Original text of Lu Xun's short story "Hometown"
I braved the severe cold to return to my hometown, which is more than two thousand miles away and I have not been away for more than twenty years.
Since it was late winter; as we approached my hometown, the weather became gloomy again. The cold wind blew into the cabin with a whining sound. Looking out from the gap in the awning, I saw a few horizontal lines far and near under the pale yellow sky. A desolate deserted village with no vitality. My heart couldn't help but feel sad.
Ah! Isn’t this the hometown I remember from time to time in the past twenty years?
This is nothing like the hometown I remember. My hometown is much better. But if I were to remember his beauty and describe his good qualities, I would have no images or words. It seems like that's it. So I explained to myself: The same is true in my hometown - although there is no progress, it may not be as sad as I feel. This is just a change in my own mood, because I am not in a good mood when I return to my hometown this time.
I came here specifically to say goodbye to him. The old house where we have lived together as a family for many years has been sold to another family member. The deadline for handing over the house is only this year. Therefore, we must hurry up before the first day of the first lunar month to say goodbye to the familiar old house and stay away from the familiar place. Hometown, move to a different place where I am looking for food.
I arrived at the door of my house early the next morning. Many broken stems of withered grass on the corrugated roof were shaking in the wind, explaining why this old house inevitably changed owners. The main family who lived a few rooms away had probably moved out, so it was very quiet. When I arrived outside my house, my mother had already greeted me, and then my eight-year-old nephew Honger flew out.
My mother was very happy, but she also had a lot of desolation in her face. She taught me to sit down, rest, and drink tea, not to mention moving. Hong'er had never seen me, he was standing opposite me from a distance and just watching.
But we finally talked about moving. I said that the apartment outside had been rented, and I bought a few pieces of furniture. In addition, I had to sell all the wooden furniture in the house and add more. Mother also agreed, and the luggage had been gathered together. Most of the wooden items that were difficult to carry were sold, but they couldn't collect the money.
"You can rest for a day or two and visit your relatives and family, and then we can leave." Mother said.
"Yes."
"And Runtu, every time he comes to my house, he always asks about you and wants to see you. I have already brought you home Let him know about the date, he may be coming soon.”
At this time, a magical picture suddenly flashed in my mind: a golden full moon hung in the deep blue sky. Below is the sandy land by the seaside, with endless green watermelons planted there. Among them is a boy of eleven or twelve years old, wearing a silver ring around his neck, holding a steel fork in his hand, stabbing a harpoon with all his strength, but the harpoon failed. She twisted her body and escaped from his crotch.
This young man is Runtu. When I met him, he was only over ten years old, which was about thirty years ago. At that time, my father was still alive and my family was well off, so I was just a young master. That year, my family held a big sacrifice for the new year (3). This sacrifice is said to only happen once every thirty years, so it is very solemn. During the first month of the year, there are many offerings to the ancestors, and the sacrificial vessels are very particular. There are also many worshipers, and the sacrificial vessels must be guarded against theft. My family only has one busy month (there are three types of workers here: those who work for a certain family throughout the year are called long-term workers; those who work for a certain family on a daily basis are called short-term workers); and those who farm their own land only come during the New Year, holidays and rent collection time. Those who worked for a certain family were called busy months) and he was too busy, so he told his father that he could ask his son Runtu to take charge of the sacrificial vessels.
My father agreed; I was also very happy, because I had heard the name Runtu a long time ago, and knew that he and I were about the same age. He was born in the leap month, and the five elements lacked earth (4), so his father was called He is Runtu. He can pretend to be a bird and catch small birds.
So I look forward to the New Year every day. When the New Year arrives, Runtu will also arrive. Finally, at the end of the year, one day, my mother told me that Runtu was coming, so I ran to see her. He is in the kitchen with a round purple face, a small felt hat on his head, and a bright silver collar around his neck. This shows that his father loves him very much and is afraid that he will die, so he made a wish in front of the gods and Buddhas. The circle caught him. He was very shy when meeting people, but he was not afraid of me. He would talk to me when no one else was around, and within half a day, we became familiar with each other.
We didn’t know what to talk about at that time. I just remember that Runtu was very happy, saying that he saw many things he had never seen before after going to the city.
The next day, I asked him to catch birds. He said:
"This can't be done. It must snow heavily. It snowed on our sandy ground, so I cleared a clearing, used a short stick to prop up a big bamboo plaque, and scattered the grains. When I saw the birds coming to eat, I just pulled the rope tied to the stick from a distance, and the birds were covered under the bamboo plaque: rice chickens, horned chickens, swans, blue-backed... ”
So I looked forward to snowing again.
Runtu said to me again:
"It's too cold now. Come to us in the summer. We go to the beach to collect shells during the day. There are red and green ones. There are ghosts and Guanyin hands. My father and I will take care of the watermelons at night."
