Autumn 2005
 
 

CONTENTS

 
  A WATER CALTROP-SHAPED LIFE 菱形人生
   By Yin Dih 隱地
   Translated by James Scott WILLIAMS 衛高翔
 
  YOU OWE ME A TALE 你欠我一個故事
   By Show Foong CHANG 張曉風
   Translated by LEE Yen-fen 李燕芬
 
  IF MEMORIES WERE LIKE THE WIND
如果記憶像風

   By LIAO Yu-hui 廖玉蕙
   Translated by May Li-ming TANG 湯麗明
 
  FORMULA DEATH 死亡公式
   By LIN Hengtai 林亨泰
   Translated by Steve BRADBURY 柏艾格
 
  HAWK 鷹
   By HSI Muren 席慕蓉
   Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機
 
  CLIFFSIDE CHRYSANTHEMUM 懸崖菊
   By HSI Muren 席慕蓉
   Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機
 
  IN THOSE YEARS 年代
   By Hsu Hui-chih 許悔之
   Translated by Steve BRADBURY 柏艾格
 
  THE WORLD 世界
   By Hung Hung 鴻鴻
   Translated by Steve BRADBURY 柏艾格
 
  SIXTY YEARS OF A PHOTOGRAPHER’S LIFE :
A SECOND RETROSPECT
六十年攝影人生的再次回顧

   By KO Ya-Chien 葛雅茜
   Translated by Ronald BROWN 黃啟哲 and
   LU Heng-Ying 呂亨英
 
  IMAGES FROM THE PAST, SUNLIT WARMTH,
AND UNLIMITED NOSTALGIA 舊影煦光情無限

   By CHUANG Ling 莊靈
   Translated by KO Ya-Chien 葛雅茜,
   Ronald BROWN 黃啟哲 and
    LU Heng-Ying 呂亨英
 
  BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF LEE MING - TIAO
李鳴鵰年表
 
  TRANSPORTING A CORPSE 運屍人
   By LO Yi Cheng 駱以軍
   Translated by James St. André 沈安德
 
  NEWS & EVENTS 文化活動
   Compiled by Sarah Jen-hui HSIANG 項人慧
 
  NOTES ON AUTHORS AND TRANSLATORS
作者與譯者簡介
 
  APPENDIX: CHINESE ORIGINALS
附錄:中文原著
 
  SUNNING THE FISHING NET「晒漁網」,
Tamsui, Taipei, 1948
..................................COVER
 
  CHIH-KAN TOWER「赤崁樓邊一景」,
Tainan, 1948
.....................................BACK COVER
   By LEE Ming-Tiao 李鳴鵰

 

 


Show Foong CHANG 張曉風

YOU OWE ME A TALE
你欠我一個故事*

Translated by LEE Yen-fen 李燕芬


I

  I don’t know that man’s name, yet I came across him
twice—or perhaps two times and a half!
  It was around 1991 when I went to Beijing for a conference. On my departure a kind-hearted yet meddlesome friend gave me the address of a remarkable doctor. Off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of any medical condition that I’d want advice on, so I threw the address carelessly into my trunk.
  During the conference sessions in Beijing, I realized that I could manage to take two hours off on a certain morning. Accordingly, I went to the place indicated by the address to see what it was like. It was located in a dingy alley. To my surprise, at eight o’clock in the early morning, one hour before the doctor started to work, more than a dozen patients were already queuing in the doorway. All of them, with no exception, were from Taiwan.
  Each of them brought a thermos. I asked them what the thermos was for, and they told me that the doctor would give them medicine. I asked again about the cost of diagnosis and treatment, and they replied that they paid as much as they considered appropriate, yet they usually gave about one thousand NT dollars.
  Among them was an emaciated, dejected-looking veteran soldier standing at a distance from the queue. How did I know that he was a veteran? Perhaps it was because his mien disclosed the kind of desolation that follows in the wake of a devastating war.
  “Are you from Taiwan?”
  “Yes.”
  “Which part of Taiwan?”
  “Ping-tong.”
  “Ah!” I almost leapt up in surprise. “My parents also live
in Ping-tong. Which part of Ping-tong do you live in?”
  “Close to the airport.”
  “Ah!” I couldn’t refrain from crying out again. “My parents
live on Shengli Road! And your native place?”
  “Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province.”
  I could have saved myself the last question. Actually, I had
guessed his answer before asking, for his accent was almost
exactly the same as my father’s.
  “What are you suffering from?”
  “A growth in the lungs.”
  “Does this doctor’s medicine work?”
  “I seem to get better. Who knows?”
  It was indecorous to probe into the state of his illness since
it was the first time we met. However, as he was a fellow townsman and neighbor, I felt reluctant to leave after such a short exchange. So we just stood facing each other without further conversation. Yet he spoke all of a sudden,
  “I didn’t tell anyone about my illness. My children are studying in the States, and I don’t want to let them know. What’s the use of telling them? Why should I worry them? They are occupied with their schoolwork. I didn’t tell anyone. I always come here to see the doctor by myself.”
  “Ah! This won’t do. You cope with everything alone. You’d better tell your children!”
  “My children have their own problems, so I don’t want to bother them. What’s ailing you then?”
  “Me? Oh, I am not suffering from anything. People told me about this renowned doctor, and I’ve come here just for a look. Ah, it is indeed packed with visitors. But I’ve got some other business to attend to and have to go now.”
  I left, and his face gradually faded from memory as I carried
on with my busy daily schedule.

II

  I took my father back to his hometown to visit his family in 1993. Because my father was an aged man, in addition to my mother and me, we had a nurse, Ms. J, to accompany him on the trip.
  After having completed our homecoming visit with all its peculiar formalities, the four of us were sitting in the departure lounge of the Nanjing airport and waiting for the return flight. In China, whether you have a meal or need to catch a plane, people always rush and bustle as if their very livelihood depended on it. At this moment, as passengers were required to check in two hours prior to the departure time, we were able to sit at our leisure after the completion of necessary procedures.
  Thus Ms. J and I stood up and strolled about in the departure
lounge. The lounge was of a moderate scale and the shops
were not very attractive. . . .

From Yen kun - yang 顏崑陽ed., Chiu - shih - er nien san - wen - shuan《 九十二年散 文選 》( Collected Essays, 2003 ). Taipei: Chiuko Publishing Co., 2003.


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