10．老克腊	Old Colour
所谓“老克腊”指的是某一类风流人物，尤以五十和六十年代盛行。	"LAO KE-LA" REFERS to a specific breed of debonair figures active during the fifties and sixties.
在那全新的社会风貌中，他们保持着上海的旧时尚，以固守为激进。	These were the keepers of old-style Shanghai fashion in the new society, at a time when holding on to the past was considered radical.
“克腊”这词其实来自英语“colour”，表示着那个殖民地文化的时代特征。	The term probably originated with the English word "old colour," or perhaps "old classic," a remnant of the colonial culture of Shanghai in the day of the treaty ports.
英语这种外来语后来打散在这城市的民间口语中，内中的含义也是打散了重来，随着时间的演进，意思也越来越远。	As the lingo of the city incorporated bits and pieces of foreign languages, words became dismembered and, with the passage of time, grew increasingly distant from their original meanings.
像“老克腊”这种人，到八十年代，几乎绝迹，有那么三个五个的，也都上了年纪，面目有些蜕变，人们也渐渐把这个名字给忘了似的。	By the eighties, people who fell into the category of "Old Colour" were virtually extinct. The surviving handful were all fairly advanced in age, their erstwhile shape completely transformed; eventually even the term itself was forgotten.
但很奇怪的，到了八十年代中叶，于无声处地，又悄悄地生长起一代年轻的老克腊，他们要比旧时代的老克腊更甘于寂寞，面目上也比较随和，不作哗众取宠之势。	But then something odd happened. In the mid eighties, a new generation of Old Colours emerged quietly upon the scene. Lacking their predecessors' craving for notoriety, they were not compelled to behave ostentatiously and appeared more easygoing.
在熙来攘往的人群中，人们甚至难以辨别他们的身影，到哪里才能找到他们呢？	It was not even easy to spot them in the crowd. Where might one go to find such a specimen?
人们都在忙着置办音响的时候，那个在听老唱片的；人们时兴“尼康”“美能达”电脑调焦照相机的时候，那个在摆弄“罗莱克斯”一二零的；手上戴机械表，喝小壶煮咖啡，用剃须膏刮脸，玩老式幻灯机，穿船形牛皮鞋的，千真万确，就是他。	These Old Colours—when everyone was out buying a stereo, they were listening to old phonographs. When Nikon and Minolta cameras equipped with auto-focus features were all the rage, they were busy fiddling with their vintage Rolleiflex 120s. They sported wind-up watches, drank coffee brewed in small pots, shaved with old-fashioned razor blades and shaving cream, took great delight in antique slide projectors, and wore large leather shoes shaped like boats. When you saw these markings, you could be certain that you had found one.
找到他，再将眼光从他身上移开，去看目下的时尚，不由看出这时尚的粗陋鄙俗。	Then, having found one, you couldn't help but notice just how crude and boorish the so-called fashionable were in comparison.
一窝蜂上的，都来不及精雕细刻。	The rush to be trendy left no time for elegance or refinement.
又像有人在背后追赶，一浪一浪接替不暇。	One was driven about by a succession of waves.
一个多和一个快，于是不得不偷工减料，粗制滥造，然后破罐破摔。	Speed and quantity were all that mattered, and the result was that corners were cut and things got done in a slipshod manner and had eventually to be discarded.
只要看那服装店就知道了，墙上，货架上，柜台里，还有门口摊子上挂着大甩卖牌子的，一代流行来不及卖完，后一代后两代已经来了，不甩卖又怎么办？	You could tell this by looking at the clothing shops where advertisements for markdowns were posted all over the walls, shelves, and counters—even the stalls outside. Before the last season's clothes had sold out, they were two steps behind the latest fashion, which had already arrived. What choice was there but to run constant sales and markdowns?
“老克腊”是这粗糙时尚中的一点精细所在。	In this crude and uncultured fashion world, the "Old Colours" were the stewards in charge of safekeeping refinement.
他们是真讲究，虽不作什么宣言，也不论什么理，却是脚踏实地，一步一个脚印，自己做，让别人说。	They were the only ones paying attention to the things that mattered; though they never advertised themselves or talked about what they were doing, they had their feet firmly planted on the ground. They took things one step at a time; men of action, they let others do the talking.
他们甚至也没有名字，叫他们“老克腊”只是一两个过来人的发明，也流传不开。	They didn't even have a name. The term "Old Colour" was given to them by the few who remembered the old days, but it never gained wide circulation.
另有少数人，将他们归到西方的“雅皮士”里， 也是难以传播。	A small minority called them Western-style "Yuppies," but that never caught on either.
因此，他们无名无姓的，默默耕耘着自己的一方田地。	And so they remained nameless, silently tilling their little plot of land.
