A Room Surrounded by Grass   Part 1
有青草环抱的房间  （一）

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By Xie Ting / English Tr. by Chen Zihong
谢挺/  英译 陈子弘      

It's the riddle as given, but the solution...

Right, you get it. Its a tomb, a large grave. But I'll tell you the story. And it isn't a regular riddle.

My name is Nie Xiaoqian, and I have always been known as Little Beauty. You may have heard of it. My reputation became prominent later. Several times, the Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, tirelessly asked me to appear in his movies (one film series, and the other an animated story). My name was once mentioned by you, and this is a good and natural thing. At that time, I was just a small woman of humble origin, beautiful but not as charming as Joey Wang. It was Tsui's extraordinary imagination to cast me as that pretty look in the movie. I live at 10 Boai Road, and there is another name - Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.  One year, I served a novelist Pu from Shandong, who came to see life here. Yet the deepest impression which came over me-the smell of garlic and Confucian classics. Once it was a very popular smell which meant elegance here. The novelist Pu wrote my story into one of his novels. It was just a regular story not the best in his anthology. After his seven incarnations, he changed his name to Tsui Hark, and produced a film in Hong Kong called "A Chinese Ghost Story". It was only then that I discovered that he had an extraordinary memory of his experience at 10 Boai Road, otherwise such trans-era nostalgia could not be reasonably explained. The past is like the grass growing,  and like the moonlight smashing against the ground,  not even a seam can get rid of. It spells over my guqin table, also disturbs the quiet, lingering music. What I'm trying to say is the very recollection of that time is just as very, very profound. My eyes were lonely and deep. I can only, under the imagination, pass through the countless nights in front of me. Once again, I'm back in Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion where I had a great reputation.

　　它是一个谜语的谜面，谜底是——
　　对了，你猜对了，是坟，一座坟。但我将用故事告诉你，这并不是一个普通谜语的谜面。

　　我的名字叫小倩，聂小倩，你们可能早已经听说过了。我的声名显赫于身后，自从香港导演徐克不厌其烦，三番五次地让我出现在他的电影里(一部连续电影，一部动画片)，我的名字一度被你挂在嘴边也是一件很自然的事情，而当年我只是一个出身卑微的小女子，相貌姣好却不及王祖贤妩媚，把我描绘成电影上的模样是徐克的想像力。我住在博爱路10号，那儿还有另外一个名称——天香楼。有一年我曾在天香楼接待过一位来自山东姓蒲的小说家，他是到我们这儿体验生活的，我对他最深的印象就是由大蒜和经书组成的气味，这是一种曾经很流行的气味，在天香楼它意味着风雅。结果这个姓蒲的小说家把我的故事写进他的一部小说里，它只是一篇很普通的故事，在他的文集中都不能说是最出色的，但他在人世七次轮回后又在香港投拍了一部叫《倩女幽魂》的电影，并且更名为徐克，这样一来，我才发现他对他在博爱路10号的经历有着异乎寻常的记忆，否则这种跨越时间的怀念就无法得到合理的解释。往事如同荒草滋长，又如月光匝地，无隙不至，漫过了我的琴台，也扰乱了我清寂的琴音。我想说的是，对那一段往事我的印象同样是非常深刻的，我的目光寂寞而悠远，我只有一任想像带着我穿过眼前无数个重重黑夜，再次回到那个给我带来盛名的天香楼……

Sketch 18, Pu Songling: A Collection of Notes

I came to Xiaoqian's room again this evening, but her welcome was entirely ceremonial.

Perhaps her intimacy was full of perfunctory at first,  but it was only today that I felt it strongly; perhaps it was for the sake of the money in my pocket that she had no reason to refuse me. However, I think Xiaoqian seemed to want us to snuggle up in bed quickly. In fact, she put my fingers on her underclothes before saying the first thing and then some the sweater kittens shaking merrily in my palms at the moment. Meanwhile,  the impression of a quick-end after a quick-start still made me feel a little wrong.

Nevertheless, I showed great magnanimity and understanding. From a small place, I am only a scholar failing in civil examinations without any hope of success. For this reason, the only appeal I have is that I have almost 500 taels of silver. But how attractive can this money be to a knowledgeable, even money-grubbing hooker? I'm not very sure. I am probably hoping she will talk to me about verses, ditties, odes and songs，that's probably the only skill I'm good at.  I recall in my book that I have ever read some stories of great men with romantic affairs, as well as Liu Yong who wrote verses to a given melody by his Majesty's decree, and a wealthy person Du Mu who rode a crane to Yangzhou. How refreshing and fascinating their experience was, and women of the former era were gentle as water and warm as fire. It was really a good time for literature and art, and I sigh only I was not born and I don't get. Of course, Xiaoqian is not a vulgar woman. Didn't she recite a verse on the sandalwood fans I had sent her when she first met? It's just that I don't understand, she was so in a hurry to get rid of me, and then, what did she want to do? People always do something when they are lonely, but what will she do as well?

