艺伎童话般的爱情故事 (w English and extracts)

 

捡起这本《艺伎回忆录》，完全是出于一种好奇。这本25美分的旧小说是从图书馆外面的架子上买的，一直被遗弃在车后备箱的一角。每次买菜打开后备箱看到，也提不起兴致捡起来放进车库里。想当年，章子怡演的这部电影被炒得沸沸扬扬，我都不曾心动去看。 想到艺妓，脑子里出现的就是一张抹的跟吊死鬼那么白的脸，配上浓艳的两瓣嘴唇，高高盘起的发髻，真是没有太多的美感，除了这身和服，还有点欣赏价值，也不觉得日本舞能有什么看头。两个星期前的一天，打开后备箱又看见那本书角越来越卷起的书，不知哪根筋触动了，捡起开始读。没想到，不到两个星期，这四百多页的小说一气呵成地读完了。

 

 

小说是一个美国作家写的，以第一人称讲述二十世纪三十年代一位漂亮的九岁女孩（后来的艺名小百合Sayuri）因母亲病重，父亲年衰，被人以75日元从偏僻的鱼村卖到灯红酒绿的Kyoto的Gion，一个以艺伎闻名的地区，住进一家Okiya 。Okiya是日本那个年代专门给学做艺妓的女孩提供吃住，并投资送她去学才艺的一个地方。但这一切的费用，包括最初买她自己花的75日元，都成了女孩自己的债务，要等她自己成为艺妓后，全部偿还的。小百合，和她被卖人妓院的姐姐试着逃跑。姐姐逃跑成功，小百合却从屋顶逃跑时摔下来骨折，只有继续留在这家Okiya,  但却因此失去了老板娘的信任，不再被送去学艺，不予栽培，就在家当佣人使唤。苦闷的小百合在十二岁那年，在街头偶遇一位四十岁上下的绅士Chairman，Chairman的和善和递给她擦拭的一帕手绢温暖了她，让她情窦初开。他仿佛像出现在她幽暗人生中的一道曙光，让她看到人生的希望，并就此振作了起来，坚定地走上了艺妓的道路，成为一名出色的艺伎。

 

艺伎是一个比较特别的职业和群体，并因此连带着一些产业， 比如，有提供吃住的寄宿场所，有培养艺妓的学校，有专门帮助穿衣服的着装师，发型师，当然还有和服的设计制作。一件艺妓漂亮的和服当时的价格是1500日元。艺妓的一生沉沉浮浮，结局各人迥异。但是相同的一点是她们为美是付出代价的。且不说精神上和年幼时所受的训练的苦，光从外表的装饰，都是有代价的。脸上抹的富含铅成分的化妆品，对皮肤的损伤可想而知，看似漂亮的和服，其实很后重，那个背后用几尺长的锦缎叠成的obi，“像一条蛇重重压着”。再则，因为这种穿着的繁复，每次得请专人穿上，艺伎陪客人时，不敢喝茶，只能泯一口，生怕上厕所。还有头上的发髻，有专门的发型师，做一次，头皮被抓得生疼(怕过两天掉头皮屑), 盘好的头发晚上睡觉要用特殊的枕头，睡不安稳，不小心转个头就会被惊醒。

 

不同于妓女，艺伎受过良好的舞蹈、乐器、茶文化等方面的训练，类似中国古代的名妓，不仅姿色好，琴棋书画也精通。她们出没于茶馆，周旋于有权有势有钱人之间，为男人提供美、色、茶余饭后消遣的服务，讨男人欢心。那时的艺妓要想成名，必须要有个师姐领入门，这个师姐的作用很大，她教她各方面的知识，待人接物的仪态、规矩，勾引男人的“勾术”, 怎样欲擒故纵，怎样眉目传情，顾盼流连。小说里提到，师姐教小百合怎样一颦一笑，举手投足。比如，在给男人倒茶水时，怎样不动声色地让男人看见她和服袖中的玉臂；而同样给风姿残烛的老艺妓沏茶时，却需要紧紧扣住袖口，不露半点春色，以免招来她们的嫉妒恨。再比如艺伎走路时，迎面走来男士，怎样低眉顺眼，只用余光偷偷瞟一眼，却足以勾魂摄魄，让其垂涎其美丽而不能忘怀。不仅如此，师姐还出谋划策，尽快介绍她进入社交圈，把自己已经建立起来的圈子介绍给徒弟认识，以助其尽快成名，早日赚钱，分享其成果。为了成名，艺伎间的争风吃醋，明争暗斗当然在所难免，彼此间也因此结下恩恩怨怨。

