出關 Leaving the Pass

老子毫無動靜的坐著，好像一段呆木頭。Laozi sat without stirring at all, like a block of dumb wood.

“先生，孔丘又來了！”他的學生庚桑楚，不耐煩似的走進來，輕輕的說。"Master, Kongqiu has come again!" His student Gengsang Chu walked in, seemingly impatient, and said softly.

“請……”"Show him in..."

“先生，您好嗎？”孔子極恭敬的行著禮，一面說。"Master, how are you?" Kongzi said, bowing with the utmost respect.

“我總是這樣子，”老子答道。“您怎麼樣？"I'm always like this," Laozi answered. "How about you?所有這裡的藏書，都看過了罷？”Have you read through all the books stored here?"

“都看過了。"I've read them all.不過……”孔子很有些焦躁模樣，這是他從來所沒有的。“我研究《詩》，《書》，《禮》，《樂》，《易》，《春秋》六經，自以為很長久了，夠熟透了。But..." Kongzi looked somewhat agitated, which was quite unlike him. "I have studied the Six Classics—the Odes, the Documents, the Rites, the Music, the Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals—for a very long time now, by my own reckoning, and consider myself thoroughly versed in them.去拜見了七十二位主子，誰也不採用。I went and paid calls on seventy-two rulers, and not one of them would employ me.人可真是難得說明白呵。People really are hard to make understand.還是‘道’的難以說明白呢？”Or is it the Dao that is hard to make clear?"

“你還算運氣的哩，”老子說，“沒有遇著能幹的主子。"You may count yourself lucky," Laozi said, "not to have met with a capable ruler.六經這玩藝兒，只是先王的陳跡呀。The Six Classics, that sort of thing, are merely the stale traces of the former kings.那裡是弄出跡來的東西呢？How could they be the thing that produces the traces?你的話，可是和跡一樣的。What you speak of is just the same as those traces.跡是鞋子踏成的，但跡難道就是鞋子嗎？”停了一會，又接著說道：“白［兒鳥］們只要瞧著，眼珠子動也不動，然而自然有孕；Traces are made by shoes treading upon the ground, but are traces the same as the shoes?" He paused a moment, then went on: "The white waterbirds need only gaze at each other, without so much as moving their eyes, and yet they naturally conceive;蟲呢，雄的在上風叫，雌的在下風應，自然有孕；as for insects, the male cries upwind and the female answers downwind, and they naturally conceive;類是一身上兼具雌雄的，所以自然有孕。there is also a kind that has both male and female in the one body, and so it naturally conceives.性，是不能改的；Nature cannot be altered;命，是不能換的；destiny cannot be exchanged;時，是不能留的；time cannot be held back;道，是不能塞的。the Dao cannot be obstructed.只要得了道，什麼都行，可是如果失掉了，那就什麼都不行。”Once you have attained the Dao, anything is possible; but if you have lost it, then nothing is possible."

孔子好像受了當頭一棒，亡魂失魄的坐著，恰如一段呆木頭。Kongzi looked as though he had been struck a blow on the head, and sat there dazed and stupefied, exactly like a block of dumb wood.

大約過了八分鐘，他深深的倒抽了一口氣，就起身要告辭，一面照例很客氣的致謝著老子的教訓。After about eight minutes had passed, he drew a deep breath, then rose to take his leave, thanking Laozi very politely as usual for his instruction.

老子也並不輓留他，站起來扶著拄杖，一直送他到圖書館的大門外。Laozi made no attempt to keep him, but rose, leaning on his staff, and saw him all the way out to the gate of the library.孔子就要上車了，他才留聲機似的說道：Just as Kongzi was about to board his carriage, Laozi spoke up, like a phonograph:

“您走了？"You're leaving?您不喝點兒茶去嗎？……”Won't you have some tea before you go?..."

孔子答應著“是是”，上了車，拱著兩隻手極恭敬的靠在橫板上；Kongzi replied, "Yes, yes," and boarded the carriage, his hands clasped together, leaning most respectfully against the crossbar;冉有把鞭子在空中一揮，嘴裡喊一聲“都”，車子就走動了。Ran You gave a flick of the whip in the air, calling out "Giddup!" and the carriage started off.待到車子離開了大門十幾步，老子才回進自己的屋裡去。Only after the carriage had gone off some ten paces or more from the gate did Laozi turn back into his own room.

“先生今天好像很高興，”庚桑楚看老子坐定了，才站在旁邊，垂著手，說。“話說的很不少……”"Master, you seem quite pleased with yourself today," said Gengsang Chu, waiting until Laozi had settled into his seat before standing to one side, hands at his sides. "You said a good deal more than usual..."

