碎金集 2021 Fortuitous Gold Nuggets 2021 第 13 篇 Section 13
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一、懂王本纪 I. Annals of the King of Understanding
公元二零一六年，时九月、序三秋，时值奥观海掌政之末，美帝迎大选也。当是时，蓝营官宦子弟携夫之余威占鳌头，执天下牛耳，掌舆论喉舌。众皆苦、怒难言，未敢有与之相争者。
In the year 2016 of the common era, in the ninth month during the third phase of autumn, toward the twilight of Lord Ao Guanhai’s (Obama’s) reign, the American Empire met with its grand general election. At that hour, a bureaucratic scion of the Blue Faction, riding on the residual majesty of her husband, stood foremost; she held the bull’s ear of the realm and controlled the mouthpieces of public discourse. The populace suffered bitterly and choked down their wrath, none daring to contest her supremacy.
值此国难之际，有天降猛士于红营，好事者诗曰：“古稀之年尚可战，不惧强权死生淡。”夫猛士者，姓川名普，字建国，众皆称其懂王。建国素有名，少时久闻父训，而立承父业，遍谒上流，深查权贵之险恶，彻历生民之疾苦。遂登高而呼之，逐鹿美利坚。建国少即有谋，深谙兵法之髓。有村围城之策，知谋定而后动，国人云集响应。有诗曰：“懂王令出山摇动，红旗漫卷五十州。”又有童谣传于市，曰：“美帝兴，建国王！”
At this hour of national peril, a champion descended from heaven into the Red Faction. A curious balladeer sang: “Though threescore and ten he can fight still, fearing no tyrant, scorning mortal chill.” This warrior was surnamed Chuan, named Pu, with the courtesy name Jianguo (“Nation Builder”); the multitude hailed him as the King of Understanding. Jianguo had long been renowned: in youth he heeded his father’s counsel, at thirty he took over his father’s business, visiting high society and perceiving the malice of the nobility, while fully witnessing the afflictions of the common folk. Thereupon he climbed high and sounded the rally, hunting the stag across the Americas. Schooled in strategy from his youth, Jianguo grasped the soul of warfare. Employing the doctrine of encircling the cities from the countryside, he moved only after deliberating, and his countrymen rallied like gathering clouds. A poem sang: “When the King of Understanding commands, mountains shake; Red banners sweep across fifty states.” And a nursery rhyme spread through the markets: “The American Empire shall thrive; King Jianguo shall arrive!”
是月末，大选至。建国毕其功于一役，民心皆从，唱票罢，登大宝，号懂王。是时仍有流言蜚语横行于市，舆论亦尝诋毁建国于人前。嗟夫，不可谓不艰难也。然懂王深谙高祖之道，砥砺奋进，息毁与前、满誉与后，国人莫不敬服。
At the end of the month, the election arrived. Jianguo accomplished his feat in a single stroke, all hearts inclining toward him. When the ballots were tallied, he ascended the imperial seat and assumed the title of the King of Understanding. At that time, slander and rumors still ran rampant in the streets, and the press sought to defame him before the populace. Alas! It could hardly be called an easy passage. Yet the King of Understanding was versed in the ways of Han Gaozu: striving forward with resolve, he quelled slander in the beginning and harvested acclaim in the end, winning the awe of the entire nation.
既践位，建国前筑高墙于西南，绝墨人入境；又退协定于巴黎，免束缚规矩；后断商贸于欧亚，安工农之心；逐公知于庙堂，铭民主自由。有诗赞曰：“大风起兮云飞扬，安得猛士兮守四方。得猛士兮号懂王，懂王懂王兮你最强。”
Having assumed power, Jianguo erected a great rampart along the southwest to halt the incursions of the Mexicans; he withdrew from the Covenant of Paris to cast off restrictive shackles; later he severed commerce with Eurasia to calm the hearts of workers and farmers; he banished public intellectuals from the imperial court, engraving democracy and freedom. A verse praised him: “A great wind rises, clouds fly high; where shall I find a valiant champion to guard the four realms? Lo, a champion rises hailed as the King of Understanding; O King of Understanding, mightiest under heaven!”
