A sudden gust of cool wind under the slaty sky, and raindrops will start pitter-pattering. Soon when the rain is over, the clouds begin gradually to roll towards the west and the sun comes out in the blue sky. Some idle townsfolk, wearing lined or unlined clothing made of thick cloth, will come out pipe in mouth and, loitering under a tree by the end of a bridge, exchange leisurely conversation with acquaintances with a slight touch of regret at the passing of time:

"可不是吗？一层秋雨一层凉了！"




"Oh, real nice and cool."

北方的果树，到秋天，也是一种奇景。第一是枣子树，屋角，墙头，茅房边上，灶房门口，它都会一株株地长大起来。像橄榄又像鸽蛋似的这枣子颗儿，在 小椭圆形的细叶中间，显出淡绿微黄的颜色的时候，正是秋的全盛时期，等枣树叶落，枣子红完，西北风就要起来了，北方便是沙尘灰土的世界，只有这枣子、柿子、葡萄，成熟到八九分的七八月之交，是北国的清秋的佳日，是一年之中最好也没有的Golden Days。




Fruit trees in the North also make a wonderful sight in autumn. Take jujube tree for example. They grow everywhere - around the corner of a house, at the foot of a wall, by the side of a latrine or outside a kitchen door. It is at the height of autumn that jujubes, shaped like dates or pigeon eggs, make their appearance in a light yellowish-green amongst tiny elliptic leaves. By the time when they have turned ruddy and the leaves fallen, the north-westerly wind will begin to reignsupreme and make a dusty world of the North. Only at the turn of July and August when jujubes, persimmons, grapes are 80-90 percent ripe will the North have the best of autumn - the golden days in a year.

有些批评家说，中国的文人学士，尤其是诗人，都带着很浓厚的颓废的色彩，所以中国的诗文里，赞颂秋的文字的特别的多。但外国的诗人，又何尝不然？ 我虽则外国诗文念的不多，也不想开出帐来，做一篇秋的诗歌散文钞，但你若去一翻英德法意等诗人的集子，或各国的诗文的Anthology来，总能够看到许 多并于秋的歌颂和悲啼。各著名的大诗人的长篇田园诗或四季诗里，也总以关于秋的部分。写得最出色而最有味。足见有感觉的动物，有情趣的人类，对于秋，总是 一样地特别能引起深沉，幽远、严厉、萧索的感触来的。不单是诗人，就是被关闭在牢狱里的囚犯，到了秋天，我想也一定能感到一种不能自已的深情，秋之于人， 何尝有国别，更何尝有人种阶级的区别呢？不过在中国，文字里有一个“秋士”的成语，读本里又有着很普遍的欧阳子的《秋声》与苏东坡的《赤壁赋》等，就觉得 中国的文人，与秋和关系特别深了，可是这秋的深味，尤其是中国的秋的深味，非要在北方，才感受得到底。




Some literary critics say that Chinese literati, especially poets, are mostly disposed to be decadent, which accounts for predominance of Chinese works singing the praises of autumn. Well, the same is true of foreign poets, isn’t it? I haven’t read much of foreign poetry and prose, nor do I want to enumerate autumn-related poems and essays in foreign literature. But, if you browse through collected works of English, German, French or Italian poets, or various countries’ anthologies of poetry or prose, you can always comes across a great many literary pieces eulogizing or lamenting autumn. Long pastoral poems or songs about the four seasons byrenowned poets are mostlydistinguished by beautiful moving lines on autumn. All that goes to show that all live creatures and sensitive humans alike are prone to the feeling of depth,remoteness, severity and bleakness. Not only poets, even convicts in prison, I suppose, have deep sentiments in autumn in spite of themselves. Autumn treats all humans alike, regardless of nationality, race or class. However, judging from Chinese idiom qiushi (autumn scholar, meaning and aged scholar grieving over frustrations in his life) and frequentselection in textbooks of Ouyang Xiu’s On the Autumn Sough and Su Dongpo’s On the Red Cliff, Chinese men of letters seem to be particularly autumn-minded. But, to know the real flavour of autumn, especiallyChina’s autumn, one has to visit the North.

南国之秋，当然也是有它的特异的地方的，比如廿四桥的明月，钱塘江的秋潮，普陀山的凉雾，荔枝湾的残荷等等，可是色彩不浓，回味不永。比起北国的秋来，正像是黄酒之与白干，稀饭之与馍馍，鲈鱼之与大蟹，黄犬之与骆驼。




Autumn in the South also has its unique features, such as the moonlit Ershisi Bridge in Yangzhou, the flowing sea tide at the Qiantangjiang River, the mist-shrouded Putuo Mountain and lotuses at the Lizhiwan Bay. But they all lack strong colour and lingering flavour. Southern autumn is to Northern autumn what yellow rice wine is to kaoliang wine, congee to steamed buns, perches to crabs, yellow dogs to camels.

秋天，这北国的秋天，若留得住的话，我愿把寿命的三分之二折去，换得一个三分之一的零头。




Autumn, I mean Northern autumn, if only it could be made to last forever! I would be more than willing to keep but one-third of my life-span and have two-thirds of it bartered for the prolonged stay of the season!

