《额尔古纳河右岸》:清晨、正午、黄昏和半个月亮

来源:中国文化译研网

作者:

2019-03-15

编者按:为了更好地进行中国文学海外传播工作,让中国作品在海外被发现(Discover)、被理解(Understand)、被传播(Express),中国文化译研网(CCTSS)邀请国内资深文学主编及文学评论家,精选出近两百部短中长篇小说,形成第一期《中国当代文学作品指南》(简称“指南”),从更具权威性、价值性的角度出发,更好地向世界展示中国当代文学精品,传播中国书香。


春读书,兴味长,磨其砚,笔花香。现将“指南”中的精品文学作品以一日一推的方式向读者呈现,让我们不负春日好时光。


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迟子建 , 女 , 山东海阳人,1964 年生于黑龙江漠河。1984 年毕业于大兴安岭师范学校,1987 年入北京师范大学与鲁迅文学院联办的研究生班学习。毕业后到黑龙江省作协工作至今。现任黑龙江省作协副主席。


1983 年开始文学创作。著有长篇小说《树下》《晨钟响彻黄昏》《伪满洲国》《越过云层的晴朗》《群山之巅》,小说集《北极村童话》《白雪的墓园》《向着白夜旅行》《逝川》《白银那》《朋友们来看雪吧》《清水洗尘》《雾月牛栏》《当代作家选集丛书·迟子建卷》《踏着月光的行板》,散文随笔集《伤怀之美》《听时光飞舞》《我的世界下雪了》《迟子建随笔自选集》等,另有《迟子建文集》(4 卷)、《迟子建作品精华》(3 卷),已发表文学作品 500 万字,出版单行本 40 余部。


《雾月牛栏》曾获得第 1 届鲁迅文学奖;《清水洗尘》获第 1 届鲁迅文学奖;《世界上所有的夜晚》获第 4 届鲁迅文学奖、2004—2006 年全国优秀中篇小说奖;《额尔古纳河右岸》获第七届茅盾文学奖。



Chi Zijian, a female writer, was born in 1964 in Mohe city, Heilongjiang Province. She graduated from the Greater Khingan Normal School in 1984, and furthered her studies in 1987 with a post-graduate degree in a school co-established by Beijing Normal University and Lu Xun Literary Institute (formerly Central Literary Research Institute). Since graduation, she has been working in Heilongjiang Writer’s Association, where she now serves as the Vice Chairperson.


Since 1983 she has been publishing literary works. Her novels include Beneath the Tree, Morning Bell Heard Throughout the Evening, Puppet Manchukuo, Sunshine Behind the Clouds, and Peak Among the Mountains. Her collections of novellas include Tales from an Arctic Village, The Snowy Graveyard, Travels to White Nights, Shichuan, Baiyinna, Let’s Enjoy the Snow, Washing Off Dust with Clear Water, Fog, Moon, and the Cattle Pen, Collection of Contemporary Writers: Chi Zijian and Andante Treading on the Moonlight. Her collection of essays and prose include Beauty of Sentiment, Listen, Time is Flying, My World Is Snowing and Collection of Chi Zijian’s Prose. Her other publications include Collection of Chi Zijian (Four Volumes) and Selected Works of Chi Zijian (Three Volumes). Her publications total more than five million words and more than forty separate editions.


Furthermore Fog, Moon, and the Cattle Pen won the first Luxun Literature Prize in 1996, Washing Off Dust with Clear Water won the second Luxun Literature Prize in 2000, All Night in the World won the fourth Luxun Literature Prize in 2007 and the 2004-2006 National Award for Outstanding Novellas, and Last Quarter of the Moon won the 7th Maodun Literature Prize in 2008.

