Dreaming Thee in the Rain

2018-05-15ByShaoZiqi

Special Focus 2018年4期

By Shao Ziqi

In the 1930s, China, there was a young man who was both timid and romantic in love.He was too shy to say hello to his sweetheart when he encountered her in the street, and he was so romantic that he would compose a love letter to her every two or three days.

His name is Zhu Shenghao,renowned for his Chinese translation of Will i am Shakespeare’s complete works,as well as his more than 540 love letters.

In 1942, after nine long years of unrequited love, he finally married Song Qingru, the woman of his heart. The bride was 31 and the groom was 30, well above the average marrying age at that time.Xia Chengtao, a famous poet,presented them a wedding gift of his own calligraphy, written thus, “A genius and a beauty’s hands bound in matrimony, a loving couple comes down to the mundane world.”

Before the marriage, Zhu had courted Song but she refused.She believed that marriage would be the killer of romance, and said, “I am happy to be with you,but marriage is not necessary.We need to think it over before the final step.” Song’s careful consideration was the sensible thing to do, and Zhu didn’t try to force the issue.

Song had her reasons for feeling hesitant. In the Republican era, many talented and charismatic young men were easily lost in romantic love. It was lucky for Song, however, that her courter understood and respected her.

After marriage, they became a happy couple. Zhu devoted himself to the translation of Shakespeare’s works, while Song became a hard-working housewife who managed to supplement their livelihood by earning extra money. Now the perfect couple had to go about the arduous task of earning enough money just for three square meals a day.

First in 1937 and then in 1941,Zhu’s handwritten translations were destroyed twice in the Anti-Japanese war. To escape from the Japanese army, the couple went to Song’s old home in Changshu.

Translation work was very taxing, and they were poor in things, rich in spirit. Zhu told Song that, though they were poor,they had it all. Whenever time permitted, they worked together to compile a book namedFour Hundred Famous Ci Poems of Tang and Song Dynastiestogether, as ancient poetry was their mutual interest.

Soon thereafter, Changshu was occupied by the Japanese. As a renowned intellectual, Zhu was in danger of being arrested. He used a pseudonym and stayed at home all day. In January, 1943, they had to leave for Zhu’s old home in Jiaxing, carrying the works of Shakespeare with them.

A beech-wood desk, an oldstyle armchair, an oil lamp, an old pen, the English edition of The Complete Works of Shakespeare,and two dictionaries were all he needed for the translation work.

When not translating, Song and Zhu also enjoyed the sweet moments in their marriage life.Once when Song went alone to visit her parents, Zhu waited out in the rain for her return.He stood beneath a green plum tree by the door of their house, picking up a fallen leaf and writing a poem for her.Upon Song’s return, he recited following poetic lines for her.

20世纪30年代，有这样一个年轻人，他很矜持，即使在路上遇见她，也只当陌生人。他也很浪漫，每隔两三天给她写一封情书。他用一支笔翻译180万字的《莎士比亚全集》，给她写了540多封情书。

他就是朱生豪。

1942年，苦恋9年之后，朱生豪和宋清如匆匆完婚。那年，宋清如31岁，朱生豪30岁，都是大龄青年。一代词宗夏承焘为新婚伉俪题下八个大字：“才子佳人，柴米夫妻。”

此前，朱生豪向宋清如求过一次婚，被宋清如拒绝。她认为，婚姻是情感恶化的开始，直言：“我和你好，不一定是以结婚为目的的，况且从爱情到婚姻的跨越，需要慎之又慎。”宋清如的考虑不无道理，朱生豪没再强迫她。民国那个时代，总能孕育出一些富有才华的男子，这样的男子，身上带着迷人的包容性，宋清如是幸运的，遇到尊重她的朱生豪。

婚后，朱生豪沉浸在译莎事业中，对周遭世界不管不顾。宋清如不是什么佳人，只是辛勤的家庭主妇，帮工做衣，补贴家用，为一日三餐奔走。

1937年和1941年，朱生豪的译稿两度在日军炮火中被毁。为躲避日军的骚扰，他俩去了宋清如的常熟老家。

翻译工作是劳累而紧张的，精神生活却是丰富的，朱生豪对宋清如说：我很贫穷，但我无所不有。表达他对婚后生活和新婚之妻的欣喜之情。为了调剂工作和生活节奏，二人根据自己的爱好，一起选编《唐宋名家词四百首》，作为生活调剂。

常熟是日军清乡区，朱生豪化名朱福全，虽不上街，还是随时面临安全威胁。

1943年1月，他俩带着莎翁全集，来到朱生豪嘉兴老家。

一张榉木账桌，一把旧式靠椅，一盏小油灯，一支旧钢笔和一套莎翁全集、两本词典，就是全部翻译工作的用具。

宋清如和朱生豪的婚后生活，不仅是译书，也有清甜的小故事。有一次，宋清如回了一趟娘家，朱生豪每天在雨中站在门口青梅树下等候，捡一片落叶，写一首诗：“要是我们两人一同在雨声里做梦，或者一同在雨声里失眠……”宋清如回来，看到后心疼得流泪。

朱生豪对闭户译书的投入，达到“足不涉市”的地步，为他的健康埋下隐患。他在翻译《亨利四世》时，突然肋间剧痛，出现痉挛。经检查，确诊为严重肺结核伴并发症。朱生豪生前的最后一封信是写给二弟的：“这两天好容易把《亨利四世》译完。精神疲惫不堪……因为终日伏案，已经形成消化永远不良现象，走一趟北门简直犹如爬山。”

1944年11月底，朱生豪病情加重，日夜躺着，无力说话，更无力看书。

If the rain’s pitter-patter is a dream we both share,will we lose sleep together or see each other there?

