白发苏州

                余秋雨

       前些年，美国刚刚庆祝过建国200周年。洛杉矶奥运会的开幕式把他们两个世纪的历史表演得辉煌壮丽。前些天，澳大利亚又在庆祝他们的200周年，海湾里千帆竞发，确实也激动人心。与此同时，我们的苏州城，却悄悄地过了自己2500周年的生日。时间之长，简直有点让人发晕。

       入夜，苏州人穿过2500年的街道，回到家里，观看美国和澳大利亚国庆的电视转播。窗外，古城门藤葛垂垂，虎丘塔隐人夜空。在清理河道，说要变成东方的威尼斯。这些河道船楫如梭的时候，威尼斯还是荒原一片。

       苏州是我常去之地。海内美景多得是，唯苏州，能给我一种真正的休憩。柔婉的言语，姣好的面容，精雅的园林，幽深的街道，处处给人以感官上的宁静和慰藉。现实生活常常搅得人心志烦乱，那么，苏州无数的古迹会让你熨帖着历史走一定情怀。有古迹必有题咏，大多是古代文人超迈的感叹，读一读，那种鸟瞰历史的达观又能把你心头的皱折慰抚得平平展展。看得多了，也便知道，这些文人大多也是到这里休憩来的。他们不想在这儿创建伟业，但在事成事败之后，却愿意到这里来走走。苏州，是中国文化宁谧的后院。 做了那么长时间的后院，我有时不禁感叹，苏州在中国文化史上的地位是不公平的。历来很有一些人，在这里吃饱了，玩足了，风雅够了，回去就写鄙薄苏州的文字。京城史官的眼光，更是很少在苏州停驻。直到近代，吴侬软语与玩物丧志同义。

       理由是简明的：苏州缺少金陵王气。这里没有森然殿阙，只有园林。这里摆不开战场，徒造了几座城门。这里的曲卷通不过堂皇的官轿，这里的民风不崇拜肃杀的禁令。这里的流水太清，这里的桃花太艳，这里的弹唱有点撩人。这里的小食太甜，这里的女人太悄，这里的茶馆太多，这里的书肆太密，这里的书法过于流利，这里的绘画不够苍凉遒劲，这里的诗歌缺少易水壮士低哑的喉音。

       于是，苏州，背负着种种罪名，默默地端坐着，迎来送往，安分度日。却也不愿重整衣冠，去领受那份王气。反正已经老了，去吃那种追随之苦作甚?说来话长，苏州的委屈，2000多年前已经受了。

       当时正是春秋晚期，苏州一带的吴国和浙江的越国打得难分难解。其实吴、越本是一家，两国的首领都是外来的冒险家。先是越王勾践把吴王阖闾打死，然后又是继任的吴王夫差击败勾践。勾践利用计谋卑怯称臣，实际上发愤图强，终于在十年后卷土重来，成了春秋时代最后一个霸主。这事在中国差不多人所共知，原是一场分不清是非的混战，可惜后人只欣赏勾践的计谋和忍耐，嘲笑夫差的该死。千百年来，勾践的首府会稽，一直被称颂为“报仇雪耻之乡”，那末苏州呢，当然是亡国亡君之地。

       细想吴越混战，最苦的是苏州百姓。吴越间打的几次大仗，有两次是野外战斗，一次在嘉兴南部，一次在太湖洞庭山，而第三次，则是勾践攻陷苏州，所遭惨状一想便知。早在勾践用计期间，苏州人也连续遭殃。勾践用煮过的稻子上贡吴国，吴国用以撒种，颗粒无收，灾荒由苏州人民领受;勾践怂恿夫差享乐，亭台楼阁建造无数，劳役由苏州人民承担。最后，亡国奴的滋味，又让苏州人民品尝。传说勾践计谋中还有重要一项，就是把越国的美女西施进献给夫差，诱使夫差荒婬*无度，慵理国事。计成，西施却被家乡来的官员投沉江中，因为她已与“亡国”二字相连，霸主最为忌讳。苏州人心肠软，他们不计较这位姑娘给自己带来过多大的灾害，只觉得她可怜，真真假假地留着她的大量遗迹来纪念。据说今日苏州西郊灵岩山顶的灵岩寺，便是当初西施居住的所在，吴王曾名之“馆娃宫”。灵岩山是苏州一大胜景，游山时若能遇到几位热心的苏州老者，他们还会细细告诉你，何处是西施洞，何处是西施迹，何处是玩月池，何处是吴王井，处处与西施相关。正当会稽人不断为报仇雪耻的传统而自豪的时候，他们派出的西施姑娘却长期地躲避在对方的山巅。你做王他做王，管它亡不亡，苏州人不大理睬。这也就注定了历代帝王对苏州很少垂盼。

     White Haired Suzhou

           By Yu Qiuyu

      A few years ago, the United States just celebrated its 200th anniversary. The opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics magnificently showcased their two centuries of history. A few days ago, Australia was celebrating their 200th anniversary too, with thousands of sails racing in the bay, which was indeed exciting. At the same time, our Suzhou city quietly celebrated its 2500th anniversary. The length of time makes you a bit dizzy. 

      At night, people from Suzhou walked through the streets of 2500 years ago and returned home to watch TV broadcasts of National Day of the United States and Australia. Outside the window, the vines of the ancient city gate hang down, and the Tiger Hill Pagoda is hidden in the night sky. The rivers are being cleaned up and it is said that they want to make a eastern Venice. When these rivers were crowded with boats, Venice was still a wasteland. 

