槐 花 吟1An Ode to the Acacia Flower

周領順

槐花既可賞，也能食，對北方人而言，想到2更多的是食用：蒸槐花、炕槐花餅、包槐花包子，應有盡有，你只要想得到，就能做得出，純粹是大自然的尤物，不過十來日，便隨風而去。所以，吃槐花，吃的就是個時鮮，而在這青黃不接的春季里，竟也能有秋的收獲。

The acacia flower appeals in both its beauty and flavor. And， consuming the acacia flower is what occurs most often to Northern Chinese， typically in the form of steaming， baking， or stuffing. Whatever your imagination can lead you to， it can be served to your taste. The acacia flower is an absolutely special gift from nature， and within a lapse of ten days or so， it will be gone with a gust of wind. Therefore， acacia flowers are a seasonal delicacy. Alas， we have such a harvest as the fruitful autumn can bestow especially in the so-called fruitless spring.

槐花默認的是洋槐樹上結的洋槐花。稱之為洋槐，是為外來物種之故，19世紀下半葉才從北美傳入中國，所以白居易《秋日》里描繪的“裊裊秋風多，槐花半成實”和子蘭《長安早秋》里描繪的“風舞槐花落御溝，終南山色入城秋”，只能是對于秋季里國槐花的描摹。國槐3常做景觀樹，樹冠如傘，絲絳垂地，但隨處可見的卻是洋槐，農(nóng)家庭院和溝邊水澤不乏它的身影，除了極易成活的原因外，凡有意栽種者，必定因其材質(zhì)好，所做家具耐用，絕非僅為一年到頭這十來日的花食。但槐花含有豐富的蛋白質(zhì)、脂肪酸、維生素和礦物質(zhì)，具有降血壓和擴張冠狀動脈等功效，集食用和藥用于一身。當然，這些知識若非專門查證，一般人斷難知其詳。

The acacia flower comes from the acacia tree with the prefix of yang （foreign） in Chinese referring to something abroad. The acacia tree is from North America and was brought to China in the second half of the 19th century. As the acacia flower and the Chinese scholar tree flower both share the same head word huai， the poetic lines （“The autumn winds are swirling more and more; the Chinese scholar tree flower is developing into seeds.”） from poet Bai Juyi and those （“The Chinese scholar tree flowers are blown into the city moat; autumn is approaching in the Zhongnanshan hills.”） from poet Zi Lan in the Tang dynasty （618AD—907AD） are in fact descriptions of the Chinese scholar tree flower in the autumn rather than the acacia flower in the spring. The Chinese scholar tree is often planted as a landscape tree with the crown of the tree taking the shape of an umbrella with its branches drooping. However， it is the acacia tree that comes into sight more often， being in the courtyard and next to the waters. Apart from the reason that the acacia tree is easy to grow， the trees delicate yet durable texture makes it a fine wood to craft furniture from， which means that it is not only grown purely for this ten-day flower feast， but also for other purposes. The acacia flower is quite rich in protein， fatty acids， vitamins and mineral substances with the function of reducing blood pressure and unclogging arteries， edible and medicinal being in one. Surely， ordinary people would not be so well-informed unless they purposely searched for the knowledge.

每到花期來臨，白中泛綠4的槐花，反射著玉的質(zhì)地;一串串綴滿枝條，空氣中彌漫著素雅的清香?；被h香時，盛春已然至。

With the blooming season quickly approaching， the white acacia flower with its greenish edges reflects the texture of jade. Strings of acacia flowers are abundant on branches and twigs， which fill the air with a faint scent. The fragrance of the acacia flower entails the prime time of spring.

清香，準確地說并不是近身的感覺，如果置身槐花叢中，就只有用濃香狀述其味了，不僅香，而且香得嗆人。濃香隨風轉(zhuǎn)至清香，招攬了蜜蜂，所以有了槐花蜜;招攬了行人，所以有了槐花癡5，而更有過之的，當然是青睞槐花食的男男女女。成語有“秀色可餐”之說，以秀色代餐，使人忘掉了饑餓，但槐花卻能令人陡增食欲，蒸槐花的蒜香，炕槐花餅的焦香，槐花包子的素香，一古腦就都來了，畫面感十足，讓流連者不僅賞之，甚或烹而食之。

The so-called “faint scent” is far from faint. When surrounded by acacia flowers it is not only fragrant but fragrant enough to appear stifling. The aroma turns into a faint scent only in the wind， attracting bees， and with bees come honey; it also attracts passersby， hence plant-enthusiasts. Going even further are the men and women longing for the acacia flower feast. There is a Chinese idiom that says “Be beautiful enough to feast the eyes”， which means the flower is so beautiful that you can feast your eyes on it and forget about your real hunger. But on the contrary， the acacia flower can increase your appetite dramatically： steamed acacia flowers with garlic flavor， cake made from acacia flowers with a burnt odor and a steamed stuffed bun with plain fragrance， all come to mind at once; all these are graphic， contributing to the appreciation of visitors and attracting them to cook sometimes.

