Fond Memories of Peiping --Lao She 北平的地方那么大，事情那么多，我知道的真觉太少了，虽然我生在那里，地直到廿七岁才离开。Peiping is so big and multifaceted that very little of it, I believe, is known to me though I was born and brought up there and never went away until I was 27. 以此类推，我所知道的那点只是“我的北平”，而我的北平大概等于牛的一毛。 It follows that, in contrast with Peiping in its entirety, what little I know about it is probably a mere drop in the ocean. 可是，我真爱北平。这个爱几乎是要说而说不出的。我爱我的母亲。怎样爱？说不出。I do cherish, however, a genuine love for Peiping—a love that is almost as inexpressible as my love for mother. 言语是不够表现我的心情的，只有独自微笑或落泪才足以把内心揭露在外面一些来。我之爱北平也近乎这个。Words fail me where silent smiles and tears well express my innermost feelings. The same is true of my love for Peiping. 夸奖这个古城的某一点是容易的，可是那就把北平看得太小了。I shall fail to do justice to this vast ancient city if I should do no more than extol just one certain aspect of it. 我所爱的北平不是枝枝节节的一些什么，而是整个儿与我的心灵相粘合的一段历史，一大块地方。The Peiping I love is not something in bits and pieces, but a phase of history and a vast tract of land completely bound up with my heart. 多少风景名胜，从雨后什刹海的蜻蜓一直到我梦里的玉泉山的塔影，都积凑到一块。Numerous scenic spots and historical sites from Shi Sha Hai Lake with its dragonflies after a rain to the Yu Quan Shan Mountain with the dream pagoda on top—all merge into a single whole. 每一小的事件中有个我，我的每一思念中有个北平，这只有说不出而已。I associate myself with everything in Peiping no matter how trivial it is; Peiping is always in my mind. I can’t tell why. 真愿成为诗人，把一切好听好看的字都浸在自己的心血里，像杜鹃似的啼出北平的俊伟。If only I were a poet so that, with all the sweet and beautiful words at my command, I would sing of the grandeur of Peiping in as longing a note a 这不但是辜负了北平，也对不住我自己，因为我是最初的知识与印象都得自北平，它是在我的血里，我的性格与脾气里有许多地方是这古城所赐给的。That is quite a letdown to both Peiping and myself, for it is to this ancient city that I owe what I have within me, including my early knowledge and impressions as well as much of my character and temperament. 我不能爱上海天津，因为我心中有个北平。可是我说不出来！ With Peiping possessing my heart, I can never become attached to either Shanghai or Tianjin. I can’t tell why. 伦敦，巴黎，罗马与堪司坦丁堡，曾被称为欧洲的四大“历史的都城”。London, Paris, Rome and Constantinople are known as the four major “historic capitals” of Europe. 我知道一些伦敦的情形；巴黎与罗马只是到过而已；堪司坦丁堡根本没有去过。I know something about London; I have been to Paris and Rome only briefly; I have never visited Constantinople at all. 就伦敦，巴黎，罗马来说，巴黎更近似北平——虽然“近似”两字都拉扯得很远——不过，假使让我“家住巴黎”，我一定会和没有家一样的感到寂苦。Of all these cities, Paris has the closest affinity with Peiping (The word “affinity” may perhaps sound a bit farfetched). Nevertheless, if I should make my home in Paris, I would feel very lonely as if I had no home at all. 巴黎，据我看，还太热闹。自然，那里也有空旷静寂的地方，可是又未免太旷；As far as I know, Paris is too much of a bustling town. It does have quiet open spaces, but they smack of mere expanses of vacancy. 面向着积水滩，背后是城墙，坐在石上看水中的小蝌蚪或苇叶上嫩蜻蜓，I can spend a whole day enjoying myself sitting on a rock to observe tiny tadpoles in the water or tender dragonflies on reeds while facing me lies Ji Shui Tan Pond and right behind me rises the high city wall. 我可以快乐的坐一天，心中完全安适，无所求也无可怕，像小儿安睡在摇篮里。I can thus enjoy a perfect inner clam, free from any desire or fear, like a child sleeping peacefully in the cradle. 