—汉英对照本“处世三奇书”序
The Sketches of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Going Abroad
— Preface to the “Three Canons of Personal Cultivation”
赵丽宏
Zhao Lihong
“处世三奇书”是中国古典文学的汉英对照本。在中国传统文化的出版物中，这是一套体例新颖的双语读本。这个读本，不仅向读者展现了中国古典文学一方迷人的天地，也为对中国文化有兴趣的英语读者提供了一个学习的园圃。读者可以由中文而英文，也可以由英文而中文。研习英文的中国读者，学习中文的外国读者，都可以在其中获得阅读的乐趣。
揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation?is a Chinese-English version of Chinese classical literature. In the publications of Chinese traditional culture, this is a set of bilingual readings with new style. It not only shows the charming world of Chinese classics, but also provides a learning garden for English readers who are interested in Chinese culture. Readers can read the canons in two ways, either from Chinese to English or from English to Chinese. Both Chinese readers who are learning English and foreign readers who are learning Chinese are enabled to get the pleasure of reading them.
《菜根谭》《小窗幽记》和《围炉夜话》是明清时期流传下来的三本以修身养性、劝善励志为中心话题的清言体小品集，作者分别是洪应明、陈继儒和王永彬。因其在同类书中出众的地位和影响力，被世人誉为“处世三奇书”，颇受文人墨客和普通百姓的喜爱。
The Roots of Wisdom, Meditative Notes in Solitude and Fireside Talk at Night are the three famous books successively appearing in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), with subjects mainly on moral cultivation and inspirational exhortations on doing good and working hard, and therefore known as the 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation?out of their unparalleled status in books of the same kind and influence among the intellectuals and ordinary people.
华夏文化的发展，每个历史时期都有创造性的文学形态，并在各自领域中登峰造极，成为一个时代的文化标记。明清两朝也不例外，在前后五个多世纪里，小说显然是明清时期的一个主要文化特色，其次就是那些饱蕴着智慧才情、展示着世态风情的辑录和承载着先人学说和思想的格言体小品集了。通过这些作品，我们可以清楚地了解到：优秀的文学家，是中国传统文化的脊梁，他们那些形诸文字的精神与情感结晶是中华文明最有生命力的一部分。世风日下依然能倡导并坚持孝悌，物欲横流依然能淡泊名利，仕途得意依然能心存忧患意识，遭遇不测依然能泰然处之，国家危亡依然能竭尽忠诚，温饱之余依然能不忘劳作之苦，生活清贫依然能寄情山水，凡此种种，都是这些优秀文人留给后世的宝贵精神财富。
In the long history of China, cultural development of each era has its own creative literary form and insurmountable height, thus becoming a cultural mark of the time, the same those of the dynasties of Ming and Qing. During more than five centuries, the novels and fictions are of course the primary literary identity of the dynasties, and the collections brimming with human wits and revealing the ways of the world and the compilations of previous classical works, ancestors?quotes and their developed writings must be the next. Through these works and writings, we see clearly that the excellent literati燼re really the backbone of Chinese classical culture, and that the crystallization of spirit and emotion they created in words is one of the most vivid parts of Chinese civilization. As the breeders of the civilization of that times, even when the general moves were getting worse and worse they would remain faithful to filial piety and fraternal duty; even when in an acquisitive time they would remain indifferent to fame and wealth; even when content with their official careers they would remain preoccupied with the misery consciousness; even when coming across unexpected occurrences they would remain unruffled and take them燾almly; even when the state was in peril they would remain loyal; even when having enough food and clothing they would remain concerned about the pain of labor; even when living a poor life they would remain disposed to bask in the poetic mood between mountains and rivers. ?All these refined qualities are the precious spiritual wealth the excellent literati handed down to us later generations.
