双语全文 ● 鲁迅 阿Q正传——第二章　优胜记略

Chapeter 2

A Brief Account of Ah Q’s Victories

In addition to the uncertainty regarding Ah Q’s surname， personal name， and place of origin， there is even some uncertainty regarding his“background.” This is because the people of Weizhuang only made use of his services or treated him as a laughing-stock， without ever paying the slightest attention to his “background.” Ah Q himself remained silent on this subject， except that when quarrelling with someone he might glare at him and say， “We used to be much better off than you！ Who do you think you are？”

Ah Q had no family but lived in the Tutelary God’s Temple at Weizhuang. He had no regular work either， being simply an odd-job man for others： when there was wheat to be cut he would cut it， when there was rice to be hulled he would hull it， when there was a boat to be punted he would punt it. If the work lasted for any length of time he might stay in the house of his temporary employer， but as soon as it was finished he would leave. Thus whenever people had work to be done they would remember Ah Q， but what they remembered was his service and not his “background.”By the time the job was done even Ah Q himself was forgotten， to say noth­ing of his “background.” Once indeed an old man remarked， “What a worker Ah Q is！” Ah Q， bare-backed， scrawny sluggard， was standing before him at the time， and others could not tell whether the remark was serious or deri­sive， but Ah Q was overjoyed.

Ah Q， again， had a very high opinion of himself. He looked down on all the inhabitants of Weizhuang， thinking even the two young “scholars” not worth a smile， though most young scholars were likely to pass the official examinations. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qian were held in great respect by the vil­lagers， for in addition to being rich they were both the fathers of young scholars. Ah Q alone showed them no exceptional deference， thinking to himself， “My sons may be much greater.”

Moreover， after Ah Q had been to town several times he naturally became even more conceited， although at the same time he had the greatest contempt for townspeople. For instance， a bench made of a wooden plank three feet by three inches the Weizhuang villagers called a “long bench.” Ah Q called it a “long bench” too； but the townspeople called it a “straight bench，” and he thought， “This is wrong. Ridiculous！”Again， when they fried large-headed fish in oil the Weizhuang villagers all added shallots sliced half an inch thick， whereas the townspeople added finely shredded shallots，and he thought， “This is wrong too. Ridiculous！ ” But the Weizhuang villagers were really ignorant rustics who had never seen fish fried in town.

阿Q不独是姓名籍贯有些渺茫，连他先前的“行状”也渺茫。因为未庄的人们之于阿Q，只要他帮忙，只拿他玩笑，从来没有留心他的“行状”的。而阿Q自己也不说，独有和别人口角的时候，间或瞪着眼睛道：

“我们先前——比你阔的多啦！你算是什么东西！”

阿Q没有家，住在未庄的土谷祠里；也没有固定的职业，只给人家做短工，割麦便割麦，春米便春米，撑船便撑船。工作略长久时，他也或住在临时主人的家里，但一完就走了。所以，人们忙碌的时候，也还记起阿Q来，然而记起的是做工，并不是“行状”；一闲空，连阿Q都早忘却，更不必说“行状”了。只是有一回，有一个老头子颂扬说：“阿Q真能做！”这时阿Q赤着膊，懒洋洋的痩伶仃的正在他面前，别人也摸不着这话是真心还是讥笑，然而阿Q很喜欢。

阿Q又很自尊，所有未庄的居民，全不在他眼睛里，甚而至于对于两位“文童”也有以为不值一笑的神情。夫文童者，将来恐怕要变秀才者也；赵太爷钱太爷大受居民的尊敬，除有钱之外，就因为都是文童的爹爹，而阿Q在精神上独不表格外的崇奉，他想：我的儿子会阔得多啦！加以进了几回城，阿Q自然更自负，然而他又很鄙薄城里人，譬如用三尺长三寸宽的木板做成的凳子，未庄叫“长凳”，他也叫“长凳”，城里人却叫“条凳”，他想：这是错的，可笑！油煎大头鱼，未庄都加上半寸长的葱叶，城里却加上切细的葱丝，他想：这也是错的，可笑！然而未庄人真是不见世面的可笑的乡下人呵，他们没有见过城里的煎鱼！

第二章　优胜记略

Ah Q who “used to be much better off，” who was a man of the world and a “worker，” would have been almost the perfect man had it not been for a few unfortunate physical blemishes. The most annoying were some patches on his scalp where at some uncertain date shiny ringworm scars had appeared. Although these were on his own head， apparently Ah Q did not consider them as altogether honourable， for he refrained from using the word “ringworm” or any words that sounded anything like it. Later he improved on this， making “bright” and “light” forbidden words， while later still even “lamp” and “candle” were taboo. Whenever this taboo was disre­garded， whether intentionally or not， Ah Q would fly into a rage， his ring­worm scars turning scarlet. He would look over the offender， and if it were someone weak in repartee he would curse him while if it were a poor fighter he would hit him. Yet， curiously enough， it was usually Ah Q who was worsted in these encounters， until finally he adopted new tactics， contenting himself in general with a furious glare.

