「五四遗事」英文版（2/2）
《张爱玲中短篇小说》作者：张爱玲中短篇小说 2017-04-13 14:44
information. But that evening Lo drank too much rice wine when they dined at the House Beyond Houses which had the lake on the three sides.“Congratulations， Miss Fan！”he said.“I hear you are going to invite us to your wedding feast.”He drained his cup and strode off angrily. Miss Fan refused to join them the next day. Lo’s letters were returned unopened. A week later Miss Chou reported that Miss Fan had again been dining with the pawnbroker. Everything was settled； the man had given her a big diamond engagement ring. Lo‘s divorce action had reached the point where it began to move through its own momentum. There were signs that his wife’s side was now more ready to listen to reason. He would be a laughingstock for the rest of his life if he were to return to his wife at this stage. So he went ahead with the divorce， giving his wife a generous settlement as he had promised. As soon as the decree was final he got a professional matchmaker to approach the Wongs of the dye works on his behalf. The eldest Wong girl was reported to be the prettiest girl in town. After an exchange of photographs and due investigation， the Wongs accepted him. Lo sold a great part of his land and bought Miss Wong a diamond ring even bigger than the one Miss Fan was said to have got. He was married after three months. For some reasons Miss Fan‘s match did not come off. Maybe the pawnbroker had his doubts about modern girls and had heard something of Miss Fan’s long attachment to Lo. According to the Fans it was because they had found out that the pawnbroker had falsified his age. Some malicious tongues had it that it was the other way around. In the natural course of things Lo would have run into Miss Fan sooner or later， living in the same town. But their friends were not content to leave it to chance. Somehow they felt it was important for them to meet again. It could not be that they wanted Lo to savor fully his revenge； they had disapproved of the way he had hit back at her at the expense of his own ideals. Maybe they wanted him to realize the mistake he had made and feel sorry. But perhaps the most likely explanation would be that they just thought it would be sad and beautiful—and therefore a good thing—for the two to meet once again on the lake under the moon. It was arranged without the knowledge of either of them. One night Lo was out on a boat with Wen—Miss Chou was now married and not seeing them any more. Some people shouted at them from another boat. It was a couple they used to know. Miss Fan was with them. When the two boats drew near， Wen stepped over to the other boat， urging Lo to come with him. Lo found himself sitting across the small table from Miss Fan. The tea in the cups shone faintly， in each cup a floating silver disk swaying slightly with the movement of the boat. Her face and whit- clad shoulders were blue- rimmed with moonlight. It stunned him how she could look just the same when so much had happened. They went through the amenities as if there were nothing amiss， but without directly addressing a single remark to each other. No reference was made to Lo‘s new marriage. The talk was mostly about the government- sponsored West Lake Exhibition and its ugly memorial that dominated the vista along the bank.“It’s an eyesore. Spoils everything，”Lo said.“It will never be the same again.”