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《额尔古纳河右岸》


《额尔古纳河右岸》发表于《收获》2005 年第 6 期。小说中,迟子建使用了“独语体”来表达她对那个行将消逝的民族历史的心灵感应。小说借 “ 我”— — 鄂温克民族最后一位酋长的妻子的视角讲述了一个民族近百年所经历的悠长而伤感的发展变化史。在这女性化的讲述中,鄂温克人与异族的仇杀、猎人与狼的殊死搏斗、饥荒战争与政治斗争这些本应残酷的情节也变得悠远、悠然乃至优美了。作品把鄂温克民族的历史叙事建立在对自然景物、季节变迁、民间风俗的详细描绘基础之上,充分体现了鄂温克民族崇尚 “天人合一”的自然历史观。小说以萨满跳神和唱神歌贯穿全书, 反映了萨满的神秘、执着、无私与高尚,尼都萨满和妮浩萨满这两位宗教使者都勇于牺牲个人身上的“小爱”获得人类的“大爱” 。


《额尔古纳河右岸》充满了结构性隐喻和时间性隐喻。在结构上 , 她把历史浓缩在一天 , 清晨、正午、黄昏分别隐喻了历史发展由初而盛、盛极而衰的过程。尽管在这一过程中 , 叙述者为这行将消失的历史而哀叹 , 但又用“半个月亮” 来寄托自己的希冀和坚守。


This novel was first published in the magazine Harvest in 2005 (6th volume). In this novel, Chi Zijian the author used the first-person monologue to express her sentiment of the ethnic group that is going to lose their tradition. The narrator was the wife of the last Chieftain, and from her perspective, a long and sad story of what the Evenkis experienced during almost a century was vividly depicted. In the retelling of the story that is filled with female touch, plots that should have been harsh and cruel,such as fights between the Evenkis and other ethnic groups, desperate fights between hunters and wolves, famine, war, and political struggles, became distant and thus not so tense that even seemed beautiful. The narrator combines the historic narrative of the Evenkis with detailed depiction of natural surroundings, season changes, and customs. The writing style best reflects the natural view the Evenkis held that people and the universe shall be in harmony with each other. The major storyline of this novel could be Shamans performing God Dances and God Songs. Shamans were mysterious, selfless, inflexible, and noble. Neidu and Neher, the two Shamans depicted in the book, were both ready to sacrifice their own benefits for the good of others.


Last Quarter of the Moon is metaphorical both in structure and in time. In terms of structure, the whole story was told in one day. The change from morning to noon and then to dusk represents the development from the beginning to the end. During the process, though lamenting the tradition that was to be lost, the narrator was still using the “half moon” to suggest her hope and persistence. 



作品概要

Synopsis

《额尔古纳河右岸》主要描述了生活在中俄边界鄂温克族的百年沧桑史和生活现状。小说的故事讲述人是一位年逾九十的鄂温克族最后一个酋长的女人。她把鄂温克族的变迁以一种苍凉、厚重而又不失温婉的语气自述出来。故事分为清晨、正午、黄昏及半个月亮几个部分。


清晨

清晨这部分主要讲述了鄂温克民族的驯鹿、狩猎、萨满、神灵、风俗仪式及父辈之间的故事。我们的祖先曾居住在贝尔加湖上游的拉穆湖畔,与驯鹿相依为生。三百年后俄军入侵,我们的祖先被迫迁徙到额尔古纳河右岸。为了驯鹿觅食,我们要频繁地搬迁。我们以狩猎为食,偶尔与外界换些许面粉、酒、盐巴。我们敬畏自然界的一切神灵。在我长大之前,森林茂密,我们的生活从不受别人打扰。女人们留在营地做各种活计,男人们则出去狩猎。人死后我们举行风葬仪式。尼都萨满会跳神解救生灵。而我喜欢夜晚躺在希楞柱里看星星,听依芙琳讲故事,与自然相拥,自在而快乐地长大。

我的父亲林克与母亲达玛拉非常相爱。父亲是我们乌力楞的族长,枪法准确。我的姐姐列娜冻死在驯鹿背上。一次我们乌力楞的驯鹿不幸感染上了瘟疫,驯鹿锐减。父亲林克在换取健壮驯鹿的路上被雷击中而死。母亲达玛拉伤心欲绝,逐渐枯萎。后来,达玛拉和尼都萨满彼此倾心,但因氏族规矩和我的反对而未走到一起。为此,他们变得抑郁寡欢。 

