Original text is from: 《菩提達磨略辨大乘入道四行》http://www.cbeta.org/result/normal/T51/2076_030.htm 

Translated by DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI, D.LITT.（鈴木大拙貞太郎：en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._T._Suzuki；http://baike.baidu.com/view/52300.htm） 

Abstracted from "MANUAL OF ZEN BUDDHISM" by DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI, D.LITT: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/mzb/  

Related link: 空, 色, 相 and Quantum Mechanics  http://rainlane.com/dispbbs.asp?boardid=26&id=26505&star=3&page=3#58980  

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菩提達磨略辨大乘入道四行

BODHIDHARMA ON THE TWOFOLD ENTRANCE TO THE TAO[1] 

弟子曇琳序 

法師者。西域南天竺國。是大婆羅門國王第三之子也。神慧疏朗聞皆曉悟。志存摩訶衍道。故捨素從緇紹隆聖種。冥心虛寂通鑒世事。內外俱明德超世表。悲誨邊隅正教陵替。遂能遠涉山海遊化漢魏。忘心之士莫不歸信。存見之流乃生譏謗。于時唯有道育慧可。此二沙門年雖後生俊志高遠。幸逢法師事之數載。虔恭諮啟善蒙師意。法師感其精誠。誨以真道。令如是安心如是發行如是順物如是方便。此是大乘安心之法令無錯謬。如是安心者壁觀。如是發行者四行。如是順物者防護譏嫌。如是方便者遣其不著。此略序所由云爾。 

夫入道多途。要而言之不出二種。一是理入。二是行入。理入者謂藉教悟宗。深信含生同一真性。但為客塵妄想所覆不能顯了。若也捨妄歸真。凝住壁觀。無自無他。凡聖等一堅住不移。更不隨文教。此即與理冥符無有分別。寂然無為名之理入。

There are many ways to enter the Path, but briefly speaking they are of two sorts only. The one is "Entrance by Reason" and the other "Entrance by Conduct".[2] By "Entrance by Reason" we mean the realization of the spirit of Buddhism by the aid of the scriptural teaching. We then come to have a deep faith in the True Nature which is the same in all sentient beings. The reason why it does not manifest itself is due to the overwrapping of external objects and false thoughts. When a man, abandoning the false and embracing the true, in singleness of thought practises the Pi-kuan[3]（壁觀） he finds that there is neither self nor other, that the masses and the worthies are of one essence, and he firmly holds on to this belief and never moves away therefrom. He will not then be a slave to words, for he is in silent communion with the Reason itself, free from conceptual discrimination; he is serene and not-acting. This is called "Entrance by Reason".  

行入謂四行。其餘諸行悉入此中。何等四耶。一報冤行。二隨緣行。三無所求行。四稱法行。

By "Entrance by Conduct" is meant the four acts in which all other acts are included. What are the four? To know how to requite hatred; To be obedient to karma; Not to crave anything; and To be in accord with the Dharma. 

云何報冤行。謂修道行人若受苦時。當自念言。我往昔無數劫中棄本從末流浪諸有。多起冤憎違害無限。今雖無犯。是我宿殃惡業果熟。非天非人所能見與。甘心甘受都無冤訴。經云。逢苦不憂。何以故。識達故。此心生時與理相應。體冤進道。故說言報冤行。

What is meant by "How to requite hatred"? He who disciplines himself in the Path should think thus when he has to struggle with adverse conditions: "During the innumerable past ages I have wandered through a multiplicity of existences, all the while giving myself to unimportant details of life at the expense of essentials, and thus creating infinite occasions for hate, ill-will, and wrongdoing. While no violations have been committed in this life, the fruits of evil deeds in the past are to be gathered now. Neither gods nor men can foretell what is coming upon me. I will submit myself willingly and patiently to all the ills that befall me, and I will never bemoan or complain. The Sutra teaches me not to worry over ills that may happen to me. Why? Because when things are surveyed by a higher intelligence, the foundation of causation is reached." When this thought is awakened in a man, he will be in accord with the Reason because he makes the best use of hatred and turns it into the service in his advance towards the Path. This is called the "way to requite hatred." 

二隨緣行者。眾生無我並緣業所轉。苦樂齊受皆從緣生。若得勝報榮譽等事。是我過去宿因所感。今方得之緣盡還無。何喜之有。得失從緣心無增減。喜風不動冥順於道。是故說言隨緣行。

By "being obedient to karma" is meant this: There is no self (atman) in whatever beings are produced by the interplay of karmaic conditions; the pleasure and pain I suffer are also the results of my previous action. If I am rewarded with fortune, honour, etc., this is the outcome of my past deeds which by reason of causation affect my present life. When the force of karma is exhausted, the result I am enjoying now will disappear; what is then the use of being joyful over it? Gain or loss, let me accept the karma as it brings to me the one or the other; the Mind itself knows neither increase nor decrease. The wind of pleasure [and pain] will not stir me, for I am silently in harmony with the Path. Therefore this is called "being obedient to karma." 