“你說的對。”老子微微的嘆一口氣，有些頹唐似的回答道。“我的話真也說的太多了。”他又仿佛突然記起一件事情來，“哦，孔丘送我的一隻雁鵝，不是曬了臘鵝了嗎？"You're right." Laozi sighed faintly and answered with a somewhat dejected air. "I really did talk too much." Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he added, "Oh, that wild goose Kongqiu gave me—wasn't it cured into a dried goose?你蒸蒸吃去罷。Go and steam it and eat it.我橫豎沒有牙齒，咬不動。”I have no teeth left anyway, and can't chew it."

庚桑楚出去了。Gengsang Chu went out.老子就又靜下來，合了眼。Laozi grew quiet again, and closed his eyes.圖書館里很寂靜。The library was very still.只聽得竹竿子碰著屋檐響，這是庚桑楚在取掛在檐下的臘鵝。The only sound was a bamboo pole knocking against the eaves—it was Gengsang Chu taking down the dried goose hanging under the eaves.

一過就是三個月。Three months passed just like that.老子仍舊毫無動靜的坐著，好像一段呆木頭。Laozi still sat without stirring at all, like a block of dumb wood.

“先生，孔丘來了哩！”他的學生庚桑楚，詫異似的走進來，輕輕的說。“他不是長久沒來了嗎？"Master, Kongqiu has come!" His student Gengsang Chu walked in, looking rather surprised, and said softly. "Hasn't it been a long time since he last came?這的來，不知道是怎的？……”I wonder what brings him this time?..."

“請……”老子照例只說了這一個字。"Show him in..." Laozi, as usual, said only this one word.

“先生，您好嗎？”孔子極恭敬的行著禮，一面說。"Master, how are you?" Kongzi said, bowing with the utmost respect.

“我總是這樣子，”老子答道。“長久不看見了，一定是躲在寓里用功罷？”"I'm always like this," Laozi answered. "It's been a long while since I've seen you—you must have been shut away at home, hard at your studies?"

“那裡那裡，”孔子謙虛的說。“沒有出門，在想著。"Not at all, not at all," Kongzi said modestly. "I haven't gone out—I've been thinking.想通了一點：鴉鵲親嘴；I've worked something out: crows and magpies bill and kiss;魚兒塗口水；fish exchange spittle;細腰蜂兒化別個；the slender-waisted wasp transforms another creature into its own kind;懷了弟弟，做哥哥的就哭。and when a younger brother is conceived, the elder brother weeps.我自己久不投在變化里了，這怎麼能夠變化別人呢！……”I myself have long failed to cast myself into the stream of transformation—how then could I transform others!..."

“對對！”老子道。“您想通了！”"Right, right!" said Laozi. "You've worked it out!"

大家都從此沒有話，好像兩段呆木頭。From then on neither of them said a word, like two blocks of dumb wood.

大約過了八分鐘，孔子這才深深的呼出了一口氣，就起身要告辭，一面照例很客氣的致謝著老子的教訓。After about eight minutes had passed, Kongzi at last let out a deep breath, then rose to take his leave, thanking Laozi very politely as usual for his instruction.

老子也並不輓留他。Laozi made no attempt to keep him.站起來扶著拄杖，一直送他到圖書館的大門外。He rose, leaning on his staff, and saw him all the way out to the gate of the library.孔子就要上車了，他才留聲機似的說道：Just as Kongzi was about to board his carriage, Laozi spoke up, like a phonograph:

“您走了？"You're leaving?您不喝點兒茶去嗎？……”Won't you have some tea before you go?..."

“先生今天好像不大高興，”庚桑楚看老子坐定了，才站在旁邊，垂著手，說。“話說的很少……”"Master, you don't seem too pleased today," said Gengsang Chu, waiting until Laozi had settled into his seat before standing to one side, hands at his sides. "You said very little..."

“你說的對。”老子微微的嘆一口氣，有些頹唐的回答道。“可是你不知道：我看我應該走了。”"You're right." Laozi sighed faintly and answered with a somewhat dejected air. "But you don't know this: I think I ought to leave."

“這為什麼呢？”庚桑楚大吃一驚，好像遇著了晴天的霹靂。"Why is that?" Gengsang Chu was utterly astonished, as though struck by a thunderclap out of a clear sky.

“孔丘已經懂得了我的意思。"Kongqiu has already understood my meaning.他知道能夠明白他的底細的，只有我，一定放心不下。He knows that I am the only one who can see through to the bottom of him, and that must weigh on his mind.我不走，是不大方便的……”If I don't leave, it will be rather awkward..."