是的，北平也有热闹的地方，但是它和太极拳相似，动中有静。There are also bustling places in Peiping, to be sure, but like the traditional Chinese shadow boxing Tai Ji Quan, the city retains its stillness in the midst of motion. 巴黎有许多地方使人疲乏，所以咖啡与酒是必要的，以便刺激；在北平，有温和的香片茶就够了。 While Parisians have to turn to coffee or wine for the relief of boredom caused by so many wearisome places in their city, the mild beverage of jasmine tea will be more than adequate for dwellers of Peiping. 论说巴黎的布置已比伦敦罗马匀调的多了，可是比上北平还差点事儿。北平在人为之中显出自然， Though Paris has a better layout than London or Rome, it nevertheless cannot compare with Peiping, one always finds the natural in the midst of the artificial. 几乎是什么地方既不挤得慌，又不太僻静；The city as a whole is neither too crowded nor too secluded. 最小的胡同里的房子也有院子与树；最空旷的地方也离买卖街与住宅区不远。Even houses tucked away in very small lanes have their own courtyards and trees. Even the most secluded places are situated within a stone’s throw of business or residential districts. 这种配法可以算——在我的经验中——天下第一了。Such a layout is, to my mind, without equal all over the world. 北平的好处不在处处设备得完全，而在它处处有空儿，可以使我自由的喘气；不在有好些美丽的建筑，而在建筑的四周都有空闲的地方，使它们成为美景。However, what distinguishes Peiping is not the perfect layout, but the open spaces here and there where people can breathe freely; not the many beautiful buildings, but the open grounds around each building which add to its architectural beauty. 每一城楼，每一牌楼，都可以从老远就看见。况且在街上还可以看见北山与西山呢！Each gate tower of the city wall and each pailou (decorated archway) can been seen from afar. And the Northern and Western hills are visible to people in the open streets. 好学的，爱古物的，人们自然喜欢北平，因为这里书多古物多。Those who are fond of studying or collecting curios will naturally be drawn to Peiping, which is remarkable for its rich store of books and curios. 对于物质上，我却喜欢北平的花多菜多果子多。But I am keen on the flowers, vegetables and fruit which grow in rich abundance in Peiping. 花草是种费钱的玩艺，可是此地的“草花儿”很便宜，而且家家有院子，可以花不多的钱而种一院子花，即使算不了什么，可是到底可爱呀。墙上的牵牛，墙根的靠山竹与草茉莉，是多么省钱省事而足以招来蝴蝶呀！Gardening is something very expensive. But since flowers of herbaceous plants in Peiping are very cheap and each house has a courtyard of its own, it does not cost very much to plant a whole courtyard to such flowers which, though humble, are nevertheless lovely to look at, such as morning glories on the wall, china pinks at the foot of wall and marvels-of-Peru. Yes, cheap as they are, they attract butterflies! 至于青菜，白菜，扁豆，毛豆角，黄瓜，菠菜等等，大多数是直接由城外担来而送到家门口的。Green vegetables, cabbages, hyacinth beans, young soya beans, cucumbers, spinach, etc. are often carried straight form the suburbs to your residential quarters for marketing. 雨后，韭菜叶上还往往带着雨时溅起的泥点，青菜摊子上的红红绿绿几乎有诗似的美丽。Often, leeks from rural farms after a rain still have specks of mud on their leaves. The vegetables stalls are so colorful that they present a scene of poetic charm. 哼，美国的橘子包着纸，遇到北平的带着霜儿的玉李，还不愧杀！ Indeed, America’s paper-wrapped oranges will pale beside Peiping’s plums bearing a thin coating of frostlike bloom! 是的，北平是个都城，而能有好多自己产生的花，菜，水果，这就使人更接近了自然。The city of Peiping brings its residents into closer contact with nature by growing flowers, vegetables and fruit in large quantities.
