劉文波 譯/任東升

讀到白居易一首寫白菜的詩，寫得真好：濃霜打白菜，霜威空自嚴。不見菜心死，翻教菜心甜。2面對滿園的白菜3，詩人一定也覺得做棵白菜其實是不錯的。

I came across a poem in praise of Chinese cabbage written by Bai Juyi， one of the most noted poets of the Tang Dynasty. It reads：

Heavy frost befalls the cabbage.

But it severely beats her in vain.

Her heart is not killed.

Rather becomes sweeter to the taste.

The poet， standing by his cabbage field， in my vision， was really delighted in his imagination in becoming such a cabbage.

過去，農村幾乎家家都要種白菜。從立秋下種，到小雪收獲，要經歷八個節(jié)氣的孕育。4這段日子里，白菜長在農家的地頭、院落，成為一首小令，一首長調。別看白菜還小，從初生到剛長出幾片肥碩鮮嫩的綠葉，便繁衍著農家飯碗5的清香。

In the past few decades， almost every household grew cabbages， whose growth cycle lasts for eight solar terms， from the Beginning of Autumn （the 13th solar term in Chinese lunar calendar） when the seeds were sowed， to the Slight Snow （the 20th solar term） when grown cabbages were harvested. The duration saw new shoots like short ballads growing into long poems in the fields or inside the farmers’ courtyards. Whether small as spoon-like seedlings， or large with a handful of tender leaves， they were always an ingredient in the farmers’ dinners， adding its fragrance to the simple fare in their bowls.

清晨，母親踩著晨露，摘下一筐嫩苗，回家洗凈準備下鍋，心急的父親往往先用焦黃的煎餅卷起幾片嫩葉，吃得齒頰生香。母親則是將洗凈的小白菜，切成細末，再加豆面，做成白菜小豆腐吃。豆香、菜香很能打牙祭，熨帖胃腸的。一頓吃不完，下頓用麻油、蔥花、姜絲下鍋，炒著吃，比原來更有滋味。過了小雪，菜窖里屋檐下，堆滿了青綠的白菜。如同院子里成山的柴火一樣，讓人感到今冬溫暖無憂。

Early in the morning， mother would go to the dewy field， and gathered a basket of tender cabbage leaves. As soon as she got home， mother would wash them up， while father tended to save a few before they were cooked and roll them into a thin yellowish pancake made of millet flour. He ate with relish. Cutting the leaves into tiny pieces and mixing them with bean flour， mother cooked Cabbage Tofu， a steaming dish which satisfied both appetite and stomach. The leftovers would be fried with sesame oil， chopped green onions and ginger shreds， and the dish tasted even better. When the Slight Snow passed， many cabbages were stored into a cellar or piled at the foot of the house. As food reserve for the whole winter， these cabbages， like the firewood the farmers had stacked in their yard， were a source of warmth and happiness in the depths of winter.

母親將未卷結實的白菜洗凈了，砍去根，腌成咸菜。十幾日，菜葉通體微黃，酸咸可口，拌合著粗茶淡飯，將清清淡淡的日子調劑得活色生香6。母親能將大白菜變換出多種花樣做成一日三餐。蒸、燜、溜、炒，不變的是白菜，豐盈的是日子。7? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?□

Mother rinsed the less tightly rolled cabbages and chopped off their roots， making them into pickles. Some ten days later， the cabbage leaves turned slightly yellow， deliciously sour and salty. Not only could they add flavor to a simple fare， but also enliven the plain days. Mother was able to prepare cabbages in many different ways—steaming， simmering， sautéing， stir-frying， you name it. What remain unchanged are cabbages， and what gets enriched is life.