说长毛造反时也这样,民国世界要动刀兵了。 |
Songs in the autumn night |
【子夜秋歌】 |
In our countryside, the festivals in autumn were usually not lively because people were busy farming. Before and after the Mid-Autumn festival, people in Hu Village went to the Xiayan River (下沿江) to cut the rice. Xiayan River was in the zones of Yuyaoci Stream (余姚慈溪), the lower stretch of Caoe River (曹娥江). It belonged to Pingyang (平阳). The rice field there matured early than in Sheng County (嵊县). Thus, in the Mid-Autumn festival, the only thing that different from ordinary was that people would go to the street and eat a moon cake. While, on the second day of the seventh lunar month, there were celebrations in Sanjie Town. There would be opera shows, and people from neighboring villages would come. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month[1], families in Hu Village put food on their eave or window to pray for happiness. The process was quite simple: they asked the younger daughter to thread a needle in the dark. If she succeeded, everything would go well. Daughters also needed to wear earrings on that day. They put colored threads went through the ear piercing and tied it. Moreover, on the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, all families would bum joss sticks piously and set a bowl of water on the ground in front of the door. Besides, in the middle of the seventh lunar month, people in Hu Village would cook meals to worship their ancestors. On autumn equinox[2], there would be Obon Festival in the pavilion at the crossing, and women would worship Longhua (龙华) in the big temple under the bridge. [1] Chinese Valentine’s Day [2] September 23th |
我乡下秋天的节过得清淡,因为这一晌田里很忙。中秋前后胡村人还到下沿江客作割稻,下沿江是曹娥江下游余姚慈溪一带,那里是平阳地方,田稻比嵊县的早熟。所以胡村人虽中秋节也除了去街上买一个月饼来吃吃,别无张致。倒是七月初二的三界镇上有花迎,扮台阁做戏文,四乡的人都赶来。七月初七乞巧夜,胡村人家在檐头或楼窗口陈设瓜果拜双星,都极其简单,惟教小女儿在暗处拿线穿进针里,穿得进就是乞得了巧了。又女儿戴耳环,先是用彩线一针穿过耳孔,就用彩线系住,亦在乞巧这一天。还有是地藏王菩萨生日,家家户户都点香插在门前地上,摆一碗清水。此外是七月半做羹饭拜祖宗,秋分在大桥头路亭里做盂兰盆会,又妇女们到桥下大庙里拜龙华会。 |
I was not interested in the big temple in Hu Village. I only went there when my mother and aunt worshiped. However, I liked the Earth God temple at the roadside. It was a tile-roofed house with mud walls and mud ground. There was only one stone statue, but it was grand and magnificent. Old candle wax and left joss sticks and candles were on the burner table. Kids always played there. In early autumn, the sun was blazing outside and cicada chirping everywhere, however, it was cool in the temple. People said that when Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋)[1] was young, he had pastured cattle. He took a snap on the ground in an Earth God temple, stretching his arms and legs, putting a cattle stick above his head. It looked like the character, Tian (天). A person who can take auspices was frightened by the shepherd boy and kicked him. Zhu Yuanzhang turned over and fell asleep again. He tucked his arms and legs and put the cattle stick on his shoulder, which formed the character Zi (子). The geomancer knew that the boy must be the emperor in the future. [1] The first emperor of the Ming Dynasty |
我对胡村的大庙没有兴趣,小时只跟母亲与姑母烧香去过。但我喜欢路边的土地祠,瓦屋一间,泥墙泥地,只供一尊石像,倒是大气磅薄,香案上惟有陈年的蜡泪及点剩的香棒,牧童多来玩耍,早秋尚遍野骄阳蝉声,此地却阴凉。他们说明太祖朱元璋小时看牛,便也是在这样的土地祠地上午睡,手脚张开,一根赶牛的乌筱横在头上。成了个天字,一个会望气的人经过见了大惊,想这牧童如何可以,就用脚踢踢他,他侧过身去仍睡,这回是敛拢手脚,把乌筱横在肩项上,成了个子字,那望气的人就知道这小小孩童是真命天子了。 |
People would drink Baijiu (白酒)[1] on Double Ninth Festival. They drank in the Hu’s ancestral temple under the bridge. People of Hu Village from Hehuatang (荷花塘), Nijiashan (倪家山), and Lujia’ao (陆家奥) all came. We called the most respectful elder in our village Baijiutaigong (白酒太公). He was old and had many descendants that all people of Hu Village can be called his children. He had another name in the family tree. Because the first generation left the cemetery, the family on duty in the turn to visit the grave on Tomb-Sweeping Day should have music and bang drums. As for the Baijiu on Double Ninth Festival, there was no feast. [1] A kind of Chinese traditional liquor. |
重阳节吃白酒。这一天吃白酒是在桥下胡氏宗祠里,荷花塘倪家山陆家奥三胡村的人都来,白酒太公最尊,胡村人都是他的子孙,家谱里他另有名讳,因是头代祖宗,且留下茔田,轮值之家清明上坟用鼓乐,及于重阳节备办白酒,白酒是不设殽馔。 |
Besides this, the feast prepared in the temple I remembered was that Jianchang elder (建昌太公) made four tables of the feast to apologize to others. Because Jianchang elder in Hehuatang hit Jiezhai elder (洁斋公公) in Nijiashan by his tobacco pipe, people thought he was wrong and punished him. Jianchang elder was patriarch, the head of a family. When I studied at the Fifth Middle in Shaoxing and asked to write the name of my patriarch, I did not know that I should write my father’s name. Therefore, my transcript in the first term was sent to the Jianchang elder. |
