我與童年隔片田

文、譯/周領順

七月的一場新冠疫情，忽然把我封閉在生活的小區里，我在疫情每日的播報中更新著希望，在一天天的希望里1“在一天天的希望里”與之前的“希望”構成循環，增強了韻味，但翻譯成英語，語義重疊，其意義已經包容在其前的“更新著希望”（hopes got refreshed）里了。，竟然熬2“熬”用live through、go through、get over 等等皆可，但為了表現出“熬”的深意，特意增加agonizing（折磨人的）一詞修飾days，也與下段專門討論的“熬”構成一致，留下預設。走了一個夏季。

2開始的那段時間，說“熬”更加名副其實，生活節奏被打亂，而越是盼望疫情早點結束，就越發焦躁不安。困在小區，卻沒困在房間，讀書半天，總要下樓一趟，也滿足身體之所需。

3順著主要的路道走一走，在戴著口罩的人流里保持著免于感染的距離。因以鍛煉為目的，所以步速較快，明知沿途沒有可賞之景，也就少了份貪戀和止步的道理。讀書，鍛煉，封閉的小區，被改變的生活就這么適應了新的節奏，日子就這么打發得慢條斯理。

July witnessed a Covid-19 outbreak and suddenly sealed me off in the apartment complex I lived in. Hopes got refreshed in each day’s news broadcast,while the agonizing days dragged on till the end of summer.

2In the early days of lockdown, “agony” became the best word to describe how the pandemic affected the rhythm of my life. The more I hoped for the lift of restrictions, the more irritated I grew. The apartment complex I lived in was placed under localized quarantine,but residents could move about within the complex. After reading books for half a day, it was necessary for me to go downstairs for a walk, and this was also what my body needed to stay healthy.

3Taking strolls along the main roads among masked-up armies of socially distanced people, I walked at a faster pace,as exercising was my only aim. Knowing there wasn’t so much to see, I didn’t pause off on the way. With reading, exercising and cramped living quarters, my recently-changed lifestyle had begrudgingly taken to a new rhythm. My days were spent at a slack pace.

4日子久了，已將主要的路道走膩，遂轉戰于樓房之間，那些人跡罕至3“人跡罕至”不一定是別人也罕至，稍顯夸張，翻譯時還原為“我”的行為。的空白，也就漸漸地有了人氣。轉彎漸多，但步速不減。不過，樓房之間苗圃里的一草一木，時不時會蕩起童年的想往，每每看到久違的植物，就忍不住駐足端詳。

5苗圃里較大的樹種如松樹、香樟，遮蔭蔽日；行道樹如國槐、鐵樹，婀娜多姿。偶爾也能看到棵棗樹、柿樹、枇杷之類，大概出自居民之手，畢竟能看又能食。此時，半紅半綠的棗子已經掛滿枝條，柿子青澀，而枇杷僅將鵝黃綴4“綴”呈現的是靜態的畫面，而splash（濺）動態感更明顯，在能找到動態感用詞的情況下以動態感用詞為上，以達到類似“紅杏枝頭春意鬧”中“鬧”的效果。滿春季。偶爾一小片辣椒、薄荷之類，郁郁蔥蔥，讓生活多了一點一串的喜氣。有些肯定是野生的，像桑樹、榆樹、楝樹之流，極易成活，從墻縫和水泥地縫里鉆出來，自然有余。人工雕飾的樹叢，橫成行，豎成線，一眼望穿，缺少神秘感；無人打理的苗圃，滿目荒蕪，反爾讓自然復歸了自然，讓童年薅草時的發現樂趣再現眼前。

4As days went by, I got bored with walking along the main roads, so I turned to walk among buildings and tried to discover sceneries I had somehow missed before. These twisting and turning lanes weren’t slowing me down. However,every tree, and every blade of grass in these gardens, evoked childhood longings. When I saw plants I had not seen for a long time, I could not tear myself away from studying them for a while.

5Bigger trees like shady pines and camphors were planted in the gardens,while pagoda and sago palms stood charmingly along the roadsides. There was an occasional jujube tree, persimmon or loquat tree, which must have been planted by the residents. These trees looked attractive and their fruits were edible. At the moment, the jujube tree branches were sagging with red and green dates. The persimmons were still green and unripe, and the loquats would wait for the spring before splashing their bright orange. Here and there were small patches of lush green land grown with hot pepper and peppermint plants,making life a bit more delightful. It was certain that the wildly grown mulberry trees, paper mulberry trees, Chinaberry trees and some others, blessed with great vitality, squeezed naturally through cracks in the wall and the concrete floor. Some trees were planted purposely in horizontal and vertical lines, looking plain and predictable.Some gardens looked gorgeously unattended. It was nature tending nature,bringing back fond memories of pulling up weeds when I was a little child.

