蟬 The Cicada

The Cicada

，．，After a sudden downpour, the cicada's wings were so wet it could fly no more. The poor little creature crawled slowly along the ground, and with great effort managed to reach

急: jí — 1. urgent 2. pressing 3. rapid 4. hurried 5. worried 6. to make (sb) anxious (HSK 2)
雨: yǔ — 1. rain 2. classifier: 陣 (zhèn), 場 (cháng) (HSK 1)
之後: zhī hòu — 1. after; behind 2. (at the beginning of a sentence) afterwards; since then (HSK 4)
蟬翼: chán yì — cicada's wing
溼: shī — variant of 濕 (shī) (HSK 4)
得: dé — 1. to obtain 2. to get 3. to gain 4. to catch (a disease) 5. proper 6. suitable 7. proud 8. contented 9. to allow 10. to permit 11. ready 12. finished (HSK 2)
不能: bù néng — 1. cannot 2. must not 3. should not
再: zài — 1. again; once more; re- 2. further; beyond this point of time 3. (before an adjective) more 4. then (after sth, and not until then) 5. no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, and then (usually) 也 (yě) or 都 (dōu) for emphasis) 6. (used to introduce additional information, as in 再則 (zài zé), 再就是 (zài jiù shì) etc) 7. (literary) to reappear; to reoccur (HSK 1)
飛: fēi — to fly (HSK 1)
了: le — 1. (completed action marker) 2. (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) 3. (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) (HSK 1)
那: Nā — surname Na (HSK 1)
可憐: kě lián — 1. pitiful 2. pathetic 3. to have pity on (HSK 5)
的: de — 1. of; ~'s (possessive particle) 2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) 3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) 4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 (pí gé de) "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 (pǎo táng r de) "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 (xīn de) "new one") 5. also pr. (dì) or (di) in poetry and songs (HSK 1)
小: xiǎo — 1. small 2. tiny 3. few 4. young (HSK 1)
蟲: chóng — 1. lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures 2. classifier: 條 (tiáo), 隻 (zhī) 3. (fig.) person with a particular undesirable characteristic
在地: zài dì — (Tw) local; native (from Taiwanese 在地, Tai-lo pr. [tsāi-tē])
面: miàn — 1. face 2. side 3. surface 4. aspect 5. top 6. classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc
慢慢: màn màn — slowly; gradually (HSK 3)
地: de — 1. -ly 2. structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct (HSK 1)
爬: pá — 1. to crawl 2. to climb 3. to get up or sit up (HSK 2)
好容易: hǎo róng yì — 1. (idiomatic usage) with great difficulty 2. to have a hard time (convincing sb, relinquishing sth etc) 3. (literal usage) so easy
爬: pá — 1. to crawl 2. to climb 3. to get up or sit up (HSK 2)
到: dào — 1. to reach; to arrive 2. to leave for; to go to 3. to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) 4. (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) 5. considerate; thoughtful; thorough (HSK 1)

．，．the root of the ageless pine. A raindrop the pine needles could not hold slipped loose from a thousand feet above, and fell straight onto the cicada's wings. The cicada let out a cry—