“那麼，不正是同道了嗎？"But then, aren't you of the same Way as he is?還走什麼呢？”Why should you leave at all?"

“不，”老子擺一擺手，“我們還是道不同。"No," Laozi waved his hand, "our Ways are still not the same.譬如同是一雙鞋子罷，我的是走流沙，他的是上朝廷的。”Take, for instance, a pair of shoes—mine are for walking through the shifting sands, while his are for going up to court."

“但您究竟是他的先生呵！”"But you are, after all, his teacher!"

“你在我這裡學了這許多年，還是這麼老實，”老子笑了起來，“這真是性不能改，命不能換了。"You've studied here with me all these years, and you're still so guileless," Laozi said, laughing. "This is truly a case of nature that cannot be altered, destiny that cannot be exchanged.你要知道孔丘和你不同：他以後就不再來，也再不叫我先生，只叫我老頭子，背地裡還要玩花樣了呀。”You should know that Kongqiu is not like you: from now on he will not come again, nor will he call me Master anymore—he'll just call me 'the old fellow,' and behind my back he'll play his tricks besides."

“我真想不到。"I really would never have thought it.但先生的看人是不會錯的……”But Master, your judgment of people is never wrong..."

“不，開頭也常常看錯。”"No, in the beginning I was often mistaken too."

“那麼，”庚桑楚想了一想，“我們就和他乾一下……”"Well then," Gengsang Chu thought it over, "shall we have it out with him..."

老子又笑了起來，向庚桑楚張開嘴：Laozi laughed again, and opened his mouth wide at Gengsang Chu:

“你看：我牙齒還有嗎？”他問。"You see: do I still have any teeth?" he asked.

“沒有了。”庚桑楚回答說。"No, none left," Gengsang Chu answered.

“舌頭還在嗎？”"Is my tongue still there?"

“在的。”"Yes, it is."

“懂了沒有？”"Do you understand now?"

“先生的意思是說：硬的早掉，軟的卻在嗎？”"Do you mean, Master, that the hard things fall out early, while the soft ones remain?"

“你說的對。"You're right.我看你也還不如收拾收拾，回家看看你的老婆去罷。I think you'd best pack up too, and go home to see your wife.但先給我的那匹青牛刷一下，鞍韉曬一下。But first give my black ox a brushing, and air out the saddle-blanket.我明天一早就要騎的。”I'll be riding him first thing tomorrow morning."

老子到了函谷關，沒有直走通到關口的大道，卻把青牛一勒，轉入岔路，在城根下慢慢的繞著。When Laozi reached Hangu Pass, instead of going straight along the main road leading to the checkpoint, he reined in his black ox and turned off onto a side path, slowly circling along the foot of the city wall.他想爬城。He was thinking of climbing over the wall.城牆倒並不高，只要站在牛背上，將身一聳，是勉強爬得上的；The wall was not, in fact, very high; if he stood on the ox's back and gave a heave, he could just manage to scramble up;但是青牛留在城裡，卻沒法搬出城外去。but the black ox, left inside the city, could not then be got out over the wall.倘要搬，得用起重機，無奈這時魯般和墨翟還都沒有出世，老子自己也想不到會有這玩意。If he wanted to move it, he would need a crane, but unfortunately Lu Ban and Mo Di had not yet been born at this time, and Laozi himself could not conceive of such a device existing.總而言之：他用盡哲學的腦筋，只是一個沒有法。In short, he exhausted his philosophical brain, and still there was simply no way.

然而他更料不到當他彎進岔路的時候，已經給探子望見，立刻去報告了關官。But what he even less expected was that, the moment he had turned off onto the side path, a scout had already spotted him and gone at once to report it to the pass official.所以繞不到七八丈路，一群人馬就從後面追來了。So before he had circled even seventy or eighty feet, a band of men on horseback came chasing after him from behind.那個探子躍馬當先，其次是關官，就是關尹喜，還帶著四個巡警和兩個簽子手。The scout galloped in the lead, followed by the pass official—none other than Guan Yinxi—who had brought along four patrolmen and two men with probing spikes.

“站住！”幾個人大叫著。"Halt!" several of them shouted.

老子連忙勒住青牛，自己是一動也不動，好像一段呆木頭。Laozi hastily reined in the black ox, and sat there himself without moving at all, like a block of dumb wood.