It so happened， however， that after Ah Q had taken to using this furious glare， the idlers in Weizhuang grew even more fond of making jokes at his expense. As soon as they saw him they would pretend to give a start and say：

“Look！ It’s lighting up.”

Ah Q rising to the bait as usual would glare in fury.

“So there is a paraffin lamp here，” they would continue， unafraid.

Ah Q could do nothing but rack his brains for some retort. “You don’t even deserve ...” At this juncture it seemed as if the bald patches on his scalp were noble and honourable， not just ordinary ringworm scars. However， as we said above， Ah Q was a man of the world： he knew at once that he had nearly broken the “taboo” and refrained from saying any more.

阿Q“先前阔”，见识高，而且“真能做”，本来几乎是一个“完人”了，但可惜他体质上还有一些缺点。最恼人的是在他头皮上，颇有几处不知起于何时的癞疮疤。这虽然也在他身上，而看阿Q的意思，倒也似乎以为不足贵的，因为他讳说“癞”以及一切近于“赖”的音，后来推而广之，“光”也讳，“亮”也讳，再后来，连“灯”“烛”都讳了。一犯讳，不问有心与无心，阿Q便全疤通红的发起怒来，估量了对手，口讷的他便骂，气力小的他便打；然而不知怎么一回事，总还是阿Q吃亏的时候多。于是他渐渐的变换了方针，大抵改为怒目而视了。

谁知道阿Q采用怒目主义之后，未庄的闲人们便愈喜欢玩笑他。一见面，他们便假作吃惊的说：

“哙，亮起来了。”

阿Q照例的发了怒，他怒目而视了。

“原来有保险灯在这里！”他们并不怕。

阿Q没有法，只得另外想出报复的话来：

“你还不配……”这时候，又仿佛在他头上的是一种高尚的光荣的癞头疮，并非平常的癞头疮了；但上文说过，阿Q是有见识的，他立刻知道和“犯忌”有点抵触，便不再往底下说。

If the idlers were still not satisfied but continued to pester him， they would in the end come to blows. Then only after Ah Q had to all appear­ances been defeated， had his brownish queue pulled and his head bumped against the wall four or five times， would the idlers walk away， satisfied at having won. And Ah Q would stand there for a second thinking to himself，“It’s as if I were beaten by my son. What the world is coming to nowadays！... ”Thereupon he too would walk away， satisfied at having won.

Whatever Ah Q thought he was sure to tell people later； thus almost all who made fun of Ah Q knew that he had this means of winning a psychological victory. So after this anyone who pulled or twisted his brown queue would forestall him by saying， “Ah Q， this is not a son beating his father， it is a man beating a beast. let’s hear you say it： A man beating a beast！ ”

Then Ah Q， clutching at the root of his queue， his head on one side，would say， “Beating an insect—how about that？ I am an insect—now will you let me go？”

But although he was an insect the idlers would not let him go until they had knocked his head five or six times against something nearby， according to their custom， after which they would walk away satisfied that they had won， confident that this time Ah Q was done for. In less than ten seconds，however， Ah Q would walk away also satisfied that he had won， thinking that he was the “Number One self-belittler， ” and that after subtracting “selfbelittler” what remained was “Number One.” Was not the highest successful candidate in the official examination also “Number One”？ “And who do you think you are？”

After employing such cunning devices to get even with his enemies， Ah Q would make his way cheerfully to the tavern to drink a few bowls of wine，joke with the others again， quarrel with them again， come off victorious again， and return cheerfully to the Tutelary God’s Temple， there to fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. If he had money he would gamble. A group of men would squat on the ground， Ah Q sandwiched in their midst， his face streaming with sweat； and his voice would shout the loudest： “ Four hundred on the Green Dragon！”

