中国传统文化英语表达法(四级)
中国传统节日Traditional Chinese Festivals
The Spring Festival 春节
The Chinese Spring Festival falls on the very first day of the Chinese Lunar year. The celebration of the Spring Festival, otherwise known as the Chinese New Year, starts from the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the Lantern Festival, that is, the fifteenth of the month. T he Spring Festival to the Chinese is what Christmas to the Westerners (中国人过春节相当于西方人过圣诞节).
The Spring Festival Eve 除夕
The Spring Festival Eve, or the Chinese New Year’s Eve, is call the Danian Sanshi（大年三十）in Chinese. It is a time of jubilance, with eyeful of Spring Festival couplets, earful of loud firecrackers, and the kitchen full of yummy stuff cooking on the stove. Wherever they are, people will hurry back home for their family reunion on the eve.
The Spring Festival Eve Dinner 年夜饭
The Spring Festival Eve Dinner is known as the Dinner of Reunion. On the Eve, children away from home will all come back to enjoy a tableful of delicacies together with their parents. People in the north prefer jiaozi, the southerners like tangyuan, sweet round dumplings to indicate family reunion, and niangao, which means “going higher and higher in the coming year”.
Spring Festival Couples 贴春联
It has been a tradition for the Chinese to paste Spring Festival couples on the doors during the Festival. Words of auspiciousness are written in the couples, which are called duilian对联, or the Pair Couplets, b ecause the words on both couplets should be equal in number, parallel in form, and attuned in meaning. Sometimes people also paste a hengpi横批, a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription, above the couples.
Gift Money 压岁钱
On the festive occasion, young children will pay New Year calls on and express their best wishes to their elders who, in return, will offer them yasuiqian 压岁钱, money given to children as a Spring Festival gift.The money is usually wrapped up in red paper – a symbol of good fortune.
Setting off firecrackers 放鞭炮
Part of the Spring Festival celebration is to set off firecracker, which is meant to add joy to the festivity. People wish that, by setting off firecrackers, good luck would come to them in the coming year.
Paying New Year Calls 拜年
The Spring Festival is also a time to pay festive visits and say good wishes to one another among relatives, friends and neighbours.
Vising Temple Fairs赶庙会
During the Festival, people visit temple fairs, where an assortment of entertaining performances takes place, including Yandko秧歌(a rirual folk dance popular in north China), acrobatics（杂技）and folk art shows. Varieties of snacks and commodity exchanges （商品交易）are also the integral parts of the fair.
The Lantern Festival 元宵节
The 15th day of the first lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival, which coincides with the first full-moon night of the year (这一天正好是新年的第一个月圆之夜). The major activities of the day include watching painted lanterns, solving riddles, setting off fireworks, and eating yuanxiao 元宵(sweet dumplings) made of glutinous [?glu:tin?s](粘的，胶装的) rice flour（糯米面，糯米粉）.
Eating Yuanxiao 吃元宵
Eating yuanxiao元宵on the day of the Lantern Festival symbolizes family reunion and happiness. Yuanxiao are made with glutinous rice flour dough, stuffed with a variety of food such as red bean paste, sesame, mixed nutlets with sugar. Minced meat is another favored flavor (元宵用糯米粉包馅制成，馅儿有豆沙、芝麻、各类果仁加白糖，还有肉糜馅等). In southern China, people also eat tangyuan汤圆(like yuanxiao元宵).
Watching Painted Lanterns 赏花灯
On the night of the Lantern Festival, lines of painted lanterns are hung around the courtyard and along both sides of the street. The colorful lights against the full moon create quite a visual feast for people to enjoy (人们观灯赏月，其乐融融).
Solving Lantern Riddles 猜灯谜
Solving riddles written or printed on lanterns is another way of entertaining visitors on the night.
The Dragon Boat Festival 端午节
The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The story goes that the day is kept in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan屈原who died more than 2000 years ago. It’s also a day to pray for agricultural harvests as well as to drive pestilences [?pestil?ns] away (同时也是人们祈求农业丰收，驱除瘟疫的节日).
Qu Yuan (339BC? ～278BC?) 屈原
Qu Yuan 屈原, a patriotic poet of the Chu State 楚国in ancient China, is greatly respected by people of all times, for both his fine poetry and noble character. It was on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in the year 278 BC after the falling of the Chu State （楚国）that Qu Yuan （屈原）gave his life to his beloved motherland by drowning himself in the river (因楚国国都失陷，屈原悲愤地投江而死).
Dragon Boat Racing 赛龙舟
The dragon boat is made of wood, with mythical dragon head and dragon tail decorations on it. Dragon boat racing originally showed people’s wish to rescue Qu Yuan（屈原）from drowning, and gradually became a popular competitive mass sport (赛龙舟最初是表达屈原投江后，人们寻救他的迫切心情，后来逐渐成为端午节流行的一项民间体育竞技活动).
