《中国民间故事全书湖北五峰卷》摘译报告-可译性及不可译性的分析 44页

ADissertationSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheMaster"sDegreeofTranslationandInterpretingAReportonTranslatingChineseFolktales:WufengVolume——OnTranslatabilityandUntranslatabilityGraduateStudent:ZhangYafangProfessionalField:TranslationandInterpretingSupervisor:Prof.HuXiaoqiongChinaThreeGorgesUniversityYichang,443002,P.R.ChinaMay,2013 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文三峡大学学位论文独立完成与诚信声明本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果，除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体均已在文中以明确方式标明，本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。学位论文作者签名：i日期： 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文内容摘要本报告通过对刘德培老人讲述的民间故事的口头文本节选的翻译，针对刘氏民间故事生活性、口头性、情节性等特点，在功能对等理论的指导下，探讨在宣传五峰地方色彩，传播民间文化的翻译过程中中西方语言与文化方面的共同点和差异性，并在功能对等理论的形式对等和功能对等具体分析的基础上进而讨论由这些共同点和差异性引起的可译性与不可译性等问题，并针对这些问题提出可行性措施。翻译中，译者应根据具体情况，适当采用一些策略，如复杂句子简单化、运用解释、简化术语等，以保证信息量的传递，同时，避免文化冲突的产生，使翻译真正成为文化交流的桥梁。本报告一共分为6个部分。第一部分为引言，介绍本报告的目的与背景，并对我国民间文学，尤其是民间故事翻译的现状进行了简要的说明。报告第二部分介绍了此次翻译实践过程中运用的功能对等原则。第三部分主要是对刘德培老人以及他所讲述的民间故事的简要介绍。第四部分对节选自《民间故事全书湖北五峰卷》的刘德培老人讲述的民间故事的汉英翻译实践过程中的可译性和不可译性问题进行了探讨。第五部分为民间故事汉英翻译过程中可以运用的一些翻译策略以及在这些翻译策略指导下的笔者翻译的例句。第六部分阐述了笔者在这次翻译实践中的收获与体会，翻译实践中存在的不足，最后对我国民间文学翻译事业的发展提供了一些建议。本报告的意义在于，通过笔者的翻译译例和实践体会，分析翻译过程，总结出民间故事汉英翻译的原则与具体方法，并对民间故事翻译的实践和发展提出建议。希望本报告对民间故事汉英翻译的研究与实践能提供有益的参考。关键词：民间故事；功能对等；可译性；不可译性；文化交流；翻译策略ii 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AbstractThisreport,throughthetranslationoftheexcerptsofthefolktalestoldbyLiuDepei,willmakeadiscussionaboutthecommongroundanddifferencesbetweenthelanguageandcultureofChineseandEnglishandthediscussionwillbefurtheredtotheproblemsoftranslatabilityanduntranslatabilityresultedfromthesecommonpointsanddifferencesbytheconcreteanalysisofthewordequivalence,sentenceequivalence,passageequivalenceandstyleequivalenceofthefunctionalequivalence.Duringtheprocess,thecharactersoffolktalestoldbyLiuDepei,toldorallyandfullofplotswillbetakenintoconsideration.Andtheprincipleoffunctionalequivalence,afamoustranslationtheoryofEugeneNidawillbeintroducedtocompletethediscussion.Withthehelpoffunctionalequivalence,therearesomemethodstosolvethecontradictionoftranslatabilityanduntranslatability.Duringtranslation,concreteconditionswillbetakenintoconsideration,andsomemeasureswillbeemployedtosimplifythecomplicatedsentencestomakesurethattheinformationconveyedisaccurateandcomplete.Meanwhile,cultureconflictwillbeavoidedtoachievetheideathattranslationisthebridgeofculturalexchange.Thereportconsistsofsixparts.Thefirstpartisanintroductionofthepurposeandbackgroundofthereport.Meanwhile,itbrieflyexplainsthepresentsituationofthetranslationoffolkliteratureinChina.Thesecondpartpresentsfunctionalequivalencetheorywhichisemployedduringtheprocessoftranslation.ThethirdpartgivesabriefintroductiontoLiuDepeiandthefolktalestoldbyhim.ThefourthpartprobesintothetranslatabilityanduntranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesexcerptedfromACompleteCollectionofChinesefolktales:WufengVolume.ThefifthpartismainlyabouttranslationstrategiesusedinthetranslationofChinesefolktalesandsomeexamplestranslatedbytheauthor.Thesixthpartisconclusion.Itsummarizestheexperiencesandinspirationsgainedbytheauthor,thelimitationsofthetranslationaswellassomesuggestionsforthedevelopmentofthetranslationoffolkliteratureinChina.Thesignificanceofthereportliesin,withpracticalexamplesandtheexperiencegainedbythereportwriter,analyzingthetranslationproceduresandsummarizingtheprinciplesandmethodsfortheChinese-Englishtranslationoffolktales,andofferingiii 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文somesuggestionsforthefurtherdevelopmentofthetranslationpracticeandstudiesinthisfield.ItishopedthatthisreportcouldprovidesomebeneficialreferencefortheresearchandpracticeoftheChinese-Englishtranslationoffolktales.Keywords:folktales；functionalequivalence；translatability；untranslatability；culturalexchange；translationstrategiesiv 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文ContentsSection1Introduction.........................................................................................................1Section2FunctionalEquivalenceTheory.........................................................................1Section3CharactersofFolktalesofLiuDepei.................................................................3Section4TranslatabilityandUntranslatabilityofChineseFolktales.............................44.1TranslatabilityofChinesefolktales.........................................................................44.1.1LinguistictranslatabilityofChinesefolktales................................................54.1.2CulturaltranslatabilityoftheChinesefolktales.............................................54.2UntranslatabilityofChinesefolktales......................................................................64.2.1LinguisticuntranslatabilityofChinesefolktales............................................74.2.2CulturaluntranslatabilityofChinesefolktales...............................................8Section5HowtoHandleUntranslatabilityofChineseFolktales..................................115.1Domestication..........................................................................................................115.2Foreignization.........................................................................................................12Section6Conclusion..........................................................................................................13Bibliography.......................................................................................................................15Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................16Appendix1:SourceTexts..................................................................................................17Appendix2:TargetTexts..................................................................................................27v 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AReportonTranslatingChineseFolktales:WufengVolume——OnTranslatabilityandUntranslatabilitySection1IntroductionWiththespeeding-upofglobalizationandmoreandmorefrequencyofthefolkliteraryexchange,theroleoffolktales,asakindofcultureresourcesandtheverbaltextaboutfolklifeandtheimportantcarrieroffolkculture,ismoreandmoreimportant.Chinaisagreatcountrywithmorethanfivethousandyearsofhistoryandculture.Andfolktalesareonekindofthewholeculture.Whatismore,insomeplaces,folktaleshavealreadybeenakindoftourismresources.WiththeaimtocarryforwardtheChinesecultureandenhancethedevelopmentofthewholenationandpromoteprogressoflocaltourism,moreandmorepeoplebecomeinterestedinthestudyoffolktales.ThispaperismainlyaboutthefirsteditionofthetranslationoftheverbaltextsoffolktalestoldbyLiuDepei,afamousfolkstorytellerlivinginWufengCounty,Hubei.AndthesefolktalesareexcerptsfromACompleteCollectionofChinesefolktales:WufengVolume;theexamplesinthisreportarefromthesourcetextstranslatedbytheauthor.Sincetheyareverbaltexts,thetranslationofthemwillbeakindofinterpreting,thatiswhy,duringthetranslation,thecharactersofinterpretingmustbeconsidered.Meanwhile,suchspecialqualitymakesthetranslationmoredifficultandthetranslatabilityanduntranslatabilitymoreevident.Theresearchwillbedevelopedwiththehelpofprincipleoffunctionalequivalence,afamoustranslationtheoryproposedbyNida.However,duetoaseriesoflimitationofcultureandlanguage,thetranslationoffolktalesisstillontheprocessofresearchanddevelopment.Thispaperwillbebasedontheperspectiveoffunctionalequivalencetoexplainthetranslationoffolktalessoastomakeakindofcontributetotheimprovementoffolktales.Section2FunctionalEquivalenceTheoryAsafamoustranslationtheoristinthecontemporaryera,andtitledas“fatherof1 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文moderntranslationtheory”,Nidaputforwardthetranslationtheoryoffunctionalequivalencewhichhasahugeimpactontranslationareaallovertheworld.Heregardedfunctionalequivalenceintranslationastherecreationofequivalenceintargetlanguagefirstlyinmeaning,theninstylethatclosestandmostnaturaltosourcelanguage.Here,“equivalence”referstothesourceinformation,“nature”referstotargetlanguageand“closest”referstothecombinationoftheformertwoitemsonthebasisofhighlyapproximation(Nida,1993:176).Therefore,“functionalequivalence”hasputemphasisbothon“faithfulness”tothesourceinformation,andoncorrespondencetothenormandusualexpressionofthesourcelanguage,namelythatachievingmeaningequivalenceisthepremise,andthencomestotheadjustmentoftheformofsourcelanguagetoachieve“coherence”oftargettextifitisnecessary.Theessenceof“functionalequivalence”isaimedtoestablishthe“similarrespondence”betweensourcelanguagereaderandtargetlanguagereaderontheprincipleof“effectequivalence”.So,Nidapresentedthehighestlevelandthelowestlevelof“functionalequivalence”.Thehighestlevelisinfactanidealthatthetargetreadersaresupposedtounderstandandappreciatethetargettextinthesamewaythatthesourcereaderdo;thelowestlevelequivalencemeansthatthetargetreadersaresupposedtoimaginehowsourcereadersunderstandandappreciatesourcetextbytheirownunderstandingtowardstargettext,andthisistheminimumlimitationoftranslationequivalence(Nida,1964:177).Nidadividedtranslationintotwokinds:translationof“formalequivalence”and“dynamicequivalence”.Hecamealongwith“formalequivalence”tosourcetextonbothcontentandformofthetargettextwiththepremisethatthetargettextshouldconvey“theclosestandthemostnaturalequivalentinformation”ofthesourcetext.However,formandcontentequivalencecannotexistatthesametimeusuallycausedbythedifferencesoflanguageandculturebetweensourcetextandtargettext.Andifformandcontentequivalencecannotexistatthesametime,theprincipleoffunctionalequivalenceadvicestoabandonformequivalencewhiletoachievecontentequivalence.Thus,thetargettextcanconveytheinformationandmeaningofsourcetextandachievethesameeffectbetweensourcetextandtargettextsotoestablish“similarrespondence”ofsourcereadersandtargetreaders,whichmeanstheeventualvalueofthetargettextistomaketargetreadersgetthemostsimilarinformationtosourcereaders.2 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文ThoughNidalaidstressontheequivalentquantitydeliverofthesourcetext,henoticedthattargetreadersarenotabletoacquirethesameamountinformationasthesourcereadersdoduetothelargedifferencesoflanguageandculturebetweensourcetextandtargettext.So,duringtranslation,thetranslatorsorinterpretersaresupposedtochangethewayofexpressionofinformationtoaformthatthetargetreaderscanunderstand.Nidaintroducedreaderstotheestimationstandardoftargettexttomaketheequivalentcorrespondenceofreadersasthestandard.