"Do you want to take care of the thieves?"
"No. Picking a melon to eat when you are thirsty is not considered stealing here. What we have to worry about is the badger, the hedgehog, and the harpoon. Under the moon, listen, there is a sound, and the harpoon is biting the melon.
You pinched the Hucha and walked away gently..."
I didn't know what this so-called 繹 was at that time - and I still don't know it now - it was just unprovoked. It looks like a puppy and is very ferocious.
“Doesn’t he bite? "
"There is a Hucha. When you get there and see the harpoon, stab it. This beast is very smart. It ran towards you but escaped from under your crotch. His fur is as smooth as oil..."
I never knew that there are so many new things in the world: there are such colorful shells on the beach; watermelons have such dangerous experiences. I only knew that he was in the fruit industry before. It’s just for sale in the store
“In our sandy land, when the tide is coming, there are many jumping fish that just jump, with two legs like frogs...”
Ah! There are endless strange things in Runtu's heart, which my usual friends don't know. They don't know some things. When Runtu was at the beach, they all saw the high wall in the yard just like me.
Unfortunately, the first month passed and Runtu had to go home. I burst into tears and he hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out, but he was finally taken away by his father. He left. He later asked his father to bring me a pack of shells and some nice bird feathers. I also gave him things once or twice, but we never saw him again.
Now. My mother mentioned him, and all my memories of my time here suddenly came to life like lightning, and I seemed to see my beautiful hometown. I responded:
"This is great! He, - how? ..."
"Him? ... His situation is also very unsatisfactory..." Mother said, then looked outside the room, "These people are here again. They said they were buying wooden utensils, so they just took them away casually. I had to go and take a look. "
My mother stood up and went out. There were several women's voices outside the door. I invited Hong'er to come closer and chatted with him: I asked him if he could write and if he was willing to go out.
“Shall we go by train? ”
“Let’s go by train. "
"Where's the boat? "
"Take the boat first,..."
"Ha! This is what it looks like! The beard is so long! "A sharp and strange sound suddenly shouted.
I was startled and quickly raised my head, only to see a woman in her fifties with protruding cheekbones and thin lips standing in front of me. His hands were placed between his hips, his skirt was not tied, and his legs were spread out, just like a slender compass in a drawing instrument.
I was stunned
“Don’t you recognize me. ? I even hugged you! "
I was even more stunned. Fortunately, my mother came in and said from the sidelines:
"He has been away for many years and has forgotten all about it. You should remember," he said to me, "This is Mrs. Yang across the door... who owns a tofu shop. ”
Oh, I remember. When I was a child, there was indeed a Mrs. Yang who sat all day long in the tofu shop diagonally across the door. Everyone called her "Tofu Xishi"⑹. But she had white powder on her cheekbones. He was so tall, his lips were not so thin, and he was sitting all day long. I had never seen him in such a compass-like posture. People at that time said, "Because, the business in this tofu shop is very good. But it's probably because of my age." I was not impressed at all, so I completely forgot about it. However, the compass was very uneven, showing a look of contempt, as if mocking the French for not knowing Napoleon and the Americans for not knowing Washington, and sneered:
“Forgot? This is really a noble person's arrogance..."
"Then there is such a thing...I..." I stood up in fear and said.
"Then, let me tell you. Brother Xun, you are rich and cumbersome to move. If you want these broken wooden utensils, let me take them. Our small family needs it. ”
“I am not rich. I have to sell these, and then go..."
"Aye, you have put up a Taoist platform, and you still say it is not enough? You now have a concubine with three bedrooms and a sedan with eight carriages when you go out. Isn’t that rich? Scared, nothing can be hidden from me. "
I knew I had nothing to say, so I shut up and stood silently.
"Ah, ah, ah, the richer you are, the less money you have. The more you are willing to relax, the more you refuse to relax, the richer you will be..." Yuangui turned around angrily and said softly, slowly walked out, and stuffed a pair of my mother's gloves into the waistband of his pants and walked out.
After that, my family and relatives from nearby came to visit me. While socializing, I took some time to pack some luggage. This lasted for three or four days. It was a very cold afternoon, and I was sitting drinking tea after lunch. I felt someone came in, so I turned around to look.
This is Runtu. Although I knew it was Runtu when I saw him, it was not the Runtu I remembered. His figure had doubled; his previous round purple face had changed. His eyes are sallow and deeply wrinkled; his eyes are swollen and red all around like his father's. I know that this is usually the case for people who farm by the sea and are exposed to the sea breeze all day long. He was wearing a broken felt hat, and only a very thin cotton coat on his body, which was wrapped around his body. He was holding a paper bag and a long pipe in his hand. The hand was not the red and round one I remembered, but it was It was thick, clumsy and cracked, like pine bark.
I was very excited at this time, but I didn’t know what to say. I just said:
"Ah! Brother Runtu, - you are here?..."
