Sound Sleep

By Yue Rugou

Some people seem to be heavily laden with anxiety and have difficulty going to sleep.Such people should learn how the ancient people used to repose.There were recorded a few people who were particularly good at sleeping in theAncient and Modern Random Chitchatby Feng Menglong (1574-1646) in the late Ming Dynasty.

It was rumored that Xiahou Yin,an ancient man could sleep while walking,and more interestingly,would be snoring,no matter if he was ascending a mountain or crossing a river.However,he walked steadily and would never miss a step.He would instantly wake up when he arrived at his destination.Thus,he was facetiously dubbed the “Sleeping God.”

Legend has it that Mr.Wen Wufeng was also an unbelievable sleeper.Once he was strolling along in the market when a feeling of drowsiness suddenly hit him,he put his hand on a friend’s shoulder and said:“Lead the way and walk slowly.” In this way,he paced forward,while snoring like thunder.It wouldn’t be bad if modern people could make use of every bit of spare time for a catnap during commutes like Mr.Wen.

Too much sleep can hinder business,though.One day,according to legend,an assistant to the magistrate of Huating County,somewhat ranked like the deputy head of the county today,went to pay a visit to a local landlord.Before the host made his appearance,the assistant fell asleep in his seat.After a while,the landlord came out.Seeing that the guest was sound asleep,he was reluctant to disturb him,so he took an opposite seat and imprudently slipped into his dream.After a while,the assistant woke up and saw his host asleep.He closed his eyes and went to sleep again.When the host woke up,he saw that the guest was still sleeping so he went on to sleep.By the time the assistant woke up again,it was already night,but the host had not woken up yet,so he left quietly.When the host woke up,he saw that his guest had left and he went back to his room and continued sleeping.

Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo(1031-1101) was of a bold and unrestrained character.He often lamented,“Drifting away the rest of my life in a small boat,I would rather idle away from the earthly bustle.” That year he was exiled to Huangzhou City,and after making a lot of trouble there,the whole city was out for him while he was lying stretched on a bed in a sound sleep and snoring loudly as usual.He was further banished to Huizhou City in his later years.He wrote in a poem:“Aware that the master valued his spring sleep,the Taoist priest gently tolled the morning bell.” When his political opponent Zhang Dun,the then prime minister,heard of his story,he laughed:“Master Su should be so happy even in his exile.Well then,banish him to Danzhou in Hainan Province to ‘enjoy his happiness.’”

Regardless of his relegation to the end of the land or the corners of the sea,Su could always enjoy a deep slumber.Even on his way to Hainan in banishment,he once again boasted about his sweet sleep:“Three cups of drink will bring me a merry and lively repose.”

That is unquestionably a sound sleeper.

(FromShenzhen Economic Daily,July 13,2020.Translation:Luo Dongyuan)

有些人心事重，总是睡不好，这样的人应该看看古人是怎么睡的。冯梦龙在《古今谭概》里，记录了几个特别能睡觉的人。

相传古人夏侯隐，无论登山渡水，总能在行走中睡觉，还会打鼾，但他行走稳健，不会被绊倒，到目的地会立即醒来，人称“睡仙”。

相传文五峰先生也是这样。逛着街市，睡意上头，他就用手扶着童子的肩头说：“好好扶着，走慢些。”于是，他双脚不停，鼾声如雷。我们现代人工作劳累，如果能在上班途中、旅游车上见缝插针，像文先生一样睡一觉，挺好。

华亭县丞，就算是副县长吧，有天去拜访一位乡绅，主人还没出来，县丞就在座位上睡着了。不一会儿，主人来到，见客人正在睡觉，不忍惊动，坐在对面的座位上也不小心睡着了。一会儿县丞醒来，见主人熟睡，就闭上眼睛又睡了。主人醒来，见客人还在睡，也接着睡了。等到县丞再醒的时候，天已经黑了，主人竟然还没有睡醒，县丞悄悄走了。主人醒后，一看客人不见了，回房继续睡。

苏东坡是豪放人，“小舟从此逝，江海寄余生”。那年，他被贬黄州，大闹黄州城之后，大家都满城找他，哪知他却“鼻酣如雷”，高卧未起。晚年贬谪惠州，东坡诗云：“报道先生春睡美，道人轻打五更钟。”他的政敌、宰相章惇闻之，笑道：“苏子瞻竟然如此快活！”好吧，再贬到海南儋州去快活吧。

不管贬谪到天涯还是海角，苏轼总能美美鼾睡，在贬谪海南路上，东坡再次夸耀自个儿的美睡：“三杯软饱后，一枕黑甜余。”

这才是真的好睡。

（摘自《深圳商报》2020年7月13日）