我出生在大别山南麓的一个山区里。那时“民国”已经有三年的历史,但是由于地方闭塞,人们的生活方式、习惯和想法,仍然停留在满清时代。我在六岁的时候,按照村里的惯例,就进入一个设在村头祠堂里的私塾去学习识字。我读的第一本书是《三字经》,第二本书是《百家姓》,接着就是“四书”、“五经”。学习的方法是背诵,至于书的内容,那就不必求甚解了。塾师偶尔也解释一下,但我怎么也听不懂,只能在这懂与不懂之间,让日子象流水般逝去。但是那时的生活并不单调。在农村,一般庄稼人大都是半年辛苦半年闲,小孩子也不例外。 I was born in a mountainous area south of the Dabie Mountains. At that time, the “Republic of China” had a history of three years, but because of the local occlusion, people’s lifestyle, habits and thoughts still remained in the Manchu era. At the age of six, according to the practice in the village, I entered a private school located in the village ancestral hall to learn to read. The first book I read was The Three Character Classic, the second book was a hundred family names, then the Four Books, and the Five Classics. The way to learn is to recite, and as for the contents of the book, you do not have to find a solution. Private school teachers occasionally explain, but how do I not understand, can only understand and do not understand between this, so that the days like a stream of water passed away. But then life is not monotonous. In rural areas, most of the average farm people are busy in half a year for half a year and their children are no exception.