编者按：为了更好地进行中国文学海外传播工作，让中国作品在海外被发现（Discover）、被理解（Understand）、被传播（Express），中国文化译研网（CCTSS）邀请国内资深文学主编及文学评论家，精选出近两百部短中长篇小说，形成第一期《中国当代文学作品指南》（简称“指南”），从更具权威性、价值性的角度出发，更好地向世界展示中国当代文学精品，传播中国书香。

春读书，兴味长，磨其砚，笔花香。现将“指南”中的精品文学作品以一日一推的方式向读者呈现，让我们不负春日好时光。

曹文轩丨《草房子》

推荐理由：

长篇小说《草房子》出版于 1997 年，曹文轩担任编剧将小说改编为同名电影。小说于 2000 年 5 月获第四届全国优秀儿童文学奖及第五届宋庆龄儿童文学奖小说类金奖，同年电影《草房子》获得第十四届德黑兰国际电影节评审团特别大奖“金蝴蝶奖”。

似乎每个作家都会不自觉地写自己的童年，曹文轩也不例外。《草房子》是一个美好的所在，它让我们想起浪漫、温馨、遥远的童话。当我们走近曹文轩为我们搭的《草房子》时，我们确实被这样一种气息所弥漫。曹文轩以优美的文笔，写了离我们已远去的小学生活，这种看似平常实则并不简单的生活，我们的时代未必经历过，但无疑我们都能体悟得到，那种发生在还未长大却向往长大的少男少女之间的纯真故事，有许多茫动，但也是必然。男孩桑桑刻骨铭心的经历，不幸少年与厄运抗争的悲怆，残疾少年对尊严的坚守等等，在这所其实并不大的草房子里扑朔迷离地上演，给人感人心魄之感，有时甚至催人泪下。

《草房子》格调高雅，由始至终充满美感。叙述风格谐趣而又庄重，整体结构独特而又新颖，情节设计曲折而又智慧。荡漾于全部作品的悲悯情怀，在人与人之间的关系日趋疏远、情感日趋淡漠的当今世界中，也显得弥足珍贵、格外感人。通篇叙述既明白晓畅，又有一定的深度，是那种既是孩子喜爱也可供成人阅读的儿童文学作品。

Reviews：

Grass House was published in 1997 and received the Fourth National Award for Excellent Children’s Literature and the gold award for the fiction category of the Fifth Soong Ching Ling Children’s Literature Award in May 2000. Cao Wenxuan adapted the novel for the movie “Thatched Memories”, which received “Golden Butterfly Award”, the Grand Prize of the Jury,  in 2000 the fourteenth Tehran International Film Festival.

Almost every writer will at some point write about his or her childhood. Cao Wenxuan is no exception. Reading Grass House, we are immersed in a romantic and tender atmosphere evocative of a fairytale. With his elegant style, Cao Wenxuan helps us recall our elementary school days from the distant past. Whilst we may not have experienced the life described in the novel, which seems ordinary on the surface but is in reality anything but simple, we surely can all identify with it. The innocent love story of teenagers caught between childhood and adulthood, Sang Sang’s unforgettable experience, the tragic and dignified struggle of an unfortunate boy with adversity, the self-respect shown by a handicapped boy, all these mini dramas are played out in this grass house of moderate dimensions and move us to tears.

Grass House is composed in an elegant style and exudes beauty throughout. It features a humorous and solemn narrative, a unique and creative structure and an intricate and enlightening plot. A deep sense of compassion pervades the whole book, which is deeply moving and well worth cherishing in today’s world, where people increasingly drift away from one another and emotions constantly cool off. The whole story is told in a lucid and smooth manner while conveying deep insight into life. This is the sort of book that both children and adults will enjoy reading.

