我妈从半年前开始在简书上写文，主要是为了把她对家乡的回忆记录下来，然后晒到她无数的同乡微信群上面。通常我收到以后只会默默地点个赞就走，从来不会仔细看。这次尝试翻译，方知道为什么她写的文章那么受同乡欢迎。如果大家有兴趣试试读超过四十字的长句子会不会断气，或者看看“吸收XXX的灵气，被XXX荡涤过心灵...造就了空前绝后的XXX”这样带有浓重时代印记的逆天风格文字可以怎么翻译，欢迎围观。

注：部份内容为了语顺等原因有所删减和挪移，希望妈你不要介意哈。

广海的娱乐埸所比较少。有时人们想看一出戏，要步行十多公里北上大同市。后来将十字街东的朱家祠堂改做戏院，情况才大为改覌。当时的粤剧名旦马丽明、紫兰女等剧团，都在那里演出过。有些剧团为了省些场费，或戏院不敷使用，会在卖柴街搭戏台，用竹廪围住空缺的地方，售票会相宜些。一一彭天演《一方水土》之＂广海城＂。

Entertainment was rare in Guanghai.  Watching a show meant you had to walk ten miles to Datong City. It was much improved after the Zhu Lineage Temple east of Sup Tse Street was converted into a theator where renowned Cantonese opera “Daan” such as Liming Ma and Zilan Nu from local troupe had performed.  When this venue was overbooked or the rent too high for their budget, however, some troupes would use a bamboo mobile stage set up at a clearing on Mai Chai Street.  Tickets for these shows usually cost a lot less.       — Tianyan Peng, “Guang Hai City”in《Our Beloved Homeland》

朱家祠堂改做戏院，我有没有看过戏，脑海里一片空白，但卖柴街看戏却记忆犹新。

I don't remember watching any shows at the theater converted from the Zhu Lineage Temple, but I do recall watching some at the outdoor opera house on Mai Chai street ("Mai Chai" literally means "firewood trading")

所谓卖柴街，即广海医院路口，横穿城西马路直下100米，还没有到街市，那一大片空地便是。那年代，家家户户都靠柴草煮食。每天清晨，卖柴的乡民和买柴的市民，都集中在这片空地上交易，双方谈妥了价钱，到公秤处过磅合价，卖柴方还要把柴挑担到买方家里，收款后才算完成一单买卖。空地东北角靠城西公路旁，有一户种满番石榴、黄皮、龙眼等水果的人家，其化名叫“嘟血”，这一大片空地便自然而然地被人们叫作“嘟血卖柴街”了，也成了广海一个地标。

What we called Mai Chai street was basically a large clearing about 100 meters down the West Town Road from the front of Guanghai Hospital, just before where the markets were.  Back in those days, the main source of fuel was firewood.  Every morning, village and city folks gathered at this clearing to sell and buy firewood.  Once the two parties agreed on the price, they brought it to the town scale to cross check the weight.  The deal didn't close until after the seller delivered the firewood to the buyer's home and collected payment. In the northwest of this clearing lived a family by the nickname of "Doo Hood".   Their lush garden made the house a landmark of the town with fruitful trees of  guava, longan and wampi, hence the name "Doo Hood Mai Chai street", or "Doo Hood" for short.  

解放初那几年，卖柴街用大碌竹搭起了大戏台，周围用两米高的竹廪围住。台下覌众席，用无靠背的长木櫈一排排编著座位，大概埸地座位仅容纳三、五百人，后排空位是提供给买站位的人的。一到演出，大家就纷纷回家拆床搬出床板，长木櫈，四方枱等拼成一个大舞台。那个大空地，人头涌涌，围着戏院周围有卖红瓜子、卖咸脆花生、卖咸甜甘榄话梅的小贩。家乡看戏，主要是看粤剧、木偶戏之类。闻说当年红线女到台城演出，南湾渔民步行四十多公里来回去奉场呢。又有资料记载，粤剧金牌大佬官薛觉先先生，为让讲四邑话的观众听明粤剧戏曲，竟改用四邑话唱粤曲，一时传为佳话。记得有大明星马丽明、林小群、陈小茶等都曾经到广海演出。

A couple years after The Liberation, a bamboo structure surrounded by fences up to two meters high was set up on Mai Chai street as an outdoor opera house.  Seating was made up of long stools just enough to seat 300-500 people in the front, leaving some space in the back for standing-room patrons.  The stage itself was assembled from bed boards and dinner tables each family contributed.  Before the show started, people would flood the transformed clearing with hawkers selling all sorts of snacks.  Cantonese opera and Marionette puppet shows were the most popular shows at the time.  I was told that people used to walk 50 miles round-trip to watch the performance by Kuang Jianlian (stage name "Hung Sin-nui" or "Red Line Lady" )  when she came to Tai Cheng.   Another recorded story said that opera master artist Sit Gok Sin translated the script into Taishanese to accommodate local audience.   Other renowned artists that had performed in Guang Hai were Liming Ma, Xiaoquan Lin, Xiaohua Chen and more.

