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The Tale of the Tidal Bell 《潮钟记》

23 Thursday Apr 2026

Posted by babylon crashing in Chinese, drama, Script, Translation

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Shakespeare, The Tale of the Tidal Bell, The Tempest, ZJC, 潮钟记

a Chinese stage adaptation of The Tempest
Re-visioned for the South China Sea

Translation by ZJC (2026)

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人物表 (Character List)

岛上之人 (The Islanders)

潮音 (Cháoyīn) — 前”潮钟号”红头船船长。被大副安东

出卖,丢上舢板漂流,最终登上鬼岛。她精通《潮钟册》中的方术,驱使精灵鬼火儿。身披残旧的船长外套,缝补着海藻与鲨鱼皮。
— Former captain of the junk Tidal Bell. Betrayed by her first mate, set adrift, and washed ashore on Ghost Island. She has mastered the esoteric arts contained in the Tidal Bell Manual and commands the spirit Guǐhuǒ’ér. She wears the faded remnants of a sea captain’s coat, patched with kelp and shark-leather.

望汐 (Wàngxī) — 潮音之女。十五岁。生于岛上。除母亲与怪物礁生外,从未见过其他活人。她总是望着海天相接的那条线。
— Cháoyīn’s daughter. Fifteen years old. Born on the island. She has never seen another living human except her mother and the creature Jiāoshēng. Her eyes are always watching the horizon.

鬼火儿 (Guǐhuǒ’ér) — 圣艾尔摩之火精灵。无分男女,古老而善变。曾被海妖西海妖囚于锈铁柱中,为潮音所解救。现身时为一团青蓝跃动的火焰,亦可化为人形。其声如风过索具,如远钟,如鲸歌。
— A spirit of St. Elmo’s Fire. Neither male nor female, ancient and mercurial. Imprisoned in a rusted iron pillar by the sea-witch Sycorax, freed by Cháoyīn. They appear as flickering blue-green light that can take human shape when they choose. Their voice is the sound of wind through rigging, of distant temple bells, of whale-song.

礁生 (Jiāoshēng) / 鲛奴 (Jiāonú) — 亡故海妖西海妖之子。半人半鲛人。肤色灰蓝,糙如礁石。齿尖而密。泪为浓咸黏液,干涸后结成不规则的珍珠。初名”鲛奴”(潮音所赐),后获自由,更名为”礁生”。他言语支离破碎,但当岛屿的魔力贯通他时,他的语言会变得古老而奇特。
— Son of the dead sea-witch Sycorax. Half-human, half-jiaoren (shark-merfolk). His skin is grey and rough as reef-stone. His teeth are sharp and layered. He weeps thick, salty mucus that hardens into irregular pearls. Originally named “Shark-Slave” (given by Cháoyīn), he is later freed and renamed “Reef-Born.” He speaks in a broken tongue, though when the island’s magic moves through him, his language becomes strange and ancient.

西海妖 (Xīhǎiyāo) — 西考拉克斯。剧前已死。一名鲛人巫女,在潮音到来前统治此岛。其骸骨已织入环岛的珊瑚礁中。仅被提及。
— Sycorax. Dead before the play begins. A jiaoren sorceress who ruled the island before Cháoyīn arrived. Her bones are woven into the coral reef that surrounds the island. Mentioned only.

船上之人 (The Shipwrecked)

这些是欧洲人——荷兰东印度公司的官员与仆从,自巴达维亚启航。身着荷兰华服与本地物件的混搭:丝绸腰带、盐渍的蕾丝、偷来的玉石。

These are Europeans—officers and servants of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), sailing from Batavia. They wear a mix of Dutch finery and local adaptations: silk sashes, salt-stained lace, stolen jade.

范·阿隆索 (Fàn Ālóngsuǒ) — 巴达维亚舰队总督。VOC高官。他深信上帝与火药已赐予他统治四海之权。
— Governor-General of the Batavia fleet. A powerful VOC official. He carries the arrogance of a man who believes God and gunpowder have granted him dominion over all seas.

费迪南 (Fèidí’nán) — 其子。年轻,英俊,在海上传奇故事中长大。他是第一个不把望汐视为”土著奇物”而是视为神启的欧洲人。
— His son. Young, handsome, raised on tales of maritime glory. He is the first European to treat Wàngxī not as a curiosity but as a revelation.

安东 (Āndōng) — 潮音昔日的大副。现为VOC船长。能说流利的闽南语与粤语。吃过她的饭,领过她的银,最终将她的船卖给了荷兰人。他是个通敌者。
— Cháoyīn’s former first mate. Now a VOC captain. He speaks fluent Hokkien and Cantonese. He ate her food, collected her silver, and sold her ship to the Dutch. He is the collaborator.

塞巴斯蒂安 (Sàibāsīdì’ān) — 范·阿隆索之弟。懒惰、残忍、野心勃勃。他巴不得兄长死去好继承其位。
— Van Alons’s younger brother. Lazy, cruel, ambitious. He would happily see his brother dead to inherit his position.

霍萨洛 (Huòsàluò) — 年迈的VOC绘图师兼博物学者。与他人不同,他心怀真诚的好奇。他在舱房内私设妈祖小龛。他是良心的罗盘,尽管也已妥协。
— An aging VOC cartographer and naturalist. Unlike the others, he is a man of genuine curiosity. He secretly keeps a small shrine to Mazu in his quarters. He is the moral compass, however compromised.

特林鸠罗 (Tèlínjiūluó) — 船上的弄臣兼通译。一个在澳门酒馆里学会了粤语和闽南语洋泾浜的潦倒艺人。他视礁生为可在阿姆斯特丹畸形秀上展出的”奇物”。
— The ship’s jester and translator. A broken-down performer who learned Cantonese and Hokkien pidgin in the taverns of Macau. He sees Jiāoshēng not as a monster but as a potential exhibit for the freak shows of Amsterdam.

斯提法诺 (Sītífǎnuò) — 醉醺醺的膳务总管。他从沉船中捞起一箱亚力酒。他成了礁生所拜的伪神。
— The drunken butler. He salvaged a crate of Arrack from the wreck. He becomes Jiāoshēng’s false god.

船长 (Chuánzhǎng) — 荷兰船船长。
— The Dutch ship’s master.

水手长 (Shuǐshǒuzhǎng) — 水手长。
— The boatswain.

幻景中之神祇 (The Spirits of the Masque)

妈祖 (Māzǔ) — 天后,海之圣母。
— Queen of Heaven, Empress of the Sea.

观音 (Guānyīn) — 慈悲的菩萨。
— The Bodhisattva of Mercy.

龙母 (Lóngmǔ) — 龙母,养育了五条龙子。
— The Dragon Mother, who raised five dragon sons.

饿鬼们 (Èguǐmen) — 饿鬼。溺亡水手的不安魂灵。口小不能食,喉细不能饮。哀嚎乞食。
— Hungry Ghosts. The restless spirits of drowned sailors. Their mouths are too small to eat. Their throats are too thin to drink. They moan for offerings.

其他 (Others)

众精灵 — 侍奉鬼火儿的岛精。
— Island spirits who serve Guǐhuǒ’ér.

四十亡魂 — “潮钟号”上被屠戮的四十名船员。仅以水下幽影、风中语声、潮音术法背后的沉重存在显现。
— The forty crew members of the Tidal Bell, murdered in the mutiny. They appear only as shadows beneath the water, as voices in the wind, as the weight behind Cháoyīn’s magic.

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第一场 (Scene One)

海上。雷电,狂风,怒涛。夜。
At sea. Thunder, lightning, raging waves. Night.

[雷鸣如鼓。一艘荷兰东印度公司的大船在巨浪中剧烈颠簸。帆索间有青蓝色的鬼火跃动——那是鬼火儿在桅杆间跳舞。远处海面升起磷光,仿佛海底有巨兽翻身。水手们用荷兰语、闽南语、粤语混杂着呼喊,向妈祖祈祷,向上帝祈祷。]
[Thunder like a drum. A large Dutch East India Company ship pitches violently in the colossal waves. Blue-green ghost-fire dances among the rigging—Guǐhuǒ’ér playing on the masts. Phosphorescence rises from the distant sea, as if a great beast is turning in the deep. Sailors shout in a mix of Dutch, Hokkien, and Cantonese, praying to Mazu and to God.]

水手长/ Boatswain
快!快!收上桅帆!别管那些火!那是鬼火!盯着看会被勾魂的!Fast! Fast! Furl the topsails! Don’t look at those fires! That’s ghost-fire! Stare at it and your soul gets snatched!

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
船长在哪里?船长!Where is the Captain? Captain!

水手长/ Boatswain
在舱下!别碍我们手脚!你们这是在帮风暴,不是在帮我们!Below decks! Don’t get in our way! You’re helping the storm, not us!

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
水手长!这船还能撑多久?Boatswain! How long can she hold?

水手长/ Boatswain
你们没听见吗?回舱里去!别来添乱!Didn’t you hear me? Get back to your cabins! Don’t make things worse!

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
放肆的东西!你知道你在跟谁说话?Insolent dog! Do you know to whom you speak?

安东/ Anton
[抓住水手长的衣领] 记着船上载的是谁,你这海狗。[Grabbing the Boatswain by the collar] Remember who this ship carries, you sea-dog.

水手长/ Boatswain
[甩开他的手] 我只认得一个比你们更要紧的人:我自己这条命!要是你们会驾船,就来替我;不会,就求你们闭嘴,让我们各尽其职。不然,听天由命吧![Shaking him off] I only know one man more important than you: myself! If you can sail, take my place. If not, shut your mouths and let us do our work. Otherwise, pray to whatever you believe in!

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
愿瘟疫烂掉你的喉咙,你这满嘴亵渎的—— May the plague rot your throat, you blasphemous—

[一阵巨浪猛击船舷。远处有人失声惨呼。桅杆发出断裂的呻吟。]
[A massive wave slams the hull. A distant scream of terror. The mast groans, splintering.]

众人/ Crew
天哪!完了!我们都完了!God! We’re lost! We’re all lost!

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[从舱内冲出,浑身湿透,头发根根直竖] 地狱空了!魔鬼都跑出来了!都跑出来了![Bursting from below, soaking wet, hair standing on end] Hell is empty! All the devils are here! All of them!

[他纵身跃入海中。灯光骤暗。雷电一闪。船与海一并吞入黑暗。鬼火儿的笑声在风里飘散——那笑声像碎铃,像鲸歌,像溺死之人的叹息。]
[He leaps into the sea. Lights snap to black. A flash of lightning. Ship and sea swallowed by darkness. Guǐhuǒ’ér’s laughter drifts on the wind—like shattered bells, like whale song, like the sigh of the drowned.]

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第二场 (Scene Two)

岛上。潮音的洞窟前。风雨未歇,但已转弱。
The island. Before Cháoyīn’s cave. The storm has weakened but not yet passed.

[洞窟口挂着渔网、旧帆布、晒干的海藻。一口锈迹斑斑的青铜钟悬在洞口——那是潮钟。潮音立于高处,手持一根铁杖。那铁杖原是半截定海神针,如今爬满藤壶。望汐伏在一旁,惊魂未定,泪痕未干。远处海面上,那艘大船的残骸正在燃烧,火光映红了低垂的云层。]
[Fishing nets, old sailcloth, and dried seaweed hang at the cave mouth. A rusted bronze bell—the Tidal Bell—hangs at the entrance. Cháoyīn stands on high ground, holding an iron staff. The staff is half of a rusted Dinghai Shenzhen pillar, now encrusted with barnacles. Wàngxī lies nearby, trembling, tear-streaked, still in shock. In the distance, the wreckage of the great ship burns, its glow reddening the low clouds.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲。若是您用法术叫这野浪吼起来的,求您平息它吧。我看他们受苦,自己也像一同在受苦。那样一艘大船……里头想必载着许多高贵的人……如今竟像被撕碎的纸鸢。可怜的人——他们一定都死了。Mother. If it was your art that raised these wild waves, please calm them. Seeing them suffer, I feel I am suffering too. Such a magnificent ship… it must have carried many noble souls… now torn apart like a shredded kite. Poor souls—they must all be dead.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
静下来。别再惊惶。你那颗仁慈的心可以安定了。Be still. Do not be frightened. Your merciful heart can rest easy.

望汐/ Wàngxī
安定了?Rest easy?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
没有一个人遭难。Not a single person has perished.

望汐/ Wàngxī
没有?None?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[放下铁杖] 没有。我所做的一切,没有一件不是为了你。为了你,我的爱女。为了你。而你还不知道你是谁,也不知道我是谁;只知道我叫潮音,是这间破洞窟的主人,也是你的母亲。[Lowering the staff] None. Everything I have done, I have done for you. For you, my dear daughter. For you. And you still do not know who you are, or who I am; you only know me as Cháoyīn, mistress of this poor cave, and your mother.

望汐/ Wàngxī
我从小不敢多问这些。I never dared to ask more.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
那现在是时候让你知道了。把眼泪擦干。坐下。听我说。Then it is time you knew. Dry your tears. Sit. Listen to me.

[望汐顺从地坐下。潮音走到洞口,望着燃烧的残骸。]
[Wàngxī obediently sits. Cháoyīn moves to the cave mouth, gazing at the burning wreck.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你方才所见的这场海难,是我用《潮钟册》里的法子安排出来的。正因为你心地仁慈,才会为它痛苦。但你放心——你听见呼号的那些人里,没有一个失去一根头发。至少,现在还不到时候。The shipwreck you just witnessed—I arranged it using the methods in the Tidal Bell Manual. Precisely because your heart is kind, it pains you. But rest assured—not a single hair on the heads of those you heard crying out has been harmed. At least, not yet.

望汐/ Wàngxī
真是这样?Is that true?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
千真万确。告诉我,你还记得在我们来到这洞窟以前的事吗?那时候你还没有出生。你是在这片沙滩上落地的。你的第一口气,吸的是这岛上的盐雾。Absolutely true. Tell me, do you remember anything from before we came to this cave? Before you were born. You took your first breath on this very sand. Your first taste of air was the salt mist of this island.

望汐/ Wàngxī
我什么也不记得。只是有时候做梦……梦见一条红头船。三根桅杆。很多人在笑。有一个男人的脸……我看不清。然后就是水。很多水。I remember nothing. Only sometimes I dream… of a red-headed junk. Three masts. Many people laughing. A man’s face… I can’t see it clearly. And then water. So much water.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[身体微微一僵] 那是你父亲的船。他叫阿海。是我的水手长。也是我的丈夫。[Body stiffening slightly] That was your father’s ship. His name was Āhǎi. My boatswain. And my husband.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[轻声] 他在哪里?[Softly] Where is he?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
他死了。十二年前——正是十二年前——你的母亲是”潮钟号”的船长。一条红头船,三根桅,四十个好水手。我们从月港出海,载着丝绸、瓷器和茶叶,去换南洋的香料、檀香和白银。那时候,海上的规矩是我定的。风暴见了我都要绕道。He is dead. Twelve years ago—exactly twelve years—your mother was captain of the Tidal Bell. A red-headed junk, three masts, forty good sailors. We sailed from Yuegang, laden with silk, porcelain, and tea, bound for the Southern Seas to trade for spices, sandalwood, and silver. In those days, I set the rules on the sea. Even storms changed course to avoid me.

望汐/ Wàngxī
那为什么…… Then why…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
因为我信了一个人。他叫安东。荷兰人。他从巴达维亚逃出来,在澳门学了闽南话和广东话,混进了中国船帮。我收他当大副。他吃我的饭,领我的银子,叫我”船长”,像叫亲姐姐一样。我当他是我在海上能找到的最好的帮手。Because I trusted one man. His name is Anton. A Dutchman. He jumped ship in Batavia, learned Hokkien and Cantonese in Macau, and wormed his way into the Chinese crews. I took him as my First Mate. He ate my food, took my silver, called me ‘Captain’ like I was his own sister. I thought he was the best help I could find on the sea.

[她的声音变冷。洞外的风声忽然紧了。]
[Her voice turns cold. The wind outside the cave suddenly tightens.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
他却把整条船卖给了荷兰东印度公司。那个姓范·阿隆索的——就是方才那艘大船的主人——答应给他一个船长衔头,外加香料贸易的抽成。安东便趁夜带着荷兰兵摸上”潮钟号”。他们杀了所有人。四十条命。你父亲也在其中。But he sold the whole ship to the Dutch East India Company. Van Alons—the master of that great ship you just saw burning—promised him a captain’s commission and a cut of the spice trade. So Anton led Dutch soldiers aboard the Tidal Bell in the dead of night. They killed everyone. Forty lives. Your father among them.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[捂住嘴] 天哪…… [Covering her mouth] Heavens…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
他们把我捆起来,丢上一条舢板。没有帆,没有桨,没有淡水。你还在我肚子里,七个多月。他们以为海会替他们灭口。他们错了。海不替任何人灭口。海只记得。They tied me up and threw me onto a sampan. No sail. No oars. No fresh water. You were still in my belly, seven months along. They thought the sea would silence me for them. They were wrong. The sea silences no one. The sea only remembers.

[她走到洞口,伸手触碰那口青铜钟。钟身发出低沉的嗡鸣。]
[She walks to the cave mouth and touches the bronze bell. It emits a low, resonant hum.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
舢板漂了七天。我喝雨水,吃生鱼。第八天,我看见了这座岛。周围的礁石像鲨鱼的牙齿。但舢板自己找到了路,穿过礁石缝,停在这片沙滩上。那时候我就知道:这座岛在等我。或者说,在等我们。The sampan drifted for seven days. I drank rainwater, ate raw fish. On the eighth day, I saw this island. The reefs around it were like sharks’ teeth. But the sampan found its own path, slipping through the gaps, and beached on this sand. That’s when I knew: this island was waiting for me. Or rather, waiting for us.

望汐/ Wàngxī
那这本册子……《潮钟册》…… And that book… the Tidal Bell Manual…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
是在岛上找到的。在一个老沉船的残骸里。那艘船比我还老,比明朝还老。船舱里有一具白骨,坐在一口钟旁边。白骨的手里握着这本册子。鲨鱼皮做的。海水泡不烂。上面写的是古篆字——我小时候跟一个老道士学过,没想到在这里用上了。I found it on the island. In the wreck of an old ship. Older than me. Older than the Ming dynasty. Inside the cabin, there was a skeleton sitting beside a bell. The skeleton held this manual in its hands. Made of shark-skin. The sea couldn’t rot it. It was written in ancient seal script—I studied it with an old Daoist priest when I was a child. Never thought I’d use it here.

望汐/ Wàngxī
上面写了什么?What does it say?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
写了怎么跟海里的东西说话。怎么叫醒睡在珊瑚底下的魂。怎么让风替你跑腿,让浪替你报仇。It tells how to speak with the things in the sea. How to wake the souls sleeping beneath the coral. How to make the wind run your errands, and the waves carry out your vengeance.

[她转过身,看着望汐。]
[She turns and looks at Wàngxī.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
十二年了。我一直在等。等那艘荷兰船再开进这片海。如今它来了。带着安东,带着范·阿隆索,带着所有欠我们债的人。Twelve years. I’ve been waiting. Waiting for that Dutch ship to sail into these waters again. Now it’s here. Carrying Anton, carrying Van Alons, carrying everyone who owes us a debt.

望汐/ Wàngxī
您要杀了他们?Are you going to kill them?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[沉默片刻] 我不知道。我只知道他们必须看见我。必须记起来自己做过什么。必须……跪下来。[Pauses] I don’t know. I only know they must see me. They must remember what they did. They must… kneel.

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲…… Mother…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
但现在不要再问了。睡意正降到你眼上。让它来吧。这是温柔的恩赐。你挡不住的。 But ask no more now. Sleep is falling upon your eyes. Let it come. It is a gentle gift. You cannot resist it.

[潮音以杖轻触望汐的前额。望汐的眼皮垂下,缓缓睡去。潮音脱下自己的外衣,盖在女儿身上。]
[Cháoyīn touches Wàngxī’s forehead gently with the staff. Wàngxī’s eyelids close; she slowly falls asleep. Cháoyīn removes her outer coat and covers her daughter.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
睡吧。梦见你父亲的船。梦见它还没有沉。 Sleep. Dream of your father’s ship. Dream that it hasn’t sunk yet.

[稍顿。风声忽然转细。洞口悬挂的渔网开始轻轻摆动,仿佛有看不见的手在拨弄。]
[A pause. The wind suddenly softens. The fishing nets hanging at the cave mouth begin to sway gently, as if plucked by invisible hands.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[站直身体,声音变得清亮] 来吧,仆役。过来。我的鬼火儿。现身。[Straightening, voice turning clear and bright] Come, servant. Come here. My Guǐhuǒ’ér. Appear.

[一阵清亮如玻璃破碎般的音响。洞窟内突然亮起青蓝色的光。那光从钟身上升起,从海面飘来,从礁石缝里渗出,聚成一个不断变换形状的形体——时而是人形,时而是火球,时而是展翅的海鸟。]
[A clear sound, like shattering glass. Blue-green light suddenly fills the cave. It rises from the bell, drifts in from the sea, seeps from the cracks in the reef, coalescing into a form that constantly shifts—now human-shaped, now a ball of flame, now a seabird spreading its wings.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[声音像风铃,像远处的钟,像鲸鱼在深海的歌唱] 愿您永享尊荣,潮音船长。庄严的夫人。我来听候你的心意。无论是劈风而行,涉水,穿火,还是骑着卷云飞驰——鬼火儿都听你差遣。[Voice like wind chimes, like distant bells, like whale song in the deep] Ever honored be you, Captain Cháoyīn. Majestic Lady. I come to await your command. Whether to cleave the wind, walk through water, pass through fire, or ride the churning clouds—Guǐhuǒ’ér is at your service.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
我吩咐你的那场风暴,可都一一办妥了?The storm I commanded—was everything carried out as ordered?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[形体化作一团跳动的火焰] 一点不差。我先攀上他们的桅杆,在他们的帆索间跳舞,把罗盘搅得发疯。然后我钻进船长室里那个荷兰人的梦里,让他梦见自己淹死在咸水里。那个叫费迪南的小子——范·阿隆索的儿子——第一个跳出船去,头发根根直竖,高喊着:”地狱空了!魔鬼都跑出来了!” [Form shifting into a dancing flame] Precisely. First, I climbed their masts and danced among their rigging, driving their compasses mad. Then I crept into the dreams of that Dutchman in the captain’s cabin and made him dream he was drowning in salt water. That boy Ferdinand—Van Alons’s son—was the first to jump ship, hair standing straight up, shouting, ‘Hell is empty! All the devils are here!’

[鬼火儿发出细碎的笑声。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér emits a tinkling laugh.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
他们管我叫魔鬼。他们不知道,我只是一个替四十个死人讨债的鬼火罢了。They call me a devil. They don’t know I’m just a ghost-fire collecting a debt for forty dead men.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
他们都平安?Are they all safe?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
都平安。连一根头发也没伤着。照你的吩咐,我把他们分散到岛上各处。国王——他们管那个范·阿隆索叫”总督大人”——正在东边的礁石滩上哭他的儿子。他那弟弟在盘算怎么趁机弄死他。那个叫安东的……[火焰的颜色变深] ……在检查他的枪有没有进水。All safe. Not a hair harmed. As you commanded, I scattered them across the island. The King—they call Van Alons ‘Your Excellency the Governor’—is weeping for his son on the eastern reef. His brother is calculating how to use this chance to kill him. And that one called Anton… [Flame darkens] …is checking if his gun got wet.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
安东。Anton.

[她念出这个名字的时候,洞口的钟发出一声低鸣。]
[As she says the name, the bell at the cave mouth hums low.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
至于总督的儿子,我特地把他单独引开。如今他正坐在岛北一处隐僻角落,双臂交叉,叹息不止。他以为他父亲死了。他以为这岛上全是魔鬼。As for the Governor’s son, I led him away separately. He sits now in a secluded spot in the north of the island, arms folded, sighing endlessly. He thinks his father is dead. He thinks this island is full of devils.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你做得极好,鬼火儿。可还有事要你去办。眼下是什么时辰了?You have done excellently, Guǐhuǒ’ér. But there is more for you to do. What hour is it?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
已过正午。Past noon.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
那从此刻到日落之间,我们一刻也不能虚掷。Then from now until sunset, we cannot waste a single moment.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[火焰缩成一团,声音变低] 既然你又要使我劳作,就容我提醒你一句:你答应给我的,还没有兑现。[Flame shrinking, voice lowering] Since you require my labor again, allow me to remind you: you have not yet granted what you promised me.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
怎么?闹起脾气来了?你还想讨什么?What’s this? A temper tantrum? What is it you want?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
我的自由。你说过,等仇报了,就放我走。不再把我拴在这口钟上。不再让我替你跑腿。让我回到海上去,回到桅杆顶上去,回到风暴眼里去——那才是我该待的地方。My freedom. You said once your revenge was complete, you would release me. No longer bound to this bell. No longer running your errands. Let me return to the sea, to the tops of the masts, to the eye of the storm—that is where I belong.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[声音变冷] 还没到时候。别多说一个字。[Voice cold] It is not yet time. Do not speak another word of it.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[火焰剧烈跳动] 可我忠心服侍了你十二年!从不怠慢,从不差错。你初来岛上时,是我替你驱散了礁石周围的鲨鱼。是我把鲛奴从他母亲的尸骨旁赶开。是我—— [Flame flickering violently] But I have served you faithfully for twelve years! Never slacking, never failing. When you first arrived, I drove the sharks away from the reefs for you. I chased the Shark-Slave away from his mother’s bones. I—

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[猛地举起铁杖] 你忘了是谁把你从苦刑里救出来的?[Raising the staff sharply] Have you forgotten who rescued you from torment?

[鬼火儿的火焰骤然缩小,几乎熄灭。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér’s flame shrinks dramatically, nearly extinguishing.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
忘了那个海妖西海妖?忘了她怎么把你囚进那根锈铁柱里?那根铁柱原是龙王镇海用的定海神针,被她偷来,钉在岛北的礁石上,专门用来关你这种不肯听话的精怪。你在那里面嚎了多久?嗯?Have you forgotten that sea-witch, Sycorax? Forgotten how she imprisoned you in that rusted iron pillar? That pillar was once a Dinghai Shenzhen, used by the Dragon King to calm the seas. She stole it and drove it into the northern reef, specifically to cage unruly spirits like you. How long did you howl inside it? Hm?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[声音微弱] 十二年…… [Voice faint] Twelve years…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
十二年。我来的时候,听见你的嚎声从铁锈里渗出来,像风吹过破笛子。是我用《潮钟册》里的法子,用这口钟震裂了铁柱,把你放出来的。Twelve years. When I arrived, I heard your wailing seeping through the rust, like wind through a broken flute. It was I who used the methods in the Tidal Bell Manual, using this very bell to crack that pillar and set you free.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
我感激你,主人。I am grateful, mistress.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
那就别再抱怨。若你再嘀咕一句,我就把你钉回那根铁柱里去。西海妖死了,但她的咒我还留着。那根铁柱还在礁石上。要不要回去?Then stop complaining. If you mutter another word, I will seal you back inside that iron pillar. Sycorax is dead, but I kept her spell. That pillar still stands on the reef. Shall I send you back?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[火焰几乎伏到地面] 请恕我。我会顺从。我会温驯地履行精灵的职分。[Flame nearly prostrate on the ground] Forgive me. I will be obedient. I will perform my spirit’s duties meekly.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[放下铁杖,声音转柔] 这才像话。再过两日——最多两日——我便放你自由。我发誓。以那四十个亡魂的名义发誓。[Lowering the staff, voice softening] That’s more like it. In two days—two days at most—I will grant you your freedom. I swear it. I swear it on the forty lost souls.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[火焰重新亮起来] 两日?[Flame brightening] Two days?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
两日。去变作海中的仙女。去把费迪南引到这里来。除了我和望汐,谁都不可见你。快去。Two days. Go now, transform into a sea nymph. Lead Ferdinand here. Let no one see you but myself and Wàngxī. Go quickly.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
遵命。As you command.

[鬼火儿化作一道青光,从洞口飘出,贴着海面向远处飞去。潮音独自站了片刻,然后走到钟前,用手掌轻拍钟身。钟发出低沉的嗡鸣,良久不息。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér turns into a streak of blue-green light, floating out of the cave and skimming across the sea into the distance. Cháoyīn stands alone for a moment, then walks to the bell and pats its side with her palm. It hums low, the sound lingering.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[低声,像是对着钟说话] 四十个弟兄。再等一等。就快轮到你们了。[Low, as if speaking to the bell] Forty brothers. Wait just a little longer. Your turn is coming soon.

[她转身走到望汐身边,轻轻摇醒女儿。]
[She turns, walks to Wàngxī, and gently shakes her awake.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
醒来吧,我的孩子。该起身了。你睡得够久了。Wake up, my child. It’s time to rise. You’ve slept long enough.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[缓缓睁眼] 母亲……您方才讲的那些……我心里好难过。[Eyes slowly opening] Mother… all that you just told me… my heart is so heavy.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
把它放下。跟我来。我们去见鲛奴——我的奴隶。Set it down. Come with me. We’re going to see the Shark-Slave—my slave.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[站起身] 他又做什么了?[Standing] What has he done now?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
什么也没做。这就是问题。他该去拾柴了。Nothing. That’s the problem. He was supposed to gather firewood.

)(*)(

第三场 (Scene Three)

岛上。洞窟前。日色偏西。
The island. Before the cave. The sun is sinking westward.

[潮音站在洞口。望汐立在她身后。洞前的空地上散落着渔网、木柴、晒干的鱼骨。一阵浓烈的鱼腥味从岩石后飘来。]
[Cháoyīn stands at the cave mouth. Wàngxī stands behind her. Fishing nets, firewood, and dried fish bones are scattered on the ground before the cave. A strong smell of fish wafts from behind the rocks.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
喂,奴才!鲛奴!鲨鱼崽子!泥土和咸水生的东西!出来说话!Hey, slave! Shark-Slave! Shark-spawn! Thing born of mud and brine! Come out and speak!

[沉默。只有海浪声。然后,岩石后传来沉重的、湿漉漉的呼吸声。鲛奴从阴影里挪出来。]
[Silence. Only the sound of waves. Then, a heavy, wet breathing emerges from behind the rocks. The Shark-Slave shuffles out of the shadows.]

[他比普通人高出一个头。皮肤是鲨鱼皮般的灰蓝色,粗糙,布满礁石擦伤的白色疤痕。他的手指间有退化的蹼。他的嘴很宽,咧开时露出层层细密的尖牙。他的眼睛是黑色的,没有眼白,像两枚湿漉漉的鹅卵石。他穿着一件破烂的旧帆布,勉强蔽体。他走动时,姿态像在深水中行走——缓慢,沉重,带着一种奇异的优雅。]
[He is a head taller than an ordinary man. His skin is a gray-blue, rough as shark hide, covered in pale scars from reef scrapes. He has vestigial webbing between his fingers. His mouth is wide; when it opens, rows of fine, sharp teeth are revealed. His eyes are black, without whites, like two wet pebbles. He wears tattered old sailcloth that barely covers him. When he moves, he moves as if walking in deep water—slow, heavy, with a strange grace.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[声音低沉,含混,像在水底说话] 叫……叫什么。我在。一直……都在。[Voice low, indistinct, as if speaking underwater] Call… calling. I’m here. Always… here.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
柴呢?我叫你拾的柴呢?The firewood? The wood I told you to gather?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[指向身后] 那里。[Pointing behind him] There.

[岩石后堆着一小捆湿漉漉的树枝。]
[A small pile of damp branches lies behind the rocks.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
就这些?太阳晒了一整天,你只拾了这些?Just that? The sun has been blazing all day, and this is all you’ve gathered?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[慢慢抬起头] 太阳……晒。我……不晒。我……在礁石那边。听。底下……有声音。[Slowly raising his head] Sun… blazes. I… not blaze. I… over by the reef. Listen. Underneath… there is sound.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[轻声] 什么声音?[Softly] What sound?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[转向望汐,黑眼睛盯着她] 母亲。在唱。珊瑚底下。她在唱。唱我……听不懂了。以前……懂。现在……不懂了。[Turning to Wàngxī, black eyes fixed on her] Mother. Singing. Under the coral. She sings. Sings me… I don’t understand anymore. Before… understood. Now… don’t understand.

