匆匆岁月牛车水 Chinatown: The Currents of Time

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图1: 马真路
Picture (1): Merchant Road
每当我经过这里，心里总觉得无限感慨，这里是我与牛车水结缘的地方。我的叔婆是广府人，是位包租婆，与养女住在这条街上。因为我们是亲戚，父亲不时带我来探望她，为她写家信说家常。污浊窄狭的马真路并不很长，早上是巴刹下午五点后是夜市，卖的东西样样有，人潮涌动川流不息，非常热闹。我还记得在这交通灯处有一家我常光顾的柏林发店，只须三毛钱就能剪头发，不过顾客多了就要被罚坐五脚基, 因为店面很小，只能容纳两位师傅转身的空间……我真想不到七十多年后的今天，我会回来这里重温我的旧梦，寻找回我的童真。
Whenever I pass by, I am always suffused with an immense sorrow – this place was once the territory of the belle of Chinatown and myself. My aunt was from Guangfu, and lived on this street with her adopted daughter, as the landlady of a boarding house. Since we were related, my father would occasionally bring me for visits, helping her write to her family about day-to-day matters. Narrow and grimy, Merchant Road wasn’t actually very long. It had a morning market, and after five o’clock in the evening, there was a night market selling everything under the sun, jam-packed with bustling crowds.
I still remember that Berlin Salon which I frequented, used to be around this junction. Thirty cents was enough for a haircut there, but if there were a lot of customers, I would be banished to wait my turn at the five-foot way, since the shop was so tiny that it only had space for the two barbers to move around. Who knew that seventy-odd years later, I would return to this place to relive past dreams, and search for the innocence of my childhood.

图2: 余东旋街
Picture (2): Eu Tong Sen Street
余东旋街在五六十年代是一条繁华的街道，也就是牛车水的地标，这里有珍珠巴刹，大华戏院，南天旅店酒楼。街的两旁排满了各种各样的小食摊，在珍珠巴刹里有煮炒摊、茶摊、日常用品、女人的东西等等。我最难忘的是珍珠巴刹门前那摊卤味。花几毛一块就能吃到饱。在新桥路旁是摆卖旧货摊，卖旧书摊的摊主有时会向你介绍什么二万五千里长征啦什么毛语录啦这类的东西给你……别害我，Mr Coldstore知道了还得了。往日街道的景色已不在。变了, 其实我们也变了。
In the 1950s and 1960s, Eu Tong Sen Street was a prosperous and busy road, and essentially served as Chinatown’s key landmark. Here you had People’s Park Complex, The Majestic, and the Great Southern Hotel. Each side of the street was crammed with stalls selling all sorts of snacks, and in the People’s Market there were zhi char stalls, drinks stalls, household goods, women’s clothes, etc. For me, the most unforgettable was the stall selling braised snacks at the entrance of People’s Market, where for a dollar or less, you could eat your fill.
On New Bridge Road, there were the secondhand goods stalls. The secondhand bookseller would sometimes recommend you books like The Long March and Quotations from Chairman Mao. But better not get me into trouble with Mr. Coldstore.[1] These scenes from bygone days are no longer there. Things have changed, but so have we. . . .

图3: 南天之恋
Picture (3): My Romance with Nan Tian[2]

我们在牛车水余东旋街邂逅，那时的我还是一个孩童, 而你是一位天真活泼的少女, 是我们学生的偶像。动荡时代我们又见面，那时的你是一位美丽成熟的少妇，是众人梦中的情人。晚年我们又重逢，你那往年的丰姿犹然，你悄悄地对我说：对不起，我嫁人了，我现在叫裕华。我好心痛，好无奈：祝福你，国祸（货）夫人。
When we first ran into each other on Eu Tong Sen Street, I was only a child, but you were an simple, vivacious teenage girl, the idol of my schoolmates and I. We next met in more tumultuous times; by then, you were a beautiful young wife in your prime, and everyone’s dream woman. In later years, we met yet again; you were as graceful and lovely as ever. You told me quietly, ‘I’m sorry, I’ve married someone else. My name is Yue Hwa now.’ My heart ached. Helpless, I could only think: ‘Congratulations, Madam National Disaster.’

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图5-7: 牛车水的另一面
Pictures (5-7): The Other Side of Chinatown
随着社会的进步，八十年代后的牛车水己经改变了面貌，人们的生活水准也提高了，渐渐地脱穷过着美好的生活。可是你知道吗?还有一群孤寡老人无家可归，或者是有家归不得宁愿露宿街头，我很希望牛车水的褔利义工们能给他们一点关怀。
As society evolved and developed, the Chinatown of the post-1980s era changed tremendously. The standard of living increased, and Chinatown rapidly shed its poverty for a more prosperous life. But did you know there is still a group of lonely old people who are homeless, or who have a home but would rather live on the streets? I very much hope that volunteers in Chinatown can show them some care and concern.

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Translator’s notes:
[1] A reference to Operation Coldstore on 2 February 1963 when the Special Branch arrested 107 members of the left-wing Barisan Sosialis political party and associated organisations in order to to prevent any attempt by Communists to use violence to disrupt the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia.  Source: NLB HistorySG, ‘Special Branch mounts Operation Coldstore’, http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/79b177e2-4d1f-4692-9a95-d2be1510495b, retrieved 9 July 2015.
[2] The Great Southern Hotel (南天大酒楼Nan Tian Da Jiu Lou) was a luxury hotel which opened in 1936 and was the equivalent of the Raffles Hotel for the Chinese-speaking community. In 1994, it was converted to a department store, Yue Hwa Chinese Products. Source: NLB Infopedia, ‘Great Southern Hotel’, http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_479_2004-12-15.html, retrieved 9 July 2015.

Translation: Teng Qian Xi