“Functionalequivalence”admitssomekindsoflimitationanddeficiencyoftranslation.Itpursuestheidealoftranslation,meanwhilereflectsthelimitationandflexibility;itoutstandstheimportanceoffaithfulnesstosourcetext,meanwhileemphasizestheequivalencebetweentargetlanguageandsourcelanguage;itmeansto“literaltranslation”,meanwhilerefersto“freetranslation”butnotconfinedbythem.Therefore,functionalequivalenceprincipleisatranslationtheorythatispracticalwithstrongadaptability(陈亚丽,2000:23-24).Section3CharactersoffolktalesofLiuDepeifolktales,whicharewide-rangingandfullofimagination,arenarrativestoriesaboutallkindsofrelationsamonghumanbeings.Toldinstrangelanguagewithsymbolformsandorallypassedfromgenerationtogenerationsincetheancienttimes,theyaretheverbaltextsaboutfolklifeandtheimportantcarrieroffolkculture(李建宗，马光，2009:38-39).TheChinesefolktalesheremeanstoriestoldbyLiuDepei,whowasafamousfolktalesteller.In1983,hewaspraisedas“Hubeifolktalesteller”(李传峰,1990:15);aftertwoyears,hewastitledas“nationaltreasure”(廖崇刚，2006:54)byChinesefolkartistsassociation;in1998,hewasinthefirstplaceof“tengreatfolktalestellersofChina”organizedbyUNESCO.SothefolktalestoldbyhimaretherepresentativeofChinesefolktales.SincethewholefamilyofLiuDepei,thefolkstoryteller,haveinhabitedinTujiainhabitation,WufengCounty,Hubeiformorethan100years(李传峰,1990:33),thereisnodoubtthatthestoriestolebyhimarecharacterizedwithTujiafolk-customsbesidesthegeneralcharactersoffolktales.Thecolorfuldialectsarealmostineverystory.MostofthefolktalestoldbyLiuDepeiareoriginatedfromlife,sotheyarefulloflanguageofTujia,dialectofWufengandwitty3 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文remarks.Theseelementsmakethestoriesmorevividandvisualizedandhaveplayedanimportantroleinthenarrationoftales,developmentoftheplotsandportrayofimages.Allthesewillleavethereadersorlistenersaquitedeepimpressionaboutthefolk-customsofTujia.Healsousedrusticityhumortoexpressthewisdomofvillagers.TherearewittyrusticityhumorsinthestoriestoldbyLiuDepei.Someofthemaremostcharacterizedbywisdomandfulloflifephilosophyandreflections;andsomecharacterizedbyhumor.Theyarevulgarintheformbutrefinedinthemeaning.Thepoemisanotherfeature.Itisfrequenttolistenorseesomesocalledpoemsinthestories.Thepoemhasalreadybecomethemainexpressivewayofthestoriestelling.Thoughtheymaybevulgarwhilelisteningorreading,theyarefullofenjoyment.Thelanguageisobscureandimplicit.Thisqualityresultsfrommainlytheperspectiveofethics.Alltheabovefeaturescanbedividedintotwoaspects:linguisticsandculture.Theyarethemainreasonswhyfolktalessocharmingandworthyofstudying.Atthesametime,itistheythathavemadethetranslationoffolktalesmorecomplicated.ThefolktalesweretoldbyLiuDepei,thencollectedandeditedbyotherpeople.Asamatteroffact,theyareverbaltext.Therefore,thefolktalestoldbyLiuDepeicanbestudiedintheperspectiveofinterpretation.Section4TranslatabilityandUntranslatabilityofChineseFolktalesAccordingtothetranslationtheoryofEugeneNida(谭载喜,1999:88),translationistoreappeartheoriginalmessagewiththeclosestandthemostnaturalequivalenceintargetlanguage.Therefore,itismeaningfultoadmitthatthereisacontradictionintranslation,whichistranslatabilityanduntranslatability.4.1TranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesTranslatabilityreferstoexpressthesourcecontextintheformofthetargetlanguagetoachievetheresultthatpeopleofdifferentlanguagecanunderstandthesamething.Allcountries,nationsandregionsaroundtheworldhavetheirownuniquelanguagesystems.However,therearecommongroundsexistingincountrieswithdifferentlanguageandculturebackgrounds,thatistosaythereisequivalencebetweencompositionor4 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文relevantcontextualcharacteristicsamonglanguages,namely"reference"oflinguisticsemiotics.Whatismore,themoredevelopmentofthesocietyandthemorecontactbetweenlanguages,themoreprominentthemutualpenetrationphenomenonis.So,thecommoncharactersoflanguageandculturemaketranslationpossible.Thispartincludestwoaspects.4.1.1LinguistictranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesLinguistictranslatabilitymeansthattotranslatethesourcelanguagetextintoanotherlanguageinordertomakepeoplewithtwodifferentlanguagescanhavethesameunderstanding.Thatistosaythatthesameexpressioninthetargetlanguagetoexpressthesamemeaningforthesourcelanguagecanbefoundduringtranslation.Duetothedevelopmentofthesociety,thereareseriesofphenomenonarebothineasterncultureandwesternculture,andthedirectofitisthesamelanguage.Example1:风去树，树去屋，屋去猪，是何人得见？Thissentenceisatypicalrhetoricaldevice,anadiplosis.Itmeansthatinasentence,thereareseveralpartsandeachendofapartisthebeginningofthefollowingpartandsuchpatternsrepeatatleasttwotimestopassdownthenearbywordorphrase.Suchformnotonlymakesthestructureinorderanditsmeaningcoherent,butalsooutstandsthecloserelationshipofthingsthatalllinkedtoanother.Inthissentence,therelationshipofthewind,thetreeandthehouseisquiteclear,althoughthereisnowordtoexpressthecausalrelationship.ThisrhetoricaldeviceisalsousedinEnglish,namedanadiplosis,orcatchwordrepetitionorchainrepetition.Forexample:It‟stheprofitnow,nottheproduct.Halfthetime,wecheattheforemen,theforemencheatthemanagement,andthemanagementcheatsthecustomers.(J.B.Priedstley:TheFutureoftheEnglish)Translation:Thewindblewdownthetree,thetreeoverwhelmedthehouseandthehousecrushedthepig.Whowasthewitness?4.1.2CulturetranslatabilityoftheChinesefolktalesPeoplesharesomecommonplacesduringthedevelopmentofeachcountry,thoughit5 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文isindifferentwaysanddifferentideologies.Duetothedevelopmentofthesociety,thereareseriesofphenomenonarebothineasterncultureandwesternculture,andthedirectresultofitistheculturetranslatability.Example2:两把手你不依我的，我不依你的，就争呵，吵呵，越闹越恶，扯起大皮来，打起官司来啦！GotothecourtisacommontermamongthepeoplefromancienttimestothepresentinChina.Forbothsideswhohaveconflictofinterests,theygotothegovernmenttosuetomaintaintheirownlegitimaterightsandinterests;orgoingtothegovernmenttotrytodefendoneselfagainstthechargeinordertomaintaintheirownlegitimateinterests.FortheEnglish-speakingcountries,sincetheyhaveestablishedtheirjudicialsystem,mostpeopleofwesterncountriesunderstandthemeaningofgotocourt.Translation:Bothbrotherscouldnotseewitheachother.Asaresult,theyquarreledandthesituationbecameworseandtheywenttothecourteventually.Example3:做老子的呢，也再无别的牵挂，没过几天就闭上眼睛，去啦。“去啦”isaeuphemisticwordtoexpressthemeaningofdeath.InEnglish,thereareseveralphrasestoexpressthemeaningofdeath,likekickthebucket,passaway,endoflife.Andwiththedevelopmentofinformationexchangeamongcountries,“gotowest”hasgraduallyacceptedbytheEnglish-speakingpeople.Translation:Thefatherhadnootherworryanddiedafewdayslater.4.2UntranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesUntranslatabilityisapropertyofatextorofanyutteranceinonelanguage,forwhichnoequivalenttextorutterancecanbefoundinanotherlanguage.“J.C.Catford,acelebratedtranslationscholaroflinguisticsschool,raisedtheissueofuntranslatabilityin1965.Hearguesthatthelinguisticuntranslatabilityisduetothedifferencesinthesourcelanguageandthetargetlanguage,whereascultureuntranslatabilityisduetotheabsenceinthetargetlanguageofrelevantsituationalfeatures.”（李树英）Andinthispart,thepaperismainlyaboutthecultural6 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文untranslatabilityandthelinguisticuntranslatability.4.2.1LinguisticuntranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesLinguisticuntranslatabilityreferstothesourcelanguagetextorunitcannotbetranslatedintoanotherlanguage,therefore,thecommunicationandunderstandingbetweentwodifferentlanguagespeoplecannotbeachieved.Inotherwords,itreferstothetargetlanguagehavingnocorrespondinglinguisticformwiththesourcelanguagetextfeatures.LiaoQiyimentioneditinTheContemporaryWesternTranslationTheoriesExplorethatifthereislanguagegapbetweeninformationsourceandthefinalrecipient,nomatterwhatmeasurestobetaken,atranslatorcannotmakethetranslationandtheoriginaltextperfectcorrespondence.ThepeoplewhospeakChineseandthepeoplewhospeakEnglishhavelargedifferencesinthewayofthinkingandaesthetic,sowhentheyexpressthesameconcept,theyoftenusedifferentfigureofspeech.ThesecausedtheuntranslatabilityinChinese-Englishtranslation.Ithasthefollowingmainaspects:Example4:县老爷不懂轿夫们是对着猪头喂食。