The east lodge at Nijō was finished, and the lady of the orange blossoms moved in. —
二条城的东楼完工了，橘女就搬进去了。 —

Genji turned the west wing and adjacent galleries into offices and reserved the east wing for the Akashi lady. —
源氏把西楼和相邻的画廊改成了办公室，保留了东楼给明石的女士。 —

The north wing was both spacious and ingeniously partitioned, so that he might assign its various rooms to lesser ladies who were dependent on him, and so make them happy too. —
北楼又宽敞又巧妙地隔间，这样他可以把各个房间分配给依赖他的小姐们，让她们也高兴起来。 —

He reserved the main hall for his own occasional use.
他把大厅留给自己偶尔使用。

He wrote regularly to Akashi. The time had come, he said firmly, for the lady’s removal to the city. —
他定期写信给明石，坚定地表示是时候让那位女士搬到城里去了。 —

She was painfully aware of her humble station, however, and she had heard that he made even ladies of the highest rank more unhappy by his way of behaving coolly but correctly than if he had simply dismissed them. —
然而，她痛感自己地位低微，她听说他对待即使是高贵的女士也采取冷淡但正确的方式，使她们比起被直接解雇更加不快。 —

She feared that she could expect little attention from him. —
她担心自己几乎无法期待他的关注。 —

Her rank could not be hidden, of course, and her daughter would suffer for it. —
她的身份地位无法隐藏，当然，她的女儿会因此受苦。 —

And how painful it would be, and what an object of derision she herself would be, if she had to sit waiting for brief and stealthy visits. —
如果她不得不坐着等待短暂而隐秘的访问，那将会是多么痛苦，她自己也将成为嘲笑的对象。 —

But there was the other side of the matter: —
但事情还有另一面： —

it would not do for her daughter to grow up in the remote countryside, a child of the shadows. —
她的女儿不应该在偏远乡村长大，成为一个暗中生活的孩子。 —

So she could not tell Genji that he had behaved badly and be finished with him. —
所以她无法告诉光源氏他的行为不好，然后与他断绝关系。 —

Her parents understood, and could only add their worries to hers. —
她的父母理解她的处境，只能将他们的担忧加诸于她。 —

The summons from their noble visitor only made them unhappier.
贵客的召唤只让他们更加不快。

The old man remembered that his wife’s grandfather, Prince Nakatsukasa, had had a villa on the river Oi to the west of the city. —
老人想起他妻子的祖父中勅使有御行在京城西边的大堤河畔有一座别墅。 —

There had been no one to take charge after his death and it had been sadly neglected. He summoned the head of the family that had assumed custody.
他去世后再无人照管，凄凉荒废。他召见了承担管理责任的家族长。

“I had quite given up my ambitions and fallen quietly into country life, and now in my declining years something rather unexpected has come up. —
“我原本已经放弃了我的抱负，安静地沉浸在乡村生活中，如今在我晚年却有了一些意想不到的事情。 —

I must have a residence in the city once more. —
我必须再次在城中有一处住所。 —

It would be too much of a change to move back into the great world immediately. —
直接搬回大都会对我这种乡下人来说变化太大。 —

The noise and the bustle would be very upsetting for a rustic like me. —
嘈杂喧闹对像我这样的乡巴佬来说会很吵闹。 —

I need a sort of way station, a familiar place that has been in the family. —
我需要一种类似于驿站的地方，一个家族中历史悠久且熟悉的地方。 —

Might you see to repairs and make the place reasonably livable? —
你能负责修缮并让那地方住得过得去吗？ —

I will of course take care of all the expenses.”
我当然会承担所有费用。”

“It has been deserted for so long that it is the worst tangle you can imagine. —
“这座房子被荒废了这么久，简直是你无法想象的最糟糕的烂摊子。 —

I myself patched up one of the outbuildings to live in. —
我自己修葺了一个附属建筑住了进去。 —

Since this spring there has been a real commotion, you never saw the likes of it. —
从今年春天开始，这里真是一片喧嚣，你从未见过这样的场面。 —

The Genji minister has been putting up a temple, several very big halls, and the place is swarming with carpenters. —
源氏官员在这里修建了一座寺庙，几座非常大的大殿，还有大批木匠在忙碌着。 —

If it’s quiet you’re looking for, then I’m afraid this is not what you want.”
如果你在找一个安静的地方，我怕这并不是你想要的。”

“It makes no difference at all. As a matter of fact, I’m rather counting on the minister for certain favors. —
“这一点都不重要。事实上，我在很大程度上指望这位大臣能给我一些特殊的恩惠。 —

I’ll of course take care of all the expenses, the fittings and decorations and all. —
我当然会承担所有费用，包括装修和所有摆设。 —

Just make it your business, please, to have it ready for occupancy as soon as you possibly can.”
请尽快让这房子能够入住，这一点请务必你务必办理。”

“It’s true that I’ve never had clear title, but there wasn’t really anyone else to take over. We’ve just been following our quiet country ways over the years. —
“确实我从来没有明确的产权，但实际上也没有其他人来接手。这些年来我们一直过着宁静的乡村生活。 —

The fields and the rest were going to waste, absolutely to ruin. —
田地和其他地方简直被荒废了，几近毁坏。 —

So I paid the late Mimbu no Tayū what seemed like a reasonable amount and got his permission, and I’ve been working the fields ever since. —
所以我给已故的弥部太夫付了一笔看起来合理的钱并得到了他的许可，从那时起我就一直在开垦这些土地。 —

” He was obviously worried about his crops. —
” 他显然很担心他的庄稼。 —

His nose and then the whole of his wary, bewhiskered face was crimson, and his mouth was twisted as if in a growl.
他的嘴唇和整个着警惕的、长着络腮胡子的脸都是红彤彤的，嘴巴 扭曲得就像在咆哮。