“阿呀！”關官一衝上前，看見了老子的臉，就驚叫了一聲，即刻滾鞍下馬，打著拱，說道：“我道是誰，原來是老聃館長。"Oh!" The pass official rushed forward, and the moment he saw Laozi's face, he gave a cry of surprise, at once tumbled off his saddle, and clasping his hands together, said, "I wondered who it could be—it's none other than Curator Lao Dan!這真是萬想不到的。”This is truly the last thing I ever expected."

老子也趕緊爬下牛背來，細著眼睛，看了那人一看，含含胡胡的說，“我記性壞……”Laozi too hurriedly climbed down off the ox's back, and narrowing his eyes, looked the man over, saying vaguely, "My memory is poor..."

“自然，自然，先生是忘記了的。"Of course, of course, you would have forgotten, sir.我是關尹喜，先前因為上圖書館去查《稅收精義》，曾經拜訪過先生……”I am Guan Yinxi—some time ago I went to the library to look up The Essentials of Taxation, and had the honor of calling on you, sir..."

這時簽子手便翻了一通青牛上的鞍韉，又用簽子刺一個洞，伸進指頭去掏了一下，一聲不響，橛著嘴走開了。Meanwhile the men with the probing spikes turned over the saddle-blanket on the black ox, then jabbed a hole in it with a spike, poked a finger in to feel about, and without a word, walked off pouting.

“先生在城圈邊溜溜？”關尹喜問。"Are you out for a stroll around the city walls, sir?" Guan Yinxi asked.

“不，我想出去，換換新鮮空氣……”"No, I was thinking of going out, for a bit of fresh air..."

“那很好！"That's excellent!那好極了！That's simply wonderful!現在誰都講衛生，衛生是頂要緊的。Everyone nowadays talks about hygiene—hygiene is the most important thing of all.不過機會難得，我們要請先生到關上去住幾天，聽聽先生的教訓……”But such an opportunity is rare, and we must ask you, sir, to come stay at the pass for a few days, so we can hear your instruction..."

老子還沒有回答，四個巡警就一擁上前，把他扛在牛背上，簽子手用簽子在牛屁股上刺了一下，牛把尾巴一捲，就放開腳步，一同向關口跑去了。Before Laozi could answer, the four patrolmen crowded forward and hoisted him back onto the ox's back; one of the spike-men gave the ox a jab in the rump with his spike, the ox gave its tail a curl, and broke into a trot, and they all set off together toward the pass.

到得關上，立刻開了大廳來招待他。Once they reached the pass, the great hall was at once opened up to receive him.這大廳就是城樓的中一間，臨窗一望，只見外面全是黃土的平原，愈遠愈低；This hall was the middle chamber of the watchtower; looking out through the window, one saw nothing but a plain of yellow earth outside, sinking lower and lower into the distance;天色蒼蒼，真是好空氣。the sky was a vast grey-blue, and the air was truly fine.這雄關就高踞峻阪之上，門外左右全是土坡，中間一條車道，好像在峭壁之間。This mighty pass sat perched high atop a steep slope; outside the gate, to left and right, were all earthen banks, with a single cart-road running between them, as though threading between sheer cliffs.實在是只要一丸泥就可以封住的。The truth was, a single pellet of mud would have sufficed to seal it shut.

大家喝過開水，再吃餑餑。After everyone had drunk some boiled water, they ate buns.讓老子休息一會之後，關尹喜就提議要他講學了。Once Laozi had been allowed to rest awhile, Guan Yinxi proposed that he give them a lecture.老子早知道這是免不掉的，就滿口答應。Laozi had long known there was no getting out of this, so he readily agreed.於是轟轟了一陣，屋裡逐漸坐滿了聽講的人們。There followed a great commotion, and the room gradually filled with people who had come to hear the lecture.同來的八人之外，還有四個巡警，兩個簽子手，五個探子，一個書記，賬房和廚房。Besides the eight who had come with him, there were four constables, two clerks with tally-sticks, five detectives, a secretary, the accountant, and the kitchen staff.有幾個還帶著筆，刀，木札，預備抄講義。Several had even brought brushes, knives, and wooden slips, ready to take down the lecture notes.

老子像一段呆木頭似的坐在中央，沉默了一會，這才咳嗽幾聲，白鬍子裡面的嘴唇在動起來了。Laozi sat in the middle like a block of senseless wood. After a spell of silence, he coughed several times; only then did the lips within his white beard begin to move.大家即刻屏住呼吸，側著耳朵聽。At once everyone held his breath and cocked an ear to listen.只聽得他慢慢的說道：They heard him say slowly:

“道可道，非常道；“The Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way;名可名，非常名。The name that can be named is not the constant name.無名，天地之始；The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;有名，萬物之母。……”The named was the mother of all things....”

