Original text of "Mirage" by Yang Shuo

1. Original text:

My hometown Penglai is an ancient city nestled between mountains and the sea. The city is not big, but the scenery is unique. Especially the Penglai Pavilion, which is about to fly in the sky on the cliff of Danya Mountain in the north of the city, is even more impressive. You lean on the pavilion and look at the vast sea, sky, and clear sky, which can really wash away your internal organs. This is not surprising. The most surprising thing is the phantom that appears occasionally on the sea, called the sea city. I saw it once when I was a kid. I remember it was spring, it was a foggy day, and I was picking up a kind of jade pearl that had been washed away by the tide and became round in the back of the Penglai Pavilion. I heard someone shouting: "Going to the sea." I saw the connection between the sea and the sky. I don’t know where all the islands were hidden for a while, and a mountain range that I had never seen before stood up across the sea, black and gray, like an ink painting. The mountain is covered with ancient pines and cypresses; where the pines and cypresses are sparse, a fishing village is faintly revealed. The mountains are changing all the time. One moment a pagoda appears on the top of the mountain, and another moment a city appears in the valley. There are many black spots floating around in the city, which are very shadowy and look like people, horses and vehicles coming and going. After a while, the mountains and cities slowly faded away, becoming lighter and lighter. In a blink of an eye, the sky turned blue and the sea turned blue, nothing disappeared, and the original islands reappeared on the sea.

When literati in ancient times saw this kind of wonder, they could not help but chant loudly. Looking at the many poems carved on stone by predecessors on Penglai Pavilion, most of them are mirages, thinking that they are the fairy mountains on the sea spread in ancient myths. The most famous one is Su Dongpo's Haishi poem. The first few lines read: "The sea of ??clouds in the east is empty and empty, and the immortals appear and disappear in the sky, shaking the floating world and all the phenomena. How can there be a palace with pearls hidden in the shell..." It can be seen what the Haishi is like. It's charming. It's a pity that this illusion is easily invisible. When I was a teenager in my hometown, I only saw it once. Farewell to my hometown, rain, snow, wind and frost, more than twenty years passed in the blink of an eye. This summer I set foot on the hot land again and climbed to the Penglai Pavilion. I really hope that the misty and misty scenery will appear again on the sea. I came at the wrong time. Generally, there is a sea market only after the spring sedum, after the rain, when the east wind blows. It's the height of summer, isn't it just a fantasy? But, if the mirage doesn't come out, can't we go to the places where the mirage often appears to look for it? Maybe you can find it.

So I got on the boat and drove deep into the sea and sky. What a sea of ??mirrors. The sea water is blue and blue, so blue that I really want to turn into a fish and get into the waves. The fish is also really enjoyable. Look at the backbone of a big fish exposed on the sea surface, like a hill. The fish should be more than ten feet long, right? Just as I was looking at it, there was a sting in front of my eyes. Another fish flew out of the water, spread its wings, flew far away against the water, and then fell down again.

I asked with surprise and joy: "Can fish still fly?"

The helmsman on the boat said: "Where is the swallow fish? Does it look like a swallow to you? It's a smoky day. , sometimes flying onto the ship. "The man is tall and strong, and you can tell at a glance that he is an experienced sailor, and has experienced all kinds of wind and waves. He asked me: "Are you going to the sea to see fishing?"

I said: "No, you are going to find the sea market."

The helmsman glanced at me and said : "Can we still find it in the sea market?"

I smiled and said: "I can find it - look, isn't that the one in front of me?" I pointed to the distance, and there was a faint light shining through it. In the clouds and mist, a region of islands is faintly visible.

The helmsman smiled steadily and said: "It's really a mirage, you should go and have a look."

As soon as the ship got close to the island, I stepped ashore. Go into the sea market.

