双语全文 ● 鲁迅 阿Q正传——第六章　从中兴到末路

“May Buddha preserve us， Ah Q！ How dare you climb into our garden to steal turnips！... Mercy on us， what a wicked thing to do！ Aiya， Buddha pre­serve us！ ”

“When did I ever climb into your garden and steal turnips？” retorted Ah Q as he started off， keeping his eyes on her.

“Now—aren’t you？” The old nun pointed at the bulge in his jacket.

“Are these yours？ Will they come when you call？ You ...”

Leaving his sentence unfinished， Ah Q took to his heels as fast as he could， followed by a huge fat black dog. Originally this dog had been at the front gate， and how it reached the back garden was a mystery. With a snarl the black dog gave chase and was just about to bite Ah Q’s leg when most opportunely a turnip fell from his jacket， and the dog， taken by surprise，stopped for a second. During this time Ah Q scrambled up the mulberry tree， scaled the mud wall， and fell， turnips and all， outside the convent. He left the black dog still barking by the mulberry tree， and the old nun saying her prayers.

Fearing that the nun would let the black dog out again， Ah Q gathered together his turnips and ran， picking up a few small stones as he went. But the black dog did not reappear. Ah Q threw away the stones and walked on，eating as he went， thinking to himself， “There is nothing to be had here： bet­ter go to town ... ”

By the time the third turnip was finished he had made up his mind to go to town.

Chapter 6

From Resurgence to Decline

Weizhuang did not see Ah Q again till just after the Moon Festival that year. Everybody was surprised to hear of his return， and this made them think back and wonder where he had been all that time. In the past Ah Q had usually taken great pleasure in announcing his few visits to town； but since he had not done so this time， his going had passed unnoticed. He may have told the old man in charge of the Tutelary God’s Temple， but according to the custom of Weizhuang only a trip to town counted as important. Even the Bogus Foreign Devil’s going was not talked about， much less Ah Q’s. This would explain why the old man had not spread the news for him， with the result that the villagers remained in the dark.

“阿弥陀佛，阿Q，你怎么跳进园里来偷萝卜！……阿呀，罪过呵，阿唷，阿弥陀佛！……”

“我什么时候跳进你的园里来偷萝卜？”阿Q且看且走的说。

“现在……还不是？”老尼姑指着他的衣兜。

“这是你的？你能叫得他答应你么？你……”

阿Q没有说完话，拔步便跑；追来的是一匹很肥大的黑狗。这本来在前门的，不知怎的到后园来了。黑狗哼而且追，已经要咬着阿Q的腿，幸而从衣兜里落下一个萝卜来，那狗给一吓，略略一停，阿Q已经爬上桑树，跨到土墙，连人和萝卜都滚出墙外面了。只剩着黑狗还在对着桑树嗥，老尼姑念着佛。

阿Q怕尼姑又放出黑狗来，拾起萝卜便走，沿途又检了几块小石头，但黑狗却并不再出现。阿Q于是抛了石块，一面走一面吃，而且想道，这里也没有什么东西寻，不如进城去……

待三个萝卜吃完时，他已经打定了进城的主意了。

第六章　从中兴到末路

在未庄再看见阿Q出现的时候，是刚过了这年的中秋。人们都惊异，说是阿Q回来了，于是又回上去想道，他先前那里去了呢？阿Q前几回的上城，大抵早就兴高采烈的对人说，但这一次却并不，所以也没有一个人留心到。他或者也曾告诉过管土谷祠的老头子，然而未庄老例，只有赵太爷钱太爷和秀才大爷上城才算一件事。假洋鬼子尚且不足数，何况是阿Q：因此老头子也就不替他宣传，而未庄的社会上也就无从知道了。

Ah Q’s return this time was very different from before， and in fact quite enough to occasion astonishment. The day was growing dark when he showed up， bleary-eyed， at the tavern door， walked up to the counter， and tossed down on it a handful of silver and coppers produced from his belt.“Cash！” he announced. “Bring the wine！” He was wearing a new lined jacket and at his waist hung a large purse， the great weight of which caused his belt to sag in a sharp curve.