其实，我们是可以把他们叫做“怀旧”这两个字的，虽然他们都是新人，无旧可念，可他们去过外滩呀，摆渡到江心再蓦然回首，便看见那屏障般的乔治式建筑，还有歌特式的尖顶钟塔，窗洞里全是森严的注视，全是穿越时间隧道的。	We could, if we chose, refer to them as nostalgic "lovers of the past," although they were all young and didn't have a past to love per se. But they had all been to the Bund and seen, riding on the ferry, what it looked like from out on the water: there they saw the ramparts formed by the Georgian buildings, the Gothic bell tower with its pointed steeple, and the dark forbidding windows staring back at them—all of which sent them down the tunnel of time.
他们还爬上过楼顶平台，在那里放鸽子或者放风筝，展目便是屋顶的海洋，有几幢耸起的，是像帆一样，也是越过时间的激流。	They had also climbed up to the rooftops to release pigeons and fly kites, and there, looking out over the sea of rooftops, a few of which jutted out like sails, felt as if they were navigating against the currents of time.
再有那山墙上的爬墙虎，隔壁洋房里的钢琴声，都是怀旧的养料。	Besides these, the ivy crawling up the sides of the walls and the sounds of someone playing the piano in the Western-style house next door also came to feed their nostalgia.
王琦瑶认识的便是其中一个，今年二十六岁。 人们叫他“老克腊”，是带点反讽的意思，指的是他的小。	Wang Qiyao knew one of these "Old Colours." He was twenty-six years old, so calling him an "Old Colour" was a bit ironic, a way of emphasizing his youth.
他在一所中学做体育教师，平时总穿一身运动衣裤，头发是板刷式的那种。	A gym teacher at a local middle school, he normally dressed in sweatpants, and his hair looked like the bristle end of a scrub brush.
由于室外作业，长年都是黝黑的皮肤。	He had a dark complexion from years of working outdoors.
在学校里少言寡语，与同事没有私交，谁也不会想到他其实弹了一手好吉它，西班牙式的，家里存有上百张爵士乐的唱片。	At school he kept to himself and never fraternized with his colleagues. Who would have guessed that he was an accomplished flamenco guitar player with a collection of more than a hundred jazz records?
他家住虹口一条老式弄堂房子，父母都是勤俭老实的职员，姐姐已经出嫁。	This "Old Colour" lived in a traditional longtang in Hongkou, with parents who were honest, hardworking government employees and watched what they spent; his sister had left home to get married.
他自己住一个三层阁，将棕绷放在地上，唱机也放在地上，进去就脱了鞋，席地而坐，自成一统的天下。	He himself occupied the third-floor tingzijian: his palmwood cot lay on the floor along with his record player. As soon as he entered his room, he would take off his shoes and, sitting on the bare floor, enter into his own little universe.
他的老虎天窗开出去就是一片下斜的屋瓦，夏天有时候他在屋瓦上铺一张席子，再用根背包带系了腰，拴在窗台上，爬出去躺着。	Outside his dormer window was a slanted portion of the roof. Occasionally, during the summer, he would climb out the window with a backpack, spread a mat out over the roof tiles, and, tying himself to the windowsill with a rope around his waist, spend the evening lying outside.
眼前便是一片深蓝的天空，悬挂着一些星星。	Looking up, he would see a sprinkling of stars suspended in the deep blue sky above.
远处有一家工厂，有隐约的轰鸣声传来，那烟囱里的一柱烟，在夜空里是白色的。	He could faintly make out the rumbling sounds of the machinery from a factory in the distance, and the smoke from the factory's smokestack billowed white against the sky.
一些琐细的夜声沉淀下去，他就像被空气溶解了似的，思无所思，想无所想。	The scattered sounds of the night seemed to have sunk down to earth, while he himself had dissolved into the air, empty of thoughts and desires.
他还没有女朋友。	Old Colour was still without a girlfriend.
在一起玩的男女中，虽也不乏相互有好感的，但只到好朋友这一层上，便停止了发展，因为没有进一步的需要。 他对生活也没什么理想，只要有事干就行，也晓得事情是要自己去找，因此还是抱积极的态度。	Although he got on quite well with some of the girls in his regular circle of friends, things had never developed past the point of ordinary friendship. As there was nothing further he needed, he had no particular aspirations and was content just to have a job. However, he recognized that he had only himself to rely on, and this made him approach things with a positive attitude.
没有远的目标，近的目标是有的。	And, though he lacked long-term goals, he did have some short-term plans.
所以，他便也没有大的烦恼，只不过有时会有一些无名的忧郁。	This meant that, while never vexed by major problems, he was struck by the occasional fit of inexplicable depression.
这点忧郁，也是有安慰的，就是那些二十年代的爵士乐。	For these depressions he found an antidote in his collection of old jazz records from the twenties.
萨克斯管里夹带着唱片的走针声，嘶嘶的，就有了些贴肤可感的意思。	The sound of the saxophone, mixed with the hissing sound of the needle against the vinyl, gave him a feeling of an almost palpable intimacy.
