花花草草下的人間況味

◇ 文|田 東

花花草草下的人間況味

◇ 文|田 東

2014年4月，天津人民出版社出版了一套汪曾祺人間系列文集，包括《人間滋味》《人間草木》和《人間有戲》三本，到今年5月，這套書已經第6次印刷了。老爺子走了這么多年，每年還有不少出版社為他結集出書，“攔也攔不住”。我常在想，魅力到底在哪里？

讀《人間滋味》，我們認識了一個吃貨汪曾祺。今兒個，我想聊聊《人間草木》，從老爺子寫“花花草草”的筆觸間，找下答案吧。

In April 2014, Tianjin People’s Press published a collected works of Wang Zengqi, including Taste of the World, Plants in the World, and Operas in the World. Until May, this set of books has been reprinted for 5 times. Although Wang has died for several years, a lot of presses collect and publish his books every year. “Nothing can stop them.” I can’t help wondering what its charm is.

Reading Taste of the World, we have already known about Wang Zengqi,a foodie. Today, I’d like to talk about Plants in the World from which we might find out the answer.

長子爆料

Disclosures by Wang's Eldest Son

《人間草木》請了汪先生的長子汪朗先生作序，寫了不少先生文字背后的故事，擱現在就叫“爆料”。

比如，如今被視作汪曾祺先生散文精品之一的《葡萄月令》，最初投稿時，被退過稿。當年寫樣板戲時，他動員劇團資料室買了一本清代狀元吳其濬的《植物名實圖考》，“這樣的書，整個劇團恐怕不會有第二個人感興趣，純粹就是給他買的，簡直是豈有此理。”有其父必有其子。文中，汪朗稱父親為“老頭兒”，說“家中的老大也不是他”，說他有段時間被“掛”了起來，風趣幽默像極了汪曾祺。

談到汪曾祺散文的特點，汪朗在序言中有這樣兩句。一說當年許多“反映‘右派’生涯的作品，都是又苦又悲又慘，現實生活也確實如此，但是老頭卻很少寫這些內容，最多只是一筆帶過，相反，對于生活中的美，哪怕只存在于犄角旮旯，他也要極力挖掘出來并著力表現，這是他作品的基調，是發自內心的訴說。”

還有一句在開頭：“他的文章看著不鬧騰，讓人心里很清凈，文字干凈通透，不牙磣。”

讀到這里，我大概明白為什么他的書會一出再出了。

Wang Lang, Wang Zengqi’s eldest son, has written the preface of Plants in the World and has written many stories behind his father’s words, which can be regarded as “tipoff”now.

For instance, Grape’s Growth in Lunar Months was sent back in its first submission to the presses. When writing about the model opera, he motivated the reference room of a troupe to buy An Illustrated Book on Plants which was written by Wu Qijun in Qing Dynasty. “This kind of book cannot attract a second person in the troupe. It was bought just for him. There is no such a rule.”Like father, like son. He is similarly humorous as his father.In the preface, Wang Lang called his father “old man” and said he is not the boss in the family, and that he was “hanged” for a period of time.

Talking about the features of Wang Zengqi’s prose, Wang Lang wrote in the preface that most works about “the Right” those days were as sad and bitter as the real life was sad and shocking. Wang Zengqi, however, rarely did so. On the contrary, he deeply dug out the subtle beauty of life, making it basic key of his works and narration of his heart.

Another sentence at the beginning of the preface is “his articles are not noisy but peace and quiet. His words are clean and penetrating.”

Here, I roughly understand why his books are reprinted on and on.

蟲鳥之事

Things about Insects and Birds

汪曾祺被稱為“中國最后的士大夫”，士大夫多少好“花鳥蟲魚”這口，這本書里更是少不了各種“蟲事”“鳥事”。

老爺子把他逛公園觀花看鳥，下放勞動時和樹木花草打過的交道，還有兒時家鄉的老樹，訪美時對異國花草的見聞等等，都傾注筆端。有的輕描淡寫，寥寥數語，如“草木蟲魚鳥獸”篇里的《雁》《螃蟹》；有的濃墨重彩，引經據典，如《紫薇》《北京人的遛鳥》。鳥為什么要“遛”？什么叫壓鳥？鳥食要準備些啥？架鳥又是怎么回事？外行人一讀，立馬能和行家對話而不露懼色。不過，書里打動我的，不是這些獵奇的內容，而是文字里飽含的通透感。

很多文章都寫于30多年前，那是一個由物質的匱乏襯托出真誠的年代。那時，人們對美的歌頌大多集中在高大全的形象上，偶有用“一滴露珠反射太陽光輝”的方法去寫點“小蜜蜂”的。要不然就是撕心裂肺的控訴，聲淚俱下的悲情。

而可愛的汪老爺子“歌頌”的卻是葡萄蘋果，蟈蟈金魚之類。現在看來，更顯珍貴與真誠。老爺子不是說嗎，“人不管走到哪一步，總得找點樂子，想一點辦法，老是愁眉苦臉的，干嗎呢！”

Wang Zengqi was called “the last scholar-bureaucratin China” who enjoy “flowers, birds, insects and fishes”more or less. Thus, this book contains all kinds of “insect things” and “bird things”.

