童年/Childhood(二)
“我父亲读过两年书，认识一些字，足够记账之用。我母亲完全不识字。两个人都是农民家庭出身。我是家里的“读书人”。我熟读经书，可是我不喜欢它们。我爱看的都是中国旧小说，特别是关于造反的故事。我很小的时候，尽管老师严加防范，还是读了《岳飞传》《水浒传》《三国演义》和《西游记》。这位老先生讨厌这些禁书，说它们是坏书。我常常在学堂里读这些书，老师走过来的时候就用一本正经书遮住。大多数同学也都是这样做的。关于这些许多故事，我们比村里的老人知道得还要多些。他们也喜欢这些故事，常常和我们互相讲述。我认为这些书大概对我影响很大，因为是在容易接受的年龄里读的。”
“My father had two years of schooling and he could read enough to keep books. My mother was wholly illiterate. Both wre from peasant families. I was the family 'scholar'. I knew the Classics, but disliked them. What I enjoyed were the romances of Old China, and especially stories of rebellions. I read 《the Yo Fei Chronicles》, 《The Water Margin》, 《The Three Kingdoms》and 《Travels in the West》while still very young, and despite the vigilance of my old teacher, who hated these outlawed books and called them wicked. I used to read them in school, covering them up with a Classic when the teacher wakled past. So also did most of my schoolmates. We learned many of the stories almost by heart, and discussed and rediscussed them many times. We knew more of them than us.I believe that perhaps I was much influenced by such books, read at an impressionable age. ”
"我13岁时，终于离开了小学堂，开始整天在地里帮长工干活，白天做一个全劳力的活，晚上替父亲记账。尽管这样，我还是继续读书，如饥似渴地阅读凡是我能够找到的一切书籍，经书除外。这让我父亲很生气，他希望我熟读经书，尤其是在一次打官司时，由于对方在法庭上很恰当的引经据典，使他败诉之后，更是这样子了。我常常在深夜里把我屋子的窗户遮挡起来，好使我父亲看不到灯光。就这样我读了一本《盛世危言》的书籍，这本书我非常喜欢。作者是一位老派改良主义学者，他认为中国之所以弱是因为缺乏西洋的器械——铁路、电话、电报、轮船，所以想把这些东西传到中国。我父亲认为读这些书时浪费时间。他要我读一些像经书那样实用的东西，可以帮助他打赢官司。”
“I finally left the primary school when I was thirteen and began to work long hours on the farm, helping the hired laborer, doing the full labor of a man during the day and at night keeping books for my father. Neverthelss, I succeeded in continuing my reading, devouring everything I could find except the Classics, especially after he was defeated in a lawsuit because of an apt Classical quotation used by his adversary in the Chinese court. I used to cover up the window of my room late at night so that my father would not see the light. In this way I read a book called Sheng-shiWeiyen[Words of Warning], which I liked very much. The author, one of a number of old reformist scholars, thought that the weakness of China lay in lack of Western appliances——railways, telephones, telegraphs, and steamships——and wated to have them introduced into the country. My father considered such books a waste of time. He wanted me to read something pracitical like the Classics which could help him in winning lawsuits.”
“我继续读中国旧式小说和故事，有一天我突然想到，这些小说有一件事很特别，就是没有种地的农民。所有的人物都是武将、文官和书生，从来没有一个农名做主人公。对于这件事，我纳闷了两年之久，后来我分析小说的内容，我发现它们颂扬全都是武将，人民的统治者，而这些人是不必种田的，因为土地归他们所有和控制，显然让农民替它们种田。”
“I continued to read the old romances and tales of Chinese literature. It occurred to me one day that there was one thing peculiar about such stories, and that was the absence of peasants who tilled the land. All the characters were warriors, officials, or scholars; there was never a peasant hero. I woondered about this for two years, and then I analyzed the content of the stories. I found that they all glorified men of arms, rulers of the people, who did not have to work the land, beacuse they owned and controlled it and evidently made the peasants work it for them.”
"我父亲毛顺生早年和中年都不信神，渴死我母亲信佛却很虔诚，她向自己的孩子灌输宗教信仰，我们都因为父亲不信佛而感到伤心。我9岁的时候，曾经同母亲认为讨论起我父亲不信佛的问题。从那以后，我们好几次想把他转变过来，可是没有成功。他只是骂我们，在他进攻之下，我们只好退让，另想办法，但他总是不愿意和神佛打交道。"
“My father was in his early days, and in middle age, a skeptic, but my mother devoutly worshiped Buddha. She gave her children religious instruction, and we were all saddened that our father was an unbeliever. When I was nine years old I seriously discussed the problem of my father's lack of piety with my mother. We made many attempts then and later on to convert him, but without success. He only cused us, and , overwhelmed by his attacks, we withdrew to devise new plans. But he would have nothing to do with the gods. ”
“可是，我看的书，逐渐对我产生了影响，我自己也越来越怀疑了。我母亲开始为我担忧，责备我不热心拜佛，可我父亲后来因为一件事发生了变化。有一天，他出去收账，路上遇到一只老虎，老虎猝然遇见人，慌忙逃跑了。可是我父亲为此感到吃惊，对于他这次虎口脱险的奇迹，他后来想了很多，他开始觉得，是不是得罪了神佛，从此，他开始比较敬佛，有时也烧香。然而，对于我却越来越不信佛，老头儿却不加干涉，他只有处境不顺当的时候，才求神拜佛”
“My reading gradually began to influence me, however; Imyself became more and more skeptical. My mother became concerned about me, and scolded me for my indifference to the requirements of the faith, but my father made no comment. Then one day he went out on the road to collect some money, and onhis way he met a tiger. The tiger was surprised at the encounter and fled at once, but my father was even more astonished and afterwards reflected a good deal on his miraculous escape. He began to wonder if he had not offended the gods. From then on he showed more respect to Buddhism and burned incense now and then. Yet when my own backsliding grew worse, the old man did not interfere. He prayed to the gods only when he ws in difficulties. ”
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