ThousandsyearsofhistorymakesChinaagreatcountrywithhugemountofwisdom.Indailylife,theyhaveaccumulatedlotsofexpressionstorefertosimilarorsamecondition.Hereinthissentence,“对着猪头喂食”,asacommonsaying,meanstolickthebootsoftheMaster.Themeaningisthesame;however,therearedifferentfiguresintheexpressions.So,thereisnobetterchoicebutgivinguptheoriginalimageofthesourcelanguagetoachievetheunderstandingofthetargetreaderorlistener.Translation:ThecountyMasterdidnotunderstandthatthebearersweretolickhisboots.Example5:杜老幺一听，八字还没一撇，九子还没一钩，他就想把工钱赖掉不给哪！“八字还没一撇，九子还没一钩”isametaphortoexpressthatthereisnosignorclueofthings.ItcomesfromtheuniquenatureofChinesecharacter.“八”iscomposedbytwostrokes,thefirststrokeiscalled“撇”.Chinesecharacteriswrittenaccordingtotheordersofeachstroke,sowithoutthefirst“撇”,therewouldbenothewholecharacter.Thisexpressionmakesitquiteclearthatthingshavenotbegun7 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文yet.Translation:Thereisnottheslightestsignofanythinghappeningyetandhewouldliketorepudiatethesalary.Example6:人家以为我有呵，我又晓得自己没有，未必是指桑骂槐取笑本县？“指桑骂槐”isaliteraryquotationfromTheGoldenLotusPoetry,anancientbookwroteinMingdynasty.Ithasbeenanidiomalready,meanstopointatonebutabuseanother.ThecolorfulChineseculturemakestheidiomfairlyimpressive.Sinceitisaliteraryquotation,itisquitedifficulttofinditscorrespondenceinthetargetlanguage.Translation:OthersbelieveIhaveitwhileIknowthatIhavenothing.Coulditbesaidthattheyabusedmebymakingtheriddle?Example7:先考他见都没见过的古书，要他圈点，一下就把他搞嗝起哒。跟着，督学又内藏掰他的意思。Inthissentence,therearetwophrasesindialect.“嗝起哒”isaspecialexpressionformofWufengdialect.Itreferstoastateofconfused,withnoideaofhowtodo.Thisexpressiongivesthereaderavividfigureofapersonwhoisattheendofhiswit.“内藏掰他的意思”referstomakehimembarrassedandfeelincompetentinteachingonpurpose.IfthereaderoflistenerhasnoknowledgebackgroundofWufengdialect,oncecomeacrosswithit,itisdifficulttounderstandit,becausethereisnocorrespondenceinEnglish.Theuniqueofdialectmakethetranslationorinterpretingisimpossible.Translation:Theinspectorfirstlyaskedhimtotalksomethingaboutancientbookswhichtheteacherhadnotreadbefore.Theteacherdidnotknowwhattosayandgotworried.Then,theinspectordeliberatelyplacedobstaclesonhim.4.2.2CulturaluntranslatabilityofChinesefolktalesPeterNewmarkwroteinhisATextbookofTranslation:“Idefinethecultureasthewayoflifeanditsmanifestationarepeculiartoacommunitywhichusesapeculiarlanguageasitsmeansofexpression.”8 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Asanimportaspectofculture,languagecontainslonghistoricalbackgroundandvariousculturalconnotations,includinghistory,socialsystem,naturalenvironment,religionandcustoms.Therefore,inpractice,thereareoftennothesameexpressionsinthetargetlanguage.Thisisculturaluntranslatability.However,duringthecommunication,itisimpossibletostopwhilethestory-tellingisgoingon.Suchconditionsmakeitnecessarytotakeaseriesofmeasurestomakethecommunicationcontinue.Example8:旧社会，有些大人（多义）不像大人的样子，在儿媳妇名下打些歪主意，结果落得媳妇很难把他当上人敬重。Here,“大人”doesnotmeanthegrown-upbutfathers-in-law.InthetraditionalsocietyofChina,paternalismwasprevailing.Paternalismmeansafamilysystem(membersofafamilylivedtogethernomatterhowoldtheywereandpeopleshouldbefilialtotheparents)inwhichparents,especiallythemaleone,ownedcompleteauthorityandtheothersshouldfollowhisordersandrequirements.Atthesametime,themaleparentwassupposedtobeupright,kindandfair.Theconnotationofthiswordisthatinancienttimes,somefathers-in-lawdidnothaveself-respectandharboredmaliciousintentionsontheirowndaughters-in-law.ItishardtofindanequivalentwordinEnglishtoexpressthesamemeaning.Iftheword“大人”istranslatedinto“fathers-in-law”,thoughthemeaningisclear,thecultureoftheChinesetraditionislost.Translation:Inancienttimes,somefathers-in-lawdidnothaveself-respectandharboredmaliciousintentionsontheirowndaughters-in-law.Asaresult,theirdaughters-in-lawdidnotrespectthemanymore.Example9:大媳妇、二媳妇、三媳妇，你们三妯娌下田薅草去。“妯娌”here,asaculture-loadedwordmeanswivesofbrothersorsisters-in-law,referstotherelationshipbetweenthewivesofbrothers.Actually,itistheextensionoftherelationshipofbrothers.So,therelationshipbetweenthewivesofbrotherswillbefineiftherelationshipbetweenthebrothersisgood,andviceverse.Chinesearestrivingforfaceaswellasrelationship.ButthereisnoequivalenceinEnglish.ItisknowntoallthatinmostEnglish-speakingcountries,whenpeoplegrowup,theylivebythemselves.Aftermarriage,theyevenliveindifferentplaces.Suchtraditionmakesthemlackofsucha9 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文word.Translation:Youthreeelderdaughters-in-lawgotothefieldtoweed.Example10:两兄弟分家。“分家”heremeanstodivideupfamilypropertyandliveapart,anditisaculture-loadedword,too.Itmeanstoseparateafamilyanddivideitintoanumberofsmallhomes.Acompletefamilycollapses,severalnewfamiliesarethere.Dividingmainlyreferstoproperty.Themainpartsofthepropertyincludefixedassetsandcapital.Theyarealltheparents"savings.ThelonghistoryoffeudalisminChinahadbroughtpatriarchalsystemtoeveryfamily,sotherewouldbesuchactivitiesatcertainperiod.While,differentsocialsystemmakesitimpossibleinEnglish-speakingcountries.Translation:Thereweretwobrothers.Theywoulddividefamilypropertyupandliveapart.Example11:老大就在这个私塾先生身上打主意了。“私塾先生”heremeansold-styleprivateschooltutor.Thetutormainlywasonewhopassedtheimperialexaminationatthecountylevel.ItistotallydifferentfromthatoftheEnglish-speakingcountries.InEnglish-speakingcountries,thereisnoimperialexaminationandthereteacherwasdifferentfromtheoneofChina.Translation:Theeldersonmadeuphismindonthetutor.Example12:管账先生哑了口，只好从褡裢子里把那个五十吊钱也交出来啦！"褡裢"istheuniquethinginChineseculture.Itisalong,rectangularbagthatmoneyandthingscanbeputintoit.Oncefilledwithmoneyandobjects,bothendsofthebagendswouldsymmetricallyprolapse.Thebigcanbedrapedovertheshoulderandthesmallcanbehungonthewaist.YangXianyiandhiswifetranslateditintosack.InLongmanContemporaryEnglish-ChineseDictionary,itmeansalargebag,usu.Ofstrongclothorleather,usedforstoringormovingflour,vegetables,grain,etc.；Hawkestranslateditintosatchel,accordingtotheabovedictionary;satchelmeansasmallbagofstrongclothorleather,usu.Withabandforcarryingovertheshoulder(包惠南，2003:102).Nomatter10 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文sackorsatchel,itisdifferentfrom“褡裢”informandusage.Strictlyspeaking,“褡裢”andsackorsatchelistwodifferentthings.Andthatitwillbetranslatedintothetwowordsisakindofhelplesschoice.Thetranslatabilitylimitcausedbydifferentnationalculturescannotbeeliminatedatthemoment.Translation:Mr.Cashierhadnothingtoreplybuttooktheotherfiftydiaosoutfromhispouch(along,rectangularbagthatmoneyandthingscanbeputintoit.Oncefilledwithmoneyandobjects,bothendsofthebagendswouldsymmetricallyprolapse.Thebigcanbedrapedovertheshoulderandthesmallcanbehungonthewaist).Section5HowtoHandleUntranslatabilityofChineseFolktalesDomesticationandforeignizatiionaretwodifferentstrategiesintheprocessoftranslationtodealwiththedifferencesoflanguageandculturebetweenChineseandEnglish.5.1DomesticationTheaimofdomesticationistoseeksmooth,coherentandunderstandingofthetranslatedtextsoastoachievetheacceptanceofthetargetlanguagepeople.Duringtheexchangeoflanguage,translatorsoftenmeetsomeobstaclescausedbythestructuredifferencesofChineseandEnglish.Andsomeofthebarriersarebeyondoverstep,soifthedissimilationisemployedinthiscondition,itwillthetranslatedtexthardtounderstand,andthereaderswillfailtocontinuereading.DomesticationdemandsthetranslatorstobreakthroughtherigidcontroloftheformofsourcelanguageandtofindoutthesentencestructureandaccustomedexpressioninthesameoccasionofEnglish.First,thecorrespondingEnglishlogicordershouldbeestablishedbyanalyzingthewholelogicofthesentence.WhentranslationisfromChinesetoEnglish,itisimportanttotaketheideasandthoughtsofthesentenceintoconsideration.SinceChineseandEnglisharetwodifferentlanguages,theyaredifferentinexpression.Sometimestheorderisneededtochangeonthebasisofunderstanding;sometimesthesourcesentencecanbedividedintotwoormoreclausesortheoriginaltwoormoreclausescanbeconjoined.Example13:县老爷进山上任，坐一乘四人轿。11 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Translation:Acountymastertookafour-peoplesedanchairtothemountainareatotakehisofficialpost.Example14:轿子停了下来，轿夫一个二个忙着揩汗。Translation:Theystoppedandwerebusywipingsweat.Example15:有这么一户人家，有四个儿子，娶了四个媳妇。Translation:Therewerefoursonsinafamilyandfourdaughters-in-lawrespectively.5.2ForeignizationSunZhilioncesaidthattheChineseliteraturetranslationin21centurywilltendtoforeignizationfurtherandthecoreofforeignizationistomakeeffortstotranslatethedifferentelements(孙致礼，2002:35-36).Thatistosaytranslationshouldatmostconveytheoriginalculturecharactersofsourcelanguages,theformofsourcelanguageandtheextraordinaryexpression.Withthebackgroundofculturalglobalization,foreignizationhasbecomemoreandmoreimportant.ItisnecessarytoemployforeignizationduringthetranslationfromChinesetoEnglishtobroadcastChinesecultureandchallengetheculturehegemony.Foreignizationismainlyusedinthetranslationofculture-loadedwordstofullyembodythenationalcharactersofthesourcetext.Example16:那条横坎长约三十丈，每隔大谱三丈远就有一棵核桃树，一起有上十棵。Translation:Thecrossbarwas30zhangs(onezhangequalsto3.3meters).Everythreezhangstherewasawalnuttree,overtenwalnuttreesintotal.Example17:在早前呢，分山界田界是大事，光说不行，还得写分关，把界限明明白白地写下来，作为往后的凭据。