他是有些老调子的，新东西讨不得他欢心，觉着是暴发户的味道，没底气的。 但老也不要老得太过，老得太过便是老八股，亦太荒凉，只须有百十年的时间尽够了。	Old Colour was a bit old-fashioned: nothing new suited his taste, because to him it lacked substance and smacked of the nouveau riche; but then neither was he a fan of things that were too old, which would have felt antiquated and dismal. A hundred years was just about enough.
要的是那刚开始的少数人的繁华，黑漆漆的夜空里，那一小丛灿烂，平整的蛋硌路上，一座欧式洋房，还有那万籁俱寂中的一点蜿蜒曲折的音响。	He longed for a time back when, like the sprinkling of stars in the night sky, only the elite prospered—for a European-style house on a smooth cobblestone road, and the spiraling sounds of the phonograph twisting their way up through an otherwise perfect silence.
说起来，其实就是那老爵士乐可以代表和概括的。	This was, when all was said and done, what all those old jazz records stood for.
老克腊的那些男女青年朋友，都是摩登的人物，他们与老克腊处在事物的两极，他们是走在潮流的最前列。	His young friends were all modern individuals at the cutting edge of fashion, quite the opposite of Old Colour.
这城市有网球场了，他们是第一批顾客；某宾馆进得保龄球了，他们也是第一批顾客。	When Shanghai inaugurated its first tennis court, his friends were the first customers standing in line; when a certain luxury hotel opened up a bowling alley, they were the first to try it out.
他们是老克腊读体育系时的同学，以体育的精神独领风骚，也体现了当今世界的潮流特征。	All of them were college classmates of Old Colour from the phys-ed department; they prided themselves on their athletic spirit and prowess, which happened to be right in tune with worldwide fashion.
只看那些名牌：耐克，彪马，几乎都来自于运动服装，而西装的老牌子“皮尔·卡丹”，却是在衰落下去。	Just look at the most popular brand names of the day—Nike and Puma—you could see that they were all athletic apparel, whereas brands like Pierre Cardin had long been on the way down.
他们这一列人出现在马路上的形象，多是骑着摩托车，后座上有个姑娘，长发从头盔下飘起来，一阵风地过去。	This cohort would appear on the streets on motorcycles, a girl seated at the back with her hair streaming down from her helmet, and you could feel the rush of wind as they flew past.
迪斯科舞厅中最疯狂的一伙也是他们。	They were the wildest ones on the dance floor at the discos.
他们以各种方式，总能结识一个或两个外国人，参加在其中，使他们这一群人有了国际的面目，并可自由出入一些国际场所。	They always managed to get hold of a foreigner or two to give their gatherings an international flavor—which, incidentally, gained them entry into all kinds of exclusive places where only international guests were welcome.
老克腊在其中是默默无闻的一个，没有建树的一个。	Among them, Old Colour was always the quiet one: he never really contributed to the group.
别人热闹的时候，他大多是靠边站，有他没他都行的。	When everyone else was having a great time, he would be off standing in one corner as if he did not count.
他看上去是有些寂寞的，但正是这寂寞，为这个快乐新潮的群体增添了底蕴。	He seemed a bit lonely, but it was precisely such loneliness that provided this fashionable, happy-go-lucky crowd with a certain substance.
所以，有他和没他还是不一样的。	So it actually wouldn't have been the same if he hadn't been there.
对他来说呢，也是需要有一个摩登背景衬底，真将他抛入茫茫人海，无依无托的，他的那个老调子，难免会被淹没。	As for himself, he needed a modern backdrop to set himself off from everyone else; had he been thrown into the sea of people unattached, his old-fashioned style would have been completely drowned out.
因那老调子是有着过时的表象，为世人所难以识辨，它只有在一个崭崭新的座子上，才可显出价值。 就好像一件古董是要放在天鹅绒华丽的底子上，倘若没这底子，就会被人扔进垃圾箱了。	Because his style appeared outdated on the surface, people had a hard time identifying it for what it was; but it really stood out against a super-modern background, like an antique placed on a velvet mat. Without the mat, someone would probably have thrown the piece away, thinking it was junk.
所以，他也离不开这个群体，虽然是寂寞的，但要是离开了，就连寂寞也没有，有的只是同流合俗。	Therefore Old Colour had to run with that crowd, lonely as he may have been. If he had left, he would have lost even the distinction of being lonely—he would have simply disappeared among the teeming masses.
老克腊的父母，将他看作一个老实的孩子：不抽烟，不喝酒，有正经的工作，也有正经的业余生活，亦不乱交女朋友。	Old Colour's parents always thought of him as a responsible son; he didn't drink or smoke, had a steady job and a healthy hobby, and never got mixed up with the wrong sort of girl.
他们年轻的时候，也都不是贪玩的人，每周看一回电影，便是他们所有的娱乐。	They themselves had been fairly conservative in their youth; going to the movies once a week was their sole entertainment.
