弦断红楼空待续

虽也有学者认为曹霑在世时已经完成全本《石头记》，但毕竟署名存世的仅前80回，即使古有高鹗今有雨山雪续本，多数人仍视红楼为断臂之美。殊不知，奇书多戏中戏，在前80回里，就有多处未讲完的故事，令我印象深刻的有三次。

宝玉是大观园里的故事大王，而刘姥姥比他更会诹。在二进荣国府时（第39回），刘姥姥在王熙凤的安排下给众人说笑取乐，做了回弄臣。贾母问乡下有什么新鲜事体，她就给大家讲了个小姑娘雪后偷柴草的故事。刘姥姥是极会铺垫伏笔、先抑后扬的，可惜故事才开了个头，就因马棚走水（失火）被打断，也因为柴火不吉，就没了下文，善见风使舵的姥姥立即换了另一个善有善报的故事来取悦虔信佛教的老太太和王夫人。后人的解释，这里暗埋了“雪报柴（薛宝钗）”的结局－－沦为村妇。不过，如果这是一个有结局的故事，刘姥姥又会如何往下编呢？

第二次是在荣国府元宵宴上（第54回），还未待两位说书女艺人开讲，只说了个类似西厢的残唐五代《凤求鸾》的故事梗概，却被贾母一语道破“才子佳人”的老套程式，又一大通“掰慌”议论，结果这个故事便没讲成。不过，虽然故事未讲，“happily ever after”的结局却可料到，这个经过自由恋爱有情人终成眷属的结局不是贾母所喜欢和支持的，所以才被她的大批判口水淹没，使大家（包括读者）都没有机会听到故事细节。

第三次是第76回凸碧堂中秋赏月，月圆人不齐，品笛露凄清，为了打破冷场的尴尬，笨嘴拙舌的尤氏勉强学说笑话给贾母听：“一家子养了四个儿子：大儿子只一个眼睛，二儿子只一个耳朵，三儿子只一个鼻子眼，四儿子倒都齐全，偏又是个哑吧⋯⋯”说到这里就因贾母睏倦而止，夜深人散，一个中秋尽显筵席之尾声。这也是个有头没尾的故事，俞平伯的解释是呼应第2回的“宁国公四个儿子”。抛开那些索隐派的帝王论，如果这真是个笑话，又该怎么收尾好呢？

不知是否曹公刻意安排，三次故事腰斩，均与贾母有关，她的权力就有如电影局的审查和GFW的封锁，然而留给读者的却是困难的阅读。

红楼人物的阅读量

常见人们给黛玉、宝钗、湘云、宝琴等人的诗才排座论次，今又读红楼，仅举故事开头宝钗的三处事迹（见下）就足见其阅读面（知识面）之广，不由的令我想给大观园这几位姐妹列个书虫排行榜。

薛宝钗
1）第18回元春省亲命题赛诗，善揣摩心意的宝钗一眼就看出宝玉诗作“绿玉春犹卷”一句中的“绿玉”犯了王妃的喜好忌讳，提醒他改玉为蜡，并笑他连钱珝的芭蕉诗典故都忘了，宝玉佩服的连声尊其为一字师。宝钗虽然诗歌气质和创作水平都比不上黛玉（宝钗两次诗社夺魁都因裁判偏袒），但从其典故搜索能力（比如她在第62回宝玉生日宴会行酒令时给香菱同声翻译诗词曲赋典故，简直一个通今博古的活搜索引擎）来看，她读诗数量应不在林之下。
2）第22回老太太请戏班子给宝钗过生日，宝钗点了一出《鲁智深醉闹五台山》，并当场给戏盲宝玉背诵了其中一曲《寄生草》，再次被宝玉狂赞为“无书不知”。这里不仅显示宝钗对戏曲文本的熟悉，而且刻画了她惊人的记忆力，与一目十行过目成诵的黛玉不相上下。实际上，黛玉在宝玉赞钗之后，旋即就用“还没唱《山门》，你倒《妆疯》了”这样的谐音双关来嘲笑宝玉，宣明她具备不弱于钗的戏剧知识。
3）同一回里，宝玉论禅，被黛钗轮流取笑，黛玉戏续了宝玉的偈子“无立足境，是方干净”，宝钗立即就抛出了慧能著名的“菩提本非树，明镜亦非台，本来无一物，何处染尘埃”来解释黛玉偈子的用典。心境淡薄的黛玉读经参禅还可理解，宝钗也有这样的阅历就不得不惊讶于她的博学了。
至于其他通过阅读或生活阅历获得的百科知识，宝钗就更爱有意无意的显摆了，例子比比皆是。出身儒商之家的她除了可以获得良好的家庭教育外，还可以比一般官宦人家更容易接触到各类民间文本，比如《西厢记》这样的书，宝钗读的要比黛玉早的多（但接受态度不同）。不过，总的来看，宝钗的阅读应该是泛读型，一个字－－杂，她的阅读目的就是做个三脚猫社交王，这是符合她的人生观的。

