毛泽东时期,中国社会的苦难与血腥

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The Missionaryand His Daughter(一)

(2009-05-09 17:59:32) 下一个
    作家按语:《传教士和他的女儿》描写富有的英国传教士亨利,32年就走进神奇的贵州山区,与纯扑的山里人结成生
死不离的传奇故事!作品将引领喜欢旅游和民族风情的欧洲人、美国人引入中国美丽的贵州山区,去领略解放初期,那
里与世无争的有趣的民族风情、以及桃花源梦境一般的山村画卷,定让你感觉到中国自己制造的内乱的凄楚与悲叹!
----竞争诺贝尔文学奖必须要有很好的翻译家,而作家不懂一点英文,只希望我的文友们看过该英译本后,能否出手帮
助,並告诉你的邮箱及合作条件!

 

The Missionaryand His Daughter

传教士和他的女儿

Zongming Zhang

张宗銘 著

Translated by Tangjin Xiao

肖唐金 译

 

Part 1 Old China

Chapter 1

 

January, 1932

Young Henry was a devout Christian. His father Charles was a petroleum tycoon in Britain. Henry had visited many big cities since his childhood. In mid-January of 1932 Henry suffered from his love failure. With his mother’s advice he went to Tokyo with his father as a way of tiding over his personal misfortune. There his father signed a petroleum supply contract with the Japanese navy head. In the end of that month his father took him to Shanghai, China for the signing of a fuel supply contract with the Kuomintang military procurement officials. This was the fourth time for Henry to be present in Shanghai.

Each time he came to Shanghai, Henry would go for a drive with Mr. Steller a young petroleum business broker. This dusk Henry drove to a quay of the Huangpu River. In an open car there sat 5 Japanese warriors with white headdresses and waist knives. The car drove naughtily towards Dodger Henry’s car. Henry made an abrupt brake, and closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes in a while, and heard screams. He saw a beggar of 10 years old something lying dead on the road. He had been run over by the open car. The Japanese warriors showed no sign of remorse and guilt. They were signaling gestures of insult, instead.

Henry was in a fury. He drove his car quickly to stop the Japanese warriors. He had one thing in mind only: to punish those criminals.

Mr. Steller felt sympathetic with Henry, but replied, “No use, Henry! This is China, not London. The Japanese government and the Chinese government are in tense relationships. Yesterday the Japanese fleet admiral even ordered the Chinese troops to withdraw from Shanghai in 24 hours. What an absurd order!”

“Do they have this privilege?”

“That’s not a matter of have-or-not-have. Henry, you know the Japanese have occupied Northeast China, and now they want to control Shanghai. The provocations you have just met are not for you.”

Henry remained angry. How could a child’s life be the cost of provocations? Did provocations mean lives as expenses? He chased the guilty car at full speed. The Japanese warriors found themselves followed by a blonde man, and knew they had made a mistake with the object of provocations. Nevertheless, they just laughed at Henry, waving their waist knives and showing their middle fingers. Mr. Steller was mild and well-educated. He showed his forgiveness, saying;

“Henry, don’t chase them. They have knives, and they are good at using them. They have six people, but we have only two. We are not their match. They just want to pick fun.”

“But they killed a life, dear Mr. Steller!”

“That’s not our business. We are British, not Chinese. We are petroleum suppliers. We come here for the sales of kerosene!” With this word, Mr. Steller braked the car. That open car had entered the Japanese concession. The warriors looked even happier, standing by the Japanese policemen.

Henry had to come back. The little beggar was lying in blood, with a number of spectators. The dead child was dirty and thin. He looked pitiful in the biting cold of winter. Henry suddenly remembered that the price of oil was 20% higher for the Chinese than for the Japanese. Wasn’t this a support to the Japanese invasion? Henry began to feel sorry for Charles his father. His father was wealthy enough, but he still made a profit from the Chinese in war and poverty.

The image of the Japanese insults and arrogance was a pain in Henry’s mind and heart. The little beggar lying dead in the freezing cold was a wound in Henry’s kind heart. That was the world! Henry carried the corpse of the poor child towards a Christian church within sight. He would ask the clergymen there to pray for this life.

Henry was much praised by Mr. Riser the priest. He prayed to Jesus on the cross, “Lord, bless the miserable Chinese! Lord, bless the poor child! Today a dignified man carried the child to you. Please accept this life in the Kingdom of Heaven. May he live a glorious life!”

