Genji was immersed in preparations for his daughter’s initiation ceremonies. —
源氏忙着为女儿的入室仪式做准备。 —

Similar ceremonies were to be held for the crown prince in the Second Month. The girl was to go to court immediately afterwards.
冠太子也要在二月举行类似的仪式。女儿之后将立刻前往宫廷。

It was now the end of the First Month. In his spare time Genji saw to blending the perfumes she would take with her. —
此时已经是一月底了。在闲暇时间，源氏着手调配女儿将带走的香水。 —

Dissatisfied with the new ones that had come from the assistant viceroy of Kyushu, he had old Chinese perfumes brought from the Nijō storehouses.
他对九州辅王送来的新香水不满意，就让人从二条仓库里拿来古老的中国香水。

“It is with scents as with brocades: the old ones are more elegant and congenial.
“香水如锦缎一般：旧香更加雅致宾致。

Then there were cushions for his daughter’s trousseau, and covers and trimmings and the like. —
然后是女儿嫁妆中的垫子、罩子、边饰等。 —

New fabrics did not compare with the damasks and red and gold brocades which an embassy had brought from Korea early in his father’s reign. —
新面料与使父亲在位早期一次使团从韩国带来的锦缎和红金锦缎相比无法相提并论。 —

He selected the choicest of them and gave the Kyushu silks and damasks to the serving women.
他挑选其中的上等面料，将九州的丝绸和锦缎交给侍女。

He laid out all the perfumes and divided them among his ladies. —
他摆出了所有的香水，将它们分发给女眷们。 —

Each of them was to prepare two blends, he said. —
每人，他说，要准备两种混合香水。 —

At Rokujō and elsewhere people were busy with gifts for the officiating priests and all the important guests. —
六条等处人们正忙着为主持的僧侣和所有重要的客人准备礼物。 —

Every detail, said Genji, must be of the finest. —
源氏说，每一个细节都要精致。 —

The ladies were hard at work at their perfumes, and the clatter of pestles was very noisy indeed.
女眷们正忙着调香水，捣碎声音很响。

Setting up his headquarters in the main hall, apart from Murasaki, Genji turned with great concentration to blending two perfumes the formulas for which — how can they have come into his hands? —
源氏在大殿设立指挥部，除了紫，他全神贯注地调制着两种香水，其配方——这可能是怎么传到他手上的呢？ —

— had been handed down in secret from the day of the emperor Nimmyō. —
——是从仁明天皇时代开始传下来的秘方。 —

In a deeply curtained room in the east wing Murasaki was at work on blends of her own, after the secret Hachijō tradition. —
在东厢楼的一个深垂帷幕的房间里，紫式部正在按照秘传八条流派的秘方调制自己的香粉。 —

The competition was intense and the security very strict.
这场比赛竞争激烈，安保措施非常严格。

“Let the depths and shallows be sounded,” said Genji solemnly, “before we reach our decisions. —
“在做出决定之前，让我们彻底了解每种香粉的深浅层次。”源氏庄重地说道。 —

” His eagerness was so innocent and boyish that few would have taken him for the father of the initiate.
他的热切表现出来的是那么天真稚嫩，很少有人会把他认作新晋候补父亲。

The ladies reduced their staffs to a minimum and let it be known that they were not limiting themselves to perfumes but were concerned with accessories too. —
女眷们简化了他们的工作人员，表示他们不仅关注香粉，还关注配件。 —

They would be satisfied with nothing but the best and most original jars and boxes and censers.
她们不会满足于普通的罐子、盒子和香炉，而是要追求最好最独特的。

They had exhausted all their devices and everything was ready. —
她们已经尽心竭力，一切准备就绪。 —

Genji would review the perfumes and seal the best of them in jars.
源氏将审查所有的香粉，并将最好的封存在罐子里。

Prince Hotaru came calling on the tenth of the Second Month. A gentle rain was falling and the rose plum near the veranda was in full and fragant bloom. —
二月十日，螢王子前来访问。细雨霏霏，庭院里的蔷薇樱树盛开芳香。 —

The ceremonies were to be the next day. Very close since boyhood, the brothers were admiring the blossoms when a note came attached to a plum branch from which most of the blossoms had fallen. —
仪式定于隔天举行。两兄弟自幼情同手足，在欣赏花朵时，一位使者送来了一封依稀残破的梅花枝附着的便笺。 —

It was from Princess Asagao, said the messenger. —
使者说是朝顏公主所赐。 —

Prince Hotaru was very curious, having heard rumors.
螢王子听闻传闻后十分好奇。

“I made certain highly personal requests of her,” said Genji, smiling and putting the letter away. —
“我向她提了几个非常个人化的请求，”源氏笑着放下了这封信。 —

“I am sure that as always she has complied with earnest efficiency.”
“我相信她会一如既往地认真高效地满足这些要求。”

The princess had sent perfumes kneaded into rather large balls in two jars, indigo and white, the former decorated with a pine branch and the latter a branch of plum. —
公主送来了用两个罐子装着的香粉，一个是靛蓝色，一个是白色，前者装饰着一根松枝，后者是一根梅枝。 —

Though the cords and knots were conventional, one immediately detected the hand of a lady of taste. —
虽然绳索和结是常规的，但人们立刻就能察觉到一个有品位的女士的手笔。 —