三無所求行者。世人長迷處處貪著名之為求。智者悟真理將俗反。安心無為形隨運轉。萬有斯空無所願樂。功德黑暗常相隨逐。三界久居猶如火宅。有身皆苦誰得而安。了達此處故捨諸有止想無求。經曰。有求皆苦。無求即樂。判知無求真為道行。故言無所求行。

By "not craving (ch'iu) anything" is meant this: Men of the world, in eternal confusion, are attached everywhere to one thing or another, which is called craving. The wise however understand the truth and are not like the ignorant. Their minds abide serenely in the uncreated while the body moves about in accordance with the laws of causation. All things are empty and there is nothing desirable to seek after. Where there is the merit of brightness there surely lurks the demerit of darkness. This triple world where we stay altogether too long is like a house on fire; all that has a body suffers, and nobody really knows what peace is. Because the wise are thoroughly acquainted with this truth, they are never attached to things that change; their thoughts are quieted, they never crave anything. Says the Sutra: "Wherever there is a craving, there is pain; cease from craving and you are blessed." Thus we know that not to crave anything is indeed the way to the Truth. Therefore, it is taught not "to crave anything." 

四稱法行者。性淨之理目之為法。此理眾相斯空。無染無著無此無彼。經曰法無眾生離眾生垢故。法無有我離我垢故。智者若能信解此理。應當稱法而行。

By "being in accord with the Dharma" is meant that the Reason which we call the Dharma in its essence is pure, and that this Reason is the principle of emptiness (sunyata) in all that is manifested; it is above defilements and attachments, and there is no "self", no "other" in it. Says the Sutra: "In the Dharma there are no sentient beings, because it is free from the stain of being; in the Dharma there is no 'self' because it is free from the stain of selfhood." When the wise understand this truth and believe in it, their lives will be "in accordance with the Dharma." 

法體無慳身命財。行檀捨施心無吝惜。脫解三空不倚不著但為去垢。稱化眾生而不取相。此為自行復能利他。亦能莊嚴菩提之道。檀施既爾餘五亦然。為除妄想修行六度而無所行。是為稱法行。

As there is in the essence of the Dharma no desire to possess, the wise are ever ready to practise charity with their body, life, and property, and they never begrudge, they never know what an ill grace means. As they have a perfect understanding of the threefold nature of emptiness, they are above partiality and attachment. Only because of their will to cleanse all beings of their stains, they come among them as of them, but they are not attached to form. This is the self-benefiting phase of their lives. They, however, know also how to benefit others, and again how to glorify the truth of enlightenment. As with the virtue of charity, so with the other five virtues [of the Prajnaparamita]. The wise practise the six virtues of perfection to get rid of confused thoughts, and yet there is no specific consciousness on their part that they are engaged in any meritorious deeds. This is called "being in accord with the Dharma". 

Notes: 

[1]. From The Transmission of the Lamp, XXX.（景德傳燈錄卷三十） 

[2]. "Entrance by Reason" may also be rendered "Entrance by Higher Intuition", and "Entrance by Conduct", "Entrance by Practical Living".]   

[3]. "Wall-gazing".

蜗居在巷陌的寻常幸福

Homely Happiness Rendered by One’s Humble Dwelling in the Lane

春有百花秋有月

夏有涼風冬有雪

若無閒事罣心頭

便是人間好時節 

Common Be Way  

Spring petals, autumn moonlights,

Summer breezes or winter flakes

The heart without dirts reflects,

Mark on earth good times. 

--From the 19th zen poem of "to the limitless universe" by Master Hui Kai (Wisdom Opens in Chinese), Song dynasty, China

尋隱者不遇【唐．賈島】 

松下問童子

言師採藥去

只在此山中

雲深不知處

Visit but to none (by Jia Dao, Tang dynasty)

Voices came through pines,

“Where is your master, boy?”

“Master went for mountainy herbs;

Clouds secluded Master from us.”

【西竺　註】

金經云「無我相　無人相　無眾生相　無壽者相」，然則「彼此」「你我」「男女」「過去　現在」諸相對之相皆虛幻，何者為實？

由上譯觀之，Where is your master, boy?　方成參悟之機，即「當下」是也。

應無所住而生其心【金剛般若波羅密經】
去後來先作主翁【唐．玄奘：八識規矩頌】

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此詩另一名見：http://home.educities.edu.tw/f5101231/indext62.html

孫革訪羊尊師詩

隐逸的生活似乎在传统意识中一直被认为是幸福的至高境界。但这种孤傲遁世同时也是孤独的，纯粹的隐者实属少数，而少数者的满足不能用来解读普世的幸福模样。
It seems that in traditional sense living in seclusion has long been regarded as the highest state of happiness. However, leading a solitary and aloof existence also means living in loneliness. Pure hermits are really few and far between. The sense of fulfillment achieved by a minority of individuals can’t be used to interpret the happiness experienced by the majority of the world's population.

有道是小隐隐于野，大隐隐于市。真正的幸福并不隐逸，可以在街市而不是丛林中去寻找。

It is said that only an ornamental hermit retreats into seclusion, a real hermit doesn't shun a crowded marketplace. True happiness can’t be attained by withdrawing from the world; rather, it should be found in a downtown area instead of a wild jungle.

晨光，透过古色古香的雕花窗棂，给庭院里精致的盆景慢慢地化上一抹金黄的淡妆。那煎鸡蛋的“刺啦”声袅袅升起，空气中开始充斥着稚嫩的童音、汽车启动的节奏、夫妻间甜蜜的道别，还有邻居们简单朴素的问好。巷陌中的这一切，忙碌却不混乱，活泼却不嘈杂，平淡却不厌烦。

In the morning, early sunlight passes through the antique window lattice with floral patterns, slowly casting a flattering golden glow on the exquisite bonsais in the courtyard. The sizzling sound of frying eggs rises invitingly in the air. Presently, all kinds of sounds begin to fill the air – children’s tender voice, the rhythmic sound of car engines, sweet words exchanged between couples at parting, brief greetings exchanged among neighbors. All this takes place in an alley, busy but not messy, lively but not noisy, ordinary but not dull.