6探著路，朝里面走一走，真的有不少“舊友”，似乎從故鄉一路追著我來到了揚州。有一種小花，牽牛花的模樣，田間庭院，不乏相見。白天散步，沒人留意，因為花朵合攏，香氣鎖閉。可一到傍晚，花朵忽然間迎來盛世，成簇怒放。一棵之上，有的純紫，有的淡黃，有的半紫半黃，香氣十分濃郁，即故鄉稱作“燒湯花”的便是。河南農村把做晚飯叫“燒湯”，“燒湯花”顯然是在準備晚飯時才盛開的花，與吳語的“晚飯花”同屬一物，奇異的開放時間成就了它的典型特征，樸素由之，鄉土氣息由之。出于對舊友真容的好奇，我拿出手機，掃出個“紫茉莉”，好雅致的名字。即使花呈淡黃或雜色，也仍然稱“紫”，雅致卻不精致，倒不如按開放時間相稱來得真實。

6Exploring further around the garden, I found quite a few “old friends”,as if they had followed me from my hometown all the way to Yangzhou.One of them was a kind of tiny flower.It is in the shape of morning glory flowers, usually decorating courtyards and fields. In the sunshine, their petals are folded and their fragrance hidden, so they are often ignored by passers-by in the daytime. But by evening, the flowers are at their prime time and will bloom in clusters. On each plant, some flowers are pure purple, some are pure light yellow, and some are half purple and half yellow; and the air is diffused with their rich fragrance. This sort of flower is called “soup-time flower” by my fellow countrymen in Henan. In the countryside of Henan, “soup-time” refers to supper time, so “soup-time flower”, literally a kind of flower that blooms at supper time, is called “supper-time flower” in the Wu dialect of East China.Typically defined by its extraordinary blooming time, the “supper-time flower” is endowed with rustic charm.Wanting to get better acquainted with my “old friend”, I scanned it with my phone to find out more. The scientific name of the soup-time flower is Mirabilis jalapa, which is elegantly translated as “purple jasmine.” Though the flower can assume a slightly yellow or even variegated color, the word “purple” is used in its Chinese appellation. I think calling it soup-time flower is true to the nature of the flower, even if that’s not scientifically appropriate.

7我喜歡花、草、樹等一切植物。當然，也有個偏好。比如對于樹，更喜歡能看又能食的樹種，倘若在樹林里見到一棵結了果子的樹，那種驚喜絕不止于發現。能看又能食的樹種一般是果樹，但又不限于此，比如能結可食樹花的洋槐、柳樹和榆樹，甚至還有既不結可食之果也不結可食之花之樹，如唯葉而食的香椿，故鄉稱為“香椿菜樹”。香椿煎雞蛋是常規的做法，常用的部分主要是春芽，而將老樹葉的筋抽掉食用，香味更濃。我在小區的苗圃里發現幾棵高大的香椿樹，想必是有意為之，但也發現幾片灌木叢，野生的成分居多。香椿木被稱為紅椿木，是樹中之王，據傳能避邪，蓋房時，戶主人總要想辦法找一節嵌在窗欞上，以避墳地木材之邪。

7 Flowers, grasses, and trees can all bring joy to me but I have to admit to some preferences. As for trees, for instance, I prefer those that are capable of producing edible fruits. Seeing a tree bearing fruits in a forest, one’s delight will be beyond discovery. And the nonfruit-bearing trees, like the acacia with its edible flowers, the willow with palatepleasing catkins and the tasty elm samaras that form on elm trees, all provide delicious morsels fit for any supper. For trees like “the Chinese toon vegetable tree”, as my country folks call it, there are only leaves to be edible. The toon is traditionally fried with eggs but it will be even tastier if you pull out and eat the trunk muscle. I’ve found a few high Chinese toon trees in the garden, which I guess have been planted expressly for cooking purposes, as well as a few largely-uncultivated toon shrubs. The Chinese toon tree wood is called “red toon wood” and is said to be capable of preventing disasters. A knowing house builder will use red toon wood to make window lattices, so as to prevent possible disasters brought about by the wood used in the graveyard.

8荒草田里的發現又何止于此。“老黃狗”（狗尾巴草）滿目皆是，串幾只螞蚱，就是一頓野味，惜哉遁跡，令童趣稍減。我的童年是在荒草田里滾大的，幾十年的忙碌，早已將童年的生活化作了詩和遠方。如今的城市小區，讓我與童年隔田相望，不覺返老還童矣。

8There were many more discoveries in the wild patch. “The old yellow dog”(dog-tail grass) grew everywhere. It is often used to string grasshoppers, from which a taste of game can be expected.Grasshoppers are scarcely seen nowadays, so the children today are kind of deprived of some joyful entertainment.My childhood was spent on a pristine meadow, but scores of busy years have made those old days poetically distant.Decades later, the gardens around my apartment in an urban complex brought back my favorite childhood memories.Looking over a wild patch of lawn helped me recover my youthful vigor.