在祠堂里办酒,此外我记得一次是荷花塘建昌太公用潮烟管打了倪家山洁斋公公,大家都评建昌太公理错,罚他在祖宗面前摆了四桌酒向各房谢罪。建昌太公是家长,众家之长,后来我进绍兴第五中学,要写学生的家长姓名,我不知是该写我父亲的,第一学期的成绩单便寄到建昌太公那里。 |
I loved the sunny day and hated spring rains, plum rains, and autumn rains. When it rained, people cut the seeding of sweet potatoes and ramies, both of which were damp. When people hulled grain and pounded rice, it was heard like rainfall. The sound of hitting grain and making straw shoes also made me think of a rainy day. It was only if it rained on a sunny day, and raindrops accompanied the big sun, there was a rainbow after thundering. It was such a beautiful day. Sunny days were more than rainy days. After autumn rains, it became cool. Sun became lovely. People in the countryside were busy harvesting. They threshed rice in rice containers again and again. Master Hong Yi said that the most beautiful sound is the sound of beating the wooden fish. The music of threshing rice was also as peaceful as that. |
我喜欢晴天,春雨梅雨秋霖我都厌恶,雨天乡下人在家里做的事,如剪蕃薯苗,刮苎麻,湿漉漉的不用说,即袭谷舂米,我亦何时听见都觉其是和在雨声里,还有是睡打稻草编织草鞋,那声音总使我想起雨天。惟有晴天落白雨,大太阳大雨点,雷声过后半边天上垂下虹霓,最是好看。但秋天到底晴天多,秋霖过了,残暑已退,太阳就另是一番意思。乡下人忙于收成,畈上稻桶里打稻,一记一记非常稳实,弘一法师说最好听的声音是木鱼,稻桶的声音便也有这样的安定。 |
Because life was so peaceful, the sunshine, the water flow, and the song of cicadas on the dam made me think of profound meaning. The song of cicadas was like the long way; people only cared about leaving and neglected the sadness. However, people who were left were worried about his leaving. He faded away. But the bed was still warm. The bowl he used and the mirror used to makeup before she saw him off were still there. She had to make everything well included herself at home, and she would wait for him. In the meaningful autumn, even the water plants in the stream and pond also had such faithful. |
人世因是这样的安定的,故特别觉得秋天的斜阳流水与畈上蝉声有一种远意,那蝉声就像道路漫漫,行人只管骎骎去不已,但不是出门人的伤情,而是闺中人的愁念,想着他此刻在路上,长亭短亭,渐去渐远渐无信,可是被里余温,他动身时吃过的茶碗,及自己早晨起来给他送行,忙忙梳头打开的镜奁,都这样在着。她要把家里弄得好好的,连她自己的人,等他回来。秋天的漫漫远意里,溪涧池塘的白苹红蓼便也于人有这样一种贞亲。 |
After the Double Ninth Festival, it became cold. The young women in the village began to use perfume and cosmetics in the morning. When their brothers or uncles saw them, they would feign surprise and say: “Wow! How thick the frost is before morning!” Young women laughed as well. My third elder brother was a platoon leader in Shaoxing camp. His newly married bride lived in Shaoxing and grew up in the city. They went back to Hu Village to visit the ancestral temple and prepared a wedding feast. In the first year, she stayed at home and looked after the elder female members in the family. She opened the box and took out satin. As it was late autumn, both satin and scissors were cool. In this circumstance, the body temperature was particularly warm. It was also warm and sweet of the newly married bride. |
重阳过后,天气渐渐冷了,村里的新妇与女儿们清早梳洗开始搨起水粉,堂兄弟与叔伯见了故件惊诧说:「哎?天快亮时霜落得这样厚!」她们也笑起来。我三哥哥在绍兴营里当排长,新讨了三嫂嫂,是绍兴城里人,回胡村参见宗祠,办喜酒,头一年就留她在家里奉侍娘娘,她开箱子取出缎子裁剪,因为已入深秋,剪刀与缎子凉凉的,就觉得人体的温馨,且亦是新妇的温馨。 |
The Village Theatrical Performance |
【戏文时】 |
The October was also called Xiaoyangchun (小阳春)[1]. In this period, rice had already been reaped and the leaves of those Chinese tallows on the roadsides had turned red, which were even more beautiful than maple leaves. There was frost in the morning and sunset before night. Suddenly one day, leaves fell and shells of the seeds dropped. The seeds, jiuzi (桕子), were left on the branches, more white than snow while different from willow catkins and plum blossoms as well, shining upon families living in Xishan (溪山) erea. Also at that time, the King Tupu (嶀浦大王) would have a royal progress. Villages where the King Tupu arrived would prepare vegetarian food to serve the god and people who came to worship. The Bodhisattva would only stay for a while in small villages. They would prepare a lunch as the only meal or just distribute glutinous rice cake. While in larger villages, there would be theatrical performance to invite the Bodhisattva to settle down and continue his progress another day. Hu village held performances every year at this time. [1] Xiaoyangchun is a phrase describing a certain climate phenomenon, which usually happens in October. When it happens, the weather will be quite warm though the winter is coming soon. |
十月小阳春,田稻都割尽了,村口陌上路侧乌(木+臼)树,比枫叶还红得好看,朝霜夕阳,不知何时起忽然落叶壳脱,只见枝上的(木+臼)子比雪还白,比柳絮比梅花又另是一种体态,把溪山人家都映照了。此时嶀浦大王出巡,经过的村子都办素斋酎神,招待迎神诸众。较小的村子菩萨只停一停,打了午斋或只分(米+么)(米+兹),较大的村子则做戏文,请菩萨落座,翌日再启行,胡村也年年此时必做戏文。 |
