厌作人间语 Otherworldly Delights

西衍先生创作的志怪小说集。 A collection of supernatural stories written by Mr. Xiyan.

在下以说故事为生已有三百年，却几乎没做过什么著书立说的事。倒是替别人写过些介绍曲艺的通识读物，也为年轻的作家写过序言…可落到笔头上再付梓印刷的故事，竟一篇都没有过。

For three centuries, I have made a living as a storyteller, yet I have never written a book. I have only written some introductory articles on music and composed preludes for aspiring writers... However, I have been shunning from writing my own stories.

想来是因为我不信任文字。语言是自兆亿年前人类诞生后便存在的蝴蝶，文字则是语言干枯的标本，乍看之下倒也算美丽，但越是细看越觉得那不过是一具尸体。我一点也不想戕害自己鲜活的语言，便也一直不忍心下笔。

This avoidance stems from my deep-rooted mistrust of words. Language, like a delicate butterfly, has existed since the birth of humankind thousands of billion years ago. Words, however, are merely dessicated specimens of language. They may initially appear beautiful, but upon closer examination, they resemble more and more as lifeless corpses. Reluctant to extinguish the flame of my oral tales, I have refrained from the act of writing.

所以如今我会出版这本集子，并非单单出于记录故事的目的，而是因为一桩奇妙的因缘。

Yet here, I publish this book, not merely to preserve the tale, but to document a miraculous encounter.

记得那天我照例在不夜侯说书，说的应当是《三劫演义》里的回目。具体是哪一回，我也记不清了。只记得自己刚说完「请听下回分解」几个字，就有个化外民站起来，用力地鼓掌。

One evening, I was weaving stories at the Sleepless Earl as usual. I can no longer recall which story I was telling. All I remember is that as soon as the chapter drew to a close, an outworlder in the crowd stood up and applauded vigorously.

那化外民是个女子，戴着个大檐帽，帽檐压得很低，我看不到她上半张脸，只看得到她嘴角挂着愉快的笑。其他听众被她突如其来的行动吓了一跳，纷纷回头看她，她也视若无睹，径直走到我面前：「西衍先生，我一直都非常喜欢你的作品。」

It was a woman wearing a large broad-brimmed hat. The hat was pushed down low over her head, casting a shadow over the upper half of her face. All I could see was a joyous smile on the corners of her lips. Her sudden action startled the other audience members and they all turned to look at her. However, undeterred by their attention, she walked towards me and said, "Mr. Xiyan, I've long been an ardent admirer of your work."

我不知道她有何目的，便警惕地回答道：「您似乎是第一次来听在下的评书。」

Not knowing her intentions, I responded cautiously. "It seems this is the first time you have graced my performance."

「的确，的确。」女子懊恼似的低下了头，「我怎么直到今天才第一次听先生的评书呢？若不是同袍提醒，我恐怕要让先生明珠蒙尘了…请先生收下我的赔礼吧。」

"Indeed, indeed," the woman lowered her head as if feeling a tinge of remorse. "How could I have only managed to come and listen to your storytelling for the first time today? If not for my companions' reminders, I fear I would have remained oblivious to your brilliance forever... Please accept this gift as a show of my sincerest apologies."

我还没来得及感谢她言辞古怪的盛赞，就见她举起了右手。这时我才发现，她手上提着个蒙着白布的鸟笼。

Before I could express my gratitude for her bizarre praise, she was raising her right hand. It was only then that I noticed she was holding a cage covered by a white cloth.

「先生身负将『历史』化为『传奇』的才能，」她不由我推脱，将鸟笼放到了我面前的桌子上，「若是再加上这只鹦鹉的力量，那必是如虎添翼。」

"You possess a remarkable talent for transforming 'history' into 'legend'." She placed the cage on the table in front of me, paying no heed to my refusals. "Enhanced by the power of this parrot, your performances will become even more miraculous."

她转身便走，我只得试着叫住她：「小姐，这礼物太贵重了…在下实在是无功不受禄……」

And with that, she turned and was about to leave, and I had no choice but to try stop her. "My lady! This gift is far too valuable... I don't deserve it..."

「不，你已经做了很多。」她停下脚步，转身，露出帽檐下琉璃色的眼睛，「你的『故事』能为这干瘪蒙尘的历史增添几分颜色。」

"No, you have done so much already." She stopped in her tracks, turned back toward me, and showed the glazed color of her eyes underneath her hat. "Your 'stories' can infuse color and vitality into this dry and dusty history."

……

...

我花了十多天才摸清楚这只鹦鹉的脾气秉性，期间数次差点把它给养死，险些浪费了那位小姐的美意。

It took me weeks to figure out this parrot's temperament, during which I almost starved it to death, narrowly avoiding wasting that lady's good wishes.

这鹦鹉似乎只与我亲近。见到除我之外的任何人，它都会进入应激状态，僵得像一只死鸟。我不得不也用布盖住笼子，免得它被人活活吓死。可我又不能不带它出门。把它独自留在家里太久，它同样受不了。害怕、应激、僵直，一气呵成。

The parrot seemed to have a fondness for me alone. When seeing anyone else, it would enter a shocked state, going as stiff as a board. I had to cover its cage with a cloth to avoid it being scared to death by other people. However, I had to bring it outside with me. It would become equally disturbed if it were left in the house alone for too long. Terror, shock, freezing up — the whole routine.

