下雪的季節　The Season of Snow

周領順　周領順　露絲·蒔

下雪的季節，稀罕的，也就是那個雪喲！

“千里冰封，萬里雪飄”的世界晶瑩剔透，銀裝素裹;“山舞銀蛇，原馳蠟象”的大地玉潔冰清，清爽而浪漫2。

我喜歡下雪，喜歡看那悄無聲息、飄然而至的漫天飛舞的大雪;喜歡在飛雪中傻站著，看自己轉眼間變成須發皆白的耄耋老翁;喜歡看棱角分明的雪花飄落于掌心又轉瞬消融的蹤影;喜歡看雪天在白皚皚一望無垠的原野上村莊房屋被大雪“淹沒”而顯露出的只是冒煙的煙囪。大雪紛飛里，總能瞥見人們堆雪人找鼻子、裝眼睛忙碌的身影，老遠就能聽到大人小孩借東討西3的那份激情。春節了，還能看到雪簾中通紅的春聯透出的那份喜慶，正月里最好看的，是遠處雪地里走親串友在雪白的背景上游動的點點綠紅。我喜歡走在雪地里，感受那咯吱咯吱的響聲;喜歡看小鳥成群結隊飄落而至匆忙覓食轉眼間又撲棱棱飛走的身形……。抓一把雪，揉成蛋兒，塞入同伴的衣領;邀同學于樹下，朝樹身上跺一腳，看雪面兒抖落的壯觀，聽人家數落還要提防對方的“報復”行動。農民盼下雪呀，盼它個“正月十五雪打燈”“瑞雪兆豐年”4;城里人盼下雪呀，盼它增加濕潤、減少疾病。孩子們盼下雪，盼的可是雪地里的嬉戲;青年人盼下雪，玉樹下相機里留下的是芳姿倩影。

小時候，那個雪下得就格外地大。一夜無聲，感覺天不該亮的時候窗戶卻已發白，窺視窗外，誰知早已是大雪封門。白雪映著青光5，滿目都是玉雕的枝枝丫丫。裹在被窩里，就喜歡聽大人在院里掃雪，也喜歡跟著大人手托竹竿、拴上籮圈將積雪從草房子上刮下。大人們望著雪，說要是雪變成白面可就不忍饑了;小孩子們望著雪，說要是雪能變成白糖，想啥時候解饞就能解饞。房檐下常常掛著冰柱，小孩子用力地咀嚼，牙冰木了，嘴卻不閑，還說自己吃的是冰棍兒，人家吃的冰棍兒也不過就是多了一點點甜。漫天雪地里，最多的感受還是浪漫。帶著狗，在溝溝坎坎的雪地里尋找黃色的出氣孔6。陡然間，看到一只野兔從雪底下竄出來，驚愕之余，孩子和狗就拼命地在雪野深一腳淺一腳地狂奔，嘴里哈著白氣，身上冒著熱汗。捉到了，是驚喜;捉不到，也樂此不疲。茫茫的原野上，到處似乎都是一個模樣，迷失方向也是常有的事，有時還要駐足觀瞧，想努力找到人的足跡。

在鄉下，大雪天圍著火堆烤火也別有一番情趣。烤一把粉條，眼見在火苗中粉條由細變粗;執一把鐵勺，聽黃豆爆裂的聲響，享受滿屋飄著的香氣。想吃咸的嗎？就有人積極，撒入的卻是一把鹽似的雪7。看哪，孩子們鬧翻了8，旋即重歸于好，一起凝視雪水在鐵勺里、在那咝咝聲中消逝。烤火？還想長點見識。聽大人們侃大山，侃中原比不上大東北，那里雪更大，天更冷，尿出來的干脆就是冰棍棍兒，掉地上也不爛，之后準能聽到唏噓聲9不斷;侃冰河里刨個洞，就有魚兒往上跳，之后還能聽到咂嘴聲，說魚肉有啥好吃，刺又多又亂10;侃冰河上能開坦克車，就忍不住再嘗試到池塘的冰面上沿冰11，去尋找那份驚險。

正月一過， 就很難覓到雪的蹤跡。不過，蒼天或許有情，在桃花爛漫的初春時節，差不多還要恩賜人間一場與桃花共舞的飛雪。“三月還下桃花雪呢”12，也就成了纏綿于雪的人們新的希冀。

又是一個下雪的季節。我渴望感受多雪的故鄉和我那風情萬種的北國。

For the season of snow， a most welcome sight for the eyes is the snow itself.

