Christian & Wine in China

Why Christian in general has anything special to wine?  Well, the question to ask is "What do Christian and Wine have in common in China?".  You may wonder there must be something special to Chinese wine or something unique to Chinese Christian.  You are right, there is something common between Wine and Christian in China, it is 'confusion' and it has nothing to do with Confucius.  Both confuse a lot of people not only in China but also people in the world who deal with Chinese.  It is the language and the way Chinese define Christian and Wine.  The definition defined in dictionary is one thing, how Chinese people understand and interpret the word is another thing.  Now let's take a look at the word and its translation.

From English dictionary and its Chinese translation:

Wine: alcoholic drink made from the fruits or plants.  葡萄酒 .

Whiskey: strong alcoholic drink made from various grains, esp. rye and barley.  威士忌酒

Brandy: strong alcoholic drink made from wine.  白蘭地酒.

Liquor: an alcoholic drink.  酒類

Liqueur: a kind of strong and sweet alcoholic drink.  芳香的烈酒

Cocktail: a mixed alcoholic drink.  雞尾酒.

From Chinese dictionary:

酒: 用米麥等和酒麴發酵釀成的麻醉性飲料.

Most Chinese people understand and interpret:

酒: liquor, any kind of alcoholic drink. 

For example, in Chinese poem, most of time you see '酒', it means any kind of alcoholic drink or liquor, such as 高粱,紹興,紅露.  Another example, the translation of 'New wine in old bottles': 裝在舊瓶中的新酒.

So 酒, 狭義的是 wine, 廣義的是 Liquor.  Chinese most of the time ignore  狭義 or 廣義, and consider wine as liquor and it is misleading.  It can cause some embarrassment in a potluck party when you agree to bring a bottle of wine, instead you bring in a bottle of whiskey.

Now let's take a look at Christian and its Chinese translation:

Roman Catholic: 天主教, 

Eastern Orthodox: 東方正教

Protestant: 新教, 抗議教

Christian: 基督徒 or 基督教的

Most Chinese people understand and interpret:

Christian: 基督徒 that includes Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox.

天主教: Catholic

基督教: Protestant; few people use 新教 or 抗議教, they simply call it 基督教.

So 基督教 狭義的是 新教 (Protestant) , 廣義的是 天主教 + 新教 + 東方正教

Here is the analogy:

Wine (酒): 基督教 or 新教, protestant (狭義)

Liquor (酒類): 基督教 (天主教 + 新教), Christian (廣義)

Now we know 基督教 and 酒 have something in common in China.  With its 狭義的 and 廣義的 definition, it confuses a lot of people.  One way to remove the confusion is to create a new word for Wine: 草頭加酒, or 洒 (酒少一横). Meanwhile for Christian, 既然所有基督徒都信天主,為什麽祇有 Catholic 稱 '天主教', it is misleading.  let's create some new translation:

Roman Catholic: 基羅教 (罗馬教會派)

Eastern Orthodox: 基正教 (希臘正教派)

Protestant: 基新教 (耶稣新教派)

Christian: 基督徒

We need to be creative when it comes to the language and its translation.  Language itself has life, it evolves with the society and the people who use it.  If it never changes, it will be like Latin, an obsolete language.  A good language should remove words and expressions which confuse its users as much as possible.

From Balboa to Lewis & Clark

From 15th century to 19 century, for about 400 years, while the expedition of Chen Ho of Ming Dynasty came to a screeching halt, the west started an age of discovery, exploration and expedition one after the other. First Diaz found the southern tip of the continent, the cape of good hope. Followed with Columbus expedition to the west and found a new land. Then Vasco da Gama found a new passage to go around the cape of good hope to India. Eventually Balboa led a team of explorers reaching a mountain top of Panama and saw the immense Pacific, called South Sea at that time. He was the first white man to see Pacific from the Europe side. Balboa passed through Panama Isthmus, a short cut to reach Pacific. Since then Spain dominated and monopolized the trade route between Europe and the South/Central America. 