林黛玉
从黛玉老师给学生香菱布置的诗歌阅读作业（精读王维、杜甫、李白三人各一二百首，再泛读陶渊明、应、谢、阮、庾、鲍等各朝名家）来看，她自身的诗歌阅读量绝不会小，甚至可以说超过宝钗（更不必说湘云，凹晶馆一段对话就比出高低来了）。其创作也经常与古人对话，比如她著名的《秋窗风雨夕》在形式上整个就是对张若虚《春江花月夜》的敬礼，而在意境上又力胜古人。高水平的创作离不开阅读基础，于数量之外，还可见其阅读之精之深。
可是，由于家庭条件的限制，黛玉没有很多机会接触民间流行文学，因此连《西厢记》都全靠了茗烟将禁书偷送进园子里才能和宝玉共读。反观宝钗，两次因《西厢》色变，一次是对宝琴十首怀古绝句的末两首的否定（因为用到了西厢和牡丹亭的典故），一次是听到黛玉引用西厢词句时劝她少读此类异端书籍，足见她对这些时尚文字的熟悉和敏感。所以，这方面书籍的阅读量黛玉似不及宝钗。
不过话说回来，才女黛玉所阅读的技术类书籍（如琴谱棋谱）也不少，这样统计算来，钗黛的阅读数量可能将将相齐，或钗稍胜一筹（也完全是由于客观便利）。

薛宝琴
作为红楼群像里最完美的形象，曹公在各个方面赋予她桂冠。这个家族企业名媛，见多识广，俗话所说读万卷书行千里路她都做到了，甚至还留过洋（真真国），所以还有可能接触过外国文学。诗谜怀古绝句十首充分体现了她深厚的阅历，而被宝钗指责的最后两首《蒲东寺》、《梅花观》恰恰证明了她小小年纪就早早读过《西厢记》和《牡丹亭》（此类藏书在商人家里比较容易获得）。因此我大胆推测她是大观园中的阅读冠军。

史湘云，虽胜于急智，但输于稚嫩，无论是阅读量（虽也堪称奇人）还是创作水平都逊于以上三人。红楼其他人物的阅读不是偏于狭隘（如妙玉），就是以“不做睁眼瞎”为目的（如惜春），根本没有资格和以上人物相比。

综上，阅读王Top4应该是这样的顺序：薛宝琴>薛宝钗>=林黛玉>史湘云。

Threeers

今天的Language Log上有个有趣的讨论，是关于英文单词中三个相同字母相连出现的罕见例子。话题的引出是一则勘误，说是把在任天堂游戏机Wii上打网球过度而导致的关节炎症（炎症的后缀是-itis）“网球肘”名称拼错了，这个词应该是Wiiitis。似乎很难找出其他类似的单词，更不要说三个以上相同字母的例子了。有人举了threeers，但是大家对这个生造词的拼法不以为然，因为我们知道e结尾的词在添加诸如er, est等构词后缀时往往要抵消前面一个e，不过借这个词用来形容这种构词情况还是挺合适的。甚至有人引用了一首别致的小诗来证明这种现象的稀少：

Llama
by Ogden Nash

The one-l lama,
He's a priest.
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any.
Three-l lllama

这倒让我想起语言学大师赵元任当年在台大的一个讲座的标题：语言学跟跟语言学有关系的一些问题。他故意叠用同个介词来说明语言之无厘与合理。如果说开去，中文在这方面的创造力就太强了，且不说同音词叠用，同形叠词的例子比比皆是。比如传说中徐文长的对联：
行行行行行行行
长长长长长长长
又如山海关的这一副，有起码五种断句法：
海水朝朝朝朝朝朝朝落
浮云长长长长长长长消

An Imcompatible Bather

The Bathers

"Permit me, M. Cezanne, to leave the picture.
I am Sylvie, on the far right. Something -- pipe smoke,
an old dream's deja-vu -- something caught your brushstroke
off guard. How else would my wraithlike caricature
rise from fishtail sweeps of green and hover half there?
I am no mermaid! The others at least are whole,
but I'm an apostrophe, a violin's scroll
on canvas. Ah! There's a thought! What note of despair
robbed me of arms? I do not belong to this love-
less outcrop. They would sink like stones, all these no-name
eternal women you call bathers. Nothing sirs.
A masterpieces, no? With my last blue breath, Monsieur,
I grant you your genius. Please grant my remove.
No one will miss me. I shall go as I came."

-- by Ellen Dudis, originally from Literary Imagination Vol. 9, 2007

Paul Cézanne might have never been confronted by such an odd, though perhaps justifiable from her (the fictional Sylvie's) point of view, query. The female bathers in this abstract master's paintings, as a favored theme for Cézanne, were seldom presented as individuals (even not so much in his small piece "The Three Bathers"), but pyramided as a whole to fit in Nature, exuding a pleasant and serene, rather than erotic, aura. “So Sylvie, you should be grateful to be part of it.” Or is it just your grudge against those who marginalized you? I know those actresses would fight for a most eye-catching position when posing for a cover group picture for Vanity Fair. Once one felt unfairly treated, she would immediately threaten to drop out. Old trick. You are no exception.