大家彼此面面相覷，沒有抄。Everyone looked blankly at everyone else; no one wrote anything down.

“故常無欲以觀其妙，”老子接著說，“常有欲以觀其竅。“Thus, ever without desire, one beholds its mystery,” Laozi continued, “ever with desire, one beholds its apertures.此兩者，同出而異名。These two issue from the same source, though they differ in name.同，謂之玄，玄之又玄，眾妙之門……”Together they are called the Mysterious—the mysterious beyond mystery, the gateway to all marvels....”

大家顯出苦臉來了，有些人還似乎手足失措。Everyone began to look miserable; some even seemed quite at a loss what to do with their hands and feet.一個簽子手打了一個大呵欠，書記先生竟打起磕睡來，嘩啷一聲，刀，筆，木札，都從手裡落在席子上面了。One of the tally clerks gave a tremendous yawn, while the secretary actually began to doze off. With a clatter, his knife, brush, and wooden slips all fell from his hands onto the mat.

老子仿佛並沒有覺得，但仿佛又有些覺得似的，因為他從此講得詳細了一點。Laozi seemed not to notice, yet also seemed to notice a little, for from then on he explained himself in somewhat greater detail.然而他沒有牙齒，發音不清，打著陝西腔，夾上湖南音，“哩”“呢”不分，又愛說什麼“㖇”：大家還是聽不懂。But he had no teeth and spoke indistinctly, in a Shaanxi accent mixed with Hunan sounds; he confused li and ne, and was forever saying something like “ngai”: still no one could understand him.可是時間加長了，來聽他講學的人，倒格外的受苦。Yet as time dragged on, those who had come to hear him lecture suffered all the more.

為面子起見，人們只好熬著，但後來總不免七倒八歪斜，各人想著自己的事，待到講到“聖人之道，為而不爭”，住了口了，還是誰也不動彈。For appearance’s sake, they could only endure it; but before long they inevitably slumped this way and that, each thinking his own thoughts. By the time he reached “The Way of the sage is to act without contending” and fell silent, still no one stirred.老子等了一會，就加上一句道：Laozi waited a moment, then added:

“㖇，完了！”“Ngai, that’s all!”

大家這才如大夢初醒，雖然因為坐得太久，兩腿都麻木了，一時站不起身，但心裡又驚又喜，恰如遇到大赦的一樣。Only then did everyone awaken as if from a great dream. Though sitting so long had numbed both their legs and they could not stand up at once, inwardly they were amazed and delighted, just as if they had been granted a general amnesty.

於是老子也被送到廂房裡，請他去休息。Laozi, too, was then escorted to a side room and invited to rest.他喝過幾口白開水，就毫無動靜的坐著，好像一段呆木頭。After drinking a few mouthfuls of plain boiled water, he sat utterly still, like a block of senseless wood.

人們卻還在外面紛紛議論。Outside, however, the others were still discussing the matter noisily.過不多久，就有四個代表進來見老子，大意是說他的話講的太快了，加上國語不大純粹，所以誰也不能筆記。Before long, four representatives came in to see Laozi. The gist of what they said was that he had spoken too quickly and, moreover, that his Mandarin was not quite pure, so no one had been able to take notes.沒有記錄，可惜非常，所以要請他補發些講義。It would be a great pity to have no record, so they asked him to furnish them with lecture notes.

“來篤話啥西，俺實直頭聽弗懂！”賬房說。“What you was sayin’ just now, I honestly couldn’t make head nor tail of it!” said the accountant.

“還是耐自家寫子出來末哉。“Better write it out yourself, ain’t it.寫子出來末，總算弗白嚼蛆一場哉［口宛］。Once it’s wrote out, at least all that jawin’ won’t have been for nothin’, eh.阿是？”書記先生道。Ain’t that so?” said the secretary.

老子也不十分聽得懂，但看見別的兩個把筆，刀，木札，都擺在自己的面前了，就料是一定要他編講義。Laozi did not quite understand them either; but when he saw the other two set their brushes, knives, and wooden slips down before him, he gathered that they were determined to make him compile lecture notes.他知道這是免不掉的，於是滿口答應；He knew there was no getting out of it, so he readily agreed;不過今天太晚了，要明天才開手。only it was too late that day, and he would not be able to begin until the next.

代表們認這結果為滿意，退出去了。The representatives considered this outcome satisfactory and withdrew.

