FOREWORD
GARDEN OF REPOSE 1944
Epilogue
Preface to the French Translation of Garden of Repose
On Garden of Repose
BITTER COLD NIGHTS 1946
Epilogue
Afterword
On Bitter Cold Nights
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
He talked to me for a long time, and then he suddenly said: "I don't think I've long to live.When I'm dead, I wonder if this garden, these things will be preserved for very long.I can't help worrying about you all.It's only now that I've realized that without leaving behind a good moral training, leaving property to one's sons and grandsons is of no lasting value.What a fool I've been all these years." Your grandfather really said this.But it's only now that I understand his meaning.But it's already too late...."
Mrs.Yao covered her eyes with her handkerchief and began to cry.I kept glancing over at her as the child told us the story.I had noticed her eyes filling with glistening tears for some time.Only when she began to weep audibly did the boy stop talking, and looking at her in surprise, he cried out affectionately: "Mrs.Yao!" I looked at her in sympathy, my mind in agitation, but I could not say a word.For a few minutes, there was complete silence in the room.Tears trickled drop by drop from the boy's face.Mrs.Yao's sobs had already ceased.The destiny of these two people merged together to move me deeply.How could there be such suffering in the world! It was a thousand times worse than anything I could have written with my brush.What could I do? I could not resign myself to just watching them placidly! I began to hate myself.The heavy silence hurt me.I wanted to shout.
The boy suddenly stood up.He wiped the tears from his cheeks with his hands.Surely he wasn't leaving? Could it be that he was unwilling to reveal the most important part of his story? He'd just taken a step, when Mrs.Yao looked up and said: "My child, you mustn't go.Please go on with your story."
