兽兽@越界之想（已停止更新，请访问新博客）

今天一大早挣扎着起床去见tian大人，碰头后带她在中大校园里乱逛，给她讲本系其丑无比的“小呆”楼的来历。然后沿校园中轴线，看中山先生发表演讲的怀士堂，宋庆龄女士小产的黑石屋，陈寅恪先生故居麻金墨屋一号前的白色小路，有旋转楼梯的大钟楼，还有中国第一幢钢筋混凝土建筑，建于1905年的马丁堂。

康乐园校址历史悠久，又集合了老岭大、老中大深厚的人文历史和建筑传统。前些天龙应台老师发表文章评《色·戒》，文中提到李安导演九岁时跟香港电懋电影创始人陆运涛曾有一面之缘，巧的是，港大校园内落成于1912年，以陆运涛父亲陆佑命名的大礼堂，正是电影《色·戒》拍摄话剧团部分的取景处。其实陆佑家族跟中大也颇有渊源。陆佑本人早年曾慷慨解囊支持孙中山的革命活动；1930年，陆佑之孙陆容章与乃兄陆容康捐资六万元给母校岭南大学，于1931年建成陆佑堂，这就是今天中大校园内雕梁画栋的地理楼。

我将这些历史抛诸脑后，尽挑些八卦说给tian大人了，比如永芳堂的两把刀，中山铜像为何坐南朝北，国家重点学科光学实验室的“穿衣戴帽”，还有岭南堂如何截断了中大的龙脉……

tian大人乃一奇女子，拥有伦敦大学学院（UCL）建筑史硕士学位，正要跟着贡布里希爵士的中文译者念博士。建筑史上的掌故，她信手拈来，对中大红楼是赞不绝口，说不比上海外滩和广州沙面建筑群差，（有吗？），如今只落得个“广东省文物保护单位”的级别，tian大人未免有些抱不平。

逛完中大校园，带tian大人出其北门，乘渡轮前往天字码头。江水有腥臭之气，我们望着灰蒙蒙的天空，说着各自的心事，说起我们共同的朋友和共同生活过的岛国，心情如这难得的秋光，渐渐澄澈起来。

穿过小叶榕掩映的北京南，穿过人声鼎沸的北京路，我们在中山路交界处告别。我在纷乱的城市背景中看tian大人自顾自地远去，不是我所熟悉的粤人走路的频率和步态，如此，竟忆念起那年在上海衡山路看到的法国梧桐了。

题图：怀士堂（1916），摄影/兽兽

广东人的早茶，并非单单喝茶这么简单。除了喝茶，熟客们会点上“一盅”（排骨饭）“两件”（点心）。如果时间充裕，还可以叫其他样式。一般茶楼，最能考师傅功力的，莫过于最普通的“凤爪”和“虾饺”。英语里有个单词叫dim sum，就直接出自粤语的“点心”。

可惜我来广东多年，喝早茶不超过十次。因为每天翻身下床已是午饭时分，总觉得早茶是老年人的专利。

多谢宋老师邀请，今天难得早起叹茶。叫上久未见面的某国际友人，发现伊眼圈越来越黑了。

hey, more sleep, less black coffee, okay?

按：以下是兽兽跟oro关于伊朗总统内贾德在美国哥伦比亚大学发表“伊朗没有同性恋”言论的通信。oro是兽兽多年的朋友，目前在英国牛津大学攻读生物化学博士学位，（据oro本人供认，他的speciality或者expertise就是研究如何下毒，这是兽兽望尘莫及因而在这场辩论中有所顾忌的）。这次吵架已经吵了好几天，而且吵得很厉害，但这并不妨碍他们是很好的朋友。

Haitao to Oro

Hi oro,

Thanks for the mail.

First of all I would like to make it clear that I am not interested in any political calculations, strategies for willingnesses and actions of power control and dominance if we put it in a more polite way, which I suppose belong to a totally different domain beyond my concern, say "mainstream" thinking under the name of "being realistic" that so many people have been indulging in. For that reason, I have always been and will be enjoying being called "文人" (elite). Idealist, precisely, is what I'd love to name myself.

