英语泛读第二册NumbersandOmens原文及翻译.docx

1、英语泛读第二册NumbersandOmens原文及翻译 Numbers and Omens There is a set of famous streets in Gaoxiong City in Taiwan, China, which all begin with numbers. They are Yixin (One Heart), Ersheng (Two Sacreds), Sanduo (Three Mores), Siwei (Four Upholds), Wufu (Five Fortunes), Liuhe (Six Realm), Qixian (Seven Virtue

2、s), Bade (Eight Moral Precepts), Jiuru (Nine Wishes), and Shiquan (Perfect Ten) streets. This sequence of auspicious street names gives people a warm feeling when they hear it, and bring more than a little luck to the residents.Many foreign visitors cant help but exclaim that the Chinese are really

3、creative, and can line numbers up so “auspiciously”.Chinese not only use numbers to appeal for good fortune, they also bring them out to chew people out: “You 250fool, you do things neither three or four without any order or out of touch, and still you dare to say that Im 13 points stupid and 3-8 sc

4、atterbrained.”Although it isnt really possible to know where these came from, one thing is for sure: numbers are intimately related to the daily life of Chinese!中国台湾的高雄市有一组有名的道路，都是以数字起头，它们是一心路、二圣路、三多路、四维路、五福路、六合路、七贤路、八德路、九如路、十全路。这一串吉祥的路名让人听了感到温暖，并给沿街居民带来不少好运气。许多外国游客赞叹不已，说中国人真有创造性，竟能够把数字排列得如此“吉祥”。中国人

5、不仅用数字求好运，还用数字骂人：“你这个二百五（呆子），你做事不三不四（不上规矩），你还敢说我是十三点（愚蠢），说我是三八（心不在焉）。”尽管不可能真的了解这些用法的来源，但是有一点可以肯定：数字与中国人的日常生活密切相关！Origins in the Book of ChangesIn antiquity, people kept tallies by trying knots, and only employed numbers and words later on. From natural phenomena and life experience, people came to re

6、cognize the signs of change in a particular matter. For example, there was the ancients saying that “if the moon has a halo it will be windy, and a damp plinth foretells rain.” It is inevitable that there will be misfortune in life, so people began to adopt ways to attract the auspicious and expel t

7、he malicious. Add to this that people have psychological activity and the ability to link things together in their minds, and a whole set of auspiciousness-attracting and evil-expelling habits took shape.源出易经：远古时期人们结绳记事，后来才使用数字和文字。 通过观察自然现象、积累生活经验，人们逐渐能够认识万物变化的预兆，比如，古人说：“月晕知风，础润知雨。”由于生活中不可避免地会发生不幸事件

8、，所以人们就用各种方式祈福驱邪，加上人们的心理活动和联想能力，于是就形成了一整套祈福避祸的风俗习惯。The I Ching or Book of Changes is a compilation which records the experience of people in ancient times with luck and divination. In the Book of Changes, each number has some significance: one is the tai-ji or “great supreme”, two is the “two rituals

9、”, three is for the “three powers”, four for the “four directions”, five is for the “five pathway”, six stands for the “six realm, seven for the “seven rules of government”, eight means the “eight trigrams”, nine is for the “nine chains”, and ten is the ten depictions”. 易经记载了古人预测吉凶祸福的占卜活动，易经中的每一个数字都

10、有一定的含义：一为“太极”，二为“两仪”，三为“三才”，四为“四象”，五为“五行”，六为“六合”，七为“七政”，八为“八卦”，九为“九星”，十为“十干”。We often say “three yang make good fortune” to describe the hope that misfortune will be held at bay and good luck will follow. It is a saying often used at the New Year and symbolizes a new beginning and finds its origins

11、in the Book of Changes. Yang is the positive force and there is enormous Yang and very weak Yin (Negative force) in the first, second, and third of the nine trigrams. So the three Yang are very positive.我们常说“三阳开泰，以期远离凶险，万事亨通。这句成语源自易经，常常在新年里使用，表示新的开端。阳是宇宙间的正气，在九爻的第一爻、第二爻和第三爻中，阳已经远盛于阴，所以三阳的阳气极盛。Someon