Her eyes met his， wavered a little， and looked away. After going round the lake they landed and separated. The day after， Lo received a letter addressed to him in Miss Fan‘s handwriting. He tore it open， his heart pounding， and found a sheet of blank paper inside. He knew instantly what she meant. She had wanted to write him but what could she say？
Soon it was no secret among their friends that they were again seeing a lot of each other. Lo again started divorce proceedings. This time he had very few sympathizers. He now liked like a scoundrel where he had once been a pioneer. It was another long struggle. On her part Miss Fan was also engaged in a struggle. Hers was against the forces of the years， against men‘s very nature which tires so easily. And in her struggle she had nobody to stand by her side as she stood by Lo. She remained quietly pretty. Her coiffure and clothes were master- pieces of subtle compromise between fashion and memory. He never wanted her to like any different from the way she did when he had first known her. Yet he would have been distressed if it had suddenly occurred to him that she looked dated. She fell in with all his moods without being monotonously pliant. She read all the books he gave her and was devoted to Shelley. He finally had to fight it out in the courts with his wife’s family. The Wongs were adamant against divorce. Lawsuits were expensive， especially when judges proved to be tractable. Lo got his divorce at the end of five years. Though in reduced circumstances， he had built a small white house exactly the way Miss Fan and he had planned it， on a site they had chosen long age. He had closed down his old house in the country after his mother‘s death. Their new home was on stilts， leaning out of the green hills right over the lake. Climbing roses and wisteria trailed over the moon window. The newlyweds paid routine visits to relatives. They were usually pressed to stay for dinner and play mah- jongg. Lo had never known her to be fond of the game. He told his wife it was good of her to comply but there was no need to keep it up all night and promise to come back for more the next day. She answered that people teased her into it， saying she could not bear to be away from her bridegroom a single minute. She complained of living so far out. When she came back late from her mahjongg parties she often had difficulty finding a rick- sha puller willing to take her home. When she was not out playing mah- jongg she lounged about in soiled old gowns with torn slits and frayed frogs. Half the time she lay in bed cracking watermelon seeds， spitting the shells over the bed- clothes and into her slippers on the floor. His hints at taking more interest in her appearance were at first ignored. Then she flared up and said his fussiness was unmanly.“No wonder you never get anywhere.”
Lo did his best to keep up a good front. Still he supposed that news of their quarrels got about， because one day a relative mentioned casually to him that Miss Wong had not yet remarried.“Why don‘t you ask her to come back？”
Lo shook his head sadly. He needed some persuasion， but of course he know that the Wongs would agree that this was the best way out， much as they hated him. The family‘s good name would suffer if their daughter took a second husband. His wife， the former Miss Fan， did not hear of the matter until all arrangements had been made. Despite scenes and threats of suicide， the day Miss Wong returned to him escorted by members of the Wong family she was there to receive them and play hostess at the small informal celebration. She addressed Miss Wong’s brother and sister- in- law as“Brother”and“Sister- in- law”。 She apologized for the dinner.“It‘s difficult for us to get a good cook， living so far away from the market. Terribly inconvenient. Else I would have made him fetch back your young lady long ago. Of course she ought to come and live here. One can’t be staying with parents all the time.”Miss Wong did not speak， since she was almost a bride. No agreement had been reached as to the mode of address between the two women， who were understood to be of equal status. They were merely referred to as“That of the House of Fan”and“That of the house of Wong”behind each other‘s back. Not long afterward an elder of Lo’s clan spoke to him.“I see no reason why you shouldn‘t ask your first wife to come back. It would only be fair.”
Lo could not think of any valid objection either. He went down to the country where she was living with her family， and brought her back to the rose- covered little house by the lake. Both of his ex- wives were much richer than he was after the divorce settlements. But they never helped him out， no matter what straits he got into from providing for three women and their children. He could not really blame them， taking everything into consideration. He would not have minded it so much if“That of the House of Fan”did not taunt him continually about the others‘lack of feeling for him. And now that he had lived down the scandal and ridicule， people envied him his Yeng fu， glamorous blessings- extraordinary in an age that was at least nominally monogamous， for it was already 1936—living with three wives in a rose- covered little house by the lake. On the rare occasions when he tried to tell somebody he was unhappy， the listener would guffaw.“Anyhow，”the friend would say，“there are four of you—just right for a nice game of mah- jongg.”