三载余，懂王加威海内，民心诚服，四方仰德。期毕，大选复至，蓝营遣振华角逐，图复辟。夫振华者，姓乔，名拜登，字振华，时常倦于台前，故世人号曰睡王。振华从政五十载有余，未立寸功，在其位不谋其政，专行犄角旮旯之事。其子深得其精髓，常亵玩妇人，更甚者，乃淫其嫂。其亦常借父之名，敛财于怀，真可谓：青，出于蓝、而胜于蓝。华夏族人俱鄙之，以为以卵击石。
For over three years, the King’s majesty reverberated across the seas; the hearts of the people were loyal, and all four directions revered his virtue. When the term neared its end and the grand election returned, the Blue Faction dispatched Zhenhua to vie for the throne in hope of restoration. This Zhenhua was surnamed Qiao, named Baideng, with the courtesy name Zhenhua (“Reviver of China”); because he often dozed languidly before the dais, the world dubbed him the Sleeping King. Zhenhua had engaged in politics for over fifty years without achieving an inch of merit; holding office without tending to state affairs, he specialized only in clandestine backroom deals. His son grasped his father’s craft to the full, indulging in women and, worse still, debauching his own sister-in-law. Trading upon his sire’s mantle, he amassed ill-gotten gains—verily indigo extracted from the plant yet bluer than the dye! The people of Cathay held him in total contempt, deeming his challenge like an egg hurled against stone.
不克，大选期至。初，红旗漫卷五十州，真乃民心之所至也。懂王乃懈，遂早眠。寅时，振华觉大势将败，遂作妖，引阴兵二百余万，助之战懂王。懂王乃大惊失色，遂诉至最高法，不期驳！乃悟：祸起萧墙耳！时公元二零二零年也，此真危急存亡之秋也！有亚州奏圩计票，又有密州疾俾计票，是时泱泱美利坚纷乱大抵如此。
Presently, the grand election arrived. At the outset, red banners swept across fifty states, truly reflecting popular favor. The King grew complacent and retired early to slumber. In the hour of the Tiger (between 3 and 5 a.m.), Zhenhua, seeing his cause on the brink of ruin, conjured sorcery and summoned over two million spectral ghost-soldiers to battle the King. The King of Understanding turned pale with shock; he appealed to the Supreme Court, yet unexpectedly was rebuffed! Only then did he realize: the ruin arose from within his own palace! It was the year 2020 of the common era—truly a moment of mortal peril! There was Arizona counting ballots in disarray, and Michigan in bizarre haste; such was the chaos engulfing the vast American realm.
至十一月八日，睡王于特州自立，俨然效黄袍加身事。当是时，懂王麾下多谄谀之徒，或言”天降祥云于佛州”，或奏”白宫夜现五色光”。懂王闻之，抚掌大笑，谓左右曰：”朕即天命。”不期，懂王发檄文于推特：”选票有诈！朕当清君侧！”顷刻间，应者云集，有红脖义士自号”骄傲男孩”，当是时速聚，号清君侧，引兵马入京勤王。当是时，星月无光，杀声震天。
On the eighth day of November, the Sleeping King proclaimed himself in Delaware, emulating the historic bestowal of the yellow robe. At that juncture, sycophants thronged the King of Understanding’s retinue, some crying “Auspicious clouds descend on Florida,” others submitting “Five-colored celestial lights illuminate the White House at night.” Hearing this, the King clapped and laughed heartily, telling his courtiers: “I am the Mandate of Heaven.” Forthwith, he issued a fiery manifesto on Twitter: “The ballots are fraudulent! I shall purge the wicked counselors from the court!” In an instant, respondents gathered like clouds; red-necked stalwarts styling themselves the “Proud Boys” rallied with haste under the banner of purging the court, leading their cohorts into the capital to rescue the throne. At that hour, stars and moon hid their light, and battle cries shook the heavens.