Inspecting the gifts and finding them admirable, the prince came upon a poem in faint ink which he softly read over to himself.
检查这些礼物发现它们很美好，王子在一支淡墨中找到了一首诗，他轻声读了一遍。

“Its blossoms fallen, the plum is of no further use.
“梅花凋零，再无用处。

Let its fragrance sink into the sleeves of another.”
让它的芬芳沁入他人的衣袖。”

Yūgiri had wine brought for the messenger and gave him a set of lady’s robes, among them a Chinese red lined with purple.
梦吉为使者送来了酒，还送了一套贵妇人的衣服，其中一件是一件中国红色衬着紫色的衣服。

Genji’s reply, tied to a spray of rose plum, was on red paper.
源氏的回复写在一支玫瑰梅上，用红纸包裹着。

“And what have you said to her?” asked the prince. “Must you be so
王子问：“你跟她说了什么？”“你为什么如此……”

“I would not dream of having secrets from you.”
“我不会对你有什么隐瞒。”

This, it would seem, is the poem which he jotted down and handed to his brother:
看来这就是他匆匆写下交给兄长的那首诗：

“The perfume must be hidden lest people talk,
“香气必须隐藏，免得引人议论，

But I cannot take my eye from so lovely a blossom.”
可我却不忍移眼离开这么美丽的花朵。”

“This grand to-do may strike you as frivolous,” said Genji, “but a man does go to very great troubles when he has only one daughter. —
源氏说：“这场盛大的庆典也许让你觉得轻浮，但一个人若只有一个女儿，定会竭尽全力。 —

She is a homely little thing whom I would not wish strangers to see, and so I am keeping it in the family by asking the empress to officiate. —
我的女儿长得一般，不愿意让陌生人见到，所以我通过请皇后主持来把这个庆典局限在家人中。 —

The empress is a lady of very exacting standards, and even though I think of her as one of the family I would not want the smallest detail to be wrong.”
皇后是一个有着极高标准的女士，即使我视她为家人，我也不希望出现任何细微错误。”

“What better model could a child have than an empress?”
“一个孩子如果有一个皇后作为榜样那还有谁会更好呢？”

The time had come to review the perfumes.
该时候已经到了审查香水的时候。

“It should be on a rainy evening,” said Genji. “And you shall judge them. Who if not you?”
“应该选择在一个雨天的晚上，”源氏说。“而你将来评判它们。如果不是你，那么谁呢？”

He had censers brought in. A most marvelous display was ranged before the prince, for the ladies were determined that their manufactures be presented to the very best advantage.
他们把香炉搬了进来。对于王子来说摆放着一场最奇妙的陈列，因为这些女士们决定要把自己的产品展示得最完美。

“I am hardly the one who knows,” said the prince.
“我并不是了解得最多的那个人，”王子说道。

He went over them very carefully, finding this and that delicate flaw, for the finest perfumes are sometimes just a shade too insistent or too bland.
他仔细检查着它们，发现了这个那个微妙的瑕疵，因为最精致的香水有时候只是稍微过于刺鼻或者太过平淡。

Genji sent for the two perfumes of his own compounding. —
源氏把自己调配的两种香水送了过来。 —

It being in the old court tradition to bury perfumes beside the guardsmen’s stream, he had buried them near the stream that flowed between the main hall and the west wing. —
因为旧朝廷的传统是在护卫士的溪边埋葬香气，他把它们埋在了主殿和西厢房之间流淌的小溪旁边。 —

He dispatched Koremitsu’s son, now a councillor, to dig them up. —
他派遣了是目良的儿子，现在是一名参议员，去把它们挖出来。 —

Yūgiri brought them in.
又来了弓着身子的小松。

“You have assigned me a most difficult task,” said the prince. —
“你给我安排了一个非常困难的任务，”王子说。 —

“I fear that my judgment may be a bit smoky.”
“我担心我的判断可能会有些模糊。”

The same tradition had in several fashions made its way down to the several contestants. —
同样的传统以多种方式延续到了几个参赛者。 —

Each had added ingeniously original touches. —
每个人都添加了独具匠心的原创之处。 —

The prince was faced with many interesting and delicate problems.
王子面临着许多有趣而微妙的问题。

Despite Asagao’s self-deprecatory poem, her “dark” winter incense was judged the best, somehow gentler and yet deeper than the others. —
尽管朝顾谦逊的诗篇，她的“黑暗”冬季香料被评为最好，比其他人更加柔和而深邃。 —

The prince decided that among the autumn scents, the “chamberlain’s perfumes,” as they are called, Genji’s had an intimacy which however did not insist upon itself. —
王子认为，在秋季的香气中，“内侍的香气”，就如它们被称呼的那样，源氏的香气有一种亲密感，但并没有强调自己。 —

Of Murasaki’s three, the plum or spring perfume was especially bright and original, with a tartness that was rather daring.
紫的三种香气中，梅花的春季香气特别明亮和独特，带有一种相当大胆的酸味。

“Nothing goes better with a spring breeze than a plum blossom,” said the prince.
“春风中最适合的就是梅花了,” 王子说。

Observing the competition from her summer quarter, the lady of the orange blossoms was characteristically reticent, as inconspicuous as a wisp of smoke from a censer. —
从夏季住处观察比赛的橘子花玫瑰夫人典型的守口如瓶，就像一炉香炉中的一缕烟一样不显眼。 —