“It is not your fields I am concerned with. You can go on working them as you always have. —
“我关心的不是你的田地。你可以继续开垦它们，就像你一直这样做一样。 —

I have a great many deeds and titles and the like, but I’ve rather lost track of them these last years. —
我有很多契约和头衔之类的东西，但这些年来我有点搞不清楚了。 —

I’ll look into them.”
“我会查查的。”

The hint that Genji was an indirect party to the negotiations warned the man that he might be inviting trouble. —
幻爵与谈判间接有牵连的暗示警告这位男士可能会惹上麻烦。 —

The recompense being ample, he made haste to get the house in order.
因为酬劳丰厚，他急忙整理起房子。

Genji had been puzzled and upset by the lady’s reluctance to move. —
幻爵被这位女士不愿搬家而感到困惑和苦恼。 —

He did not want people to associate his daughter with Akashi. —
他不希望人们将他的女儿与明石联系起来。 —

Presently the Oi house was ready and he learned of it. Now he understood: —
欧井之屋现在已准备妥当，他得知了。现在他明白了： —

the lady had been frightened at the thought of the great city. —
这位女士对大都市感到害怕。 —

These precautions had been reasonable and indeed laudable.
这些预防措施是合理的，而且值得赞赏。

He sent off Lord Koremitsu, his usual adviser and agent in confidential matters, to scout the grounds and see if further preparations were necessary.
他派遣自己平日里的顾问和机密事务代理小督前去勘察土地，看看是否需要进一步的准备。

“The setting is very good,” said Koremitsu. “I was reminded a little of Akashi.”
“这里的环境非常好，”小督说道。“让我有点想起了明石。”

Nothing could be better. The temple which Genji was putting up was to the south of the Daikakuji, by a mountain cascade which rivaled that of the Daikakuji itself. —
没有比这更好的了。幻爵建造的寺庙在大覚寺的南方，靠近一座媲美大覚寺本身的瀑布。 —

The main hall of the Oi villa was simple and unpretentious, almost like a farmhouse, in a grove of magnificent pines beside the river. —
欧井別邸的主厅简单朴素，几乎像一座农舍，坐落在河边壮丽的松树林中。 —

Genji himself saw to all the furnishings. —
幻爵亲自着手安排所有的家具。 —

Very quietly, he sent off trusted retainers to be the lady’s escort.
他悄悄地派遣信任的仆人去做女士的随行护送。

So there was no avoiding it. The time had come to leave the familiar coast. —
所以，无法避免。离开熟悉的海岸的时刻已经到来。 —

She wept for her father and the loneliness he must face, and for every small detail of her old home. She had known all the sorrows, and would far rather that this manna had never fallen.
她为父亲和他必须面对的孤独，为她老家的每一个小细节而流泪。她经历了所有的悲伤，宁愿这些糟粕从未出现。

The hope that had been with the old man, waking and sleeping, for all these years was now to be realized, but the sadness was more than he would have thought possible now that the time had come. —
老人多年来一直怀有希望，清醒和入眠时，现在终于实现，但随着时间的到来，悲伤超乎他的想象。 —

He would not see his little granddaughter again. —
他再也看不到自己的小孙女了。 —

He sat absently turning the same thought over and over again in his mind.
他心不在焉地反复思考着同一个想法。

His wife was as sad. She had lived more with her daughter than her husband, and she would go with her daughter. —
他的妻子也很伤心。她更多地与女儿相处，而不是与丈夫，她将和女儿一起离开。 —

One becomes fond, after a time, of sea and strand, and of the chance acquaintance. —
人经过一段时间会喜欢海滩和浪漫，以及偶遇的机会。 —

Her husband was a strange man, not always, she had thought, the firmest support, but the bond between them had held. —
她的丈夫是个奇特的人，不总是，她曾认为，最坚强的支柱，但他们之间的纽带一直保持着。 —

She had been his wife, and Akashi had become for her the place to live and to die. —
她曾是他的妻子，而明石对她而言成了生活和死亡的地方。 —

The break was too sudden and final.
这次离别太过突然和绝对。

The young women were happy enough to be finished with country life, which had been mostly loneliness and boredom, but this coast did after all have a hold on them. —
年轻的女子们很高兴摆脱乡下生活，那里大多是孤独和无聊，但这片海岸终究牵绊着她们。 —

With each advancing wave they wept that it would return, but they would not.
随着每一波浪涌过，她们流泪希望它会返回，但它不会。

It was autumn, always the melancholy season. —
眼前是秋天，总是忧伤的季节。 —

The autumn wind was chilly and the autumn insects sang busily as the day of the departure dawned. —
秋风凉意阵阵，秋虫繁忙地歌唱，离开的日子黎明逐渐来临。 —

The Akashi lady sat looking out over the sea. —
明石夫人坐在海边眺望。 —

Her father, always up for dawn services, had arisen deep in the night, much earlier than usual. —
她的父亲总是热衷于黎明时分的仪式，此次他比往常早起深夜。 —

He was weeping as he turned to his prayers. —
当他转向祈祷时，他在哭泣。 —

Tears were not proper or auspicious on such an occasion, but this morning they were general. —
在这种场合下，眼泪并不适当或吉利，但今天早晨人人都是泣不成声。 —

The little girl was a delight, like the jade one hears of which shines in darkness. —
小女孩是一种喜悦，好像传说中在黑暗中闪耀的玉石一样。 —

He had not once let her out of his sight, and here she was again, scrambling all over him, so very fond of him. —
他从未让她离开视线，而她又一再地爬上他，对他非常喜爱。 —

He had great contempt for people who renounce the world and then appear not to have done so after all. —
他对那些弃绝世俗而似乎并未真正这样做的人非常鄙视。 —

But she was leaving him.
但她正在离开他。

“The old weep easily, and I am weeping
“老人容易流泪，我流泪不止

As I pray that for her the happy years stretch on.
祈祷着她幸福的岁月延续下去。

“I am very much ashamed of myself.” He drew a sleeve over his eyes.
“我真是太可耻了。”他用袖子掩住眼睛。

