Chapter 29 Water Tiger-2

"Will the water tiger die just like that?" "No. Our water tiger's nervous system is more sensitive than yours." "It's not just the death penalty. It's also used for murder..." Boss Gal said with a smile on his face, reflecting the purple light of the stained glass, "A few days ago, a socialist said that I'm a thief, I almost had a heart attack." "It seems to happen surprisingly often. A lawyer I know died of it," put in the philosopher Marco. I looked back at him.He didn't look at anyone, and continued with a sneer as usual: "I don't know who called that water tiger a frog—of course you know that, in this country, being called a frog is equivalent to calling him a beast.— —he wondered all day long: Am I a frog? Not a frog? Finally dead.”

"That would be suicide." "The guy who said that said it to put him to death. From your point of view, this is also suicide..." Marlo just said this, when suddenly from the next door—I remember it was the house of the poet Toka—the piercing sound of pistols resounded through the sky. Thirteen We ran to Toka's house.He was lying on his back among potted alpine plants, a pistol in his right hand, blood dripping from the hollow of the top of his head.Beside him was a female water tiger, who buried her head in his chest and howled loudly.I helped the female water tiger up (I didn't like to touch the slimy skin of water tigers), and asked, "What's going on here?"

"I don't know what's going on. He was writing something, and suddenly he shot himself in the head. Oh, what do you tell me to do! What are you, Haerer." (This is Shuihu crying.) "Mr. Toka has always been too self-willed." Gal, the manager of the glass company, shook his head sadly, and said to the judge Peifu. Peifu didn't make a sound, and lit a high-end cigarette.Chaka, who was kneeling there to examine Toka's wound, put on a doctor's air and said loudly to the five of us (actually, one person and four water tigers): "There is no cure. Toka has stomach problems and is prone to stomach problems." sulking."

"I heard he wrote something." The philosopher Marco muttered to himself as if justifying himself, picking up the paper on the table.All but me craned their necks to look at the paper through the broad-shouldered horses.It says: I'm going now! To the hollow valley that cuts off the world. There, the rocks stand tall and majestic. The mountains and rivers are clear and the herbs are fragrant. Marco looked back at us, with a wry smile on his face, and said: "This is a plagiarism of Goethe's "Mignon's Song". So, Mr. Toka was tired as a poet, so he committed suicide .”

① An episode from Goethe's novel "Wilhelm Meister's Learning Times" (1795). At this time, the musician Kulabaka came by car by chance.Seeing this scene, he stood at the door for a while.Then he came up to us and yelled at the horse, "Is that Toka's will?" "No, it was a poem he wrote before he died." "poetry?" Ma Luo still calmly handed Toka's poem manuscript to Kulabaka whose hair stood on end.Kurabakar read the poem intently and intently.When Ma Luo asked him something, he ignored it. "What do you think of Toka-kun's death?"

"'I'm going now'...I might die one day....'To the empty valley that cuts off the world'..." "Are you also a former friend of Toka-kun?" "Friend? Toka has always been lonely...'The hollow valley cut off from the world'...Toka Lord is indeed unfortunate...'There are towering rocks, majestic and majestic..." "Unlucky?" "'The mountains and rivers are clear'...you are happy...'The rocks are towering'..." Because of my sympathy for the weeping female water tiger, I gently supported her shoulders and led her to the chaise longue in the corner of the room.A two or three-year-old water tiger smiled innocently there.I coax the baby for the female water tiger.I felt tears welling up in my eyes too.When I lived in the Water Tiger Country, I only cried once.

"It's unlucky to become a family with such a wayward water tiger." "Because he doesn't think about the consequences at all." The judge Peifu answered the capitalist Gall while lighting a cigarette again. At this time, the musician Kulabaka held the poem manuscript in his hand, and he couldn't tell who he was shouting: "Excellent! You can make a wonderful funeral song!" The voice was so loud that we were surprised. . Kurabakha's squinted eyes were sparkling.He shook Marco's hand and went straight to the door.Needless to say, a large group of water tigers from the neighbors had already gathered at the door of Tuoluo's house, looking into the house curiously.Kulabaka shoved them aside indiscriminately and jumped into the car immediately.The car motor started, and it disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"Hey, hey, don't watch." In the place of the police, Inquisitor Peipu pushed the large group of water tigers out of the door, and then closed the door of Toka's house.Probably because of this reason, the room suddenly fell silent.In the silence, we discussed Toka's funeral in the scent of alpine plants mixed with Toka's bloody smell.Only the philosopher Marco stared at Toka's body, thinking blankly.I patted him on the shoulder and asked him, "What do you think?" "I'm thinking about the life of a water tiger." "What's going on with the water tiger's life?"