Upon hearing the poem, Song was moved to tears.

Unfortunately, the heavy work-load of translation undermined Zhu’s health. He seldom left his home, or even his room. One day while translatingHenry IV, he suddenly felt a sharp pain between his ribs,and a spasm followed. Zhu was diagnosed with severe tuberculosis and complications resulting from the disease. In his last letter, he told his brother,“I recently finally finished the translation of Henry IV. I feel utterly fatigued as a result of being hunched over a desk day and night. I have permanent dyspepsia, and a short walk to the North Gate is like scaling Mr.Everest.”

In the end of November 1944, Zhu was on his last legs.Permanently bed-ridden, he was almost unable to utter a word,much less to read a book.

He managed to tell Song that he felt so regretful about the unfinished five and a half historic plays, and that, had he foreseen his serious illness, he would have fought with all his might to finish them.

Zhu had invited Song to translate Shakespeare together, but Song was afraid that she wouldn’t be much of a collaborator. She helped her husband as a loyal reader and a responsible reviewer.

“Qingru, it’s my time to go,”murmured Zhu on the afternoon of December 26, 1944. He left behind his beloved wife and son,and his unfinished translation work.

Song Qingru was 33, and their son was 13 months old.The marriage lasted for only two years.

She had been willing to play a supporting role to her husband and family, but decided to make it on her own. The 37 plays,1.8 million words of Zhu’s translation were not published yet. Their infant son needed to be fed. She had to pull herself together. She knew she needed to press on for herself, and for her beloved man.

She was determined to engage herself in two pursuits in the rest of her life—getting her husband’s unfinished

She put all her efforts into the translations. What we know today is that Zhu’s translation works were published a few years after his death.

One night insomnia set in,she put on her dress, walked to the plum tree and saw a vision of her husband when he was that strapping young man in Hangchow University. He extended his arms beaconing her into his warm embrace; with tears streaming down her face, she held him tightly. Suddenly she woke to find herself in her bed. It turned out it was a dream and that her man was really gone.

After age 35, Song Qingru went downhill quickly. Her photos before and after Zhu’s death clearly showed an attractive young girl full of vigor who was rapidly turning into a haggard old biddy.

In 1997, 53 years after their separation, Song passed away and

was finally reunited with her true love in heaven.“The pitter-patter of the rain in dreams we share, the pitter-patter of the rain in sleeplessness we share.” Only by mutual inspiration can we console each other, like the comet’s glory glistening our tired dreams, though our bodies may part, our hearts will be together forever. I shall love thee till the end of time. ◆

(FromThe Republic of China in the Love Letters, Tuanjie Press.Translation: Wang Xiaoke)

他对宋清如说：“莎翁剧作，还有五个半史剧没翻译完毕，早知一病不起，就是拼着命，也要把它译完。”

其实，朱曾邀宋一起翻译莎剧，被宋婉拒。她担忧自己耽误朱的翻译进程。朱生豪在世时，宋清如扮演着读者、校对者、欣赏者的角色。

1944年12月26日午后，朱生豪病危，喃喃呼唤：“清如，我要去了。”他撒手人寰，留下宋清如寡母孤儿及未竟的译莎事业。

这一年，宋清如33岁，稚子刚13个月。他们的夫妻生活，只维持两年……

他在时，她甘心做配角；他不在了，她要活下去，连同朱生豪那份，一同活下去。朱生豪留下37种、180万字莎剧译稿，未曾出版，还有他们的幼子，嗷嗷待哺。

一个人有了使命，有了爱，就有活下去的勇气。

宋清如的后半生，似乎都在赶做这两件事情：出版朱生豪的译稿，抚养他们的孩子。人生的风景太过繁杂，他还没来得及细看，她要替他一一看过，待有一天，她与他躺在永恒的寂静中，一一说与他听。

她把全部的精力用在工作上。作为翻译家的朱生豪几乎不为人知，他的译稿也是几年之后才获出版的。

深夜难眠时，她披着外衣，走到那棵青梅树下。那个男人还是当年在之江大学时的模样。男人向她张开双臂，她含泪过去，拥抱虚幻。原来一切都是梦一场，她怔怔地抹着眼角的泪水，那个人是真的离开了……

宋清如35岁之后，忽然老下去，原本清秀朝气的面容，黯淡生尘，有一种沧海桑田之感。过去泛黄照片中容貌清秀如空谷幽兰般的女子不再，如今的半身小照上，那双原本充满灵性的眼眸蒙上一层水汽。距朱生豪辞世才三年，生活已经让她如此疲惫。

1997年，宋清如离开人世，与朱生豪分别五十三年后，他们于天国团聚。