I try to understand your points of view like this; you were trying to put the issue of homosexuality back within the contexts of religions, Islam in this case. In some sense, that's right when we talk about cultural diversity and differences across countries and regions. But in my opinion, this seemingly "tolerant" discourse of "cultural relativism" is in fact very problematic, actually the word comes to my mind is, harmful, if I didn't oversimplify your arguments in the previous emails and am not too judgmental at this point.

I won't make further response to the Ahmadinejad's "no gays in Iran" comment at Columbia. I am willing to write more about this, but not now. Three essays my friend Robert kindly shared with me about the relevant topics appeared on today's Guardian have partly expressed my position and opinions. You said "each side tries its best to struggle and survive", that may be true, and "it is a fair play", not at all!

Let me put it in short, no one deserves to be a sacrificial offering for other's cause or belief, no matter how magnificent the cause or belief is proven to be. No homosexuals deserve to be sentenced to death, as what is still happening in Iran until now, simply because they fall in love or sex with the same sex. "Body" rather than "idea" is the bottom line for my consideration regarding conflicts between specific religious thoughts and the general principle of human rights. For me, the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not exclusively designed for any single country, not simply for Iran, the US, the UK, nor China. I believe it's not designed for any single religion as well. In other words, nation or religion is not the right category to raise the issue here. I'd like to stress that there may not exist a general form of classifying cultures or religions, but there surely should have a common base for debates on protecting the rights of men, women, transsexuals, intersexuals, asexuals, etc., as individuals. In fact there have had a common ground for all these debates, that is, UDHR. If you want to learn more about this, just read The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which embody the principle of and articles listed in UDHR. And I believe the controversy in relation to human rights issue should not become the excuse of violation of the "core values" embedded in our knowledge and belief to human justice. (Don't argue with me "what is justice"!)

You may insist that I am a bloody hopeless idealist. Yes, I am. Without something that parallels and detaches from the so-called "realistic", there would never be spaces for social changes as well as intellectual promotions for all the human beings living on this apparently unperfected planet.

Regards,

Haitao

附录一：兽兽回信中提到Guardian今日刊载的三篇文章：

Brian Whitaker: 'No homosexuality here'
Robert Tait: Sex change funding undermines no gays claim
David Shariatmadari: No gay people in Iran, Mr President? News to me...

附录二：oro致兽兽的信件原文

Hi Haitao,

First I am sure you did not read the whole speech. I know you will not because the whole thing is too long and you do not have time, and once you heard the news about his comments on homosexuality you have made up your mind about him.

However, you will probably have a more holistic view on him if you also know what else he had said. A big problem I notice is that, very few people read the whole thing and a lot of people will stop reading and make up their minds once they touch something they do not agree. They throw away 90% of the things that make perfect sense because there is 10% "contamination" of controversial stuff. And they do not try to understand why the Iranian President will say that.

Now let's come to the controversial stuff. I guess you know that, even for the "democracy-friendly" Christianity religion, homosexual issue is highly controversial. Homosexuality is officially denounced by Catholicism, and even in the Anglican Church, one of the biggest denominations of Protestantism, homosexuality issue is causing a potential split of the sect. Therefore, for a huge population of the Christians in western countries, homosexuality is a mortal sin or at least an awful thing.

Prosecution of homosexual people does not happen now in Western countries because the Church has been separated from the State and church leaders do not have political power any more.

However, in Iran religion and politics is integrated. Their political policies have to be consistent with their belief. The Iranian President say "there is no homosexual people in Iran" because very few homosexual people will reveal their sexual orientations in Iran for the fear of Islamic law and for those who did speak out will be prosecuted by the law. With political power Muslims can do what orthodox Catholics want to do but can't.

I think you will say Cathololicism and Islam are bad and against homosexual rights. Similarly a Catholic or Muslim can say homosexuality is bad and is against their belief. I think there is confrontation of the right of religious belief and the right of homosexual people. We should try to seek reconciliation but before a consensus is reached, each side should be allowed to do what they think is right.

Catholics in Western countries attack homosexual people by preaching because they do not have political power.

Muslims in Iran attack homosexual people by law and prosecution because religion and state is one entity.

Homosexual people in Western countries attack Catholics by gay pride demonstrations and political lobbying.

Homosexual people in Iran are suppressed because they are sinners in the framework of their religion and their law.