"Anyway, in order for our water tigers to survive..." Ma Luo added in a low voice with a bit of shame on his face, "In short, we have to believe in the power of something other than water tigers." fourteen Marco's words reminded me of religion.I am, of course, a materialist, and I have not even once seriously considered religious questions.At this time, he was touched by Toka's death, and began to wonder what Shuihu's religion was.I immediately asked the student Rapoor this question. "We have Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism and so on. The most powerful one is the modern religion. It is also called life religion." (The translation of "life religion" may not be appropriate. The original text is Onemoocha.cha, which is roughly equivalent to ism in English①. The original form of Quemoo, Quemal, not only refers to 'life', but also means 'food and drink'.)

①ism is the suffix in English, generally expressing doctrine, theory, and system. "So this country also has churches and monasteries?" "That goes without saying. The great monastery of the Modern Church is the largest building in the country. Shall we go and visit it?" On a warm cloudy afternoon, Rapur complacently accompanied me to the great monastery.Sure enough, this is a majestic building ten times larger than the Nikolai Church, and it incorporates all architectural styles.I even felt a little creepy when I stood in front of this great monastery and looked at the towering towers and cupolas.To be honest, it really looks like countless tentacles reaching out to the sky.We stood at the gate (and how small we looked by comparison!), and looked up for a moment at this great monastery--it was more a monstrous monstrosity than a building.

①Nikolai Church is a church built in Tokyo by Russian Orthodox missionary Nikolai (1836-1912) in 1891. The interior of the great temple is very spacious.Several visitors pass between the Corinthian columns.They, too, were very small, just like us.Then we came across a hunched water tiger. ② Corinthian style is the architectural style of Corinth, the slavery city-state in ancient Greece, especially the bell-shaped column top with leaf-shaped decoration. Rapur nodded to him, and then said to him respectfully: "Elder, it is very good that you are so strong." The water tiger also saluted, and replied politely: "Is that Mr. Rapoor? You also... (he stopped here, probably because he noticed that Rapoor's mouth was rotten) It’s gone.) Well, you look healthy anyway. How did you…” "I am here with this gentleman today. You probably know that this gentleman..." Rapoor continued to introduce my situation endlessly. It seems that he justified himself for not coming to this big monastery so easily. "I want you to be the gentleman's guide." The elder smiled kindly, greeted us first, and then pointed to the front altar peacefully: "I have nothing to do. We believers pay homage to the 'Tree of Life' on the front altar. As you can see, there are golden and green fruits growing on the 'Tree of Life'. The golden fruit is called 'good fruit' and the green one is called 'bad fruit'..." I got bored when the elders talked about it.Because of his special explanation, I just felt like an old metaphor.Of course I pretended to listen intently, but I didn't forget to peek into the interior of the monastery from time to time. The Corinthian columns, the Gothic vaults, the Arabesque checkered pattern, the Secession prayer tables—these concords have a wonderfully wild beauty.What especially caught my attention were the marble busts in the side shrines.I seem to think that I recognize these images, which is not surprising.After the bent water tiger finished explaining the "Tree of Life", he walked to the shrine on the right with Rapoor and me, and added the following description to the bust in the shrine: "This is our saint." One of them - Saint Strindberg, who betrayed everything. People say that this saint was rescued by Swedenborg's philosophy after suffering a lot. But in fact he was not liberated. This saint also believed in the religion of life as we do—or rather, he had no other choice but to believe in the religion of life. Please read the book that this saint left us. By his own confession, he was a attempted suicide." Glancing at the second shrine, I became a little melancholy.There was a bust of a German with a heavy beard. "This is Nietzsche, the poet, the author of Zarathusla. The saint sought deliverance from a superman of his own creation. But he failed to find deliverance and became mad. If he hadn't gone mad, he might have Can't be a saint..." The elder was silent for a moment, then led me to the third shrine. "The third shrine is dedicated to Tolstoy. The saint practiced asceticism more than anyone else. For he was a nobleman who did not want his sufferings to be seen by the curious public. The saint The Christian tried to believe in a Christ whom he could