如果你要来台湾看历史，请来台南。
If you want to see history in Taiwan, please come to Tainan.
台湾这座小岛被中原王朝实际控制的历史，不过短短四百年。就是这四百年中，有三百多年的历史浓缩在台南。古老的城楼与现代的市区相互融合，就像中国还存在着的众多古城一样，台南城静静地看着他南边的高雄从一个小小的渔村在短短百年间发展壮大，成为台湾第二大的都会。与此同时，台湾的政治中心也悄然迁往了台北。
The history of this small island under the actual Chinese control is only four hundred years long. Of the four hundred years, Tainan reflects the development of Taiwan for more than three hundred years. The ancient citadel blends with the modern downtown. Like the many cities with rich history that still exist but declined in China, Tainan quietly watched as Kaohsiung, on the southside, grew from a small fishing village to the second largest metropolis in Taiwan in just one hundred years. At the same time, the political center of Taiwan quietly moved to Taipei.
乍到台南，尚且是下午五点，天边夕阳还没落下，整座城市被迷幻的暖光笼罩。市内的老建筑配合着薄云，加上澄澈的天空，美丽至极。安平海边的夕阳据说更加好看，在那里，三两炮台对着夕阳，能够映出一种沧桑的美感。大约台南的夕照就对应这这座城市现在的样子，悠闲而又古老到有些许暮气。
When I first arrived in Tainan, it was 5pm. The sun had not yet set, and the whole city was enveloped in a psychedelic warm light. The old beautiful buildings in the city were under thin clouds and relative clear sky. The sunset on the Anping seashore is said to be even better, where three or two canons face against the sunset and reflect a sense of vicissitudes and beauty. The sunset in Tainan seems to match the current features of the city, with leisure, ages and a sense of orange twilight.
这是一座优雅的城市，市区里许多建筑都有了一些年头，市政厅有两个，老市政厅已经不用，供人参观，而新市政厅则建得稍显现代，但也不失一种典雅范。到处可以见到的民国式建筑似乎在提醒我们这座城市百年前刚刚开埠时的人来人往与无限辉煌。
This is an elegant city, and many buildings in the city are really old. There are two city halls, in which the old one is no longer used and only for tourist visit, while the new one looks more modern but still designed classical. The Chinese-Republican-style buildings everywhere seem to remind us of the city’s infinite splendor and crowdedness when it first opened to the foreigners over a century ago.
第一天晚上在台南市区闲逛，主要去的地儿是台南著名的林百货和赤崁楼。林百货建成至今，已有84年的历史，建筑的外形和当年并无二致。里边虽被整修过，却也保留了当年的感觉。一楼陈列的柜橱年龄和这栋楼一样悠久，大厅里陈列着许多古式的留声机以及早已不能使用的黑白电视。楼内部铺设的地板也很陈旧，底下几层楼都保留着一小部分当年的地板，脚感稍有些不同。想当年，这座楼是全台第一座装上直升电梯的大楼，更是全台最为繁华的百货商场。
On the first night, I wandered around downtown Tainan and visited the famous Lin Department Store and Chihkan Tower in Tainan. The Lin Department Store has been built for 84 years, and the appearance of the building is the same as it was then. Although the inside has been renovated, it retains the feeling of the old days. The cabinets on the first floor are as old as the building, and there are many antique phonographs and black-and-white TVs that have long been out of service in the lobby. The flooring laid inside the building is also aged, with a small portion of the real pieces from tens of years ago that gives a slightly different feel. Back then, this building was the first building in Taiwan to be equipped with an elevator, and it was the most prosperous department store in the whole island.
登上一个晃晃的老木楼梯，走上全楼六层顶，眼前却是一阵开阔。最近的建筑是底下低矮的银行大楼，也是当年日据时期遗留下的建筑。远处，大路的尽头则是无限灯光，那是属于这座城市最中心的繁华。由于这个百货公司原为日本人所有，在楼顶原来设有一座神社。但随着美军对台南的狂轰滥炸，整座大楼被破坏，神社也只剩下了角落里的遗迹，主体早已被改造为了现代的店铺。
Climbing up a rickety old wooden staircase and walking up to the roof of the full six floors building, there was a burst of openness in front of me. The nearest building is the bank underneath, a remnant of the Japanese period. The lights stretching to the end of the road exhibit the prosperity of the city center. Since this department store was originally owned by the Japanese, a Shinto shrine was originally located on the roof. However, with the indiscriminate bombing of Tainan by the American army in WWII, the building was once destroyed, and the shrine was left as a relic in the corner. The main body has been converted into a modern store.
