散文佳作108篇 第21期:荷塘月色 Moonlight over the Lotus Pond

Moonlight over the Lotus Pond

朱自清

Zhu Ziqing

這幾天心里頗不寧靜。今晚在院子里坐著乘涼，忽然想起日日走過的荷塘，在這滿月的月光里，總該另有一番樣子吧。月亮漸漸地升高了，墻外馬路上孩子們的歡笑，已經(jīng)聽不見了;妻在屋里拍著閏兒，迷迷糊糊地哼著眠歌。我悄悄地披了大衫，帶上門出去。

It has been rather disquieting these days. Tonight, when I Was sitting in the yard enjoying thecool, it occurred to me that the Lotus Pond, which I pass by every day, must assume quite adifferent look in such moonlit night. A full moon was rising high in the sky; the laughter ofchildren playing outside had died away; in the room, my wife was patting the son, Run-er,sleepily humming a cradle song. Shrugging on an overcoat, quietly, I made my way out, closingthe door behind me.

沿著荷塘，是一條曲折的小煤屑路。這是一條幽僻的路;白天也少人走，夜晚更加寂寞。荷塘四面，長著許多樹，蓊蓊郁郁的。路的一旁，是些楊柳，和一些不知道名字的樹。沒有月光的晚上，這路上陰森森的，有些怕人。今晚卻很好，雖然月光也還是淡淡的。

Alongside the Lotus Pond runs a small cinder footpath. It is peaceful and secluded here, aplace not frequented by pedestrians even in the daytime; now at night, it looks more solitary,in a lush, shady ambience of trees all around the pond. On the side where the path is, thereare willows, interlaced with some others whose names I do not know. The foliage, which, in amoonless night, would loom somewhat frighteningly dark, looks very nice tonight, although themoonlight is not more than a thin, grayish veil.

路上只我一個人，背著手踱著。這一片天地好像是我的;我也像超出了平常的自己，到了另一世界里。我愛熱鬧，也愛冷靜;愛群居，也愛獨處。像今晚上，一個人在這蒼茫的月下，什么都可以想，什么都可以不想，便覺是個自由的人。白天里一定要做的事，一定要說的話，現(xiàn)在都可不理。這是獨處的妙處，我且受用這無邊的荷香月色好了。

I am on my own, strolling, hands behind my back. This bit of the universe seems in mypossession now; and I myself seem to have been uplifted from my ordinary self into anotherworld. I like a serene and peaceful life, as much as a busy and active one; I like being insolitude, as much as in company. As it is tonight, basking in a misty moonshine all by myself, Ifeel I am a free man, free to think of anything, or of nothing. All that one is obliged to do, or tosay, in the daytime, can be very well cast aside now. That is the beauty of being alone. For themoment, just let me indulge in this profusion of moonlight and lotus fragrance.

曲曲折折的荷塘上面，彌望的是田田的葉子。葉子出水很高，像亭亭的舞女的裙。層層的葉子中間，零星地點綴著些白花，有裊娜地開著的，有羞澀地打著朵兒的;正如一粒粒的明珠，又如碧天里的星星，又如剛出浴的美人。微風過處，送來縷縷清香，仿佛遠處高樓上渺茫的歌聲似的。這時候葉子與花也有一絲的顫動，像閃電般，霎時傳過荷塘的那邊去了。葉子本是肩并肩密密地挨著，這便宛然有了一道凝碧的波痕。葉子底下是脈脈的流水，遮住了，不能見一些顏色;而葉子卻更見風致了。

All over this winding stretch of water, what meets the eye is a silken field of leaves, reachingrather high above the surface, like the skirts of dancing girls in all their grace. Here and there,layers of leaves are dotted with white lotus blossoms, some in demure bloom, others in shybud, like scattering pearls, or twinkling stars, or beauties just out of the bath. A breeze stirs,sending over breaths of fragrance, like faint singing drifting from a distant building. At thismoment, a tiny thrill shoots through the leaves and lilies, like, a streak of lightning, straightacross the forest of lotuses. The leaves, which have been standing shoulder to shoulder, arecaught shimmering in an emerald heave of the pond. Underneath, the exquisite water iscovered from view, and none can tell its colour; yet the leaves on top project themselves all themore attractively.

