铁塔的风铃Wind Chimes of the Iron Pagoda

周领顺/文　李爱华/译

有幸听到开封铁塔风铃之声，是早在1981年考入河南大学之后的事。

It was after I enrolled at Henan University as early as the year 1981 that I was fortunate enough to hear the wind chimes of the Iron Pagoda.

塔角之上有铃，此前我卻闻所未闻。莫说不知道塔上有铃，就连见见火车，都感觉稀罕得很。或者说，就没有什么是不稀罕的，对于走出舞阳县农村、考上大学的我，开封市和河南大学的点点滴滴，都成了我向人炫耀的资本和自信的源泉。亲耳听见开封铁塔的风铃，则是因为住在“学11楼”而紧靠铁塔公园南墙之故。大二时，我们还在楼前种了一排泡桐，但因为那些纪念树过于成“材”1，所以在20多年后便不见了踪迹。

At the corners of this pagoda were wind chimes， which I never heard of before. I barely saw a train， not to mention wind chimes of a pagoda. To put it differently， nothing was not unusual to me， who just went out of a village of Wuyang County to go to university. Dribs and drabs that happened in the city of Kaifeng and at Henan University were what I could show off and made me confident of. I could hear in person the chimes of the Iron Pagoda because my dormitory was in Building 11， which sat right next to the south wall of the Iron Pagoda Park. When I was a sophomore， we planted a row of paulownia trees in front of this building. However， as these trees were an ideal construction material， they did not last for more than 20 years in this location.

晚上有风时，总能听到铃儿叮当，白天遥望铁塔，方知有风铃在塔角之上。铃儿并不清脆，若牛项系着的铜铃，发出的是浑厚的金属之音。这一听就是4年，我住过114、121、122三个房间，早出晚归，总闻风铃接送。河南大学的学生以“铁塔牌”自居，而对于我，还多了一层，那就是充满动感的铁塔风铃。

When the wind blew at night， the wind chimes could oftentimes be heard tinkling. During the day， when looking out to the pagoda from afar， the chimes could be seen at its corners. These bells didnt ring loudly; instead， they produced a deep metallic noise， as if from a brass bell around a bulls neck. It was throughout the entire four years that I listened to the chimes， during which my dorm changed from Room 114， 121， to 122 and the wind chimes welcomed and bade farewell to me. Henan University students labeled themselves as the ‘Iron Pagoda Guys. For me， its more than that—the Iron Pagodas vibrant wind chimes moved me.

“河南大学”那时叫“河南师范大学”，虽然同学们感觉“师范”二字不多受用2，但在名字的排场程度上，已经比先前的“开封师范学院”不知强了多少倍。到了大三，听闻有希望改回之前更加排场的“河南大学”之名，校园里便涌动着情绪激昂的人群，奔走相告于餐厅、宿舍和课堂。要面子是人之常情，青年时期尤甚。填报大学志愿时，就因为当时同层次的“新乡师范学院”（现在的“河南师范大学”）有个“乡”字而被我这个“乡下人”所排斥，而“郑州大学”又因为是第二批录取3，面子上稍稍低了些，且不是电脑操作，熬不了长久的等待。重点大学没报，不是分数不到，而是胆量不足，千辛万苦考出来，不管怎样都不能与吃“商品粮”4的机会失之交臂。总之，阴差阳错，抑或是歪打正着，铸就了此后与河南大学的不解之缘。

The then Henan University was in the name of Henan Normal University. The term “normal”， which students didnt appreciate， carried a grander connotation compared to its previous designation as Kaifeng Normal College， indicating a more advanced status. In my third year， it was rumoured that the school might change its name back to a more grandiose one—Henan University， which caused excited throngs of people to go around spreading the news in the dining hall， dormitories， and classrooms. It is human nature to be concerned about ones face， especially for youth. When filling out my university application form， I didnt choose Xinxiang Normal College （now Henan Normal University） just due to the character “xiang” （“countryside” in Chinese） in the name of the city that I rejected from my inner heart. Zhengzhou University ranked in the second round of college admissions， which led to a slight loss of face. In addition， the university admission process that previously did not occur online could require applicants to wait for a long time. I didnt apply to a key university not because I couldnt achieve high scores on the college entrance exam， but because I didnt have the courage to take risks. Through innumerable hardships， I anyhow couldnt miss out on this opportunity to get a secure job in cities. All in all， whether it was good or bad luck， this harvest happened to be what I wished for， leading to my close connection with Henan University.

初识大学校园，大气恢宏仍然超出了想象。听说河大校园就有800多亩，比我们几个村庄合起来还要大。建筑古朴，个个都有典故；植物茂盛，主要道路两边都是修剪齐整的柏树丛。大礼堂两侧的树林，如同两片碧绿的翅膀，而大礼堂则像鲲鹏5，似乎随时都有腾飞翱翔的可能，如今多了钢筋水泥，特别是多了大礼堂东侧的艺术广场，已不容我“睹物思情”。整个学校都仿佛隐身于树林之中，“我们的大学像公园”，是那时很多人的共识和脱口可出的贊美之词。校园优美，美伴读书浓，不管是文博馆所在位置的土丘，还是小礼堂前面的石榴园，抑或是学校东面的城墙上和昏黄的路灯下，都留下了我们的身影，因为它们都是我们读书的绝好去处。

For the first time when I sighted the campus， its grandeur went beyond my expectation. I heard that it was over 800 mu， bigger than that of several villages combined. This campus had buildings of quaint styles， each of which had its own tale. It had lush plants， with the main road lined with neatly trimmed cypress trees. The woods on both sides of the auditorium resembled two emerald wings， while the auditorium itself was like a giant bird， seemingly always ready to soar. Now， more concrete buildings have been added to the campus， particularly an art square on the auditoriums east side， impeding me from reminiscing about my good old days. The whole campus hid itself in the woods— “Our universitys like a park” was a consensus and embodied the way that many people frequently used to praise it. The campus was very beautiful， which made it an ideal place to study. Whether it was the mound with the museum， the pomegranate garden in front of the small auditorium， or even the wall along our schools east side and the area underneath the dim on-campus streetlights， all were where we left our footprints in that these were ideal haunts for us to read.

