空山靈雨 Empty Mountain, Spiritual Rain5 / 45

笑 Laughter

笑Laughter

我從遠地冒着雨囘來．因爲我妻子心愛底一樣東西讓我找着了；I came back from afar through the rain, because I had found something my wife dearly loved;我得帶囘來給她．I had to bring it home to her.

我从远地冒着雨囘来．因为我妻子心爱底一样东西让我找着了；我得带囘来给她．

一進門，小丫頭爲我收下雨具，老媽子也借故出去了．我對妻子說，『相離好幾As soon as I entered, the little maid took my rain gear, while the old serving woman found an excuse to leave. I said to my wife, “We have been apart for several

一进门，小丫头为我收下雨具，老妈子也借故出去了．我对妻子说，『相离好几

天你悶得慌嗎？……days—have you been dreadfully bored?…呀，香得很！Ah, how fragrant!這是從那里來底？』Where does it come from?”

天你闷得慌吗？……呀，香得很！这是从那里来底？』

『窗櫺下不是有一盆素蘭嗎？』“Isn’t there a pot of white orchids beneath the lattice window?”

『窗櫺下不是有一盆素兰吗？』

我回頭看，幾箭蘭花在一個汝窰鉢上開着．我說：『這盆花多會移進來底？I turned to look. Several sprays of orchid were blooming in a Ru-ware bowl. I said, “When was this pot brought indoors?這麽In such

我回头看，几箭兰花在一个汝窰钵上开着．我说：『这盆花多会移进来底？这么

大雨天，還能開得那麼好，眞是難得啊！……heavy rain, for them still to bloom so beautifully is truly remarkable!…可是我總不信那些花有如此底香氣．』And yet I cannot quite believe that those flowers possess so rich a fragrance.”

大雨天，还能开得那么好，真是难得啊！……可是我总不信那些花有如此底香气．』

我們並肩坐在一張紫檀榻上．我還往下間，『良人，到底是蘭花底香，是你底香？』We sat side by side on a red sandalwood couch. I went on to ask, “My dear, is it really the orchids that are fragrant, or is it you?”

我们并肩坐在一张紫檀榻上．我还往下间，『良人，到底是兰花底香，是你底香？』

『到底是蘭花底香，是你底香？“Is it really the orchids that are fragrant, or is it you?讓我聞一聞．』她說時，親了我一下．小丫頭看見了，掩着嘴笑，翻身揭開簾子，要往外走．Let me smell and see.” As she spoke, she kissed me. The little maid saw us, covered her mouth and laughed, then turned, lifted the curtain, and made to go out.

『到底是兰花底香，是你底香？让我闻一闻．』她说时，亲了我一下．小丫头看见了，掩着嘴笑，翻身揭开帘子，要往外走．

『玉耀，玉耀，囘來．』小丫頭不敢不囘來。“Yuyao, Yuyao, come back.” The little maid did not dare disobey.但，仍然抿着嘴笑．But she still smiled with pursed lips.

『玉耀，玉耀，囘来．』小丫头不敢不囘来。但，仍然抿着嘴笑．

『你笑什麽？』“What are you laughing at?”

『你笑什么？』

『我沒有笑什麽．』“I’m not laughing at anything.”

『我没有笑什么．』

我爲她們排解說，『你明知道她笑什麽，又何必問她呢，饒了她罷．』To smooth things over between them, I said, “You know perfectly well what she is laughing at; why bother asking her? Let her off.”

我为她们排解说，『你明知道她笑什么，又何必问她呢，饶了她罢．』

妻子對小丫頭說，『不許到外頭瞎說．去罷，到園裏給我摘些瑞香來。』小丫頭My wife said to the little maid, “You are not to go outside and talk nonsense. Off you go—pick me some daphne from the garden.” The little maid

妻子对小丫头说，『不许到外头瞎说．去罢，到园里给我摘些瑞香来。』小丫头

抿着嘴出去了．went out, still smiling with pursed lips.

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What it’s about

Returning through rain after several days away, the narrator brings something his wife especially wanted. Indoors he notices an intense fragrance and asks whether it comes from the white orchids blooming beneath the lattice. Seated beside her, he teasingly asks whether the scent belongs to the flowers or to her. She repeats the question and kisses him, while the young maid Yuyao sees the exchange, covers her mouth and turns toward the curtain laughing.

The rest of the scene revolves around that laugh. The wife calls the maid back, asks what amused her and then warns her not to gossip outside before sending her to gather daphne. Everyone knows the answer, but social hierarchy requires the servant to deny what she saw and the husband to intercede. The title belongs to the observer at the edge rather than to the loving couple at the center. A private gesture becomes comic because it has an audience, and affection is shown negotiating the household's rules of speech, modesty and rank rather than floating free in an abstract romantic world.

When it was written 背景

This domestic sketch is useful evidence of the intimate, companionate marriage imagined by many New Culture writers, though it also preserves the servants and etiquette of an older household. Xu often stages philosophical exchanges with a wife, and the affectionate address 良人 gives the conversation an intentionally literary softness. White orchid and daphne both belong to a classical vocabulary of refined fragrance, while the 汝窰 bowl and rosewood couch add cultivated material detail. Yet the maid's suppressed laughter prevents the scene from becoming a timeless aesthetic tableau. Learners should track who can speak openly: the spouses may flirt, the maid may see, but she cannot safely name what she has seen. That asymmetry is part of the joke's social texture.

Words in this chapter 生词