我的姑姑依芙琳歪鼻子,话语尖刻,惹人讨厌。我的姑父坤德年轻时爱上蒙古姑娘,在父母逼迫下与依芙琳结婚。他们俩尽管有一个儿子金得,但两口子一辈子都不和睦。伊万是我们乌力楞的铁匠。民国二十年秋,她的妻子、俄罗斯人娜杰什卡听到日本人要到山中清理蓝眼睛人的传闻,吓坏了,带着她的一双儿女逃回额尔古纳河左岸。哈谢的妻子玛利亚在公公老达西死后,怀孕生了一个儿子,取名达西。


正午

正午这部分讲述的是我这一辈的故事。日本人来了,我们的生活发生了很多改变。我在寻找逃回额尔古纳河左岸的娜杰什卡时,在森林中迷了路,与我的第一个男人拉吉达相遇。婚后三年我生了一个男孩维克特。我的弟弟鲁尼也和妮浩结了婚。鲁尼婚礼那天,母亲达玛拉去世了。

我的丈夫拉吉达接替父亲林克做了我们的族长。那年冬天,汉人许财发、日本人吉田来到我们营地,要我们为日本人效力。尼都萨满跳神,使吉田伤口愈合,吉田大为赞叹。就在那个夜晚,我生下二儿子安道尔,尼都萨满却去世了。

日本人铃木秀男来了,并在乌启罗夫建立“东大营”,强迫猎民下山训练。男人们走后,驯鹿没有可食的苔藓和蘑菇,我们决定大搬迁。但一场雪灾让我们陷入绝境,驯鹿没了踪影。男人们回来分头去找驯鹿,我的丈夫拉吉达在寻驯鹿途中,骑在马背上因极度疲惫而睡着,被冻死。于是,伊万做了我们的族长。次年,我的弟媳妇妮浩生下一男孩果格力。

民国三十一年,妮浩做了萨满。依芙琳强逼儿子金得娶歪嘴姑娘杰芙琳娜。金得在婚礼后吊死于枯松上。刚结婚就守寡的杰芙琳娜伤心欲绝,达西在葬礼上向她求婚。达西的这一行为遭到母亲玛利亚的拒斥。依芙琳和玛利亚由此形同陌路。这年秋天,我开始在岩石上作画。妮浩生了个女孩交库托坎。

男人们又下山受训,坤德列队老出错,铃木秀男放狼狗咬他,伊万制服了狼狗,却被关进牢房,后来伊万逃走。伊万走后,我们又推举鲁尼做族长。又一年的夏天,山上流行“黄病”,拉吉达庞大的家族被“黄病”席卷得只剩下幼小的弟弟拉吉米,我把拉吉米带到我们的乌力楞。拉吉米历经亲人的死亡而变得沉默寡言,吹起口弦琴——木库莲。

1944 年,乌力楞的男人最后一次受训。1945 年 8 月,日本撤退,拉吉米的马因战火受到惊吓而狂奔,把他的睾丸、阴囊颠碎了。战火中,我与第二个男人瓦罗加相遇。那年秋天,满洲国灭亡。妮浩生一男孩:耶尔斯涅。


黄昏

黄昏这部分主要讲述了新中国成立后,鄂温克民族逐渐走出森林、下山定居。1946 年秋,我生下女儿达吉亚娜。瓦罗加将他的氏族一分为二,引起了他们氏族里的一个男人马粪包的不满。马粪包对自己的女儿柳莎非常粗暴,又常侮辱那个失去男性特征的孤儿拉吉米。他吃熊肉时大不敬,被熊骨卡住了喉咙。妮浩为其跳神才救了他,可是,妮浩却因此失去了自己的一个孩子交库托坎。马粪包由此而悔过,以自残的方式得到了我们的原谅。

1948 年,妮浩产下一女孩贝尔娜。1950 年,乌启罗夫成立合作社。1955 年,我的大儿子维克特与柳莎结婚。由于依芙琳与玛利亚的矛盾不可调和,我们不得不为了她们而分开。鲁尼带走了玛利亚一家、我的二儿子安道尔。我一家和依芙琳留在原地。1956 年,开发大兴安岭,修铁路、公路,因此我们频繁地搬迁。 

