Ang Lee recently won the Academy Award for his "Life of Pi." I don't think this film deserved the award, but Ang Lee has certainly made some great movies. Of all his films, "The Ice Storm" is probably my favorite.
I should add that the "Lee" in "Ang Lee" is the same as the "Li" in his father's name, 李昇. This is the "Li family" that Ang Lee is representing. It's not entirely clear from the text, but Ang Lee's father later took a job as the principal of the Hualien Teacher's University. Thus "Li Sheng" is the same person as "principal Li."
第一章: 展露天賊 Chapter One: Showing His Talent
一九五四年的十月, 屏東縣潮州鄉的天空沒有一絲雲, 空氣中瀰漫著一股熱氣, 一間日式平房裡, 一個母親強忍著痛楚, 在醫生的協助下, 順利的產下了她的第三個孩子, 一個青紫著臉, 安靜的孩子. On September 1954, there was a cloudless sky in Chao Jhou Township, Pingtung County. The air was very hot that day, and in an old, Japanese-style house a mother suffered labor pains. With the assistance of a doctor, she gave birth to her third child, which had a purple, strangled face. This child was very quiet.
"糟了!" 醫生心想, "臍帶繞頸好幾圈!" 他將嬰孩到提過來, 用力拍打嬰孩的屁股; 終於, "哇!" 的一聲, 孩子發出宏亮的哭聲. "Oh no!" thought the doctor, "The umbilical cord was looped around its neck!" He turned the baby over, slapped the baby on its backside, and finally gave out a "Wa!" as the baby began to cry.
"沒事了! 沒事了!" 醫生安撫著嬰孩, 將清洗乾淨的孩子送到等在房門外的父親手上. "It's OK! There's no problem!" said the doctor as he soothed the baby. Afterward the baby was cleaned and brought to its father, who was waiting outside the room.
"太好了! 是個男孩!" 當了第三個孩子爸爸的李昇微笑的抱著嬰孩, 或許是感受到父親的氣息, 懷裡的孩子笑了笑. "This is so great! It's a boy!" laughed Li Sheng, the child's father, as he held the baby in his arms. He was so delighted to learn of his son's birth that he kept laughing.
或許你會認為李昇太重男輕女, 但在當時, 有男孩代表一個家庭的血脈可以傳承下去, 李昇是那個時代的人, 有這樣的想法並不奇怪. 況且, 李昇是在戰亂中從中國江西逃到台灣來的. 原本李昇家在江西是大戶人家, 家裡經商, 自己也擔任崇仁縣縣長, 沒想到戰禍一起, 他孤身一人跟著軍隊到了台灣之後, 留在大陸家鄉的家人幾乎都過世了, 李昇的父親臨終得遺言就是請人轉告李昇, 大陸老家的一切都灰飛煙滅了, 請他在台灣成家立業, 延續李家的香火. 李安的出生, 代表著李昇父親的遺願達成了一小部分, 這怎不讓李昇高興得睡不著? 而在這個時候, 帶著李家所有人的期待來到這個世上的李安, 正安祥的睡在母親的懷抱裡. You might think that such delight in the birth of a boy was perhaps chauvinistic, but given the time [it was not surprising]. A boy represented the continuation of the family line, so for someone of Li Sheng's generation, this way of thinking was not strange.
Moreover, Li Sheng had left Jiang Shi Province, Mainland China during the Chinese Civil War, and had come to Taiwan afterward. Li Sheng's family in Jiang Shi had been very large and had prospered as merchants. He himself had served as the magistrate of Chong Ren County. [Before he left China], he never thought that after the period of unrest he would follow the army alone to Taiwan, and that the family he had left behind in China would almost entirely perish.
Li Sheng's father said as much in his last moments, and had asked others to pass on to Li Sheng the news that his remaining family in China were all dead, and that it was up to Li Sheng to begin a new family in Taiwan, so that he might carry on the Li family's traditions. With the birth of Ang Lee, Li Sheng had achieved something of this ambition, so of course he was so happy he could not sleep. At this moment in time, the hopes of the entire Li family were pinned upon Ang Lee.