It is indeed a "fairy mountain on the sea". The islands in this area are shrouded in smoke, one by one, like a chain, lying across the Bohai Bay. Bohai Bay has always been known as the gateway to Beijing. With this long chain hanging on the door, the door is locked tightly and firmly. Don't think that the island is always lonely and desolate. The mountains and mountains here, high slopes and low-lying areas, are full of green and green, full of oak trees, locust trees, poplar trees, pine trees, as well as countless hollies, grapes, peaches, apricots, pears, apples and other varieties. Fruit tree. Where the leaves show through, a fishing village with green halls and tiled houses is often revealed, just like what I saw in the sea market when I was a child. In the past, the scenery in the sea market could only be seen from a distance and could not be approached. But now you can go into the fishermen's houses and have a heart-to-heart talk with them. The island is connected in all directions, with roads lined with dense shade. Walking slowly along the road, you can see bright clothes flashing in the sea-green crop fields. It was a fisherman woman who likes to wear red and green, hoeing grass.

There was a young woman who didn't do anything. She stood in the cool shadow of the locust tree with a branch of wild flowers on her temples, leaning on a hoe. What was she doing? oh! It turned out that I was listening to the news about the nationwide wheat harvest broadcast on the commune loudspeaker.

Speaking of wild flowers, they are also a specialty of the island. In spring, there are wild fields to welcome spring; in summer, as soon as the sun sets, the mountains and slopes are covered with yellow flowers, exuding a refreshing fragrance. Among the yellow flowers, sometimes a flaming wild lily stands out. When the cool breeze blows and the crickets chirp, you should smell the strong medicinal fragrance of wild chrysanthemums. In winter, the grass turns yellow and the flowers are gone, but flowers scatter from the sky, so the mountains are covered with a layer of dazzling snowflakes.

The light snowfall at the beginning of winter is the season for fishermen to harvest scallops. The fishing boats all raised their white sails and pulled their nets back and forth, like white butterflies flying in groups. Things like scallops, abalone, and sea cucumbers are originally extremely precious seafood. When you go to the fishery production team and they treat you to a meal, in addition to mackerel roe and fish balls, if they bring out snow-white and tender new scallops or abalone just out of the sea, you don’t have to make a fuss at all and think it’s a big feast. Actually normal.

Catching these seafood is very laborious. Wherever there are steep cliffs and deep sea water, scallops, abalone, etc. are abundant. I visited an abalone "touching" place once. The fishermen who work in this business are all middle-aged, good at water, and have a lot of experience. Each of them carries a small shovel and a gourd, with a small net tied under the gourd. When the tide is low, the water is relatively shallow. The fishermen put on their water goggles and swim around in the water first, looking at the bottom of the sea through the water goggles. As soon as he found an abalone, he dropped the gourd and went under the water. Abalone is also a strange thing. It only has half a shell attached to the rocks. If you can't shovel it off with a shovel, smash its shell and you will never be able to get it off again. When the fishermen got the abalone, they came up to the surface, threw the abalone into the net, took a few breaths while holding on to the gourd, and then went down again. They were all laughing and having fun like young men, throwing abalones with pearl-colored shells in their shells, live sea cucumbers about a foot long, scallops with shells like cattail fans, and a kind of fish called "thorn pot" on our boat. "The strange thing, whose scientific name is sea urchin, is round and covered with long black thorns, almost like a hedgehog, and it can also crawl.

The busiest fishing season is naturally March in spring. There is a beautiful scenery on the island called Huagou, which is full of peach trees. When the peach blossoms bloom every year, they are like thousands of morning glow falling on the island. The peach blossom season is also the season when all things flourish. The seagulls that look like snowballs will sit in their nests on the rocks, concentrating on incubating their eggs. The naughty children will climb up the rocks and reach out to retrieve the eggs. The mother gull will just roll her eyes and be too lazy to move. The croakers formed a school and floated to the surface from the bottom of the sea. The big sharks chased and ate them, causing the croakers to scream. When they hear the cries of fish, the fishermen will know that a large school of fish is coming. The largest one can catch more than 200,000 fish in one net, and they will fall in the cabin and jump more than a foot high. As the saying goes: "After Grain Rain, hundreds of fish come ashore." Large prawns also swarmed to the offshore like a dark cloud, densely packed. You jostle and bump into each other, so crowded that they jump around on the sea. This is called peach blossom shrimp. Its belly is full of eggs and it is the fattest. The fishermen used a "jar net" with a jar tied to the net as a buoy to pull the shrimps. They poured the nets one by one onto the boat and transported them one by one to the beach. The shrimps on the beach were piled into piles and mountains. The fishermen don't call it shrimp mountain, but they call it gold and silver mountain. This is the busiest fishing season and the liveliest sea market.

