外國人最想和你聊的文化話題：龍

　Realize Dragon　認(rèn)識龍
     1　龍的簡介
     The people of China have a Long held belief that they are descendents of the Long, a tradition that is firmly embedded in their culture and one that is encountered across all aspects of Chinese society and in the minds of its people. Whereas in western cultures dragons are usually regarded as a symbol of malevolence, in China the Long is held in high esteem for its dignity and power for good.
     From primitive times people have regarded the Long as an auspicious creature with the power to bless and influence their lives. As tribes fought for domination and came to be united under a common banner the Long was adopted as a national icon. Such was the mysterious creature's power it was regarded as the god of rain, thunder, the rainbow, and the stars. In a society that was founded upon agriculture and animal husbandry totally reliant upon its natural environment and in particular the climate, the dragon was worshipped as the source of all that was beneficial to communal well being. This concept has been sustained for thousands of years as more and more deification was bestowed upon the dragon ranging from being a bringer of joy to prophecy and miracles. With the establishment of a feudal society, emperors compared themselves to the Long thereby making it the exclusive symbol of imperial majesty. Anyone who subsequently used the Long as a symbol either intentionally or erroneously could be regarded as offending their ruler and condemned to death.
     The image of the Long has undergone a series of changes over the centuries becoming more and more mighty and beautiful. The original illustration on primitive bronze ware portrays it as ferocious and mysterious; in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220), it became magnificent and unrestrained; while during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it was personalized as gentle, tamed and graceful. From the Song Dynasty onwards (960-1279), the design became delicate and flowery.
     There are several different kinds of Long according to color, which may be yellow, blue, black, white or red. Of these the most highly revered was the yellow Long and so each emperor wore a gown decorated with a yellow Long pattern.
     Although there are differences in appearance, the basics are similar. This is because it is a combination of the features of animals with which people were familiar. A Long has a protruding forehead indicating wisdom and antlers. Its ox's ears denote success in the imperial examination; it has tiger's eyes as a sign of power; eagle's claws showing bravery; while a fish's tail implies flexibility and the horse's teeth are a mark of diligence and so on.
     2　龍的分類及意義
     （1）龍的分類
     Jiao Long 　　　 蛟龍
     Chi Long 　　　　 螭龍
     Qiu Long 　　　　 虬龍
     Ying Long 　　　　　應(yīng)龍
     （2）有關(guān)龍的說法
     Many Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Long" as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s when different Asian nationalities were looking for animal symbols for representations. The wolf was used among the Mongols, the monkey among Tibetans.
     A number of Chinese proverbs and idioms also feature references to the Long, for example："hoping one's son will become a Long ".
     龍，作為我們中國人的一種獨特文化的凝聚和積淀，已扎根和深藏于我們每個人的潛意識里頭，不但人們的日常生活、生老病死幾乎都打上了龍文化的烙印，而且龍文化的視角、龍文化的審美意識已滲透了我國社會文化的各個領(lǐng)域、各個方面。龍在中國傳統(tǒng)文化中是權(quán)勢、高貴、尊榮的象征，又是幸運和成功的標(biāo)志。
Part 2　Key words ＆ Sentences　關(guān)鍵詞語全知道
     Long is a symbol of the Chinese nation. Long is China in the world.
     龍象征中華民族，國際上龍就是中國。
     Long, phoenix, unicorn, and tortoise are called the "four auspicious".
     龍與鳳凰、麒麟、龜并稱"四瑞獸"。
     In western myth, dragon is a winged animal.
     西方神話中龍是帶翼的動物。
     The Long appears in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
     龍是中國傳統(tǒng)十二生肖之一。
     The Long is a very auspicious animal.
     龍是一個很吉祥的動物。
     Long has been linked with the imperial power for very long time, since the Yellow Emperor's age.
     龍與皇權(quán)掛鉤的歷史也很久遠(yuǎn)，從黃帝時就開始了。
     The Year of the Long is associated with the earthly branch symbol. Honest, sensitive, and brave, these individuals are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys and Roosters too.
     龍年也有世俗的象征--誠實、敏感、勇敢，這些也符合老鼠、蛇、猴子、公雞的特征。
     Malevolent dragons also occur in the mythology of Persia and other places.
     在波斯和其他的一些國家的神話傳說中，龍也有代表邪惡的意思。
     The saying, Chinese people are the offspring of the Long came from the ancient totem and tales.
     俗話說，中國人是龍的傳人，它來自古老的圖騰與故事。
     After unification of the tribes, Huang Di decided to use a new form of totem. It is called Long.
     統(tǒng)一部落后，黃帝決定使用一種新形式的圖騰，也就是龍。
     It is said that the head of the original bear and the body of a snake form the Long.
     據(jù)說是熊的頭和蛇的身體組成了龍的樣子。
     Long is the symbol of the emperor in the feudal age, and also used to refer to the imperial and imperial's things, such as imperial crowns, palace, etc.
     封建時代龍作為帝王的象征，也用來指帝王和帝王的東西，如龍袍、龍宮等。
     Winged dragon is called Ying Dragon with a history about seven thousand years.
     有翼的龍稱為應(yīng)龍，至今約有7000年的歷史。
     The prototype of Long has been burgeoning in the late Neolithic Age.
     龍的雛形在新石器時代晚期已萌芽。
     The Long King faith is produced by the rise of the Buddhism.
     龍王信仰是隨著佛教的興起而產(chǎn)生的。
     Long has five fingers.
     龍有五根手指。
     Long types varied, but basically close to reptiles.
     龍的種類多種多樣，但基本上接近爬行動物。
     Most Longs have hard scales covering themselves with strange colors, mostly red, green, black and gold, etc.
     絕大多數(shù)的龍都有堅硬的鱗片覆蓋，它們的顏色也千奇百怪，多數(shù)是紅、綠、黑和金色等。
     All of the Longs will get more ability and more power because of the age increasing.
     所有的龍都會隨著年齡增長而獲得更多的能力與更強(qiáng)的力量。
     They live to be more than thousands of years, and maybe at birth they are only a few feet dragon, but they can achieve100 feet when they are Taigu Long.
     它們的壽命超過千年，在出生時也許只有幾英尺，但長到太古龍時則達(dá)到100英尺。
     The primitive dragon's appearance is like a huge winged serpent, some with legs and some do not.
     最原始的龍則是龐大的有翅膀的巨蛇模樣，有的長著腳，有的則沒有。
     China is the hometown of Long.
     中華大地是龍的故鄉(xiāng)。
     In traditional auspicious patterns in China, the "Long and Phoenix"is a good pattern.
     在中國傳統(tǒng)的吉祥圖案中，"龍鳳呈祥"是很好看的一種。