The Complete Works of Xu Zhimo's Classical Prose

Chapter 14 Catching Duckweed on the Edge of Autumn Dream (13)
But you still have to choose your viewing time.Britain's weather and climate are extreme.Winter is absurdly bad, and you must not hesitate to go to hell itself to try it every day when it is blinded by continuous fog; spring (there is hardly any summer in Britain) is even more absurdly lovely, especially in its April and May period. The most beautiful dusk is really an inch of gold.An evening by the Cam is a tonic for the soul.Ah!I was sweetly alone at that time, and I was sweetly leisured at that time.Night after night, I saw me leaning on the bridge railing and staring at the western sky in a trance
Take a look at the quiet bridge shadow,

Count the corrugations of the spiral,

I lean against the moss on the stone fence to warm it,

The moss cools my heart...

There are also a few more cumbersome scenes:
Unforgettable evening in July, the distant trees are silent,

Like the ink-splashed mountain shape, setting off the soft and dark colors,
Dense, seven points light yellow, three points orange green,
The wonderful meaning can only be captured at the edge of Qiumeng...

four

Both sides of the river are the most lush evergreen lawns.Looking from the upper floor of the alumni residence, on the pasture on the opposite bank, no matter morning or evening, there are always dozens of yellow cattle and white horses, their hooves not in the overgrown grass, chewing calmly, and the yellow flowers of the stars are turbulent in the wind. And the sweep of their manes.Both ends of the bridge are protected by leaning weeping willows and shade; the water is crystal clear, less than four feet deep, and long strips of aquatic plants grow evenly.The lawn on the shore is my favorite. In the Qing Dynasty, in the evening, I often sat on the natural brocade, sometimes reading, sometimes watching the water; sometimes lying on my back to watch the clouds in the sky, and sometimes hugging the earth soft.

But the wind on the river is more than just the beauty of the banks.You have to buy a boat to play.There are more than one kind of boat: there are ordinary sculls, light canoe (Canoe), and the most unique long pole boat (Punt).The last type is not commonly found elsewhere: it is about two feet long and three feet wide, and you stand upright on the stern of the boat and walk with a long pole propped up.This support is a technique.My hands and feet are too stupid to learn.When you first try it, it is easy to put the hull of the boat horizontally in the river, bumping around and bumping into a mess.The British don't laugh easily, but watch out for their silent frowns!I don't know how many times the leisurely order in the river has been disrupted by a reckless layman like me.I really never learned it; every time I refused to admit defeat and ran to rent a boat to try again, a white-bearded boatman often said to me sarcastically: "Sir, it's hard to punting, it's hot and tiring, I'd better take Let's go with a thin skin boat!" I was obedient, and pushed the boat away with a long pole, but it still cut off sections of the river!
You stand on the bridge to watch others support, how effortless and beautiful it is!Especially on Sundays, there are a few expert girls, wearing plain clothes, skirts fluttering in the wind, wearing a wide-brimmed tulle hat, the shadow of the hat trembling among the water plants, look at their posture when they come out of the bridge hole , picked up a long pole that looked weightless, just lightly and carelessly pointed towards the heart of the wave, and squatted slightly, the hull of the boat turned out of the shadow of the bridge, like a green fish. Slid forward.Their quickness, their leisure, their lightness, are really worth singing about.

When the sun is getting warmer in early summer, you go to buy a boat, row to the bridge and lie down in the shade to read your book or dream your dream, the fragrance of Sophora japonica flowers floats on the water, and the chatter of fish schools is in your ears tease.Or at dusk in early autumn, near the cold light of the new moon, looking far away at the secluded place in the upper reaches.The lively teenagers brought their girlfriends, set up a pair of oriental colored paper lanterns on the side of the boat, and carried chatterboxes. The heart of the boat was covered with cushions, and they also drove to uninhabited places to enjoy their wild blessings. The music that turns the bottom of the water describes dreams and spring on the quiet river!

