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莫言丨《透明的红萝卜》

推荐理由

本篇是莫言的成名作。

1967年莫言十二岁，辍学上水利工地劳作，因饥饿难耐，偷拔了生产队一根红萝卜，被押送到工地专门召开了批斗会，回家后遭父亲毒打。惨痛的记忆让莫言深深牢记，1985年在军艺念书时梦中见到红萝卜，根据这个意象他一气呵成，写成这部中篇小说，并由恩师徐怀中先生推荐发表于1985年《中国作家》第2期，引起轰动。

同样的场景，小说里写的是黑孩偷萝卜被抓，全身衣服被剥下来，“起初他还好像害羞似的用手捂住小鸡儿，走了几步就松开了手”。

全文围绕饥饿与孤独设计细节、背景、基调。这也是莫言小说中反复出现的主题。既代表物质的匮乏，也代表精神的匮乏。困苦无所不在，它对人物、尤其是小孩子的伤害触目惊心，具有不可磨灭的性质。但孩子具有顽强的适应力和承受力，对恶劣的生存环境具有一种麻木不仁的“超脱”。这正是自古以来的中国农民普遍具有的伟大性格与力量。生动而带有乡土气息的语言，也让读者一直沉湎于莫言所谓“听觉的盛宴”。

艺术上，小说构思新颖别致，以独特的细节、压抑的环境、神秘的色彩、丰富的象征以及中国古老的“通感”手法，刻画人物，留下大量的艺术空白和想象空间，使小说具备了多义和朦胧性。“通感”变异，带来魔幻效果、魔幻色彩，“是一种源自丛生的感觉的‘感觉魔幻小说’”，和拉美的魔幻小说有相似之处，却又生根于本土。

莫言曾说，一个人无论写了多少作品，他的作品都是对童年的记忆，他所有的作品就是一个个人的自传。因此童年记忆在作家创作中特别重要。黑孩身上有着莫言童年的印记，一定程度上沉默的黑孩是童年莫言的缩影。“透明的红萝卜”，这一诗意般的意象，和严酷的环境、人物的处境相背离，也使苦难、孤独带上了淡淡的甜意。

莫言获得诺贝尔文学奖后，徐怀中先生仍以为，这部作品是莫言至今最优秀的小说。

Reviews

In 1967, when Mo Yan was 12, he dropped out of school and worked at a construction site at a riverbank. He stole a radish from the production unit because he was starving but was caught, detained, and forced to attend a public criticism meeting. When he returned home, his father beat him. The bitter memory worked itself deep into his consciousness. In 1985 when he was in college, he dreamed of seeing a radish, and this imagery alone inspired this novella. Upon the recommendation of his teacher, Xu Huaizhong, it was published in the second issue of 1985 edition of Chinese Authors. It caused a sensation.

In the same setting, the story tells of how, when Hei Hai was caught stealing a radish, all of his clothes were peeled off. “At first, he embarrassedly used his hands to cover his penis, but within a few steps he let his hands drop.”

The whole text revolves around the details and the backdrop of hunger and loneliness. These are themes that repeatedly appear throughout Mo Yan’s works. They represent both material and spiritual deficiencies. Deprivation can cause undeniably shocking injury to people, especially children, but children possess a tenacious adaptability and tolerance – a numb sort of “aloofness” to vile living environments. It is precisely this disposition and strength that has kept Chinese peasants going since ancient times.

The work is vividly imbued with the flavor of the local language, which immerses the reader in Mo Yan’s so-called “auditory feast”.

From an artistic standpoint, the novella’s plot is original and unique. The work uses distinct detailing, a stifling setting, mysterious coloring, abundant symbols, and the classical Chinese technique of “synesthetic” to portray its characters. It also leaves a large artistic and imaginary blank space that imbues the work with a sense of ambiguity and haziness.

The “synesthetic” technique brings a sort of magical quality and coloring to the story. “It is a magical story, originating from a sense of excessive perception and feeling.” In this way, it has similarities to the magical realism of South America while still being rooted in Chinese tradition.

Mo Yan has said that no matter how many works a person writes, they are all related to their memories as a child; thus, every work produced is a sort of autobiography. Because of this, childhood memories are of particular importance in an author’s creative works. Hei Hai the protagonist contains traces of Mo Yan’s childhood and definitely reflects aspects of that time in his life.

The poetic imagery of A Transparent Radish departs from the bitter environment and the main character’s situation to add a dull sweetness to the suffering and loneliness.

After Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Xu Huaizhong still considered A Transparent Radish to be Mo Yan’s most exceptional work.