 

重要的一点是，艺伎要想真正摆脱当年收留她的Okiya,  过上好日子，还需要找个靠山－Danna, 相当于我们今天讲的找有钱人包养。据网上资料，日本当时的社会，允许有妻子的结婚男子在外包养。被包养的艺伎既可以继续做艺伎，也可以退出这个圈子。艺伎是不能结婚的，一旦结婚了则必须彻底退出的。小说里有提到结婚后的艺伎退出了，有些还送自己女儿学做艺伎。

 

小说中的主人公小百合，倾心于Chairman, 一个大型电力公司的董事长，董事长有个合伙人叫Nobu, 为他们企业的转危为安立下汗马功劳。Nobu曾经在一次爆炸事故中断了一个胳膊，脸上大面积烧伤(像蜡烛油滴下),  但却一直真心喜欢小百合，而董事长虽然心底里也喜欢小百合，却碍于与Noku的关系，一直不动声色。即便如此，在小百合初夜权争夺(bidding war)战中，Nobu还是退下阵来，被一位医生不惜一切，以11,500日元拿下，那个年代的最高价格, (一个高级艺妓一小时最高价是4块日元)。 金钱的力量让爱望而却步。

 

小说的最后，比较有悬念。二战结束后，对小百合爱慕倾心已久后的Nobu决意要做她的danna。小百合不甘心，不愿深植心中的梦想从此灰飞烟灭，决定铤而走险，设计圈套。虽然计划是落空了，但董事长的从中“作梗”，让他俩最后“有情人终成眷属”，小百合与心中的“白马王子”董事长携手与共，退出艺伎圈，两个共渡余生。

 

与其说这是艺伎的成长传记小说，不如说是一本童话般的爱情故事，真实性到底如何值得推敲，至少我在读完后，半信半疑，急着想知道这故事是真人真事，还是只是一部小说。结论是，这是小说，一部宣扬理想爱情的童话故事。小说大半部分在感叹，做艺伎不是因为喜欢，是出于无奈，人无法跟命运抗争；艺伎是没有爱的权利，不能有自己的感情，得考虑各种错综复杂的厉害关系，等等。但结局又好像在告诉人们，只要你与命运抗争，你依然可以与你的真爱生活在一起。要知道，董事长一直避开小百合，就是因为不想得罪他最敬重, 恩重如山的Nobu，可最后还是临门一脚，横刀夺爱，可信吗？

 

这部小说融历史、文化和个人情感为一体，再现当年的日本风俗和历史。读这部小说，时常让我想起中国旧社会高级青楼女子的命运，也会想到当今社会的“天上人间”、富人包养。其实，无论国家地域如何不同，历史如何演变，社会如何进步，人性却亘古不变。

 

照片网上下载

 

My brain was like being drained recently, empty and lethargy, just like how I feel some time. I was not in a good mood to write, as each time when I forced myself to sit in front of the computer to write,  sentences could not flow out, but were squeezed instead like from a tube. I guess writing is about passion, and a good piece will only come up when you feel that your tank inside is overflowing like a volcano that it is to erupt. I am not a natural writer, and to keep up reading and writing is perhaps the only way to progress.

 

 

From time to time, the library disposes of some old novels and books at 25 cents each. Whenever I stopped by, I peeked at the special shelves right at the entrance to see if there are any classics or good ones to collect. Memoirs of a Geisha was not a classic, and out of a curiosity, I bought it together with a few other books.  It stayed in my car trunk for months, if not a year. On a boring day, I spotted it sitting creased and yellow in the corner of the trunk, inviting me to read. And surprisingly I finished it within two weeks.

 

Published in 1997, this novel is written by an American writer Arthur Golden, and was once on New York Times Bestseller List for over a year. In 2005, it was adapted into a movie, in which Zhang Ziyi is the actress who plays Sayuri, a legendary geisha in Kyoto. I never watched the movie, but the reading of the novel stirred my interest. However Netflix does not carry it, neither do the nearby libraries.