It is not easy for people who are used to living in cities to know the changes of seasons.When you see the leaves fall, you know it's autumn; when you see the leaves green, you know it's spring; when it's cold, you put on the stove, and when it's hot, you take down the stove;The news of the stars in the sky, the news of the earth under the ground, and the news of the wind in the sky are none of our business.When you are busy, there are so many things going on, who cares about the shifting of the stars, the ebb and flow of flowers and plants, and the changes of the wind and clouds?At the same time, we complain about our lives, suffering, boredom, restraint, and dullness. Who would admit that being a human is a joy?Who doesn't curse life more often than not?
But an unsatisfactory life is largely self-inflicted.I am a believer in life, and I believe that life is by no means as bleak as most of us deduce from our own experience.The root cause of our illness is "forgetting our roots".Human beings are the offspring of nature, just like the flowers and birds on the branches are the offspring of nature; but we are unfortunately civilized people.Can the flowers and plants without the soil and the fish without the water be happy?Can it survive?From nature we take our life; from nature we owe our continuing nourishment.That big whirling tree has no twisted roots and goes deep into the endless hidden ground?We can never be independent.Happiness is a child who never leaves his mother, and health is a person who is always close to nature.It is not necessary to swim with deer and hogs, or to go back to the "cave mansion"; in order to cure the embarrassment of our current life, as long as "not completely forgetting nature" is a light prescription, there is hope for our illness to be alleviated.Roll a few times in the green grass, take a few baths in the sea water, go to a high place to watch the sunrise and sunset a few times, and the burden on your shoulders will be relaxed.

This is very superficial truth, of course.But if I hadn't lived the life of meeting Cambridge, I wouldn't have such confidence.I only have that one spring in my life, which is pitiful, but I have never wasted it.Just that one spring, my life was natural and really pleasant! (Though it also happened to be the time when I felt the most pain in my life.) I had leisure, freedom, and the chance to be absolutely alone.Strange to say, it was like the first time that I recognized the brightness of the stars and the moon, the greenness of the grass, the fragrance of the flowers, and the hospitality of the flowing water.Can I forget the look at that early spring?How many mornings have I braved the cold and walked alone in the frost-covered woods to listen to the birdsong, to look forward to the sunrise, to find the flowers and plants that are gradually waking up in the soil, and to experience the most subtle and most wonderful spring letters.Ah, that is the new thrush trying its new voice on the endless green branches over there!Ah, this is the first little snowball flower to break out of the half-frozen ground!Ah, isn't this the newcomer Chao Run stained with lonely wicker?

It is extremely quiet, the water-melted avenue, only the bell of the milk truck in the distance, embellishes the silence around here.Walk along this avenue, go to the end, then turn into the path in the forest, go to the place where the smog is thick, there is the shade of intertwined elms above your head, revealing the deserted dawn; This forest is a flat field in front of me. I can see cottages, young wheat fields, and three or two steam-shaped hills in the distance cover a passage.The sky is foggy, and the sharp black shadow is the religious temple near the village.Listen, that Xiaozhong's gentle voiceless voice.This area is the plain in the central part of the state. The terrain is like the light waves in the sea, undulating silently; the mountains are invisible, and some are evergreen grasslands and fertile fields.Looking from the top of the mound, Cambridge is just a lush forest surrounded by several elegant pavilions.There is no trace of the charming Kang River, you can only follow the brocade-like trees and imagine the cleanness and shallowness.Cottages and woods are pawns on this land. Where there are cottages, there is good shade, and where there is good shade, there are cottages.Waking up early is the time to watch the smoke: the morning fog gradually rises, unveiling the gray sky (preferably after a slight hailstorm), and the smoke from far and near is in strands, strands, rolls, The brisk, sluggish, thick gray, light blue, and pale ones gradually rise and disappear in the quiet vitality, as if they are the prayers of the people coming to the court, and the uneven shadows are heard in the sky.The sun is rare to see, this early spring weather.But when it comes it is an early morning delight.In an instant, the field became darker, and a layer of veil-like gold powder covered the grass, the trees, the passage, and the cottages.In an instant, the surroundings were filled with the gorgeous tenderness of the morning.In an instant your bosom is also moistened with the glory of the day's birth. "spring"!This triumphant sky seems to whisper in your ear. "spring"!Your jovial soul seems to echo there too.

