My New Website 我的新網頁

Please visit my new website at   

http://web.me.com/wang_hong/Site/Home.html.  

I'll gradually migrate to the new site and stop writing on this one.  It's best viewed through Safari to avoid slow loading.

我有了一個新的網頁，去看看吧。將來我就那裡發表文章和照片了。最好用Safari來看，以達到最快的速度。

生日 Birthday

生日这天早晨醒来，窗外鸟鸣阵阵，树荫青青，阳光要再晚一点才能照进来。

“生日快乐”，他低声跟我说，大概是看到我醒了。
“嗯，又老了一岁”， 我微笑了一下，心里很安静。
“不对，是又老了一天”。虽然我不怕老，但这样的安慰还是象微风轻拂，令人愉快。

是啊，日子要一天一天地细细地过，而不是一年一年粗粗地过，那样也许能从每一天里多留下一些记忆，也不至有天忽然发出“不知明镜里,何处得秋霜”的惊叹。如果真有来世，我们的生命真地会以另一种方式继续存在，那么此生的财富中有可能跟我们一起穿越时空的，恐怕就只有这些记忆了。

The chirping of birds greeted me in the morning when I woke up on my birthday. Outside the window was the water-color green of the spring jungle. Rays of sunshine would soon brighten the room.

"Happy Birthday", he might have noticed that I was awake now.
"Yes, one year older." I smiled, feeling peaceful.

"No, one day older." Although I haven’t yet experienced any fear for getting old, such soothing words still breezed through very pleasantly and gently.

True, it is nicer to live the time we have exquisitely not hastily, and count them by days not years. This may help us catch more beautiful moments from each day that would have otherwise slipped away unnoticed, and form richer and more colorful layers in the depth of our memories. If there were really another life after this one, or, life continued beyond death in a different form of existence, the only wealth from this world that could accompany us, on our way through spaces and times, might be only these memories.

闲散的一天 A Lazy Day

拖了一年的项目昨天终于做完了，高兴，给自己放假，在岛上懒一天。

昨天潮潮的，今天春天忽然来了，鸟活泼地叫，蝴蝶好象一夜间从花丛草丛里全涌出来。从书房的窗户向外望，有一只懒猫，春眠不觉晓似的。好久没去大坪村和我们的晨径，就往那个方向走，惊诧的看到一处花园鲜花盛开，粉蝶飞舞。花园后面是菜园，有人拉开竹门请我进去，一问才知他叫Michael，巴基斯坦人，在香港二十多年了。Michael给我从地里掐了好多新鲜的生菜和菠菜尖儿，还有小蕃茄，中午我有了一顿美味的蔬菜色拉。从Michael的菜园出来走了几步，前面蓦然矗立着一大棵紫荆树，粉红色的花朵象瀑布一样飞泻而下，好看极了。

回到自己的小院，院门处闻到香气，是绿叶间小簇小簇的白花。回到家把窗全打开，春天的海风吹进来，窗纱轻摆，我的心里是静静的喜悦。从忙碌的日子里走出来，不紧不慢的享受自己的岛自己的家，品味周围一切平日里和我匆匆擦肩而过的美丽，便再也不想回到那忙碌中去了。

The deal was finally closed last night after dragging on and on for a year. This morning I decided to have a lazy day on the island.

Spring is suddenly here after a very humid night. Birds are chirping cheerfully and hundreds of butterflies burst out from the bushes without any warning. Outside our study window was a sleepy cat, still not willing to open his eyes in the warm sunlight.

It’s been a while since I last went up to Tai Ping Village and the morning trail, so I set out toward that direction. At the end of Taiping was a stunningly beautiful garden, with all kinds of colorful flowers, over which white butterflies were fluttering. There were vegetables too. Somebody opened the bamboo fence and invited me in. This was Michael, originally from Pakistan, but has been in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Michael pinched lots of leaves from the lettuce and spinach rows and gave them to me with some small tomatoes. A fresh salad for lunch. A short walk away from Michael’s garden, I was stopped by a big Bauhinia tree, thousands of pink flowers flowing down like a waterfall.

