地窖出生的孩子
Child born in cellar
“这些年，不少来采访的记者都曾问过我，你童年时期记忆最深刻的事是什么？”汽车在公路上疾驰，周兴和说话间停住话头，陷入久久的沉思。良久，他抬起头来缓缓说道，“要说记忆最深刻的，或许，就是我出生时那个阴暗潮湿的地窖，就是我开始记事时那个挡不住风雨的草棚吧……”
"Over the years, many journalists have asked me: 'What is your deepest memory from your childhood?'" As the cars gallopped on the road, Zhou Xinghe stopped talking, and lost in thought for a long time. Later, he raised his head and said slowly, "Perhaps the deepest memory of all is the dark and damp cellar in which I was born, and the thatched hut where I could not keep out the wind and rain when I began to remember..."
周兴和所言不谬。
Zhou Xinghe was right.
时值深秋，我来到生于斯长于斯他的家乡三台县。
In late autumn, I came to his hometown Santai County, where he was born and grew up.
三台，位于川北丘陵地区，原本是个历史悠久人杰地灵之地。早在春秋战国时期，郪王国都城就建置于此，此后历为州、郡、府之治所，唐宋时与成都齐名。这里既是交通“襟喉之地”，又是商品集散地和经济文化中心，素有“川北重镇、剑南名都”之称——然而，沧海桑田，斗转星移，自明末清初之后，这里却是极其贫穷和落寞了。
Santai, located in the hilly region of northern Sichuan, was originally a place with a long history and outstanding people. The capital of Qi Kingdom was built in here during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Since then, it had been the government office of the state, prefecture, and county, in the same name with Chengdu in the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is not only a throat in the transportation, but also a commodity distribution center and an economic and cultural center. It is also known as the "important town in the northern Sichuan and the famous capital of Jiannan". However, as time goes by, the land had changed dramatically since the end of Ming dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, and it became extremely poor and lonely.
周兴和的老家，坐落在三台和盐亭分界的一个山坳里，一条崎岖的山间小道，连着山那边盐亭县的毛公乡，下山来就是三台县的三元乡。山下有条小河，叫魏河。千百年来，魏河两岸的人们，都在这块土地上辛勤耕作繁衍生息。
Zhou Xinghe's hometown is located in a col of the boundary between Santai and Yanting, with a rugged mountain path connecting the Maogong Township of Yanting County on the other side of the mountain, and Sanyuan Township of Santai County comes down from the mountain in this side. There is a small river under the mountain, called Weihe River. For thousands of years, people on both sides of Weihe River have been working hard and reproducing on this land.
1953年农历八月初八，周兴和就出生在这贫瘠的山窝里。他出生那年，天干地旱，过了处暑，灸热的太阳依然烘烤着这块龟裂的土地。他来到这个世界的那个午夜，虽说已至仲秋，但家里依然又闷又热。
Zhou Xinghe was born in this barren valley on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month in the year of 1953. In the year he was born, there was severe drought and the earth was dry. After the end of summer, the hot sun was still baking the cracked earth. The midnight when he came to this world, though it was already the middle of autumn, was still stuffy and hot at home.
他降生的地方，的确是山坡上一个装红苕的地窖里。
The place where he was born was indeed a cellar of sweet potato on the hillside.
他家栖息的这个地窖，和北方人居住的那种冬暖夏凉的窑洞有着本质的区别。在四川农村，农民常在坡壁上挖出土洞，用来储存红苕洋芋之类的东西。由于南方多雨，植被繁茂，这种地窖夏天潮湿，冬天阴冷。遇到雷雨天，雨水就哗哗冲刷着洞口，像要把地窖冲塌；到了冬天，呜呜的寒风透进洞里来，像要把人冻僵。
The cellar that his family lived in is fundamentally different from the cave houses in the north, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. In the countryside of Sichuan, the farmers often dig holes on the slopes to store things like the sweet potato or potato. Because of the frequent rain in the south China, the vegetation was lush, so the cellar was damp in summer and cold in winter. In a thunderstorm, the rain would wash away the cave entrance, as if to collapse the cellar; in winter, the howling cold wind blows into the cave, and seems to freeze everyone.
在乡村，只有那种穷得不能再穷的人家才会在这种地方栖身。
In the countryside, only the kind of family that could not be any poorer would live in such a place.
