雙語|現(xiàn)代散文:冰心 記薩鎮(zhèn)冰先生

A Profile of Sa Zhenbing 記薩鎮(zhèn)冰先生

◎ Bing Xin ◎ 冰心

I'll always hold Mr．Sa Zhenbing in high esteem．When I was six or seven，I often heard my father say，“Of all personnel in the Chinese Navy，Sa Zhenbing is the only one deserving the title of model officer.”Since then，whatever Mr．Sa says or does has held my respectful attention and added to my admiration for him．Many people whom I used to look up to in my childhood have turned out to be very disappointing．Now the thought of Mr．Sa，however，has enabled me to retain confidence in mankind and forge ahead with renewed courage.

薩鎮(zhèn)冰先生，永遠(yuǎn)是我崇拜的對象，從六七歲的時候，我就常常聽見父親說：“中國海軍的模范軍人，薩鎮(zhèn)冰一人而已。”從那時起，我總是注意聽受他的一言一行，我所耳聞目見的關(guān)于他的一切，無不加增我對他的敬慕。時至今日，雖然有許多兒時敬仰的人物，使我灰心，使我失望，而每一想到他，就保留了我對于人類的信心，鼓勵了我向上生活的勇氣。

Here I'm going to write about his fine words and deeds as I've mostly learned from my father．I'm unable to recall the exact dates．I intend some day to write a biography of him when I've collected sufficient material about his life．Now gratitude is due to my father，who has tried to inculcate only the best example into a young mind.

底下所記的關(guān)于薩先生的嘉言懿行，大半是從父親談話中得來的。——事實的年月，我只約略推算，將來對于他的生平材料搜集得比較完全時，我想再詳細(xì)的替他寫一本傳記。——在此我感謝我的父親，他知道往青年人腦里灌注的，應(yīng)當(dāng)是哪一種的印象。

Admiral Sa Zhenbing，whose formal name is Ding Ming，was born in Minhou County，F(xiàn)ujian Province，in 1860[1]．He enrolled at Fuzhou Mawei Naval Academy at the age of 12，among its second batch of cadets，and then entered Greenwich College in England at the age of 18．After he came back from abroad，he served as an instructor at the Academy of Marine Engineering in Tianjin．It happened that my father was then receiving training in navigation at Tianjin Naval Academy．That's how they got acquainted.

海軍上將薩鎮(zhèn)冰先生，大名是鼎銘，福建閩侯人，一八六〇年生，十二歲入福州馬尾船政學(xué)校，作第二班學(xué)生。十七八歲出洋，入英國格林海軍大學(xué)，回國后在天津管輪學(xué)堂任正教習(xí)。那時父親是天津水師學(xué)堂駕駛班的學(xué)生，自此和他相識。

While at the Academy of Marine Engineering，Mr．Sa slept on a specially made narrow，small plank bed like in a ship．He said，“We soldiers shouldn't seek ease and comfort．Our life on sea or shore should be alike.”He worked conscientiously as an instructor．He would often award to good cadets his personal belongings，such as his watch，or even his cane chair when he had nothing valuable to spare．Outside class，he would often teach cadets how to dig out gun emplacements on the drill ground with spades and shovels．The Marine Engineering Academy was situated on the south and the Navel Academy on the north，with the drill ground in-between．President of the Marine Engineering Academy Wu Zhongxiang，who happened to live in the Navel Academy，disapproved of cadets doing rough work，being himself a bookish type．So，when the cadets were in the middle of wielding their spades and shovels，Mr．Sa would stand at the side of the drill ground to keep watch lest President Wu should crop up making his rounds.

在管輪學(xué)堂時候，他的臥室里用的是特制的一張又仄又小的木床，和船上的床鋪相似，他的理由是，“軍人是不能貪圖安逸的，在岸上也應(yīng)當(dāng)和在海上一樣。”他授課最認(rèn)真，對于功課好的學(xué)生，常以私物獎賞，如時表之類，有的時候，小的貴重點的物品用完了，連自己屋里的藤椅，也搬了去。課外常常教學(xué)生用鍬鏟在操場上挖筑炮臺。那時管輪學(xué)堂在南邊，水師學(xué)堂在北邊，當(dāng)中隔個操場。學(xué)堂總辦吳中翔住在水師學(xué)堂。吳總辦是文人，不大喜歡學(xué)生做“粗事”。所以在學(xué)生們踴躍動手，鍬鏟齊下的時候，薩先生總在操場邊替他們巡風(fēng)，以備吳總辦的突來視察。

Father and Mr．Sa began to know each other better when they both served on the warship Hai Yin around 1900．Mr．Sa was then Deputy Navy Commander and concurrently captain of the ship while father was its second in command.

