Day 7 | Weekly Note | The Gay Genius

Chapter 1-6
2017年12月10日, 星期日

Summary

Su Tungpo occupied peculiar position in China's history. The home atmosphere was just right for him. Su Tungpo's grandfather exerted indirectly influence upon his literary life. Su Tungpo's father guided him in the direction of purity of writing style. The most important member of his family who grew up and studied with him was his younger brother, Tseyu. The brothers sent each other regularly one poem a month when they lived apart. Su Tungpo was vivacious and ambitious. Apart from this, he believed that there is not a single bad person in this world. His wife gave him practical advice.
To meet the official tests, the students had to repeated the ancient classics from memory. Both the Su brothers passed with high scores. Then the Su family set out for the capital. The reputation of the three Sus as scholars and writers had steadily risen.

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这一周最大的进步是完成阅读不再是那么一个负担，有时候想想又要学英语啦还有一点雀跃。原因之一是作品的生词似乎不那么多。第二个原因是写笔记成为一件自己也赏心悦目的事情。尤其感谢群里的朋友的鼓励，在语言之内探究文学色彩的美本身就是一件美丽的事情。

作品读来感觉还是有点唠叨，用词比如“in such ardent zeal”（在非常热情的热情），“honored with profound reverence”（带着非常尊敬的尊敬）。但是赘述这一点，在诗句中则使文意更精确地表述，如第四章父与子中提到的《入峡》，原文中四句就出现了三次“cliff”：

入峡初无路，连山忽似龛。Entering the gorge, the river seemed blocked in front. Then from the cliffs a cleft appeared like Buddha's niche.
荣迂收浩渺，座缩作涧潭。The swirling waters began to leave their wide expanse, And narrow themselves into a deep abyss.
风过如呼吸，云生似吐含。The winds bellowed through the cliffs, And the clouds spewed forth from the caves.
堕崖鸣卒卒，垂蔓绿毵毵。Overhanging cliffs whistled in the high winds, And twining vines glistened in resplendent green.

而对应的中文则以“峡”“山”“崖”或省略主语的动词一带而过。在说明理解方面，还是英文不厌其烦的表述更加易于领会。

关于第六章，既有求神问鬼的虔诚：prayer is based upon one of the deepest instincts in man，又有与鬼神平起平坐的自信：not only the gods, but also the devil, should be open to a forceful onslaught of his logic.，很符合在第一章最后提到的“有现代精神的古人”：“we would say he was a great democrat”“Today it may be said that he was truly a modern man.”

在《花城》2017年第6期，有这样的一段：

“斗转星移，时代到了现在，鬼神的境遇怎么样呢？人们对鬼神的看法如何呢？大部分人的看法是，哪里有什么鬼神，从外面开来一台推土机，已经把鬼神推跑了。又从外面开来一台轧路机，已经把鬼神轧得粉碎，从今以后，再也看不到鬼神的影子了。之所以没了鬼神，人们找到了三个原因。一是人烟太稠了，房子盖得太多了，挤占了鬼神的空间。鬼神被挤兑得无处待，无处躲，只好退出历史舞台。二是鬼神最喜欢寂静，最害怕喧嚣和热闹，连早上的鸡叫声都不敢听。而现在一天到晚空气里都是歌声、笑声、机器轰鸣声、电喇叭声等，无处不在的强大噪音早就把鬼神吓坏了。三是习惯了在黑暗中活动的鬼神见不得光亮，光亮一来，他们就得赶紧退避。农村通电以后，电光像一把把利剑，无处不劈到，鬼神哪里还有存在的余地呢！”

传统与现代的交汇碰撞，使得作品具有陌生而奇异的吸引力。这也是The Gay Genius吸引我读的一大原因吧。

水墨喵

以上。