Lotus pond moonlight
I'm very upset these days. Sitting in the yard enjoying the cool tonight, I suddenly remembered the lotus pond I walked through every day. It should look different under the light of this full moon. The moon rises gradually, and the children's laughter on the road outside the wall can no longer be heard; My wife is patting and skipping in the room, humming a sleeping song in a daze. I slipped on a big shirt and ran out the door.
Along the lotus pond, there is a winding little cinder road. This is a secluded road; Few people walk during the day, and it is lonely at night. Around the lotus pond, there are many trees and lush. On one side of the road, there are some willows and some trees with unknown names. On a moonless night, the road is gloomy and a little scary. It's fine tonight, although the moonlight is still very weak.
I was the only one on the road, walking around with my hands behind my back. This world seems to be mine; I also like to go beyond my usual self and go to another world. I love excitement and peace; Like to live in groups, like to be alone. Just like tonight, under this boundless moon, a person thinks about everything and thinks nothing, and feels like a free person. What must be done and said during the day can be ignored now. This is the beauty of being alone, and I will enjoy the boundless moonlight with lotus fragrance.
On the winding lotus pond, I look forward to the leaves of Tian Tian. The leaves are high out of the water, like an elegant dancer's skirt. Layers of leaves are dotted with some white flowers, some of which bloom gracefully and some are in bud shyly; Like a pearl, like a star in the blue sky, like a beauty who just took a bath. The breeze blew, sending wisps of fragrance, like a faint song on a tall building in the distance. At this time, the leaves and flowers also trembled slightly, like lightning, passing through the lotus pond in an instant. The leaves are close side by side, so there are clear wave marks. Below the leaves is flowing water, which is covered and can't see some colors; Leaves are more exposed to the wind.
Moonlight, like running water, falls quietly on this leaf and flower. A thin layer of blue mist floats in the lotus pond. Leaves and flowers seem to have been washed in milk; Like a dream in a sarong. Although it is a full moon, there are faint clouds in the sky, so it can't shine; But I think this is just a benefit-deep sleep is indispensable, and nap is unique. Moonlight shines through the trees, and the bushes at the height cast uneven and mottled shadows, which are as steep as ghosts; The sparse shadows of curved willows seem to be painted on lotus leaves. The moonlight in the pond is uneven; But light and shadow have a harmonious melody, such as a famous song played in the Vatican.
Around the lotus pond, there are trees far and near, and willows are the most. These trees surround a lotus pond; Only on one side of the path, there are some gaps, which seem to be reserved for moonlight. An example of the color of trees is cloudy, which at first glance looks like a cloud of smoke; But the abundance of willows can be recognized in the smoke. There are distant mountains on the treetops, just a little careless. There are still one or two lamps leaking through the cracks in the tree. What is listless is the eyes of those who are sleepy. At this time, the most lively are cicadas in the tree and frogs in the water; But the excitement is theirs. I have nothing.
I suddenly remembered the matter of picking lotus. Lotus picking is an ancient custom in the south of the Yangtze River. It seems to have a long history, but it flourished in the Six Dynasties. You can get a rough idea from this poem. Lotus pickers are teenage girls, swinging boats and singing bright songs. Needless to say, there are many lotus pickers. It was a lively season and a romantic season. Emperor Liang Yuan put it well in "Lotus Picking Fu":
So the demon is a virgin, and she wants to boat; The snipe makes a first promise and passes the feather cup; I can move, algae can hang, boats can move and sail. Erqi slim waist bundle element, Yan Gubu; After long summer, in late spring, leaves are tender and flowers are early. I'm afraid of touching the petticoats and laughing, and I'm afraid of leaning over the boat and getting together.
It can be seen that there were wandering scenes at that time. This is really interesting, but unfortunately we are not happy now.
Then I remembered the words in Song of Xizhou:
Lotus is picked in autumn in Nantang, and the lotus is over the head; With his head down, he fiddled with the lotus seeds in the water, which were as green as the lake. If there are lotus pickers tonight, the lotus here will be considered "over the top"; You can't just see some shadows of running water. This makes me really miss Jiangnan. -think like this, suddenly look up and feel that it is already your own door; Gently pushed the door in, there was no sound, and my wife had slept for a long time.
July 1927, Beijing Tsinghua Campus.