父親和薩先生相熟，是從同在“海圻”軍艦服務(wù)時起，那時他是海軍副統(tǒng)領(lǐng)，兼“海圻”船主，父親是副船主。

During the 1900 Boxer War[2]，the warship Hai Rong directly under the personal command of Navy Commander Ye Zugui was pinned down at Dagu by the eight-power allied forces，and the torpedo boats the Hai Long，Hai Xi，Hai Qing and Hai Hua were captured by them．Meanwhile，Governor of Shandong Yuan Shikai sent out a letter suggesting that the Hai Yin，Hai Chen，Hai Chou and Hai Tian，ships of the Northern Fleet then anchored at Miao Island，Shandong Province，all move to the Yangtze River so as to steer clear of the formidable foe．Thereupon all the ships retreated southward except the Hai Yin．When Yihetuan[3] threatened the lives of foreign residents in China，Mr．Sa let all foreign missionaries and nationals take shelter in his ship and be well taken care of until the uprising was over．When the US cruiser Oregon struck a reef near Miao Island，the Hai Yin rushed to the scene for its rescue，for which American Congress immediately sent a message of thanks．And the captain of the US ship，while expressing gratitude to Mr．Sa，also advised him to move his ship to the south．Consequently the Hai Yin sailed into Jiangyin near the mouth of the Yangtze River．

庚子之變，海軍正統(tǒng)領(lǐng)葉祖珪，駐海容艦，被困于大沽口。魚雷艇海龍、海犀、海青、海華四艘，已被聯(lián)軍艦隊所擄。那時北洋艦隊中的海圻、海琛、海籌、海天等艦，都泊山東廟島，山東巡撫袁世凱，移書請各艦駛?cè)腴L江，以避敵鋒，于是各船紛紛南下，只海圻堅泊不動。在山東義和團殺害僑民的時候，薩先生請蓬萊一帶的教士僑民悉數(shù)下船，殷勤招待，亂事過后，方送上岸。那時正有美國大巡洋艦阿利干號在廟島附近觸礁，海圻又駛往救護，美國國會聞訊，立即馳函道謝，阿利干艦長申謝之余，也懇勸薩先生南下，于是海圻才開入江陰。

The departure of the other ships had shaken the morale of the men on the lone vessel．Many deserted after going ashore under pretext of seeing a doctor．All were in a state of alarm and together petitioned for the ship to seek shelter in the south．There was a horrible hubbub of voices on the deck．Father was making every effort to pacify the men when suddenly Mr．Sa emerged from the cabin sword in hand，shouting sternly，“Stop the racket，or you die！”Shocked by the great anger on the otherwise benevolent face，the ship crew rapidly dispersed，and the Hai Yin remained moored at the same old place until the American captain offered his advice.

在他艦?zāi)祥_，海圻孤泊的時候，軍心很搖動，許多士兵稱病上岸就醫(yī)，乘間逃走，最后是群情惶遽，聚眾請愿，要南下避敵。艙面上萬聲嘈雜，不可制止，在父親竭力向大家勸說的時候，薩先生忽然拿把軍刀，從艙里走出，喝說著：“有再說要南下的，就殺卻！”他素來慈藹，忽發(fā)威怒，大家無不失色驚散，海圻卒以泊定。

Discipline was exemplary on Mr．Sa's ship．He often donated money from his personal purse for repairs of public property，saying jokingly to father，“Other captains make gold bracelets for their wives，I make them to deck out my ship.”Once，during a shooting practice on the ship，a gun officer through carelessness damaged the bore of a light gun worth more than 20,000 yuan．Mr．Sa gave away his monthly salaries to pay for the damaged gun by instalments．When the news later reached Navy Commander Ye Zugui and Yuan Shikai，then Governor-General of Hebei Province，the latter immediately remitted money to pay for the damaged gun．Hence，one of the light guns on the Hai Yin has since been known as Yuan's gift.