I just let my time run very well, I let Xiaoqian all night feeling me, during that time she belonged to me. Before midnight, Xiaoqian suddenly called out the name of a man; at the latter half of the night she called out again, but the name changed, first Ning Caichen, then Yan Chixia. Who is Ning Caichen and who is Yan Chixia? It was a dream and yet not a dream, sleep and yet not past her bedtime, and who did she want to hear her cry?...

留仙笔记之18：

　　今天晚上我再次来到小倩的房间。对我的到来，她的欢迎是纯礼节性的，也许从一开始她的亲昵中就充满了敷衍的成份，只是到今天这种感触才十分的强烈，或许是看在我腰包里的钱袋的份上，她才没有理由拒绝我。不过我有一种感觉，小倩似乎非常想快速地把我们的接触带到床上，在她说第一句话前就已经把我的手指引向了她的亵衣，那两块温柔的肉脯此刻在我的掌心欢快地抖动着，但快一点开始，又快一点结束的印象还是让我觉得有些委屈。
　　尽管如此，我还是表现得非常大度和理解，我不过是一个小地方来的落第书生，功名无望。从这个角度来说，我对她唯一的诱惑就是我袋中不足五百两的纹银，但对一个见多识广，甚至是见钱眼开的窑姐儿，它究竟能产生多大的吸引力? 我没有把握，我可能还一厢情愿地希望她能和我谈谈诗词歌赋，那可能是我唯一擅长的技能了，我回想起我在书上读到的几个前朝的风流文艺家，奉旨填词柳三变，以及腰缠十万贯骑鹤下扬州的杜牧之，他们的经历是多么让人心旷神怡，悠然神往，而那些前朝的女子又无一不是柔情似水，侠义心肠的，那真是文艺发展的好时代。我叹只叹生不逢时，时不我予。当然小倩也并不是一个粗俗女子，她不是在第一次见面时就吟诵了我送她的一把檀香扇上的诗句?只是我不理解，她那么急急忙忙地要将我打发走，接下来，她又能够做些什么呢?人总要在寂寞的时候做点什么，她在寂寞的时候又能做些什么?
　　我只是很好地利用了我的时间，我让小倩整夜都在感觉着我，那段时间里她是属于我的。上半夜，小倩忽然喊起了一个人的名字，下半夜她又喊，却换了另一个人的名字。先是宁采臣，而后是燕赤霞。谁是宁采臣，谁又是燕赤霞?她似睡非睡，似梦非梦，那喊声又是想让谁听到?……

I remember that Ning was here on an autumn morning, sunny, a wonderful and precious day for anyone accustomed to the nightlife. I may have expected the dismal sunshine of winter, but the morning sun has none of its charms to me, so there is no impression of it. Morning is the quietest time in our concourse, sisters who toiled all night were still resting, we still needed to regain strength in our sleep, and Ning, a rich man's son from the south, came here riding a horse on that morning. In fact, Ning would have liked to talk to our top babe Li Shishui and see if he can link her, and he said he wanted Li to help him reach adulthood. For this, he brought a gift, a palm-sized, sparkling and crystal-clear Siamese jade. What Ning didn't know was that Li is our babe of power, who was usually befriended by dignitaries or the rich, who made few opportunities to meet her sisters in the same building, much less meet an ordinary young gentleman who is a stranger here. Besides, he was going to Beijing to take the nationally unified examination. The madam- i.e. our mother, pushed back in excuse of Li's busy agendas, so the meeting had to be agreed in advance, then she was ready to put him in a secluded room behind the mansion.

　　我记得宁采臣来的时候是个秋天的早晨，阳光明媚，对任何一个过惯夜生活的人，这都是一个弥足珍贵的好天气，但对冬天那种惨淡的阳光我可能还期盼过，早晨的太阳我却很难起心希求，更谈不上什么印象了。那时候通常也是天香楼最安静的时候，辛苦了一夜的姐妹都还在休息，我们还需要在睡梦中恢复体力，富家公子宁采臣却在那个早晨骑着一匹高头大马从南方来了。宁采臣本想见一见我们天香楼名扬天下的头牌红人李似水，他说很希望李姑娘能够移趾亲近，帮他完成他的成人仪式。为此他带来一份见面礼，一块掌心大小，晶莹剔透的暹罗暖玉。宁采臣不清楚的是李似水是我们天香楼的大姐大，平常结交的都是些显贵政要，要不就是商贾巨富，我们一个楼里姐妹见面的机会都不多，又岂是他一个外乡来的寻常公子随便见的?况且他不日就要进京赶考。老鸨，也就是我们的妈妈便推说李姑娘日程太紧，见面也要事先约定才行，预备把他安排在园子后面一幢僻静的房子里。