他母亲曾有一度，热衷于收集电影说明书，“文化大革命”时自觉烧掉了她的收藏，后来的电影院也再不出售说明书了。	There was a period when his mother became obsessed with collecting movie pamphlets, but during the Cultural Revolution she took it upon herself to burn her entire collection; later the movie theaters stopped putting them out.
再往后，他们因有了电视机，就不去电影院了。	Once his parents bought a television set, they stopped going to the movies altogether.
每天晚饭吃过，打开电视机，一直看到十一点。	Every night they would turn on the television after dinner and watch until eleven o'clock.
有了电视机，他们的晚年便很完美了。	With this television set, their golden years seemed perfect.
儿子在阁楼上放的老音乐，在他们听来是有些耳熟，更使他们认定儿子是个老实的孩子。	The music their son played up in the tingzijian had a familiar sound, which tended to confirm their opinions that he was steady.
他的少言寡语，也叫他们放心。	The fact that he was taciturn also put them at ease.
他们即便在一张桌上吃饭，从头到尾都说不上几个字。	Even when they had dinner together at the same table, the entire meal would pass with barely a few words.
其实彼此是陌生的，但因为朝夕相处，也不把这陌生当回事，本该如此似的。	When it came down to it, they were all strangers to each other, but seeing each other, day in, day out, they didn't think much about their state, as if this was how it was supposed to be.
说到底，这都是些真正的老实人，收着手脚，也收着心，无论物质还是精神，都只顾一小点空间就够用了。	But they were, in truth, decent people; their thoughts and actions were always in line and, whether it be spiritual or material, just a little bit of space was enough for them.
在上海弄堂的屋顶下，密密匝匝地存着许多这样的节约的生涯。	Crammed in under the rooftops of the Shanghai longtang were countless people living out their frugal lives just like that.
有时你会觉着那里比较嘈杂，推开窗便噪声盈耳，你不要怪它，这就是简约人生聚沙成塔的动静。 他们毕竟是活泼泼的，也是要有些声响的。	On occasion you might feel that it is rather noisy—as soon as the windows were opened, your ears would be assaulted by all kinds of sounds. But don't be offended: what you hear are the accumulated sounds of the activities of prudent people over their lifetime; at least the noise shows that they are lively.
在夏夜的屋顶上，躺着看星空的其实不止一个孩子，他们心里都是有些鼓荡，不知要往哪里去，就来到屋顶。	And Old Colour certainly wasn't the only one stargazing from the rooftop on those summer nights; the hearts of all these people are restless and unsure of where to go—and so up they go to the rooftops.
那里就开阔多了，也自由多了，连鸽子也栖了，让出了它们的领空。	There everything is wide open; even the knowing pigeons are bedded down for the evening, leaving the sky empty of their flight.
那嘈杂都在底下了，而他们浮了上来，漂流一会儿就会好的。	All the noise and clatter remain below, but they have floated to the top and it feels good to drift for a while.
像这样有老虎天窗的弄堂，也是有些不同凡响的心曲，那硬是被挤压出来的，老虎天窗就是它的歌喉。	In these longtang with the dormer windows, the songs of the heart have quite a distinctive sound, and the dormer windows are the throats through which the songs are forced out.
真了解老克腊的是上海西区的马路。 他在那儿常来常往，有树阴罩着他。	Old Colour finds true understanding in the neighborhoods on the west side of Shanghai, and he likes to wander there along the tree-lined streets.
这树阴也是有历史的，遮了一百年的阳光，茂名路是由闹至静，闹和静都是有年头的。	Even the canopies of the trees there have a history, having filtered out the sunlight for a century. Maoming Road passes from a roaring hubbub on one end to quietude on the other, both of which have the vintage of years.
他就爱在那里走动，时光倒流的感觉。	Old Colour loved traversing this area, where he had the feeling that time had been turned back.
他想，路面上有着电车轨道，将是什么样的情形，那电车里面对面的木条长椅间，演的都是黑白的默片，那老饭店的建筑，砖缝和石棱里都是有字的，耐心去读，可读出一番旧风雨。	Examining the trolley tracks on the street, he tried to imagine what it was like when the cars were still running; he could picture two rows of wooden benches facing each other inside the trolley, just like the ones he had seen in old silent films. There seemed to be writing on the brick and stonework of the old hotels; as he patiently read them, the words recounted trials and tribulations from the past.
上海东区的马路也了解老克腊，条条马路通江岸，那风景比西区粗犷，也爽利，演的黑白默片是史诗题材，旧风雨也是狂飙式的。	The areas on the east side of the city also understood Old Colour. Every major street there leads to the river. Though the scene is less refined, it has a sharpness about it. The silent film being played here is more like a sweeping epic, the action coming on like a hurricane.
江鸥飞翔，是没有岁月的，和鸽子一样，他要的就是这没有岁月。	Time has stopped for the seagulls soaring across the sky, as it has for the pigeons. That's what he, too, wanted—for time to stop.