所以我只得拎着这个盖着白布的笼子，出现在所有需要我出现的地方——不夜侯、尚滋味、菜市场…连和米糕没的大人物们谈生意时，我都不得不带着它，像在实践什么行为艺术一样。

Thus, I had to carry this cage covered in a white cloth wherever I went... the Sleepless Earl, Spices Supreme, and the market. I even had to carry it during business discussions with the esteemed Mellow-Golden-Mayor higher-ups, like some form of performance art.

正当我几乎要相信那位小姐是想用它折磨我的时候，它总算是展现出了自己不同寻常的一面。

Just as I was beginning to think it was all some elaborate prank the lady was pulling on me, the parrot finally revealed its extraordinary side.

起先我是发现，这鹦鹉的记性特别好。我讲的那些评书，只要被它听去，它便能背诵下来。不过这倒是也没什么特别的，现如今能言走兽已不多见，但我活了这么多年，还是见过不少的。更何况它是只鹦鹉，学人说话就算学得再快，也没超出寻常鹦鹉的「本能」范畴。

Firstly, I discovered that the parrot possessed an exceptional memory. As long as it listened once to the stories I said, it would be able to recite these. While animals capable of speech are rare in this era, I have still encountered my fair share of such wonders. Being a parrot, even if it had swiftly learned to copy the human language, it would still be limited by its instincts as a parrot.

可很快我发现，它并不总是「一字不差」地背诵我的评书。最开始，它几乎是「背诵」，不久后，它开始「复述」，再后来，连其中一些剧情都被它擅自改变了。我得承认它的修改相当到位，使原本的故事更加让人信服了。

However, I soon realized that the parrot was not merely recounting my performances. Initially, it diligently "recited" them, but then it began to "reinterpret" them, even taking the liberty to alter certain plot elements. I must admit, its modifications were remarkably effective, enhancing the original narratives and infusing them with greater believability.

再往后一段时间，我开始听到它讲一些我没讲过的故事。有些恐怕是它随我一起在街上听来的，有些则不知道是哪里的故事，我听都没听过。

As time went on, it started telling stories that I had never told. Some, I suspect, it overheard while accompanying me on the streets, while others remained a mystery, their origins unknown to me.

看到这里，读者诸君恐怕会觉得，这鹦鹉有着超群的智慧。可实际上，我又实在没在它身上看到任何足以写出故事的知能。

Dear reader, you may be inclined to believe that the parrot possesses exceptional intelligence. However, I, for one, fail to perceive any qualities within it that would make it a skilled storyteller.

它不肯飞，也不愿意叫，心情好时喋喋不休地讲故事，心情不好时就躲在笼子里生闷气。有一回在家里，它扑腾到我的案头，又像只肉鹅似的晃悠到我手边，蹭来蹭去。我用手捧起这肥鸟，心里正觉得可爱，就见它在我掌心留下一滩鸟粪，又扑腾走了。

It refused to take flight and remained silent unless in a cheerful mood. When it felt happy, it would chattered away endlessly with stories, yet retreated into its cage and sulked when its mood turned sour. Once, it perched on my desk and waddled into my hand like a goose, affectionately nuzzling against it. Just as I delighted in its cuteness, cradling the plump bird in my palm, it left a warm deposit of bird poo in my hand and flew off once more.

这样单纯的生灵，根本没办法理解复杂的故事情节。

Such a simple-minded creature could never comprehend the intricacies of a complex story.

我猜想，它的行为自始至终都没有超出鹦鹉的「本能」。鹦鹉，我们都清楚，它们不知道自己口吐的人言是什么意思。只是数万年的演化，使得它们模仿人言的能力愈发精进，最终变得可以自己讲故事了。

I surmise that its behavior remains confined within the realm of parrot instincts. As we all know, parrots mindlessly repeat human words without grasping their meaning. It's just that after thousands of years of evolution, perhaps they have refined their ability to mimic human speech, and eventually they became able to tell stories on their own.

不过，枯叶霞蛾知道自己的「拟态」与干枯的树枝一模一样吗？我猜想，我的这只宝贝鹦鹉，也不知道自己讲的故事到底是什么意思——甚至未必知道自己正在讲故事。

However, does a lappet moth realize that its "mimicry" is indistinguishable from a dried tree branch? I speculate that my beloved parrot remained unaware of the true significance behind the stories it shared. Perhaps it didn't even realize that it was narrating tales.

思虑再三，我决定把它讲给我的故事用文字记载下来，再讲给别人听。

After much contemplation, I decided to transcribe the tales it shared with me and share them with others.

我用了几个月听它讲故事，把其中最有趣的几个一字不落地记录了下来。编纂工作完成之后，我拿着书稿问它：「你觉得这书叫什么比较好？」

For months, I attentively listened to its stories, meticulously recording the most captivating ones. Once the work was complete, I held the manuscript in my hands and posed a question to my parrot. "What name would you suggest for this book?"

它踩在书稿上，困惑地与我对视。然后它整理了一下脖颈的羽毛，悠闲地鸣唱道：

It hopped onto the manuscript, gazing at me with a perplexed expression. But then, it straightened the feathers on its neck and chirped leisurely:

「其翎恰若凤凰羽，其咮能吟天上曲。敛翮搁笔绝不鸣，自云厌作人间语。」

"With plume like phoenix's feather it soars. Its beak sings melodies from heavenly shores. When quill rests, no chirping bird in sight. Such are these Otherworldly Delights."