Sometimes, people just like a refreshing perspective, no matter whether it is a misreading or misleading one. This poem is a cute creation I should say. Very smart. But was there a prototype from Cézanne? I searched. In one online gallery, I think I may have found some trace: in this version of "The Bathers" (1900-1905, National Gallery, London), a study version of "Les Grandes Baigneuses" I presume, we can see a limbless "wraith" as accused "on the far right" of the canvas. Now you are re-discovered, Sylvie, mysterious Sylvie. Don't leave your arena; don't suicide your art life. You know how such beauty of women was classically paraphrased in Chinese poetry? "She came, her face half hid behind a pipa still."

A Letter to Editor of The Economist

Dear Editor,

In the last paragraph of the article "A museum boom" published in the June 14th print issue of The Economist, there is a mis-spelling of the name of the deputy minister of construction, which should be "Qiu Baoxing" instead of "Qiu Baixing". He used to be Mayor of Hangzhou, my hometown and the capital city of China's eastern province Zhejiang, so I'm quite familiar with this tough hand.

The report itself is very revealing. I see this museum construction/renovation fever around China, as well as the nationwide mushrooming applications for the UNESCO world heritages (though some do deserve such an honor), as one symptom among the many of a new "Big Leap Forward Movement", and the erections of well-facilitated, accordingly revenue-consuming, new museums serve as local governors' personal trophies for their achievements in "urbanization" and "civilization", rather than channels for public education (one reason is that some so-called museums were just instant projects and had no serious collections worth seeing). The "Stalinist-looking National Museum" mentioned in the report was actually a merger of the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History, and the renaming was one of the steps to erase or blur the image of the "Red China" and make such tourist spots more ideologically and visually approachable to international, especially western, visitors. As a matter of fact, the Chinese government is quite happy with this strategy, which they think would help form a Beijing's Smithsonian or Museumsinsel, along with the boondoggle National Theater in Tian'anmen Square of course!

Cheers,
Eric

eeky mac

Saw a funny South Park version of PC vs. Mac

but it still couldn't cheer me up from the MacBook battery headache. Yes, I went to Den Haag again on Wednesday and did get the battery replaced again only in 3 minutes. That Apple guy even didn't have the patience to listen to my description of all the symptoms my sick baby got before handing me a brand new sealed battery. I installed and tested it on the spot. Everything just seemed perfect... until after I calibrated it for the first time at home. The first charging till full was ok, BUT when I plugged in the Magsafe, the indicator light was just like a malfunctioning traffic light -- green, amber, and green again, even when the power was below 70% and should've started charging. The only "improved" was that no big X showed up, but still, it said "calculating ... till full" instead of "charging till full". Even the reset of SMC failed to take any effect. This means the new battery was, and is still so, irrecognizable just like the old ones! Due to the total dependence on AC, my laptop ironically turned into a desktop!

I believe the suspect should be Mac itself, not the batteries. Luckily I'm not alone. Search results show that most macs with the same battery charging problem got cured by battery exchange, and a few by changing their logic boards. Hope mine is simply the latter type. Will definitely add this to Apple people's knowledge base on Monday.

China in a Torrent

There is no other country in the world who understands China better and who's more interested in China issues than Japan, so it did not surprise me that an in-depth 24-episode serial documentary called "China in a Torrent" (激流中国) was being intensively produced by NHK, Nipon's national broadcaster, to reveal the pain in the neck of its neighboring oriental lion.

The first four episodes that have already been aired respectively focused on the widening income gap between extravagant gazillionaires and poor “peasant-laborers” (temporarily contracted workers in cities originally from rural areas), the edgy Tai-Chi hands-pushing between courageous and insightful journalists and bureaucratic restrictions on media, the senior's sympathized dilemma between loneliness in the empty nest and strangeness in the care center in the aging society, and the intensifying conflict between the water-lavishing Beijing and its suburban people who live by the reservoir yet in want of water. And more to come in another 10 instalments which will last a whole year.

Sensational and fact-suspicious as it is, the documentary, particularly the episode on China's fast growing media industry, still serves well as a truth-exposing mirror. What makes me curious is the way they filmed the footages. A disguised micro-camera must have been used for most scenes, for none of the interviewees acted as if there were a lens in front of them. However, people's ignorance of the camera and the secret shooting itself, though also used for personal-attack-prone negative reports in China, poses the danger of a possibly one-sided story, so I really feel it a strong need for "angry youth", major spreaders of the afore-mentioned videos (some even volunteered the translation job to facilitate the spread), to calm down before showing any emotional upsurge.

Anyway, no documentary is omniscient, and this is a quality production. A technical question: how can the hidden camera be flexibly zoomed and focused while remaining invisible? I've never seen a better secret filming. Fascinating skills.