你知道端午节的来历吗？
作为与春节、清明节、中秋节并称的中国四大传统节日之一，端午节在国人心目中有着极其重要的地位。我们对这个节日到底了解多少呢？你能用英语说出关于龙舟和粽子的典故吗？在《用英语讲中国故事》丛书里就能找到答案。
端午节安康
The Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
This is a jade vessel carved with dragon patterns. The body of the vessel is crudely carved in the shape of a “flood dragon,” displaying great skill. It was excavated from the complex of ruins of the Liangzhu culture in the area of the ancient kingdoms of Wu and Yue (on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River). The jade carving on this vessel is of the highest standard, and it is a silent witness to the frequent scenes of ancestor worship among the ancient people, who are generally referred to as the “people of Ancient Yue.”
这是一件雕刻了龙纹的玉器。古朴的玉纹勾勒出蛟龙的身姿，正所谓大巧不工。这件玉器出土于吴越地区的良渚文化遗址群，刻玉者把这件玉器雕琢得尽善尽美。它在默默描述着古越族一次又一次祭祖的场景。 “古越族 ”是古代百越地区越人各部的统称。
These people shaved off their hair and tattooed their bodies. They called themselves the “descendants of the dragon.” On the fifth day of the fifth month by the lunar calendar the Ancient Yue people used to hold “dragon boat races,” which was a large-scale ceremony on the water, expressing respect for their ancestors through boat races and the keen enter prising spirit of the “descendants of the dragon.” Teams of several men each would row a boat decorated with water plants and carved in the shape of a dragon – which is why the local people called them “dragon boats.” Following a blaring of musical instruments, the competition would begin. The placid river would be suddenly transformed into a riot of splashing as the members of each team plied their oars in unison in time with a drummer in the prow, as each crew strove to be first across the finishing line. None of the competitors felt tired, as they all felt that the “race” was a dialog with the spirits and an invocation to their ancestors.
古越人断发文身，自称 “龙的后代 ”。每到农历五月初五，古越人就会 “龙舟竞渡 ”，开展大型水上祭祀活动，用赛舟竞渡的方式向自己的祖先传达敬意，并展示作为 “龙的后代 ”精锐进取的精神。他们几人一组，坐在用水草装饰的木船中。船被雕刻成龙的形状，因此也被当地人称作 “龙舟 ”。一阵喧嚣过后比赛开始，平静的江面顿时水花四溅，坐在舟里的小伙子们互相配合着划桨。大家一边划船，一边踩着船头击鼓人的鼓点，争着抢着朝终点划去。没有人会觉得累，因为大家都认为“竞渡 ”是在与天神对话，呼唤祖先同行。
As time passed, the dragon boat races on the fifth day of the fifth month gradually became an indispensable annual custom for the people of Ancient Yue, a day of celebration for the whole tribe, high and low – the Dragon Boat Festival.
五月初五竞渡龙舟逐渐成为古越人每年必不可少的活动，因此古越人干脆就把五月初五设为一个全族上下庆祝的节日 ——端午节。
By the time of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) a medium-power state grew up on the Jing River. It was called Chu. A Chu high-ranking official Qu Yuan (屈原 ) recommended talented people and laws for internal government and an alliance against the powerful Kingdom of Qin as Chu’s foreign policy. He was a man of rare talent in Chu, but his forceful advocacy met with rejection from the Chu aristocracy, and he was succes-sively exiled by the king of Chu to the Hanbei and Hunan areas. Finally the Qin army destroyed Qu Yuan’s beloved capital city – Yingdu. The king of Chu abandoned his country, and fled in panic. This combination of national and personal disasters was too much for Qu Yuan to bear, and he ended his life by throwing himself into the Miluo River. That day was the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
跟随历史的推移，时间来到了战国。那个时候在荆江一带有一个实力不弱不强的诸侯国楚国。楚国有一位三闾大夫名叫屈原。屈原在内政上主张选贤立法，外交上主张联合抗秦，是楚国不可多得的人才。可是，屈原的锋芒毕露遭到了楚国贵族的排挤，几次被楚王流放汉北、沅湘地区。最后，秦国的大将攻破了屈原日思夜想的故国首都郢都，楚王置江山社稷于不顾，仓皇而逃。集国恨家仇于一身的屈原悲痛欲绝，在汨罗江投江自尽，这一天正好是农历五月初五。
When they heard about this tragedy, the common people of Chu flocked to the bank of the Miluo River to mourn. As they paced up and down beside the river, what grieved them most was the thought of Qu Yuan’s body being eaten by impious fish and shrimps.
楚国百姓听说贤人大夫屈原投江自尽，纷纷赶到汨罗江畔悼念。百姓们在江边徘徊，最担心的是水中的鱼虾肆无忌惮地啃食屈大夫的身体。
Then someone suggested wrapping balls of rice in leaves of the chinaberry tree, and throwing them in the river. This way, the river creatures would be too gorged to bother with the corpse of Qu Yuan. Then, upon hearing this, a man learned in medicine rushed home to fetch jars of realgar liquor, and poured them all into the Miluo River. And when all this failed to completely remove the people’s worries, the medicine man said, blandly: “The medicinal wine will befuddle the fish, flood dragons and other water creatures. Qu Yuan can rest in peace.”
这时候有人提议，不如用粽叶包裹一些饭团投入江中，这样鱼虾去吃饭团，不会来打搅屈大夫的真身了。一位药师闻讯后，赶忙跑来把自家酿制的雄黄酒一股脑地倒入汨罗江中，正当大家疑惑不解时，药师坦白道：“用药酒麻晕那些鱼龙水兽，屈大夫就可以睡踏实了。”
In the course of the consolidation of the Chinese people, the “dragon boat race” of the Ancient Yue people gradually became a tradition nationwide. From ancient times, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the same day on which Qu Yuan drowned himself, people have indulged in zongzi and realgar wine – the preservatives of his body – to honor Qu Yuan’s integrity and noble character. From this time on, they have held dragon boat races to wash away the grime of the year, while eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine to cherish the memory of Qu Yuan. The Dragon Boat Festival has been handed down in this way from generation to generation to this day.
在民族统一的过程中，古越人 “龙舟竞渡 ”的传统逐渐被汉人吸收。古有五月初五龙舟竞渡，屈原在同一天投江后，世人敬仰他的贤才和风骨，用粽子和雄黄酒保护他的真身。从此，大家在端午节这一天不仅通过龙舟竞渡洗涤一年的风尘，而且还吃粽子、喝雄黄酒来缅怀屈原先人，端午节的习俗就这样代代相传至今不断。
来源| 《用英语讲中国故事》
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