雙語(yǔ)全文 ● 魯迅 阿Q正傳——第二章　優(yōu)勝記略

Chapeter 2

A Brief Account of Ah Q’s Victories

In addition to the uncertainty regarding Ah Q’s surname， personal name， and place of origin， there is even some uncertainty regarding his“background.” This is because the people of Weizhuang only made use of his services or treated him as a laughing-stock， without ever paying the slightest attention to his “background.” Ah Q himself remained silent on this subject， except that when quarrelling with someone he might glare at him and say， “We used to be much better off than you！ Who do you think you are？”

Ah Q had no family but lived in the Tutelary God’s Temple at Weizhuang. He had no regular work either， being simply an odd-job man for others： when there was wheat to be cut he would cut it， when there was rice to be hulled he would hull it， when there was a boat to be punted he would punt it. If the work lasted for any length of time he might stay in the house of his temporary employer， but as soon as it was finished he would leave. Thus whenever people had work to be done they would remember Ah Q， but what they remembered was his service and not his “background.”By the time the job was done even Ah Q himself was forgotten， to say noth-ing of his “background.” Once indeed an old man remarked， “What a worker Ah Q is！” Ah Q， bare-backed， scrawny sluggard， was standing before him at the time， and others could not tell whether the remark was serious or deri-sive， but Ah Q was overjoyed.

Ah Q， again， had a very high opinion of himself. He looked down on all the inhabitants of Weizhuang， thinking even the two young “scholars” not worth a smile， though most young scholars were likely to pass the official examinations. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qian were held in great respect by the vil-lagers， for in addition to being rich they were both the fathers of young scholars. Ah Q alone showed them no exceptional deference， thinking to himself， “My sons may be much greater.”

Moreover， after Ah Q had been to town several times he naturally became even more conceited， although at the same time he had the greatest contempt for townspeople. For instance， a bench made of a wooden plank three feet by three inches the Weizhuang villagers called a “l(fā)ong bench.” Ah Q called it a “l(fā)ong bench” too； but the townspeople called it a “straight bench，” and he thought， “This is wrong. Ridiculous！”Again， when they fried large-headed fish in oil the Weizhuang villagers all added shallots sliced half an inch thick， whereas the townspeople added finely shredded shallots，and he thought， “This is wrong too. Ridiculous！ ” But the Weizhuang villagers were really ignorant rustics who had never seen fish fried in town.

阿Q不獨(dú)是姓名籍貫有些渺茫，連他先前的“行狀”也渺茫。因?yàn)槲辞f的人們之于阿Q，只要他幫忙，只拿他玩笑，從來(lái)沒有留心他的“行狀”的。而阿Q自己也不說(shuō)，獨(dú)有和別人口角的時(shí)候，間或瞪著眼睛道：

“我們先前——比你闊的多啦！你算是什么東西！”

阿Q沒有家，住在未莊的土谷祠里；也沒有固定的職業(yè)，只給人家做短工，割麥便割麥，春米便春米，撐船便撐船。工作略長(zhǎng)久時(shí)，他也或住在臨時(shí)主人的家里，但一完就走了。所以，人們忙碌的時(shí)候，也還記起阿Q來(lái)，然而記起的是做工，并不是“行狀”；一閑空，連阿Q都早忘卻，更不必說(shuō)“行狀”了。只是有一回，有一個(gè)老頭子頌揚(yáng)說(shuō)：“阿Q真能做！”這時(shí)阿Q赤著膊，懶洋洋的痩伶仃的正在他面前，別人也摸不著這話是真心還是譏笑，然而阿Q很喜歡。

阿Q又很自尊，所有未莊的居民，全不在他眼睛里，甚而至于對(duì)于兩位“文童”也有以為不值一笑的神情。夫文童者，將來(lái)恐怕要變秀才者也；趙太爺錢太爺大受居民的尊敬，除有錢之外，就因?yàn)槎际俏耐牡?，而阿Q在精神上獨(dú)不表格外的崇奉，他想：我的兒子會(huì)闊得多啦！加以進(jìn)了幾回城，阿Q自然更自負(fù)，然而他又很鄙薄城里人，譬如用三尺長(zhǎng)三寸寬的木板做成的凳子，未莊叫“長(zhǎng)凳”，他也叫“長(zhǎng)凳”，城里人卻叫“條凳”，他想：這是錯(cuò)的，可笑！油煎大頭魚，未莊都加上半寸長(zhǎng)的蔥葉，城里卻加上切細(xì)的蔥絲，他想：這也是錯(cuò)的，可笑！然而未莊人真是不見世面的可笑的鄉(xiāng)下人呵，他們沒有見過(guò)城里的煎魚！

第二章　優(yōu)勝記略

Ah Q who “used to be much better off，” who was a man of the world and a “worker，” would have been almost the perfect man had it not been for a few unfortunate physical blemishes. The most annoying were some patches on his scalp where at some uncertain date shiny ringworm scars had appeared. Although these were on his own head， apparently Ah Q did not consider them as altogether honourable， for he refrained from using the word “ringworm” or any words that sounded anything like it. Later he improved on this， making “bright” and “l(fā)ight” forbidden words， while later still even “l(fā)amp” and “candle” were taboo. Whenever this taboo was disre-garded， whether intentionally or not， Ah Q would fly into a rage， his ring-worm scars turning scarlet. He would look over the offender， and if it were someone weak in repartee he would curse him while if it were a poor fighter he would hit him. Yet， curiously enough， it was usually Ah Q who was worsted in these encounters， until finally he adopted new tactics， contenting himself in general with a furious glare.

