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憶 祖 母！ 紀毓鼎（1915-2005）
Remembering My Grandma
譯者 Tanslator：Crystal Tai (the author's granddaughter)
余之能有此生，皆沐祖母所賜。余剛出生時突然落地，撞傷頭部，腦部右上方腫起一個蛋黃般大的血瘤。全家驚惶萬分！所幸舅公家的孫姓佃農有子名孫子實，是針灸外科。祖母當機立斷，許以重酬，請他施治。到第三日，瘤漸柔軟，祖母又請孫子實在家神前焚香禱祝，然後用小銅刀刺破瘤，擠出膿及淤血，悉心調治，竟告痊癒！
My grandmother saved my
life. When I was a newborn, I suddenly fell onto the floor and hit my head. A
bump as big as an egg yolk emerged from the upper right corner of my head. My
whole family was shocked and scared! Fortunately, one of my great uncle's
tenant farmers had a son who practiced surgical acupuncture. His name was Sun
Zishi (Sun was his family name, given the surname-first Chinese name order). My
grandma immediately decided to have him treat me, promising him a big reward.
Three days later, the bump softened. Grandma asked Dr. Sun to burn some incense
and pray to the family alter before piercing the bump with a little copper
knife. He squeezed pus and static blood. Then he took great care of the
incision. It turned to heal completely!
當時曾祖辛伯公，祖父朗軒公，叔祖父燿軒公均已謝世。家政由祖母主持。祖母系出鍾氏望族，住揚州左衛街。舅公鍾養之為鹽業钜戶。
At the time my great
grandfather Xinbo, grandfather Langxuan and great uncle Yaoxuan had all passed
away. Grandma was the head of the household. Grandma came from the prestigious
Zhong family living on Zuowei street in Yangzhou City. Her brother Zhong
Yangzhi was a tycoon in the salt industry.
祖母非常仁愛慈祥。余幼時從未見她發過脾氣。雖然那時家中有糧行錢莊田地，事務冗雜，加上揚州舅公也在鄉下擁有良田數頃，其集轂倉就在我家溝北。一切照顧佃農，修整農具，滙寄款項事務，都是我家幫忙。祖母指揮若定，井井有條。
Grandma was very kind and
loving. In my childhood, I never saw her losing her temper despite how much
stress she had. Our family had a rice business, a private bank, and rice
fields, with many tedious things going on. My great uncle in Yangzhou also
owned some fertile land in our village. His barn was north of our villa. Our
family helped him with all he had to do for tenant farmers, farming tool
maintenance, and money translations. Grandma calmly took charge of all these
matters and kept everything organized.
由於祖上歷任學官，而民國成立之初，社會風氣一時難以改變，因而我家依舊一派官場氣習。記得有塾師，帳房，管事，門房，大廚，爐灶廝役，田園工人，各房僕人共二十多人。其中最資深的是大廚章四爹。他自幼為曾祖的貼身小廝，跟著見過很多世面。曾祖辭官歸隱，他就充任大廚，主理過我家四代飯食。為了尊重老人，我們小輩都喊他章四爹。他有固執的個性。那時已不尚蓄髮，但他的一根長辮子，始終不肯剪去。他很喜歡小孩。凡是為祖母特製的佳餚，都會給我們一些。逢年過節蒸糕做餅，都是我們先吃個飽。
My ancestors used to work
as government officials in the Department of Education during the Qing Dynasty.
When the Repulic of China was new, old customs remained, so my family still
appeared high-class. I remember we had a tutor, an accountant, a housekeeper, a
guard, a chef, kitchen assistants, farmer workers and servants in a total of
more than 20 people. The most senior of them was the chef, the Fourth Great
Uncle Zhang. He was my great grandfather's page boy, following my great
grandfather to many different places. When my great grandfather resigned and
returned home, he began to serve as the chef. He had been in charge of my
family's meals for four generations. To show our respect for this elderly man,
we called him the Fourth Great Uncle Zhang. He had a stubborn side. When men's
long hair was no longer in vogue, he kept his long queue and wouldn't cut it
off. He was very fond of children. Whenever he made some special gourmet dishes
for Grandma, he would give some to us. He would also let us have lots of the
steamed rice cakes and pancakes made for Chinese New Year or other holidays.
章四爹之外，最受尊重的是胡奶奶。她侍候祖母幾十年，無微不至。章四爹每晚都經過胡奶奶向祖母請示次日她老人家需要的菜肴。但其餘菜肴他可自行調配。
Besides the Fourth Great
Uncle Zhang, Granny Hu received the most respect. She waited on Grandma for
decades, paying attention to every detail. Every evening, the Fourth Great
Uncle Zhang went through Granny Hu to ask Grandma what to cook for her the next
day. The rest of the dishes were all up to him to decide.