12、e feels that numbers have no connection with fortune good or ill, says that the only significance numbers have is what people ascribe to them. Trying to say that a given number is either auspicious or ominous is mere superstition. Still, unlike the Western sensitivity to the number 13, Chinese have

13、a whole philosophy built up around numbers, which is spread or experienced in real life. 国际道教基金会主席李恒力（音译）认为数字和祸福并无任何联系，它们的意义是人们强加上去的，硬要说一个数字吉利或不祥，只不过是迷信而已。中国人不像西方人那样只对数字13敏感，他们对数字有一整套观点，体现在日常生活中。Gods can be alone, but people cannotOne is number marking the beginning, and also has the meaning of “ind

14、ependent” or “alone”. 神仙可以孤单，人却不能孤单：“一”是表示开端的数字，同时含有“单独”或“孤单”的意思。In Taiwan people prefer even numbers which symbolize “fortune comes in pairs. They are more wary of one, three, five, seven, and nine. Because the character for “odd” in Chinese (dan) also means “alone”, people are not very fond of it.

15、 But although people like even numbers, the gods can be alone. Thus in odd-numbered months holidays have been stipulated to help people get by, from New Years (first day of the first month on the lunar calendar) and Tomb Sweeping Day (third day of the third month) to dragon Boat Festival (fifth of t

16、he fifth), Chinese Valentines Day (seven of the seventh), and Old Peoples Day (ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar).台湾神学院神学教授童凤婉（音译）指出，台湾人偏爱双数，因为双数表示“好事成双”。他们对一、三、五、七、九等单数比较谨慎。由于单数的“单”字在汉语里有“孤单”的意思，所以人们不大喜欢这个字。虽然人们喜欢双数，但神仙们却可以孤单，因此单月里定下一些节日让人们庆祝，从新年（农历正月初一）和清明节（三月初三），到端午节（五月初五）、七夕（七月初

17、七）和重阳节（九月初九）等都是单数。At weddings, when Chinese people give “red envelopes” with gifts of cash, they only send even amounts, like 1200 or 3600. because the pronunciation of “four” is close to that of “death”, if you send 4400 to the bride and groom, people wont be grateful and might even criticize you b

18、ehind your back for failing to understand basic manners. At funerals, on the other hand, people usually give offerings with the last digit being odd, so as to avoid ill fortune not come “alone”.婚礼上，中国人会送装有现金的“红包”，但只送双数，如1200元或3600元。由于台湾话“四”的发音近似“死”，所以，如果你送给新郎新娘4400元的话，他们不但不会感谢你，甚至还会暗地里骂你不懂规矩。然而在葬礼上，

19、人们送礼的末位数都是单数，这是为了避免“祸不单行”。Happiness comes in pairsWhen people got married in ancient times, betrothal gifts would include a document recording all the details of the accompanying gifts. The writing style was rather meticulous. Thus, for example, chickens or ducks would be written as “Four wings of p

20、oultry”. Gold bracelets would be written “Gold bracelets becoming a pair”. Candles would be written as “Festival candles with double glow”. No place would odd numbers be allowed.双喜临门：娄祝匡（音译）教授在中国民间习俗一书中提到，古代人结婚送聘礼嫁妆时，会附一张礼帖，详细记录每一件礼物，措辞颇有讲究，譬如，鸡鸭会写成“德禽四翼”，金手镯写成“金镯成双”，蜡烛写成“喜烛双辉”，绝不允许出现单数。When inquiri

21、ng into the others name and the “eight character horoscope” of the other party, it would be written for instance: “The groom or bride is in the beginning of the sixth month of his her twentieth year, having been born at such-and-such an hour” The number of characters in the Chinese text would always

22、 have to add up to an even number; if they were short one then an “auspicious” character would be added.”向女方“问名”或互换“生辰八字”用的庚贴可能会写成“男某某乾造某某年某某月某某日某时建生”以及“女某某坤造某某年某某月某某日某时瑞生”，所用字数也要凑成偶数，如果缺一个字，就会加上一个“吉祥”的字。A writer adds that because the character for “odd” also means “incomplete”, when she was in her