振华闻变大惊，急招黑命贵合围统领府。两军会战于国会山，红脖义士奋勇争先，竟破重围而入。有老卒登议政厅，执佩洛西座椅摄影留念，天下哗然。然彭斯暗通振华，闭门不纳勤王之师，义军遂溃。
Terrified by the uprising, Zhenhua summoned Black Lives Matter to encircle the Presidential Palace. The two hosts clashed upon Capitol Hill; the red-necked stalwarts fought valiantly at the vanguard, actually breaching the barricades. A veteran ascended the chamber of parliament, seizing Pelosi’s chair for a photographic portrait, astounding the entire realm. Yet Vice Regent Pence secretly colluded with Zhenhua, barring the gates against the loyalist army, whereupon the host collapsed.
翌日，梅拉尼娅携幼子巴伦移居海湖别宫；伊万卡焚往来书信，称”父女殊途”；库什纳夜奔特拉维夫，献玉玺于犹太财阀。唯前国师班农仗剑立于海湖门外，长啸曰：”王不负臣，臣不负王！振华遣特勤局围白宫九重，懂王知大势已去，乃录告别诏书。临行，取案头可乐泼于地毯，笑谓侍从：”此朕龙兴之地，留与振华小儿作溺器耳！”遂乘空军一号南狩佛州，沿途百姓焚香跪拜，哭声震野。
On the morrow, Melania took her young son Barron to dwell in the Mar-a-Lago retreat; Ivanka burnt all correspondence, declaring “Our paths have parted”; Kushner fled by night to Tel Aviv, presenting the imperial seal to Jewish financiers. Only the former Imperial Preceptor Bannon stood sword in hand outside the gates of Mar-a-Lago, roaring to the sky: “The King has not failed his minister; the minister shall not fail his King!” Zhenhua dispatched the Secret Service to surround the White House nine ranks deep; knowing his cause was lost, the King of Understanding recorded his farewell edict. Before departing, he seized a flask of Cola from the table and splashed it upon the carpet, laughing to his attendants: “This is the cradle where my dragon rose; I leave it to that stripling Zhenhua as a chamber pot!” Thereupon he boarded Air Force One for a southern inspection tour of Florida; along the route, the common people knelt burning incense, their wailing echoing across the wilderness.
少史公曰：惜哉！哀哉！懂王自幼有志，以商贾之身提三尺剑取天下，何其壮哉！然创业未半而遭同党倾轧，盖世人皆短视而不能通古今，以致懂王功败垂成。懂王与吾可谓世之寂寞者也！昔项羽垓下别姬，今懂王佛州弃履，英雄末路，宁不悲乎？后世观此，当知建制派阴毒更胜鸿门宴，深层政府凶残远超吕太后。呜呼！时无英雄，使竖子成名！传其事以自哀，时年庚子将尽。
The Young Grand Historian remarks: How lamentable! How grievous! The King of Understanding harbored lofty ambition from boyhood; rising as a merchant, he brandished a three-chi blade to conquer the realm—how magnificent! Yet before his imperial enterprise was half-finished, he was undone by the rivalry of his own partisans; the mortals of this world are short-sighted and blind to past and present, causing the King to fall short of final victory. The King and I may well be called the loneliest souls under heaven! Of old, Xiang Yu bid farewell to Lady Yu at Gaixia; today the King casts off his sandals in Florida—a hero at the end of his road, is it not tragic? Let future generations who view this know: the malice of the Establishment surpasses the Feast at Hongmen, and the brutality of the Deep State vastly exceeds Empress Lü. Alas! The age lacked true heroes, allowing petty men to seize renown! I transmit this chronicle to lament my own fate, as the year of Gengzi draws to its end.
二、高中情书小札 II. High School Love Letters: Short Notes
（一）于千万人之中遇见你所遇见的人，于千万年之中时间的无涯的荒野里，没有早一步，也没有晚一步，正巧赶上了，那也没有什么别的可说，唯有轻轻问一句：“哦，你也在这里吗？”——张爱玲
(I) “Among millions of people, you meet the person you meet; in the boundless wilderness of time across millions of years, neither a step early nor a step late, happening to meet—there is nothing else to say, only to ask softly: ‘Oh, are you here too?’” — Eileen Chang
听闻今日本东瀛，国家一片气象万千，望足下赏花之暇，勿忘寄吾书信图画少许，聊以千里之隔，犹有一花相伴。祝予与汝之梦想皆可成！
I hear that in Japan across the eastern sea today, the nation flourishes with vibrant scenery; I hope that in the leisure of flower-viewing, you will not forget to send me a few letters and sketches, so that across a thousand li, a single flower might keep me company. May both your dreams and mine come true!
