The Skating that I Learned from My Childhood

小的时候，父母对我说，看来有三样“童子功2“童子功”，一般的词典没有解释，只有根据其意思译为skills gained from childhood，也未见得完全吻合。”你会受益终生：滑冰、外语和书法。学滑冰，我是从小学开始的。

[2]我的第一双冰鞋是上小学时从王府井著名的利生体育用品商场买的（好像全北京只有那里卖冰鞋），当时觉得是天价，要省吃俭用好久；买来它是件大事，开始舍不得穿，睡觉时要放在床头。每次滑冰后，又要仔细擦干、包裹起来。可是，天有不测风云，一次滑冰时被冰缝子卡了一下，冰刀中间被弄掉了一大块，当时好不心疼，难受了好一段，几乎下定决心不再滑冰。直到后来听说什刹海冰场旁边有位老师傅可以补修，于是找到那里，还真行！他用高温把刀面融化，又加上了一块生铁，居然把缺口补平了，真是大喜过望！

When I was young, my parents once told me that three “skills gained from childhood” that would probably benefit me throughout my life, which are skating, foreign languages and calligraphy. I learned how to skate when I was a mere primary school student.

[2] I bought my first pair of skates,as “a major event in life”, in my early school days from the famous Lifetime Sporting Goods Store located in Wang Fu Jing (it seemed to me that it was the only place where I could buy skates in Beijing at the time) at a sky-high price which cost me quite sometime of frugal living. Initially, I begrudged wearing them and put the skates beside my pillow at night. And carefully dried them out and wrapped them up every time after skating. Unexpectedly, one day one of my skates got stuck in an ice crack and excised quite a large piece in the middle of the blade. Oh my gosh! So depressed, I didn’t want to carry on skating anymore until one day I heard there was a repairman near the ice rink in Shi Cha Hai and I went there. He melted the blade together with a piece of cast iron—and surprisingly, he fixed it! I was overjoyed.

[3] During that turbulent age of “boycotting classes and making revolution”,only by coming to the ice rink could we escape the political ambience and breathe in the nice cold fresh air as a distinct contrast. Strangely, the boycott actually provided us with more valuable time when we could freely talk, run,foment something (surely not “revolution”) and tumble as well. In retrospect,that was nothing but real childhood.

[4] Not long ago, while skating in an indoor ice rink in Beijing, a young guy came to me after my skillful performance: “Looking at your stylish skating, you must have practiced in Shi Cha Hai?” In the movie Mr. Six, the last scene of fighting and sprint was also shot in Shi Cha Hai. Clearly, people who have a special preference for Shi Cha Hai are not few.

[5] It is a pity that for some reasons winter sports in Beijing have gradually declined. Personally, I notice that it’s very hard to find skaters who are as skillful as I am, since they didn’t have the “skills gained from childhood” and are all occupied with their exams, tutorials and computer games.

[3] 那时正值动荡年代，“罢课闹革命3“闹革命”一般可译为carry out revolution、make revolution、rise in revolution、incite revolution 等。”，而只有来到冰场才可逃逸那种政治气氛，一览开阔的冰面，呼吸清新的空气，形成鲜明的对比；也正是因为“罢课”，才给了我们更多的时间。在那里，我们可以随便说，随便跑，随便闹（自然不是“闹革命”），当然也少不了随便摔跟头。回想起来，那才是真真切切的童趣！

[4] 不久前，在北京一室内真冰场滑冰，一小伙子过来对我说，一看您这范儿4“范儿”字典上一般释为 style, 其实不只这个，还有 glamour、charisma、charm、personality 等，这里略加变通为stylish。，肯定是当年什刹海冰场出来的吧？在电影《老炮儿》中，看到那最后茬架、冲刺的场面，也正是在什刹海拍摄的。可见，有着什刹海冰场情结的人，实在不是少数。

[5] 可惜，后来因为种种原因，北京的冰上运动逐渐衰落了。明显的是，就个人来讲，现在的80后、90后中，比我滑冰好的实在不多，因为他们缺乏“童子功”，尽忙着考试、补习、打游戏了。

[6] Looking back, I have actually benefited greatly from skating. Studies suggest that the body’s response to the stimulation of cold air is itself a good fitness exercise, and the stimuli of differences between the air and skin temperatures can increase blood circulation and strengthen body functioning, which resulted in my vigorousness from early childhood. Mentally, it inspired me to think of another cold and open world when I was stuck in an unpleasant circumstance, and to avoid being trapped in this dead end. In fact, there are a lot of things in common in practicing skating, foreign languages and calligraphy,such as imitation, perseverance, sense of feeling, balance, rhythm, rhyme,strength, taste and so on, even a kind of indescribable inner beauty. Sometimes,I simply mix them up altogether. ■

[6] 回顾起来，其实我从小就受益于滑冰。研究表明，寒冷空气对于人体的刺激，本身就是一种良好的健身锻炼，因为空气和皮肤温度之间的差异能增加血液循环，有效改善机体功能，这使我从小有了一个好身体5“好身体”，不一定总是good health、healthy body、fitness 等，根据具体语境，还不妨用vitality、vigorousness 等。；在思维上，知道了在“沉闷”之外，还有一个“清冷”的开阔天地，从而不至于死钻牛角尖6“死钻牛角尖”还可译为take unnecessary painsto study an insignificant [insoluble] problem、 split hairs、get into a blind alley 等。。同时，滑冰与外语、书法有着许多内在相通的素质，比如模仿、毅力、感觉、平衡、节奏、韵律、力度、品味等，甚至有一种难以言状的内在美，有时我简直把它们混同起来了。 □

暨南大学翻译学院特聘教授。