Meanwhile other countries like English, France and Holland were scrambled to find new passage through the northwest. First John Cabot sailed for England. He was born in Genoa, same city as Columbus. He sailed with a small ship Mathew with 18 sailors in 1497. He didn't find India or China. Instead he found Newfoundland and the North America. In 1520, Magellan passed the tip of South America, sailed into Pacific and eventually reach Philippine. With this success, many Europeans were eager to do something similar through the northwest. In 1524, John Verrazano sailed for France, went northwest and found Hudson River and Long Island. In 1534, Another French navigator, Jacques Cartier followed the similar route and found Gulf of St. Lawrence, sailed inland to Quebec. However, he failed to find a new passage to China either. For consolation, he claimed what he found the land as New France and gave it to the King of France. In 1607, Hudson sailed for a trade company of England, . He entered Arctic Ocean and got stopped by the frigid ice. The Dutch East Indian Company heard the news and hired Hudson immediately to find another passage to the east in order to compete with Portuguese. Hudson sailed a ship called 'Half Moon' in 1609, he found the Hudson Bay and Hudson River. But China was nowhere to be seen. Spanish was lucky to pick the route to Central America, especially Panama Isthmus, a short cut to Pacific. In North America, the situation is complete different. It is a land mass of 4,000 miles across and most rivers go south that hampers the travel from the east to west. No ship can take advantage for such a long land travel. It was not until 1803, when Thomas Jefferson got a great deal to buy Louisiana Territory from Napoleon. The Louisiana Territory is much larger than the current Louisiana State. It is actually about the same size of the United States at the time of 1800. In other words, the United States suddenly becomes twice in size with half of it without people living there except Indians. The Louisiana Purchase may be the largest peaceful transfer of territory in recorded history. It helped turn the United States into a great power and was an event of far reaching importance. 

Thomas Jefferson is a great statesman and a visionary. He is well versed in the new idea of John Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau. He drafted the Declaration Of Independence and well read in books about exploration. Jefferson had read Captain James Cook's A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean , and Le Page du Pratz's The History of Louisiana, all of which greatly influenced his decision to send an expedition. Jefferson also wished to discover a practical route through the Northwest to the Pacific coast. At that time Alexander Mackenzie's Voyages from Montreal (1801) informed Jefferson (who read the book at Monticello in 1802) of Britain's intent to control the lucrative fur trade of the Columbia River, and convinced him of the importance of securing the territory as soon as possible. He realized the importance of the exploration of this new land just purchased and anxious to find a new passage to the Pacific. With this he can be sure the America can claim the new territory with confidence and the country will span two oceans eventually. 

The Lewis and Clark Expedition may not be the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States. Robert Gray did two expeditions around 1792, found and named Columbia River. British navigator George Vancouver organized several explorations around the same area between 1792 and 1795. Gray did not publish any journal or details about his findings. Vancouver did use his findings and published the results. This is the reason why we hear the city Vancouver and the region of British Columbia in Canada these days. It is part of the credit of Vancouver to the British Empire. If it were not the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the current Washington and Oregon States might have become part of Canada. This shows how important the vision of Jefferson was at that time. His Louisiana Purchase and his finance to initiate the expedition changes the course of history.  With the study of history and hindsight, Thomas Jefferson is almost equivalent to Prince Henry, the Navigator of America.

The Lewis and Clark departed in May 1804, from near St. Louis making their way westward through the continental divide to Columbia River and to the Pacific coast. The perilous journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Native American tribes. The journal and record of Lewis and Clark are detail enough to be very valuable in later time. 

From 1400 to 1800, for about 400 years, China went from Chen Ho's expedition to a country which almost has nothing to do with the navigation and exploration. Worse off, the court of Ming Dynasty burned and destroyed most valuable records of Chen Ho's expedition which lasted from 1403 to 1433. A whole thirty years of record disappeared from the thin air. To many Chinese, this is really heart broken, especially when they get the chance to read James Cook's A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile the west tried every way they could to find new passages to the east. The result is that they discovered all the new lands and claimed them for their nations to eventually dominated the world affairs. The Age of the Great Discovery brought new order and established a new political formation of the modern world we live in today. 

My Father-In-Law

My father-in-law was very influential among his many relatives and friends. His recent passed away caused a lot of reaction and discussion among many of his social circle. The first time I met him was in 1970. It was the time of my wedding day with Christine. He was then 49, a rather young businessman with ambition. He held a celebrated wedding reception in down town Dallas, Statler Hilton. I remember I was working on my doctorate dissertation and many of my advisers attended the dinner. He ordered some rather sumptuous thick steaks and wines for the party. We all had a very memorable gathering at the time. We then rented an Impala Duster, drove from Dallas to Disneyland in LA. I remember the interstate highway 10 is straight and wide. In some section of the highway, I drove at 110 miles per hour speed. Imagine at that time, there was no seat-belt law. He was very nervous about my driving style. But it was too late as he already wrote a bill of sale as he always said that he handed me Christine in the wedding chapel.

My father-in-law was a man of high energy type. He walked faster than most people of his age. I still remember the episode at Oakland in 1980's. He liked to walk around Lake Merritt. On that sunny afternoon, he walked way ahead of me and left me in the dust. It was a humiliating experience for me. His early career was quite successful in the steel business by dismantling or scrapping some good old ships, commercial or military. Before 趙耀東 took over 中鋼公司, my father-in-law ran the show for several years. He was very proud of what he had done in 高雄 at that time. In the reunion of the 50th Anniversary of our NTUEE64, we had a trip around the island. When we arrived 高雄 and had a harbor cruise tour. Christine was so moved and nostalgic when she saw the new and improved harbor and those shipyards used to dismantle scrapped ships. She was in tear and said it should have been a great experience if her dad gets another chance to see this harbor and do the job once more. 