She finally submitted a single perfume, a summer lotus-leaf blend with a pungency that was gentle but firm. —
最终她提交了一种单独的香料，夏季莲叶混合，带有一种温和但坚定的辛辣味。 —

In the winter quarter the Akashi lady had as little confidence that she could hold her own in such competition. —
冬季区的明石女士对自己能够在这种竞争中立于不败之地没有太多信心。 —

She finally submitted a “hundred pace” sachet from an adaptation of Minamoto Kintada’s formula by the earlier Suzaku emperor, of very great delicacy and refinement.
最终她提交了一份由早期的朱雀皇帝从源金忠的配方改编而成的“百步香囊”，非常精致和高雅。

The prince announced that each of the perfumes was obviously the result of careful thought and that each had much to recommend it.
王子宣布，每种香水显然是经过深思熟虑的结果，每种都有很多推荐之处。

“A harmless sort of conclusion,” said Genji.
“一个无害的结论,” 源氏说。

The moon rose, there was wine, the talk was of old times. —
月亮升起，有酒，谈论着往事。 —

The mist-enshrouded moon was weirdly beautiful, and the breeze following gently upon the rain brought a soft perfume of plum blossoms. —
弥漫在薄雾中的月亮异常美丽，伴随着雨水吹来的微风带来了梅花淡淡的香气。 —

The mixture of scents inside the hall was magical.
大厅内的香气交织在一起，像是魔法一般。

It was the eve of the ceremony. The stewards’ offices had brought musical instruments for a rehearsal. —
离仪式前夕还有一段时间。管家办公室为彩排带来了乐器。 —

Guests had gathered in large numbers and flute and koto echoed through all the galleries. —
客人们聚集在一起，长廊上回荡着笛子和箏声。 —

Kashiwagi, Kōbai, and Tō no Chūjō‘s other sons stopped by with formal greetings. —
柏木、红梅和藤壶少爷的其他儿子过来行礼问候。 —

Genji insisted that they join the concert. —
源氏坚持要他们参加音乐会。 —

For Prince Hotaru there was a lute, for Genji a thirteen-stringed koto, for Kashiwagi, who had a quick, lively touch, a Japanese koto. —
对于薄桜来说是一把琵琶，对于源氏是一把十三弦琴，对于弹奏风趣活泼的柏木则是一把日本琴。 —

Yūgiri took up a flute, and the high, clear strains, appropriate to the season, could scarcely have been improved upon. —
夕霧拿起了一支长笛，高亢清澈的声音，与季节恰到好处。 —

Beating time with a fan, Kōbai was in magnificent voice as he sang “A Branch of Plum.” Genji and Prince Hotaru joined him at the climax. —
红梅手持扇子打着节拍，嗓音嘹亮，演唱着《梅枝》。在高潮处，源氏和薄桜一同加入合唱。 —

It was Kōbai who, still a court page, had sung “Takasago” at the rhyme-guessing contest so many years before. —
红梅依旧是宫廷侍从，多年前曾在猜谜比赛上演唱《高砂》。 —

Everyone agreed that though informal it was an excellent concert.
所有人都认为这是一场非常出色的音乐会，虽然不正式。

Prince Hotaru intoned a poem as wine was brought in:
薄桜倒酒时吟诗一首:

“The voice of the warbler lays a deeper spell
“绢燕声音更悦人，

Over one already enchanted by the blossoms.
胜亦温柔春意娇。

“For a thousand years, if they do not fall?”
“若千载，尚不凋?”

Genji replied:
源氏回应道:

“Honor us by sharing our blossoms this spring
“愿与我共享今春花，

Until you have taken on their hue and fragrance.”
直至您也沾染芬芳。”

Kashiwagi recited this poem as he poured for Yūgiri:
柏木为夕霧斟酒时背诵了这首诗:

“Sound your bamboo flute all through the night
“让你的竹笛整夜作响”

And shake the plum branch where the warbler sleeps.”
抖动梅枝，战栗睡眠的莺。

Yūgiri replied:
弓切答曰：

“I thought we wished to protect them from the winds,
“我原以为是要保护它们远离寒风，

The blossoms you would have me blow upon madly.
你竟想让我狂暴地吹拂那些花朵。

“Most unthinking of you, sir.” There was laughter.
“你真是太不经思考了，先生。”朗笑声传来。

This was Kōbai’s poem:
高枋的这首诗：

“Did not the mists intercede to dim the moonlight
“若不是薄雾遮挡月光的辉煌

The birds on these branches might burst into joyous blossom.”
这些树枝上的鸟儿也许会开出欢愉的花朵。”

And indeed music did sound all through the night, and it was dawn when Prince Hotaru made ready to leave. —
整夜乐声不断，晨曦中螢火王准备起程。 —

Genji had a set of informal court robes and two sealed jars of perfume taken out to his carriage.
源氏把一套宫廷便服和两瓶封印香水送到车里。

“If she catches a scent of blossoms upon these robes,
“若她嗅到这些衣裳上的花香，

My lady will charge me with having misbehaved.”
我的女士将会指责我有失体统。”

“How very sad for you,” said Genji, coming out as the carriage was being readied.
“你可真是悲哀啊，”源氏在车边准备的时候出来了。