第二天早晨，天氣有些陰沉沉，老子覺得心裡不舒適，不過仍須編講義，因為他急於要出關，而出關，卻須把講義交卷。The next morning the sky was rather overcast, and Laozi felt ill at ease. Nevertheless, he still had to compile the lecture notes, for he was eager to leave the Pass, and to leave it he first had to hand in the manuscript.他看一眼面前的一大堆木札，似乎覺得更加不舒適了。One glance at the great heap of wooden slips before him seemed to make him feel still more uncomfortable.

然而他還是不動聲色，靜靜的坐下去，寫起來。Yet he betrayed no emotion. He quietly sat down and began to write.回憶著昨天的話，想一想，寫一句。Recalling what he had said the day before, he would think awhile, then write a sentence.那時眼鏡還沒有發明，他的老花眼睛細得好像一條線，很費力；Spectacles had not yet been invented then, and his farsighted old eyes narrowed to mere slits; it was very laborious.除去喝白開水和吃餑餑的時間，寫了整整一天半，也不過五千個大字。Apart from the time spent drinking boiled water and eating buns, he wrote for a full day and a half, yet produced no more than five thousand large characters.

“為了出關，我看這也敷衍得過去了。”他想。“For the sake of getting through the Pass, I think this should be enough to get by,” he thought.

於是取了繩子，穿起木札來，計兩串，扶著拄杖，到關尹喜的公事房裡去交稿，並且聲明他立刻要走的意思。Then he took some cord and threaded the wooden slips together into two bundles. Leaning on his staff, he went to Guan Yinxi’s office to hand in the manuscript and declared that he wished to leave immediately.

關尹喜非常高興，非常感謝，又非常惋惜，堅留他多住一些時，但看見留不住，便換了一副悲哀的臉相，答應了，命令巡警給青牛加鞍。Guan Yinxi was exceedingly pleased, exceedingly grateful, and exceedingly regretful. He earnestly urged Laozi to stay a while longer; but seeing that he could not detain him, he assumed a mournful expression, consented, and ordered the constables to saddle the blue-black ox.一面自己親手從架子上挑出一包鹽，一包胡麻，十五個餑餑來，裝在一個充公的白布口袋里送給老子做路上的糧食。Meanwhile, with his own hands, he selected from the shelves a packet of salt, a packet of sesame, and fifteen buns, put them into a confiscated white cloth sack, and gave them to Laozi as provisions for the road.並且聲明：這是因為他是老作家，所以非常優待，假如他年紀青，餑餑就只能有十個了。He further declared that this was exceptionally favorable treatment because Laozi was a veteran writer; had he been young, he would have received only ten buns.

老子再三稱謝，收了口袋，和大家走下城樓，到得關口，還要牽著青牛走路；Laozi thanked him repeatedly, accepted the sack, and went down from the gate tower with everyone else. On reaching the gateway, he still meant to lead the blue-black ox on foot;關尹喜竭力勸他上牛，遜讓一番之後，終於也騎上去了。Guan Yinxi did his utmost to persuade him to mount, and after a round of polite refusals, Laozi finally climbed onto it.作過別，撥轉牛頭，便向峻阪的大路上慢慢的走去。Having said his farewells, he turned the ox’s head and slowly set off along the highway up the steep slope.

不多久，牛就放開了腳步。Before long, the ox lengthened its stride.大家在關口目送著，去了兩三丈遠，還辨得出白髮，黃袍，青牛，白口袋，接著就塵頭逐步而起，罩著人和牛，一律變成灰色，再一會，已只有黃塵滾滾，什麼也看不見了。Everyone stood at the gateway watching him go. At a distance of twenty or thirty feet they could still make out the white hair, yellow robe, blue-black ox, and white sack; then the dust rose higher with every step, enveloping man and ox until all alike turned gray. A moment later, there was only billowing yellow dust, and nothing could be seen.

大家回到關上，好像卸下了一副擔子，伸一伸腰，又好像得了什麼貨色似的，咂一咂嘴，好些人跟著關尹喜走進公事房裡去。Everyone returned to the gate tower as if a burden had been lifted from their shoulders, stretching their backs; then, as if they had acquired some piece of merchandise, they smacked their lips, and quite a few followed Guan Yinxi into the office.

“這就是稿子？”賬房先生提起一串木札來，翻著，說。“So this is the manuscript?” said the accountant, picking up one bundle of wooden slips and leafing through it.

“字倒寫得還乾凈。“The characters are written neatly enough.我看到市上去賣起來，一定會有人要的。”書記先生也湊上去，看著第一片，念道：I reckon if we put it on the market, someone is bound to buy it.” The secretary also crowded over, looked at the first slip, and read aloud:

“‘道可道，非常道’……“‘The Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way’...哼，還是這些老套。Hmph, the same old clichés.真教人聽得頭痛，討厭……”Enough to give one a headache—utterly tiresome...”