 

 

The novel was written in first person narratives. It is intriguing to see how an American writer portrays the life of a Japanese geisha with sensational vividness, bringing the exotic culture and the historical scenes to life. As a matter of fact, the writer was so successful that I was almost deceived to believe that it is a true story dictated by a geisha. But it is fictional- a story of a pretty nine years old girl of an impoverished family off a desolate fishing village, being sold to an okiya in a faraway place, and her ascent to fame. It may look like a Geisha’s life story, but it is more a romantic epic, a fable of how she encountered a kind Chairman by the riverbank at the age of twelve, falling in love with him and dreaming of entering his world by becoming a Geisha. This is her turning point in life, and it is this hope that helps her live through the hardship and ordeals.  The story ends when she and her Chairman danna lived happily ever after, like in a fairy tale. From the perspective of a novel, it is well-written, however unrealistic in my eyes.

 

*********************************************************************

Extracts from the novel

His face was very heavily creased, and into each crease he had tucked some worry or other, so that it wasn’t really his own face any longer, but more like a tree that had nests of birds in all the branches.

Just as seaweed is naturally soggy, you see, but turns brittle as it dries, my mother was giving up more and more of her essence.

His arms were sticks wrapped in old leather, dangling from two bumps.

I’d been blown about like a scrap of paper in the wind.

I felt a persistent, icy dread at the thought of any mother’s illness.

For a moment we were both awash in sparks and flames.

The day was drab, everything in shades of gray.

I felt as a dam must feel when it’s holding back an entire river.

The sky was extravagant with stars.

I felt as sore as a rock must feel when the waterfall has pounded on it all day long

Which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

All my senses were assaulted. Trucks rumbled past to close. I could smell the scorched rubber odor of their tires.

And then as if the day hadn’t been difficult enough, the worst thing of all happened.

My eyes had welled up with tears so much I could scarcely see.

But the tears pooled in my eyes before I could think of how to stop them

I felt a knob in my stomach.

I felt a jolt when I set eyes on them.

Willowy shape

A strip of bright sunlight fell across

Stood erect

Weaving its way from the hem up to the waist was a beautiful vine made of heavily lacquered threads bunched together like a tiny cable and sewn into place.

I heard thunder rumble overhead, and the air smelled of rain.

A certain thought was swelling in my head, growing until I couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I didn’t allow myself to picture my mother quite so vividly; just the thought of seeing her again was enough to bring tears to my tears.

I felt a pit inside myself as big and empty as if the whole world were nothing more than a giant hall empty of people.

This humble person has been alive long enough to see two generations of children grow up, and know how rare it is for ordinary birds to give birth to a swan. The swan who goes on living its parents’ tree will die; this is why those who are beautiful and talented bear the burden of finding their own way in the world.

The tears had begun to flow out of me just like water from a pot that boils over.

Mr. Tanaka had brought me nothing but suffering; but he also changed my horizons forever. We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course.

As I thought of this my mind began to swirl like a hurricane.

Though I am sure my words carried none of the fullness of my feelings.

I cleared my mind of everything but the image of him and the feeling of warm sun on my face and the hard stone wall where I’d sat that day when I met him.

I am no more a rival to her than a puddle is a rival to the ocean.

I can see you have a great deal of water in your personality. Water never waits. It changes shape and flows around things, and finds the secret paths no one else has though about-the tiny hole through the roof or the bottom of a box. There is no doubt it’s the most versatile of the five elements. It can wash away earth; it can put out fire; it can wear a piece of metal down and sweep it away.

She was gong to use me in the role of a weed that chokes out other plants in the garden.

Her eyes never met mine for more than a flicker of an instant.

My mind on the eve of my debut was like a garden in which the flowers have only begun to poke their faces up through the soil.

A man is interested in only one thing.

A sprinkle of laughter fell down onto us from the second-story windows brightly lit overhead.

You ought to feel flattered, really, considering that Hatsumomo geos to such trouble just to torment you.

Like a ball tossed in the air that seems to hang motionless before it falls, I felt myself suspended in a state of quiet timelessness.

I felt myself wading though an ocean of sorrow.

But every night I lay on my futon with his handkerchief pressed against my cheek, reliving again and again my encounter with him. I was like a temple bell that resonates long after it has been struck.

The comb was a showy red color adorned with bright flowers.

Accentuate the angles

The gloomy atmosphere seemed as thick as the water in a pond that night.

Hopes are like hair ornaments. Girls want to wear too many of them. When they come old women they look silly earing even one.

The radiant smile she’s worn now faded, just as the darkness fades from a valley when the sun rises on it.

I felt I was standing on a stage many hours after the dance had ended, when the silence lay as heavily upon the empty theater as a blanket of snow. I went to our okiya and stared with longing at the heavy iron padlock on the door. When I was locked in, I want to be out. Now life had changed so much that, finding myself locked out, I wanted to be inside again.