闲人还不完，只撩他，于是终而至于打。阿Q在形式上打败了，被人揪住黄辫子，在壁上碰了四五个响头，闲人这才心满意足的得胜的走了，阿Q站了一刻，心里想，“我总算被儿子打了，现在的世界真不像样……”于是也心满意足的得胜的走了。

阿Q想在心里的，后来每每说出口来，所以凡有和阿Q玩笑的人们，几乎全知道他有这一种精神上的胜利法，此后每逢揪住他黄辫子的时候，人就先一着对他说：

“阿Q，这不是儿子打老子，是人打畜生。自己说：人打畜生！”

阿Q两只手都捏住了自己的辫根，歪着头，说道：

“打虫豸，好不好？我是虫豸——还不放么？”

但虽然是虫豸，闲人也并不放，仍旧在就近什么地方给他碰了五六个响头，这才心满意足的得胜的走了，他以为阿Q这回可遭了瘟。然而不到十秒钟，阿Q也心满意足的得胜的走了，他觉得他是第一个能够自轻自贱的人，除了“自轻自贱”不算外，余下的就是“第一个”。状元不也是“第一个”么？“你算是什么东西”呢？！

阿Q以如是等等妙法克服怨敌之后，便愉快的跑到酒店里喝几碗酒，又和别人调笑一通，口角一通，又得了胜，愉快的回到土谷祠，放倒头睡着了。假使有钱，他便去押牌宝，一堆人蹲在地面上，阿Q即汗流满面的夹在这中间，声音他最响：

“Hey—open there！”

The stake-holder， his face streaming with sweat too， would open the box and chant： “Heavenly Gate！ —Nothing for the Corner！ ... No stakes on Popularity Passage！ Pass over Ah Q’s coppers！”

“The passage—one hundred—one hundred and fifty.”

To the tune of his chanting， Ah Q’s money would gradually vanish into the pockets of other sweating players. Finally he would be forced to squeeze his way out of the crowd and watch from the back， taking a vicarious inter­est in the game until it broke up， when he would return reluctantly to the Tutelary God’s Temple. The next day he would go to work with swollen eyes.

However， the truth of the proverb “Misfortune may prove a blessing in disguise” was shown when Ah Q was unfortunate enough to win and al­most suffered defeat in the end.

This was the evening of the Festival of the Gods in Weizhuang. Accord­ing to custom there was an opera； and close to the stage， also according to custom， were numerous gambling tables， the drums and gongs of the stake­holder’s chant. He staked successfully again and again， his coppers turning into silver coins， his silver coins into dollars， and his dollars mounting up. In his excitement he cried out，“ Two dollars on Heavenly Gate！”

He never knew who started the fight， nor for what reason. Curses，blows and footsteps formed a confused medley of sound in his head， and by the time he clambered to his feet the gambling tables had vanished and so had the gamblers. Several parts of his body seemed to be aching as if he had been kicked and knocked about， while a number of people were looking at him in astonishment. Feeling as if something were amiss he walked back to the Tutelary God’s Temple， and by the time he had calmed down again he realized that his pile of dollars had gone. Since most of the people who ran gambling tables at the Festival were not natives of Weizhuang， where could he look for the culprits？

“青龙四百！”

“咳开啦！”桩家揭开盒子盖，也是汗流满面的唱。“天门啦角回啦！人和穿堂空在那里啦！阿Q的铜钱拿过来！”

“穿堂一百——一百五十！”

阿Q的钱便在这样的歌吟之下，渐渐的输入别个汗流满面的人物的腰间。他终于只好挤出堆外，站在后面看，替别人着急，一直到散场，然后恋恋的回到土谷祠，第二天，肿着眼睛去工作。

但真所谓“塞翁失马安知非福”罢，阿Q不幸而赢了一回，他倒几乎失败了。

这是未庄赛神的晚上。这晚上照例有一台戏，戏台左近，也照例有许多的赌摊。做戏的锣鼓，在阿Q耳朵里仿佛在十里之外；他只听得桩家的歌唱了。他赢而又赢，铜钱变成角洋，角洋变成大洋，大洋又成了叠。他兴高采烈得非常：

“天门两块！”

他不知道谁和谁为什么打起架来了。骂声打声脚步声，昏头昏脑的一大阵，他才爬起来，赌摊不见了，人们也不见了，身上有几处很似乎有些痛，似乎也挨了几拳几脚似的，几个人诧异的对他看。他如有所失的走进土谷祠，定一定神，知道他的一堆洋钱不见了。赶赛会的赌摊多不是本村人，还到那里去寻根柢呢？