Once in 1970, my father-in-law bid the Queen Elizabeth II (good old British pride, Britannia Rules) in Florida with Tong How Yuen (董浩雲), a shipping tycoon and magnate. That was a big news at that time. Tong later talked him out of the deal as Tong wanted to build a University-On-The-Sea (海上大學). His argument was that building a university is much more meaningful than creating a pile of steel scrap. Profit or not, we should create something valuable for the History. Tong won the bid and towed the good old Queen Elizabeth II to Hongkong. Unfortunately, the ship caught fire while moored in Hongkong. Rumor said the communist was the culprit as Tong wanted the ship flying the flag of the Republic of China, not People Republic of China. This shows the difference of only one word can change the course of the world history.

理性開明時代

理性是一種包容和沒有偏見的思想. 

開明是一種信念,相信用理性和科學方法可以促進人類文明,達到至善的社會和世界. 

文藝復興以後，歷史上又出現另一個光輝的時代，那就是通稱的'理性時代', Age of Reason (1620-1720). 無獨有偶,在理性時代之後又出現了一個更光輝而燦爛的時代,那是'開明時代', Age of Enlightenment (1720-1790). 大部分歷史書把這兩個時代連起來講,因為年代太接近,可以一以貫之。光看年代不太清楚這兩個時代究竟有什麼不同。最好的方法是列举這些時代的名人，然後去了解和探討其間的不同及因素。 

Age of Reason (1620-1720), 代表人物: 

Bacon (1561–1626), Galileo (1564-1642), Hobbes (1588-1679), Descartes (1596-1690), Pascal (1623–1662), Spinoza (1632-1677), Leibniz (1646-1716), Locke (1632–1704)

這個時代注重在哲学思想和方法論. 這時期影响最大的是笛卡兒 (Descartes). 

他的名言: 

Cogito Ergo Sum (Latin)

I Think, Therefore I Am. (English)

我思故我在 (Chinese)

Age of Enlightenment (1720-1790), 代表人物: 

Newton (1642-1726), Berkeley (1685-1753), Voltaire (1694-1778), Hume (1711-1776), Montesquieu (1689-1755), Rousseau (1772-1778), Diderot (1713-1784), Ben Franklin (1705-1790), Lavoisier (1743-1794), James Cook (1728-1779), Adam Smith (1723-1790)

這個時代側重在科学應用到社會,地理,歷史,經濟及政治哲学. 這時期影响最大的是 牛頓,伏尔泰和亞當斯密 (Adam Smith). 這時期影响最大的是伏尔泰 (Voltaire) .

他的名言: 

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. 

Age of Reason brought together the fruits of Renaissance and the concept of Reason.

Age of Enlightenment brought together the ideas of the Reason and the Scientific Revolution.

為方便起見，以下的討論可以同時適用在理性和開明時代，姑且稱之"理性開明時代"

This age generated some constructive and destructive power that shaped the new world. The ideals of liberty and reason helped to shape the government of the new country created by that revolution-the United States of America. The same idea also caused the downfall of the French Monarch and created the French Revolution.

We already mentioned the Masters of Renaissance, let's talk about the scholars of the Reason and Enlightenment. First, there were scientists who led the way out of the Renaissance; Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo showed that the idea of an Earth-Centered universe was wrong. Descartes had created a scientific philosophy for seeking truth. Everything had to be tested by the standard of reason. This idea was the basic to the Enlightenment. The epitome of the scientific revolution was Isaac Newton. He discovered the gravitation and the relation between force and matter. He published his master work, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. He unified all the previous scientific findings in this book.

Armed with the legacy of Renaissance and the concept of Reason, a new breed of the scholars began to influence the world. They are called Philosophes. They set forth the idea that people could apply reason to all aspects of life just as Newton had applied reason to science. At the heart of their mind were five ideas:

1. Reason: was the absence of intolerance, bigotry, or prejudice in one's thinking.

2. Nature: was good and reasonable. There were natural laws of economics and politics just as there were natural laws of motion.

3. Happiness: a person who lived by nature's laws would find happiness.

4. Progress: They believed in progress for society via scientific approach. They believed society and humankind could be perfected.

5. Liberty: Through reason, the philosophes believed, society could be set free.

Voltaire and his scholarly friends honoured reason as if it were a kind of divine force. They think, through the power of reason, society would make steady progress toward liberty and justice.