There were three Bodhisattvas. One had a white face; the second had a red face and another had a black face. They might be those three sworn brothers, Liu Bei (刘备), Guan Yu (关羽), and Zhang Fei (张飞), but they were all called the King Tupu. Three palanquins carrying the three gods moved slowly when progressed. In front of the palanquins, there were drummer, bulgers and people who were responsible for holding flags, signs, blunderbusses and umbrellas. Before them, there were people performing the dragon and lion dance and juggling. The progress crowd was led by more than ten gongs, five or six pairs of horns, and a group of people who belonged to shifan team (十番班). More than a thousand people would carry torches or lanterns round the god palanquins. Gongs and blunderbusses sounded along the way. It seemed that roads and bridges could be built the moment they met a mountain or a river. |
菩萨有三尊,一尊白脸,一尊红脸,一尊黑脸,也许就是桃园结义起兵的刘关张三兄弟,但是叫嶀浦天王。出巡时三乘神轿,缓缓而行。轿前鼓吹手,旗牌铳伞,又前面是盘龙舞狮子,耍流星抛菜瓶,最前面是十几封大铜锣,五、六对号筒,还有是串十番的人,此外神轿前后手执油柴火把及灯笼的有千人以上,一路鸣锣放铳,真是逢山开路,遇水搭桥。 |
Shifan team could perform full-scale dramas of Shaoxing. Instruments that were often used include gongs, drums, cymbals, bamboo flutes, and stringed instruments. People only sang but did not wear any make-up or performing clothes. All the large villages along the progress routine had such a performing team, and they would follow the Bodhisattvas to every village where they settled down. When there was no village theatrical performance, only one team would sing in front of the Bodhisattva and other teams would perform at local rich families, who would offer them food in turn. One year, my father together with the shifan team of Hu village to meet the god. On their way they heard that the shifan team of Xiawang village (下王村) would perform Xuanyuan Mirror (轩辕镜) that night at Lutian village (芦田村). People in Xiawang village and Lutian village were rich and the Xuanyuan Mirror was a difficult drama, so they had to remember their parts when resting at pavilions or field ridges along the way. At dusk, the god settled down at Lutian village. Both shifan teams of Xiawang village and Hu village were invited to perform and the two families were neighbors by chance. The competition started in the sounds of gongs and drums. Xiawang team sang the Xuanyuan Mirror first, and Hu team sang the Zijin Whip (紫金鞭). However, the Xiawang team could only perform the first half of Xuanyuan Mirror. Seeing them stop singing, my father beat the drum and conducted the Hu team to sing the later half. It was surprisingly brilliant, drawing women stepped out the room to listen. The house was surrounded by next-door people and many others who were from other village to worship the god. All of them said that Hu team was better than Xiawang team. The host family felt having the honor, lighting up more candles and making new tea. They even prepared alcohol for people to drink, with various desserts. |
十番班是唱绍兴大戏,有锣鼓钲笛弦索来配,惟唱而不扮,菩萨出巡时较大的村子都出一班娱神,跟菩萨到落座的村里,若无戏文的,便留一班在神座前唱,其余则在较有名望的人家打斋,就在那家的堂前唱。一年我父亲与胡村一班十番去迎神,路上得知下王的十番今晚到芦田要唱轩辕镜,下王与芦田都是财主村子,轩辕镜又是一本难戏,胡村人就在路亭里在田塍边歇下来时看戏本,一路走一路记。傍晚到芦田,菩萨落座。诸众被请到各家打斋,胡村与下王两班十番恰好落在同一台门的两份人家堂前。锣鼓开场,先是下王班唱轩辕镜,胡村班唱紫金鞭,随后那边轩辕镜只会唱半本,这边见那边停了就来接下去,是我父亲击鼓执拍板指点,竟是唱得非常出色,引得女眷都出来听,堂前庭下大门口挤满了左邻右舍,及从各村各保迎神同来的诸众,都说胡村十番班压倒了下王十番班,主家也得了体面,添烛泡茶,搬出半夜酒,茶食点心八盘头。 |
I liked the dragon dance the most during the process of worshipping the bodhisattva. The dragon was two to three zhang (丈) long, needing eight people to hold it up. One man held the head, and one man held the tail. The other six men would hold the body part, while one man in the front of the dragon would hold a jewel-like ball. The dragon head had bamboos as its bones, and clothing and colorful papers were its skins. The body part was actually a piece of cloth, drawn with scales of the dragon, which was just like the skin of the dragon. There would be lantern-like bamboo bones at a distance of two chi (尺) from the head to tail, tied with strings and on a five chi long stick, which was as thick as a tea cup. Every performer would hold one of the sticks. As the whole dragon was held up, it seemed to fly in the sky, graceful and wriggling. Before the bodhisattva arrived at Hu village, the dragon arrived first, while the seat for god was still at the foot of Taideng Mountain (台登山). The rice in the field had already been harvested, making enough room for the dragon dance. At that moment, together with the loud sounds of blunderbuss and gongs, two dragons played with two balls, flying up and down in the sky. There were also two dragons playing in the other field, while there were still another two dragon following the bodhisattva to the ancestor hall. |