When I was back at the gate to our courtyard, I was touched by some pleasant aroma. It was from the little white flowers currently in full blossom among the green leaves. I got into the house, opened all the windows and let in the spring breeze from the ocean. The light curtains started to flutter, and a quiet happiness filled my heart.

It was so nice to have such a lazy time to enjoy home, to enjoy the island and to be touched by the beauty which I hastily pass by day in and day out. I never wish to return to those hectic days again.

《莲花》"Lotus"

安妮宝贝的《莲花》，是春节回北京时好友送的。以前听说过这个作者的名字，心想一个给自己起了这么个笔名的人能写出什么好作品，但好友是有品位的人，拜她推荐就翻开了《莲花》，不料昨夜一口气读完，窗外的鸟已经开始叫了。

安妮的文字清洁冷静，带着很强的力量，讲述的是离普通生活很远的几个人的故事，让我们从世界的边缘看人生的真实与虚幻，却又可以时时被提醒着自己人生的梦想、足迹、痛苦和温暖。也许我们每一个人在某个时刻都希望成为一个远离世界远离人群远离喧嚣的安静自由的流浪者，即便我们活在不完美的布满种种约束的却又不忍或不敢抛弃的现实中。

书中的两个主人公在13岁的时候一起在雨后的森林深处看到上万只黄色的蝴蝶，在迁徙的途中，沐光而舞，寂寥无人却华丽神秘。两个人从这一天后走了不同的道路：女孩儿向着这蝴蝶的方向走了进去，去寻找真实生命的证明，我特别感动于她说的一句话：“我的一生从未做到过在俗世的幸福面前可以理所当然”；男孩儿退了回来，象每个人一样努力，做了成功的男人，可内心却与这个世界充满疏远和隔膜，无限寂寥，生活该往哪里去呢？

像莲花一样吧，摆脱淤泥与黑暗，向着光明，在这光明中去看真实的自己，去找这个自己想走的路。其他的也许都不重要。

"Lotus", a novel written by Annie Baby, was among a big pile of books given to me by a good friend when I was in Beijing during the Chinese New Year. I had heard of this writer but didn’t give her any serious look, hindered by her garish pen name. The book took me by surprise. I opened it late last night and didn’t close it until the last line was done. Birds started then the first chirps before the dawn broke.

Annie’s language is clean, calm and powerful, telling stories of people who seem to dwell at the remotest corner of the world but forcefully remind me of the desires, dreams, pains and tenderness in my own life and of my own illusions and reality. Perhaps every one of us has, at some moment, wished to be a drifter, free and peaceful, away from this world’s chaos, noise and constraints, even though in the end, most of us are reluctant or too afraid to entirely desert the imperfect lives that we are used to.

At the age of 13, the two protagonists of "Lotus" descended into the depth of a forest and were encountered by an unbelievable scene – thousand of yellow butterflies dancing in columns of sunlight, lonely but magnificent. From this day, the two departed onto different routes. The girl followed straight the direction of the butterflies to look for a true proof of life; while the boy turned back to make a success in the world but felt always estranged from it. Where should one go to find ones destiny?

Be like a lotus, out from sludge and darkness, toward the light above. In this light I may see my true self and in this light I may find a way that truly belongs to me. The rest, possibly, are not at all that important.

你已为我拔涉千里 For Me, You Have Trekked Through Thousands of Miles

偶然读到席慕容说到了八十岁她也还会写情诗，我呢，恐怕到了八十岁也还会阅读并感动于好的情诗。仿佛与爱情有个一生的约定，也好像做一个长长的梦，充满灿烂、温婉、忧郁、缠绵、喜悦或痛苦的故事，走到今世尽头，都不愿醒。爱如同美，坚强而接近永恒，虽然作为爱的载体，人是那么软弱，不永久。

人情易变，于是自古就有“人生若只如初见”的感叹和“执字之手与子偕老”的盼望。其实与一个人的初见，那瞬间的感觉，如燃烧的烟花最明亮的时刻，如何能不断的延续和重复呢？如果在记忆中这一刻永远是美好的，不被后来发生的事玷污，已是人生之幸了。人的相伴总会经历风雨程程啊，彼此了解得更深了，虽然与初见的感觉很不同，但还是愿意相守，不更是人生之幸么？

