Text/Pan Caixia
In the late spring of 1953, under the office building of the People's Literature Publishing House, Xiao Qian joined the team of inter-work exercises, and he had just been transferred.
Due to the bulging abdomen and the fact that when bending over, no matter how hard her hands tried to touch the ground, a girl in the proofreading section couldn't help but bite her ear at Wen Jieruo: "Look at Xiao Qian's strange appearance!" ”
That was the first time Wen Jieruo had seen Xiao Qian. At that time, she could not have imagined that her life would be tied to this big writer and big reporter.
Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > thanks to the world for having a snow child</h1>
Xiao Qian's name, Wen Jieruo, has long been familiar with, and when she read his "Valley of Dreams" in high school, she was deeply moved.
During World War II, Xiao Qian was a war correspondent for the Ta Kung Pao in Europe, and he personally experienced major events such as the bombing of London and the capture of Berlin, and reported on many historical scenes.
After the war, he could have been a well-paid Hong Kong newspaperman or invited to cambridge as a professor, but he was still "like a pigeon in love with his family, running back to his birthplace.".
War correspondent Xiao Qian
When he first arrived at the publishing house, Xiao Qian rarely appeared because of the revision of a movie script, and the manuscripts that needed his revision were sent home.
One day, Wen Jieruo brought the Soviet novel "The Millionaire" to the door for advice. Although she was once a famous talented woman in the Department of Foreign Languages of Tsinghua University, with her writing skills at that time, the proof was changed five times, and she still could not pay it.
Ten days later, she got Xiao Qian's edited manuscript, and when she read it, she was deeply inspired.
She was impressed by his talent, and after he went to work, she often went to ask for advice.
After getting along several times, Wen Jieruo found that Xiao Qian did not have the shelf of a big man at all, he was knowledgeable, witty and playful, and gave her enough patience and encouragement to this little assistant editor, which made her very moved.
As their interactions increased, they were surprised to find that they had too many common interests: both studied foreign literature, both liked Romain Rolland and Dickens, and both loved to listen to Mozart's Requiem.
The calm life suddenly rippled. Wen Jieruo has been accompanied by books since childhood, and before that, no peer could make her interested. She realized that in terms of text, Xiao Qian was a guide and a confidant.
Wen Jieruo Tsinghua graduation photo
It seems that there is a spirit in his heart, Wen Jieruo has just moved his heart, Xiao Qian has already taken action - he asked her to go boating in Beihai Park. After three failed marriages, he desperately wants a home, and Wen Jieruo's focus on learning is very appreciative.
On the day of the date, Xiao Qian also brought her 6-year-old son. Unexpectedly, when they were swaying among the lotus flowers, they were bumped into by colleagues from the publishing house.
Behind the scenes, colleagues have advised Wen Jieruo: "A person who has been scolded by the literary giants has no future in this society, you are a simple girl, how can you get close to him?" ”
Besides, he was 43 years old, and she was only 26 years old; not to mention, he had divorced three times and had a child!
Xiao Qian frankly told him about this. In an editorial published in the Ta Kung Pao, he once attacked the trend of "calling the public and calling himself old" in the literary world, offended Guo Moruo, was criticized, and was not allowed to engage in creation;
As for unhappy marriages, he also had nothing to hide: "Dump people, and they have also been dumped." It is precisely because of the detours that it is wiser and more sober. ”
What finally persuaded Wen Jieruo was her inner feelings: "This sincere affection can only be done once in a lifetime, no matter how much risk I encounter in the future and how much suffering I will suffer, I will also go out!" ”
The power of love triumphed over the world, and she decided to share her fate with him. Xiao Qian was very grateful for this. To show her his heart, he specially gave her a delicate onyx brooch, and the back of the lid of the brocade box read: "Thank you for the world for giving birth to a snow child." "Signature: Fun."
Yukiko is her Japanese name, and Rakuko is his nickname.