迎菩萨我顶爱看盘龙,龙有二、三丈长,八个人擎,一人擎龙头,一人擎龙尾,六人擎龙身,前面一人擎珠,龙头是布与竹骨再加彩纸箔做成,龙身只是一幅布绘上龙鳞,就像被剥下的龙皮,每隔二尺套一个像灯笼壳子的竹骨,用带子系着,这竹骨扎在一根五尺长杯口粗细的棍子上,由一个人高高擎起,如此八个人擎着走时,便有飘飘然蜿蜒之势。菩萨出巡到胡村时,神座还在台登山脚下,前头的龙就已到了村口,路边田里割过稻,正好盘龙,当下数声铳响,锣声大震,两条龙飞舞盘旋,各戏一颗珠,另外田里也是两条龙在盘。但还有两条龙则一直跟菩萨到祠堂里。 |
Behind the dragons, there were people holding signs, on which there were fengtiao yushun (风调雨顺)[1], wugu fengdeng (五谷丰登)[2], guotai minan (国泰民安)[3] and zhaungyuan jidi (状元及第) written in Chinese characters. The god palanquin followed behind. It was held by four people on its way. After entering the village, there were four more people to hold it. Guided by delicate music, they passed by our home and moved on. People in the village, men and women, the young and the old, all came out to worship the god with burnt incense. The front door of the ancestor hall was widely opened. When the god arrived, music muted. Blunderbuss and gongs sang at the time. The captain shouted and waved his whip first. Having seen his sign, people outside started to shoot off cannons. The roof and tiles were shaking slightly under its power. In the loud sound of fireworks, the god palanquin was held into the ancestor hall backwards, and then was held out. The ceremony repeated for three times and the god was finally settled down in the hall. In the yard, people restarted the dragon dance fierily. After the dance, grandpa Jianchang (建昌太公) worship the god with burnt incense and alcohol in front of the altar table, which was filled with a who pig, a whole goat, and various dishes made by villagers. People all followed grandpa jianchang to worship the god. When finishing the ceremony, it was time for performance. The stage was in the opposite of the god, and on the stage, the first play was about eight immortals celebrating the birthday of their god. [1] It means seasonable weather with gentle breeze and timely rain. [2] It means an abundant harvest of all crops. [3] It means that The country is prosperous and the people are at peace. |
龙之后来了几面牌,一面牌、风调雨顺,一张牌、五谷丰登,一面牌、国泰民安,一面牌、状元及第,再后面就是神轿。神轿本是四人抬的,一进村就换了八人大轿,一派细细的音乐前导,经过我家门口大路上,村里男女老小都出来焚香拜接,祠堂里正门大开,神轿将到时止了鼓乐,一齐放铳鸣锣,先由校尉鸣鞭喝道,庭下连放顿地铁炮,震得祠堂里的屋瓦皆动,又鞭炮如雨,就在这样惊心动魄里倒抬神轿进来,三出三进,纔奉安在大殿上,于是庭下盘旋起两条龙,非常激烈,一时舞罢,锣铳俱止。供桌上摆起全褚全羊,及诸家斋馔,建昌太公上香献爵,大家都拜,礼成。正对神座的戏台便开锣,先唱做一出八仙庆寿。 |
During this time, all relatives would come together to unite, no matter how far they lived. The host family would use palanquins to fetch the elder and women relatives. Every family had tables of guests. Even familiar people met during the perform, they would be invited to enjoy the meal. To prepare the Zongzi (粽子), people would go to Zhangjiabu (章家埠) in sanjie (三界), where the country fair was held. All the guests were modest, and all the hosts were generous. While people eating at home, the first play had already started at the ancestor hall after the bridge. Coming close to the bridge, you could hear the happily sounds of gongs and drums. People crowded on the street. All of them were came to visit. Men were wearing long gowns made from starched light-blue cotton cloth together with black jackets and skullcaps with a decorative red button on the top. All women would wear baomao (包帽). Most young women were wearing shirts and socks made from starched light-blue or white cotton cloth, and some of them also wore cloth made fron huasige (华丝葛)[1]. They put blusher on their cheeks as well. Most elder women were wearing blue silk shirts and black dresses. Their baomao were like to connected leaves of the cherry-apple tree. Middle of the baomao was narrow, tightly on the forehead and then went backwards, it would cover the ears loosely. The two leaves were connected at the back side of the head, just at the chignon and the hair on the top of head was not covered. The pattern of the baomao could be blue silk with embroiderd peaches, black silk with embroiderd cherry-apple and two butterflies, or just black silk with nothing on but with pearls sewed on the sides. Women wore different baomao when they were in different ages. Then I looked to their feet. Women did not do the foot-binding anymore, wearing silk shoes with embroiderd colorful phoenixes on both sides. kid also wore new clothes. Their shoes were made in the form of tiger heads. their caps were made from blue silk. Characters were embroiderd with golden thread in the front of the cap, and some are changming fugui (长命富贵)[2], and some are jinyu mantang (金玉满堂)[3]. There were also kids wearing hatband, which was one cun寸 and eight fen分in width. It was made from red silk and had a row of little golden arhats on it.