作家简介

Author Profile

曹文轩在2018中外文学出版翻译合作研修班活动中发表演讲

曹文轩，1954 年 1 月出生于江苏盐城，中国儿童文学作家，北京大学教授。

主要作品有文学作品集《忧郁的田园》《红葫芦》《蔷薇谷》《追随永恒》《三角地》等；长篇小说《山羊不吃天堂草》《草房子》《红瓦》《根鸟》《细米》《青铜葵花》等。他的作品大量被译介到国外，《红瓦黑瓦》《草房子》以及一些短篇小说分别被翻译为英、法、日、韩等文字。

1979 年，曹文轩开始发表文学作品，其作品获奖颇丰。其中囊括宋庆龄文学奖金奖、冰心文学大奖、国家图书奖、金鸡奖最佳编剧奖、全国优秀儿童文学奖等。2016 年 4 月 4 日，曹文轩摘得国际儿童读物联盟（IBBY）2016 年度“国际安徒生奖”，这是中国作家首次获此殊荣。

他的文字清新准确，不造作，不肤浅，不贴标签，不程式化，同时又轻松幽默。他的作品，常常使读者在跟着字句，担忧于主人公命运过程中出乎意料的被他巧妙含蓄的幽默发出会心微笑甚至忍俊不禁，有很强的趣味性和可读性。在字里行间，他以其特有的审美语言，以清新的笔调，自然而然地带出中国的地域特点、时代特征和文化特质，似乎在不经意间，以儿童视角，塑造出一个个真实、鲜活、悲悯、智慧、内涵丰富的人物形象，在广大儿童读者的内心深处铺下丰厚的人生底蕴。

——国际儿童读物联盟执委、中少总社国际合作总经理张明舟

Cao Wenxuan was born in January 1954 in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. He is a children literature writer and a professor at Peking University.

His main works include collections such as The Melancholy Countryside, The Red Calabash, The Rose Valley, In Pursuit of Eternity, The Triangular Land and etc., as well as novels such as Goats Do Not Eat Heaven Grass, Grass House, The Red Tile, The Bird, The Thin Rice, Bronze and Sunflower and etc. Many of his novels, Red Tile, Black Tile, and Grass House for example, and some of his short stories have been translated and published in English, French, Japanese, Korean, etc.

Cao Wenxuan began to publish in 1979. He has since received many awards, such as Soong Ching Ling Children’s Literature Award, Bing Xin Literature Award, National Book Award, Golden Rooster Award for Best Screenplay, National Award for Excellent Children’s Literature, etc. On the 4th of April 2016, he received the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s writing, from the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), making him the first Chinese winner.

Cao Wenxuan boasts a style of freshness, precision, lightness and humor. He never labels or stereotypes the characters in his works in a superficial manner. The readers are deeply worried about the destiny of the protagonists in his works, one moment, and cannot help smiling or bursting out laughing the next moment, much amused by his clever and poignant sense of humor. Writing in a fresh style and using language of particular aesthetic value, he manages to seamlessly incorporate the local flavors of where his stories are set into his works, as well as reflecting the traits of the times and culture his protagonists live in. Seemingly effortlessly, he manages to create a host of characters from children’s perspectives that are vivid, true to life, full of sympathy and humanity, leaving on the minds of the young readers a deep impression of aesthetic and humanistic values.

——Mr. Zhang Mingzhou, Member of the Executive Committee of the International Board on Books for Young People, General Manager in Charge of International Co-operation at China Children’s Press & Publication Group

中文概要

Synopsis

《草房子》写了男孩桑桑刻骨铭心，终身难忘的六年小学生活。六年中，他亲眼目睹或直接参与了一连串看似寻常但又催人泪下、感动人心的故事：少男少女之间毫无瑕疵的纯情，不幸少年与厄运相拼时的悲怆与优雅，垂暮老人在最后一瞬间所闪耀的人格光彩，在体验死亡中对生命的深切而优美的领悟，大人们之间扑朔迷离且又充满诗情画意的情感纠葛……这一切，既清楚又朦胧地展现在少年桑桑的世界里。这六年，是他接受人生启蒙教育的六年。