[他用蹼手摸了摸自己的喉咙,仿佛那里卡着什么东西。]
[He touches his throat with a webbed hand, as if something is stuck there.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
够了。你母亲死了。死了十二年了。她的骨头都化成了礁石。她不会再唱了。你听见的是你自己的脑子里的声音。Enough. Your mother is dead. Dead for twelve years. Her bones have turned to reef stone. She sings no more. What you hear is the sound inside your own head.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[摇头,动作缓慢而固执] 不是……脑子。是底下。你听不见。你是……岸上的人。[Shaking his head, the motion slow and stubborn] Not… head. Underneath. You can’t hear. You are… shore people.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
我不管你听见什么。柴。我要柴。天黑以前,把那捆柴再加一倍。去。I don’t care what you hear. Wood. I need wood. Double that pile before dark. Go.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[不动] 这岛……原是我母亲的。她葬在珊瑚底下。骨头都化成了礁石。是你……踩在她脊背上。用你那口钟……镇住了潮水。镇住了她。[Not moving] This island… was my mother’s. She is buried under the coral. Bones turned to reef stone. You… step on her spine. With your bell… you stilled the tides. Stilled her.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你母亲是个吃人的海妖。我初来岛上时,你从礁石后面扑出来,差点咬断我的手腕。是我手下留情,没把你钉死在铁柱上。是我教你说话,教你认火,教你不用生吞活鱼。Your mother was a man-eating sea-witch. When I first arrived, you lunged at me from behind those rocks and nearly bit through my wrist. I showed you mercy and didn’t nail you to that iron pillar. I taught you to speak, to recognize fire, to eat fish without swallowing them raw and alive.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[突然激动起来,声音变得急促] 你教我说话!我得的好处……便是如今学会了咒骂!我咒你这铁册子![指向洞内的《潮钟册》] 我咒你那鬼火奴才!我咒你那女儿—— [Suddenly agitated, voice quickening] You teach me to speak! The good I get… is now I learn to curse! I curse your iron book! [Pointing at the Tidal Bell Manual in the cave] I curse your ghost-fire slave! I curse your daughter—

[他猛地转向望汐。望汐后退一步,但没有躲开目光。鲛奴的嘴张合了几次,露出尖牙,但没有再说话。他的黑眼睛里有什么东西在翻滚——不是愤怒,是更古老的、无法命名的东西。]
[He turns sharply toward Wàngxī. She steps back but does not look away. The Shark-Slave’s mouth opens and closes several times, revealing his sharp teeth, but he says no more. Something churns in his black eyes—not anger, but something older, something unnameable.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[声音忽然低下去,几乎像耳语] 她笑起来……像海豚。像海豚。可我……咬不到她。[Voice suddenly dropping, almost a whisper] Her laugh… like a dolphin. Like a dolphin. But I… cannot bite her.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[平静地] 我当初可怜你。你那时困在渔网里,浑身是伤。是我替你剪开网绳的。你反咬我一口。[Calmly] I pitied you once. You were tangled in a fishing net, covered in wounds. I cut the ropes for you. And you bit me.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[低下头,看着自己的蹼手] 那时候……那时候我还以为……你是海里漂来给我的新娘。像海豹化成的女子。像母亲说的那些……那些变成人的鱼。我错了。你是岸上的人。你们都是岸上的人。[Looking down at his webbed hands] That time… that time I thought… you were a bride sent to me from the sea. Like a seal-woman. Like the ones Mother told of… fish who become human. I was wrong. You are shore people. You are all shore people.

[长久的沉默。只有海浪声。]
[A long silence. Only the sound of waves.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[声音里的锋芒收敛了一些] 去拾柴,鲛奴。拾完柴,今晚给你多一条鱼。[The edge in her voice softening slightly] Go gather wood, Shark-Slave. When you’re done, you’ll get an extra fish tonight.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[慢慢转身,向礁石走去] 鱼……我自己会抓。这岛……原是我的。[Turning slowly, moving toward the reef] Fish… I can catch myself. This island… was mine.

[他消失在岩石后。潮音望着他的背影,面无表情。]
[He disappears behind the rocks. Cháoyīn watches him go, expressionless.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲……他说的那些……珊瑚底下的声音…… Mother… what he said… the sounds under the coral…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
这岛上全是声音。风吹礁石洞的声音。浪退下去的声音。鬼火儿在钟里嗡鸣的声音。还有那些……[她顿了一下] ……还有那四十个弟兄。他们也在这片海底下。他们也在说话。只是你听不见。This island is full of sounds. Wind blowing through the reef holes. Waves pulling back. Guǐhuǒ’ér humming inside the bell. And those… [She pauses] …the forty brothers. They are under this sea too. They are speaking too. You just can’t hear them.

[远处传来一阵音乐——不是人间的乐器,而是风穿过不同粗细的绳索发出的声音,夹杂着细碎的铃声。望汐抬起头。]
[Music drifts from a distance—not from human instruments, but the sound of wind passing through ropes of different thicknesses, mixed with the faint jingle of bells. Wàngxī looks up.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
那是什么声音?What is that sound?

[音乐渐渐清晰。那是鬼火儿的歌声,从海面上飘来。]
[The music grows clearer. It is Guǐhuǒ’ér’s song, drifting over the sea.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[歌声,远处]
来到这片金黄沙岸,
手挽着手,
向狂浪行过礼,
亲吻过海的白沫,
便在这里轻轻起舞……

[Singing, distant]
Come onto this golden sand shore,
Hand in hand,
Bow to the wild waves,
Kiss the white foam of the sea,
And here, gently dance…

望汐/ Wàngxī
那是谁在唱?Who is that singing?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[嘴角微微上扬] 是鬼火儿。他把鱼饵带来了。[Slight smile at the corner of her mouth] It’s Guǐhuǒ’ér. He’s brought the bait.

[音乐渐近。一个青年的身影从礁石间走出来——费迪南。他浑身湿透,衣服破烂,赤着脚。他的眼睛红肿,神情恍惚,仿佛刚从一场噩梦中醒来。他循着音乐,一步一步走向洞窟。]
[The music draws nearer. A young man’s figure emerges from the rocks—Ferdinand. He is soaked, clothes torn, barefoot. His eyes are red and swollen, his expression dazed, as if waking from a nightmare. He follows the music, step by step, toward the cave.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[用荷兰语喃喃自语,然后换成生硬的官话] 这音乐……原先在耳边……如今又远了。它不像人间的声音。莫非这岛上……有神灵?[Muttering in Dutch, then switching to stiff Mandarin] This music… was in my ears… now it’s distant again. It doesn’t sound human. Could there be… spirits on this island?

[他抬起头,看见了望汐。他停住了。]
[He looks up and sees Wàngxī. He stops.]

[望汐也看见了他。这是她十五年来见到的第一个除了母亲和鲛奴以外的活人。她不由自主地向前迈了一步。]
[Wàngxī sees him too. This is the first living person besides her mother and the Shark-Slave she has seen in fifteen years. Unconsciously, she takes a step forward.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[用官话,声音发颤] 奇迹……奇迹一般的姑娘……你……你可还是……人?[In Mandarin, voice trembling] A miracle… a miraculous girl… are you… are you human?

望汐/ Wàngxī
[困惑地] 我不是什么奇迹。我只是……一个女子。[Puzzled] I am no miracle. I am just… a woman.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[跪下来] 我父亲……那不勒斯——不,巴达维亚的总督……范·阿隆索……若他还能听见,那就是我了。我是他的儿子,费迪南。我方才……方才船沉了。我以为所有人都死了。我以为自己也死了。可现在……我看见了你…… [Kneeling] My father… the Governor of Naples—no, Batavia… Van Alons… if he can still hear, that is me. I am his son, Ferdinand. Just now… the ship sank. I thought everyone was dead. I thought I was dead too. But now… I see you…

望汐/ Wàngxī
[转向潮音] 母亲,他在说什么?他说话好奇怪。[Turning to Cháoyīn] Mother, what is he saying? He speaks so strangely.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[冷冷地] 他在说他的来历。他是那条沉船上的。他父亲就是范·阿隆索——那个下令杀你父亲的人。[Coldly] He is explaining where he came from. He was on that sunken ship. His father is Van Alons—the man who gave the order to kill your father.

[望汐的身体僵住了。费迪南听不懂潮音的话,但感觉到了气氛的变化。]
[Wàngxī’s body stiffens. Ferdinand doesn’t understand Cháoyīn’s words but senses the shift in atmosphere.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[站起身,向望汐伸出手] 姑娘……我不知道你是什么人。是这岛上的仙女,还是海里的神灵。但我……从我第一眼见到你,我的心就…… [Standing, reaching a hand toward Wàngxī] Miss… I don’t know who you are. A fairy of this island, or a spirit of the sea. But I… from the first moment I saw you, my heart…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[打断他,用生硬的荷兰腔官话] 跟我走。别替他说情。他是个叛徒的儿子。[Interrupting, in stiff Dutch-accented Mandarin] Come with me. Don’t plead for him. He’s the son of a traitor.

[她抓住费迪南的手臂。费迪南想要挣脱,但潮音的手劲出奇地大。]
[She grabs Ferdinand’s arm. He tries to pull free, but Cháoyīn’s grip is surprisingly strong.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[挣扎] 放开我!我父亲会—— [Struggling] Let go of me! My father will—

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[换成官话] 你父亲?你父亲欠我四十条命。现在你替他还不了一根头发,但你可以替他做点别的。跟我走。[Switching to Mandarin] Your father? Your father owes me forty lives. You can’t repay a single hair for him now, but you can do something else in his place. Come with me.

[她拽着费迪南向洞窟走去。费迪南回头看着望汐。]
[She drags Ferdinand toward the cave. He looks back at Wàngxī.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[对望汐] 若不是还能每日看见这位姑娘一次……那其余整个世界的自由,我也并不羡慕![To Wàngxī] If I could not see this girl once a day… I would not envy the freedom of all the rest of the world!

[潮音把他推进洞窟。望汐站在原地,望着费迪南消失的方向,手不自觉地按在胸口。鬼火儿的歌声在远处飘荡,渐渐消散在风里。]
[Cháoyīn shoves him into the cave. Wàngxī stands where she is, watching the direction where Ferdinand disappeared, her hand unconsciously pressing against her chest. Guǐhuǒ’ér’s song drifts in the distance, slowly fading into the wind.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
[轻声] 母亲……他是谁?[Softly] Mother… who is he?

[潮音从洞口走出来,手里多了一捆绳索。她没有回答。她走到望汐面前,伸手理了理女儿被海风吹乱的头发。]
[Cháoyīn emerges from the cave, now carrying a coil of rope. She doesn’t answer. She walks to Wàngxī and smooths her daughter’s hair, tangled by the sea wind.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
他姓范。这就够了。进去吧。天快黑了。His name is Van. That’s enough. Go inside. It’s getting dark.

[望汐又望了一眼费迪南消失的方向,然后默默走进洞窟。潮音独自站在洞口,望着西沉的太阳。海面被染成金红色,像一大片稀释的血。她举起铁杖,向海面画了一个圈。远处,鬼火儿的青光闪了一下,然后熄灭。]
[Wàngxī glances once more in the direction Ferdinand disappeared, then silently enters the cave. Cháoyīn stands alone at the entrance, watching the setting sun. The sea is stained gold-red, like a vast wash of diluted blood. She raises her staff and draws a circle toward the sea. In the distance, Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light flashes once, then extinguishes.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[低声] 四十个弟兄。第一个已经来了。剩下的,也快了。[Low] Forty brothers. The first one has come. The rest will be here soon.

[她转身走进洞窟。灯光渐暗。海浪声持续了片刻,然后也被黑暗吞没。]
[She turns and enters the cave. Lights fade. The sound of waves lingers a moment, then is swallowed by darkness.]

第一幕 终
End of Act One

)(*)(

第二幕 (Act Two)

第四场 (Scene Four)

岛上另一处。一片荒凉而明亮的珊瑚石滩。日头偏西,海面泛着金红色的光。
Another part of the island. A desolate but bright coral strand. The sun is sinking westward; the sea glows gold-red.

[范·阿隆索坐在一块礁石上,浑身湿透,衣服上沾满海藻和沙砾。他的脸上毫无血色,眼睛空洞地望着海面。霍萨洛站在他身旁,手里拿着一本被海水泡胀的航海日志,正徒劳地试图翻开粘连的书页。塞巴斯蒂安倚在一块礁石上,用匕首剔着指甲里的沙,嘴角挂着一丝若有若无的冷笑。安东独自站在稍远处,背对众人,面朝大海,手里握着一支短铳,正在检查火药是否受潮。]
[Van Alons sits on a rock, soaked through, his clothes covered in seaweed and sand. His face is bloodless, his eyes stare hollowly at the sea. Huòsàluò stands beside him, holding a seawater-swollen logbook, vainly trying to separate its stuck pages. Sebastiaan leans against a rock, cleaning sand from under his nails with a dagger, a faint, ambiguous sneer on his lips. Anton stands apart, further away, his back to the others, facing the sea, holding a short musket, checking if the powder is wet.]

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[合上日志,叹了口气] 请宽心些,总督大人。咱们虽失去船、货物、水手……可活着这件事,已经比失去的一切都重。只要还有一口气,就能—— [Closing the logbook with a sigh] Take heart, Your Excellency. Though we have lost ship, cargo, sailors… being alive outweighs everything we’ve lost. As long as there is breath, we can—

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[打断他] 就能怎样?再被海风吹干成咸鱼?你的安慰,霍萨洛,像隔夜的冷汤一样叫人难以下咽。[Interrupting] —do what? Be dried into salted fish by the sea wind? Your comfort, Huòsàluò, is like cold soup left overnight—hard to swallow.

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[没有抬头] 我失去了儿子。费迪南。我的儿子。[Without looking up] I have lost my son. Ferdinand. My son.

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
大人,我们还没有找到他的—— My lord, we haven’t yet found his—

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[声音嘶哑] 我看着他跳下去的。浪那么高。他跳下去了。他才十九岁。他母亲临死前,我答应过她,要把儿子带回阿姆斯特丹。现在……现在我连他的尸首都带不回去了。[Voice hoarse] I saw him jump. The waves were so high. He jumped. He was only nineteen. His mother, on her deathbed, made me promise to bring our son back to Amsterdam. Now… now I can’t even bring back his body.

[长久的沉默。只有海浪拍打礁石的声音。安东始终没有回头。]
[A long silence. Only the sound of waves against the reef. Anton never turns around.]

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[收起匕首,走到范·阿隆索面前] 兄长,悲伤没有用。我们得想办法离开这座鬼地方。你看见那些火了吗?桅杆上那些青蓝色的火?那不是普通的闪电。这岛上……有东西。[Sheathing his dagger, walking to Van Alons] Brother, grief is useless. We need to find a way off this cursed place. Did you see those fires? The blue-green flames on the masts? That was no ordinary lightning. There is… something on this island.

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[不安地] 那是鬼火。闽南水手都这么说。人溺死在海上,魂散不掉,就变成火,在桅杆上跳舞。是凶兆,也是引路的。有时候……会把人引到礁石上撞碎。[Uneasily] That was ghost-fire. That’s what the Hokkien sailors call it. When a man drowns at sea and his spirit cannot scatter, it turns into fire and dances on the masts. It’s an ill omen, but also a guide. Sometimes… it guides ships onto the reefs to be crushed.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
引路?引到什么鬼地方?Guide? Guide to what cursed place?

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[压低声音] 我船舱里供着妈祖像。风暴来的时候,我点了香。香烧到一半,自己灭了。三次。我心里就凉了。这岛上……不止我们。[Lowering his voice] I keep a shrine to Mazu in my cabin. When the storm hit, I lit incense. It went out by itself halfway through burning. Three times. My heart went cold. We are not alone on this island.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[冷笑] 妈祖。一个中国木偶。你就靠那个?[Sneering] Mazu. A Chinese wooden doll. You put your faith in that?

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[平静地] 我在这些海域航了三十年。见过的东西比您多,塞巴斯蒂安大人。有些东西,不是靠《圣经》就能解释的。[Calmly] I have sailed these waters for thirty years. I have seen more things than you, Lord Sebastiaan. Some things cannot be explained by the Bible.

安东/ Anton
[突然开口,仍然背对众人] 他说得对。[Suddenly speaking, still facing away] He’s right.

[所有人转向他。]
[Everyone turns to him.]

安东/ Anton
[转过身来,短铳已经收进了腰间] 这岛上……不止我们。我闻到了。[Turning around, the musket now tucked in his belt] We are not alone on this island. I smell it.

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
闻到?闻到什么?Smell? Smell what?

安东/ Anton
[缓步走向众人] 烧过的香。旧渔网。晒干的鱼骨。还有……[他顿了一下] ……血腥味。很淡。被海风盖住了。但不是新鲜的血。是很老的血。老到渗进石头里,渗进珊瑚里,每次退潮就泛上来一点。[Walking slowly toward the group] Burned incense. Old fishing nets. Dried fish bones. And… [He pauses] …the smell of blood. Faint. Covered by the sea wind. But not fresh blood. Old blood. So old it’s soaked into the stone, into the coral, and rises a little with every ebbing tide.

[塞巴斯蒂安和霍萨洛交换了一个眼神。范·阿隆索慢慢抬起头。]
[Sebastiaan and Huòsàluò exchange a look. Van Alons slowly raises his head.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
安东。你从前在这片海混过。你知道这是什么地方?Anton. You sailed these waters before. Do you know what place this is?

安东/ Anton
[望向远处的海面] 听说过。水手们管它叫”鬼岛”。说是有进无出。礁石像鲨鱼牙,专门咬船的龙骨。还说岛上住着一个女人。一个被海吐出来的女人。她有一口钟。钟一响,风就变方向。[Gazing at the distant sea] I’ve heard of it. Sailors call it ‘Ghost Island.’ They say you can enter but never leave. The reefs are like shark’s teeth, made to bite the keels of ships. And they say a woman lives on it. A woman vomited up by the sea. She has a bell. When the bell rings, the wind changes direction.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
女人?一个?A woman? Just one?

安东/ Anton
[嘴角抽搐了一下] 一个。[A tic at the corner of his mouth] Just one.

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[站起身] 你在说笑话。[Standing] You’re joking.

安东/ Anton
[迎上他的目光] 我从来不说笑话,总督大人。您知道的。[Meeting his gaze] I never joke, Your Excellency. You know that.

[两人对视。安东的眼神里有什么东西让范·阿隆索沉默了。]
[The two stare at each other. Something in Anton’s eyes silences Van Alons.]

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[打破沉默] 那我们现在怎么办?天快黑了。在这种岛上,天黑以后……[他没有说完。] [Breaking the silence] Then what do we do now? It’s almost dark. On an island like this, after dark… [He doesn’t finish.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[深吸一口气] 找淡水。找能生火的东西。找——[他的声音哽了一下] ——找我儿子。活要见人,死要见尸。[Taking a deep breath] Find fresh water. Find something to burn. Find— [His voice catches] —find my son. Alive or dead, I will see him.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[轻声,像是自言自语] 死要见尸……是啊。总要见到的。[Softly, as if to himself] Dead or alive, I will see him… Yes. One way or another.

[安东看了塞巴斯蒂安一眼。两人的目光在暮色中交汇了片刻。范·阿隆索已经转身向岛内走去,没有注意到。霍萨洛跟在他身后,步履蹒跚。]
[Anton glances at Sebastiaan. Their eyes meet for a moment in the twilight. Van Alons has already turned to walk inland, not noticing. Huòsàluò follows him, stumbling slightly.]

安东/ Anton
[压低声音,对塞巴斯蒂安] 你方才说什么?[Lowering his voice, to Sebastiaan] What did you just say?

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[同样压低声音] 我说什么了?[Also lowering his voice] What did I say?

安东/ Anton
“总要见到的。” ‘One way or another.’

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[微微一笑] 我说我兄长的儿子。费迪南。总要见到尸首的。怎么,你想到别处去了?[Smiling faintly] I meant my brother’s son. Ferdinand. We’ll see his body one way or another. Why? Did you think I meant something else?

[安东没有回答。他望着塞巴斯蒂安的背影,手不自觉地按在了腰间的短铳上。]
[Anton doesn’t answer. He watches Sebastiaan’s back, his hand unconsciously moving to the musket at his belt.]

[灯光渐暗。远处,鬼火儿的青光在礁石间闪了一下,又消失了。]
[Lights dim. In the distance, Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light flashes once among the reefs, then vanishes.]

)(*)(

第五场 (Scene Five)

岛上另一处。一片向内陆延伸的沙地,周围长着低矮的、被海风吹弯的灌木。天色已近黄昏。
Another part of the island. A stretch of sandy ground extending inland, surrounded by low shrubs bent by the sea wind. Dusk is approaching.

[塞巴斯蒂安和安东走在范·阿隆索和霍萨洛的后面,渐渐拉开了距离。范·阿隆索的身影在前方越来越模糊。霍萨洛时不时回头,但最终也消失在灌木丛后。只剩下塞巴斯蒂安和安东两人,并肩走在暮色中。]
[Sebastiaan and Anton walk behind Van Alons and Huòsàluò, gradually falling further behind. Van Alons’s figure grows indistinct ahead. Huòsàluò glances back occasionally but eventually disappears behind the shrubs. Only Sebastiaan and Anton remain, walking side by side in the dusk.]

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[忽然开口,声音很轻] 你说,我兄长还能活多久?[Suddenly speaking, very softly] Tell me—how much longer do you think my brother has to live?

安东/ Anton
[没有停下脚步] 什么意思?[Not breaking stride] What do you mean?

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
没什么意思。随便问问。一个失去了儿子的父亲,心都碎了,还能撑多久?一天?两天?还是今晚就会走到礁石边,往下一跳?Nothing. Just wondering. A father who has lost his son, his heart broken—how long can he hold on? A day? Two? Or will he walk to the edge of the reef tonight and throw himself in?

安东/ Anton
[停下脚步] 你到底想说什么?[Stopping] What exactly are you trying to say?

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[也停下脚步,转身面对安东] 我想说,费迪南死了。我兄长也等于死了。他活着和死了没什么两样。那……那不勒——不,巴达维亚总督的位置,就空出来了。[Also stopping, turning to face Anton] I’m saying Ferdinand is dead. And my brother might as well be. Alive or dead, there’s no difference. Which means… the position of Governor of Naples—no, Batavia—is vacant.

安东/ Anton
[面无表情] 巴达维亚总督是公司任命的。不是你我能决定的。[Expressionless] The Governor of Batavia is appointed by the Company. It’s not for you or me to decide.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[向前迈了一步,声音压得更低] 在这座岛上,没有公司。没有董事会。没有十七人会议。只有我们。我。你。还有那边那个……行尸走肉。[Stepping closer, voice dropping even lower] On this island, there is no Company. No board of directors. No Council of Seventeen. There is only us. You. Me. And that… walking corpse over there.

[他朝范·阿隆索消失的方向扬了扬下巴。]
[He gestures with his chin toward where Van Alons disappeared.]

安东/ Anton
[沉默片刻] 霍萨洛呢?[Pausing] And Huòsàluò?

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[轻蔑地] 一个画地图的老头。他连只鸡都不敢杀。[Dismissively] An old mapmaker. He wouldn’t dare kill a chicken.

安东/ Anton
他看见了。他会说出去。He’s seen things. He’ll talk.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
说出去?对谁说?对巴达维亚的董事会?[冷笑] 我们能不能离开这座岛还两说。但如果我们能离开……如果只有我们两个离开……那故事就由我们来写。Talk? To whom? The Company board in Batavia? [Sneering] Whether we can even leave this island is uncertain. But if we do leave… if only the two of us leave… then we write the story.

[安东盯着塞巴斯蒂安。他的脸上没有任何表情,但他的手又按在了短铳上。]
[Anton stares at Sebastiaan. His face shows no expression, but his hand moves to his musket again.]

安东/ Anton
你让我杀总督。You’re asking me to kill the Governor.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
我没让你杀任何人。我只是说,机会就在眼前。绝好的机会。这样的机会,一辈子只有一次。[他顿了顿] 你不是没杀过人,安东。你手上沾的血,比我还多。I’m not asking you to kill anyone. I’m simply saying: the opportunity is right here. A perfect opportunity. Such chances come once in a lifetime. [He pauses] You’ve killed before, Anton. You have more blood on your hands than I do.

安东/ Anton
[声音变冷] 我杀的是该杀的人。[Voice turning cold] I killed those who deserved to die.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
那我兄长呢?他下令杀的那些人呢?那艘中国商船上的人呢?”潮钟号”。四十条命。那命令是他签的字。他该不该死?And my brother? Those he ordered killed? The people on that Chinese merchant ship? The Tidal Bell. Forty lives. He signed that order. Does he deserve to die?

[安东的身体僵住了。他的手从短铳上滑落。]
[Anton’s body stiffens. His hand slips from the musket.]

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[观察到安东的反应,声音变得更柔] 我知道那件事。公司里人人都知道。你替他办了事,他给了你船长衔头。可你心里……真的服气吗?一个坐在巴达维亚办公室里签字的人,凭什么分走最大的那份?凭什么你替他沾血,他替你数钱?[Observing Anton’s reaction, voice softening further] I know about that. Everyone in the Company knows. You did the deed for him, and he gave you a captain’s commission. But in your heart… are you truly content? Why should a man who sits in an office in Batavia signing papers take the lion’s share? Why should you stain your hands with blood while he counts your money?

[长久的沉默。海风吹过灌木丛,发出沙沙的声响。远处的礁石间,一道青蓝色的微光亮起——鬼火儿正隐形站在他们身后几步远的地方,听着每一句话。]
[A long silence. The sea wind rustles through the shrubs. Among the distant reefs, a blue-green glimmer appears—Guǐhuǒ’ér stands invisible just a few steps behind them, listening to every word.]

安东/ Anton
[终于开口,声音沙哑] 你想怎么做?[Finally speaking, voice hoarse] How do you want to do it?

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[嘴角露出笑容] 今晚。等他睡着。这岛上到处是石头。一块石头落下去,跟浪拍礁石的声音没什么两样。明天早上,我们就说他自己走到礁石边,失足掉下去了。霍萨洛不会怀疑。他巴不得相信这是个意外。[Smile spreading] Tonight. When he’s asleep. This island is full of stones. The sound of a stone falling is no different from a wave hitting the reef. Tomorrow morning, we say he walked to the reef’s edge and slipped. Huòsàluò won’t question it. He’ll want to believe it was an accident.

安东/ Anton
[缓缓点头] 今晚。[Nodding slowly] Tonight.

[两人对视。塞巴斯蒂安伸出手。安东握住了。]
[They look at each other. Sebastiaan extends his hand. Anton takes it.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[隐形的歌声忽然在两人耳边响起,只有他们能听见]

你若还惜命,
就快把睡意驱散。
睁眼吧,睁眼吧,
小心身边的背叛。
刀在鞘里动,
石在手中攥,
血还没流下,
魂已经先散……

[Invisible song suddenly rising in their ears, audible only to them]

If you value your life,
Drive sleep away quickly.
Open your eyes, open your eyes,
Beware the betrayal at your side.
The knife stirs in its sheath,
The stone is clenched in the hand,
Blood has not yet been spilled,
But the soul has already scattered…

[塞巴斯蒂安和安东猛地分开。两人同时拔出武器——塞巴斯蒂安的匕首,安东的短铳——四处张望。但什么也没有。只有海风,只有渐暗的天光,只有远处海浪拍打礁石的节奏。]
[Sebastiaan and Anton spring apart. Both draw their weapons simultaneously—Sebastiaan’s dagger, Anton’s musket—scanning in all directions. But there is nothing. Only the sea wind, only the fading light, only the distant rhythm of waves on the reef.]

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[声音发抖] 谁?谁在唱?[Voice trembling] Who’s there? Who’s singing?

安东/ Anton
[脸色铁青] 没有人。是风。[Face ashen] No one. It’s the wind.

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
那不是风!那是—— That wasn’t the wind! That was—

安东/ Anton
[猛地抓住塞巴斯蒂安的手臂] 我说了,是风!把你的匕首收起来。走。跟上他们。快走。[Grabbing Sebastiaan’s arm roughly] I said it was the wind! Put your dagger away. Walk. Catch up to them. Now.

[他拽着塞巴斯蒂安向范·阿隆索的方向走去。两人脚步仓皇,不时回头张望。鬼火儿的青光在他们身后闪了一下,然后像被风吹灭的烛火一样消失了。]
[He drags Sebastiaan in the direction Van Alons went. Their steps are hurried; they glance back repeatedly. Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light flashes once behind them, then vanishes like a candle snuffed by the wind.]

)(*)(

第六场 (Scene Six)

岛上另一处。一片乱石嶙峋的荒地,靠近岛北的礁石群。天色已暗,月亮从云层后露出半张脸。海风带着腥咸味。
Another part of the island. A barren stretch of jagged rocks, near the northern reefs. Night has fallen; the moon shows half its face from behind the clouds. The sea wind carries a briny, fishy scent.

[鲛奴抱着一捆湿漉漉的柴,在乱石间艰难地行走。他的蹼足在锋利的礁石上留下一道道黏液痕迹。他一边走,一边低声嘟囔着,用的是那种含混不清的、像在水底说话的声音。]
[The Shark-Slave trudges through the rocks, carrying a bundle of damp firewood. His webbed feet leave trails of slime on the sharp reef stones. As he walks, he mutters to himself in that indistinct, underwater-sounding voice.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
柴……柴……她就要柴。潮音。船长。岸上的人。她踩在母亲的脊背上。母亲在底下唱。她听不见。她就要柴。Wood… wood… all she wants is wood. Cháoyīn. Captain. Shore person. She steps on Mother’s spine. Mother sings underneath. She can’t hear. She just wants wood.

[远处传来脚步声。鲛奴立刻伏下身,把自己藏在一块大礁石后面。他的黑眼睛在月光下闪着湿漉漉的光。]
[Footsteps in the distance. The Shark-Slave immediately crouches, hiding behind a large boulder. His black eyes gleam wetly in the moonlight.]

[特林鸠罗从灌木丛中钻出来。他浑身湿透,小丑服上沾满沙子和碎贝壳,帽子歪在一边,脸上挂着一种惊恐过度后反而麻木的神情。他手里攥着一只被海水泡涨的皮靴——那是他唯一从沉船上抢救出来的个人物品。]
[Trinculo emerges from the underbrush. He is soaked; his jester’s motley is covered in sand and broken shells, his cap askew. His face wears the numb expression that follows extreme terror. He clutches a seawater-swollen leather boot—the only personal possession he salvaged from the wreck.]

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[自言自语,用带着广东腔的官话] 好,好得很。船沉了。总督不见了。王子跳海了。我,特林鸠罗——澳门”醉仙楼”连续三年最受欢迎的小丑——沦落到在一座鬼岛上跟螃蟹抢地盘。[他踢了一脚沙子] 连只螃蟹都没有![To himself, in Mandarin with a Cantonese accent] Good. Very good. Ship sank. Governor missing. Prince jumped overboard. I, Trinculo—three years running the most popular jester at Macau’s ‘Drunken Immortal Tavern’—reduced to fighting crabs for territory on a ghost island. [He kicks at the sand] There aren’t even any crabs!

[他打了个喷嚏。]
[He sneezes.]

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
这什么鬼天气。白天热得像蒸笼,晚上风一吹,骨头缝里都是冰的。要是有口酒就好了。一口亚力酒。一口就行。[他舔了舔嘴唇] 斯提法诺那个酒鬼,肯定在沉船的时候只顾着抱他的酒坛子。现在大概正坐在海底跟龙王喝酒呢。该死的。What cursed weather. Hot as a steam basket by day; when the wind blows at night, the cold seeps into your very bones. If only I had a drink. A sip of arrack. Just one sip. [He licks his lips] That drunkard Stephano probably only grabbed his wine jar when the ship went down. He’s likely sitting at the bottom of the sea right now, drinking with the Dragon King. Damn him.

[远处传来一阵含混的声音——是鲛奴在礁石后面挪动了一下。特林鸠罗猛地僵住。]
[A muffled sound from a distance—the Shark-Slave shifting behind the rock. Trinculo freezes.]