Translation:12 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Duringoldtimes,itwasabigdealtodividemountainboundaryandfieldboundary.ItwasnotenoughtodeclareitorallybuttowriteaFenguan(akindofsupplementarydocumentaboutthetransferoffamilyproperty,movablepropertyorrealestate,fortheHakkasinancienttimes).InFenguan,whichcanbeaproofinthefuture,thedividinglinewaswrittenclearly.Section6ConclusionThispaperisbasedonthetranslationexperienceofexcerptsofACompleteCollectionofChinesefolktales:WufengVolume,storiestoldbyLiuDepei.Thistranslationexperiencegivestheauthoraperceptualknowledgeandunderstandingabouttranslation,especiallyaboutthetranslationoffolkliteraturewhichisdifferentfromotherliteraturetranslation.Therearetwoprinciplesforthefolkliteraturetranslationconcludedaccordingtothetranslationoftheauthor,namely:acceptanceprincipleandaestheticprinciple.Itistheopinionoftheauthorthatgoodfolkliteraturetranslationshouldbeacceptabletoreadersandfullofagresticbreath.SomeconcretemethodsforliteraturetranslationfromChinesetoEnglishalsoaresummarized.Itisnecessarytoemploytranslationmethodsflexiblyratherthanrigidly.Differenttextsshouldbetranslatedaccordingtodifferent,concreteandappropriateapproachestomakethetranslationperfect.Theindependentworkoffinishingthetranslationhasgiventheauthorafurtherunderstandingofprofessionalknowledge.Sincepracticemakesperfect,whattranslationworkneedsmostispracticesoastoputtranslationtheoryandbasicskillslearnttopracticetoimprovetranslationstandard.Thetranslationexamplesinthisreportareonlyforstudypurposeswithnoaimtosetthesoletranslationstandard.Thereisnoendforlearning,soastotranslation.Thispapercanserveasamodestspurtoinducesomeoneelsetocomeforwardwithhisvaluablecontributions.ThefolkliteraturetranslationinChinaatpresentisintheimmaturestageofdevelopment;therefore,thedocumentsanddatathatcanbeusedforreferencearelimited.ItisthepreliminarystagefortheauthortotranslateChinefoldstoriesintoEnglish.Thetranslationexampleslistedinthepaper,whicharetranslationoftheauthor,maybenotquiteright;theanalysisofthesetranslationexamplesandtheapplicationofrelatedtheoriesandskillsmaynotcomprehensive.Plentyofpracticeandsummarycanmaketranslation,13 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文sotheauthorneedsmorestudyofbasiclanguageskillsandprofessionalknowledgetoimprovecomprehensiveabilityoftranslation.Astimesgoesby,moreandmoreforeignfolkliteraturetranslationhavebeenpublished.SuchconditionurgesmuchmoreChinesefolkliteraturetobetranslated.However,thetranslationstudyonChinesefolkliteratureisless.ThetranslationofChinesefolkliteraturecanuseChinese-EnglishcontrastivestudyforreferencetocomprehendthecommongroundanddifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguagesandculturessoastoeliminatethedeficiencyofwordsduringtheprocessoftranslationfromChinesetoEnglishandthedifferencesofstructurestoreachtheresultthatthereaderscanacceptthemutmost.Thefollowingaretwosuggestionsoftheauthoronthebasisofthesituationofstudyandpracticeoftranslation:a.b.SeminarsonChinesefolkliteraturetranslationshouldbeactivelycarriedout.Theexchangeandinteractivelearningofscholarsandresearcherscansubstantiallyimprovethelevelofresearchandtranslation,advancetheirdevelopmentandmakethestudytheoryaboutChinesefolkliteraturetranslationscalesnewheights.ScholarsandresearchersofChinaaresupposedtoparticipateintheacademicactivityofforeignresearchersaboutfolkliteraturetranslationtolearnforeignacademicideastodrivethedevelopmentofChinesefolkliteraturetranslationstudyandpromotetheprosperityandtransmissionofChinesefolkliterature.14 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Bibliography[1][2][3][4]Nida,EugeneA.andCharlesR.Taber,1969.TheTheoryandPracticeofTranslation.Leiden:Brill[M].上海外语教育出版社,2004.Nida,EugeneA.LanguageandCulture:ContextsinTranslating[M].上海外语教育出版社,2001.Nida,EugeneA.LanguageCultureandTranslating[M].上海外语教育出版社,1993.Nida,EugeneA.TowardsaScienceofTranslating[M].Leiden:E．J．Brill，1964．[5]PeterNewmark.ATextbookofTranslation[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2001.[6][7][8][9]曹国建.文化差异与语义对应空缺和翻译障碍[J].长沙大学学报,1996(4).陈亚丽.超越“直译”、“意译”之争———论奈达的“动态对等”理论在英汉互译中的意义[J]．北京第二外国语学院学报，2000(2)．郭建中.当代美国翻译理论[M].湖北教育出版社，2000.李建宗，马光.口头文本的意义[J].中国社会科学院研究生院学报，2009(1)．[10]李磊荣.论民族文化的可译性[D].上海外国语大学,2004.[11]李树英.OntheAspectsofUntranslatabilityinRenderingLiteraryWorks.http://www.phenomenologyonline.com/sean/thesisintro.htm[12]廖崇刚.民间故事家刘德培及其故事口头语言艺术浅谈[J].民族大家庭，2006(5).[13]廖如芳.不可译性及其补偿[D].上海师范大学,2006.[14]李传峰.刘德培故事的土家族民俗特色[J].湖北民族学院学报，1990(2).[15]包惠南.文化语境与语言翻译[M].中国对外翻译出版公司,2001.[16]包惠南.中国文化与汉英翻译[M].外文出版社,2003.[17]秦洪武等.英汉比较与翻译[M].外语教育与研究出版社，2010.[18]孙致礼.中国的文学翻译：从归化趋向异化[J].中国翻译，2002(1).[19]谭载喜.新编奈达论翻译[M].中国对外翻译出版公司，1999.[20]杨志鸿.论不可译的文化现象及相关理论[A].福建师大福清分校第十二届科学论文研讨会专辑论文集[C].2004.[21]张赟.汉语中文化词汇的英译[D].广东外语外贸大学,2005.[22]中国民间故事全书:湖北·五峰卷[M].知识产权出版社，2007.15 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文AcknowledgmentsThisthesiswouldnothavebeencompletedwithoutmuchgenerousassistance,althoughtheresponsibilityforitsshortcomingsrestswithmealone.Forencouragement,support,andfrankcriticismatvariousstagesofthedevelopmentofthethesis,IamdeeplyindebtedtoProfessorHuXiaoqiong,mysupervisor,whohasaffordedmepithyscholarlyadvice.Also,IwouldthankalltheprofessorsintheFacultyofCollegeofForeignLanguages,ChinaThreeGorgesUniversity,whohavegreatlybenefitedmyintellectualgrowththroughtheirinspiringlectures.Iamgratefultomyclassmates,especiallyWangMingzhu,WangYing,HeXiangyanandmyseniorhighschoolclassmatesSunJing,whohavehelpedmewithmy10000wordstranslationatthefirsttime,withoutwhichthisstudywouldbasedonnothing.Thanksalsogotomyfamily,withouttheircareandlove,thisresearchandmygraduatestudiesatlargemighthavefoundered.16 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Appendix1:SourceTexts1.天上乌云梭一户人家，有四个媳妇。那天，公佬叫她们铺了一稻场黄豆，边晒边打。打着打着，天道变了，眼看就要下雨，四个媳妇赶紧商量。大媳妇说：“天上乌云梭，”二媳妇说：“顿时有雨落，”三媳妇说：“商量不打了，”四媳妇说：“几扬扠扠上箩。”那公佬烦哒：“就不打了吗？！天上哪里有雨呀？叫你们打点黄豆，你们打个半头不落！怎么出你们这些懒身货的呵？”四个媳妇看准了有雨，没惹公佬的骂，快手快脚地赶着收黄豆。还不到完全收拢，箩还没有收圆时，雨就已经落下来啦！公佬这才晓得自己没估到天时，骂错了，媳妇们是好心、是对的。照讲呢，媳妇们又没说长说短，事情过身就算哒，谁知他反倒有气，觉得是媳妇们赢了，自己失了面子，只想找岔子出气。当天黑哒，他就找起媳妇们的岔子来了。黑哒，四个媳妇共一盏灯，在堂屋里做鞋子。做的时候一长，少不得要讲几句话，免得打瞌睡。她们看见一只猫儿进了堂屋，不声不响地在往厨房里摸，四个人就以猫儿为题——大媳妇说：“猫儿四脚轻，”二媳妇说：“眼睛像铜钉，”三媳妇说：“它逼又不逼鼠，”四媳妇说：“只有蹲灶门。”哪个料想得到，公佬正在灶门口坐呢？公佬在那里生闷气、呼他的叶子烟，一下听见媳妇们的话了：“嗯？你们在说我吗？你们惊我骂我，说我是只老猫吗？哼，你们不得了，欺老子！明日我告你们一状去！”第二天，那公佬进了县衙，告了一状。县衙就把四个媳妇都传了去：“你们在屋里没得事做呵？怎么不孝顺老人，倒还惊你们的公佬，把他比成老猫的呀？”媳妇们说：“我们并没有惊，是讲几句话赶瞌睡的。”官说：“赶瞌睡？公佬说你们讲的有板有眼哪！你们是怎么说的呀？”大媳妇说：“我们是一个人一句说了来的，说的个四句子。一只猫儿走我们面前过身，往厨房里摸，我们看见了，就这么随口说的。我说的‘猫儿四脚轻’，”二媳妇说：“我说的‘眼睛像铜钉’。”三媳妇说：“我说的‘它逼又不逼鼠’。”四媳妇说：“我说的‘只有蹲灶门’。我们又不晓得爹在灶门口坐！”“哦，”官说，“这无妨碍嘛。”随后，又问公佬：“你哪么说是惊你骂你的呀？”公佬一看官司会输，喊说：“她们是惊我骂我的哪！她们若不事先商量好，哪能说得这么圆款哪？”官说：“嗯，是的。”又问四个媳妇：“哎，你们讲是随口说的，你们有这么好的17 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文口才吗？若有这么好的口才，你们跟本县说一个看！”媳妇们说：“那你指件东西唦。”官说：“我这衙门口有一树杏子，你们说了看哪？”大媳妇就开言说：“门前一树杏，”二媳妇说：“树上黄沁沁。”三媳妇说：“都说黄的好，”四媳妇说：“青的叮梆硬。”“哎！这说的要得呵！”官说，“她们是有这宗口才呀！”公佬又不干：“她们这是碰撞的！换个别的说，你看说不说得到！昨天黑哒明明是商量好了骂我的嘛！”“那，嗯，我再考一个，看她们刚才是不是碰撞的。说不到，就是她们起心惊你骂你，说得到，就是你无事找事。哎，你们四个再说一个我听了看！我这里有一把官伞，就说它！”四个媳妇互相一望，眼睛几眨，心里都明了账：拣好听的说。大媳妇说：“头顶金包头，”二媳妇说：“罩定当王侯。”三媳妇说：“今年升知府，”四媳妇说：“明年升总督。”官一听喜得没得法：“到底是口才好！到底不是碰撞的！说的句句都要得呀！嗨，是你做公佬的要不得的！你无事找事！”就吩咐：你们四个媳妇回去。你跟我留下来，责你四十大板再走！”公佬被责罚了四十板，回去的路上又气又怄。走了一程，看见前头的四个媳妇了。他心想走到一起了不好怎么讲得，就慢点走，慢点荡。媳妇们说，觉得这场官司不当打，一边走又在一边说——大媳妇说：“公公去告状，”二媳妇说：“告又没告上。”三媳妇说：“挨了四十板，”四媳妇说：“还在后头荡。”公佬听见了，再在她们后头走，不合适哒。他一瞄瞄见旁边有条小路，连忙拐了弯。大路远点，小路近点，公佬先到了屋。到了就在门槛上一坐，又指望寻岔子的，只要哪个媳妇闯一下他，他又要骂起来，大闹二百三，出气。媳妇们看他拦门坐起，就不忙着进屋，分头摘菜，抱柴，寻猪草。忙了一遍，他还拦门坐起没动。媳妇不走他面前过身没得法了，又商量——大媳妇说：“公公拦门坐，”二媳妇说：“要扁起身子过。”三媳妇说：“闯都闯不得，”四媳妇说：“闯动又是祸！”2.考督学一个先生，教一堂学。那天，督学下来查考，这个先生事先没有给他送礼，督学18“ 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文查考时就存心出难题。先考他见都没见过的古书，要他圈点，一下就把他搞嗝起哒。跟着，督学又内藏掰他的意思，要他答问：“诗书易，礼春秋，何以问？”他又嗝起哒，不晓得当怎么答。督学火来了：“你还教什么书呵？问这你都答不上！‘何以问’，问谁个呵？‘何以问老子’唦！哼，你的文学浅，教不成了！”这个先生没得法，只有回去。他兄弟问：“哥哥，你怎么回来啦？”“你不晓得，今日督学来查考，我事先没有恭敬他，他就拿难题狠我，‘诗书易，礼春秋，何以问？’你看我一下子嗝起哒。他说‘何以问’问谁个你都答不到，这个学你教不成了！你说，我不回来怎么办？”他兄弟一听：“呵？这没得道理，我去找他，跟你把事情扳过来！”哥哥不信：“你说得好？”“哎，你在屋里等结果吧！”他跑起去就问督学：唉，你把我哥哥的学拿了，不准他教哒，是个什么原由呵？”督学说：“你的哥哥不行，学问浅哒，那怎么教得成学呵？他不够资格嘛！”他说：“你说哥哥不够资格，不过就是你问得他答不到唦！我也来问一下你，看你督学够不够资格？”督学：“你讲了看哪？”他说：“你听好：风去树，树去屋，屋去猪，是何人得见？你把这个人答出来。”督学答不上来，嗝起啦！“好，我再说一个，看你答不答得上，猪夫人所生九子，一子掉在葵花井，是何人搭救？你把这个答出来。”督学又答不上来，又嗝起啦！“又答不上呵？那我再说第三个。你若还答不上，你就趁早走，这里依然由我哥哥来教的吆！”他说，“你听好：大黄黄，二黄黄，相争骨肉之天下，是何人赶散？你把这个人答出来。”督学怄得无救，还是答不上，又嗝起啦！他说：“问这这答不上，问那那答不上，连问三个都答不上，你当督学的资格在哪里呀？你干脆收起包袱走路（即走人），让我哥哥回来教哟！”督学的面子丢光了，老起脸再留下去没得意思，悄悄地走啦！弟弟欢欢喜喜跑回了家：“哥哥，我跟你扳过来了的，他走哒，你依然去教吧。”哥哥问：“你又没读好多书，我都说不赢他，你哪么说赢了的呢？你说的些什么呵？”他说：“我就问他：‘风去树，树去屋，屋去猪，是何人得见？’要他答这个人，他嗝起答不到。”哥哥问：“唉，当真我也不晓得这个人啰，这是哪本书上的呀？”“这哪本书上有呵？你忘记了前年起大风，风把树一吹倒，树倒下来又把屋一压垮，屋垮下来又把猪娃子压死的那场事呀？我们一家人都亲眼得见了的么！你也在场，你晓得呀！”“哦，你跟他问的这呀？这么一问就把他问起走了的么？”“没有！”弟弟说，“光这一个说得好呵？”“那你还说了什么呢？”“我问他：‘猪夫人所生九子，一子掉在葵花井，是何人搭救？他又嗝起哒，又19“ 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文不晓得哟。”哥哥问：“唉，这我也不晓得，它的出处在哪里呢？”“你怎么一开口就问出处的呀？出处在我们屋里唦。去年我们的那头母猪一窝下了九个猪娃子，当中有一个掉在茅厕缸里，那缸的沿子上原来烧得有葵花印子的，你都忘记哒？猪娃子在茅厕缸里乱挣，是嫂子把它一下捞起来的，你记起来没有？”“哦，你说的这呵？督学就这么服输走的么？”“哪里哟！他还不服帖，愁眉锁眼还在苦想哪！我一想三盘为定，又说第三个。”哥哥问：“你怎么说的呀？”“我说‘大黄黄，二黄黄，相争骨肉之天下，是何人赶散？’要他答出人来，他又答不到唦！”“兄弟，这个我也不晓得，你讲解给我听了看？”“唉，有什么值得讲解的？你把门口那两条黄毛狗一看就明哒。去年腊月三十过年，我们吃些骨头甩在地上，大黄毛狗和二黄毛狗争得打架，又是嫂子出面，拿根吹火筒在当中一赶，把它两个赶散的唦！这你怎么不晓得哟？我跟你说，哥哥，我都是说实际的哩！看你横直说书上的，照书上讲，往树上想，那个督学读的书多些，你自然说不赢唦。我说自己屋里的几桩事，他又没到我们屋里来过，你看他晓得不晓得？他只会当书猜哩！”3.县老爷坐轿县老爷进山上任，坐一乘四人轿。