It so happened， however， that after Ah Q had taken to using this furious glare， the idlers in Weizhuang grew even more fond of making jokes at his expense. As soon as they saw him they would pretend to give a start and say：

“Look！ It’s lighting up.”

Ah Q rising to the bait as usual would glare in fury.

“So there is a paraffin lamp here，” they would continue， unafraid.

Ah Q could do nothing but rack his brains for some retort. “You don’t even deserve ...” At this juncture it seemed as if the bald patches on his scalp were noble and honourable， not just ordinary ringworm scars. However， as we said above， Ah Q was a man of the world： he knew at once that he had nearly broken the “taboo” and refrained from saying any more.

阿Q“先前闊”，見識(shí)高，而且“真能做”，本來(lái)幾乎是一個(gè)“完人”了，但可惜他體質(zhì)上還有一些缺點(diǎn)。最惱人的是在他頭皮上，頗有幾處不知起于何時(shí)的癩瘡疤。這雖然也在他身上，而看阿Q的意思，倒也似乎以為不足貴的，因?yàn)樗M說(shuō)“癩”以及一切近于“賴”的音，后來(lái)推而廣之，“光”也諱，“亮”也諱，再后來(lái)，連“燈”“燭”都諱了。一犯諱，不問有心與無(wú)心，阿Q便全疤通紅的發(fā)起怒來(lái)，估量了對(duì)手，口訥的他便罵，氣力小的他便打；然而不知怎么一回事，總還是阿Q吃虧的時(shí)候多。于是他漸漸的變換了方針，大抵改為怒目而視了。

誰(shuí)知道阿Q采用怒目主義之后，未莊的閑人們便愈喜歡玩笑他。一見面，他們便假作吃驚的說(shuō)：

“噲，亮起來(lái)了?！?

阿Q照例的發(fā)了怒，他怒目而視了。

“原來(lái)有保險(xiǎn)燈在這里！”他們并不怕。

阿Q沒有法，只得另外想出報(bào)復(fù)的話來(lái)：

“你還不配……”這時(shí)候，又仿佛在他頭上的是一種高尚的光榮的癩頭瘡，并非平常的癩頭瘡了；但上文說(shuō)過(guò)，阿Q是有見識(shí)的，他立刻知道和“犯忌”有點(diǎn)抵觸，便不再往底下說(shuō)。

If the idlers were still not satisfied but continued to pester him， they would in the end come to blows. Then only after Ah Q had to all appear-ances been defeated， had his brownish queue pulled and his head bumped against the wall four or five times， would the idlers walk away， satisfied at having won. And Ah Q would stand there for a second thinking to himself，“It’s as if I were beaten by my son. What the world is coming to nowadays！... ”Thereupon he too would walk away， satisfied at having won.

Whatever Ah Q thought he was sure to tell people later； thus almost all who made fun of Ah Q knew that he had this means of winning a psychological victory. So after this anyone who pulled or twisted his brown queue would forestall him by saying， “Ah Q， this is not a son beating his father， it is a man beating a beast. let’s hear you say it： A man beating a beast！ ”

Then Ah Q， clutching at the root of his queue， his head on one side，would say， “Beating an insect—how about that？ I am an insect—now will you let me go？”

But although he was an insect the idlers would not let him go until they had knocked his head five or six times against something nearby， according to their custom， after which they would walk away satisfied that they had won， confident that this time Ah Q was done for. In less than ten seconds，however， Ah Q would walk away also satisfied that he had won， thinking that he was the “Number One self-belittler， ” and that after subtracting “selfbelittler” what remained was “Number One.” Was not the highest successful candidate in the official examination also “Number One”？ “And who do you think you are？”

After employing such cunning devices to get even with his enemies， Ah Q would make his way cheerfully to the tavern to drink a few bowls of wine，joke with the others again， quarrel with them again， come off victorious again， and return cheerfully to the Tutelary God’s Temple， there to fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. If he had money he would gamble. A group of men would squat on the ground， Ah Q sandwiched in their midst， his face streaming with sweat； and his voice would shout the loudest： “ Four hundred on the Green Dragon！”

