Listen to this article湖心亭看雪
Viewing the Snow Scene from the Mid-Lake Pavilion
张岱
Zhang Dai
崇祯五年十二月，余住西湖。大雪三日，湖中人、鸟声俱绝。
In the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Chongzhen Reign (1632), while staying by the West Lake, I saw snow falling continuously for three days. After that, there were no signs of human beings nor sounds of birds on the lake.
是日，更定矣，余拏一小舟，拥毳衣炉火，独往湖心亭看雪。雾凇沆砀，天与云与山与水，上下一白。湖上影子，惟长堤一痕、湖心亭一点与余舟一芥，舟中人两三粒而已！
In the dead of night when all was quiet, I towed a small boat. Wearing fur clothes and carrying a burning stove, I went alone to the Mid-Lake Pavilion to see snow. Over the lake, the curling mist and fogs mixed with the fluttering flakes made the sky, the clouds, the hills and the waters all white, high and low. The only shadows I could see in the lake were that of the long causeway which was reflected in the shape of a belt, that of the Mid-Lake Pavilion in the shape of a dot, my boat – a leaf and the men in the boat – a couple of rice grains.
到亭上，有两人铺毡对坐，一童子烧酒，炉正沸。见余，大喜曰：“湖中焉得更有此人！”拉余同饮。余强饮三大白而别。问其姓氏，是金陵人，客此。
Walking into the pavilion, I saw two men sitting face to face on a felt carpet. A boy servant was heating wine on a stove over a roaring fire. The two men were overjoyed to see me and said merrily: “Good heavens! How could we expect to see someone else on the lake!” They invited me to drink together. I forced myself to drink three cups of wine and then said good-bye to them. While asking their names, I was told that they were natives of Jingling and had come here for a visit.
及下船，舟子喃喃曰：“莫说相公痴，更有痴似相公者！”
As soon as I came back to the boat, I heard the boatman murmuring: “Don’t say you are crazy. There are people even crazier than you.”
（周向勤、郑苏苏 译）