在祖母房內有很多大小瓷缸，裝著各色糖果糕餅。胡奶奶總是大把大把塞給我們。
In Grandma's room, there
were many porcelain containers with all kinds of candies, cookies and snacks in
them. Granny Hu always grabbed a bunch of the goodies and showered us with
them.
祖母雖養尊處優，但亦能隨遇而安。民國十六年軍閥混戰，人心惶惶，祖母乃率眾避居帳房楊爹之故里。該地水道縱橫，非船莫渡。雖蓬戶粗茶淡飯，祖母甘之若素。
Although Grandma had an
aristocratic lifestyle, she was capable of handling hardships. In 1927,
warlords were fighting and people were scared. Grandma led our whole family to
temorarily move to our accountant Uncle Yang's hometown, which was surrounded
by water, only reachable by boat. Over there, we stayed in a hut, drinking
low-quality tea and eating plain rice. Grandma was perfectly fine with that.
返家後，祖母購置每支有九發子彈的長槍，給家中守衛作自衛之用。每有潰兵前來，皆給予資助，勸其解甲歸田。因而吾鄉未有燒殺略奪情事，皆拜祖母之惠也。
After returning home,
Grandma purchased some long guns, each of which contained nine bullets, to
equip our guards for self defense. Whenever army deserters came, she gave them
some money and advised them to disarm themselves and return to farm work. My
hometown therefore never had any arson, homicide or robbery, all thanks to my
grandma.
祖母晚年移居東花園，日日靜心念佛。民國二十三年暑假，我亦住東花園，朝夕侍奉。七月十八日黎明前，祖母喚我起床。我扶她到便榻坐下。此時驚動胡奶奶，叫我趕快傳人。我急忙奔到西邊大宅，通知父親，二叔，二嬸。此時天尚未明，忽聞仙樂響徹天際，笙簫管笛絲竹雜呈，輕柔悅耳，令人萬慮俱淨，心生歡喜。十多分鐘後，漸遠漸渺，復歸沉寂。祖母亦安祥坐化。
Grandma moved to the
eastside garden of our villa in her last years, studying Buddhism every day.
During my summer break in 1934, I also slept in the eastside garden to keep her
company day and night. Before dawn on July 18, Grandma woke me up. I took her
arm and helped her sit down on a recliner. By this time Granny Hu had come to
us. She told me to get more help. I rushed to the westside mansion to tell my
father, second uncle and second aunt. That was before the break of dawn. We
suddenly heard ethereal music from the sky. It was a Chinese-style symphony of
wind and string instruments. It was mellifluous and pleasant, making us forget
all our concerns and feel joyful. More than 10 minutes later, the music became
more and more distant. It gradually faded away, leaving only silence to us.
Grandma quietly passed away in her seated position at the same time.
後來回味，祖母去世時傳來的仙樂，與任何音樂都有雲泥之別。況且當時天色未明，遠近又無人家，此一派天籟，是仙宮迎祖母之雅奏，應無庸置疑！
Looking back, I find the
ethereal tune I heard around my grandma's passing superior to any other piece
of music. Thinking it was before dawn and there were no other households
around, I'm sure the ethereal music was coming from heaven to welcome my
grandma. There should be no doubt about it!
祖母之喪尚未終七，已屆開學之期。逼不得已，餘乃叩辭，遠赴開封河南大學。民國二十五年夏畢業，祖母已安葬在馬家灣祖墳，與祖父合穴。余特往拜墓，叩報學成，恭抒感戴。青青古柏，鬱鬱佳城，其景其情，至今仍縈腦海，未嘗或忘...
School started before my
grandma's 49-day memorial service (it's a Chinese tradition for a deceased
person's descendants to stay nearby for the memorial service taking place at a
Buddhist temple for 49 days). I had no choice but bow to bid farewell to my
grandma's coffin, leaving for Henan University in Kefeng City. I graduated in
summer 1936. Grandma had been resting in our family cemetery in Majiawan, right
beside my granddad. I made a special trip to the cemetery. While kneeling in
front of her grave, I told her that I had finished college and expressed my
deep gratitude to her. Verdant are the cypress trees providing lush shade for
the cemetery. That beautiful and emotional scene still stays on my mind. I've
never forgotten it at any moment of my life…。
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【法奶日報www.lulijen.com2015.4.7.出刊，第9-1365號】