黄仁宇寫了一本書"萬曆十五年",英文名 "A Year of No Significance" (無足輕重的年代). 萬曆十五年乃西元 1587年,正是文藝復興的末尾和理性時代的開始. 在這時期,西方經文藝復興的洗禮,在文化上已凌駕東方,可是相差还不太遠. 可是從 1620 年後,西方開始以快速的脚步把東方遠遠抛在後面,其最大的原因就是東方缺乏理性和開明的思想. 中國的理学在宋朝已發跡,到明朝王陽明更發揚光大. 可是中国理学太著重儒学的改造和新的銓釋,又在缺乏科学的支持和應用,開明思想没法深耕,所以在政治经济和一些民生有關的新观念没法產生. 尤其是在政治思想上,東方一直没有突破,其呆滞一直延續到二十一世紀. 勉強可以提到是明朝黄宗羲的'明夷待訪錄'. 可是他的開明思想祇是在纸上,一直没受到社會的重視,更不用提其影响力了. 至於兩千三百年前孟子的'民本君轻'思想,一直是口號而已. 天子的观念在中國根深蒂固,專制思想没有消失,一直到二十世纪才稍有改变. 但天子雖去,專制政杈思想和制度还在继续,不知何日真正的民本政治才能在中國發揚光大.

文藝復興

在人類的歷史進程中，大部分是在求生存和戰爭，能夠在文化上大放異彩,百花齊放的時日並不太多，也可說是少之又少。在西方首先是希臘城邦的興起，其成就是五百年的文化奇蹟。幾乎同時，中華文化正值春秋戰國時代，各家思想斉放，爭奇鬪艶，是文化的盛世。從此以後，西方進入了文化冬眠期，一直要到十四世纪時才现曙光。東方則有漢唐盛世，可是思想統一，並不是百齊放的文明異彩。

自從罗馬帝国衰亡,蛮人入侵，教會勢力興起,西方文明遁入黑暗時期。當時教會控制思想，神聖罗馬帝國掌握欧洲軍事，一直到十四世紀以後,神聖罗馬帝國衰頹和教皇移居 Avignon 以後，義大利北部方出現了一些自治的城邦如 Milan, Genoa, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Venice 等等。這些城市類似希臘城邦，地方不大,但有足夠的勤奮市民，因经商而致富. 他們大多有一技之長，有創新和獨立的精神。在這种背景和環境下，意大利北部從西元 1300 到 1600,創造了一個文明盛世,史稱 '文藝復興' (Renaissance).  Renaissance 是 Rebirth, 是希臘文明的重生, 所以 '文藝復興' 嚴格說来,並不是正確的翻譯,應該是''文化復興".  從這裡我們似可以比較中西方的文化景观. 在1300年以前，中国经歷漢唐盛世而西方是在黑暗時代,整体来說中華文化比西方强盛而輝煌. 到文藝復興以後中国進入明请朝代,西方始慢慢追上中國. 所以文藝復興在中西文化比较上或競爭上是一個重要的轉折点。這是西方追上東方的 Turning Point. 西方真正超越東方而把東方遠抛其後,則是要等到另一個文化轉折点，那是 '理性時代' 和 '開明時代'，(Age of Reason and Age of Enlightenment) 大约是 1650-1790. 這是後話，讓我們先檢視文藝復興的意義和精神。

中古时期，希臘文明在宗教的控制下幾乎绝跡，文藝復興的人們想找回希臘古文明,在這進程中他們不但找回一些寶贵的文化遗產,也創造了一些新的文明。文藝復興的人們不但在心智上和藝術上有驚人的創造力,更重要的是人們对自己和周遭世界皆有一個和以前中世纪完全不同的看法。那是对現世的尊重和享受人生也不亵贖神的旨意。

文藝復興從義大利北部興起,以 Florence 最為重要. 初期三傑是 Giotto (壁畫), Dante (文学), Petrarch (詩人). 這時期強調的是: Celebration of the Individual, Love of Classical Learning and Enjoyment of Worldly Pleasures.