薩先生所在的兵艦上，紀(jì)律清潔，總是全軍之冠。他常常捐款修理公物，常笑對父親說，“人家做船主，都打金鐲子送太太戴，我的金鐲子是戴在我的船上。”有一次船上練習(xí)打靶，槍炮副不慎，將一尊船邊炮的炮膛，劃傷一痕。炮值二萬余元，薩先生自己捐出月餉，分期賠償。后來事聞于葉祖珪，又傳于直隸總督袁世凱，袁立即寄款代償，所以如今海圻船上有一尊船邊炮是袁世凱購換的。

Often on his ship，especially on a drill ship like the Wei Yuan，Kang Ji or Tong Ji，Mr．Sa would teach the cadets how to row a sampan，swim across the water or practise shooting—not only as daily military training，but also as recreational activities．In navigating，he would let the cadets do the piloting instead of hiring a boatman to do it．That made Navy Commander Ye complain with a frown，“Sa is too reckless，always trusting the young chaps！”Yet，for several decades no mishap has ever befallen the ship under Mr．Sa's command.

他在船上，特別是在練船上，如威遠(yuǎn)、康濟、通濟等艦常常教學(xué)生蕩舢舨，泅水，打靶，以此為日課，也以此為娛樂。駕駛時也專用學(xué)生，不請船戶。葉統(tǒng)領(lǐng)常常皺眉說：“鼎銘太肯冒險了，專愛用些年輕人！”而海上的數(shù)十年，他所在的軍艦，從來沒有失事過。

Mr．Sa is very fond of talent and shows deep sympathy and care for officers and men．When he went ashore on business by sampan，he would have the sails unfurled on a windy day so as to save labor on the part of the sailors．He had no orderly with him when making visits on land，but would，when necessary，borrow a servant from a land-based friend of his．He never tried to find a job for any of his relatives during the several decades when he was in a position of power as Naval Vice-Minister，Naval Minister or Governor of Fujian Province．When relatives came from distant places to seek his patronage，he would persuade them to return home after giving them traveling expenses or some money with which to go into business，saying，“To hold down a post in the navy without naval training，you would be a real dog in the manger.”

他又愛才如命，對于官員士兵的體恤愛護，無微不至。上岸公出，有風(fēng)時舢舨上就使帆，以省兵力。上岸拜會，也不帶船上仆役，必要時就向岸上的朋友借用。歷任要職數(shù)十年，如海軍副大臣、海軍總長、福建省長等，也不曾用過一個親戚。親戚遠(yuǎn)道來投，必酌給川資，或作買賣的本錢，勸他們回去，說：“你們沒有受過海上訓(xùn)練，不能占海軍人員的位置。”

Mr．Sa and his wife Chen were deeply in love with each other．Once，when Mr．Sa was bedridden in Yantai，his wife came hurriedly from Weihaiwei to visit him，but he immediately sent her away．People，however，looked on it disapprovingly．When he became widowed at the age of 36，he entrusted his children to the care of his in-laws．He has since been wifeless．When people asked him why he didn't remarry，he said，“Not unless I can find a woman precisely like my late wife.”

薩先生和他的太太陳夫人，伉儷甚篤。有一次他在煙臺臥病，陳夫人從威海衛(wèi)趕來視疾，被他辭了回去，人都說他不近人情。而自他三十六歲，夫人去世后，就將子女寄養(yǎng)岳家，鰥居終身。人問他為何不續(xù)弦，他說：“天下若再有一個女子，和我太太一樣的我就娶。”

He lives a simple life．He never wears a Western suit，nor fur or cotton-padded clothes．Generally，he wears cloth shoes and socks，and a woolen mandarin jacket and long gown．He denies himself every luxury in life．He has never held a birthday party for himself，nor has he accepted any birthday present．He has no hobby except mah-jong which he plays for fun once in a long，long while—and that with copper coins only.