It was the custom in Weizhuang that anyone in any way unusual should be treated with respect rather than disregarded， and now， although they knew quite well that this was Ah Q， still he was very different from the Ah Q of the ragged coat. The ancients say，“A scholar who has been away three days must be looked at with new eyes.” So the waiter， tavern-keeper，customers and passers-by all quite naturally expressed a kind of suspicion mingled with respect. The tavern-keeper started off by nodding， following this up with the words：

“So you’re back， Ah Q！”

“Yes， I’m back.”

“Made a pretty packet， eh？ ... where ...？”

“I’ve been in town.”

By the next day this piece of news had spread through Weizhuang. And since everybody wanted to hear the success story of this Ah Q of the ready money and the new lined jacket， in the tavern， teahouse， and under the tem­ple eaves， the villagers gradually ferreted out the news. The result was that they began to treat Ah Q with a new deference.

According to Ah Q， he had been a servant in the house of a successful provincial candidate. This part of the story filled all who heard it with awe.This successful provincial candidate was named Bai， but because he was the only successful provincial candidate in the whole town there was no need to use his surname： whenever anyone spoke of the successful provincial candi­date， it meant him. And this was so not only in Weizhuang， for almost ev­eryone within a radius of a hundred li imagined his name to be Mr. Success­ful Provincial Candidate. To have worked in the household of such a man naturally called for respect； but according to Ah Q’s further statements， he was unwilling to go on working there because this successful candidate was really too much of a “turtle’s egg.” This part of the story made all who heard it sigh， but with a sense of pleasure， because it showed that Ah Q was un­worthy to work in the household of such a man， yet not to work there was a pity.

但阿Q这回的回来，却与先前大不同，确乎很值得惊异。天色将黑，他睡眼蒙胧的在酒店门前出现了，他走近柜台，从腰间伸出手来，满把是银的和铜的，在柜上一扔说， “现钱！打酒来！”穿的是新夹祅，看去腰间还挂着一个大搭连，沉钿钿的将裤带坠成了很弯很弯的弧线。未庄老例，看见略有些醒目的人物，是与其慢也宁敬的，现在虽然明知道是阿Q，但因为和破夹祅的阿Q有些两样了，古人云，“士别三日便当刮目相待”，所以堂倌，掌柜，酒客，路人，便自然显出一种疑而且敬的形态来。掌柜既先之以点头，又继之以谈话：

“嚄，阿Q，你回来了！”

“回来了。”

“发财发财，你是——在……”

“上城去了！”

这一件新闻，第二天便传遍了全未庄。人人都愿意知道现钱和新夹祅的阿Q的中兴史，所以在酒店里，茶馆里，庙檐下，便渐渐的探听出来了。这结果，是阿Q得了新敬畏。

据阿Q说，他是在举人老爷家里帮忙。这一节，听的人都肃然了。这老爷本姓白，但因为合城里只有他一个举人，所以不必再冠姓，说起举人来就是他。这也不独在未庄是如此，便是一百里方圆之内也都如此，人们几乎多以为他的姓名就叫举人老爷的了。在这人的府上帮忙，那当然是可敬的。但据阿Q又说，他却不高兴再帮忙了，因为这举人老爷实在太“妈妈的”了。这一节，听的人都叹息而且快意，因为阿Q本不配在举人老爷家里帮忙，而不帮忙是可惜的。

According to Ah Q， his return was also due to his dissatisfaction with the townspeople because they called a long bench a straight bench， used shredded shallots to fry fish， and—a defect he had recently discovered—the women did not sway in a very satisfactory manner as they walked. Howev­er， the town had its good points too； for instance， in Weizhuang everyone played with thirty-two bamboo counters and only the Bogus Foreign Devil could play mahjong， but in town even the street urchins excelled at mahjong. You had only to place the Bogus Foreign Devil in the hands of these young rascals in their teens for him straightway to become like “a small devil before the King of Hell.” This part of the story made all who heard it blush.