中期四傑是: Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Machiavelli. 前三名是人類藝術史上三位巨星,永遠照耀,到現在还在影响著人們。尤其是 Michelangelo 在 Sistine Chapel 畫的 '創世纪'，每年皆有百萬人去观赏. Machiavelli 寫了一本書 "The Prince" (王子論). 其影响深遠到現在很多政府首腦皆要研讀的一本名著，就好像军事將领皆要研讀孫子或克勞塞维兹的兵法一樣。另一位值得一提的是 Gutenberg (古騰堡). 他的印刷術在 1454 年後,席捲全欧,普及智識和促進思想的解放，這是直接促成以後的理性和開明時代。

文藝復興後期是把新思潮往北欧傳播，並促成新航路的冒險活動,其结果是驚天動地而影响非常深遠。

反观中國在1300-1600 年時是元朝和明朝時期，除了明成祖時的郑和七次下西洋外,並無在文化上有驚人之擧. 最可惜的是明成祖去世後,所有有關鄭和航海的活动皆被束之高閣. 更令人扼腕的是所有有關鄭和的航海資料一律銷毀,從歷史上蒸發,消失. 當時從政的儒家學者和思想在此和文藝復興的思維大相逕庭,背道而馳. 從此以後西方凌駕東方,開始以雷挺萬鈞之势,席捲世界。

賽金花

珍珠與金花,那個漂亮? 答案是兩者皆燦爛奪目,令人目眩神迷. 珍珠过後,現在我們來談金花.

賽金花 乃清末名妓,其初名为趙彩云,又名傅彩云,安徽黟县人. 幼年被卖到苏州的所谓“花船”上為妓。1887年 適逢前科狀元洪鈞回鄉守孝,对彩云一見倾心，遂纳為妾,洪时年48岁,傅彩云年僅15岁,可謂老夫少妾。不久,洪鈞奉旨為駐俄罗斯帝国,德意志帝国,奥匈帝国,荷蘭四国公使，其原配夫人畏懼華洋異俗,遂借誥命服飾给彩云,命她陪同洪鈞出洋. 後随洪鈞歸国,不久洪病死。1894年,傅彩云被洪府遺棄,無以為生,乃至上海重操舊業,改名“曹梦蘭”. 後至天津,改名“赛金花”. 1900年八国联军攻陷北京时,居北京石頭胡同為妓,曾与部分德国军官有过接觸,尤其是她和瓦德西在柏林有一面之緣,使她和八國聯軍有一段互動,施展她的影響力。1903年在北京因涉嫌虐待幼妓致死(真相不明)而入獄,解返苏州后出獄再至上海. 晚年生活窮困潦倒, 1936年病死于北京. 以上是她簡略的一生.

所以賽女士原姓趙,賽姓乃她後來自封,與賽珍珠女士之名有異曲同工之妙. 總之她們的名字真是金光燦爛, 光彩奪目,令人遐想不已. 比起珍珠女士, 金花身世可憐多了. 她小時父親病故,母親不能養她,賣給妓女院,從此一生一世不得翻身. 想來令人唏噓, 妓女這一行是社會的底層,是人類文明的第一行業.,可是不管妓女多風光有名,總是被大眾輕視,甚或不齒. 奉勧天下父母親,不管情況怎麼艱苦,千萬不要逼女兒為娼.,這是最不明智的投資. 話說回來, 天下父母鮮有擇娼為業, 實乃無以為生啊. 這是社會制度不健全和陰暗的一面. 想起台湾以前的養女制度,那也是令人悲傷的社會現像. 說起來也是一種另類的悲慘世界. 金花女士碰到貴人,搖身一變為狀元夫人,羨煞其他妓女. 可是好景不長,洪鈞先生撒手西歸,金花女土居然被洪府掃地出門,其理由不外是前妓女的身分不被見容, 哀哉,真是人間妓女冷暖情. 

賽女士有一段堪稱幸福風光的日子. 洪鈞娶她為妾,事事依她,在他保護之下,洪夫人也不敢太欺負她. 她的轉運則是洪鈞奉派出使西洋,洪夫人不願意在番邦生活. 這正中賽女士的下懷. 她在家中有時受氣, 閒言閒語,对前妓女總是不好受. 於是她毛遂自薦,要伴洪公出使西洋. 這有奌類似文成公主的故事. 唐初李世民把兄弟建城和元吉解決掉,其族人皆被殺或賣為奴. 唯有元吉之妻女被留下來,此女後被封文成公主. 所以文成在宮中並不快樂,因為她是失敗的族人之一,免不了別人有閒言閒語. 机會終於來到,西藏松贊干布 來唐娶親, 所有大牌公主皆拒之,唯文成公主認為是新生的机運. 金花女士出洋當公使夫人,正中下懷.求之不得. 周旋於番邦貴人之社交圈,三年有奇. 居然脫胎換骨,落落大方,學會德文和英文,並有机會和德皇威廉二世及英國維多利亜女皇握手寒喧. 在以後八國聯軍攻佔北京,居然大派用場,充分發揮她的影響力. 厂史風雲際會,時代創造英雄(雌),如是焉.