“I should have thought your lady might be pleased
“我原以为你的女士会很高兴，

To have you come home all flowers and brocades.
让你身披花朵和锦缎归来。

“She can scarcely be witness to such a sight every day.”
她几乎每天都看不到这样的景象。

The prince could not immediately think of an answer.
王子没有立刻想到一个答案。

There were modest but tasteful gifts, ladies’ robes and the like, for all the other guests.
为所有其他客人准备了适度但别致的礼物，如女士长袍等。

Genji went to the southwest quarter early that evening. —
那天晚上，源氏早早地去了西南区。 —

A porch at the west wing, where Akikonomu was in residence, had been fitted out for the ceremony. —
在西翼的一个门廊里，阿吉小姐已经住了进去，为举行仪式做好了准备。 —

The women whose duty it would be to bind up the initiate’s hair were already in attendance. —
负责给入门女子盘发的女人们已经在那里等候了。 —

Murasaki thought it a proper occasion to visit Akikonomu. —
紫上真认为这是拜访阿吉小姐的一个合适场合。 —

Each of the two ladies had a large retinue with her. —
两位女士都带着庞大的随从。 —

The ceremonies reached a climax at about midnight with the tying of the ceremonial train. —
仪式在午夜左右达到高潮，系上了仪式的长衣。 —

Though the light was dim, Akikonomu could see that the girl was very pretty indeed.
虽然灯光昏暗，阿吉小姐仍能看出这个女孩实在是非常漂亮。

“Still a gawky child,” said Genji. “I am giving you this glimpse of her because I know you will always be good to her. —
“还是一个笨拙的孩子，”源氏说。“我让你见到她，因为我知道你会永远善待她。” —

It awes me to think of the precedent we are setting.”
“我们设立的先例让我敬畏不已。”

“Do I make a difference?” replied Akikonomu, very young and pretty herself. —
“我会有所作为吗？”阿吉小姐回答，她自己非常年轻和漂亮。 —

“None at all, I should have thought.”
“我想是没有的。”

Such a gathering of beauty, said Genji, was itself cause for jubilation.
源氏说，这样一群美人聚集在一起，本身就是值得庆祝的原因。

The Akashi lady was of course saedthat she would not see her daughter on this most important of days. Genji debated the possibility of inviting her but concluded that her presence would make people talk and that the talk would do his daughter no good.
明石夫人当然表示她不能在这个最重要的日子见到她的女儿。源氏考虑是否邀请她，但最终得出结论，她的出席会引起议论，这种议论对他的女儿没有好处。

I shall omit the details. Even a partial account of a most ordinary ceremony in such a house can be tedious at the hands of an incompetent
我将省略细节。在这样一家的一个最普通的仪式的部分描述在一个无能的人手中可能会很乏味。

The crown prince’s initiation took place later in the month. —
太子的成人礼在这个月晚些时候举行。 —

He was mature for his years and the competition to enter his service should have been intense. —
他为他的年龄成熟，进入他的服侍的竞争应该是激烈的。 —

It seemed to the Minister of the Left, however, that Genji’s plans for his daughter made the prospects rather bleak for other ladies. —
然而，左卫大臣认为，源氏为他的女儿制定的计划使其他女性的前景相当黯淡。 —

Colleagues with nubile daughters tended to agree, and kept the daughters at home.
同事们有年轻女儿的都倾向于同意，并把女儿留在家里。

“How petty of them,” said Genji. “Do they want the prince to be lonely? —
“他们多么小气啊，”源氏说。“他们想要太子孤独吗？ —

Don’t they know that court life is only interesting when all sorts of ladies are in elegant competition?”
他们难道不知道宫廷生活只有在各种优雅的女性之间的竞争时才有趣？”

He postponed his daughter’s debut. The Minister of the Left presently relented and dispatched his third daughter to court. —
他推迟了女儿的首次亮相。左卫大臣最终松口，派遣他的第三个女儿到宫廷。 —

She was called Reikeiden.
她的名字叫冷華殿。

It was now decided that Genji’s daughter would go to court in the Fourth Month. The crown prince was very impatient. —
现在决定源氏的女儿在四月份去宫廷。太子非常迫不及待。 —

The hall in which Genji’s mother had lived and Genji had had his offices was now assigned to his daughter. —
源氏的母亲曾居住的厅堂和源氏曾经担任职务的地方现在被分配给他的女儿。 —

The finest craftsmen in the land were busy redecorating the rooms, which it might have seemed were splendid enough already. —
全国最优秀的工匠正忙着重新装修这些房间，尽管他们看起来已经很华丽了。 —

Genji himself went over the plans and designs.
源氏本人审查了计划和设计。

And there was her library, which Genji hoped would be a model for later generations. —
还有她的图书馆，源氏希望它能成为后代的楷模。 —

Among the books and scrolls were masterpieces by calligraphers of an earlier day.
在那些书籍和卷轴中，有着早期书法大师的杰作。

“We live in a degenerate age,” said Genji “Almost nothing but the ‘ladies’ hand’ seems really good. —
“我们生活在一个堕落的时代，”源氏说，“几乎只有‘淑女手’仍然真的好看。 —

In that we do excel. The old styles have a sameness about them. —
在这方面，我们做得很出色。旧式样貌有点单调。 —