山路不好走，急弯陡拐，不是上坡就是下坡。杜老幺他们四个轿夫抬得黑汗直流，累不来了：“县老爷，歇一会再走吧？”官他坐的不知走的脚疼：“走。”轿夫没办法，继续朝前走。又走了一程，四个轿夫累得出气不赢，衣裤都在流汗：“县老爷，歇一下吧？”官在轿子里头打瞌睡：“走！”抬轿的只有依坐轿的，四双脚硬撑，只走不歇。又走了一程，县老爷自己把腿子坐麻啦，腰板坐疼啦，想下轿活动活动腰腿，才准歇：“好，你们先就要歇一会的，歇。”轿子停了下来，轿夫一个二个忙着揩汗。县老爷下轿伸了伸懒腰，打了呵欠，甩起文来啦：山何其大，路何其小；官还没做，吃苦不小。轿夫们本来就有气，听见县老爷甩文，都接上话了：听说老爷的才学不错呐？”县老爷不懂轿夫们是对着猪头喂食，他傲得很：“没有才学，能出门做官？未必你们还想咏诗作对，试试本县的功夫？”杜老幺一笑：“不敢，不敢。我们只会打谜子猜哩。”“你们这就不错啰！”官说，“打一个谜子本县猜了看。”“噢，”杜老幺答说：“县老爷看得起我们呢。我来说一个试试。”20“ 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文“慢。”官说，“本县有言在先：若是猜到了，本县就不赏给你们的工钱了。”杜老幺一听，八字还没一撇，九子还没一钩，他就想把工钱赖掉不给哪！便答：“好说，老爷猜到了我们卯起不要工钱就是。老爷若猜不到呢？”旁边三个轿夫帮腔：“那就该开加倍工钱啰！”“加倍？莫想那个事！”官练练摇头，他舍不得把钱，“你们打的些谜子，本县岂有猜不到的？万一猜不到，本县卯起不坐轿，自己走！”杜老幺紧跟一句：“老爷说话算话？”官说：“一言既出嘛！”杜老幺说：“请老爷听好哩，打一个物件的谜子：放着，它还在这里，系着，它就爬起跑了的。”县老爷一听，为了难啦！这是什么物件哪？“系着”，照理更应当还在这里呀，怎么倒还“爬起跑了”？左思右想猜不到。其实，这个谜子简单，说是是系在脚上，爬山走岭的草鞋，千家万户都有的，县老爷见过不少，猜不着。猜不着，面子还得救住，他不甘心就这么不坐轿子了呵！他嗯嗯吞吞地：“嗯，这个太俗，再打个文趣点的！”杜老幺说：“只要老爷说话算话，叫再打一个就再打一个啰：天知我有，地知我无。人知我有，我知我无。打一物件来？”官一下又愣住了。文趣得很哪，还是猜不到。天晓得我有，地又晓得我没有；人家以为我有呵，我又晓得自己没有，未必是指桑骂槐取笑本县？他想发火，又怕自己猜得文不对题，倒还落个话把。他想问，又问不出口。这第二个谜子，说的是脚上穿的袜统子。布袜子穿破了底，长筒子还在，丢了可惜，穿草鞋之前套在脚上，免得刺条扎腿。从上面看或旁人看，像好袜子，有底；从下面看，没有底，穿的人自己晓得。轿夫呵，背夫呵，常常是袜底先磨破，穿袜统子的今日有张三，明日有李四，他们都晓得这个谜文。可是县老爷哪猜得到呢？官急得额角淌汗。真的得自己走啦？看一眼高山大岭，莫说走不稳山路，连东西南北都分不清楚，哼！杜老幺问：“老爷，这个又猜不到呵？”“三下为定！你再说一个又不文又不俗的！”杜老幺说：“好哩！等我们先把轿子抬上肩了，再说不迟。”“嗯？”“这前无村后无店，天色又不早了，老爷若还是猜不到，我们好快点赶路哩。”官无可奈何，听着轿夫们一声吆喝，空轿子被他们抬上了肩。杜老幺说：“老爷听这第三个，还是打物件的：少时青，老时黄，千锤百打配成双。有耳听不见人的话，有鼻闻不出臭和香。”县老爷干着急，又猜不着。有鼻子有耳朵，竟闻不出味、听不见声？猜是骂人的吧，那“配成双”又作何讲解？既是成双配对，何必又“千锤百打”？唉，算是见了鬼哟！这第三个谜子，说的又是草鞋。草鞋当然有耳子、鼻子哪，不然系不成、穿不成嘛！三个谜文，两样东西，都在轿夫的脚上。县老爷一个也猜不到，杜老幺他们“呜”的一声，说走就走。那个官跺着脚喊：“抬我！我卯起出加倍工钱，你们要抬我！”杜老幺他们只走不歇：“老爷说话不算话，我们不抬你啰！”21 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文轿夫们如飞地跑了。县老爷喊天天不应，只好自己动脚走啰！4.坎卜两兄弟分家，家产中有一块坡田。老人家说：“我坡田半腰里有一条横坎，就以坎为界，大的得坎上，小的得坎下。”哪晓得，为”坎上坎下“这么句话，后来竟惹出大麻烦来啦！说这句话的时候，老人家的病已经很重了。他只说了坎上归老大、坎下归老二，至于那条横坎归哪个，他没有说。那条横坎长约三十丈，每隔大谱三丈远就有一棵核桃树，一起有上十棵。这些核桃树都是十几年前栽的眼下在大结果了。经济林木嘛，两个儿子看上啦，往后年年有点收益哪！老人家没说到堂，两个耳子也不问。都怕问出口了，落不到自己名下来。两个都闷在心里，我想横坎归我，他想横坎归他。在早前呢，分山界田界是大事，光说不行，还得写分关，把界限明明白白地写下来，作为往后的凭据。这一家子又只发财，不认得字，分关只有请人帮忙写。被请的是个私塾先生，约定了第二天进门。老大就在这个私塾先生身上打主意了。这天黑哒，老大拿了只猪膀，买了些茶礼，找到私塾先生屋里，说：“先生哪，我的老人家不是请你帮忙些分关的么？我来不为别的，望您礼不嫌轻，明日写分关的时候给我帮点忙的。”私塾先生喜眯眯地望着茶礼：“哪么帮忙呢？”老大说：“那块坡田，我是得坎上的，你要给我写‘以坎下为界’的。”私塾先生没说二话，收下猪膀、茶礼啦！老大刚走，老二也到私塾先生屋里来了。也是拿的只猪膀，买的些茶礼。他说：“先生，我的老人家接您帮忙写分关的吗?”“是的，要我帮忙写一下的呢。”老二说：“我来不为别的哟，请您明日写的时候，给我帮点忙的。”私塾先生装个不知不晓的：“哪么个事呢？”“那块坡田，我是得坎下的，你要给我写‘以坎上为界’的哟。”先生眨了眨眼睛，又想收礼又不想再收。若真的不收呢，又怕老二说他见外，不肯帮忙；老二若刨根问底，自己怎么回言？收吧，送上门来的一份茶礼，不收心里舍不得。他又收下啦。把老二打发走了之后，私塾先生仔细一想，为了难：依老大的得写“坎下”，依老二的得写“坎上”，明日写的时候怎么落笔呢？“上”也好，“下”也好，不管写哪个字，自己都脱不了糊。他又不甘心退茶礼，一个人为怎么落笔的事想去想来，想了大半夜，唔，明日我不写“坎上”，也不写“坎下”，跟他们写个“坎卜”，一竖一点，卜卦的这个“卜”。往后的事，往后再说啰。第二天，私塾先生去写分关，写的“以坎卜为界”。那老大、老二横直不认得字，这么写就算写了。做老子的呢，也再无别的牵挂，没过几天就闭上眼睛，去啦。到了下半年，核桃要收要打的季节到了。老大去打，老二不答应；老二去打，老大不答应。这个说：“呃，我是以坎上为界，这条坎明明是分给我的，你怎么打我的22 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文核桃呵？”那个说：“呃，这条坎明明是分给我的嚜，应以坎下为界嚜，当然归我打呀！”两把手你不依我的，我不依你的，就争呵，吵呵，越闹越恶，扯起大皮来，打起官司来啦！两把手扯进了县衙门。官一听，说：“你们一个说以坎上为界，一个又说以坎下为界，究竟有凭据没有呢？”这两个说：“有呵！春上分家，写得有分关的，我们带在手里哪！”官说：“把分关呈上来！”分关递上去了，官一看，嗯？里头既没有坎上的“上”字，也没有坎下的“下”字，写的是“坎卜”。官左看了右看，正看了又倒看，没有办法断：“以坎卜为界”，怎么断法？他鼓起一双眼睛，望着这个“卜”字，脑壳摇得像拨货郎鼓：“正看是卜，倒看还是卜，卜、卜、卜，卜得本县糊里糊涂！衙役快打退堂鼓，本县不管卜不卜！”那两兄弟急了：“唉，青天大老爷，你跟我们断一下了再退堂呵！”官说：“好吧，断一下就断一下——断给你们一人一个坎卜！”做官的大话好救急，说完就退了堂啦！那两兄弟哭不是笑不是，只好转身回去。回去就找私塾先生扯皮。大的小的都吵：“先生，你怎么写‘坎卜’呵？我春上跟你说怎么来怎么去的呀？”私塾先生想躲躲不脱，连声说：“你们莫吵，听我把事情说穿算喽！春上，你们两弟兄都给我送了茶礼的，我写‘以坎上为界’要得罪老大，写‘以坎下为界’要得罪老二，我只好两不得罪，写了个‘坎卜’。我猜你们是有皮扯的，扯皮是要凭官断的，老也若断的是‘坎上’，我就在‘卜’字下头添一笔，老也若断的是‘坎下’，我就在‘卜’字上头添一笔。哪晓得老爷断不清呢？他都断不清，我又有什么好法子呢？唉唉，老爷断给你们一人一个坎卜，你们就一人一个坎卜算喽！管断为难哪！”这两兄弟又碰了一鼻子灰，回到家里又吵，族眷里的公亲、伯子、叔爷都惊动了，都来劝解，好歹劝不下来。一位远房公公眼看小事情闹大了，闹成了一锅乱炒菜，叹气说：“凭官不行，凭先生也不行，凭族眷公亲还是不行，我看只有去找杜老幺。他一个外姓人，又与这事不相干，你们不会疑心他袒护哪个。他就在我住的位置帮人家捡瓦，你们去找他，看他怎么断吧。”杜老幺被请了来啦！他把前因后果听明白了，开言说：“要我来跟你们断，你们就要依我的呢。”“请师为主，当然是要依你的，”老大老二怕自己吃亏，答话话中有话，“不过，你要依分关的。你按分关写的断，我们二话不讲；你不按分关写的断，我们还是不得依的。”族眷公亲都听见了，都眼睁睁地望着杜老幺。杜老幺一点都不为难。笑说：“分关是你们的先辈人定的，我自然要依分关来断。分关上写‘以坎卜为界’，我们就依这。你们过细看这个‘卜’字，我断给你们听啰：卜字一竖一点，23 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文一点点在中间。莫争坎上坎下，就从中间一断。”你争我要的那条坎，一下子就断清白了，一人一半，都不吵啦！5.鬼、怪、虎旧社会，有些大人不像大人的样子，在儿媳妇名下打些歪主意，结果落得媳妇很难把他当上人敬重。有这么一户人家，有四个儿子，娶了四个媳妇。那第四个媳妇是刚刚娶进门的。这天早晨，公佬吩咐她们：“新来的媳妇半年客，今日幺媳妇就不下田，留在屋里弄中饭。大媳妇、二媳妇、三媳妇，你们三妯娌下田薅草去。”那三个媳妇听见了，都在心里猜爹的把戏：今日把我们都支下田，只留个幺妹在家，爹大谱又来打她的主意的。三个人你望我，我望你，当着爹和幺妹的面又不好明说，都只眨眼睛。等爹吩咐完了，走开之后，这三个在下田之前都赶忙关照幺妹。大媳妇先把幺妹喊到一边，小声说：“幺妹呀幺妹，你在屋里弄中饭，自己要小心些呢，我们的爹他是个鬼呢！”幺媳妇听在心里了：“好。”二嫂子也把幺妹喊到一边：“幺妹呀幺妹，你在屋里弄中饭，自己要小心些呢，我们的爹他是个怪呢！”幺媳妇也听在心里了：“好。”三嫂子又把幺妹喊到一边：“幺妹呀幺妹，你在屋里弄中饭，自己要小心些呢，我们的爹他是个虎呢！”幺媳妇又听在心里了：“好。”三个嫂子都关心这个小幺妹妹，怕她不懂情况，在搞歪风邪气的公佬面前吃亏。幺媳妇伶俐，都听在心里，记在心里啦。这三个下田薅草去了，屋里就剩公佬和幺媳妇两个。公佬厚起个脸皮开了言，他说：“我屋里呀，是这么个门风，个个媳妇都要跟我讲孝心的。”幺媳妇说：“我们做媳妇的当然是要讲孝心哩，端茶递水，弄吃弄洗，理当过细安置的哩。”公佬说：“哎！那还不叫孝心。我又不叫你天天跟我端茶给我递水，又不叫你一年四季问冷问热，别的都不屑要得，只要你这个人，——你把身子顺了我呢，就是讲了孝心哒。”幺媳妇听公佬说出这宗话来，才晓得三个嫂子的关照分量不轻。面前，公佬又不顾脸，在往跟前凑。幺媳妇装个应承的，说：“你说的这个事，我听见了，就是这时还没得时候的哟！”“哪么的呀？”“你看缸里空空的，一点水都没得了唦！我要赶到挑几担水，还要整米，不然中饭赶不出来哩！”“哎，看这，你来整米，水等我跟你去挑唦！”公佬拿起水桶就挑水，挑呵挑，去也块来也块，跟她挑了一满缸水。挑完了，公佬问：“你这时有空闲的时候了吧？”24 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文幺媳妇说：“唉，哪里有呵？你看整米没有你挑水快，还得一会整。菜呢？我还没得菜呀！等下把米整出来了，我还要到园子里掰菜去哟！”“哎哎”，公佬他说，“你快点整米，我跟你掰菜去唦！”公佬跑进菜园就掰菜，一下跟她这样那样掰了一大抱，搁在厨房里了：“这时候呢？该有时间哒！”幺媳妇的米也整得差不多了，晓得再支支不脱啦！她望了望楼上，说：“这时候，那，那就这么的，我是在你屋里做媳妇的人，你是上辈，这与平辈不同，你要那个事就当上楼去。你高一辈唦！”公佬心切，依了她的。楼上只搁粮食没住过人，到处灰尘流、末子流，没得干净的地方。幺媳妇指了指一个空仓，说：“爹，这个仓里干净些吧？你进去摸了看哪？”公佬不知是计，进仓去弯腰一摸时，幺媳妇把仓盖子“咚”地盖了下来，一下把那个不正经的上人扣在里头啦！幺媳妇转身下了楼，大大方方弄她的饭，弄她的菜。才到中界，饭菜就熟哒。她对着窗子喊薅草的人：“哎！大姐！二姐！三姐！你们回来吃饭唦！”田里三个嫂子一惊：“饭就熟哒？比往日还早点哪！只怕是爹无聊，她着急了喊我们的？不然的话，爹缠着她裹，哪会有这么早的饭呢？”三个嫂子赶回来时，饭菜都齐齐整整德端在桌上了哟！这三个越发摸头不是脑，大嫂把幺妹手一拉，问说：“幺妹幺妹，你刚才怎么样呵？该还好吧？”“哎，你说爹他是个鬼呀，他还给我挑了一缸水哩！”二嫂子也把幺妹手一拉：“幺妹幺妹，你刚才怎么样呵？该还好吧？”“哎，你说爹他是个怪呀，他还跟我掰了一抱菜哩！”三嫂子又把幺妹手一拉：“幺妹幺妹，你刚才怎么样呵？该还好吧？”“哎，你说爹他是一只虎呀，他摸在仓里捉老鼠哩！”公佬在楼上听到哒，晓得是在说自己，怄得要命，他说：“嗨——”幺媳妇说：“你们听哩，他大概又逮到了一只的呢！”6.写信画斑鸠一户人家，家里太穷，男的长年在外头帮工，妻子在屋里忙进忙出，侍候老的，安置小的。到了十冬月间，屋里一个钱也没有了，口粮也快接不上气啦，男的又远在外县，堂客急得没有办法，就给丈夫写信去。写的时候，她没有直接说家里怎么为难，——怕信落到不相干的人手里，被人欺穷当笑话。她呢，在信纸这边画了一个太阳，太阳底下画了只鸡子；那边画了一个月亮，月亮底下画了个老鼠子。把信写起之后，她在信封上写下某地某处，写下丈夫的名字，就托人带去啦。丈夫接到了信。他一看就着了急，连忙找到老板说：“老板呐，我屋里的生活太难了，要我带钱回去呢！你给我把工钱结了吧？”老板说：“你家隔山又隔水，隔这里几百里路，你怎么晓得家里为了大难呢？”帮工的说：“我妻子托人带信来啦！”老板不肯放他走：“你把信给我看看，看信是怎么写的呀？”帮工的把信递给老板，老板拿起上上下下看了又看，看不出个所以然：“这上面就只画了太阳呵，月亮呵，鸡子和老鼠呵，何曾写了要你带钱回去，何曾写了差钱用25 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文呵？信上连一个字都没得呀！”帮工的说：“你过细看唦：信这边一个太阳，太阳底下一只鸡子，鸡子旁边连一颗米都没有，这是‘日无鸡啄米’哟；信那边一个月亮，月亮底下一个老鼠子，老鼠子旁边没画半颗粮食，这是‘夜无鼠耗粮’哪！屋里等到我带钱回去，生活为难得到了顶啦！”“哦，”老板明白过来了，还真小看不得，你屋里人的心窍蛮足哩！嗯，不过呢，眼下你还走不开，我还要留你再帮一些时的。你家里等钱用，我来跟你先支一笔工钱，先支一百吊，我叫管账先生给你送到家里去。你不能走。”帮工的说：“那也可以。”他回头一想呵，不对，那个管账先生爱贪人家的小财，搞惯了手脚的，叫他带钱，不一定能如数带到。帮工的放心不下，特地写了封信，请管账先生连钱一起带回去。管账先生走了。走到半路上，他偷偷摸摸拆起信来啦：“我看他把钱数是怎么写起的？笔头上的事，我少许改动一下，就到手一笔财喜呐！”他把信拆开一看，“嗯？这是什么信哪？信上光一窝八鸽子，还有几只斑鸠，那一百钱一字没提。管账先生喜得胡子两翘：嗬，不消得动笔，我神不知、鬼不觉地落它一半，去了跟他屋里只把一半的钱；嘿，他的妻何曾晓得钱数的多少呵？”管账先生进了帮工的家，说：“你丈夫分不开身，回来不成，请我给你送五十吊钱来啦。哦，我跟你还带了一封信的呢。”帮工的妻子给他泡了茶，一边看信一边问说：“请问，你是他老板家里的什么人呀？”“我是那里管账的呀。”“噢，你是管账先生，”她说：“请你带来一百吊钱，你怎么只跟我给一半呢？”管账先生一惊，狡嘴说：“怎么叫一半哪？他合共给我只交了五十吊噢！我全数带到啦！你说一百吊，这话从何说起的呀？”“我丈夫的信上写的清清楚楚的呢。”“呵？他信上写的一百吊么？那就是他把我写冤枉了哪！”管账先生装得像没有偷看过信的，“你把信给我看了看，看他是不是写的一百吊？”帮工的妻子就把信递给他看。管账先生装模作样看了一遍：唉，是你看错了啰，这信何曾写了带的一百吊呢？只画了一窝斑鸠、八鸽子哪！看我同你丈夫素来相好，他对我放一百二十八个心，信上对钱的事都没提呀！”“先生！”帮工的妻子说，“至于你对我丈夫好不好，他对你放不放心，那歇题外的话，我就不说了，横直钱是一百吊，你看，信上写的有：这窝八鸽子，一共八只，八八就是六十四吊；斑鸠四只，四九三十六吊，合拢来足足一百吊钱呢！你还是直巴点吧！”管账先生哑了口，只好从褡裢子里把那个五十吊钱也交出来啦！26“ 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Appendix2:TargetTexts1.HeavycloudsshuttleTherearefourdaughters-in-lawinafamily.Oneday,theirfather-in-lawaskedthemtospreadthesoybeansonthegroundforthesunshine.Whiletheywerebusyworkingonthebeans,itwasgoingtorain.Sothefourdaughters-in-lawhurriedlydiscussed:Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“Heavycloudsshuttle,”Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“therainwillfall,”Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“let‟sstopworking,”Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“andfilltheminthebamboobasketwithinafewcha.”(cha:akindofagriculturetool)Theirfather-in-lawgotannoyed:“Willyoustop?Whereistherain?ForsuchsmallthingsasthreshingbeansIaskedyoutodo,youwanttoleaveitunfinished.Howcouldyoubesolazy?”Fourdaughters-in-lawweresureitwasgoingtorainsotheydidnotbothertoreplytotheirfather-in-lawbutcollectedthesoybeansquickly.Nosoonerhadtheworkbeenfinishedthanitbegantorain.Bythetime,thefather-in-lawrealizedthathedidnotforecasttheweatherandunjustlyscoldedthem.Thefourdaughters-in-lawwereofgoodintentionandtheywereright.Generally,themattershouldbeover.However,hewasangryandfeltthathisfacewaslostbeforethembecausehisdaughters-in-lawgainedtheupperhand.Sohewouldliketofindachancetoventhisanger.Thatnight,hegotachance.Thatnight,thefourdaughters-in-lawweremakingshoesnearalamp.Theyhadmadeshoesforalongtimeandhadtochattokeepthemselvesawayfromfallingasleep.Seeingacatranslightlyfromlivingroomtokitchen,theybegantotalkaboutthecat---Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“thecatiswithfourlightfeet”.Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“anditseyeswerelikecoppernails”.Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“itevendidnotcatchamouse”.Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“butsquatnearthekitchendoor”.Well,theydidnotknowthattheirfather-in-lawwassittingnearthekitchendoorangrilyandsmokinghissun-curdtobaccoleaf.Hearingthesewords,hesaid:“What?Wereyoureferringtome?Didyoudaretoabusemeasanoldcat?Youaresorudetoteaseme,yourfather!TomorrowIwillgotothecourttosueyou.”Thenextday,thefather-in-lawwenttotheCountycourt.Afterhisarrival,thefourdaughters-in-lawwereaskedtobethere,too:“Werenotyoubusywithyourhousework?Whydidnotyoushowfilialobediencetoyourfather-in-lawbutabusedhimasanoldcat?”Thedaughters-in-lawsaid:“Wedidnot.Wejustchattedtokeepusfromfallingasleep.”Theofficersaid:“Really?Yourfathersaidyouabusedhim.Whatonearthdidyousay?”27 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid:“Weeachsaidonesentenceandtherewerefoursentencestotally.Acatrantothekitchenfromwherewesat.Wesawitandsaidthesentencescasually.WhatIsaidwas„thecatiswithfourlightfeet‟.”Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid:“Isaid„anditseyeswerelikecoppernails‟.”Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid:“Isaid„itevendidnotcatchamouse‟.”Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid:“Isaid„butsquatnearthekitchendoor‟.Andwedidnotknowourfather-in-lawwasthereatthatmoment.”“Oh,”Theofficersaid,“Itdoesnotmatter.”Thenheaskedthefather-in-law:“Whydidyousaytheyabusedyou?”Thefather-in-lawwasafraidthathewouldfailthislawsuitandshouted:“Theydidabuseme!Iftheydidnottalkitoverbefore,couldtheysaythemsosmoothly?”Theofficersaid:“Well,youareright.”Andheaskedthefourdaughters-in-law:“Areyoureallysoeloquent?Ifso,saysomethingelseforme.”Thedaughters-in-lawsaid:“Couldyoupleasepointsomethingforus?”Theofficersaid:“Thereisatreeofapricotswhichisinharvestinfrontoftheoffice,youcanhaveatry.”Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“Thereisatreeofapricotsinfrontoftheoffice.”Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“Anditisfullofyellowapricots.”Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“Itissaidthattheyellowonesaregood.”Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“Butthegreenonesaresohard.”“Itissonice!”Theofficersaid:“Theyareindeedeloquent!”Thefather-in-lawdidnotadmititagain:“Itisacoincidence.Youshouldchangeatopictoseewhethertheycouldachieveitornot!Theyindeedtalkeditoverlastnighttoabuseme!”“Well,Iwillgivethemanotheronetoseeiftheymakeitbychance!Thereisanofficialumbrella,youtalkaboutit!”Thefourdaughters-in-lawblinkedtheireyestoeachother.Theyallunderstoodthattheyshouldsaysomethinggood.Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“Theheadiscoveredbyagoldenhat.”Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“Itsdestinyistobethenobility.”Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“Thisyearyouwillbepromotedtobeamagistrate.”Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“Andnextyearbeagovernor.”Thesewordsmadetheofficerglad.Hesaid:“Theydidwellandachieveditbythemselves.Everywordtheysaidwasquiteright!So,itwasyou,thefather-in-law,wrongandmadetrouble!”Then,heordered:“Youfourcangoback.Butyou,thefather-in-lawstayhereandwillbepunishedbyfortycaning.”Onthewayhome,thefather-in-lawwassoannoyedafterfortycaning.Walkingawhile,hesawthefourdaughters-in-lawaheadofhim.Hethoughtthatifhewalkedwiththemtogether,itwouldbeveryembarrassing,sohewalkedslowly.Hisdaughters-in-lawfeltthatthelawsuitshouldnothavebeendone,sotheywalkedand---Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“ourfather-in-lawwenttosue”.Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“butfailed”.Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“what‟sworse,hegotfortycaning”.28 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“andwanderedbehindus”.Thefather-in-lawheardwhattheysaidandfeltitwasimpropertofollowthem,sowhenhesawafootpathnearby,heturnedintoit.Thefootpathwasalittleshorterthantheroad,sothefather-in-lawcamebackhomeearlier.Hesatonthethresholdaftergettingbackhomeandlookedtomaketrouble:aslongasoneofthembumpedagainsthim,hewouldscoldthemtoventhisanger.Seeinghimsittingonthethreshold,thefourdaughters-in-lawdecidedtoworkfirst.Sotheypickedvegetables,carriedwoodandcollectedpigweedrespectively.Finishedthesejobs,thefather-in-lawwasstillonthethreshold.Therewasnootherwaytogototheroombutwalkedthroughnearhisbody,sotheydiscussed---Thefirstdaughter-in-lawsaid“ourfather-in-lawsatonthethresholdtokeepusfromenteringtheroom”.Theseconddaughter-in-lawsaid“weneedtoedgeourwaythrough”.Thethirddaughter-in-lawsaid“andavoidbumpingagainsthim”.Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid“or,wewillbepunished”.2.QuestiontheeducationalinspectorTherewasateacher.Oneday,theeducationalinspectorcametohisclasstocheckhisteaching.Theteacherhadnotofferedbribetohiminadvance,sotheinspectorcreateddifficultiesonpurpose.Theinspectorfirstlyaskedhimtotalksomethingaboutancientbookswhichtheteacherhadnotreadbefore.Theteacherdidnotknowwhattosayandgotworried.Then,theinspectordeliberatelyplacedobstaclesandaskedhim:“诗书易，礼春秋，何以问？”Hegotspeechlessagain.Thismadetheinspectorangryandheshouted:“Whynotyoustopteachingsinceyoucouldnotanswermyquestions?„何以问‟meanstoaskwhom.Theanswerdefinitelyis„何以问老子‟!Hum,yourknowledgeissolittlethatyouarenotcompetenttoteach!”Theteacherdidnotknowwhattodobutwenthome.Hisyoungerbrothersawhimbackandasked:“Brother,whyhaveyoucomeback?”“Youdon‟tknowwhathashappened.Theinspectorcameheretocheckus.Ididnotsendgiftstohimbeforehand.Asaresult,heplacedmeindifficultieswithuncommonquestionslike„诗书易，礼春秋，何以问？‟YouknowthatIdidnotknowhowtoanswer.Thenhesaidthat„何以问‟whichmeanstoaskwhombutIcouldnotanswerit,thereforeIshouldnotteachanylonger!SoIcameback.”Afterhearingthesewords,hisyoungerbrothersaid:“What?Heisunjustifiable.Iwillgotoseehimandreversethingsforyou!”Theteacherdidnotbelievehisyoungerbrotherandsaid:“Couldyoudoit?”“Ofcourse,youjustwaitintheroomforresult!”Hisyoungerbrotherrantoasktheinspector:“Whydidyouforbidmybrotherteaching?”Theinspectorsaid:“Yourbrotherislackofknowledgeandheisnotqualifiedtoteach!”Hisbrothersaid:“Youregardedmybrotherasunqualifiedjustbecausehecouldnot29 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文answeryourquestions.Now,Iwilltestyouandseeifyouarequalified.”Theinspectorsaid:“Goahead.”Hisyoungerbrothersaid:“Listen:thewindblewdownthetree,thetreeoverwhelmedthehouseandthehousecrushedthepig.Whowasthewitness?Youneedtoanswerthename.”Theinspectordidnotknowtheanswerandbecamespeechless.“Well,Iwillsayonemoreandhopeyoucananswerit.Asowhadninepiglets.Oneofthemfellintothetoiletcylinder.Questioniswhosavedit?”Theinspectordidnotknowtheanswerandbecamespeechless,again.“Havenoansweragain?Nowlet‟sturntothethirdone.Ifyoustillhavenoanswer,you‟dbetterleavehereandletmybrotherbetheteacherasbefore.”Andhesaid,“Listencarefully:thereweretwoyellowdogsscramblingforbonesontheground,whodispersedthem?”Theinspectorwasirritated,buthedidnotknowtheansweragainandbecamesilent.Theyoungerbrothersaid:“Therewerethreequestions;howeveryouevencouldnotansweroneofthem.Howcouldyoubetheinspector?Youcanleaveherewithyourpackageandaskmybrothertocomebacktoteach.”Theinspectorhadbeendishonoredtotallyandfeltthatitwasmeaninglesstostayhere,soheleftsilently.Theyoungerbrotherjoyfullyranhomeandtoldhisbrother:“Idishonoredhimandhehasleft,soyouwillstillbetheteacher.”Heasked:“Youhaveneverreadmanybooks.SinceIcouldnotdishonorhim,howcouldyoumakeit?Whatdidyousay?”Theyoungerbrotheranswered:“Ijustaskedhim:thewindblewdownthetree,thetreeoverwhelmedthehouseandthehousecrushedthepig.Whowasthewitness?Hewasneededtoanswerthename.Buthedidnotknow.”Heasked:“Well,Idonotknowit,either.Whichbookisitfrom?”“Noneofthebooks.Didnotyourememberthestrongwindtheyearbeforelast?Didnotyourememberthatthewindblewdownthetree,thetreeoverwhelmedthehouseandthehousecrushedthepig?Weallhadseentheaccident.Youwerethere,too.So,youshouldknowit!”“Oh,youaskedhimaboutthatmatter?Youdishonoredhimjustbythisquestion?”“Ofcoursenot!”Theyoungerbrothersaid,“Onequestionwasnotenough.”“Whatelsedidyousay?”“Iaskedhim:„Asowbornninepiglets.Oneofthemfellintothetoiletcylinder.Whosavedit?‟Hedidnotknowtheanswereitherandbecamespeechless.”Hesaid:“Idonotknow,either.Whichbookisitfrom?”“Howcouldyouaskwhichbookisitfrom?Ithappenedinourhouse.Lastyear,oursowbornninepigletsandoneofthemfellintothetoiletcylinder.Theedgeofthecylinderwascurvedwiththeshapeofsunflowers.Couldnotyourememberit?Thepigletstruggledinthecylinder.Itwasmysister-in-lawwhopulleditout.Couldyourememberit?”“Oh,youaskedhimaboutthatmatter?Didtheinspectoradmitdefeatedandleavehere?”30 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文“Definitelynot!Hestilldidnotcowboyupandthoughthard.Threeroundswerebetter,soIsaidthethirdone.”Heasked:“Whatdidyousay?”“Iasked„thereweretwoyellowdogsscramblingforbonesontheground,whodispersedthem?‟Theinspectorcouldnotanswerit!”“Idonotknowit,either.Pleaseexplainittome.”