My Japanese Wife

By Yao Peishuo

My wife is a Japanese woman who is fond of Chinese literature.In fact, she often cries her heart out after finishing a book.Reading the same book myself, it remains a mystery to me how she can ever be so touched by such a ridiculous story.

I asked her: “As you had spent several years in Beijing, do you believe that a young man and a female university student would fall madly in love with each other right after they have a nice 10-minute chat in front of Longfu Building?”

She said that it was quite unlikely for this story to happen at Longfu Building, but the situation would be different if they met each other at Wangfujing.Actually, the last novel she read set the story in Wangfujing.

This is definitely a terminal illness, incurable!

Eventually, it occurred to me that Japanese women think totally different from Chinese men.Love and romance relates to them just as a cat catches sight of fish, where they will lose their senses on the spot.I don't think this is due to her innocence.Rather, it might have something to do with the Japanese national character.The character is demonstrated differently by Japanese men and women.As far as I can observe, Japanese men share nothing in common with their female counterparts inregard to their subtle sensibilities—to the point that they seem to come from another country.They perhaps devote all their meticulous attention to their work.

我的媳婦是日本人，喜歡中國文學，常常在看完小說后泣不成聲。我讀后納悶，很荒唐的事，何至感動如此？

我問她：“你在北京住過好幾年，會相信一個小伙子在隆福大廈門口見著一女大學生，聊上十分鐘兩人就愛得天旋地轉這種事兒？”她的回答是，隆福大廈應該不會，王府井就沒準，上次看一部小說，說的就是有個男的在王府井……

這就是絕癥，沒治！

久之漸漸明白，原來日本女性的思維和我們不同。她們看風花雪月纏綿故事，就仿佛貓見了魚，立即失去理智。你說她單純也不是，可能是某種民族性使然。這種民族性，在日本肯定男女有別。在我看來，日本男性在感情細膩上和日本女性有天壤之別，簡直不像同一個民族。也許，他們把細致一面都放在工作上面去了。

不過，老看她這樣“感動”，會起雞皮疙瘩，又不能強行壓制，于是，我開始對她進行引導。我對她說：“你看的不過是當代小說，我們最優秀的作品是‘四大名著’，那才是真‘漢學’呢。”

這番說教很管用。而且我發現，她看古文版的《西游記》《水滸傳》比白話版的理解更順暢，這件事讓我很困惑。及至看日本歷史，看到西鄉隆盛的信件，全部是古體漢字文章，方才明白。原來，中國文化對日本影響最強盛的時代，白話文還沒誕生呢。

“典雅。”她評價中國古文說。她看四大名著看得津津有味，還能和我說牛魔王的故事。這可比每天聽她講北京某無業青年的愛情故事好多了，但這種學習也會引發某種意外。

那次，她媽媽患了膽結石，醫生診斷需要手術。于是，全家一陣忙亂。到了手術那天，恰好我父母也在日本旅游，于是三人一起去看望。不料路上堵車，等到了病房，發現病床已經空了，只剩她在那兒神色緊張地轉來轉去。

“開始手術了嗎？”我趕緊問。“嗯，已經送進去半個小時了。”她看到我父母，恭敬地行個禮，道，“請不要擔心，這種手術沒什么危險，現在應該已經……已經麻翻了。”

“麻翻？”我一時沒反應過來。

“是啊，我媽媽應該已經被醫生那廝麻翻，很快可以手術啦。”她一本正經地說。在肅靜的醫院里，岳母做手術的痛苦時刻，實在不是可笑的時間和場合。可是那天，我們都沒忍住，害得她莫名其妙，以為我們一家人都出了毛病。

她從哪兒學來這等古雅詞句，是“智劫生辰綱”，還是“打店十字坡”，我可就不知道了。

（摘自《新知訊報》）

Although witnessing her being easily moved induces goose bumps, I cannot ever suppress her feelings.Nevertheless, I tried to get her on to the right track.I explained to her: “What you are reading are just contemporary novels.Our best works are the Four Great Classical Novels, which stand for real Chinese literature.”

These words worked quite well.I also realized that it was much easier for her to readJourney to the WestandOutlaws of the Marshin the classical Chinese versions than their vernacular versions (Baihua), w h i c h confused me immensely.It was not until I started reading letters written by Saigō Takamori, all in classical Chinese, while exploring Japanese history that I got the answer.It turns out that in the era when Chinese culture exerted its full range of influence on Japan, Baihua didn't come into being yet.

“Very elegant!” She commented on the works written in classical Chinese.She had great fun in reading the Four Classical Chinese Novels and she could even tell me stories about Bull Demon King, which was much more interesting than a love story about a jobless young man in Beijing.Yet, this way of learning is not exempt from problems.

O n c e h e r m u m s u f f e r e d from a gallstone attack and the doctor decided that surgery was necessary.As a result, the whole family fell into chaos.On the day of the surgery, my parents went to the hospital to visit my wife's mother together with me, as they were traveling in Japan at the time.Since there was a massive traffic jam on our way, we only found an empty ward when we got there, with my wife pacing back and forth in a nervous manner, alone.

“Has the operation started yet?” I asked eagerly.“Yes, she was sent to the operating room half an hour ago.” She bowed to my parents respectfully upon seeing them and said: “Please don't worry.There is no danger with the surgery.She won't feel a thing as she has been dumbed.”

“Dumbed?” I was at a complete loss.

“Yes.My mum was anaesthetized by the doctor and be ready for the surgery in no time,” she explained in a serious way.In the quiet hospital where my mother-inlaw was undergoing a surgery, there was no way to laugh at such a time and on such an occasion.Nonetheless, we were not able to hold back our laughter on that day, which amazed her in such a way that she was convinced that something must have gone wrong with our entire family.

I don't have the slightest idea where she picked up those elegant words, perhaps either from the Seizure of Birthday Gift Shipments by Trickery or from the Wusong Fights in the Inn.

(FromThe New Information Report.Translation: Zhang Xueqin)