近几年来,父亲和我都是东奔西走,家中光景是一日不如一日。他少年出外谋生,独力支持,做了许多大事。哪知老境却如此颓唐!他触目伤怀,自然情不能自已。情郁于中,自然要发之于外;家庭琐屑便往往触他之怒。他待我渐渐不同往日。但最近两年的不见,他终于忘却我的不好,只是惦记着我,惦记着我的儿子。我北来后,他写了一信给我,信中说道:“我身体平安,惟膀子疼痛厉害,举箸提笔,诸多不便,大约大去之期不远矣。”我读到此处,在晶莹的泪光中,又看见那肥胖的、青布棉袍黑布马褂的背影。唉!我不知何时再能与他相见! 1925年10月在北京。 (原载1925年11月22日《文学周报》第200期) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 背影 The sight of father's back Zhu Ziqing 背影 - 朱自清:Zhu Ziqing's 'Seeing Father From the Back' (上面2个都是背影的题目翻译) Zhu Ziqing (1898-1948), writes about the appreciation of a father. He is a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. It is more than two years since I saw my father last time, and what I can never forget is the sight of his back. In the winter of more than two years ago, Grandma died and father lost his job. Misfortunes never come singly. I left Beijing for xvzhou to join father in hastening home to attend grandma's funeral. When I met father in Xvzhou, the sight of the disorderly mess in his courtyard and the thought of grandma started tears trickling down my cheeks. Father said, “that things have come to such a pass, now not be too sad .Fortunately, Heaven always leaves one a way out." After arriving home in Yang Zhou, father sold out all the fortunate in order to pay off the debts. He also borrowed money to meet the funeral expenses. Between grandma's funeral and father's unemployment, our family was then in reduced circumstances. After the funeral was over, father was to go to Nanjing to look for a job and I was to return to Beijing to study, so we started out together. I spent the first day in Nanjing strolling about with some friends at their invitation, and was ferrying across the Yangtze River to Pukou the same day. Father said he was too busy to go and see me off at the railway station, but would ask a hotel waiter that he knew to accompany me there instead. He urged the waiter again and again to take good care of me, but still did not quite trust him. He hesitated for quite a while about what to do. As a matter of fact, nothing would matter at all because I was then times. After some wavering, he finally decided that he himself would accompany me to the station. I repeatedly tried to talk him out of it, but he only said,” never mind! It won't be comfortable for them to go there!" We entered the railway station after crossing the River. While I was at the booking office buying a ticket, father saw to my luggage. There was quite a bit of luggage and he had to bargain with the porter over the fee. I was then such a smart-aleck that I frowned upon the way father was haggling and on the verge of chipping in a few words when the bargain was finally clinched. Getting on the train with me, he picked me a seat close to the carriage door. I put on the brownish fur-lined overcoat he had tailor-made for me. He told me to be watchful on the way and be careful not to catch cold at night. He also asked the train attendants to take good care of me. I sniggered at father for being so impractical; for it was utterly useless to entrust me to those attendants, who cared for nothing but money. Besides, it was certainly no problem for a person of my age to look after himself. Oh, when I come to think of it, I can see how smarty I was in those days! (责任编辑:admin) |