（节选）

桑桑是校长桑乔的儿子。桑桑的家就在油麻地小学的校园里，也是一幢草房子。

油麻地小学是一色的草房子。十几幢草房子，似乎是有规则，又似乎是没有规则地连成一片。它们分别用作教室、办公室、老师的宿舍，或活动室、仓库什么的。在这些草房子的前后或在这些草房子之间，总有一些安排，或一丛两丛竹子，或三株两株蔷薇，或一片花开得五颜六色的美人蕉，或干脆就是一小片夹杂着小花的草丛。这些安排，没有一丝刻意的痕迹，仿佛这个校园，原本就是有的，原本就是这个样子。这一幢一幢草房子，看上去并不高大，但屋顶大大的，里面很宽敞。这种草房子实际上是很贵重的。它不是用一般稻草或麦秸盖成的，而是从三百里外的海滩上打来的茅草盖成的。那茅草旺盛地长在海滩上，受着海风的吹拂与毫无遮挡的阳光的曝晒，一根一根地都长得很有韧性，阳光一照，闪闪发亮如铜丝，海风一吹，竟然能发出金属般的声响。用这种草盖成的房子，是经久不朽的。这里的富庶人家，都攒下钱来去盖这种房子。油麻地小学的草房子，那上面的草又用得很考究，很铺张，比这里的任何一个人家的选草都严格，房顶都厚，因此，油麻地小学的草房子里，冬天是温暖的，夏天却又是凉爽的。这一幢幢房子，在乡野纯静的天空下，透出一派古朴来，但当太阳凌空而照时，那房顶上金泽闪闪，又显出一派华贵来。

桑桑喜欢这些草房子，这既是因为他是草房子里的学生，又是因为他的家也在这草房子里。

桑桑就是在这些草房子里、草房子的前后与四面八方来显示自己的，来告诉人们“我就是桑桑”的。

桑桑就是桑桑，桑桑与别的孩子不大一样，这倒不是因为桑桑是校长的儿子，而仅仅只是因为桑桑就是桑桑。

桑桑的异想天开或者做出一些出人意料的古怪的行为，是一贯的。桑桑想到了自己有个好住处，而他的鸽子却没有——他的许多鸽子还只能钻墙洞过夜或孵小鸽子，他心里就起了怜悯，决心要改善鸽子们的住处。当那天父亲与母亲都不在家时，他叫来了阿恕与朱小鼓他们几个，将家中的碗柜里的碗碟之类的东西统统收拾出来扔在墙角里，然后将这个碗柜抬了出来，根据他想像中的一个高级鸽笼的样子，让阿恕与朱小鼓他们一起动手，用锯子与斧头对它大加改造。四条腿没有必要，锯了。玻璃门没有必要，敲了。那碗柜本有四层，但每一层都大而无当。桑桑就让阿恕从家里偷来几块板子，将每一层分成了三档。桑桑算了一下，一层三户“人家”，四层共能安排十二户“人家”，觉得自己为鸽子们做了一件大好事，心里觉得很高尚，自己被自己感动了。当太阳落下，霞光染红草房子时，这个大鸽笼已在他和阿恕他们的数次努力之后，稳稳地挂在了墙上。晚上，母亲望着一个残废的碗柜，高高地挂在西墙上成了鸽子们的新家时，将桑桑拖到家中，关起门来一顿结结实实的揍。但桑桑不长记性，仅仅相隔十几天，他又旧病复发。那天，他在河边玩耍，见有渔船在河上用网打鱼，每一网都能打出鱼虾来，就在心里希望自己也有一张网。但家里却并无一张网。桑桑心里痒痒的，觉得自己非有一张网不可。他在屋里屋外转来转去，一眼看到了支在父母大床上的蚊帐。这明明是蚊帐，但在桑桑的眼中，它却分明是一张很不错的网。他三下两下就将蚊帐扯了下来，然后找来一把剪子，三下五除二地将蚊帐改制成了一张网，然后又叫来阿恕他们，用竹竿做成网架，撑了一条放鸭的小船，到河上打鱼去了。河两岸的人都到河边上来看，问：“桑桑，那网是用什么做成的？”桑桑回答：“用蚊帐。”桑桑心里想：我不用蚊帐又能用什么呢？两岸的人都乐。女教师温幼菊担忧地说：“桑桑，你又要挨打了。”桑桑突然意识到了问题的严重性，但在两岸那么多有趣的目光注视下，他却还是很兴奋地沉浸在打鱼的快乐与冲动里……

Grass House unfolds around the unforgettable six-year elementary school life of Sang Sang. During those six years, he either witnesses or participates in a series of seemingly ordinary and yet deeply moving events: the pure and tender love between teenagers, the tragic and dignified struggle of an unfortunate boy in the face of adversity, the sparkle of humanity during the last moments of an old man’s life, the deep and beautiful epiphany on life in front of death, the elusive and poetic emotional entanglements among adults…All these are told through Sang Sang’s eyes in a lucid and yet obscure manner. During these six years, he receives elementary education on life itself.

