早安北京 - Short Story for 2014

[Meng Lelan]

 早安北京 by 徐坤 is in the Graded Reader 1 (Sinolingua Press; Bilingual edition (December 15, 2007), ISBN-10: 7802003741, ISBN-13: 978-7802003743). That version has pinyin support  - though a paper mask is provided with the book to shield your pinyin prying eyes from those lascivious Latin letters and properly keep them focused on the 汉字/漢字. Glossary provided along the margins. The reason I chose this story is how it shows differences and some tensions between city and rural residents. Loved how the guy tells his high maintenance Wife #2 to shut up when she complains about the inconveniences caused by his rural relatives.

 

The story can be found here if you want to read it online:

http://ydcyjl.blog.163.com/blog/static/126359342008211114524130/

[icebear]

Thanks, especially for the link! Will add more once I've had time to check it out, probably next weekend.

[Meng Lelan]

Good to see you in here, icebear!

[ouyangjun]

Another good pick Meng Lelan.  I really enjoyed this one because it hits home with living in China and having inlaws from the outside of the city. We visit my wife parents hometown in a small suburb area multiple times a year and they visit us in the city (previously Shanghai, now Suzhou)…  it can be very frustrating with them at times because the thinking and actions are completely different than ours… some things can make me embarrassed.  But as I was reading the book I was reminded to look at it from their eyes, and understand they are probably just as uncomfortable of some of the things me and wife do.

 

Also, I'm enjoying the short story format and really appreciate you putting the links to the simplified texts online.  Makes it great for downloading to the iPhone and read in small chunks throughout the day.  For the longer ones I'm sure I will use the Kindle, but the two I read today were great for the iPhone.

 

Thanks

[Meng Lelan]

Long ago I had a significant other who was from a rural area near Changsha and it was really difficult and embarrassing to try finding out why the family did such and such in certain ways when they came to visit a large city. This story in a way helped me a lot to deal with this situation. 

[michaelS]

I have this volume of the Graded Reader, but I only read the 莫言 (boring) and the 余华 （better but very short)

I'll read this and join in the discussion. Thanks to Meng Lelan for setting this up

[michaelS]

A nice story that I zoomed through in one sitting.

Loved how the guy tells his high maintenance Wife #2 to shut up when she complains about the inconveniences caused by his rural relatives

I also liked how he comes to think that perhaps his relatives and his wife are similar kinds of people, i.e. if they want to do something, they do it.

Here is some of the language I noted down while reading:

白领生活 - white-collar life. Fairly transparent, but mentioned a lot.

一下呆住了 - dumbstruck

胡茬儿 - stubble

闷热 - stuffy

中暑 - heat stroke (verb, so zhòng​shǔ)

Some useful structures/ longer sentences:

从。。。挤出来 - to squeeze out of, e.g a crowded train station. Useful 春运 vocabulary, I would've thought.

你就少说几句吧 - "Don't talk so much"

早就没有兴趣了 - Lost interest a long time ago

你看着办吧 - Do as you see fit

。。。一直忍着。。。终于忍不住了 - Put up with something for long enough, finally had enough

一点不为别人想 - Doesn't care about others

X还在沉睡 - X is/ was still fast asleep

(please let me know if any of my transcripions/ translations are wrong)

Also, on a side note, I was reading from the Graded Reader as I mentioned, and after a couple of pages lost patience wrangling the pinyin blocker around, and so discarded it. There are some horrible errors in the pinyin in places! 了解 (le5jie3) and 流行 (liu2hang2) :S

[Meng Lelan]

michaelS, I tend to look only at the characters not pinyin whenever I read so I didn't notice those mistakes you pointed out, however I see roddy has brought your concerns up in the Graded Chinese Reader thread. Hopefully the publisher can be made aware of those problems. 

 

Your language notes are excellent, surely they will help the other beginners manage this particular story, giving you a green rep point!