They seem to have followed the copybooks and allowed little room for original talent We have been blessed in our own day with large numbers of fine calligraphers. —
它们似乎只是照搬样板，很少留出空间给原创才能。我们这个时代也有很多优秀的书法家。 —

Back when I was myself a student of the’ladies’ hand’ I put together a rather distinguished collection. —
当我还是‘淑女手’的学生时，我收集了一个相当优秀的收藏品。 —

he finest specimens in it, quite incomparable, I thought, were some informal jottings by the mother of the present empress. —
其中最出色的作品，毫无疑问是现任皇后母亲的一些随意涂鸦。 —

I thought that I had never seen anything so fine. —
我觉得我从未见过如此出色的作品。 —

I was so completely under their spell that I behaved in a manner which I fear did damage to her name. —
我当时被这些作品彻底迷住了，我的行为恐怕对她的名誉造成了损害。 —

Though the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her, she became very angry with me. —
我虽然最不愿意伤害她，但她却对我很生气。 —

But she was a lady of great understanding, and I somehow feel that she is watching us from the grave and knows that I am trying to make amends by being of service to her daughter. —
但她是一位很有深解的女士，我总觉得她正在坟墓中看着我们，知道我正在努力通过服务她的女儿来弥补过失。 —

As for the empress herself, she writes a subtle hand, but” — and he lowered his voice — “it may sometimes seem a little weak and wanting in substance.
至于皇后本人，她的书法写得很精致，但——”他压低声音——“有时看起来似乎有点薄弱和缺乏实质。

“Fujitsubo’s was another remarkable hand, remarkable and yet perhaps just a little uncertain, and without the richest overtones. —
“藤壶的书法也是非常了不起的，不过或许有点不太稳定，缺少最丰富的意味。 —

Oborozukiyo is too clever, one may think, and somewhat given to mannerism; —
朧月夜可能太聪明，人们可能会觉得她有些做作； —

but among the ladies still here to please us she has only two rivals, Princess Asagao and you yourself, my dear.”
但在仍在这里取悦我们的淑女中，她只有两个对手，一位是朝顾公主，另一位是你自己，亲爱的。”

“The thought of being admitted to such company overwhelms me,” said Murasaki.
“被允许进入这样的圈子，让我无法承受，”紫说。

“You are too modest. Your writing manages to be gentle and intimate without ever losing its assurance. —
“你太谦虚了。你的写作既温和又亲密，却从不失去自信。” —

It is always a pleasant surprise when someone who writes well in the Chinese style moves over to the Japanese and writes that just as well.”
“当一个擅长中国风格写作的人转向日本风格并同样写得很好时，总是令人惊喜的。”

He himself had had a hand in designing the jackets and bindings for several booklets which still awaited calligraphers. —
“他本人曾参与设计几本书册的封面和装订，这些书册仍在等待书法家的笔迹。” —

Prince Hotaru must copy down something in one of them, he said, and another was for a certain guards commander, and he himself would see to putting something down in one or two others.
“Hotaru王子必须在其中一本书中抄写一些内容，他说，另一本是为某位卫队长准备的，他自己将在另外一两本书中留下一些笔迹。”

“They are justly proud of their skills, but I doubt that they will leave me any great distance behind.”
“他们对自己的技艺感到自豪，但我怀疑他们不会让我落后太远。”

Selecting the finest inks and brushes, he sent out invitations to all his ladies to join in the endeavor. —
“精选上等墨水和毛笔，他向所有的女士发出邀请，加入这一努力。” —

Some at first declined, thinking the challenge too much for them. —
“起初有些人拒绝了，认为这个挑战对他们来说太难了。” —

Nor were the “young men of taste,” as he called them, to be left out. —
“他称之为’有品位的年轻人’也不会被遗漏。” —

Yūgiri, Murasaki’s oldest brother, and Kashiwagi, among others, were supplied with fine Korean papers of the most delicate hues.
“梅士的长兄和柏木，以及其他人，都被提供了色调最为细致的优质韩国纸张。”

“Do whatever you feel like doing, reed work or illustrations for poems or whatever.”
“随心所欲，可以是竹编作品，也可以是诗歌插图或其他任何东西。”

The competition was intense. Genji secluded himself as before in the main hall. —
“比赛非常激烈。源氏像以前一样把自己关在大厅里。” —

The cherry blossoms had fallen and the skies were soft. —
“樱花已落，天空幽静。” —

Letting his mind run quietly through the anthologies, he tried several styles with fine results, formal and cursive Chinese and the more radically cursive Japanese “ladies’ hand. —
“让思绪在选集中悠然漫游，他尝试了几种风格，效果非常好，正楷和行草，还有更激进的日文’女手’。” —

” He had with him only two or three women whom he could count on for interesting comments. —
“他只找到了两三个能提供有趣评论的女性。” —

They ground ink for him and selected poems from the more admired anthologies. —
“她们为他研磨墨水，并从更受欢迎的选集中挑选诗歌。” —

Having raised the blinds to let the breezes pass, he sat out near the veranda with a booklet spread before him, and as he took a brush meditatively between his teeth the women thought that they could gaze at him for ages on end and not tire. —
将百叶窗拉起，让微风吹过，他坐在阳台附近，面前铺着一本小册子，嘴里叼着一支笔刷，深深沉思着。女人们觉得可以长时间凝视他而不感到厌倦。 —