(Excerpt)

Sang Sang is the son of Sang Qiao, principal of Youmadi Elementary School. The Sang family lives in a grass house on the campus.

The school complex consists exclusively of grass houses. More than ten grass houses are dotted all over the campus in a haphazard order, serving as classroom, office, teachers’ dorm, recreation room, warehouse, etc. In front of, behind and between these grass houses are one or two clusters of bamboo, two or three bushes of rose, a grove of canna in colorful bloom, or a simple grove of grass dotted with wild flowers. The campus is completely natural in its layout as if it has always been there and always looked like that. These grass houses, though not tall, are quite spacious under their wide roofs. This type of grass house is actually quite precious. It is built not with ordinary straw or wheat straw, but with cogon grass mown from the beaches three hundred miles away. Suffering from blustery sea wind and blazing sun, this type of cogon grass grows luxuriantly on the beach, each blade growing resilient, sparkling like copper wire in the sun and emitting metallic sounds in sea winds. Houses built with cogon grass will last forever. Prosperous families in this area all save to build such grass houses. The grass houses on the campus are built with cogon grass of particularly fine quality, much better than those used by the local families, and boast roofs thatched much thicker. As such, it is warm in winter and cool in summer inside these grass houses. Under the clear and serene sky in the countryside, these grass houses appear simple and unsophisticated. However, under the blazing sun, with the roofs sparkling, they look sumptuous and magnificent.

Sang Sang loves these grass houses as he studies and lives in them.

Through his life and activities inside and around these grass houses, Sang Sang displays his unique personality.

Sang Sang is somewhat different from other kids, not because he is the principal’s son, but because he is who he is.

Sang Sang has always been somewhat whimsical and prone to eccentric behavior. In one instance, it occurred to him that he lives in a comfortable house while his pigeons do not have comfortable nests – they have to sleep or hatch their brood in the holes in the wall. Sympathetic towards them, he decided to improve their lot. One day, while his parents were away, he asked A-Shu and Zhu Xiaogu, his pals, to come and join in his efforts. Removing the bowls and dishes from the cupboard and depositing them in the corner, they then begin to transform it with saw and axe into a pigeon cage according to their idea. The four legs and the glass door, deemed unnecessary, are sawn off and knocked out. The cupboard has four shelves, but each too high for a pigeon cage. So, using the planks stolen by A-Shu from his house, they divide each shelf into three compartments. Through transformation, the cupboard is ready to accommodate altogether twelve “pigeon families”. Sang Sang is proud of having made this contribution to the welfare of pigeons. He is moved by his own noble deed. When the glow of sunset tints the grass house and after much effort, the giant pigeon cage is securely hung on the wall. In the evening, looking at the mutilated cupboard hung high on the west wall, housing the pigeons, Sang Sang’s mother drags Sang Sang home, shuts the door and gives him a good-hiding. Sang Sang has a short memory, however. A little more than ten days later, he begins to act up again. One day, while playing by the river, he sees the fishermen pull in fish and shrimp in their nets and hopes to get a net himself. As none is available at home, he decides to make one himself.

Roving around, he suddenly spots the perfect material for a fishing net in the mosquito net over his parents’ bed. He pulls the mosquito net off and transforms it into a fishing net with a pair of scissors. Asking A-Shu to make the net frame with bamboo, they sail off fishing on the river in a boat normally used for tending to the ducks. People crowd the river banks to watch him and ask: “Sang Sang, what is the fishing net made of?” He answers: “A mosquito net”, while wondering what else he could have used instead. Hearing this, the folks burst out laughing. Ms. Wen Youju, his teacher, is worried and says: “Sang Sang, I’m afraid you will receive a sound beating again.” Sang Sang suddenly realizes the seriousness of the situation. However, under the interested gaze along the riverbanks, he remains absorbed in the pleasure and excitement of fishing…