不: bù — 1. no; not so 2. (bound form) not; un- (HSK 1)
老: lǎo — 1. prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity 2. old (of people) 3. venerable (person) 4. experienced 5. of long standing 6. always 7. all the time 8. of the past 9. very 10. outdated 11. (of meat etc) tough (HSK 1)
的: de — 1. of; ~'s (possessive particle) 2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) 3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) 4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 (pí gé de) "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 (pǎo táng r de) "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 (xīn de) "new one") 5. also pr. (dì) or (di) in poetry and songs (HSK 1)
松: Sōng — surname Song (HSK 4)
根: gēn — 1. root 2. basis 3. classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings 4. classifier: 條 (tiáo) 5. radical (chemistry) (HSK 4)
上頭: shàng tóu — 1. (of alcohol, love etc) to go to one's head; (of an idea, a song etc) to get into one's head; to capture one's attention 2. (old) (of a girl on her wedding day) to start wearing one's hair in a bun (rather than a plait) (HSK 7-9)
松針: sōng zhēn — pine needle
穿: chuān — 1. to bore through; to pierce; to perforate 2. to go through (e.g. a tunnel); to cross (e.g. a street) 3. to thread; to string together 4. to wear; to put on (clothes, shoes etc.) 5. verb complement indicating thoroughness or completion (HSK 1)
不: bù — 1. no; not so 2. (bound form) not; un- (HSK 1)
牢: láo — 1. (literary) pen; fold (for livestock) 2. prison; jail 3. firm; secure; fast (HSK 6)
底: de — (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) (HSK 4)
雨: yǔ — 1. rain 2. classifier: 陣 (zhèn), 場 (cháng) (HSK 1)
珠: zhū — 1. bead 2. pearl 3. classifier: 粒 (lì), 顆 (kē)
從: Cóng — surname Cong (HSK 1)
千: qiān — thousand (HSK 2)
丈: zhàng — 1. measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m) 2. to measure 3. husband 4. polite appellation for an older male
高處: gāo chù — 1. high place 2. elevation
脫下: tuō xià — to take off (clothing)
來: lái — 1. to come 2. (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) 3. hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來 (huí lai)) 4. ever since (as in 自古以來 (zì gǔ yǐ lái)) 5. for the past (amount of time) 6. (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世 (lái shì)) 7. (between two verbs) in order to 8. (after a round number) approximately 9. (used after 得 (dé) to indicate possibility, as in 談得來 (tán de lái), or after 不 (bù) to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來 (chī bu lái)) (HSK 1)
正: zhēng — first month of the lunar year (HSK 1)
滴: dī — 1. to drip 2. to let drip; to apply (eye drops etc) 3. (bound form) a drop (of liquid) 4. classifier for drops of liquid (HSK 6)
在: zài — 1. to exist; to be alive 2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at 3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) (HSK 1)
蟬翼: chán yì — cicada's wing
上: shǎng — used in 上聲 (shǎng shēng) (HSK 1)
蟬: chán — cicada
嘶: sī — 1. hiss 2. neigh 3. Ss! (sound of air sucked between the teeth, indicating hesitation or thinking over)
了: le — 1. (completed action marker) 2. (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) 3. (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) (HSK 1)
一: yī — 1. one 2. single 3. a (article) 4. as soon as 5. entire; whole; all; throughout 6. "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) 7. also pr. (yāo) for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit (HSK 1)

，．—and tumbled once more from the tree's exposed root down to the ground.

，？Raindrop, are you playing a joke on him?，！Look, the ants are coming!！And the wild birds will soon catch sight of him too!

Loading the interactive reader…

What it’s about

After a hard rain, a cicada whose wings are soaked can no longer fly. It crawls slowly toward the root of an old pine, only for a drop that has slipped from a needle high above to strike its wing and knock it back to the ground. Xu addresses the raindrop as though it were a heedless child playing a joke. The miniature ends by pointing out the ants already approaching and the bird that may soon notice the exposed insect, leaving the cicada at the instant when a tiny accident opens into mortal danger.

The piece makes scale do nearly all its work. A single bead of water is negligible to the pine and to a human observer, but to the cicada it is another fall and perhaps a death sentence. The narrator's tender rebuke cannot intervene; language registers vulnerability after the world has already acted. There is no explicit moral about endurance, providence or natural cruelty, and that restraint matters. By stopping before an outcome, Xu asks readers to inhabit anxious attention itself and to see how easily something beautiful—the rain held on pine needles—becomes violence when experienced by a smaller body.

When it was written 背景

Cicadas carry a long classical Chinese history as emblems of summer song, purity and transformation, but this 1920s prose miniature brings the emblem down from the treetop and places it helplessly on wet ground. That change of viewpoint fits Xu Dishan's broader religious and ethical interest in compassion for living beings, informed especially by Buddhist thought without turning the scene into doctrine. The old pine conventionally suggests endurance, yet its height is exactly what gives the falling drop force. Learners can use the repeated sequence of 溼, 爬, 滴 and 摔 to follow the physical action, then attend to the final direct address. The unanswered questions convert a nature sketch into an exercise in moral perception.

Words in this chapter 生词

蟬翼chán yì蟬翼chán yì — cicada's wing
蟬chán蟬chán — cicada
松針sōng zhēn松針sōng zhēn — pine needle
溼shīHSK 4溼shī — variant of 濕 (shī) (HSK 4)
牢láoHSK 6牢láo — (literary) pen; fold (for livestock) · prison; jail · firm; secure; fast (HSK 6)
開玩笑kāi wán xiàoHSK 1開玩笑kāi wán xiào — to play a joke; to make fun of; to joke (HSK 1)
高處gāo chù高處gāo chù — high place · elevation
好容易hǎo róng yì好容易hǎo róng yì — (idiomatic usage) with great difficulty · to have a hard time (convincing sb, relinquishing sth etc) · (literal usage) so easy
麽mó麽mó — tiny · insignificant
上頭shàng tóuHSK 7-9上頭shàng tóu — (of alcohol, love etc) to go to one's head; (of an idea, a song etc) to get into one's head; to capture one's attention · (old) (of a girl on her wedding day) to start wearing one's hair in a bun (rather than a plait) (HSK 7-9)
珠zhū珠zhū — bead · pearl · classifier: 粒 (lì), 顆 (kē)
嘶sī嘶sī — hiss · neigh · Ss! (sound of air sucked between the teeth, indicating hesitation or thinking over)