Dreaming Thee in the Rain

By Shao Ziqi

In the 1930s, China, there was a young man who was both timid and romantic in love.He was too shy to say hello to his sweetheart when he encountered her in the street, and he was so romantic that he would compose a love letter to her every two or three days.

His name is Zhu Shenghao,renowned for his Chinese translation of Will i am Shakespeare’s complete works,as well as his more than 540 love letters.

In 1942, after nine long years of unrequited love, he finally married Song Qingru, the woman of his heart. The bride was 31 and the groom was 30, well above the average marrying age at that time.Xia Chengtao, a famous poet,presented them a wedding gift of his own calligraphy, written thus, “A genius and a beauty’s hands bound in matrimony, a loving couple comes down to the mundane world.”

Before the marriage, Zhu had courted Song but she refused.She believed that marriage would be the killer of romance, and said, “I am happy to be with you,but marriage is not necessary.We need to think it over before the final step.” Song’s careful consideration was the sensible thing to do, and Zhu didn’t try to force the issue.

Song had her reasons for feeling hesitant. In the Republican era, many talented and charismatic young men were easily lost in romantic love. It was lucky for Song, however, that her courter understood and respected her.

After marriage, they became a happy couple. Zhu devoted himself to the translation of Shakespeare’s works, while Song became a hard-working housewife who managed to supplement their livelihood by earning extra money. Now the perfect couple had to go about the arduous task of earning enough money just for three square meals a day.

First in 1937 and then in 1941,Zhu’s handwritten translations were destroyed twice in the Anti-Japanese war. To escape from the Japanese army, the couple went to Song’s old home in Changshu.

Translation work was very taxing, and they were poor in things, rich in spirit. Zhu told Song that, though they were poor,they had it all. Whenever time permitted, they worked together to compile a book namedFour Hundred Famous Ci Poems of Tang and Song Dynastiestogether, as ancient poetry was their mutual interest.

Soon thereafter, Changshu was occupied by the Japanese. As a renowned intellectual, Zhu was in danger of being arrested. He used a pseudonym and stayed at home all day. In January, 1943, they had to leave for Zhu’s old home in Jiaxing, carrying the works of Shakespeare with them.

A beech-wood desk, an oldstyle armchair, an oil lamp, an old pen, the English edition of The Complete Works of Shakespeare,and two dictionaries were all he needed for the translation work.

When not translating, Song and Zhu also enjoyed the sweet moments in their marriage life.Once when Song went alone to visit her parents, Zhu waited out in the rain for her return.He stood beneath a green plum tree by the door of their house, picking up a fallen leaf and writing a poem for her.Upon Song’s return, he recited following poetic lines for her.

20世紀(jì)30年代，有這樣一個年輕人，他很矜持，即使在路上遇見她，也只當(dāng)陌生人。他也很浪漫，每隔兩三天給她寫一封情書。他用一支筆翻譯180萬字的《莎士比亞全集》，給她寫了540多封情書。

他就是朱生豪。

1942年，苦戀9年之后，朱生豪和宋清如匆匆完婚。那年，宋清如31歲，朱生豪30歲，都是大齡青年。一代詞宗夏承燾為新婚伉儷題下八個大字：“才子佳人，柴米夫妻。”

此前，朱生豪向宋清如求過一次婚，被宋清如拒絕。她認(rèn)為，婚姻是情感惡化的開始，直言：“我和你好，不一定是以結(jié)婚為目的的，況且從愛情到婚姻的跨越，需要慎之又慎。”宋清如的考慮不無道理，朱生豪沒再強(qiáng)迫她。民國那個時代，總能孕育出一些富有才華的男子，這樣的男子，身上帶著迷人的包容性，宋清如是幸運(yùn)的，遇到尊重她的朱生豪。

婚后，朱生豪沉浸在譯莎事業(yè)中，對周遭世界不管不顧。宋清如不是什么佳人，只是辛勤的家庭主婦，幫工做衣，補(bǔ)貼家用，為一日三餐奔走。

1937年和1941年，朱生豪的譯稿兩度在日軍炮火中被毀。為躲避日軍的騷擾，他倆去了宋清如的常熟老家。

翻譯工作是勞累而緊張的，精神生活卻是豐富的，朱生豪對宋清如說：我很貧窮，但我無所不有。表達(dá)他對婚后生活和新婚之妻的欣喜之情。為了調(diào)劑工作和生活節(jié)奏，二人根據(jù)自己的愛好，一起選編《唐宋名家詞四百首》，作為生活調(diào)劑。

常熟是日軍清鄉(xiāng)區(qū)，朱生豪化名朱福全，雖不上街，還是隨時面臨安全威脅。

1943年1月，他倆帶著莎翁全集，來到朱生豪嘉興老家。

一張櫸木賬桌，一把舊式靠椅，一盞小油燈，一支舊鋼筆和一套莎翁全集、兩本詞典，就是全部翻譯工作的用具。

宋清如和朱生豪的婚后生活，不僅是譯書，也有清甜的小故事。有一次，宋清如回了一趟娘家，朱生豪每天在雨中站在門口青梅樹下等候，撿一片落葉，寫一首詩：“要是我們兩人一同在雨聲里做夢，或者一同在雨聲里失眠……”宋清如回來，看到后心疼得流淚。

朱生豪對閉戶譯書的投入，達(dá)到“足不涉市”的地步，為他的健康埋下隱患。他在翻譯《亨利四世》時，突然肋間劇痛，出現(xiàn)痙攣。經(jīng)檢查，確診為嚴(yán)重肺結(jié)核伴并發(fā)癥。朱生豪生前的最后一封信是寫給二弟的：“這兩天好容易把《亨利四世》譯完。精神疲憊不堪……因為終日伏案，已經(jīng)形成消化永遠(yuǎn)不良現(xiàn)象，走一趟北門簡直猶如爬山?！?/p>

1944年11月底，朱生豪病情加重，日夜躺著，無力說話，更無力看書。

If the rain’s pitter-patter is a dream we both share,will we lose sleep together or see each other there?