His brush poised over papers of clear, plain reds and whites, he would collect himself for the effort of writing, and no one of reasonable sensitivity could have failed to admire the picture of serene concentration which he presented.
他笔挥在红白纸上，为书写做准备，任何有点感性的人都会感叹他那份沉静专注的样子。

“His Highness Prince Hotaru.”
“蛍大君。”

Shaking himself from his reverie and changing to informal court dress, Genji had a place readied for his guest among the books and papers. —
从沉思中振作过来，换上便装，源氏在书稿和文书之间准备了一个位置给他的客人。 —

As the prince came regally up the stairs the women were delighted anew. —
王子威严地走上楼梯时，女人们再次开心起来。 —

The two brothers carried themselves beautifully as they exchanged formal greetings.
两兄弟互致问候时表现出优雅。

“My seclusion from the world had begun to be a little trying. —
“孤寂中的生活开始有点让人不耐烦。 —

It was thoughtful of you to break in upon the tedium.”
你过来打破这份乏味实在是体贴入微。”

The prince had come to deliver his manuscript. Genji read through it immediately. —
王子来交付他的手稿。源氏立刻阅读起来。 —

The hand could not have been called strikingly original, but of its sort it was disciplined and orderly. —
这手稿或许不算极具原创性，但属于有秩序和纪律性的类型。 —

The prince had chosen poems from the older anthologies and set each of them down in three short lines. —
王子选自古老的歌谣集，每首都是三行。 —

The style was a good cursive that made spare use of Chinese characters.
风格是一种使用汉字不多的好行草。

“I had not expected anything half so good,” said Genji. “You leave me with no recourse but to break my brushes and throw them all away.”
“我没料到会这么好，”源氏说。“你让我只能折断毛笔，把它们都扔掉。”

“I do at least give myself high marks for the boldness that permitted me to enter such a competition.”
“至少我给自己打了高分，因为有胆量参加这种比赛。”

Genji could not very well hide the manuscript he had been at work on himself. —
源氏自己也不好藏起自己一直在写的手稿。 —

They went over it together. The cursive Chinese characters on unusually stiff Chinese paper were very good indeed. —
他们一起查看了这些稿件。在那张异常坚硬的中式纸上，用草书写着的汉字非常出色。 —

As for the passages in the “ladies’ hand,” they were superb, gently flowing strokes on the softest and most delicately tinted of Korean papers. —
至于“女性手写”的段落，那些柔和流畅的笔触写在最柔软、最精致的朝鲜纸上。 —

A flow of admiring tears threatened to join the flow of ink. —
令人赞叹的眼泪夹杂在墨水的流淌中。 —

The prince thought that he could never tire of such pleasures. —
王子觉得自己永远都不会厌倦这样的乐趣。 —

On bright, bold papers made by the provisioner for our own royal court Genji had jotted down poems in a whimsical cursive style, the bold abandon of which was such as to make the prince fear that all the other manuscripts must seem at best inoffensive.
在我们皇宫供应商特制的光鲜大胆的纸张上，源氏以一种奇特的草书风格写下了诗句，其大胆的随意之处使王子担心其他手稿必定至多只是中规中矩而已。

The guards commander had also hoped to give an impression of boldness, but a certain muddy irresolution was hidden, or rather an attempt had been made to hide it, by mere cleverness. —
卫队长原本希望给人一种大胆坚定的印象，但却被一种不断摸不清的模糊不定所掩盖，或者说是曾试图通过纯粹的聪明才智来掩盖。 —

The selection of poems, moreover, left him open to charges of affectation.
此外，他的诗歌选择也使他招致做作之嫌。

Genji was more secretive with the ladies’ manuscripts and especially Princess Asagao’s.
源氏对于女性手稿特别保密，尤其是对朝顔公主的手稿。

The “reed work” was very interesting, each manuscript different from the others. —
那些“芦苇作品”非常有趣，每一份手稿都与众不同。 —

Yūgiri had managed to suggest the flow of water in generous, expansive strokes, and his vertical strokes called to mind the famous reeds of Naniwa. —
弓切运用宽大慷慨的笔触表现出水流，他的竖笔勾勒出那大名鼎鼎的浪花芦苇。 —

The joining of reeds anaswater was accomplished very deftly. —
芦苇与水的结合被极其灵巧地表现出来。 —

There were sudden and bold variations, so that, turning a page, the reader suddenly came upon craggy, rocklike masses.
突然出现大胆变化，翻开一页，读者便突然看到崎岖如岩石般的块状形体。

“Very fine indeed,” said the prince, a man of wide and subtle interests. —
“非常优秀。”王子说道，一个兼具广泛细致兴趣的人。 —

“He has obviously taken it very seriously and worked very hard.”
“他显然非常认真地努力工作。”

As the conversation ranged over the varieties of calligraphy and manuscripts, Genji brought out several books done in patchwork with old and new papers. —
随着讨论各种书法和手稿的话题，源氏拿出了几本用新旧纸拼贴而成的书籍。 —

