Winter Scenes of the South

◎ Yu Dafu

Anyone who has spent wintertime in the north will speak highly of the joys of sitting around a stove making tea or of eating stewed mutton while cracking peanuts and drinking white liquor．For the families that have installed pit furnaces, heated earthen beds or the like, those two to three months of indoor life - when outside their houses, the snow is several feet deep and the wind roars as loud as thunder - are the most enjoyable season of the year for living a secluded life．Along with the aged, even the most active children cherish those days, for during that season, there are fruit snacks like radishes, pears, etc．to enjoy and there are exciting festivals like New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Lantern Festival, etc．to celebrate.

Things are different in the south．Beyond the south side of the Great Yangtze River, even after the winter solstice, the leaves have not yet completely fallen, and the sporadic cold wind - a northwesterly wind - only brings chilly weather for one or two days at most．On early mornings when the grey clouds have cleared up in the sky, the fallen leaves are all over the streets, and the morning frost appears as white as cosmetic powder applied to the face of a dark-complexioned woman, as soon as the sun rises above the eaves, the birds start twittering again, the warm air, as usual, begins to squeeze vapor out of the earth, and the old and the young resume their outdoor lives - going to the open spaces in front of their doors to chat with each other as they expose their bare backs to the sun．Such are the winter scenes of the south！Isn’t that delightful？

I grew up in the south, and my childhood impression of the southern winter is deeply rooted in me．Although I am now entering middle age and have fallen in love with late autumn, which I believe is the prime season for scholars to be engaged in reading and writing, I always think the scenes of winter in the south have a special appeal, more than that of a summer night in the north - a kind of lucid appeal, to put it in a modern way.

I have spent wintertime in the Fujian and Guangdong provinces．It is so balmy there that one might have to wear his cotton sweater even as the Spring Festival turns around the corner and one can still see various kinds of autumnal flowers as he passes by the farmers’ hedged courtyards．A shower accompanied by rumbling thunders will chill the weather a little bit, but one may just need to put on a jacket to adjust to the change in climate - there is absolutely no need for a fur-lined robe or a padded cotton jacket．However, those extreme southern climatic anomalies are not the winter scenes of the south I want to discuss, for they can only be referred to as a southern evergreen spring - an extension of spring or autumn.

Due to its fertility and moist, the southern land is apt to retain warmth and, hence, better sustains crops．This is why the reed catkins along the Yangtze River remain in bloom until the winter solstice, and sometimes remain red for more than three months．Take as another example the Chinese tallow trees growing on both banks of the Qiantang River．Even when the red leaves fall off, the snow-white seedpods remain, drooping in dots and clusters on the tips of the twigs．Photographs of them can be passed off as those of plum flowers．While the worst scenario for the grass is that it turns ochre, it still keeps some of its gentle green color close to the roots．A wild fire cannot wipe out the grass, and the chilly wind cannot beat it down．If you do not mind traveling to the suburbs on a breezy and balmy afternoon, under the azure sky, you will not feel the bleakness of the season, but instead get in touch with some kind of vitality with which the place is inexplicably pregnant．Percy Bysshe Shelley’s well-known line of poetry “If winter comes, can spring be far behind？”can be easily appreciated in the hilly area of the south.

An outdoor stroll in the wintry suburbs is indeed a special favor the southern winter bestows on the inhabitants of the south．Those who live in the frozen and snowy north will not, in their entire lives, ever have an opportunity for such leisurely and carefree enjoyment．I have no idea what would happen if one compared the winter in Germany with the one in our Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, but judging from the fondness of many writers for the use of the word “Spaziergang”in the titles of their works, it may be about right to assume that the climate of the four seasons in southern Germany is approximately the same as that in our south．Take the 19th-century bucolic poet Peter Rosegger (1843–1918), for example．He made liberal use of the word “stroll”in the titles of his writings, and what he wrote about is also applicable to the mountainous area in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, China.

Southern China is crisscrossed by rivers and tributaries, abundant in lakes and marshes, and adjacent to the sea．These geographical facts help keep its air moist and create a sporadic drizzle, even in the winter．What an ethereal, peaceful image the scene of a hamlet during a winter drizzle creates！Imagine, after an autumn harvest, a hamlet perching by a riverside and composed of three to five families, with their doors facing a long bridge and windows looking to the distant hills．In between the huts and the hills are heavily wooded areas with various kinds of forked or bifurcating trees．Then, apply to this painting of a rustic winter scene a thin layer of white-colored drizzle - as thin as powder, plus a thin layer of background - so thin that the ink is barely discernible．Isn’t this already a scene of leisurely peace？To embellish the painting a little bit more, moor a small black-roofed boat in front of a door and add a few vociferous drinking friends in one of the huts．To suggest the time of twilight, use a reddish-yellow color to paint a halo on the window of the thatched hut to hint at the light of a lamp inside．In such a scene, a person would feel broadminded and carefree, and eventually grow unconcerned about the ideas of gain or loss and nonchalant about the matter of life and death．We must still remember the poetic line composed by the Tang Dynasty poet, “The riverside hamlet in the drizzle of dusk.”Sojourning here, even a poet would tolerate outlaws and bandits．What else but the mesmerizing charm of a southern winter scene would cause people to feel this way？

Speaking of rain, it is natural to think of snow．While the poetic line “The nightfall is to usher in a snowfall; ‘Tis the time to tipple a little alcohol”is a description of a southern snow scene at dusk, “A chilly, sandy path in the shade of a plum tree; a hamlet with a thin wine aroma in a flurry”draws a picture of the three winter regulars：snow, moon, and plums, meeting together to flirt with barmaids．And if “The barking at the wooden door signals the return of the owner on a windy and snowy night”is a sketch of a southern snow scene on a deep, serene night, then “From within the deep snow in front of the hamlet burst a spray of plum-blossom last night”shows the scene of the next morning, with the kids of the hamlet, who are as fond of snow as dogs are, coming to report the snow scene．Perhaps not all of these lines of poetry were written in the south, and perhaps, not all of the poets who wrote these poems were southerners, but isn’t it striking to use these poetic lines to depict the southern snow scenes？They are much more captivating than the prose under my clumsy pen！

For a few years in the south - yes, in the south - there may be winters without rain or snow, but there might be a little spring flurry following a cold wave late in the first month or early in the second, by the Chinese lunar calendar．Last year (1934) was like this, and this winter looks about the same, I am afraid．Judging from this, the coldest days may fall toward the end of February in 1936, in the Gregorian calendar, but may not last for more than seven or eight days．Seasons like this are referred to by farmers as dry winters, which are beneficial to wheat growth but harmful to humans because if the dryness lingers too long, humans will become vulnerable to diseases like diphtheria, flu, etc．But for those who take delight in the winter scenes of the south, this is the kind of winter they enjoy more, because there are more clear days and, hence, naturally more opportunities to stroll in the suburbs．This is also the kind of winter mostly favored by Japanese hikers and German Spaziergangers.

Outside, it is as sunny as it is in late autumn．The sky is so pleasantly high and the sunlight is so pervasive that I can no longer sit in the room．Action speaks louder than words．I am fed up with writing such a humdrum essay．Let me put down my pen, pick up my walking-stick, and go to the lake for a stroll！