英译邓友梅短篇小说<<寻访"画儿韩">>(节译)

寻访”画儿韩”


掐指一算,这一带足有三十年没来过.第一监狱门前那”无风三尺土,有雨一街泥”的”自新之路”已铺了柏油路. “梨园先贤祠”所在地”松柏庵” 盖起了大楼,杨小楼的墓地附近办起了学校.往南走有”鹦鹉冢”和”香冢”.

Looking for “the Painter Han”

Counting years on my fingers, I haven’t been to this area for almost three decades. In front of the first prison is a road called “the road to rehabilitation”,which was in a very dirty condition ,” no wind , deep soil, with rain one street mud,” has paved the asphalt .There is a building erected on the site of” the Cedar Pine Nunnery “at which the Beijing Opera Pantheon was located. In the vicinity of the Yang Xiaolou Cemetery has been set up a school. To the south are "the Parrot Graves" and "Fragrant Graves.”

年轻时甘之千常在那附近写生,至今背得出墓碑上开头几句话:”茫茫愁,浩浩劫;短歌终,明月缺………”现在,他望着这历尽沧桑后的陶然亭湖水,当真有点”茫茫愁”.上那儿去找”画儿韩”呢? 画儿韩是搞四化用得着的人,被挤出文物业几十年了.自己蜡头不高,生前不把他找回来,死后闭不上眼.

The young Gan Zhiqian often went there to paint. So far he could still recite a few words at the beginning of the inscription engraved on the tombstone :” the vast depression ,endless catastrophe, ballad end, crescent moon….” Now when he stood looking at the Taoranting lake water, through which all the vicissitudes has gone during the long years . he really felt a little bit of "the vast depression” Where to find "the painter Han" ? He is the people needed for the Four Modernizations, who has been squeezed out of the cultural relics professionals for several decades. He would have thought himself already an elderly man, he had to find him in his lifetime, otherwise he would die with a grievance.

甘之千跟画儿韩的过节儿,是从三十多年前一场恶作剧开的头. 甘之千年轻时画工笔人物,有时也临摹一两张古画.有一次看到名画家张大师作的古画仿制品,他一时兴起,用自己存的一张宋纸,半块古墨,竟仿了一张张择端的画,题作>.原是画来好玩的,被一位小报记者看见了.此人名叫那五,是八旗子弟中最不长进的那一类人.他把画拿去找善作假画儿的冯裱禙仿古裱了出来,加上”乾隆御览”之类的印鉴,作了旧,又拿给甘之千看,并说:”这两下子,你赶上张大师了.至少也不在画儿韩之下!”

It was by far the prank more than 30 years ago that caused Gan Zhiqian to hold grudges against Painter Han. Gan Zhiqian usually drew the Chinese meticulous figure paintings in his youth. Sometimes he also enjoyed painting imitations of several other masters’ancient paintings. One time when he saw paintings imitating Zhang Zeduan , the famed painter,great master . On the spur of the moment, he even copied the Zhang Zeduan ‘s painting onto a piece of antique paper of Song dynasty and with half of an ancient Chinese ink stick he kept .The painting he titled is >..His drawing was only for fun. . It was seen by a tabloid reporter .This person’s name is Na Wu. He was the type of person who made least progress in all his respects among the Eight Banners’ children .He took the painting to Master Feng who was good at making false paintings. He had it mounted and antiquely framed it out. Featuring the seal engraved with” the the emperor Qianlong Imperial Reading”.After making the painting look old,he also showed it to Gan Zhiqian and said:” Now you really know your stuff. You catch up with the Master Zhang. At least you are not inferior to the painter Han in painting technique!”


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