斗牛

On Bullfighting

今天，一位客人送我一本画册，虽然对摄影一窍不通，但为了不辜负别人的好意，只得胡乱翻看翻看。忽然，一幅令人触目惊心的画面跳入了我的视野。

A visitor of mine gave me a photo album today. Although I knew nothing about photography, but in order to acknowledge his good intentions, I flipped through the pages. All of a sudden, a frightful scene arrested my sight.

那是一幅斗牛的场面，一位身穿白衣的男子，正与一头公牛进行着生死的决斗。牛的身上已经鲜血淋漓，飞溅的血染红了男子的衣服，他们的眼中都露出令人心悸的寒光。我看了看标题，名为《力与美的较量》。我不知道为什么会起这个名字，我实在从中看不出有什么“力与美”，映入我脑海的全是残忍、恐怖、野蛮等字眼。

It is a picture of bullfighting. A man dressed in white and a bull are engaging in a fight for life and death. The body of the bull is already soaked in blood, which splatters onto the man’s clothes and stains it red. Unnerving and scary glares are shooting out from both of their eyes. The title of this picture, as I noticed, is: “A Contest of Strength and Beauty.” It is beyond me why such a title was chosen. To me there is not a single shred of “strength and beauty” in the picture; what is conjured up in my mind are only the words of brutality, horror, and barbarians.

据说，斗牛源自于克里特岛的米洪斯文明，是西班牙人最推崇的一项竞技性表演。无数的文学家、艺术家们，都各展所长，以不同的方式对其进行渲染。众所周知的，如梅里美撰写的小说《卡门》，以及比才以其为主题创作的舞曲《西班牙斗牛士》，已成为人们心中西班牙的象征。

Bullfighting is a competitive spectacle highly celebrated by the Spanish; its origin is believed to be the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. It has inspired many men of letters and artists to hype it in various ways. For instance, there is the novel Carmen, written by Prosper Mérimée, as well as the bullfighting-themed aria Votre Toast (Toreador Song), by Georges Bizet; both have long been symbols of the country of Spain.

在很长一段时间，斗牛士成了英雄的代名词。在斗牛场上获胜的“勇士”，用自牛身上摘下的花结奉献女人的示爱方式，被很多女人视为最高的荣耀。欣赏杀戮的过程，成为众人心目中一种高雅的乐趣。一想到这些观念仍残存在人们的脑海里，这种残暴的场景还在上演，并被人们津津乐道，我就有种针刺般的疼痛。

For a long time, the bullfighter, or the matador, was a synonym of a hero. Many women would consider it the highest honor to receive a love offer of the dead bull’s wreath from the winning “warrior.” Fans see this spectacle that ends with the animal being killed by a sword thrust as a refined performance. Somehow people still cannot outgrow this barbarian instinct, allowing the atrocious scene to go on and even savoring it. Thinking of this, my heart pains as if being pricked by sharp needles.

这些可怜的牛成了供人消遣的道具，上场的牛必将死亡，绝无逃脱机会。曾经，它们中的一员“企图”反抗，用犄角穿透了斗牛士伊约的心脏，令伊约当场殒命，最终它也逃脱不出陪葬的下场。它的头被送至博物馆，成为供人们观赏的战利品。以宣布人类的最终“胜利”。

These poor bulls are serving as props for entertainment; once sent to the ring, the bull is destined to die, and there is absolutely no chance to escape its sealed fate. There was once a bull among them that “attempted” to rebel; it killed the bullfighter Yiyo by puncturing his heart with its horn. But of course this bull had to be sacrificed in the end; its stuffed head is now displayed in a museum as a trophy to declare the human’s ultimate “victory.”

曾经有一位意大利的神甫，为了阻止人们的暴行，不顾自己的安危，在斗牛场上苦口婆心地劝说人们放弃这一灭绝人性的行为，被失去理智的人们用乱石砸死，沸腾的鲜血映红了冰冷无情的斗牛场。

It is said that once an Italian priest, in an attempt to put an end to the merciless killing and, disregarding his own safety, jumped into the ring and tried to persuade people to stop this sadistic sports activity. The crowd who had lost their reasoning stoned him to death; his scarlet warm blood glittered on the chilly and brutal bullfighting ground.

神甫的死终于引起了人们的反思，该项活动被停止了一段时间。虽然我已记不清这位神甫的名字，但他在斗牛场上上演的英勇一幕，将永远铭刻在我以及稍有良知之人的记忆里。

The death of the priest made people feel pensive, and the bullfighting was put on hold for some period. Although I cannot recall this priest’s name, his bravery in the bullfighting arena will remain indelibly engraved in my memory and in that of anyone with a clear conscience.

我无意贬低西班牙人，斗牛也不是西班牙人的专利。我之所以冒天下之大不韪，只是想告诉人们，以其他众生的生命来换取快乐、寻求刺激、填补空虚，博得英雄的头衔、女人的青睐，实在是黑白混淆、善恶颠倒，愚昧而又荒唐的举动。最终孰胜孰负，因果自有决断。任何一个残杀生命，或为之歌功颂德的人，终将逃不脱阎罗无情的宣判。

I don’t mean to belittle the Spanish, nor is bullfighting claimed exclusively by them. Here I am willing to risk everyone’s condemnation to point out the imprudence and absurdity of bullfighting. To sacrifice another being’s life for pleasure, for excitement, for filling the blank mind, or for winning the title of hero and the favor of women, is perverted and against what’s right. The principle of cause and effect will deliver the final verdict on who is the winner and who is the loser. Anyone who engages in the act of killing or in rejoicing and praising killing will find no escape from the unbendable judgment of the Lord of Death.

如果有机会，我愿追随神甫的脚步！

Should there be an opportunity, I will also follow the steps of that priest!

壬午年七月十八日 　
2002年8月25日 　

18th of July, Year of RenWu
August 25, 2002