日本人在这座城市里留下了林百货，留下了无数近代建筑，那么更早的荷兰人就留下了赤崁楼和古堡安平。
The Japanese left the Lin Department Store and other countless modern buildings in this city. Earlier, the Dutch left Chihkan Tower and the ancient Fort Anping (also known as Fort Zeelandia).
著名的赤崁楼离林百货三个街区，走到那里已是晚上九点，游客也都纷纷离开。此时亮灯的赤崁楼格外美丽，灯光映照着空无一人的城楼，整座城楼仿佛就属于我一个人。登上二楼，在向两侧望去，边上的文昌阁静静矗立。轻微的霾正好将远处不和谐的大楼稍稍隐去，只留下这么一座古建筑。其实这栋楼阁已经不是原本荷兰人的普罗民遮，清人统一台海以后，因为天灾与不断的民变，原本的西式城堡早就不复存在，我们今天能够见到的楼阁，已是清代重修的产物。不过城墙与堡垒还是四百年以前的遗迹。当年，赤坎城堡离海不远，今天是市区的地方还是一片汪洋。收复台湾的郑成功就先聪明地打下了这里，切断了荷兰人与台湾腹地的联络，从而最终攻克安平。
The famous Chihkan Tower is three blocks away from the Lin Department Store. It was already 9 p.m. when I got there, and all the tourists had left. At this time, the empty lighted Chihkan Tower was particularly beautiful and the whole building seemed to belong to me. Climbing up to the second floor, looking down both sides, I saw the Wenchang Pavilion stands nearby quietly. A slight haze just hidden the distant discordant modern buildings, leaving the Chinese ancient pavilion alone.
This pavilion is no longer the same looking like the original Fort Provintia. The original Dutch Bastion was destroyed because of continuous natural disasters and civil unrest. The pavilion we saw that day is the reconstruction in Qing dynasty, while the walls and the base of fortress were still the remains of four hundred years ago. In those days, Chihkan Tower was not far from the sea, and the place that is downtown today is still a vast bay. Koxinga, who recovered Taiwan from Dutch colonist, was smart enough to hit this place first, cutting off the contact between the Dutch soldier and the Taiwanese hinterland, thus finally capturing Fort Anping.
真正的台南，在安平。
The best part of Tainan is in Anping.
我们住在安平十五街，离安平古堡与离市区的距离也差不多。第二天一早，我们便起身走去安平古堡。现今的安平堡和赤崁楼一样，也已不是当年荷兰人的城堡，连城墙都已经被拆去建立亿载金城，唯一存留下的，大约只有一段塌杞的断墙与城堡的台基。四百年前，郑成功为了攻下这座堡垒，前后围攻了整整八个月，期间战局多次反复。最后台江水战，郑成功彻底打败荷军，总督揆一在这座城堡上交下了降书。从此，荷兰人就掉了他们的大本营，再也不能对明郑政权构成实质性的威胁。
We live on 15th Street in Anping, which is about the middle point of Fort Anping and Tainan downtown. The next morning, we walked to the ancient Fort. The present Fort Anping, just like Chihkan Tower, is no longer a Dutch style. Even the bricks and woods have been demolished later to build Eternal Golden Castle nearby. The only things that remain today were a segment of the collapsed wall and the foundation of the fortress.
Four hundred years ago, in order to capture this fortress, Koxinga commanded 25,000 soldiers and sieged for eight months, locking in fierce battles. Finally in the bay, Koxinga completely defeated the Dutch reinforcements from Batavia. The colonial governor Frederick Coyett surrendered this fort to Koxinga. The Dutch dropped their base camp on the island and could no longer pose a substantial threat to the Koxinga’s kingdom, Tungning.
我很想知道当时在台江激战失利后的那一刻，站在这座城堡上观战的，自负的荷兰总督揆一有着怎样的心情。从此，福尔摩沙正名为台湾，热兰遮则更名安平——郑成功的第二故乡。
I would love to know how the egotistical Dutch governor Coyett felt at that moment after losing the naval battle, standing on the seeing tower but nothing to do. From then on, Formosa was named back to Taiwan, and Fort Zeelandia was renamed as Fort Anping, the same name as where Koxinga grew up.