He invited her to see a play, and when the person in the play said on stage, "Our 40-year wish has finally come true," he squeezed her hand and whispered, "My 40-year wish has finally come true — I've found a home!" ”
Wedding
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > marry him, that is, marry religion</h1>
In the spring of 1954, a tricycle pulled Wen Jieruo's clothes and books to Xiao Qian's home. There was no wedding, no oath, no notification to anyone, but both of them seemed to have found their home in life.
The simple home is so comfortable and ideal, Xiao Qian often happily hums the American folk song "Lovely Home", and the successive births of two children bring him great happiness.
However, the creation was not allowed, and it was inevitable that his heart would be resentful, and Wen Jieruo suggested to him: "It is better to translate a few books than to waste time." ”
Xiao Qian originally lacked enthusiasm for translation, and seeing that Wen Jieruo's amateur translations were one after another, he was inspired, and he also changed his laziness and translated classic works such as "Shakespeare's Drama Stories" and "Good Soldier Shuaike" in one breath.
In the process of translating the book, they continued to "exchange words", she pasted a small note on his translation, put forward her own suggestions, and he replied to her with a note: "Comrade Jieruo, thank you for your help!" ”
After the publication of "Good Soldier Shuaike", many people praised the humor and playfulness of the text, expressing the charm of the original work.
"Good Soldier Shuaike" translated by Xiao Qian
They urge each other to make progress together. Under xiao Qian's guidance, Wen Jieruo's writing also became free, and several well-known translators expressed satisfaction with the manuscripts she had processed, and the accurate translation style began to appear.
It was the happiest day, and it was also the high prolific period of translation. After work, every Sunday, they take three children to the park, the children are laughing, he is taking pictures, and everyone is shining.
Happy times are always short. In 1957, because two articles became "poisonous weeds", Xiao Qian was beaten to the right.
Trapped in the tiny study, there was no longer a smile on his face. When he heard that many right-wing wives had dispersed, he was horrified. Wen Jieruo reassured him: "I will never leave you, the children will not turn their backs on you, one day, you will still be their proud father!" ”
Soon, Xiao Qian was sent to the farm. Because he was the backbone of the business, Wen Jieruo's job was saved. The widowed mother has to be supported, the sister is ill for many years and needs to be taken care of, and there are three children to be raised. She had to work hard to support the family.
Every night, settling in the old man and the child, Wen Jieruo worked on the board in the small kitchen until two o'clock in the morning. In just over a month, he suddenly compiled a 400,000-word manuscript.
Later, recalling these days, she said: "I am an old hen, and I want to protect Xiao Qian and the children under my wings." ”
Mr. and Mrs. Xiao Qian with their children
The correspondence with Xiao Qian was more frequent, and every two or three days he would exchange letters, and every letter was numbered. In the letter, in addition to encouraging and comforting him, when translating English works, Wen Jieruo often copied the original text in large paragraphs and sought his opinion on the translation.
In the greenhouse of the farm, Xiao Qian looked at the vegetable field while answering questions for Wen Jieruo. In the night when the north wind whistled, he wrote letters, read letters, and watched the children draw him little people and big apples.
Outside the shed, it was pitch black, and the square garden was a few miles away, and there was no one there. Years later, recalling the past, Xiao Qian said heartily: "Xuezi in 1957 was a superman in my mind. ”
However, a bigger storm ensued, and this time, Wen Jieruo was not spared, and it became common for him to criticize fighting and raiding his home.
Xiao Qian was humiliated and committed suicide many times, and she kept cheering him up: "As long as there is still a shelter at home, even if it is a shack, as long as you can hide in it at night, you can rest for a while and ease up." ”
In 1969, the family was sent to Xianning, Hubei Province, and Xiao Qian, who was nearly sixty years old, was used as a strong laborer.
In order to protect him, Wen Jieruo changed his temper and shyness, became "more and more fierce", and dared to quarrel with the platoon leader. She picked up 50 kilograms of mud for him; she went down to the field during the day and worked the night shift for him at night.