“处世三奇书”所收纳的短句小品均为清言体，风格相似，读起来朗朗上口，既有诗歌的韵律又有散文的流畅。这些编辑成集、主题鲜明的短句小品，是被柔美化了的格言，似诗非诗，似文非文，是小品文的一种，形式上是介于箴言警句和散文之间的文体，通常由前后对仗或排比的两句或两段组成，以达到均衡与和谐之美。由清言汇集而成的书籍叫清言集或清言体小品集，有分编和不分编两种，题材自由，体例松散，所收清言小品数量少则近百则、多则数百则不等，每则小品的篇幅少则七八个字，多则逾百。内容涵盖古贤经典和民俗文化，其中尤以演绎儒道释三家之言为多，形式短小精致，文风飘逸清雅，具有“小品中的小品（林语堂语）”的美称。
The short sketches contained in the 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation?are all with distinctive themes, clear-spoken, similar in style, easy to read, and full of the rhythm of poetry and fluency of prose. So far as the form is concerned, these sketches belong to a kind of maxims literarily beautified with a manner of seemingly like but actually not a poem or seemingly like but actually not a prose, normally composed of two sentences or two paragraphs adorned with antitheses, couplets and other rhetoric devices to achieve the beauty of balance and harmony, and with its writing style lying between maxim and prose. The collections with such writings are called clear-and-upright sketches, usually there being two ways of compilation, classified or non-classified, either freely with subject matter or loose in layout, in which the pieces collected vary from nearly one hundred to several hundreds, and Chinese characters used in different pieces vary from seven or eight to more than a hundred, and the contents arranged cover Chinese classics and folk culture, mostly related to the sayings derived from the theories of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. They are short in length, vivid in format and elegant in expression, and therefore praised by Mr. Lin Yutang (a famous modern Chinese scholar) as 揳 mini-sketch of sketches?
“处世三奇书”的可贵之处在于：三位作者皆以其丰富的学养、渊博的知识、明敏的思辨、冷隽的文字、促人深省的儆诫、益人心智的启迪，以及豁达如禅的觉醒，从古贤经典和民俗文化中撷取菁华但又不简单地复述这些原文，而是在赋予它们一定的情景衬托后将其锻造成一个个既养眼又养心的段子，于寥寥隽语中将经典所含的意旨优雅地展现在读者面前，充分诠释了中国传统文人的文化底蕴和人文情怀，为世人展现了一幅古人修身养性的清晰图景，让读者在诵读这些金科玉律时多了一份愉悦感和亲近感。
The praiseworthiness of the 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation?is as obvious as this: instead of simply quoting the original sayings, the three authors, by applying their rich learning and cultivation, profound knowledge, dialectical thinking, grave and stern expressions, thought-provoking warning, meditative enlightenment and self-awareness, turned out their sketches in the least paradoxes to exemplify the extracts from the classical works and folk culture, and gave prominence to the pieces well matched with relevant scene, sight, circumstances, background or landscape, thus achieving the effect of being pleasant to readers?eyes and minds. Their endeavors fully annotate the cultural deposits and humanistic sensibilities of the traditional literati, and thus enable us to have the opportunity to see a clear picture of the personal cultivation of the ancients, and make us feel more pleasure and intimacy than ever in reading the famous aphorisms of ancient classics.
十年前，周文标先生在上海人民出版社出版发行《菜根谭》汉英对照本时，我曾为他写过一篇序。据我所知，十余年来，他一直不懈地致力于用英文翻译和编撰中国传统典籍，并在呈现方式上做了积极的探索。这次他与百花洲文艺出版社共同成套推出“处世三奇书”汉英对照本，足见他这些年在这方面所倾注的时间和精力。周文标先生是上海市作家协会的会员，我为我们作协有这么一位孜孜不倦向世界推广中国传统文化的同仁感到骄傲。衷心祝贺他的“处世三奇书”汉英对照本成功出版，这是明清小品走向世界的一次积极尝试。期待他有更多新著在不久的将来问世。
10 years ago, when Mr. Zhou Wenbiao抯 The Roots of Wisdom in Chinese-English version was about to be published by Shanghai People抯 Publishing House, I wrote a preface for him. As I know, Mr. Zhou has been unceasingly spending most of his spare time on translating and compiling Chinese classics in English for more than ten years, and has made an active scrutiny into the modes of presentation. This time, he and Baihuazhou Literature and Art Press jointly plan to issue the 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation?in the form of three-in-one packing, which shows how much time and energy he has devoted in this respect. Mr. Zhou is a member of Shanghai Writers Association, and I am proud to have such a colleague who has been working so tirelessly to introduce Chinese traditional culture to the world. Here I抎 like to extend my hearty congratulations on his successful publication of the Chinese-English 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation? thinking that it is a positive attempt for the sketches of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to go abroad. Furthermore, I抣l look forward to seeing his more new works to be published in the near future.
是为序。
It抯 my pleasure to write this preface as above.
2018年7月31日于四步斋
Four-Pace Study in Shanghai
July 31st, 2018
序
Introduction to Meditative Notes in Solitude
周文标
Zhou Wenbiao
《小窗幽记》凡194则，为《处世三奇书》的第二部。
Meditative Notes in Solitude, the second book of the 揟hree Canons of Personal Cultivation? contains 194 sketches in all.
