文/理查德·瑞斯特

譯/楊莉

“這湯,”我對父親大聲說，“是南京有名的風(fēng)味小吃呢。”我瞇著眼睛盯著電腦，然后抬頭看著父親。父親正在看一部科幻電影，聽我說話他停下來注視著我。我一邊讀電腦上的文字一邊偷窺父親的臉,“這叫鴨血粉絲湯，就是在湯里放些凝固的鴨血塊，再放些鴨腸、鴨肫、鴨肝什么的，還有其他鴨的器官。”我朝父親瞟了一眼，看到他臉色慘白，眉頭緊皺，嘴唇輕撇。

“聽起來有些惡心啊。”他說。

“是的呢?！蔽液仙想娔X，放到桌上說，“到了中國，我會(huì)嘗試很多東西。但是這么惡心的東西，我想我永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)碰的?！?/p>

這次和父親的對話發(fā)生在我即將到中國之前的三到四個(gè)月。那個(gè)時(shí)候，我已讓我的招聘顧問幫我在南京尋找一份大學(xué)的職位。與此同時(shí)，我在盡可能多地了解這個(gè)城市，如果我準(zhǔn)備在這個(gè)歷史悠久的城市安家，那么了解當(dāng)?shù)氐娘L(fēng)土人情就很有必要。作為一個(gè)出生在德國的美國人，我從小被教導(dǎo)：表現(xiàn)出對東道主文化真正的興趣，即是展示尊敬的最好方式。

Yinggui in Changzhou. Understanding Jiangsu food means seeking out what is local and near your home常州迎桂饅頭店，尋味江蘇意味著尋找當(dāng)?shù)氐拿朗?/p>

“This soup,” I read aloud, “is a Nanjing delicacy.” I squinted at my tablet. Then, I glanced up at my father. He had paused the science fiction movie he was watching and eyed me intently. I wanted to make sure I could see his facial reaction as I started to read. “It’s made from cubes of congealed duck blood in a light broth. Mixed in with vermicelli noodles are duck intestines,gizzards, livers, and possible other organs.” I shot my dad a look. His face was white, and his mouth was slightly agape with a frown.

“That sounds utterly revolting,” he said.

“Yeah.” I put the computer tablet on a nearby table. “When I move to China, I will try lots of things. Just, I will never, ever eat something that sounds as disgusting as that.”

This conversation happened roughly three to four months before actually boarding a flight to China. At the time, I had told my recruiter to look for university positions in Nanjing.In the meantime, I was doing as much research about the city as I could. If I was prepared to call historic Nanjing my home,it seemed important that I learn something about its local customs. As an American who was born in a country like Germany,I was taught showing an honest interest in your host’s culture was the best way to demonstrate respect.

In the meantime, while my recruiter had been setting up Skype interviews, an offer came from a vocational school in Changzhou. The recruiter shared the potential salary number, and I realized it was actually more than what universities in Nanjing were offering. I changed targets and started reading up on Changzhou. In the end, the higher pay, lower cost of living, and slower pace of life seemed much more appealing, and I chose to take that position in Changzhou over the much more cosmopolitan Nanjing. Besides, I reasoned, Changzhou was close to not only Nanjing, but also Shanghai. Changzhou is in a really convenient location if you want to travel all over Jiangnan, and that was something I really wanted to do.

Years later, I have certainly seen and learned a lot about southern Jiangsu. I look forward to learning more, but a real irony popped up during my second year in Changzhou. I was out to dinner with a Chinese friend. It was in a food court, so there were no waiters. It’s mostly placing an order followed by self service. This friend set a huge bowl of soup in front of me.

理查德·瑞斯特（美國籍）2016年起至今在河海大學(xué)常州校區(qū)擔(dān)任英語教師，2017年被授予“常州市榮譽(yù)市民”稱號

我的招聘顧問一直在對我進(jìn)行Skype面試，他給我提供了在常州的一所學(xué)校的應(yīng)聘機(jī)會(huì)。招聘顧問告訴我可能的薪酬數(shù)字，我意識到這可能比南京的大學(xué)提供得要多，我開始轉(zhuǎn)移目標(biāo)，關(guān)注常州。這個(gè)城市環(huán)境優(yōu)美，生活成本低，生活節(jié)奏慢，這些因素似乎更加吸引我，最后我還是放棄了大都市，選擇了常州。對我來說，常州不僅靠近南京，還靠近上海。如果你想到江南旅游，常州是一個(gè)非常便捷的城市，這正是我真正想要的。