古堡内，郑成功的雕像高高耸立，与远处的瞭望台两相呼应。他深情地望着台湾海峡的方向，望着金门和厦门，望着饱经沧桑的中原大地。这个出生在日本的，有着一半日本血统的海贼之子，在攻克这座城堡之后，达到了他人生成就的巅峰。虽然没有能力攻克南京，虽然没有能力反清复明，然而雄踞这化外之地，做台湾的箕子与徐福，又何尝不是对大明王朝知遇之恩的一种贡献。
Inside the old fortress, the statue of Koxinga stands tall, together with the distant seeing tower. He looks fondly at the direction of the Taiwan Strait, to Kinmen and Xiamen on the other side, as well as the mainland China experiencing war and famine at his time. As the son of a pirate born in Japan, with half Japanese blood, he reached the pinnacle of his life after this conquest. He did not have the ability to capture Nanjing (the second capitol of Ming), nor overthrow the powerful Qing Dynasty, however, he kept a slight hope for restoring Ming Dynasty that he is loyal to. He stayed in this barbarian land and was the pioneer to reclaim Taiwan, as his contribution to the Ming Dynasty’s kindness for him.
想想当年南明山河破碎，只余下郑成功与李定国这两支孤军奋战在台海与滇南，总会觉得内心隐隐生疼。郑成功尚且有全台汉人祭祀，但李将军呢？
In the falling years of Ming Dynasty, there are only Koxinga in Taiwan and General Li in Yunnan, as the last two loyal troops. I always feel painful for them. Koxinga is worshiped by Taiwanese, but who remembered General Li?
在安平，除了古堡与老街，值得一题的还有一座树屋。这座树屋原本是一个废弃的仓库，建筑用砖便是来自古堡的残墙。由于在日据以后一直荒废，建筑物主题为榕树所入侵，现今，树与墙体已是融为一体。树屋内部一些墙的漆泥已经脱落，露出了和古堡残墙一样的砖。即便是没有脱落的墙板，上头也是长满了青苔。扑面而来的艺术气质让我在这里留连许久，相比之下，两边的洋行与朱玖莹故居反而不足为道了。
In Anping, besides the old fortress and street, there is also a tree house worthy for a visit. This tree house was originally an abandoned warehouse, and the bricks used for the building came from the remnants of the fortress walls. Since the building was abandoned after the Japanese occupation, the body of the building was invaded by banyan trees.
Nowadays, the trees and the walls fused together. The paints of some walls inside the tree house has peeled off, revealing the same bricks as the remnants of the old fortress. Even the unfaded painted walls are covered with thick moss. The artistic atmosphere from these old walls made me stay here for a long time. In contrast, the western style houses and former residence nearby looked dull to me.
说实话，我很难相信这个地方仅仅荒废了五十年就变成了现在的样子，却也不得不感慨自然的神奇。
To be honest, it’s hard to believe that this place has become what it looks now after only fifty years of abandonment. I can’t help but be impressed by the magic of nature.
从树屋出来，天还是晴的，但西边已经渐渐布起了一层云。虽然有了不祥的预感，知道可能将会看不太到夕阳，我还是坚持去海边看看。事实也的确如我所料，随着时间的流逝，天边的云彩也越来越厚，遮住了原本灿烂的太阳。等到我走到海边，除了东边还有一点蓝色，整片海域上的天空都是灰色的。
Leaving the tree house, the majority of the sky is still clear, but the west side was covered by a layer of clouds. Although I had an ominous feeling that I might not see the sunset, I still went to the seaside. The fact is also as I expected, as time went by, clouds are getting thicker and thicker, covering the sun later. When I was at the seaside, the whole sky became gray, except a slight blue on the east.
最先走到的，是草海大桥。在这里，延伸出海的，有一个不算太长的海堤，虽然没有栏杆，但上边也没有有人。只有一些渔民在海堤的远处收网捕鱼。第一次在台湾看海，大约是因为靠大陆的一侧，并没有它和东南沿海有太大的区别。海水没有臭味，也没有腥味，相对于东海的水质还是要好一些。
The first place I visited by the sea was the Grass Sea Bridge. Stretching out, there is a short seawall. Although there is no railing, there are no people standing on it. Only some fishermen were using their nets for fishing on the far end of the seawall. This is the first time I saw the sea in Taiwan, but I didn’t feel much difference compared to that in mainland China. The sea water did not smell bad or fishy, and the water quality was slightly better compared to the East China Sea.
