經典詩歌:捕蛇者說
【英文譯文】
The Snake Catcher
作品簡介：《捕蛇者說》寫於作者在被貶永州時，是柳宗元的散文名篇。課文通過捕蛇者蔣氏對其祖孫三代爲免交賦斂而甘願冒着死亡威脅捕捉毒蛇的自述，反映了中唐時期我國勞動人民的悲慘生活，深刻地揭露了封建統治階級對勞動人民的殘酷壓迫和剝削，表達了作者對勞動人民的深切同情。 “說”是我國古代的一種文體，可以說明事物，也可以發表議論或記敘事物。
In the wilderness on the outskirts of Yong Zhou there exists a kind of snake with black skin marked with white stripes. Any plant dies upon its touch and anyone bitten by it is doomed to die. But once it is caught and dehydrated, it can serve as an ingredient of a traditional medicine for the cure of leprosy, arthritis, swollen necks, malignant tumors, the removal of decayed flesh, and the elimination of three kinds of worms that cause illness. Since early times the court physician has ordered the people in the name of the emperor to hand in snakes twice a year. Whoever does so is exempted from taxation. People are vying with one another to catch snakes.
There is a man whose surname is Jiang. His family has been enjoying this privilege for three generations. When asked, he told me with deep grief, "My grandfather was killed by a snake, and so was my father. I myself have been engaged as a snake catcher for twelve years and might have been killed many a time." I sympathized with him, saying, "Are you complaining about this work? I shall ask the official in charge to transfer you to your former work and renew the taxation on you. How would you like that?"
My words threw him into great agony. He burst into tears and said, "Do you pity me and want me to live on? But the misery I am suffering now is not at all worse than what I suffered before. If I had not taken this work, I would be in desperate straits. Three generations of my family have been living here for sixty years. Our neighbors are growing poorer day by day. In order to pay the taxes, they are compelled to hand over all the produce of their land and all the possessions in their house. They shuffle from village to village, wailing in distress, and many of them die of hunger along the way. They are beaten by wind and rain, suffering freezing cold in winter and scorching heat in summer. What's more, they have to inhale the pernicious air of deceased districts. In this way, people are dying one after another, and their dead bodies are piling up. Out of ten families that were my grandfather's neighbors, only one has survived, and out of ten families that were my father's neighbors, only two or three remain. As to the neighbors who have been living near me for the past twelve years, only four or five out of ten families have survived. Most of them are dead or have moved to other places. I luckily remain alive simply because I am a snake catcher. Whenever the relentless officers come to the village, they make a row and bully the people. The village people scream from terror. Even fowls and dogs are not left in peace. I get out of bed with fear and look into the jar. To my relief the snakes are still there. Then my mind is at ease and I return to bed. I feed the snakes with great care and deliver them to the authorities in time. Back at home, I eat the produce of the land so that I may live on till my death. I risk my life only twice a year. The rest of the time, I spend my days quite happily, unlike other village people whose lives are constantly threatened. Even if I were killed by a snake today, I would still have lived longer than my neighbors. Why should I complain?"
I feel all the more depressed upon hearing his story. I was once disbelieving of Confucius's words: "Tyrannical rule is more ferocious than a tiger." From Jiang's example I have come to realize that this saying is true. Alas! Who could have known that oppressive taxation is worse than venomous snakes? Hence I write down this story for those who are making investigations relating to the life of the common people.
【中文原文】
永州之野產異蛇，黑質而白章，觸草木，盡死，以齧人，無御之者。然得而腊之以爲餌，可以已大風、攣 、瘻、癘，去死肌，殺三蟲。其始，太醫以王命聚之，歲賦其二。募有能捕之者，當其租入。永之人爭奔走焉。
有蔣氏者，專其利三世矣。問之，則曰：“吾祖死於是，吾父死於是，今吾嗣爲之十二年，幾死者數矣。”言之，貌若甚戚者。 餘悲之，且曰：“若毒之乎？餘將告於蒞事者，更若役，復若賦，則何如？”
蔣氏大戚，汪然出涕曰：“君將哀而生之乎？則吾斯役之不幸，未若復吾賦不幸之甚也！向吾不爲斯役，則久已病矣。自吾氏三世居是鄉，積於今六十歲矣，而鄉鄰之生日蹙。殫其地之出，竭其廬之入，號呼而轉徙，飢渴而頓踣；觸風雨，犯寒暑，呼噓毒癘，往往而死者相藉也。曩與吾祖居者，今其室十無一焉；與吾父居者，今其室十無二三焉；與吾居十二年者，今其室十無四五焉。非死則徙爾，而吾以捕蛇獨存。悍吏之來吾鄉，叫囂乎東西，隳突乎南北，譁然而駭者，雖雞狗不得寧焉。吾恂恂而起，視其缶，而吾蛇尚存，則弛然而臥。謹食之，時而獻焉。退而甘食其土之有，以盡吾齒。蓋一歲之犯死者二焉，其餘則熙熙而樂。豈若吾鄉鄰之旦旦有是哉！今雖死乎此，比吾鄉鄰之死，則已後矣，又安敢毒耶？”
餘聞而愈悲。孔子曰：“苛政猛於虎也！”吾嘗疑乎是。今以蔣氏觀之，猶信。嗚呼！孰知賦斂之毒，有甚是蛇者乎！故爲之說，以俟夫觀人風者得焉。
