双语散文：水乡人素描

水乡人素描

A Sketch of Waterside Farmers

叶子南

Ye Zinan

水乡人素描

对我来说，上山下乡只是下乡，因为我去的地方无山可上。结果我接触的农民也大多具水乡特征，多阴柔，少刚阳。

When I was caught up in the sweeping campaign of settling urban youth in the countryside, called “up a mountain and down a farm”, in the midst of the Cultural Revolution upheaval, I was on the “down” side, because the place where I was sent had no mountains to climb. I was then introduced into the life of local farmers, one that was as gentle as the currents of the waterways running through their neighborhoods.

都说一方水土养一方人，崇山峻岭中生活的人，少不了行路难的历练，背一捆柴，挑一担水，走上十几里路，走得脚底出泡，是每个山里人会有的经历。

My observation seemed to bear out an old truth that people’s dispositions were shaped by their environment. Mountain dwellers were able to develop the kind of toughness because they often had to walk many miles while carrying stacks of firewood or buckets of water despite the pain blisters on their feet were causing them.

水乡不同。水乡虽不像城市那样有现代化的呵护，可是行在水乡，毕竟要比走在山里方便，因为有河组成交通的网线，有舟代挑肩上的担子。畏人的里程在乘舟欲行的人看来并不畏人，在摇啊摇的乌篷船里看外婆家也不山高水远。但也因此，以舟代步的水乡人没有机会像山里人那样，走出艰难硬朗的人生。

Living in a village by a river was different. Even though devoid of urban amenities, rural villages blessed with crisscrossing rivers had the benefit of water transport to relieve much of the burden of carrying stuff around. The network of rivers offered the possibility of turning a grueling trudge – a daily routine for a mountain dweller – into a joyful ride by transferring the load from our backs or shoulders to those little boats with black canopies that typically dotted Shaoxing’s waterways back then. And because of this convenience, farmers having easy access to waterways simply didn’t have to rough it as mountain folks did.

当人体背负着生活的重担，走在山中小路上的人注视的范围便缩小了，因此山里人很少关注山坳外的乾坤。

Besides, climbing a mountain with a heavy load on your back could limit your vision. Mountain living thus tended to insulate you from what was going on outside your small world.

水乡人不同，即便摇橹推桨也得使出浑身的解数，但推拉之间，顺水前行的舟楫还是会借惯性，给你一息喘息的机会，更何况几个人轮番上阵，换下来的人便可稳坐在船头，看山阴道上的景致，暂且忘掉衣食住行的烦恼。于是在水软橹声柔的人生路上，水乡人也和水一样，阴柔是性格的特征，即便是男子汉也缺少大刀阔斧的胸襟。

Unlike their mountain-dwelling peers, waterside residents had room to breathe and panoramic views to explore while on their boats. They did have to go all out rowing at times, but they often had the leisure to amuse themselves when they were going downstream, or especially when they had several people taking turns rowing. They could relax on the bow of their boat, enjoying the breathtaking scenery along the banks, temporarily oblivious of more mundane worries of feeding their families. Life marched on in gentle steps much like strokes of an oar in the water, instilling tenderness in men and women alike. No wonder qualities such as decisiveness seemed elusive even in men.

（蔡力坚 译）