巷尾的绿地虽然没有山野的苍翠欲滴，但是空气中弥漫着荒野中所没有的生机。微黄的路灯下，每一张长椅都写着不同的心情，甜蜜与快乐、悲伤与喜悦，交织在一起，在静谧中缓缓发酵。谁也不会知道在下一个转角中会是怎样的惊喜，会是一家风格独特食客不断的小吃店？是一家放着爵士乐的酒吧？还是一家摆着高脚木凳、连空气都闲散的小小咖啡馆？坐在户外撑着遮阳伞的木椅上，和新认识的朋友一边喝茶，一边谈着自己小小的生活，或许也是一种惬意。

The green space at the end of the alley may not be as lush as greenery growing in the wild, but the air is permeated with certain vitality which can not even been found in the wild. Under the dim yellow streetlight, different emotions are written on each bench. Sweetness and cheerfulness, sadness and joy, all of them are intertwined, brewing slowly in tranquility. No one knows what a pleasant surprise is waiting for you at the next corner. Is it a unique snack bar with booming business? Is it a bar playing jazz music? Or is it a small café packed with wooden bar stools and filled with idle air? Perhaps an enjoyable way to while away some time is to sit on a wooden bench with parasol in the open air, chatting with newly acquainted friends over a cup of tea, chewing the fat about your little private life.

一切，被时间打磨，被时间沉淀，终于形成了一种习惯，一种默契，一种文化。

After years of polishing and refinement, all this has finally been transformed by time into a way of life, a tacit understanding, a culture.

和来家中做客的邻居朋友用同一种腔调巧妙地笑谑着身边的琐事，大家眯起的眼睛都默契地闪着同一种狡黠；和家人一起围在饭桌前，衔满食物的嘴还发着含糊的声音，有些聒噪，但没人厌烦。

People have neighbors dropping by to talk and laugh about trifles surrounding them in the same subtle manner, their narrowed eyes glittering knowingly in the same cunning way. When a whole family sits around a table eating, mumbled words from mouths full of food drift in the air, a bit annoying but no one is bored.

小巷虽然狭窄，却拉不住快乐蔓延的速度……

The alley may be narrow, but happiness spreads far and wide……

随着城市里那些密集而冰冷的高楼大厦拔地而起，在拥堵的车流中，在污浊的空气里，人们的幸福正在一点点地破碎，飘零。大家住得越来越宽敞，越来越私密。自我，也被划进一个单独的空间里，小心地不去触碰别人的心灵，也不容许他人轻易介入。可是，一个人安静下来时会觉得，曾经厌烦的那些嘈杂回想起来很温情很怀念。

Tall buildings and high-rises have sprung up in cities everywhere, densely packed and looming coldly overhead. Little by little, people's happiness melts and floats away into heavy traffic and polluted air. The more spacious our apartments get, the more distant our relations become. Our heart has also been shut up in a separate room. On one hand, it keeps a scrupulous distance from other people’s hearts; on the other hand, it doesn’t let other people get close easily. However, after calming down by yourself, you will recall the once tiresome life of living in a bustling alley and be filled with warmth and nostalgia.

比起高楼耸立的曼哈顿，人们更加喜欢佛罗伦萨红色穹顶下被阳光淹没的古老巷道；比起在夜晚光辉璀璨的陆家嘴，人们会更喜欢充满孩子们打闹嬉笑的万航渡路。就算已苍然老去，支撑起梦境的应该是老房子暗灰的安详，吴侬软语的叫卖声，那一方氤氲过温馨和回忆的小弄堂。

Compared with Manhattan’s towering skyline, people would prefer ancient alleyways bathed in sunshine under the red dome in Florence; compared with brilliantly illuminated Lujiazui at night, people would prefer

如果用一双细腻的眼眸去观照，其实每一片青苔和爬山虎占据的墙角，都是墨绿色的诗篇，不会飘逸，不会豪放，只是那种平淡的幸福，简简单单。

If you look with perceptive eyes at the things around you, in every wall corner covered with moss and creepers, you will see poems in dark green ink. They are neither elegant nor vigorous, yet between the lines happiness overflows, plain and simple.

幸福是什么模样，或许并不难回答。幸福就是一本摊开的诗篇，关于在城市的天空下，那些寻常巷陌的诗。

What does happiness look like? Perhaps it is not difficult to answer. Happiness is an unfolded anthology, with poems depicting common alleys under the city sky.