After the prayer, Mr. Riser told Henry, “Recently the Japanese warriors sought provocations everywhere. They tread the Chinese like ants! Henry, Lord needs men like you. If you please, join us in helping the Chinese in sorrows. In the name of a Christian, please boldly bear the cross of Jesus Christ!”

Henry accepted Mr. Riser’s request. He told the latter that he would try his best to help the Chinese. Then, he remembered the Japanese fleet admiral’s ultimatum of ordering the Chinese troops to leave Shanghai. How could a Japanese man be so aggressive on a foreign land? How could the Japanese troops kill the Chinese in China?

 

 

Henry came back to the hotel. Charles and Mr. Steller were waiting for him to have dinner together. Henry was in no mood of eating. The other two men were praising the Chinese dishes and tasting grape wine. Charles found Henry depressed, saying to him:

“Henry, have a try of abalone and lobster and the famous braised Shanghai pork balls. They are worth your trip.”

Mr. Steller found Henry still unhappy. He said, “Henry, you shouldn’t fuss over what is happening in China. If you were in today’s mood, you would never feel happy.”

Charles added, “Stupid!”

Henry said to his father, “Dad, I’d like you to revoke the contract you have signed with the Japanese navy.”

Charles glanced at Henry, replying, “Why the hell revoke the contract? You know the Japanese are a big client. They ask to buy 3 times more of the oil ordered by the Chinese. How could we lose this fat contract, for the war only? That’s senseless. If we didn’t have this contract, the Americans or French would have it.”

“Dad, I just couldn’t know why. I just hate the Japanese. Let me ask you one more question: Why do you sell oil to the Chinese at a price 20% higher than that for the Japanese?”

Charles and Mr. Steller laughed. They knew that Henry was being serious. Charles shook the wine in his glass, and said calmly through the dark red drink, “10% commission in silver coins is paid to the Chinese brokers. That’s the difference between the Chinese and the Japanese.”

Henry was depressed. Maybe he shouldn’t have lost his temper. That was the reality. He left the room with an “excuse me”.

Back to the hotel room, Henry felt a sense of unrest. The little beggar! What a pitiful being! His distressed looks and the inhuman Japanese cut Henry’s heart like a sharp knife. He picked up the Bible and turned the pages. It was Wisdom Better than Folly in Chapter 10 of Ecclesiastes:

“The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good…Whoever digs a pit may fall into it, whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.”

Henry fell into deep thoughts. He was reflecting on the Scripture. What did the prophets mean by fate, sin and wisdom? Why was it easy for people to fall into the trap they designed by themselves?

This must be the plan of God. While Henry was figuring out the meaning of these words, the firings of guns and rifles were fierce in many streets of Shanghai. There sounded a distinct and clear voice by Henry’s ears:

“My child, go to help those people in need!”

Henry rushed out of the hotel, and ran towards the Christian church.

As Mr. Riser said, the moment firings happened in Shanghai many Christians rushed to the Christian church. They prayed for the tortured Chinese and the war-scarred China. For the first time in his life Henry had experienced God’s love and benevolence.

Soon, many homeless and injured people were taken to the church. At daybreak the Japanese bombed Shanghai, and more people were injured. The other churches such as Catholic ones accepted the injured as well. The hospitals operated by the churches offered free medical treatment. In those times many people were baptized in God’s love as well asin bullets.

There were many wounded people. The Christian church was too small to accept so many people in need. Henry helped to send the wounded to hospitals, and buy a lot of iodine, bandages, spirit and herbs. He was busy from morning to night. He was too busy to eat anything.

Painstakingly Charles and Mr. Steller found Henry. They bought ship tickets and asked Henry to leave China with them that night.

Henry was not indifferent to the blood-shedding, sorrows and weeping. He felt God calling him to stay and help the Chinese. How could he leave at this time?

He rejected his father’s request, and chose another way of living at the excuse of his ability. Charles thought Henry was still in the pains of love failure, and he would feel better and come back to Britain later. Then, Charles left a big sum of deposit for Henry and left China for his native country.

As Mr. Steller said, the Japanese wanted to control Shanghai after they had occupied Northeast China. The No. 19 Army of the Kuomintang Party fought boldly against the invaders, and the local people gave the Chinese troops much support, but they failed. The Shanghai Treaty of Truce was signed. The Chinese would live a life of humility and insult since then. And no Chinese but the Japanese army would be stationed in Shanghai. Then, a strong sense of evil arose in Henry’s heart and mind.