他的個人生活，尤其清簡，洋服從來沒有上過身，也從未穿過皮棉衣服，平?？偸遣夹家m，呢袍呢馬褂。自奉極薄，一生沒有做過壽，也不受人的禮。沒有一切的嗜好，打牌是千載難逢的事，萬不得已坐下時，輸贏也都用銅子。

He lives in a very humble house．He did all the repairs for the landlord．He grew flowers and plants，paved the ground with bricks and renovated the gate and doors．His rooms with bare walls are simply furnished．When he was Naval Vice-Minister，he bought a house in the western part of Peiping，which was later given to a former classmate of his after he moved to the south．When he was Governor of Fujian，he worked in the huge compound which used to be the yamen of the former Qing-Dynasty governor-general．He had most of the yamen buildings，together with the surrounding walls，pulled down except a few rooms where he held office．The nearby street has to this day been generally referred to as“Su Wei Street”in honor of Mr．Sa ，the“su wei” Admiral.

他住屋子，總是租那很破敝的，自己替房東來修理，栽花草，鋪雙重磚地，開門辟戶。屋中陳設(shè)也極簡單，環(huán)堵蕭然。他做海軍副大臣時，在北平西城曾買了一所小房，南下后就把這所小房送給了一位同學(xué)。在福建省長任內(nèi)，任前清總督衙門，地方極大，他只留下幾間辦公室，其余的連箭道一并拆掉，通成一條大街，至今人稱肅威路，因為他是肅威將軍。

“Su wei”，however，is not an adequate epithet for him，for he is in fact a very witty and outgoing man．He is fond of giving a dinner for just a small number of friends．After attending a banquet collectively hosted by some people，he will give a return dinner for them in small batches．He said，“When there are too many guests，it's hard to take very good care of everyone．On the contrary，at a small dinner everybody can thoroughly enjoy themselves.”In preparing a dinner，he will personally check up every dish and see to it that everything is neat and clean．He also likes to entertain foreign friends at a dinner．He likes personally to rearrange from time to time the simple furnishings in his house．If any article of daily use or ornamental object happens to catch the fancy of a guest，he will immediately give it to him，usually by calling at the latter's house in person instead of by sending a servant.

“肅威”兩字，不足為薩先生的考語，他實是一個極風(fēng)趣極灑脫的人。生平喜歡小宴會，三五個朋友吃便飯，他最高興。所以遇有任何團體公請他，他總是零碎的還禮，他說：“客人太多時，主人不容易應(yīng)酬得周到，不如小宴會，倒能賓主盡歡。”請客時一切肴饌設(shè)備，總是自己檢點，務(wù)要整齊清潔。也喜歡宴請西國朋友。屋中陳設(shè)雖然簡單，卻常常改換式樣。自己的一切用物文玩，知道別人喜歡，立刻就送了人，送禮的時候，也是自己登門去送，從來不用仆役。

He writes letters in a beautiful hand，always paying attention to small details，such as dates and addresses．He also likes to write poems，and he and father often write poetry in response to each other．He disapproves of naval academies employing scholars to teach Chinese on the ground that decadent literati may taint young cadets with unhealthy habits．He said，“Though I entered the naval academy at an early age of 12，my Chinese is passable．Language can be mastered through self-study，not by learning to write empty stereotyped essays.”

他寫信極其詳細(xì)周到，月日地址，每信都有，字跡秀楷，也喜作詩，與父親常有唱和之作。他平常主張海軍學(xué)校不請漢文教員，理由是文人頹放，不可使青年軍人沾染上腐敗的習(xí)氣。他說：“我從十二歲就入軍校，可是漢文也彀用的，文字貴有自修，不在乎學(xué)作八股式的無性靈的文章。”

Though it is more than twenty years since I last saw Mr．Sa，several things have left an indelible impression on my memory．Once，when I was about six，he came to Yantai on an inspection tour and put up at the local naval training camp．One afternoon，at the invitation of father，he was to have dinner at our home at 7 pm．At 6:55 pm，father went with me to the gate to wait for him，saying，“The Admiral is punctual to the minute．He always comes to a host's gate several minutes earlier and refuses to come in until exactly the appointed time．Now we shouldn't let him wait too long.”As soon as we stepped out，we saw him already standing at the gate as expected．Dressed in a black woollen gown，he was all smiles.