夜幕笼罩，那散落一地的万家灯火中，有多少寻常的幸福正蜗居在巷陌……

When night falls, myriads of scattered lights twinkle through the darkness, many a happiness unfolds itself in common alleys……

by Ellen Bailey

Why would you want to be someone else为何要模仿别人
When you could be better by being yourself做你自己会更好
Why pretend to be someone you are not为何要模仿他人
When you have something they haven't got你自己具备别人没有的东西

Cheating yourself of the life you have to live欺骗自己的生活
Deprives others of that only which you can give舍去你唯一可以给与他人的东西
You have much more to offer by being just you比起模仿别人，做你自己会有更多可以给与
Than walking around in someone else's shoes

Trying to live the life of another is a mistake尝试过着别人的生活是一种错误
It is a masquerade; nothing more than a fake那只是一张面具；一种欺骗
Be yourself and let your qualities show through做你自己，把你的个性展现出来
Others will love you more for being just you  做你自己，那样别人会更喜欢你

Remember that God loves you just as you are记住上帝爱你是因为你就是你
To Him you are already a bright shining star对他来说，你已经是一颗耀眼的星星了
Family and friends will love you more too
If you spent time practicing just being you 如果做你自己，家人、朋友也会更加爱你

对我来说，这首诗没一个生词，但自己翻译时却觉得很别扭，希望大家有兴趣也翻译一下。

森林 TREESWOODSFORESTS

http://www.treeswoodsforests.com

But as for that mark, I'm not sure about it; I don't believe it was made by a nail after all; it's too big, too round, for that. I might get up, but if I got up and looked at it, ten to one I shouldn't be able to say for certain; because once a thing's done, no one ever knows how it happened. Oh! dear me, the mystery of life; The inaccuracy of thought! The ignorance of humanity! To show how very little control of our possessions we have--what an accidental affair this living is after all our civilization--let me just count over a few of the things lost in one lifetime, beginning, for that seems always the most mysterious of losses--what cat would gnaw, what rat would nibble--three pale blue canisters of book-binding tools? Then there were the bird cages, the iron hoops, the steel skates, the Queen Anne coal-scuttle, the bagatelle board, the hand organ--all gone, and jewels, too. Opals and emeralds, they lie about the roots of turnips. What a scraping paring affair it is to be sure!

秋天，无论在什么地方的秋天，总是好的；可是啊，北国的秋，却特别地来得清，来得静，来得悲凉。我的不远千里，要从杭州赶上青岛，更要从青岛赶上北平来的理由，也不过想饱尝一尝这“秋”，这故都的秋味。
Autumn anywhere in the country is good. But I would say that it is particularly clear, serene, and melancholy in the north. That is why I have traveled a long way from Hangchow (a garden city in the Yangtze Delta) to Tsingtao (situated on the northeast coastline), and from there to Peking (or Beiping, literally Peace of the North): to have a full taste of the autumn, one that this long-time, former capital city offers.

江南，秋当然也是有的；但草木雕得慢，空气来得润，天的颜色显得淡，并且又时常多雨而少风；一个人夹在苏州上海杭州，或厦门香港广州的市民中间，浑浑沌沌地过去，只能感到一点点清凉，秋的味，秋的色，秋的意境与姿态，总看不饱，尝不透，赏玩不到十足。秋并不是名花，也并不是美酒，那一种半开、半醉的状态，在领略秋的过程上，是不合适的。
Autumn comes of course to the south, but with a different appearance. The vegetation begins to change color at a later time than it does in the north. The air is moister and the sky paler. And the season tends to have more rainy days and less windy days. So if you live alone in a southern city, whether it is near the Yangtze, such as Suchow, Shanghai, or Hangchow, or it is further to the south, such as Amoy, Hong Kong, or Canton, you will feel the same as the local people do. There is no truly serene experience but only a little coolness. The full flavor of a real autumn is not available, nor is the color or the mood and style of it. You are unsatisfied with what has been given to you. Autumn is unlike flowers or wine, so we should never try to appreciate it in a half-hearted manner such as when the season is only half-bloomed or we are already half-"drunk".

不逢北国之秋，已将近十余年了。在南方每年到了秋天，总要想起陶然亭的芦花，钓鱼台的柳影，西山的虫唱，玉泉的夜月，潭柘寺的钟声。在北平即使不出门去罢，就是在皇城人海之中，租人家一椽破屋来住着，早晨起来，泡一碗浓茶、向院子一坐，你也能看得到很高很高的碧绿的天色，听得到青天下驯鸽的飞声。从槐树叶底，朝东细数着一丝一丝漏下来的日光，或在破壁腰中，静对着象喇叭似的牵牛花（朝荣）的蓝朵，自然而然地也能够感觉到十分的秋意。说到了牵牛花，我以为以蓝色或白色者为佳，紫黑色次之，淡红色最下。最好，还要在牵牛花底，教长着几根疏疏落落的尖细且长的秋草，使作陪衬。
I have not been in Peking for over ten years. I miss the autumn there. In the south, each year when autumn comes, I cannot help remembering the scenes of a pond full of reed plants near the Carefree Pavilion (Taoranting) and a sea of willows around the Fishing Terrace. Also in my memory are the moonlight falling on the Jade Spring, the chorus of numerous chirping insects hid in the Western Hills, and the bell sound coming from the Thorny Tree Temple (Tanzheshi).

You can afford a slow life style in Peking, for which all you need to do is rent a small house, even if it is a shabby one and located in the most densely-populated district of the city: After you get up in the morning, you prepare a cup of strong tea for yourself, and walking into the courtyard, you sit down on a chair there. The sky above is deep blue and clear. Pigeons race over the sky, their wings beating the air. To the east there are pagoda trees, through the leaves of which sunlight is filtered. As the rays of sunlight are clearly visible, you may spend as much time counting them as you wish. Halfway up the dilapidated wall stand out funnel-shaped, blue morning glories. Watching them, your mind is gradually filled with the melancholy mood of autumn. For morning glories, I like the blue and white ones most, the dark purple ones second, and the pink ones least. But it would be better if these flowers can be accompanied with some grass growing underneath that has long, thin, blade-like leaves pointing up.

