如有用英文介紹端午節(jié)？
The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated around the world, but did you know of it’s dark and tragic origins? It connects the downfall of a kingdom and a poet’s tragic suicide to sticky rice dumplings and, offcourse, dragon-boats.
世界各地都在慶祝端午節(jié)，但你知道端午節(jié)黑暗而悲慘的起源嗎？它把一個(gè)王國(guó)的垮臺(tái)和一個(gè)詩(shī)人的悲慘自殺與粽子和龍舟聯(lián)系在一起。
The dragon boat festive explained：The Dragon Boat Festival. A traditional Chinese holiday with a marvelous name. It’s celebrated across Asia,from China, to Indonesia. In Mandarin Chinese it is most commonly called Duan wu jie .That’s Duan wu jie.
端午節(jié)說(shuō)明：端午節(jié)。一個(gè)有著奇妙名字的中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。從中國(guó)到印尼，整個(gè)亞洲都在慶祝這個(gè)節(jié)日。在普通話中，它最常被稱為端午節(jié)。這就是端午節(jié)。
This literally means “opening the fifth” in reference to the festival’s position on the Chinese lunisolar calendar: the fifth day of the fifth month. And while its English name rightly conjures awesome imagery of oars and dragons, the heartbreaking legend behind it dates back more than 2000 years.
這個(gè)詞的字面意思是“開(kāi)齋節(jié)”在中國(guó)日歷上的位置：第五個(gè)月的第五天。雖然它的英文名字讓人聯(lián)想到令人敬畏的槳和龍的形象，但它背后令人心碎的傳說(shuō)可以追溯到2000多年前。
ThetragedyofQu Yuan. Qu Yuan was a senior minister in service to Chu huai wang, King Huai of Chu. Legend has it, the King allied with the state of Qin. Chuagainst Qu’s advice. He labeled Qu as a traitor for his opposition and banished him from the kingdom.
屈原的悲劇。屈原是楚懷王楚懷的高級(jí)大臣。傳說(shuō)中，國(guó)王與秦國(guó)結(jié)盟。楚王反對(duì)屈原的勸告。他把屈原列為叛徒，并將他逐出國(guó)門。
Qu was an exile. He travelled across ancient China, compiling myths and legends, and wrote some wonderful poetry.However, he still missed his homeland and suffered from severe bouts of depression and anxiety.
屈原被驅(qū)逐。他游歷中原，編撰神話傳說(shuō)，寫了很多精彩的詩(shī)詞，他始終思念他的故鄉(xiāng)，飽受憂愁和焦慮的折磨。
Whenever this happened, it is said that Qu would walk near a well and peer inside at his reflection on the water’s surface. That same well is still said to be around in what is now Hubei, China.Though we can’t confirm that.
據(jù)說(shuō)，每當(dāng)這個(gè)時(shí)侯，屈原就會(huì)走到一口井邊，凝視著他在水面上的倒影。據(jù)說(shuō)在現(xiàn)在的中國(guó)湖北也有同樣的井，但我們不能證實(shí)。
Years later, news would reach Qu that his King had been overthrown by the state of Qin. Not long after, Qu made his way into the into the Miluo river and gave himself to the water, never to return.
多年后，屈原聽(tīng)說(shuō)楚國(guó)被秦國(guó)攻陷。不久，屈原自投汨羅江，再也沒(méi)有回來(lái)。
Some, however, reckon he became a water god. It is said that people rushed after him in dragon boats, banging drums and throwing rice dumplings into the river so fish would eat them and not Qu’s body.
后來(lái)，人們認(rèn)為他變成了水神。據(jù)說(shuō)，人們劃著龍舟追趕著他，往江里投粽子，希望魚蝦吃了粽子就不會(huì)再吃屈原的身體了。
Sticky rich dumplings. The making of Zongzi is a family past time that requires all hands on deck. This food and the boat are staples of Dragon Boat Festival. In Mandarin, these rice dumplings are called Zongzi.
黏黏的粽子。過(guò)去做粽子需要全家出動(dòng)。粽子和船是端午節(jié)最基本的東西。漢語(yǔ)中把這種黏黏的米團(tuán)叫做粽子。
They’re wrapped with bamboo leaves and contain sticky rice and a filling. They’re typically filled with pork but other fillings include various beans, mushrooms, eggs, nuts, chicken, scallops, red meat and vegetables.
他們用竹葉包裹，里邊有糯米和餡料。典型的有肉餡的，有蘑菇和蔬菜的，還有紅豆餡的。
Wrapping the rice and filling in bamboo leaves is a skill unto itself that is passed from one generation to the next. The time needed to boil or steam them depends on how much rice and filling is involved.
包粽子是代代相傳的技藝，粽子蒸煮多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間取決于你包的米和餡的多少。
Racing dragon boats. To honor the memory of Qu Yuan, people also race dragon boats every year worldwide on the date of his demise. The practise itself is thousands of years old and is thought to have spread from ancient China all the way to Greece.
賽龍舟。為了紀(jì)念屈原，世界各地的人們每年在他的遇難日舉行龍舟比賽。這種做法本身已經(jīng)有數(shù)千年的歷史，被認(rèn)為從中國(guó)古代一直流傳到現(xiàn)在，一路向西傳到歐洲的希臘。
The first boats were made of wood, but their modern counterparts usually comprise lightweight materials such as carbon fiber.
最早的船是用木頭做的，但它們的現(xiàn)代同類船通常是由諸如碳纖維之類的輕質(zhì)材料制成的。
Today, teams usually consist of around 20 paddlers, a drummer and steersperson. Following the drummers’ beat -- the heart of the dragon -- paddlers race against other teams down a waterway.
如今，團(tuán)隊(duì)通常由20名左右的槳手、一名鼓手和舵手組成。隨著鼓手的節(jié)拍——龍舟的心臟——槳手們?cè)谒郎吓c其他隊(duì)伍比賽。
The beat determines the speed, rate and cadence of the paddlers’ stroke. The steerer stands at the back of the boat and uses a 9 ft long oar to direct the dragon boat. Most races involve a sprint over 500m, but there are longer ones of 1000 and 2000m. Dragon boat races happen worldwide, but in Hong Kong, it’s a competitive sport.
擊鼓者的速度決定了劃手的頻率和節(jié)奏。舵手站在船尾，用9英尺長(zhǎng)的槳指揮龍舟。大多數(shù)比賽都是500多米的短線比賽，但也有1000和2000米的長(zhǎng)線賽。世界各地都有龍舟比賽，但在香港，這是一項(xiàng)競(jìng)技運(yùn)動(dòng)。