“在我童年的记忆中，家里真是一贫如洗。潮湿闷热的地窖里，只有一张用竹木搭起的床铺、床上铺的是干草，干草上只有一张破烂的草席，草席上只有一床破烂的棉絮。”时间过了几十年，周兴和还清晰地记得当时的情景，“破烂的窖洞外，是用茅草搭的一个草棚，用以挡风避雨。茅草棚里，一眼泥灶，一口破锅，锅里煮的东西，大概和大户人家的猪食相差无几，更不要说和如今城里人养的猫狗食物相比了。”
"As far back as I could remember things in my childhood, the family was really poor. In the damp and sultry cellar, there was only a bed made of bamboo and hay, with a tattered straw mat and a tattered cotton batt on the straw mat." Decades later, Zhou Xinghe still vividly remembers the scene: "Outside the dilapidated cellar, there was a thatched hut for shelter from the wind and rain. A mud stove and a broken pot in the thatched shed probably contained the same food as the pig swill of some rich families, not comparable to the food of cats and dogs that people in the city have these days."
不过，日子尽管过得艰难，降生到这个破窖里孩子嗷嗷的哭声，还是给这个贫苦的家庭添了一丝生气，带来一丝喜悦，特别是老来得子的父亲，更是喜不自禁。
However, despite the hard times, the baby's cries from the cellar gave the poor family a touch of life and joy, especially for the old father.
周兴和的父亲叫周显文，是一个乡邻皆知的苦命人。
Zhou Xinghe's father was Zhou Xianwen, a poor man known to the neighborhood.
循例，写人传记，至少要刨根问底上溯到主人公的八代祖宗，如若此人祖上曾在朝廷为官，或是社会名流，声名显赫，便可以此来证明主人公是出自名门望族。但，周兴和祖上是官宦人家还是贫家小户，是大富大贵还是穷愁潦倒，由于他父亲幼年失亲，他的家史已无从稽考——只是，他父亲对祖父的情形还是知道一些的。
As a rule, to write a biography of a person, it must at least trace his or her eight generations of ancestors to him or her. If his or her ancestor had been an official in the imperial court or a famous person or a distinguished person, it could prove that he or she came from a famous family. But whether Zhou Xinghe and his ancestors belonged to an official family or a small family, a rich family or a poor family, the history of his family could not be traced because of his father's loss at a young age - his father only knew something about Xinghe’s grandfather.
兴和幼年时，曾听父亲说过，祖父是个乡村医生，由于医术还算高明，在当地还有一些名气，辛劳一辈子，也有了一些积蓄。他父亲13岁那年，与外出行医的祖父准备回家过年，不料祸从天降，在川北大山里遭遇了土匪。土匪不但抢了祖父的钱财，还杀死了他祖父和挑夫。年幼的父亲见事不妙，滚下山坡，躲藏在茂密的灌木丛中才逃过一劫。
When Xinghe was a child, he had heard from his father that his grandfather was a country doctor, who, because of his excellent medical skills and having some local fame, had worked hard all his life and had some savings. When his father was 13 years old, he and his father, who went out to practice medicine, were about to return home for the Chinese New Year, but the misfortune came upon them unexpectedly and they encountered bandits in the mountains of northern Sichuan. The bandits not only took his father's money, but also killed him and his porter. Xinghe’s young father saw the accident, rolled down the hillside, and hid in the thick bushes to keep his life.
祖父死后，父亲无依无靠，成了一个无家可归的孤儿。为了活命，无论寒冬酷暑，早晨黄昏，年幼的父亲端着一只破碗，手拿一根打狗棍，四处流浪以乞讨为生。饿了，就求人家施舍一个红苕或半碗米汤；困了，就蜷缩在破庙或钻进草堆。父亲一辈子饥寒交迫颠沛流离，受尽世人白眼和富人欺凌——这一点，无疑会在年幼的兴和心中刻下深深的伤痕。
When Xinghe’s grandfather died, his father was left helpless and a homeless orphan. In order to survive, regardless of the cold and heat, morning and evening, Xinghe’s father carried a broken bowl, holding a stick, wandering around and begging for a living. When he was hungry, he asked others to give him a sweet potato or half a bowl of rice soup; when he got sleepy, he curled up in a ruined temple or got into a haystack. He had been homeless, hungry and cold all his life, bullied by the rich and despised by others - something that would undoubtedly scar in young Xinghe’s heart.
