中秋节：中国人的月亮情结

 　In Chinese minds, the moon is associated with gentleness and brightness, expressing the beautiful yearnings of the Chinese. On the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the moon is full and it is time to mark the Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival. The round shape symbolizes¹ family reunion. Therefore the day is a holiday for family members to get together and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious² token of abundance, harmony, and luck.

　　在中国人心里，月亮总是与“温柔”“明亮”这些词联系在一起的，这样的联想表达了中国人美好的祈望。中国人在农历八月十五日过中秋节，这是一个家人团聚赏月的节日，因为圆圆的月亮象征着阖家团圆。“满月”在中国文化中是一个象征丰饶、和谐和幸运的吉祥符号。

　　The Customs of sacrificing the Moon

　　中秋祭月的习俗

　　From the royalty³ to the populace, it is an important custom to sacrifice to and appreciate the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　从王公贵族到平民百姓，中秋祭月和赏月都是非常重要的习俗。

　　During the Mid-Autumn Festival, sons and daughters come back to their parents’ house. Sometimes people who have settled overseas will return to visit their parents. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant⁴ moon cakes of different varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with brightly-lit lanterns. After nightfall, entire families go out under the stars for a walk or picnics, looking up at the full silver moon, thinking of their nearby relatives or friends, as well as those who are far from home. A line from a verse “The moon at the home village is exceptionally brighter” expresses those feelings. It can also be a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on riverbanks and park benches, enraptured⁵ by the brightest moon of the year.

　　在中秋节期间，漂泊在外的儿女将会回到父母家中，有时即使是已经定居异国他乡的人们也会回来。大人们通常会就着热茶享受各种口味的月饼，孩子们则提着灯笼跑来跑去。夜幕降临之后，全家人都会走出屋子，一边在星光下散步或是野餐，一边抬头观赏银色的满月，思念着亲朋好友，还有离家未归的人。中国的一句古诗“月是故乡明”就表达了这种对家乡和亲人的思念之情。对情侣来说这也是个浪漫的夜晚。恋人们坐在河堤或公园长椅上，手牵着手，陶醉在一年中最明亮的月光里。

　　To celebrate this sighting of the moon, red plastic lanterns wrought⁶ in traditional styles and embellished⁷ with traditional motifs⁸ are prepared for the occasion. The lanterns are made in traditional shapes such as rabbits, goldfish, carps, butterflies and lobsters⁹.

　　为了庆祝这个节日，人们会挂起按照传统式样制作和装饰的灯笼。灯笼的形状通常有兔子，金鱼，鲤鱼，蝴蝶，龙虾等等。

　　There is a saying in Chinese that marriages are made in heaven and prepared on the moon. The man who does the preparing is the old man of the moon (Yue Lao). He is the one heavenly person who knows everyone's future partners, and nobody can fight the decisions written down in his book. He is one reason why the moon is so important in Chinese mythology¹⁰ and especially at the time of the Moon Festival. Everybody, including children, hikes up high mountains or hills or onto open beaches to view the moon in the hope that he will grant their wishes.

　　在中国有一种说法，叫做“姻缘天注定”。为人们定下姻缘的就是传说中的“月下老人”。月老是知晓人间每个人未来伴侣的神仙，没有人能违抗在他的“姻缘簿”中定下的缘分。月老也是月亮在中国神话中——尤其是中秋节时——如此重要的原因之一。中秋节时，每个人，包括小孩子，都会到山顶或河滩去向月亮许愿，希望能有一份美满的姻缘。

　　Contrary to what most people believe, this festival probably has less to do with harvest festivities than with the philosophically¹¹ minded Chinese of old. The union of man's spirit with nature in order to achieve perfect harmony was the fundamental canon of Taoism, so much so that contemplation of nature was a way of life.

