静水深流 (3)｜浮生一梦 余情千载——沈复《浮生六记》
提起清代文人沈复，大约知者不算众多，相比李渔、张岱等明清文豪，沈复声名甚微。他只算得一介寒士，在世时并无功名又无利禄，只是在中年时写下了一本自传体散文集《浮生六记》，让他得以名传后世。
我于十年前偶得《浮生六记》，薄薄一册，一见便爱不释手。见惯了不少古书中波澜壮阔、世道浇漓的故事，读此书忽如眼前一座流水小桥，别样雅致，潺潺低语细诉生平。作者沈复用《闺房记乐》《闲情记趣》《坎坷记愁》《浪游记快》等六篇小记，用随笔形式记录自己半生所历，侧重回忆了他与妻子芸儿相知相惜, 琴瑟和鸣，却不得不在家道变故后困顿流离、永失所爱的经历。道是“多情自古空留恨，好梦由来最易醒。”
沈复文风清丽宛转，志趣高雅，颇具艺术美感；他的心理刻画尤为传神，更兼得笔墨情深，字字句句真情实感，读来确实感人。还有人说《浮生六记》之所以赢得推崇并世代相传，全因书中有一位绝世无双的好妻子芸儿。对于芸儿，作为该书最知名的粉丝林语堂先生是这样评价的:“ 芸，我想，是中国文学上一个最可爱的女人。”诚非过誉，可见不凡。
不得不说，语堂先生对于《浮生六记》的笃爱，使得该书在后世甚至是世界范围的流传，起到了不可磨灭的作用。他用深厚的中英文功底亲自将其译成英文出版，希望全世界的人们都有机会一睹这对中国旧时代平常小夫妻的风姿雅态。看他们在寻常日子里，“若布衣暖，菜饭饱，一室雍雍，优游泉，真成烟火神仙矣”；看夫妻二人伉俪情深，她回眸微笑，“便觉一缕情丝摇人魂魄”，久别重逢，会“觉耳中惺然一声，不知更有此身矣”；在忧愁患难时刻，他们不离不弃，死生相依。妻子芸儿在临终有一段言语，道出此生之爱犹未尽，她说：“唱随你二十三年，你百般体恤，不因为我的顽劣而放弃，得到像你这样的知己和夫婿，此生没有遗憾。神仙几世才能修到，我辈何人，敢望神仙耶？强而求之，致干造物之忌，即有情魔之扰。总因君太多情，妾生薄命耳。”，相守23年，苦乐并存，心里却只有对对方的感念和深爱。种种欢乐甜蜜，坎坷离愁，都在沈复之妙笔下提炼升华，令读者不知不觉产生移情，随之笑，也随之哭。
林语堂说，沈复和芸儿，在世上并无特殊建树，他们只是欣爱人世的良辰美景，流连于山林泉石，且能知足常乐。他之所以要翻译陈芸的故事，是因为这故事值得让世界知道：一方面为流传她的芳名——在芸身上不可多得地汇集了各代女人的贤良美德；另一方面，他从这对夫妇的简朴生活中，看到了他们在穷困坎坷中对美丽的追求，善处忧患的恬淡自适。
林语堂也为芸叹息，正是她爱美求真的天性与现实的冲突，导致半生不顺。幸而她的丈夫，一位平常的寒士，详尽、细腻地记载了他们曾经共享的闲情逸趣，使我们知道，世上曾有过这样一位饱尝穷愁与快乐的女子。
他们二人早已远去作古，留得两座墓冢在苏州郊外福寿山。惟有那份深情，浓烈而纯粹，则会随着文字的传播，余晖绵绵，千载不绝。
芸儿到底是一位怎样的“不俗仙骨”？而沈复又是一位怎样的文人雅士？林语堂先生说：“读沈复的书每使我感到这安乐的奥妙，远超乎尘俗之压迫与人身之痛苦。”答案自然就在书里。
中英双语版《浮生六记》，乃人生不可不读之书。
《浮生六记》
林语堂英译节选
作者简介
沈复，字三白，号梅逸。清乾隆二十八年（1763年）生于姑苏城南沧浪亭畔士族文人之家，十八岁娶舅女陈芸为妻。婚后夫妻俩举案齐眉、相爱甚笃，然命途多舛，常常事与愿违；幸而二人不落世俗，善苦中作乐，耳鬓厮磨二十三年，至芸积病身故，仍情深如旧。后，沈复离家漫游，著《浮生六记》六卷。
余幼聘金沙于氏，八龄而夭。娶陈氏。陈名芸，字淑珍，舅氏心余先生女也，生而颖慧，学语时，口授《琵琶行》，即能成诵。四龄失怙，母金氏，弟克昌，家徒壁立。芸既长，娴女红，三口仰其十指供给，克昌从师，修脯无缺。一日，于书簏中得《琵琶行》，挨字而认，始识字。刺绣之暇，渐通吟咏，有“秋侵人影瘦，霜染菊花肥”之句。余年—十三，随母归宁，两小无嫌，得见所作，虽叹其才思隽秀，窃恐其福泽不深，然心注不能释，告母曰：“若为儿择妇，非淑姊不娶。”母亦爱其柔和，即脱金约指缔姻焉。此乾隆乙末七月十六日也。
I was engaged in my childhood to one Miss Yu, of Cinsha, who died in her eighth year, and eventually I married a girl of the Chen clan. Her name was Yun and her literary name Suchen. She was my cousin, being the daughter of my maternal uncle, hsinyu. Even in her childhood, she was a very clever girl, for while she was learning to speak, she was taught Po chuyi’s poem, The Pipa Player, and could at once repeat it. Her father died when she was four years old, and in the family there were only her mother (of the Chin clan) and her younger brother kehchang and herself, being then practically destitute. When Yung grew up and had learnt needlework, she was providing for the family of three, and contrived always to pay kehchang’s tuition fees punctually. One day, she picked up a copy of the poem The PiPa player from a wastebasket, and from that, with the help of her memory of the lines, she learnt to read word by word. Between her needlework, she gradually learnt to write poetry. One of the poems contained the two lines:
"Touched by autumn, one' s figure grows slender,
Soaked in frost, the chrysanthemum blooms full."