陌上花开，可缓缓归矣，感受光影的交织，在有限中探寻无限的美好，生命便在这突破与思索中得到延伸，日升日降，枯荣有度，该经历的总会适时到来。
Flowers bloom along the path; you may return slowly at leisure. Savor the interlacing of light and shadow, searching for boundless beauty within finite bounds; life extends amidst such breakthroughs and contemplation. The sun rises and sets, seasons wither and flourish in due measure; what must be experienced will arrive in its appointed hour.
（二）今日相见，无非一番讥讽，一番炫耀，一番假惺惺的钦佩，一番自命不凡的陶醉。这一切都无关风月，聊作世事之喟叹。
(II) Meeting today was nothing more than a round of sarcasm, a round of flaunting, a round of counterfeit admiration, and a round of pretentious self-intoxication. None of this had anything to do with romance, serving merely as an audible sigh over the ways of the world.
心通则自明，心塞则自伤。俯瞰广远，吞吐万汇，处势不凡。梨花烟里叩重门，执手相看泪满痕。我不过是你三年人生中的匆匆过客罢了……或许，我想得太多了。
When the heart is clear, one attains clarity; when the heart is blocked, one wounds oneself. Gazing from afar, embracing ten thousand phenomena, standing poised amidst grandeur. Knocking upon heavy gates through pear blossom mist, hand in hand we weep, tears streaming. I was merely a hurried passerby in three years of your life… Perhaps, I have overthought things.
（三）何为少男哀怨？
(III) What constitutes a youth’s lament?
泰戈尔有言：“天空的蔚蓝，爱上了大地的碧绿，他们之间的微风叹了声‘哎’。”
Tagore wrote: “The blue of the sky longs for the green of the earth; the wind between them sighs ‘Alas!’”
道破了青少年细腻的心思，比《怦然心动》有过之而无不及。
It lays bare the exquisite, delicate emotions of adolescence, rivaling and even surpassing Flipped.
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秦观说：“水边灯火渐人行。天外一钩残月、带三星。”
Qin Guan wrote: “Lanterns by the water’s edge herald travelers’ passing; beyond the sky hangs a hook of a waning moon, accompanied by three stars.”
但我想，三颗星星好多呀。如果某天其中一颗灭掉了，也不会有什么波澜吧。
Yet I think: three stars are quite a lot. If one day one of them is extinguished, it probably won’t cause much of a ripple.
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怀瑾握瑜兮，穷不知所示。礁分江流兮，泥沙之俱下。
Embracing jade and holding fine jewels, in distress I know not where to present them. Reefs divide the surging river, mud and sand rush down together.
希望被注释，呻吟着信仰。大地已冰封，痛饮梦碎声。
Hope is footnoted, faith moans in pain. The earth is frozen in ice; I drink deep of the sound of shattered dreams.
三、小碎金们 III. Little Gold Nuggets
（一）作为曹禺先生认为“最雷雨”的角色，周蘩漪无疑是《雷雨》里最独特，最耀眼的一个人物。她有着母亲、情妇、妻子、一家之母等多重身份。在周公馆的十八年里，周蘩漪的内心变得乖戾、阴鸷。她被爱摧残了身心，绝望了人生。这种心理反应到生活上，便是一种带着魔性的扭曲性格，这是一种爱恨交加带着报复的欲望。
(I) As the character deemed “the most Thunderstorm” by Mr. Cao Yu, Zhou Fanyi is undoubtedly the most unique and dazzling figure in the play. She bears multiple identities: mother, mistress, wife, and matriarch of the household. Throughout eighteen years in the Zhou residence, Zhou Fanyi’s inner soul became perverse and sinister. Ravaged in body and mind by love, she turned despairing toward life. When this psychology translated into living, it manifested as a twisted personality with a demonic quality—a desire for revenge fueled by mixed love and hate.
或正如作者所谓，她是那象征的天时，而热情是她的雷雨。她的力量，她的阴鸷，她的痛苦，把她雕琢成了一件令人琢磨不透的艺术品。
Or just as the author put it, she is that symbolic sky, and passion is her thunderstorm. Her power, her malice, and her anguish sculpted her into an unfathomable work of art.