[Geiko]

This is one of my favourite stories in the Graded readers collection, it was a pleasure to re-read it again! It always moves me how 泽原's life seems to have improved so much over the years (he has a good job, big house, a beautiful young wife, he's a 北京人...) but when his humble family members come to visit him, he kind of discovers he's not that satisfied with what he has, for example he remembers his former life as as student, when he was as naive as his nephew is now, full of illusions, and also remembers his first wife (with nostalgia? or was it in my eyes?), while the current one is always complaining. Very touching story!

[johnk]

I have the graded reader with this story. I was listening to it today on my commute to work.

I should really dig out the book and read it again. I feel like I missed a lot the first time around.

[Meng Lelan]

Geiko's comments on this story are really good. What I like about this story is how the theme of change and renewal recurs throughout the story. See if you can find how the author expresses this theme throughout the city of Beijing, especially when he visits the campus of his old school and the flag raising ceremony. 

[Meng Lelan]

泽原在面临重大选择之时经常不会决断,尤其是不会说“不”字,应承下来好多他不愿意做甚至是讨厌之事。他的这种优柔寡断性格有时害了他,在某种时刻对他也有过小小成全。但总的说来,还是给自己添烦扰的时候多。这种性格,也直接影响到他在单位里的升迁,年过四十,仍然还只是机关里的一名处长。眼看着后分配来的学弟学妹们呼呼呼的往上走,有的在三十七八岁时就破格升为副局,泽原也只有暗自慨叹。据说他不能快速升上去的原因,重要一点“工作缺少魄力”。泽原对这一说法也只有苦笑着认可。

 

像这次母亲让他火车站接人、周末招待即将来京的二舅一家的事,他本该拒绝。一是他没有时间,每天早九晚五的办公室生涯,脑子里灌满一大堆繁缛之事,加之从单位到家要一个半小时的车程,精力已经耗尽,就盼着有个周末星期天能大睡一场。再则也是不方便。家里尽管买的复式房,有一百八十多平米,但毕竟习惯了夫妻二人世界,突然间住进来一家三口,起居作息相当不便。

 

Here's the opening of the story. 

1. Who is the protagonist?

2. What one word can't he say to major decisions/choices?

3. About how old is this guy and why can't he rise up through the ranks in his job?

4. What does his mother ask him to do? Does he refuse? Want to refuse?

5. What kind of inconveniences will he face if he doesn't refuse?

[Meng Lelan]

And we continue on. 

 

当然最主要的原因,还是因为他跟即将到来的这位二舅根本不认识。母亲也是担心他拒绝,远在长春省城的母亲电话里一再叮咛,说你这个二舅,对妈妈有恩,是他牺牲自己,才念了两年书就辍学回家干活,打猪草、烧砖、下窑什么都干,才供得妈妈从小学一直念完大学,没有二舅,就没有母亲的今天。

 

1.      Does the protagonist have a close relationship with 二舅?

2.      How did 二舅 treat the protagonist’s mom in the past?

3.      What has  二舅done to help the mom?

4.      And what education did mom receive? What about二舅 , what education did he (or did not) receive?

 

泽原听明白了。这是要让他母债子还。小时候,母亲很少跟他和妹妹说起娘家的事情。自从结了婚以后,母亲出嫁从夫,跟娘家的亲戚走动往来得少了,连带着孩子们也跟她那一方亲戚感觉着陌生。像这个二舅什么的从小到大他都没有见过面。只是在母亲退休老了以后,才开始追本溯原的跟自己娘家兄妹走动得勤了起来。那时泽原早已经离家到外读书工作,所以对于母系血缘关系,仍然莫衷一是。这次母亲怕他不懂得事情的严肃性和庄重性,特地用血浓于水的故事强调了一下。泽原犹豫了半天,仍然没能说出那个“不”字。

 

1.      泽原 isn’t very excited about having 二舅coming for a visit.  Is泽原doing this for himself or for mom?

