A tragic, dreamlike little essay from writer Zhang Ailing (张爱玲, English name Eileen Chang) about love and destiny. This is one of her more well-known works of micro-prose, written in 1944. HSK 5-6.
This is the second thing I put up from Zhang this week. The first piece was filed under “advanced” (though I think HSK 6 readers could probably tackle it), but this one is definitely a little easier. I introduced Zhang in that post, so head over and read her bio if you’d like, but the short version is that she was a literary diva whose work garnered a cult following in China in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and is still one of China’s most famous female authors.
Some language stuff
As with much of Zhang’s writing, a couple sentences are deep but a little vague, it’s left up to you to read into them. The last paragraph of this work are along those lines.
小康之家 xiǎo kāng zhī jiā – A middle-class household, or a family that has enough money to cover the necessities but isn’t wealthy.
做媒 zuò méi – Play matchmaker, act as a middleman / negotiator to find a suitable spouse for someone.
作妾 zuò qiè – Be a concubine.
转卖 zhuǎn mài – To buy and re-sell something, or in this case, someone.
Want something easier?
Du Chinese has a big catalog of easy HSK 1 and HSK 2 texts for ultra-beginners. There are quite a few free practice lessons, but CRP readers get 10% off on paid accounts using the discount code CRP10.
《爱》
这是真的。
有个村庄的小康之家的女孩子,生得美,有许多人来做媒,但都没有说成。那年她不过十五六岁吧,是春天的晚上,她立在后门口,手扶着桃树。她记得她穿的是一件月白的衫子。对门住的年轻人同她见过面,可是从来没有打过招呼的,他走了过来,离得不远,站定了,轻轻的说了一声:“噢,你也在这里吗?”她没有说什么,他也没有再说什么,站了一会,各自走开了。
就这样就完了。
后来这女子被亲眷拐子卖到他乡外县去作妾,又几次三番地被转卖,经过无数的惊险的风波,老了的时候她还记得从前那一回事,常常说起,在那春天的晚上,在后门口的桃树下,那年轻人。
于千万人之中遇见你所遇见的人,于千万年之中,时间的无涯的荒野里,没有早一步,也没有晚一步,刚巧赶上了,那也没有别的话可说,惟有轻轻的问一声:“噢,你也在这里吗?”