[1] It’s a jacquard silk fabric, which is in a fine and thin texture. [2] It means longevity with wealth and honor. [3] It means that gold and jade fill the hall literally, and the deeper meaning of it is to have abundant wealth or many children in the family. |
戏文时四亲八眷都从远村近保赶来,长辈及女眷是用轿子去接,家家都有几桌人客,单是戏台下见了邻村相识的就都款留,家家戏文时都特为裹粽子,上三界章家埠赶市备馔,客人都谦逊,主人都慷慨。堂前请酒饭点心,桥下祠堂里已戏文开头场,一到大桥头就听得见锣鼓声,大路上人来人往,都是谁家的人客,男人穿竹布长衫加玄色马褂,瓜皮缎帽,上缀红顶子。女人都戴包帽,身上穿的,年青的多是竹布衫袜,亦有穿华丝葛,脸上臙脂花粉,年长的多是蓝绸衫黑裙,包帽像两片海棠叶子联成,中间狭处齐额一勒,分向两边,松松的遮过耳朵,到后面梳髻处把两片叶尖结住,顶上的头发依然露出,依着年龄,包帽或是宝蓝缎子绣红桃,或是玄色缎子绣海棠双蝴蝶,或玄色缎子甚么也不绣,但沿边都缀珍珠。脚下穿的,年青女子天足,缎鞋两侧绣的彩凤双飞,小孩也是新袍裤,穿的老虎头鞋,戴的蓝缎子瓦棱帽,当前缀长命富贵或金玉满堂四个金字,亦有只是一寸八分宽的一个帽圈,红锦细绣,上缀一排金身小罗汉。 |
The stage was inside the ancestral hall. Stalls and their keepers crowed both inside and outside the hall, extending to the roadside and the field ridges. There were people selling sugarcanes, water chestnuts, oranges, calamondin orange, ginger-stained sugar (姜渍糖), dousu sugar (豆酥糖), masu sugar (麻酥糖) and sesame-seed cakes. There were also hot food, such as deep-fried dough stick, steamed buns, wonton and spicy tofu with soy sauce. Toys for children were various, too, such as muddy frogs and colorful chicken bells. The frogs were beeping and the bells were rumbling. Under the stage, the field was filled with male audience. Things that you could only see were others’ heads. The crowd was like the tide, pushing forward and pulling backwards. Women were sitting on the hatchback looking upstairs. In the noisy sounds, there was a person calling another person and also the sounds of inviting others to have some desserts at home. Uncles or cousins would buy sugarcane or oranges for their female relatives upstairs. They sat at the threshold to watch the play, while the men beneath also watched them. |
戏台在祠堂里,祠堂内外摆满摊贩,直摆到大路上田塍边,卖的甘蔗荸荠橘子金橘,姜渍糖,豆酥糖,麻酥糖,芝麻洋钱饼,还有热气蒸腾的是油条馒头云吞辣酱油豆腐,及小孩吹得嘟嘟叫的泥蛙彩鸡响铃摇咕咚,一片沸沸扬扬。戏台下站满男看客,只见人头攒动,推来推去像潮水,女眷们则坐在两厢看楼上,众音嘈杂,人丛中觅人唤人,请人客去家里吃点心。看楼上女客便不时有娘舅表兄弟从台下买了甘蔗橘子送上来,她们临阑槛坐着看戏,而台下的男人则也看戏,也看她们。 |
When doing the village theatrical performance, it was really a great scenery. There were people performing on the stage and audience under the stage were also immersed in the show. From the stream under the bridge to the grass and trees on the riversides, it made everything have happy atmosphere. Though that was in the time of Republic of China, we could still watch a show and enjoy the prosperity. However, to watch a performance in theater nowadays in cities, you are only watching, without any engagement. The beautiful scenery only exists on the stage, and nothing here under the stage and in the society outside. |
戏文时真是一个大的风景,戏子在台上做,还要台下的观众也在戏中,使得家家户户,连桥下流水,溪边草木,皆有喜气,歌舞升平原来是虽在民国世界亦照样可以有。但如今都市里上戏馆看戏,则单是看,自己一点亦不参加,风景惟是戏台上的,台下与外面的社会没有风景。 |
Plays that had been performed in Hu village were great plays in Shaoxing. Occasionally, they also did what a huiban (徽班) would do, which was also called diaoqiangban (掉腔班). The main singer would only sing the most half of the sentence, while others at the backstage would sing the final words together. Plays of Shaoxing were quite familiar with Beijing Opera, and there were only few differences in singing skills. Huqin (胡琴) were often used in Beijing Opera, while in Shaoxing plays, we used bamboo flutes as the mian instrument. Both of the two instruments had loud and clear sounds, but bamboo flute could be played rising and falling as well. Shaoxing plays learnt from yuanqu (元曲) and kunqu (昆曲) to use the bamboo flute, and used the banhu (板胡). There are three types of huqin. One is erhu (二胡) used in the Beijing opera. One usually plays together with a vertical bamboo flute and it plays the softest melody. And the third is banhu, which is much similar to erhu. Beijing opera and Shaoxing plays were both official and serious, from the singing skills, music, to their division of different characters. The content of them varied from folk to the royal court, and also included uprisings from dynasty to dynasty. They could be compared to the daya (大雅) and xiaoya (小雅) parts in the Chinese Book of Songs. Well, others like Sheng county plays (嵊县小戏), zhuizi (坠子) of Henan Province, dagu (大鼓) of Shandong province, they could compare to the guofeng (国风) part in that book. Guangdong opera was like the nanyin (南音) part. The diaoqiangban (掉腔班) was very unique. It might evolve from ancient songs. |
却说胡村戏文时是做的绍兴大戏。偶或做徽班,即掉腔班,一句戏前台只唱大半句,尾巴由后台众口接唱。绍兴戏像京戏,惟唱工不同。且京戏唱时配胡琴,而绍兴戏唱时则配乐以横笛为主,胡琴亮烈,横笛嘹亮,但横笛多了个悠扬。绍兴戏的横笛是元曲昆曲的流变,且更配以板胡而已。胡琴有三种,一即京戏里的,亦称二胡,最刚,又一是配洞箫的,最柔,而板胡则近似二胡。京戏与绍兴戏的唱工与配乐的直谅,及生旦净丑的明划,取材自闾巷之事以至于天子之朝廷及历朝民间起兵,皆极其正大,可比诗经的大雅小雅,而此外如嵊县小戏及河南坠子山东大鼓等则是国风,广东戏亦只能取它的南音。但掉腔班的来历较奇,或是古昔杨柳枝和歌的流变。 |