采摘槐花是有講究的，既要特別提防樹枝上的木刺，又要看準花的形態(tài)?；睒溆写蹋植加谥θ~間，又硬又尖，采摘一回槐花，要是手不被扎個三兩點，就算得上采摘老手。雖然槐樹皮粗糙，適合少年攀爬，但因木刺當?shù)?，樹梢上的鳥巢便總能幸免于難。槐花從出生到完全成熟，大概有三種形態(tài)：初成米粒狀，雖可食用，但有青澀感;接近微黃時，已垂垂老矣。最好是花苞，呈月牙樣，吃起來香噴噴、甜絲絲。

To pluck the acacia flower， you should be particular about not only its thorns， but also its shape. The acacia tree has hard sharp thorns scattered all over its branches and leaves. You are a real seasoned picker if your hands havent been pricked two or three times while collecting the flowers. Though the acacia tree has a bark rough enough for teenagers to climb， the thorns provide a little protection and safety for nesting birds. The acacia flower has roughly three shapes from first shoot to full bloom. When it first appears to be the shape of a rice grain， it can be edible though tart. When the flower turns a yellowish color， it is already too ripe. The best time to eat the acacia flower is when it is in the bud， appearing like a crescent moon and tasting sweet and delicious.

米粒狀的槐花，尚不具備花的形態(tài)，采摘下來，委實可惜。不妨留于枝頭，待吃上幾天的花苞，那些槐米6也就到了采摘的最佳期。而成熟的老槐花除了顏色泛黃、形狀怒放可以辨識外，輕輕一抖，還會有花瓣飄落，留下線狀的花蕊在花萼里抖動，骨感十足。老槐花并非不能食用，曬干后包包子，口感勁道，所以過去常有老年人把大風吹落的干槐花掃攏備用，只是在當季嘗鮮時，必以花苞為上品。

When the acacia flowers have the shape of a rice grain， it hasnt quite taken the shape of a flower yet. It is quite a pity to pluck them this early and it is best to leave them to flower for a few days. You can eat the buds while waiting for the rice grains to be at their prime time to be plucked. Besides that， the petals of the fully ripe acacia flowers can be distinguished by their yellowish color and full blossoms; besides， the fully ripe acacia flowers fall with just the slightest touch， leaving a bare bony pistil shivering at the center of the sepals. Fully ripe acacia flowers can be eaten， too， especially when wrapped in a steamed baozi， the flavor being chewy. In the old days， old men and women used to round up the fallen dried flowers to save them for future use. But if youd like to have a taste in season， the buds are of course the preferred choice.

南方人少知可食之樹花，大概只有桂花、木棉花等少數(shù)幾種。作為北方人，我不僅知道槐花能夠食用，還品嘗過榆樹上的榆錢、構樹上的蒲穗、泡桐樹上的桐花、柳樹上的柳絮，凡此種種，不僅好吃，且都有藥用價值。北方的春季，總會涌動著采擷樹上時鮮的人流，形成不絕如縷的流動風景。歷史上南方比北方富裕，生活沒把南方人逼到遍嘗百草的地步，幸福如是，但也錯失了品嘗樹花的口福?；被ㄖ?，必吟之而后快。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

People from the South only know of a few edible flowers， such as sweet-scented osmanthus and common bomhax flowers. Being a northerner， I know and taste not only the acacia flower， but also the elm seeds on the elm tree， the panicles on the paper mulberry tree， the paulownia flowers on the paulownia tree and the willow catkins on the willow tree. Flowers like these are tasty and have medicinal values as well. In the springtime in the North， there are often streams of people plucking flowers off trees， which make up flows of scenery. In history， Southerners were richer than Northerners， so they need not taste all kinds of herbs to make them feel full. Though happy， they have missed opportunities to satisfy their appetite with edible tree flowers. The virtues of the acacia flower deserve an ode.

*博士，教授，博導，中國英漢語比較研究會常務理事，中國譯協(xié)翻譯理論與翻譯教學委員會委員，揚州大學學術委員會委員、杰出人才和領軍人才，“譯者行為批評”理論原創(chuàng)者，本刊編委。曾獲獎項：教育部高校科研優(yōu)秀成果獎二等獎、三等獎;省政府哲學社會科學優(yōu)秀成果獎一等獎（兩屆）;省優(yōu)秀教學成果獎一等獎、二等獎;揚州大學人文社科突出貢獻獎;等等。

1原文原載美國2021年5月28日的《達拉斯新聞》。這里的“吟”（Ode），既可以看作一種文體，如《葬花吟》《西風頌》，也可以有其實際的內(nèi)涵（歌頌）。本文旨在歌頌美德，略顯正式，最后一句再次出現(xiàn)，前后呼應。? 2“想到”一般是主動想起，但鑒于槐花時節(jié)的槐花特別引人注目，所以將“槐花”作為施動者，用occur to短語表“想到”，有類似“墻角數(shù)枝梅，凌寒獨自開。遙知不是雪，為有暗香來”而表“聞到”的受動感，更能凸顯所歌頌的主題。英語中類似的表達如“Im interested in the book.”，用-ed形式表示的是book的主動（The book is interesting.），是“書令我感興趣”“書引人入勝”，不是因為“我對書感興趣”而把“我”表達為施動者。

3“國槐”稱為Chinese scholar tree或pagoda tree，因觀感不同，本文作了“樹冠如傘，絲絳垂地”的描摹?！把蠡薄笔莂cacia tree。

4“白中泛綠”指的是主體部分為白色而邊緣部分呈綠色，因此譯為the white acacia flower with its greenish edges。? 5“槐花癡”指的是癡迷于植物的人們（plant-enthusiasts），因為有上下文，所以無需專門凸顯槐花，用一般常用的說法代之即可，實際也無專門的“槐花癡”一說，這樣翻譯也不致引起誤解。

6該“槐米”不是國槐樹上結的、常被用作藥材的蓓蕾，所以不能用常用的bud of the Chinese scholar tree表示，這里凸顯的只是米粒狀（rice grains）的洋槐花。

7“德”，即“道德”，這里特指槐花的優(yōu)點，使用virtues一詞，既能包容一般意義，也能涵蓋特指意義。