“Have you seen an execution？” asked Ah Q. “Ah， that’s a fine sight.... When they execute the revolutionaries.... Ah， that’s a fine sight， a fine sight....”He shook his head， sending his spittle flying on to the face of Zhao Sichen who was standing opposite him. This part of the story made all who heard it tremble. Then with a glance around， he suddenly raised his right hand and dropped it on the neck of Whiskers Wang who， craning forward， was listen­ing with rapt attention.

“Off with his head！” shouted Ah Q.

Whiskers Wang gave a start， and jerked back his head as fast as lightning or a spark struck from a flint， while the bystanders shivered with pleasurable apprehension. After his， Whiskers Wang went about in a daze for many days and dared not go near Ah Q， nor did the others.

据阿Q说，他的回来，似乎也由于不满意城里人，这就在他们将长凳称为条凳，而且煎鱼用葱丝，加以最近观察所得的缺点，是女人的走路也扭得不很好。然而也偶有大可佩服的地方，即如未庄的乡下人不过打三十二张的竹牌，只有假洋鬼子能够叉“麻酱”，城里却连小乌龟子都叉得精熟的。什么假洋鬼子，只要放在城里的十几岁的小乌龟子的手里，也就立刻是“小鬼见阎王”。这一节，听的人都赧然了。

“你们可看见过杀头么？”阿Q说，“咳，好看。杀革命党。唉，好看好看，……”他摇摇头，将唾沫飞在正对面的赵司晨的脸上。这一节，听的人都凛然了。但阿Q又四面一看，忽然扬起右手，照着伸长脖子听得出神的王胡的后项窝上直劈下去道：

“嚓！”

王胡惊得一跳，同时电光石火似的赶快缩了头，而听的人又都悚然而且欣然了。从此王胡瘟头瘟脑的许多日，并且再不敢走近阿Q的身边；别的人也一样。

Although we cannot say that in the eyes of the inhabitants of Weizhuang Ah Q’s status at this time was superior to that of Mr. Zhao， we can at least affirm without any danger of inaccuracy that it was approxi­mately equivalent.

Not long after， Ah Q’s fame suddenly spread into the women’s apart­ments of Weizhuang too. Although the only two families of any pretensions in Weizhuang were those of Qian and Zhao， and nine-tenths of the rest were poor， still women’s apartments are women’s apartments， and the way Ah Q’s fame spread into them was quite miraculous. When the womenfolk met they would say to each other， “Mrs. Zou bought a blue silk skirt from Ah Q. Although it was old， it only cost ninety cents. And Zhao Baiyan’s mother（this has yet to be verified， because some say it was Zhao Sichen’s mother）bought a child’s costume of crimson foreign calico which was nearly new for only three hundred cash， less eight per cent discount. ”

Then those who had no silk skirt or needed foreign calico were most anxious to see Ah Q in order to buy from him. Far from avoiding him now，they sometimes followed him when he passed， calling to him to stop.

“Ah Q， have you any more silk skirts？” they would ask. “No？ We want foreign calico too. Do you have any？”

This news later spread from the poor households to the rich ones， be­cause Mrs. Zou was so pleased with her silk skirt that she took it to Mrs. Zhao for her approval， and Mrs. Zhao told Mr. Zhao， speaking very highly of it.

Mr. Zhao discussed the matter that evening at dinner with his son the successful county candidate， suggesting that there was certainly something strange about Ah Q and that they should be more careful about their doors and windows. They did not know， though， what if anything Ah Q had left—he might still have something good. Since Mrs. Zhao happened to want a good cheap fur jacket， after a family council it was decided to ask Mrs. Zou to find Ah Q for them at once. For this a third exception was made to the rule， special permission being given that evening for a lamp to be lit.