“Well,itisnotworthexplaining.Justlookatthetwoyellowdogsandyouwillunderstand.IntheSpringFestivalEveoflastyear,weatesomemeatandthrewthebonesontheground.Thetwoyellowdogsstruggledforthem.Itwasmysister-in-lawagainwhodispersedthembyablowtube.Youknewit!Mydearbrother,Ijustaskedsomepracticalquestions.Youonlyknewtosaythingsfrombooks.However,yourlearningislessthantheinspector‟s.Youwillabsolutelylose.Iaskedthingsthathappenedinourfamily.Henevercamehereanddidnotknowaboutthem.So,hewouldonlythinkaboutthemfrombooks.”3.AcountymasteronthesedanchairAcountymastertookafour-peoplesedanchairtothemountainareatotakehisofficialpost.Themountainroadwasfullofsharpandsteepturnsanduphillsanddownhillssoitwasdifficulttowalk.Thefourbearers,oneofwhomnamedDuLaoyao,weresotiredwithsweatstreamingdowntheirbacksthattheyaskedthecountymaster:“MyLord,shallwetakearestfirst?”Thecountymasterinthesedanchairdidnotknowthepainofthebearersandsaid:“No,justgoahead.”Thebearershadnochoicebuttowalkforward.Afterawhile,fourbearersweretooexhaustedtobreathandtheirclothesweredripping.Sotheyaskedagain:“MyLord,shallwetakearest?”Thecountymasterwassleepyinthesedanchairandsaid:“No,youcan‟t,justgoahead!”Thebearershadnochoicebuttocomplywiththecountymasterwalkingfirmlydespiteextremepain.Afterawhileagain,thelegofthecountymasterwasnumbandhisbackwaspainful,hewouldliketogetoffthesedanchairandhaveawalk.So,hesaid:“well,youcantakearestifyouwant.”Theystoppedandwerebusywipingsweat.Thecountymastergotoffthesedanchairandstretchedhimselfandyawned,andthenhebegantoshowoffhisknowledge.Whatagreatmountaincomparedwithanarrowroad;Theposthasnotbeentakenyetbutthereissomuchbitter.Thebearershadbeenangryforawhile.Hearingthecountymastershowingoffhisknowledge,theyallwouldliketoask:“Itissaidthatyouarefullofknowledge,MyLord?”Thecountymasterdidnotunderstandtherealmeaningoftheirwordsandwasquiteconceited:“Withoutknowledge,howcouldIbetheofficer?Coulditbesaidthatyouwanttomakepoemstotestmyknowledge?”31 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文DuLaoyaosmiled:“Wedarenot.Wejustcanmakeriddles.”“Well,asforyouguys,makingriddlesisenough!”thecountymastersaid:“Youmakeariddle,andIwilltrytoguess.”“Oh,”DuLaoyaoanswered:“Sinceyouthinkhighlyofus,Iwillmakeone.”“Wait.”Thecountymastersaid:“IshouldmakeitclearbeforehandthatifIanswertheriddlecorrectly,Iwillnotpayyourwages.”Thereisnottheslightestsignofanythinghappeningyetandhewouldliketorepudiatethesalary.Hearingthewordsofthecountymaster,DuLaoyaosaid:“OK,ifYourLordanswersitcorrectly,wewillgiveupthewageattheworst.However,whataboutthatifyoucannotanswerit?”TheotherthreebearerschimedinwithDuLaoyaoandsaid:“Thenyoushouldpayusdoublewages!”“Double?Donotthinkaboutthat!”Thecountymastershookhisheadagainandagainandhewasmean,sohesaid:“IsthereanyriddlesmadebyyouthatIcouldnotanswer?IfIcouldnotanswerthem,Iwillnottakethesedanchairattheworstandwalkbymyself!”Followinghiswordsclosely,DuLaoyaosaid:“Doyouactuptoyourpromise?”Thecountymastersaid:“Arealmannevergoesbackonhiswords!”DuLaoyaosaid:“Pleaselistencarefully,hereisariddleforanobject:placedthere,itwillbethereallthetime;while,ifitistied,itwilltravelaway.”Hearingthis,thecountymasterpulledalongface.Whatonearthwasit?“Betied”shouldbehereasbefore,whydoesit“travelaway”?Hewaswrestlingwiththequestion.Infact,theriddlewasquiteeasy.Itreferredtothestrawsandalswhichweretiedtothefeettoclimbmountainroadsandwereknownbythousandsofhouseholds.Thecountymasterhadseenmanytimesbefore,buthecouldnotanswerit.However,hewantedtokeephisfaceandwasnotcontenttowalkbyhimself.Hemincedhiswords:“well,thisoneistoocommon;youshouldmakeaculturedone.”DuLaoyaosaid:“Ifonlyyoucankeepyourpromise,Iwillmakeonemore.Listen:itseemslikeIhaveitifseeingfromthetopwhileIhavenothingifseeingfromground.OthersbelieveIhaveitwhileIknowthatIhavenothing.Pleaseguesswhattheobjectis.”Thecountymasterbecamespeechlessagain.Thistime,theriddlewasquitecultured,buthestillcouldnotanswerit.ItseemslikeIhaveitifseeingfromthetopwhileIhavenothingifseeingfromground.OthersbelieveIhaveitwhileIknowthatIhavenothing.Coulditbesaidthattheyabusedmebymakingtheriddle?Hewasignitedwhileafraidthattheanswerwasirrelevanttotheriddlesoastobelaughedat.Hewouldliketoask,meanwhile,hewasafraidtobelaughedat.Thesecondriddlereferredtothestockingswornonthefeet.Afterwornout,theuppartofthecloth-stockingswerecomplete.Itwaspitytothrowthemaway.So,thebearerswouldliketowearthembeforewearingthestrawsandalstokeepthethornsfromprinkingtheirlegs.Seenfromthetoporbyotherpeople,theyseemedlikestockingswiththeunderpart;however,seenfromtheground,theywerewithnounderpartsandonlythepersonwhowearthemknewthetruth.Thebearersandportersalwaysworeouttheunderpartofthestockingsfirst.Peoplewhohadwornthestockingsknewtheriddle.However,the32 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文countymasterdidnotknowtheanswer.Thecountymasterwassoworriedthathisheadwassweaty.CoulditbetruethatIneedtowalkbymyself?Afteraglanceatthemountains,thecountymastergotaconclusionthatthemountainroadwasinconvenienttowalk,letalonetodistinguishthedirections.DuLaoyaoasked:“MyLord,canyouanswerthisone?”“Let‟splaythreerounds!Youshouldsayanotheronewhichisneithercommonnorcultured!”DuLaoyaosaid:“OK!Weshouldbeartheemptysedanchairfirst.”“Why?”“Weareinthemiddleofnowhere,anditislate.IfYourLordcouldnotansweritagain,wemayhurryonwithourjourney.”Thecountymasterhadnootherway.Thebearerscarriedtheemptysedanchairontheirshoulderswithasoundofcall.DuLaoyaosaid:“Pleaselistentothethirdone,whichisalsoanobject.Itisgreenatitsearlyperiod,yellowatlateperiod;itwasmadeintoapairaftermanytimesofbeat.Ithasearsbutcannothearanything;ithasanosebutcannotsmellstenchandaroma.”Thecountymasterwasworriedbutunabletoanswerit.Ithasearsandanosebutcannothearandsmell.Theriddleshouldbetocursebutwhyitwas“madeintoapair”?Well,sinceitwasmadeintoapair,why“aftermanytimesofbeat”?Damnit!Thethirdriddlewasaboutstrawsandals,too.Withouttheearsandnose,howcouldapersonwearthem!Threeriddlesreferredtotwoobjects.Andallofthemwerewornonthefeetofthebearers.Thecountymastercouldnotanswerevenoneofthem.DuLaoyaoandhiscompanionswalkedawaywithasoundof“wu”.Thecountymasterstompedandshouted:“Carryme!Iwillpayyoudoublewagesattheworst.”DuLaoyaoandhiscompanionswalkedwithoutstopping:“Youdidnotactuptoyourpromise,wecarryyounolonger.”Thebearersranawayasifonwings.Thecountymasterhadnochoicebuttowalkbyhimself!4.TheboofthebarThereweretwobrothers.Theywoulddividefamilypropertyupandliveapart.Therewasaplotofslopingfield.Theirfathersaid:“Inthemiddleoftheslopingfield,thereisacrossbar.Nowtheelderonewouldgetthefieldupthebarandtheyoungonegetsthefielddownthebar.”Nobodycouldforecastthatthewords“upthebaranddownthebar”wouldmakeabigtrouble.Whentheirfatherspokethosewords,hewasseriouslyill.Hejustsaidthattheelderonewouldgetthefieldupthebarandtheyoungeronewouldgetthefielddownthebarbutnowordsaboutwhomwouldgetthecrossbar.Thecrossbarwas30zhangs(onezhangequalsto3.3meters).Everythreezhangstherewasawalnuttree,overtenwalnuttreesin33 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文total.Thesewalnuttreeswereplantedovertenyearsagoandnowtheywouldbearfruit.Bothsonswantedthetreesbecausetheywereofeconomicvalueandwouldbringannualincomeinthefuture.Theirfatherforgottomentionitandthetwosonswouldnotliketoaskit.Theywereafraidoflosingitiftheymentionedit.Theybothconsidereditintheirmindandwantedtoownthecrossbarbyeachself.Inancienttimes,itwasabigdealtodividemountainboundaryandfieldboundary.ItwasnotenoughtodeclareitorallybutnecessarytowriteaFenguan(akindofsupplementarydocumentaboutthetransferoffamilyproperty,movablepropertyorrealestate,fortheHakkasinancienttimes).InFenguan,whichcanbeaproofinthefuture,thedividinglinewaswrittenclearly.However,thefamilyspentmostoftheirtimeonearningmoney.Theywereilliterate.Sotheyneededtoasksomeoneelsetowriteitforthem.Theoneaskedwasaprivatetutor(teacherofanold-styleprivateschool).Hewasaskedtocomethenextday.Theeldersonmadeuphismindonthetutor.Duringthenightofthatday,theeldersoncametothehomeofthetutorwithapieceoflardandsometeaaspresent.Andhesaid:“Sir,havemyfatheraskedyoutowritetheFenguan?Icamehereforit.Thesearesomepresentsforyouwiththehopethatyoucanhelpmetomorrow.”Thetutorsmilinglylookedatthepresentsandasked:“Howtohelpyou?”Theeldersonsaid:“Iwillgettheuppartoftheslopingfield,andIneedyoutowritethedocumentas„thedownpartistheboundary‟.”Thetutorsaidnothingandacceptedthepresents!Thesecondsonalsocamewithapieceoflardandteawhentheeldersonjustleft.Hesaid:“Sir,havemyfatheraskedyoutowritethedocument?”“Well,hedid.”Thetutoranswered.Thesecondsonsaid:“Icamehereforitandhopedyoucanhelpmetomorrow.”Thetutorpretendedtobeuninformed:“What‟sthematter?”“Iwillgetthedownpartoftheslopingfield,andIneedyoutowritethedocumentas„theuppartistheboundary‟.”Thetutorblinkedhiseyesandhesitated.Ifherefused,hewasafraidtobescoldedbythesecondson;andhegrudgedrefusing.So,heacceptedthepresentsagain.Aftertheleavingofthesecondson,thetutorfeltthedilemma:ifhewritesitaccordingtotheelderson,heshouldwrite“thedownpartofthecrossbar”;orheshouldwrite“theuppartofthecrossbar”.Whatonearthshouldhewritetomorrow?However,whateverwouldhewrite,hecouldnotkeepoutoftheaffair.Hewasunwillingtogivethepresentsbacksothathespentmostofthenightthinkinghowtowriteit.Atlast,hegotanideathathewouldneitherwrite“theuppartofthecrossbar”nor“thedownpartofthecrossbar”but“theboofthecrossbar”(boissimilartoupanddowninChinesebutonestrokelessthanthem).Afterall,tomorrowisanotherday.Thenextday,thetutorwenttowritetheFenguanas“theboofthecrossbaristheboundary”.Boththesonswereilliterateanddidnotknowwhathewroteonearth.Thefatherhadnootherworryanddiedafewdayslater.34 