幾年以后，我確實(shí)體驗(yàn)了很多蘇南的風(fēng)土人情，并期待有更多的發(fā)現(xiàn)。在常州的第二年，一個(gè)頗具諷刺意味的事情出現(xiàn)了。一次我和一位中國朋友出去吃晚餐，這是一個(gè)美食廣場，沒有服務(wù)員，客人自助下單。不一會(huì)兒，我的朋友就在我面前擺了一大碗湯。

“這是什么？”我好奇地問。

“試試吧?！蔽业呐笥颜f?！叭绻阆矚g，我就告訴你是什么?！彼器锏剡肿煲恍?，“如果不喜歡，那就算了，這個(gè)我吃，然后給你點(diǎn)別的東西?！?/p>

我看著湯碗，一些暗紅色的塊狀物漂浮在金黃色的湯面上。我笑著說：“呃，我知道這是什么?！?/p>

我的中國朋友似乎不太相信，說：“是嗎，你真知道？”

我拿起筷子，指著那個(gè)暗紅色的東西說：“我知道，這就是鴨血粉絲湯！”在那一刻，我突然想起和父親的那次談話，想起他那難受的表情，想起我胃部的反應(yīng)。好吧，那確實(shí)是我最初的反應(yīng)。那時(shí)在美國，而此時(shí)此刻，我在中國！我拿起湯勺，以一種開放的態(tài)度，嘗了一小口。天哪，我有生以來第一次吃鴨子的血！對我來說，有點(diǎn)腥氣。但再品下去，口感竟像豆腐般細(xì)嫩柔滑。我又試著喝了一口湯，吃了鴨腸和其他鴨雜。我有些驚喜，沒想到南京的鴨血湯，竟然這么好吃！連湯帶水，我把整碗鴨血湯全吃光了。

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Try it,” my friend said. “If you like it, I’ll tell you what it is.” He grinned slyly. “If you don’t like it, we’ll forget about it, I’ll eat it,and then I’ll order you something else.”

I looked at the soup’s golden broth. I saw purple cubes fl oating around, and I laughed. “Um, I know what that is.”

My Chinese friend appeared slightly confused. “Really, you do?”

I picked up my chopsticks and pointed at one of the purple blobs.“Yeah, this is Nanjing duck blood soup.” For a moment, I thought about the conversation with my father. I remembered his look of disgust and how my stomach turned while reading the ingredients to him. Oh well, I thought. That was America, and this is China. I picked up the ladle and served myself. Then, with an open mind, I tried it. Duck’s blood, to me, tasted like a coppery,slightly metallic tofu. It had the same slippery consistency as bean curd, as well. I sipped the broth and sampled the intestines and organs. Smiling, I felt slightly shocked. Nanjing duck blood soup turned out to be delicious and not revolting. I finished my dinner without a second thought and left the bowl empty.

But then again, I should put that into perspective. Of course it was not what I was expecting. The guy who read the soup recipe to his horrified father and the guy that actually tried it are two different people. I was once a person who only knew Chinese culture in the abstract—what I read in books and on the Internet and what I saw in Jet Li and Jacky Chan Films. That version of me was surrounded by Philadelphia cheese steak hoagies, pizza, hamburgers of multiple variations, and more. Of course duck intestines would sound utterly weird. Nobody in America eats that stuff, and I had nothing to compare it to. Once I moved to China, I realized I had to throw my preconceived notions out if I was going to make an honest attempt at living day to day life in Changzhou and southern Jiangsu in general.