2.      When he and MeiMei were little did the mom say much about her childhood? Why?

3.      Does this change when Mom retires?

4.      So now Mom wants the son to do a favor. Does泽原say no? Think about why he can’t say no to Mom even after some hesitation (maybe balking?). What do you think, do you think that he should say no or should he do his filial duty?

[tysond]

Ok I am working on this one now.  It's not so simple for me as quite a bit of HSK5 vocabulary comes up (and a few of my HSK4 gaps are showing too).  

But it's starting to repeat a bit so that will help cement some of the new vocabulary.   I think I can answer all the questions above.

 

Already, it's reminding me of long conversations I've had with a Chinese friend who has for decades financially supported her half-brothers through university.   Years ago it seemed very strange to me, but I have come to see many instances of this kind of family influence and duty.

 

I should probably pick up the graded reader books especially for the audio.

[Meng Lelan]

Already, it's reminding me of long conversations I've had with a Chinese friend who has for decades financially supported her half-brothers through university.   Years ago it seemed very strange to me, but I have come to see many instances of this kind of family influence and duty.

 

This story does remind me of my former significant other who was from a rural area in China. The family gave up a lot to make it possible for one person to go to the US to study for a doctorate in engineering. In fact the younger siblings all gave up their own educations after age 16. I could not believe this could be real at all until I read this story. 

 

The online version is the original version which is probably slightly more difficult than the version in the graded reader. If I could just find my copy in those boxes still unpacked from my move into the new house I would be typing up that graded reader version in here just so we can compare. Actually I think the graded reader only left out a few sentences here and there. 

 

No school today due to icy road conditions so later on today I will try to post more of the story text along with questions to get you all thinking about what you are reading. 

[Meng Lelan]

为了不至于迟到,泽原早上五点钟就从家里开车赶了出来。一路上困意不住在脑子里打晃。他已经许多年没有到火车站接人,也有好多年没有看到城市这么早的太阳。才早上六点半不到的工夫,太阳已经像一枚燃烧着的巨大火球,逡巡在七月的北回归线上,分外刚烈,却也粘稠。四处都是白亮亮的,照耀人睁不开眼。数十趟提速以后夕发朝至的火车,将一拨拨暑期旅游的睡眼惺忪的人群吐出站口,仿佛巨蟹嘴角嚅动出的泡沫,咕嘟咕嘟,成串成串从狭小憋屈的口子里迸挤而出,又噼噗噼噗,爆裂出漫天盖地的霉气和隔夜酸腐。

 

1.      So here begins one of the many themes in this story…the theme of inconvenience. Does this man sound like he normally gets up real early? Does he normally get a good deal of visitors? Does he normally have to go to the Beijing train station all the time? What do you think his life is like for the most part, so far from reading this story? Do you think he is going to enjoy hosting his family visitors? Sometimes I chuckle at how this author is so masterful at building up this theme of inconvenient life in the Big B.

2.      What month of the year is this? What is the weather like now (which adds to this theme of inconvenience)?

3.      The sentence beginning with数十趟提速以后 doesn’t appear in the Graded Chinese version as this sentence is quite complex (I would say advanced level sentence so don’t try to go insane over this one) but it describes how the train is discharging huge loads of sleepy travelers. 

[Meng Lelan]

二十几年过去,火车站这里似乎还是保持着当年的模样。当年,泽原同样也是类似一朵外省泡泡,带着一颗兴奋膨胀发酵的心,被幸福的火车拉着,轰隆轰隆,一口气驶向伟大中国的首都北京,一口气给吐到火车站广场上学校迎接新生的站牌下面。

 

1. Does the train station seem to have changed at all over the last 20 years?

2. 泽原 is reminiscing about a scene from 20 years ago. What was he doing at that time? How did he feel about going to Beijing to begin college?