阿Q这时在未庄人眼睛里的地位，虽不敢说超过赵太爷，但谓之差不多，大约也就没有什么语病的了。

然而不多久，这阿Q的大名忽又传遍了未庄的闺中。虽然未庄只有钱赵两姓是大屋，此外十之九都是浅闺，但闺中究竟是闺中，所以也算得一件神异。女人们见面时一定说，邹七嫂在阿Q那里买了一条蓝绸裙，旧固然是旧的，但只化了九角钱。还有赵白眼的母亲，——一说是赵司晨的母亲，待考，——也买了一件孩子穿的大红洋纱衫，七成新，只用三百大钱九二串。于是伊们都眼巴巴的想见阿Q，缺绸裙的想问他买绸裙，要洋纱衫的想问他买洋纱衫，不但见了不逃避，有时阿Q已经走过了，也还要追上去叫住他，问道：

“阿Q，你还有绸裙么？没有？纱衫也要的，有罢？”

后来这终于从浅闺传进深闺里去了。因为邹七嫂得意之余，将伊的绸裙请赵太太去鉴赏，赵太太又告诉了赵太爷而且着实恭维了一番。赵太爷便在晚饭桌上，和秀才大爷讨论，以为阿Q实在有些古怪，我们门窗应该小心些；但他的东西，不知道可还有什么可买，也许有点好东西罢。加以赵太太也正想买一件价廉物美的皮背心。于是家族决议，便托邹七嫂即刻去寻阿Q，而且为此新辟了第三种的例外：这晚上也姑且特准点油灯。

A considerable amount of oil had been burned， but still there was no sign of Ah Q. The whole Zhao household was yawning with impatience，some of them resenting Ah Q’s casualness， others blaming Mrs. Zou for not making a greater effort. Mrs. Zhao was afraid that Ah Q dared not come be­cause of the terms agreed upon that spring， but Mr. Zhao did not think this anything to worry about because， as he said， “This time I sent for him.” Sure enough， Mr. Zhao proved himself a man of insight， for Ah Q finally arrived with Mrs. Zou.

“He keeps saying he has nothing left，” panted Mrs. Zou as she came in.“When I told him to come and tell you so himself he kept talking back. I told him ... ”

“Sir！” cried Ah Q with an attempt at a smile， coming to a halt under the eaves.

“I hear you did well for yourself in town， Ah Q，” said Mr. Zhao， going up to him and looking him over carefully. “Very good. Now...they say you have some old things.... Bring them all here for us to look at. This is simply because I happen to want...”

“I told Mrs. Zou—there’s nothing left.”

“Nothing left？” Mr. Zhao could not help sounding disappointed. “How could they go so quickly？”

“They belonged to a friend， and there wasn’t much to begin with. Peo­ple bought some.... ”

“There must be something left.”

“Only a door curtain.”

“Then bring the door curtain for us to see，” said Mrs. Zhao hurriedly.

“Well， tomorrow will do，” said Mr. Zhao without much enthusiasm.“When you have anything in future， Ah Q， you must bring it to us first ... ”

“We certainly won’t pay less than other people！” said the successful county candidate. His wife shot a hasty glance at Ah Q to see his reaction.

“I need a fur jacket，”said Mrs. Zhao.

油灯干了不少了，阿Q还不到。赵府的全眷都很焦急，打着呵欠，或恨阿Q太飘忽，或怨邹七嫂不上紧。赵太太还怕他因为春天的条件不敢来，而赵太爷以为不足虑：因为这是“我”去叫他的。果然，到底赵太爷有见识，阿Q终于跟着邹七嫂进来了。

“他只说没有没有，我说你自己当面说去，他还要说，我说……”邹七嫂气喘吁吁的走着说。

“太爷！”阿Q似笑非笑的叫了一声，在檐下站住了。

“阿Q，听说你在外面发财，”赵太爷踱开去，眼睛打量着他的全身，一面说。“那很好，那很好的。这个，……听说你有些旧东西，……可以都拿来看一看，……这也并不是别的，因为我倒要……”

“我对邹七嫂说过了。都完了。”

“完了？”赵太爷不觉失声的说，“那里会完得这样快呢？”

“那是朋友的，本来不多。他们买了些，……”

“总该还有一点罢。”

“现在，只剩了一张门幕了。”

“就拿门幕来看看罢。”赵太太慌忙说。

“那么，明天拿来就是，”赵太爷却不甚热心了。“阿Q，你以后有什么东西的时候，你尽先送来给我们看，……”

“价钱决不会比别家出得少！”秀才说。秀才娘子忙一瞥阿Q的脸，看他感动了没有。

“我要一件皮背心。”赵太太说。

Although Ah Q agreed， he slouched out so carelessly that they did not know whether he had taken their instructions to heart or not. This so disappointed， annoyed and worried Mr. Zhao that he even stopped yawning. The successful candidate was also far from satisfied with Ah Q’s attitude. “People should be on their guard against such a turtle’s egg，” he said.“It might be best to order the bailiff to forbid him to live in Weizhuang.”