Waiting for the scenery on the river, the news of the coming of spring one day at a time.Caring about the moss marks on the stone, caring about the fresh flowers in the weeds, caring about the speed of the water flow, caring about the growth of aquatic plants, caring about the clouds in the sky, caring about the new birdsong.The cowardly little Xueqiu is Tan Chunxin's envoy.Lily of the valley and vanilla are the first sounds of joy.The graceful Lianxin, the exquisite Narcissus, the boisterous Crox, the hard-working Pu Gongying and Daisy are already in the world at this time, and there is no need to be attentive.

Magnificent spring bloom.This is your period of wild travel.Lovely Luzheng, this place is no better than China, where is it not a magnanimous avenue?Hiking is a pleasure, but cycling is an even greater pleasure.Riding a bicycle is a common skill in Cambridge; women, children, and old people all enjoy the joy of this double-wheel dance. (In Cambridge, I heard that the self-rotating car is not afraid of being stolen, so everyone owns a car, and no one wants to steal it) You can choose a direction, let you go up a passage, follow the grassy wind, and put the wheel Go away, keeping your leisure for half a day is a tonic for your soul.There is plenty of shade and beautiful grass on this road, and you can rest anywhere.If you love flowers, there are many beautiful grasslands here.If you love birds, there are many clever songbirds here.If you love children, this country is full of lovely children.If you love human feelings, there are many locals here who are not too far away. You can "place an order" to stay overnight. There are buttermilk and tender potatoes for you to eat, and there are eye-catching fresh fruits for you to try.If you love wine, the countryside will reserve the best new brew for you every "wish". If the dark beer is too strong, apple cider and ginger wine are all for you to quench your thirst and moisten your lungs. …Take a book, walk ten miles, choose a quiet place, watch the sky, listen to the birds, read a book, when you are tired, and go to dream in the grass, can you imagine a more suitable and suitable pastime?
Lu Fangweng has a couplet of verses: "Paging a fast horse to welcome the new moon, but going to a light public house to take advantage of the cool evening"; this is the flair of being a local official.Although I didn't have a horse or a sedan chair when I was in Cambridge, I still had my romance: I often rode a bicycle to catch up with the flat sun in the sky when the sun was setting.The sun cannot be chased, and I don't have the absurdity of Kuafu, but I have tasted a lot of the tenderness of the evening scene in this way.There are three or two painting-like experiences that are still vividly preserved.Just talking about watching the sunset, we usually only know about climbing mountains or facing the sea, but in reality, we only need the vast sky, and the sunset on the flat ground is sometimes just as magical.Once I rushed to a place, held the fence of a village, watched the changes in the western sky across a large field of wheat waves.Once, facing a broad road, a large flock of sheep came over and came back from grazing. The huge sun radiated thousands of rays of golden light from their backs, but the sky was black and green, and only the sheep in this unstoppable majesty remained. A road, a group of creatures, my heart suddenly felt oppressed by the mysterious, I really knelt down, facing the gradually fading golden light.Once again, it was an even more unforgettable spectacle. It was facing a large stretch of endless grassland, full of bright red poppies, and the pavilions in the green grass looked like thousands of golden lamps. The sun slanted through the brown clouds. Looking at it, it turned into a strange purple, transparent and unstoppable. Suddenly, in my dazzled vision, this grass field became... Don't worry about it, you won't believe it!
It's been more than two years since I left, Cambridge, who knows my hidden worry of homesickness?I don’t think about anything else, all I want is the dusk when the clock shakes that night, the open field, leaning alone in the soft grass, watching the first big star appear in the sky!

15 Jan [-]
Originally published in "Morning Supplement" on January 1926-1, 16, included in "The Scale and Claw of Paris"

(End of this chapter)