空山靈雨 Empty Mountain, Spiritual Rain18 / 45

梨花 Pear Blossoms

梨花Pear Blossoms

她們還在園裏玩，也不理會細雨絲絲穿入她們底羅衣．池邊梨花底顔色被雨They were still playing in the garden, paying no heed to the fine drizzle threading its way into their silk robes. The color of the pear blossoms by the pond

她们还在园里玩，也不理会细雨丝丝穿入她们底罗衣．池边梨花底颜色被雨

洗得更白淨了．但朵朵都嬾嬾地垂着．had been washed even whiter and cleaner by the rain. But every blossom hung down languidly.

洗得更白净了．但朵朵都嬾嬾地垂着．

姊姊說：『你看，花兒都倦得要睡了．』The elder sister said, "Look, the flowers are so weary they want to sleep."

姊姊说：『你看，花儿都倦得要睡了．』

『待我來搖醒他們．』"Let me shake them awake."

『待我来摇醒他们．』

姊姊不及發言，妺妺底手早已抓住樹枝搖了幾下．花瓣和水珠紛紛地落下來，Before the elder sister could say another word, the younger sister's hand had already seized a branch and shaken it several times. Petals and drops of water came falling down thick and fast,

姊姊不及发言，妺妺底手早已抓住树枝摇了几下．花瓣和水珠纷纷地落下来，

鋪得銀片滿地，煞是好玩．spreading a carpet of silver petals over the ground — great fun indeed.

铺得银片满地，煞是好玩．

妹妹說：『好玩啊，花瓣一離開樹枝，就活動起來了！』The younger sister said, "What fun — the moment the petals leave the branch, they come alive!"

妹妹说：『好玩啊，花瓣一离开树枝，就活动起来了！』

『活動什麼？"Come alive, how?你看，花兒底淚都滴在我身上哪．』姊姊說這話時，帶著幾分怒氣，Look, the flowers' tears have all dripped onto me." As the elder sister said this, she was somewhat angry,

『活动什么？你看，花儿底泪都滴在我身上哪．』姊姊说这话时，带著几分怒气，

推了妹妹一下．她接着說：『我不和你玩了；and gave her younger sister a push. Then she went on, "I won't play with you anymore;你自己在這里罷．』you can stay here by yourself."

推了妹妹一下．她接着说：『我不和你玩了；你自己在这里罢．』

妹妹見姊姊走了，直站在樹下出神．停了半晌，老媽子走來，牽着她，一面走着，說，『你看，你底衣服都溼透了；Seeing her sister walk off, the younger sister stood beneath the tree, lost in thought. After a good while, the old nurse came, took her by the hand, and as they walked said, "Look, your clothes are all soaked through;在陰雨天，每日要換幾次衣服，教人到那里找太陽給你on rainy days, you have to change your clothes several times a day — where is one supposed to find the sun to

妹妹见姊姊走了，直站在树下出神．停了半晌，老妈子走来，牵着她，一面走着，说，『你看，你底衣服都湿透了；在阴雨天，每日要换几次衣服，教人到那里找太阳给你

曬去呢？』dry them out for you?"

晒去呢？』

落下來底花瓣，有些被她們底鞋印入泥中；Of the petals that had fallen, some were pressed into the mud by their shoes;有些黏在妹妹身上，被她帶走；some clung to the younger sister's body and were carried away by her;有些some

落下来底花瓣，有些被她们底鞋印入泥中；有些黏在妹妹身上，被她带走；有些

淨在池面，被魚兒啣入水裏．那多情的燕子不歇把鞋印上底殘瓣和軟泥一同啣在settled clean upon the surface of the pond, and were taken into the water in the mouths of fish. And those affectionate swallows kept on gathering up, together with the soft mud, the broken petals stamped into the footprints,

净在池面，被鱼儿啣入水里．那多情的燕子不歇把鞋印上底残瓣和软泥一同啣在

口中，到梁間去，構成他們底香巢，carrying them in their beaks up to the beams, to build their fragrant nests,

口中，到梁间去，构成他们底香巢，

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What it’s about

Two sisters keep playing in fine rain beside a pond, ignoring their damp silk clothes. Seeing pear blossoms bowed by water, the elder says they are tired and want sleep. The younger decides to wake them by shaking the branch, sending drops and petals down like silver across the ground. She calls the fallen flowers newly active; her sister angrily says the flowers' tears have landed on her and pushes her before leaving.

The younger child stands stunned until an old servant leads her away, complaining about wet clothing and the lack of sun to dry repeated changes. The dispersed petals then acquire several futures: shoes press some into mud, some cling to the girl's clothes, fish pull others under the pond and swallows carry mud and fragments upward to build fragrant nests. What looks like childish destruction is neither reversed nor reduced to waste. Separation from the branch becomes movement through bodies and habitats, while the sisters' rival interpretations—freedom or injury—remain simultaneously visible.

When it was written 背景

Pear blossom is conventionally associated with white purity, spring transience and, through sound and literary usage, separation. Rain on blossom often supplies tears in classical poetry; Xu places that inherited personification in the elder sister's mouth and lets the younger answer with the modern-sounding value of activity. The closing swallow image recalls the seasonal household world of traditional verse but emphasizes recycling: damaged petals enter the material of a nest. The servant's practical concern about laundry adds domestic labor to the aesthetic scene, preventing the children's silk-clad play from appearing costless. Learners can follow the repeated 花瓣 through each verb—落, 印, 黏, 啣. The miniature's meaning lies in these transformations rather than in a stated moral.

Words in this chapter 生词