(Original 1927 July 10 Novel Monthly Report, Volume 18, No.7)
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Civilization on board
I took a night boat for the first time, from Shaoxing pontoon bridge to Xixing ferry.
There are motorboats from Shaoxing to Xixing. I am eager to come to Hangzhou. I have been driven by trains and ships for many years. I also want to "return" to the ship and experience the strange smell of the previous generation. So regardless of the persistence and persuasion of relatives (they said that the boat was very bitter), they resolutely disembarked at around 6 pm. With the "material civilization" gasoline ship and the "spiritual civilization" ship, let us linger and enjoy it. This is the happiness of China people in the 20th century!
Most of the passengers on board are small businessmen; Two soldiers are the exception. There is not a scholar-bureaucrat on board; I'm just a nobody, because I studied for several years and became a doctor, but it's also an exception! Really, where have all the literati gone? Needless to say, it's all on board! Although the scholar-officials also held the banner to support spiritual civilization, they were also driven out of their wits. They were deceived by the grandson of material civilization, blinded by foreign oil and gas, and reluctantly left the old framework. So although the ship is sailing as usual, its luster has been reduced a lot! This is indeed a thing that can be lamented; The voice of "the quintessence of the country will die" seems to have not been in vain. Well, who is to blame?
Now that we are on this "spiritual civilization" ship, it is worthwhile to inspect the spiritual civilization on board. But where to start? This may be a little awkward. While hesitating, a woman happened to come. -I said "coming" as if I had seen it with my own eyes, but I didn't know it; When I heard her shrill voice, I knew she was coming. As for her face, I haven't seen it yet. First of all, my myopia is my fault; Secondly, it's my fault for attacking people's dusk; Third, it's all my fault-hum-the spiritual civilization of "men and women sitting separately". Women sit in the front and men sit in the back; That woman is at least two feet away from me, so I can't see her face. Wait a minute, this is so strange. "If there is any regret in her words," you may guess how beautiful that woman is. But who knows it's big! I once thought they were all yellow-faced women in the country. As for sharp pronunciation, it is common for teenage women, but it is not surprising. This time, however, the sharp voice of an unexpected woman aroused the author in the labor area, but there were other reasons. In that voice, a protest against the spiritual civilization on board was expressed; She said, "Men and women are all human beings!" She wants to sit in the back, (because the front is too crowded, there is no other reason to merge,) and the "rules" in the boat are not allowed. The boatman stopped her, because she was no longer a girl, so she said that sentence slowly with a long face. She immediately sat in her seat, and the "critics" talked about it. A boatman was walking by the boat and casually said, "Men and women are all human beings, yes, that's right." Iron is also used to make scales, iron is also used to make scales, and iron is also used to make iron anchors. They are all iron! "This criticism is very clever, saying what you" critics "have to say, so all the mouths stopped, and this became the conclusion. As for that woman, she has actually sat down; " It's hard to sing in one hand, or if she is full of your critics, then don't sing. Although "everyone has a heart of right and wrong", we really have to thank those businessmen who punted to make such a "detailed" analysis of the defense of Mingjiao University. China is, after all, a country of propriety and righteousness, an ancient civilization! ——
I regret that I shouldn't blame the spiritual civilization of "men and women sitting separately"
"It never rains but it pours." It happened that another woman came. She came with a man. -Ah, with a man! Exactly right; This is why it never rains but it pours! -Shaoxing Hangzhou dialect is well spoken, showing a white face in the dark; With five or six points of urban spirit. According to their "rules", the boatman should separate the pair of thorns; The man was embarrassed to make a noise, but the woman rushed to say, "We are a group of students!" " "Too affectionate, actually said on the" behave "ship! So the boatman ordered, "We have our rules, whether you are a group of students or not!" " "Everyone laughed. Some said thoughtfully, "A bunch of raw ones?" Someone said in surprise, "It was born in the pile!" Some sarcastically said, "Hum, a bunch of raw ones!" In this embattled situation, no matter how eloquent you are, you have to obey! "Women obey", which was originally her profession. Only when we see that she doesn't argue, get upset or talk to people casually will we know that she is really "convinced". This cannot but thank the boatmen and passengers for their "road protection"; When it comes to rewards, boatmen are second to none. Alas, it's windy!
It is our honor to conquer two women in the dark; And the spiritual civilization on the ship is suddenly visible-so the book.
1 original note: "together" also.
1924 May 3rd.