She bought turtles and eggs from her fellow villagers, transformed the canned box into a kerosene stove, and opened a "small stove" for him in a dilapidated adobe house.
She grew up in a religious family, and after marrying him, he was her religion.
Xiao Qian
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the last love poem</h1>
After a long night, the dawn finally came. After returning to Beijing one after another, he raised his pen again, as if he were in another life.
The house has long been encroached upon, and a door opening is equipped with doors and windows, which is the shelter. The dou room could barely accommodate Xiao Qian and the children, and Wen Jieruo put the chair in the office together and took the society as his home, and lived for ten years.
In the past ten years, they have promoted each other, and the translations have continued to flow, entering a new period of high productivity. It was not until 1984 that they had their own home, taking the meaning of "the world's worries and worries, and the world's happiness and happiness", and named it "Houle Zhai".
In "Hou Le Zhai", Xiao Qian rejuvenated, translated new works, sorted out old works, and he scribbled them on the pieces of paper, no matter how sloppy, Wen Jieruo sorted them out for him neatly. With her assistance, he completed hundreds of thousands of words of representative works, including the famous work "The Traveler Without a Map".
Xiao Qian's achievements were valued, he held important positions, and was often invited to various countries to participate in literary exchange activities. Years of farm destruction, resulting in coronary heart disease, kidney stones and multiple diseases, several hospitalizations, surgeries have made him more vulnerable.
Once in the hospital, Wen Jieruo was afraid of waking him up, quietly sat in the bathroom to read a book, he opened his eyes, saw no one on the camp bed, anxiously searching all over the world. After decades of suffering, he could not do without her every day.
In 1990, Li Jingduan, president of Yilin Publishing House, came to the door and asked them to translate Ulysses. Earlier, he had wanted to invite Qian Zhongshu out of the mountain, and Qian Zhongshu replied with a smile: "Eighty decadents, if you translate this book, it is tantamount to a unique suicide." ”
That year, Xiao Qian was also 80 years old, and he also chose to refuse. This recognized "book of heaven" was too familiar to him, "moving this mountain is too self-sufficient."
Wen Jieruo was scrappy, this hard bone, she wanted to gnaw it down. Although, she is also 63 years old.
In order to persuade Xiao Qian, Wen Jieruo first translated a chapter. After Xiao Qian tried it, he said: "The manuscript is not bad, and it is not troublesome to polish it." Readily agreed.
Since then, "a pair of old people, two workshops", working fifteen or six hours a day. On their door, a note was posted: "Sick, still want to work; talk short, please draft Mo." ”
With their full cooperation, it took four years for the million-word translation of Ulysses to finally be completed, not only as a compensation for 20 years of absurdity, but also as "the most vivid love poem dedicated to each other."
Ulysses translated by Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo
The Ulysses translation caused a sensation in the cultural world and received more attention than they could have imagined.
The last lap of his life has been successfully completed, and in 1999, Xiao Qian passed away with a smile. In his last letter to Wen Jieruo, he said:
"Thank you, Jero, for finally having a home in 1954—and a happy and stable home. With you, I often feel very unworthy. You have been so pure, clean, and faithful all your life, and I am a prodigal son. Most of my ten volumes were written with your care and support, and I can't help but be grateful to you for doing so. ”
Folding up the past, Wen Jieruo began to sort out Xiao Qian's letters, memoirs, and collections of essays, without stopping. Whenever she was lying down, on the top of the cupboard of "Hou Lezhai "Hou Lezhai", young Xiao Qian was tilting his head and staring at her with a smile.
Love each other for decades, all the way to the rapids, climb dangerous rocks, and care like the sun and the moon. In his later years, Wen Jieruo proudly said: "I have only done three things in my life: engaging in translation, writing prose, and protecting Xiao Qian!" ”
In 1940, Xiao Qian was in Britain