No one could have thought it odd that his wife too was weeping.
没人会觉得奇怪，他的妻子也在哭泣。

“Together we left the city. Alone I return,
“我们一起离开城市。独自一人回来，

To wander lost over hill and over moor?”
漫无目的地徘徊在山间和荒野之上？”

The reasons did not seem adequate that she should be leaving him after they had been together so long.
她要离开他的理由似乎不充分，他们在一起已经很久了。

The lady was begging her father to go with them as far as Oi, if only by way of escort.
这位女士恳求她的父亲至少作为护送，和他们一起去到大井。

“When do you say that we shall meet again,
“我们何时再见面呢，信任一个并非属于我们的生命呢？

Trusting a life that is not ours to trust?”
“He counted over once more his reasons for refusing, but he seemed very apprehensive. ”

He counted over once more his reasons for refusing, but he seemed very apprehensive. —
“他再次仔细盘算了一遍自己拒绝的理由，但看起来非常忧虑。” —

“When I gave up the world and settled into this life, it was my chief hope that I might see to your needs as you deserved. —
“当我放下世俗，安顿下来的时候，我最大的希望是能如你所值地照顾你的需求。 —

Aware that I had not been born under the best of stars, I knew that going back to the city as another defeated provincial governor I would not have the means to put my hut in order and clear the weeds from my garden. —
“Aware that I had not been born under the best of stars, I knew that going back to the city as another defeated provincial governor I would not have the means to put my hut in order and clear the weeds from my garden.” —

I knew that in my private life and my public life I would give them all ample excuse to laugh, and that I would be a disgrace to my dead parents; —
“我知道，我并不是生于顺境，我知道如果以另一位失败的州长身份回城，我将无法有资力整顿小屋，拔除花园中的杂草。 —

and so I decided from the outset, and it seemed to be generally understood, that when I left the city I was leaving all that behind. —
“and so I decided from the outset, and it seemed to be generally understood, that when I left the city I was leaving all that behind.” —

And indeed I did rather effectively leave the world in the sense of giving up worldly ambitions. —
“于是，我从一开始便下定决心，并且似乎大家都明白，当我离开城市的时候，我所拥抱的一切将成为过去。 —

But then you grew up and began to see what was going on around you, and in the darkness that is the father’s heart I was not for one moment free from a painful question: —
“But then you grew up and began to see what was going on around you, and in the darkness that is the father’s heart I was not for one moment free from a painful question:” —

why was I hiding my most precious brocade in a wild corner of the provinces? —
“但是你长大了，开始看清周围的一切，在父亲的心底黑暗中，我却始终没有摆脱一个痛苦的问题： —

I kept my lonely hopes and prayed to the god and the blessed ones that it not be your fate, because of an unworthy father, to spend your life among these rustics. —
“I kept my lonely hopes and prayed to the god and the blessed ones that it not be your fate, because of an unworthy father, to spend your life among these rustics.” —

Then came that happy and unexpected event, which had the perverse effect of emphasizing our low place in life. —
“我怀抱着孤独的希望，祈祷神灵和受祝福的人，愿你不因为无能的父亲而注定要在这些乡下人中度过一生。 —

Determined to believe in the bond of which our little one here is evidence, I could see too well what a waste it would be to have you spend your days on this seacoast. —
“Determined to believe in the bond of which our little one here is evidence, I could see too well what a waste it would be to have you spend your days on this seacoast.” —

The fact that she seems meant for remarkable things makes all the more painful the need to send her away. —
“决心相信我们这位小的是证据的纽带，我太清楚了，让你在这片海岸度过一生会是多么的浪费。 —

No, enough, I have left it all. You are the ones whose light will bathe the world. —
“The fact that she seems meant for remarkable things makes all the more painful the need to send her away.” —

You have brought pleasure to us country people. —
你给我们乡下人带来了快乐。 —

We are told in the scriptures of times when celestial beings descend to ugly worlds. —
据圣典记载，天使曾降临丑陋的世界。 —

The time is past, and we must part.
时光已逝，我们必须分别。

“Do not worry about services when word reaches you that I have died. —
当你得知我去世时，不必担心后事。 —

Do not trouble yourself over what cannot be avoided.” He seemed to have finished his farewells. —
不要为避免不了的事情而自扰。他似乎结束了他的告别。 —

Then, his face twisted with sorrow, he added: —
然后，他的脸上露出悲伤之色，他补充说： —

“Thoughts of our little one will continue to bring regrets until the evening when I too rise as smoke.”
我对我们小孩的思念会一直持续，直到我也如烟升腾的傍晚。

A single progress by land, the escort said, would be unmanageable, and a succession of convoys would only invite trouble. —
地面上的单一行进会难以管理，一系列护送只会招来麻烦。 —

So it had been decided that so far as possible the journey would be an unobtrusive one by boat. —
因此，决定尽可能地选择一条不引人注目的船程。 —

The party set sail at perhaps seven or eight in the morning.
一行人可能在早上七八点出航。

The lady’s boat disappeared among the mists that had so saddened the poet. —
女士的船隐没在令诗人如此悲伤的雾气中。 —

The old man feared that his enlightened serenity had left him forever. —
老人担心他那种开明的宁静永远离他远去。 —

As if in a trance, he gazed off into the mists.
他仿佛陷入了恍惚状态，凝视着远处的雾气。

The old woman’s thoughts upon leaving home were in sad confusion.
老妇人离开家时的思绪一片混乱。

“I want to be a fisherwife upon
“我想成为一个垂钓妇女”。

A far, clean shore, and now my boat turns back.”
遥望远方，洁净的海岸，我的船已转身回返。

Her daughter replied:
她的女儿回答道：

“How many autumns now upon this strand?
“这片海岸已经经历了多少个秋天？

So many, why should this flotsam now return?”
这么多个，为什么这些漂流物现在回来了呢？”