兴和父亲稍大，一个农村草药医生见他实在可怜，这才收留了他，让他结束了讨口要饭的日子。此后，父亲在为这个草药医生挑担打杂之余，偷着学了一点草药知识和医药常识。在后来的日子里，父亲就靠偷学的这点本事维持自己的生计。
When Xinghe’s father were a little older, a rural herbalist saw how pathetic he was and took him in, putting an end to his begging days. After that, his father secretly learned a little knowledge of herbal medicine and general medical knowledge while carrying all the errands for the herbalist. In the later days, his father lived on this skill he had learned.
1950年川北解放后，父亲才回农村分得一份土地。第二年，他的生计好了一些，经人说合，与兴和的母亲在这个破窖里组成了一个家庭。这一年，他的父亲已经51岁，到生下兴和这一年，已经是52岁了。
In 1950, after the liberation of northern Sichuan, Xinghe’s father returned to the countryside and got a piece of land. By the next year, he had made a better living, and after the arrangement of matchmaker, he and Xinghe's mother formed a family in the ruined cellar. In that year, Xinghe's father was 51 years old, and in the year that they gave birth to Xinghe, he was already 52 years old.
兴和的母亲叫侯树清，出生在一个贫家小户里。她的前夫姓王，是个老实本分的农民，解放前被国民党抓了壮丁，死在了炮火中。但，却为苦苦等待丈夫归来的妻子留下一双儿女。
Xinghe's mother, Hou Shuqing, was born in a small and poor family. Her ex-husband, surnamed Wang, was an honest farmer whose was conscripted forcely by the Kuomintang before liberation and killed by gunfire, and left a pair of children for the bitter wife waiting for the return of her husband.
父亲没有文化，儿子生下后，按乡间规矩，他请场上的八字先生给儿子算过命。不知是那算命先生信口雌黄，还是故弄玄虚，他排完兴和八字，捻了捻下巴上几根稀疏的胡须，掐指细细一算，高深莫测地告诉他的父亲：这孩子出生的年辰属水，为“长流水”；出生的日子属木，为“石榴木”；出生的时辰是甲子时，相书上称为“海中金”。由此推断，此人既为长流水中之石榴木，一生命运波折起落沉浮，只不过木漂水中，倒还有惊无险；命相既为“海中金”，就不怕火烧雷劈水淹土埋。此人长大之后，为人诚信耿直义气仁慈，但胆大倔犟爱认死理。一番推论下来：此人此生虽有大灾大难，但也会有大福大贵。
Xinghe’s father was uneducated, and when his son was born, he asked the fortune-teller in the village to tell his son’s fortune, as was the custom in the country. Nobody knows whether the fortune-teller was making a fool of him, or was just being mysterious; after the fortune-teller read the character of Xinghe, he twirled the sparse whiskers on his chin, counted them carefully, and inexplicable tell the father: the year in which the child was born was the water year, i.e. the "long running water"; the day of birth belonged to the wood, i.e. the pomegranate wood; the born time was the midnight, called the "gold in the sea". Thus, it could be inferred that this person was the pomegranate wood in the long water, with the ups and downs in the whole life, but the wood was floating in the water, so there was more scared than hurt; the destiny was the "gold in the sea", which was not afraid of fire, thunder, water flooded or soil buried. When he grew up, he was honest and kind, but stout and obstinate. A corollary was that: although this person may have some great disasters in this life, but also will have great fortune.
父亲闻言，又惊又喜，他既为儿子的未来担心，又为儿子的未来欢喜。
When the father heard this, he was both surprised and delighted. He was worried about his son's future and happy for his son's future.
儿子稍大，父亲请人给他取名“兴和”。至于他为何认可儿子这个名字，或许连他自己也说不清楚。大概，既然儿子一辈子多灾多难命运坎坷，他祈求儿子再不要像自己这样受穷受苦，能够衣食无忧兴旺和平吧！
When the son was older, the father asked someone to name him Xinghe. As for why he agreed this name, perhaps he ddidn't even know. Probably, since his son's life would be full of hardships and difficulties, he prayed that his son would not suffer the poverty and hardship like himself, and that he would be able to have prosperity and peace without any worries.