北国的槐树，也是一种能使人联想起秋来的点缀。象花而又不是花的那一种落蕊，早晨起来，会铺得满地。脚踏上去，声音也没有，气味也没有，只能感出一点点极微细极柔软的触觉。扫街的在树影下一阵扫后，灰土上留下来的一条条扫帚的丝纹，看起来既觉得细腻，又觉得清闲，潜意识下并且还觉得有点儿落寞，古人所说的梧桐一叶而天下知秋的遥想，大约也就在这些深沈的地方。
These pagoda trees are also a decorative reminiscence of the arrival of autumn. The strange look of their flowers makes one wonder if they are really flowers. You can see them all over the ground early in the morning. But when you step on them, you will notice that they give no sound or smell, but a very delicate and soft touch under your feet. The street sweeper works in the shade of the trees. The sweeping of his broom has left in the dust fine comb patterns, whose elaborate yet idly simple details give you a leisure feeling with a little unnoticed loneliness. Perhaps, these subtle feelings are not far from what the literati in the past felt when they saw the first very few leaves of parasol trees fall.

秋蝉的衰弱的残声，更是北国的特产；因为北平处处全长着树，屋子又低，所以无论在什么地方，都听得见它们的啼唱。在南方是非要上郊外或山上去才听得到的。这秋蝉的嘶叫，在北平可和蟋蟀耗子一样，简直象是家家户户都养在家里的家虫。
The discontinuous and much weakened shriek of cicadas is another peculiarity of the autumn of the north. You can hear cicadas buzzing everywhere in Peking, since there are so many trees in the city and the houses are mostly built to below the tree tops. But if you live in the south, you may have to go to the suburb, or even farther away to the mountains, to hear them. In Peking, the sound of cicada is so commonplace that you can hear it in and near almost every house, as if these shrilling creatures were to be yet another kind of household pet after the crickets and mice.  

还有秋雨哩，北方的秋雨，也似乎比南方的下得奇，下得有味，下得更象样。
And don't forget the autumn rains. It seems to me that rains in autumn in the north are more spectacular, vigorous, and authentic than their counterpart in the south.

在灰沈沈的天底下，忽而来一阵凉风，便息列索落地下起雨来了。一层雨过，云渐渐地卷向了西去，天又青了，太阳又露出脸来了；著着很厚的青布单衣或夹袄的都市闲人，咬着烟管，在雨后的斜桥影里，上桥头树底下去一立，遇见熟人，便会用了缓慢悠闲的声调，微叹着互答着的说：
Under the dark leaden clouds there comes a sudden gust of cool wind, followed by a shower of rain. The sound of raindrops is clearly audible. But the rain is soon over: the clouds begin to drift to the west and the skies become serene and the sun shows itself again. Then, the city idlers, in unlined or lined black coats and with pipes between their teeth, walk in the shade of a slanting bridge to arrive at the bridge front, and there under the trees they stand. If two of them know each other, a short conversation will begin in a slow, leisurely tone, with light sighs, as below:

“唉，天可真凉了——”（这了字念得很高，拖得很长。）
"Well, it's getting cold now." (The sound of the modal word le at the end of the Chinese original was raised and kept level for a while.)

“可不是么？一层秋雨一层凉了！”
"Sure. Each rain makes it a bit colder."

北方人念阵字，总老象是层字，平平仄仄起来，这念错的歧韵，倒来得正好。
The natives of Peking tend to mispronounce the quantifier zhen (in Mandarin; meaning a period of time or a stage). But this mistake corrects the rhyme of the original sentence to make it more musical to chant.

北方的果树，到秋来，也是一种奇景。第一是枣子树；屋角，墙头，茅房边上，灶房门口，它都会一株株地长大起来。象橄榄又象鸽蛋似的这枣子颗儿，在小椭圆形的细叶中间，显出淡绿微黄的颜色的时候，正是秋的全盛时期；等枣树叶落，枣子红完，西北风就要起来了，北方便是尘沙灰土的世界，只有这枣子、柿子、葡萄，成熟到八九分的七八月之交，是北国的清秋的佳日，是一年之中最好也没有的Golden Days。
When autumn comes, fruit trees become a scenery of Peking, and among the various kinds, the jujube is the most prominent. Jujube trees grow everywhere: you can see them at corners of the house, on top of the walls, near the latrine, and by the entrance of the kitchen. When their fruit, hidden between the small oval leaves, grows to the size of olive or pigeon eggs and turns to pale green with a yellowish tint, the autumn season is in full bloom. But after the leaves are fallen and the fruit is all reddened, the northwest wind will begin to blow and the entire sky will be filled with sand and dust. It is only during the time between the end of July and the beginning of August, during which time the jujubes, persimmons, and grapes reach eight or nine tenths ripe, that the autumn of the north is clearest and coolest, being in its best to make the golden days of a year.