A steady seasonal wind was blowing and they reached Oi on schedule, very careful not to attract attention on the land portion of the journey. —
顺利地乘着季节性的风，他们按时抵达了大井，非常小心地不在陆地部分引起注意。 —

They found the Oi villa very much to their taste, so like Akashi, indeed, that it soothed the homesickness, though not, of course, dispelling it completely. —
他们觉得大井别墅很符合他们的口味，与明石如此相似，确实缓解了思乡之情，尽管当然没有完全驱散。 —

Thoughts of the Akashi years did after all come back. —
对于明石的岁月的回忆确实涌现了。 —

The new galleries were in very good taste, and the garden waters pleasant and interesting. —
新的画廊布置得非常有品味，花园的水也很宜人有趣。 —

Though the repairs and fittings were not yet complete, the house was eminently livable.
尽管修缮和装修尚未完工，但房子非常适合居住。

The steward, one of Genji’s more trusted retainers, did everything to make them feel at home. —
管家是源氏最信任的家丁之一，他做了一切让他们感到宾至如归。 —

The days passed as Genji cast about for an excuse to visit. —
源氏四处寻找借口去访问的日子一天天过去。 —

For the Akashi lady the sorrow was yet more insistent. —
对于明石的女子，悲伤更加压抑。 —

With little to occupy her, she found her thoughts running back to Akashi. —
无事可做，她发现自己的思绪又回到了明石。 —

Taking out the seven-stringed Chinese koto which Genji had left with her, she played a brief strain as fancy took her. —
她取出了源氏留给她的七弦琴，随心所欲地弹奏了一小段。 —

It was the season for sadness, and she need not fear that she was being heard; and the wind in the pines struck up an accompaniment.
这是悲伤的季节，她不必担心被听到；松林里的风奏起了一曲伴奏。

Her mother had been resting.
她的母亲一直在休息。

“I have returned alone, a nun, to a mountain village,
“我独自回到了一个山村，成为了一名尼姑，

And hear the wind in the pines of long ago.”
听着往昔的松风声。”

The daughter replied:
女儿回答道：

“I long for those who know the country sounds,
“我渴望那些熟悉乡音的人，

And listen to my koto, and understand.”
欣赏我的箜篌，并理解其中含义。”

Uneasy days went by. More restless than when she had been far away, Genji could contain himself no longer. —
不安的日子过去了。源氏比远行时更加焦躁不安， —

He did not care what people would think. —
他不在乎别人会怎么想。 —

He did not tell Murasaki all the details, but he did send her a note. —
他没有告诉紫式部所有的细节，但他给她写了一封便条。 —

Once again he feared that reports would reach her from elsewhere.
他再次担心会有消息从别处传来。

“I have business at Katsura which a vague apprehension tells me I have neglected too long. —
“我有些事情要去桂府处理，一种模糊的忧虑告诉我我已经忽视了太久。 —

Someone to whom I have made certain commitments is waiting there. —
一个我承诺了某些事情的人在那里等我。 —

And my chapel too, and those statues, sitting undecorated. —
还有我的小教堂，和那些坐着未加装饰的雕像。 —

It is quite time I did something about them. —
是该处理一下了。 —

I will be away perhaps two or three days.”
我可能会离开两三天。”

This sudden urge to visit Katsura and put his chapel in order made her suspect his actual motives. —
突然想要去访问桂府并整理他的教堂让她怀疑他实际的动机。 —

She was not happy. Those two or three days were likely to become days enough to rot the handle of the woodcutter’s ax.
她并不开心。那两三天很可能会变成足以腐蚀伐木工斧柄的日子。

“I see you are being difficult again.” He laughed. —
“我看你又开始刁难了。”他笑了起来。 —

“You are in a small minority, my dear, for the whole world agrees that I have mended my ways.”
“亲爱的，你是少数派，全世界都认为我已经改过了。”

The sun was high when he finally set out.
当他终于出发时，太阳已经挂得很高了。

He had with him a very few men who were familiar with the situation at Oi. Darkness was falling when he arrived. —
他带着一些熟悉大井状况的手下。到达时已是黄昏。 —

The lady had thought him quite beyond compare in the rough dress of an exile, and now she saw him in court finery chosen with very great care. —
姬觉得他被流放时的粗糙服饰无法与他现在的精心选择的宫廷服饰相比。 —

Her gloom quite left her.
她的忧郁完全消失了。

And the daughter whom he was meeting for the first time — how could she fail to be a treasure among treasures? —
他第一次见面的女儿，怎么可能不是珍宝中的珍宝？ —

He was angry at each of the days and months that had kept them apart. —
他对使他们分开的每一天每一个月都感到愤怒。 —

People said that his son, the chancellor’s grandson, was a well-favored lad, but no doubt an element of sycophancy entered into the view. —
人们说他的儿子，宰相的孙子，是个长相俊美的小伙子，但无疑其中会涉及奉承的成分。 —

Nothing of the sort need obscure his view of the bud before him now. —
他眼前的花蕾绝不会遮蔽他的视线。 —

The child was a laughing, sparkling delight.
这个孩子笑得灿烂，闪闪发光。

Her nurse was much handsomer than when she had left for Akashi. —
她的乳母比她去明石时要漂亮得多。 —

She told Genji all about her months on the seashore. Genji felt somewhat apologetic. —
她向源氏讲述了她在海边度过的几个月。源氏感到有些抱歉。 —

It had been because of him that she had had to live among the salt burners’ huts.
是因为他，她才不得不住在采盐者的茅屋中。

“You are still too far away,” he said to the lady, “and it will not be easy for me to see you. —
“你还是太远了，”他对那位女士说，“我很难见到你。 —

I have a place in mind for you.”
我已经为你准备好了一个地方。”