一九三四年八月，在北平。




August 1934, in Beiping.

wherever [weər´evə]   conj.无论在哪里   (初中英语单词)

recommend [,rekə´mend]   vt.推荐；使受欢迎   (初中英语单词)

atmosphere [´ætməsfiə]   n.大气；空气；气氛   (初中英语单词)

therefore [´ðeəfɔ:]   ad.&conj.因此；所以   (初中英语单词)

thence [ðens]   ad.从那里；因此   (初中英语单词)

unlike [,ʌn´laik]   a.不同的 prep.不象…   (初中英语单词)

attractive [ə´træktiv]   a.有吸引力；诱人的   (初中英语单词)

opening [´əupəniŋ]   n.开放；开端 a.开始的   (初中英语单词)

arrival [ə´raivəl]   n.到达；到达的人(物)   (初中英语单词)

willow [´wiləu]   n.柳树   (初中英语单词)

western [´westən]   a.西的；西方的   (初中英语单词)

moonlight [´mu:nlait]   n.&a.月光(的)   (初中英语单词)

imperial [im´piəriəl]   a.帝国的；庄严的   (初中英语单词)

overhead [´əuvə,hed]   ad.当头 a.在头上的   (初中英语单词)

sunlight [´sʌnlait]   n.日光   (初中英语单词)

purple [´pə:pl]   n.紫色 a.紫(红)的   (初中英语单词)

desirable [di´zaiərəbəl]   a.向往的；极好的   (初中英语单词)

underneath [,ʌndə´ni:θ]   ad.&prep.在底下   (初中英语单词)

associate [ə´səuʃieit]   v.联合a.同伴的n.伙伴   (初中英语单词)

feeble [´fi:bəl]   a.虚弱的，无力的   (初中英语单词)

abundance [ə´bʌndəns]   n.丰富，充裕   (初中英语单词)

altitude [´æltitju:d]   n.高度；海拨   (初中英语单词)

differ [´difə]   vi.不同；有差别   (初中英语单词)

height [hait]   n.高度；顶点；卓越   (初中英语单词)

pigeon [pidʒin]   n.鸽子   (初中英语单词)

literary [´litərəri]   a.文学(上)的   (初中英语单词)

mostly [´məustli]   ad.主要地；多半；通常   (初中英语单词)

poetry [´pəuitri]   n.诗；诗意   (初中英语单词)

literature [´litərətʃə]   n.文学；文献；著作   (初中英语单词)

italian [i´tæliən]   a.意大利 n.意大利人   (初中英语单词)

scholar [´skɔlə, ´skɑ-]   n.学者；奖学金获得者   (初中英语单词)

frequent [´fri:kwənt]   a.常见的，频繁的   (初中英语单词)

willing [´wiliŋ]   a.情愿的，乐意的   (初中英语单词)

serene [si´ri:n]   n.&a.清澈的；宁静的   (高中英语单词)

melancholy [´melənkəli]   n.忧郁 a.忧郁的   (高中英语单词)

wither [´wiðə]   v.(使)枯萎(衰弱)   (高中英语单词)

decade [´dekeid]   n.十年(间)   (高中英语单词)

foliage [´fəuli-idʒ]   n.叶子，簇叶   (高中英语单词)

intense [in´tens]   a.强烈的；紧张的   (高中英语单词)

strewn [stru:n]   strew的过去分词   (高中英语单词)

sweeping [´swi:piŋ]   a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除   (高中英语单词)

countless [´kauntlis]   a.无数的   (高中英语单词)

saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ]   n.言语；言论；格言   (高中英语单词)

characteristic [,kæriktə´ristik]   a.特有的 n.特性   (高中英语单词)

shrill [ʃril]   a.(声音)尖锐的   (高中英语单词)

amongst [ə´mʌŋst]   prep.其中之一 =among   (高中英语单词)

distinguished [di´stiŋgwiʃt]   a.卓越的，著名的   (高中英语单词)

sensitive [´sensitiv]   a.敏感的；感光的   (高中英语单词)

regardless [ri´gɑ:dləs]   a.不留心的；不关心的   (高中英语单词)

selection [si´lekʃən]   n.选择；选拔；精选物   (高中英语单词)

unique [ju:´ni:k]   a.唯一的 n.独一无二   (高中英语单词)

tempting [´temptiŋ]   a.引诱人的，吸引人的   (英语四级单词)

leisurely [´leʒəli]   a.从容地，慢慢地   (英语四级单词)

eastward [´i:stwəd]   a.&ad.向东(的)   (英语四级单词)

locust [´ləukəst]   n.蝗虫   (英语四级单词)

decorative [´dekərətiv]   a.装饰的   (英语四级单词)

cleaner [´kli:nə]   n.清洁工人；干洗商   (英语四级单词)

audible [´ɔ:dibəl]   a.听得见的   (英语四级单词)

bridge [bridʒ]   n.桥(梁)；鼻梁；桥牌   (英语四级单词)

pastoral [´pɑ:stərəl]   a.牧(羊)人的 n.田园诗   (英语四级单词)

severity [si´veriti]   n.严厉；严重；苛刻   (英语四级单词)

nationality [,næʃə´næliti]   n.国籍；民族   (英语四级单词)

saunter [´sɔ:ntə]   n.&vi.闲逛；漫步   (英语六级单词)

implication [,impli´keiʃən]   n.牵过；暗示；含蓄   (英语六级单词)

august [ɔ:´gʌst]   a.尊严的；威严的   (英语六级单词)

enumerate [i´nju:məreit]   vt.列举；清点，数   (英语六级单词)

browse [brauz]   vi.浏览 n.放牧   (英语六级单词)

moonlit [´mu:n,lit]   a.月光普照的   (英语六级单词)