李安兩歲時, 因為父親工作的關係, 全家搬到花蓮. 李安從小就害羞, 常常黏著媽媽, 因為李媽媽喜歡看電影; 因此, 看電影就成了母子倆共同的興趣. When Ang Lee was two years old, the entire family moved to Hualien because of his father's work. Ang Lee was very shy from a young age, and kept very close to his mother. Ang Lee's mother enjoyed watching films, and this appreciation for movies was shared between mother and son.
這天, 李媽媽騎著腳踏車帶李安去看電影, 電影演到一半, 觀眾席中忽然傳來哭泣的聲音, 觀眾們紛紛轉頭尋找哭聲的來源, 只見李媽媽對李安說: "別哭了, 電影裡演的是假的啦! 你每次都這樣, 你看, 大家都在看你, 再哭我下次不帶你來囉!" 看著觀眾們全部都望著他, 李安難為情的將頭埋入媽媽的懷裡, 母親愛憐的拍了拍她這個感情豐富的大兒子, "你這樣子, 等會兒別問我這段在演什麼哦!" 一想到會漏看心愛的電影, 李安趕忙擦乾眼淚, 抬起頭, 專注的看著前方的大螢幕. One day, Ang Lee's mother took them by bicycle to see a movie. Halfway through the movie the sound of crying could be heard in the audience, and the audience members slowly turned their heads to locate the source of the sound.
They saw Ang Lee's mother saying to him: "Don't cry, the movie is not real! You do this every time! Look, everyone is staring at you, and if you don't stop crying I will not take you to a movie next time!" All of the audience members continued to stare at him, and Ang Lee was so embarrassed that he buried his head in his mother's arms.
His mother patted her sensitive child. "You always do this! And don't ask me what will happen next!" As he thought about what his mother had said, Ang Lee wiped the tears from his eyes, lifted up his head, and set his eyes upon the screen.
除了看電影, 李安在家中還有另一個好玩的遊戲. Aside from movies, Ang Lee enjoyed another kind of pastime at home.
那一陣子, 花蓮師範學校的校長宿舍內常會傳出陣陣笑聲. During that time, the principal of the Hualien Teacher's University often heard laughter bursting out of the dormitory.
"哇! 真厲害!" "Wa! So terrific!"
"唱得好棒噢!" "Sung so beautifully!"
"很有明星架式欸!" "Performed like a star!"
...............
如果你在現場, 你便會看到被大家團團圍住的李安拿著掃把當吉他, 唱著當時的流行歌曲. If you had been in that place, you would have seen Ang Lee singing the popular songs of that time, holding a broom and pretending to play the guitar. He was surrounded by many people.
在"了不起!" "再來一首!"的讚嘆下, 更精彩的表演出現了. In the midst of compliments such as "Excellent!" and "One more song!", the most wonderful performance began.
"現在, 讓我們歡迎全國最厲害的管家... 老楊...." 做為主持人的弟弟小李崗說完, 李安壓低聲音, 開始學起家中管家老楊說話. "Now let us welcome the greatest housekeeper... Old Yang..." said little brother Shiao Gang, who was playing the announcer. Ang Lee lowered his voice and began to impersonate their housekeeper.
"呵呵, 沒錯, 你們家管家老楊說話就是這個樣子!" 每個人都拍手叫好. 有人撫著肚子大笑, 有人則是笑到眼淚都流出來. "Ah ha! That's right, your housekeeper Old Yang really does talk like that!" Everyone applauded, and some people held their stomachs from laughing so hard. Some laughed so hard they began to cry.
"李校長, 你這大兒子, 長大可以去演戲哦!" 一位賓客開玩笑的說. "Principal Li, your oldest son can be an actor when he grows up!" joked one member of the audience.
