空山靈雨 Empty Mountain, Spiritual Rain16 / 45

你爲什麽不來 Why Do You Not Come?

你爲什麽不來Why Don't You Come

你为什么不来

在夭桃開透，濃陰欲成底時候，誰不想伴着他心愛的人出去游逛游逛呢？When the peach blossoms are in full bloom and the shade grows thick and lush, who does not wish to go out roaming with the one their heart loves?在密In dense

在夭桃开透，浓阴欲成底时候，谁不想伴着他心爱的人出去游逛游逛呢？在密

雲不飛，急雨如注底時候，誰不願在深閨中等她心愛的人前來細談呢？clouds that will not scatter, when the rain pours down in torrents, who does not wish to wait in her secluded chamber for the one she loves to come and speak with her intimately?

云不飞，急雨如注底时候，谁不愿在深闺中等她心爱的人前来细谈呢？

她悶坐在一張睡椅上，紊亂的心思像窗外底雨點——東抛，西織，來囘無定．在She sat listlessly on a chaise longue, her tangled thoughts like the raindrops beyond the window — flung east, woven west, coming and going without settling. In

她闷坐在一张睡椅上，紊乱的心思像窗外底雨点——东抛，西织，来囘无定．在

有意無意之間，又順手拿起一把九連環慵懶懶地解着．an idle moment, half aware and half not, she absently picked up a set of nine linked rings and languidly worked at undoing them.

有意无意之间，又顺手拿起一把九连环慵懒懒地解着．

丫頭進來說，『小姐，茶點都預備好了．』A maidservant came in and said, 'Miss, the tea and refreshments are all ready.'

丫头进来说，『小姐，茶点都预备好了．』

她手裏還是慵懶懶地解着，口裏却發出似答非答底聲，『……Her hands went on languidly working the rings, while from her mouth came a sound that was neither quite an answer nor not one, '......他爲什麽還不Why hasn't he

她手里还是慵懒懒地解着，口里却发出似答非答底声，『……他为什么还不

來？』come yet?'

来？』

除窗外底雨聲，和她手中輕微的銀環聲以外，屋裏可算靜極了！Apart from the sound of rain beyond the window, and the faint chime of the silver rings in her hand, the room was about as still as could be!在這幽靜的屋In this quiet room

除窗外底雨声，和她手中轻微的银环声以外，屋里可算静极了！在这幽静的屋

褭，忽然從窗外伴着雨聲送來幾句優美的歌曲：suddenly, mingled with the sound of the rain, a few lines of a beautiful song came drifting in from outside the window:

褭，忽然从窗外伴着雨声送来几句优美的歌曲：

『你放聲哭，'You weep aloud —

『你放声哭，

因爲我把林中善鳴的鳥籠住麽？is it because I caged the sweet-singing bird of the forest?

因为我把林中善鸣的鸟笼住么？

你飛不動，You cannot fly —

你飞不动，

因爲我把空中底雁射殺麽？is it because I shot down the wild goose in the sky?

因为我把空中底雁射杀么？

你不敢進我底門．You dare not enter my gate.

你不敢进我底门．

因爲我家養狗隄防客人麽？Is it because my house keeps a dog to guard against visitors?

因为我家养狗隄防客人么？

因爲我家養貓捕鼠，Because my house keeps a cat to catch mice,

因为我家养猫捕鼠，

你就不來麽？is that why you will not come?

你就不来么？

因爲我底燈火沒有籠罩，Because my lamp's flame has no shade to cover it,

因为我底灯火没有笼罩，

燒死許多美麗的昆蟲and burns to death so many beautiful insects —

烧死许多美丽的昆虫

你就不來麽？is that why you will not come?

你就不来么？

你不肯來，You are unwilling to come,

你不肯来，

因爲我有……？』is it because I have......?'

因为我有……？』

『有什麽呢？』她聽到末了這句，那紊亂的心就發出這樣的問．她心中接着想：'Have what?' Hearing this final line, her troubled mind gave rise to just this question. And in her heart she went on to think:

『有什么呢？』她听到末了这句，那紊乱的心就发出这样的问．她心中接着想：

因爲我約你，所以你不肯來；Is it because I asked you to come that you are unwilling to come;還是因爲大雨，使你不能來呢？or is it, rather, that the heavy rain prevents you from coming?

因为我约你，所以你不肯来；还是因为大雨，使你不能来呢？

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What it’s about

A young woman waits indoors during pouring rain for someone she loves. She lies restlessly on a couch and idly works a nine-linked-ring puzzle while a maid announces that tea and refreshments are ready. Her only half-answer is a question: why has he still not come? Rain and the faint metal sound of the rings fill a room whose stillness magnifies expectation. The physical puzzle in her hands quietly mirrors the emotional problem she cannot solve.

A song drifts in from outside, asking a series of strange possible reasons for absence: has the speaker caged a singing bird, shot a goose, kept a dog, allowed a cat to catch mice or burned insects in an uncovered lamp? The accusations join love to harm done elsewhere. When the song breaks off at “because I have…,” the waiting woman supplies the real alternatives herself: perhaps he refuses precisely because she invited him, or perhaps rain makes coming impossible. Desire cannot distinguish rejection from obstruction, and the unanswered title remains suspended between guilt, impatience and weather.

When it was written 背景

The secluded waiting woman is a familiar figure in classical love poetry, but Xu places her among modern prose details and lets an enigmatic song challenge the convention. The 九連環 is a Chinese linked-ring disentanglement puzzle; solving it requires a patterned series of moves, unlike the absent lover's unknowable motive. The song's concern for caged birds, hunted geese and insects killed by flame extends the collection's ethic of attention to small lives. It also suggests that private happiness may be delayed by injuries the privileged household barely notices. For learners, the repeated 因爲 questions are the structure: each proposed cause sounds less socially plausible but more morally searching. The story never identifies the singer or confirms that the expected visitor heard any invitation.

Words in this chapter 生词