Upon hearing the poem, Song was moved to tears.

Unfortunately, the heavy work-load of translation undermined Zhu’s health. He seldom left his home, or even his room. One day while translatingHenry IV, he suddenly felt a sharp pain between his ribs,and a spasm followed. Zhu was diagnosed with severe tuberculosis and complications resulting from the disease. In his last letter, he told his brother,“I recently finally finished the translation of Henry IV. I feel utterly fatigued as a result of being hunched over a desk day and night. I have permanent dyspepsia, and a short walk to the North Gate is like scaling Mr.Everest.”

In the end of November 1944, Zhu was on his last legs.Permanently bed-ridden, he was almost unable to utter a word,much less to read a book.

He managed to tell Song that he felt so regretful about the unfinished five and a half historic plays, and that, had he foreseen his serious illness, he would have fought with all his might to finish them.

Zhu had invited Song to translate Shakespeare together, but Song was afraid that she wouldn’t be much of a collaborator. She helped her husband as a loyal reader and a responsible reviewer.

“Qingru, it’s my time to go,”murmured Zhu on the afternoon of December 26, 1944. He left behind his beloved wife and son,and his unfinished translation work.

Song Qingru was 33, and their son was 13 months old.The marriage lasted for only two years.

She had been willing to play a supporting role to her husband and family, but decided to make it on her own. The 37 plays,1.8 million words of Zhu’s translation were not published yet. Their infant son needed to be fed. She had to pull herself together. She knew she needed to press on for herself, and for her beloved man.

She was determined to engage herself in two pursuits in the rest of her life—getting her husband’s unfinished

She put all her efforts into the translations. What we know today is that Zhu’s translation works were published a few years after his death.

One night insomnia set in,she put on her dress, walked to the plum tree and saw a vision of her husband when he was that strapping young man in Hangchow University. He extended his arms beaconing her into his warm embrace; with tears streaming down her face, she held him tightly. Suddenly she woke to find herself in her bed. It turned out it was a dream and that her man was really gone.

After age 35, Song Qingru went downhill quickly. Her photos before and after Zhu’s death clearly showed an attractive young girl full of vigor who was rapidly turning into a haggard old biddy.

In 1997, 53 years after their separation, Song passed away and

was finally reunited with her true love in heaven.“The pitter-patter of the rain in dreams we share, the pitter-patter of the rain in sleeplessness we share.” Only by mutual inspiration can we console each other, like the comet’s glory glistening our tired dreams, though our bodies may part, our hearts will be together forever. I shall love thee till the end of time. ◆

(FromThe Republic of China in the Love Letters, Tuanjie Press.Translation: Wang Xiaoke)

他對宋清如說：“莎翁劇作，還有五個半史劇沒翻譯完畢，早知一病不起，就是拼著命，也要把它譯完?！?/p>

其實，朱曾邀宋一起翻譯莎劇，被宋婉拒。她擔(dān)憂自己耽誤朱的翻譯進(jìn)程。朱生豪在世時，宋清如扮演著讀者、校對者、欣賞者的角色。

1944年12月26日午后，朱生豪病危，喃喃呼喚：“清如，我要去了?！彼鍪秩隋荆粝滤吻迦绻涯腹聝杭拔淳沟淖g莎事業(yè)。

這一年，宋清如33歲，稚子剛13個月。他們的夫妻生活，只維持兩年……

他在時，她甘心做配角；他不在了，她要活下去，連同朱生豪那份，一同活下去。朱生豪留下37種、180萬字莎劇譯稿，未曾出版，還有他們的幼子，嗷嗷待哺。

一個人有了使命，有了愛，就有活下去的勇氣。

宋清如的后半生，似乎都在趕做這兩件事情：出版朱生豪的譯稿，撫養(yǎng)他們的孩子。人生的風(fēng)景太過繁雜，他還沒來得及細(xì)看，她要替他一一看過，待有一天，她與他躺在永恒的寂靜中，一一說與他聽。

她把全部的精力用在工作上。作為翻譯家的朱生豪幾乎不為人知，他的譯稿也是幾年之后才獲出版的。

深夜難眠時，她披著外衣，走到那棵青梅樹下。那個男人還是當(dāng)年在之江大學(xué)時的模樣。男人向她張開雙臂，她含淚過去，擁抱虛幻。原來一切都是夢一場，她怔怔地抹著眼角的淚水，那個人是真的離開了……

宋清如35歲之后，忽然老下去，原本清秀朝氣的面容，黯淡生塵，有一種滄海桑田之感。過去泛黃照片中容貌清秀如空谷幽蘭般的女子不再，如今的半身小照上，那雙原本充滿靈性的眼眸蒙上一層水汽。距朱生豪辭世才三年，生活已經(jīng)讓她如此疲憊。

1997年，宋清如離開人世，與朱生豪分別五十三年后，他們于天國團(tuán)聚。

“一同在雨聲里做夢，一同在雨聲里失眠”，只憑著這一點靈感的相通，也能時時給彼此以慰藉，像流星的光輝，照耀著疲憊的夢寐，縱然在別離的時候，我亦在你身邊……◆