I do not see any problem of that. Each side tries its best to struggle and survive. It is a fair play.

Should homosexual people be tolerated in an ideal world? I think they should be. In an ideal world we should have no religion and everyone behaves like a highly educated, always-understanding, always-tolerating, no-prejudice, compassionate angel. But we do not live in an ideal world. Christians, Muslims, and atheists all have different sets of value on human rights and often they do not agree with each other.

The Iranian President is not crazy. He just told you the truth in his country. There are no "visible" homosexual people in Iran. They either conceal their sexual orientation or have been killed. It is up to you to judge whether this is good or bad but that has nothing to do with being "rational" and "reasonable". He is a very reasonable and rational man acting according to the law and religion he belongs to.

I know you think Mao Zedong is crazy, Abdinajed is crazy, Bush is crazy, everyone you do not like is crazy. But that just show how naive you are in understanding the harsh reality of this world. They are not crazy. They know what they want, how to get that and they take action to get what they want. You are such a typical 文人.

Best,

oro

临近中午接到一则短信，急忙叫上正远在芳村葬猫的丸子，去见一位令人尊敬的老人。

这位老人，我和丸子都再熟悉不过，一部纪录片让我们对她肃然起敬，心向往之。纪录片里老人说，我一分钱都不要，因为钱都到不了艾滋病人手里，尽给些骗子骗走，我只收邮票，拿去寄书，给那些需要知识和信息的人。于是，丸子赶来时在路边的邮局买了500块钱邮票，而我则骑车冲向学校中区的邮局，顾不得柜台前队形整齐的人群，径直跑到前台跟营业员说，我要50元邮票，帮帮忙，我很急，谢谢你。好在我们学校的师生大多温柔敦厚，倒也容忍了我的打尖。

丸子的月收入是我的十倍，理应捐500。

见到老人，还是银幕上、报纸上那样，满脸如花朵般绽放的皱纹，小脚蹬一对旧式黑布鞋。后来说到兴起，她还把鞋底亮给我们看，说是艾滋病人一针一线给纳的鞋底，特别柔软结实，她穿了好多年。

老人体力一年不如一年，已有几年不下乡了，现在的主要工作是编书、写书、寄书，传播知识。即便如此，寄出的书籍，有的还是被截留，有的石沉大海。最好笑的是家里门前门后装了四个监视器，还要自己交钱安装。物业公司的理由是加强保安，整栋楼都要装。老太太一人在家，就多装几个吧。那些患病的农民朋友来探望，对着监视器怒吼，说你们拍吧，我是某某某，反正我也不要活了。老人边学边笑，手舞足蹈，众皆喷饭。恐怕也只有意识到生命大限的人，才会做出如此反抗。可是细想一下，心中却有一股大悲愤。他们犯了什么过错，一辈子的冤屈，只能对着冷冰冰的现代监视设备倾泄。

一餐饭下来，老人吃了一些青菜，半个馒头，留下半个，夜里在火车上吃。她执意要买硬卧回郑州，一千多公里的路，年轻人不忍，给她买了软卧。

这位年近八十的老人，我并不想把她说得十全十美，她有她的偏信，有对某些特定人群的成见。但是我想这些都不重要了。老人做了她认为该做的事，并且为此承受了所有的苦难，游街、戴高帽、坐牢、服毒自杀、母女反目，还有莫名其妙的施压。余下的事，让我们这些后来者把它做好吧。

祝你健康长寿。

PS. 让我们大家都来给她寄邮票吧——

通信地址：河南郑州金水路14号河南省文史研究馆 高耀洁
邮编：450003

（题图为老人正在查看自己博客上的留言 摄影/兽兽 ）

P要去英国访学，S和我一起为她送行，约了在滨江东路的几米咖啡馆见面。

P是我们学校大学英语部的老师，在我们专业念博士，去年在密歇根大学进修一年，去过不少国家。S是台湾人，一个跳脱利落的女子，台大外文系毕业，在UC Berkeley完成博士后研究，英法文精熟，（她受上海三联书店之托翻译Judith Butler的名著Gender Trouble，据说已近完成校对，很快会出版；关心性别研究、跨性别、酷儿理论的朋友可以留意），也是游历丰富。我去过的地方不多，只在英国生活过半年，外国的朋友认识一些。聚在一起，我们的话题难免要触及中国人在国外的生活。