The prince sent his son the chamberlain to bring some scrolls from his own library, among them a set of four on which the emperor Saga had copied selections from the Manyōshū, and a Kokinshū at the hand of the emperor Daigo, on azure Chinese papers with matching jade rollers, intricate damask covers of a darker blue, and flat Chinese cords in multicolored checkers. —
王子派遣侍从替他的儿子从自己的藏书馆取一些卷轴，其中包括一套四卷，上面是 emperor Saga 抄录的 Manyōshū 精选，还有一部 emperor Daigo 的 Kokinshū，用蓝色的中国纸和配套的玉卷轴，精美的暗蓝色黑织物封面，以及彩格子的扁平中华绳。 —

The writing was art of the highest order, infinitely varied but always gently elegant. —
这些书写是最高境界的艺术，无比多样，但总是优雅动人。 —

Genji had a lamp brought near.
源氏叫人把灯移近一些。

“I could look at them for weeks and always see something new. —
“我可以看上几个星期，总是能发现新的东西。 —

Who in our own day can do more than imitate the smallest fragment?”
在我们这个时代，有谁能比得上这些作品的细小片段?”

They were for Genji’s daughter, said the prince. —
王子说这是给源氏的女儿的。 —

“Even if I had a daughter of my own, I would want to be very sure that she was capable of appreciating them. —
“即使我有自己的女儿，我也会很确定她是否有能力欣赏它们。 —

As it is, they would rot ignominiously away.”
就目前来看，这些书卷会很不体面地腐烂掉。”

Genji gave the chamberlain a fine Korean flute and specimens of Chinese patchwork in a beautifully wrought aloeswood box.
源氏给了侍从一支优美的朝鲜笛子和用精美的沉香木盒装着的中国拼布样本。

He now immersed himself in study of the cursive Japanese styles. —
他现在全身心投入到学习草书风格中去。 —

Having made the acquaintance of the more notable calligraphers, he commissioned from each a book or scroll for his daughter’s library, into which only the works of the eminent and accomplished were to be admitted. —
他结识了更为著名的书法家，从每个人那里都委托制作一本或一幅书画给他女儿的书库，只有那些杰出和有成就的作品才能入库。 —

In the assembled collection there was not an item that could have been called indifferent, and there were treasures that would have filled gaps in the great court libraries across the seas. —
在这个集合中，没有一件可以称为普通的东西，还有一些宝物可以填补海外伟大宫廷图书馆的空白。 —

Young people were begging to see the famous patchwork. There were paintings too. —
年轻人纷纷请求看那个著名的拼布样本。还有绘画作品。 —

Genji wanted his own Suma diary to go to his descendants, but decided that his daughter was perhaps still a little young for it.
源氏希望他自己的住吉日记传给子孙，但他觉得他的女儿或许还有点年幼。

Tō no Chūjō caught distant echoes of the excitement and was resentful. —
当时的当权大臣听说这些消息后，感到有些不悦。 —

His daughter Kumoinokari was being wasted in the full bloom of her youth. —
他年轻时的女儿雲居羽織正是花样年华，却被浪费。 —

Her gloom and boredom weighed on his own spirits — and Yūgiri seemed quite unconcerned. —
她的忧郁和无聊使他也感到压抑，而雨露似乎毫不在意。 —

Tō no Chūjō knew that he would look ridiculous if he were suddenly to admit defeat. —
当時no Chujo明白，如果他突然认输的话，那将会让他看起来很荒谬。 —

He was beginning to regret that he had not grandly nodded his acquiescence back in the days when Yūgiri was such an earnest plaintiff. —
他开始后悔当初没有庄严地同意雨露那时如此认真的请求。 —

He kept these thoughts to himself, and he was too honest with himself to be angry with the boy. —
他把这些想法藏在心里，他对自己也非常诚实，不会对这个男孩生气。 —

Yūgiri was aware of them, but the people around Kumoinokari had once treated him with contempt and he was not going to give them the satisfaction of seeming eager. —
雨露意识到这些，但周围的人曾对雲居羽織的帮助表示蔑视，他不想让他们觉得他很热切。 —

Yet he showed that he was still interested by not being even slightly interested in other ladies. —
但他表示对此仍然感兴趣，因此对其他女性完全不感兴趣。 —

These were matters which he could not treat of even in jest. —
这些是他无法开玩笑的问题。 —

It may have been that he was seeking a chance to show his councillor’s robes to the nurse who had had such contempt for the humbler blue.
也许他是在寻找机会向曾对较低资历表示蔑视的保姆展示他的顾问长袍。

Genji thought it time he was married. “If you no longer want the minister’s daughter, then Prince Nakatsukasa and the Minister of the Right have both let it be known that they would welcome a proposal. —
源氏认为是时候让他结婚了。“如果你不再想要大臣的女儿，那么中務大臣和右大臣府的王子都表示他们将乐意提出提议。 —

Suppose you were to take one of their daughters.”
你可以考虑娶其中一位的女儿。”

Yūgiri listened respectfully but did not answer.
雨露虽然很尊敬地听着，但没有回答。

“I did not pay a great deal of attention to my father’s advice and so I am in no position to lecture to you. —
“我以前并没有太在意我父亲的建议，所以无权对你训话。 —

But I am old enough now to see what an unerring guide he would have been if I had chosen to listen.
但我现在足够老成，明白如果当初选择听取他的建议会是多么正确。

“People think there is something odd about you because you are not married, and if in the end it seems to have been your fate to disappoint us, well, we can only say that you once showed promise. —
“人们觉得你未婚有些奇怪，如果最终你注定让我们失望，那么我们只能说你曾经显示过才华。 —