When I was thirteen years old, I went with my mother to her maiden home and there we met. As we were two young innocent children, she allowed me to read her poems. I was quite struck by her talent, but feared that she was too clever to be happy. Still I could not help thinking of her all the time, and once I told my mother, "If you were to choose a girl for me, I won' t marry any one except Cousin Su." My mother also liked her being so gentle, and gave her her gold ring as a token for the betrothal.
是中冬，值其堂姊出阁，余又随母往。芸与余同齿而长余十月，自幼姊弟相呼，故仍呼之曰淑姊。时但见满室鲜衣，唯独通体素淡，仅新其鞋而已。见其绣制精巧，询为己作，始知其慧心不仅在笔墨也。
其形削肩长项，瘦不露骨，眉弯目秀，顾盼神飞，唯两齿微露；似非佳相。一种缠绵之态，令人之意也消。
This was on July 16 in the year of 1775. In the winter of this year one of my girl cousins was going to get married and I again accompanied my mother to her maiden home. Yun was of the same age as myself, but ten months older, and as we had been accustomed to calling each other "elder sister" and younger brother" from childhood, I continued to call her "Sister Su".
At this time the guests in the house all wore bright dresses, but Yun alone was clad in a dress of quiet color, and had on a new pair of shoes. I noticed that the embroidery on her shoes was very fine, and learned that it was her own work, so that I began to realize that she was gifted at other things, too, besides reading and writing.
Of a slender figure, she had drooping shoulders, and a rather long neck, slim but not to the pont of being skinny. Her eyebrows were arched and in her eyes there was a look of quick intelligence and soft refinement. The only defect was that her two front teeth were slightly inclined forward, which was not a mrak of good omen. There was an air of tenderness about her which completely fascinated me.
是夜送亲城外，返已漏三下，腹饥索饵，婢妪以枣脯进，余嫌其甜。芸暗牵余袖，随至其室，见藏有暖粥并小菜焉，余欣然举箸。忽闻芸堂兄玉衡呼曰：“淑妹速来！”芸急闭门曰：“已疲乏，将卧矣。”玉衡挤身而入，见余将吃粥，乃笑睨芸曰：“顷我索粥，汝曰‘尽矣’，乃藏此专待汝婿耶？”芸大窘避去，上下哗笑之。余亦负气，挈老仆先归。自吃粥被嘲，再往，芸即避匿，余知其恐贻人笑也。
That night, when I came back from outside the city, whither I had accompanied my girl cousin the bride, it was already midnight, and I felt very hungry and asked for something to eat. A maid-servant gave me some dried dates, which were too sweet for me. Yun secretly pulled me by the sleeve into her room, and I saw that she had hidden away a bowl of warm congee and some dishes to go with it. I was beginning to take up the chopsticks and eat it with great gusto when Yun' s boy cousin Yuheng called out, "Sister Su, come quick!" Yun quickly shut the door and said, "I am very tired and going to bed." Yuheng forced the door open and, seeing the situation, he said with a malicious smile at Yun, "So, that' s it! A while ago I asked for congee and you said there was no more, but you really meant to keep it for your future husband." Yun was greatly embarrassed and everybody laughed at her, including the servants. On my part I rushed away home with an old servant in a state of excitement. Since the affair of the congee happened, she always avoided me when I went to her home, and I knew that she was only trying to avoid being made a subject of ridicule.
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