Lesson 10: A Chang and the Classic of Mountains and Seas/Lu Xun

Lesson 10: A Chang and the Classic of Mountains and Seas/Lu Xun

The eldest mother, as I have already said, is a female worker who has always led me, and to put it bluntly, is my nanny. My mother and many others called her that, which seemed to be a little polite. Only her grandmother called her Ah Chang. I usually call her "Grandma", not even the word "long"; But when it comes to hating her,—— for example, when I know that it is she who murdered my hidden rat, I call her Ah Chang.  

　　We don't have a long surname there; She was born yellow fat and short, and "long" is not an adjective. It's not her name, I remember she said it herself, what kind of girl her name is. What girl, I have forgotten now, in short, not the eldest girl; Finally, I don't know what her last name is. I remember that she also told me the origin of this name: Earlier, there was a female worker in my family who was born very tall, and this is Zhen Ah Chang. Later, when she went back, my girl came to make up for her lack, but everyone did not change her words because they were used to it, so she became the eldest mother from then on.  

　　Although it is not a good thing to say that people are short and long, if I were to tell the truth, I had to say: I really don't admire her. The most annoying thing is that I often like to cut and check and whisper something to people. Also put up a second finger and shake it up and down in the air, or point at the opponent or the tip of his nose. There was a little turmoil in my house, and somehow I always suspected that it had something to do with this "Che Che Cha". And I was not allowed to move, pulled a grass, turned over a rock, and said that I was naughty and that I was going to tell my mother to go. In the summer, when she slept, she stretched out her feet and hands, and put a "big" character in the middle of the bed, so that I had no room to turn over, and slept on the mat in the corner for a long time, and it was already so hot. Push her, don't move; Call her, don't smell.  

　　"The eldest mother is so fat, she must be afraid of heat? Sleep at night, afraid that it will not be very good? ......”  

　　My mother once asked her this after hearing my complaints. I also knew that meant asking her to give me more free seats. She doesn't speak. But at night, when I woke up so hot, I still saw a "big" word all over the bed, and an arm resting on my neck. I think it's really unthinkable.  

　　But she knows many rules; These rules are probably what I am impatient with. The happiest time of the year is naturally Chinese New Year's Eve. After the resignation, I get money from my elders, wrap it in red paper, put it next to the pillow, and use it as long as I spend the night. Sleeping on the pillow, looking at the red envelopes, thinking of the small drums, knives and guns, clay figures, sugar bodhisattvas bought tomorrow... However, she came in and placed another Fu Tangerine at the end of the bed.  

　　"Brother, you keep it in mind!" She said extremely solemnly. "Tomorrow is the first day of the first lunar month, and when I open my eyes early in the morning, the first thing I have to say to me is: 'Grandma, congratulations, congratulations!' Remember? You have to remember, it's a matter of luck for a year. Don't say anything else! After saying that, I have to eat a little lucky orange. She picked up the orange again and shook it twice in front of my eyes, "Well, all year round, go with the flow.... ”  

　　In my dreams, I also remember New Year's Day, and I woke up very early the next day, and when I woke up, I had to sit up. She immediately stretched out her arm and held me down. When I looked at her in amazement, I saw her looking at me anxiously.  

　　She shook my shoulder as if she were asking again. I suddenly remembered --  

　　"Grandma, congratulations..."  

　　"Congratulations Congratulations! Congratulations everyone! How clever! Congratulations! She laughed as if she were happy, and at the same time stuffed something cold into my mouth. After I was taken aback, I suddenly remembered that this was the so-called Fu Tangerine, and the ordeal on New Year's Day had finally been endured, and I could get out of bed and play.  

　　She taught me a lot of truths, such as saying that when people die, they should not say they are dead, they must say "old"; In the house where a dead man or a child was born, he should not go inside; When the rice falls on the ground, it must be picked up, preferably eaten; Under the bamboo pole used to dry your pants, you must not drill over.... In addition, it is now largely forgotten, and only the strange rituals of New Year's Day are remembered most clearly. In short: these are all tedious things, and I still think about it very troublesome.  

　　However, for a while, I also had an unprecedented respect for her. She used to tell me "long hair". Her so-called "long-haired" people were not only Hong Xiu's entire army, but also seemed to include all the bandits and robbers who followed, but except for the revolutionary party, because there was no one at that time. She said it so horribly that they couldn't understand it. She said that when Changmao entered the city earlier, all my family fled to the beach, leaving only a porter and an old cook mother to watch over the house. Later, when Longhair came through the door, the old mother called them "Dawang",—— it is said that Longhair should be called like this,—— tell her hunger. Longmao smiled and said, "Then, this thing will be eaten for you!" "Throwing over a round thing, with a small braid, it was the head of the porter. The old mother who cooked rice was shocked from then on, and when she mentioned it later, her face immediately turned earthy, and she gently patted her chest and said: "Ah, it scares me, it scares me..." ”  

I didn't seem to be afraid, because I felt that these things had nothing to do with me, and I was not a concierge. But she probably realized it and said, "A child like you will also be kidnapped by long hair, and he will be taken into small long hair." And good-looking girls, too, to be taken captive. ”  

　　"Well, it doesn't matter to you." I thought she must be the safest, not a porter, not a child, not good-looking, and she had many scars on her neck.  

