真是奇怪！都已经好几百年了
那名“去苏州卖鸭蛋”的男子（注一）
为什么还未从传说里回来？
是被什么迷住了吗？
那边会有什么可以迷住人？
是那些特别细的丝绸？
是那些亭台楼阁毕集的拙政园？
是那些超俗的寒山寺、灵隐寺？
是那些雄峙的虎丘斜塔、六和斜塔？
是那些水光潋滟的西湖、钱塘江？
是那些特别美艳的女人？
还是进了苏杭就如进了天堂？（注二）
果真奇怪！都已经好几百年了
那名“去苏州卖鸭蛋”的男子
到现在还没回来……
注一：“去苏州卖鸭蛋”，台谚，谓人死亡。据传有清一代，台籍人士伙同友人游苏州，为当地美女所迷，不归，友人回台后，不敢将实情告知其妻，委称在苏州卖鸭蛋，遂成此台谚。
注二：马可波罗称苏州为东方的威尼斯，俗谚亦说：“上有天堂，下有苏杭。”此处用以呼应前节“去苏州卖鸭蛋”。
A Short Poem of Suzhou and Hangzhou Hsu chiCheng
How strange! Hundreds of years have past
Why hasn’t the man, “Who went to Suzhou to sell eggs”*1
Come back from the legend?
What was he confused with?
What can let one be confused there?
Is it the soft silk?
The Humble Administrator’s Garden with many pavilions and buildings?
Unconventional Hanshan Temple or Temple of Soul’s retreat?
The Leaning Tower of Tiger Hill or Liuhe Leaning Tower?
The sparkling West Lake or Qiantang River?
The pretty women there?
Or living in Suzhou and Hangzhou as if living in the paradise?
Really strange! Hundreds of years have past
Yet the man “Who went to Suzhou to sell eggs”
Hasn’t come back…
*1.”Who went to Suzhou to sell eggs”—a folk legend in Taiwan, which means death of man. A story in going around that in the Qing Dynasty, a Taiwaner went sightseeing in Suzhou with one of his pals, he was confused with a pretty woman there and resided in Suzhou. When his pal returned, he dare not to tell the truth to his wife
, and lied that the Taiwaner stayed to in Suzhou for selling eggs. From then on, this folk legend started to spread widely in Taiwan.
*2.Marco Polo called Suzhou “Venice in the east,” and there goes a popular saying that “Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth”. Here , I use this popular saying to work in concert with “Went to Suzhou to sell eggs”.