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Timecametothesecondhalfoftheyearandthewalnutswereripetobeharvested.Theeldersonwantedtocollectthem,butpreventedbythesecondson,viceverse.Thesecondsonsaid:“Wehaddividedthefieldbytheuppart,sothecrossingbarbelongstome.Whydoyoucollectmywalnuts?”Theeldersonsaid:“Thecrossingbarbelongstome;wehaddividedthefieldbythedownpart!”Thetwobrotherscouldnotgoalongwitheachother.Bothbrotherscouldnotseewitheachother.Asaresult,theyquarreledandthesituationbecameworseandtheywenttothecourteventually.TheywenttotheCountyYamen(governmentofficeinfeudalChina).Afterhearingtheirstatements,theofficersaid:“Youtwosaidthefieldwasdividedbytheupanddownpartsrespectively,whatyourproofis?”Thetwobrotherssaid:“Hereitis!WehavetakentheFenguanwritteninspring!”Theofficersaid:“BringtheFenguantome.”Theofficerwassurprisedwhenreadingthedocument.Therewasneither“up”nor“down”but“theboofthebar”inthedocument.Readingitcarefully,theofficerwasstillconfusedhowtotell.Howtotell“theboofthebaristheboundary”?Hestaredat“bo”withhisheadshakingandsaid:“Itis„bo‟seenfromthetop,Andfromthedown,The„bo‟makesmeconfused.TheYamenrunnerswereorderedtodrawinthehorns,AndIwouldberegardlessofthe„bo‟!”Thetwobrothersgotintoaflapandsaid:“MyLord,pleasetellustheboundaryfirst!”Theofficersaid:“Well,Ijudgeyoua„boofthebar‟foreachother!”Leavingtheemptywords,theofficerleftthecourt.Thetwobrothershadnothingtodobutreturnhome.Assoonastheycamehome,theywenttofindthetutortoaskwhatthematterwas.Boththebrothersasked:“Sir,whydidyouwrite„boofthebar‟?Ihadtoldyouhowtowritelastspring.”Havingnoplacetohide,thetutorsaid:“Pleasebequiet.Here‟sthedeal.Youtwohadbroughtpresentstomelastspring.IfIwrote„theuppartistheboundary‟,Iwouldoffendtheelderson,viceverse.SoIwrote„boofthebar‟toavoidoffendingyoutwo.Iguessedyouwouldgetintroubleandgotothecourt.Iftheofficerjudged„theuppartofthebar‟,Iwouldaddastrokeunderthe„bo‟,viceverse.Itwasunexpectedthattheofficercouldnotjudgeit.AndIhadnoidea,either.Sincetheofficerjudgeyoua„boofthebar‟foreachother,youshouldacceptit.Itwastoodifficulttojudgeclearly.”Thetwobrothersgotarebuff.Theyhadnotstoppedquarrelingaftercominghome.Theirquarrelwasknownbytherelativesandtheycametohelpthemgetovertheirdispute.However,theyfailed.Adistantlyrelatedsenioritywasafraid+ofthingsgoingtobeworseandsaidwithasigh:“Sincetheofficer,thetutorandtherelativescouldnotjudgeit,weshouldlookforDuLaoyao.Heisnotamemberofourfamilyandhasnothingtodowiththismatter,soyouhavenodoubtthathewillbepartialtoneitherofyou.Henowishelpingafamilypickingtilesnearmyhome.Youtwogoandlookforhimtoseehowtojudgeit.”DuLaoyaocame.Afterhearingthedetailsofthematter,hesaid:“Youshouldfollowmydecisionsinceyouaskedmetojudgeitforyou.”35 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文“Certainly.”Bothofthemwereafraidofsufferinglosses,sotheyanswered:“However,youshouldjudgeitforusaccordingtotheFenguan,orwewillfailtofollowyou.”Hearingthesewords,therelativeslookedatDuLaoyao.Hedidnotfeelembarrassedatallandsmiled:“Iwilljudgethematteraccordingtothedocument.Youlookedatthe„bo‟andlistenedcarefully:Averticallineandapointmakeupabo,Thepointisinthemiddle;Sothereisnoneedtostrivefortheupanddown,Butdividethebarfromthemiddle.”Thebarwasjudgedclearly.Thetwobrothersgothalfeachandquarrelednomore.5.Ghost,monster,tigerInancienttimes,somefathers-in-lawdidnothaveself-respectandharboredmaliciousintentionsontheirowndaughters-in-law.Asaresult,theirdaughters-in-lawdidnotrespectthemanymore.Therewerefoursonsinafamilyandfourdaughters-in-lawrespectively.Andthefourthdaughter-in-lawjustcametothefamily.Onemorning,thefather-in-lawtoldthem:“Newdaughter-in-lawcanbeguestforhalfayear,sotodaythefourthdaughter-in-lawcannotgotothefieldandstayathometomakelunch.Youthreeeldersgotothefieldtoweed.”Thethreeelderdaughters-in-lawconsideredthejuggleryoftheirfather-in-lawafterhearinghiswords:heaskedustogotothefieldbutleavingouryoungestsister-in-lawathome,maybeheharboredevilplansonher.However,theyhadnothingtodofacingtheirfather-in-lawbutblinktheireyes.Thefather-in-lawbidthemthenleft.Thethreeelderdaughters-in-lawhurriedtoinformtheyoungestsister-in-lawbeforeleaving.Thefirstdaughter-in-lawcalledhertoaquietplaceandsaidinalowvoice:“Becarefulwhenyouarepreparingforlunchintheroom,ourfather-in-lawisaghost!”Sheremembereditandsaid:“OK.”Theseconddaughter-in-lawalsocalledhertoaquietplaceandsaidinalowvoice:“Becarefulwhenyouarepreparingforlunchintheroom,ourfather-in-lawisamonster!”Sherememberedittooandsaid:“OK.”Thethirddaughter-in-lawalsocalledhertoaquietplaceandsaidinalowvoice:“Becarefulwhenyouarepreparingforlunchintheroom,ourfather-in-lawisatiger!”Sheremembereditagainandsaid:“OK.”Thethreeeldersisters-in-lawcaredfortheyoungestoneandworriedaboutthatshewouldsufferdisastersgettingalongwiththeirfather-in-lawwhowasshady.However,theyoungeronewasverycleverandrememberedwhattheysaid.Theywenttothefieldtoweedandlefttheirfather-in-lawandtheyoungestsister-in-lawathome.Thefather-in-lawwasshamelesstosay:“Inourhome,theruleisthateverydaughter-in-lawshouldbeobedienttome.”36 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文Theyoungestonesaid:“Asdaughters-in-law,weshouldbeobedient.Itisourdutytomaketea,cookmeals.”Thefather-in-lawsaid:“Well,thatisnotmyobedience.WhatallIneedisyou.”Hearingthesewords,theyoungestoneunderstoodthecareofthethreesisters-in-law.Atthismoment,thefather-in-lawwasshamelessandcameclosetoher.Theyoungestonepretendedtoagreeandsaid:“IunderstandwhatyousaidbutIamnotconvenientrightnow.”“Why?”“Youseethereisnowaterinthepot.Imusthurrytocarrywaterfirstandcooksomerice,orthelunchmaynotbeready.”“Well,youcookriceandIwillcarrywaterforyou!”Thefather-in-lawbroughtthebuckettocarrywaterinahurry.Hewasveryfasttocarryapotofwater.Afterfinishingit,heasked:“Nowyoushouldbefree?”Theyoungerdaughter-in-lawsaid:“Well,Iamnotfree.Youaresoquick;however,Ineedsomemoretimetocookrice.Andtherearenovegetables.Ineedtogototheparktopickupvegetablesaftercookingrice.”“Oh”,Thefather-in-lawsaid,“hurrytocookriceandIwillpickupvegetablesforyou.”Thefather-in-lawrantotheparkandpickedupanarmfulofvegetables.Heputtheminthekitchenandsaid:“Howaboutnow?Youshouldhavetime!”Thericewasmoreorlessreadyandtheyoungerdaughter-in-lawunderstoodthatshehadnoexcusetoescape.Shelookedupattheupstairsandsaid:“Well,Iamjustoneofyourdaughters-in-law,butyouareseniority.Soyoushouldbeupstairstodoit.”Thefather-in-lawwaseagertodoitsohefollowedthesuggestionofher.Therewasjustgrainbutnobodylivingintheupstairs.Soeverywherewascoveredwithdust.Theyoungestdaughter-in-lawpointedatanemptygranaryandsaid:“Shouldthegranarybealittlecleaner?Youcangetintoittosee.”Thefather-in-lawwasunknownthatitwasaplot.Whenhegotintothegranaryandbenttotouchtheground,theyoungestdaughter-in-lawcoveredthegranaryrightaway.Thefather-in-lawwascoveredinit.Theyoungestdaughter-in-lawturnedtothedownstairsandcontinuedtocookmeals.Timejustcametomiddlenoon,themealwasreadyandshecalledhereldersisters-in-lawthroughthewindow:“Hey,comebacktohavelunch!”Thethreeeldersisters-in-lawwereastonished:“Havethelunchbeenready?Itisearlierthanbefore.Shouldithappenedandsheaskedusforhelp?Or,whythelunchissoearly?”Thethreeeldersisters-in-lawcamebackandsawthemealswerereadyonthetable,theybecamemoreconfused.Thefirstsister-in-lawheldherhandandasked:“Whathadhappenedtoyou?AreyouOK?”“Well,yousaidourfather-in-lawwasaghost,hecarriedapotofwaterforme!”Thesecondsister-in-lawheldherhandandasked:“Whathadhappenedtoyou?AreyouOK?”“Well,yousaidourfather-in-lawwasamonster,hepickedupanarmfulofvegetables37 三峡大学MTI硕士学位论文forme!”Thethirddaughter-in-lawheldherhandandasked:“Whathadhappenedtoyou?AreyouOK?”“Well,yousaidourfather-in-lawwasatiger,however,hecaughtmiceinthestorage!”Thefather-in-lawheardtheirspeechandwasclearthattheyweretalkingabouthim.Heregrettedandsighed:“uh--”Thefourthdaughter-in-lawsaid:“Listen,maybehecatchesanotherone!”6.DrawingturtledovesintheletterTherewasafamily.Itwassopoorthatthehusbandbecameahelperworkingyearsoutsideandthewifewasbusywithlookingaftertheoldandtheyounginthefamily.Itcametothewinterandtherewasnomoney,what‟sworse,therewasalmostnograinandthehusbandwasfarawayintheothercounty.Thewifedidnotknowhowtosolvetheproblemsothatsheplanedtowritealettertoherhusband.Shedidnotsayhowhardthelifeofthefamilywasintheletter,becauseshewasafraidthatiftheletterwasseenbyotherpeople,thepoorfamilywouldbejoked.Shedrewthesunononesideofthepaperandtherewasachickunderthesun;shedrewthemoonontheothersideandtherewasamouseunderthemoon.Afterfinishingtheletter,shewrotetheaddressandthenameofherhusbandontheenvelopeandgavesomebodytobringittoherhusband.Thehusbandreceivedtheletterandgotworriedoncehereadit.Sohehurriedtoseehisbossandsaid:“Sir,thelifeofmyfamilywastoohard,andmywifeaskedmetobringsomemoneyback.Couldyoupaymysalary?”Hisbosssaid:“Therearemountainsandriversbetweenhereandyourhouse.Anditishundredsofmilesfaraway,howcouldyouknowitishard?”Thehelpersaid：“Somebodybroughtthelettertome!”Thebosswouldnotlethimgo,andsaid:“Showmetheletter.”Thehelpershowedthelettertohisboss.Hewasconfusedafterreadingitagainandagain:“Thereisjustthesun,themoon,achickandamouse.Nowordofbringingmoneybackandnowordoflackingofmoney.Thereisevennowordonit.”Thehelpersaid:“Pleaselookcarefully:thereisthesunononesideandachickunderit.However,thereisnoricenearthechick.Thatiswhatwecalled„thereisnoriceforachicktopeckduringthedaytime‟;thereisthemoonontheothersideandamouseisunderthemoon.While,thereisnograinnearthemouse.Thatiswhatwecalled:„thereisnograinforamousetostealduringnight‟!So,mywifeiswaitingformetobringbacksomemoneyandthelifeisindeedtoohard!”“Well,”Thebossunderstoodandsaid:“ShouldnotIlookdownuponyourwife,sheissosmart!However,youcannotleavenow.Ineedyoutostayheretohelpmeforsometime.Nowthatyourwifeneedsmoney,Iwillgiveyouahundreddiaos(astringof1,000cash)ahead.Sinceyoucannotleavenow,IwillaskMr.Cashiertotakethemtoyourfamily.”Thehelpersaid:“That‟sallright.”AfterasecondthoughtaboutMr.Cashierwhowasavariciousandgotusedtotamperwithother‟sfortune,thehelperthoughtthathemaynot38