not in fact believe, and he even professed that he stood by his faith. But at the end of his life, he finally could not bear to be a tragic liar. The saint often felt that the beams of his study Fear, that's a famous anecdote. But of course he didn't commit suicide, or he wouldn't be a saint." The bust in the fourth shrine is that of one of us Japanese.When I saw this Japanese face, I felt kind after all. "This is Kunimoto Doppo. A poet who is very familiar with the feelings of porters who committed suicide by lying on the rails. I don't need to explain further to you. Please look at the fifth shrine..." ① Kunikida Doppo (1871-1908), Japanese novelist.poet.His short story "Death of Poor" is about a porter committing suicide by lying on the rails because of poverty and illness. "Isn't this Wagner?" ② Wagner (1813-1883), German composer.writer. Participated in the bourgeois revolution in 1849 and fled to Switzerland after its defeat. In 1864, at the call of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, he returned to Munich; his operas promoted religious mysteries and the idea of ​​"superman". "Yes. He is a friend of the king, a revolutionary. Saint Wagner, in his later years, still prayed before meals. However, his belief in life religion surpassed Christianity. Judging from the letters he left behind, the earthly I don’t know how many times the pain almost drove him to meet the god of death.” By this time we were standing in front of the sixth shrine. "This is a friend of Saint Strindberg. He was a merchant turned French painter who left a wife with a lot of children to marry a girl of thirteen or fourteen years old. The saint's veins are very Thick, with sailor blood. Look at his lips, there are traces of arsenic or something on them. The seventh shrine is...you are tired. Then, please come here." I was really tired, so I walked into a room with the elder along the fragrant corridor and followed the elder.In one corner, there is a black statue of Venus with a bouquet of wild grapes in front of it.I thought the monk's room had no decorations, so I was a little surprised.The elder may have figured out my mood from my expression, and before giving up his seat, he explained apologetically: "Please don't forget that what we believe in is life religion. Our god - the 'Tree of Life' taught us to 'survive thrivingly' . . . Rapoor, have you asked this gentleman to read our Bible?" "No . The elder smiled serenely as usual, and continued: "Then you won't understand. Our God created this world in one day. (The "Tree of Life" is certainly a tree, but it is omnipotent .) also created the female water tiger. The female water tiger was too bored, so she asked for a male water tiger to keep company. Under the pleading of the female water tiger, our God took out the brain of the female water tiger and created Male water tiger. Our God blessed the pair of water tigers and said: "Eat and live prosperously." '" The words of the elder reminded me of the poet Toka.Unfortunately he is an atheist like me.I'm not a water tiger, so it's no wonder I don't know the true meaning of life teaching.But Toka, who was born in the water tiger country, should know the "tree of life".I pity Toka for not following this teaching, which led to such an end.So I interrupted the elder and told him about Toka. After hearing this, the elder sighed deeply and said, "Oh, that poor poet... Only belief, circumstances and chance determine our destiny. (Of course, you should also add heredity.) Mr. Toka unfortunately It's without faith." "Toka envied you. No, even I envied you. Mr. Rapoor is young..." I said. "Maybe I'd be more optimistic if I had a good mouth!" Rapoo also interjected. After we said this, the elder sighed deeply again.With tears in his eyes, he stared straight at the black Venus statue. "Actually, I too... This is a secret, don't tell anyone... Actually, I don't believe in our god either. But sooner or later, my prayer..." As soon as the elder said this, the door of the room opened suddenly, and a big female water tiger rushed towards him.Needless to say, we tried to stop her, but in seconds the tigress knocked the elder to the ground. "Damn old man! Today you stole the money for a drink from my wallet!" After about ten minutes, we left the elder couple behind and ran out of the main gate of the big monastery as if we were running away. After we walked silently for a while, Rapoor said to me: "Looking at that, it is impossible for the elders to believe in the 'Tree of Life'." I didn't answer, but I couldn't help but look back at the big monastery.The towering towers and cupolas of the great monastery stretched like countless tentacles into the gloomy sky, and it gave off a terrible atmosphere, like a mirage on the desert sky. . . fifteen About a week later, I overheard Dr. Chaka speak of a curious incident.It is said that Toka's house is haunted by ghosts.At that time, the