在我的印象里父母的关系与他们那个年龄许多夫妻一样稀松，可是有一天跟他们一起吃饭的时候，不知为了什么事妈妈笑了，这时爸爸说了一句：“笑得和年轻时一样”。我听了差点掉下泪来，也许真的有些什么是从初见到永远都不会变的，即便那明亮震撼的感觉已经那么遥远。在我白发苍苍的时候，身边会不会有一个人说这样的话呢？

喜欢席慕容有关初见的诗句：“我真喜欢那样的梦，明明知道你已为我拔涉千里，却又觉得芳草鲜美，落英缤纷，好象你我才初初相遇。”初相遇的感觉谁都想念，缤纷如梦，但也要知道并感激“你已为我拔涉千里”。

感谢你，为我跋涉千里。

有事做，有盼望 Something to do, and Something to Look Forward to

在皇后大道中有一个经营报摊的女孩儿，我认识她是因为曾请她帮我留一些大陆出版的报纸。每天清晨我经过她的报摊，问候她的时候，她总是快乐而充满朝气。今天早晨我们互致问候的时候，她祝我这一天有事做，有盼望。

多么简单的一个祝愿，却好像揭示了快乐的秘密。如果我生活中的每一天都从喜欢做的事里有一点点成果，对未来的日子怀着一些希望，那我一定是快乐而无悔的了。

There is a girl who runs several news stands on Queen’s Road Central. I got to know her when I asked her to keep some mainland published newspapers for me. Every morning I pass her stand and greet her and every morning she looks happy and energetic. This morning when we exchanged greetings again, she wished me “to have something to do and have something to look forward to.”

Have something to do and have some to look forward to. What a simple wish that reveals the secret of happiness. If I use everyday in my life to accomplish and to hope, I’ll be happy and have no regret.

大城北京 Beijing, A Grand City

这次春节回北京，没有看到故乡变化的唏嘘感叹，也没有刻意寻找童年和少年的影子，平静释然得仿佛只是一个游客。离开的时候，心里却怀着兴奋和喜悦，因为这10天的天朝古都之旅让我看到一座大城正在复兴。大城之大，在于它展现的气魄和胸襟，它蕴含的历史和文化，它的志气追求，它的兼收并蓄，它的人民的宽容、幽默和大度。我看到了所有这些正带着强劲的生命力萌发，即使还有许许多多的不顺眼不如意，但这生命力让我心潮澎湃，让我第一次对一座城市怀上了希冀，盼着自己的有生之年能够见证北京真的经历一场文明复兴，成为世界东方一座充满魅力的大城。

在北京拍的一些照片，在“透过我的镜头”栏的相册“北京2009年初”中。

This Chinese New Year when I was back in Beijing, I did not get sentimental about changes in my hometown or try to revive memories from the past. I was calm and at ease like a wayfarer, who accidentally travelled to the city. Yet at the time of departure, I couldn’t help but feeling happy and excited about, from what I’d observed, the rejuvenation of a grand city. Its history and culture, its aspiration and boldness, its magnanimou and humorous people, its exhibition of great diversity – all combined to give the city an extrordinary vitality and irresistable glow of beauty. It has a long way to come, and for sure, a long way to go. There are still many disturbing corners, but the sparkle of such vitality and beauty has indeed touched me. Beijing will experience a profound renainance of civilization and become the city of the orient, grand and full of charm. This was an expectation I started to cherish when the train took me slowly out of the platform, and then out of the city.

Some pictures during the trip to Beijing in early 2009 can be found in “Through My Lens”.

很近的满月 Closer to the Moon

据说两天前我们能看到比平时大1/6的满月,是月亮离地球最近的一天， 每12年一次。今天清晨的月亮依然很圆很大，静静地悬在榕树湾上空，水也漫上来，天微微亮了，很美的一个图画。

It’s said that two days ago the moon was the closest to the earth in years, therefore it looked bigger. Early this morning, there was still a full moon, over Yung Shue Wan. The water was high, and daylight started to set in. A very peaceful picture.