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[压低声音] 什么东西?[Lowering his voice] What was that?

[他慢慢转过头,向礁石方向张望。月光下,他看见礁石后面露出一截灰蓝色的、粗糙如鲨鱼皮的肢体。那肢体动了一下。]
[He slowly turns his head, peering toward the boulder. In the moonlight, he sees a gray-blue, rough-skinned limb protruding from behind the rock. The limb moves.]

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[牙齿开始打颤] 妈祖保佑。观音菩萨。耶稣基督。谁都行。保佑我。保佑我。[Teeth chattering] Mazu protect me. Guanyin Bodhisattva. Jesus Christ. Anyone. Protect me. Protect me.

[鲛奴从礁石后面探出头来。月光照在他脸上——宽嘴,尖牙,黑眼睛里映着月光,像两颗黑色的珍珠。他张嘴,发出一声低沉的、像潮水退去时的叹息声。]
[The Shark-Slave pokes his head out from behind the boulder. Moonlight falls on his face—wide mouth, sharp teeth, black eyes reflecting the moon like two black pearls. He opens his mouth and emits a low sound, like the sigh of a retreating tide.]

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[一屁股坐在地上] 完了。我死了。这是地狱。我一定是死了。这是地狱里的鬼差。[Sitting down hard on the ground] It’s over. I’m dead. This is Hell. I must be dead. This is a demon from Hell.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[歪着头] 你……是鱼吗?[Tilting his head] Are you… a fish?

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[尖叫] 它会说话![Shrieking] It speaks!

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[慢慢从礁石后挪出来,整个身体暴露在月光下] 你会……流血吗?母亲说,岸上的人……都会流血。流红色的水。我想看。[Slowly shuffling out from behind the boulder, his whole body exposed in the moonlight] Do you… bleed? Mother said shore people… all bleed. Red water flows out. I want to see.

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[连滚带爬地后退] 别过来!别过来!我是小丑!我肉是酸的!我骨头是软的!你咬我一口会崩掉牙![Scrambling backward] Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer! I’m a jester! My flesh is sour! My bones are soft! If you bite me, you’ll break your teeth!

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[停住脚步,困惑地] 崩……牙?[Stopping, puzzled] Break… teeth?

[正在这时,远处传来一阵更大、更踉跄的脚步声。斯提法诺从另一个方向跌跌撞撞地走出来。他怀里抱着一只陶罐,浑身酒气,脸上带着一种醉醺醺的、盲目乐观的笑容。]
[Just then, louder, stumbling footsteps approach from another direction. Stephano staggers out from the other side, clutching a clay jar. He reeks of alcohol, his face wearing a drunken, blindly optimistic grin.]

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[用带着浓重荷兰口音的官话,舌头打结] 哈哈哈!你们这些旱鸭子!都淹死了吧!我可活得好好的![举起陶罐] 亚力酒!满满一罐!沉船的时候我抱着它跳海,它比救生圈还管用![In heavily Dutch-accented Mandarin, tongue thick] Ha ha ha! You landlubbers! All drowned, aren’t you! But I’m alive and well! [Raising the jar] Arrack! A full jar! I hugged it when I jumped ship—it was better than a life preserver!

[他踉跄了几步,差点绊倒,低头看见了坐在地上的特林鸠罗。]
[He stumbles a few steps, nearly trips, and looks down to see Trinculo sitting on the ground.]

斯提法诺/ Stefano
特林鸠罗!你这老狗!你也活着!Trinculo! You old dog! You’re alive too!

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[指着鲛奴,声音发颤] 斯提法诺……你……你看那边…… [Pointing at the Shark-Slave, voice trembling] Stephano… you… look over there…

[斯提法诺顺着他的手指看去。他看见了月光下的鲛奴——灰蓝的皮肤,尖牙,黑眼睛,蹼手。斯提法诺眨了眨眼。又眨了眨眼。然后咧嘴笑了。]
[Stephano follows his pointing finger. He sees the Shark-Slave in the moonlight—grey-blue skin, sharp teeth, black eyes, webbed hands. Stephano blinks. Blinks again. Then grins widely.]

斯提法诺/ Stefano
哈!这是什么怪物!是鱼还是人?Ha! What kind of monster is this! Is it a fish or a man?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[盯着斯提法诺怀里的陶罐] 那……是什么?[Staring at the jar in Stephano’s arms] What… is that?

斯提法诺/ Stefano
这个?[拍了拍陶罐] 这是神仙水!亚力酒!喝了它,你就是这岛上的王!来,怪物,尝一口。你要是尝了还站得住,我就认你当兄弟!This? [Patting the jar] This is divine water! Arrack! Drink it and you’ll be king of this island! Come on, monster, have a taste. If you can stand after tasting it, I’ll call you brother!

[他拔开陶罐的塞子,递向鲛奴。一股浓烈的酒香飘散开来。鲛奴的鼻孔翕动着,黑眼睛里闪过一种从未有过的光。他伸出蹼手,接过陶罐,小心翼翼地喝了一口。]
[He uncorks the jar and offers it to the Shark-Slave. A strong aroma of alcohol wafts out. The Shark-Slave’s nostrils flare; a light never seen before flashes in his black eyes. He extends a webbed hand, takes the jar, and carefully drinks a mouthful.]

[他的整个身体剧烈地颤抖了一下。他张大了嘴,尖牙在月光下闪着寒光。然后,一种奇怪的声音从他喉咙里发出来——不是咆哮,不是哭泣,而是某种介于两者之间的、沙哑的、断断续续的声音。他在笑。鲛奴平生第一次在笑。]
[His entire body shudders violently. He opens his mouth wide; his sharp teeth glint coldly in the moonlight. Then a strange sound comes from his throat—not a growl, not a cry, but something in between, rasping and broken. He is laughing. The Shark-Slave is laughing for the first time in his life.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[举起陶罐,对着月亮] 好……神!这是天上的酒![转向斯提法诺,跪了下来] 我愿跪倒在你面前。[Raising the jar to the moon] Good… gods! This is heavenly wine! [Turning to Stephano, kneeling] I will kneel before you.

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[得意地大笑] 看见没有,特林鸠罗!我收了个怪物当奴才![对鲛奴] 再来一口。拿着。亲亲这宝贝罐子。对着它起誓。[Laughing triumphantly] See that, Trinculo! I’ve got a monster for a servant! [To the Shark-Slave] Another sip. Take it. Kiss this precious jar. Swear your oath on it.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[又喝了一大口,然后虔诚地亲吻陶罐] 我要……跟着你。你这奇妙的人!你比潮音强。比那口钟强。比鬼火儿强。你是……真神。[Taking another large gulp, then reverently kissing the jar] I will… follow you. You wonderful person! You are greater than Cháoyīn. Greater than the bell. Greater than Guǐhuǒ’ér. You are… a true god.

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[从地上爬起来,拍着身上的沙] 斯提法诺,你疯了。这是个什么东西你都不知道。万一它半夜饿了,把我们俩当宵夜—— [Getting up, brushing sand off himself] Stephano, you’re insane. You don’t even know what this thing is. What if it gets hungry in the middle of the night and makes a midnight snack of us both—

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[挥手打断他] 闭嘴!它喝了我的酒,就是我的奴才。奴才不吃主人。这是规矩。[转向鲛奴] 怪物,你有名字吗?[Waving him off] Shut up! He drank my wine; he’s my servant now. A servant doesn’t eat his master. That’s the rule. [Turning to the Shark-Slave] Monster, do you have a name?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
潮音叫我……鲛奴。鲨鱼奴隶。Cháoyīn calls me… Shark-Slave. Shark slave.

斯提法诺/ Stefano
鲛奴?不好听。我叫你……”鱼将军”!怎么样?威风吧?Shark-Slave? Not a good name. I’ll call you… ‘General Fish’! How’s that? Impressive, right?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[黑眼睛发亮] 鱼……将军。好。我是鱼将军。你的将军。[Black eyes gleaming] General… Fish. Good. I am General Fish. Your general.

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[搂住鲛奴的肩膀,虽然他实际上只够到鲛奴的胸口] 好!鱼将军!现在,带你主人去你住的地方。我要找张床。找堆干草。再找点吃的。然后咱们商量商量,怎么把这座岛变成咱们的。[Throwing an arm around the Shark-Slave’s shoulders, though he only reaches the creature’s chest] Good! General Fish! Now, take your master to where you live. I need a bed. Some dry grass. Something to eat. Then we’ll discuss how to make this island ours.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[忽然压低声音,酒意让他的舌头更含混了,但眼睛里的光更亮了] 我……我知道怎么做。先取她的册子。那本《潮钟册》。没有册子,她的法术就散了。她就和我一样。只是岸上的人。[Suddenly lowering his voice, the alcohol making his tongue even looser, but his eyes brighter] I… I know how. First, take her book. The Tidal Bell Manual. Without the book, her magic scatters. She becomes like me. Just a shore person.

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[凑过来] 什么册子?谁的法术?[Leaning in] What book? Whose magic?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
潮音。这岛上……原来的主人。她踩在我母亲的脊背上。她有一口钟。一本鲨鱼皮册子。她靠它们叫风,叫浪,叫鬼火。[抓住斯提法诺的手臂,蹼手黏湿] 你帮我取册子。杀了她。这岛……就是你的。她的女儿……也归你。Cháoyīn. The… former mistress of this island. She steps on my mother’s spine. She has a bell. A shark-skin book. She uses them to call the wind, call the waves, call the ghost-fire. [Grabbing Stephano’s arm, webbed hand slimy] You help me take the book. Kill her. The island… is yours. Her daughter… also yours.

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[眼睛亮了] 女儿?她有女儿?[Eyes lighting up] A daughter? She has a daughter?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
望汐。笑起来像海豚。[他的声音忽然变得古怪,像是两种声音叠在一起——他自己的含混嗓音,和一种更古老、更流畅的、像潮水一样的声音] 我本来……要娶她的。母亲答应过的。海里的新娘。可她现在是岸上的人了。她不要我了。Wàngxī. Her laugh is like a dolphin. [His voice suddenly becomes strange, like two voices layered—his own indistinct one, and an older, more fluid voice, like the tide] I was supposed… to marry her. Mother promised. A bride from the sea. But she is a shore person now. She doesn’t want me anymore.

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[拍了拍鲛奴的背] 别难过,鱼将军。等我当了岛上的王,我给你找条母鲨鱼。现在,带路。去找那本册子。[Clapping the Shark-Slave on the back] Don’t be sad, General Fish. When I’m king of this island, I’ll find you a lady shark. Now, lead the way. Let’s go find that book.

[三人向岛内走去。斯提法诺抱着酒罐,哼着荷兰水手的调子。特林鸠罗跟在后面,一边走一边神经质地回头张望。鲛奴走在最前面,他的蹼足在沙地上留下一串潮湿的印记,在月光下闪着微光。]
[The three move inland. Stephano cradles his wine jar, humming a Dutch sailor’s tune. Trinculo follows behind, glancing back nervously as he walks. The Shark-Slave leads the way, his webbed feet leaving a trail of damp prints on the sand, glistening faintly in the moonlight.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[忽然停下脚步,抬起头,像在听什么] 这岛……满是声音。[Suddenly stopping, raising his head as if listening to something] This island… is full of sounds.

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[紧张地] 什么声音?[Nervously] What sounds?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[闭上眼睛] 不是你们说话的声音。是底下。底下传来的。我母亲睡在珊瑚里。她在唱。还有那些……那些你们看不见的。他们也在唱。风吹过礁石洞的时候,像笛子。浪退下去的时候,像叹气。[Closing his eyes] Not the sound of you talking. Underneath. Coming from underneath. My mother sleeps in the coral. She sings. And those… those you cannot see. They sing too. Wind through the reef holes, like a flute. Waves pulling back, like a sigh.

[他睁开眼睛,转向斯提法诺和特林鸠罗。月光下,他的黑眼睛里似乎有什么东西在游动——不是瞳孔,而是更深的、更古老的影子。]
[He opens his eyes and turns to Stephano and Trinculo. In the moonlight, something seems to swim in his black eyes—not pupils, but deeper, older shadows.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
你们听不见。你们是岸上的人。你们的耳朵里……只有你们自己的声音。You cannot hear. You are shore people. In your ears… there is only the sound of yourselves.

[他转身继续走。斯提法诺和特林鸠罗对视一眼,跟了上去。三人消失在乱石和灌木丛的阴影中。海风穿过礁石洞,发出呜咽般的声响。]
[He turns and continues walking. Stephano and Trinculo exchange a glance, then follow. The three disappear into the shadows of the rocks and shrubs. The sea wind moans through the reef holes.]

)(*)(

第七场 (Scene Seven)

岛上另一处。林间空地。堆着未劈开的木柴。月光从树冠的缝隙间洒下来,在地面上投下斑驳的银光。远处传来海浪拍岸的声音,节奏缓慢,像呼吸。
Another part of the island. A forest clearing. Unsplit firewood is piled nearby. Moonlight filters through gaps in the canopy, casting dappled silver on the ground. In the distance, the sound of waves against the shore, slow and rhythmic, like breathing.

[费迪南赤着上身,正在劈柴。他的手掌已经磨出了水泡,水泡破了,渗出血来。他的背上全是汗水,在月光下闪着光。他的动作机械而疲惫,但每劈开一块木柴,他就会停下来喘一口气,然后继续。旁边已经堆起了整齐的柴垛。]
[Ferdinand, stripped to the waist, is chopping wood. His palms have blistered; the blisters have burst and are bleeding. His back is slick with sweat, glistening in the moonlight. His movements are mechanical and weary, but after each split log, he pauses to catch his breath, then continues. A neat pile of wood has already been stacked beside him.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[一边劈柴,一边低声自语] 这种粗贱的劳役……本该叫人厌恶得难以忍受。我在巴达维亚的府邸里,连茶都是仆人端到嘴边的。可现在……[他劈开一块木柴] ……可我想到她……想到那个姑娘……这劳苦便轻了。[Chopping wood, muttering to himself] This low, crude labor… should be unbearably hateful. In my residence in Batavia, servants brought tea to my very lips. But now… [He splits a log] …but when I think of her… of that girl… the labor becomes light.

[望汐从树影中走出来。她穿着一件粗布衫,头发用一根鱼骨簪子挽着。她手里端着一只木碗,碗里装着清水。她看见费迪南背上的血迹,停住了脚步。]
[Wàngxī emerges from the tree shadows. She wears a coarse cloth shirt, her hair pinned up with a fish-bone hairpin. She carries a wooden bowl filled with clear water. She sees the blood on Ferdinand’s back and stops.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
[轻声] 你流血了。[Softly] You’re bleeding.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[猛地转身] 你——你怎么来了?你母亲—— [Spinning around] You—how did you come here? Your mother—

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲睡了。她每晚这个时候都要去钟那边。我不知道她做什么。她不让我跟。Mother is asleep. She goes to the bell at this hour every night. I don’t know what she does. She won’t let me follow.

[她走近费迪南,把木碗递给他。费迪南接过碗,但没有喝。他只是看着她。]
[She approaches Ferdinand and offers him the wooden bowl. He takes it but doesn’t drink. He just looks at her.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
你喝吧。是泉水。岛中间有一口泉。很甜。鲛奴说那是他母亲哭出来的。我不信。Drink. It’s spring water. There’s a spring in the middle of the island. Very sweet. The Shark-Slave says it came from his mother’s tears. I don’t believe it.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[喝了一口水,眼睛没有离开望汐] 谢谢。[Drinking a sip, eyes never leaving Wàngxī] Thank you.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[看着他的手] 你的手破了。你为什么不歇一歇?[Looking at his hands] Your hands are torn. Why don’t you rest?

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[放下碗,捡起斧头] 你母亲说,天黑之前要劈完这堆柴。劈不完,明天加倍。[Putting down the bowl, picking up the axe] Your mother said I must finish this pile before dark. If I don’t, tomorrow I do double.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[伸手按住斧柄] 放下吧。歇一歇。[Reaching out, pressing down on the axe handle] Put it down. Rest a while.

[费迪南看着她的手。她的手很小,被海风吹得有些粗糙,指甲缝里还带着沙。但按在斧柄上的力道很坚决。他松开了斧头。]
[Ferdinand looks at her hand. It is small, roughened by the sea wind, traces of sand still in the creases of her nails. But the pressure on the axe handle is firm. He releases the axe.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
你叫什么名字?What is your name?

望汐/ Wàngxī
望汐。望海的望,潮汐的汐。Wàngxī. ‘Wàng’ as in gazing at the sea. ‘Xī’ as in the evening tide.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
望汐……[他用生硬的官话重复了一遍,发音不准,但很认真] 望……汐。[换成荷兰语,像是自言自语] Miranda. Het betekent “zij die bewonderd moet worden.” 值得仰望的人。Wàngxī… [He repeats it in stiff Mandarin, the pronunciation off but earnest] Wàng… xī. [Switching to Dutch, as if to himself] Miranda. Het betekent “zij die bewonderd moet worden.” Worthy of admiration.

望汐/ Wàngxī
你在说什么?我听不懂。What are you saying? I don’t understand.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[摇摇头,换成官话] 没什么。我的名字叫费迪南。我父亲是—— [Shaking his head, switching to Mandarin] Nothing. My name is Ferdinand. My father is—

望汐/ Wàngxī
我知道你父亲是谁。[她的声音变冷了] 我母亲告诉我了。范·阿隆索。他下令杀了四十个人。我父亲也在其中。I know who your father is. [Her voice turns cold] My mother told me. Van Alons. He ordered the killing of forty people. My father was among them.

[费迪南的脸色变了。他张了张嘴,没有说出话来。]
[Ferdinand’s face changes. He opens his mouth but says nothing.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
[盯着他] 你知道吗?你知道你父亲做过的事吗?[Staring at him] Do you know? Do you know what your father did?

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[艰难地] 我……听说过一些。商船。中国商船。公司有时候会……[他低下头] 我从来没有问过细节。我不想知道。[Struggling] I… I’ve heard things. Merchant ships. Chinese merchant ships. The Company sometimes… [He lowers his head] I never asked for details. I didn’t want to know.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[声音颤抖] 我母亲说,你父亲坐在巴达维亚的办公室里,签了一张纸。那张纸上写着:杀了他们。于是四十个人就死了。我父亲就死了。我在我母亲肚子里,差点也死了。[Voice trembling] My mother said your father sat in his office in Batavia and signed a piece of paper. That paper said: Kill them. And so forty people died. My father died. I was in my mother’s belly and almost died too.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[抬起头,眼睛红了] 我不知道。我真的不知道。我只是……我只是他的儿子。我没有选择他是谁。[Looking up, eyes reddening] I didn’t know. I truly didn’t know. I am just… I am just his son. I didn’t choose who he is.

望汐/ Wàngxī
我也没有选择我父亲是谁。他死了。我连他的脸都没见过。只在梦里。I didn’t choose my father either. He is dead. I have never even seen his face. Only in dreams.

[长久的沉默。海风吹过树冠,发出沙沙的声响。远处,鬼火儿的青光在林间闪了一下,又消失了。]
[A long silence. The sea wind rustles through the canopy. In the distance, Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light flashes once among the trees, then vanishes.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[轻声] 望汐。我可以……我可以不做他的儿子。如果那能让你……[他没有说完。] [Softly] Wàngxī. I can… I can stop being his son. If that would make you… [He doesn’t finish.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
[看着他] 不做他的儿子?怎么不做?[Looking at him] Stop being his son? How?

费迪南/ Ferdinand
我留在这里。我不回去了。不回巴达维亚,不回阿姆斯特丹,不回任何他替我安排好的地方。我留在这座岛上。劈柴。挑水。什么都行。I will stay here. I won’t go back. Not to Batavia, not to Amsterdam, not to any place he has arranged for me. I will stay on this island. Chop wood. Carry water. Anything.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[声音很轻] 你连我的名字都念不准。[Very softly] You can’t even say my name right.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[认真地] 那你教我。教我念准。教我所有你会的词。礁石。海。月亮。潮水。你教什么,我学什么。[Earnestly] Then teach me. Teach me to say it right. Teach me all the words you know. Reef. Sea. Moon. Tide. Whatever you teach, I will learn.

[望汐看着他。月光下,他的脸上有汗水、血渍、沙砾,还有某种让她胸口发紧的东西。她伸出手,轻轻碰了碰他磨破的掌心。]
[Wàngxī looks at him. In the moonlight, his face bears sweat, bloodstains, grit, and something else that makes her chest tighten. She reaches out and gently touches his torn palm.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
礁石。Reef.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
礁石。Reef.

望汐/ Wàngxī
潮水。Tide.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
潮水。Tide.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[收回手] 你的手要上药。岛上有一种草,嚼烂了敷在伤口上,两天就好。明天我带你去找。[Withdrawing her hand] Your hands need medicine. There’s an herb on the island. Chew it up, put it on the wound, and it heals in two days. Tomorrow I’ll take you to find some.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[忽然握住她的手] 望汐。从我第一眼见到你那刻起,我的心便飞到你那里去了。我不知道这是不是这岛上的魔法。我不知道你是不是真的。但如果是梦,我宁愿永远不醒。[Suddenly holding her hand] Wàngxī. From the first moment I saw you, my heart flew to you. I don’t know if this is the island’s magic. I don’t know if you are real. But if this is a dream, I would rather never wake.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[没有抽回手] 这不是梦。这是潮钟岛。我母亲说,梦是另一种潮水。来了,又退了。留下的只有沙。[Not pulling her hand away] This is not a dream. This is Tidal Bell Island. My mother says dreams are another kind of tide. They come, and they go. What remains is only sand.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
那我不是梦。我是沙。Then I am not a dream. I am sand.

[远处传来钟声——低沉、悠长,像鲸鱼的歌。那是潮钟在响。望汐抽回手,站起身。]
[A bell tolls in the distance—low, long, like a whale’s song. It is the Tidal Bell. Wàngxī withdraws her hand and stands.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲在叫我了。我得回去。My mother is calling me. I have to go back.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[站起身] 我还能再见到你吗?[Standing] Will I see you again?

望汐/ Wàngxī
[走到树影边缘,回过头] 明天。我带你去采药。[Reaching the edge of the tree shadows, turning back] Tomorrow. I’ll take you to gather herbs.

[她消失在树影中。费迪南独自站在月光下,看着自己的手——掌心有血迹,也有她指尖触碰过的地方。他慢慢握紧拳头,又松开。远处,潮钟的嗡鸣渐渐消散。]
[She disappears into the tree shadows. Ferdinand stands alone in the moonlight, looking at his hand—blood on the palm, and the place where her fingertips touched. He slowly clenches his fist, then releases it. In the distance, the Tidal Bell‘s hum fades.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[对着空无一人的林地] 礁石。潮水。望汐。[To the empty clearing] Reef. Tide. Wàngxī.

[他捡起斧头,继续劈柴。但动作变了——不再是疲惫的、机械的劳役,而是一种带着节奏的、近乎虔诚的重复。每一斧落下,他的嘴唇都在动,无声地练习着那几个音节。]
[He picks up the axe and continues chopping. But his movements have changed—no longer weary, mechanical labor, but a rhythmic, almost reverent repetition. With each swing of the axe, his lips move, silently practicing those syllables.]

)(*)(

第八场 (Scene Eight)

岛上。潮音洞窟附近的高处。一块突出海面的岩石平台。夜已深。月亮高悬,海面铺满碎银。
The island. High ground near Cháoyīn’s cave. A rocky platform jutting out over the sea. Deep night. The moon hangs high; the sea is paved with shattered silver.

[潮音独自站在平台上,手持铁杖。她面前是那口青铜钟,悬在一根鲸骨做成的架子上。钟身上刻满了古篆字,在月光下泛着青绿色的幽光。《潮钟册》摊开在旁边的石台上,鲨鱼皮书页被海风吹得轻轻翻动。]
[Cháoyīn stands alone on the platform, holding her iron staff. Before her is the bronze bell, hanging from a frame made of whalebone. The bell is carved with ancient seal script characters that glow faintly green-blue in the moonlight. The Tidal Bell Manual lies open on a stone table nearby, its shark-skin pages fluttering lightly in the sea wind.]

[她闭上眼睛。嘴唇微动,念诵着什么——不是官话,不是闽南语,而是一种更古老的语言,像潮水退去时卵石滚动的声音。钟开始自鸣。不是被敲响,而是从内部发出低沉的嗡鸣,与她的念诵共振。]
[She closes her eyes. Her lips move slightly, chanting something—not Mandarin, not Hokkien, but an older tongue, like the sound of pebbles rolling as the tide retreats. The bell begins to ring by itself. Not struck, but emitting a low hum from within, resonating with her chant.]

[海面上升起了磷光。先是几点,然后是一片,像无数只发光的眼睛在水下睁开。那些磷光慢慢聚拢,形成模糊的人形轮廓——四十个。他们站在水面上,仰望着潮音,没有面孔,只有光的形状。]
[Phosphorescence rises from the sea. A few points at first, then a whole field, like countless luminous eyes opening beneath the water. The phosphorescence slowly gathers, forming vague human outlines—forty of them. They stand on the surface of the water, looking up at Cháoyīn. They have no faces, only shapes of light.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[睁开眼睛,对着海面上的光影说话,声音沙哑] 四十个弟兄。阿海。你们在底下,冷吗?[Opening her eyes, speaking to the shapes of light on the sea, voice hoarse] Forty brothers. Āhǎi. Down there, are you cold?

[磷光人形轻轻晃动,像在回应。海风忽然紧了,带来一阵低沉的呜咽声——那声音不是从任何一个人形发出的,而是从整片海面升起来的,像四十个人同时在很远很远的地方叹息。]
[The phosphorescent figures sway gently, as if in response. The sea wind suddenly tightens, bringing a low moan—a sound not from any single figure, but rising from the entire surface of the sea, like forty people sighing together from somewhere very, very far away.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
快了。我向你们保证。安东还活着。范·阿隆索还活着。他们都在岛上。他们都逃不掉。Soon. I promise you. Anton is still alive. Van Alons is still alive. They are both on this island. They cannot escape.

[她伸手触碰钟身。钟声变了,变得更高、更急,像心跳。海面上的磷光人形开始剧烈地晃动,有些甚至向上伸展,仿佛想要攀上岩石。]
[She reaches out and touches the bell. Its tone changes, becoming higher, more urgent, like a heartbeat. The phosphorescent figures on the sea begin to sway violently; some even stretch upward, as if trying to climb onto the rock.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[声音突然变得锋利] 但还不够。光是死,不够。我要他们先看见我。先记起来自己做过什么。先……跪下来。[Voice suddenly sharpening] But it’s not enough. Death alone is not enough. I want them to see me first. To remember what they did. To… kneel.

[钟声骤然停止。磷光人形僵住了。潮音收回手,喘息着,额头渗出汗水。]
[The bell’s tone cuts off abruptly. The phosphorescent figures freeze. Cháoyīn pulls back her hand, breathing hard, sweat beading on her forehead.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[低声,像对自己说] 可那之后呢?杀了他们,你们就能安息了吗?我就能安息了吗?[Low, as if to herself] But what comes after? If I kill them, will you rest? Will I rest?

[没有人回答。海面上的磷光人形静静地站着,没有面孔,没有声音。月亮被云遮住了片刻,然后又露出来。磷光开始消散,一个接一个,像烛火被风吹灭。最后只剩下海面上散落的碎光,像眼泪。]
[No one answers. The phosphorescent figures stand silently on the sea, faceless, voiceless. The moon is briefly covered by a cloud, then emerges again. The phosphorescence begins to dissipate, one by one, like candles snuffed by the wind. Finally, only scattered fragments of light remain on the sea, like tears.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对着空荡荡的海面] 我不知道。我真的不知道。[To the empty sea] I don’t know. I truly don’t know.

[她合上《潮钟册》,转身离开平台。钟在月光下沉默着,钟身上的古篆字像无数只闭着的眼睛。海风停了。海面重归黑暗。]
[She closes the Tidal Bell Manual and turns to leave the platform. The bell sits silent in the moonlight, its ancient seal script characters like countless closed eyes. The sea wind stops. The sea returns to darkness.]

第二幕 终
End of Act Two

)(*)(

第三幕 (Act Three)

第九场 (Scene Nine)

岛上。潮音洞窟前的空地。黎明前最黑暗的时辰。海面平静如镜,没有一丝风。
The island. The open ground before Cháoyīn’s cave. The darkest hour before dawn. The sea is still as a mirror; there is no wind.

[洞窟前,费迪南睡在一堆干海草上,身上盖着一片旧帆。他的手上缠着捣碎的草药叶子——望汐白天替他敷上的。他的呼吸平稳,脸上带着一种疲惫后彻底放松的神情。]
[Before the cave, Ferdinand sleeps on a pile of dry seaweed, covered by a piece of old sailcloth. His hands are wrapped with crushed herbal leaves—Wàngxī applied them during the day. His breathing is steady; his face wears the expression of complete release after exhaustion.]

[望汐坐在洞口,没有睡。她望着费迪南的睡脸,手指无意识地绞着衣角。潮音从洞内走出来,手里拿着《潮钟册》。她看了一眼女儿,又看了一眼熟睡的费迪南。]
[Wàngxī sits at the cave mouth, not sleeping. She watches Ferdinand’s sleeping face, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt. Cháoyīn emerges from the cave, carrying the Tidal Bell Manual. She glances at her daughter, then at the sleeping Ferdinand.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你没睡。You haven’t slept.

望汐/ Wàngxī
睡不着。Can’t sleep.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
因为那边那个?Because of that one over there?

[望汐没有回答。潮音走到她身边,坐了下来。母女俩并肩望着海面。东方还没有亮光,但星星已经开始变淡了。]
[Wàngxī doesn’t answer. Cháoyīn walks over and sits beside her. Mother and daughter sit side by side, gazing at the sea. There is no light yet in the east, but the stars are already beginning to fade.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
母亲。他和他父亲……不一样。Mother. He and his father… are not the same.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你怎么知道?How do you know?

望汐/ Wàngxī
他看我的时候,眼睛里没有……没有安东那种东西。When he looks at me, his eyes don’t have… that thing Anton has.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[沉默片刻] 安东从前看我的时候,眼睛里也没有那种东西。人是会变的。权力、银子、恐惧——都会把人变成别的东西。[Pausing] When Anton used to look at me, his eyes didn’t have that thing either. People change. Power, silver, fear—they all turn people into something else.

望汐/ Wàngxī
那费迪南呢?他会变成什么?And Ferdinand? What will he become?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[看着女儿] 你想让他变成什么?[Looking at her daughter] What do you want him to become?

[望汐低下头,没有回答。潮音伸出手,轻轻托起女儿的下巴。]
[Wàngxī lowers her head, not answering. Cháoyīn reaches out and gently lifts her daughter’s chin.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你喜欢他。You like him.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[声音很轻] 我不知道什么是”喜欢”。这岛上只有您,鲛奴,鬼火儿,还有海里的那些影子。我没有见过别的人。我不知道”喜欢”应该是什么样子。[Very softly] I don’t know what ‘like’ is. On this island, there’s only you, the Shark-Slave, Guǐhuǒ’ér, and those shadows in the sea. I’ve never seen another person. I don’t know what ‘like’ is supposed to look like.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[收回手] 我也不知道。我嫁给你父亲,是因为他在我船上干了三年,从不偷懒,从不顶嘴,风暴来了第一个冲上甲板。那不是”喜欢”。那是”信得过”。后来他死了,我才知道,信得过就是喜欢。喜欢就是有一天他不在了,你觉得船上的风都停了。[Withdrawing her hand] I don’t know either. I married your father because he worked on my ship for three years, never slacking, never talking back, the first on deck when a storm hit. That wasn’t ‘like.’ That was ‘trust.’ After he died, I understood that trust is like. Like is when one day he’s gone, and you feel the wind on the ship has stopped.

[望汐的眼眶红了。潮音站起身,翻开《潮钟册》。]
[Wàngxī’s eyes redden. Cháoyīn stands and opens the Tidal Bell Manual.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
天快亮了。今天,我要做一件事。Dawn is coming. Today, I will do something.