I then had a lot of words that I wanted to say in succession: horned chicken, jumping fish, shells, quail,...but I always felt like something was blocking me, just whirling in my head, and I couldn't spit it out. Go outside the exit.
He stood still, with a look of joy and sadness on his face; he moved his lips but made no sound. His attitude finally became respectful, and he shouted clearly:
"Master!..."
I seemed to shudder; I knew that there was a distance between us. A tragically thick barrier. I was also speechless.
He turned around and said, "Shui Sheng, kowtow to the master." Then he dragged out the child who was hiding behind him. This was exactly the Runtu from twenty years ago, but he was thinner and had more hair on his neck. There's just no silver ring. "This is the fifth child. He has never seen the world and is hiding..."
The mother and Hong'er came downstairs, and they probably heard the sound.
"Old lady, I received the letter a long time ago. I really like it very much. I know that the master will come back..." Runtu said.
"Ah, why are you so polite? Didn't you call me brother before? It's still the same: Brother Xun." Mother said happily.
"Ah, the old lady is really...what kind of rule is this? I was a child at that time and was not sensible..." Runtu said, and asked Shuisheng to come up and do some arching, but the child was shy and clumsy. The ones were only attached to his back.
"Is he a water creature? The fifth one? They are all strangers, so it is no wonder that he is afraid of them; Hong'er should go for a walk with him." Mother said.
When Hong'er heard this, he came to recruit Shui Sheng, but Shui Sheng went out with him happily. His mother asked Runtu to sit down. He hesitated for a while, then finally sat down, leaned the long pipe against the table, handed over the paper package, and said:
"There is nothing in winter. That's why. The dried green beans are dried there at home, sir..."
I asked him about his situation. He just shook his head.
"It's very difficult. The sixth child also helps, but there is always not enough to eat... and there is no peace... money is required everywhere, there are no regulations... the harvest is bad. Plant something. , if you choose to sell it, you will have to donate a few times and lose the money; if you don’t sell it, it will just rot..."
He just shook his head; although there were many wrinkles on his face, he didn't care at all. It moves like a stone statue. He probably just felt bitter, but he couldn't describe it. After being silent for a while, he picked up the pipe and started smoking silently.
My mother asked him, knowing that his family was busy and he would have to go back tomorrow; and he had not had lunch, so she asked him to go to the kitchen and eat fried rice.
He went out; my mother and I both lamented his situation: many children, famine, heavy taxes, soldiers, bandits, officials, and gentry, all of which made him look like a puppet. My mother told me that anything that does not need to be moved can be given to him and he can choose for himself.
In the afternoon, he picked up several things: two long tables, four chairs, a pair of incense burners and candlesticks, and a lifting scale. He also wanted all the straw ashes (we use straw for cooking here, and the ashes can be used as fertilizer for the sand), and when we set off, he would carry them there by boat.
At night, we talked some more, all of which were insignificant; the next morning, he took Shuisheng back.
Another nine days passed and it was our departure date. Runtu arrived in the morning. Shuisheng did not come with him, but he only took his five-year-old daughter to take care of the boat. We are busy all day long and have no time to chat. There were also many visitors, some seeing off, some picking up things, and some seeing off and picking up things at the same time. By the time we got on the boat in the evening, all the old, big and small things in the old house had been swept away.
As our boat moved forward, the green hills on both sides of the bank turned a deep dark color in the dusk, retreating towards the stern of the boat.
Hong'er and I were leaning against the boat window, looking at the blurry scenery outside. He suddenly asked:
"Uncle! When will we come back?"
"Come back? Why do you want to come back before you leave."
"But Shuisheng invited me to his house to play..." He opened his big black eyes and thought dreamily.
My mother and I were also a little confused, so we brought up Runtu again. Mother said that Sister-in-law Yang, who is a Tofu Xishi, has been visiting my house every day since we packed her luggage. The day before yesterday, she took out more than ten dishes from the ashes. After discussing it, she decided that Runtu had buried her. Yes, he can move them back home together when the ashes are being transported. When Second Sister-in-law Yang found out about this, she took credit for it, so she took the dog and killed it (this is the equipment for raising chickens here, with wooden plates on it. The fence was filled with food, and chickens could reach in and peck at it, but dogs couldn't. They could only look at it and get angry.) He ran away as fast as he could. Thanks to his small feet with such high soles, he could run so fast.
The old house is getting farther and farther away from me; the mountains and rivers of my hometown are gradually moving away from me, but I don’t feel any nostalgia. I just felt that there were invisible high walls around me, which isolated me and made me very depressed. The image of the little hero with the silver collar on the watermelon ground was very clear to me at first, but now it suddenly blurred, which made me feel very depressed. Very sad.
Both mother and Hong'er fell asleep.