female water tiger disappeared, and the home of our friend who wrote poetry became the photographer's studio.According to Chaka, whenever customers take pictures in this studio, Toka always appears in the background.Of course, Chaka is a materialist and doesn't believe in life after death.When he told this story, he also smiled slyly, and explained: "It seems that the soul is also a material existence." On the point that I don't believe in ghosts, I almost agree with Charles. But I had a good impression of the poet Toka, so I went to the bookstore and bought a batch of newspapers and periodicals with photos of Toka's ghost and related news. Sure enough, in these photos, there are large and small male and female water tigers In the back, a water tiger resembling Toka can be vaguely discerned. What surprised me was not the ghost of Toka in the photo, but the reports—especially the reports from the Psychiatry Society. I put it almost verbatim I have translated it, and I will publish its outline below. The notes in parentheses are my own notes. "A Report on the Phantom of the Poet Toka-kun" (Journal of the Spiritual Society, No. 8274.) Not long ago, members of our spiritual society held a temporary investigation meeting at No. 251 ×× Street, the former residence of the poet Toka-kun who committed suicide, and now the studio of a certain photographer.Members in attendance are as follows. (name omitted) At 10:30 a.m. on September 17, seventeen members, Mr. Peika, the president of the Spiritual Society, and Mrs. Hepburn, our most trusted psychic medium, gathered in the studio.As soon as Mrs. Hepburn walked in, she immediately felt a ghostly aura, which caused her whole body to convulse and vomit endlessly.According to his wife, this is because the poet Toka Jun loved smoking during his lifetime, and his ghost smell also contained nicotine and so on. Our members and Mrs. Hepburn sat silently around the round table.Three minutes and twenty-five seconds later, the lady suddenly fell into an extremely sharp sleepwalking state, and was possessed by the soul of the poet Toka Jun.Our members, in order of age, have a question and answer with Mr. Toka's soul entrusted to his wife as follows: Q: Why did you manifest? Answer: The purpose is to know the reputation after death. Question: Do you—or you, as souls—still miss worldly fame? A: At least I have to miss it.Yet the spirit of a Japanese poet I met had a disdain for posthumous fame. Q: Do you know the poet's name? A: Unfortunately, I forgot.I only remember one of his favorite seventeen-character poems. Q: What is the poem about? Answer: The ancient pond, the frog jumped into the water and made a loud noise. ① ① This is a popular haiku written by Matsuo Basho. Q: Do you think this poem is well written? A: I don't think it's poorly written.However, it would be even more exciting if the "frog" was changed to "water tiger". Q: Why? A: Because we water tigers can't wait to find images of water tigers in any art. At this time, Mr. Peika, the president, reminded me and the seventeen members that this was a temporary investigation meeting of the Spiritual Society, not a review meeting. Question: How is the life of each soul? Answer: It is no different from you. Q: So do you regret suicide? Answer: Not necessarily regretful.If the soul is tired of living, I can also "live myself" with a pistol. Question: "Self-living", is it easy to do? Toka-kun's soul answered this question with another rhetorical question.For a water tiger who knows Toka-kun well, such a response is not surprising. Answer: Suicide, is it easy to do? Question: Is your life eternal? A: There are different opinions about our lives.Please don't forget, fortunately, there are Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, worship, and other religions among us. Question: What religion do you believe in? A: I have always been a skeptic. Question: But at least you don't doubt the existence of spirits, do you? A: I don't believe as deeply as you do. Q: How many friends did you make? Answer: The friends I have made are from the ancients to the present, from both the East and the West. There are no less than 300 friends.The famous ones are Kleist ①, Mainländer ②, Weininger ③... ① Kleist (1777-1811), German dramatist and novelist, committed suicide later. ② Mainländer (1841-1876), a German philosopher, was deeply influenced by Schopenhauer and committed suicide. ③ Weininger (1880-1903), an Australian thinker. Q: Are all the people you associate with suicide? A: Not necessarily.Montan, who justified suicide, was one of my friends.But the misanthrope who never committed suicide—Schopenhauer and his ilk—I don’t associate with him. ① Montan (1533-1592), a French thinker. ② Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher, voluntarist. Q: Is Schopenhauer still alive? Answer: He is currently creating the world-weary doctrine of the soul, discussing whether