要的也不过分，不是地老天荒的一种，只是五十年的流萤。	That's not too much to ask, is it? He didn't ask for an eternity, only the last fifty years.
就像这城市的日出，不是从海平线和地平线上起来的，而是从屋脊上起来的，总归是掐头去尾，有节制的。	His request was restrained, like the sunrise in the city, which does not come up over the sea or the horizon, but from the rooftops—its beginning and the end curtailed.
论起来，这城市还是个孩子，真没多少回头望的日子。	In fact, the city is still a child and doesn't have many days to look back upon.
但像老克腊这样的孩子，却又成了个老人，一下地就在叙旧似的，心里话都是与旧情景说的。	But a child like Old Colour was already an old man, who, bypassing experience, went straight to reminiscence. All of his deepest thoughts were dialogues with the past.
总算那海关大钟还在敲，是烟消云灭中的一个不灭，他听到的又是昔日的那一响。	At least the clock in the Customs House was still ringing, in a world where everything else seemed to have vanished like clouds and mist, and the sound he heard was the very sound heard decades ago.
老克腊走在马路上，有风迎面吹来。 是从楼缝中挤过来的变了形的风，他看上去没什么声色，心却是活跃的，甚至有些歌舞的感觉。	As Old Colour walked down the street, the wind blowing against his face was a draft squeezed through the space between two buildings. He may have looked calm on the surface, but his heart was vibrant, almost dancing with joy.
他就喜欢这城市的落日，落日里的街景像一幅褪了色的油画，最合乎这城市的心境。	He loved the sunset over Shanghai; the streets at dusk were like a faded oil painting, a perfect match for the mood of the city.
这一天，朋友说谁家举行一个派对，来人有谁谁谁，据说还有一个当年的上海小姐。	One day a friend of his told Old Colour about a party someone was having. All kinds of people were supposed to be coming, including a former Miss Shanghai from the old days.
他坐在朋友的摩托车后座，一路西去，来到靠近机场的一片新型住宅区。	He hopped onto the back of his friend's motorcycle, and they headed west to the new residential area near the airport.
那朋友住一幢侨汇房的十三楼，是他国外亲戚买下后托他照管的。	The man lived on the thirteenth floor of a building that he was managing for the owner, a relative of his who was living overseas.
平时他并不来住，只是三天两头地开派对，将各种的朋友汇集起来，过一个快乐的夜晚，或者快乐的白天。	He didn't normally live there, but every few days he would invite friends over for a fun-filled afternoon or evening.
他的派对渐渐地有了名声，一传十，十传百的，来的人呢，也是一带十，十带百，他全是欢迎。	Gradually, his parties started to gain some notoriety: word traveled fast, as one guest brought ten friends and each of them brought along others—but he didn't mind, everyone was welcome.
人多了，难免鱼目混珠，掺和进来一些不正经的人，就会有不愉快的事情发生，比如撬窃的案子。	As the numbers started to build up, it was inevitable that some questionable individuals would weasel their way in, and sometimes unpleasant things, such as thefts, would happen.
但按照概率来说，人多了也会沙里淘金地出现精英。	But with so many people, the probability of someone extraordinary showing up was also quite high.
因此，有时他的派推对上会有特别的人物出场，比如电影明星，乐团的首席提琴手，记者，某共产党或国民党将领的子孙。	Occasionally, real celebrities would appear, such as movie stars, the first violin from a famous orchestra, and reporters, as well as the children and grandchildren of powerful Communist and Nationalist leaders.
他的派对就像一个小政协似的，许多旧闻和新闻在客厅上空交相流传，可真是热闹。	This friend's parties were like small political meetings, where old stories and the latest gossip were passed around the living room, the whole place abuzz with excitement.
在这新区，推开窗户，便可看见如林的高楼，窗户有亮有暗，天空显得很辽阔，星月反而远了。	In this new district, all you saw when you opened the windows was a forest of buildings. Some of the windows were lit up while others remained dark; the sky was unobstructed, but this made the stars seem more distant.
低头看去，宽阔笔直的马路上跑着如豆的汽车，成串的亮珠子。	Below, the cars speeding down the straight broad roads looked like a chain of pearls.
不远处永远有一个工地，彻夜的灯光，电力打夯机的声音充满在夜空底下，有节律地涌动着。	Not far off there would always be a construction site, where the lights blazed through the night and the noise of pile-drivers, hammering away in rhythm, filled the entire space below the heavens.
空气里有一些水泥的粉末，风又很浩荡，在楼之间行军。	The air is choked with particles of chalky cement and the wind is especially strong as it whips between the buildings.
那宾馆区的灯光却因为天地楼群的大和高，显得有些寂寥，却是璀璨的寂寥，有一些透心的快乐似的。	The lights over in the hotel district look a little lonely due to the heights of the buildings around it, but theirs is a resplendent loneliness that pierces the heart with rapture.