Eating Zongzi 吃粽子
Legend has it that in order to keep the fish away from eating Q u Yuan’s body, people would throw rice wrapped in bamboo or reed [ri:d]（芦苇）leaves into the water to feed the fish.That’s how the tradition of eating zongzi 粽子(rice dumplings wrapped in leaves) around the Dragon Boat Festival started. A zongzi （粽子）is usually made in the shape of a triangular or square lump (粽子外形为三角形或四角形), wrapped in large bamboo leaves. The ingredients are mostly glutinous rice, beans, Chinese dates, or pork.
Hanging Moxa 挂艾蒿
Moxa leaves are hung in front of every household during the Dragon Boat Festival in order to expel[?k'sp?l]（驱逐）evil spirits and to relieve people’s internal heat or fever (驱邪解毒). The sweet scent of the herb, however, can also repel flies and mosquitoes, and purify the air around the house.
The Moon Festival 中秋节
The Moon Festival or the Mid-autumn Festival falls on the 15th of the eighth month of the Chinese Lunar year. It is also called the Festival of Family Reunion 团圆节, as the full moon around that time very well symbolizes harvests and reunion. It is a time for family members to get together and savour['seiv?]尽情享受moon cakes as they admire the full moon.
The Moon Cake 月饼
The Cake of Reunion 团圆饼is another name for the moon cakes. Made by wheat flour dough and stuffed with a wide variety, sweet or salty,moon cakes are both the must-eat food and major gift items around the Moon Festival (月饼是中秋节人们互赠的主要礼品，也是节日的重要食品).
The Doubl e Ninth Festival 重阳节
Chongyang重阳—the Double Ninth Festival, also known as the Senior Citizens’ Day 老人节, is on the ninth of the ninth lunar month. As “nine” is regarded as a number of the Yang (positive or masculine by nature in Chinese philosophy), two “nines” together makes a Chongyang, or Double Yang (中国古人把九称为阳数，阳在中国哲学中属阳性，代表男性阳刚特质，所以九月九叫做重阳). On this day, people will go climbing mountains, drinking, and admiring chrysanthemum [kri's?nθ?m?m] 菊花flowers. More importantly, it’s a time for children to show some tender loving care to the seniors or to show filial ['f?l??l] piety ['pa??t?] for their parents. （filial peity 孝顺，孝心）
Climbing the Heights to Keep Away Troubles 登高避灾
The Double Ninth Festival is in autumn, when married women are supposed to observe the ritual of visiting their parents and taking them to do some mountain-climbing, so that they could enjoy the seasonal beauty together.
Appreciating the Chrysanthemums 赏菊
The chrysanthemums are in full blossom at this time of the year, and the great variety of the flower has long been the object of admiration for the Chinese (品种繁多的菊花在秋日盛开，观赏菊花是流传已久的节日风俗).
Offering Sacrifices to the Goddess of the Sea 祭海神
The ninth of the ninth lunar month happens to be the day when Mazu 妈祖, the Goddess of the Sea, ascended to the heaven. Grand ceremonies are held for her on the day in China’s coastal cities including the Taiwan Region.
The God of Longevity [l?n'd?ev?ti]寿星老the guardian of long-life长寿的保护神
Chinese Tea 中国茶
In China, tea-drinking is part of the Chinese culture: Tea Culture. To drink tea is not only a way of life, it is also a custom (喝茶不仅是人们生活中的一种习惯，也是待客的一种习俗). Teahouses where tea-drinkers could also socialize and entertain themselves are all over the country.
Tea-sauteing (炒茶), the important part of tea processing, determines the quality of the product.
The Home of Tea 茶叶的故乡
Processed tea leaves picked from tea trees become the tea we prepare with water and then drink (茶是一种植物，称茶树，它的芽叶经过加工就成了可供冲泡的茶叶). Originally a product of China, tea was exported to parts of Asia as early as some 1500 years ago, and it arrived in Europe about 400 years ago.
Varieties of Tea 茶叶的品种
With different ways of processing, tea can be classified into such varieties as green tea 绿茶, black tea 红茶, oolong tea['u?l??]乌龙茶, and scented tea 花茶, etc. and under each category, there’re different brand names such as the Xihu Longjing西湖龙井(West Lake Longjing Tea, green tea produced in Hangzhou, Zhejiang 浙江杭州), Biluochun碧螺春(green tea, produced in Jiangsu Prov.江苏).
Tea Ceremony 茶艺
In the Chinese tea culture, there are certain rituals and rules to follow, either at the stage of preparing, drinking or treating a guest (沏茶，敬茶，饮茶). There’s also a set of criteria for the quality of water, tea, and tea-making utensils.