Now we might as well go into people’s homes in Haishi and have a look. Lao Song is a strong and capable young man with dark eyebrows and sleepy eyes. However, as the locals say, he is as smart as a seahorse. He spent half his life in the mountains and waves, fighting against shipowners and making revolutions. Now he is the general branch secretary of a production brigade. He took me to visit several houses. Every house was built with stone walls and tiles, and they were very neat. The furnishings in the room are even more exquisite: the Kang is covered with soft and thick mattresses and blankets; there is a gold-lacquered table and a large wardrobe on the floor; a full-length mirror hangs on the wall in front of it; a clock, a bowl, and a large vase are placed on the table. Class furnishings. At first I thought it was the bridal chamber of someone’s newlywed family. In fact, it’s not surprising that every family is like this.

I couldn't help but admire and said: "Your life is really like that of gods, very rich."

Lao Song smiled and did not answer, pointing to the hillside in the distance. Asked: "What do you think that is?"

It was a grave, high and low, and the graves were covered with wormwood.

Lao Song said: "That is not a real grave, it is a fake grave. Buried in the grave are a pile of clothes and a brick, with the name of the dead person engraved on the brick. The dead person has long been buried in the ocean. Went.

Fishermen often say: I would rather work as a donkey in Nanshan than go fishing in the sea. Do you think that these fishermen will float on the sea all year round, and the weather will change, there will be strong winds and waves, and even a hundred lives will have to be sacrificed. The most terrifying thing is the tornado, which spins and can sweep people up into the sky. When a strong wind blows, women and children will go up to the top of the mountain, burn incense and kowtow. Everyone will look at the boat of their relatives, crying and screaming, it is so miserable - not to mention that the boat owner's murderous knife is forced on you. On the back of the neck. "

At this point, Lao Song lowered his sleepy eyes, obviously thinking about old things, and continued: "Everyone knows that scorpions are poisonous, but I didn't know that the ship owner was more poisonous than the scorpions. My family was poor, so I worked odd jobs for the shipowner when I was twelve years old. In March, the peach blossoms are blooming, and the little feet are red with cold. It is raining and the boat owner is scooping out the tide water from the cabin. If the scooping is slow, the boat owner will knock your head with a lead fish float. As I grew older, the Anti-Japanese War broke out. There were guerrillas led by the Communist Party in Penglai and needed to buy steel from Dalian, probably for weapons. At that time, the ship owner often went to Dalian to pack noodles and do business. I cooked for them on the ship. There was a man named Bao in Dalian who first stole steel from a Japanese factory and hid it in a store. The ship owner wanted to do this business just for money, so he asked me to bring the steel back to the ship. Do you think that when Japanese spies roam the streets and catch you, they still have to try to survive? Since I was young, I also had a little sister who lived at my sister’s house in Dalian at the time. We walked into the store. My sister tied the steel to her legs, and I carried it with my hands, wrapped in snack paper, and walked all the way back. As I walked, I always felt like someone was following behind me, and I was very frightened. We hurriedly packed it back to Penglai and handed it over to the guerrillas. They gave us two boatloads of wheat as reward. I don't want the captain to withhold all the wheat and not give me a single grain. My family only ate bitter acorn flour and waited for the food to be cooked. My father was so angry that he went to the boat owner, but the boat owner cursed at the top of his voice: "I paid for the wheat, you can't blackmail me." Your son eats and doesn't work, but he still owes us. If he doesn't settle the score with you, it will be an advantage to you. ’ I couldn’t let go of this breath for many years, until Japan surrendered and the Communist Party came. I became a militia platoon leader and a fighting ship owner. I negotiated for rent and interest reductions, and started working vigorously. My mother was timid and advised me, "Son, can you cut off the flesh from your legs and use it?" If it doesn't go well, I might even lose my life. ’ In the end, I almost lost my life. ”