Ice-bound and snow-covered， the vast landscape is a crystal white with all colors drained away from it， and the undulating plain a romantic purity of icy powder with white mountains meandering their way across it.

I love snow. I love to watch fluffy snowflakes swirling and twirling down gently and silently from the heavens. I love to stand in the fluttering snow and to be dusted white shortly over the hair and beard like an old man. I love to catch pointed snowflakes on the palm and see them melt instantly. I love to gaze upon the village houses that are submerged in a white mantle of snow， with only their smoking chimneys being distinctly visible. Amid snow flurries there are always people who are busily immersed in building a snowman， adding a nose here， putting eyes there， or are loudly enthusiastic in borrowing items from one household to another. Shining through the fringes of snowy icicles that are hanging off the eave is the festivity of the red couplets pasted on the front door for celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival. The most pleasing sight for the Chinese lunar January is the tiny human figures of different colors moving about in the distant snow. I also appreciate the crunchy protest of the snow beneath the boots， or the sight of little birds that land on the ground in flocks in a hurried forage for food and then flap away in a rush of wings. And the snow tricks， too. One scoops up some snow， shapes it into a ball and slips it into the collar of a playmate. Or one induces a pal to go under a snow-coated tree， and stomps at its trunk， sending snow cascading down onto the victim; while he is enjoying the spectacular scene， he is bombarded with complaints from his adversary and at the same time has to watch out for a counterstroke. Snow is a blessing， expected by farmers for the bountiful harvest it can herald for the coming autumn， by urban people for a moistened air and a reduced spread of diseases， by children for play and games in the snow， and by young people for the pictures they can take of themselves against snow-laden trees.

I used to see much heavier snowfalls when I was small. Snow drifted down， soundless， during the night， and dawn awoke early to reveal a white world outside the window and unexpectedly a snow-blocked front door as well. The snow was glowing white with a bluish tint， and turned trees and their branches all into statues of white crystal. It was a joy snuggling warm under the cozy bed cover and listening to my parents clearing snow in the courtyard， or sometimes helping them scrape snow off the roof of the thatched house with a bamboo pole attached with a flat basket on its top. Snow being so white， how parents wished it were flour that could satisfy hunger， how children wished it were castor sugar that they could taste whenever they wanted to. There were often icicles dangling from the eave and they were a tasteless delicacy for children. Though their teeth got numbed from chewing on these icicles， they did not forget to pretend that they were eating popsicles， ones that were just lacking in a sweet flavor. In the vast stretches of snow， the most frequent sensation was the romantic ambiance. Out in the lumpy snow， followed by a dog， children were trying to stalk hares by way of locating their brownish breathing holes; at any moment a hare could suddenly burst into view from beneath the snow. Immediately the children and the dog limped along in their desperate chase after it， breathing frostily and sweating heatedly. It was a delight if they managed to catch it， and if not， they would never feel frustrated. As the immense snow blanket seemed to be disguising the world in the same uniform， losing the sense of direction was not uncommon， and one had to stop from time to time to look for human trails to follow.

In rural villages， snow days were also happy moments when villagers sat around a fire warming themselves. Bean starches swelled thick over the fire in no time. And beans， frying in an iron vessel over the fire， gave off crackling sounds and an inviting aroma as well. What about adding a salty taste to the beans？ Someone mischievously sprinkled some snow into the vessel！ Alas， children fell out with each other for that， but they reconciled instantly， watching together the sizzling evaporation of the snowy water in the vessel. Around the fire for warmth only？ No. Something eye-opening would enhance the fun. Adults shot the breeze about how much colder it was in the north east than in the central region for heavier snows and lower temperatures. They said in the north east pee would come out frozen and remain unbroken even when hitting the ground， which was followed by disbelieving hisses from the listeners. Hearing that fish would jump right out of a river through the hole cut into its frozen surface， someone smacked his mouth hungrily but comforted himself by saying what was the good in eating fish with so many tiny bones in it. And the frozen rivers there， as adults said， could even support a tank driving across， and that sparked a craving in the child listeners for an adventure of skating on a frozen pond.