说起读书，那可是真正的“读书”啊，早上在宿舍楼外自觉“晨读”，晚上在教室安静“默读”，而背诵课文，受益多多，在反复的背诵中，有了更多的理解。“81级”的学生学习好，风气好，有目共睹。早上睡懒觉的时候很少，即使在辅导员晨跑点名后有偷偷溜回宿舍的，也仍然以读书的时候居多。晚上学习时间长，有时不过瘾，还要找个长明灯教室继续学习。我做过副班长和学习委员，去给外教送作业本时，为了不错过和外教交流的机会，除了准备些口语外，还要事先写篇英语作文当面请教，使得口语的表达有了更加具体的内容。我的毕业论文提前一年（大三）完成，外教给我评了个优秀，毕业实习和毕业考试得的也是优秀。特别是在大三时，我就在《英语辅导》杂志上发表了首篇习作，17元的稿费，正好让我买了一双牛皮鞋。那是我穿的第一双皮鞋啊。正因为学习努力，又喜欢写点儿东西，所以获得了外语系颁发的“特别奖”，整个年级共有三人获得，后来也就有了三个“怪杰”之类的说法。那时没有多少可玩的东西，让吃苦的我们，在河南大学打下了坚实的基础。

Speaking of reading， that really was “reading”. In the morning， I read aloud outside my dormitory， and in the evening， I read silently in my classroom. Reciting textbooks， the repetition of which expanded my understanding of what I read， brought me great benefits. It was obvious to all that members of the entering class of 1981 worked hard and their academic atmosphere was positive. Rarely getting up late， some of us sneaked back to our dormitories after our teachers morning roll call， but most of us did reading most of the time. Long as the time to study at night was， we would go to a 24-hour-lit classroom to continue learning if our craving for reading was not quenched. As the classs vice-monitor and commissary in charge of studies， I would equip myself with some spoken English before taking students workbooks to our foreign teacher， with a bid not to miss an opportunity to communicate with my foreign teacher. Besides the preparation in spoken English， I would write an English essay in advance to make the communication go in detail. I completed my graduation thesis during my junior year， a year ahead of time， for which my foreign teacher granted me a high grade. Both my graduation internship and exams also helped me earn excellent marks. As a junior， I published my first article in a magazine called English Coach， from which I earned 17 yuan， the exact sum for a pair of leather shoes—that was my first pair of leather shoes. It was my diligence and passion for writing that helped me earn “a special award”， which only three people in my entire grade were able to get， which inspired our classmates to call us the Three Figures. Limited entertainment options made it possible that industrious students like us laid a solid foundation for our future.

河南大学外语系的师资实力雄厚，这在入学报到之前就已经在宣传的画页上看到了。而真正到了学校，更是领略了老师们的敬业和刻苦。正是有了他们，才使非重点大学的河南大学，享有了超“重点”的声誉。

The Foreign Languages Department of Henan University had highly qualified faculty， of which I got informed in an enrollment brochure. My learning experience there demonstrated its teachers dedication and commitment. For this reason， Henan University， not a key university though， has a better reputation than key universities.

河南大学给我留下的美好记忆太多太多，甚至有不知从何说起之惑，“挂一漏万”，实非夸张之语。那些年电话很少见，但家信来往频繁，我与父亲有关河大时期的通信还都各自完好地保存着，只待将来，再将那些尘封的美好一页页翻起。如今，我虽然身在异乡，但还顶着河大好学生的美名，嘴边挂着的一句“我本科是在河南大学外语系读的”，难以掩饰的是发自内心深处的自豪之情。

Sweet memories my days at Henan University has left me with are so many that I dont know where to start. Its no exaggeration to say that it would be impossible to mention everything thats happened there. Telephones were not much widely in use， letters from home were frequent， some of which between my father and me were well kept， waiting to be read page after page to turn out the sealed beauty of the past. Today， living in an alien city， as one of the top students from Henan University， I find it hard to conceal my pride about having studied there， with “I earned my Bachelors degree from the Foreign Languages Department of Henan University” at the tip of my tongue.

难忘河南大学的点点滴滴，更难忘恩师们言犹在耳，一如开封铁塔的风铃，还不时在心间荡起。

Unforgettable are all memories about Henan University， where even more unforgettable are my esteemed professors whose words seem to still ring in my ears， just as melodiously as the wind chimes of the Iron Pagoda.

* 博士，二级教授，博导，中国英汉语比较研究会副会长，“译者行为批评”理论创建者。

1文中的成“材”指的是泡桐长势良好，可用作上好的建筑木材，故而翻译为ideal construction material（理想的建筑材料），暗含讥讽之意。

2文中的“受用”表示享受、得益，故而译为appreciate。

3“第二批錄取”在当时指的是录取的时间更靠后，故而翻译为in the second round of college admissions。  4在计划经济时代，能够吃“商品粮”的人意味着工作有编制，有铁饭碗，有保障，故而译为secure job。  5文中的“鲲鹏”出自《庄子·逍遥游》，考虑到这一名词在西方并无对应之物，故而简化译为giant bird，以便于理解。