望汐/ Wàngxī
什么事?What?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
我要让费迪南见见他的父亲。也让他的父亲见见费迪南。然后——[她顿了一下] ——我要让他们都见见那四十个人。I will let Ferdinand see his father. And let his father see Ferdinand. And then— [She pauses] —I will let them both see the forty.

望汐/ Wàngxī
那之后呢?And after that?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[合上册子] 那之后,看他们怎么选。[Closing the book] After that… we see what they choose.

[她转身走向钟架。东方露出了第一道灰白色的光。潮音举起铁杖,轻轻敲击钟身。钟发出清亮的鸣响,像一只巨鸟从梦中醒来。远处海面上,鬼火儿的青光闪了一下,向洞窟飞来。]
[She turns and walks toward the bell frame. The first gray-white light appears in the east. Cháoyīn raises her iron staff and strikes the bell lightly. It rings out clear and bright, like a great bird waking from a dream. On the distant sea, Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light flashes once, then flies toward the cave.]

)(*)(

第十场 (Scene Ten)

岛上。洞窟前的空地。天色渐明,海面被染成淡金色。
The island. The open ground before the cave. The sky is brightening; the sea is stained pale gold.

[潮音站在钟旁。望汐立在她身后。费迪南已经醒来,站在一侧,手上还缠着草药布。鬼火儿悬在半空中,化成一团跳动不定的青蓝色火焰。]
[Cháoyīn stands beside the bell. Wàngxī stands behind her. Ferdinand is awake now, standing to one side, his hands still wrapped in herbal cloth. Guǐhuǒ’ér hangs in midair, a shifting, dancing blue-green flame.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对鬼火儿] 去。把范·阿隆索带来。把安东带来。把霍萨洛带来。把所有人带来。但要让他们看不见彼此——只看见我要他们看见的东西。[To Guǐhuǒ’ér] Go. Bring Van Alons. Bring Anton. Bring Huòsàluò. Bring them all. But let them not see each other—only what I want them to see.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
只带来,还是带什么来都行?Just bring them, or bring whatever comes?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
什么意思?What do you mean?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
那个叫安东的,和那个叫塞巴斯蒂安的。昨晚,他们在礁石滩上商量要杀范·阿隆索。刀都拔出来了。是我唱歌把他们吓跑的。The one called Anton and the one called Sebastiaan. Last night, on the reef strand, they conspired to kill Van Alons. They had drawn their blades. It was my singing that frightened them away.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[眼睛微微眯起] 他们要杀范·阿隆索?[Eyes narrowing slightly] They were going to kill Van Alons?

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
石头砸头。推下礁石。假装失足。Stone to the head. Push him off the reef. Pretend he slipped.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[沉默片刻,然后嘴角露出一丝冷笑] 安东。十二年不见,你一点没变。[对鬼火儿] 先不要惊动他们。把所有人都带来。让他们看见彼此。让他们自己把做过的事说出来。[Pausing, then a cold smile at the corner of her mouth] Anton. Twelve years, and you haven’t changed at all. [To Guǐhuǒ’ér] Don’t alarm them yet. Bring them all. Let them see each other. Let them confess what they’ve done with their own mouths.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
遵命。As you command.

[鬼火儿化作一道青光飞走。潮音转向费迪南。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér turns into a streak of blue-green light and flies off. Cháoyīn turns to Ferdinand.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你。站到那边去。等会儿不管你看见什么,都不要出声。能做到吗?You. Stand over there. No matter what you see in a moment, do not make a sound. Can you do that?

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[紧张地] 你要对我父亲做什么?[Nervously] What are you going to do to my father?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
什么都不做。让他自己对自己做。Nothing. Let him do to himself what he will.

[费迪南还想说什么,但望汐轻轻拉住了他的袖子。他看了望汐一眼,闭上了嘴。]
[Ferdinand wants to say more, but Wàngxī gently tugs his sleeve. He glances at her and closes his mouth.]

[远处传来脚步声和低语声。鬼火儿的青光在林间穿梭,像一条发光的蛇。片刻后,范·阿隆索、塞巴斯蒂安、安东、霍萨洛、特林鸠罗、斯提法诺——所有人,从不同方向,被一股看不见的力量推到了空地上。他们神情恍惚,眼神涣散,像刚从噩梦中被拖出来的人。]
[Footsteps and murmurs in the distance. Guǐhuǒ’ér’s blue-green light weaves through the trees like a luminous serpent. Moments later, Van Alons, Sebastiaan, Anton, Huòsàluò, Trinculo, Stephano—all of them, from different directions—are pushed into the clearing by an invisible force. They are dazed, eyes unfocused, like people just dragged out of a nightmare.]

[鲛奴也被带来了,但他被鬼火儿单独按在一块礁石后面,嘴里塞着海草,动弹不得。]
[The Shark-Slave has also been brought, but Guǐhuǒ’ér pins him separately behind a boulder, his mouth stuffed with seaweed, unable to move.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[揉着眼睛] 这是什么地方?谁——[他看见了潮音] 你是谁?[Rubbing his eyes] What is this place? Who— [He sees Cháoyīn] Who are you?

安东/ Anton
[脸色瞬间变得惨白] 潮……潮音。[Face instantly turning ashen] Cháo… Cháoyīn.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[平静地] 安东。好久不见。[Calmly] Anton. It’s been a long time.

[安东向后退了一步。他的手摸向腰间,但短铳已经不在了——鬼火儿在带他来之前就卸掉了。]
[Anton steps backward. His hand goes to his belt, but the musket is gone—Guǐhuǒ’ér disarmed him before bringing him.]

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[对安东] 你认识这个女人?[To Anton] You know this woman?

安东/ Anton
[声音沙哑] 她是……”潮钟号”的船长。[Voice hoarse] She is… the captain of the Tidal Bell.

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[瞳孔收缩] “潮钟号”?那条中国商船?[Pupils contracting] The Tidal Bell? That Chinese merchant ship?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[向范·阿隆索迈了一步] 范·阿隆索。巴达维亚总督。你签了一张纸。纸上写着:”清除障碍。不留活口。”四十个人。我丈夫也在其中。我肚子里怀着望汐,被丢上舢板,没有帆,没有桨,没有水。你坐在办公室里,签了字,喝了咖啡,然后去教堂做礼拜。[Taking a step toward Van Alons] Van Alons. Governor of Batavia. You signed a piece of paper. The paper said: ‘Remove the obstacle. Leave no one alive.’ Forty people. My husband among them. I was thrown onto a sampan, pregnant with Wàngxī. No sail. No oars. No water. You sat in your office, signed your name, drank your coffee, and then went to church.

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[嘴唇发抖] 我……那是公司的命令。我只是执行—— [Lips trembling] I… it was the Company’s orders. I was merely executing—

潮音/ Cháoyīn
执行。好一个执行。[转向安东] 你呢?你执行的是什么?我的饭你吃了。我的银子你领了。我的闽南话你学了。你叫我”船长”,像叫亲姐姐。然后你带着荷兰兵,半夜摸上我的船。阿海是你亲手杀的。我看见的。舢板漂走的时候,我看见你站在船头。你手里还拿着他的烟斗。Executing. What a fine word. [Turning to Anton] And you? What were you executing? You ate my food. You took my silver. You learned my Hokkien. You called me ‘Captain’ like I was your own sister. Then you led Dutch soldiers onto my ship in the dead of night. You killed Āhǎi with your own hands. I saw it. As the sampan drifted away, I saw you standing on the prow. You were still holding his pipe.

[安东的脸色灰白如死人。他的嘴张合了几次,没有发出声音。]
[Anton’s face is as gray as a corpse. His mouth opens and closes several times; no sound comes out.]

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
[颤抖着] 夫人……我……我只是个画地图的。我没有…… [Trembling] Madam… I… I am only a mapmaker. I didn’t…

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[转向他,声音变柔] 我知道你是谁。霍萨洛。你船舱里供着妈祖像。风暴来的时候,你点了香。你替那些水手祈祷。[她顿了一下] 十二年前,有人在”潮钟号”被劫之后,悄悄往海里撒了一捧纸钱。是你吗?[Turning to him, voice softening] I know who you are. Huòsàluò. You keep a shrine to Mazu in your cabin. When the storm hit, you lit incense. You prayed for those sailors. [She pauses] Twelve years ago, after the Tidal Bell was taken, someone quietly scattered a handful of joss paper into the sea. Was that you?

[霍萨洛愣住了。他张了张嘴,然后缓缓点头。]
[Huòsàluò freezes. He opens his mouth, then slowly nods.]

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
我……我不知道那些纸钱是给谁的。我只听说有船沉了。有冤魂。妈祖说,见魂要渡。我就撒了。I… I didn’t know who the joss paper was for. I only heard a ship had sunk. There were wronged souls. Mazu teaches: when you see a soul, you must help it cross. So I scattered it.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[微微点头] 你撒的那些纸钱,飘到了这座岛上。我看见了。所以今天你还站着。[Nodding slightly] The joss paper you scattered drifted to this island. I saw it. That is why you are still standing today.

[她转身,面对所有人。东方的天空已经完全亮了,金色的阳光洒在海面上。]
[She turns to face everyone. The eastern sky is fully bright now; golden sunlight spills across the sea.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
你们都欠我债。有的人欠四十条命。有的人欠一声道歉。有的人只是站在旁边,什么都没做,什么都不说。今天,我要你们把欠的都还上。You all owe me a debt. Some owe forty lives. Some owe an apology. Some just stood by, did nothing, said nothing. Today, I want you to repay what you owe.

[她举起铁杖。钟开始自鸣——不是一声,而是连绵不绝的嗡鸣,像潮水一样一波接一波地涌来。海面上,磷光开始浮现。四十个人形,在晨光中若隐若现。]
[She raises her iron staff. The bell begins to ring by itself—not a single toll, but a continuous hum, wave after wave, like the tide. Phosphorescence begins to rise from the sea. Forty human shapes, faintly visible in the morning light.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[瘫坐在地上] 上帝啊…… [Collapsing to the ground] God in heaven…

安东/ Anton
[双腿发软] 不是我……不是我一个人……是他签的字……是他—— [Legs buckling] It wasn’t me… it wasn’t just me… he signed it… he—

塞巴斯蒂安/ Sebastiaan
[抓住安东的衣领] 你这条疯狗!是你出的主意!是你来找我们的![Grabbing Anton by the collar] You mad dog! It was your idea! You came to us!

安东/ Anton
[甩开他] 我只是想活着!我只是想—— [Shoving him off] I just wanted to live! I just wanted—

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[声音压过所有人] 够了![Voice overriding all] Enough!

[钟声骤停。海面上的磷光人形僵住了。所有人也都僵住了。]
[The bell’s hum stops abruptly. The phosphorescent figures on the sea freeze. Everyone freezes.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[深吸一口气] 我不杀你们。[Taking a deep breath] I will not kill you.

[死寂。]
[Dead silence.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
十二年了。我每天都在想怎么杀你们。用钟震碎你们的骨头。叫鬼火儿把你们拖进海底。让鲛奴一口一口咬碎你们。我想过每一种法子。每一种都想过。Twelve years. Every day I thought about how to kill you. Shatter your bones with the bell. Have Guǐhuǒ’ér drag you to the bottom of the sea. Let the Shark-Slave chew you up piece by piece. I thought of every method. Every single one.

[她走到范·阿隆索面前,俯视着他。]
[She walks to Van Alons and looks down at him.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
但昨天晚上,我站在礁石上,问那四十个弟兄:杀了他们,你们就能安息了吗?他们没有回答我。因为他们也不知道。杀人的人死了,被杀的就能活过来吗?不能。死了就是死了。我杀你们一百遍,阿海也回不来了。But last night, I stood on the reef and asked the forty brothers: If I kill them, will you rest? They didn’t answer me. Because they don’t know either. If the killers die, can the killed come back to life? No. Dead is dead. If I kill you a hundred times, Āhǎi still won’t return.

[她直起身,看着海面上的磷光人形。]
[She straightens and looks at the phosphorescent figures on the sea.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
所以我不杀你们。我要你们活着。带着你们做过的事活着。每天闭上眼睛,就看见那四十张脸。每天睁开眼睛,就想起自己是什么东西。So I will not kill you. I want you to live. Live with what you’ve done. Every time you close your eyes, you will see those forty faces. Every time you open your eyes, you will remember what you are.

[她转向安东。]
[She turns to Anton.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
尤其是你。你回巴达维亚也好,回阿姆斯特丹也好,回任何你能逃去的地方也好。但你逃不掉你自己。你每天照镜子,看见的就是杀过我丈夫的人。Especially you. Go back to Batavia. Go back to Amsterdam. Go anywhere you can run to. But you cannot run from yourself. Every day, when you look in the mirror, you will see the man who killed my husband.

[安东跪了下来。不是被迫的——是他的腿自己撑不住了。他跪在沙地上,肩膀剧烈地抖动,但没有发出声音。]
[Anton falls to his knees. Not forced—his legs simply give out. He kneels on the sand, his shoulders shaking violently, but no sound comes out.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[转向海面] 弟兄们。我没有替你们报仇。但我也没有让仇烂在自己心里。我让仇人看见你们了。我让他们记住你们了。这够不够?我不知道。但这是我唯一能给的了。[Turning to the sea] Brothers. I did not avenge you. But I also did not let the hatred rot inside my own heart. I made your enemies see you. I made them remember you. Is that enough? I don’t know. But it is all I have to give.

[海面上的磷光人形静静地站着。然后,一个接一个,它们开始消散。不是被风吹散,而是像终于放下了什么沉重的东西,慢慢沉入水中。最后一个消失的是站在最前面的那个——比其他人都高一些,光的轮廓隐约像是一个叼着烟斗的男人。他停了一下,仿佛在望着潮音,然后也沉了下去。海面重归平静。]
[The phosphorescent figures stand silently on the sea. Then, one by one, they begin to dissipate. Not scattered by the wind, but as if finally setting down something heavy, slowly sinking into the water. The last to vanish is the one standing at the very front—taller than the others, his outline of light vaguely resembling a man with a pipe in his mouth. He pauses, as if looking at Cháoyīn, then sinks as well. The sea returns to stillness.]

[潮音放下铁杖。她的肩膀微微颤抖,但没有哭。]
[Cháoyīn lowers the iron staff. Her shoulders tremble slightly, but she does not cry.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
[走上前,轻轻握住母亲的手] 母亲。[Stepping forward, gently taking her mother’s hand] Mother.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[握紧女儿的手] 我没事。[Squeezing her daughter’s hand] I’m all right.

[费迪南从藏身处走出来。范·阿隆索看见他,整个人像被雷劈中一样跳了起来。]
[Ferdinand steps out from where he was hidden. Van Alons sees him and leaps up as if struck by lightning.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
费迪南!我的儿子!你还活着!Ferdinand! My son! You’re alive!

[他冲过去想要拥抱费迪南,但费迪南向后退了一步。]
[He rushes forward to embrace Ferdinand, but Ferdinand steps back.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[声音很轻,但很清晰] 父亲。那四十个人。你签的字。是真的吗?[Softly, but clearly] Father. The forty people. The paper you signed. Is it true?

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[僵在原地] 我……那是公司的—— [Frozen in place] I… it was the Company’s—

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[打断他] 是真的吗?[Interrupting] Is it true?

[范·阿隆索张了张嘴,最终低下了头。]
[Van Alons opens his mouth, then finally lowers his head.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[转向潮音和望汐] 我……我不知道该说什么。我父亲做的事……我没有办法替他偿还。但我可以不做他。[Turning to Cháoyīn and Wàngxī] I… I don’t know what to say. What my father did… I cannot repay it for him. But I can stop being him.

[他走到望汐面前,单膝跪下。]
[He walks to Wàngxī and kneels on one knee.]

费迪南/ Ferdinand
望汐。我昨天说的话,是真的。我留在这里。劈柴。挑水。你教我的词,我都记住了。礁石。潮水。月亮。[他抬起头] 还有你的名字。望汐。望海的望,潮汐的汐。Wàngxī. What I said yesterday was true. I will stay here. Chop wood. Carry water. I’ve remembered all the words you taught me. Reef. Tide. Moon. [He looks up] And your name. Wàngxī. ‘Wàng’ as in gazing at the sea. ‘Xī’ as in the evening tide.

[望汐看着他。晨光里,他的眼睛很亮,但不是安东那种亮——是另一种,像潮水退去后留在礁石坑里的海水,安静,清澈,倒映着天空。她伸出手,把他拉了起来。]
[Wàngxī looks at him. In the morning light, his eyes are bright—but not the brightness of Anton’s. Another kind, like seawater left in reef pools after the tide retreats: still, clear, reflecting the sky. She reaches out and pulls him to his feet.]

望汐/ Wàngxī
你念对了。You said it right.

[潮音看着他们,沉默了很久。然后她转向鬼火儿。]
[Cháoyīn watches them for a long moment, silent. Then she turns to Guǐhuǒ’ér.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
把鲛奴带过来。Bring the Shark-Slave here.

)(*)(

第十一场 (Scene Eleven)

同地。鬼火儿把鲛奴从礁石后面拖出来,去掉了他嘴里的海草。
The same place. Guǐhuǒ’ér drags the Shark-Slave out from behind the boulder and removes the seaweed from his mouth.

[鲛奴跪在地上,浑身发抖。斯提法诺和特林鸠罗缩在一旁,不敢抬头。]
[The Shark-Slave kneels on the ground, trembling all over. Stephano and Trinculo cower to one side, not daring to look up.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
鲛奴。你昨晚做了什么?Shark-Slave. What did you do last night?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[声音含混,酒意还未完全消散] 我……我找了一个新神。他给我喝天上的水。他说要替我杀你。取你的册子。这岛……原是我母亲的。[Voice slurred, the alcohol not yet fully faded] I… I found a new god. He gave me heavenly water to drink. He said he would kill you for me. Take your book. This island… was my mother’s.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[转向斯提法诺和特林鸠罗] 你们呢?你们想当岛上的王?[Turning to Stephano and Trinculo] And you two? You wanted to be kings of the island?

斯提法诺/ Stefano
[扑通跪倒] 夫人!船长!神仙!我喝醉了!我什么都不知道!是这怪物——是这鱼将军——是他出的主意![Throwing himself to his knees] Madam! Captain! Goddess! I was drunk! I didn’t know anything! It was this monster—this General Fish—it was his idea!

特林鸠罗/ Trinculo
[也跪下] 我只是路过!我什么也没答应!我是小丑!小丑不当王!小丑只负责笑![Also kneeling] I was just passing by! I didn’t agree to anything! I’m a jester! Jesters don’t become kings! Jesters are only responsible for laughing!

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[沉默片刻] 都起来。[Pausing] Get up. All of you.

[三人迟疑地站起来。]
[The three hesitantly rise.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对斯提法诺和特林鸠罗] 你们跟着船回去。回你们该待的地方。把今天看见的忘掉。如果忘不掉,就当是喝醉了一场梦。[To Stephano and Trinculo] You will go back with the ship. Return to where you belong. Forget what you saw today. If you can’t forget, treat it as a drunken dream.

[两人拼命点头。]
[The two nod frantically.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[转向鲛奴] 至于你。[Turning to the Shark-Slave] As for you.

[鲛奴抬起头,黑眼睛里满是恐惧。]
[The Shark-Slave looks up, black eyes full of fear.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
这岛原是你母亲的。你说得对。她葬在珊瑚底下。骨头都化成了礁石。我踩在她脊背上住了十二年。这是我的债。This island was your mother’s. You are right. She is buried under the coral. Her bones have turned to reef stone. I have stepped on her spine for twelve years. That is my debt.

[她从怀里取出《潮钟册》,翻开最后一页。那一页是空白的。她伸手在页面上画了一个符号。]
[She takes the Tidal Bell Manual from her breast, opening it to the last page. The page is blank. She reaches out and draws a symbol on it.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
从今天起,你是自由的。不再是鲛奴。你是……礁生。珊瑚礁的礁,生长的生。From today, you are free. No longer Shark-Slave. You are… Jiāoshēng. ‘Jiāo’ as in coral reef. ‘Shēng’ as in born, growing.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[愣住] 自……自由?[Stunned] F… free?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
自由。这岛是你母亲的。你愿意怎么守就怎么守。我只是借住。等船修好,我就走。Free. This island is your mother’s. Guard it however you wish. I am only a guest. When the ship is repaired, I will leave.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[蹼手摸着自己的喉咙,好像那里有什么东西被取掉了] 礁生……[他尝试着念自己的新名字,像在尝一种从未吃过的食物] 礁生。[他的黑眼睛里有什么东西碎了,又有什么东西重新聚拢] 我……我可以留在这里?母亲在底下唱。我可以听她唱了?没有人再叫我去拾柴?[Touching his throat with his webbed hand, as if something has been removed] Jiāoshēng… [He tries out his new name, as if tasting a food he has never eaten] Jiāoshēng. [Something in his black eyes shatters, and something else gathers again] I… I can stay here? Mother is singing underneath. I can listen to her sing? No one will tell me to gather firewood anymore?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
没有人。No one.

[礁生站在那里,一动不动。然后他慢慢走到礁石边缘,面向大海,发出一声长长的、低沉的、像鲸鱼一样的呼唤。那声音穿过晨雾,贴着海面传向远方。片刻后,从深海的方向,传来一声回应——更古老,更低回,像整个海底都在震动。]
[Jiāoshēng stands there, motionless. Then he slowly walks to the edge of the reef, faces the sea, and lets out a long, low, whale-like call. The sound travels through the morning mist, skimming over the sea into the distance. Moments later, from the direction of the deep sea, a reply comes—older, deeper, as if the entire seabed is vibrating.]

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[回过头,脸上有一种从未有过的表情——不是愤怒,不是恐惧,而是某种接近平静的东西] 母亲在。她一直在。[Turning back, his face wearing an expression never seen before—not anger, not fear, but something approaching peace] Mother is there. She has always been there.

)(*)(

第十二场 (Scene Twelve)

同地。天色大亮。海面金光粼粼。
The same place. The sky is fully bright. The sea glitters with golden light.

[鬼火儿从空中落下,化成人形——一个修长的、性别模糊的形体,浑身泛着青蓝色的微光。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér descends from the air, taking human form—a slender, gender-ambiguous figure, glowing with a faint blue-green light all over.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
潮音船长。船已经准备好了。王船——那艘荷兰大船——我把它从礁石缝里拖出来了。帆补好了。水手们也醒了。他们不记得发生了什么,只记得风暴,然后就是现在。风也正好。往西吹。两天到巴达维亚。Captain Cháoyīn. The ship is ready. The royal ship—that great Dutch vessel—I dragged it out from the reef crevices. The sails are patched. The sailors are awake. They don’t remember what happened, only the storm, and then now. The wind is also favorable. Blowing westward. Two days to Batavia.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[点点头] 你做得很好。[Nodding] You have done very well.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[停顿了一下] 你答应我的。[Pausing] What you promised me.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[看着他] 自由。[Looking at him] Freedom.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
自由。Freedom.

[潮音从钟架上取下那口青铜钟,放在地上。她举起铁杖——那截锈蚀的定海神针——对准钟身。]
[Cháoyīn takes the bronze bell down from its frame and sets it on the ground. She raises her iron staff—the rusted piece of the Dinghai Shenzhen pillar—and points it at the bell.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对鬼火儿] 这口钟,是西海妖铸来镇你的。我把它沉进海底,你就自由了。[To Guǐhuǒ’ér] This bell was forged by Sycorax to imprison you. When I sink it to the bottom of the sea, you will be free.

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[火焰剧烈跳动] 真的?[Flame flickering intensely] Truly?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
真的。[转向众人] 所有人都退后。Truly. [To everyone] Everyone stand back.

[众人退开。潮音举起铁杖,念诵了一段古老的咒语——用的不是官话,不是闽南语,而是那种像潮水退去时卵石滚动的声音。钟开始剧烈震动,钟身上的古篆字一个一个亮起来,像烧红的铁。然后,她猛地将铁杖刺入钟心。]
[Everyone retreats. Cháoyīn raises the iron staff and chants an ancient incantation—not Mandarin, not Hokkien, but the tongue that sounds like pebbles rolling as the tide retreats. The bell begins to vibrate violently; the ancient seal script characters on its body light up one by one, like red-hot iron. Then she drives the iron staff into the heart of the bell.]

[钟发出一声巨响——不是金属的撞击声,而是像整片海被撕开的声音。一道青蓝色的光从钟心冲出,直上云霄,然后炸开,化作无数细碎的光点,像一场倒着下的雨,从天空落回海面。]
[The bell emits a colossal sound—not the clash of metal, but like the entire sea being torn open. A beam of blue-green light shoots from the bell’s heart, straight up into the clouds, then bursts, transforming into countless tiny points of light, like an upside-down rain falling from the sky back to the sea.]

[鬼火儿站在光雨中。他身上的青蓝色火焰越来越亮,越来越透明,最后几乎变成了纯粹的阳光。他的形体在风中舒展开来——不再是跳动不定的火球,而是一个自由的、完整的存在。]
[Guǐhuǒ’ér stands in the rain of light. The blue-green flame of his body grows brighter and brighter, more and more transparent, until it is almost pure sunlight. His form unfurls in the wind—no longer a dancing, shifting fireball, but a free, whole being.]

鬼火儿/ Guǐhuǒ’ér
[声音不再是风铃和鲸歌的混合,而是他自己的声音——清亮、年轻、带着笑意] 我自由了。潮音。我自由了。[Voice no longer a mix of wind chimes and whale song, but his own—clear, young, smiling] I am free. Cháoyīn. I am free.

[他跃入空中,在晨光里盘旋了一圈,然后向远海飞去。他的身后拖着一道淡淡的青蓝色尾迹,像彗星,像船尾的磷光,像所有终于能回家的人留下的脚印。]
[He leaps into the air, circles once in the morning light, then flies toward the open sea. Behind him trails a faint blue-green wake, like a comet, like phosphorescence in a ship’s wake, like the footprints of anyone finally going home.]

)(*)(

第十三场 (Scene Thirteen)

同地。所有人都站在晨光中,望着鬼火儿消失的方向。
The same place. Everyone stands in the morning light, watching the direction where Guǐhuǒ’ér disappeared.

[霍萨洛第一个打破了沉默。]
[Huòsàluò is the first to break the silence.]

霍萨洛/ Huòsàluò
夫人。船备好了。风也顺。我们先回巴达维亚,然后……然后您要去哪里?Madam. The ship is ready. The wind is favorable. We will return to Batavia first, and then… then where will you go?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[看了一眼望汐和费迪南] 先去巴达维亚。让他们俩——[她指了指望汐和费迪南] ——在岸上把该办的事办了。然后……我不知道。也许回月港。也许找一条新船。也许什么都不做,就在岸上晒晒太阳。[Glancing at Wàngxī and Ferdinand] First to Batavia. Let the two of them— [She gestures at Wàngxī and Ferdinand] —take care of what needs to be taken care of on shore. Then… I don’t know. Maybe back to Yuegang. Maybe find a new ship. Maybe do nothing at all, just sit on the shore and feel the sun.

望汐/ Wàngxī
[轻声] 母亲。不管您去哪里,我都跟着。[Softly] Mother. Wherever you go, I will follow.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[握住望汐的手] 我也跟着。[Holding Wàngxī’s hand] I will follow too.

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[看着他们,嘴角微微上扬] 你父亲呢?[Looking at them, a slight smile at the corner of her mouth] And your father?

费迪南/ Ferdinand
[转头看向范·阿隆索] 父亲。我会写信。但我不回去了。[Turning to look at Van Alons] Father. I will write letters. But I am not going back.

[范·阿隆索站在那里,像一棵被雷劈过的树。他的嘴张合了几次,最终只是点了点头。]
[Van Alons stands there like a tree struck by lightning. His mouth opens and closes several times; in the end, he simply nods.]

范·阿隆索/ Van Alons
[声音沙哑] 你母亲临死前,我答应过她,要把你带回阿姆斯特丹。[Voice hoarse] On your mother’s deathbed, I promised her I would bring you back to Amsterdam.

费迪南/ Ferdinand
我母亲会明白的。她比您明白。My mother would understand. She understood better than you.

[范·阿隆索低下了头。]
[Van Alons lowers his head.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对所有人] 上船吧。潮水不等人。[To everyone] Get on the ship. The tide waits for no one.

[众人开始向海边走去。安东走在最后,佝偻着背,像一个突然老了二十岁的人。礁生站在礁石上,望着他们离去。潮音走到他面前。]
[Everyone begins walking toward the shore. Anton walks last, hunched over, like a man who has suddenly aged twenty years. Jiāoshēng stands on the reef, watching them go. Cháoyīn walks up to him.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
礁生。你不跟来?Jiāoshēng. You’re not coming?

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[摇摇头] 我属于这里。母亲在底下。我要守着她。[他顿了一下,黑眼睛里映着晨光] 你还会回来吗?[Shaking his head] I belong here. Mother is underneath. I must watch over her. [He pauses, black eyes reflecting the morning light] Will you come back?

潮音/ Cháoyīn
也许会。也许不会。海那么大。Maybe. Maybe not. The sea is so vast.

礁生/ Jiāoshēng
[伸出一只蹼手] 如果你回来……我请你吃鱼。我自己抓的。不用你叫我拾柴。[Extending a webbed hand] If you come back… I’ll treat you to fish. I’ll catch it myself. You won’t have to tell me to gather firewood.

[潮音看着他,然后握住了那只黏湿的、灰蓝色的手。]
[Cháoyīn looks at him, then takes his slimy, gray-blue hand.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
好。如果我回来,你请我吃鱼。Good. If I come back, you can treat me to fish.

[她松开手,转身走向海滩。礁生站在礁石上,望着她的背影,直到所有人都变成了远处沙滩上的小黑点。然后他转身面向大海,深吸一口气,跃入水中。灰蓝色的身影在浪花间闪了一下,便消失在深蓝里。]
[She releases his hand and turns to walk toward the beach. Jiāoshēng stands on the reef, watching her back until everyone becomes small dark specks on the distant sand. Then he turns to face the sea, takes a deep breath, and dives into the water. His gray-blue form flashes once among the waves, then disappears into the deep blue.]

)(*)(

尾声 (Epilogue)

潮音独上。
Cháoyīn enters alone.

[海滩上。船已经推入海中,帆已升起。所有人都上了船,只有潮音还站在齐膝深的水里,面朝岛屿。她已卸下铁杖。《潮钟册》留在了洞窟里。她空手而立。晨光从背后照来,把她的影子长长地投在沙滩上。]
[On the beach. The ship has been pushed into the sea, its sails raised. Everyone is aboard except Cháoyīn, who stands in knee-deep water, facing the island. She has set down the iron staff. The Tidal Bell Manual has been left in the cave. She stands empty-handed. The morning light shines from behind her, casting her shadow long across the sand.]

潮音/ Cháoyīn
[对着岛屿,也对着观众]

如今,我的法阵已散,咒语已终。
那口钟沉了。鬼火儿飞了。礁生回了海里。
四十个弟兄也终于……不再跟着我了。
剩下的力量只属于我自己——
那不过是凡人的区区微力。

若你们愿意,我便可留在这里,
困在这座岛上,和珊瑚、和潮水、和那些听不见的声音一起。
若你们愿意,我也可启程归去。
我已宽恕了仇敌。虽然我不知道那算不算真的宽恕。
也许只是累了。也许只是不想再听见钟声。

你们的掌声,便是我如今唯一能向你们求的风。
若它肯吹起,便能替我鼓满归帆;
若不肯,我这番经营也就全要落空。

往昔我借精灵与亡魂震人心;
如今我什么都没有了,只剩说话。
而说话能穿透一切。
它能上达慈悲,也能赦免过失。

所以,正如你们也盼望自己有朝一日能蒙赦免——
且请以尔等慈悲,予我自由。

[To the island, and to the audience]

Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
My spells have ended.
The bell is sunk. Guǐhuǒ’ér has flown. Jiāoshēng has returned to the sea.
And the forty brothers… they follow me no more.
What strength remains is only my own—
The faint, frail power of an ordinary mortal.

If you wish it, I could stay here,
Trapped on this island, with the coral, with the tide, with those unheard voices.
If you wish it, I could set sail and return.
I have forgiven my enemies. Though I do not know if it was true forgiveness.
Perhaps I was simply tired. Perhaps I simply did not wish to hear the bell anymore.