　　与许多人的认知相反，中秋节也许跟庆祝丰收没什么关系，而是更多地跟古代中国人的哲学观念联系在一起。道家的基本思想就是通过人与自然精神上的合一来达到圆满和谐，因此对自然的冥想已经成为了人们的一种生活方式。

　　The Moon in the Chinese aesthetics¹²

　　中国美学中的月亮

　　According to the myth of the moon, Chang E drank the elixir¹³ of life and Wu Kang cut down the cassia tree which can restore itself with each blow, implying an immortal¹⁴ spirit of life. The moon’s waxing and waning¹⁵ greatly influences the Chinese lunar calendar and Chinese philosophy, in pursuit of immortal spirit of life and mysterious wisdom.

　　在关于月亮的神话中，嫦娥喝下了不死药，而吴刚砍伐着一株永远砍不倒的桂树，这些意象都包含着一种“永生”的观念。在中国人追求“永生”和“玄妙智慧”的过程中，月亮的圆缺变化极大地影响了中国的历法和哲学。

　　Chinese culture has something in common with the moon, always peaceful and gentle, also are reflected by Chinese whose modest and friendly attitudes best elucidate¹⁶ the spirit of Chinese culture.

　　中国文化中的月亮通常都与“平和”“温柔”联系在一起，这种观念也反映在中国人的性格中，他们谦逊和友好的态度最好地诠释了中国文化。

　　Flying to the Moon

　　飞向月亮

　　From the myth of Chang’ E to the Fly Apsaras of Dunhuang caves, expresses Chinese ancestors’ desire to explore outer space. Many ancient Chinese poets also showed their preference for the moon through wonderful words. For example, the poetic¹⁷ genius Libai wrote more than 320 poems about the moon in his lifetime.

　　从嫦娥的传说到敦煌壁画上的飞天，中国人的祖先们一直渴望着飞向外太空。许多中国古代的诗人也在他们的诗文中表达了对月亮的渴慕，比如诗仙李白一生就写了超过320首跟月亮有关的诗。

　　The Chinese exploring moon project is named after Chang’ E, fully¹⁸ expressing this pursuit of the Chinese.

　　中国的探月飞行器被命名为“嫦娥”，就表达了中国人的这种渴望。

　　Chang'e 1 Lunar orbiter was launched to the moon on October 24, 2007. The Chang'e moon satellite will take 3-D images of the moon surface for a year. This is the groundwork for the next Lunar Lander (Chang’e 2) project in 2012, Lunar Sample Return (Chang'e 3) in 2017 and the Chinese astronaut on the moon project. Chang'e 1 Lunar orbiter will achieve the ancient dream of the Chinese.

　　2007年10月24日，中国发射了“嫦娥1号”绕月飞行器。在长达一年的时间内，“嫦娥1号”将会拍摄月球的3D照片。这是2012年“嫦娥2号”登陆月球，2017年“嫦娥3号”从月球采集矿物样本，以及未来中国宇航员登陆月球的基础。“嫦娥1号”将完成的，是中国人的一个古老的梦想。

1 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

3 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

4 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

5 enraptured   

v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was enraptured that she had smiled at him. 她对他的微笑使他心荡神驰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were enraptured to meet the great singer. 他们和大名鼎鼎的歌手见面，欣喜若狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

7 embellished   

v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

8 motifs   

n. （文艺作品等的）主题( motif的名词复数 )；中心思想；基本模式；基本图案

参考例句：

• I try to develop beyond the old motifs. 我力求对传统的花纹图案做到推陈出新。 来自辞典例句
• American Dream is one of the most important motifs of American literature. “美国梦”是美国文学最重要的母题之一。 来自互联网

9 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

10 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

11 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

13 elixir   

n.长生不老药，万能药

参考例句：

• There is no elixir of life in the world.世界上没有长生不老药。
• Keep your mind awake and active;that's the only youth elixir.保持头脑清醒和灵活便是保持年轻的唯一灵丹妙药。

14 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

15 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 elucidate   

v.阐明，说明

参考例句：

• The note help to elucidate the most difficult parts of the text.这些注释有助于弄清文中最难懂的部分。
• This guide will elucidate these differences and how to exploit them.这篇指导将会阐述这些不同点以及如何正确利用它们。

17 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。