當(dāng)我再次審視這件事情的時(shí)候，我真沒想到事情會(huì)是這樣的。我突然覺得，那個(gè)曾把鴨血湯配料告訴他父親，以至父親受到驚嚇的人，以及真正嘗試過鴨血湯的那個(gè)人，是兩個(gè)不同的人。我曾經(jīng)是一個(gè)只懂抽象中國文化的人——我滿腦子都是在書本和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上讀到的東西，以及李連杰和成龍電影中看到的東西，那個(gè)“我”被費(fèi)城芝士牛排、三明治、比薩餅、漢堡包等包圍。在美國很少有人吃動(dòng)物內(nèi)臟，我并不想以此進(jìn)行比較。到了中國，我漸漸意識到，要想在常州或蘇南任何地方生活，就要誠實(shí)地去嘗試，拋開任何先入為主的固有觀念。

在中國，我遵循一條原則，如果一位中國朋友邀請我吃飯，就算食物看起來難吃，我一般也不會(huì)拒絕。因?yàn)槟菢幼鰧χ魅说臒崆榭畲裏o疑是一次災(zāi)難。我是這里的客人，江蘇熱情地接納了我，我獲得一份穩(wěn)定的工作，就像其他在常州、無錫、南京等地合法工作的外國人一樣。這里不是美國，也不是歐洲，永遠(yuǎn)都不一樣。期待一樣的外國人純屬自欺欺人，應(yīng)該“回家去”。老實(shí)說，待在家里他們會(huì)更快樂，更平和。但有時(shí)候，作為外國人，你必須走出自己的舒適區(qū)，這樣才能更好地生活。更何況那些舌尖上的美味——諸如牛肚、鴨肫、魚頭等等——如果我糾結(jié)于它們是不是西式美食的話，我就吃不到這些美味佳肴了。

順便說一下，我父親也開始接受我的觀點(diǎn)。他曾兩次到常州來看我。第一次，一位同事把我倆帶到了武進(jìn)淹城景區(qū)的一家餐館，點(diǎn)了一道特色菜——寨橋老鵝，里面有鵝肉和暗紅色的鵝血塊。“說實(shí)話，味道不錯(cuò)?！蔽腋赣H說，一點(diǎn)都看不出他以前曾是那么的反感。

幾天之后，那個(gè)帶我吃南京鴨血湯的朋友又帶我和父親出去吃晚餐。父親和我又一次大快朵頤。

在坐公交車回去的路上，爸爸和我談到我們一起吃過的那些美食。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，這里的中餐與美國中餐館的中餐完全不一樣。要了解中國文化，你必須入鄉(xiāng)隨俗，品嘗當(dāng)?shù)靥厣朗呈橇私猱?dāng)?shù)氐淖罴逊绞健r且各地美食林立，即使每天嘗試，都不一定能了解中國美食文化的精髓。

“這還是值得一試的?！蔽艺f。

“是的，”我父親應(yīng)道，“確實(shí)如此?！?/p>

I have a rule, and I live by it. If I am dining with a Chinese friend, I am not allowed refuse something if I think it sounds or looks disgusting. Doing that would be a slap in the face of my friend’s hospitality. I am the guest here. China and Jiangsu have warmly welcomed me and provides with me a living wage, as it does to all other foreigners who are legally employed in cities like Changzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, and elsewhere. This is not America or Europe, and it never will be. Foreigners who expect any different are deluding themselves and should go home.Honestly, they would be happier and more at peace with themselves if they did. Sometimes, you need to live outside your comfort zone to make living in China work. Also, some tasty things—cow stomach, duck gizzard, fish heads, and more – I would have never eaten if I was belligerent about food not being like “back in the west.”

Incidentally, my father has also come around to this line of thinking. As of this writing, he has visited Changzhou twice.The first time, a teaching colleague took the both of us to a restaurant in the Yancheng historic area of Wujin. We dined on a local specialty—zhai qiao old goose—that consisted of breast meat and congealed slabs of deeply purple blood. “This is actually good,” my father said. There was no hint of his earlier revulsion.

A few nights later, the friend that first introduced me to Nanjing duck blood soup took us both out to supper. My father and I enjoyed our dinner again.

During the 45 minute bus ride back to Wujin’s College Town,my dad and I discussed the different foods we’d tried together during his visit. He remarked that Chinese food in Jiangsu hardly resembles what Chinese-American restaurants back in the United States. We agreed on a few things, specifically. To get to know a culture, you have to eat locally. Also, cities in Jiangsu and all across China have so many specialties, you could try a new dish everyday and still not get even close to all the good things this country has to offer.

“It’s still worth a try,” I said.

“Yes,” my father said. “Yes, it is.”

(Rich Ristow teaches English at Hohai University’s Changzhou Campus.In 2017, he was named an honorary citizen of Changzhou.)