Henry was aware that his father and he might have done something guilty before, but he felt the evils were more rampant in Shanghai with the Japanese invasion, and there were also greed and deception everywhere. Then, a parcel came and changed his life.

The parcel was sent to Mr. Riser, a botanist and a priest, by

Mr. Way
, a priest in Guiyang. Inside the parcel were some interesting plant samples. Through magnifying glasses Mr. Riser found they were rare plants. He felt amazed. There weren’t any of these in the British Museum. They must be the presents of God. A letter was attached in the parcel. It read:

“May 10, 1932

Dear Priest Riser:

Thank God for my finding these rare plants in the mysterious mountains of Guizhou. If you came to Guizhou, you would see more than I did. I once saw a forest of cyathea spinulosa in Guizhou. I could hardly believe my eyes. They brought me back to the times immemorial or the times of Adam and Eve.

Please forgive me for not having fulfilled the expected duties. Sometimes I think: If someone else were willing to take my place in Guiyang, I would be happy to bring Gospel to the people in the mountains. I believe a Christian there would be pure and devout without reservation. If you come to Guizhou, you’ll be charmed by its natural beauty and local customs. You’ll also wonder about the species here.

Best wishes!

Yours

Mr. Way

Henry was then at the crossroads of his life. In London his mother saw Charles only and knew Henry was moved to stay in China. For her, Henry could study in a divinity college but shouldn’t stay in China for whatever reasons.

Charles knew he had lost Henry. If he had revoked that contract with the Japanese, his heir would not have stayed in China. Yet he knew his empire of petroleum could not drag his son back. Then he came to China again with his wife. They stayed together with Henry in the church.

Henry had no intention of going back to Britain. He would not like to inherit his father’s business. He felt sorry for the pains of the Chinese. He hated the Japanese for their cruelty. He believed that God was calling him to help the people in need. The slaughters must stop. But where was there no blood-shedding?

Maybe God had signaled something to him. In the parcel that Mr. Riser got, Guizhou was mentioned. That mysterious place! Henry seemed to be seeing the simple and honest people, the charming nature and the appeal to him there. He went to Mr. Riser and asked for the trip to Guizhou. He was willing to devote God’s love to the people there.

Mr. Riser knew he had no reason of rejecting this request. He said to Henry, “Dear child, I’ll write a letter for you! But it is up to you to choose between God and your parents. You have the right for either choice.”

That evening, Henry left a note for his parents. His mother was then praying while his father was smoking a cigar on the balcony. He went out of the room quietly and took the ship from Shanghai to Chongqing.

 

 

Henry was on the ship. He was amazed at the beauty of the Three Gorges. The cliffs were works of art to him! He came safely to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province. There he met the hospitable

Mr. Way
and the Christian church. As Henry was praying beside the cross, he heard
Mr. Way
speaking:

“Dear child, there is no turning back for you as you have become a Christian. You’ll follow God for the better and the worse. You have to bear the cross. It’s not easy to be a missionary. Some missionaries died on the mountainous paths. A short time ago the Australian priest with a Chinese name of Daotuo Bi was robbed on the way to Dushan County and mercilessly killed. His wife knew of his death, but was not frightened. She went to Dushan County town with two sons and one daughter of theirs. She preached there, taught people to read and write, helped the local women to give births and saved lives. The local people called her Grandmother Bi as a term of respect. They didn’t know her full name but they knew God. I just want to tell you that there is no reward for the service to God.”

Mr. Way
, I have made up my mind. I have no other plan but to serve God with all my mind and heart.”

Then, Henry stayed in the Holy Association for some time. He learned the dialect of Guizhou for a few months. He knew the trip to the countryside was not easy; there might be rough roads, fierce beasts, and wild mosquitoes and snakes ahead of him. The living was hard there indeed. The food had no salt in it. He had to learn to eat chili and herbal grass Zhe Er Gen (houttuynia cordata). He had to sleep in the open air, bitten by mosquitoes all the time.

Mr. Way
liked philosophy as Henry.
Mr. Way
talked about the essence of philosophy in Guizhou dialect, and Henry tried to communicate with him in stammering Guizhou dialect. In three months, Henry could communicate with people in Guizhou dialect, though not so fluently. He couldn’t wait to set out for the mountainous areas.

Everywhere he went he would attempt to tell people of his background in basic Guizhou dialect, “I’m Henry. I am a Christian from Britain. What can I do for you?”