中国书法绘画Chinese calligraphy and painting The Four Treasures of the Study 文房四宝
Wenfang文房refers to the study for a man of letters, and the tools and materials for calligraphy and painting include the writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper (笔、墨、纸、砚), so they are jointly called “the four treasures of the study”. In addition to these, there may also be other accessories for calligraphy and painting in the study, such as brush pots, brush racks, ink boxes, brush rinsing dishes, seals and seal boxes, ets (还有笔筒、笔架、墨盒、笔洗、印章、印盒等多种书法和绘画用品).
The Writing Brush 毛笔
Writing brushes are the traditional writing tools in China, dating from 1600 BC to 1066 BC. The point of the brush is usually made with hair from animal tails and the shaft of bamboo sticks. The sizes of writing brushes fall into three types, namely large, medium and small for writing characters of different sizes respectively (根据书写字体大小不同，毛笔有大、中、小号). There are also larger ones called Dou brush 斗笔or Ti brush 提笔, and the largest one is called Zha brush 揸笔.
The Ink Stick 墨（块）
In ancient China, people had to grind（[gra?nd]磨碎，碾碎）the ink stick into ink liquid and then dip the writing brush into it to write and paint. For grinding the ink stick, some fresh water should be poured into the ink slab first, then, grind the ink stick round in one direction (用墨块在砚台上顺着一个方向研磨), and gradually, the fresh water turn into ink liquid.
The Ink Slab 砚
The ink slab, as a tool for grinding ink sticks and usually made of stone, is very important to an ancient man of letters in his study. The most famous is the Duan Ink Slab 端砚produced in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province 广东肇庆, which is called Duanzhou 端州in ancient times. This kind of ink slabs has a fine, soft and smooth texture and the ink liquid ground in them is well mixed and durable (端砚质地细密柔润，研出的墨汁均匀耐用). Ink slabs can also be engraved with exquisite designs as treasures of art (砚台上还能雕出精美的花纹，成为艺术珍品).
Traditional Chinese Paintings 中国画
As a traditional art in China, traditional Chinese paintings are created through special manners of presentation and artistic principles, with writing brushes, ink, and pigment（色素颜料）which are all unique to the Chinese (国画是中国传统的绘画艺术，它用中国所独有的毛笔、水墨、颜料，以特有的表现形式和艺术法则创作而成). They can be classified, according to subject matter, into landscape, flower-and-bird and figure paintings.
Landscape Paintings 山水画
Landscape paintings mainly depict natural scenery of mountains and rivers, which first came into
being in Qin Dynasty 秦代and reached a high level in Song Dynasty 宋代. Chinese landscape paintings attach great importance to pouring out the emotion of the artist and strive for an artistic acme of emotion being in harmony with scenery (中国山水画重在抒发画家个人情感，达到情景交融的艺术境界).
Flower-and-bird Paintings 花鸟画
Flower-and-bird paintings do not only depict flowers and birds only, but also bamboos, rocks, beasts, insects and fish (竹石、走兽、虫鱼) as well. What the artist advocates is that the depiction of these things could mould the personal temperament while embodying the internal moral character and the personal pursuit of the artist (画家主张通过对花鸟虫鱼的描绘，陶冶人的情操，体现作者内在的思想和追求).
Figure Paintings 人物画
Figure paintings focus particularly on the portrayal of the character’s activities, and the task of the artist is to draw out the pose and attire in lines for the purpose of conveying the romantic charm of the figure in the painting (画家用线条勾画出人物的形态和服饰，让人感受到画中人物的神韵). Ancient China has produced many great artists of figure paintings, such as Gu Kaizhi in Jin Dynasty 晋代的顾恺之, Wu Daozi in Tang Dynasty 唐代的吴道子, Tang Bohu in Ming Dynasty 明代的唐伯虎, and so on.
New Year’s Painting 年画
New Year’s pai nting is a kind of traditional Chinese paintings produced by means of woodcut process printing. As an old form of folk art in China, this kind of paintings all has festival themes and a sharp contrast in colors (年画是中国画的一种，它采用木刻套印的方法作画，内容喜庆、色彩对比强烈，是中国古老的民间美术形式). They are specially created for decoration of homes, warding off evil spirits and ominous occurrences in the celebration of the Chinese New Year (它是专门为过农历新年时装饰环境、除凶辟邪而创作的). That is why they are called New Year’s paintings.
中国文物
The Terra-cotta Warriors 秦始皇陵兵马俑
Qin Shihuang 秦始皇, the first emperor of the feudal Chinese society, brought with him massive funerary belongings when he die —a move to show off the authority and splendor he’d enjoyed during his lifetime (秦始皇是中国封建社会的第一个皇帝。他死后，为了显示他生前的辉煌和权威，在他的墓中陪葬了许多东西). Among them were the three barracks of Terra-cotta Warriors (兵马俑阵), which have been marveled at as the “World’s Eighth Miracle” 世界第八大奇迹.