Your applause is now the only wind I can ask of you.
If it deigns to blow, it will fill my sails for the journey home;
If not, all my efforts will come to nothing.

Once I relied on spirits and the dead to move your hearts;
Now I have nothing left but words.
And words can pierce through all things.
They can reach mercy, and they can pardon faults.

So, as you yourselves hope one day to be pardoned—
Let your indulgence set me free.

[她俯身致意。晨光里,她的影子在沙滩上停留了片刻,然后被涨上来的潮水一点一点抹去。]
[She bows. In the morning light, her shadow lingers on the sand for a moment, then is slowly erased by the rising tide.]

黑场。/ Blackout.

全剧终。/ The End.

《血菩萨》BLOOD BODHISATTVA

26 Monday Jan 2026

Posted by babylon crashing in Chinese, drama, Feminism, Translation

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2026, Blood Bodhisattva, Chinese translation, 血菩萨, ZJC

Translation and Notes by ZJC (2026)

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

TIĀN MǓ ~ Elderly military commander.
DÀ LÁNG ~ Head of the Five Poisons Sect, whom Tiān Mǔ has been waging war against for decades.
SÀTǓN ~ Eldest daughter to the late Empress.
BÁI SĪ ~ Youngest daughter to the late Empress; in a power struggle with Sàtǔn for the throne.
TIĚ GŪ ~ Court official and Tiān Mǔ’s sister.
BǍ XĪ LĀ ~ European, Nestorian Christian missionary with a demonic appetite for destruction.
TIĀN YÒU ~ Scholar, poet and Tiān Mǔ’s son.
IRON MOUNTAIN BLADES ~ Tiān Mǔ’s personal guards.
TIĚ YĪNG, TIĚ LIÁN, TIĚ LÍNG and TIĚ XUÈ ~ Tiān Mǔ’s Daughters.
HUĪ DÚ, LÁN DÚ and HĒI DÚ ~ Dà Láng’s Daughters.
LǏGUĀN, YÙSHǏ and JINYIWEI ~ Imperial Court Officials.

֍

[第一幕·第一场]
[ACT I. SCENE I]

《铁碎骨,羽没血,双姝启神不可封之伤。》
[Iron grinds bone, feathers drown in blood, two sisters open the wound no god can close.]

[玉门国·千剑宫外。]
[Yumen Kingdom · Outside the Thousand Swords Palace.]

([战鼓裂云,幕启时,白思与萨囤对峙宫阶之上。铁牛、天鹤两派弟子于阶下血战。宫门处,礼官肃立,御史执笔,锦衣卫刀出半鞘,静若石雕。] / [War drums tear at the clouds as the curtain rises, BÁI SĪ and SÀTŪN stand frozen on the palace steps. Below, their Iron Ox and Heavenly Crane disciples wage war. At the gates, LǏGUĀN officers stand rigid, YÙSHǏ scribes clutch ink-brushes and JINYIWEI guards rest hands on half-drawn blades, silent as carved sentinels].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([斩马刀啸空而过,尘暴如龙卷起。] / [Her Zhanmadao screams through air, whipping up a dust-whirlwind].)
铁牛门下!
Sons and daughters of the Iron Ox!
朕即凤诏,天命在刃!
I am the Phoenix’s living edict, the Mandate burns in my steel!
和我一起站起来,铸就历史的栋梁!
Stand with me and be forged into history’s pillars!
叛龙者……
Betray me …
([刀光一闪,宫灯齐灭。] / [A blade-flash—every palace lantern gutters out].)
… 九族诛尽,宫门悬颅!
… And I’ll hang your bloodline’s skulls from the palace gates!

BÁI SĪ / 白思
([双针剑作鹤翼式,冷笑。] / [Needle-swords flash into crane-wing stance, her sneer colder than moonlight].)
天命?([冷笑。] / [Laugh like cracking ice].)
The Mandate?
弑亲之血,也配称凤?
Can a kinslayer’s hands still clutch the Phoenix’s crown?
天鹤展翅!
Heavenly Crane spreads its wings!
([她的双剑如振翅之羽轻颤——鹤之优雅中藏蝎之毒。她的门人齐声高鸣,宛如绢帛被利刃撕裂的尖啸。] / [Her blades shiver like pinions mid-strike—the crane’s grace laced with scorpion’s venom. Her faction echoes with choral crane-cries, a sound like silk tearing on sword-edges].)
重器非在冠冕,而在德行。
True power lies not in crowns, but in virtue.
尔自比狂风?不过瘈狗吠日!
You call yourself a storm? A rabid dog barking at heaven!
([她的战士们的呐喊声响彻云霄——铁牛队伍摇摇晃晃,阵型散乱。] / [Her warriors’ cries pierce the air—the Iron Ox ranks stagger, their formation fraying].)

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([持碧玉令,九节鞭缠腰。满场肃杀。] / [Enters with the Jade Scepter, her 9-section whip coiled around her hips. The air thickens, sharp as a guillotine’s edge].)
骨肉相残之座,未雪先倾。
The throne built on sister-blood collapses, before winter’s first snow can hide its sins.
今奉碎玉令,迎天母将军班师 …
By the Broken Jade Seal, I declare General Tiān Mǔ regent …
五毒教之役,当终今日。
Her war against the Five Poisons Sect ends now.
散!
Disperse!
… 否则御史以刻石指铭罪,鬼神同泣!
… Or the Yùshǐ’s Stone-Carving Finger will engrave your crimes so deep, even gods and ghosts will wail!
([御史的一击落地——指尖击碎了大理石地板,裂开了蜘蛛网,如同下了判决书一般。] / [The Yùshǐ’s strike lands—fingertips shatter the marble floor, cracks spider-webbing like a verdict].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([见玉阶旁书生所留的砚台,冷笑。] / [Spots an inkstone left by a fleeing scholar, her lips curl].)
([脚踢翻,墨泼阶如血。] / [Her boot flips it, black ink gushes down the steps like a slit throat].)
刻啊!
Carve this!
让后世记得……
Let history remember …
([锦衣卫刀光映墨,凤鸣凄厉。] / [Jinyiwei blades gleam with reflected ink, their phoenix-cry a funeral dirge].)
([白思的鹤簪坠地,羽尖沾墨。] / [BÁI SĪ’s crane-hairpin clatters, its feather-tip staining black].)
……铁牛将军之妹执印却不敢执刃!
… the Iron General’s sister clutches seals, but flees from steel!

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([举令,寒声。] / [Raising the Jade Order, her voice colder than a tomb’s breath].)
刻石遗臭,万古流秽。
Let stone etch your reek, let ten thousand generations gag on your name.
([玉阶震颤,如畏其言。] / [The jade steps tremble, as if fearing her decree].)
母皇遗诏刻于玉,非书于血。
The Empress’ will was carved in jade, not scribbled in traitors’ blood.
([锦衣卫刀锋低鸣,似凤泣先帝。] / [Jinyiwei blades hum, a phoenix weeping for the dead sovereign].)

BÁI SĪ / 白思
([凝视没羽,墨渍如泪,轻叹后扬声道。] / [Gazes at the drowned feather, ink seeping like tears, then her voice lifts, clear and cold].)
血缘始,血缘终。
By blood it began, by blood it ends.
([向铁姑鞠躬,腰如竹折而不断。] / [She bows to TIĚ GŪ, back bent like bamboo, unbroken].)
我臣服 …
I yield …
非顺汝刃,乃顺天佑。
Not to your blade, but to Heaven’s decree.
([白袍众退如雪崩,寂然无声。] / [Her disciples retreat like an avalanche in reverse, soundless, deliberate].)
愿鹤唳引慈母之手。
May the crane’s cry guide my Mother’s hand.
([此言如刃,悬于天下咽喉之上。] / [The words hang, a knife at the world’s throat].)
雪退散…
The snow withdraws…
([… 然寒入骨,千年不化。] / […but frost lingers in the bones and will not thaw for a thousand years].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([斩马刀寒光隐现,似判决半出鞘。她目光灼烈,胜过大漠热风。] / [Her Zhanmadao gleams, a verdict half-unsheathed. Her gaze burns hotter than the desert wind].)
名铸剑出,不悔不归。
My name is forged in steel, my blade thirsts without remorse.
([铁牛派虽退,手不离刀。] / [The Iron Ox faction withdraws, but every finger still curls around cold steel].)
让玉门断壁 …
Let the ruins of the Jade Gate …
([刀锋划地,裂石如骨碎。] / [Her saber splits the earth, stone shatters like a spine].)
…由此断定,谁之血脉承载真凤天命!
… decide whose veins bear the Phoenix’s truth!

([众人退却之际,守卫扬起玉尘,五行阵于空中隐现旋转,倏然破散,恍若凤凰涅槃重生。] / [As factions retreat, guards raise jade-ash, the Wuxing symbols form then dissolve like a phoenix’s rebirth from the ash].)

([幕落,唯余 –] / [The curtains close on –])
萨囤之刀 [Sàtūn’s blade]
插于玉阶 [Embedded in jade steps]
白思之羽 [Bái Sī’s feather]
飘向冷月 [Drifting toward the icy moon]
铁姑的鞭 [Tiě Gū’s whip]
缠着半截断诏 [Coiled around a torn edict]
上书: [which reads:]
朕死之年…
The year I die…
…血菩萨现。
…the Blood Bodhisattva comes.

֍

[第一幕,第二场]
[ACT I. SCENE II]

[剑冢森森,魂灯荧荧]
[A forest of grave-swords; ghost-lanterns flicker blue.]

[祖剑堂 · 地宫]
[Ancestral Sword Hall · Underground Crypt.]

([战鼓渐歇,丧钟低鸣。地宫穹顶垂百剑,剑柄为碑。二十石台空置,待天母众女。青烟如蛇,盘绕尸骨未寒之刃。] / [War drums fade; funeral bells toll low. A cavern glows with yin-blue lanterns. From the ceiling hang a hundred swords, hilt-down, each a grave-marker. Twenty empty stone plinths await TIĀN MǓ’s fallen daughters. Incense coils like serpents around blades still slick with death].)

([铁链声响。铁链与铁翎押阵,铁山刀卫捧灵位与佩剑次入,后随铁英、铁血。天母戎装未卸,甲上犹带草原尘沙。大狼与其女[灰毒、蓝毒、黑毒]棘链缚身。末入巴悉拉,景教十字暗芒浮动。] / [Chains rattle. TIĚ LIÁN and TIĚ LÍNG march at the front, followed by Iron Mountain Blades bearing spirit tablets and sheathed swords. TIĚ YĪNG and TIĚ XUÈ come next. Then TIĀN MǓ, her armor still caked in steppe dust. Behind her, DÀ LÁNG and her daughters [HUĪ DÚ, LÁN DÚ, HĒI DÚ] shuffle forward, bound in barbed chains. Last enters BǍ XĪ LĀ, his Nestorian cross glinting like a hidden blade].)

([众人迫大狼一族跪于五眼蟾蜍铜魂炉前。] / [The prisoners are forced to kneel before a bronze soul-brazier shaped like a Five-Eyed Toad].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([举碎玉令,诵咒如刃。] / [Raising her broken Jade Seal, chanting like a whetstone on steel].)
玄女兵主——
Xuánnǚ, Dark Mother of War—
开黄泉之扉。
Open the Yellow Springs’ gate.
([抚剑墙,声裂金石。] / [Her gauntlet scrapes the sword-walls; her voice splits metal and stone].)
吾女今与鬼同行。
My daughters walk with ghosts now.
以刃镇幽冥。
Let their swords guard the underworld’s edge.
([铁山刀卫置灵位于石台,朱砂名讳如血。无棺椁,以剑代尸。] / [The Iron Mountain Blades place spirit tablets upon the plinths, names written in blood-red cinnabar. No coffins. No corpses. Only swords to stand in their stead].)
([抚空台,甲缝渗沙。] / [Her armored fingers brush an empty plinth, steppe-dust sifting from the joints].)
祖剑冢啊…
O sacred crypt …
汝怀吾欢,亦纳吾悲。
You who cradle my joy and grief alike.
为何贪噬无厌?
Why must you gorge so ravenously?

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
([执刃穿魂幡,幡动如濒死之息。] / [A dagger-pierced soul-banner trembles in her grip like a death rattle].)
母亲,赐一囚破丹田。
Mother, grant us a prisoner to shatter.
以炁饲亡魂。
Let her qi feed the dead.
化其息为香。
Let her breath become their incense.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([戟指灰毒,甲上反光如狼瞳。] / [Her gauntlet points to HUĪ DÚ, armor-scratches glint like wolf-eyes].)
取可汗长女。
Then take the Da Khagan’s eldest.
草原狼种,正合燃薪。
a steppe-wolf’s whelp, fit kindling.

HUĪ DÚ / 灰毒
([颤声,气将断未断。] / [Her voice trembles, breath not yet broken].)
吾非薪。
I am not kindling.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([锁链暴起,棘刺入肉。] / [Chains rattle as manacles bite into flesh].)
这也配称’道’?
You call this the Tao?
这不是道。
This is no Tao.
是屠宰场!
It is the abattoir!
([唾血] / [Spits blood].)
玉皇必降天罚——
The Jade Empress will curse your—

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([抬手如闸,声寒于铁。] / [A raised hand silences like decapitation].)
天道不悯豺狼。
The Tao has no mercy for wolves.
汝女之息,当饲吾殇。
Your daughter’s breath will feed my dead.

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
([并指为鹤喙,点向灰毒后腰。] / [Fingers coiled like a crane’s beak, pressing to HUĪ DÚ’s spine].)
道予炁,道夺炁。
The Tao gives qi. The Tao takes it.
([三击如钟。] / [Three strikes toll like a funeral bell].)
命门。 [Mìngmén.]
([闷响,灰毒气息骤滞。] / [A dull thud—HUĪ DÚ’s breath seizes].)
脊中。 [Jǐzhōng.]
([玉裂之声,肌骨僵锁。] / [A crack like splitting jade, her body locks rigid].)
大椎。 [Dàzhùi.]
([折骨脆响,银炁自七窍喷涌,旋入魂炉。] / [A final snap, silver qi bursts from her seven apertures, swirling into the brazier].)

([炁凝’仇’字,瞬散。铁山刀卫置灰毒于碑前,形存神灭,永跪为鬼奴。] / [The qi forms the character 仇 《vengeance》before dissolving. HUĪ DÚ’s hollowed body is propped before the plinths; a living ghost forced to kneel for eternity].)

TIĀN YÒU / 天佑
([三叩入殿,额抵冷石。] / [Entering with three kowtows, forehead pressed to stone].)
母亲…
Mother…
([捧纸马,声颤。] / [Clutching paper effigies, voice trembling].)
儿带冥驹,助姊远行。
I bring paper horses for their journey.
([天佑一边吟诵诗歌,一边焚烧人像。] / [TIĀN YÒU begins burning the effigies while reciting poetry].)
双蛇缠…
Two snakes entwined …
([纸灰突燃碧火。] / [The ashes flare emerald].)
无首尾 …
Neither head nor tail …
([焚纸,灰烬化鹤形——白思之徽。] / [The ashes twist into a crane—BÁI SĪ’s crest].)
唯饥无宴。
Only hunger. Never feast.
([魂炉中五眼骤睁。] / [The Toad-brazier’s eyes snap open].)
([天佑退后,诗成谶言。] / [TIĀN YÒU staggers back, the poem now a curse spoken out loud].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([捧子面,甲锈沾颊。] / [Cupping his face, her gauntlet leaves dried blood like tear-stains].)
吾儿…
My son…
男儿总被讥弱。
The world calls boys weak.
然你乃吾德所铸之身。
But you are my virtue made flesh.
([低语切齿。] / [A whisper like grinding steel].)
活得比我久。
Outlive me.
([按剑柄,刃吟如泣。] / [Her palm on a sword-hilt, the blade hums a mourner’s tune].)
安息吧,吾刃。
Rest, my blades.
未斩之恨,生者必断。
The living will cut what you could not.

([所有人都退场。] / [Everyone exits].)
([门阖。终余:灰毒游丝之息……与万剑饥鸣。] / [The doors seal. All that remains: HUĪ DÚ’s shallow breath … and the starving chorus of ten thousand blades].)

֍

[第一幕,第三场]
[ACT I. SCENE III]

[宫阙深似海,血誓染阶红]
[Palaces deeper than oceans; blood-oaths stain the steps.]

[玉门国 · 皇极殿。]
[Yumen Kingdom · Imperial Throne Hall.]

([天母携女将入殿,新袍未掩战尘;铁姑率御史、锦衣卫盛装迎驾。萨囤与白思随后,影如刀割。] / [TIĀN MǓ and her daughters enter in clean robes still smelling of battlefield ash. TIĚ GŪ leads the YÙSHǏ and Jinyiwei in court regalia. SÀTŪN and BÁI SĪ follow, their shadows sharp as unsheathed blades].)

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([捧碎玉玺,单膝触地。] / [Kneeling with the broken Jade Seal].)
天母吾姊——
Tiān Mǔ, my sister—
万民乞您登极。
The people beg you to take the throne.
([拥抱时指甲陷其肩甲] / [Her fingers dig into TIĀN MǓ’s pauldrons during their embrace].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([推玺如避毒。] / [Pushing the seal away like poisoned wine].)
民心若水,载舟覆舟。
The people’s hearts are water, they buoy empires or drown them.
老身只识马背,不解庙蛇之毒。
I am a creature of the saddle, not court-serpents’ venom.
([抚腰间断剑。] / [Touching her broken sword’s hilt].)
六百三十九女埋骨边关…
Six hundred thirty-nine daughters buried on the frontier…
赐我荣杖,非九鼎之重。
Grant me an honor-staff, not the weight of the Nine Tripods.

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([突然拔剑抵天母喉。] / [A blade flashes to TIĀN MǓ’s throat].)
姊妹们!
Sisters!
为吾正名 …
Justify my name …
剑不出鞘,萨囤不休!
Sheathe no swords until I am crowned!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([无视颈间刃。] / [Ignoring the blade].)
礼官、御史、锦衣卫。
Lǐguān, Yùshǐ, Jinyiwei.
尔等可愿托命于天母?
Will you entrust your wills to me?
([举起染血军旗。] / [Raising a bloodstained banner].)
请立萨囤为帝——
Name Sàtūn Empress—
愿其德照玉门,如日临土。
May her virtue light the realm as the sun lights the land.

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([突然执天佑手。] / [Seizing TIĀN YÒU’s wrist].)
为酬天母…
To honor Tiān Mǔ…
朕纳其子为君侍。
I take her son as Consort.
([贴近耳语。] / [Whispers in his ear].)
心榻之爱,非汝莫属。
No one else shall warm my bed.

TIĀN YÒU / 天佑
([面无波澜。] / [Face blank as jade].)
陛下隆恩,臣当结草以报。
This undeserved grace I’ll repay even in death.

BÁI SĪ / 白思
([拽回天佑。] / [Yanking him back].)
且慢!
Hold!
此子早与我盟誓连理。
He and I swore oaths years ago.
([亮出袖中婚书。] / [A marriage contract flutters from her sleeve].)

([混战爆发。天母剑光如电,直取白思咽喉——] / [Melee erupts. TIĀN MǓ’s sword flashes toward BÁI SĪ’s throat—].)
([铁翎旋身插入二人之间,剑刃贯胸而入。] / [TIĚ LÍNG pivots between them—the blade plunges into her chest].)

TIĚ LÍNG / 铁翎
([双手握剑刃,步步前趋。] / [Gripping the blade, stepping forward].)
母亲… ([咳血] / [Coughs blood].)
Mother…
([剑柄抵至胸前,金属摩擦骨声刺耳。] / [The hilt grinds against her sternum—bone screeches on steel].)
…这一剑若为军令…
…If this strike is your command…
([猛然将剑横向心脏。] / [Wrenches the blade sideways toward her heart].)
…该刺准些!
…then strike true!
([天母瞳孔骤缩,手颤如遭雷击。] / [TIĀN MǓ’s hands tremble, lightning-struck].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([突然揽大狼入怀。] / [Abruptly pulling DÀ LÁNG into her arms].)
朕改主意了。
I’ve changed my mind.
([高声。] / [To the court].)
五毒可汗大狼——
Dà Láng of the Five Poisons—
才配为朕君侍!
Is fit to be my Consort!
([低声对大狼。] / [Whispering to DÀ LÁNG].)
做朕的刀,朕许你复仇。
Be my blade, and I’ll grant your vengeance.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([跪吻萨囤靴。] / [Kissing SÀTŪN’s boot].)
臣妾愿为陛下爪牙。
This humble servant will be Your Majesty’s fangs.
([瞥向天母,眼藏毒光。] / [A venomous glance at TIĀN MǓ].)

([除田牧外,其余人员退场。] / [Everyone except TIĀN MǓ exits].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([独留殿中,捶地泣血。] / [Alone, pounding the floor in rage].)
此朝无规,唯存野心!
This dynasty has no rules, only hunger!

֍

[第一幕,第四场]
[ACT I, SCENE IV]

玉门碎,朕为疆。
The Gate is Shattered, I Am the Frontier.

同夜,剑静室。
[Same night · The Sword-Quiet Room.]

([宫殿下方是一座寂静的石室。一排排尊贵的刀剑直立在漆架上。上方,祈祷卷轴如同褪色的皮肤般悬挂。一盏灯笼静静地停放在靠近中心的位置,没有亮起。] / [A silent stone chamber beneath the palace. Rows of honored blades rest upright in lacquered racks. Above, prayer-scrolls hang like faded skin. A single lantern sits unlit near the center].)

([场景开始,铁鹰点亮了灯笼。玉焰熊熊燃烧,在房间里投下怪异的阴影。铁凌的尸体躺在凸起的石台上,周围环绕着二十块未完成的剑坯。灯光将一切都笼罩在一种病态的绿色之中。] / [As the scene begins, TIĚ YĪNG lights the lantern. The jade flame flares to life, casting monstrous shadows across the room. TIĚ LÍNG’s body lies upon a raised stone plinth, surrounded by twenty unfinished sword blanks. The light bathes all in a sickly green hue].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁鹰
([拉开裹尸布,露出伤口。] / [Pulls back the shroud, revealing the wound].)
她应得英雄之葬。
She earned a hero’s rest.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([仍然握着从女儿身上拔出的剑。] / [Still holding the sword pulled from her daughter’s body].)
叛徒只配喂剑炉。
Traitors are only fit to be fed to the sword furnace.

([达朗默默地划开自己的手掌。她的鲜血滴落在剑坯上。每一滴都发出回响,在石头上发出尖锐的撞击声——] / [DÀ LÁNG silently slices her palm open. Her blood falls onto one of the sword blanks. Each drop echoes, sharp against stone—].)
滴——
滴——
滴——
([——在这种节奏之下,几乎难以察觉地,第二个声音响起:低沉的喉音’嘟嘟’声,就像记忆中井里蟾蜍的呼吸。] / [—and beneath that rhythm, almost imperceptibly, a second sound stirs: a low, guttural, a wet-throated rattle, like the memory of a toad’s breath buried in a well].)
([其他人没有反应。声音消失了。] / [The others do not react. The sound vanishes].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([低语。] / [Whispers].)
此血,是誓言。
This blood… is a vow.
用我血淬的刀…
A blade quenched in my blood…
…能杀神。
…Can kill gods.

([萨顿突然吻住她,咬着她的嘴唇。鲜血染红了两人的嘴唇。然后她转向其他人。] / [SÀTŪN pulls her into a sudden kiss, biting her lip. Blood touches both mouths. Then she turns to the others].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
朕宣布——
I declare—
明晨猎场完婚——神为证,血为誓。
At dawn, we wed in the hunt—blood-bound, with the gods as witness.

([其他人开始退场。灯笼噼啪作响,阴影伸展交错。唯有天佑一言不发。他跪在基座旁,将手指浸入妹妹的鲜血,在冰冷的石头上画出两条蛇。] / [The others begin to exit. The shadows stretch and tangle as the lantern sputters. Only TIĀN YÒU remains, silent. He kneels by the plinth, dips his fingers into his sister’s blood, and draws twin serpents on the cold stone].)

TIĀN YÒU / 天佑
雙蛇纏…
Two snakes entwined …

([血蛇荡漾,滑进地板的裂缝中。] / [The blood-snakes ripple, slither into the cracks of the floor].)
([灯笼闪烁…摇晃…熄灭——只剩下一颗发光的玉色余烬。] / [The lantern flickers… falters… dies—except one glowing jade ember].)
([余烬闪烁一次。然后熄灭。] / [The ember pulses once—like a heartbeat. Then dies].)
([黑暗。] / [Darkness].)

֍

第二幕,第一场
ACT II, SCENE I

发烧梦
FEVER DREAM.

《天如焦帛,血肉未忘所吞之誓。》
[The sky like scorched silk; the flesh has not forgotten the vows it was forced to swallow.]

[沙漠边缘,枯树下。]
[Edge of the desert, under a dead tree.]

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
昨日身陷桎梏……今日?
Yesterday, in chains … Today?
([她将手按向地面;大地发出痛苦的哀鸣。] / [She lays a hand against the ground; it cries in anguish].)
哈。连沙砾都畏惧我的触碰。
Hah. Even the sand recoils from my touch.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
如今我们被抛弃了,母亲却在宫里舔着萨顿的靴子。
Now we are abandoned, and Mother licks Sàtǔn’s boots in the Palace.

([巴希拉从阴影中现身。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ rises from out of the shadows].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
迷途的小蛇,你们和我一样饥肠辘辘吧?想尝尝神明的血肉么?
Lost little snakes, are you as hungry as I am? Do you want to taste the flesh and blood of the gods?
([巴希拉作势要拥抱蓝毒。她后退一步。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ moves as if to embrace LÁN DÚ. She steps back].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
吻我,就是自取灭亡。
To kiss me is to destroy yourself.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
你向一个无人得见的神明祈祷,但这救不了你。我们的贪欲……足以招致灭顶之灾。
You pray to a god no one can see, but it cannot save you. Our greed … is enough to bring disaster.

([巴希拉猛地拽过黑都,粗暴地吻住她。他的脸并未因她的毒液而溃烂……毫无异状。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ suddenly grabs HĒI DÚ and roughly kisses her. Instead of his face melting from her poison … nothing happens].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
怎么可能?那绝非武学!那是……
How is that possible? That’s no martial art! That’s …

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
邪术?’那兽被赐予一张口,用以吐出狂言与亵渎之语。’
Deviltry? ‘And the beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies.’

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
你为何跟踪我们?有何企图?
Why are you following us? What do you want?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
小丫头,你的毒液连耶和华都要避让,而我,早已凌驾于耶和华之上。
Little girl, even Yahweh would shun your venom—but I have already surpassed Yahweh.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
‘耶和华?’
‘Yahweh’?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
异族语言的异族词汇。我的舌头尝过你,滋味……妙不可言。
A foreign word from a foreign tongue. My tongue has tasted you, and the flavor … divine.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
你究竟想要什么?
What exactly do you want?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
《五毒女经》有云:’凡以腹匍匐者,皆为不洁。’我只要你们最珍视之物。
The Five Poisons Scripture says: ‘All that crawl on their bellies are an abomination.’ I want only what you hold most dear.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
我们的贞洁岂容你玷污!
We won’t let you defile our chastity!

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
‘处女之身’?真古怪。不,小蛇们,我渴望的是你们丹田里盘绕的……你们毒液般的黑色莲花。
‘Chastity’? Quaint. No, little snakes, I desire the black lotus curled in your Dāntián … your venomous core.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
我不明白。
I don’t understand.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
当然。你、你母亲、宫里那群蠢货……无人知晓末日为何物,更不知它如何降临。
Of course you don’t. You, your mother, those fools in the Palace … none of you know what the end of days means, let alone how it arrives.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
‘末日’?无稽之谈。
‘Doomsday’? Ridiculous.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
你说话像打哑谜。
You speak in riddles.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
唯有不信者才觉得晦涩。你们渴望不可得之物。只要忠于这份渴望,自会得偿所愿。
Only the faithless find it obscure. You hunger for what cannot be had. Stay loyal to that hunger—and it shall be fed.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
‘有奖励吗?’
‘Rewarded’?

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
你岂知我们心中所想?
How do you know what lies in our hearts?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
呵!我岂会不知?明日,我们尊贵的新皇后将携众人出宫透气。沙漠中有片绿洲时隐时现,人称诅咒之地……却有鹿群冒险饮水。
Hah! How could I not know? Tomorrow, our noble new empress will lead the court beyond the palace walls. There’s an oasis in the desert, a cursed place that comes and goes … yet the deer still dare drink from it.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
然后呢?
Then what?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
不仅仅是欲望。不仅仅是荣耀。你所追求的是……
Not just desire. Not just glory. What you seek is …

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
复仇。
Revenge.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
为你妹妹。为你母亲。明日,那群蝇营狗苟之徒将散落在诅咒之水畔,浑然不觉……任人宰割。For your sister. For your mother. Tomorrow, those petty parasites will be spread along the banks of cursed waters, oblivious … ripe for slaughter.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
([恍然] / [Suddenly])
便于我们……设伏。
It’ll make it easy for us … to set an ambush.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
……如果我们自己去打猎的话!
… if we do a little hunting of our own!

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
正是。
Exactly.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
巴希拉,妙极!初来时还以为你不过是母亲的玩物……没想到竟是五毒宗高人。
Bǎ Xī Lā, brilliant! When I arrived, I thought you were just Mother’s pet … but you’re a true master of the Five Poisons Sect.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
姐姐,回宫!明日必有好戏。
Sister, let’s return to the Palace! Tomorrow, the real show begins.

([双胞胎离去,她们的残影如热浪中的蜃楼,缓缓消散。] / [The twins depart. Their afterimages shimmer like heat mirages and slowly vanish].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
快滚吧,小蜈蚣。你们五毒教终将覆灭。纵是耶和华也会骇然背过脸去。’……见有一匹灰色马,骑在马上的,名为死亡,阴府紧随其后。’
Run along, little centipedes. Your Five Poisons Sect will be destroyed. Even Yahweh would turn his face in horror. ‘And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.’

֍

[第二幕,第二场]
[ACT II, SCENE II]

《无童之地传童笑,大地屏息忘自生。》
[When children laugh where none should be, the earth forgets to breathe.]

[努尔绿洲,塔克拉玛干沙漠某处。]
[Nur Oasis, somewhere in the Taklimakan Desert.]

([天母、铁影、铁血、铁炼上。] / [TIĀN MǓ, TIĚ YĪNG, TIĚ XUÈ, and TIĚ LIÁN enter].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁影
不对劲…
Something’s wrong…

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
……此地的风水已绝。我戎马半生,从未感受过这般死寂。连龙脉都凝滞不行。
…The feng shui of this place is dead. I have been a soldier half my life, and never have I felt such dead silence. Even the dragon veins are stagnant.

([铁血检查水池。] / [TIĚ XUÈ inspects the pool].)

TIĚ XUÈ / 铁血
绿洲将枯,无花果树亦干渴哀鸣。
The oasis is dying, and the fig trees cry out in thirst.

([铁影见一只蝎子从无花果树上窜下,自蜇而亡,死状痛苦。] / [TIĚ YĪNG sees a scorpion scurry down from a fig tree and sting itself, dying in agony].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁影
连蝎子都宁可自戕,也不愿困死于此。
Even the scorpion kills itself rather than be trapped here.

([一具鹿尸侧卧水边,似中毒而亡。秃鹫盘旋其上。] / [A deer carcass lies on its side near the water, as if poisoned. Vultures circle above].)

TIĚ XUÈ / 铁血
食腐的秃鹫盘旋不落,尽管…
The carrion birds circle, yet do not land, even though…
([铁血踢向鹿尸,尸身骤然翻涌出饥饿的蛆虫。] / [TIĚ XUÈ kicks the deer; the carcass erupts with ravenous maggots].)
…噁,尽是蛆虫!
…Disgusting—maggots everywhere!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
唯有死神,方对这盛宴趋之若鹜。
Only the god of death is drawn to such a feast.