1959 年政府为我们在乌启罗夫盖起了几栋房子,让大家下山定居。深秋,鲁尼邀我参加安道尔和瓦霞的婚礼,瓦霞是个轻佻的女人,骗安道尔与他发生关系并生下儿子安草儿,后与马贩子偷跑了。而妮浩在临产前,为救偷驯鹿的汉人而失去腹中孩子。

1965年,大兴安岭开始大规模地开发。政府又动员我们到山下的定居点激流乡去居住,这是继乌启罗夫之后的第二次大规模的定居。这次只有我和孙子安草儿留在山上。两年以后,因驯鹿不适应圈养,猎民一批又一批地离开定居点回到了山里。我的女儿达吉亚娜嫁给了神枪手索长林,生下依莲娜。依莲娜擅长画画,成为我们鄂温克民族的第一个大学生。拉吉米在马厩里捡了一个女孩取名马伊堪,他很疼爱马伊堪。马伊堪长大后美如仙女,但拉吉米害怕失去马伊堪,总是阻止马伊堪恋爱。1968 年,达西和伊万因一张地图而被造反派关押,出来后,达西少了一只腿,伊万少了两根手指。1972 年达西自杀,杰芙琳娜吃毒蘑菇殉情。

萨满的职责就是救人,可是每当妮浩跳神把人从死神手中夺回,就会失去一个自己的孩子。她和丈夫鲁尼痛苦不堪,但总是选择救人。她的女儿贝尔娜怕母亲跳神救人会牺牲自己的性命,便逃走了。妮浩经历了多次丧失儿女的痛苦后佩戴麝香避孕,不再生育。1974 年我的丈夫瓦罗加和马粪包一起送电影放映员回去,路上遭遇黑熊袭击。瓦罗加这位我们民族的最后一位酋长就这样离世了。我的儿子维克特在围猎中用枪误杀了自己的弟弟安道尔,伤心难过而终日酗酒。1976 年,他酗酒而死。1978 年,我的孙子安草儿和优莲结婚。他们的双胞胎儿子帕日格、沙合力出生后,安草儿也死了。1980 年,30 岁的马伊堪生下私生子西班后跳崖自尽。

九十年代,我的孙女依莲娜厌倦了城市,回到山上作画。西班开始造字。1998 年,两个林业工人乱扔烟头,引发一场来势汹汹的大火,妮浩跳神祈雨,她用大雨熄灭了山火,自己也倒下而亡。达吉雅娜把妮浩的神衣、神鼓捐给了博物馆,阻止了妮浩儿子玛克辛姆当萨满的悲凉命运。进入新世纪,依莲娜宣布完成了妮浩祈雨的情景那幅画以后,死在河中我在依莲娜遗体拉上岸的地方找一块白岩石,为她画了一盏灯,照亮她前行的路。那是我最后一次作画。


半个月亮

激流乡成为一片空城。森林因过度砍伐而稀疏,动物锐减,驯鹿所食的苔藓越来越少,我们不得不频繁搬迁。达吉亚娜和其他几个乌力楞的人向政府申请建立新的定居点。他们终于都搬到布苏定居了。诺大的森林里只剩下我和孙子安草儿,还有那只白色的驯鹿木库莲。


Last Quarter of the Moon describes the vicissitudes and the current living conditions of the Evenki people, an ethnic minority living in northeast China on the border area between China and Russia. The narrator is a woman in her 90s, wife of the last chieftain of the Evenki tribe. In a self-narrative tone, she tells the story of the Evenkis in a desolate, heavy, yet gentle and delicate way. The book is divided into four parts, namely, morning, noon, dusk, and half moon.


Morning


This part mainly describes the reindeer, hunting, Shaman, spirits, customs, and stories of the older generation.


Our forefathers lived by Lake Ramu, which is in the upstream of Lake Baikal. The reindeer were their close friends. 300 years later when the Russian army invaded, our forefathers were driven to the right bank of the Argun River. The reindeer fed on lichen, and as a result we had to migrate frequently. We mainly lived on hunting, but we occasionally bartered for some flour, liquor, and salt with the outside world. We were in awe to all spirits in Nature. During my childhood, the forest was so dense that we were never intruded by outsiders. Women stayed in the camp doing chores, while men went out hunting. When people died, we held ceremonies of wind burial. Neidu the Shaman would dance to save lives. I enjoyed lying in our ger in the evening, watching the stars through the opening at the top, and listening to Evelyn’s stories. I had a happy and free life in the nature.