我有二十多年沒有看見他了，至今記憶中還有幾件不能磨滅的事：在我五六歲時候，他到煙臺視察，住海軍練營，一天下午父親請他來家吃晚飯，約定是七時，到六時五十五分，父親便帶我到門口去等，說：“薩軍門是謹(jǐn)守時刻的，他常是早幾分鐘到主人門口，到時候才進(jìn)來，我們不可使他久候。”我們走了出去，果然看見他穿著青呢袍，笑容滿面的站在門口。

He was very courteous and considerate．Once，when he was in our home to discuss official business with father，he was treated to some pastries，which，as father told him inadvertently，had been prepared by mother．Then as he was about to leave us at the gate，he suddenly turned back to say to father thoughtfully，“Thanks a lot to your wife for the real delicious pastries.”

他又非常的溫恭周到，有一次到我們家里來談公事，里面端出點心來，是母親自己做的，父親無意中告訴了他。談完公事，走到門口，又回來殷勤地說：“請你謝謝你的太太，今天的點心真是好吃。”

Father's drawing room has always been decorated with few pieces of calligraphy and paintings because he himself is not a connoisseur of art．The same with photos because he has not too many friends．But，although he has moved several times，from north to south or vice versa，his drawing room is always hung with Mr．Sa's portrait and written couplet given to him as a gift，which reads as follows：

Rich or poor，all is vanity，

Ups and downs，old friends remain true.

父親的客廳里，字畫向來很少，因為他不是鑒賞家，相片也很少，因為他的朋友不多。而南下北上搬了幾次家，客廳總掛有薩先生的相片，和他寫贈的一副對聯(lián)，是“窮達(dá)盡為身外事，升沉不改故人情”。

I hear that he now lives in Fuzhou，selling the calligraphy he writes to subsidize public welfare undertakings and providing relief to people in disaster areas．In Xiadu，F(xiàn)uzhou，a model village has been set up with donations he collected from the naval circles．The villagers love him deeply．They have erected a pavilion to pay tribute to him．They visit him on New Year's Day and other festivals．On laba Festival[4]，they call on him to present him with laba porridge—a kind of rice porridge they make，as a tradition，with nuts and dried fruit.

聽說他老人家現(xiàn)在福州居住，賣字作公益事業(yè)。災(zāi)區(qū)的放賑，總是他的事。在福州下渡，他用海軍界的捐款，辦了一個模范村，村民愛他如父母，為他建了一亭，逢時過節(jié)，都來拜訪，臘八節(jié)，大家也給他熬些臘八粥，送到家去。

Numerous other things I've heard about him will make valuable material too．But pardon me for leaving off now，for it is deep night and I'm tired．Anyway，I might as well put the rest in the biography I'm going to write about him in the future．Now I would like to speak my mind about the present situation in our country．Some time ago，an order issued by the Executive Yuan[5] to“stamp out corruption”shocked me to realize how the country is being plagued by countless corrupt officials and how they have even been joined by some otherwise honest officials in seizing public property at will.

此外還有許多從朋友處聽來的關(guān)于薩先生的事，都是極可珍貴的材料。夜深人倦，恕我不再記述了，橫豎我是想寫他的傳記的，許多事不妨留在后來寫。在此我只要說我的感想：前些日子看到行政院“澄清貪污”的命令，使我矍然的覺出今日的貪污官吏之多，擅用公物，雖賢者不免。

Now，rather than enumerating the many cases of corruption I've seen or heard of，I hold aloft the noble image of an honest and upright man so that our friends now fighting corruption may look up at it and feel they are not isolated…

我不愿提出我所耳聞目擊的無數(shù)種種的貪污事實，我只愿高捧出一個清廉高峻的人格，使我們那些與貪污奮斗的朋友們，抬頭望時，不生寂寞之感……

Let me from afar wish the venerable old man to enjoy good health and longevity.

在此我敬謹(jǐn)遙祝他老人家長壽安康。

《記薩鎮(zhèn)冰先生》是冰心寫于1936年3月23日的一篇稱頌舊海軍耆宿薩鎮(zhèn)冰的散文。薩與冰心的父親是同鄉(xiāng)、同僚，清廉正直，愛國反蔣，深受梓里人民愛戴敬仰。作者以真摯感情介紹這位杰出老前輩的方方面面，文章率真坦陳，寫得無拘無束，洋洋灑灑。此文英譯時略作刪節(jié)。