I interrupted and asked: “I’m afraid that’s a matter of the War of Liberation, right? "

Old Song said: "No! As soon as the Liberation War started, I was transferred out and often transported food, wood and sulfur to the People's Liberation Army at sea. I'm the team leader. The boat always runs at night. One day at dawn, I was a little tired from tending the boat, so I took a nap after entering the cabin. A comrade whispered into my ear: "Get up and take a look. Why are there so many fishing boats today?" ’ I rubbed my eyes and ran out of the cabin. At first glance, we were surrounded by small fishing boats inside and outside. Suddenly, all the small fishing boats spread their awnings. How could the fishing boats be so united? I felt something was wrong and asked the boat to dock quickly. It was late, and the boats from all sides had already come up and fired a few shots. A man with a big face stepped onto our boat in one step, holding two guns in his hands and blocking my chest. It turns out that this is a captain of the Kuomintang. He tied me up first, then hoisted me to the back cabin and beat me, interrogating me while beating me. After being hung up for a long time to see if I could get any confession out of me, I had to untie my ties again, use a box gun to point the back of my head, and throw me into the cabin. There were other comrades locked up in the cabin. After a while, I heard a hoarse voice whispering from above: ‘Remember, don’t admit it’s the People’s Liberation Army. ’ This is obviously to trap us. Who fell into your trap? The cabin was covered with sails and held down by some poles. It was dark and not breathable at all. I heard the man on guard still with the mute voice, raising his face and saying: 'Can you show some of your body so that we can breathe? "As soon as the man heard what I said, he tiptoed and moved the cabin board, revealing a big hole. I didn't expect it to be a friend. I looked out and saw that it was dark. I looked at the stars and knew that the ship was bound for Tianjin. I didn't realize I was dying. Since I am arrested and cannot escape, it is better to die. I am the person in charge and the comrades put all the blame on me. If I don't admit anything, I might be able to save my life. It's really not easy to die. I thought about the party, my comrades, the old people at home, and my lonely wife and children. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and I thought about it for a while. He told the comrades again and again, and then said in a low voice while holding back tears: "Comrades, I want to go out and relieve myself." One comrade said, "You can relieve yourself in the cabin." I said, "No." , I was so hot that I wanted to go out and cool down.

’ He stuck his head out from the crack in the cabin, looked around, climbed up gently, and dove into the sea. In his ears, he heard the enemy on the boat say: ‘The big fish is jumping. '

"It was already autumn, and the sea water was so cold that it bit my bones. I was injured again, and when the sea water soaked in it, I felt burning pain. I struggled to swim for half the night, but my strength was gone and I fainted. I drifted along with the rising tide. I didn't know how long I drifted, but I suddenly woke up and found myself lying on a large boat, surrounded by a group of people in yellow military uniforms and what I thought were machine guns. I fell into the enemy's net! When I asked him, he just said that the boat capsized while fishing. On the boat, a soldier held the back of my neck and fed me the rice soup. Only then did I see what he was wearing. Bayi cap badge, I felt sour, just like seeing my dearest parents, I couldn't help crying loudly.

"I was saved like this, and the comrades on the ship really passed the responsibility. When they came to me, they were beaten for a long time and refused to admit it, so the enemy had no choice but to let them go. It took a long time to find out clearly about this matter: it turned out that the ship owner had a grudge and somehow found out about our route and tipped off the enemy, so he stopped us halfway. Look at it, it's abominable! ”

At the end of the story, Lao Song smiled and answered my initial words: “Didn’t you say that our life is like that of gods?” How does this look like a fairy to you? If there is no revolution, even the place where the real gods live will become a living hell. "

I asked: "What about a revolution? ”

