The lane 巷——柯靈

巷，是城市建筑藝術中一篇飄逸恬靜的散文，一幅古雅沖淡的圖畫。

The lane, in terms of the art of urban architecture, is like a piece of prose of gentlegracefulness or a painting of classic elegance and simplicity.

這種巷，常在江南的小城市中，有如古代的少女，躲在僻靜的深閨，輕易不肯拋頭露面。你要在這種城市里住久了，和它真正成了莫逆，你才有機會看見她，接觸到她優(yōu)嫻貞靜的風度。它不是鄉(xiāng)村的陋巷，湫隘破敗，泥濘坎坷，雜草亂生，兩旁還排列著錯落的糞缸。它不是上海的里弄，鱗次櫛比的人家，擁擠得喘不過氣;小販憧憧來往，黝暗的小門邊，不時走出一些趿著拖鞋的女子，頭發(fā)亂似臨風飛舞的秋蓬，眼睛里網滿紅絲，臉上殘留著不調和的隔夜脂粉，頹然地走到老虎灶上去提水。也不像北地的胡同，滿目塵土，風起處刮著彌天的黃沙。

Often tucked away in a small town south of the yangtse river, the lane, like a maiden of ancient times hidden away in a secluded boudoir, is reluctant to make its appearance in public. you’ll never have an opportunity to see it and savour its gentle poise until you have become truly attached to the small town after living there for a long time. the lane has nothing in common with the mean rural alleys, which are narrow and low-lying, muddy and bumpy, overgrown with wild weeds and lined here and there with manure vats. nor has it anything in common with linong (meaning alleys) in shanghai, which are literally packed with dwellings and their residents. over there, you’ll see vendors hawking their wares here and there. from time to time, women are seen emerging from inside some dingy small gates and shuffling languidly in their slippers towards a laohuzao, the shop specializing in selling boiled water, their hair disheveled like wind-blown withered grass in autumn, their eyes blood-shot, their faces betraying traces of overnight make-up. nor has the lane anything in common with hutong (also meaning alleys) in north china, which are dusty on every side, especially when a wind rises.

這種小巷，隔絕了市廛的紅塵，卻又不是鄉(xiāng)村的風味。它又深又長，一個人耐心靜靜走去，要老半天才走完。它又這么曲折，你望前面，好像已經堵塞了，可是走過去，一轉彎，依然是巷陌深深，而且更加幽靜。那里常是寂寂的，寂寂的，不論什么時候，你向巷中踅去，都如寧靜的黃昏，可以清晰地聽到自己的足音。不高不矮的圍墻擋在兩邊，斑斑駁駁的苔痕，墻上掛著一串串蒼翠欲滴的藤蘿，簡直像古樸的屏風。墻里常是人家的竹園，修竹森森，天籟細細;春來時還常有幾枝嬌艷的桃花杏花，娉娉婷婷，從墻頭殷勤地搖曳紅袖，向行人招手。走過幾家墻門，都是緊緊關著，不見一個人影，因為那都是人家的后門。偶然躺著一只狗，但是決不會對你狺狺地狂吠。

The lane, though cut off from the hustle and bustle of busy cities, does not taste of the countryside at all. it is long and deep, so it will take you a long while to walk patiently and quietly through it from end to end. it is also so winding that it seems to be a blind alley when you look far ahead, but if you keep walking until you take a turning, you’ll find it again lying endless and still more quiet. there is nothing but stillness there. at any hour of day, you can even distinctly hear in the dusk-like quiet your own footsteps. on either side of the lane stand enclosing walls of medium height, which, moss-covered and hung with clusters of fresh green wisteria, look almost like screens of primitive simplicity. inside the walls are residents’ gardens with dense groves of tall bamboos as well as soft sounds of nature. in spring, beautiful peach and apricot blossoms atop the walls, like graceful girls waving their red sleeves, will sway hospitably to beckon the pedestrians. you’ll find the doors in the walls close shut without a soul in sight because they are back doors to some households. occasionally, you may come upon a dog lying there, which, however, never gives a bark at you.

小巷的動人處就是它無比的悠閑。無論是誰，只要你到巷里去躑躅一會，你的心情就會如巷尾不波的古井，那是一種和平的靜穆，而不是陰森和肅殺。它鬧中取靜，別有天地，仍是人間。它可能是一條現代的烏衣巷，家家有自己的一本哀樂帳，一部興衰史，可是重門疊戶，諱莫如深，夕陽影里，野花閑草，燕子低飛，尋覓歸家。只是一片澄明如水的氣氛，凈化一切，籠罩一切，使人忘憂。

The charm of the lane lies in its absolute serenity. no matter who you are, if you loiter around in the lane for a while, your mind will become as unruffled as the ancient well at the end of the lane. there you will experience a kind of peaceful calmness rather than gloomy sternness. there reigns peace and quiet in the midst of noisy bustle. it is a world of its own on earth. it may be a modern version of wu yi xiang, a special residential area of nobility in the jin dynasty southeast of today’s nanjing, where each family, secluded behind closed doors, has its own covered-up story of joys and sorrows, and rise and decline. when the sun is setting, swallows will fly low over wild flowers and grass on their way to their nests. the all-pervading and all-purifying atmosphere of water-like placidness makes one forget all cares and worries.

你是否覺得勞生草草，身心兩乏?我勸你工余之暇，常到小巷里走走，那是最好的將息，會使你消除疲勞，緊張的心弦得到調整。你如果有時情緒煩燥，心情悒郁，我勸你到小巷里負手行吟一陣，你一定會豁然開朗，怡然自得，物我兩忘你有愛人嗎?我建議不要帶了她去什么名園勝景，還是利用晨昏時節(jié)，到深巷中散散步。在那里，你們倆可以隨便談談，心貼得更近，在街上那種貪婪的睨視，惡意的斜覷，巷里是沒有的;偶然呀的一聲，墻門口顯現出一個人影，又往往是深居簡出的姑娘，看見你們，會嬌羞地返身回避了。

Aren’t you weighed down with cares in this life of hard toil and exhausted physically and mentally? i would like to advise you often to take a walk in the lane in your off-duty hours. that is the best way to take a rest. it will dissipate your fatigue and relieve your nervous tension. when you are fidgety or depressed, go to the lane and wander around reciting or composing poems with your hands crossed behind your back. you will then suddenly fall into a bright mood and enjoy inner peace, forgetting both yourself and the external world. don’t you have a sweetheart? let me suggest that, instead of accompanying her on a visit to famous park or scenic spot, you take her with you for a stroll in the lane at dawn or dusk. over there, you two can chat freely and with even deeper affection, free from greedy sidelong glances or malicious squints such as you often meet with in busy streets. suddenly, at a creaking sound, there may appear a figure by a door—usually an unsophisticated young girl. she will, at the sight of you, withdraw coyly into the house.

巷，是人海洶洶中的一道避風塘，給人家?guī)戆踩?是城市暄囂擾攘中的一帶洞天幽境，勝似皇家的閣道，便于平常百姓徘徊徜徉。

The lane is a safe haven for those struggling in the turbulent sea of humans to enjoy a sense of security. it is a heavenly abode in the midst of confusion. unlike the erstwhile plank-paved path used exclusively by the imperial family for their vehicles to move on smoothly, the lane is place for the common people to roam about leisurely.