Microstories 微故事 0011：Face 脸
Content warning: This microstory contains visual images and descriptions of the human body that some readers may find disturbing. Feel free to skip this microstory if you’d rather not read it. The full list of Microstories 微故事 is here.
脸
你知道那种给孩子看的人体书吧？书里有透明的塑料页，一层一层地放在一起。一页上展示一个器官系统吗？
在一页上，有骨头，第一张透明的塑料页是神经。然后，肌肉。然后，嘴和消化系统。生殖系统当然没有私处，因为这是给孩子看的。然后......等等，直到身体的全部都在这里，皮肤在上面，对着你笑。
你读过《三体》吗？书里的一个主要人物，王淼，在眼前看到一个倒计时。
在我眼前，当我看到一个人的脸时，我看到它像被削了皮的苹果一样。皮掉了，不在上面。我看到脂肪、组织、肌肉、血管，还有一点儿颧骨。
当王淼看到一个倒计时在眼前时，他感到恐惧。当我看到一个没有皮肤的脸在眼前时，我没有感到恐惧。为什么？
王淼害怕没有规律。他觉得宇宙坏了。皮肤下面，多么有规律！多么美！像跳舞的人挥动扇子一样，面部肌肉也同步运动。
即使我们一起在厨房，当我看到我爱的妻子和女儿的脸展示在我眼前时，我很感动，差不多要哭泣了。
Word List
透明 tòumíng transparent, clear
塑料 sùliào plastic
层 céng layer
器 qì device, tool, utensil
器官 qìguān organ
系统 xìtǒng system
器官系统 qìguān xìtǒng organ system
神经 shénjīng nerve
肌肉 jīròu muscle
消化系统 xiāohuà xìtǒng digestive system
生殖 shēngzhí reproduction
私处 sīchù private parts; sexual organs; 性器官 xìng qìguān
生殖系统 shēngzhí xìtǒng reproductive system
三体 Sāntǐ The Three-Body Problem, science fiction novel by 刘慈欣 Liú Cíxīn, published in 2008
主要 zhǔyào main, primary
人物 rénwù character, person
主要人物 zhǔyào rénwù main character
王淼 Wáng Miǎo Wang Miao
倒 dào reverse, count down
计时 jìshí count time, timing
倒计时 dàojìshí countdown
皮 pí skin, peel
削 xiāo peel, shave, pare
脂 zhī fat, grease
肪 fáng fat (in the body)
脂肪 zhīfáng fat
组 zǔ group
织 zhī weave, knit
组织 zǔzhī tissue
血管 xuèguǎn blood vessel
颧 quán cheekbone
颧骨 quángǔ cheekbone
恐 kǒng fear
惧 jù fear, dread
恐惧 kǒngjù horror, terror, dread, fear
规律 guīlǜ order, pattern, regularity, law (as in natural laws or repeating order)
宇宙 yǔzhòu universe
泣 qì to weep
哭泣 kūqì to cry, to weep
Face
You know those books on the human body for children with pages that are transparent, plastic overlays? Each plastic page shows a different organ system?
The bones are on the printed page, and the first plastic overlay is the nerves. Then comes the muscles. Then comes the mouth and digestive system. The reproductive system has no sexual organs, of course, since it’s for children. And then so on, until the whole human is there, skin on, smiling at you.
Did you ever read The Three-Body Problem where one of the main characters, Wang Miao, starts seeing a countdown in front of his eyes?
In front of my eyes, whenever I see a human face, I see it peeled like an apple. The skin is off, not on. I see fat, tissue, muscles, blood vessels, a bit of cheekbone.
When he saw the countdown before his eyes, Wang Miao was horrified. When I see the human face without skin, I am not. Why not?
Wang Miao feared disorder. He thought the universe was broken. But under the skin, such order! Such beauty! Like dancers with fans, face muscles move in synchrony.
Even when we are in the kitchen together, I am nearly moved to tears when I behold the beloved face of my wife, my daughter, revealed.
Notes
1. I attended the opening of Bodies: The Exhibition 人体展 Rén Tǐ Zhǎn in Tampa, Florida in 2005. The exhibit features human bodies of Chinese descent. Our editor, Mary, describes the exhibit this way: “The human specimens inspire people to think about life, health, death and other issues, and encourage people to re-examine the value and meaning of life.”
2. I was a member of the 三体 Book Club. At online meetings,《三体》is read line by line in its original Chinese. All are welcome to join.
Image sources
Overlays: gingiva_ninja, Reddit
Face: Glenn Fawcett, The Baltimore Sun, via Social Design NABA
Watercolor: Jesi Pace-Berkeley, commissioned, 2017
Microstories 微故事 are short works written at the intermediate level in two versions, one in Simplified Chinese characters and one in English. Microstories 微故事 are written by Anne 安妮 Giles and edited by 侯慧颖 Hóu Huìyǐng “Mary.”
Some words are repeated in the stories in hopes of offering language learners the 3 to 17 exposures that may be needed to learn a new word.
Microstories 微故事 may serve as short reading and discussion texts for busy adult language learners of Simplified Chinese Characters and/or English.
更多