他叫吉姆，身高五英尺多些，但身材壮实，圆睁睁的眼睛看着你的时候就像一头小牛犊像你冲来his name was Jim, short, robust, his round eyes looked like those of oxen's when they stared on you，他二十九了，但作为海员买手的他从没打算结婚，he was 29 years' old, but as a sailor, he never decided to get married, 他为大英帝国到印度和中国的商船做沿岸补给，把陆上的吃的喝的卖到船上去，整个印度洋和南洋都是他的足迹， he replenished the boats running on the Indian Ocean and South China sea, he sold the victuals to the boats, he travelled around vast oceans, 他每做完一单生意就换一个港口或者换一个国家，在别人眼里他潇洒极了，直至有一次他跟船出海时 each time he finished his deal , he would change to another country or another port. in other people's eyes, he was so cool. things went on until that night：那是个月黑风高的晚上，从马来口岸开船的客船横驶在印度洋上，船上搭载了五百名到麦加朝圣的香客，that was dark night, a boat from Malay was crossing Indian Ocean , on it there were 500 pilgrims ,每个人都很随意的睡在甲板上，一点也没意识到死亡就在前方，everyone was sleeping casually on the desk, not aware of the incoming death, 因为每个香客坐在白人造的白人开的船里放心的把生死寄托给白人（这就好像我坐飞机来尼日利亚经过撒哈拉，可能由于缺乏陆地雷达设备或者遇到强气流，飞机垂直下落1000米但没人恐慌一样）because every pilgrim was sitting in a built-by-white-men boat, which was manned by white men，they simply entrusted their lives to the white men, (same as the first time I came to Africa, the plane dropped 3000feet out of turbulence, but no passenger panicked) 但作为白人的吉姆，在一次拉夜尿的时候发现几个水手慌里慌张的在放救生艇，这时他才发现船的近处有个大礁石，已经无法避免了，as a white man , Jim found that a bunch of mariners were releasing the safe boat, and he recognized the danger ahead , an avoidable big rock. 如果他大声疾呼，香客会惊慌的醒来，但他们能坐上2艘救生艇吗，他们的恐慌可能会让事情更糟，if he shouted, pilgrims would wake up, but can a small safe boat save all of them ? things could be worse, 不如让他们死在不知不觉中，但是这不会太邪恶了？ or should they die in peace , isn't it too wicked ?吉姆很蔑视的面对那群白人水手，他宁可掉到海水里夹着破木板等其他船只的救援也不会和这群人一伙的，但他一时也不知所措，Jim showed disgust to that bunch of white mariners. he would rather drop in the water , and hold a wood board, waiting the passing boats, to join this crew . but he was bewildered. 那些水手看见吉姆想唤醒别人，连忙把救生艇抛进水里，those sailors hurried to toss the safe boat onto the water .突然有个水手说他漏了点东西要回去拿，这时船碰到了礁石，天旋地转，吉姆掉进了水里，他本能的抓住就生的东西，等他镇定下来的时候，他才发现他坐上了那群人的救生船，suddenly , a sailor said he wanted to fetch something, and the boat hit the rock. everything was up side down. Jim was in the water. he grabbed something out of intuition. when he was calm, he found he was in those sailors' safe boat. 他眼睁睁的看着那五百个有色人种毫无声息的沉入大海。其他几名水手在冷静后才发现他们拉上船来的不是那个回去拿东西的同伙，而是这个蔑视他们的白人，he witnessed those 500 colored man pilgrims sinking soundlessly into the sea. other sailors found out that, the man they pulled on the boat was not their pal, but this white man who showed contemptuousness to them before.于是在接下去的海事法庭上，在被吊销海员资格的日子里，他受到更多的质疑， in the following days , in the mariner court, and in the days of his mariner qualification being annulled, he was questioned a lot. 于是他彻底的放弃了他的职业，他换了一个天地，他来到了亚洲腹地：缅甸。（还好，在那个INTERNET还没盛行的年代，只要换个国家，不要说换大陆了，就能重新展开一种生活，当然，这是白人“洗头换面”最喜欢的方式了），he thoroughly gave up his profession, he changed another area. he came to the hinterland of Asia , Burma. 他在缅甸的丛林里不再是BOY，不再是给船长呼来唤去的小职员，他是MASTER，在连火器都是新鲜物品的缅南地区，没有人知道吉姆的历史，也没有人在乎，他是唯一的白人，所以，他就是神，in Burma Jungles, he was no longer a boy, not a small person summoned whenever the captain wanted. in a place where firearms were new things, nobody knew Jim's history, and no one cared. since he was a white man, he was a god. 直至又有一次：（不过命运能使人因祸得福的可能只有一次，再一次就真正是祸了）一个英国海盗船，（上面还有个中国厨师，我记得）在归航的时候，想多敲一笔，他们依仗几柄残枪，占据了一个山头，和当地的酋长分庭抗礼，当时吉姆在外，当地人都惧怕白人，只能把他们围在山上，等到吉姆回来了，他没有接受酋长的建议，把这几个白人干掉，而是亲身单刀赴会，但他忘了，他毕竟是个人，在他走近山头的时候，一声枪响，他死了。things happened until another time : (good result out of bad proceeding could happen but 1 time) a British pirate ship, occupied a local mountain , in order to fleece the chief by force. Jim was out at that moment. the local guys were afraid of white men. they just surrounded the latter, without doing anything. when Jim came back, he refused to take the advice from the chief, which is to kill those white bandits. instead, he decided to attend the meeting. however, he forgot, he , after all, was a no more than a man. when he was close to the mountain, a gunshot sounded, he fell down, dead.




康拉德，生于当今的加里宁格勒，也就是哲学家康德的故乡，也就是曾经的波兰领土，但，当时作为被邻国鱼肉的波兰人，他于19岁时作为船员，义无反顾的，离开了他的祖国，他再也没有回过去，26岁时，他开始学习英语，这本书应该是写在他34岁时的，这是大英帝国冉冉上升时文学同样兴盛的年代里璀璨群星中的一个。他的原著让不是以英语为母语的人很头痛，因为那些斯拉夫式的多重从句。

Conrad, born in karlinigrad, a place where philosopher Kant was born, a territory of former Poland. but, as a man from a weak country Poland, he left his motherland at 19 , without ever going back. he started learning English at 26 , and this book was finished at 34. he was one of those shining stars of Victorian era literature, when at the same time Britain was conquering the word by sword and books.



有人评价他是种族主义者，但他可能只是那个年代，19世纪末，的时代缩影，或者他用很露骨的种族主义描述来蔑视种族主义，或者，他骨子里就是种族主义，不论如何，在非洲，在这么一个虚饰种族主义粉饰平等的年代，读读1百年前，一个天才的作家写的这么一部那么富有争议的书，还是，很能娱情的。

he was regarded to be a racist by some people. but, probably he was the epitome of that era, 19th century. or, he adopted the brash description of racism to ridicule racism. no matter what, today, in such a pretentiously hypocritical era, it is highly entertaining to read such a book , written by such a genius writer 100 years ago, in Africa.