陈继儒（1558年—1639年)，《小窗幽记》的作者，明末文学家、书画家，字仲醇，号眉公、麋公，华亭（今上海松江）人。诸生，年二十九，隐居小昆山，后居东佘山，杜门著述，工诗善文，书法苏、米，兼能绘事，屡受诏用，皆以疾辞。擅墨梅、山水，画梅多册页小幅，自然随意，意态萧疏。论画倡导文人画，持南北宗论，重视画家的修养，赞同书画同源，有《梅花册》《云山卷》等传世。著述除《小窗幽记》（又名《醉古堂剑扫》）外，还有《太平清话》《安得长者言》《模世语》《狂夫之言》《见闻录》《六合同春》《陈眉公诗余》《虎荟》《眉公杂著》《吴葛将军墓碑》《妮古录》等。
Chen Jiru (1558-1639), the author of this book, is a man of letters, calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, styled Zhongchun, Meigong or Migong, born in Huating (now Songjiang District, Shanghai), who,after admitted as a scholar, began his seclusion in Small Kunshan at the age of 29 and then in East Sheshan, focusing on writing. Being an adept in composing poems and essays, he laid great store on imitating Su Shi and Mi Fu in calligraphy and paintings, and declined the imperial edicts time and again on the plea of indisposition. He was good at drawing plums and mountains with black ink and habitually had his paintings of plum made into small albums brimming with natural casualness and easy grace. Theoretically, he insisted that painting should be exactly literati one no matter which school it belongs to, and that the accomplishment of a painter should be emphasized, and calligraphy and painting should be regarded as homologous. His Album of Plum and Roll of Cloudy Mountain are well known to the world. In addition to Meditative Notes in Solitude, he also wrote books such as Taiping Qinghua, Ande Zhangzheyan, Mushiyu, Kuangfuzhiyan, Jianwenlu, Liuhe Tongchun, Chen Meigong Shiyu, Huhui, Meigong Zazhu, Wu Ge Jiangjun Mubei, Nigulu and etc.
明末距今并不久远，但是有关《小窗幽记》成书的说法却不少，歧义颇多：有的说《小窗幽记》全书共12卷，分醒、情、峭、灵、素、景、韵、奇、绮、豪、法、倩12个主题；有的说《小窗幽记》全书12卷只轶剩7卷；也有的说《小窗幽记》全书12卷大半已轶，今仅存醒、情、峭、灵4卷；甚至还有人认为，《小窗幽记》系明人陆绍珩（1624年前后尚在世）所著。这些莫衷一是的说法直接导致当今书市上出现了各种版本的《小窗幽记》。
It is not very far away from the late Ming Dynasty, but still there have existed many disputes about the formation and version of Meditative Notes in Solitude. Some said that there were 12 volumes in total, respectively termed as Xing (clear-headedness), Qing (love between sexes), Qiao (self-extrication), Ling (spirit), Su (simplicity), Jing (scenes), Yun (charm), Qi (splendor or excellence), Qi (prettiness), Hao (boldness or heroicness), Fa (transcending the mundane world), and Qian (beautifulness or attractiveness); some said there were only 7 volumes still extant; some said the majority of the volumes were missing, only the first four volumes were remaining; and some even thought Meditative Notes in Solitude was attributed to Lu Shaoheng (still alive in 1624). Such a wide spectrum of objections on this燽ook has directly resulted in various versions nowadays.