兴和的降生，虽说给这个家庭带来喜悦和生气，但让大人焦心的是，又多了一张吃饭的嘴。
The birth of Xinghe brought joy and vitality to the family, but what worried the adult was that they had another mouth to eat with.
“母亲生下我后，后来又给我添了个兄弟。当时我父亲已经50多岁了，母亲常年有病，在那种艰难的境况中，单是要喂饱一家人的肚皮，就够父母操碎心的了。”周兴和回忆道，“我那时人小，除了饥饿和寒冷，经常仰头呆呆望着我家住的那个黢黑破烂的茅草棚。寒风吹来，屋檐下几绺茅草在风里飘飞，棚顶上千疮百孔，整个草棚都在风里摇晃。小孩子胆小，我经常都怕那草棚被风刮走或垮了下来……每当那个时候，我就幼稚地想，等我将来长大了，一定给家里修一间像模像样的房子，也给世界上所有的穷人，都修一间不怕风吹雨打的房子！……”
"After my mother gave birth to me, she later gave birth to a yonger brother. My father was in his fifties at the time, and my mother had been ill for years. In that difficult situation, just feeding the family was hard enough for my parents to worry about." Zhou Xinghe recalled, "I was small, hungry and cold, and I used to stare up at the dingy thatched shack where we lived. A cold wind blew in, and several thatches flew under the eaves fluttered in the wind; the roof of the hut was full of holes, and the whole hut shook in the wind. Children were timid, and I were often afraid that the hut would be blown away or fallen down by the wind... At that time, I were naive to think that when I grow up in the future, I shall build a good house for the family, and also build houses not afraid of wind and rain to all the poor in the world!"
当然，这只是一个儿童天真的幻想罢了。
Of course, this was just a naive child's fantasy.
农村穷苦人家的孩子命贱，除了生活上得不到温饱；生了病，也无钱吃药打针。说句刻薄点的话，基本上是听天由命自生自灭，只要生下来的孩子不被饿死冻死病死，能够长大成人，就算得上是苍天格外怜悯的了。
The life of the rural poor children was cheap; in addition to unable to get enough food and clothing, they also had no money to take medicine or injection if getting sick. In an impolite manner, it was basically resigned to fate, as long as the born child did not die of starvation, cold and disease, and could grow up to be a man, it was considered as heaven's extra pity.
但，在兴和出生后的那几年，尽管他们的日子过得艰难，好歹家里还有点田土，还能种些粗粮蔬菜填喂一家人的肚皮，父亲还能挖些草药赶场挣点小钱过日子，可到了他五六岁后，就接连遭遇大办钢铁、大办人民公社、三年自然灾害，以致持续十年的文化大革命，他们家里的生存境况就更加艰难，甚至惨不忍睹了。
But, in the period after the birth of Xinghe, although they had a difficult life, somehow there were few land in the home, which still could grow some roughage and vegetables to cram the belly of the whole family, and the father could dig some herbs to sell in the fair and earn a little money; however, after his five or six years old, there was the large-scale steel-making, the wide establishment of the people's commune, and the three-year natural disasters, and even the great cultural revolution lasting for a decade, so the survival situation of their faimily was even more difficult, or even disastrous.
冥冥之中似乎已经注定，降生在破窖这特殊之处的小兴和，随着他的第一声啼哭，就预示将要和贫穷与苦难为伴，就要和饥饿与寒冷相依，就要饱受未来生活的煎熬和磋磨。
It seemed destined that the little Xinghe born in that cellar, with his first cry, foretold the poverty and misery, hunger and cold, and agony and hardship in his future life.
“福兮祸所伏，祸兮福所倚。”或许，三元场上那八字先生为他算出的宿命，还是有几分道理吧！
As a Chinese saying goes, " Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise." Perhaps, there is some truth in the fate told by the fortune-teller in Sanyuan fair.
不过，纵观周兴和一生的际遇，却应了我们老祖宗孟子的那句话：“故天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。”
However, throughout Zhou Xinghe's life experiences, he echoed the words of our ancestor Mencius: " So if God would give an important task to a certain person, the first things he does is to temper his will power, fatigue his muscles and bones, starve his stomach and destitute his body. God would not make any kind of his action satisfactory as he wishes in order to motivate his mind, make his temperament persistant and dauntless, and increase his ability."