The first play was Baxian qingshou (八仙庆寿), and the second play was Tikui chuo caishen (踢魁绰财神). After those two plays, other performance would follow the performing list. Chinese dance were evolved into opera, while the tikui chou caishen was still in the form of dancing. The actor needed to wear a mask. Kuixing (魁星)[1] was not like an intellectual but a general. He would carry a brush pen in his right hand and a dou斗[2] in his left hand. The brush pen would appoint the zhuangyuan (状元), and the dou would weigh all essays from the world. The dance was powerful. In Chinese folk stories, there were immortals called wenquxing (文曲星) and wuquxing (武曲星), but they are the same Kuixing. There was to lyrics of the show. Only when the kuixing held up the brush pen, people at backstage would sang “Jieyuan (解元)! Huiyuan (会元)! Zhuangyuan (状元)! Lianzhong sanyuan (连中三元)! ”[3] for him in a loud sound of the gongs. The mask was hideous, or could also say it was extraordinary. The mask of the caishen (财神)[4] was quiet and white, symbolizing the money, silver. His eyes were narrow and long, and his beard was black. He danced with a hu (笏)[5] in his hands. When faced with wealth one could be happy but calm, it must be a prosperous era. [1] Kuixing 魁星 was the four stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper, or the one at the tip of the bowl. In Chinese folk stories, they are immortals, and are responsible for destinies of intellectuals. [2] It is a measure for weighing grain. [3] In ancient China, there was Imperial Examination, which include three parts, xiangshi 乡试, huishi 会试 and dianshi 殿试. Jieyuan 解元, Huiyuan 会元 and Zhuangyuan 状元 are the first prizes of the examinations respectively. Lianzhong sanyuan 连中三元 here means that a person wins all those three first prizes in Imperial Examination, which refers to great destiny of an intellectual. [4] It is a god who is responsible for manage one’s wealth. [5] It is a small tablet, usually made from jade. When Chinese ministers went to meet the emperor, they would carve important things that they want to discuss with the emperor on it. |
绍兴戏开锣敲过头场二场,先以八仙庆寿,次则踢魁绰财神,然后照戏牌上点的戏出演。中国的舞皆已化成戏,惟踢魁绰财神仍是舞,戴的假面。魁星不像书生,却是武相,右手执笔,左手执斗,笔点状元,斗量天下文章,舞旋踢弄极其有力,民间说文曲星武曲星,只是一个魁星。踢魁绰财神皆不唱,惟魁星把笔题空时,一题一棒锣响,后场有人代唱,「解元!会元!状元!连中三元!」魁星的假面极狰狞,但与其说狰狞不如说峥嵘。财神则白面,细眼黑须,执笏而舞,倒是非常文静,白面象征银子,却只觉是清冷冷的喜气,财富可以这样的文静有喜气,这就真是盛世了。 |
Celebrating the Spring Festival |
【过年】 |
Since I was born, Hu (胡) village contained only two or three families whose farmland and cemetery were between twenty to thirty mu[1] (亩). The only two or three families that could be considered as well-off were all doing a bit of business. They managed to earn a decent amount of money through renting out the farmland. Every year, earnings from renting out seven or eight mu of the farmland, plus the harvest from their own farmland of five or six mu, they were able to get enough rice for the family for the entire year. Besides, there were other incomes from growing tea, bamboo and sericulture. In every family, the male and female adults would always get up early and work until night. They also hired some long-term workers to watch over the cows and hired craftsmen from workshops to take up farming. From the fact that guests kept coming and going, dishes could be served immediately, you could tell that this was a lively and prosperous family. Beyond this place were all broken hills and wasteland. Many workers couldn’t get enough earnings for food through farming, so they chose to earn some extra money through carrying loads and working for short-term jobs. They sometimes harvested the crops in Yanjiang (沿江),sometimes carried private salt in Yuyao (余姚), so that they could earn money to buy food and clothes. The Spring Festival period was always the most difficult time. People would dodge debts or collect debts from small amount four hao[2] (毫)or eight hao, to big amount five yuan or ten yuan. To return money to creditors, debtors always had to pawn a lot of their clothes and sacrificial utensils. [1] Translator’s note: mu (亩), is the unit of area that is often used in China. For more information see: Wu Chengluo 吴承洛, Zhongguo duliang hengshi 中国度量衡史 [The History of Weights and Measures in China] (Business Press, 1993), 47. [2] Translator’s note: hao(毫), it means jiao (角) in Chinese. One yuan equals to ten jiao in China. For more information see:Dai Zhiqiang 戴志强,Zhongguo qianbi shoucang jianshang quanji中国钱币收藏鉴赏全集 [An Encyclopedia of Chinese Coins] (Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd., 2008), 56.