In his essays, Wang Zengqi put down his experiences of watching flowers and birds in the parks, contacts with plants when working in the fields, the old trees in his childhood, and what he saw and heard when visiting America. Some are light sketches, such as Wild Goose and Crab in the series of“grass, trees, insects, fishes and birds”. Some, such as Ziwei and Walking Bird by Beijing People, are deliberately written by quoting from classics. Why birds need to be walked? What is “pressing the bird”? What should be prepared for the birds? What is “hanging the bird”? Nonprofessionals can communicate with the professional ones after reading this book. However, it is not the book and the novel content but the penetrating sense in the words that move me.

Many of his articles were written more than 30 years ago when the lack of materials set off sincerity, and people mainly praised the high and noble images and occasionally wrote about the “bees” “to show the brilliance of sun through a little dewdrop”. Or, they would write about grieved complaints and tearful pathos.

However, our lovely Wang Zengqi “praised” grapes and apples, crickets and fishes, which now seem more precious and sincere. Like he once said, “we have to find ways to enjoy ourselves and have fun no matter what we have been through. What is the point to wear a sad face forever!”

孰為草木

Who Are Plants

書名《人間草木》，顧名思義，談論的是草木和人事。人們常說，“人非草木”。老爺子眼中倒也不竟然。

比如《熬鷹?逮獾子》這篇，講的是早年間一幫子游手好閑的有錢人“熬鷹”——不讓老鷹睡覺，用栓著細線的牛肉拉鷹肚子里的黃油，既熬掉鷹的野性，又讓鷹很煩躁，好去捉兔子。有時，他們用棍子搟碎肥狗的尾巴，就為了讓狗在草叢中捉獾子的時候尾巴不動，不驚動獾子。老爺子忍不住說：“你說人有多壞，怎么就想出了這些個整治動物的法子！”

有時，他又告訴我們，“人生一世，草木一春”，從某種角度來說，人這一輩子，和草木也差不多。蕓蕓眾生，也不過是世間的一棵草，一棵樹罷了。

一通讀下來，唯有一絲不解，書中具體談草木的文章至多一半強，另一半，先是帶著你在祖國的大好河山到處跑，去了泰山上天山，逛了北京游四川，還在北溫泉的數帆樓住了十幾天，“那時嘉陵江水還是碧綠的。”最后干脆跑出國門，到美國去了。然又開始回憶各路文人，沈從文先生，趙樹理先生，聞一多、金岳霖等等,還有他魂牽夢縈的西南聯大。

這還不算，在“冬天的樹”組文中，除了第一篇寫樹木，后兩篇寫《標語》《公共汽車》，哪一點有草木的影子？編者的用意有些費解，冒昧提出來，請方家指正。

Plants in the World namely discusses plants and human affairs. Although the old saying goes "men are not plants", Wang Zengqi held a different view.

For instance, Exhaust Eagles?Catch the Badgers talks about that a group of rich people in the early years“exhausted the eagles” by keeping them awake and pulling out the beef in their stomachs to exhaust the wildness of the eagles and make them annoyed enough to catch rabbits. Sometimes, these men would use sticks to crush the tails of dogs so that the dogs would not alert the badgers when they catch the badgers in the bush. Wang Zengqi said, "How mean people are! How could they think up these ways？"

Sometimes, he told us that man lives only once as plants live only for spring. To some extent, man is similar to plants.

Still, I have a trace of confusion that half of the book at most are about plants, and the other half leads us to enjoy the beautiful places in China, such as Mount Taishan, Mount Tianshan, Beijing and Sichuan. “The Jialing River was pure and green at that time.” Some even talks about Wang’s life in America. Then, it brings back memories of scholars, such as Shen Congwen, Zhao Shuli, Wen Yiduo and Jin Yuelin. The Southwest Associated University that he missed very much is discussed, too.

In the serial articles of “Trees in Winter”, except for the first article that writes about trees, the other two, Slogans and Buses have little trace of grass and trees. It is hard to understand the intention of the editors. Well, just my personal opinions with no offense. If there is any misunderstanding, please correct me.

Life Taste of Flowers and Grasses

Article | Tian Dong