有些批评家说，中国的文人学士，尤其是诗人，都带着很浓厚的颓废色彩，所以中国的诗文里，颂赞秋的文字特别的多。但外国的诗人，又何尝不然？我虽则外国诗文念得不多，也不想开出账来，做一篇秋的诗歌散文钞，但你若去一翻英德法意等诗人的集子，或各国的诗文的Anthology来，总能够看到许多关于秋的歌颂与悲啼。各著名的大诗人的长篇田园诗或四季诗里，也总以关于秋的部分，写得最出色而最有味。足见有感觉的动物，有情趣的人类，对于秋，总是一样的能特别引起深沈，幽远，严厉，萧索的感触来的。不单是诗人，就是被关闭在牢狱里的囚犯，到了秋天，我想也一定会感到一种不能自己的深情；秋之于人，何尝有国别，更何尝有人种阶级的区别呢？不过在中国，文字里有一个“秋士”的成语，读本里又有着很普遍的欧阳子的《秋声》与苏东坡的《赤壁赋》等，就觉得中国的文人，与秋的关系特别深了。可是这秋的深味，尤其是中国的秋的深味，非要在北方，才感受得到底。
Some critics say that the literati in China, especially the poets, indulge in too much of the symbolism and aestheticism, which is why a disproportionately large amount of poetry and prose in their writings is dedicated to praising the season of autumn. But isn't it that the poets of other countries do the same? I am not an authority in foreign poetry and prose, nor do I intend to give a comprehensive list of the works about autumn. But if you browse the poetry collections of poets who are English, German, French, or Italian, or if you check an anthology of poetry and prose of the world, you will find many entries in which the authors sing the praises of autumn or mourn it. Actually, the most moving part of the best long pastorals and four-season poems ever written is, without exception, about autumn. In any person who has senses and an affectionate heart, a unique feeling may be evoked; and this feeling may be described as profound, serene, stern, or desolate. The privilege of being overcome by the melancholy of autumn is not limited to poets; it is also shared by those who are confined in the prison. Man feels about autumn regardless of his nation, and his race and class. But we in China have a long tradition to be literarily involved with the autumn: there is first this idiom about "men of autumn", and then the inclusion in our textbooks such famous prose as "The Sound of Autumn", by Ou Yang Hsiu, and "Ode of the Red Cliff", by Su Tung P'o. That is how we have accepted that our literati must be more profoundly affected by the autumn season. But if we ever want to have a complete understanding of autumn, or more accurately, of autumn in China, we will have to go to the north.

南国之秋，当然是也有它的特异的地方的，比如廿四桥的明月，钱塘江的秋潮，普陀山的凉雾，荔枝湾的残荷等等，可是色彩不浓，回味不永。比起北国的秋来，正象是黄酒之与白干，稀饭之与馍馍，鲈鱼之与大蟹，黄犬之与骆驼。
The autumn of the south does have scenic wonders of its own, such as the moonlight of the Twenty-four Bridge, the tidal bore of Qiantang, the lotuses of the Litchi Bay, and the mists of Mount Putuo, as we call them. They are delightful to the eyes, but they lack the vibrant colors and strong flavors so common in autumn in the north. The difference, as I see it, is so much as the yellow wine is to the white liquor, the congee to the steam bread, the bass to the giant crab, and the spaniel to the camel.

秋天，这北国的秋天，若留得住的话，我愿把寿命的三分之二折去，换得一个三分之一的零头。
O, the autumn of the north! If it is ever possible to keep it from leaving us, I would exchange two-thirds of my life for living the remaining one-third all in it.

一九三四年八月，在北平
August, 1934; Peking

In the musical “The Music Man.”, the travelling salesman and con man Harold Hill, who claims to be a professor of music with a unique learning method of playing a tune by merely thinking it over and over, arrives at the backwater town of Rapid City, Iowa, where he hopes to make a killing by selling marching band instruments, uniforms, and instructions to a rather naïve populace. Harold Hill’s usual modus operandi is to capitalize on a local issue he can exploit, sweet talk people into believing he can turn musically challenged boys into band member by means of his unique “Think System”, sells them the complete outfit for a marching band, collects the money, and skips town as soon as the merchandise arrives. Of course, in this case something got in the way in the form of a sceptical local librarian whose research reveals that he is not what he claims to be. But they soon falls in love with each other, and she hides the truth about his credential from her fellow town folks, while “Professor” Hill decides to stay on to teach the boys how to play by using his “Think System”.

The jig is up when another travelling salesman arrives and exposes him for what he is. Being a light-hearted musical, naturally there is a happy ending. When the angry mob cornered Harold Hill, his faithful students miraculously turn into a full fledged marching band dressed in their finery and comes marching down Main Street playing “Seventy Six Trombones”.

In real life seldom are we so lucky. Dream merchants with forked tongues will sell you, at exorbitant prices, panacea that either won’t work, or at best, gives a superficial temporary reprieve of your chronic condition. Of course some people will attest to their effectiveness; there is always that placebo effect. Just keep in mind, “If something sounds too good to be true, it often is.” Caveat Emptor, my friend, caveat emptor!

For the snake oil salesmen out there, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

For a full synopsis of “The Music Man”, please read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Man_(1962_film) Quote:

The Music Man is a 1962 film musical starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and highly acclaimed critically.

Yeti’s note: ou can watch the newer version of "The music man" on youtube

The Mole

龙　一

余则成是个老实的知识青年。

Yu Zecheng was a trustworthy and well-educated young man.