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从我出生,胡村有己田茔田共二、三十亩的不过两三家,尚有两三家称为殷实的都是靠做点生意活动活动,总算梢田本钱接得着,年年梢得七、八亩田种,加上己田五、六亩,一年的饭米归得齐,外有茶山竹山养蚕来补凑,一家的壮丁男妇都早起夜做,还雇长工看牛佬,又常请百作工匠来做生活,人来客去现成肴馔搬得出,就见得是热闹堂堂有风光的人家了。此外多是耙山垦地不够吃,靠挑脚打短,去沿江客作割稻,到余姚挑私盐,来籴米添衣。最是年关难过,五元十元乃至四毫八毫都讨债躲债,衣饰与祭器亦在当典里不知没了多少。 |
Nevertheless, the rituals and music tradition for celebrating festivals since the Han and Tang dynasties had always been carried out. Every year during the Spring Festival, all families went to buy goods for greeting the New Year. Some families would even kill pigs and sheep, make rice cakes and rice dumplings. On the 23rd day of the twelfth month, people would worship the heaven and the earth at the edge of eaves by setting off firecrackers, worship the kitchen bodhisattva in the front of the hall by burning the old portrait and replacing with a new one, which was also a woodblock godlike portrait. There was two line of words aside: |
虽然如此,汉唐以来盛时的礼乐,人世的慷慨繁华,民间亦还是奉行。每年过年必赶市办年货,家家杀鸡,有的还宰猪杀羊,又必舂年糕裹粽子。十二月廿三送灶君菩萨上天,除夕在檐头祭天地,祭天地要放爆竹。又堂前拜家堂菩萨,又供养灶君菩萨从天上回任,旧的菩萨画像送上天时焚化了,现在贴上新的,也是木版印的王者之像,旁边两行字: |
“The passage of time added years to the heaven as humans aged. The breath of spring fills the whole heaven and earth.”[1]
[1] Translator’s note: The two lines of words were written by Lin Daqian (林大钦) in Ming Dynasty. For more information see: Lin,Dachun 林大春,Dongpu taishi zhuan 东莆太史传 [Biography of Court Historian Dongpu] (Ming dynasty). |
天增岁月人增寿,春满乾坤福满门。 |
After finishing worshiping, families would have a reunion dinner. They would even invite the neighbours to join them. Children always carried bags, which were full of melon seeds, peanuts, fried beans, dried sweet potato, and also the “lucky money”[1] (压岁钱)for the new year. The entire family would stay up for the first dawn of the New Year while red candles were burning in the front of the hall and offerings were displayed under the portrait of ancestors. Doors were wide open in the front of the courtyard, in the kitchen, in the rooms upstairs and downstairs, under the bright light of burning candles. People would scatter a pinch of fried rice cake and sweet potato chips at the foot of the bed and in the barrel of the windmill, and they lay the dustpans and broomsticks on the ground to let them rest as they just had a hardworking year. The debts of copper and silver were settled on New Year’s Eve, when the creditors were expected to be polite for the sake of good luck for the new year. As far as I know, people of Hu village never fight over the debt, never engage the police or be sued. Very few people had a big amount of pawned goods, usually just small amount. When I was little, on the New Year’s Eve, there were also people who collected debts at night, carrying lanterns. Although I cannot say how serious these collections were, they only happed on the New Year’s Eve. As soon as the hour passed, these great adversities also passed. People were quietly worried, but still happy. [1] Translator’s note: “lucky money” (压岁钱) refers to the red envelopes given by the elders to the minors during the Spring Festival. After having the New Year’s Eve dinner and receiving the “lucky money”, the minors should stay up until dawn for the luck of the elders. In China, people believe that younger generations stay up to dawn (守岁)on the Chinese New Year’s Eve can extend the life of their elders, which is considered as the embodiment of filial piety. And the elders stay up to dawn (守岁)is to say farewell and show respect to the year has just passed, which is considered as the embodiment of cherishing time. For more information see: He, Zhiping 何志平, Chuxi除夕 [Chinese New Year’s Eve], in Juzhang jianggu 局长讲古 [The Director Speaks on Tradition] (中国香港民政事务局, 2007).
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祭毕分岁,全家团圆吃年夜饭,把邻人也你拉我请。小孩袋里都装满瓜子花生炒豆蕃薯干,还有压岁钱。堂前高烧红烛,挂起祖宗的画像,陈列祭品,一家人守岁。堂前及灶间及楼上楼下房间皆四门大开,灯烛点得明晃晃,床脚下及风车稻桶里都撒上一撮炒米花年糕丝蕃薯片,把锄头犁耙扫帚畚箕都平放休息,因为它们这一年里也都辛苦了。铜钱银子的债是讨到除夕亥时为止,但这一天便债主亦要客客气气,因凡百要吉利,不可说不好的话。据我所知,胡村人常年亦没有过为债务打架,诉警察或吃官司,有抵押中保的大数并不多,其余都不过是小数目出入。我小时家里,除夕就也有人手提灯笼来收帐讨债,怎样严重我虽不知,但总是除夕,时辰一过,天大的困难也就过去了。做人忧心悄悄,但是仍旧喜气。 |
After the New Year’s Eve passed, the old year was gone, while the new year was greeted. People would shut the door, turn off the lights, and finally go to bed. And they always set off three big firecrackers before shutting the door. On the first day of first month on the lunar calendar, they would also set off three firecrackers after opening the door. Although it was in the countryside of China, households also had the same kind of firecrackers, just like households of Tokyo. But the joy sometimes could be cheerless. |
除夕守岁到子字初,送了旧岁,迎了新岁,纔关门熄灯烛,上楼就寝,关门时放三响大爆竹。正月初一起来开门亦放三响,中国是虽乡村里,亦有如帝京里的爆竹散入千门万户,而如此繁华亦仍能是清冷冷的喜悦。 |