与许多评论家“阶级矛盾，社会背景”般的贴名词不同，我更乐意把周蘩漪形容为一个悲情的女人，一个牺牲者，一个社会规则的祭品。曹禺本就没有想把周蘩漪塑造成“普罗米修斯”一般舍小为大的英雄。曹禺认为：“人就是人，话剧是描写人的艺术，而雷雨，就是对周蘩漪心理活动的写照。”
Unlike many critics who mechanically affix labels such as “class conflict and social background,” I prefer to describe Zhou Fanyi as a tragic woman, a victim, a sacrifice to social conventions. Cao Yu never intended to cast Zhou Fanyi as a “Promethean” hero who sacrifices the small self for the greater cause. Cao Yu held: “A human being is just a human being; drama is the art of portraying human beings, and Thunderstorm is the faithful depiction of Zhou Fanyi’s psychological landscape.”
雨过之后。便是新的开始。愿世上再无周蘩漪。
After the rain passes comes a brand-new beginning. May the world never see another Zhou Fanyi.
（二）我的语文课代表卸任感言
(II) Valedictory Speech on Stepping Down as Chinese Literature Class Representative
还记得我8月竞选的时候，说想通过做中学唯一没有做过的语文课代表来磨练自己，提升语文成绩。这一年来，我在语文上也的确收获了不错的成绩，也培养了对语文的兴趣和自信。这一进步第一当然是兰宝的悉心教导，第二也有大家的鼓励与督促的功效。
I still recall during the August election, when I said I wished to temper myself and boost my Chinese performance by taking up the only subject-representative post I had not held in secondary school—Chinese class representative. Over this past year, I have indeed achieved respectable results in Chinese, while nurturing genuine interest and confidence in the subject. This progress owes itself first, of course, to Teacher Lan Bao’s devoted guidance, and second to the encouragement and supervision of all my classmates.
说到我们班级的语文学习，同学们在几乎每次作文及试卷下发后，都会进行如火如荼的讨论，在我看来学习氛围是非常好的。在这个班级有许许多多志同道合的人，这在我以前的班级中是从来没有的体会。
Speaking of Chinese study in our class, after almost every essay and test paper is handed back, classmates launch into spirited and heated discussions; in my eyes, the learning atmosphere is extraordinary. In this class there are so many kindred spirits—an experience I never had in my previous classes.
我还要感谢DJY。他作为我的同僚，在提议削减作业这件事上出的力比我多多了，而平日的恩恩怨怨现在看来也颇为有趣（会写诗的课代表！），希望他未来在文科班能继续考文科第一吧！
I also wish to thank DJY. As my colleague, he contributed far more effort than I in proposing homework reductions, and our everyday bickering now seems quite amusing in retrospect (a representative who writes poetry!). May he continue to take first place in the humanities track in the days ahead!
“人怨于下，而吏畏于上。”在这个同学戏称“最难做的课代表”的位置上呆了一年，大家可能还未忘记前不久《雷雨》终场时我被迫“清洁”的画面（我为什么要提起这个233），但实际上我想说的是感谢同学们一年来的大力支持，虽然在收作业的时候…我们都懂对吧…给我造成了一些困扰，但现在看来真是一种别样的回忆。
“The populace grumbles below, while officials tremble above.” Having served for a year in a post jokingly dubbed by classmates as “the toughest representative role,” everyone might not yet have forgotten the scene where I was compelled to “clean up” at the end of our Thunderstorm performance (why must I bring this up, lol); but in truth what I wish to say is thank you to all my classmates for your tremendous support over the year. Although collecting homework… well, we all understand, right… caused me a few headaches, looking back now it is truly a singular memory.
凯鲁亚克说：“在路上，我们永远年轻，永远热泪盈眶。”很感谢大家一年的陪伴，未来的时光一起努力吧！用兰宝的话作结：祝愿大家热爱语文、学好语文！
Jack Kerouac said: “On the road, we are forever young, forever in tears.” Thank you all for a year of companionship; let us strive together in the time ahead! Concluding with Teacher Lan Bao’s words: May everyone love Chinese and master Chinese!