it is possible to implement "self-living".But since he learned that cholera is also a disease caused by bacteria, he seems to feel quite at ease. Our members successively inquired about the souls of Napoleon, Confucius, Dostoevsky, Darwin, Cleopatra①, Sakyamuni, Demosthenes②, Dante, Sen Rikyu③, etc. .It is a pity that Mr. Toka could not give a detailed reply.Mr. Toka turned around and asked about all kinds of gossip about himself. ① Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC), Queen of Egypt, committed suicide. ② Demosthenes (382-322 BC), a Greek orator, committed suicide. ③ Sen Rikyu (1522-1591), the founder of the Japanese tea ceremony, committed suicide. Q: What will be my reputation after death? A: One critic said you were "one of the little poets". Q: He is probably one of the water tigers who hold a grudge against me for not presenting a collection of poems.Have my complete works been published yet? Answer: Although it was published, the sales were not good. Question: Three hundred years later—that is, after the copyright expires, my complete works will be bought by thousands of people.What about my girlfriend who lives with me? Answer: She has become the wife of the bookseller Lakajun. Question: It's a pity that she doesn't know that Mr. Laka's eyes are fake.Where is my son? Answer: I heard that they are in the National Orphanage. Mr. Toka was silent for a while, then asked again. Q: What about my home? A: It became a photographer's studio. Q: What about my desk? A: No one knows its whereabouts. Q: I have a bunch of letters treasured in a desk drawer - but that's no concern for busy folks.Our soul world is about to enter dusk.I will bid you farewell.Goodbye, everyone.Goodbye, good people. Following these last words, Mrs. Hepburn came to her senses again.Seventeen members, including me, swear to the God in Heaven that this conversation is true. (Moreover, the remuneration for Mrs. Hepor, whom we trust, has been paid according to the daily salary standard when Mrs. He was an actress in the past.) sixteen After I read these reports, I gradually felt that staying in this country was boring, so I tried every means to return to the human world.But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find the hole I fell into.Later, I heard from the fishing water tiger, Baku, that there was an old water tiger on the border of this country. He entertained himself by reading and playing the flute, and lived a quiet life alone.I thought I might be able to find out from him how to get out of the country, and went to the frontier at once.I ran to see what kind of old water tiger it was. In a small house, there was a water tiger that was just twelve or thirteen years old, and the pit on its head hadn't hardened yet, playing the flute leisurely.I thought it was the wrong door.Just to be on the safe side, I asked his name, and sure enough he was the old water tiger that Barco had told me about. "But you look like a doll..." "Don't you know? I don't know what kind of luck I had. When I was born, I had gray hair. Afterwards, I became younger and younger, and now I have such a doll appearance. But counting the age, I was not born. I used to be sixty years old, and if I add it up, I might be one hundred and fifteen or sixteen." I looked around the room.Maybe it's a psychological effect, I always feel that there is pure happiness between the simple tables and chairs. "You seem to be happier than other water tigers!" "Well, maybe so. I was old when I was young, and I'm young again when I'm old. So I'm not as thirsty as an old water tiger, nor as lustful as a young water tiger. My life doesn't count anyway. Happiness is also peaceful." "Sure enough, according to what you say, it is peaceful." "This alone is not peace. My body is also healthy, and I have a wealth that can't be used up in my life. But I think that the happiest thing about me is that I was born as an old man." I gossiped with the water tiger for a while about Toka, who committed suicide, and Gar, who called in the doctor every day.For some reason, looking at the old Shuihu's expression, it seemed that he was not very interested in my words. "Then you are not greedy for life like other water tigers?" The old water tiger looked at my face and replied calmly: "I am also like other water tigers. My father asked me in advance if I would like to be born in this country before leaving my mother's womb." "As for me, I fell into this country by accident. Please tell me the way to leave this country." "There's only one way out." "You mean to say..." "That's the way you came." When I first heard him say that, I was somehow horrified. "But I just can't find the way." The old water tiger examined me for a while with those watery eyes.Only then did he straighten up, walked to the corner of the room, and tugged at a rope hanging down from the ceiling.Then a skylight opened that I hadn't noticed