by Xiao Yue Shan

ENGLISH

translated by David Huntington, Ru Jia, and Zhu Jiasheng

在世界尽头的小镇，每天早晨我都会感觉到一点害怕。但那种害怕是轻微的，几乎可以忽略不计的。它静静地躺在我体内，像一只沉睡的鸟。我就这样看着它。

In the town at the end of the world, every morning I’m a little afraid. But the feeling is light enough that I can almost ignore it. It’s like a sleeping bird nestling quietly in my chest. Something like that.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Zuo Fei and Jennifer Fossenbell

蝴蝶不在时，要证明
蝴蝶曾存在是困难的。
睡眠被吞食，梦无辜，要证明
香气那垂危的手
是困难的。

When the butterfly is absent, it’s
hard to prove it was ever present.
Sleep is devoured, the dream innocent. It’s
hard to prove the scent, that dying hand.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Xiao Yue Shan

亲爱的，你看帐子外面黑下来
白昼只剩碗口那么大
食言，就是先把供词喂进爱人嘴里

darling, look at the outside darkening
we only have a mouthful of daylight left
to swallow your words is to first feed them to your lover

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Ru Jia, Cao Qitong, and Remington Gillis

有人说他是酒鬼，老魏是极不高兴的。在老魏看来，酒鬼与他不同的地方就在于，酒鬼只是酒鬼，而他能把酒喝出境界来。

Some people said that he was an alcoholic, which made Old Wei extremely unhappy. In his view, the difference between him and an alcoholic was that an alcoholic was just an alcoholic, nothing more, whereas when he drank, he invented worlds.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Samantha Toh

电影之后，午夜裹紧我的后背，
把寒意散尽在永不到来的诸神决战，

After the movie, midnight wraps around my back,
dispels the chill into the gods’ final battle, one that may never come.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Zhu Jiasheng and Henry Stevens

灯光下，一个狭长的身影开始变形。你敲响了那扇单薄欲碎的门，门内毫无反应，你又喊了一嗓子，这才慢腾腾传来一声回应。

As you come into the light, your long, thin shadow mutates. You knock on the door, which seems thin and fragile. There is no response. You call out again and finally somebody answers.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Tiantian Yuan and Simon Shieh

几只野鸭，是黑水上的黑，慢悠悠地游动、游动。尽管如此——仿佛囚禁，但它们仍然是聪明的精灵——选择的河段仍是最好的。然后，生活。这土地上的生灵彼此肖似。

A few wild ducks, black on the black water, paddle slowly, leisurely. Though seemingly trapped, they are clever souls—their corner of the river still the best. And they just go on living. The creatures of this land are so alike.

ENGLISH | CHINESE

translated by Liu Yidian and Anisha Joshi

他们真正相识的五六年时间，也和凝固的膏体一般坠落，砌了无形的墙，将渐渐积累的风雨隔绝在他们的外面，言语会使这墙体坍塌。

They had built invisible walls, keeping out the howling winds, blocking out the rain that had accumulated over the years, but now, with the exchange of a few words, these walls would come crumbling down.

ENGLISH | CHINESE