月光如流水一般，靜靜地瀉在這一片葉子和花上。薄薄的青霧浮起在荷塘里。葉子和花仿佛在牛乳中洗過一樣;又像籠著輕紗的夢。雖然是滿月，天上卻有一層淡淡的云，所以不能朗照;但我以為這恰是到了好處——酣眠固不可少，小睡也別有風味的。月光是隔了樹照過來的，高處叢生的灌木，落下參差的斑駁的黑影，峭楞楞如鬼一般;彎彎的楊柳的稀疏的倩影，卻又像是畫在荷葉上。塘中的月色并不均勻;但光與影有著和諧的旋律，如梵婀玲上奏著的名曲。

The moon sheds her liquid light silently over the leaves and flowers, which, in the floatingtransparency of a bluish haze from the pond, look as if they had just been bathed in milk, orlike a dream wrapped in a gauzy hood. Although it is a full moon, shining through a film ofclouds, the light is not at its brightest; it is, however, just right for me a profound sleep isindispensable, yet a snatched doze also has a savour of its own. The moonlight is streamingdown through the foliage, casting bushy shadows on the ground from high above, jagged andcheckered, as grotesque as a party of spectres; whereas the benign figures of the droopingwillows, here and there, look like paintings on the lotus leaves. The moonlight is not spreadevenly over the pond, but rather in a harmonious rhythm of light and shade, like a famousmelody played on a violin.

荷塘的四面，遠遠近近，高高低低都是樹，而楊柳最多。這些樹將一片荷塘重重圍住;只在小路一旁，漏著幾段空隙，像是特為月光留下的。樹色一例是陰陰的，乍看像一團煙霧;但楊柳的豐姿，便在煙霧里也辨得出。樹梢上隱隱約約的是一帶遠山，只有些大意罷了。樹縫里也漏著一兩點路燈光，沒精打采的，是渴睡人的眼。這時候最熱鬧的，要數(shù)樹上的蟬聲與水里的蛙聲;但熱鬧是他們的，我什么也沒有。

Around the pond, far and near, high and low, are trees. Most of them are willows. Only on thepath side, can two or three gaps be seen through the heavy fringe, as if specially reserved forthe moon. The shadowy shapes of the leafage at first sight seem diffused into a mass of mist,against which, however, the charm of those willow trees is still discernible. Over the treesappear some distant mountains, but merely in sketchy silhouette. Through the branches arealso a couple of lamps, as listless as sleepy eyes. The most lively creatures here, for themoment, must he the cicadas in the trees and the frogs in the pond. But the liveliness is theirs,I have nothing.

忽然想起采蓮的事情來了。采蓮是江南的舊俗，似乎很早就有，而六朝時為盛;從詩歌里可以約略知道。采蓮的是少年的女子，她們是蕩著小船，唱著艷歌去的。采蓮人不用說很多，還有看采蓮的人。那是一個熱鬧的季節(jié)，也是一個風流的季節(jié)。梁元帝《采蓮賦》里說得好：

Suddenly, something like lotus-gathering crosses my mind. It used to he celebrated as a folkfestival in the South, probably dating very far hack in history, most popular in the period ofSix Dynasties. We can pick up some outlines of this activity in the poetry. It was young girlswho went gathering lotuses, in sampans and singing love songs. Needless to say, there were agreat number of them doing the gathering, apart from those who were watching. It was a livelyseason, brimming with vitality, and romance. A brilliant description can be found in lotusGathering written by the Yuan Emperor of the liang Dynasty:

于是妖童媛女，蕩舟心許;鷁首徐回，兼?zhèn)饔鸨?欋將移而藻掛，船欲動而萍開。爾其纖腰束素，遷延顧步;夏始春余，葉嫩花初，恐沾裳而淺笑，畏傾船而斂裾。

So those charming youngsters row their sampans, heart buoyant with tacit love, pass on toeach other cups of wine while their bird-shaped prows drift around. From time to time theiroars are caught in dangling algae, and duckweed flow apart the moment their boats are aboutto move on. Their slender figures, girdled with plain silk, tread watchfully on board. This is thetime when spring is grating into summer, the leaves a tender green and the flowers blooming- among which the girls are giggling when evading an out-reaching stem, their skirts tucked infor fear that the sampan might tilt.

可見當時嬉游的光景了。這真是有趣的事，可惜我們現(xiàn)在早已無福消受了。

That is a glimpse of those merrymaking scenes. It must have been fascinating: butunfortunately we have long been denied such a delight.

于是又記起《西洲曲》里的句子：

Then I recall those lines in Ballad of Xizhou Island:

采蓮南塘秋，蓮花過人頭;低頭弄蓮子，蓮子清如水。今晚若有采蓮人，這兒的蓮花也算得“過人頭”了;只不見一些流水的影子，是不行的。這令我到底惦著江南了。

Gathering the lotus, I am in the South Pond, / The lilies in autumn reach over my head; /Lowering my head I toy with the lotus seeds. / Look, they are as fresh as the wasterunderneath.If there were somebody gathering lotuses tonight, she could tell that the lilies hereare high enough to "reach over her head"; but, one would certainly miss the sight of the water.So my memories drift back to the South after all.

這樣想著，猛一抬頭，不覺已是自己的門前;輕輕地推門進去，什么聲息也沒有，妻已睡熟好久了。

Deep in my thoughts, I looked up, just to find myself at the door of my own house. Gently Ipushed the door open and walked in. Not a sound inside, my wife had been fast asleep for quitea while.

I927年7月，北京清華園

Qinghua Campus, Beijing July, I927.