 

 

 

[洋葱炒鸡蛋]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 :
谢谢暖冬。我有些想起小百合看到那个男人后，想做艺伎的事了。
小百合在乡下时，乡下男人晚上去艺伎家玩乐，她形容那个艺伎脸被板子夹过，比较丑。十二岁女孩子的爱情心理，可能一直没在我心里留下足够的真实感觉，反倒像是一个信念，或者盼望。我真应该再看一遍。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '洋葱炒鸡蛋' 的评论 : 洋葱妹妹，那个小百合是从一个小岛被卖到灯红酒绿地方的，十二岁之前是抗拒的，想逃没逃成。十二岁后碰见“白马王子”(40多岁了),才决心好好做艺伎，所以总体上看还是爱情故事。你如果有时候可以重读一下，看你的观点会不会改变。它的文字还不错，但是又比较简单，读起来一点不费力。谢谢洋葱妹妹的input和留言！

[洋葱炒鸡蛋]

这是我难得的看完的一部英文小说，好些年前了，结尾倒是记不大清。
但小女孩很早就决心要做艺伎，她的决心很打动我。那是她能在那样的环境里争取到最好的生活了。
关于爱情，似乎是小说里不甚那么重要的一部分，至少我这么觉得。

[夕阳影里一归舟]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Anna Karenina 我也才听完，读得很好。书太厚：-)

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '夕阳影里一归舟' 的评论 : 谢谢归舟妹妹读我的英文，谢谢鼓励，坚持写是我的愿望，虽然有时也想偷懒，写得也是时好时坏。很高兴你对这小说有同感，向你学习，多读书，我现在正在读托尔斯泰的Anna Karenina,大家啊，写得好极了，等读完再来分享。才读了100多页，书很厚。谢谢归舟妹妹来看我，顺祝春好！

[夕阳影里一归舟]

回来看看，看到这篇英文读书笔记。暖冬的英文流畅！一般我看了英文的书也想用英文写笔记，被感染的，多读多写真的管用呢。书和电影很多年看过，也觉得书写得很细腻，把女人之间的钩心斗角都写出来了，但是结尾很不真实，算是败笔：-)电影不看也罢，书里的小日本女人被人高马大的中国演员演，变味了。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 'GraceX' 的评论 : 谢谢Grace又来留言。是的，我更喜欢真人真事，虽然小说来源于生活，但毕竟是理想化了。祝Grace新一周快乐，开心！

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 'yy56' 的评论 : 谢谢闻香的到来和留言。是啊，真得谢谢土豆，子乔和水沫的，没有他们的问题和解释，我的理解有偏差。闻香近作不少，等改日再去细读。

[GraceX]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : 暖冬，你这点跟我有点像，与小说相比，我更喜欢看真实的故事。

[yy56]

我也是看过书和电影，了解一下日本文化，谢谢子乔的问题和土豆的回答。当然谢谢冬夏的好文。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 'GraceX' 的评论 : 谢谢Grace，很开心你这么说，很开心你喜欢。读的时候还是有被打动到，到最后知道是小说,有点失望。谢谢你。祝新一周快乐！

[GraceX]

暖冬好，你的这篇文写得相当好，将书做了非常简洁又全面的介绍。即便不读也知道了大概，而且印象相当深。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 'Once-always' 的评论 : Oncemm来了，要给你沏茶，暖暖身。纽约还这么冷吗？希望春天早日来临。是啊，这抹的厚厚的惨白的脸，像个木偶人，再有，这和服哪能跟中国的旗袍比美啊，还有这舞蹈，虽然没怎么看过，但是想象的出，也跟中国的舞蹈不能比。日本这个民族也是比较奇特的。mm过奖了，我就这点东东，写提纲的水平，呵呵：))谢谢mm鼓励,祝春安！

[Once-always]

暖mm你这篇评文写得太精彩了，吊死鬼似的白脸，一看就能想象出艺妓的模样，一直好奇为什么她们那样的打扮会吸引男人，我看着就觉得挺怕怕的。：） 等有空去一定去找电影来看。你的英文简介写得也很棒，简洁干练，以后我的小说大纲都应该请你来写呢。 ：）

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '土豆-禾苗' 的评论 : 多谢土豆，sugar daddy,是有那么点意思，谢谢你的知识和了解，很有帮助启发。祝春好！

[土豆-禾苗]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 :
1，https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%B8%E5%A6%93 中的7“旦那”就是DANNA；
2，串联思考比较：赎身、Sugar Daddy等不同历史时期的社会行为；
3，东方文化中的“情绪”与西方文化的“权”；