賽女士在柏林時曾受邀在宮庭認識瓦德西元帥,相談甚歡,這是一面之緣,卻在拳乱時,影響了好多人的生命和生活. 瓦德西是德皇威廉二世的大將軍 (Field Marshal),可說是毛奇 (Moltke) 將軍的継承人. 德文 Alfred Graf von Waldersee. Waldersee (瓦德西) (英意譯 Forest Lake, 中文可譯’ 森林湖’. 德國人对湖情有獨衷, Immensee (茵夢湖) 就是一本浪漫的小說. 話說瓦德西元帥, 1900年時奉派指揮八國聯軍,來華興師問罪. 老福爺慈禧西奔, 不顧百姓. 當此生靈塗炭時,賽女士看不慣德國兵在大街小巷胡作非為,用德語罵出,一語驚人. 又道出和瓦將軍是老相好,一時德國兵全愣住了. 從此以後,她進出紫禁城,如魚得水,遇見瓦將軍,重敘舊誼. 就在這段時日, 他至少做了三件大事. 一是聯軍掠奪小民的事馬上減少很多, 二是幫助北京商人和聯軍做民生和聯軍的伙食 生意, 三是和克林德夫人及瓦將軍談妥拳乱的責任歸屬條件. 克林德乃是被義和團殺害的德國公使. 一時好多滿清 王公貴族和李鴻章皆来求她幫忙,稱她為賽二爺,比老福爺衹差一級,真是時勢創造英雌,一奌不假. 坊間不少 傳言說賽女士和瓦將軍在慈禧的金鑾殿,曾有一段風光的日子,這些也許是文人雅士的一些綺想,沒有資科佐証. 尤其是德國人更是不相信. 不管如何,電影照演,罗曼史飘飘,無遠弗界,沛然不能抵禦.

世事難料,八國聯軍離開後,金花女士的保護傘不見了,她的影響力也一下跌到谷底. 衹因為她是妓女, 再也沒人看得起她,以前的功蹟也沒人提起,真是冷暖人間冷暖情. 連以前她幫助过的從良妓女也不認她, 真是今人唏噓不已,為她叫屈. 賽女士後来還嫁过兩次,結果丈夫皆先她而去. 失去男人保護的舊時代女性 很難自力更生,她衹好三番兩次重操舊業,越陷越深. 1936年,時代的傳奇女性 賽金花終於殞世, 身無分文,也無親朋奔喪. 後人也沒在北京替她立碑,紀念或感謝她在拳乱時期的貢獻. 鳴呼,感嘆國人缺乏对從良妓女的寬容和禮義之邦應有的德行.

最美麗的中國名字 --- 兩位賽女士對中國的影響

賽珍珠和賽金花

賽是 ‘比美’, What more can you ask from a name if it is prettier than pearl or prettier than golden flower. 

這兩位女士, 除了在姓氏以外, 似乎沒有相同之處, 唯一可說的是她們對中國的影響力. 有趣們是兩位女士本皆不姓賽, 賽珍珠是曾經在中國長大的美國人.賽珍珠的姓是 Sydenstricker, 取其音賽 (Sy). 而賽金花本姓 趙或曹, 是後來在上海開 '金大班' 時才冠上賽金花這名字.

賽珍珠生於1892年6月26日，美國西維吉尼亞州的 Hillsboro, 出生時頭髮是金黃色,皮膚白皙,眼睛是藍色的,像珍珠一樣的可愛,因此就取名為 '珍珠' (Pearl). 在1973年3月6日去世,享年80歲。賽珍珠的父親 賽兆祥 Absalom Sydenstricker 於1880 年以基督教長老教會牧師 (Southern Presbyterian Missionary Minister) 名義到中國傳教.

賽珍珠出生三個月後就被父母帶來中國,在中國住了40年,八十歲死於美國. 她的一生有一半在中國度过,所以中國和美國對她而言,都是祖國,她同樣熱愛這兩個國家. 因為賽珍珠曾經在中國住過40年,以及她曾經閱讀過許許多多的中國小說,因此她承認當她在描寫有關中國人的英文小說時,她是先用中文來思考,然後再以英文來表達,這就是賽珍珠與西方作家們最大的不同之處,這也是為什麼賽珍珠描寫中國人的小說會如此逼真之原因。和賽女士相反卻又相似表現法是林語堂. 他是中國人,用英文寫'吾國吾民'和'生活的藝術',介紹中國文化給世人. 林語堂是用中文思考然後翻譯成英文. 对林語堂說英語不是母語,傳神程度有一定的折扣. 好在林先生的英文功力還算高深,至少彌補了不少缺陷. 由於賽珍珠所寫的小說背景都是中國和中國人民,因此美國文學批評界人士皆認賽珍珠是寫中國故事的大師.

賽珍珠生前曾經多次出入中國教書,並對當地民風和各大事件留下深厚的感情,也因此將之融入到了往後的許多作品當中. 1937年抗日戰爭爆發後,她為中國人民的反侵略戰爭奔走. 許許多多美國人正是通過賽珍珠的小說了解到中國,為中國人民的抗日戰爭解囊相助.

