A blind old boatman insists on hanging a lantern as he ferries through the night, leaving a young scholar endlessly puzzled.
A Late-Night Crossing
深秋的夜里，秦淮河上，沈砚之独自登上了一条。
On a late-autumn night, a thin mist drifted over the Qinhuai River as Shen Yanzhi boarded a black-canopied boat alone.
撑船的是个白发老翁，眼窝深陷，分明是个瞎子。
The boatman was a white-haired old man with deep-sunken eyes — clearly a blind one.
船头却高高挂着一盏红，在雾中晕开一团暖光。
Yet a red lantern hung high at the bow, spreading a warm glow through the mist.
Shen Yanzhi
老人家，您既然看不见，还点这盏灯呢？
Old man, since you can't see anyway, why bother lighting this lamp?
The Old Man
公子有所不知，这灯不是为我点的。
There's something you don't know, young sir — this lamp isn't lit for me.
The Blind Man's Words
老翁缓缓摇着橹，声音沙哑而平静。
The old man worked the oar slowly, his voice hoarse but calm.
The Old Man
河上来往的船多，没有灯，难免互相。
So many boats come and go on this river — without a light, they're bound to crash into each other.
The Old Man
我看不见别人，可别人能看见我这盏灯，自然就躲开了。
I can't see others, but others can see my lamp — so they'll naturally steer clear.
沈砚之愣了一下，竟一时说不出话来。
Shen Yanzhi was taken aback, and for a moment could not find a word to say.
The Old Man
替别人照亮，也是替自己开路嘛。
Lighting the way for others is also clearing a path for yourself, you know.
A Sound in the Mist
正说着，前方雾里隐约传来另一条船的桨声。
Just as he spoke, the faint sound of another boat's oars came drifting through the mist ahead.
The Other Boatman
前头有灯，慢些走，别撞上了！
There's a light ahead — slow down, don't run into it!
两船在灯光下，谁也没有受惊。
The two boats slipped past each other in the lamplight, and no one was startled.
沈砚之望着那盏红灯，忽然明白了什么。
Shen Yanzhi gazed at the red lantern, and all at once something dawned on him.
Shen Yanzhi
原来您这盏灯，照的是整条河啊。
So this lamp of yours lights up the whole river.
Parting at the Old Pier
船靠了岸，沈砚之掏出银钱，却被老翁轻轻推了回来。
When the boat reached the shore, Shen Yanzhi took out some silver, but the old man gently pushed it back.
The Old Man
公子若记得这盏灯，将来也点上一盏，比给我钱强多了。
If you remember this lamp, young sir, and one day light one of your own, that's worth far more than any money you could give me.
沈砚之郑重地朝老翁拱了，转身走进夜色里。
Shen Yanzhi cupped his hands and bowed solemnly to the old man, then turned and walked off into the night.
多年以后，他做了一方县令，第一件事便是命人在河口立起一座灯塔。
Many years later, when he became the magistrate of a county, the first thing he did was order a lighthouse raised at the mouth of the river.
每到深夜，那灯火便彻夜不熄，照着来往的船，也照着他心里那个摇橹的瞎子。
Every night its flame burned till dawn, lighting the boats that came and went — and lighting, too, the blind oarsman who lived on in his heart.