The Underground Army 地下军阵
Yong is either a human or animal figure mad e with clay. The Qin Shihuang’s Tomb 秦始皇陵and
its great army of Terra-Cotta Warriors — 7000 soldiers, 100 horses and 100 chariots in all, give us a picture of the kind of grand scale of the army and the completeness of the army’s military services more that 2000 years ago (再现了2000多年前气势宏伟，兵种齐全的军阵队形).
Dunhuang Grottoes 敦煌石窟
The Dunhuang Grottoes, located on a Cliffside 25 km southeast of down town Dunhuang (位于敦煌县东南25千米处的断崖上), are famous for his Mogao Caves 莫高窟. Now there are 492 grottoes in existence, which were constructed during the 4th century to the 10th century. Mogao Caves 莫高窟became a treasure of the Buddhist art because of the multitude of murals and sculptures in the caves.
Cave Relief Murals 石窟壁画
There’s a pace of 45000㎡of murals in the caves, the contents of which range from Buddhist figures, Buddha stories, ancient fairy tales and decorative designs (石窟内现存的壁画多达4.5万平方米，内容有佛像人物、佛经故事、古代神话及装饰图案). It took more than 1000 years to complete.
The Dunhuang Academy China 敦煌研究院
The Dunhuang relics have suffered the plundering and looting of quite a number of adventures such as the British, the French, the Russian, the Japanese, the Americans, etc (敦煌文物曾遭到英、法、俄、日、美等国冒险家的盗取和掠夺). Many such relics can now be seen in museums and libraries throughout the world. As an effort to protect and further study the art of the Dunhuang Grottoes, China founded the Dunhuang Art Institute 敦煌艺术研究所in the 1940s, which became the pre-existence of nowadays the Dunhuang Academy China 敦煌研究院.
中国民居Chinese Folk Residence
Siheyuan (Beijing Quadrangles['kw?dr??g(?)l]) 北京四合院
Siheyuan，a compound enclosed by inward-facing houses and high walls on four sides, is the folk residence in north China(四合院是中国北方的民居，由东、南、西、北四面房屋及墙围合起来). Beijing Quadrangles ['kw?dr??g(?)l] (周围有建筑物的)四方院子are symmetrical in design, and the inhabitants follow strict rules of hierarchy.
Cave Dwellings in Shaanxi 陕西窑洞
Cave dwellings are unique to the Loess ['l???s] Plateau in northern Shaanxi（陕北的黄土高原). A cave dwelling measures seven to eight meters deep and more than three meters in breath and height respectively. It is cool in summer and warm in winter, resistant to fire, and soundproof. The cave dwelling, dating back to thousands of years ago, is an age-old form of residence for people on the Loess Plateau. Today, there are still many people living in cave dwellings.
Brick Caves and Stone Caves 砖窑和石窑
An earth cave is turned into a brick cave if reinforced with bricks, or a stone cave if reinforced with stones. Brick caves and stone caves are usually used as schools or offices. It is also possible to construct building-like terraced brick caves that are beautiful and imposing (还可以建成类似楼房一样的多层阶梯式砖窑，外表看起来既漂亮又壮观).
Fujian Tulou 福建土楼
Tulou (earthen building) is a self-defensive folk residence built by the Hakka(客家人)living in such areas as Longyan and Zhangzhou(龙岩、漳州) in Fujian Province to protect their clans（宗族，部落）. It is usually round or square, and big enough for an entire clan.
The Ancestral Temple 祠堂
The center of a Tulou is the ancestral temple, which is used to offer sacrifices to ancestors and for clan gatherings.
Modern Private Houses 现代民居
Great changes have taken place in private houses in towns and countryside in China. Private houses in towns a nd cities mainly concentrate in residential districts, where people’s living environments and quality are being improved. In the countryside, people’s modern private houses generally appear to have a variety of building styles and features(乡村的现代民居，也在呈现出各地多彩的风情面貌).
A residential district composed of apartment buildings with different forms and structures has not only an improved system of property management service(完善的物业服务系统), but also a complete set of educational, medical and transportation set-ups(设施). People can pursue cultural and social activities of all kinds as well as physical exercises in the community of the residential district (在以小区形成的社区，人们可以开展文化、体育及各项社会活动).
中华武术The Chinese Martial Art
The Shaolin Martial Art 少林功夫
All genres of martial arts are derived from Shaoliln, thus, in talking about the Shaolin Temple, what first enter our minds is its martial art. This kind of Shaolin kungfu, accumulated in the course of more than a thousand years, and extensively drawing on the advantages of all other genres of martial arts, was founded on the basis of ancient Chinese art of health-building. It involves various methods of fighting techniques, consisting of Shaolin boxing, weaponry combat, art of attack and defense, free fighting and qigong(主要包括拳术、器械、技击、散打、气功).