23、old home in Beijing, they would always make sure that the number of steamed rolls made for New Years was even in order to make a good beginning.作家肖敏（音译）补充说，由于“单”字含有“不完整”之意，所以，在她的北京老家，新年时人们做的花卷一定得是双数，预示着有个好的开始。A scholar of folk traditions, argues that Chinese have always been rather inclined to the n

24、umber three. Just open up a Chinese dictionary and there are sayings using three or multiples thereof sprinkled everywhere. They are even more numerous in local sayings and slang. 民俗学者黄博和（音译）认为，中国人一向比较喜欢使用“三”这个数字。打开任何一本汉语词典，随处可见由“三”或其倍数构成的词组，各地的谚语和俚语中更是不计其数。He points out that one reason Chinese like

25、 three is that it stands for “many”. In Lao Tzu it is said that “Tao gave birth to the one, the one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to ten thousands of things.” From nothing to something, or something to infinity, “three” plays a critical role. 他指出，中国人喜欢“三”字的一个原因是，三表

26、示“多”。老子中写道：“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。”从无到有，从有到无限，“三”起着关键作用。Elevators without fourth floorsIn ancient China the number 4 and 72 were perhaps both mysterious numbers, and moreover that “four” was a symbol for the great earth.没有四楼的电梯：学者苏雪林（音译）写道，在中国古代，“四”和“七十二”这两个数字可能都是神秘的数字，而且“四”象征着大地。But in Taiwan four is no

27、t especially well looked-upon. Hospitals and hotels normally have no fourth floor, and the numbers in the elevator just skip right from three to five. Its probably only in places where Chinese people live that this type of facility is necessary. Also, the price of an apartment on the fourth floor is

28、 usually cheaper.但是，在台湾“四”却不那么受欢迎，医院和旅馆通常没有四楼，电梯上的数字从“三”直接跳到“五”。也许只有在中国人生活的地方，才需要有这样的设施。此外，四楼的房价也常常会低一些。In general, Chinese assign little good or bad significance to “five”.“May the five fortunes approach your door” is a saying often seen at festival occasions. The five fortunes are long life, wealt

29、h, health, an ethical life, and a peaceful death.一般说来，“五”在中国人看来并没有什么好坏的意义。节庆时，人们常见到“五福临门”四个字，所谓五福，即寿、富、康宁、攸好德、考终命。Besides this, the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) provided a framework for people at former times to classify natural phenomena. Confucianism also says that five implies

30、the concept of “the mean.”此外，过去人们用五行（金、木、水、火、土）划分自然现象，儒家也认为“五”字含有“中庸”之意。Confucians believe that five is very close to the path of the golden mean of “adopting the middle between two extremes”, and also promotes the thought of the “five pathways”. As a number, five has two at the front and two behind

31、, with one in the middle. Thus five fits in well with the idea of the “mean” always promoted by Confucian scholars.占卜术作家甄醉（音译）指出，儒家认为“五”非常接近“不偏不倚”的中庸之道，促进了“五行”之说。“五”这个数字，前面有两个数，后面有两个数，当中是一个数，“当中这个数居于正中，左右各有两个数辅助，因此，五正符合儒家所提倡的中庸思想”，他这样写道。One six eight, on the way to successWhere did “66 everything go

32、es smoothly” come from? It might have something to do with playing dice. Six is the largest number on a dice, so wouldnt one win by coming up with two sixes?一六八，一路发:“六六大顺”这句话源自何处？中国风俗与手工艺基金会秘书长林茂霄（音译）认为，这句话可能和掷骰子有关。骰子上最大的点数是“六”，如果你掷出了两个“六”，不就赢了吗？According to informal statistics, not many people take seven to be a lucky number. According to the old Yu Hsiao Ling Yin, when someone first dies the mourning period should be seven days. “Doing the sevens” is the custom at funerals in Fukienese areas. For t