賽女士曾批評蔣介石獨裁,國民政府拒絕參加她的諾貝爾文學獎領獎儀式. 她曾經同情中共,讚許毛澤東. 認為當時的中共是「完全為老百姓的事業著想」. 由於她同情中國革命,在二戰結束後,賽珍珠因「親共」而上了中央情報局的黑名單,被懷疑是共產黨,黑檔案長達300頁. 由於她對中華人民共和國成立後中共部分做法的批評立場,中華人民共和國政府成立後,她的作品在中國大陸長期被打壓,大陸文化界攻擊她是「美國反動文人」和「美帝國主義文化侵略的急先鋒」. 1972年美國總統尼克森訪華兩個月後,賽珍珠也向新聞媒體宣布自己即將訪華,但隨後遭到中華人民共和國政府拒絕. 從以上事件,我們可以認識他的為人和理念,不奉承阿諛,就事論事的處世態度. 作為一位有良知的文人,她值得我們欽佩.

因為賽珍珠曾經在安徽的農村生活過五年之久,與中國農民朝夕相處,她親眼目睹中國窮苦農民飢餓的情形,以及很多中國舊社會中悲慘的事情,如婆婆虐待媳婦,逼媳婦上吊自殺等等現象發生. 還有那些地方上的軍閥相互攻打,欺壓善良的老百姓. 再加上童年的親身經驗,中國北方發生大飢荒,無數的災民湧到賽珍珠家的門口,行乞討飯吃. 賽珍珠的母親總會竭盡所能的,給他們食物,但是終究無法應付得了成千上萬的饑民,每天早上總有士兵來把躺在她家門口,餓死災民的屍體抬走.

"大地" 一書中也提到,王龍的妻子阿蘭是沒有裹小腳的,原本王龍是十分嫌棄的,但是王龍的爹卻很開明的說：「我們要裹小腳的幹嘛？我們是要娶來幫我們種田的！」可見當時中國封建社會,對於裹小腳一事是非常重視的. 再者書中的主角之一阿蘭,也將中國傳統女性的美德表露無遺. 王龍晚年想要納妾的時候,雖然阿蘭不願意,但是終究還是答應了,但是她卻說出：「我是給你生了三個兒子的。」賽珍珠非常瞭解中國傳統「重男輕女」的思想和「母以子貴」的觀念. "大地" 應該是世界上最偉大的小說之一. 卡昂教授評論說：「賽珍珠是西方作家中，第一個把中國人的生活描寫成普通正常生活的人，而不是把它描寫成什麼東方奇觀或天方夜譚。」賽珍珠以平舖直敘的手法,向讀者講述中國農民的生活故事以及他們所面臨到的種種問題. 為什麼民國建立以後,中國文人在農村方面沒有深入探討和描寫,實在令人訥悶. 我們熟悉的作家如朱自清,徐志摩, 冰心,魯迅,胡適等等,皆大力吸收西方文比,介紹西方科學文學及方法論,反而对中國農村不聞不問,或是認為腐朽不值得浪費時光去著墨,這誠然是很可惜的事.

一位作家與在地的人,事,物,做實際的對話,而且是來自最基層的聲音,並且用心來體會這樣的真實接觸,將是其作品是否能夠成為偉大,最重要的關鍵所在. 也就是說作家必須要有切身的經歷,才有可能寫出打動人心的作品,否則只是一些華而不實的作品而已. 賽女士在中國的實地經驗是非常寶貴的,也就是她為什麼能寫出打動人心的作品. 希望不久的將來,在台灣也能有一位像賽珍珠一樣的作家,真心地融入到台灣的社會,以台灣為故事背景,寫出足以媲美 "大地" 的作品來,更能得到世人的共鳴而得到諾貝爾文學獎. 

在賽女士的小說裏,描繪豐厚的土地也是農民的負擔,自耕農的日子並非田園詩寫得那麽輕鬆自在. 小説多處寫到耕作的艱辛,也藉以刻畫出中國農民特有的勤懇和堅忍. 賽珍珠曾與她農學家的丈夫深入安徽農村,做過多年考察,對農村生活,她瞭解的程度並不次於很多以進步自詡的中國作家. 但她的同情與關切是入乎其中又出乎其外的,她畢竟來自美國,客觀的眼光使她的思想感情避免了五四話語的激化,比如壞地主如何剝削或好窮人如何反抗之類的煽情故事就沒有感染到她的小説講述. 她書中詳敍的主要是她親眼所見的兩大災難：王龍辛苦勞作多年,才買得少量土地,一場旱災便打擊得他瀕臨破產. 可見農家受到的最大威脅即天災的破壞,而另一個威脅則是太多的窮人包圍著極少的富戶,社會稍失穩定,便發生各種形式的搶劫. 是土匪的搶劫直接導致了黃大戶家的衰敗,後來王龍家稍顯富足,荒年中即遭村中饑民哄搶. 再往後,王龍夫婦逃荒城市,也是趁亂民搶大戶之機發了橫財,就靠那些竊來的金銀珠寶,他們才大買土地,拔了窮根. 致富之後,王龍之所以隱忍叔父的無賴,白養他一家,就因那傢伙勾結了土匪. 王龍的整個經歷都表明,天災和掠奪經濟的惡性循環不只阻止了農村經濟的充分發展,還進一步造成更大的貧窮。

