这一天,从早晨到午后,他的工夫全费在照镜,看《中国历史教科书》和查《袁了凡纲鉴》〔2〕里;真所谓"人生识字忧患始"〔3〕,顿觉得对于世事很有些不平之意了。
After a morning spent in front of the mirror, flicking through A Textbook of Chinese History and Yuan Liaofan's Chronology,1 he began to feel that books truly were the root of all evil, and that life was most unfair.
首先就想到往常的父母实在太不将儿女放在心里。
First he reflected how very little thought his father and mother had given to their children.
他还在孩子的时候,最喜欢爬上桑树去偷桑椹吃,但他们全不管,有一回竟跌下树来磕破了头,又不给好好地医治,至今左边的眉棱上还带着一个永不消灭的尖劈形的瘢痕。
As a small boy, what he liked best was climbing mulberry tress to steal mulberries to eat; but they paid no attention at all.Once, when he fell off a tree and cracked open his head, they hadn't give him the right medical treatment, so that to this day above his left eyebrow remained an indelible wedge-shaped scar.
他现在虽然格外留长头发,左右分开,又斜梳下来,可以勉强遮住了,但究竟还看见尖劈的尖,也算得一个缺点,万一给女学生发见,大概是免不了要看不起的。
Even though he'd grown his hair, then parted and combed it to cover the scar, it remained visible at the tip: a blot on his otherwise flawless countenance that a female student (should she - perish the thought! - happen to glimpse it) would inevitably hold against him.
他放下镜子,怨愤地吁一口气。
Heaving a sigh of complaint, he set the mirror down.
其次,是《中国历史教科书》的编纂者竟太不为教员设想。
In the second place, whoever compiled A Text-book of History had shown too little consideration for teachers.
他的书虽然和《了凡纲鉴》也有些相合,但大段又很不相同,若即若离,令人不知道讲起来应该怎样拉在一处。
Although this book corresponded to some extent with the Outline , whole passages were different, and this partial conformity made it impossible to know how to piece them together in a lecture.
但待到他瞥着那夹在教科书里的一张纸条,却又怨起中途辞职的历史教员来了,因为那纸条上写的是:"从第八章《东晋之兴亡》起。
But when his eyes fell on the slip of paper inserted in the textbook, he transferred his resentment to the history teacher who had resigned in the middle of the term; because on it was written:Start from Chapter 8, “The Rise and Fall of Eastern Jin.”
如果那人不将三国的事情讲完,他的豫备就决不至于这么困苦。
If only the swine had left him some of the Three Kingdoms, the bit just before the Eastern Jin, he wouldn't be having such trouble preparing now.
他最熟悉的就是三国,例如桃园三结义,孔明借箭,三气周瑜,黄忠定军山斩夏侯渊以及其他种种,满肚子都是,一学期也许讲不完。
The Three Kingdoms period was the one he knew best.For instance, the stories of how the three heroes became sworn brothers in the Peach Orchard, how Zhuge Liang borrowed an arrow, Thou Yu was enraged three times, Huang Thong killed Xia Houyuan at Mt.Dingjun, and so on he knew them all by heart.He might have held forth on these for a term or more.
到唐朝,则有秦琼卖马之类,便又较为擅长了,谁料偏偏是东晋。
Or the Tang dynasty, he knew that, too: about Qin Qiong selling his horse, and other nuggets of reliable historical fact he had grasped from close readings of popular fiction.
But no: it had to be the wretched Eastern Jin.
他又怨愤地吁一口气,再拉过《了凡纲鉴》来。
With another indignant sigh, he took up Yuan Liaofan's handiwork once more.
"哙,你怎么外面看看还不够,又要钻到里面去看了?”
“Hey, haven't you done enough reading outside, without burrowing in here to read?”“
一只手同时从他背后弯过来,一拨他的下巴。
A hand had reached round from behind him to grab his chin.
但他并不动,因为从声音和举动上,便知道是暗暗蹩进来的打牌的老朋友黄三。
He did not move, however, knowing from the voice and action that it was his old friend Huang San, with whom he played mahjong, who had tiptoed in.
他虽然是他的老朋友,一礼拜以前还一同打牌,看戏,喝酒,跟女人,但自从他在《大中日报》上发表了《论中华国民皆有整理国史之义务》这一篇脍炙人口的名文,接着又得了贤良女学校的聘书之后,就觉得这黄三一无所长,总有些下等相了。
But though Huang was his old friend, with whom a week before he had played mahjong, watched operas, drunk and chased after girls, ever since the Dazhong Daily had published his much acclaimed article “On the Duty of All to Revise the National History, after which he had received a contract from Xianliang Girls'School, he had consid-ered Huang San a nonentity and rather contemptible.
所以他并不回头,板着脸正正经经地回答道: "不要胡说!
So without turning his head, he pulled, a long face and answered seriously:“Don't talk nonsense!
"你不是亲口对老钵说的么:你要谋一个教员做,去看看女学生?”
'I thought you told Bo you were only after a job up at the school so you could subject the learned lovelies to a closer "examination".+Ha-ha-ha!”
"你不要相信老钵的狗屁!”
“You can't believe that farting dog Old Bo!”
黄三就在他桌旁坐下,向桌面上一瞥,立刻在一面镜子和一堆乱书之间,发见了一个翻开着的大红纸的帖子。
Huang San sat down by his desk, glanced at it and promptly spotted, between the mirror and the clutter of books, a scarlet invitation card which was open.
尔础高老夫子为本校历史教员每周授课四小时每小时敬送修金大洋三角正按时间计算此约贤良女学校校长何万淑贞敛衽谨订中华民国十三年夏历菊月吉旦〔4〕立
Respectful InvitationMaster Gao Erchu is hereby invited to teach history in our school for four hours a week, for an honorarium of thirty cents an hour.
This serves as a contract.Deferentially signed by the school principal He Wan Shuzhen on the first of the ninth lunar month, the thirteenth year of the Republic
"'尔础高老夫子'?
'"Gao Erchu"?”
但高老夫子只是高傲地一笑;他的确改了名字了。
Our learned friend honoured Huang San with a supercilious smile; he had indeed changed his name.
然而黄三只会打牌,到现在还没有留心新学问,新艺术。
The problem with Huang San was that he had no talents beyond the mahjong table; he'd never bothered to apply himself to the progressive disciplines of modern culture.