Tang Tao

In "Rain in Hometown," Tang Tao expresses deep nostalgia for his hometown and memories of his childhood by comparing the rain in Shanghai and his hometown. In Shanghai, the gloom and inconvenience brought by rainy days make him feel bored, while in his hometown, rainy days are full of poetry and beautiful memories. 故乡的雨 ◎　唐弢 江南的春天素称多雨，一落就是七八天①。住在上海的人们，平日既感不到雨的需要，一旦下雨，天气是那么阴沉，谁也耐不住闷在狭小的家里②；可是跑到外面，没有山，没有湖，也没有经雨的嫩绿的叶子，一切都不及晴天好；有时阔人的汽车从你身旁驰过，还得带一身泥污回来。 记得六七年前初来上海读书，校里的功课特别忙，往往自修到午夜；那年偏又多雨，淅淅沥沥，打窗飘瓦，常常扰乱我看书的情绪。我虽然不像岂明老人③那样额其斋曰：“苦雨”，天天坐在里面嘘气④，但也的确有点“深恶而痛绝之”的念头。 可是这种事情只在上海才会有。少时留居家乡，当春雨像鹅毛般落着的时候，登楼眺望，远处的山色被一片烟雨笼住，村落恍惚，若有若无⑤，雨中的原野新鲜而又幽静，使人不易忘怀！尤其可爱的是夜间。不知哪一年春天，我和两个同伴，摇着小船到十里外一个镇上看社戏，完场已是午夜，归途遇雨，船在河塘中缓缓前进，灯火暗到辨不出人面，船身擦着河岸新生的茅草，发出沙沙的声音。雨打乌篷，悠扬疾徐，如听音乐，如闻节拍，和着同伴们土著的歌谣⑥，“河桥风雨夜推篷”，真够使人神往。 这几年投荒⑦到都市，每值淫雨，听着滞涩枯燥的调子⑧，回念故乡景色，觉得连雨声也变了。人事的变迁，更何待说呢！ Rain in My Old Home ◎ Tang Tao Spring in the south is known to be rainy. During this season, it never rains there but it remains wet for seven or eight days on end. Dwellers in Shanghai, who usually do not feel the need for rain, will be bored with having to confine themselves in their close quarters when outside it is gloomy with rain. While in the open, seeing no mountains, nor lakes, nor rain-drenched soft green leaves, you'll find nothing comparable to a fine day. Sometimes, worse still, a rich man's car flashing past may splash you all over with mud. I remember when I first came to Shanghai to attend school six or seven years ago, I used to be so very busy with my homework that I often had to sit up late into the night.…

Selected Essays of Tang Tao "is a book published by Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House on June 1, 2009. 书愤① ◎　唐弢 我爱读有生命的历史②，也爱见有血性的人物③。 然而枭雄如恺撒，冒险家如哥伦布，却又离我的爱好十分之远。我以为他们的成为英雄，其实是不足道的。虽然出现在莎士比亚笔下的群众，脱不了“愚昧”的嫌疑④，但独夫之旁，毕竟也还有勃鲁特司那样的人物。我爱辛那的宣言⑤，恺撒的尸体横下来了，他叫道： 我们到底得到自由和解放了。压迫已经终结。不要耽误，赶快把这公布到全罗马的各处。 我的心至今还在和他们的一同跳动⑥，千百年来“愚昧”的群众的心，也在迫虐下和他们一同跳动。 虽然是暗恶叱咤⑦的恺撒，然而毕竟空虚得很⑧。 至于哥伦布的贪婪、残虐、阴险，那更是征服者显著的罪恶，他虐待土人，贩卖黑奴，施行灭种的方法，以野狗去猎取生人。作为一个有血性的英雄，他不但缺少正直的心地，而且也没有阔大的胸怀。倘使说新大陆的发现是值得讴颂的，那么，我宁愿讴颂大西洋里的海风。即使哥伦布死在摇篮里，美洲也还是要被人发现的⑨。 由我看来，哥伦布不过是一个鼻子上抹灰的武丑一流的人物，他相信地圆说，又受了马可波罗著作的影响，想朝西走到东方，首先是碰到古巴，他以为这便是日本，后来见了海地岛，又以海地为日本，洪都拉斯为印度，而以古巴为中国了。夜里，一群企鹅缓缓地在海滩上散步。他把这当作是中国的牧师，在月光下作晚祷。 虽然是美丽的夜景，却救不醒朦胧的头脑。 不料洎乎末世⑩，竟又出现了连和恺撒与哥伦布也还不能同日而语的人物⑪，我无法来叙写我的愤恨。 虽然专横，然而征高卢，灭庞培，恺撒毕竟还有武功；虽然残酷，然而历险阻，入蛮荒，哥伦布毕竟还有胆量。但现在是掏尽脂膏，流尽血汗，却不过几座空城头，几条铁路线，一面又疑神疑鬼，畏首畏尾，子弹只知道征逐平民，刺刀最喜欢追随妇孺。这是残忍的泡沫，那下面正是卑怯⑫的渊薮。 恺撒死了，但是他有武功；哥伦布死了，但是他有胆量。大和魂⑬毁灭了，这回留下些什么东西呢？我无法来叙写我的愤恨。 My Great Indignation ◎ Tang Tao I like to read about stirring events in history and hear of heroic personages. Nevertheless, I have no liking at all for Caesar the autocrat and Columbus the adventurer. These two so-called heroes are in fact utterly worthless. "Ignorant" as the mobs in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar may seem, there stands by Caesar's side, however, a real man named Brutus. I like the declaration made by Cinna when Caesar falls: Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead! Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. My heart has so far been throbbing in sympathy with those of Brutus, Cinna and the like. For thousands of years, so have been the hearts of "ignorant" mobs under tyrannical rule. All-powerful as he seemed, Caesar was after all frailty itself. Columbus was known for his avarice, ruthlessness and insidiousness as characteristic of a conqueror. He maltreated the aborigines, traded in black slaves, committed genocide and used hounds to hunt down living beings. As a so-called brave hero,…