编者按：为了更好地进行中国文学海外传播工作，让中国作品在海外被发现（Discover）、被理解（Understand）、被传播（Express），中国文化译研网（CCTSS）邀请国内资深文学主编及文学评论家，精选出近两百部短中长篇小说，形成第一期《中国当代文学作品指南》（简称“指南”），从更具权威性、价值性的角度出发，更好地向世界展示中国当代文学精品，传播中国书香。

夏读书，日正长，打开书，喜洋洋。现将“指南”中的精品文学作品以一日一推的方式向读者呈现，让我们不负一夏好时光。

谌容丨《人到中年》

推荐理由

在《写给〈人到中年〉的读者》中，谌容也说道：“他们是伟大的一代人，正如他们的前辈一样。但是，由于种种原因，他们的生活清贫，有着很多难言的困苦。我认为，我们是在做出牺牲，包括他们的丈夫或妻子，也包括他们的孩子，而这种牺牲又往往不被人重视和承认。”陆文婷就是这样一个有血有肉的中年知识分子形象，无论是对家庭还是对工作，她都含辛茹苦、默默奉献，拥有着圣洁的灵魂。此外，小说还以陆文婷因为工作与家庭负担过重而病倒的故事，尖锐而沉重地提出了一个严重的社会问题：中年知识分子的现实处境和待遇问题。与此同时，小说也揭示了中国当代知识女性的困境：她们既被赋予了现代女性的社会职责，也被传统女性的家庭职责所缠绕，在这相互交缠的矛盾中，她们疲惫不堪。

在叙事结构上，《人到中年》也有可道之处。它采取传统的情节结构与意识流的心理结构双线并置的方法，一方面，打破了传统结构的时空限制；另一方面，也利于探索人物的心灵世界。

Reviews

Chen Rong created the character of Lu Wenting representative of the intellectuals in their middle age. In her letter to the readers, she wrote: “like their predecessors, they are a great generation in that they contribute so much more than they ever receive. They and their families live a hard life and make so many sacrifices, which, unfortunately, goes largely unappreciated by society.” Lu Wenting, like a saint, dedicates her life to work and family and finally falls seriously sick under the combined burden. By describing her hard life, the author raises awareness of the following twin issues: first, how the middle-aged intellectuals, arguably the pillars of the society, should receive a fairer treatment, and second, why contemporary Chinese female intellectuals are on the verge of physical collapse under the combined burden of work and family.   

At Middle Age also features unique narrative structure: it combines traditional plot-driven structure and stream-of-consciousness techniques, thereby breaking through the time-space constraints of traditional structures and delving deeper into the psychology of the characters.

作家简介

Author Profile

谌容，原名谌德容，1936年生于湖北汉口，因战乱而度过颠沛流离的童年，1951年中断学业，后自修俄语和高中课程，并于1954年考入北京外国语大学，毕业后任中央人民广播电台音乐编辑和俄文翻译。1973年任北京第五中学俄语教员，后任中国作协北京分会专业作家。

谌容的文学创作可追溯至1964年，1975年开始发表作品。《人到中年》是其代表作，获第一届全国优秀中篇小说奖，《太子村的秘密》获第二届全国优秀中篇小说奖。有长篇小说《万年青》《光明与黑暗》《人到老年》，中篇小说《永远是春天》《花开花落》《第七种颜色》等，小说集《赞歌》《谌容中篇小说集》《错！错！错！》《谌容集》等。此外，谌容也发表过一些散文。她的作品已被翻译成英、俄、日、西班牙、瑞典等文字。

1982年，根据《人到中年》改编的同名电影在中国大陆上映，影片获1982年文化部优秀影片奖、第3届中国电影金鸡奖和第6届大众电影百花奖最佳故事片奖。

Chen Rong, originally named Chen Derong, was born in Hankou (now part of Wuhan) in Hubei province. She had experienced a turbulent childhood during the war against Japanese aggression. Her education was interrupted in 1951, then she studied Russian and other high school courses by herself. In 1954, she was admitted to the Russian Academy of Beijing (now Beijing Foreign Studies University). Upon graduation, she began to work for China National Radio as music editor and Russian translator. In 1973, she began to teach Russian at Beijing No. 5 Middle School. Subsequently, she was hired as a full-time author at the China Writers Association.

She started her writing career as early as 1964 and began publishing her works in 1975. At Middle Age, her masterpiece, won the 1st National Outstanding Novella Award. The Secret of the Taizi Village won the 2nd National Outstanding Novella Award. Her other works include novels such as Evergreen, Light and Darkness and At Middle Age; novellas such as The Eternal Spring, Flowers Bloom and Fade and The Seventh Color; collections such as The Paean, Collection of Novellas by Chen Rong, Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!, and Collected Works of Chen Rong, etc. Aside from fiction, she is also an essayist. Her works have been translated into English, Russian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish.

In 1982, At Middle Age, a feature film adapted from the novella, released on the Chinese mainland to wide acclaim, winning the 1982 PRC Ministry of Culture’s Outstanding Film Award, the 3rd Golden Rooster Award and the 6th Hundred Flowers Award for the best feature film category.