My father Linke and my mother Damarla were deep in love with each other. Linke, a sharpshooter, was the Chieftain of our clan. My elder sister Liena was frozen to death one day when she was riding a reindeer. Later, the reindeer of our clan got infected with the plague and they died quickly. Linke my father wanted to get some healthy reindeer from another clan, but on his way he was struck to death by lightening. The saddened Damarla was seen withering with every single day. Later she and Neidu the Shaman fell in love, but they could not be married because of the custom, and because of our objection. They were gloomy ever since.


My aunt Evelyn had a broken nose and she was avoided by everyone because of her sharp tongue. My uncle Kund had fallen in love with a Mongolian girl when he was young, but he was forced by his parents to marry Evelyn. The two of them raised a son called Kind, but they were never in peace throughout their life. Ivan was the blacksmith of our clan. In autumn of 1931, his wife, a Russian called Nagishka believed in the rumor that the Japanese would go into the woods to hunt and kill people with blue eyes. Scared to death, she escaped to the left bank of the Augun with her son and daughter. Maria, wife of Hussie, gave birth to a son and named him Darcy after her father-in-law who had died not long before.


Noon


This part describes the story of my generation. The Japanese came and a lot of changes took place in our lives.


I was lost in the forest when trying to look for Nagishka, who had run back to the left bank of the Argun. At that time, however, I met my first husband Lagida. Three years after our marriage, I gave birth to a boy and named him Victor. My younger brother Runie married Neher, and on the day of their wedding my mother Damarla died.


My husband Lagida took the place of my father and became the Chieftain. That winter, two men came to our camp. One was a Han Chinese named Xu Caifa and the other a Japanese named Yoshida. The Japanese wanted us to serve them. Neidu the Shaman danced to heal the wound of Yoshida, which astounded him greatly. On the same evening, I gave birth to my second son Andor, but Neidu the Shaman died.


Another Japanese man named Suzuki Hideo came. He established a so-called “Eastern Camp” at Uqirov and forced the hunters there to train. After the men left, the reindeer could not find enough lichen or mushroom to eat. Therefore we decided to migrate, but were trapped by a snowstorm when the reindeer all ran out of sight. Our men came back to look for the reindeer, and during their search my husband Lagida was frozen to death on horseback. He had become exhausted and fallen asleep. Ivan became the Chieftain then. The next year, Neher my sister-inlaw gave birth to a son, Gogol.


In 1942, Neher became the Shaman. Evelyn my aunt forced her son Kind to marry Jefflina, a girl with a distorted mouth. Kind hanged himself on a pine tree right after the wedding ceremony. Jefflina was greatly saddened at becoming a widow on her wedding day, and Darcy asked for her hand at Kind’s funeral. This act of Darcy greatly annoyed his mother Maria, and Evelyn and Maria became enemies ever since. This autumn, I began drawing on rocks, and Neher gave birth to a girl named Jokutocan.


The men went down to train again. Kund was always wrong in doing the drills and Suzuki Hideo was so mad that he ordered a hound to attack Kund. Ivan subdued the hound, but as a result was put in jail. Later, however, Ivan escaped. After his escape, we chose Runie to be the Chieftain. When another summer came, a “yellow plague” went around in the mountains. Lagida’s big family was attacked, and only his youngest brother Lagim survived. I brought Lagim to our clan. Lagim became mute after what happened, and he would play a mouth organ called Mukulian to let out his sadness.


In 1944, men in our clan went to train again, but this time for the last time. In August, 1945, the Japanese retreated. Lagim was riding a horse when it, frightened by the bombs, ran wild, all in all resulting in Lagim crushing his testicles and scrotum. At that time I met my second husband Varroka. That autumn saw the end of Manchukuo and Neher gave birth to a boy named Jelsni.


Dusk


This part mainly describes how, since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Evenkis gradually walked out of the forest, and got established off the mountains.