([天母、铁影、铁血、铁炼下。蝉鸣骤止。远处忽闻孩童笑声…然方圆数里,杳无人迹。蓝毒与黑毒自阴影中现身。] / [TIĀN MǓ, TIĚ YĪNG, TIĚ XUÈ, and TIĚ LIÁN exit. The cicadas fall silent. In the distance, a child’s laughter echoes… but for miles around, there is no one. From the shadows step LÁN DÚ and HĒI DÚ].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
姐姐,让他们逐鹿去吧。
Sister, let them chase deer if they wish.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
猎人也终成猎物。瞧!
Even hunters become prey. Look!

([白丝与天佑自水池对侧上,浑然不觉周遭异样。二人未察双胞胎,旋即离去。] / [BÁI SĪ and TIĀN YÒU enter from the opposite side of the pool, oblivious to the strange aura. They do not see the Twins and quickly leave].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
是皇后那妹妹!
The Empress’s little sister!

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
还有那个迂腐的小诗人…
And that foolish little poet…

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
…写那首歪诗的家伙。
…the one who wrote that crooked poem.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
‘双蛇交缠’……我记得是这句。
‘Two snakes entwined’… I remember the line.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
如果我们用猩红色书写,听起来会不会更美丽?
Would it not be more beautiful, written in scarlet?

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
题在他胸口如何?
Perhaps carved into his chest?

([二人身影融入热浪。绿洲骤归死寂, 忽而无花果树泣泪。浓稠琥珀泪珠顺树皮滚落,在根部汇成诡谲形状。阴影中,童声再度响起,此番却成歌谣:] / [The Twins melt into the heat shimmer. The oasis is still once more, until the fig trees begin to weep. Thick amber tears roll down their bark and pool at the roots, forming strange shapes. From the shadows, the child’s voice returns, this time in rhyme:])

CHILD’S VOICE / 童声
金木水火土…
五行倒逆,
尸骨绽花。
Metal, wood, water, fire, earth…
The Five Elements invert,
Corpses bloom like flowers.

֍

[第二幕,第三场]
[ACT II. SCENE III]

《她跪如祭台,他灌她以诅咒、烈火与深渊之种。》
[She knelt like an altar; he filled her with curse, flame and the seed of the Abyss.]

[绿洲之心,一棵根系焦黑、枝干虬结的无花果树下。]
[The Oasis’s Heart, a gnarled fig tree with blackened roots.]

([巴希拉登场,手握一颗燃烧的人心,其中充盈着窃来的真气。他低语时,心脏搏动,血管中黑金光芒流转。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ enters, holding a burning human heart he has been filling with stolen qi. It pulses as he talks to it, veins glowing black and gold].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
瘟疫啊!我一点一滴将你铸成——用幻象、谶语与邪咒。三十枚银币?犹大般的交易,换这一杯渎神的元气。
Pestilence! I fashioned you piece by piece—with visions, prophecies, and curses. Thirty pieces of silver? A Judas-like bargain for a cup of blasphemous spirit.

([一声异响。心脏骤冷,倏然生出蟹足般的附肢,钻入他的衣袍。] / [A noise. The heart cools. It sprout crab-like legs and scurries into his robes].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉 (CONT’D)
啊,第十一灾, 蝗虫之母亲临。
Ah, here comes the Eleventh Plague, the Mother of Locusts herself.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([大狼上。] / [Entering].)
爱人!终得独处。我对你的爱,如风将阴影缝入大地之肤,永不可解。
Lover! At last we are alone. My love for you is like the wind stitching shadows into the earth’s skin, it can never be undone.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
好诗。我的爱人……渴求何物?
Pretty poetry … What does my love desire?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
将那蠢妇天母驱至我面前,听她子嗣的哀哭……
To drive that fool Tiān Mǔ before me and hear the lamentation of her children …
([大狼的手滑向他胸膛。] / [DÀ LÁNG’s hand slides down his chest].)
但首先,请让我把你的祈祷吞进喉咙……直到欲呕。
But first let me swallow your prayers down my throat … until I gag.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
红鸾星指引你的欲望……利维坦的疯狂在我的血液中流淌。翡翠帝国今日必须覆灭,因为主只爱破碎的容器。
The Crimson Luan Star guides your lust … but the madness of Leviathan flows in my blood. Today the Jade Empire will shatter for the Lord loves a Broken Vessel.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
哦?
Oh?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([递信。] / [Hands her a letter].)
将此信呈予你的皇后。莫问。
Give this to your Empress. Ask nothing.

([二人接吻时,大狼血脉骤染漆黑。她狂喜战栗,巴希拉微笑如尸,目光死寂。大狼踉跄退场,神魂俱醉。] / [As they kiss DÀ LÁNG’s veins briefly turn black. She is in rapture. BǍ XĪ LĀ smiles like a corpse, his eyes dead. DÀ LÁNG staggers away, intoxicated].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉 (CONT’D)
达朗,别祈求,耶和华早已注定你的结局。你真是个’破碎的器皿’。我的儿子会从你的腹中诞生……而’他必以铁杖击碎众生。’
Ask for nothing, Dà Láng, for Yahweh has already decreed your end. ‘Broken vessel’ indeed. From your womb alone my son will burst … and ‘He shall break them with a rod of iron’.
([下。] / [Exits].)

֍

[第二幕,第四场]
[ACT II. SCENE IV]

[被诅咒的绿洲另一隅。]
[Another corner of the cursed Oasis.]

([白丝与天佑上。此处的绿洲死寂——连风都凝滞。大狼自阴影中浮现,手中已无信笺。] / [BÁI SĪ and TIĀN YÒU enter. The Oasis here is too quiet—even the wind has died. DÀ LÁNG melts out of the shadows. She no longer carries the letter].)

BÁI SĪ / 白丝
([惊退] / [Startled].)
玉门妃……为何独行?你的狼群何在?
Consort of the Jade Gate… why are you walking alone? Where are your wolves?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
我独行无狼,而命运……悬于发丝。
I run with no wolves but my fate hangs from a hair’s breadth.

([黑毒与蓝毒现形——非自树间,而是从绿洲池水的倒影中渗出。] / [HĒI DÚ and LÁN DÚ emerge—not from the trees, but from reflections in the oasis pool].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
母亲,您燃如烈火。这些飞蛾……是否扑得太近了?
Mother, you burn like fire … Did these moths flutter too close?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
飞蛾?确实。这些恼人的小翅膀……该如何处置?
Moths? Yes, it is so … What do we do with irritating little wings?

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
碾碎便是。
We crush them.
([刺向白丝] / [She stabs BÁI SĪ].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
此乃孝道。
Our filial duty.
([同刺白丝] / [She also stabs BÁI SĪ].)

([白丝任脉如琵琶弦骤断,末音哽于喉间。她呕出尘土,气绝身亡。远处,萨屯的猎号声隐约可闻。] / [BÁI SĪ’s Ren meridian snaps like a lute string, the last note chokes in her throat. She vomits dust and dies. In the distance SÀTŪN’s hunting horn sounds].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
命运发丝,已成谶语。够了。
A hair’s breadth of fate was prophetic. Enough.
([指向蜷缩的天佑。] / [Indicating the cowering TIĀN YÒU].)
扔去鸦雀不食之地。
Dump them both where even crows won’t peck.
([下。] / [Exits].)

([黑毒与蓝毒拖走天佑与白丝尸身。] / [HĒI DÚ and LÁN DÚ drag TIĀN YÒU and the body of BÁI SĪ away].)

֍

[第二幕,第五场]
[ACT II. SCENE V]

《道如腐果裂,众徒以人之残息哺养深渊。》
[The Tao split open like rotten fruit and from its guts they fed the pit with men’s torn breath.]

[绿洲另一隅——天启之渊。]
[Another part of the Oasis – Abyss of Revelation.]

([此坑非寻常洞穴,乃大地溃烂之创。空中蝇群嗡鸣,蓝黑肥躯振翅,声如丧钟哀歌。坑缘沙地染同心圆痕,层层淤黑,似地面自渗污血。] / [The pit isn’t just a hole—it’s a festering wound in the earth. The air hums with flies, their bodies fat and blue-black, their drone like a funeral dirge. The sand around the rim is stained in concentric rings—darker with each layer, as if the ground itself bleeds inward].)

([黑毒与蓝毒将白丝尸身掷入其中,复推天佑抵于无花果树。蓝毒挥刃刺穿其掌,将其钉于树干。] / [HĒI DÚ and LÁN DÚ dump BÁI SĪ’s body into the pit. They shove TIĀN YÒU against a fig tree. LÁN DÚ drives her blade through his palm, pinning him to the trunk].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
([以指甲描画其发黑血管。] / [Tracing the blackening veins with her nail].)
让我们以猩红墨汁……重谱你的诗篇。
Let’s rewrite your poetry… in scarlet ink.

([黑毒上前,钩剑泛着腐煞黑光。她精准刻下『逆』字于其胸。腐毒与其真气相触,字符处青烟嘶嘶。] / [HĒI DÚ steps forward, her hook-sword glowing dully with Black Rot. With surgical precision, she carves the character 逆 [Rebel] into his chest. Smoke hisses where the necrotic poison touches his qi].)

TIĀN YÒU / 天佑
([弓背痉挛。] / [Back arching].)
呃—!
Ai—!

([天佑惨叫惊起栖鸦,黑羽纷飞如风暴。其唇上黑筋盘曲,扭曲成诡笑。] / [TIĀN YÒU’s scream startles the nesting crows. They explode into flight, black feathers whipping like a storm. His lips, veined with black, curl into something grotesque].)

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([模仿昔日对其姊妹所施之仪。] / [Mimicking the ritual once performed on their sister].)
道生一,
一生二,
二生三,
三生……尸骸。
The Tao begets One,
One begets Two,
Two begets Three,
Three begets… corpses.
([她的手指敲击——大杵,杵中,命门。] / [Her fingers strike—Dàzhùi, Jǐzhōng, Mìngmén].)
([每个穴位都破裂了。银色的气从天佑身上喷涌而出。] / [Each pressure point cracks. Silver qi erupts from TIĀN YÒU’s body].)
([以拔罐术吸取逸散真气。] / [Cupping the escaping qi].)
多刺耳的乐音啊…
Such ugly music…
([雾气凝成『仇恨』二字,复从其指间流散。] / [The mist shapes into the characters for ‘hatred’ [仇恨], then dissolves between her fingers].)
…配你这丑角,倒也相宜。
…for such an ugly boy.

([天佑昏死,手掌仍钉于树。黑血沿树纹淤积,汇成不可辨之咒纹。] / [TIĀN YÒU collapses unconscious, his hand still pinned to the tree. Black blood pools in the bark’s grooves, forming illegible curse-script].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
([踢其瘫躯。] / [Kicking his limp form].)
滚回家吧,小诗人。若有人问起谁将你’去势’……便以沉默代我等作答。
Run home, little poet. If anyone asks who castrated you… let silence speak for us.

([黑毒与蓝毒狞笑退场,独留天佑瘫于巨坑之畔。鸦群归来,默然盘旋,在其顶上结成黑冕。] / [Laughing, HĒI DÚ and LÁN DÚ exit, leaving TIĀN YÒU crumpled beside the yawning pit. The crows return—circling silently above, forming a cursed black crown over his head].)

֍

[第二幕,第六场]
[ACT II. SCENE VI]

《鲜血沿饥渴深渊滴落,古神舔唇欲动。》
[Where blood weeps down the hungry pit, the old gods lick their lips.]

([铁血与铁炼仍在狩猎,自空地另一端上。二人骤停,紧盯天启之渊,却未见天佑瘫倒树后。二人趋近渊缘,俯身窥视。蝇群嗡鸣。] / [Still part of the hunt, TIĚ XUÈ and TIĚ LIÁN enter from the opposite side of the clearing. They stop and stare at the sinkhole. They fail to see the motionless body of TIĀN YÒU, crumpled behind the tree. They approach the edge and cautiously peer down into it. The air buzzes with flies].)

TIĚ XUÈ / 铁血
([眯眼] / [Squinting].)
我看见……阴影蠕动。如蛆虫自渊底攀爬。([干呕] / [Retches].) 这腐臭——!
I see… shadows writhing. Like maggots crawling up from the bottom. The stench—!

([蝇群骤然散开,二女骇然失色。] / [Suddenly the cloud of flies parts. Both women recoil in horror].)

TIĚ LIÁN / 铁炼
狼母在上!是白丝!她双目尽失……蝇群正在她口中产卵!
Wolf Mother! It’s Bái Sī! Her eyes … gone! The flies, laying eggs in her mouth!

([铁血和铁炼惊恐地对视着。突然,铁血注意到了弟弟的尸体。] / [TIĚ XUÈ and TIĚ LIÁN stare at each other, sick with horror. Suddenly TIĚ XUÈ sees her brother’s lifeless body].)

TIĚ XUÈ / 铁血
不不不不不不!小弟弟!
No, no, no, no, no! Little brother!

([未及反应,萨屯与达朗率皇后亲卫冲入空地。] / [Before they can react, SÀTŪN and DÀ LÁNG rush in with the Empress’s Guards].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([凝视深渊] / [Staring into the abyss].)
不,这不可能……白丝岂会……
No… this can’t be… Bái Sī would never…

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
‘地狱之渊,地狱之行’——信中所言,分毫不差。
‘A hellish hole for a hellish deed’—exactly as the letter warned.

TIĚ XUÈ / 铁血
陛下,我们未曾——!方至此处——!
Your Majesty, we didn’t—! We only just arrived—!

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
‘恶兽当自深渊崛起’……此信亦早有预警!
‘The beast shall rise from the pit’… That was in the warning, too!

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([仍陷震骇] / [Still reeling].)
吾姐素恨沙漠……曾说风声如鬼魅咀嚼骨渣。她……
My sister hated the desert… said the wind there sounded like ghosts chewing bone shards. She…
([如初见般瞪视铁血二人。] / [She turns to TIĚ XUÈ and TIĚ LIÁN as if seeing them for the first time].)
尔等!天母之女!满口谎言!
You! Daughters of Tiān Mǔ! You speak nothing but lies!

([天母与铁影上,浑然未觉渊边异状。] / [TIĀN MǓ and TIĚ YĪNG enter, unaware of what has transpired by the pit].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
皇后陛下,闻号角声便速至。此绿洲每每移目即变……狩猎如何?可擒得猎物?
My Empress, I came at once upon hearing the horn. This oasis shifts each time I look away… How goes the hunt? Have you trapped the prey?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
‘绿洲变幻’?荒唐!老妪妄言,孰能信之!
‘The oasis shifts’? Nonsense! Mad talk from an old crone—who would believe it?

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([暴怒] / [Exploding in fury].)
天母!汝竟敢现身于此!?
Tiān Mǔ! You dare show your face here!?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
待她与*([冷笑] / [sneering])* ‘铁刃’残杀白丝之后……
After she and her ‘Iron Blades’ butchered Bái Sī…

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([惊颤] / [Shaken].)
‘谋杀’?
Murdered…?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
……偏等我们抵达,才故作悠哉现身,与信中所预言如出一辙。
…And now she waits to appear calm and composed—exactly as the letter foretold.

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
亲卫!此乃叛国弑君之罪!朕早知不该信尔等!
Guards! This is treason—regicide! I knew we should never have trusted you!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
白丝夫人……已遭不测?
Madam Bái Sī… is truly gone?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
装傻!你再看看…… ([指着天佑] / [Points to TIĀN YÒU].) ……为了制造一个完美的不在场证明,她竟然折磨自己的儿子!
Feigning ignorance now, are you? Look again… To craft her perfect alibi, she tortured her own son!

([萨屯、天母、铁影俱震,望向天佑残躯。一时寂然。天母踉跄上前,双臂虚悬,面如槁木。] / [SÀTŪN, TIĀN MǓ, and TIĚ YĪNG all stare in stunned silence at TIĀN YÒU’s broken body. TIĀN MǓ staggers forward, arms trembling in the air, her face ashen and hollow].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([怒极] / [Furious beyond reason].)
将这老狐孽种捆了!朕要亲创酷刑——天命昭昭,必令其痛彻神魂!
Bind these vixen whelps! I’ll invent tortures myself—by Heaven’s Mandate, they’ll suffer in soul and flesh!

([皇后的侍卫拖走铁雪和铁莲。寂静。天母踉跄地走向被绑在树上的天右。] / [The Empress’s Guards drag off TIĚ XUÈ and TIĚ LIÁN. Silence. TIĀN MǓ stumbles toward TIĀN YÒU, who still hangs from the tree].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([跪下] / [Kneeling beside him].)
没有呼吸。
No breath.
没有声音。
No sound.
连疼痛都没有。
Not even pain.
([她将手靠近他的皮肤。空气一动不动。] / [She holds her hand close to his skin. The air does not move].)
([低语] / [Whispers].)
这死寂……
This stillness …
我曾见过。
I have known it before.
那年在雪地上,积雪不化。
Once, on a field where the snow would not melt.
五毒门斩断一名少年之气,任乌鸦来温他的骨。
Where the Five Poisons cut the qi from a boy and left him to warm the crows.
([她轻轻触碰伤口。] / [She gently touches the wounds].)
这沉默之中,有他们的歌。
A silence that sings of them.
([她将天右抱入怀中。] / [She gathers him in her arms].)
可这沉默太整齐,太冷静,
像是被人为剪断的呼吸。
像是恶意,刻意留下的空白。
——一封用静默写的信。
那就让我来读。
But this silence—it’s too neat, too calm,
like a breath cut by design.
Like malice, leaving behind a blank on purpose.
—A letter written in silence.
Then let me read it.

([她站起。众人随她而去。退场。] / [She rises. The others follow. Exits].)

([静场良久。五目蟾蜍上,体沾墓灰,喉间第五目——一道竖隙——搏动不止。其鸣三声同现:临终牧师的祷词、新娘喉间的窒泣、利齿碾骨的脆响。蟾蜍转目,锁定深渊。长舌突伸——节节畸长——舔舐渊缘白丝凝血,战栗欢愉。] / [A long silence. Then the Five-Eyed Toad enters, its skin dusted with tomb-ash. Its fifth eye— a vertical slit on its throat—pulses. It croaks, and three sounds emerge at once: — A priest’s final prayer — A bride’s strangled gasp — The crunch of bone between teeth. The toad’s eyes swivel, fixing on the sinkhole. Its tongue lashes out—jointed, grotesquely long—and tastes the blood BÁI SĪ left behind. It quivers in ecstasy].)

֍

[第三幕,第一场]
[ACT III. SCENE I]

([舞台空荡,唯中央一平台,上置两包裹,以朱绳捆缚的白布覆之。钟鸣一声,静默。天母着白色将袍上,铁骨与铁鹰随侧。她徐行至萨屯与皇室前,肃然跪地。] / [A single bell chimes. The stage is bare save for a platform, center, upon which rest two bundles, wrapped in white cloth tied with red ceremonial cord. The silence holds. TIĀN MǓ enters in white general’s robes, flanked by TIĚ GŪ and TIĚ YĪNG. She walks slowly, then kneels in front of SÀTŪN and the royal court].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
太平之年,臣执此剑,以彰武德。
In times of peace, I held this sword with honor.
战乱之时,臣以血饲之。帝国之下——唯忠而已。
In war, I fed it blood. Under the empire, there is only loyalty.
今臣之忠义遭疑,剑锈心枯……
Now my loyalty is doubted, my sword is rusted and my heart is withered…
然若老朽一臂,可洗吾女之辱……
But if my old arm can still wash away the shame of my daughter…
则不必多言。
then there is no need to say more.
([她以盆净手,默然片刻。旋即拔剑,左手覆白鉢巻,抵地稳刃,断腕自戕。闷哼一声,断掌落盆,血水相融。她伏地叩首,额触砖石。] / [She washes her hands in the basin. A pause. Then, unsheathing her blade, she steadies it with one hand on the ground. She wraps her left wrist with white silk, braces and swiftly cuts off her own hand. A sharp exhale. The hand falls into the basin. Blood swirls in water. She bows forward, kowtows, forehead touching the floor].)
为帝国。
For the Empire.
为仁慈。
For Mercy.
为陛下。
For you, my Empress.

([萨屯起身,神色慵懒。她踱至台前,审视包裹,忽莞尔一笑。] / [SÀTŪN stands, slow and unbothered. She approaches the dais, examining the bundles. Then, with the barest smile, she speaks].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
一臂?将军,朕要的是忠心, 而非残羹。
Just one hand, General? I asked for loyalty, not leftovers.
([她做了个手势,一位侍从默默地解开一捆布。观众什么也没看到——只有田牧的脸。她的表情僵住了,然后破碎了。] / [She gestures, and an Attendant silently unties one of the cloth bundles. The audience sees nothing—only TIĀN MǓ’s face. Her expression freezes, then shatters].)
朕赐你双礼……合该感激才是。
I have given you two gifts… you should be grateful.
她们的头颅, 沉甸甸的,压着羞耻。
Their heads were heavy, weighed down with shame.
朕已为尔…… 轻如鸿毛。
I have made them… as light as a feather.

([天母凝望包裹,面色骤僵,形同槁木。腕间滴血无声。铁鹰缓步上前。] / [TIĀN MǓ says nothing. She does not scream. She does not move. Her severed wrist drips blood onto the floor. TIĚ YĪNG steps forward slowly].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁影
这就是帝国对待女儿的方式吗?
Is this how empire honors its daughters?

([萨屯不答,含笑携众退场。铁鹰跪于天母身侧,视血刃与朱绳包裹。] / [SÀTŪN does not respond. She smiles, turns, and exits with the Court, leaving the bundles behind. TIĚ YĪNG kneels beside TIĀN MǓ, who still kneels, broken. She looks to the blood, the sword, the silent cloth-covered heads].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁影 (CONT’D)
此地,已无吾立锥之所。
There is no place for me to stand here.
非陛下的宫阙,非宗庙,非沙场。
Not in your majesty’s palace, not in the ancestral temple, not on the battlefield.
母亲所授,儿当永志——
What my mother taught me, I will always remember ––
但绝非……为这般帝国。
but it is definitely not… for this empire.

([她拾起血刃,如抱婴孩,下。天母独跪,静默如渊。] / [She picks up the bloodied sword, cradles it like a child and exits. TIĀN MǓ remains kneeling in silence].)

֍

[第三幕・第二场]
[ACT III. SCENE II]
(This scene heading appears twice in the original, I will assume the first is Act III Scene II and the next one should be Act III Scene III. If this is incorrect, please let me know! For now, I will label them sequentially.)

[内宫秘殿。绢屏影绰,香烟如鬼萦绕。殿外:法锣沉沉,诵经隐隐——铁血与铁炼正赴黄泉。殿内:时间凝滞,寂静亵渎。巴悉拉跪坐冥想,身侧大狼仅着薄绸单衣,面泛潮红,眸含期待。青铜炉中紫焰幽曳,卷轴如舌展,朱砂墨溢地如血。]
[A private chamber in the inner palace. Shadowed silk screens. Incense drifts like ghosts. Outside: ritual gongs, muffled chanting—the execution of TIĚ XUÈ and TIĚ LIÁN proceeds without interruption. Inside: stillness, sacred and wrong. Time bends. A hush. BǍ XĪ LĀ kneels in meditation beside DÀ LÁNG, who wears only thin silken robes, flushed and expectant. A bronze brazier flickers with violet flame. Scrolls unfurl like tongues. A bowl of cinnabar ink bleeds across the floor.]

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([轻语] / [Whispering])
此处唯你我。星宿亦阖目——
It’s just you and me here. The stars are also closed ––
似这九天十地……不敢窥伺。
just like the nine heavens and ten earths… dare not peek.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
苍天何曾容得……情人欢好?
How can heaven allow… lovers to enjoy each other?
([褪去外袍,仰卧祭坛,闭目] / [Slips off her robes, lies on the altar with her eyes closed])
快些,郎君。妾身……已难耐。
Hurry up, my love. I can’t wait anymore.

([长寂。她睁眼。巴悉拉伫立如石,唇动无声,诵念畸变经文——喉音沉浊,似古庙残碑之语。] / [Long silence. She opens her eyes. BǍ XĪ LĀ stands like stone, fully clothed, lips moving. The words are twisted scripture—glottal, guttural—spoken in a broken, holy tongue older than any temple].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
‘此妇当为吾怒之器,备以毁殁。’
‘She shall be for Me a vessel of wrath, prepared for destruction.’
([炉火骤燃。屏风影动,如逃如窜。] / [The brazier flares. Shadows crawl up the silk screens, as if fleeing].)
首当净器。
First, we anoint the vessel.
‘其额题名:奥秘哉,大巴比伦,娼妓与地上可憎物之母。’
‘And upon her forehead was a name written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.’
([他捧起朱砂墨碗,以颤指绘经咒于大狼肌肤——腹、胸、腿。字迹隐泛幽光。] / [He lifts the bowl of cinnabar ink. With trembling fingers, he paints sutras in black and rust-red across DÀ LÁNG’s skin—belly, breasts, thighs. They glow faintly].)
‘吾言岂非如火,亦如击磐之锤?’
‘Is not My word like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?’
([他将一柄浸透腐煞的玉刃掷入火中。刃嘶鸣,泣血,渗黑。大狼喘息渐促——如堕幻境。] / [He places a jade dagger, black with corruption, into the flame. It hisses. Screams. Bleeds blackness. DÀ LÁNG’s breath quickens—entranced].)
([柔声,几近爱怜] / [Softly, almost tender].)
产门已闭。
The mouth of birth is closed.
‘地开口,吞没妇人与其神裔。’
‘The earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the woman and her seed.’
今吾当启新门。
Now I will open a new gate.

([未及她反应,刃已刺落。血肉绽裂声。血溅胸股祭石。她弓身痉挛,无欢愉呻吟,唯闻痛喘。忽其掌按她丹田,湿濡扭曲之声——如血肉自绽为花,裂作齿渊。腹开巨口,荧荧蠕噬,淫亵而饥。大狼惨嚎。] / [Before she can move, the dagger plunges. The sound of flesh bursting apart. Blood hisses onto her breasts, her thighs, the altar stone. Her body arches in shock. No moans of ecstasy, only pain. Then his palm presses to her navel. A twisting, wet sound——like flesh folding back upon itself. Her belly splits, not by blade nor wound, but like a flower blooming into teeth. A gaping, glowing maw opens, wet, obscene, hungry. DÀ LÁNG screams].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉 (CONT’D)
‘彼倾魂至死……与罪同列。’
‘He poured out His soul unto death… and was numbered among the transgressors.’
([他从袍中取一燃烧之心——尚搏动,银脉盘错。倾入她体内渊口。殿外诵经声渐狂。待最后真气尽耗,心化灰烬。荧芒黯,渊口闭如沙漩。] / [From his robe, BǍ XĪ LĀ removes a burning heart—still pulsing, riddled with veins of silver qi. He pours it into her, into the maw. The chanting outside grows frantic. As the last of the qi is spent, the heart withers to ash. The glow dims. The
dentata closes like swirling sand in the desert].)
‘人将称其为可憎之母。彼将再孕,产兽。’
‘They will call her mother of abominations. She will conceive once more and it shall be a beast.’

([大狼瘫倒——汗濡身颤,血污狼藉,目眦欲裂。] / [DÀ LÁNG falls back—drenched in sweat, shaking, bleeding, terrified].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([喘促] / [Gasping].)
冷极——
It’s cold—
不——灼如焚……此为何物?
No—it burns … what is it?

([巴悉拉漠然掷袍掩其残躯。仪毕。他目中已无她。] / [Almost absently, BǍ XĪ LĀ tosses her robes across her ruined body. The ceremony is over. His eyes are empty of her now].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([自语] / [To himself].)
‘彼已成魔居,聚万秽灵,囚诸不洁憎鸟之笼。’
‘She is become the habitation of devils, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’
([朗声] / [Aloud].)
盘绕之暗。
The coiled dark.
汝已成终焉之杯。
You are now the chalice of ending.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([气若游丝] / [Barely above a whisper].)
妾觉……其已动。此刻便动。
I feel… it moving. Already.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
待皇后啖女肉,
When the Empress eats the flesh of her daughters,
待尸月裂,
when the corpse-moon cracks,
待五毒蔽天——
when the heavens darken with five poisons—
其将破汝而出。
then it will crawl free.

([地底深处,古物蠢动。非肺所生之呻,无名之饥。] / [Far below, something ancient shifts in the roots of the earth. A moan not born of lungs. A hunger without name].)
([他走向殿门。他驻足,回望。] / [He walks to the door. He pauses. Looks back once].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([恍惚呢喃] / [Dazed, whispering].)
妾身……将为彼之母。
I … will be his mother.
吾儿。
Our son.
吾儿。
Our son.
吾儿。
Our son.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([低语] / [To himself].)
然。
Yes.
亦为……首飨。
And its first meal.

֍

[第三幕,第三场]
[ACT III. SCENE III]
(Previously Act III, Scene II – second instance)

《天转其面,唯有鬼魂凝视。》
[Heaven turns its face, only ghosts stay to watch.]

[天母府邸颓门前,阴风阵阵。大狼、蓝毒、黑毒戴破碎戏面登场,扮作血煞星、白无常、黑无常。衣袍浸透丧香与疯癫。手持仪杖,一杖悬绞索,一杖铸淫鬼铭文铜阳。大狼提滴落腐液的幽灯。空气弥漫灰烬与霉绸之气。]
[Before crumbling gate of TIĀN MǓ’s residence. A cold wind blows. DÀ LÁNG, LÁN DÚ and HĒI DÚ enter, masked as the god and judges of the dead: Xuè Shà Xīng, Bái Wúcháng and Hēi Wúchāng. Their costumes reek of funeral incense and madness. They wear cracked opera masks. They pound on the door with ceremonial staffs –– one with a noose, the other with a bronze yang inscribed with the inscription of a lustful ghost. DÀ LÁNG holds a black lantern dripping with putrid liquid. The air is filled with the smell of ash and moldy silk.]

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([自高窗窥下。] / [Peering down from an upper window].)
何人叩门?血煞星?本将不需神明,我即复仇!
Who dares knock? Xuè Shà Xīng? I need no goddess. I am vengeance!
([铁链残腕铿然作响。] / [Rattles her stump-chain].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([覆面低语] / [Veiled].)
吾乃血煞星,踏血途而来。此二者,白无常与黑无常。
I am Xuè Shà Xīng, who walks the blood-red path. These are my judges: Bái and Hēi Wúchāng.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([眯眼] / [Squinting].)
倒也巧合。地府判官,竟生得像那蛇妇的孽种。
How convenient. The Judges of Hell, who just happen to look like the Viper’s whelps.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
([扮白无常] / [As BÁI WÚCHÁNG].)
谁斩鹿首于少女之坛?
Who beheaded the deer on the altar of girlhood?

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([扮黑无常] / [As HĒI WÚCHÁNG].)
谁碎珠门而听血之歌?
Who cracked the pearl-gate and laughed as the blood sang?

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
谁以箫塞喉,却谓之合卺之乐?
Who silenced her with a flute and called it a wedding song?

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([狂笑] / [Laughing].)
那便让本将赐尔等明镜——照见诸神所不屑之相。
Then let me show you mirrors—you’ll see what the gods turned away from.
([唾于黑毒铜阳杖上,嗤嗤作响] / [Spits, it lands on HĒI DÚ’s phallus staff. The metal hisses].)
要我下来?你们和那’慈悲’的巴希拉同是一丘之貉。
Come down? You are just like that kind-hearted, Bǎi Xī Lā.
([退场。] / [Exits].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([对女儿们] / [To her daughters].)
巴希拉?慈悲?哈!就这?这就是让老妇疯魔的手段。
Bǎi Xī Lā? Kind? Haha! This is how you drive an old woman crazy.

([天母从下方现身,绕三人行如狼影。大狼三人战栗。] / [TIĀN MǓ enters below. DÀ LÁNG, LÁN DÚ and HĒI DÚ shiver as she circles them like a wolf].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒 & HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([齐声] / [In unison].)
吾等地府判官。
We are the Judges of Hell.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
你们是来责罚我的阴魂?
Are you a spirit come to punish me?
([旁白] / [Aside].)
还是如今连妖魔也穿得如此劣绸?
Or do demons wear such cheap silk now?

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒 & HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([齐声] / [In unison].)
诉尔罪孽,吾等必惩恶徒。
Tell us of a crime and we will punish the malefactors.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([抓住大狼] / [Grabbing DÀ LÁNG].)
血煞星,你的小穴怎么有鬼尿味儿?
Tell me, Xuè Shà Xīng, why does your flesh smell like ghost piss?