因为老实，年轻，而且有知识，上司便喜欢他，将许多机密的公事和机密的私事都交给他办，他也确实能够办得妥妥当当，于是上司越发地喜欢他，便把一些更机密的公事和私事也交给了他，他还是能够办得妥妥当当。一来二去，上司便将他当作子侄一般看待，命令他回乡把太太接过来团圆，并命令庶务科替他准备了新房和一切应用物品。

Because of his trustworthiness, youth and intelligence, his superior favored him and entrusted him with many highly charged governmental secrets as well as personal ones.  He always managed to complete all assignments to his satisfaction.  Therefore his superior trusted him even more and gave him ever higher levels of secrets and he still managed to accomplish everything well. As time went by, his superior regarded him as his own nephew, and ordered him to bring his wife to be reunited and arranged for their accommodations and household necessities.

请到我的翻译博客，大家一起切磋切磋！

http://blog.sina.com.cn/sparklingenglish

I came down with rheumatoid arthritis in 2003 when I was 19. Having learned it was an incurable disease in modern medicine I got frustrated, depressed, upset and despaired. No improvement in my condition was noticed after having tried so many medications. So for better treatment, in the following April my Dad took me to Xiangya Hospital, a prestigious hospital affiliated with Central South University. The doctor I was going to see was not on duty on weekends, therefore we spent two days at my cousin's home before we got there and saw Doctor Chen. After accessing my condition, Chen suggested that I be hospitalised for full treatment. I followed his advice. Then someone led me to my ward. Seeing a nurse was making bed for me, my Dad placed me on the seat beside it. Just when I began to read the magazine I brought along I noticed there were two people coming towards me.

I looked in their direction and was immediately absorbed. Here came two ladies. One of them was definitely my type ( I later learned her name was Chi). Chi, dressed in a white medical suit, was tall, slender, and attractive. Though very beautiful too, the other was eclipsed by her presence. They greeted me with a nice smile.

Then, Chi, smiling, asked: "are you Kenny?"

"Yes." I answered, smiling back."

Oh, we are Doctor Chen's assistants. We are here to enquire about your condition."

"Thanks."

She then handed me a body thermometer and asked me to put it in my armpit. About 5 minutes later, I took out the device and handed it back to her.

"Good, Kenny, your temperature is OK. Now hold my left hand with your right hand."

Her hand was graceful and tender. The moment I touched it I felt something special, yet hard to describe. I held her hand, eyes looking into hers. I didn’t realise I had held it for too long till at last a smile formed two dimples in her cheeks. Then we both broke into laughter.

"I am sorry, Doctor Chi. I forgot."

"Well, it is OK, kid," trying slightly to inhibit looking embarrassed.

She was so gracious, so elegant and so beautiful that I feared I would fall in love with her." But are you able to support a woman?" I ridiculed myself. In fact, I knew the second I saw her, my heart was captured entirely. She was five or six years older than me and had all the advantages a girl could possess. She was beautiful, well educated (she was a postgraduate in Xiangya Medical School), and a line of wooers for miles was after her. I knew well that even if she had good feelings towards me, this relationship would not work.

But I could not help thinking of her. She occupied my whole mind. I wanted her around all day. Even a glimpse of her retreating figure would be a great comfort and joy.

In the following two weeks, she and the other girl came to my ward to enquire about my condition every day in the morning. In order to leave on her good impression, I got up early each morning and got washed up and spruced up, then I would sat beside my bed awaiting her arrival. It was a great joy to wait for your perfect girl, I assure you. The second she appeared in sight, I felt but pure happiness unreasonably. After each enquiry, we would have some casual talk. Then a new day began. Things continued this way for more than a week. Finally came the day when I was expected to have the operation. My Dad walked me to the operating theatre door and waited outside. When I got in, Doctor Chen and his two aids were there except Chi. I was kind of disappointed. "She doesn't care about me?" I thought. However I didn't let my feelings known. I rested on the operating table, and then Doctor Chen began his work. It was a small operation in which Doctor Chen would use a syringe to pump out the inflamed effusion in my knee and then wash the internal affected tissues with some liquid medicine. Just as he gave me a shot of anesthetic into the knee, Chi came in. I was so happy that I didn't feel any pain when that big needle stuck into my flesh. With her company, time passed easily. After the operation, Chi suggested she stay and take care of the rest things, so there were only two of us left.

"Are you all right, Kenny?"

"Yes, cannot be better." I blurted

She then asked me things like this and that while bandaging my knee. At last, we got finished. She helped me get off the table. When we stepped out, I found Dad was not there. He had gone to the dispensary to get me medicines.

"Can you walk?"

"Well, I guess I can, Miss." trying to be humorous

"But I think I'd better walk you back, kid, I don't want to see you fall." She smiled.

Then arm in arm, we walked back to my ward. She stayed there for a while, telling me to be optimistic and things like that.

Before she left, she said: "Kenny, no one can escape some setbacks in his life, but he has to overcome them if he wants to live decently. There is a saying that goes: 'Anything that doesn't kill me will make me stronger'. I think you will get something out of it. Take care, kid."

I could tell that she was serious and sincere when she said that.

After all the procedures were completed, Dad and I left the hospital. Before we left, Chi came to my ward to bid good-bye. And I never saw her after that.

I knew well we could never be more than friends. Maybe what she had for me was more sympathy or something else than love. But I knew too that that nice, beautiful girl was and would always be in my deepest heart! She brightened my whole life!