“When I am a little more used to it all.” Which was not unreasonable of her.
“等我再适应一下。”她这样想并不过分。

They passed the night in plans and promises.
他们在计划和承诺中度过了一夜。

Genji gave orders for finishing the house. —
源氏下令完工那座房子。 —

Since word had been sent that he would be at his Katsura villa, people had gathered from all his nearby manors, and presently sought him out at Oi. He set them to clearing the garden.
有人传言他在桂庵，他的邻近庄园的人纷纷前来，最后在大井找到了他。他让他们开始清理花园。

“What a jumble. It could be a rather distinguished garden — but why take the trouble? —
“这是多么混乱啊。这本可以是一个相当有品位的花园 —— 但为什么要费这么大的劲呢？ —

It is not as if you meant to spend the rest of your life here, and you know better than most what a mistake it is to get too attached to a place.”
你不打算在这里度过余生，而你比大多数人更明白对一个地方太过执着是多么错误。”

He was so open, so sure of himself. She was more in love with him than ever.
他如此坦率，如此自信。她比以往更加爱他。

The old nun grinned upon them. All her worries had departed. —
老尼姑对着他俩咧嘴笑了。她所有的担忧都消失了。 —

Personally supervising the work of clearing the brook that ran from under the east gallery, Genji had thrown off his cloak. —
源氏亲自监督东廊下流出的小溪的疏浚工作，脱下斗篷。 —

The old lady thought him charming in his undersleeves. —
老太太觉得他穿着衬袖看起来迷人。 —

The holy vessels reminded him that she too had come. —
神圣的容器提醒他她也来了。 —

He was being rude. He sent immediately for his cloak.
他很失礼。他立刻叫人送来他的斗篷。

“I am sure it is your prayers that have made our little girl into such perfection,” he said, coming up to her curtains. —
“我相信是你的祈祷使我们的小女孩变得如此完美，”他走到她的帷幔前说道。 —

“I am very grateful. And I must thank you too, most sincerely, that you have left peace and serenity for what must be the ugliest sort of confusion. —
“我非常感激。我也必须衷心感谢你，你为我们留下了和平与宁静，而不是那种最丑陋混乱。 —

You left your saintly husband behind, all by himself, with nothing to occupy him but thoughts of you. —
你把你那位圣洁的丈夫留在身后，独自一人，没有别的事情可以让他忙，只能想着你。 —

It must have been very difficult.”
这一定很困难。”

“Yes, I thought I had given all this up, and it was a little confusing. —
“是的，我曾经以为我已经放弃了这一切，这有点混乱。 —

But your kindness and understanding make me feel that I am being rewarded for having lived so long. —
但是你的善意和理解让我觉得我在活了这么久后得到了回报。 —

” There were tears in her voice. “I worried about the seedling pine on those unfriendly coasts. —
”她的声音里带着泪水。“我担心那个在那些不友好海岸上的幼苗松树。 —

Its prospects have improved enormously, and yet I am afraid. —
它的前景已经有了很大的改善，但我很害怕。 —

Its roots are so very shallow.” She spoke in soft, courtly tones.
它的根系非常浅。”她说话温柔而优雅。

He asked her about the villa as it had been in Prince Nakatsukasa’s day. —
他询问她关于中勘助王子时代的别墅。 —

The brook, now cleared of weeds and litter, seemed to have found the moment to announce itself.
那条现在被清除了杂草和垃圾的小溪，似乎找到了宣布自己存在的时机。

“The mistress, long gone, is lost upon her return
“主母，早已逝去，回归的时候失落而彷徨，

To find that the brook has quite usurped her claims.”
发现那条小溪竟已篡夺了她的所有权。”

A voice can seem affected as it trails off at the end of a poem, but the old nun’s was genteel and courtly.
当一首诗最后声音渐弱的时候，声音似乎被刻意加工，但是这位老尼姑的声音温文尔雅。

“Clean waters, bringing back the distant past
“清澈的水，带回遥远的过去”

To one who comes to them in somber habit.”
一个身穿严肃服装来到她们这里的人。

As he stood gazing meditatively out over the scene, he seemed to the old nun the ultimate in noble dignity.
当他凝视着那片景色时，对于老修女来说，他仿佛是至高无上的尊贵。

Going on to his chapel, he ordered bimonthly services in honor of Amitābha, Sākyamuni, and Samantabhadra, and interim services as well, and gave instructions for decorating the chapel and the images. —
继续前往他的小教堂，他安排了每隔两个月举行一次供奉阿弥陀佛、释迦牟尼佛和普贤菩萨的法会，还有其他时间的仪式，并给予了装饰小教堂和佛像的指示。 —

He returned to Oi by moonlight.
他在月光下回到了大井。

Memories of similar nights in Akashi must not go unaccompanied. —
不应该让对明石相似的夜晚失去回忆。 —

The lady brought out the Chinese koto he had given her. —
女士拿出他给她的中国古筝。 —

He plucked out a strain as he gave himself up to the memories. —
他一边弹着琴弦，一边沉浸在回忆中。 —

The tuning, as when he had given it to her, took him back to those days and to Akashi.
调音，就像他当年送给她时一样，把他带回了那些过去的日子和明石。

“Unchanged it is when now we meet again.
“我们再次相见，它是不变的。”

And do you not see changelessness in me?”
“你在我身上难道没有看到不变吗？”

“Your promise not to change was my companion.
“你的承诺不改变是我的伴侣。”

I added my sighs to those of the wind in the pines.”
“我把我的叹息与松树被风声结合在一起。”

She held her own very well in these exchanges, evidence, he thought, that she had been meant for unusual things. —
她在这些交流中表现得很出色，这让他觉得她注定要做些不同寻常的事情。 —

She had improved in looks and in bearing since last he had seen her. —
自上次见她以来，她在外表和风仪上都有所提升。 —