作家简介

Author Profile

莫言，山东高密人，1955年生。著有《红高粱家族》《酒国》《丰乳肥臀》《檀香刑》《生死疲劳》 等长篇小说，《透明的红萝卜》《司令的女人》等中短篇小说一百余部，并有剧作、散文多部。

其中许多作品已被翻译成英、法、德、意、日、西、俄、韩、荷兰、瑞典、挪威、波兰、阿拉伯、越南等多种语言，在国内外文坛上具有广泛影响。2012年10月11日获得诺贝尔文学奖，成为首位获诺贝尔文学奖的中国籍作家。

Mo Yan was born in 1955 in Gaomi County, Shandong. Some of his notable works include Red Sorghum, The Republic of Wine, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Sandalwood Death, and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. Notable novellas include A Transparent Radish and The Female Commander. In addition to writings in other literary styles, such as plays and prose essays, he has written more than 100 short stories and novellas.

His works have been translated into many languages, such as English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Arabic, and Vietnamese. Mo Yan has had a considerable influence within literary circles, both Chinese and international. On October 11, 2012, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the only Chinese national to have received the distinguished honor.

Synopsis

中文概要

故事讲述一个十岁左右的男孩子，是个孤儿，父亲下关东，从小受继母虐待，顶着大脑袋，沉默寡言，经常对着事物发呆，饥饿、孤独让他对大自然有着超强的触觉、听觉等奇异功能。他能听到头发落地的声音，能看到湖面上神奇的气体，能感受到星光的温暖，能像壁虎一样贴着高高的桥墩爬上爬下。

黑孩赤着脚，小腿上布满闪亮的疤点。头大，脖子细长，光着脊梁，没有人愿意和他说话。

黑孩和小石匠被派去滞洪闸工地干活。冰凉的秋天已经到来，大人都披上夹袄了，黑孩浑身上下还只有一条又肥又长的白底带绿条条的大裤头，裤头上染着一块块污渍，有的像青草汁，有的像干结的鼻血。拉着那样大一个风匣，瘦身子吃力地前倾后仰，“左胸脯的肋条缝中，他的心脏像只小耗子一样可怜巴巴地跳动着”。他从不说话。从不怕冷。用手去抓热铁，让热铁像知了一样在手里滋啦滋啦地响，把手烫得冒出黄烟，也还不慌不忙，仿佛那皮肉的痛里有快感。

黑孩儿做小工实际上就为有一顿饭吃，生存的本能总是不由自主地引导他把目光投向吃的东西。

工地上，他受到石匠以及善良的菊子姑娘的保护。但因继母虐待的阴影以及对菊子姑娘的隐隐情愫，使他对菊子母亲般的依恋转为朦胧的爱，或者说占有欲。在劳动中他陷入想象，神奇的气体、美妙的声音，都使“他脸色渐渐红润起来，嘴角上漾起动人的微笑”。他藏起菊子姑娘的花手帕；她给他送窝头，他感动得哭了，以手遮脸，不让人看见他流泪。

但他却咬了她，心里霸道地认为菊子姑娘就是属于他的，她应该只关心他，而不应该同时对小石匠敞开心扉。

菊子姑娘和小石匠约会，就很少再来看望黑孩了，这让黑孩感到失落，就像小孩子的玩具被抢走一样。

在石匠和小铁匠打架时，黑孩又意外地帮助欺负他的小铁匠去打小石匠。

小铁匠动不动就让黑孩去偷地瓜和红萝卜，黑孩产生幻觉：“红萝卜的形状和大小都像一个大个阳梨，还拖着一条长尾巴，尾巴上的根根须须像金色的羊毛。红萝卜晶莹透明，玲珑剔透。透明的、金色的外壳里苞孕着活泼的银色液体。红萝卜的线条流畅优美，从美丽的弧线上泛出一圈金色的光芒。光芒有长有短，长的如麦芒，短的如睫毛，全是金色……”它象征菊子姑娘的那份关怀，更代表幸福。从此他对红萝卜有了一份特殊的感情。

小铁匠妒嫉小石匠的幸福，两个人新仇旧恨，大打出手，沙石乱飞，迷住了小铁匠的眼睛，“小铁匠挣扎着坐起来，两只大手摸起地上的碎石片儿，向着四周抛撒。……菊子姑娘突然惨叫了一声。小铁匠的手像死了一样停住了。他的独眼里的沙土已被泪水冲积到眼角上，露出了瞳孔。他朦胧地看到菊子姑娘的右眼里插着一块白色的石片，好像眼里长出一朵银耳”。

菊子姑娘成了半盲，下场惨烈。更说明善良和美好的无力、苍白，在现实面前不堪一击。

最后当小铁匠把黑孩的萝卜扔进水里再也找不到时，黑孩钻进萝卜地，“双膝跪地，拔出了一个萝卜，萝卜的细根与土壤分别时发出水泡破裂一样的声响。……黑孩把手中那个萝卜举起来，对着阳光察看。……他希望这个萝卜在阳光照耀下能像那个隐藏在河水中的萝卜一样晶莹剔透，泛出一圈金色的光芒。但是这个萝卜使他失望了。它不剔透也不玲珑，既没有金色光圈，更看不到金色光圈里苞孕着的活泼的银色液体。……他膝行一步，拔两个萝卜，举起来看看，扔掉。又膝行一步，拔，举，看，扔……”满地上都是通红的“还没有完全长成的萝卜”。象征菊子姑娘和梦幻般的幸福已经不属于他了。

The story tells of an orphan boy who is around ten years old. With his father away struggling to make a living in Northeast China, his stepmother has abused him from a young age. He has a big head, is reticent in nature, and he often gets lost in thought. Hunger and loneliness have caused him to develop unusually strong senses of touch, sight, and hearing. He can hear a strand of hair falling to the ground, see the vapor of a lake rising up, feel the warmth of the light from stars, and he can climb up and down a tall bridge’s pillars like a gecko.

