Gooseberries 醋栗, by Bai Hua 柏桦

醋栗                                                                        

从他身上我得出一个结论：快要死的人是不会喜欢戏剧的。                        

——契诃夫                                                                  

所有庄园都具有阶级敏感性吗？某种东西就要进入我们的生活……                   

——柏桦                                                            

一                                                                        

我从小什么时候渴望有一个庄园？                                              

我后来靠写小说买下了一个庄园。                                             

在梅里霍沃，我像个古人早睡早起，                                            

我的时间真多呀，每天都用不完                                                

我在树林里采蘑菇、闻草、散步                                                

我在池塘里钓起又放回很小的鲫鱼                                              

对了，我最爱的劳动是管理果园，                                              

整修那些苹果树、李子树、樱桃树                                              

还有那些树莓、茶藨子和醋栗……                                               

住在这里像不像住在澳洲的世外桃源？                                          

夏天，来我们家的客人不计其数                                               

冬天，我们又常举办圣诞化装舞会                                              

“这是契诃夫的家吗？”“是呀。”                                                 

然后我对庄园的爱都写入了《醋栗》                                    

二                                                                          

我税务局的弟弟现在终于可以按 

他的梦想生活了，成天吃着地里的                                             

蔬菜水果；不时赏出内心的骄傲，                                              

摆出半桶伏特加给附近农民喝。                                               

乡村生活真是有数不尽的舒服呀                                                

弟弟常常说：“在阳台上坐一坐，                                               

喝喝茶，自家的小鸭在池塘泅水，                                              

各处一片清香，而且醋栗成熟了。”                                             

如果庄园没有醋栗树该如何是好？                                              

那简直无法想象！“现在我们两人                                               

都已白发苍苍，快到死的时候了。”                                             

谢谢庄园让我们明白了两个道理：                                              

一具尸体烧成灰只需一个小墓穴。                                              

一个活人又何必要拥有整个地球。            

                                  

2013年6月19日                                                            

2022年1月23日 

 

Gooseberries

From him, I drew one conclusion: A man close to death no longer cares for drama.                              

–Anton Chekhov 

Do all country estates possess a sense of class consciousness? Something is about to enter our lives…                            

- Bai Hua

I 

When did I start dreaming about owning a country estate? 

Eventually I bought one, paid for it by writing stories. 

Here in Melikhovo, I go to sleep early and wake up early, 

just like people used to do in the old days. 

I have so much time, more than I know what to do with. 

I pick mushrooms, smell the grass, take walks in the woods, 

catch tiny carp in the pond, let them go again. 

And what I love most is looking after the orchard: 

trimming my apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, 

bushes of raspberries, blackcurrants, and gooseberries… 

Isn’t this like living in some paradise? Somewhere in Australia? 

In summer, we have visitors all the time, 

and in winter, we throw costume parties for Christmas. 

“Is this Chekhov’s house? ” “That’s right.” 

Then all my love for this place went into a story: “Gooseberries.” 

II 

My brother who used to work in the tax office 

finally got to live the life he always dreamed of 

All day long he eats fruits and vegetables grown on his own land. 

Every now and then, very pleased with himself, 

he hands out half a bucket of vodka to each peasant. 

How comfortable it is, life in the countryside 

“I sit on the porch,” he always says, “have some tea, 

watch my ducks paddling around the pond.” 

Everything smells so sweet and fresh, 

and the gooseberries are ripe and ready to eat. 

What would one do if there were no gooseberries? 

It’s unimaginable! “We’re getting old, the two of us, 

our hair’s gone grey, we’ll be dead before too long.” 

Thanks to the country estate, we’ve learned two things: 

The ashes from a dead body need only a very small grave. 

Why do the living need to claim the whole earth? 

 

(June 19, 2013 / January 23, 2022) 

 

—translated by Zhang Xinyue and Austin Woerner