For over a month he plodded his way in the mountains. He experienced the hospitality and warmth of the local people. He had prepared a revolver for himself, but he had never undergone any violence or danger. There were not so many bandits in Guizhou as

Mr. Way
described.

Henry took many kinds of medicine with him such as aspirin, quinine and pain-killer, so he didn’t need to worry about illnesses. He climbed over steep mountains and crossed rapid rivers. Sometimes there were bright sky and clear waters; at other times there were dark clouds and dusty waters

The local people usually crossed rivers by wooden boats. But these days the rivers were flooding. Wooden boats were too weak to cross them. On a ferry gathered people of many trades, such as a mailman, peddlers and traders. These people were bargaining with three women about the ferry fare.

The mailman had to cross the river. It wasn’t the first time for him to meet floods. The women asked him to pay one silver coin as the ferry fare, yet he would just like to pay half of it. He told them he had been doing this all the time, and anyway they shouldn’t just raise the price on their own will.

The women said, “Mr. Mailman, this flood is really strong. It’s not easy to cross the road. Why do you bargain the price with us women? We are risking our lives taking you across. We promise safety to you and your mails. Ok?”

Henry witnessed the deal. He was aware of the dilemma in this wilderness. He spoke to the women in a stammering tone, “My name is Henry. I am a Christian from Britain. Can you take me across the river?”

The women stared at Henry. They had heard of him, that blonde foreigner. They spoke to him fearlessly, “Ok, Henry, we have heard of you, a blonde British. You are going to the mountains, right?”

Henry replied happily, “Yes. Can you help me cross the river?”

They nodded.

Henry was puzzled. “How will you take me across the river?”

They answered, “We’ll carry you on the back and cross the river.”

Henry was amazed. He shook his head. He wondered: How could the women carry men across the torrent river? Were they joking? He would like to wait and see.

The mailman was eager to continue his journey. He said, “I have many urgent mails to send. I can have my expenses reimbursed. Let’s make a deal: carry me across the river and then I’ll pay. Ok?”

The women replied, “Ok, but first put away your belongings in safe wrappings.”

The mailman didn’t hesitate. He went to the riverside with the women. One of the women took off all her dresses, so did the mailman. She threw her dresses to the ground. The mailman bound up his mails and dresses, and climbed up her back.

The woman said to the mailman, “Stick to my back. Remember that you can grasp my hair, but don’t hold my neck, nor should you hug me tightly.”

The mailman replied, “I know.” They went into the river. He stuck to her back, holding up his mails and dresses in his right hand. The other passengers just watched breathlessly and waited for their turns. The woman was like a safe boat in the torrent waters. The sailing was so safe that it made Henry’s worries needless.

Henry was now on the other bank of the river. He was amazed at the strength and even the miracle of the women in Guizhou. Naked ferrying was something unheard of. And why was it done by women rather than men?

Henry was puzzled: Why was there naked ferrying? Why should men strip themselves of their clothes before the ferrying?

He felt over-amazed. He was sorry that he hadn’t taken a picture of the naked ferrying. He had a sense of loss indeed.

The arrival of the blonde Henry was known very soon in many villages. One day he came to a small roadside village. There, something unexpected changed his life.

This village was named Bailang. There were only 10 or so households in it. He saw a pregnant woman with messy hair kneeling on the roadside, a curved knife in her waist. She knelt on a paddy sunning ground of less than 8 square meters, holding out her hands breathlessly and pleading to the indifferent people:

“Give me Ah Cai something to eat, please, whether rice or porridge.”

An old woman with a basket of fresh red peaches was beside her. Ah Cai knew there was no use of her pleading, but she still implored the old woman:

“Give me a few peaches, will you?”

Henry knew something of Miao and Dong dialects. He had thought that the old lady would give a few peaches to Ah Cai, but she replied:

“No use, Ah Cai. People say your blood is dirty. I can’t give you peaches or I’ll violate the village customs.”

Henry wondered: What local customs had Ah Cai violated?

Ah Cai and the old lady saw Henry. He was so different from them: blonde hair, fair skin, blue eyes and a hawk nose. Ah Cai thought he was a monster and retreated behind the old lady for fear.

Henry smiled and walked up. He told them, “I’m Henry. I’m a Christian from Britain. What Can I do for you?”

Ah Cai waved her hands, and shrieked fearfully, “Please go away. I don’t need your help.”


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