before.Outside the round skylight, the sky is clear and the pines and cypresses stretch their branches.You can also catch a glimpse of Gunak Peak, which towers like a giant arrowhead.I jumped for joy like a child seeing an airplane. "Here, you can go out from there." Old Shuihu said, pointing to the rope just now. I thought it was a rope at first, but it turned out to be a rope ladder. "Then I'll get out of there." "But let me tell you in advance. Don't regret it when you go out." "Don't worry, I won't regret it." Before I finished speaking, I was already climbing the rope ladder, looking back at the sunken part of the old water tiger's head. seventeen After I came back from the water tiger country, there was a time when the smell of our human skin was unbearable to me.In contrast, the water tiger is really clean.And I'm used to seeing water tigers, and I just think our human heads are scary.You may not understand this.Let alone the eyes and mouth, the nose is really scary.Of course I tried not to see anyone, but I seemed to get used to us humans, and after about half a year, I just went everywhere.What's worse is that while talking, a stupid word came out accidentally. "Are you home tomorrow?" "Qua." "What did you say?" "Well, I mean at home." It's roughly like this. But just after a year after I came back from the water tiger country, I failed because of a career... (As soon as he said this, Dr. S reminded him: "Don't talk about this." According to the doctor, Whenever he talks about it, the caretaker is helpless.) Let's not talk about that then.Due to the failure of a business, I want to go back to the water tiger country.Yes.Not "want to go", but "want to go back".At that time, in my opinion, Shuihu Country was my hometown. I sneaked out of the house and tried to catch the Chuo Line train.Unfortunately, the police caught him and was finally sent to the hospital.When I first entered this hospital, I was still thinking about Shuihuguo.What happened to Dr. Chaka?Maybe the philosopher Marco is still thinking about it under the colorful glass lanterns.Especially my good friend—the student with a bad mouth... On a gloomy afternoon like today, I was thinking about the past, and I almost cried out.I don't know when I came in, but I saw the fisherman, the water tiger, standing in front of me, bowing repeatedly.After I calmed down——I don't remember whether I cried or laughed, but I was really moved by the fact that I started talking again after such a long time. "Hey, Palo, why are you here?" "Come to see you, I heard you are sick." "How did you know?" "I learned about it from the radio broadcast." Barker smiled triumphantly. "It's hard for you." "It's nothing. To Mizuho, ​​the rivers or ditches in Tokyo are just like the main roads." I just remembered that water tigers, like frogs, are also amphibians. "But there's no river around here." "I got in here through the water pipe. Then unscrewed the fire hydrant..." "Unscrew the fire hydrant?" "Master, have you forgotten? Water tigers also have artisans." Since then, various water tigers have come to visit me every two or three days.According to Dr. S's diagnosis, my disease is called early-onset dementia.But that Dr. Chaka said, my disease is not Alzheimer's disease, but Dr. S and you are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. (I'm afraid I'm being rude to you when I say that.) Even the doctor Chaka came to visit, not to mention the student Lapoor and the philosopher Marco.But no one came during the day except Bark the Fisherman.It's just that at night—especially on a moonlit night, they come together in twos and threes.Last night I was still in the moonlight talking to Gale, the owner of the glass company, and Marco the philosopher.The musician Curabalio also played a piece for me on the violin.Well, isn't there a bouquet of black lilies on the table over there?That was the gift Kulabaka brought last night. (I look back. Of course, there are no bouquets on the table.) This book was also brought to me by the philosopher Margot.Please read the first poem.Oh, you can't understand Shuihuwen.Let me read it to you.This is one of the newly published "Complete Works of Toka". (He spreads out an old phone book and reads this poem aloud:) Among the coconut flowers and bamboo groves, the Buddha has long since rested. The figs by the wayside have withered, and Christ seems to have died with them. We too must rest, despite being in front of a stage set. (The so-called stage sets are just canvases covered with patches.) But I am not world-weary like the poet.As long as the water tigers are willing to visit me often...ah, I forgot to tell you, do you still remember my friend—Judge Peifu?When he lost his job, it really went crazy.I heard that he is currently living in a mental hospital in the water tiger country.If Dr. S allows it, I would love to visit him... Made on February 11, 1927 translated by Wen Jieruo