YOUTH IN TONGXIAO 少年通霄

CONTENTS

	THE CHILDREN OF MYANMAR 緬甸的孩子 By CHEN I-chih 陳義芝 Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機

	GRANNY’S STATE OF MIND 阿嬤的心思 By TING Wen-Chih 丁文智 Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機

	AQUARIUM, WITH TWO SIDETRACKS 水族箱（外二首） By Chang Kun 張堃 Translated by Zona Yi-Ping TSOU 鄒怡平

	URBAN CHILDHOOD 都市童年 By FONG Ming 方明 Translated by Zona Yi-Ping TSOU 鄒怡平

	WHITE HAIR 白髮 By Lo Ti 落蒂 Translated by Zona Yi-Ping TSOU 鄒怡平

	MOTES OF SUNLIGHT— In Gratitude to Ya Hsien 陽光顆粒—謝瘂弦 By Hsiang Ming 向明 Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機

	VISITING THE BLUE GROTTO— Grotta Azzurra, Italy, 1998 航向藍洞 By Jiao Tong 焦桐 Translated by John J. S. BALCOM 陶忘機

	APRIL 四月 By Hsia Ching 夏菁 Translated by C. W. WANG 王季文

	FEELINGS RUN DEEP 古井情深 By YANG Wen Wei 楊文瑋 Translated by James Scott WILLIAMS 衛高翔

	A NOTICE IN SEARCH OF A MISSING PERSON 尋人啟事 By CHANG Ai-chin 張愛金 Translated by Shou-Fang HU-MOORE 胡守芳

	YOUTH IN NANGAN 少年南竿 By CHIANG Hsun 蔣勳 Translated by Jonathan R. BARNARD 柏松年

	YOUTH IN TONGXIAO 少年通霄 By CHIANG Hsun 蔣勳 Translated by Jonathan R. BARNARD 柏松年

	HIROSHIMA LOVE 廣島之戀 By RUAN Ching-Yue 阮慶岳 Translated by David and Ellen DETERDING 戴德巍與陳艷玲

	FROM “CHINA” TO “TAIWAN” WHAT MESSAGES CAN WE GET FROM THE ART OF LEE MING-TSE? 從「中國」到「台灣」李明則的藝術給了我們什麼訊息？ By Hong-ming TSAI 蔡宏明 Translated by David van der Peet 范德培

	FROM “DANDY” TO “WILD CURSIVE SCRIPT” : FALSE FEELINGS AND TRUE DESIRES IN THE ART OT LEE MING-TSE 從「公子哥」到「狂草」—談李明則藝術中的虛情真欲 By Shui-tsai CHEN 陳水財 Translated by David van der Peet 范德培

	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

	BLOSSOM OF BANABA 香蕉花, acrylic on paper, 52 × 33.5 cm, 1993...............................................Cover

	FAIRY 神女, acrylic on paper pulp, 22 × 23 cm, 2008 ..............................................................Back Cover By Lee Ming-tse 李明則