He could not take his eyes from the child. And what now? —
他无法从那个孩子身上移开目光。接下来呢？ —

The mother was of inferior birth, and the disability must not be passed on to the daughter. —
母亲出身低贱，这种残疾不能传给女儿。 —

It could be overcome if he were to take her to Nijō and see to her needs as he wished. —
如果他带她去二条，并按照他的意愿照顾她，则可以克服这个问题。 —

Yet there were the feelings of the mother to be considered and of them he was uncertain. —
但还需要考虑母亲的感受，这让他感到不确定。 —

Choking with tears, he tried to bring the matter up.
他含着泪尝试提起这个问题。

The little girl, no more than a baby, was shy at first, but soon they were friends, and she was gurgling more happily and prettily all the time. —
这个小女孩只是个婴儿，最初很害羞，但很快她们成了朋友，她的笑声愈发开心动听。 —

Her mother meanwhile sat in mute gratitude. —
与此同时，她的母亲坐在一旁感激不尽。 —

The future seemed to open limitlessly.
未来似乎无限开阔。

He overslept the next morning, when he was to return to the city. —
第二天早上，他睡过头了，当他本应返回城里时。 —

He had meant to go directly back, but great crowds had gathered at the Katsura villa, and several men from the city had even made their way to Oi.
本来他打算立刻回去，但桂庵却聚集了很多人，就连城里的几位男子也来到了大井。

“How very inconvenient and embarrassing,” he muttered as he dressed. —
“这太令人不便和尴尬了，”他穿衣时喃喃自语。 —

“I had meant it to be rather more of a retreat.”
“我原本想这里能更像一个隐居之所。”

He had no choice but to go off with them. —
他别无选择，只得跟他们一起走。 —

He stood in the doorway fondling the little girl, who was in her nurse’s arms.
他站在门口抚摸着小女孩，她正被奶妈抱着。

“It is very selfish of me, but I can see that I won’t be able to let her out of my sight. —
“这很自私，但我发现自己无法让她离开我的视线。 —

What am I to do? Must you be so far away?”
我该怎么办？你们为何要离那么遥远呢？”

“Yes,” said the nurse, “the fact that you are nearer only makes things worse.”
“是的，”护士说，“你离得更近只会让事情变得更糟。”

In her arms, the child was straining towards him.
孩子在她怀里向他伸出手。

“There seems to be no end to my troubles. —
“我的烦恼似乎没有尽头。” —

I hate the thought of being away from you for even a minute, my sweet. But just look at this. —
我讨厌离开你哪怕只有一分钟，我的甜心。但看看这个。 —

You are sorry to see me go, but your mother does not seem to be. —
你看到我要走了很难过，但你的母亲似乎并不在意。 —

She could comfort me a little, if she chose.”
如果她愿意的话，她可以给我一点安慰。”

The nurse smiled and transmitted the message.
护士微笑着传达了信息。

The lady hung back. This morning’s farewell seemed more difficult than all the years away from him. There was just a little too much of the grand lady in this behavior, thought Genji. Her women, urging her on, had to agree. —
这早晨的告别似乎比多年的分离更艰难。源氏认为她这种行为有些过于高贵淑女了。她的女仆们催促她向前走，不得不同意。 —

Finally she came forward. Her profile, half hidden by the curtain, was wonderfully soft and gentle. —
最终她向前走来。半掩在窗帘后的侧面显得柔和温婉。 —

She might have been a princess. He pulled the curtain back and offered some last affectionate words of farewell. —
她简直像一位公主。他拉开窗帘，说了最后一番深情的告别。 —

His men were in a great hurry to be off, and he was about to follow. He looked back again. —
他的手下急于出发，他也准备跟着走。他又回过头来看了一眼。 —

Though she was remarkably good at hiding her emotions, she was gazing at him now with open regret. —
尽管她擅长隐藏情感，但此刻她用开放的遗憾凝视着他。 —

He seemed even handsomer than at Akashi. Then he hadoueemed a little slender for his height. —
他看起来比在明石的时候更英俊。那时他显得有点瘦高。 —

He had filled out, and no one could have found fault with his proportions or his manner, the essence of mature dignity. —
他长势更加健壮，从头到脚都无可挑剔，充满了成熟的尊严。 —

Perfection from head to foot, she thought — though she may have been a prejudiced observer.
她觉得他是完美无缺的——尽管她可能是个有偏见的观察者。

The young guards officer whose fortunes had sunk and risen with Genji’s — he who had had reproachful words for the god of Kamo — now wore the cap of the Fifth Rank, and was in his glory. —
少卫士官，他的命运与源氏的命运一起起伏，曾对賀茂神有过责备的他如今戴着五品官帽，正处于他的辉煌时刻。 —

Waiting to take Genji’s sword, he spied a woman inside the blinds.
等待接过源氏的剑时，他在窗棂内发现了一位女子。

“It may seem that I have forgotten the old days,” he said, rather self-importantly, one may have thought, “but that is because I have been on good behavior. —
“或许看起来我已经忘记了旧日的事情，”他有点自以为是地说道，或许有人这样认为，“但这是因为我一直表现得很好。 —

The breezes that awoke me this morning seemed very much like the sea breezes at Akashi. —
今早唤醒我的微风似乎很像明石的海风。 —

I looked in vain for a way to tell you so.
我徒劳地寻找一种方法告诉你。

“This mountain village, garlanded in eightfold mists, is not inferior, we have found, to that where the boat disappears among the island mists. —
“这座山村，笼罩在八重薄雾中，我们发现并不逊色于那里，那里的小船消失在岛屿雾中。 —

All that had seemed wanting was that the pines were not the pines of old. —
所有看起来缺少的就是这些松树不是旧时的松树。 —

It is a comfort to find that there is one who has not forgotten.”
发现仍有一位没有忘记的人是一种慰藉。

Scarcely what he had hoped for — and he had been fond of her. —
几乎不是他所希望的事情 — 而他曾经喜欢过她。 —

