作者：鲁慧文
传说地狱只有十八层。
可后来，阎王在幽冥尽头，又封了一层。
无火，无刀，无鬼卒。
它叫——第十九层。
奈何桥下无忘川，
黄泉尽处锁玄关。
阎罗拈笔停生死，
轻叹人间另有天。
他说，
十八层刑罚太重，
只罚恶鬼与凶魂。
第十九层，不用刑，
只让众生日日生。
那里没有油锅，
人人自己煎自己；
那里没有拔舌狱，
人人说真话便失去前程；
那里没有刀山，
脚下每一步都是陷阱；
那里没有火海，
空气却早已无形燃烧。
那里的土地，
河流流着看不见的毒，
田野长着看不见的药。
果实熟于催促，
蔬菜艳于药瓶。
鸡鸭猪牛，
生得比季节更快，
死得比寿命更早。
鱼儿饮尽污水，
牛羊食尽残渣。
最后，
它们一起走上餐桌。
于是，
人吃着自己害怕的东西，
却不知道下一口是什么。
那里的人，
穿着染尽颜色的衣裳，
呼吸散不开的气味。
玩具会说话，
却不知道里面藏着什么。
家具散发芬芳，
却让房间久久不能安眠。
每天醒来，
无人知道，
今天吸进去的是空气，
还是代价。
那里的车，
钢铁轻如纸，
数字重如命。
广告写着五星，
碰撞却问苍天。
有人相信证书，
有人相信运气。
唯独没人知道，
回家的路，
是不是最后一程。
那里，
洪水不是天意，
干旱也未必自然。
高楼可以一夜而起，
桥梁也可以一瞬而塌。
大地沉默，
人却学会了沉默。
因为，
解释比真相先到。
那里，
法律站在殿下，
权力坐在龙椅。
判官手执法典，
却要等待一枚眼神。
黑白不是颜色，
而是谁站得更高。
正义不是天平，
而是谁握着秤。
最奇怪的是，
这里没有鬼。
因为人人都活着。
他们排着队，
买药，
买房，
买教育，
买希望。
却总觉得，
自己越来越便宜。
夜深时，
有新人问阎王：
“第十九层，为何没有锁链？”
阎王摇头：
“当一个世界，
人人都相信锁链不存在时，
便再也不用锁了。”
又有人问：
“可他们为何不逃？”
阎王望向远方，
只见万家灯火，
照着一张张疲惫的脸。
他说：
“最深的地狱，
不是鬼把人关进去。
而是让人相信，
这里，
就是唯一的人间。”
编辑：Geoffrey 校对：熊辩 翻译：戈冰
“The Nineteenth Layer of Hell—China”
Author: Lu Huiwen
Legend has it that hell has only eighteen layers.
Yet later, at the end of the netherworld, King Yama sealed another layer.
No fire, no knives, no demon guards.
It is called—The Nineteenth Layer.
Beneath the Bridge of Helplessness flows no River of Forgetfulness,
Where the Yellow Springs end, a dark pass is locked.
Yama holds his brush and pauses over life and death,
Sighing softly that in the human realm, another heaven exists.
He said,
The punishments of the eighteen layers are too heavy,
Only punishing evil ghosts and fierce souls.
The nineteenth layer uses no torture,
It merely makes all living beings live day by day.
There are no cauldrons of boiling oil there,
Everyone fries themselves;
There is no Tongue-Ripping Hell there,
Yet anyone who speaks the truth loses their future;
There are no mountains of knives there,
Yet every step beneath one’s feet is a trap;
There are no seas of fire there,
Yet the air has long been burning invisibly.
In that land,
The rivers flow with invisible poison,
The fields grow invisible drugs.
Fruits ripen under compulsion,
Vegetables shine brighter than medicine bottles.
Chickens, ducks, pigs, and cattle
Are born faster than the seasons,
And die earlier than their lifespan.
Fish drink up all the polluted water,
Cattle and sheep consume all the scraps.
In the end,
They walk onto the dining table together.
Thus,
People eat what they fear,
Not knowing what the next bite will bring.
The people there
Wear clothes dyed in every color,
And breathe in odors that never dissipate.
Toys can speak,
Yet no one knows what is hidden inside.
Furniture gives off fragrance,
Yet keeps the room from finding rest for long.
Waking up every day,
No one knows
Whether what is inhaled today is air,
Or a cost.
The cars there,
Their steel is as light as paper,
Their data as heavy as life.
Advertisements write of five stars,
Yet collisions question Heaven.
Some believe in certificates,
Some believe in luck.
Only no one knows
Whether the road home
Is their final journey.
There,
Floods are not the will of Heaven,
Nor is drought necessarily natural.
High-rises can spring up overnight,
And bridges can collapse in an instant.
The earth remains silent,
Yet human beings have learned to stay silent.
Because
Explanations arrive before the truth.
There,
The law stands beneath the dais,
While power sits upon the dragon throne.
The judge holds the code of law in hand,
Yet must wait for a single glance.
Black and white are not colors,
But rather who stands higher.
Justice is not a scale,
But rather who holds the weights.
What is most strange
Is that there are no ghosts here.
Because everyone is alive.
They queue up,
To buy medicine,
To buy housing,
To buy education,
To buy hope.
Yet they always feel
That they themselves are becoming cheaper and cheaper.
In the dead of night,
A newcomer asks King Yama:
“In the nineteenth layer, why are there no chains?”
King Yama shakes his head:
“When in a world,
Everyone believes that chains do not exist,
Locks are no longer needed.”
Another person asks:
“But why do they not escape?”
King Yama looks into the distance,
Seeing only the lights of ten thousand homes,
Illuminating weary face after weary face.
He says:
“The deepest hell
Is not one where ghosts lock humans inside.
It is making people believe
That this place,
Is the only human realm.”
Editor: Geoffrey Proofreader: Xiong Bian Translator: Ge Bing