“醫頭痛最好是打打盹。”賬房放下了木札，說。“The best cure for a headache is a nap,” said the accountant, putting down the wooden slips.

“哈哈哈！……“Ha, ha, ha!...我真只好打盹了。I really had no choice but to fall asleep.老實說，我是猜他要講自己的戀愛故事，這才去聽的。To tell the truth, I went to listen only because I thought he was going to tell his own love story.要是早知道他不過這麼胡說八道，我就壓根兒不去坐這麼大半天受罪……”If I’d known beforehand that he would do nothing but spout such nonsense, I’d never have sat there suffering for the better part of a day...”

“這可只能怪您自己看錯了人，”關尹喜笑道。“他那裡會有戀愛故事呢？“For that you can only blame yourself for misjudging the man,” Guan Yinxi said with a laugh. “How could he possibly have a love story?他壓根兒就沒有過戀愛。”He has never been in love in his life.”

“您怎麼知道？”書記詫異的問。“How do you know?” the secretary asked in astonishment.

“這也只能怪您自己打了磕睡，沒有聽到他說‘無為而無不為’。“For that, too, you can only blame yourself for dozing off and failing to hear him say, ‘Doing nothing, yet leaving nothing undone.’這家伙真是‘心高於天，命薄如紙’，想‘無不為’，就只好‘無為’。That fellow truly has ‘aspirations higher than heaven, but a fate thinner than paper’: if he wants to ‘leave nothing undone,’ he has no choice but to ‘do nothing.’一有所愛，就不能無不愛，那裡還能戀愛，敢戀愛？Once he loved anything, he could not help loving everything—so how could he still fall in love, how would he dare?您看看您自己就是：現在只要看見一個大姑娘，不論好醜，就眼睛甜膩膩的都像是你自己的老婆。Just look at yourself: nowadays, whenever you see a grown girl, pretty or ugly, your eyes turn so syrupy, as if she were your own wife.將來娶了太太，恐怕就要像我們的賬房先生一樣，規矩一些了。”Once you marry in the future, I’m afraid you’ll have to behave a little more properly, like our accountant here.”

窗外起了一陣風，大家都覺得有些冷。A gust of wind rose outside the window, and everyone felt a little cold.

“這老頭子究竟是到那裡去，去乾什麼的？”書記先生趁勢岔開了關尹喜的話。“Where, after all, is that old fellow going, and what is he going there to do?” The secretary seized the opportunity to change the subject from Guan Yinxi’s remarks.

“自說是上流沙去的，”關尹喜冷冷的說。“看他走得到。“He says he’s going to Liusha,” Guan Yinxi replied coldly. “We’ll see whether he gets there.外面不但沒有鹽，面，連水也難得。Out there, not only are there no salt and flour, even water is hard to come by.肚子餓起來，我看是後來還要回到我們這裡來的。”Once hunger grips him, I expect he’ll eventually come back to us.”

“那麼，我們再叫他著書。”賬房先生高興了起來。“不過餑餑真也太費。“Then we’ll make him write another book,” said the accountant, brightening. “But buns really are too costly.那時候，我們只要說宗旨已經改為提拔新作家，兩串稿子，給他五個餑餑也足夠了。”By then, all we need do is say that our policy has changed to promoting new writers; five buns will be plenty for two bundles of manuscript.”

“那可不見得行。“That may not work.要發牢騷，鬧脾氣的。”He’ll complain and lose his temper.”

“餓過了肚子，還要鬧脾氣？”“After going hungry, he’ll still have the nerve to lose his temper?”

“我倒怕這種東西，沒有人要看。”書記搖著手，說。“連五個餑餑的本錢也撈不回。“I’m more afraid no one will want to read this sort of thing,” said the secretary, waving his hand. “We might not even recoup the cost of five buns.譬如罷，倘使他的話是對的，那麼，我們的頭兒就得放下關官不做，這才是無不做，是一個了不起的大人……”Suppose, for instance, that what he says is right: then our chief would have to give up his post as Keeper of the Pass and stop serving—that alone would be leaving nothing undone, and would make him a truly extraordinary man...”

“那倒不要緊，”賬房先生說，“總有人看的。“That doesn’t matter,” said the accountant. “Someone will always read it.交卸了的關官和還沒有做關官的隱士，不是多得很嗎？……”Aren’t there plenty of former Keepers of the Pass, and recluses who have not yet become Keepers of the Pass?...”