“I will see you again,” he said, and returned to Genji’s side.
“我会再见到你的，”他说完便回到源氏身边。

Genji walked off to his carriage amid the shouts of his outrunners. —
源氏在侍卫的欢呼声中走向他的马车。 —

He invited Tō no Chūjō and Hyōe no Kami to ride with him.
他邀请当时的头拉仲和兵部卿一起同行。

“You cannot know what a disappointment it is,” he said, in genuine annoyance, “to have people pour in on what you had hoped would be a hideaway.”
“你不知道这是多么令人失望，”他真正生气地说，“希望偏僻的地方却被人打扰了。”

“Nor can you know our disappointment, my lord, at not being permitted to share the moon with you last night. —
“同样，我们无法与您分享昨晚的月色而感到失望，大人。这就是我们穿过秋雾的原因。不过旅程还是有其乐趣的。 —

That is why we fought our way through the autumn mists. Though the journey did have its pleasures. —
这就是他们闯过秋霾的原因。虽然旅程确实有其乐趣。 —

The autumn leaves are not quite at their best, perhaps, but the autumn flowers were very beautiful. —
秋叶可能并不十分美丽，但秋花却非常美丽。 —

” He went on to describe a falconing expedition that was keeping certain of his friends longer than they had planned.
他继续描述一个狩猎探险，让他的某些朋友比原计划停留更久。

“And so we must go to Katsura, I suppose,” said Genji, to the modest consternation of the stewards, who now had to put together an impromptu banquet.
“我想我们必须去桂了吧，”源氏说着，使管家们感到有些窘迫，因为他们现在不得不临时准备一个宴会。

The calls of the cormorant fishermen made him think of the fishermen at Akashi, their speech as incomprehensible as the chirping of birds. —
鸬鹚渔夫们的呼唤使他想起了明石的渔民，他们的话语像鸟鸣一样难以理解。 —

Back from their night upon the moors, the young falconers offered a sampling of their take, tied to autumn reeds. —
从荒野归来的年轻猎鹰带来了他们的收获的样品，系在秋草上。 —

The flagons went the rounds so frequently that a river crossing seemed out of the question, and so of course a day of roistering must be passed at Katsura. —
酒杯频繁传递，河流渡口似乎不可能过，所以自然而然地必须在桂过一天放纵的时光。 —

Chinese poems were tossed back and forth. —
中文诗句被传递来传去。 —

As moonlight flooded the scene the music was more bois- terous, dominated by the flute, there being several fine flutists in the company. —
当月光洒满整个场景时，音乐更加喧闹，以长笛为主，因为在场的有几位优秀的吹笛手。 —

The stringed instruments were quieter, only the Japanese koto and the lute. —
弦乐器比较安静，只有日本琴和吉他。 —

The flute is an autumn instrument, at its best in the autumn breezes. —
长笛是秋天的乐器，在秋风中表现得最好。 —

Every detail of the riverbank rose clear and high and clean in the moonlight. —
河岸的每个细节在月光下清晰明亮。 —

A new party arrived from the palace, from the royal presence itself, indeed. —
有一个新的宴会从皇宫来，事实上是直接来自皇帝。 —

The emperor had been much disappointed that Genji had not called at the end of the week-long retreat from which the court had just emerged. —
皇帝对源氏没有在一周的退隐结束时来拜访感到非常失望，而朝廷刚刚结束这一期间。 —

There was music once more, and surely, thought the emperor, Genji would appear. —
又响起了音乐，皇帝想，源氏肯定会出现的。 —

This was the emperor’s personal message, delivered by a secretary after Genji had offered suitable excuses:
这是皇帝的个人消息，由一位秘书转达，之后源氏提出了合适的借口。

“Cleaner, more stately the progress of the moon
月亮的进程更加清洁和庄严

Through regions beyond the river Katsura.
穿越桂川之河的地区

“I am envious.”
“我很羡慕。”

Genji repeated his apologies, most elaborately. —
源氏再次详细地道歉。 —

But this somehow seemed a better place for music than even the palace. —
但这个地方似乎比宫殿更适合音乐。 —

They abandoned themselves to music and to wine.
他们沉醉在音乐和美酒中。

The Katsura villa being inadequately supplied, Genji sent to Oi to see if there might not be quietly elegant cloths and garments with which to reward the messengers. —
桂别墅的供应不足，源氏派人去大井看是否有安静优雅的衣物可以奖赏使者们。 —

Two chests came back from the Oi closets. —
从大井的衣橱里回来了两个箱子。 —

There was a set of women’s robes for the royal envoy, who returned immediately to the city.
为皇家使节准备了一套妇女的衣裳，使节立即回到城里。

Genji’s reply to the emperor was an oblique hint that a royal visit would be welcomed:
源氏对天子的回复间接地暗示皇家拜访将受欢迎：

It is not true to its name, this Katsura.
这个桂别墅名不副实。

There is not moon enough to dispel the mists.”
没有足够的月光来驱散雾气。”

“Katsura, at the heart of the eternal moon,” he added softly; —
“桂，在永恒月光之心，”他轻声补充道； —

and he thought too of Mitsune’s “Awaji in the moonlight.”
他也想到了光树的“月夜中的淡路”。

“So near and clear tonight, is it the moon
“今晚如此近和明亮，这是月亮。

Of far Awaji? We both have come back.”
在远远的淡路，我们俩都回来了。

This was the reply.:
这是回答。

“All should now be peace. Then lost in clouds
“现在一切应当平安。然后失去在云中，

The moon sends forth again its radiance.”
月亮再次发出它的光芒。”

Sadaiben, an older official who had been in close attendance upon Genji’s father, also had a poem:
年长的官员禎弁，曾在源氏父亲身边照料，也有一首诗：