我村里的叔伯婶母，都是大戏瘾之辈（即戏迷），就算没有钱，早上挑柴到卖柴街卖了换来银两，也要买票看戏。那时我两、三岁吧，每次看戏，都缠着爷爷亚仁（祖母）或二叔带我去。我喜欢看粤剧，主要是被粤剧华丽的戏袍和珠光宝气的凤冠、朝鸡尾等吸引着，至于台上唱什么说什么，我一点都不知道，看着看着便睡着了，害得家人把我背回来。每次看完粤剧，我都庆幸自己不是生长在古代，若然与人讲话对答沟通时，如何讲对白和唱那莫名的戏曲呢！乡亲们散埸后走路回家，戏味正浓，意犹未尽，一边走，一边评头品足，间中还哼唱几段熟悉的片段。

Everybody in my village was obsessed with Cantonese opera.  When money was tight,  they would even get up before dawn to sell firewood for tickets. I was only about two or three, and already a fanatic.  I would beg my grandpa and grandma to take me every time there was a show.  At that young age, my admiration for Cantonese opera was limited to those gorgeous costumes, coronets fully decorated with gems, and beautiful pheasant feathers.  Sung conversations always made me wonder how hard it would be to talk like that in ancient times.  Clueless about the story behind the songs and lyrics, I always fell asleep in the middle of the show and had to be carried back home.  For the rest of the audience, however, excitement in the air lingered long after the show ended, and folks sang along all the way home.

记得我未读书那年，大队成立了粤剧团，请关塘村一位陈姓化名叫“死鱼”的师傅教大家唱戏做戏，地点选在更铺。当年为了议事方便，更铺东边房与厅堂打通，而且东西房都设置坚实的櫊楼。所以，粤剧团选址定在更铺是最适合不过了。

The year before I started school, our production team founded a Cantonese Opera troupe.  A Chen Sifu nicknamed "Say Ngyui" (literally "dead fish") from Guan Tang village was hired to provide training to interested team members.  The training location was set at the village guard house with secure attics on top of both the east and west halls connected by a courtyard, perfect for both meetings and storage.  

每天晚上收工后，叔叔和姑姑们，陆陆续续来到更铺，听陈师傅授课。我家靠近更铺，只隔着一个空地堂，我每天负责给陈师傅送茶水，是天天准时到埸的拥趸。陈师傅开始都是教粤剧最基本的知识，如工、尺、士、合的曲谱音调；子喉、平喉、大喉各种唱法；文武生、花旦、老生、丒生、老旦、青衣、丫环⋯的台步。渐渐让他们认识到各种曲牌的唱法和运用，粤剧的曲牌名五花八门，包罗万象，根据剧情需要，而设计合适的曲子唱腔。想不到这么复杂难明的粤曲，经陈师傅精心培养，一班脚踩牛屎，手指甲藏有泥巴的叔叔姑姑们，白天在地里割禾挿秧，或在瓦窑厂做砖制瓦的青年男女，竟然可以调教成能歌善舞的粤剧人材。

Every evening after work, folks joined the class gradually for training. Our house was only a courtyard away from the guard house, and I gladly took on the task of  serving Chen Sifu tea just so I could go join them in the evening.  Chen Sifu started with basic skills including Gongche notation, the three major vocal tunes (high pitched, flat and deep), as well as hand and feet movements for various roles (Sang, Daan, Zing, Cau). He then advanced to familiarize them with various titles of Qupai(named tunes), which,  when applied appropriately, could evoke emotions of the audience in different settings.  Chen Sifu's diligence eventually turned these un-educated young farmers and brick-layers into excellent performers that were able to  deliver a sophisticated art like opera with elegance.  

只要棚面二胡、琴弦、锣鼓、大铮、掌板一响，便有文武生或花旦有板有眼地唱出粤曲来。如道锐叔、东跃叔、金源叔、宗活叔和韶宝姑、如凤姐等出名的文武生和花旦，吹打弹唱，样样皆通。他们吸收仙人井坑的灵气，被新娘房溪水清流荡涤过心灵，粤曲细胞暴发，造就了洋渡村历史上空前绝后的一代粤曲奇才。

As soon as the music started with the sound of erhu, yangqin, drum, and cymbal, lovely singing filled the air and a spectacular show took stage.  "Man Mou Sang" (male roles) like Uncle Daorui, Uncle Dongyue, Uncle Jinyuan, Uncle Zonghuo, and "Faa Daan" (female roles) Aunt Shaobao and Aunt Rufeng were known for their outstanding skill in acting, singing, and playing of traditional musical instruments.  With voices gifted by Immortals Ditch and heart cleansed by Wedding Room Creek, they all strived to become the greatest performing talents that they truly were of all time in the history of Yangdu Village.  