中文概要

Synopsis

作品一开篇，写中年眼科大夫陆文婷因超负荷的手术工作而突发心肌梗塞，躺在病床上的她时而昏迷时而清醒，一些模糊而朦胧的画面和记忆在她的头脑中闪现……

六十年代从医学院毕业的陆文婷，被分配到眼科医院当了住院医生，医院规定，在任住院医期间，必须二十四小时呆在医院，并且不能结婚。陆文婷根本不在乎这些，她恨不得一天有四十八个小时献给医院。出人意料的是，陆文婷在住院医结束后，最先地结了婚。她认识了傅家杰，是她负责的眼科病人，也是一个爱读诗的冶金工程师。

十八年前，眼科专家孙逸民在医学院挑选住院医进行培养，朴实、深层、敏锐的陆文婷得到了孙主任的赏识，而她的同学姜亚芬同样被选中。第一年，她们做外眼手术，第二年，她们做内眼手术；第三年，她们就能做精细的白内障之类的手术了。陆文婷的勤奋与认真收到了孙主任的肯定，对她下了“她是一个很有希望的眼科大夫”的断语。可是十八年过去，尽管陆文婷与姜亚芬已经成为眼科骨干，但她们却连主治医师都不是，“文革”砍断了她们晋级的阶梯。

陆文婷已经四十多岁了。赵院长把陆文婷叫到办公室，向她介绍了准备做白内障手术的焦副部长和他的妇人秦波。并不放心的秦波向陆文婷问了好些问题，眼睛里充满着不信任。从一开始，秦波就不愿意让陆文婷给丈夫看病，她大发议论也不停挑剔甚至有些侮辱的样子。然而陆文婷没有因为病人是部长而觉得荣幸，她对病人都是尽心尽力，一视同仁。除了焦副部长外，农民张大爷还有一个小女孩王小嫚都是她的病人，都等着做手术。

托儿所来了电话，说女儿佳佳病了，陆文婷把病人看完之后，才匆匆赶去托儿所，带女儿去急诊，回到家里已经快一点了。儿子着急要吃饭上学，而打开蜂窝炉，炉火也奄奄一息，家里一点剩菜剩饭都没有，无奈下，她给儿子买了个烧饼。

她越来越感到家务的沉重了，放下手术刀拿菜刀，脱下白大褂穿围裙。傅家杰也成为科研的骨干，是个忙人，更多的家务需要陆文婷自己打理。这十二平方米的小屋，就是她的家，傅家杰用几块布围起一小块地方，给陆文婷学习用，而放学后，却又被孩子给占去了。这是多么艰难的生活啊！

The story opens with the scene where Dr. Lu Wenting, an ophthalmologist now in her middle age, is confined to bed following an attack of myocardial infarction. She alternates between coma and consciousness, fuzzy scenes flashing back.

In 1960s, Lu Wenting, a fresh graduate from medical college, is assigned to work in an ophthalmic hospital as a resident. The hospital stipulates that all residents must devote their time and attention during the residency to the hospital and shall not be permitted to marry. This is perfectly fine with Lu Wenting, as she is completely absorbed in work. Against all expectations, Lu Wenting is the first amongst her class to marry upon expiration of the residency. Her betrothed is Fu Jiajie, a poetry-loving metallurgy engineer who happens to be her patient.

Eighteen years ago, Dr. Sun Yimin, director of the Ophthalmology Department at the hospital, begins to choose the top performers amongst the graduates of the medical college for residency. Along with her classmate Jiang Yafen, modest, perceptive and insightful Lu Wenting gains the approval of Dr. Sun. In their first year, they perform extraocular surgery. In their second year, they perform intraocular surgery. In their third year, they are already capable of performing the rather challenging cataract surgery. Dr. Sun, highly appreciative of her diligence and professionalism, predicts that, “she will make a brilliant ophthalmologist.” Eighteen years later, however, although Lu Wenting and Jiang Yafen become the backbone of the Ophthalmology Department, they are not yet attending doctors. The Cultural Revolution has blocked their way for professional advancement.          

Lu Wenting is now in her forties. One day, Mr. Zhao, president of the hospital, asks her to come to his office, where he introduces her to Mr. Jiao, a vice minister in the government, in need of cataract surgery, and Mrs. Qin Bo, his wife. Qin Bo, unconfident in Lu Wenting’s competence, asks her many questions. From the very start, Qin Bo does not like the idea of Lu Wenting performing the surgery on her husband. She keeps on making unpleasant comments and finding faults in a tone bordering on insolence. Lu Wenting, for her part, however, keeps calm. All her patients are equal in her eyes. Apart from Mr. Jiao, there are Mr. Zhang, an elderly peasant, and Wang Xiaoman, a young girl, both waiting for her to perform the surgery.

 The kindergarten calls to inform her that Jiajia, her daughter, has fallen ill. It is only after attending to the last patient of the day that Lu Wenting hurries to the kindergarten and takes Jiajia to seek emergency treatment. It is already 1 a.m. when they finally return home. Another day, when her son is in a hurry to have his lunch and go to school, she fails to find any food at home or even stoke the fire in the stove. She has no other option but to buy him a piece of flatbread.

Burdened with the increasing combined load of work and housework, Lu alternates between the scalpel and kitchen knife as well as the doctor’s overall and the apron. Her husband, an expert in his field, is also getting busier. Consequently, she has to do more and more of the housework. At home, a small room of 12 square meters, her husband measures out a corner with several pieces of cloth, where she could study in relative peace. She has to give up this corner to the kids, however, when they return home from school. What a difficult life hers is!