（三）文化，或者说，艺术，做了什么呢？
(III) What has culture—or rather, art—done?
它使孤独的个人为自己找不到的痛苦找到了名字和定义。孤立的个人因而产生归属感。
It gives a name and definition to the pains that solitary individuals could otherwise not articulate. Thus isolated individuals gain a sense of belonging.
它使零散的、疏离的各个小团体找到链接而转型为精神相通、休戚与共的社群。从而增进了相互的理解，凝聚成了社会的文化认同。
It enables fragmented, estranged small groups to find connections and transform into communities of shared spirits and common destiny. Thereby enhancing mutual understanding and crystallizing into a society’s cultural identity.
人本是散落之珠，随地乱滚。文化就是那根柔弱而强韧的细丝，将珠子串起来成为社会。而公民社会，因为不依赖皇权或神权来坚固它的底座，因此文化便是公民社会最主要的粘合剂。
Human beings are fundamentally scattered pearls, rolling haphazardly across the ground. Culture is that delicate yet resilient thread that strings the pearls together into a society. And civil society, because it does not rely upon imperial or theocratic authority to solidify its foundation, finds in culture its primary adhesive.
（四）大过年的，赵英俊病逝，人人字幕组被上海警方逮捕，昨天又看到小时候补课机构旁的书报亭被拆了，唉。
(IV) Over the New Year festivities, musician Zhao Yingjun succumbed to illness, the Renren Subtitle Group was arrested by Shanghai police, and yesterday I saw the newsstand next to my childhood cram school had been demolished. Alas.
张嘉佳说得多好啊！“一个人的记忆就是一座城市，时间腐蚀着一切建筑，把高楼和道路全部沙化。如果你不往前走，就会被沙子掩埋。所以我们泪流满面，步步回头，可是只能往前走。”
How well Zhang Jiajia put it: “A person’s memory is a city; time corrodes all structures, turning skyscrapers and roadways into sand. If you do not move forward, you will be buried by the sand. And so we weep tears streaming down our faces, looking back with every step, yet we can only move forward.”
可我还不想走。
Yet I still do not want to go.
（五）四年前，约46%的美国人将选票投给了特朗普。在特朗普为期四年的任期中，他们见到了一个为了达到竞选承诺与短期利益的商人：建墙抵挡墨西哥人，退出一系列气候协定以促进经济，为股市振兴无视新冠疫情，终成全美1400万人感染……卢梭有句名言说得好：“每个人的选择都受制于他所生存的时代，他们的选择反映那个时代的风云。”若是真是想发挥手中选票的价值，我们就必须提升自己看待事物的眼界，尽可能摆脱时代的束缚，这不是只是对美国人民而言，对中国人亦是如此。
(V) Four years ago, approximately forty-six percent of Americans cast their ballots for Donald Trump. During Trump’s four-year presidency, they witnessed a businessman driven to fulfill campaign pledges and short-term gains: building a wall to keep out Mexicans, withdrawing from a series of climate agreements to stimulate the economy, and disregarding the COVID-19 pandemic to bolster the stock market, ultimately culminating in fourteen million infections across the nation… Jean-Jacques Rousseau wisely observed: “Every person’s choice is constrained by the age in which they live; their choice mirrors the tumult of that era.” If we truly wish to realize the value of the vote in our hands, we must elevate our perspective on affairs and shake off the shackles of the era as much as possible—this applies not only to the American people, but equally to the Chinese.
选票一方面象征着自由与个人权利，另一方面也要警惕如苏格拉底之死、希特勒合法上台等恶性民主典型例子的死灰复燃。在信息时代下，群体的语言极易同质化且进行煽动，保持内心的冷静，庄重地投下手中的一票，这才是现代公民应当具有的社会品质。
A ballot on the one hand symbolizes freedom and individual rights; on the other hand, one must remain vigilant against the revival of malignant democratic excesses, such as the execution of Socrates or Hitler’s legal ascension to power. In the information age, group language is exceptionally prone to homogenization and demagoguery; preserving inner tranquility and gravely casting the ballot in one’s hand—this is the social virtue a modern citizen ought to possess.