第十九章：在盒子里
Zhang Laoban shelves new books.
枝丫 is usually written for intermediate level readers. Chapter 19 ended up at an advanced level. What was in my heart and mind about Zhang Laoban's story was beyond my lower intermediate level of Chinese to write.
After reading my draft and discussing the chapter with me in Chinese and English, Mary, our editor, wrote what I meant. The text was composed with as much simplicity as possible, but conveying Zhang Laoban's inner experience resulted in an advanced level text. The Chinese sounds beautiful and the Google Translate English is also beautiful, but the Chinese text is difficult for me to read and the word list is long.
If you are also an intermediate level reader, I invite you to join me in reading what we can, enjoying some of the 3 to 17 exposures research suggests are needed for language learners to learn a new word, getting the gist of the meaning by copying and pasting the text into the translation software of our choice, and returning to this chapter when our reading level has grown. 加油！谢谢你们！
第十九章：在盒子里
每个星期五，张老板的书店都会到几箱新书。工人们把书放在后面的房间里。太阳落山以后，张老板先把书店的前门关好，然后就去后面的那个房间里打开书箱。
张老板成功地拔掉了他身体里面的大部分树，只有胸口处还有一点点枝丫。这些枝丫还在窃窃私语并批评他，但是声音已经很小了。
张老板深深地吸了一口气，他觉得这些新书的味道好闻极了。
他一本一本地翻看这些新书，也欣赏书的封面艺术。他特别喜欢那些像他的手绘书签一样带有艺术画风的封面。好像每幅画都有两个意思。
张老板抱不动一箱书，他只抱着几本书在书店后面的房间里走来走去。 他为书架上的每一本书精心挑选位置。
张老板把他的一些回忆像书一样放在了书架上。有的很近, 有的很远，有的痛疼地颤抖，还有的安静地放着。他把这种痛苦的回忆当成一本书，被紧紧地夹在另外两本书之间，这样它就无法颤抖了。
但是在后面的房间里，在新书箱子上方的柜子里，他还保存着一盒子其它的回忆。
张老板想知道这种方法是否对每个人都是最好的，是否是最好的方法。
他走着走着听到他的树窃窃私语: “对大家来说，这是最好的。”
后面的那个房间旁边是他的卧室。晚上，有时候他会被盒子里“砰砰砰”的敲打声吵醒，这些回忆好像都想出来。
他还要听从树吗？树说: “要！需要！必须！把回忆留在盒子里！”
张老板想，当他试图把记忆装进盒子里时，他自己好像也被装进了一个盒子里，虽然身体里的树已经消失了一大半，但到目前为止他仍然对树言听计从。
张老板走进后面的那个房间。他打开了灯，从柜子里拿出一个小盒子，盒子里面是一堆照片，那堆照片的最上面是一张他太太和女儿的合影。
张老板感到一阵悲伤，回忆如潮水般向他的心头涌来。
他哭得全身发抖。他身体中剩下的一部分树说：“停！停！停！不要哭。”
但是，他真实的自我可以感受到自己全部的爱。后来， 他慢慢地不哭了。张老板也不太清楚是怎么回事，但由于感受到了自己对太太和女儿满满的爱，张老板能够看得更清楚了。
他心想：现在我可以更清楚地看到我的整个心，整个身体，和整个生命。
他用毛巾擦了擦脸，又看了看照片。张老板深深地叹了一口气。
他把照片放回到盒子里，然后又回去看那箱新书了。
Word List
箱子 xiāngzi box
盒子 hézi small box
落 luò fall, drop, set
落山 luòshān sun goes down
成功 chénggōng success
胸口 xiōngkǒu chest
窃窃私语 qièqiè sīyǔ whisper
批评 pīpíng criticize
吸 xī breath, breathe
深深地吸了口气 shēn shēn de xīle kǒuqì take a deep breath
翻 fān turn over
欣赏 xīnshǎng appreciate, enjoy, admire
封面艺术 fēngmiàn yìshù cover art
绘 huì to draw, to paint
书签 shūqiān bookmark
艺术画风 yìshù huà fēng artistic style
幅 fú measure word for a painting
一幅画 yī fú huà a painting
好像每幅画都有两个意思。Hǎoxiàng měi fú huà dōu yǒu liǎng gè yìsi. It seems every painting has two meanings.
书架 shūjià bookshelf
精心 jīngxīn carefully
挑选 tiāoxuǎn to select
位置 wèizhì location
精心挑选位置 jīngxīn tiāoxuǎn wèizhì carefully selected location
当成 dàngchéng to consider as, to take as
紧 jǐn tight
保 bǎo defend, protect
存 cún exist
保存 bǎocún keep, store, save
卧室 wòshì bedroom
是否 shìfǒu whether or not
砰 pēng (onomatopoeia) bang, thump
敲打 qiāodǎ knock, beat
吵醒 chǎoxǐng to be awakened by a noise
敲打声吵醒 qiāodǎ shēng chǎo xǐng awakened by a knocking sound
试图 shìtú attempt
装 zhuāng to pack, to dress
消失 xiāoshī disappear
到目前为止 dào mùqián wéizhǐ until now
言听计从 yántīngjìcóng hear and obey
堆 duī pile
合影 héyǐng group photo
一阵悲伤 yīzhèn bēishāng a wave of sadness
他身体中剩下的一部分树 tā shēntǐ zhōng shèng xià de yībùfèn shù the remaining part of the tree within him
般 bān sort, kind, class, way, manner
心头 xīntóu heart, thoughts, mind
涌 yǒng to bubble up, to rush forth
回忆如潮水般向他的心头涌来 huíyì rú cháoshuǐ bān xiàng tā de xīntóu yǒng lái memories flooded his heart like a tide
整 zhěng whole, all [vs. 剩 shèng to remain, to be left, to have as a remainder, e.g. 剩菜剩饭 shèng cài shèng fàn leftover food]
整个 zhěnggè a complete and indivisible whole [vs. 全部 quánbù sum of all parts or individuals, emphasizing that every part is included]
由于 yóuyú because
叹气 tànqì sigh
布 bù cloth [𠂇 + 巾 jīn cloth, curtain, handkerchief, towel]
擦 cā wipe
Resources
Chapter 19 audio by Benfang Wang of Dashu Mandarin
Chapter 19 video of vocabulary highlights by Jiayi of Chinese with Jiayi
Chapter 19 PPT slide: 被 with a highlighted grammar point, related vocabulary, example sentences, and AI-generated images to study on your own or to discuss with 老师 or 学习伙伴.
The story so far, just 汉字, no pinyin or word lists.
The story so far, just audio, no text.
Google Translate English version, first few chapters.
More learning materials
Word lists for review in Hack Chinese.
Playlist of videos by Chinese with Jiayi for 枝丫.
Links to all PPT slides on the table of contents.
More resources on the for students page.
More about the story
Table of contents includes links to chapters and other resources.
Main page: Twig 枝丫: A fantasy novel