Preface

秋高马肥 - Horses are fat in the crisp autumn days. I consider it as the reason that my middle school insisted on organizing its sports days in autumn.

⊕秋高马肥。我把这个作为中学总爱在秋季举办运动会的理由。 那是一个深秋的黄昏。 当时还在读初三的我，迫于情面去观看一场有友人参加的跳高比赛。那是整个运动会最乏味的比赛之一。谁能夺冠，我们用脚趾头也能猜出。随着杆子的一次次升高，选手们一个接一个的被刷下。当高度还没到达让人瞠目结舌的时候，场上就只剩下了三个人。我不禁感叹大家普遍缺乏必要的身体锻炼，同时也诧异朋友仍未加入淘汰之列。然而更让我惊讶的是，这个不起眼的场景在此后会像无赖一般盘据在我的脑中。 那时，远处是徐徐而落的夕阳，近处则是炊烟缭绕的教师公寓。气温对只穿了单衣的我来说可以用刺骨来形容。整个运动会已经落下帷幕。其他地方陆续开始了场地的清理。在我眼前只有屈指可数的观众，漫不经心的裁判，敷衍了事的竞争者，和疲惫不堪的友人。大家都不约而同的注视着那根简陋的竹竿和竹竿之下那张肮脏不堪的垫子。这时，一抹夕阳的余晖照了过来，眼前的一切霎时变得有些光怪陆离。然后，朋友开始了起跳。 多年过去，我曾做过无数次尝试，试图把这个不起眼的东西从我的脑海中抹去。只是每当到了季节交替之时，每当我面对着日落和黄昏，它就会在我脑海里重现。当时所有人的相貌，我都遗忘了；当年的朋友，也早已失去了联络；那所学校，初三毕业后就再没踏入过；至于那个起跳，到底是跳过了还是没跳过，我也不知道。

It was a late autumn day, when I, a senior student of the middle school, was watching my friend playing in a high jump competition. That was a dull game, if not the dullest one. Everyone knew who would be the champion. My friend’s participation was only for fun, and my attendance was merely on a purpose of maintaining the friendship. As the bar went higher, fewer jumpers stayed. Far before the bar reaching a stunning level, the number of contestants already shrank to three. I was not only astonished by the physical weaknesses of my cohorts but also surprised by the survival of my friend. More surprising yet was the fact that this insignificant scene rascally left a deep impression on my mind.

At the moment of the scene, a distant view was the sun moving towards the horizon, while a close view was the cocking smoke arising from the teachers’. For anyone who only worn a shirt that day, he could call it a chilly day. The whole game was approaching the end. People started to clear the field. In front of me, I found some leftover spectators, a careless judge, two expressionless jumpers, and my exhausted friend. All of us concentrated on that unprofessional bar, crudely made of a bamboo pole, and a ragged, dirty mat lying below the bar. Meanwhile, the last rays of the setting sun shone into my eyes, toned with all the things I saw, and produced a bizarre and motley stage. Then, my friend was about to take off.

Many years have gone by, and I have made countless attempts to erase this insignificance from my mind. But every time, when the season changes, when I stare at the afterglow at twilight, it will be revived. Those who were present - I forgot them entirely. The contact of my friend - I lost it a long time ago. The middle school - I never enter it again after my graduation. That jump - Was it a success or not? I don’t know.