这真是新区，是坦荡荡的胸襟，不像市区，怀着曲折衷肠，叫人猜不透。	This was indeed a brand-new district that greeted everything with an open heart, quite unlike the downtown area, whose convoluted feelings are more difficult to grasp.
到新区来，总有点出城的感觉，那种马路和楼房的格式全是另一路的，横平竖直是讲道理讲出来的，不像市区，全是掏心窝掏出来的。	Arriving in the new district, one has the feeling that one has left the city behind. The style of the streets and buildings—built at right angles in a logical manner—is so unlike downtown, which seems to have been laid out by squeezing the emotions out from the heart.
在新区的夜空底下，这幢侨汇房十三楼里的欢声笑语，一下子就消散了，音乐声也消散了。	Under the sky of the new district, the joyful laughter coming from the thirteenth floor of this joint-venture construction suddenly dissipates and the music fades away.
这点快乐在新区算得上什么？	But how much does that bit of happiness really matter in this new district?
在那高楼的蜂窝般的窗洞里，全是新鲜的快乐。	Playing out behind the honeycomb-like windows of those tall buildings is a fresh new form of happiness.
还没加上四星或五星级的酒店里的，那里每晚都举行着冷餐会，舞会，招待会。 还储留着一些艳情，那也是响当当的，名正言顺，门口挂着“请勿打扰”的牌子。	In hotels so new that they have yet to acquire their four or five stars, there are buffets, dances, and receptions every night, as well as brazen games of passion that offered no excuses as they announced themselves to the world with "do not disturb" signs.
那里的快乐因有着各色人种的参加，带着普天同庆的意思。	With people of all races and colors taking part, it feels like a party of universal jubilation.
尤其到了圣诞节，圣诞歌一唱，你真分不清是中国还是外国。	This is especially so around Christmas time: as soon as the Christmas carols break out, you are hard pressed to discern whether you are in China or abroad.
这地方一上来就显得有些没心肺，无忧虑，是因为它没来得及积蓄起什么回忆，它的头脑里还是空白一片，还用不着使用记忆力。	When you first arrive here, the place seems to lack a heart because it is so carefree—but that is because it hasn't yet had time to build up a reservoir of recollections; its mind is blank and has not begun to feel the need to call on its memory.
这就是一整个新区的精神状态。	Such is the spiritual state of the entire district.
十三楼里那点笑闹，只是沧海一粟罢了。	The laughter and gaiety coming from the thirteenth floor form but a drop in the ocean.
只有开电梯的那女人有些不耐烦，这一群群，一伙伙，手里拿着酒或捧着花，涌进和涌出电梯，又大多是生人，形形色色的。	The only one who seems a bit annoyed is the elevator attendant, as people come rushing in and out of the elevator, in couples or crowds, holding wine and flowers—mostly strangers, in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
老克腊来到时，已不知是第十几批了。	More than a dozen groups of guests had already arrived by the time Old Colour got to the party.
门半开着，里面满是人影晃动。	The door had been left half-open and the room was filled with people moving about.
他们走进去，谁也不注意他们，音响开着，有很暴烈的乐声放出。	No one paid the newcomers much attention as they came in; the stereo was blaring loud music.
通往阳台的一间屋里，掩着门坐了一些人在看电视里的连续剧。	A few people sat around watching a television miniseries in the first room, which led out to the balcony.
阳台门开着，风把窗幔卷进卷出，很鼓荡的样子。	The door to the balcony was ajar and the wind was agitating the curtains.
屋角里坐着一个女人，白皙的皮肤，略施淡妆，穿一件丝麻的藕荷色套裙。	In a corner of this room sat a woman with fair skin, wearing light makeup, in a pinkish-purple suit made of raw silk.
她抱着胳膊，身体略向前倾，看着电视屏幕。	She was leaning forward slightly toward the television screen with her arms crossed.
窗幔有时从她裙边扫过去，也没叫她分心。	The curtain brushed against her skirt from time to time, but this didn't seem to distract her.
当屏幕上的光陡地亮起来，便可看见她下眼睑略微下坠，这才显出了年纪。	Only when the screen suddenly lit up did her drooping eyelids show, giving away her age.
但这年纪也瞬息即过，是被悉心包藏起来，收在骨子里。	But the stamp of age passes in a flickering instant: she carefully wrapped hers up and tucked it away inside her bones.
是蹑着手脚走过来的岁月，唯恐留下痕迹，却还是不得已留下了。	The years had tiptoed around her, careful not to leave too many traces, but in the end they couldn't help leaving a few.
这就是一九八五年的王琦瑶。	This was Wang Qiyao in 1985.
其时，在一些回忆旧上海的文章中，再现了一九四六年的繁盛场景，于是，王琦瑶的名字便跃然而出。	Around this time the opulence of 1946 was revived in a few essays reminiscing about old Shanghai, and the name Wang Qiyao suddenly came into the spotlight again.