After the lunar January， snow is a rarity. However， the heavens may shed mercy on snow lovers， and in early spring when peach trees are in full blossom shower down an occasional snow， with snowflakes whirling and dancing in the air with swaying peach flowers. Thus the wish for snow lingers into March in the heart of people loving snow.

It is a season of snow again. I yearn for the snow in my hometown and the wintry charms of my central north.

1二級教授，博士生導師和博士后合作導師，中國英漢語比較研究會常務理事，中國翻譯協會翻譯理論與翻譯教學委員會委員，揚州大學學術委員會委員，揚州大學“杰出人才”和“領軍人才”，揚州大學翻譯行為研究中心主任，《翻譯論壇》雜志執行主編，“譯者行為批評”理論的原創者。本文選自《散文自譯與自評》[周領順，露絲·蒔（Lus Shih），蘇州大學出版社，2017]。? ?2這一段描寫的是北國雪景的壯觀景象，作者將毛澤東《沁園春·雪》一詩中的詩句引用到原文中，作為“世界”和“大地”的修飾語，來增強表達氣勢，以獲得更好的表達效果。譯文將詩句中的“山”“銀蛇”“蠟象”等意象加以整合，將“千里冰封，萬里雪飄”意譯為ice-bound and snow-covered，將“山舞銀蛇，原馳蠟象”意譯為the undulating plain （is） a romantic purity of icy powder with white mountains meandering their way across it。

3“借東討西”指村人走東串西借東西，可譯為borrowing items from one household to another。? 4“正月十五雪打燈”和“瑞雪兆豐年”是中國文化中的農諺，前者完整的表述是“八月十五云遮月，正月十五雪打燈”，意思是說，農歷八月十五這一天如果是陰天或者下雨，則來年正月十五這一天就會下雪。原文引用“正月十五雪打燈”這一句，只是借用了其中的“雪”的意象，來增強話語表達的氣勢，簡單地說就是“農民盼下雪”的意思，譯文不一定非得把這個農諺完整地表達出來不可。因此，譯者將意義加以整合而譯為：Snow is a blessing， expected by farmers for the bountiful harvest it can herald for the coming autumn。

5白雪為什么會映著青光？雪越厚，吸收的紅光越多，從而顯出藍色，天剛蒙蒙亮時，光線暗淡，厚雪愈加顯得發藍。“白雪映著青光”可譯為：The snow was glowing white with a bluish tint。

6“黃色的出氣孔”是野兔在雪地里活動時留下的痕跡，野兔躲在厚雪底下，需要呼吸，洞口因野兔出入而沾染黃色的痕跡，可譯為their brownish breathing holes。

7“就有人積極”是反語，譯文中添加mischievously一詞，表達了這個反語的言下之意。? 8孩子們鬧翻是因為有人惡作劇，在炒豆子的鍋中撒了雪，可譯為children fell out with each other for that，譯文中添加介詞短語for that，以明確“鬧翻”的原因。? 9“唏噓聲”描述的是聽者難以置信的反應，可譯為which was followed by disbelieving hisses from the listeners。? 10聽者聽到“魚”就饞，咂嘴巴，但吃不到，只能自我安慰說“魚肉有啥好吃”，這是“酸葡萄”心理，可譯為someone smacked his mouth hungrily but comforted himself by saying what was the good in eating fish with so many tiny bones in it。? 11河南方言，意為“滑冰”。

12“三月還下桃花雪”是中國文化中的農諺，說的是桃花盛開的春天還有下雪的可能。在上文，原文對于三月的下雪美景已經作了描述，譯文也充分表達了原文描述的桃花雪的美景。這個農諺表達的意思與上文同，此處引用屬于語義疊加，因此譯文可省略這個農諺的形象。