Mr. Zhao did not agree， saying that then Ah Q might bear a grudge，and that in a business like this it was probably a case of “the eagle does not prey on its own nest”： his own village need not worry so long as they were a little more watchful at night. The successful candidate， much impressed by this parental instruction， immediately withdrew his proposal for banishing Ah Q but cautioned Mrs. Zou on no account to repeat what had been said.

The next day， however， when Mrs. Zou took her blue skirt to be dyed black she repeated these insinuations about Ah Q， although not actually mentioning what the successful candidate had said about driving him away. Even so， it was most damaging to Ah Q. In the first place， the bailiff ap­peared at his door and took away the door curtain. Although Ah Q protested that Mrs. Zhao wanted to see it， the bailiff would not give it back and even demanded monthly hush money. In the second place， the villagers’ respect for Ah Q suddenly changed. Although they still dared not take liberties，from their previous fear of his “Off with his head！” it closely resembled the attitude of the ancients to spirits： they kept a respectful distance.

Some idlers who wanted to get to the bottom of the business went to question Ah Q carefully. And with no attempt at concealment Ah Q told them proudly of his experiences. They learned that he had merely been a petty thief， not only unable to climb walls but even unable to go through openings： he simply stood outside an opening to receive the stolen goods.

One night he had just received a package and his chief had gone in again， when he heard a great uproar inside and took to his heels as fast as he could. He fled from the town that same night， back to Weizhuang； and after this he dared not return to do any more thieving. This story， however， was even more damaging to Ah Q， since the villagers had been keeping a respectful distance because they did not want to incur his enmity； for who could have guessed that he was only a thief who dared not steal again？ Now they knew he was really too low to inspire fear.

阿Q虽然答应着，却懒洋洋的出去了，也不知道他是否放在心上；这使赵太爷很失望，气愤而且担心，至于停止了打呵欠。秀才对于阿Q的态度也很不平，于是说，这忘八蛋要提防，或者竟不如吩咐地保，不许他住在未庄。但赵太爷以为不然，说这也怕要结怨，况且做这路生意的大概是“老鹰不吃窝下食”，本村倒不必担心的；只要自己夜里警醒点就是了。秀才听了这“庭训”，非常之以为然，便即刻撤消了驱逐阿Q的提议，而且叮嘱邹七嫂，请伊万不要向人提起这一段话。

但第二日，邹七嫂便将那蓝裙去染了皂，又将阿Q可疑之点传扬出去了，可是确没有提起秀才要驱逐他这一节。然而这已经于阿Q很不利。最先，地保寻上门了，取了他的门幕去，阿Q说是赵太太要看的，而地保也不还，并且要议定每月的孝敬钱。其次，是村人对于他的敬畏忽而变相了，虽然还不敢来放肆，却很有远避的神情，而这神情和先前的防他来“嚓”的时候又不同，颇混着“敬而远之”的分子了。

只有一班闲人们却还要寻根究底的去探阿Q的底细。阿Q也并不讳饰，傲然的说出他的经验来。从此他们才知道，他不过是一个小脚色，不但不能上墙，并且不能进洞，只站在洞外接东西。有一夜，他刚才接到一个包，正手再进去，不一会，只听得里面大嚷起来，他便赶紧跑，连夜爬出城，逃回未庄来了，从此不敢再去做。然而这故事却于阿Q更不利，村人对于阿Q的“敬而远之”者，本因为怕结怨，谁料他不过是一个不敢再偷的偷儿呢？这实在是“斯亦不足畏也矣'。