The 1)Haenyos of 2)Jeju-do 韩国济州岛：潮汐召唤着海女
文字难度：★★★
Hendrick Hamel, a Dutch sailor, published a journal describing his and his mates’ 13-year detainment on Jeju-do after wrecking their 3)yacht, the Sperwer, in 1653. Even then, the wonder of the haenyo captured and amazed those western onlookers, who, upon hearing their strange cries, described the even stranger ladies of the island as 4)mermaids.
荷兰水手亨德里克·哈梅尔曾出版他的日志，里面记载了1653年在斯佩威尔号游艇失事后，他和同伴在济州岛上被关押长达13年的经历。即使在当时，神奇的海女就已经吸引并迷住了那些西方人，他们听到她们奇异的叫声，把岛上古怪的女人称为美人鱼。
With an area of about 700 square miles, Jeju-do lies 60 miles southwest of South Korea. Along with its surrounding isles, Jeju is home to these fascinating female sea divers. The haenyos dive several times a month, when the tides are favorable, to collect sea treasures: 5)abalone, sea 6)urchins, octopi, seaweed and shellfish. Their labors were, and still are, an important source of income for their families; the men historically couldn’t dive, due to taxation laws on male labor .
济州岛位于韩国西南面60英里（约97公里）处，面积约700平方英里（约1813平方公里）。济州岛加上它周围的小岛是这些迷人的潜海女性的家园。在海潮适合的时候，海女每月几次潜入海中寻找宝藏：鲍鱼、海胆、章鱼、海藻和壳类海产。她们的劳作一直以来都是家庭收入的重要来源。由于以前税法对男性劳动力一度有限制，男性是不谙潜海的。
One can instantly feel the differences between this island and the mainland, especially the historical importance of women. The women divers made the money, and therefore controlled the commerce. Women were not only the breadwinners, but they also created better lives for their families, by financing the building of houses and paying for their children’s educations. While men took on the duties of farm and family, the women divers farmed the sea. Strangely, in 7)Confucian Asia, this may have been the only place where the birth of a baby girl was celebrated more than a boy’s, as a female birth meant more wealth for a haenyo family.
外人一踏上济州岛就可以感受到这里与韩国大陆的差异，这种差异在女性的传统地位上表现得尤为明显。潜水女性挣钱养家，因此也掌控着这里的贸易。女性不仅仅是养家糊口的人，而且她们还通过出钱为家里盖房子，供孩子上学来提高家人的生活水平。男人在地里干活，操持家务；海女则在海里劳作。在儒家思想占主导地位的亚洲，这里可能是惟一一个对女孩的出生比对男孩的出生更会隆重庆贺的地方，非常奇特。因为对于一个海女家庭来说，女孩的出生就意味着更多的财富。
Even in bustling 8)Jeju City, the haenyo women continue their dives. Their blue-and-white sea shack stands just outside the recently constructed E-Mart supermarket, and just before the decorated sea wall with steps leading down toward the sea. Here, they gather after an industrious day. As they unload their full nets, you can’t help but notice that the women are built like the sea, but not as one might first ima-gine. They are not toned as 9)triathletes. They are short, slightly rounded in the belly, and solid. Their arms are steady, as if a steel rod has replaced the bone. The sea has given them skinny legs, 10)limber joints and strong, cracked hands. Their wrinkled eyes show contentment, a feeling of accomplishment that observers may never feel. Nowadays, they may earn anywhere from $150 to more than $200 a day. But the occupation comes at a price: Many on the island say the haenyos die young. They believe that only the women who dive can handle the extreme spiritual, mental and physical stress. 
即使在喧闹的济州市，海女依旧下海采集海产。她们那些蓝白相间的海边小屋就在新近完工的E-Mart超市外面，在有阶梯通入海中的带装饰的堤岸前。每天辛勤劳作后，她们会聚集在这里。她们把满满的收获往网外倾倒时，你肯定会留意到，她们就像海一样体格健壮，却和你最初的设想不尽相同。她们长得并不像参加三项全能的运动员，而是身材矮小，腹部略鼓而结实。双臂有力，似乎里面已由钢条代替了骨头。海水给了她们瘦削的双腿、灵活的关节和有力而皲裂的双手。她们布满皱纹的双眼流露出满足，那是旁人或许永远也无法体会的成就感。如今，她们每天可挣到150到200多美元不等。但这种职业也让她们付出了代价：岛上的许多人说海女短命。他们相信，只有那些潜海的女性才可以应对来自精神、心理和肉体的极端压力。
Sadly, generation after generation, there are fewer divers; they are a dying breed…and according to governmental regulations, only divers’ daughters can officially inherit the arduous lifestyle. Diving is considered taboo for men. These 11)heiresses, however, are searching for different roles in a modern society, where tourism and business flourish. “I’d rather do something easier, based on my education,” said one young lady who spoke perfect English, and whose mother is a diver. “We see that it’s too hard on them. We have different things we can do.” Elderly divers, many well into their seventies and beyond, acknowledge that they are the last of their kind.
让人伤感的是，经过数代人，如今潜海人已不多了。这是一个正在消亡的人群……再加上政府规定，只有潜海者的女儿才能正式继承这一艰辛的生活方式。而对于男性来说，潜海是禁忌。然而，在这个旅游业和商业发达的现代社会里，潜海者的女性后继者也正寻找着新的社会角色。“以我的教育背景，我宁愿做些较轻松的工作。”一位英语流利的年轻女士说。她是一位海女的女儿。“我们看到她们从事这种工作太辛苦了，我们可以做别的工作。”年长的潜海者也坦承自己是最后一批潜海者。她们中许多人已年逾70，或者岁数更大。
12)Stocky divers totter in 13)flippers toward the 14)cavernous openings leading to stair steps into the dangerous sea, then plunge into the ice-blue water even in the roughest of weather. Their 15)weatherworn faces and bodies show an 16)insatiable urge to go just a little deeper, a little longer. They frequently dive as deep as 45 feet. Every year there are women who never surface again. Swimming for hours, they submerge without 17)scuba tanks. Using small, wooden tools, they pry their 18)plunder loose. After one or two minutes, they emerge from the depths and throw their 19)collectibles into a net bordered by white or yellow 20)buoys.
敦实的潜海者脚上套着脚蹼摇摇摆摆地走向直通海中的阶梯顶端的凹口，然后一个猛子纵身跳入冰蓝色的水中，即使在风雨横行的天气也不例外。她们饱经风霜的脸和身体显示出一种不知足的欲望：再下潜深一点，久一点。她们经常下潜到45英尺（约12.2米）深处。每年都会有海女永远地留在了水下。在数小时的游动中，她们不用水肺潜水。她们用木制小工具撬松战利品。一两分钟后，她们从海的深处浮出水面，把收获扔进用白色或黄色浮标围起来的网里。
The haenyos, like their ancestors before them, 21)bob rapidly to the surface. Their 22)thoraxes burn. Their lungs quake. They give themselves to the sky, as the sharp rocks echo the uncontrollable screeching of lungs grasping for life, gasping for another deep breath; a lungful that will take them, yet again, into the 23)womb of the Earth—a place where the tide speaks, and the haenyo, alone, are called.
海女就如她们的先辈一样，快速浮出水面。她们的胸腔灼痛，肺部颤动。她们仰着头大口大口地呼吸。她们的肺部为了换气，为了下一次深呼吸，发出了无法抑制的叫声，那声音在险峻的岩石间回响。重新装满空气的肺又一次把她们带入地球的深处。在这里，潮汐召唤着海女。