The boy’s name is Hei Hai. His feet are bare and his calves covered in shining scars. His head is big and his neck long and slender. His back is exposed and nobody is willing to talk with him.

Hei Hai and a little stone worker have both been assigned to work on a flood detention lock. The ice-cold autumn has already come along. Adults have unrolled their layered jackets for the season, but Hei Hai only has one pair of short pants on his whole body: loose fitting, oversized, made of white cloth with light green strips. The pants are covered in stains. Some of the stains are from grass, and others are from a bloody nose.

Carrying a box and bellowing along, his thin body strains forward and upward. “Between his ribs, his heart throbbed pathetically like a little mouse,” Mo Yan writes. He never says anything and does not fuss over the cold. He uses his bare hand to grab hot metal that sizzles like a cicada on his skin. A yellowish smoke emanates from his scalding hand, but he remains calm and unhurried as if taking pleasure in the pain of his skin and flesh.

Hei Hai takes on such jobs just for a something to eat. His survival instinct always guides his vision involuntarily toward food.

On the job site, he receives the kindhearted protection of both the stone worker and a girl named Juzi. Still, the memory of his stepmother’s maltreatment lingers, and his faint feelings toward Juzi cause him attached to her, treating her as a mother-like figure. The attachment turns into a hazy sort of love. These sentiments that consume him are, at times, even somewhat lustful. While working, he gets lost in his imagination. The mystical gases and beautiful sounds cause “his complexion to gradually redden and the corners of his mouth to curl into a contagious smile.” He hides away Juzi’s floral handkerchief. She gives him steamed sorghum bread to eat, and it moves him to the point of tears. He hides his face behind his hands so other people won’t be able to see him cry.

Later, he bites Juzi. His heart overbearingly feels that Juzi belongs to him and should only pay attention to him. He does not like seeing her opening the door of her heart to the little stone worker.

Juzi and the stone worker spend more time together and seldom go to see Hei Hai. This causes him to feel extremely disappointed – the same disappointment as a child whose toy has been taken away.

When the stone worker and a blacksmith get into a fight, Hei Hai unexpectedly helps the bullying blacksmith to beat up the stone worker.

The blacksmith frequently makes Hei Hai steal sweet potatoes and radishes. Once while doing this, Hei Hai has a hallucination:

The shape and size of radishes are similar to pears with a long tail. The hairs on the tail are like gold fleece. The radish was transparent and glimmering, its features were delicate and fine. Inside its transparent and golden shell was a vivacious silver liquid. The radish’s contours gracefully flowed and from a beautiful arc emanated golden rays. The rays of light were long and short. The long ones were like the tips of wheat and the short ones like eyelashes. They were all golden...

The radish symbolizes the affection of Juzi and happiness. After this hallucination, he always has a special fondness for radishes.

The blacksmith is jealous of the stone worker’s happiness. Animosities new and old stand between them, and they fight violently. Some sand gets into the blacksmith’s eyes. Mo Yan writes:

The blacksmith was struggling to sit up. Both his hands grasped the shards of rock on the ground, throwing them in all directions. Juzi abruptly let out a shrill scream, and the blacksmith’s hands stopped their movement just as if he had died. The teardrops from his eyes had already pushed the sand out to the corner of his eye where it proceeded to drip onto his face. He hazily saw a white piece of stone stuck in Juzi's right eye, as if a white fungus had sprouted there. 

Juzi’s right eye is now blind. Her sad story implies that kindness and beauty does not last long in the cruel reality. 

Eventually, the blacksmith throws Hei Hai’s radish into the river where it can’t be found again. Hei Hai dives into the radish field: 

He got down on both knees and pulled out a radish. When the thin roots of the radish separated from the soil, it let out a sound just like a bubble popping... Hei Hai held up the radish in his hand and inspected it in the sunlight... He wished that this radish were able to sparkle like the transparent and glimmering radish that had been lost in the river; he wished it could glow with golden, brilliant rays; but the radish he held only brought disappointment. It was neither pure nor exquisite. It had no golden halo. Moreover, he was unable to see the vivacious, silvery liquid within its golden rays... He moved forward a little on his knees, plucked out two more radishes, held them up to inspect, and then tossed them aside. He moved forward again, plucked, held up, inspected, and tossed aside again... 

All of them are deeply red, but “… none of the radishes have completely matured.” This symbolizes that Juzi and a dreamlike happiness no longer belong to him.