([天母猛吻大狼,撕破面纱,惊现真容一瞬。] / [TIĀN MǓ kisses DÀ LÁNG violently. DÀ LÁNG’s veil tears, revealing a glimpse of her face].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([慌乱] / [Flustered].)
你以为我是来羞辱你?
You think I’ve come to mock you?
([转为冷静] / [Recovering].)
我原欲赐你武者之终……如今看来,你早已疯癫。
I wanted to give you a warrior’s death… but now it seems that you have gone insane.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
疯癫?对……这必是地狱。我……我定已疯魔。
Insane? Oh yes. Then … this must be Hell. I … I must be mad.
([旁白] / [Aside].)
疯到仍困此地,疯到仍见你等幻影。
Mad to still be here. Mad to see you.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒 & HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([齐声] / [In unison].)
被诅咒者无权评判法官。
The damned do not get to judge the Judges.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([跪地,哭声过大] / [Falling to her knees, sobbing a little too loudly].)
求你们!求你们!不要将我独留此处!空有悔恨!我一生心血付诸流水……让我向吾皇、玉门妃、与铁刃妹妹诀别……
Please! I beg you! Please … do not leave me here! Alone! Full of regrets! All my work undone!… Let me say goodbye to my Empress, her Consort, my sister, my Iron Mountain Blades …

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒 & HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([齐声] / [In unison].)
被诅咒者没有权利——
The damned do not get —

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([打断] / [Interrupting].)
或许可破例。
Perhaps an exception can be made.
([对女儿们] / [To her daughters].)
看看她,真是可怜。这可比我想象中乏味多了。若在满朝文武前羞辱她,不更妙?说不定她还会吓得尿裤子!满殿皆笑!
Look at her, she’s pathetic. This isn’t as fun as I was hoping. Wouldn’t it be a whole lot more delicious to humiliate her in front of the whole Court? She might even piss herself in fright! Everyone will laugh at that.
([对天母] / [To TIĀN MǓ].)
可怜的魂灵,你愿以何物交换,换一次向皇后诀别的机会?
Miserable soul! What would you give to say goodbye to your Empress one last time?

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([感激抬首] / [Looking up gratefully].)
只此一次?一切都行!我这只手!这双腿!我的灵魂!我的肉体!全归你……只求让我无悔而终!
One last time? Anything! My other hand! Both my legs! My soul! My flesh! They’re all yours … just don’t let me die with regrets!

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([对女儿们] / [To her daughters].)
姑娘们,意下如何?我去筹备一场终极盛宴,你们先照顾这位老妇人。
What do you say, girls? Can you babysit a crone while I go make preparations for a feast to end all feasts?

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
听起来有趣极了!
This will be fun!

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
去吧,母亲。我们这儿有玩具可供消遣……
Go, mother. We have our plaything and will amuse ourselves …

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
……还能趁机磨磨我们的爪子。
… by sharpening our claws.

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([对天母] / [To TIĀN MǓ].)
可怜的凡人!地狱的判官竟起恻隐之心,实属罕见。我将为你筹备一场盛宴,庆祝你的一生、你的英勇、你的伟业。届时,所有生者皆将受邀,所有先你堕入地狱的女儿魂魄亦将莅临。
Wretched mortal! The Judges of Hell are in a rare and kind mood. I will prepare a banquet to celebrate your life, your bravery, your accomplishments. I will invite all the living and all the souls of your daughters who have gone to Hell before you.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([伏地叩谢] / [Groveling on the floor].)
谢天!谢地!谢你们!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
([呼喊] / [Calls].)
姐姐——快出来听我赐福!
Tiě Gū! Sister! Come out here and hear my blessing!

([铁姑进来,一脸震惊。她像看疯子一样看着大郎、蓝毒和黑毒,却什么也没说。] / [TIĚ GŪ enters, visibly stunned. She stares at DÀ LÁNG, LÁN DÚ, and HĒI DÚ as if they’ve lost their minds, but says nothing].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母 (CONT’D)
([仍然跪着。] / [Still kneeling].)
看!看!我不用像个懦夫一样悲惨地死去了!谢谢你!
Look! Look! I won’t have to die like some wretched coward! Thank you!

([大郎微笑着退场。一阵长长沉默,房间里的气氛变得阴冷阴森。天牧站起身,缓缓转身,面对双胞胎。] / [DÀ LÁNG exits with a smile. A long silence settles; the air in the room turns cold and grim. TIĀN MǓ rises and slowly turns to face the Twins].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母 (CONT’D)
([甜蜜地] / [Sweetly].)
现在,武昌姐妹……我们来讨论一下残害。
Now, Wúchāng Sisters… let’s discuss mutilation.

([天牧一拳打碎了蓝毒,打碎了她舌头遮盖的面具。铁骨一拳打碎了黑毒的面具,将他的面具从中间撕开。双胞胎倒地——喘息着,挥舞着。他们的手被丧葬绳绑着。天牧把他们像鹿一样倒吊在沾满鲜血的竹子上。他们的经脉被朱砂勾勒成一幅痛苦的地图。] / [TIĀN MǓ punches LÁN DÚ, whose mask flies off. TIĚ GŪ smashes HĒI DÚ’S mask, tearing it clean down the center. The Twins collapse—gasping, thrashing. Their hands are bound with funeral cord. TIĀN MǓ strings them up like butchered deer from blood-soaked bamboo. Their meridians are traced in cinnabar: a map of agony].)

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
傻瓜!我们才是法官——
Fool! We are the Judges of —

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
真的吗?([吐口水。] / [Spits].) 你们是白痴。
Really? You’re idiots.

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
([惊慌。] / [Urgently].)
我们是公主的女儿!
We’re the daughters of the Imperial Consort!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
你是生肉。
You’re raw meat.

LÁN DÚ / 蓝毒
([惊慌失措,疯狂的盯着黑都。] / [Panicked and wide-eyed, staring at HĒI DÚ wildly].)
当我们出生时,助产士说——
When we were born, the midwife said—

HĒI DÚ / 黑都
‘两条蛇,来自同一个蛋。’
—’two snakes, from the same egg.’

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
不,这是我亲爱的儿子说的。你对他做的比杀了他还要糟糕。现在,他会审判你们俩。
No. That was what my beloved son said. What you did to him was worse than death. Now he will judge you both.

([天佑赤脚进来,一声不吭。他双眼朦胧,脸上刻满了禁灵符。他手里拿着一个宽大的铜盆,上面刻着周朝的刑罚。他的指甲染成了黑色,沾满了墓泥。] / [TIĀN YÒU enters barefoot and silent. His eyes are clouded, his face marked with spirit-binding talismans. He carries a wide bronze basin etched with Zhou Dynasty execution rites. His nails are stained black, crusted with grave-dirt].)

TIĀN YÒU / 天佑
([喉音呻吟。] / [Guttural moan].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
他不再能说话,但他的生命力记得……正义。
He no longer speaks, but his qi remembers … justice.

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([模仿巴希拉] / [Speaking like BǍ XĪ LĀ].)
‘尔等当食亲生子。女肉,儿骨。’
‘You shall eat your own children. Daughters’ flesh, sons’ bones.’

([天牧引导天佑的手,将盆子捧在双胞胎身下,天佑如同木偶般服从。] / [TIĀN MǓ guides TIĀN YÒU’s hands to hold the basin beneath the Twins. He obeys like a puppet].)

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑 (CONT’D)
地狱的审判官们受了审判,然后被打入地狱。真是讽刺。
The Judges of Hell being judged and sent to Hell. Ironic, really.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([对双胞胎。] / [To the Twins].)
这就是你们母亲的绝妙计划?掏空我子宫的女人的女儿?在我家人被屠杀时,她竟然还笑着?你们以为生于丝绸与毒药之中就能拯救你们吗?不。让孩子们的恐惧成为他们母亲现在的噤声。
This was your mother’s brilliant plan? The daughters of the woman who hollowed out my womb? Who smiled as my family was butchered? You thought being born into silk and poison would save you? No. Let your fear now be your mother’s silence.
([她举起杀戮之刃。空气变得凝重。雷声低沉。她的眼睛反射着微弱的血光。] / [She raises the killing blade. The air thickens. Thunder murmurs. Her eyes glow faintly with reflected bloodlight].)
仇…仇…仇…
Revenge… Revenge… Revenge…

([田牧割断了两个女孩的喉咙。鲜血从她们的脖子喷涌而出,染红了水盆、墙壁和地板。’复仇’二字鲜血淋漓,如同伤口般跳动。舞台外,一群幽灵般的女人一遍又一遍地低声念叨着这个词。] / [TIĀN MǓ slices both throats. Blood arcs from their necks, painting the basin, the walls, the floor in living strokes. The character ‘仇’ bleeds itself into being, pulsing like a wound. Somewhere offstage, a chorus of ghostly women whisper the word over and over].)

CHORUS / 合唱
仇…仇…仇…
Revenge… Revenge… Revenge…

֍

[第四幕,第一场]
[ACT IV. SCENE I]

[田母家的庭院如今已改建为仪式宴会场。华丽的旗帜在微风中轻轻飘扬。一张漆桌居中,摆满了美味佳肴——座位按严格的等级排列:萨顿居首,大郎与巴希拉分列左右,官员们位于下座。其后是一座高台,田母身穿沾满污渍的厨娘长袍伫立其上,铁骨如刀锋般站在她身旁。远处战鼓如垂死心脏般低沉跳动。]
[The courtyard of TIĀN MǓ’S house, now transformed into a ceremonial banquet ground. Ornate banners flap gently in the breeze. A lacquered table dominates, set with delicacies—yet the seats are arranged in strict hierarchy: SÀTŪN at the head, DÀ LÁNG and BǍ XĪ LĀ at her right and left, lesser officials below. Behind them, a dais where TIĀN MǓ stands, dressed in the stained robes of a cook. TIĚ GŪ looms beside her, a shadow sharp as a blade. Distant war drums pulse like a dying heart.]

([萨顿、达朗[面容憔悴,玉色肌肤上缠绕着黑色血管]、巴希拉[笑容过于灿烂]、朝臣与可汗使者依次入座。他们落座——不知不觉间重现了双胞胎的最后晚餐。] / [Enter SÀTŪN, DÀ LÁNG [Sickly, her jade-pale skin threaded with black veins], BǍ XĪ LĀ [smiling too wide], Courtiers, and the Khagan’s Envoy. They take their seats—unknowingly mirroring the Twins’ last supper].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([冷笑] / [Sneering].)
泥土地上的盛宴?真是……粗鄙。伟大的天牧竟然把她的剑换成了一把勺子?
A feast in the dirt? How… rustic. Has the great Tiān Mǔ traded her sword for a ladle?

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([冷冷地] / [Coldly].)
将军今晚提供的是款待,而不是荣耀。
The General serves hospitality tonight—not glory.

([巴希拉勉强地笑了笑。达朗摇摇晃晃地捂着腹部。仆人们端上热气腾腾的饺子,皮上沾满了浓汤。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ chuckles nervously. DÀ LÁNG sways, clutching her stomach. Servants bring steaming dumplings, their skins glossy with broth].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([鞠躬,声音如丧钟。] / [Bowing, voice like a funeral gong].)
这位卑微老妇感谢各位的到来。正如每场宴席中所言, 愿暴君之肉,从其骨上剥落。
This humble old woman thanks you for partaking. As they say at every feast, may the flesh of tyrants fall from their bones.

([客人们开始吃饭。巴希拉吃得很卖力。达朗脸色苍白,满头大汗,却一动不动。] / [The guests begin to eat. BǍ XĪ LĀ eats with forced gusto. DÀ LÁNG, pale and sweating, does not touch her plate].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
天牧,你为何乔装打扮?一个衣衫褴褛的将军?
Tiān Mǔ, why the disguise? A general in rags?

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
即便是将军,也需亲手沾泥,方可赢得荣誉。([停顿] / [Pause].) 皇后,你还记得孔雎将军的传说吗?那位未能替亲子复仇,却亲手掐死了孩子的母亲?
Even a general must soil their hands to win honor. Tell me, Empress: Do you remember the legend of General Kǒng Jū? How she smothered her own child after she failed to avenge her?

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([漫不经心地] / [Casually].)
当然。失败就要承担后果。一个连自己孩子都保护不好的母亲,简直就是一头野兽。
Of course. Failure demands consequence. A mother who cannot protect her own is little more than a beast.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
我同意。
I agree.

([天牧鼓掌。两名侍从半拖着天佑的尸体进来,天佑奄奄一息,脸上和胸口贴着束缚气功的符箓。他的四肢怪异地抽搐。人群中传来阵阵喘息声。] / [TIĀN MǓ claps. Two attendants enter, half-dragging the body of TIĀN YÒU, barely alive, with qi-binding talismans plastered to his face and chest. His limbs twitch grotesquely. Gasps ripple through the crowd].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母 (CONT’D)
([轻声] / [Softly].)
我的儿子,我唯一的儿子。灵魂和筋骨都被玷污了,而我们——我——却什么也没做。
My son, my only boy. Defiled in soul and sinew and we—I—did nothing.

([客人们继续吃饭。达朗犹豫了一下,咬了一口……然后干呕起来,筷子发出咔哒咔哒的声音。] / [The guests resume eating. DÀ LÁNG hesitates, takes a bite … then gags, her chopsticks clattering].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
这味道——!
This taste—!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([微笑] / [Smiling].)
公主,您认得它吗?
Do you recognize it, Princess?

([倒吸一口气。皇后僵住了,半嚼的饺子从她的嘴唇上滴落下来。] / [Gasps. The Empress freezes, a half-chewed dumpling dripping from her lips].)

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([不是问题。] / [Not a question].)
我的女儿们——
My daughters—

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([平静地] / [Calmly].)
母亲应该知道自己血液的味道。
A mother should know the taste of her own blood.

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([吐食物。] / [Spitting food].)
亵渎!这是……亵渎!
Blasphemy! This is… desecration!

DÀ LÁNG / 大狼
([喘着气,紧紧抓住桌子。] / [Gasping, gripping the table].)
里面……有东西……在动……!
It… hurts… inside… something… moving…!

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([惊慌地转过身] / [Turning in alarm].)
坚持住,我们会得到帮助的!
Hold on, we’ll get help!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
哦,是的,正义即将到来。
Oh yes, justice is coming.

([一片混乱。群臣呕吐。可汗使者哀号。达朗尖叫起来,腹部膨胀、破裂,流出腐烂和焦黑的内脏。她在哀号中死去,尸体仍在咀嚼自己的舌头。天牧转身对着巴希拉吐口水。] / [Chaos erupts. Courtiers vomit. The Khagan’s envoy wails. DÀ LÁNG screams as her belly swells, splits— spilling corruption and blackened viscera. She dies mid-wail, her corpse still chewing its own tongue. TIĀN MǓ turns and spits on BǍ XĪ LĀ].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([干呕着,向后退去] / [Retching, scrambling back].)
不——不,这不是——!我才不——!
No—no, this isn’t—! I never—!

([巴希拉转身逃离了院子。他的十字架掉在地上,摔得粉碎。没有人阻止他。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ turns and flees from the courtyard. His cross clatters to the ground—shattering. No one stops him].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([在他身后喊道] / [Calling after him].)
快跑,神父。你的末日已经把你抛弃在你的盛宴残渣里了!
Run, priest. Your apocalypse has abandoned you in the crumbs of your feast!

([铁古向前迈步,拔出刀子跟随,但天牧举起了一只手。] / [TIĚ GŪ steps forward, drawing her blade to follow, but TIĀN MǓ raises a hand].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母 (CONT’D)
不,让他跑吧……现在。
No. Let him run … for now.

([天母走到儿子身边,轻轻摸了摸他的额头,然后撕下符箓。天佑的尸体发出一声叹息,如万只死蟋蟀同时低鸣,随即化为尘土,随风而散。] / [TIĀN MǓ walks to her son. Gently, she touches his brow. Then she tears the talismans free. TIĀN YÒU’S corpse exhales—a sigh like a thousand dead crickets—then crumbles to dust. The wind carries him away].)

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([站起来,气得浑身发抖] / [Rises, trembling with rage].)
你以为这样就能证明你正义?你不过是这腐败世界中另一团腐肉!
You think this proves you are righteous? You are just another piece of rotten meat in this corrupt world!

([随着达朗腐烂的尸体最后一次抽搐,庭院中一片寂静。随后,从墙外传来号角声、马蹄声和战鼓声。铁鹰虽然血迹斑斑,但却取得了胜利,身后跟着一队蒙古战士和叛逆的边防将领。] / [A beat of silence falls over the courtyard as DÀ LÁNG’S corrupted corpse twitches one last time. Then, from beyond the walls: a cry of horns. The sound of hooves. War drums. TIĚ YĪNG enters, bloodied but victorious, followed by a battalion of Mongol Warriors and Rogue Border Generals].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
城门敞开。天命已然在此腐朽。我们不征服——我们只是扫荡。
The city gates lie open. The Mandate of Heaven has rotted here. We do not conquer—we scour.

SÀTŪN / 萨囤
([挑衅地] / [Defiant].)
你竟敢把外国狗带进我的宫里?
You dare bring foreign dogs into my court?

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
狗?也许吧。但我们还是会咬人。
Dogs? Perhaps. But we still bite.

([萨顿咆哮着,猛扑过去——但一支蒙古长矛刺穿了她的喉咙。她在咯咯的笑声中死去,鲜血溅满了宴会桌。她的身体倒在达朗身边。] / [SÀTŪN snarls, lunging—but a Mongol spear pierces her throat. She dies gurgling laughter, her blood splattering the banquet table. Her body collapses beside DÀ LÁNG].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英 (CONT’D)
暴君已死,唯有风暴残存。而风暴,从不请求许可。
The tyrant is dead and only the storm remains. And storms do not ask permission.
([铁引望向巴希拉逃出的宫门。] / [TIĚ YĪNG looks toward the palace gates where BǍ XĪ LĀ fled].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
我还有一道菜要上。
I have one more course to serve.
([天牧甩开围裙,拔出武器,用一只好手将残链绑在手腕上。] / [TIĀN MǓ tosses aside her apron and draws out her weapon. Her one good hand straps her stump-chain to her wrist].)
([平静地] / [Quietly].)
让甜点成为判断。
Let the dessert be judgment.

([天牧走进了燃烧的夜色中。] / [TIĀN MǓ walks off into the burning night].)

֍

[第四幕,第二场]
[ACT IV. SCENE II]

[漆黑天幕下的诅咒绿洲。星辰寒冷刺骨,悬得近乎压人。枯树如骸骨,枝桠扭曲,如亡魂向天哀求赦免。沙地发出嘶嘶声响,风如骨骼摩擦般低语。水池泛着病态而诡异的光芒。池边裂开一道深渊——那是天佑气息破碎之地。深渊之下,某种可怖之物潜伏等待。]
[The cursed desert oasis under a black sky. The stars hang too close, too cold. The trees are skeletal, clawing upward like the dead begging absolution. The sand hisses. The wind whispers like shifting bones. The pool glows with a sickly, unnatural light. A dark pit yawns beside it—the place where TIĀN YÒU’S qi was shattered. Something waits beneath.]

([巴西拉上场。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ enters].)
([他原本华贵的传教士长袍如今破烂不堪、污秽不洁。他紧紧捂着胸口,那是他十字架原本所在的位置——如今空空如也。他踉跄而入,气喘如牛,满脸惊恐。] / [His fine missionary robes are torn and filthy. He clutches his chest where a cross once hung—now gone. He staggers, panting in terror].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([惊恐] / [Terrified].)
不……不不不……不能是这里!别是这里!
No…no no no…not here! Not here!
([跌倒在地,手在沙里乱抓] / [Falls to the ground, clawing in the sand].)
这不可能……他们向我承诺过!皇后听我说了!
This can’t be…they promised me! The Empress heard me!
([带着狂乱的祈求] / [With frantic pleading].)
大郎!大郎!她明明……我明明已得教皇恩宠!圣印!火舌的赐福!
Da’lang! She… I still have the Pope’s favor! The Seal! The blessing of the Tongue of Fire!
([仰望天空] / [Looking up at the sky].)
他们都说我会赢!我信仰的神是真理!他不会抛弃我……
They all said I would win! The God I believe in is the truth! He will not abandon me…

([隐约传来金属刮地的拖行声,低沉而节奏分明。巴西拉骤然僵住。从漆黑扭曲的树影中,天母缓缓现身。] / [A faint, metallic dragging begins, low and rhythmic. He freezes. From the trees, TIĀN MǓ enters].)
([她步伐缓慢,链条拴在断臂上,拖曳沙地。她看上去更老,更疲惫,身体微微颤抖。然而,空气却因她的到来而沉寂无声。] / [She moves slowly, dragging her chain-bound stump through the sand. She looks older, wearier, trembling. Yet the air stills around her].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([嗓音低沉如石碾] / [Low, raspy].)
这片土地的神灵,没你想象的那么容易消亡,巴西拉。
The spirits of this land are not so easily dismissed, Bǎ Xī Lā.
它的神明……还在饥饿。
And its gods…they hunger.
你以为你会死在教堂里,香气缭绕?
Did you think you’d die in a chapel, perfumed with incense?
衣冠整齐,沐光而逝,被你的主亲吻接引?
Righteous and clean, kissed by your god?
([缓步前行,链条拖行声刺入耳中] / [She takes another slow step, the chain dragging].)
不。
No.
你会死在这里。死在你播下恶果之地的泥土与污秽中。
You will die here. In this filth where you sowed your evil.

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([惊恐倒退,注意到她的状态] / [Startled, defensive].)
是你!你追我到这?你流血了……你连站都站不稳了……
You! You followed me? You’re bleeding. You’re… barely standing …
([突现疯狂之光,拔剑] / [He draws his sword—erratic confidence flaring].)
我还有胜算!我主与我同在!击倒你这妖女!
I still have the edge! My God is with me! He will strike you down, witch!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([发出干涩冷笑] / [Chuckling, dry as sand].)
你的主……遥不可及。
Your god seems… distant.
而我的神们……近在咫尺。
Mine, however, are very near.
来吧。来夺你所谓的’优势’吧,传教士。
Come then. Take your ‘edge,’ priest.

([他们开战。] / [They fight].)
([巴西拉怒吼着猛冲,剑势狂乱,全凭蛮力毫无章法。天母不与他硬碰,只巧妙闪避。一息之距,一旋之差,一转之间——他的剑只斩中衣角、风声与寂静。铿然一声——她用链条挡下他的劈砍,火花四溅。一甩之间,链头缠住他的脚踝。他踉跄后退,一树枝猛然刺破他的衣袖。] / [BǍ XĪ LĀ charges—his blade slashes wildly, strength without technique. TIĀN MǓ does not counter—she evades. A breath’s lean, a pivot, a turn—his sword cuts only cloth, wind, silence. CLANG. Her chain blocks a direct strike. Sparks hiss. A flick—his ankle is caught. He stumbles. A tree limb spears his sleeve].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([喘息着,兴奋] / [Panting, excited].)
看见了吗?你那虚假的力量正在衰退!
See? Your false power is fading!
你那魔鬼的法术失效了!
Your devilish spells are failing!
你不过是个女人,一个老寡妇!
You are only a woman, an old widow!
一个在神脚下爬行的野兽!你那些泥胎木偶的伪神祇早就该死!
A beast crawling at the feet of God! Your clay puppet gods should have died long ago!

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
那么就和我一起流血吧,牧师。
Then bleed with me, priest.
([她动了。起初很慢——然后越来越快。铁链划出一道弧线,在空中轰鸣。他猛扑过去——她不在。他转身——太迟了。链风啸过——大腿。回扫——侧腹。反劈——后背。] / [She moves now. Slowly at first—then faster. The chain arcs in figure-eights, whispering through the air. He lunges—she’s not there. He turns—too late. The chain whistles – hits his thigh. Sweeps his flank. Counter-slash across his back].)
([水池仿佛叹息一声,荡起层层涟漪,幽光乍现。他气喘吁吁地退入池边,眼神迷茫。] / [The pool sighs. Ripples flash with ghostlight. He backs into it, panting, uncertain].)
([枯树虬曲,幻象骤生——他竟见天佑缚于树下,泣血哀嚎。] / [The dead tree suddenly twists and a hallucination appears – he sees TIĀN YÒU tied to it, crying and wailing].)

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([低语,带颤] / [Voice thin, broken].)
这……这里……那个男孩……
This… here… that boy…
那对孪生姐妹……把他带到……这里……
The Twins… brought him… here…

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([声音骤变,如冰刃] / [Voice suddenly changes, like an ice blade].)
没错。
Yes.
([她挺直腰身,气息归稳,目光如刃] / [She straightens her back, her breath becomes steady, her eyes are like blades].)
你将我儿的魂魄在此撕裂。你将他奉献给那地狱之口。
You tore my son’s soul apart here. You offered him to the mouth of hell.
([她挺直身躯,不再衰弱,不再疲惫。风停了。沙也安静地倾听。她高举链条,此刻,它不再是负担,而是利刃。] / [She straightens. No longer frail. No longer tired. The wind stills. The sand listens. She raises her chain—not as burden, but as a blade].)
斩魂之缚——斩断灵魂的束缚。([一位母亲的复仇,被炼化为武学。] / [A mother’s vengeance perfected into technique].)
The Binding That Severs the Soul.
([她旋身一转,链光如电。他斩出一剑——却扑了空。她已绕到他身后——啪!右脸一道血痕。啪!左脸又一道。血如对称的面具,在他脸上浮现。] / [She spins once. The chain flickers. He slashes—she is gone. Behind him— Whip—his right cheek. Whip—his left. Twin lines of blood. A mask].)
([语气如鞭] / [Tongue like a whip].)
你曾许诺报偿。你谈过天恩。
You promised rewards. You talked about grace.
那你来——用金银收买我吧,传教士。
Then come on—buy me with gold and silver, missionary.
你的命换财宝。公平的交易,不是么?
Your life for treasure. A fair deal, isn’t it?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([捂脸,语无伦次] / [Sobbing, babbling].)
是!金子!银子!
Yes! Gold! Silver!
在聂斯脱里那边藏着的财宝!西方来的珠宝!都给你!
Nestorian gold! Jewels from the West! All for you!
([链条轻弹,右脸一痕血线。] / [The chain flicks, a streak of blood runs down the right side of his face].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([冷笑] / [Coldly amused].)
你来吧。承诺我一个天堂的位置。你们常说的,在你主的右边,永远的荣耀。
Then promise me salvation. Place me next to your god, at his right hand. For eternity.
([链条再次飞出,死死缠住他的脖子。他挣扎窒息,踉跄着退到深渊边缘,脚下沙土不断崩塌。] / [The chain lashes again, coiling his neck. He chokes. He stumbles—teetering at the pit’s edge].)
([倾身靠近,愤怒地低语] / [Leaning close, whispering with wrath].)
巴希拉,请满足我的一切愿望吧。
Offer me everything I ask for, Bǎ Xī Lā.
一切。
Everything.
像你这样的灵魂,要付出什么代价?
What is the price for a soul like yours?

BǍ XĪ LĀ / 巴希拉
([哽咽、挣扎] / [Gurgling].)
什么都行!我命也给你!
Anything! I’ll give you my life!
我做你奴仆都行……
I’ll be your slave…

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([怒啸,声震天地] / [Suddenly roaring, voice quaking of grief].)
我要把我的孩子们还回来,你这个狗杂种!
I WANT MY CHILDREN BACK, YOU SON-OF-A-DOG!
我要我的手!
I WANT MY HAND!
我要你凭那邪信窃走的一切!
I WANT EVERYTHING YOU STOLE WITH YOUR CURSED FAITH!
([她缓缓地,从断臂上解下链条。动作坚定而冷静。链落。人坠。四野寂静无声。] / [She unbuckles the chain from her stump. A single, deliberate motion. It falls. He falls. Silence].)
([没有冲击。没有尖叫。只有消失。] / [No impact. No scream. Just absence].)
([她孑然而立。抬头望向冷漠无情的星辰。她低头看向自己的断臂,看向深渊,然后转身望向东方——城市的方向。] / [She stands alone. The stars stare down—distant, indifferent. She looks at her stump. At the pit. Then to the east—toward the city].)
([低语] / [Quiet].)
我已一无所有。没有喜悦。没有够甜的复仇。
No joy. No vengeance sweet enough.
但,我的孩子……天佑……我的女儿们……你们可以安息了。
But my children… Tiān Yòu… My daughters… You can now rest.
([她转身,独自踏上归途。形单影只,却终得完整。] / [She turns. Begins walking. Alone, but complete].)

֍

[尾声]
[EPILOGUE]

祖剑堂密室
Ancestral Sword Hall Crypt.

([大殿幽暗,空气凝滞。石骆驼沉睡于尘埃之下。祖剑微微泛光。新香在祭坛上袅袅燃起。铁鹰、铁姑与天母缓步而出,立于城门前。他们身后,立着一块崭新的纪念碑。碑上刻着:「天佑之碑」] / [The hall is dark, the air still. Stone camels sleep beneath layers of dust. The ancestral swords gleam faintly. New incense burns at the altar. TIĚ YĪNG, TIĚ GŪ, and TIĀN MǓ exit and stand before the City Gates. Behind them stands a fresh memorial stone. Carved upon it: The Tablet of TIĀN YÒU].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
铁家之子。
Son of the House of Iron.
他身负母伤,
He bore the wound of his mother,
以我之苦书写预言。
and wrote my pain into prophecy.

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
他从未举过刀——
He never lifted a blade—
却也让他在此与姐妹们安眠。
And yet let him sleep here with his sisters.

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
([低声] / [Quietly].)
他不需要剑。
He didn’t need a sword.
但他无需剑也勇敢。
But was brave without one.

([风起,呜咽如哭。] / [The wind begins to howl].)

TIĚ GŪ / 铁姑
([轻轻地] / [Lightly].)
都城那边……有人在议论。
There’s talk … in the capital.
说我该戴上凤冠。
That I should wear the Phoenix crown.

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
我会在你右手而骑。
I’ll ride at your right hand.
但你需要的不只是将军。你需要一个记得我们失去过什么的朝廷。
But you’ll need more than a general. You’ll need a Court who remembers what we lost.

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
([淡淡一笑] / [Smiling faintly].)
那就去建一个吧。
Then make one.
([顿。] / [Beat].)
我已完成了我的部分。
I’ve finished my part.

([风势渐强。远方沙暴翻卷,吞噬地平线。] / [The wind grows louder. A sandstorm curls along the horizon].)

TIĚ YĪNG / 铁英
([焦急] / [Concerned].)
城门——
The gates—
我们该关上它。
We should close them.

([天母越过他们,走出门槛。] / [TIĀN MǓ steps out ahead of them, across the threshold].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母
敞着吧。让死者有一道门。
Leave them open. The dead should have a door.
他们也需要这样的地方。
They’ll need a place like this.

([天母回首。铁鹰与铁姑仍立于城中,肩并肩,立于昏光之下。天母抬手一挥,又放下。沙暴渐渐吞没苍穹。] / [TIĀN MǓ turns. TIĚ YĪNG and TIĚ GŪ remain in the city, standing side by side in the muted light. TIĀN MǓ lifts her hand once, then lowers it. The sandstorm begins to swallow the sky].)

TIĀN MǓ / 天母 (CONT’D)
([低语] / [Softly].)
唤我之名——我之魂必应。
Speak my name—and my spirit will answer.

([她步入风暴。身影渐隐,足迹无痕。无尸,无葬,唯有其传。] / [She walks out into the storm. Her figure fades. Her footsteps leave no mark. There will be no bones, no burial. Only the story].)

[结束]
[END]

֍

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Bái Sī [白丝]: Literally “White Silk.” Youngest daughter to the late Empress.

Bái Wúcháng [白无常]: “White Impermanence.” One of the two Heibai Wuchang, deities in Chinese folk religion responsible for escorting spirits of the dead to the underworld. Often depicted in white robes.

Bǎ Xī Lā [巴悉拉]: The Chinese transliteration for “Basilas” or a similar European name; in this play, an evil Nestorian Christian missionary.

Dà Láng [大狼]: Literally “Big Wolf.” Head of the Five Poisons Sect.