也有那么一两个好事者，追根溯源来找王琦瑶，写一些报屁股文章，却并没有引起反响，于是便销声匿迹了。	One or two nosy reporters even went so far as to investigate what had happened to Wang Qiyao in the years following the pageant; several articles were published in the back pages of the newspapers but failed to generate much interest, and the whole thing eventually died down.
到底是年经月久，再大的辉煌，一旦坠入时间的黑洞，能有些个光的渣就算不错了。	A lot of time had indeed gone by. No matter how glamorous a woman has been, once she has entered the black hole of time, she is lucky to generate even a few flickers of light.
四十年前的这道光环，也像王琦瑶的人一样，不尽人意地衰老了。 这道光环，甚至还给王琦瑶添了年纪，给她标上了纪年。	The aura surrounding the beauty pageant, no less than Wang Qiyao herself, had also faded after forty years, and it only served to date her by revealing her age.
它就像箱底的旧衣服一样，好是好，可是错过了年头，披挂上身，一看就是个陈年累月的人，所以它还是给王琦瑶添旧的。	It was like the old clothes at the bottom of her chest: though many were still in good shape, wearing them only made her look older, because they were from the wrong era.
唯有张永红受了感动，她起先不相信，后来相信了，便涌出无数个问题。	The only one who seemed to be moved by any of this history was Zhang Yonghong. She didn't believe the story initially, but once she had accepted it she had an endless array of questions for Wang Qiyao.
王琦瑶开始矜持着，渐渐就打开了话匣子，更是有无数个回答等着她来问的。	Wang Qiyao, for her part, resisted answering them at first, but once she began to open up, she had an endless series of revelations for Zhang Yonghong to uncover.
许多事情她本以为忘了，不料竟是一提就起，连同那些琐琐碎碎的细节，点点滴滴的，全都汇流成河。	There were many things that Wang Qiyao thought she had completely forgotten, but as soon as she got started, all of those tiny bits and fragments of detail came together to make a flowing river of memories.
这是一个女人的风头，淮海路上的争奇斗艳的女孩，要的不就是它？	The stories she told were those of a woman who had stood in the limelight; but wasn't that the goal of all those girls on Huaihai Road trying to outdress one another?
那一代接一代的新潮流，推波助澜的，不就是抢一个风头？	Wave after wave of fashion that came and went—weren't they all vying for their moment in the spotlight?
张永红掂得出那光荣的分量，她说：你真是叫人羡慕啊！	Zhang Yonghong, who understood the magnitude of the splendor Wang Qiyao was describing, exclaimed, "I'm so envious!"
她向她每一任男友介绍王琦瑶，将王琦瑶邀请到各类聚会上。	Zhang Yonghong introduced Wang Qiyao to all of her boyfriends and invited her to all kinds of parties.
这些大都是年轻人的聚会上，王琦瑶总是很识时务地坐在一边，却让她的光辉为聚会添一笔奇色异彩。	These were mostly parties for young people, and, knowing her own place, Wang Qiyao would usually sit off to one side. Nevertheless, her elegance would still add a touch of distinction to the party.
人们常常是看不见她，也无余暇看她，但都知道，今夜有一位“上海小姐”到场。	Barring the occasional glance, people didn't pay her any attention, but everyone was aware that there was a "Miss Shanghai" in their presence.
有时候，人们会从始至终地等她莅临，岂不知她就坐在墙角，直到曲终人散。	On occasion there might even be a few people eagerly awaiting her arrival, not realizing that she had been sitting in the corner all along—she sat there alone until the music stopped and the show was over.
她穿着那么得体，态度且优雅，一点不扫人兴的，一点不碍人事情的。	Wang Qiyao was always well dressed and elegant; she was never awkward and never got in the way.
她就像一个摆设，一幅壁上的画，装点了客厅。	She was an ornament, a painting on the wall to adorn the living room.
这摆设和画，是沉稳的色调，酱黄底的，是真正的华丽，褪色不褪本。	The painting was done in somber hues, with a dark yellow base; it had true distinction, and even though the colors were faded, its value had appreciated.
其余一切，均是浮光掠影。	Everything else was simply transient flashes of light and shadow.
老克腊就是在此情此景下见到王琦瑶的，他想：这就是人们说的“上海小姐”吗？	It was under these circumstances that Old Colour first met Wang Qiyao. Could that be the "Miss Shanghai" everyone was talking about? he wondered.
他要走开时，见王琦瑶抬起了眼睛，扫了一下又低下了。	Just as he was about to walk away, he saw Wang Qiyao look up and scan the room before lowering her head again.
这一眼带了些惊恐失措，并没有对谁的一种茫茫然的哀恳，要求原谅的表情。	The look in her eyes had a hint of panic, but she was not at all looking for sympathy or forgiveness.
老克腊这才意识到他的不公平，他想，“上海小姐”已是近四十年的事情了。	It was then that Old Colour realized how callous he had been. He thought, The Miss Shanghai pageant was nearly forty years ago.