CHIANG Hsun 蔣勳

YOUTH IN TONGXIAO
少年通霄*

Translated by Jonathan R. BARNARD 柏松年

    On a summer afternoon black clouds surged in off the sea, instantly covering the sun. In constant, rapid motion, the sky’s dark cover then occasionally cracked open to let through a beam of light before thicker clouds soon filled in the space and snuffed out the sun’s rays. A series of oppressive thunderclaps sounded, followed by the rain dropping─da-da-da-da─on the paving stones at the entrance to the temple, which were hot from their time under the sun. When the rain hit them, it brought up an earthy-smelling vapor. Shouting, “It’s raining!” Ah-Yu was the first to run onto the temple plaza to gather her sheets hung out to dry.
    On a summer afternoon black clouds surged in off the sea, instantly covering the sun. In constant, rapid motion, the sky’s dark cover then occasionally cracked open to let through a beam of light before thicker clouds soon filled in the space and snuffed out the sun’s rays. A series of oppressive thunderclaps sounded, followed by the rain dropping─da-da-da-da─on the paving stones at the entrance to the temple, which were hot from their time under the sun. When the rain hit them, it brought up an earthy-smelling vapor. Shouting, “It’s raining!” Ah-Yu was the first to run onto the temple plaza to gather her sheets hung out to dry. “It’s really coming down. . . .” Qisheng cocked his head upward in welcome as raindrops the size of peas hit his face. There was something special about their weight─neither heavy nor light. They hit his forehead, his cheeks, the tip of his nose, his lips, his chin, his naked shoulders and chest.
    He stuck out his chest to give more of his body to the rain. It hurt and itched a little. Qisheng thought of himself as an expanse of land thirsty for water, like the newly cleared fields behind the temple.
    He closed his eyes and listened to the festive thumping of the rain hitting various parts of his body.
    By the time Ah-Yu charged back home, arms full of sheets and clothes, the afternoon thundershower was coming down in earnest─as if long accumulated sorrows were being purged in one sudden outpouring. As Ah-Yu crossed the threshold, she could feel the warmth that the laundry had retained from its day in the sun. Soaking it up, she took a deep breath, as if to take in more of the solar aura.
    “The sun has a smell. . . .” Ah-Yu could clearly detect a piquant scent it had left on the clothes. It was like the smell of flames, like dry firewood or hay, like coal after burning. She inhaled deeply, as if eager to absorb nutrients from its aroma.
    “How long has Ah-Qin been gone?” For no discernable reason, she thought of her husband. They had grown up together in the same village and were wed at 17. When Ah-Yu became pregnant, her family found Ah-Qin and gave him a tongue-lashing. The two families negotiated, and in a flash the two were married. They held the wedding banquet in the plaza in front of the temple. Amid the festive merrymaking, Ah-Qin was pushed to drink, and his face flushed. Amid the hubbub Ah-Yu kept her head low. Occasionally she would steal a glance at Ah-Qin out of the corner of her eye.
    The rain beat against the eaves with soul-shaking force─ thump-thump-thump─as if it wanted to mash people’s insides.
    Ah-Yu covered her mouth, containing a wail to a nasal muffle. But she couldn’t stifle the surge of tears that poured from her eyes.
    “What a wild youth Ah-Qin was! He should have been pampering his pregnant wife instead of going to the beach to play.”
    Ah-Yu was heartbroken. Yet she had to endure people continually passing judgment on Ah-Qin.
    “Ah-Qin . . . Ah-Qin . . .” her mother-in-law sputtered, like a tragic leading lady in Taiwanese opera, kneeling on stage and holding a piercing, throaty note, broken-hearted to the end.
    Ah-Yu wasn’t crying. She couldn’t understand how that body under the straw mat was any different from Ah-Qin on any other day.
    She lifted the mat. Ah-Qin’s face was white, and there was a tidy row of fine youth’s stubble over his lips. Under his black and silky hair was a broad, clean forehead. His nose seemed still breathing, and there was a slight tinge of purple to his full red lips─like after Ah-Yu had sucked too hard during a passionate kiss.
    “It’s all your fault! My lips are purple, and there’s a purple hickey on my throat,” complained Ah-Qin at the mirror, angry and happy at the same time. “My mom is going to let me have it.”

    Ah-Yu lay on the bed, hugging a pillow and smiling demurely. With great satisfaction she buried her face under the quilt.
    She wanted to bend down and kiss those lips, black tinged with purple, which, slightly open, seemed to be saying: “Ah-Yu , Ah-Yu , kiss me, kiss me. . . .”
    She felt as if Ah-Qin were embracing her, as if that strapping 17-year-old body, so hot to the touch, were tightly pressing down on her, making her feel as if she were suffocating, making her lose control, making her shake uncontrollably. Her lips sucked at something wet and soft. She sucked hard, like a baby hungry for milk, unwilling to let go.
    Ah-Yu felt as if the world were a void in which something had been born─a small black dot that had a metallic sheen and was swimming faster and faster, leaving in the void of her body a seed that would slowly grow.
    “Qisheng . . .” Ah-Yu yelled outside, where the rain was falling hard.
    Qisheng was born exactly 100 days after Ah-Qin drowned. Amid the sound of chanting Taoist priests and Buddhist monks, Ah-Yu screamed in agony. She felt that Ah-Qin was being reborn, turning inside her and making mischief. He was torturing her, splitting her open, stretching her, causing her pain through and through.
    “Ah-Qin . . . Ah-Qin . . .” She grabbed the side of the bed, and shouted at him. She couldn’t understand what kind of demon Ah-Qin must be─showing such determination to make her life miserable!
     She lay in bed, feeling empty and hopeless. In a haze, she heard the cry of a child, shrill and loud, like the sound of a suona horn at a temple fair. Whether crying from great joy or great pain,....

*	From Lien-ho wen-hsueh 《聯合文學》 (UNITAS—A Literary Monthly), No. 272, June 2007, 6-9.