Dāntián [丹田]: “Cinnabar field” or “Elixir field.” Energy centers in the body, crucial in traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, and meditation for the cultivation and storage of Qi. Often refers to a point in the lower abdomen.

Dàzhùi [大椎]: “Great Hammer.” An acupressure point on the spine, considered a vital point.

Feng Shui [风水]: Literally “Wind-Water.” A traditional Chinese practice of arranging spaces to achieve harmony with the natural world and harness positive energy flows (Qi).

Five Poisons Sect [五毒教]: A fictional martial arts sect common in wuxia, specializing in poisons and often portrayed as villainous. The “Five Poisons” traditionally refer to the centipede, snake, scorpion, toad, and spider.

Five-Eyed Toad [五眼蟾蜍]: A mythical toad, often associated with poisons, dark magic, or wealth in Chinese folklore. The “five eyes” imply heightened perception or a connection to the five elements.

Hēi Dú [黑毒]: Literally “Black Poison.” One of Dà Láng’s daughters.

Hēi Wúcháng [黑无常]: “Black Impermanence.” One of the two Heibai Wuchang, deities in Chinese folk religion responsible for escorting spirits of the dead to the underworld. Often depicted in black robes.

Huī Dú [灰毒]: Literally “Grey Poison.” One of Dà Láng’s daughters.

Jade Empress [玉皇]: Often refers to the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝, Yù Huáng Dà Dì), a supreme deity in Chinese folk religion and Taoism. Here, potentially gender-bent or a specific title.

Jade Gate [玉门]: Yumen, a historical frontier pass in Gansu province, China, marking an entrance to the Western Regions on the Silk Road. Symbolically, a gateway or border.

Jade Scepter / Jade Order [碧玉令 / 玉令]: A symbol of authority or imperial decree, made of precious jade.

Jǐzhōng [脊中]: “Center of the Spine.” An acupressure point on the spine, considered a vital point.

Jinyiwei [锦衣卫]: “Brocade-Clad Guard.” Imperial secret police and bodyguards during the Ming Dynasty in China, known for their power and often feared.

Kowtow [叩首]: The act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to touch one’s head to the ground.

Lán Dú [蓝毒]: Literally “Blue Poison.” One of Dà Láng’s daughters.

Leviathan [利维坦]: A biblical sea monster, here used by Bǎ Xī Lā to invoke a sense of monstrous, chaotic power.

Lǐguān [礼官]: “Officials of Rites.” Court officials responsible for ceremonies, protocol, and rituals.

Mandate of Heaven [天命]: An ancient Chinese political and religious doctrine used to justify the rule of the Emperor. Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule, but this mandate can be lost if the ruler becomes unjust or ineffective.

Mìngmén [命门]: “Gate of Life.” A crucial acupressure point on the lower back, considered a vital center of Qi.

Nestorian [景教]: An early branch of Christianity that spread along the Silk Road and reached China (where it was known as Jǐngjiào, 景教).

Nine Tripods [九鼎]: Legendary bronze cauldrons said to have been cast by Yu the Great of the Xia dynasty, symbolizing the sovereignty and unity of ancient China. Possessing them signified legitimate rule.

Paper Effigies [纸马 / 人像]: Paper representations of objects (like horses, servants, money) burned as offerings to the dead in traditional Chinese funerary rites, believed to provide for the deceased in the afterlife.

Phoenix [凤]: A mythical bird in Chinese mythology, symbolizing virtue, grace, and often associated with the Empress or auspicious occasions.

Qi [炁]: “Vital energy,” “life force,” or “spiritual breath.” A fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts, believed to flow through all living things. Its destruction can lead to death or a zombie-like state.

Ren Meridian [任脉]: The “Conception Vessel,” one of the extraordinary meridians in traditional Chinese medicine, running along the front midline of the body.

Sàtǔn [萨吞]: Eldest daughter to the late Empress, her name might be a transliteration or a chosen powerful-sounding name.

Spirit Tablet [灵位]: A plaque inscribed with the name of a deceased person, used in ancestral worship to house the spirit of the ancestor.

Tao [道]: “The Way” or “The Path.” A fundamental concept in Chinese philosophy, particularly Taoism, referring to the natural order of the universe, the underlying principle of existence.

Tiān Mǔ [天母]: Literally “Heavenly Mother” or “Sky Mother.” An elderly female general, the protagonist.

Tiān Yòu [天佑]: Literally “Heaven’s Blessing” or “Protected by Heaven.” Tiān Mǔ’s son.

Tiě Gū [铁姑]: Literally “Iron Aunt.” Court official and Tiān Mǔ’s sister.

Tiě Líng [铁翎], Tiě Lián [铁链], Tiě Xuè [铁血], Tiě Yīng [铁英]: Daughters of Tiān Mǔ. Their names often incorporate “Tiě” (Iron) and another character: Líng (Feather/Plume), Lián (Chain), Xuè (Blood), Yīng (Eagle/Hero).

Wuxing [五行]: The Five Elements or Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). A conceptual scheme in traditional Chinese thought used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to interactions within the human body.

Xuánnǚ [玄女]: The “Mysterious Woman” or “Dark Woman.” A Chinese goddess of war, sex, and longevity, often credited with aiding historical figures in battle.

Xuè Shà Xīng [血煞星]: “Blood Fiend Star” or “Star of Baleful Blood.” A malevolent deity or astrological influence associated with bloodshed and disaster.

Yahweh [耶和华]: The Hebrew name for God in the Old Testament, used by Bǎ Xī Lā.

Yellow Springs [黄泉]: The Chinese mythological underworld or realm of the dead.

Yùshǐ [御史]: Censor or Imperial Inspector. High-ranking officials in imperial China responsible for investigating and impeaching other officials, maintaining discipline and protocol.

Zhanmadao [斩马刀]: “Horse-Chopping Saber.” A type of long, single-edged Chinese sword, often wielded with two hands, known for its power.

marjorie agosín’s “peces”

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

≈ Comments Off on marjorie agosín’s “peces”

Tags

Marjorie Agosín, Peces, poem, Poetry, Spanish translation, ZJC

Saludo a los peces del mar
respetando su milenaria
genealogía,
sus danzas fugaces y suaves,
los colores que delatan
otros colores,
sus colas iridiscentes
parecidas a los cristales
de las adivinanzas.

Brindo un vaso
de agua
por todos los peces
todavia libres
por su elegante sangre fria
y sus simetrias perfectas.

][][

I greet the fish of the sea
respecting their ancient
tribes,
their fleeting and smooth dances,
colors that reveal
other colors
their iridescent tails
like a fortune teller’s
crystal ball.

I drink a glass
water
for all fish
still free
their elegant coolness
and perfect symmetries.

Marjorie Agosín, “Fish”
– translated by ZJC

the country doctor, by franz kafka

27 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in German, Prose

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Ein Landarzt, Franz Kafka, German translation, Happy Halloween, short story, surreal dreams, The Country Doctor, ZJC

I was in great confusion: I had to start upon an urgent journey—-a seriously ill patient was waiting for me in a village 10 miles off—-a thick blizzard of snow filled all the wide spaces between us—-I had a cart, a little cart with big wheels, exactly right for our country roads—-muffled in furs, my bag of instruments in my hand, I was in the courtyard all ready for the journey—-but there was no horse to be had, no horse at all. My own horse had died in the night, worn out by the tortures of this terrible winter—-my servant girl was now running around the village trying to borrow one—-but it was impossible, I knew it, I stood there hopelessly, with the snow gathering heavier, thickly upon me, heavier, unable to move. In the gateway the girl appeared, alone, waved the lantern—-of course, who would lend a horse at this time of night for such a journey? I strode through the courtyard at once—-I could see no way out—-in my confused state I kicked at the broken-down door of the year-long empty pigsty. It flew open, flapped back and forth on its hinges. A foul smell, just like that of horses, came out from it. A dim stable lantern was swinging inside from a rope. A man, crouching on his hands and knees in that low space, stared back at me with an open blue-eyed face. “Want me to yoke up?” he asked, crawling about on all fours. I did not know what to say, merely stooped down to see what else was in the sty. The servant girl was standing beside me. “You never know what you’re going to find in your own home,” she said. We both laughed. “Hey there, Brother, hey there, Sister!” called the groom, bringing out two horses. They were enormous creatures, with powerful flanks, one after the other, their legs tucked close to their bodies, each well-shaped camel head lowered. By sheer strength of massive buttocks they squeezed out through the door hole, which they filled entirely. But at once they were standing up, their long legs, their bodies steaming like blood thickly. “Give him a hand,” I ordered. The willing girl hurried out to help the groom with the harnesses. Suddenly, she wasn’t even next to him, the groom grabbed hold of her, his terrible mouth pushed against hers. She screamed, ran back to me—-on her cheek blood flowed from the red marks of two rows of teeth. “You brute!” I shouted in fury, “do you want a whipping?” but in the same moment reflected that the man was a stranger to our lands—-that I did not even know where he came from, that he was willing to help me when everyone else had betrayed me. As if he knew my thoughts he took no offense at my shouting but, still working with the horses, only turned around once towards me. “Get in,” he ordered. I looked and indeed everything was ready. A magnificent pair of horses, I saw, such as I had never sat behind before. I climbed in happily. “But I’ll drive, you don’t know the way,” I said. “Of course,” said he, “I’m not coming with you anyway, I’m staying with Rose.” “No!” screamed Rose, fleeing into the house with a terrible sense that her fate was sealed: I heard the door chain rattle as she locked herself in—-I heard the key turn in the lock—-I could see, as well, how she snuffed out the lights in the entrance hall, in all the rooms, anything to keep herself from being discovered. “You’re coming with me,” I said to the groom, “or I won’t go—-urgent as my journey is—-I’m not paying for this by handing the girl over to you.” “Get up!” and he clapped his hands—-the cart whirled off like a log in a breakdam—-I could just hear the door of my house splitting inward, bursting their locks as the groom, steaming, broke the wood down. Then I was deafened, blinded, all by the heavy snow-storm that steadily shook and tempest-tossed all of my senses. But this lasted only for a moment, since, as if my patient’s farmyard had suddenly opened up just before me, I was already there—-the horses had come quietly to a standstill—-the blizzard quickly stopped—-moonlight shown all around—-my patient’s mother and father hurried out of the house, his sister behind them—-I was lifted out of the cart. From their confused babble I could not understand a single word—-in the sickroom the air was so foul it was almost unbreathable—-the dying stove was smoking—-I wanted to push open a window—-but first—-first—-I had to look at my patient. Cadaverous, without any fever, not even cold, not even warm, but with vacant eyes, without a shirt, the child heaved himself up from under the feather bed, threw his stick arms round my neck, whispered in my ear: “Doctor, dear, let me die.” I glanced around the room—-no one had heard him speak, had he spoken?—-the parents were leaning forward in silence, waiting for my diagnosis—-the sister brought in a chair for my handbag—-I opened the bag, hunted through my instruments—-the boy kept clutching at me from his bed, as if to remind me of his request—-I picked up a pair of tweezers, examined them in the candlelight, then laid them back down again. “Yes,” I thought, blasphemously, “in cases like let this the gods be helpful, send the missing horse home—-no—-send two back because of the urgency, summon the groom—-” Only then did I remember my Rose—-what was I to do for her? how could I rescue her at 10 miles’ distance? with a team of horses I couldn’t control. These horses, now, they had somehow slipped from their reins, pushed the sickroom window open from outside, I did not know how—-each of them had stuck a head in through the window, quite unmoved by the startled cries of the family. They stood, staring at the patient. “Better go back at once,” I thought, as if the horses were summoning me to the return trip home, but I permitted the child’s sister, who thought that I must have been only dazed by the heat, to take my fur coat from me. A glass of rum was poured out for me, the old father clapped me on the shoulder, a familiarity justified by this offer of his last treasure. I shook my head—-in the narrow thoughts of the old man I must have looked ill—-that must be the only reason for refusing his drink. The mother stood by the bedside, called me towards it—-I went, while one of the horses whinnied loudly to the ceiling, calling. I laid my head to the boy’s chest which shivered under my wet beard. I confirmed what I already knew—-the boy was quite sound, something a little wrong with his blood circulation, I am sure. Drunk on coffee by his concerned mother, but healthy. It would be best if his parents kicked him out of bed with one shove. I am no world reformer, so I let him lie. I was a country doctor, I did my duty the best I could, to the point where it became almost too much for me. I was badly paid, yet I am generous, I help the poor. I still had to see that Rose was all right, and once I was gone if the boy wanted to have his way, so be it. I wanted to die, too. What was I doing there in that endless winter? My horse was dead, not a single person in the village would help me. I had to get my team out of the pigsty—-if I could I would have ridden by swine. That was how it was. I nodded to the family. They knew nothing about all this, had they known, would not have believed me. To write prescriptions is easy, but to come to an understanding with common people is hard. Well, this should be the end of my visit, I had once more been called out needlessly, but I was used to that, the whole country zone made my life a misery with my night bell, but that I should have to sacrifice Rose this time as well, my pretty girl, a girl who had lived in my house for years and I had never noticed her—odd—-that sacrifice was too much to ask. I had to figure out something to do, in order not to let explode in rage at this family. The best will in the world would not restore Rose to me. But as I shut my bag, put an arm out for my fur coat, the family meanwhile stood together, the old father sniffing at the glass of rum in his hand, the mother, apparently disappointed in me—why? what do people want?—biting her lip with tears in her eyes, the sister shook out a blood-stained towel. I was almost ready to admit that the boy might be—-what? Ill after all. I went to him, he welcomed me smiling as if I were bringing him the most nourishing broth he had ever tasted—ah! now both horses were whinnying together—-the noise, I suppose, was sent by heaven to assist in my examination of the patient once more—and this time I discovered that the boy was indeed terribly ill. In his right side, near the hip, was a gaping, open wound, as big as the palm of my hand. Infected, inflamed, in many variations of shade, dark in the hollows, lighter at the edges, softly coarse but with irregular clots of blood, open as a hole in the ground is to the daylight. That was how it looked from a distance. But on a closer inspection there was another complication. I could not help but cry out in surprise. Worms, as thick, as long as my little finger, themselves blood-red, blood-spotted, were wriggling from their fastness in the interior of the wound, out and up towards the light, with their small white heads, with many little legs. O! Poor boy, you were past helping. I had discovered your great wound—-this blossom in your side was destroying you. The family was pleased—-they saw me busying myself—-the sister told the mother, the mother told the father, the father told several guests who were coming through the door, through the moonlight in the open door, walking on tiptoes, balancing with outstretched arms. “Will you save me?” whispered the boy with a cry, quite blinded by the life that wriggled deep within his wound. That is what people are like in my country zone. Always expecting the impossible from doctors. They have lost their ancient beliefs—-the preacher sits at home, unravels his vestments because he no longer believes—-but the doctor is supposed to be all-powerful with his merciful surgeon’s hand. Well, if it pleases them—-I was the one they called on—-if they abuse me thinking I can work miracles I suppose I will let them do that to me too—-what else do I want? Old country doctor, robed of my servant girl! So they came, this family, these village elders, they came and stripped me of all clothes—-a school choir with the teacher at the head of it stood before the house, singing these words in an utterly simple tune:

Strip his clothes off, then he’ll heal us,
If he doesn’t, we’ll kill him dead!
He is only a doctor, only a doctor.

Then, old man that I am, I was naked. I looked at the people quietly, my fingers in my beard, my head cocked to one side. I was still composed. I was still equal to this situation. I would remain so, although it was no relief to me to do so, since they now carried me to the bed. They laid me down in it, next to the wall, on the side of the open wound. Then they all left the room—-the door was shut—-the singing stopped—-clouds covered the moon—-the bedding was warm around me—-the horses’ heads in the open windows wavered like shadows. “Do you know,” said a tiny voice in my ear, “I have very little faith in you. Why, you were only blown in here like snow, you didn’t even come on your own feet. Instead of helping me, you’re crushing me on my own deathbed. What I’d like best is to jab your eyes out.” “Right,” I said, “it is a shame. Yet I am the doctor. What am I to do? Believe me, it is not too easy for me either.” “Am I supposed to be content with this apology? Oh, I suppose that I must be, I can’t help it. I always have to put up with these things. A terrible wound is all I brought into this world—-that was my only gift.” “My young friend,” I said, “you are mistaken. You have not a wide enough view. I have been in all the sickrooms of this country zone and I tell you that your wound is not so bad. Maybe it happened with two strokes of the ax. Many get hit in the side, for they can hardly hear an ax in the forest as it is coming to to them.” “Is that really the truth? or are you lying to me because of my fever?” “It is really so, take the word of an official doctor.” He took it, then lay still. But now it was time for me to think of escaping. The horses were still standing faithfully in their places. My clothes, my fur coat, my bag were quickly collected—-I didn’t want to waste time putting them on—-if the horses raced home as they had come, I would soon be in the bed of my own. Obediently a horse backed away from the window—-I threw my bundle into the cart—-the fur coat was caught on a hook, hanging only by its sleeve. So what? Good enough. I swung myself naked onto the horse. With the reins loosely trailing, the two horse barely fastened to each other, my fur coat dragging in the snow, I shouted: “Get up!” But there was no galloping—-only, like old men, we crawled through the snowy wasteland—-for a long time a new song of the children echoed behind us:

Be joyous, you patients,
The doctor had been laid in bed beside you!

Never will I ever reach home at this rate—-my country practice is in ruin—-my neighbors robbing me—-that beast that I once called a disgusting groom is hidden in my house—-Rose is no more—-I do not want to think about what lays for me in the snow. Naked, exposed to the hoarfrost, lost in this most unhappy of ages, old man that I am, I wander in the winter like a stray. My fur coat is hanging from the back of the cart—-but I cannot reach it. No one will lift a finger. Betrayed! Betrayed! Once a person responds to a false alarm calling to you from a night bell there is no making anything ever good again—never again.

(by Franz Kafka, translation by ZJC)

][][

notes:

This isn’t a horror story but it is my favorite Halloween story. Written in 1919 in German, it was originally titled, “Ein Landarzt.” I love this because it has been the nearest I’ve ever gotten to reading about what dream-state is really like—-nightmares and surreal images that swirl before you … and there is never anything that anyone can do. In dreamland stupid, brutal things occur, things you’d never do in the waking world, and yet there is never anything that we can do to alter it. It’s pointless to take this story literally. Of course the Doctor wants to save Rose, but he is powerless to do anything. Of course any sane physician would check all of the boy’ body before pronouncing a diagnosis, but in the dreamland that just doesn’t happen. In dreamland we are slaves to all that we fear and have no power over.

ballad of the spanish civil guard, by federico garcia lorca

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

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Federico Garcia Lorca, romance de la guardia civil española, Spanish translation, ZJC

Black are the horses,
their horses are shod in black.
On their capes glitter
stains of ink and wax.
This is why they do not weep:
their skulls are cut in lead.
They ride the highways
with patent leather souls.
Hunchbacked and nocturnal,
they ride forth and command
the silences of dark rubber
and the fears like fine sand.
They go where they want,
and hide in their skulls
vague astronomical ideas,
amorphous pistols.

Ai, city of gypsies!
Corners hung with colors.
The moon and pumpkins
and cherries in sweet preserve.
Ai, city of gypsies!
Who could see you and not recall?
City of musks and agony,
city of cinnamon towers.

As the night was approaching
the night so deep, dark, nightish,
the gypsies at their forges
were hammering suns and arrows.
A deeply wounded stallion
knocked at each door.
Glass cocks were crowing
in Jerez de la Frontera.
The naked wind, turning
in the silver night, around
the corner with surprise,
in the night so deep, dark, nightish.

The Virgin and Saint Joseph
have lost their castanets.
They are looking for the gypsies
to see if they can help find them.
Here comes the Virgin, dressed
just like the mayor’s wife
in silvery chocolate paper,
with a necklace of almonds.
Saint Joseph swings his arms
beneath a cloak of silk.
Behind comes Pedro Domecq
and three Persian sultans.
The half moon dreamed
out an ecstasy of the stork.
And ensigns and lanterns
stormed the roof tiles.
Hipless dancers sob
in every mirror.
Water and shadow, shadow and water
in Jerez de la Frontera.

Ai, city of gypsies!
Corners hung with colors.
Quell your green lights:
for here come the Civil Guard.
Ai, city of gypsies!
Who could see you and not recall?
Let her be, far from the sea,
with no combs to hold back her hair.

To the celebrated city
they ride two abreast.
The gossip of the everlasting
invades their cartridge belts.
They ride two abreast.
A night of twin shadows in cloth.
The sky, they conclude,
a window full of spurs.

The city, unsuspicious,
unfolding its doors.
40 Civil Guards, to sack
and burn, poured through.
The clocks stopped and the brandy
bottles impersonated November
so as not to stir any suspicion.
Up rose from the weathercocks
a series of long screams.
Sabers slashed the air,
trampling under black horse hoof.
Old gypsy women tried to flee
through the half-lit streets
with their benumbed horses
and enormous crocks of coins.
Up the palisade streets
climbed the sinister capes
leaving behind brief
whirlwinds of scissors.
In the gate of Bethlehem
all the gypsies gathered.
Saint Joseph, mortally wounded,
laid a shroud upon a girl.
Sharp and stubborn, rifle
bursts rang through the night.
The Virgin healed children
with spit from a fallen star.
But the Civil Guard advances,
starting cruel fires
where the naked hope of youth
burns. Rosa, the Comborio,
sits keening at her door
with her mutilated breasts
before her on a tray.
Other girls run in horror,
pursued by their trailing braids,
in a wind exploding
with the roses of black gunpowder.
When all the tiled roofs
have been laid as furrows in the earth,
dawn rocked its shoulders about
in a long silhouette of stone.

Ai, city of gypsies!
The Civil Guard saunters away
through a tunnel of silence
leaving you in flames.
Ai, city of gypsies!
Who could see you and not recall?
Let them find you on my deep brow:
blazon of sand and moon.

—- translation by ZJC

][][

romance de la guardia civil española

Los caballos negros son.
Las herraduras son negras.
Sobre las capes relucen
manchas de tinta y de cera.
Tienen, por eso no lloran,
de plomo las calaveras.
Con el alma de charol
vienen por la carretera.
Jorobados y nocturnos,
por donde animan ordenan
silencios de goma oscura
y miedos de fina arena.
Pasan, si quieren pasar,
y ocultan en la cabeza
una vaga astronomía
de pistolas inconcretas.

¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
En las esquinas banderas.
La luna y la calabaza
con las guindas en conserva.
¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vio y no te recuerda?
Ciudad de dolor y almizcle,
con las torres de canela.

Cuando llegaba la noche,
noche que noche nochera,
los gitanos en sus fraguas
forjaban soles y flechas.
Un caballo malherido,
llamaba a todas las puertas.
Gallos de vidrio cantaban
por Jerez de la Frontera.
El viento vuelve desnudo
la esquina de la sorpresa,
en la noche platinoche
noche, que noche nochera.

La Virgen y San José,
perdieron sus castañuelas,
y buscan a los gitanos
para ver si las encuentran.
La Virgen viene vestida
con un traje de alcaldesa
de papel de chocolate
con los collares de almendras.
San José mueve los brazos
bajo una capa de seda.
Detrás va Pedro Domecq
con tres sultanes de Persia.
La media luna soñaba
un éxtasis de cigüeña.
Estandartes y faroles
invaden las azoteas.
Por los espejos sollozan
bailarinas sin caderas.
Agua y sombra, sombra y agua
por Jerez de la Frontera.

¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
En las esquinas banderas.
Apaga tus verdes luces
que viene la benemérita.
¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vio y no te recuerda?
Dejadla lejos del mar, sin
peines para sus crenchas.

Avanzan de dos en fondo
a la ciudad de la fiesta.
Un rumor de siemprevivas
invade las cartucheras.
Avanzan de dos en fondo.
Doble nocturno de tela.
El cielo, se les antoja,
una vitrina de espuelas.

La ciudad libre de miedo,
multiplicaba sus puertas.
Cuarenta guardias civiles
entran a saco por ellas.
Los relojes se pararon,
y el coñac de las botellas
se disfrazó de noviembre
para no infundir sospechas.
Un vuelo de gritos largos
se levantó en las veletas.
Los sables cortan las brisas
que los cascos atropellan.
Por las calles de penumbra
huyen las gitanas viejas
con los caballos dormidos
y las orzas de monedas.
Por las calles empinadas
suben las capas siniestras,
dejando atrás fugaces
remolinos de tijeras.
En el portal de Belén
los gitanos se congregan.
San José, lleno de heridas,
amortaja a una doncella.
Tercos fusiles agudos
por toda la noche suenan.
La Virgen cura a los niños
con salivilla de estrella.
Pero la Guardia Civil
avanza sembrando hogueras,
donde joven y desnuda
la imaginación se quema.
Rosa la de los Camborios,
gime sentada en su puerta
con sus dos pechos cortados
puestos en una bandeja.
Y otras muchachas corrían
perseguidas por sus trenzas,
en un aire donde estallan
rosas de pólvora negra.
Cuando todos los tejados
eran surcos en la sierra,
el alba meció sus hombros
en largo perfil de piedra.

¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
La Guardia Civil se aleja
por un túnel de silencio
mientras las llamas te cercan.
¡Oh ciudad de los gitanos!
¿Quién te vio y no te recuerda?
Que te busquen en mi frente.
Juego de luna y arena.

the riddle of the guitar, by federico garcia lorca

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

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adivinanza de la guitarra, Federico Garcia Lorca, poem, riddle of the guitar, Spanish translation, ZJC

At the round
crossroads,
6 maidens
dance.
3 of flesh,
3 of silver.
Dreams from yesterday pursue them,
but they are held fast by
a Polyphermus of gold.
Ai, the guitar!

—- translated by ZJC

][][

adivinanza de la guitarra

En la redonda
encrucijada,
seis doncellas
bailan.
Tres de carne
y tres de plata.
Los sueños de ayer las buscan
pero las tiene abrazadas
un Polifemo de oro.
¡La guitarra!

hush, baby, hush, by federico garcia lorca

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

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Blood Wedding, Federico Garcia Lorca, hush baby hush, Poetry, Spanish translation, ZJC

Hush, baby, hush.
Dream of a great black stallion
that would not drink the water.
Wouldn’t drink the water.
The water was black
under the branches.
Under the branches
the water was black.
Under the bridge
it stopped and sang.
Who can say, my baby,
of the water’s pain?
Of the water’s pain
who can say?
As it draws its long tail
through deep green room …

][][

Nana, niño, nana
del caballo grande
que no quiso el agua.
El agua era negra
dentro de las ramas.
Cuando llega el puente
se detiene y canta.
¿Quién dirá, mi niño,
lo que tiene el agua
con su larga cola
por su verde sala …

sleep, sleep my little rose, by federico garcia lorca

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

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Blood Wedding, Federico Garcia Lorca, sleep sleep my little rose, Spanish translation, ZJC

Sleep, sleep my little rose,
for the horse now starts to weep.
The hooves are all red with blood,
and all its horsey hair frozen.
And deep within its eyes
rests a broken silver dagger.
Down they went to the river’s edge.
Ai!, how they went down!
And its blood ran faster
than the running water.

—- from the drama Blood Wedding, translation by ZJC

][][

Duérmete, rosal,
que el caballo se pone a llorar.
Las patas heridas,
las crines heladas,
dentro de los ojos
un puñal de plata.
Bajaban al río.
¡Ay, cómo bajaban!
La sangre corría
más fuerte que el agua.

the hooves are all red with blood, federico garcia lorca

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Poetry, Spanish, Translation

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Blood Wedding, Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish translation, the hooves are all red with blood, ZJC

The hooves are all red with blood,
and all its horsey hair frozen.
And deep within its eyes
rests a broken silver dagger.
Down they went to the river’s edge.
Ai!, how they went down!
And its blood ran faster
than the running water.

—- from the drama Blood Wedding, translated by ZJC

][][

Las patas heridas,
las crines heladas,
dentro de los ojos
un puñal de plata.
Bajaban al río.
La sangre corría
más fuerte que el agua.

the stuff of heroes, by qiu jin

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by babylon crashing in Chinese, Poetry, Translation

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Capping Rhymes with Sir Shih Ching From Sun's Root Land, Chinese translation, Qiu Jin, ZJC

Don’t tell me women are not the stuff of heroes,
I alone rode over the East Sea’s winds for ten thousand leagues.
My poetic thoughts ever expand, like a sail between ocean and heaven.
I dreamed of your three islands, all gems, all dazzling with moonlight.
I grieve to think of the bronze camels, guardians of China, lost in thorns.
Ashamed, I have done nothing; not one victory to my name.
I simply make my war horse sweat. Grieving over my native land
hurts my heart. So tell me; how can I spend these days here?
A guest enjoying your spring winds?

—- translation by ZJC

][][

漫云女子不英雄,
萬里乘風獨向東。
詩思一帆海空闊,
夢魂三島月玲瓏。
銅駝已陷悲回首,
汗馬終慚未有功。
如許傷心家國恨,
那堪客裡度春風。

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  • alzheimer's poetry project
  • sandra beasley
  • all things said and done
  • american witch
  • Alcoholic Poet
  • kristy bowen
  • wendy babiak
  • black satin
  • margaret bashaar
  • stacy blint
  • afterglow
  • brilliant books
  • aliki barnstone
  • tiel aisha ansari
  • armenian poetry project
  • cecilia ann
  • sommer browning
  • the art blog
  • mary biddinger
  • clair becker

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Archives

ars poetica: the blogs c-d

  • cleveland poetics
  • natalia cecire
  • flint area writers
  • lorna dee cervantes
  • cheryl clark
  • julie carter
  • lyle daggett
  • abigail child
  • juliet cook
  • jackie clark
  • roberto cavallera
  • michelle detorie
  • CRB
  • linda lee crosfield
  • maria damon
  • jennifer k. dick

ars poetica: the blogs e-h

  • joy garnett
  • maureen hurley
  • carol guess
  • Free Minds Book Club
  • joy harjo
  • jessica goodfellow
  • jane holland
  • ghosts of zimbabwe
  • amanda hocking
  • maggie may ethridge
  • pamela hart
  • human writes
  • elisa gabbert
  • sarah wetzel fishman
  • liz henry
  • carrie etter
  • bernardine evaristo
  • hayaxk (ՀԱՅԱՑՔ)
  • Gabriela M.
  • herstoria
  • elizabeth glixman
  • jeannine hall gailey
  • julie r. enszer

ars poetica: the blogs i-l

  • sandy longhorn
  • meg johnson
  • emily lloyd
  • kennifer kilgore-caradec
  • miriam levine
  • diane lockward
  • gene justice
  • irene latham
  • charmi keranen
  • sheryl luna
  • renee liang
  • las vegas poets organization
  • dick jones
  • language hat
  • maggie jochild
  • joy leftow
  • lesley jenike
  • lesbian poetry archieves
  • a big jewish blog
  • IEPI
  • megan kaminski
  • Kim Whysall-Hammond
  • laila lalami
  • Jaya Avendel
  • amy king
  • donna khun

ars poetica: the blogs m-o

  • sharanya manivannan
  • iamnasra oman
  • ottawa poetry newsletter
  • sophie mayer
  • michigan writers network
  • wanda o'connor
  • mlive: michigan poetry news
  • Nanny Charlotte
  • nzepc
  • michelle mc grane
  • new issues poetry & prose
  • marion mc cready
  • caryn mirriam-goldberg
  • maud newton
  • motown writers
  • michigan writers resources
  • january o'neil
  • heather o'neill
  • adrienne j. odasso
  • the malaysian poetic chronicles
  • My Poetic Side
  • majena mafe

ars poetica: the blogs p-r

  • helen rickerby
  • sophie robinson
  • rachel phillips
  • Queen Majeeda
  • kristin prevallet
  • split this rock
  • susan rich
  • ariana reines
  • maria padhila
  • nicole peyrafitte
  • nikki reimer
  • joanna preston

ars poetica: the blogs s-z

  • tuesday poems
  • sexy poets society
  • scottish poetry library
  • shin yu pai
  • switchback books
  • Stray Lower
  • Trista's Poetry
  • southern michigan poetry
  • vassilis zambaras
  • womens quarterly conversation
  • ron silliman
  • tim yu

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