　　"Where are the words?!" She said seriously. "We're useless? We will also be taken into captivity. When there were soldiers outside the city to attack, Longhair told us to take off our pants and stand on the city wall row by row, and the cannons outside could not be released; If you want to put it again, it will blow up! ”  

　　This was really unexpected and I can't help but be surprised. I always thought that her belly full of stomach was just troublesome etiquette, but I didn't expect her to have such great divine power. Since then, he has a special respect for her, which seems to be really unfathomable; Stretching out my hands and feet at night and occupying the whole bed, of course, is excusable, but I should give in.  

　　This respect, although it also gradually faded, completely disappeared, probably after knowing that she had murdered my hidden mouse. At that time, he questioned her very seriously and called her a chief in person. I don't think I really do little longhair, I don't go to siege the city, I don't fire cannons, and I'm not afraid of shelling, what am I afraid of her!  

　　But when I mourned the hidden rat and took revenge on it, I was longing for the drawing of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. This longing was provoked by a distant uncle. He was a chubby, kind old man who loved to grow flowers such as pearl orchids, jasmine, and extremely rare horse tasseled flowers that were said to have been brought back from the north. His wife, on the contrary, did nothing inexplicably, once rested the bamboo pole for drying clothes on the branch of Zhulan, the branch broke, and cursed indignantly: "Dead body! "This old man is a loner, because he has no one to talk to, he loves to interact with children, and sometimes he even calls us "little friends". In the house where we live together, only he has a lot of books, and it is special. Art making and trial poems, naturally, there are also ones; But I only saw Lu Ji's "Mao Shi Grass Trees, Birds, Beasts, Insects and Fish" in his book magazine, as well as many books with very good names. My favorite thing to see at that time was "Flower Glasses," which had a lot of pictures on it. He told me that there was once a drawing of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", which depicted a human-faced beast, a nine-headed serpent, a three-legged bird, a winged man, and a monster without a head but with two breasts as eyes,...... It's a pity that I don't know where to put it now.  

　　I would love to see such a picture, but I was embarrassed to force him to look for it, he was very lazy. Ask others, and no one will answer me truthfully. There are still a few hundred dollars for the year, buy it, and there is no good opportunity. The street where I bought books was so far away from my house that I could only visit once a year during the New Year, when both bookstores were tightly closed.  

　　There was nothing when I played, but as soon as I sat down, I remembered the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that was drawn.  

　　Probably too obsessed with it, even Ah Chang came to ask what was going on in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". This is something I have never told her, I know that she is not a scholar, and it is useless to say it; But since he came to ask, he also said to her.  

　　After more than ten days, or a month, I still remember that four or five days after she returned home from leave, she came back in a new blue shirt, and as soon as she met, she handed me a bag of books, and said happily: "Brother, there is a painting of the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', I bought it for you!" ”  

　　I seemed to have encountered a thunderbolt, and everyone was shocked; Quickly went to take it, opened the paper package, it was four small books, a little flipped, a human-faced beast, a nine-headed snake,...... Sure enough, it's all included.  

　　It gave me a new respect, and she was able to do what others wouldn't or couldn't do. She does have great divine powers. The resentment of murdering the hidden rat has since been completely eliminated.  

　　These four books are the most beloved books I first received.  

　　The appearance of the book is still in front of us. But from the appearance that is still in front of him, it is a book with very rough engravings. The paper is yellow; The images are also very bad, even almost all made up of straight lines, and even the eyes of the animals are rectangular. But it is my most beloved treasure book, and it seems to be a beast with a human face; The nine-headed serpent; a one-footed ox; bag-like imperial river; There is no head and "milk as the eye, the navel as the mouth", and the punishment of "dancing with qi".  

　　After that, I collected more books for drawings, so I had the lithographed "Erya Yin Tu" and "Mao Shi Pin Tu Kao", and then "Dian Shizhai Conglomerate Painting" and "Poetry and Painting". The "Classic of Mountains and Seas" also bought another lithograph, each volume has a tuzan, a green painting, the characters are red, much more exquisite than the woodcut. This one was still there until the year before last, and it was a miniature Hao Yixingshu. The woodcut is no longer able to remember when it was lost.  

　　My nanny, the eldest mother, is Ah Chang, who has passed away from this life, and it has been about thirty years. I finally didn't know her name, her experience; It is only known that there is a stepson, who is probably a widow of youth.  

　　O Mother Earth, benevolent and dark, may her soul be forever safe in your arms!