在洋渡粤剧团演出的众多节目中，最记得是金源叔与韶宝姑等人合演的《豆腐女》。这出戏，是讲一对寒门父女，以卖豆腐为生的一段感人的故事，其中韶宝姑饰演女儿，金源叔饰演父亲。

Among the many performances by the Yangdu Cantonese Opera Troupe, the most impressive show of all was 《Tofu Girl》, starring Uncle Jinyuan as the father and Aunt Shaobao as the daughter.  This heart-warming story talked about the poor yet loving life of a father and daughter who make and sell tofu for a living.  

韶宝姑声线亮丽，聪明过人，很快就学会了角色表演的套路。记得有次演古装戏，借回来的花旦戏服太窄小，韶宝姑穿不了，全村婶母翻箱倒柜，找来一大堆衣服让她试穿。有次韶宝姑咽喉发炎，声音沙哑，大家给她送医送药。演出时，大家更加报以热烈的掌声。韶宝姑出埸的唱段我至今还可朗朗上口，“唔会懒我地做功夫，帮亚爹烧火煲水忙开炉⋯⋯”。

Gifted with a beautiful voice and a talent for acting, Aunt Shaobao quickly found the trick to leading this role and made it a success with the support of the whole village.  Ladies loaned her dress when her costume was too tight, made her herbal medicine to soothe her sore throat, and greeted her with a big round of applause when she started to appear on stage.  "No time to waste, too busy to delay, turn on the heat and I am coming to father's aid".  This lyric always brings back my memories of her every time I sing it.  

金源叔尤其是洋渡村屈指可数的人才，他虽然个子不高，嗓音也不嘹亮，但他悟性高，不但会唱会做，还会创作，那些曲牌名，随手拈来，唱腔设计，动作运用自如，自成一体。金源叔勤学苦练，在这出戏中表演得维妙维肖，他刻苦练成马师曾的乞儿腔，加入自己的唱腔设计，念白，一举手一投足，尽显悲催与慈爱，严然就是一个活生生的市场卖豆腐老头儿，给乡亲们留下深刻的印象。差不多六十年过去了，我依稀还记得，金源叔在该剧开场中讲过的白榄“我三更起床磨豆腐⋯⋯”从此至今，“豆腐佬”就是金源叔的尊称大名。

Among these great performers, Uncle Jinyuan was one of the best.  Unbound by his short figure and average voice, he distinguished himself as an excellent actor as well as a savvy composer capable of adopting different Qupai in his signature singing style.  In this particular show, his deliberate practice on Ma Sze Tsang's "beggar" singing and speech style combined with his own interpretation made this tragic yet affectionate character come to life using his skillful hand and feet movements, leaving the audience  a long lasting impression.  After almost 60 years,  I could still recall Uncle Jinyuan's beginning line "Out of bed in middle of the night, I mill the soybeans for I am a tofu guy..."  Because of this character, he earned a respectful nickname "Tofu Guy" from commentators thereafter.

我二叔在《豆腐女》中也担任了一位摆渡船家，虽然只有两句对白，但他天天在家里厅堂，对着镜子练习摇撸，还要我扮演豆腐佬和豆腐女的角色，与他练对白。

My own uncle too, played a role in this show as a ferryman.  For a character with only two lines, he devoted hours and hours of practice in front of the mirror on the towing movement.  Acting out with him at that time ignited my interest in Cantonese opera that brings me joy all my life.  

家乡演大戏，是一件令人开心期待，又振奋难忘的乐事，有没有参加演出并不重要，重要的是人人参与。演过几出大戏后，人与人之间的关系密切了，邻里之间也融合和睦，真是值得回味的家乡演大戏。

Like I said, putting on a Cantonese opera show was a big deal back in the day. It was an exciting event that brought everyone together to form a tight community.  That was how fond memories were made.

完

敬告：大家看了这篇东西如果对我妈感兴趣的话，关注她以前请慎重考虑。除了这些不错的家乡回忆录和我家的私房菜谱外，每个礼拜还会准时更新（我觉得）颇为肉麻的歌名串烧打油诗，专写给她卡拉OK群那些朋友看的。不要说我没有警告过你哦。