李昇笑笑沒答話, 他豈會不知道他的大兒子李安對表演有著極大的興趣與天分,過去只要軍中康樂隊有任何的表演, 不論是平劇, 照興戲, 魔術, 話劇, 李安總是坐在一排, 眼睛直愣愣盯著台前. 只是, 演戲這行業, 總不是個穩當的職業; 況且, 當時社會對於唱歌演戲的人, 總不是太尊敬, 任何一個愛孩子的父母都希望孩子一輩子能夠平平順順, 自己又怎麼可能鼓勵他去學表演藝術呢? Li Sheng laughed but did not reply, since he wasn't aware of his son's great interest and talent with regard to acting. Afterward Ang Lee attended all of the Kang Le Military Group performances, regardless of whether they were Peking Opera, Jhao Shing plays, magic acts, or dramas. He always sat in the first row, with his eyes glued to the stage. The stage, however, offered no secure careers, and the society of that time looked down upon performers in general. Parents who loved their children wished for their child's future prosperity. How could they encourage their children to enter the performing arts?
李安除了常在有客人到訪時唱唱跳跳以娛樂大人, 每個星期六開班會之前的教室, 更是他固定的表演舞台. 有時候, 他會說一段相聲; 有時候, 他會寫一個劇本, 邀同學一同排練演出. 這個星期六, 坐在台下等待李安一群人表演的同學, 左等右等都等不到開幕. Aside from entertaining adults that visited their household with his songs and dances, the Saturdays before his class meetings were Ang Lee's opportunities to perform. Sometimes he would perform a dialog, sometimes he would write a play for classmates to perform. On one particular Saturday, many such classmates were waiting for Ang Lee, eager for the performance to begin.
"怎麼回事?" 老師走到後台去, 卻看到孩子們七嘴八舌不知在爭什麼. "What's going on?" said the teacher after walking behind the stage. The teacher saw many students arguing about something.
"為甚麼我要演老婆婆?" 一個同學拒絕演出. "Why must I be the Old Lady?" one of the students protested.
"沒關係啦, 這樣很好玩阿!" 一個女同學安慰他. "It doesn't matter! This is fun!" one of his female classmates consoled him.
"我才不要, 上次我演豬八戒, 被笑了兩個禮拜, 這次又要演老婆婆." "I still refuse. Last time I played 'Ju Ba Jie' [the pig from "Journey to the West"], and I was laughed at for two weeks. This time he wants me to be the Old Lady."
"反正是演戲嘛!" 另一個同學說. "It's just a play!" another classmate said.
"我不要, 如果你覺得沒關係, 那就跟我交換演!" "I refuse! If you think it's no problem, then I will just switch roles with you!"
"為甚麼我要跟你交換?" "Why do I need to switch with you?"
"哎喲! 你不要鬧彆扭了啦, 你不演, 戲就演不下去了!" 其他同學勸說著."Ah Yo! Don't give up! If you don't perform, the play won't happen!" said another classmate.
"我才不管呢! 反正我就是不想演老婆婆!" 說完, 原本飾演老婆婆的同學, 頭也不回的走回座位, 看起來是吃了秤鉈鐵了心, 不演了. "I don't care! Whatever you say, I don't want to be the Old Lady!" After saying this, the classmate playing the Old Lady walked back to his seat. He was extremely determined and angry, and would not perform.
"怎麼辦? 現在老婆婆誰演?" "What can we do? Who can perform the Old Lady now?"
"我不要哦!" "I refuse!"
花師附小的老師靜靜的站在一邊, 看著這群孩子要如何解決這個突如其來的"缺一角"問題, 窗外的蟬叫得大聲, 教室內的孩子也急得滿頭大汗. 眼看時間一分一秒得過去, 這時候, 李安拿起一條大方巾, 包住頭說: "我來演吧!" The teacher from Hualien's Experimental School stood to one side, watching to see how the students would resolve this "actor shortage" problem. The sound of cicadas filtered through the window, and all the students in the classroom were sweating profusely. Minutes passed, and then Ang Lee took up a large scarf and wrapped it around his head. "I will perform it!" he said.
李安反串老婆婆贏得了滿堂彩. 這次的事件, 讓老師與同學們都見識到了李安對表演藝術的熱情. Ang Lee won much applause through his performance as the Old Lady. This occurrence made both the teacher and students aware of Ang Lee's fondness for the performing arts.
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