I lay down and listened to the gurgling water under the boat, knowing that I was walking my way.
I thought: I am so isolated from Runtu, but our descendants are still angry. Isn't Hong'er missing Shui Sheng? I hope that they will no longer be like me and become estranged from each other... However, I don't want them to live like my hard work just because they want to be the same, nor do I want them to live like Runtu's hard work and be numb, nor do I want them to live like each other. They all live indifferently like other people's hard work. They deserve a new life, one that we have not lived.
I thought about hope and suddenly became afraid. When Runtu asked for the incense burner and candlestick, I laughed at him secretly, thinking that he always worshiped idols and would never forget them. Now what I call hope is, isn’t it also an idol made by myself? It's just that his wish is close, while my wish is far away.
In my haziness, a piece of green sand on the seaside spread out in front of me, with a golden full moon hanging in the deep blue sky above. I think: Hope is something that does not exist or does not exist. This is just like the road on the earth; in fact, there is no road on the earth, but when more people walk on it, it becomes a road.
January 1921.
Notes:
⑴This article was originally published in New Youth, Volume 9, Issue 1, in May 1921.
⑵猹The author wrote in a letter to Shu Xincheng on May 4, 1929: "I made up the word '猹' based on the sounds spoken by the country people. It is pronounced as 'Check'...Now that I think about it, maybe it's a badger."
⑶ Large families in feudal society hold sacrifices to their ancestors every year, and the expenses are paid by the clan. The income from "property" is withdrawn by each house in turn on a yearly basis, and the turn is called "worth the year".
⑷The five elements lack soil. The old society’s superstitious saying about counting “horoscopes”. That is, the heavenly stems (Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wuji, Geng, Xinrengui) and the earthly branches (Zichou, Yinmao, Chen, Wuwei, Youxuhai) are used to record the year, month, day, and hour of a person's birth. Each of them has two characters, which are combined into "eight characters"; It is also believed that they each belong to the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). For example, Jia, Yi, Yin and Mao belong to wood, Bing, Ding, Siwu and so on. If eight characters can include five, it means that the five elements are complete. "The five elements lack earth" means that there is no word for earth among these eight characters, and it needs to be made up for by naming the word earth or the radical of earth.
⑸Guijianfear and Guanyin Hand are both names of small shells. In the old days, people along the coast of Zhejiang would string these small shells together with threads and wear them on their children's wrists or ankles, thinking they could "ward off evil spirits." Such names are mostly based on the meaning of "avoiding evil".
⑹ Xi Shi was a beautiful woman from the Yue Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, and was later used to refer to general beauties in general.
⑺ Napoleon (1769 - 1821) Napoleon Bonaparte, a militiaman and politician during the French bourgeois revolution. In 1799, he served as the governor of the Republic of China. The First French Empire was established in 1804 and he called himself Napoleon I.
⑻Washington (1732-1799) is George Washington, an American politician. He led the United States' war of independence against British colonial rule from 1775 to 1783, and became the first president of the United States after victory.
⑼ Daotai is a common name for official Taoists in the Qing Dynasty, including Taoists who are in charge of administrative duties in a region and Taoists who specialize in a specific position. The former is the chief executive below the province level and above the prefecture level; the latter is in charge of specific affairs of a province, such as supervising grain roads, military preparations, etc. After the Revolution of 1911, the Beiyang warlord government also used this system and changed its name to Daoyin.
About the writing background of the novel "Hometown" The material of the short story "Hometown" is Lu Xun's experience when he returned to his hometown from Beijing in 1919, but it profoundly summarizes the thirty years before 1921, especially the Xinhai Revolution In the ten years after the revolution, China's rural economy was in decline and farmers' lives were becoming increasingly poor, reflecting the social landscape of that era. In December 1919, Lu Xun returned to his hometown of Shaoxing from Beijing. He sold his former residence in Xintaimen with more than ten families of the same clan, and came to Beijing with his mother, third brother and their families. Returning to the countryside this time, his childhood friend and farmer Zhang Runshui came specially from the seaside countryside to the city to visit Lu Xun. Zhang Runshui was just over 30 years old, and his face was full of wrinkles and haggard. He described the tragic situation of "being a man in the countryside is always difficult, and you always have to donate three or four times to take out something", which aroused Lu Xun's deep sympathy. . Later, Lu Xun artistically reproduced this experience of returning to his hometown in the novel "Hometown", and used Zhang Runshui as the prototype to create the profound and meaningful character image of Runtu.
The novel is written in the first person. The thoughts and feelings of "I" in it truly reflect Lu Xun's thoughts and feelings. However, this is a literary work that has been fictionalized and imagined, so it cannot be said that "I" is Lu Xun. . The text is an interlude in the novel. The title "Young Runtu" was added by the editor. The central idea expressed in the excerpted chapter is different from the theme of the entire novel "Hometown".