May 9, 2023

Ideal–––Real  

理想–––现实

Liberalism–––Nationalism

自由主义–––民族主义

Why does history reverse direction
from this moment to antiquity

Why do the ten thousand things circle away
from the passage of time

Why are the ancient messages
intoned by stone steles

Why is the fall of the empire
like waking from a long dream

Why does the river of blood flow
before the military maps the paper tactics

Why draw prison walls in the dirt
in the name of freedom

…

Gone is the sea the sea-foam returns

Gone is the river of springtime the empty riverbed returns

Gone is the clear sky the whistling arrow returns

Gone is the seed the running tally returns

Gone is the tree the firewood returns

Gone is the great fire the hoarfrost returns

Gone is the old legend the rumors return

Gone is the bird the lines of the poem return

Gone is the feast of stars the tyranny of night returns

Gone is the common folk the emperor returns

Gone is the dream the song returns

Gone is the song the road returns

Gone is the road the foreign land returns

Gone gone is the endless questioning

and what returns has no sound

I am an old fisherman who has come from the other shore

drawing in the story of the storm with a net of silence

— Bei Dao, Sidetracks

为什么此刻到远古

        历史逆向而行

        为什么万物循环

        背离时间进程

        为什么古老口信

        由石碑传诵

        为什么帝国衰亡

        如大梦初醒

        为什么血流成河

        先于纸上谈兵

        为什么画地为牢

        以自由之名

        …

逝去的是大海返回的是泡沫

        逝去的是一江春水返回的是空空河床

        逝去的是晴空返回的是响箭

        逝去的是种子返回的是流水帐

        逝去的是树返回的是柴

        逝去的是大火返回的是冰霜

        逝去的是古老传说返回的是谣言

        逝去的是飞鸟返回的是诗行

        逝去的是星星盛宴返回的是夜的暴政

        逝去的是百姓返回的是帝王

        逝去的是梦返回的是歌

        逝去的是歌返回的是路

        逝去的是路返回的是异乡

        逝去的逝去的是无穷的追问

        返回的没有声响

我是来自彼岸的老渔夫

把风暴的故事收进沉默的网

–––北岛，《歧路行》