S刚从美国 Illinois大学回来，在那儿呆了一年，做高级访问学者。她笑说欢送party上，几位同在Illinois的国内老师赶去为她送行，大家一块儿去咖啡馆聊天，坐定之后，一位老师掏出一幅扑克牌，然后几个人开打“拖拉机”。她从未见过这样的场面，环顾四周，有人在读书，有人在用笔记本电脑上网。坐在这群打牌的人中间，她觉得有点怪怪的。

而P暑假到澳大利亚呆了两个月，回来以后想移民。中国复杂的人际关系不是她所擅长应付的。她希望到一个人与人之间相对单纯的地方，过自己想要的生活。

问到我，我虽然在国外也遇到国人让人难堪的场面，但我还是宁愿把这些理解成文化差异。我拿S面前装姜煲可乐的杯子打比方说，你看这是中西合壁的款式，早期中国瓷器运到英国，商人们都会请工匠给那些瓷杯、瓷碗、瓷碟镶嵌一道金边或者银边。因为西方殖民主义时期对金银的热衷，贵重金属具有硬通货的价值，表征了个人掌握财富的程度，镶上金边可以让这些瓷器立刻升价好几倍。而一旦经过加工，这些中国瓷器上原有的简约素朴的美学风格，便遗失殆尽了。

这是我在伦敦V&A工艺博物馆看展览时留意到的解释。要说打牌俗气，我还要说这些镶金戴银的英国人更俗气呢。中国人喜欢打牌，因为这里面自然有我们这些不打牌的人体会不到的乐趣。在国外的咖啡馆，我觉得打牌本身不是问题，只要不要太过喧闹，如果打扰到旁桌的人就不好了。生活在国外，就我个人的原则来说，我不希望令别人感觉不好，除此以外，那些因为文化差异投来的奇异目光，并不会对我造成什么困扰。

而且我也说，对于中国，我们不能有意忽略她的好处而专挑她的坏处。好像我们眼前的美食，只要你不去想生活在中国的种种不如意之处，比如GFW之类，你还是可以很享受这里的生活的。而且，我们的生活也并非每时每刻都跟“中国”这个概念发生关系，那些细微的内心波澜，周围小团体的支援互助，甚至是互联网上虚拟的友情和爱恋，都是生命每每令我惊奇之处。

中国人到海外越来越多，这是好事。可是，如果从海外回来，异文化的冲击不是让我们的心胸更开放，而是更加巩固了原有的文化成见，未免有点可惜。举一个例子，我觉得中国人的留学热，对某些国家的拜倒是建立在对另一些国家的歧视之上的，大概很少人会想到去印度或者印尼去念一个博士，而我所接触的一些第三世界国家的学者，他们的学识和涵养让人敬佩。

所以，问题也许不在中国人可不可以在国外咖啡馆打牌，而是说，无论在英国的咖啡馆里或者在河南的一个公共浴池，打牌的中国人，他们有注意到不要影响周围的人了吗？

P打断我说，好啦你又话多了，吃菜啦，你去了瑞典就没这么便宜又好吃的饭菜了，哈哈。

PS. 1. 其实聊天的时候还聊到另外一个很好玩的话题，关键词有“腐女”、“鬼畜”、“王道VS逆王道”、“小受VS小攻”，（然后两个女人说你介过兽兽粉什么啦，听起来像那过舍摸舍摸“受受”……囧rz~），当然还有八卦无数，包括某大牌教授的cross dressing。2. 几米的东西做得并不怎么样，三个人吃了220多，不推荐，只是随便找个聊天的地方而已。

                                                                   一个瘦瘦的小孩
                                                                   从四十年前
                                                                   一张发黄的旧照片里走来

                                                                   走在水面上
                                                                   心中有粼粼波光

                                                                   他看见自己的倒影
                                                                   有时欢笑
                                                                   有时垂泪

                                                                   水中的小孩
                                                                   为何有萤火虫作伴？

                                                                   瘦小孩抬头
                                                                   原来满天都是
                                                                   爱他的星星    

                                                                                                     H. T. 2007