On the New Year’s Day, every family hung the portraits of their ancestors in the front of the hall. In the portraits, male ancestors wore a blue ceremonial robe with white cranes embroidered on the chest and a red top hat, while female ancestors all wore hats decorated with phoenixes, red ceremonial robes also embroidered with phoenixes, and belts decorated with jewels. The quality of their clothes was beyond our ability to assess, and each showed some of the people’s distinctiveness. The Japanese equivalent would be if all the people were elevated to samurais and beauties. |
正月初一家家堂前挂的祖宗的画像,爷爷都是蓝色朝衣红樱帽,胸前绣的白鹤,娘娘都是凤冠霞帔,红袍宝带锦裙,也绣的白鹤,冠服亦不知是甚么品级,面貌亦少有个性,却好比日本的人形是一切武士及美人的升华为一。 |
A portrait was hung on the pillar in the front hall: My grandfather sat in the middle, while two grandmothers who were originally married and remarried to him were sitting aside. These two grandmothers both died in their young age. Western carvings or paintings always emphasized the facial expressions of the characters. Only the Indian Buddha could completely hide the emotion. But Chinese folk painters were more skilled. They could paint people in the world and nature. When I was a child, I used to climb up on a chair to see the tribute on the eight-immortals table, but my mother told me that my grandparents would scold me when they knew about it, so I climbed down again. I often stared at the portrait of my grandparents for a long time, and I like them from the bottom of my heart. At the same time, I would also see my mother sitting in the front of the hall in her new clothes. It was like a vivid portrait. Everything made me feel as if nothing had ever happened in the whole world. I looked forward to getting up early in the morning on the New Year’s Day. But by the time I woke up, dawn had broken for a long time and the lobby downstairs was already full of the atmosphere of the new year. |
我家挂在堂前的一轴,当中坐的爷爷,娘娘有元配及续弦两位,皆去世时年青,坐在两旁。西洋雕刻或绘画人像,总强调表情,惟印度佛像能浑然不露,但中国民间的画工更有本领单是画出天地人的人。我小时爬上椅子看八仙桌上的供品,听母亲说爷爷娘娘要骂了,我就又爬下来。我常时把爷爷娘娘看得很久,心里很喜爱,又见我母亲穿了新衣裳坐在堂前,也如同画像,只觉得天下世界甚么事情也没有 发生。我小时惦记着正月初一早起,及至醒来,天已大亮,新年新岁早已在楼下堂前了。 |
Before I ran down the stairs, I saw my parents and brothers eating glutinous rice balls and rice cakes. After I washed my face, the first thing I ate was sugar tea. On New Year’s Day, people would only cook by the fire in the morning. As for lunch and dinner, they usually ate overnight food which was prepared on New Year’s Eve. These foods were served to people like the tribute to the ancestors, and people who enjoyed it also seemed like immortals and buddhas. |
我来不及奔下楼梯,只见父亲母亲与哥哥们都在吃汤圆与年糕,我洗过脸,开口先吃糖茶。正月初一惟早餐举火,中饭夜饭皆吃隔年饭,肴馔亦都是除夕已做好的。彷佛祭供之品,人亦成了仙佛。 |
I brought New Year greetings to the elders and then went to play in the front of the hall. I changed the “luck money” into coins from my mother, and then used a red string to go through the hole in the middle of the coins, making it looked like a sword, or I circled the string of coins as a belt. In the front hall, my cousins were playing Pai gow[1] (牌九), and my sisters-in-law and sisters all placed bets on them. The children were playing games with copper coins on the ground. The temple under the bridge was also extremely bustling, with seven or eight gambling tables, and suddenly it seemed that everyone here had silver and copper coins to gamble. I walked around and went back to my mother. She just sat quietly in front of the hall with my little aunt and chatted with each other. I didn’t know how to spend the New Year’s Day every year, just had the feeling that no matter how much I cherished this day, it was not enough. In the evening, every family needed to go to bed early in accordance with the Chinese tradition, because people stayed up all night on New Year’s Eve. After lighting a firecracker before closing the door, I went back to my bed. When the moon light shone through the gap between the eaves and the window, sorrow suddenly came into my heart. I unexpectedly found that the beginning and the end of this day were so vague as I spent it carelessly, which reminded me of a line from a Song poem “Grabbing drinks carelessly with shoes hanging on the tree.”[2] (挂蹻枫前草草杯). [1] Translator’s note: Pai gow (牌九), is a traditional Chinese gambling game. For more information see: Jiang Yuerong 蒋岳蓉, Boyi neimu da jiemi 博弈内幕大解密 [The Inside of the Game is Revealed] (Human Think Tank, 2015), 78. [2] Translator’s note: Guaqiao fengqian caoaobei (挂蹻枫前草草杯) , was adopted from poem Partridge sky, Jiang Kui (姜夔; 1154-1121). |
我向长辈拜了年,就在堂前玩,把压岁钱问母亲换成大清钱,用红头绳编成一串,佩在腰间像一把剑,又围拢来作宝带。堂前堂哥哥推牌九,嫂嫂姊姊都来押,小孩则在地上簸铜钱。桥下祠堂里顶热闹,有七、八张赌桌,不知那里来的人人都身上忽然有了银毫铜元,掷骰子押牌九。我转转又转到母亲身边,母亲却和小婶婶只在堂前清坐说话儿,每年正月初一我皆不知要怎样纔好,只觉爱惜之不尽。而傍晚又家家例须早睡,因昨夜是除夕守了岁之故。放了关门爆竹上床,我见瓦椽与窗隙还有亮光,心里好不怅然。这一天竟是没有起讫的,过得草草,像宋人词里的「挂蹻枫前草草杯」。 |
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