THE END
本文摘自“文学视界”（http://www.white-
Her eyes met his， wavered a little， and looked away. After going round the lake they landed and separated. The day after， Lo received a letter addressed to him in Miss Fan‘s handwriting. He tore it open， his heart pounding， and found a sheet of blank paper inside. He knew instantly what she meant. She had wanted to write him but what could she say？
Soon it was no secret among their friends that they were again seeing a lot of each other. Lo again started divorce proceedings. This time he had very few sympathizers. He now liked like a scoundrel where he had once been a pioneer. It was another long struggle. On her part Miss Fan was also engaged in a struggle. Hers was against the forces of the years， against men‘s very nature which tires so easily. And in her struggle she had nobody to stand by her side as she stood by Lo. She remained quietly pretty. Her coiffure and clothes were master- pieces of subtle compromise between fashion and memory. He never wanted her to like any different from the way she did when he had first known her. Yet he would have been distressed if it had suddenly occurred to him that she looked dated. She fell in with all his moods without being monotonously pliant. She read all the books he gave her and was devoted to Shelley. He finally had to fight it out in the courts with his wife’s family. The Wongs were adamant against divorce. Lawsuits were expensive， especially when judges proved to be tractable. Lo got his divorce at the end of five years. Though in reduced circumstances， he had built a small white house exactly the way Miss Fan and he had planned it， on a site they had chosen long age. He had closed down his old house in the country after his mother‘s death. Their new home was on stilts， leaning out of the green hills right over the lake. Climbing roses and wisteria trailed over the moon window. The newlyweds paid routine visits to relatives. They were usually pressed to stay for dinner and play mah- jongg. Lo had never known her to be fond of the game. He told his wife it was good of her to comply but there was no need to keep it up all night and promise to come back for more the next day. She answered that people teased her into it， saying she could not bear to be away from her bridegroom a single minute. She complained of living so far out. When she came back late from her mahjongg parties she often had difficulty finding a rick- sha puller willing to take her home. When she was not out playing mah- jongg she lounged about in soiled old gowns with torn slits and frayed frogs. Half the time she lay in bed cracking watermelon seeds， spitting the shells over the bed- clothes and into her slippers on the floor. His hints at taking more interest in her appearance were at first ignored. Then she flared up and said his fussiness was unmanly.“No wonder you never get anywhere.”
Lo did his best to keep up a good front. Still he supposed that news of their quarrels got about， because one day a relative mentioned casually to him that Miss Wong had not yet remarried.“Why don‘t you ask her to come back？”
Lo shook his head sadly. He needed some persuasion， but of course he know that the Wongs would agree that this was the best way out， much as they hated him. The family‘s good name would suffer if their daughter took a second husband. His wife， the former Miss Fan， did not hear of the matter until all arrangements had been made. Despite scenes and threats of suicide， the day Miss Wong returned to him escorted by members of the Wong family she was there to receive them and play hostess at the small informal celebration. She addressed Miss Wong’s brother and sister- in- law as“Brother”and“Sister- in- law”。 She apologized for the dinner.“It‘s difficult for us to get a good cook， living so far away from the market. Terribly inconvenient. Else I would have made him fetch back your young lady long ago. Of course she ought to come and live here. One can’t be staying with parents all the time.”Miss Wong did not speak， since she was almost a bride. No agreement had been reached as to the mode of address between the two women， who were understood to be of equal status. They were merely referred to as“That of the House of Fan”and“That of the house of Wong”behind each other‘s back. Not long afterward an elder of Lo’s clan spoke to him.“I see no reason why you shouldn‘t ask your first wife to come back. It would only be fair.”
Lo could not think of any valid objection either. He went down to the country where she was living with her family， and brought her back to the rose- covered little house by the lake. Both of his ex- wives were much richer than he was after the divorce settlements. But they never helped him out， no matter what straits he got into from providing for three women and their children. He could not really blame them， taking everything into consideration. He would not have minded it so much if“That of the House of Fan”did not taunt him continually about the others‘lack of feeling for him. And now that he had lived down the scandal and ridicule， people envied him his Yeng fu， glamorous blessings- extraordinary in an age that was at least nominally monogamous， for it was already 1936—living with three wives in a rose- covered little house by the lake. On the rare occasions when he tried to tell somebody he was unhappy， the listener would guffaw.“Anyhow，”the friend would say，“there are four of you—just right for a nice game of mah- jongg.”
THE END
本文摘自“文学视界”（http://www.white-