Lao Song said: “Once there is a revolution, even a living hell can become a fairyland on the sea like our island. "

I couldn't help but nodded and smiled: "Yes, yes. There's only one thing I don't understand: we've killed the ship owner now, but we can't kill the sea. When the sea changes its face, won’t it still make waves and harm people’s lives? "

Lao Song smiled slightly again, smiling very confidently. He said: "It's best for you to go to the fishing boat to see for yourself tomorrow. Nowadays, fishing boats are organized and have guide boats to broadcast fishing conditions and customs anytime and anywhere. Large ships have radios, and ordinary ships also have wireless walkie-talkies. The news comes first before the wind comes. If the ship can escape to the fishing port in time, how can the sea be so majestic? ——But sometimes things happen unexpectedly. There was a good chance that something big happened. There was no wind in the weather forecast that time. The fishermen got up early and looked at the sun. It was bright red, with no clouds at all and no wind at all. Several fishing boats went out to sea. Unexpectedly, a gust of wind suddenly blew up after noon, and the waves rolled up as high as the hills. The anxious fishermen tied the mast across the boat to suppress the wind and waves. What's the use? Waves hit the boat one after another, and the boat was damaged and about to capsize. At the critical moment, a warship appeared in front of him. You know, it's not too far from South Korea, and you might run into an enemy ship by chance. The fishermen panicked. The warship came up step by step, and when it came close, some people took off their clothes, jumped into the sea, and swam toward the fishing boat. When the fishermen saw it, they shouted happily: They are here to save us! After a while, the fishermen were all rescued by the warship, and the fishing boat was towed back. The fishermen all said: 'If Chairman Mao hadn't sent a large warship, it would have been over this time. '"

It turns out that the People's Navy guarding the gateway to Kyoto came specifically to rescue.

Seeing this, some people may become impatient: What kind of navy are you doing? The sea market is originally illusory, just as an unknown poet from the Qing Dynasty said in a poem: "Looking for fairy tales from the sea is elusive. "How can you walk into the mirage? Isn't it a joke! Forgive me, my friend, what I remember now is not the vague mirage, but a real mirage. If you go to my hometown Penglai It’s an unlucky season to go see a mirage, so don’t be disappointed if you can’t see it. I urge you to go see the real mirage, which is more novel and interesting than the ethereal illusion.

This real sea market is no other than the Changshan Islands.

2. About the author:

Yang Shuo (1913~1968), male, is a famous modern writer and essayist. , novelist. Born in Penglai, Shandong Province, he graduated from Harbin English School in 1929.

In 1939, he joined the Eighth Route Army and moved to the anti-Japanese base areas of Hebei and Shanxi, where he engaged in revolutionary literary and artistic work. Later he went to Yan'an and studied at the Third Department of the Central Party School. During the War of Liberation, he served as a field reporter for the 19th Corps of the North China Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After 1949, he joined the Railway A volunteer army composed of workers entered North Korea. After returning to China, he served as deputy director of the Foreign Literature Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, deputy secretary-general of the China Committee for Defense of World Peace, vice-chairman of the Asian-African Solidarity Committee, secretary of the Permanent Secretariat of the Asian-African People's Solidarity Council, and Chinese Asian-African writer. Secretary General of the Liaison Committee of the Permanent Bureau. Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the second session of the Chinese Writers Association. Began publishing works in 1937. Joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1953.

During the Anti-Japanese War, he wrote many newsletters and short stories. During the War of Liberation, he served as a special correspondent for Xinhua News Agency; during the period of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, he wrote the excellent novel "Three Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains". After liberation, he served as the director of the Foreign Literature Committee of the Chinese Writers Association and a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Group of the Congress for the Defense of World Peace. He also wrote a large number of prose. Representative works include "Lychee Honey", "Sakura Rain", "Red Leaves on Fragrant Mountain", "The Top of Mount Tai", "Painting Mountains and Embroidered Waters", "Ode to Camellia", "Sea City", "Iron Cavalry", etc., most of which are from " Selected Prose by Yang Shuo.