Do please always be on guard against the possibility that you are throwing yourself away because your ambitions have proven unreal.
请务必时刻提防自己可能因为追求的雄心未能实现而感到沮丧。

“I grew up at court and had little freedom. —
“我从小在宫廷长大，几乎没有自由。 —

I was very cautious, because the smallest mistake could make me seem reckless and giddy. —
我非常谨慎，因为最小的错误可能让我显得轻率和浮躁。 —

Even so, people said that I showed promiscuous tendencies. —
即便如此，人们还是说我表现出轻率的倾向。 —

It would be a mistake for you to think that because you are still relatively obscure you can do as you please The finest of men — it was true long ago and it is still true today — can disgrace themselves because they do not have wives to keep them from temptation. —
如果你认为因为你还相对不出名，就可以任意行事，那是一个错误。最出色的人——很久以前如此，今日依然如此——可以因为缺乏妻子来阻止诱惑而失去自己的名誉。 —

A man never recovers from a scandal, nor does the woman he has let himself become involved with. —
一个人从丑闻中永远无法恢复过来，也无法挽回他让自己牵涉其中的女人。 —

Even a difficult marriage can be made to work. —
即使婚姻困难，也可以让它运作起来。 —

A man may be unhappy with his wife, but if he tries hard he can count on her parents to help him. —
一个男人可能对他的妻子感到不快，但如果他努力，他可以依靠她的父母来帮助他。 —

If she has none, if she is alone in the world and without resources, then pity for her can make him see her good points. —
如果她没有父母，如果她在这个世界上孤独无助，那么对她的怜悯可以让他看到她的优点。 —

The man of discrimination makes the best of the possibilities before him.”
有辨识力的男人会充分利用眼前的可能性。”

It was when he had little else to do that he offered such advice.
这种建议常常在他无事可做的时候提出。

But for Yūgiri the thought of taking another wife was not admissible. —
但对于弓使来说，娶另一个妻子是不被允许的。 —

Kumoinokari was not comfortable with his attentions these days because she knew how disturbed and uncertain her Father was. —
今犬养这些日子不喜欢他的关注，因为她知道她的父亲是多么不安和动摇。 —

She was sorry for herself too, but tried to hide her gloom. —
她也为自己感到遗憾，但努力掩饰自己的忧郁。 —

Sometimes, when the longing was too much for Yūgiri, there would be an impassioned letter. —
有时，当弓使的想念太过沉重，就会写一封慷慨激昂的信。 —

A more experienced lady, though aware that there was no one except the man himself to question about his intentions, might have suspected posing and posturing. —
一个更有经验的女士，虽然意识到除了这个男人本人没有别人可以质疑他的意图，可能会怀疑他的假装和摆姿。 —

She found only sentiments that accorded with her own.
她只找到了与自己观点一致的感情。

Her women were talking. “It seems that Prince Nakatsukasa has reached a tacit understanding with Genji and is pushing ahead with the arrangements.”
她的女官们正在谈论。“听说中勅和源氏已经默契达成一致，正在推进筹备。”

Tō no Chūjō was troubled. There were tears in his eyes when, very gently, he told Kumoinokari what he had heard. —
頭中将感到困扰。他慢慢地告诉久米之香環，说自己听到的事情时，眼眶里涌起了泪水。 —

“It seems very unkind of the boy. I suppose that Genji is trying to get back at me. I cannot give my consent now without looking ridiculous.”
“这个男孩真是太过分了。我想源氏是在向我报复。如果现在不同意，我会显得很荒谬。”

Intensely embarrassed, she too was weeping. —
她非常尴尬，也在流泪。 —

He thought her charming as she turned away to hide her tears. —
他觉得她转身去躲起泪水的样子很迷人。 —

He left feeling more uncertain than ever. —
他离开时感到比以往更加不确定。 —

Should he make new attempts to learn what they all were thinking?
他是否应该尝试新的方法去了解他们都在想些什么呢？

Kumoinokari went out to the veranda. Why was it, she asked herself, that the tide of tears must be forever waxing and joy forever on the wane? —
久米之香環走到了阳台上。她问自己，为什么眼泪的潮汐总是在增强，而喜悦却永远在减退？ —

What would her poor father be thinking?
她的可怜父亲会怎么想呢？

A letter from Yūgiri came in upon the gloom. —
一封由弓削寺寄来的信打破了阴郁。 —

She opened it, and could detect no change in his manner.
她打开了信，感觉不到他态度上的任何改变。

“This coldness takes you the usual way of the world
“这冷漠是你常见的方式。”

Am I the deviant, that I cannot forget you?”
“我是个异端吗，以至于我无法忘记你？”

She did not like this calm refusal to say anything of his new affair. Yet she answered.
她并不喜欢他对新恋情的平静拒绝不说任何事情。然而，她回答了。

“You cannot forget, and now you have forgotten.
“你不能忘记，而现在你却忘记了。

You are the one who goes the way of the world.”
你是一个随波逐流的人。”

That was all. What could she possibly mean? —
就是这样。她到底是什么意思？ —

He looked at it from this angle and that — so one is told — and could make no sense of it.
他从这个角度和那个角度看——据说如此——但怎么也看不懂。