 

 

火车站永远是连接着外乡人梦想与幻灭的地方,它激情无限,热力四射,永远保持着固定的混乱拥挤和肮脏。只站了一会儿的工夫,泽原的脑袋和眼睛就都承受不住,头晕,眼前晃过的所有面孔都似是而非。恍惚之中,听得广播里报站,他要接的那趟车已经正点抵达。泽原赶忙紧了一下身子,往迎面的人群里迎了迎,同时举起手里的接站牌。那只是一张简陋之作,一张A4纸,用粗黑的墨笔写上要接人的名字。他双手将纸牌子高举过头顶,做出接人时通常具有的渴盼身形,然而眼神依旧空洞,没有一丝一毫的兴奋。

 

1.      Look for some ways the train station seems to be eternally the same over the years.

What things don’t change here?

2.      Now the loudspeakers announce the arrival of the train he is supposed to meet. What does he lift up in the air and why? What is his mood now? Try to compare and contrast his mood and role of now and twenty years ago. 

[Meng Lelan]

眼见这一拨出站的人要走光了,泽原背上的汗衫似已湿透,仍没看出个子午卯酉。泽原胳膊发酸,强打精神觑眯起眼往前看,同时眼角余光能感觉到几个陌生人一直围在他身边转悠。他没在意,仍然坚持空洞直视前方。末了,为首的一个老者终于转到他的前边,盯着他的脸,说:你是老巩家的大小子巩泽原吧?还举啥举,一看你那脸盘子,就是咱们家人,像是从你妈脸上扒下来的一样。

 

So now what does the train station seem like?

Does anyone seem to notice Zeyuan now? Does he notice anything? What does someone say to Zeyuan?

泽原一愣,手臂耷拉下来,目光疑惑地望着站在面前的老者。只见来人黑不溜黢,满脸是褶,一件被汗溻成黄色的白跨栏背心,一条斜纹黑布裤子,裤脚一个挽起,一个拖下来,一双塑料旧凉鞋,里边的脚趾脏乎乎的,脚趾盖似已经硬化。老人正在把几乎有些讨好的笑意生硬地向自己展开,露出了满嘴的黄牙。

 

The person looking at Zeyuan – describe his appearance. Do you think they look very different? Love the description of the guy’s teeth… who do you think “he” is???

[Meng Lelan]

“您是……”泽原嗫嚅道,“您是……二舅?”

 

“呦嗬,自家舅舅,还能有假?”

 

So who does this person turn out to be?

老头听得一声“二舅”的称呼,笑容这才显出些真实。

 

泽原一时有点迷糊。没有想到自己母亲的亲娘家哥哥会是这副样子。走在街上,跟任何一个进城打工的老农民都没有区别。

 

How does Zeyuan feel and thinkg of Erjiu? Erjiu seems really happy though!

再看老头身后,紧跟着一个老太婆,个高,枯瘦,花白了头发,一件蓝地白碎花的府绸衣服,松松荡荡吊在身上,能看出里边耷拉的乳房形状。她的身边,还跟着一个一米八多高的半大小子,精瘦,大眼睛,浑身黢黑,身子骨有些单薄,上嘴唇边上刚刚冒出硬撅撅的胡茬儿。这的确像是母亲电话里一再叮咛嘱咐过的由二舅、舅妈及他们的孙子组成的亲属旅游团。

 

So who else does Zeyuan meet now? Describe each person.

 

泽原不敢气馁,忙在脸上堆出许多笑,叫声舅舅舅妈,又友好地拍了拍半大小子的肩膀,道了一声辛苦,忙上前抢着拿他们手里的提包,寒暄几句,就引着他们往停车的地方走。

 

Now what does Zeyuan do and where are they all going?

[Meng Lelan]

但是……似乎情况还没有完。领他们往外走的时候他们还不舍得挪动步,回过身来直往身后瞅。泽原也跟着站住,只见又有两个中年妇女模样的人和一个十八九岁的姑娘跟了上来。

“这是你二嫂、三嫂。这是你三嫂家闺女小燕儿。”二舅指着这部分妇女组织介绍说。

 

 

Looks like we have a surprise coming up! Yes, we have more…company! Who are they? Who introduces them to Zeyuan? What do you predict Zeyuan’s reaction is going to be?