In 1946, I gave birth to a girl named Daghiana. Varroka divided his tribe into two, which raised anger in a man in his tribe called Horse Dung. Horse Dung was always brutal to his own daughter Lassia, and rude to Lagim the orphan who had lost his male characteristics. Horse Dung was also disgruntled when eating, and once got stuck in the throat by a piece of bear’s bone. Neher danced the God Dance to save him, but she lost her own child Jokutocan because of this. Horse Dung cut his own penis off to let out his deep regret, and we forgave him.


In 1948, Neher gave birth to a girl Belna. In 1950 at Uqirov, a cooperative society was established by the government. In 1955, my eldest son Victor married Lassia. Because Evelyn and Maria could no longer put up with each other, our clan had to separate. Runie my brother brought along with him Maria and her family and my second son Andor, while my family stayed with Evelyn. In 1956, exploration of the greater Khingan began when railways and roads were being built. We had to move frequently.


In 1959, the government built several houses at Uqirov, and urged us to settle down there. In late autumn, Runie invited me to the wedding ceremony of Andor and Vassian. Vassian was coquettish, she lured Andor, and after giving birth to a son Anchue, she ran away with a horse dealer. Neher was about to give birth when she chose to save a Han Chinese who was stealing our reindeer, as a result she lost the baby.


In 1965, greater exploration of the greater Khingan started, and again the government tried to persuade us to settle down, this time at Current Village, a settlement off the mountains. This was the second large-scale settlement after Uqirov, and only my grandson Anchue and I chose to remain in the mountains. Two years later, however, because the reindeer could not be raised in pens, hunters returned in small groups. Daghiana my daughter married a sharp shooter called Sorcharin and gave birth to Iliana. Iliana was good at drawing, and later she became the first college student of all the Evenkis. Lagim found a baby girl in a stable and named her Mayecan. He treasured her very much. The girl grew up to be as beautiful as a fairy. Being afraid of losing the girl, Lagim was always trying to stop her from falling in love. In 1968, Darcy and Ivan were locked up by the revolutionists because of a map. When they were set free, Darcy lost a leg and Ivan two fingers. In 1972, Darcy committed suicide and Jefflina ate poisonous mushroom to be with him.


It was the Shaman’s duty to save lives, but whenever Neher the Shaman danced the God Dance to save a life, she would lose one of her own children. She and her husband Runie suffered a lot because of this fact, but they always chose to save lives. Belna, their daughter, was scared that she would be the next to be sacrificed, and so she ran away. After so many times of losing her children, Neher wore musk to avoid pregnancy. In 1974, my husband Varroka and Horse Dung escorted the film projectionist back to his own place. On their way they were attacked by a bear, and the last Chieftain of the Evenkis was thus killed. During a hunt my son Victor shot and killed his brother Andor by mistake, he could not forgive himself and indulged himself in alcohol. He died in 1976 because of this addiction. In 1978, my grandson Anchue married Yevlin. After the birth of their twin sons Parigot and Sherli, Yevlin died too. In 1980, Mayecan gave birth to a son named Span and jumped off a cliff. Nobody knew who Span’s father was.


In 1990s, my granddaughter Iliana got tired of city life and went back to the mountains, where she drew a lot. Span began creating writing characters to record our language. In 1998, two forest workers threw their cigarette ends carelessly, which caused a terrible forest fire. Neher danced to pray for rain. She brought rain, the fire was killed, but she herself was killed too. Daghiana brought Neher’s costumes and drums to the museum and kept Neher’s son Maxim from the misfortune of being the new Shaman.


It is a new century now. Iliana declared that she had finished the drawing about Neher praying for rain, then she died in the river. I found a white rock on the bank at the site where Iliana was pulled out and drew a lamp for her. I wanted this lamp to show her the way forward. That was the last time I ever drew.


Half Moon


The Jiliu Village was abandoned. The forest was no longer healthy because of excessive falling of trees. Animals became rare, and the lichen that reindeer depended on became fewer and fewer. We had to frequently move from place to place. Daghiana and people from other clans asked the government to build new settlements, and finally they all moved to Busu to settle down. In the vast forest, only my grandson Anchue and I remained. Apart from us, there was also Mukulian the white reindeer. 

责任编辑:罗雨静