閑人還不完，只撩他，于是終而至于打。阿Q在形式上打敗了，被人揪住黃辮子，在壁上碰了四五個(gè)響頭，閑人這才心滿意足的得勝的走了，阿Q站了一刻，心里想，“我總算被兒子打了，現(xiàn)在的世界真不像樣……”于是也心滿意足的得勝的走了。

阿Q想在心里的，后來(lái)每每說(shuō)出口來(lái)，所以凡有和阿Q玩笑的人們，幾乎全知道他有這一種精神上的勝利法，此后每逢揪住他黃辮子的時(shí)候，人就先一著對(duì)他說(shuō)：

“阿Q，這不是兒子打老子，是人打畜生。自己說(shuō)：人打畜生！”

阿Q兩只手都捏住了自己的辮根，歪著頭，說(shuō)道：

“打蟲豸，好不好？我是蟲豸——還不放么？”

但雖然是蟲豸，閑人也并不放，仍舊在就近什么地方給他碰了五六個(gè)響頭，這才心滿意足的得勝的走了，他以為阿Q這回可遭了瘟。然而不到十秒鐘，阿Q也心滿意足的得勝的走了，他覺得他是第一個(gè)能夠自輕自賤的人，除了“自輕自賤”不算外，余下的就是“第一個(gè)”。狀元不也是“第一個(gè)”么？“你算是什么東西”呢？！

阿Q以如是等等妙法克服怨敵之后，便愉快的跑到酒店里喝幾碗酒，又和別人調(diào)笑一通，口角一通，又得了勝，愉快的回到土谷祠，放倒頭睡著了。假使有錢，他便去押牌寶，一堆人蹲在地面上，阿Q即汗流滿面的夾在這中間，聲音他最響：

“Hey—open there！”

The stake-holder， his face streaming with sweat too， would open the box and chant： “Heavenly Gate！ —Nothing for the Corner！ ... No stakes on Popularity Passage！ Pass over Ah Q’s coppers！”

“The passage—one hundred—one hundred and fifty.”

To the tune of his chanting， Ah Q’s money would gradually vanish into the pockets of other sweating players. Finally he would be forced to squeeze his way out of the crowd and watch from the back， taking a vicarious inter-est in the game until it broke up， when he would return reluctantly to the Tutelary God’s Temple. The next day he would go to work with swollen eyes.

However， the truth of the proverb “Misfortune may prove a blessing in disguise” was shown when Ah Q was unfortunate enough to win and al-most suffered defeat in the end.

This was the evening of the Festival of the Gods in Weizhuang. Accord-ing to custom there was an opera； and close to the stage， also according to custom， were numerous gambling tables， the drums and gongs of the stake-holder’s chant. He staked successfully again and again， his coppers turning into silver coins， his silver coins into dollars， and his dollars mounting up. In his excitement he cried out，“ Two dollars on Heavenly Gate！”

He never knew who started the fight， nor for what reason. Curses，blows and footsteps formed a confused medley of sound in his head， and by the time he clambered to his feet the gambling tables had vanished and so had the gamblers. Several parts of his body seemed to be aching as if he had been kicked and knocked about， while a number of people were looking at him in astonishment. Feeling as if something were amiss he walked back to the Tutelary God’s Temple， and by the time he had calmed down again he realized that his pile of dollars had gone. Since most of the people who ran gambling tables at the Festival were not natives of Weizhuang， where could he look for the culprits？

“青龍四百！”

“咳開啦！”樁家揭開盒子蓋，也是汗流滿面的唱?！疤扉T啦角回啦！人和穿堂空在那里啦！阿Q的銅錢拿過(guò)來(lái)！”

“穿堂一百——一百五十！”

阿Q的錢便在這樣的歌吟之下，漸漸的輸入別個(gè)汗流滿面的人物的腰間。他終于只好擠出堆外，站在后面看，替別人著急，一直到散場(chǎng)，然后戀戀的回到土谷祠，第二天，腫著眼睛去工作。

但真所謂“塞翁失馬安知非?！绷T，阿Q不幸而贏了一回，他倒幾乎失敗了。

這是未莊賽神的晚上。這晚上照例有一臺(tái)戲，戲臺(tái)左近，也照例有許多的賭攤。做戲的鑼鼓，在阿Q耳朵里仿佛在十里之外；他只聽得樁家的歌唱了。他贏而又贏，銅錢變成角洋，角洋變成大洋，大洋又成了疊。他興高采烈得非常：

“天門兩塊！”

他不知道誰(shuí)和誰(shuí)為什么打起架來(lái)了。罵聲打聲腳步聲，昏頭昏腦的一大陣，他才爬起來(lái)，賭攤不見了，人們也不見了，身上有幾處很似乎有些痛，似乎也挨了幾拳幾腳似的，幾個(gè)人詫異的對(duì)他看。他如有所失的走進(jìn)土谷祠，定一定神，知道他的一堆洋錢不見了。趕賽會(huì)的賭攤多不是本村人，還到那里去尋根柢呢？