再看王琦瑶，眼前便有些发虚，焦点没对准似的，恍惚间，他看见了三十多年前的那个影。	His vision grew blurry as he stared at Wang Qiyao, as if his eyes couldn't focus properly, and through that hazy vision he saw an image of her from more than three decades ago.
然后，那影又一点一点清晰，凸现，有了些细节。	Gradually the image became clearer, taking on depth and new details.
但这些细节终不那么真实，浮在面上的，它们刺痛了老克腊的心。	But none of those details looked real; they floated on the surface, piercing Old Colour's heart.
他觉出了一个残酷的事实，那就是时间的腐蚀力。	He came face to face with a cruel reality—the corrosive power of time.
在他二十六岁的年纪里，本是不该知道时间的深浅，时间还没把道理教给他，所以他才敢怀旧呢，他才敢说时间好呢！	At twenty-six years of age, Old Colour should have been too young to care about the passing of time; time had yet to teach him such truths, but that is precisely why he longed for the past—that is the only reason he dared to extol the fruits of time!
老爵士乐里头的时间，确是个好东西，它将东西打磨得又结实又细腻，把东西浮浅的表面光泽磨去，呈现出细密的纹路，烈火见真金的意思。	The passage of time associated with those old jazz records was indeed a good thing; it had smoothed things out until they were strong and fine, rubbing off the superficial layers to reveal the inner grain, like gold emerging when the fire has burned away the dross.
可他今天看见的，不是老爵士乐那样的旧物，而是个人，他真不知说什么好了。 事情竟是有些惨烈，他这才真触及到旧时光的核了，以前他都是在旧时光的皮肉里穿行。	But what he saw that day was not an object, like an old jazz record, but a person. He was at a complete loss as to what to say, because the situation had an element of the tragic. He had finally touched the heart of that bygone era, whereas before he had only paced back and forth on its surface.
老克腊没走开，有什么拖住了他的脚步。	Something halted his steps and Old Colour couldn't bring himself to walk away.
他就端着一杯酒，倚在门框上，眼睛看着电视。	He picked up a glass of wine and leaned up against the door, fixing his gaze on the television.
后来，王琦瑶从屋角走出来想是要去洗手间。	Eventually Wang Qiyao got up from the corner to go to the restroom.
走过他身边时，他微笑了一下。	As she walked past him, he flashed her a smile.
她立即将这微笑接了过去，流露出感激的神情，回了一笑。	She immediately accepted his smile, responding with a look of gratitude before smiling back at him.
等她回来，他便对她说，要不要替她去倒杯饮料？	When she came back, he asked her if he could get her a drink.
她指了屋角，说那里有她的一杯茶，不必了。	She pointed to the corner and said that she already had a cup of tea, so there was no need.
他又请她跳舞，她略迟疑一下，接受了。	He asked her to dance. She hesitated for a moment . . . and accepted.
客厅里在放着迪斯科的音乐，他们跳的却是四步，把节奏放慢一倍的。	Disco music was blaring in the living room, but they danced the four-step at half speed.
在一片激烈摇动之中，唯有他们不动，狂潮中的孤岛似的。	With all manner of wild movements swirling around them, only they were stationary, like a lone island in a rushing torrent.
她抱歉道，他还是跳迪斯科去吧，别陪她磨洋工了。	She apologized, suggesting that he go back to disco dancing rather than waste his time with her.
他则说他就喜欢这个。	But he insisted that he was having a good time.
他扶在她腰上的手，觉出她身体微妙的律动，以不变应万变，什么样的节奏里都能找到自己的那一种律动，穿越了时光。	He put his hand on her waist and could feel the slight pulsations of her body. It was a strategy of nonmovement in response to the myriad changes taking place around her, of finding her own rhythm, no matter what the tempo of her surroundings might be, a rhythm that could carry her through time.
他有些感动，沉默着，忽听她在说话，夸他跳得好，是老派的拉丁风。	Moved by this, he remained lost in silence until she suddenly complimented his dance skills; they were now doing a traditional Latin number.
接下来的舞曲，也有别人来邀请王琦瑶了。	When the tune changed, someone else invited Wang Qiyao to dance.
他们各自和舞伴悠然走步，有时目光相遇，便会心地一笑，带着些邂逅的喜悦。	During the next number, they each danced with their respective partners but their eyes occasionally met, whereupon they exchanged a knowing smile, lit up with the joy of this chance meeting.
这一晚是国庆夜，有哪幢楼的平台上，放起礼花，孤零零的一朵，在湛黑的天空上缓缓地舒开叶瓣，又缓缓凋零成细细的流星，渐渐消失，空中还留有一团浅白的影。	The party took place on the evening of National Day and fireworks were being set off from one of the balconies. A single rocket shot up into the darkness and slowly unfurled its fiery petals in the night sky before breaking up into a stream of falling stars, which vanished slowly, leaving a faint white shadow in the sky.
许久，才融入黑夜。	It was some time before the last of the light was absorbed into the blackness.