窗外起了一陣風，括上黃塵來，遮得半天暗。A gust of wind rose outside the window, sweeping up yellow dust and darkening half the sky.這時關尹喜向門外一看，只見還站著許多巡警和探子，在呆聽他們的閑談。At that moment Guan Yinxi looked outside and saw that many constables and detectives were still standing there, listening stupidly to their idle talk.

“呆站在這裡乾什麼？”他吆喝道。“黃昏了，不正是私販子爬城偷稅的時候了嗎？“What are you standing around here for?” he shouted. “Isn’t dusk precisely the time when smugglers scale the wall to evade the tax?巡邏去！”Off on patrol!”

門外的人們，一溜煙跑下去了。The people outside raced away in a flash.屋裡的人們，也不再說什麼話，賬房和書記都走出去了。Those inside said no more either; the accountant and the secretary both went out.關尹喜才用袍袖子把案上的灰塵拂了一拂，提起兩串木札來，放在堆著充公的鹽，胡麻，布，大豆，餑餑等類的架子上。Only then did Guan Yinxi brush the dust from the desk with his sleeve, pick up the two bundles of wooden slips, and place them on a shelf piled with confiscated salt, sesame, cloth, soybeans, buns, and the like.

一九三五年十二月December 1935

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What it’s about

老子 sits like a block of wood in his library while 孔子 calls on him twice. The first time 孔子 complains that he has gone through the six classics until he knows them cold and been turned down by seventy-two rulers, and 老子 tells him the classics are the footprints of former kings: footprints are made by shoes, but a footprint is not a shoe. Three months later 孔子 comes back to report that he has thought it through, and the two of them sit silent like two blocks of wood. When he has gone, 老子 tells his pupil 庚桑楚 that he must leave — 孔丘 has understood him, and knows that the only man who has his measure is 老子, so it will not be comfortable to stay. He opens his mouth to prove the point: the hard teeth are gone, the soft tongue is still there.

He rides west on his green ox, is spotted by a scout, and is chased down and carried off to the pass by the customs officer 關尹喜, four policemen and two men with probing spikes, who honour him by making him lecture. He recites the opening of what will be the 道德經 to a room that yawns, drops its writing slips and falls asleep; between the missing teeth, the Shaanxi accent and the Hunan vowels nobody can take a note, so a delegation asks him for written lecture notes instead. He sits a day and a half, produces some five thousand characters on wooden slips, hands over two bundles, and is paid off with a packet of salt, a packet of sesame and fifteen buns — a younger author, he is told, would have got ten. The dust has barely settled on the road before the clerk is calling the manuscript the same old stuff, the accountant is complaining about the buns, and they agree it might sell to retired customs officers and to hermits who have not yet found a post. 關尹喜 wipes the desk and files the slips on the shelf with the confiscated salt, sesame, cloth and beans.

When it was written 背景

Written in December 1935 and printed in the first number of the monthly 海燕 in January 1936, almost the same week the book itself appeared. It started an argument at once: readers decided the sour old man riding out of the pass was a self-portrait, and Lu Xun answered them that spring in an essay on this very story, insisting he had meant 老子 as the doctrine of doing nothing, not as himself. For a learner it is short, almost entirely dialogue, and unusually easy going — until the lecture, where the real opening of the 道德經 is quoted straight and the customs men answer in Wu dialect that Lu Xun does not translate. Read it beside 非攻: one philosopher walks a thousand li to stop a war, the other only wants to get out of the country, and the book puts them next to each other on purpose.

Words in this chapter 生词

餑bō餑bō — cake · biscuit
尹yǐn尹yǐn — (literary) to administer; to govern · (bound form) governor; prefect; magistrate (official title in imperial times)
您nínHSK 1您nín — you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你 (nǐ)) (HSK 1)
札zhá札zhá — thin piece of wood used a writing tablet (in ancient China) · a kind of official document (in former times) · letter · note · plague
庚gēng庚gēng — age · seventh of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干 (shí tiān gān) · seventh in order · letter "G" or Roman "VII" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc · ancient Chinese compass point: 255° · hepta
鞍ān鞍ān — (bound form) saddle
裡lǐHSK 1裡lǐ — lining · interior · inside · internal · also written 裏 (lǐ) (HSK 1)
賬zhàngHSK 6賬zhàng — account · bill · debt · classifier: 本 (běn), 筆 (bǐ) (HSK 6)
㖇
韉jiān韉jiān — (bound form) saddle blanket
桑sāng桑sāng — (bound form) mulberry tree
簽qiānHSK 5簽qiān — to sign one's name · to write brief comments on a document · inscribed bamboo stick (variant of 籤 (qiān)) · visa (HSK 5)