“The midnight moon should still be in the heavens.
“午夜月亮应当还在天上。

Gone is its radiance — hidden in what valley?”
它的光芒去了 — 藏在哪个山谷？”

There would seem to have been poems and poems, but I did not have the patience to set them all down. —
似乎有很多诗和诗，但我没有耐心把它们全部记录下来。 —

I could have enjoyed a millennium of Genji’s company, however, so serene and sure did he seem.
无论如何，我很喜欢源氏的陪伴，他看起来那么宁静和可靠。

Today they must definitely go back, said Genji, and soon. No rotting ax handles, please.
今天他们必须肯定要回去，源氏说，并且很快。请别让斧柄腐烂。

Gifts were distributed as became the several ranks, and the waves of courtiers, coming and going, disappearing and reappearing in the morning mists, were like banks of autumn flowers. —
礼物按照各自的级别分发，官员们来来去去，早晨的薄雾中消失又出现，就像秋天的花海。 —

Some of the warrant officers were good poets and singers. —
一些警官是优秀的诗人和歌手。 —

Rather bored with elegance, they had moved on to ribaldry. —
对于优雅感到厌倦后，他们转向了粗鲁的言辞。 —

Someone sang “Oh My Pony,” so successfully that courtier after courtier was seen stripping off robes and pressing them upon him. —
有人唱起“我的小马”如此成功，以至于一个接一个的宫廷人脱下长袍递给他。 —

It was as if the wind had spread a brocade of autumn leaves over the garden. —
就像风吹散了一层秋叶花布覆盖在花园里。 —

Echoes of this noisy departure reached Oi, and a sad lady. —
这喧嚣的离开声传到了於井和一位悲伤的女士那里。 —

Genji was sorry that he had not been able to get off a letter.
源氏很遗憾没有能写封信。

Back at Nijō, he rested for a time and went to tell Murasaki of the excursion.
回到二条，他休息片刻，去告诉紫苑有关这次郊游。

“I must apologize for having stayed away longer than I had planned. —
“我必须为逗留的时间比计划中长道歉。 —

They hunted me down and dragged me off with them. I am exhausted. —
他们找到我，硬拉着我去。我筋疲力尽。 —

” He tried to be casual about what was too obvious, that she was not happy. —
“他尝试装出漫不经心的样子，但显然她并不快乐。 —

“You have a way, my dear, of comparing yourself with people who simply are not in your class. —
“亲爱的，你总是拿自己和根本不是你同一层次的人相比。 —

Give yourself your just due, if you will.”
如果你愿意，请给自己应有的尊重。”

About to leave for court that evening, he turned his attention from her to his writing desk. —
当晚准备离开去朝廷时，他把注意力从她身上转移到写字台上。 —

She knew which lady demanded being written to, and could see that the letter was full of warm avowals.
她知道应该写信的女士是谁，并看到这封信充满了热切的情感表达。

He returned to Nijō late that night. Usually he would have spent the night at court, but he was worried about Murasaki. —
他那天晚上很晚才回到二条。通常他会在朝廷过夜，但他担心紫苑。 —

An answer had come from Oi which he could not hide from her. Fortunately it was a decorous one.
从於井那里来了一封回信，他无法瞒着她。幸运的是，那是一封得体的回信。

“Tear it up and throw it away if you will, please,” he said, leaning against an armrest. —
“如果可以的话，请把它撕掉扔掉，” 他靠在扶手上说。 —

“I am too old to leave this sort of thing scattered around the house. —
“我已经老了，不能再把这种东西散落在家里了。 —

” He gazed into the lamplight and his thoughts were in Oi.
” 他凝视着灯光，心里想着於井。

Though he had spread the letter before her, Murasaki did not look at it.
虽然他已将信放在她面前，紫式部却没有看它。

He smiled. “You are very funny when you are pretending not to want to see. —
他微笑着。“你假装不想看的时候很有趣。 —

” He came nearer, quite exuding charm.” As a matter of fact, the child is a very pretty little girl, if you wish to know. —
他走近，散发着魅力。“事实上，这孩子是一个非常漂亮的小女孩，如果你想知道的话。 —

I cannot help feeling that there is a legacy of some sort from another life, and that it is not to be dismissed. —
我不禁觉得有一种来自另一个生命的遗产，不能轻易忽视。 —

But I am worried. She has so much against her. —
但我很担心。她有太多的不利因素。 —

Put yourself in my place, if you will, and make the decision for me. What do you think? —
如果你愿意，就把自己放在我的位置上，为我做出决定。你认为怎么样？ —

Will you perhaps take her in? She has reached the years of the leech chi1d, but I cannot quite bring myself to behave as the leech child’s parents did. —
也许你愿意收留她吗？她已经到了能力独立的年龄，但我无法像寄生的孩子的父母那样行事。 —

She is still in diapers, one might say, and if they do not repel you, might I perhaps ask you to see to pinning them up?”
她仍然穿着尿布，如果这不会让你感到反感，也许我可以请你帮忙给她系上？

“If I sometimes sulk, it is because you ask me to, and I would not think of refusing. —
“如果我有时板着脸，那是因为你要求我这样做，我不会拒绝。 —

” She was smiling now. “I will love her, I am sure I will. Just at the dearest age. —
她正在微笑。“我会爱她的,我相信我会。正处在最可爱的年纪。 —

” She did love children, and longed even now to have the girl in her arms.
她喜欢儿童，甚至现在都渴望将这个女孩抱在怀里。

Genji was still worried. Should he bring her to Nijō? —
源氏仍然很担心。他是不是应该把她带到二条去？ —

It was not easy for him to visit Oi. His chapel would offer the occasion for no more than two visits a month. —
对他来说，拜访织卷是不容易的。他的小教堂每月只提供两次拜访的机会。 —

Though better off, perhaps, than Princess Tanabata, the Akashi lady was certain to be unhappy.
虽然比丹阿下的公主更富裕，但明石夫人肯定会不开心。