(Bilingual Post) 香港兩中秋

Mid-Autumn 1960

A skinny kid barely 12 years old, I had a good-sized basket of scrap metal on my back. I was not alone, of course. Ahead of me were bony boys and girls about my age, all born with a burden. 

Boys wore no more than worn-out shorts. Girls fared better, covering themselves in patched clothes. One of them - I couldn't help imagining - turned around and smiled at me. What a lovely twig doll! Doll or no doll, however, we all desperately needed to sell stuff for food in a marketplace beckoning from afar.

Ouch! I cut myself walking barefoot. Well, I had sold my outgrown sandals the other day.

Unusually quiet behind me was my newly widowed mother. In her arms was my baby sister, also unusually quiet.

My baby sister ended up in heaven on that market day. No one explained to me why she didn't have a chance on earth.

Nightfall came. So did moonrise. Moon-gazing refugees from the Mainland were all over Hong Kong. 

(Google image)

2022年中秋

調寄《浣溪沙》（詞林正韻第二部平聲）

海上明珠海底藏，冰輪獨亮自由光；人間幾處自由鄉？

歲月無言誇靜好，欄杆有力拍悲涼；西風一夜雁何方？


Author: renqiulan


*香港，號稱東方之珠。

所有跟帖： 

• 讚英文微小說和中文詩詞，相得益彰。不知道60年代香港發生過什麽。中學曆史書上記載不詳。相對於標題，內容盡顯滄桑。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 17:47:05

• Thank you, 盈盈! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 17:52:15

• “海上明珠鎖黑箱，冰輪獨亮自由光；人間幾處自由鄉”，鎖黑箱，怎麽理解？：） -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 17:56:28

• 盈盈問得好，的確不好理解。即改。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:02:03

• 啊？我還以為是有什麽故事背景呢。：） -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:04:41

• 黑箱作業之意。不過，於詞境無助，故改。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:08:45

• 改為：海上明珠海底藏。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:10:00

• 秋蘭快筆！黑箱作業，可有什麽曆史背景？當初發生了什麽？好奇。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:11:48

• A black box model receives inputs and produces outputs but -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:19:09

• its workings are unknowable. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:19:56

• 暗箱操作。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:29:42

• Incidentally, language acquisition is---according to -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:37:45

• Noam Chomsky---essentially a black box problem. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:38:56

• I digress. My apologies. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:40:51

• No problem. Can you please shed your light on it? -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:45:12

• 今日香港官方跟大陸一樣，強令曆史服務政治。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:14:17

• 曆史就是個任人打扮的小姑娘呀。這句話秋蘭能看懂嗎？：） -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:24:18

• 看得懂，但是不敢苟同，因為事實不是這樣子的。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:29:58

• 這句話是諷刺。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:31:11

• 太犬儒了。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:32:53

• cynicism -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:39:36

• Still, it is quite a nice punchline for a stand-up comedian. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:42:43

• Yup. Cold jokes... -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:46:40

• I have deep respect for comedians. Why? Because... -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:22:29

• “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” This is a deathbed quote -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:23:56

• attributed to "character actor" Edmund Gwenn. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:25:32

• Making people laugh is a challenging and demanding job. -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:36:57

• character actor， 實力派演員？ -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:40:27

• A poignant, gut-wrenching read. -waterfowl- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 17:49:11

• Thank you, waterfowl! 1960 was an "annus horribilis." -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 17:57:59

• 查了一下曆史，那年中國大陸好像發生過夾邊溝農場慘案。香港還真不太清楚。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:01:54

• 這得從“大躍進”說起。當然，更應該從“人民公社”，從“大鍋飯‘’說起。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:24:16

• 哇！ 中國曆史，秋蘭很了解嘛。讚。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:25:00

• 批我，好嗎？ -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:31:56

• 這段曆史，中學課本幾筆帶過。不少內容我都是聽我爸媽告訴我的，他們小時候的故事。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:38:10

• 還原曆史，至少補充曆史，是上一代人的功德。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:46:15

• 可參考楊繼繩所著的《墓碑：一九五八至一九六二年中國大饑荒紀實》 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:28:02

• 哇！秋蘭到底讀過多少書！我記得你上次從香港台灣回來，就買了好多中文書，我沒有看過的中文書。 -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:32:32

• 盈盈記憶力真強。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:47:36

• Translate the 詞 into English as well? -方外居士- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:15:07

• 方外居士, please be my guest! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:16:03

• Honestly, it is above my pay grade. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:16:51

• 詞太好了，隻是想看用英語寫會是什麽樣的。 -方外居士- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 18:49:33

• 感謝鼓勵！實在是習作水平而已。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:05:47

• This is my personal bias: poetry defies translation. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:09:05

• Classical Chinese poetry, in particular, is a minefield -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:16:09

• with "dragon teeth" as far as translators are concerned. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:17:08

• IMHO, 秋蘭，You are a great candidate to take on this job. -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:20:57

• Naw! But I appreciate it. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:43:10

• 我看過許淵衝的一些詩詞翻譯。錢鍾書曾評價他：“要是李白活到當世，也懂英文，必和許淵衝是知己。” -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:45:07

• 聞一多也談論過李白詩的英譯（跟許淵衝當然無關），指出語境是鴻溝，跨不過的。我同意。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:52:05

• Thanks for sharing the thinking! -方外居士- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:22:16

• Translation might be doable when it comes to -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:44:33

• sister civilizations (such as those of Babylon & Assyria). -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:47:00

• I cannot agree more. -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:30:33

• 我直覺地認為很多詩歌，尤其是中國的古詩詞，是不能翻譯的，這是由漢字本身的特殊性和特征所決定的， -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:31:51

• 翻譯出來後，感覺麵目全非，而且完全失去了原詩的意境和味道。 -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:32:41

• 那中西方文化的交流怎麽辦？：） -盈盈一笑間- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:43:19

• Good question. 我主要是針對詩歌翻譯而言的。：） -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:53:20

• All hope is not lost to those who dream. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:59:24

• There's a way around it, I believe. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:04:20

• 就文化交流而言，我認為：Meanings can get as close as possible. -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:14:21

• Your idea makes sense to me. It reminds me of -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:27:36

• The Shahnama of Firdausi, translated by A. G. Warner and E. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:29:02

• in 8 volumes (London, 1905-1923). They -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:30:07

• anglicized Persian classics sensibly. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:33:04

• 先讚，我的水平需要慢慢拜讀，晚間學習。 -古樹羽音- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:26:03

• 感謝古樹羽音！太客氣了。歡迎交流！ -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:07:43

• A touching story in English and a classical Chinese poem -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:45:44

• shine together like a perfect moon. 讚! 謝謝秋蘭分享，中秋快樂！ -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 19:47:27

• 感謝小西！期待新作。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:15:20

• I wrote a little poem inspired by my boy's drawing. -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:21:10

• When I wrote it, I thought of your baby girl :) -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:23:30

• I will post it next week. -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:25:39

• That sounds appetizing enough. I am looking forward to -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:40:03

• the full version of yours. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:41:13

• The story is based on a senior Hong Kong citizen's -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:11:48

• narrative of his "refugee generation." -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:13:39

• Good to know. Thanks for sharing. -CBA7- ♀ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:16:47

• You are welcome. Goodnight! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:42:25

• a touching story and a provocative poem! -顫音- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/28/2023 postreply 20:56:38

• Thank you, 顫音! Heart-breaking stories keep piling up. I am -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/29/2023 postreply 10:20:48

• afraid that it is the worst of times in Hong Kong. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 09/29/2023 postreply 10:22:01