经典诗歌:捕蛇者说

【英文译文】

The Snake Catcher

作品简介：《捕蛇者说》写于作者在被贬永州时，是柳宗元的散文名篇。课文通过捕蛇者蒋氏对其祖孙三代为免交赋敛而甘愿冒着死亡威胁捕捉毒蛇的自述，反映了中唐时期我国劳动人民的悲惨生活，深刻地揭露了封建统治阶级对劳动人民的残酷压迫和剥削，表达了作者对劳动人民的深切同情。 “说”是我国古代的一种文体，可以说明事物，也可以发表议论或记叙事物。

In the wilderness on the outskirts of Yong Zhou there exists a kind of snake with black skin marked with white stripes. Any plant dies upon its touch and anyone bitten by it is doomed to die. But once it is caught and dehydrated, it can serve as an ingredient of a traditional medicine for the cure of leprosy, arthritis, swollen necks, malignant tumors, the removal of decayed flesh, and the elimination of three kinds of worms that cause illness. Since early times the court physician has ordered the People in the name of the emperor to hand in snakes twice a year. Whoever does so is exempted from taxation. People are vying with one another to catch snakes.

There is a man whose surname is Jiang. His family has been enjoying this privilege for three generations. When asked, he told me with deep grief, "My grandfather was killed by a snake, and so was my father. I myself have been engaged as a snake catcher for twelve years and might have been killed many a time." I sympathized with him, saying, "Are you complaining about this work? I shall ask the official in charge to transfer you to your former work and renew the taxation on you. How would you like that?"

My words threw him into great agony. He burst into tears and said, "Do you pity me and want me to live on? But the misery I am suffering now is not at all worse than what I suffered before. If I had not taken this work, I would be in desperate straits. Three generations of my family have been living here for sixty years. Our neighbors are growing poorer day by day. In order to pay the taxes, they are compelled to hand over all the produce of their land and all the possessions in their house. They shuffle from village to village, wailing in distress, and many of them die of hunger along the way. They are beaten by wind and rain, suffering freezing cold in winter and scorching heat in summer. What's more, they have to inhale the pernicious air of deceased districts. In this way, people are dying one after another, and their dead bodies are piling up. Out of ten families that were my grandfather's neighbors, only one has survived, and out of ten families that were my father's neighbors, only two or three remain. As to the neighbors who have been living near me for the past twelve years, only four or five out of ten families have survived. Most of them are dead or have moved to other places. I luckily remain alive simply because I am a snake catcher. Whenever the relentless officers come to the village, they make a row and bully the people. The village people scream from terror. Even fowls and dogs are not left in peace. I get out of bed with fear and look into the jar. To my relief the snakes are still there. Then my mind is at ease and I return to bed. I feed the snakes with great care and deliver them to the authorities in time. Back at home, I eat the produce of the land so that I may live on till my death. I risk my life only twice a year. The rest of the time, I spend my days quite happily, unlike other village people whose lives are constantly threatened. Even if I were killed by a snake today, I would still have lived longer than my neighbors. Why should I complain?"

I feel all the more depressed upon hearing his story. I was once disbelieving of Confucius's words: "Tyrannical rule is more ferocious than a tiger." From Jiang's example I have come to realize that this saying is true. Alas! Who could have known that oppressive taxation is worse than venomous snakes? Hence I write down this story for those who are making investigations relating to the life of the common people.

【中文原文】

永州之野产异蛇，黑质而白章，触草木，尽死，以啮人，无御之者。然得而腊之以为饵，可以已大风、挛 、瘘、疠，去死肌，杀三虫。其始，太医以王命聚之，岁赋其二。募有能捕之者，当其租入。永之人争奔走焉。

有蒋氏者，专其利三世矣。问之，则曰：“吾祖死于是，吾父死于是，今吾嗣为之十二年，几死者数矣。”言之，貌若甚戚者。 余悲之，且曰：“若毒之乎？余将告于莅事者，更若役，复若赋，则何如？”

蒋氏大戚，汪然出涕曰：“君将哀而生之乎？则吾斯役之不幸，未若复吾赋不幸之甚也！向吾不为斯役，则久已病矣。自吾氏三世居是乡，积于今六十岁矣，而乡邻之生日蹙。殚其地之出，竭其庐之入，号呼而转徙，饥渴而顿踣；触风雨，犯寒暑，呼嘘毒疠，往往而死者相藉也。曩与吾祖居者，今其室十无一焉；与吾父居者，今其室十无二三焉；与吾居十二年者，今其室十无四五焉。非死则徙尔，而吾以捕蛇独存。悍吏之来吾乡，叫嚣乎东西，隳突乎南北，哗然而骇者，虽鸡狗不得宁焉。吾恂恂而起，视其缶，而吾蛇尚存，则弛然而卧。谨食之，时而献焉。退而甘食其土之有，以尽吾齿。盖一岁之犯死者二焉，其余则熙熙而乐。岂若吾乡邻之旦旦有是哉！今虽死乎此，比吾乡邻之死，则已后矣，又安敢毒耶？”

余闻而愈悲。孔子曰：“苛政猛于虎也！”吾尝疑乎是。今以蒋氏观之，犹信。呜呼！孰知赋敛之毒，有甚是蛇者乎！故为之说，以俟夫观人风者得焉。