世俗白菜（节选）Chinese Cabbage (Excerpt)

刘文波 译/任东升

讀到白居易一首写白菜的诗，写得真好：浓霜打白菜，霜威空自严。不见菜心死，翻教菜心甜。2面对满园的白菜3，诗人一定也觉得做棵白菜其实是不错的。

I came across a poem in praise of Chinese cabbage written by Bai Juyi， one of the most noted poets of the Tang Dynasty. It reads：

Heavy frost befalls the cabbage.

But it severely beats her in vain.

Her heart is not killed.

Rather becomes sweeter to the taste.

The poet， standing by his cabbage field， in my vision， was really delighted in his imagination in becoming such a cabbage.

过去，农村几乎家家都要种白菜。从立秋下种，到小雪收获，要经历八个节气的孕育。4这段日子里，白菜长在农家的地头、院落，成为一首小令，一首长调。别看白菜还小，从初生到刚长出几片肥硕鲜嫩的绿叶，便繁衍着农家饭碗5的清香。

In the past few decades， almost every household grew cabbages， whose growth cycle lasts for eight solar terms， from the Beginning of Autumn （the 13th solar term in Chinese lunar calendar） when the seeds were sowed， to the Slight Snow （the 20th solar term） when grown cabbages were harvested. The duration saw new shoots like short ballads growing into long poems in the fields or inside the farmers’ courtyards. Whether small as spoon-like seedlings， or large with a handful of tender leaves， they were always an ingredient in the farmers’ dinners， adding its fragrance to the simple fare in their bowls.

清晨，母亲踩着晨露，摘下一筐嫩苗，回家洗净准备下锅，心急的父亲往往先用焦黄的煎饼卷起几片嫩叶，吃得齿颊生香。母亲则是将洗净的小白菜，切成细末，再加豆面，做成白菜小豆腐吃。豆香、菜香很能打牙祭，熨帖胃肠的。一顿吃不完，下顿用麻油、葱花、姜丝下锅，炒着吃，比原来更有滋味。过了小雪，菜窖里屋檐下，堆满了青绿的白菜。如同院子里成山的柴火一样，让人感到今冬温暖无忧。

Early in the morning， mother would go to the dewy field， and gathered a basket of tender cabbage leaves. As soon as she got home， mother would wash them up， while father tended to save a few before they were cooked and roll them into a thin yellowish pancake made of millet flour. He ate with relish. Cutting the leaves into tiny pieces and mixing them with bean flour， mother cooked Cabbage Tofu， a steaming dish which satisfied both appetite and stomach. The leftovers would be fried with sesame oil， chopped green onions and ginger shreds， and the dish tasted even better. When the Slight Snow passed， many cabbages were stored into a cellar or piled at the foot of the house. As food reserve for the whole winter， these cabbages， like the firewood the farmers had stacked in their yard， were a source of warmth and happiness in the depths of winter.

母亲将未卷结实的白菜洗净了，砍去根，腌成咸菜。十几日，菜叶通体微黄，酸咸可口，拌合着粗茶淡饭，将清清淡淡的日子调剂得活色生香6。母亲能将大白菜变换出多种花样做成一日三餐。蒸、焖、溜、炒，不变的是白菜，丰盈的是日子。7                             □

Mother rinsed the less tightly rolled cabbages and chopped off their roots， making them into pickles. Some ten days later， the cabbage leaves turned slightly yellow， deliciously sour and salty. Not only could they add flavor to a simple fare， but also enliven the plain days. Mother was able to prepare cabbages in many different ways—steaming， simmering， sautéing， stir-frying， you name it. What remain unchanged are cabbages， and what gets enriched is life.