小时侯，妹妹常生病。父亲是中医。妹妹喝完他配的中药，就能吃一勺白砂糖，这叫“过口”。白砂糖要凭票供应。很多时候，我们喝药后含的是水果糖。
When I was a child, it occurred often that my younger sister got sick. My father was a Chinese-medicine practitioner. Each time when my sister had taken herb medicine from him, she could get a spoonful of sugar. It is called "guoko", meaning removal of the bitter taste left in the tongue. But sugar was then limited in supply requiring government-issued sugar stamps to buy. So it was more often the case that we took fruit candies for "guoko" after taking herb medicine.

一次，妹妹又生病了，父亲拿出一角钱，让我去买十粒水果糖。我只能吃一粒。这种糖是长方体，厚厚的一块，包在花蜡纸里，蜡纸两端一拧，糖就像穿上了花外衣。
One day my sister was sick again and father gave me ten cents to buy ten pieces of fruit candy. I was allowed to eat one piece. The fruit candies were wrapped in colored wax paper. When the wrapping paper was twisted at the two ends, these cuboid-shaped candies, rather big in size, each looked like having put on a gorgeous coat.

站在山峁上，我迟迟不肯回家，不愿就这样轻易将糖交出。属于我的一粒，放进嘴里，一下子就吞进肚子。糖到了肚子里，我才后悔不迭，因为美味只有一瞬间，味蕾还没来得及绽放。
Now I stood on a small mound and was reluctant to go home. I did not want the candies leave me so easily. The one piece that belonged to me had already been placed in my mouth, almost instantly it falling down through my throat. Only after I had swallowed it I began to regret. The candy had stayed too briefly in my mouth and I had not yet had the time to get a full taste of the pleasant sweetness.

摸着“花外衣”里的“公主”，我心里怨恨父亲，想再吃一粒，又怯于父亲的怒吼和棍棒。忽然，我灵机一动，计上心来。坐下，九粒糖果在面前排成一排，糖果纸被一一剥开，我将糖果依次拿到嘴里，一阵猛嗍。夕阳下，山峁上，这是一个孩子的盛宴。
Holding the candies I could feel their sweet bodies beneath the colorful clothing. My heart was filled with resentment on father. I wanted to taste one more piece but was scared so much by the thought that father would be raged and use his staff. Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind. I sat down and had the nine candies lined up in front of me, all unwrapped. One by one, I placed them in my mouth and sucked each of them hard. In the setting sun and on top of the mound a boy was enjoying his feast.

九粒糖果都被“瘦”了一遍身。有了第一遍，何妨第二遍、第三遍……
All nine candies had been reduced in size; their bodies were "slimmed down". Once I had done it, I felt less fearful to do it over again. So I did it twice, thrice, and...

我把糖果递给父亲：“你数好，是九粒啊，我一粒都没多吃！”父亲狐疑地看了我一会儿，转身去了房间。我想撒腿就跑，可是一想，一跑事情就会败露。于是，我装模作样坐在椅子上看书，看得挺入神。
I handed the candies over to father: "Here they are. Nine pieces in total. You can count it. I haven't taken more than I am allowed to." Father looked doubtfully at me for quite a while. Then he turned and went back to his room. I wanted to run away as quickly as I could. But on a second thought, I knew it would raise his suspicion. So I sat down and holding a book in hand pretended to be absorbed in reading.

父亲从房间里出来，脸上堆满乌云。他把厅堂的门闩上，我最终没能躲过一顿棍棒的追究。
Father walked out from his room, his face full of dark clouds. He latched the door of the living room and beat me heavily with his staff. My tricks to slim down the body of each of the nine candies instead of eating one of them did not work.

父亲告诉我，他最初并没有发现异常，后来揭糖纸时才发现，每粒糖都被我的唾沫粘住了，怎么揭都揭不下来。父亲说：“你要是多吃一粒，我不会怪你。可恨的是，你屁大的小孩敢跟我玩伎俩！”
Later father told me that he did not notice anything abnormal in these candies until he tried to unwrap them. The saliva-melted candies were all stuck to the wrapping paper and could not be separated from it. He said, "If you had taken one more piece I wouldn't blame you. But it is intolerable to me that you are still a child but already have tried playing tricks with me."

就算是犯错误，也要犯在明处；耍滑头，总会在另一个细节上败露。这是父亲的观点。“瘦身”的糖果被糖果纸包住，这个细节可以蒙混过关；会在揭糖果纸这个细节上败露，这是我没有想到的。
If you had to do something that is not right, you should not hide the fact that you did it. If you instead try to cover what you did by cheating, then somewhere along the way a detail will betray you. This is father's view. The thinned bodies of the candies were hidden beneath the wrapping paper. My tricks actually worked up to this point. But then it occurred that these candies could not be unwrapped, a detail that ultimately exposed my cheating and one that I did not anticipate.

做人不必作伪。许多做人的圆滑与精明，终究都是徒劳无益的。你在一个细节上可以蒙混过关，难免在另外一个意想不到的细节上败露，就像那九粒“瘦身”糖果。
Cheating is not a necessity of life. It is attempting to use tricks to outsmart others, but what you do will be wasted effort in the end. With a trick, you may get by at one point. But you will be caught unanticipated at another point, like what has happened to me with the nine "slimmed-down" candies.

[*] 作者查一路，载于《可乐》2008年11期。