《小窗幽记》另一个值得关注的是刊印时间问题。据史料记载，《小窗幽记》首版问世于乾隆三十五年，也即1770年。时有文人陈本敬作序如是：
Besides the difference of versions, the time of the book抯 printing is also a question worth noting. According to historical materials, Meditative Notes in Solitude first appeared in the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong (1770), prefaced by Chen Benjing, another man of letters of the early Qing Dynasty. The full text of the preface is as follows:
太上立德，其次立言，言者心声，而人品学术恒由此见焉。无论词躁、词俭、词烦、词支，徒蹈尚口之戒，倘语大而夸，谈理而腐，亦岂可以为训乎？然则欲求传世行远，名山不朽，必贵有以居其要矣。眉公先生负一代盛名，立志高尚，著述等身，曾集《小窗幽记》以自娱，泄天地之秘笈，撷经史之菁华，语带烟霞，韵谐金石，醒世持世，一字不落言筌。挥尘风声，直夺清谈之席；解颐语妙，常发斑管之花。所谓端庄杂流漓，尔雅兼温文，有美斯臻，无奇不备。夫岂卮言无当，徒以资覆瓿之用乎？许昌崔维东博学好古，欲付剞劂，以公同好，问序于余，因不辞谫陋，特为之弁言简端。
The best is to cultivate virtue, the next best, to establish arguments. The one who establishes arguments actually speaks his own mind, wherefrom his moral character and academic knowledge can be seen. The establishment of arguments is a matter of wording and expression, the most important thing of which lies in guarding against a loose tongue. If one regardlessly indulges in exaggeration and stubbornly clings to outworn rules and ideas, how can he inspire his fellow beings? The eternity of writings can only be realized through the words uttered to the point and capable of standing to the test of time. As a prolific writer, Mr. Meigong was in high repute all his life for his noble aspiration. He compiled Meditative Notes in Solitude to amuse himself by revealing the secret how to be a worthy man between heaven and earth, picking extracts from classics and history and then relating them with elegant expressions and rhyme of metal and stone to enlighten the world without falling in the net of words. His writings were superior and well esteemed among the clear-and-upright sketches. To make people understand and laugh at the same time, he often aired his exquisite opinions with witty remarks much in little. In his writing, stateliness matched with fluency, elegance accompanied by gentleness, beauty approaching perfection, nothing is too wonderful and marvelous. He knew clearly that casual utterances, if not appropriate, can only be good for nothing. Now, Cui Weidong of Xuchang, a profound scholar fond of classics and with the same taste as the author抯, intends to print the book to meet the unfulfilled wish of the author and requests me to write a preface for it. Despite of my little talent and less learning, I would still like to render the short preface as this.
乾隆三十五年岁次庚寅春月，昌平陈本敬仲思氏书于聚星书院之谢青堂。
Written in the spring of the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong
By Chen Benjing of Changping
Hall of Xieqing of Star-gathering Academy
在这篇序中，作序之人除了誉美之词外，直接称谓《小窗幽记》作者为“眉公先生”，而“眉公”正是陈继儒的雅号。由于“乾隆三十五年”离作者去世中间隔了131年，有人因此说《小窗幽记》是伪作。对此，译者并不认同，反倒以为这极有可能跟一段骇人听闻的丑恶历史有关：作者卒于明王朝行将覆灭的1639年，而付梓的时间却是1770年，这中间一百多年恰恰是清王朝连续四代皇帝大兴文字狱的时期，捕风捉影，冤杀株连，残酷程度为华夏有史以来所未见。书中第71则有这样的内容：“料今天下皆妇人矣。封疆缩其地，而中庭之歌舞犹喧；战血枯其人，而满座貂蝉自若。我辈书生，既无诛乱讨贼之柄，而一片报国之忱，惟于寸楮尺字间见之。使天下之须眉面妇人者，亦耸然有起色。” 陈继儒离世前在自己的书中留下这么一段呼吁抵抗清军入侵的文字，在后来清王朝统治集团的高压之下自然是见不得天日的。由此推断《小窗幽记》的刊印之路因这场文字狱而受阻，想必还是有一定依据的。今日我辈有幸捧读这么一本因幽禁而被尘封过一个多世纪的清言古籍，怎能不感慨上苍有眼，造化无欺？！
Chen Jiru died in 1639, but his book was first printed in 1770, between which there were 131 years apart. It is because of this long interval that someone held that the book was a fake. But I cannot agree and think instead that the late printing of the book is most likely to have something to do with an appalling history of ugliness caused by the first four emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Just as the history shows, since the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644, the new rulers, in order to strengthen their reign, had carried out a ruthless literary inquisition of nearly a century and half against those whose writings were considered even slightest offensive by the imperial court, never seen before.
揑n my opinion, today抯 men at court are all sissyish. They sing and dance to their hearts?content in the magnificent halls while the frontiers are being lost one after another. They have fair maids to attend their grand parties as if nothing had happened while the generals and soldiers are fighting to the last drop of their blood along the borders. We scholars, with warm hearts to serve our country, but not entitled to make war on the invaders, can only write with pens to express our deep concern for the situation, hoping that all the sissy men at court will be aroused from indifference and show up as real men.?
This is the full text of No. 71 sketch picked from Meditative Notes in Solitude, in which the author appealed for resistance against the Qing troops. From this we may deduce the reason why the book had been prohibited for so long a time. Today when we luckily have the book in our hands and read the content as this, how can we not felicitate ourselves with emotion on the favor Heaven has done to us!
2017年9月于上海
Shanghai, China
September, 2017