在中國江西九江廬山,江蘇鎮江,安徽宿州,南京大學,至今保存著當年賽珍珠生活過的故居.1990年代晚期,中美兩國展開了一系列圍繞賽珍珠的文化交流. 2001年羅燕改編賽珍珠小說《群芳庭》並自己擔任女主角,由好萊塢環球電影公司和北京電影製片廠聯合攝製的電影《庭院裡的女人》在中國和美國同時公演.

提到林語堂,他和賽女士有一段因緣和恩怨. 赛珍珠生于1892年,比出生于1895年的林语堂大三岁. 赛珍珠的父母是传教士,而林语堂父亲也是传教士,母亲是基督教信徒. 只是赛氏父母是到中国传教的美国人,而林语堂父亲则是在中国传教的中国人. 賽女士出生在基督傳教士家庭,但卻反對傳教. 在中國,美國許多地方,她公開聲稱她極為討厭那些「喋喋不休的佈道」,說傳教士佈道只會「扼殺思想，蠱惑人心，在中國教會裡製造出一批偽君子」. 大概賽女士近朱則赤,深喑一些傳教的黑暗面. 這裏想起宋耀如大賣聖經而發財,教出三位留美的宋家三女士,叱吒風雲,影響中國厂史一百多年. 傳教士优劣各有,互有千秋.

賽珍珠有許多中國友人,包括徐志摩,林語堂,胡適等人. 林語堂在美國出版的 '吾國吾民' 和 '生活的藝術',皆受到賽珍珠的支持和幫忙. 賽珍珠邀請林語堂在美國發表作品,使林的《吾國與吾民》在美國一砲而紅.

林语堂曾全力以赴研究中文打字机,结果将自己的全部积蓄40多万美元都花在上面,最后不得不向朋友借钱. 此时林语堂当然首先想到多年合作的老朋友也是很富裕的赛珍珠,但令林语堂吃惊的是他吃了闭门羹,赛珍珠没有借钱给他. 这大大刺痛了林语堂的自尊心. 直接导致林,赛关系破裂的是,林语堂后来知道在与赛氏夫妇多年的合作中他在经济上吃了大虧. 本来在美国一般出版社拿10%的版税,而赛珍珠夫妇出版林语堂的书却拿50%,并且版权还不属于林语堂,而是仍属公司所有. 这时林语堂才恍然大悟,原来赛珍珠开出版社也是为了赚钱的,而且他多年来吃的虧太大了. 对此,林语堂委托律师向赛珍珠要回所有著作的版权,并且态度非常坚决,一点也没有回旋的餘地. 接到这个消息,赛珍珠感到突然和吃惊,她打电话给林语堂的女儿林太乙,追问她的爸爸林语堂是不是疯了? 后来,林语堂要到南洋大学任校长,为此他打电报跟赛珍珠告别,结果林语堂没有收到回复. 为此,林语堂感到非常恼火,他痛心地说：“我看穿了一个美国人。”从此以后，两个有着近20年合作关系和深厚友谊的作家就这样义断情绝了,他们就像一条河流在某一处分开后,再也没有汇合过.

以上一些糾紛在林太乙的書中('林語堂傳'和'林家次女') 有一些描述. 我個人認為這是兩人方面的誤會,很可惜沒有人中間調停,打圓場. 就像李楊在物理研究上,無法解開誤會,誠然可惜. 林語堂當初和人簽合同,也出了名,賺到錢,實在不該放馬後砲. 做人圓通些,給人賺些錢也是應該的. 至於賽女士有沒有存心騙錢很難說. 也許她認為當年林語堂沒沒無聞,在美國又人地生疏,她的道義幫忙比起區區版說可說意義大多了. 這事也讓我想起 TV 一個節目 "Judge Judy". 這位女法官專門審理一些小案件,什斗小民,十年朋友,少時同窗,常為了一些金錢小事,对簿公堂,從此情義断絕,十年友誼全數泡湯. 人生,人生,為什麼有那麼多人想不開?