       Suzhou is a place I often visit. There are many beautiful sights in our country, but only Suzhou can provide me with a true rest. Soft words, beautiful faces, elegant gardens, and deep streets provide sensory tranquility and comfort everywhere. Real life often disturbs people's minds, so the countless historical sites in Suzhou will make you feel a certain emotional connection with history. If there is a historical site, there must be a poem. Most of it is the extraordinary lament of ancient literati. Read it, and the kind of bird's-eye view of history can soothe the wrinkles in your heart. After seeing more, I know that most of these literati also come here to rest. They don't want to create great things here, but after success or failure, they are willing to come here for a walk. Suzhou is the peaceful backyard of Chinese culture. Having been in the backyard for so long, I sometimes cannot help but sigh that Suzhou's position in Chinese cultural history is unfair. There have always been some people who have had enough to eat and play here, and have enough elegance to write disdainful words about Suzhou when they return home. The vision of the capital historians is that they rarely stop in Suzhou. Until modern times, The Suzhou soft dialect was synonymous with playing with things and losing one's aspirations. 

      The reason is concise: Suzhou lacks the aura of Jinling Kings. There is no Senran Palace here, but only a garden. There is no battlefield here, and only a few city gates have been built. The music here cannot pass through the grand official sedan chair, and the folk customs here do not worship the ban of suppression. The flowing water here is too clear, the peach blossoms here are too beautiful, and the playing and singing here are a bit provocative. The snacks here are too sweet, the women here are too quiet, there are too many tea houses, the bookstores here are too dense, the calligraphy here is too fluent, the paintings here are not cool and vigorous enough, and the poetry here lacks the low throat voice of the heroes of Yishui. 

      So, Suzhou, burdened with various charges, sat silently, welcoming and sending each other, living peacefully. But he also refused to reorganize his attire and accept that royal aura. Anyway, I'm already old. Why suffer from the pain of following? It's a long story, Suzhou's grievances were already suffered over 2000 years ago. 

      At that time, it was just in the late Spring and Autumn period that the Wu Kingdom in Suzhou and the Yue Kingdom in Zhejiang were inseparable from each other. In fact, Wu and Yue were originally one family, and the leaders of both countries were foreign adventurers. First, King Goujian of Yue killed King Helu of Wu, and then the successor King Fuchai of Wu defeated Goujian. Gou Jian used his cunning and cowardly courtship, but in fact, he worked hard to make a comeback ten years later, becoming the last hegemon of the Spring and Autumn period. This matter is almost well-known in China. It was originally a melee where right and wrong were indistinguishable. Unfortunately, later generations only appreciated Gou Jian's strategy and patience, mocking Fuchai to death. For thousands of years, Kuaiji, the capital of Goujian, has been praised as the "hometow of revenge and shame", and Suzhou, of course, is the land of the fallen monarch.

      Thinking about the Wu Yue melee, the people of Suzhou suffer the most Two of the major battles fought between Wu and Yue were in the wild. One was in the south of Jiaxing, and the other was in Dongting Mountain of the Taihu Lake. The third was Gou Jian's capture of Suzhou. It is easy to see what happened. As early as Goujian's use of tactics, the people of Suzhou also suffered continuously. Gou Jian used boiled rice to pay tribute to the State of Wu, and the State of Wu used it to sow without any harvest. The famine was received by the peopl of Suzhou; Gou Jian encouraged Fu Chai to enjoy himself, and countless pavilions were built. The labor was borne by the people of Suzhou. Finally, the taste of being a slave to the country was once again tasted by the people of Suzhou. Legend has it that another important aspect of Gou Jian's strategy is to offer the beautiful woman Xi Shijin from the state of Yue to Fu Chai, luring him into indulging in licentiousness and idleness in state affairs. Later Xi Shi, was thrown into the river by officials from her hometown because she was already connected to the word "national subjugation" and the hegemon was the most taboo. Suzhou has a soft heart, and they don't care about how much disaster this girl has caused them. They only feel sorry for her and keep a large number of her relics as a souvenir, true or false. It is said that Lingyan Temple on the top of Lingyan Mountain in the western suburbs of Suzhou today is the place where Xi Shi originally lived, known as the "Guanwa Palace" by the King of Wu. Lingyan Mountain is a major scenic spot in Suzhou. If you encounter a few enthusiastic Suzhou elders while traveling, they will tell you in detail where Xishi Cave is, where Xishi Trails are, where playing with the Moon Pond is, where Wu Wangjing is, and any place that is related to Xishi. Just as the Kuaiji people were constantly proud of the tradition of revenge, the girl Xishi they sent was hiding on the other side's mountain top for a long time. You become the king, he becomes the king, regardless of whether it will perish or not, the people of Suzhou ignore it. This also destined that emperors throughout history rarely looked forward to Suzhou.

译者简介：

       梁双新，男，中共党员，出生于江苏灌南，现为江苏省灌南高级中学高级教师，中国外语学会会员，江苏省诗词协会会员，连云港市诗词协会会员，灌南县诗词协会副会长。爱好书法、翻译、诗词，多次参加国家、省、市书法、诗歌比赛并获奖。作品散见于百度、中国诗歌网、中国微信作家协会等众多网络平台和《花果山诗词》等诗刊。

About the author:

      Liang Shuangxin, male, a member of the CPC, born in Guannan, Jiangsu province, a senior teacher of Guannan Senior Middle School in Jiangsu Province, a member of China Society of Foreign Languages, a member of Jiangsu Poetry Association, and a member of Lianyungang Poetry Association, vice president of Guannan Poetry Association，loves calligraphy, translation and poetry, participated in national, provincial, municipal calligraphy, poetry competitions and won many awards, works scattered on many network platforms such as Baidu, China Poetry Network, Wechat Writers of China and in the poetry journals like Huaguoshan poetry.