静听风吟 Whispers of the Wind

好友寄来一张北京三里屯使馆区的照片，让我看看曾经熟悉和钟爱的秋色。是啊，当我想念北京的秋天时，这想念每每化作眼前漫漫的银杏树叶和耳边的低低风吟，还有当年流行的一首歌的歌词“我是一只小小鸟，想要飞，却怎么也飞不高”。连自己那时的样子，也跃然眼前，秋天起风的日子里，常常是一条红格呢裙子，黑色高领羊毛衫，头上包着一块红丝巾, 穿过种满银杏树的巷子，去打大学毕业后的第一份工， 这么多年过去了，我好像还是一只想飞的鸟，那召唤来自飞翔的感觉，不为到哪儿，只为飞。无目的带来自由，所过之处留下想念，这想念有时如同微风掠过，而我就在世界的某个角落，也许是一个月明星稀的秋夜，静听风吟。

To show me Beijing’s autumn colors, a former colleague sent over a photo he took of ginkgo trees in Sanlitun diplomatic compounds with which I used to be very familiar. Yes, when I miss the autumn in Beijing, it is the boundless expansion of these golden fan-shape ginkgo leaves I see and the soft whispers of the wind I hear, and I recall lyrics of a popular song in those years: “I am a small bird, eager to fly but can never reach high…”. Often appearing vividly was also an image of myself, in a black turtle-neck pullover and a red woolen skirt, head wrapped in a red silk scarf, walking along the ginkgo tree lined streets on a windy autumn day, toward my first job after university…Years have passed, and I still feel like a bird, eager to fly. The allure is the flying itself, not to any destination but to fly. Absence of a goal creates freedom, while every episode along the way lingers in the memories. On some days these memories brush through like a breeze, perhaps on an autumn night, under bright full moon and few stars, and all I have to do is to quietly listen to its whispers.

还爱吃巧克力么? Still Love Chocolates?

不久前跟中学时的同桌好友联络上了，特别高兴。 在msn上没聊两句，她打出一句：“你还那么爱吃巧克力么？”这话只有她问得出来，我的回答却令自己失望：“不怎么吃了。”完美的答案应该是:“象以前一样爱。”曾经深爱的东西理应永远深爱，这才因执着而圆满。

这些天来她的这个问题总在耳畔，二十年前的记忆重现带来无比温暖和浓重的怀旧情绪。看到自己生活中有些曾经重要的东西永远丢在了来时的路上，淡淡的忧伤漫起，好象细雨蒙蒙的天气中飘落的粉红色花瓣。这样的忧伤可以让每个人成为诗人。

那时我十八岁，热爱巧克力，热爱舞蹈，热爱舒婷、北岛、顾城，热爱做一切与复习高考无关的事时那种自由痛快的感觉。朋友说我是一个理想主义者，追求完美的人，想想看这是从十八岁时到现在都未丢弃的。人生中的寻觅、丢弃和获得也许就是这样，在不圆满的选择中，执着其实从未改变。

我的朋友，谢谢你还记得岁月中某一时刻的我，就让她安静的留在那一时刻吧。 不过，今天下班的时候，我给自己买了一板巧克力。

Some days ago, I got reconnected with a close friend from high school days. After a few sentences exchanged on msn, she wrote: “You still love chocolates?” She’s the only one who would have asked such a question. My answer disappointed myself: “Not so much anymore.” It should have been: “As much as before”. A sense of imperfection seized me when I realized the loss of a once strong passion, which should have remained, always.

Her question has lingered in my mind. Memories from twenty years before engulfed me with warmth and nostalgia that felt deep and boundless. I was brought back to see things once so important to me but were eventually lost on the way. Pain fell tenderly, like the pink petals of peach blossom falling in a fine, misty drizzle. The tenderness in such pain creates a poet out of everybody.

I was 18 years old then and loved chocolates. I also loved dancing, Misty Poems and the freedom and joy coming from everything unrelated to reviewing for the university entrance examinations. Friends labeled me as an idealist, in constant pursuit of perfection in life. When I ponder over my life from 18 years old to now, I see that such a pursuit has remained. Perhaps this is how it is in the searching, losing, deserting and gaining in our lives. In seemingly imperfect, unsatisfactory choices we make, certain perseverance has never changed.

My friend, thank you for remembering the girl that I was at certain moment in the passing of months and years. Let her peacefully stay at that moment. Only today after work, I got myself a big piece of chocolate.