I guessed someone up there really wanted us to see each other that day. That morning, I drank a lot of yellow wine the night before, and at dawn, I was awakened by a burst of bowel noise. After I had freshened up, I decided to go down to the other side of the street to buy some cake or fritter thing in Mrs. Wang's shop to feed my hunger. I walked along a dark corridor, while the hall was very quiet. Someone whispering, an echo could be heard, and the bustle of hawers outside the door seemed very far away. With the sound of my shoes on the floor, I went downstairs and saw a man standing next to the madam. He stood toward the staircase, that is to say, towards me, and his eyes were slightly straight because of the way he looked up, and then his eyes gradually shifted, and slowly settled on the tip of my feet, which were reaching down. He is the very one Mr. Ning from the south. There was a pale blue haze of smoke in the hall, and there was just a beam of sunlight from the window where Ning was standing. The dust in the pillar of light floated around him like a swarm of mosquitoes, and it made his face looked a little pale. We didn't speak at first, and I felt like I wasn't going down, but floating down. Suddenly I heard Mr. Ning said to madam, this is Miss Li, right? My mother and I both laughed. The man didn't know what we were laughing at, he also laughed with us. Although the things we laughed at were not the same, I could see that he was very happy inside.

　　这可真是缘份，那天因为头晚上喝了一肚子黄酒，天一亮我就被一阵肠鸣闹醒了。我梳洗完，准备下楼到对面王婆家买一些烧饼油条充饥。我在一条昏暗的回廊上走着，大厅里静极了，虽然有人在小声说话，却隐隐可以听到回声，门外集市上的吆喝叫卖也好像离得很远。我下楼了，随着我的鞋子在楼板上轻轻踏出的响声，我看见妈妈身边一个男子站了起来，他迎着楼梯，也就是迎着我站着，因为仰视的缘故他的两眼显得有些发直，后来他的目光渐渐下移，慢慢地落在我不断向下探伸的足尖上。他就是从南方来的宁采臣宁公子。大厅里飘浮着一层淡蓝色的烟霭，宁公子站的地方刚好有一注从窗口射入的阳光，光柱里的尘埃就像一群蚊虫在他身边浮动着，这让宁公子的脸色看上去有些苍白。起初我们都没有说话，我感觉自己不是在下楼，而是不断地向下飘着。我忽然听到宁公子对妈妈说，这位——就是李姑娘吧?妈妈和我都笑了起来，那个男子不知道我们在笑什么，也跟着我们一起笑了，尽管我们笑的成份并不尽同，但看得出他心里是非常快活的。

Now, I'd like to introduce our Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion to you. It has been rumored that there are mechanical contrivances everywhere. It's like a dizzying labyrinth, with an entrance, but no exit. Every customer who comes in must spend his last money, then the servant will throw him out of the back door like a pile of rotten cotton and throw him into a muddy pond. The men who come for fun always roving this maze, and they have no choice but to spend all their money and be thrown out. Once this rumor was very popular, our reputation has got hurt. Indeed, a few people have been thrown into the muddy pond, but what kind of suckers are they? They eating here, sleeping here, fucking here, and they gambling here. If no money, a steamed bun you cannot take, so the necessary punishment is still needed, otherwise the order cannot be established. What I need to say is that there is no labyrinth yet, even though our mother made some secret things to the base when it was built-burying black dog blood and a pangolin's tongue, however, this practice is permitted, according to the Chapter 108th, article 56th, paragraph 3rd, of the Great Ching Legal Code, and it's just adding some frightening elements to the exit. A gentleman never stands on a toppling wall. With financial security，will a man take a risk out of desperation？Only one penniless person may do something desperate, and that dangerous exit was just designed for people like them, and only they could find it.

These are some of the justifications I made for Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

　　现在，我要把我们的天香楼向您介绍一下，一度传闻那里面机关四布，就像一个让人天旋地转的迷宫，有来处，却没有去处，每个进来的人都要在里面花光身上最后一份银子，才会由龟奴像一堆败絮一样从后门丢出去，丢到一个烂泥塘里。那些来寻开心的人总是在这个迷宫一样的天香楼里转啊转，除了花光银子再被人丢出去他们别无选择。这种传说一度很盛行，也让我们天香楼的声誉受到了影响，的确有那么几个人被我们丢进烂泥塘，但那些又是些什么人呢?连吃带住外加嫖赌，在街上你没钱连个馒头都买不到吧，必要的惩罚还是应当的，否则也无法建立秩序了。我想说的是，那个迷宫似的园子并不存在，尽管施工时我们的妈妈对屋基动了点手脚，埋上了黑狗血和穿山甲的舌头。但依据大清律第108章第56款第3条是被钦定准允的。它不过是在出口处增加了些凶险的因素，君子不立于危墙，试问一个有经济保障的人有谁还会去铤而走险呢?而一个身无分文的人才可能“穷极思变”，“狗急跳墙”，出口是为他们设立的，也只有他们才能够找到。

　　以上是我为天香楼作的一点辩解。

（to be continued   未完待续）

【作者简介】谢挺(1966-  ) 作家、编辑，山花月刊副主编。著有小说集《想像中的风景》（1998）、《有青草环抱的房间》（2015）、《沙城之恋》（2014）、《杨花飞》（2017），长篇小说《爱别离》（2004）、《留仙记》（2014），散文集《当爱已沧桑》（2018）。