沿着海岸走向原本计划去的观夕平台，一路上西边的云稍散了一些，但又满满变厚。跋涉到观夕平台，看看眼前已经彻底隐去，连轮廓也见不到的太阳，我甚是失落。感慨昨天没有来海边之时，又有着诸多的不甘心。既然到了这里，再往前走一些便是大堤，即便没有落日，堤头灯塔的风光大概也不错。
Walking along the coast towards to the sunset point, the clouds in the west slightly dispersed, but again full of thick. When I arrived at the sunset point, I was very disappointed to see that the sun had completely disappeared in front of me. When I lamented that I did not come to the beach yesterday, I had a lot of reluctance.
The dike is not far away. The scenery of the lighthouse at the head of the dike is probably good even if there is no sunset, I thought.
于是我一个人背起沉重的包，小心翼翼地迈过松软的沙滩，登上海堤的入口，向海的方向走去。一路顽强的海风向我吹来，有时风居然大到令我有些踉跄。堤坝很长，遥远的灯塔因为路途的艰辛，看起来总是离我很远。走着走着，两边的风景已由沙滩变成了大海，然后灯塔离我越来越近，越来越近。
So I picked up my heavy bag and carefully stepped across the soft sandy beach. I went into the entrance of the dike, and walked towards the sea. A tenacious sea wind blew at me all the way. Sometimes, the wind was actually so strong that it made me stagger a little. The dike was long, and the distant lighthouse always looked far away from me because of the arduous road. As I walked, the landscape on both sides had changed from beach to sea, and then the lighthouse was getting closer and closer to me.
海堤在海中有一个弯折，弯折离灯塔不远，但不知道为什么，当我走到那处弯折，看看眼前的灯塔，大概是觉得再向前走也没有更好的风光，我突然停下了我的脚步。现在想来，历经二十分钟的长路，我从海滩好不容易走到那里。原本打算走进灯塔，但真正临近，却因为一种莫名的倦怠不愿过去。自以为弯口风景最好，但事实上，我也不知道再走几步，到了海堤的尽头，又能够见到怎样的风景。
The seawall has a bend in the sea, which is not far from the lighthouse. I suddenly stopped when I reached that bend and looked at the lighthouse in front of me. I thought there is no better scenery to go forward. I felt a pity about this after going back. It took me twenty minutes to get there from the beach after a tough march. I intended to walk into the lighthouse at the beginning, but when I was close, I was reluctant to go over because of an inexplicable tiredness. I thought the scenery at the bend was the best, but in fact, I didn’t know what kind of scenery I could see if I walked a few more steps to the end of the seawall.
小时候爬长城也是这样，我不愿意走到墙边看看远山。然而等到我真的看到了，才体会到我未曾领略过的风景。虽说走到这里不过是沉没成本，也许当我真的挪几步到了海堤尽头也会后悔，但没有去过，终究是一种没有了却的心愿。
When I was a kid visiting the Great Wall, I was also reluctant to go to the edge of the wall to see more. However, when I did see it after growing up, I was able to appreciate the scenery that I hadn’t seen. Although the 20-minute walking is just a sunk cost, and maybe the scenery at the end of the dike is not worthy it, but not having been there, is ultimately an unfulfilled wish in this trip.
因为天气，在台南，我还有太多没有了却的心愿，没有开的花园夜市，壮观的亿载金城，被司机推荐的林默娘公园……但愿未来再去这座美丽的，古朴的城市，能够完成我这次的种种遗憾，在安平的海边静静看夕阳落下，最好没有一点阴霾。
Because of the weather, in Tainan, I still have too many unfulfilled wishes. The closed Garden Night Market, the spectacular Eternal Golden Castle, Lin Muriang Park recommended by the driver…… but I hope to go back to this beautiful, quaint city in the future, to be able to complete all my regrets this time. I hope sometime in the future, I can watch the gorgeous and quite sunset by the sea in Anping, without haze and gloom.
除夕之夜，古老的台南城还在经受着最近地震的困扰，也在此祝愿这座城市能够挺过难关，新年顺利，在震中损坏的古建筑都能尽快修复，早日恢复先前的荣光。
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the ancient city of Tainan is still suffering from the recent earthquake. I would like to wish the city to pull through and have a good New Year, with all the ancient buildings damaged in the earthquake repaired as soon as possible and restored to their previous glory.
2016.2.7
杭州
Written in Hangzhou