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '土豆-禾苗' 的评论 : 一觉醒来，终于等到了土豆，你这个25年威士忌好啊，喝得脑子还这么清楚：))，你真是博学多闻。多谢你的解释，非常清楚。在上网查相关资料时，看到有类似这样一句，日本有地方的妓女也把自己称为芸妓。
另外还有两点疑问，你可以不必再解释了。一、小百合的初夜权可以卖，这不是卖身吗？二、小百合的师姐豆波有个danna, 小说里提到好像让她怀孕好几次。难道danna不算在范围内？我准备接着看看YouTube里的记录片，或许会提到。多谢土豆澄清，我这就改过来先。周末愉快！

[土豆-禾苗]

在喝25年陈的威士忌，来晚了一步，回答：

1，（均为日语汉字），以前用「芸者（ge i sha）」,明治以后，开始用「芸妓（ge i gi）」。日语中的“妓”确实有中文妓女的意思，但作为单词“芸妓”，则为“艺术女郎”，（呵呵），卖艺不卖身，而且有很高的自尊心，与卖身的有巨大差别。

2，但在二战后期开始，经济/生存所迫，也有了卖身的，如客户提出要个“可以过夜的芸妓”即指这个意思。1956年、日本制定《売春防止法》，这类身体服务的逐渐减少，又恢复了以前的“卖艺不卖身”的尊严。

3， Memoirs of a Geisha，“Geisha”日语是“芸者”，也就是“芸妓”的古语，这部作品中文该翻成《艺伎回忆录》，伎为技巧本领，如用妓字，对中国受众会有误导。（另外，这部作品日语名为《SAYURI》，也就是直接用了女主角的名字；同另一部电影《旭日追凶 Rising Sun (1993)》一样，都在日本被骂得不轻，但也没出现抵制好莱坞之类的荒唐爱国亢奋）。

4，中文的妓女/娼妇，日语（汉字）是：遊女（古语） / 娼婦、売春婦（现代用语）。这个“遊女”出处为『詩経』周南?漢広編中的一句“汉有游女，不可求思”。

5，日语汉字的读音我就不标注了，如想知道可电话：1-888-TUDOU。

各位，周末愉快。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 'ziqiao123' 的评论 : 子乔好，刚刚回复水沫，讲到是哪个伎，我昨晚查google，是这个妓，等土豆来。电影我没看过，里面还有巩俐，都是大牌。谢谢子乔留言，听说北加昨天的雨量创记录了。正好好好休息吧。

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '水沫' 的评论 : 水沫好！昨天还查了查，geisha到底应该翻译成那个姬，妓,伎，想想还是用了这个妓，因为我觉得她们应该没有明确讲是不卖身的，不过水沫这个提醒的好，我昨晚还在YouTube看到有好像有关geisha的documentary,改天找来看看。水沫过奖了，这次的英文写得很困难，水平不够的，加上书评不好写，常常偷懒，像给自己交作业。谢谢水沫的信息，有空找电影来看。周末愉快！

[ziqiao123]

电影和小说我都看过，现在情节已经全然记不起来了，只记得电影里除了章子怡还有杨紫琼。
艺伎和艺妓是有区别的，两个日文字也不一样，geisha 应该是艺伎，这个问题等土豆来进一步论证。

[水沫]

这个电影我看过，当年还是去电影院看的，当年小百合的海报到处都是~~记得当时日本人很生气，用中国演员演日本人。中国人也很生气，怎么中国人去演日本妓女，其实准确地说，应该是艺伎，不是艺妓，章子怡自带争议，所以有人就故意混淆。爱情的故事总是有悲凉，也有圆美，圆美的故事让人心生温暖。暖冬真是英文系高材生，英文超好~~~

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '莲盆籽' 的评论 : 莲子好！你一语中的，是畸形，可作者把他们描写的这么美好。你的留言让我再一次思考。多谢莲子！周末快乐！

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '寒一凡' 的评论 : 一凡早！请一凡喝茶，家乡上好的绿茶。是啊，永远的话题，爱恨情仇，讲不完的人间故事。祝周末好！

[莲盆籽]

没读过，谢谢暖冬分享读书笔记！
畸形的文化，极端男权下女人的悲惨命运。结局是个童话。

[寒一凡]

哈哈，暖冬的沙发！
好文！美好的爱情是永远的话题。谢谢分享！