中国文化常识中英文.docx

1、中国文化常识中英文概述Introduction 中华民族是一个古老的民族,也是一个有深厚文化底蕴的民族。中国的传统艺术门类繁多、雅俗共赏,从悠扬动人的民间音乐到细腻缠绵的地方戏曲,从疏洁淡雅的水墨画到刚柔并济的书法,无不闪烁着智慧之光,令人赞叹不已。 China, a nation of long history with profound culture, inherited and developed a great variety of traditional art forms which suit both refined and popular tastes. From the m

2、elodious and pleasant folk music to the elaborate and touching local dramas, form the simple but elegant inkwash painting to the flexible and power calligraphy, one can always discern the light of sparkling wisdom. Traditional Chinese arts have tremendously impressed the world. 舞狮 舞狮大约起源于南北朝时期,到了唐朝,

3、狮子舞已发展为上百人集体表演的大型歌舞。舞狮在中国是一项传统体育项目,也是一种传统文化艺术,从北方到南方,从城市到乡村,逢年过节及庆典盛事,都可以看到欢快的舞狮。民间认为舞狮可以很好地把百姓的欢喜心情表达出来,也最能烘托热闹气氛。舞狮尤以广东地区一带最为盛行。用来舞动的狮子外形威武,动作刚劲,神态多变,广东人称它为“醒狮”。中国百姓对狮子有图腾般的崇敬感,狮子在民间有很多传说,其位置仅次于龙,因此舞狮也就带有了不少神秘色彩。人们相信狮子是吉祥瑞兽,而舞狮能够带来好运,所以每逢节日和喜庆活动,都会舞狮助兴,祈求吉利和如意。专用于节庆场合纳福迎祥的舞狮,代代相传,从古代民间传统的娱乐活动,发展成为

4、具有健身功能的体育运动。舞龙和舞狮的热闹场面在中国的电影中也是很常见的。 Lion Dance The lion dance originated in the northern and southern Dynasties, developing into large scale singing and dancing performed by hundreds of people collectively in the Tang Dynasty. The lion dance is a traditional sport in china, as well as a kind of tra

5、ditional culture and art. Form the North to the South, form cities to countries, people can see cheerful lion dances on New Years Day and on other festivals and celebrations. Folk people believe that the lion dance can express peoples feelings of joy, and it can also set off lively atmosphere. The l

6、ion dance is more popular in Guangdong area. The lion which is used to perform has mighty appearances, vigorous movements, and variable bearings. People in Guangdong call it the “awaking lion”. The Chinese people have a totemistic worship of the lion and have a lot of legends about lions. The li0ons

7、 position is only next to the dragon so that it br ings a mystery to the lion dance. People believe that the lion is a lucky beast that expresses joy and happiness. Therefore, the lion dance plays an important role at official celebrations and happy events to summon luck and fortune. This feat is pa

8、ssed on form generation to generation, form an ancient traditional entertainment activity to an athletic sport. The lion dance and dragon dance often appear in Chinese films. 吉祥图案 中国民间,流传着许多含有吉祥意义的图案。每到年节或喜庆的日子,人们都喜欢用这些吉祥图案装饰自己的房间和物品,以表示对幸福生活的向往,对良辰佳节的庆贺。 中国的吉祥图案始于距今3000多年前的周代,后来在民间流传开来。今天,吉祥图案任然是中国

9、人生活中不可缺少的内容。 1 中国的吉祥图案内容及其广泛,这里介绍最常见的几种:“双喜”字,是双喜临门,大吉大利的意思,民间常在办喜事时采用。 “寿”字,字头经过加工美化,变成对称的图案,是长寿的意思。 “福寿双全”,是由蝙蝠和寿字组成的图案。“蝠”与“福”同音。表示幸福长寿。 两个“有”字组成的对称图案,意思是顺也有,倒也有。在中国农村常用来贴在收藏谷物的器具上,表示丰收富裕。“百吉”,也叫“盘长”。它无头无尾,无始无终,可以想象为许多个“结”,谐“百吉”之音,作为百事吉祥如意的象征,也有福寿延绵,永无休止的意思。“五福捧寿”,图案中5个蝙蝠环绕一个寿字。五福是长寿、富贵、康宁、道德、善终。

10、 “四合如意”,4个如意从四面围拢勾连起来,象征诸事如意。 Images of Blessing There are many images which are meant to give good blessings in China. In the festivals or celebrations, people like decorating their houses and devices, for the blessing of a happy life and to celebrate the festivals. The images of blessing in China

11、started in the Zhou Dynasty around 3000 years ago. Until today, the images of blessing are still an important content of the Chinese life. The content of the images of blessing are quite broad, but here we introduce several kinds that are more popular: Shuangxidouble happiness. It means happiness an

12、d luck. It is normally used in weddings. Shoulongevity. It has been designed and prettified to be symmetrical, which means health and long life. FushoushuangquanLuck and health. It has the image of a bat and the word shou. In Chinese, the pronunciation of the bat is similar to that of luck, therefor

13、e it has the meaning of luck and long life. A symmetrical image with two you. The you means having and wealthy in Chinese. In the counties of China, people post the image on the utensils for storing food, meaning a good and fruitful harvest. Baiji is also called panchang. It can be imagined as the e

14、ndless ties, which have the similar pronunciation as jie in Chinese. The meaning of baiji is endless luck in life. WufupengshouFive bats bring long life. There are five bats surrounding the word shou. Taking the pronunciation of the word bat, it means five different kinds of good aspects: long life,

15、 wealth, health, virtue, and happy end. Sihe ruyiFour s-shaped wands are enclosed and connected with each other on four sides, symbolizing everything goes as one wishes. 小孩儿满月与抓周 在中国,小孩儿的满月酒和抓周仪式独具特色。在孩子的成长过程中,这两个仪式有里程碑式的纪念意义。 小孩儿出生满一个月的那天,孩子的家人一般要招呼亲朋挚友,邀请他们一起来庆祝孩子满月。按照中国的传统,这一天,家里会充满了喜庆和节日的氛围,满月酒要

16、办得热热闹闹才行。不过最近这些年,这个习俗在城市尤其是年轻夫妇中有逐渐被淡化的趋势。但是,小孩儿满月对于每个家庭来说,任然都是一个非常值得纪念的高兴的日子。 “抓周儿”中的在“周”是小孩儿满一周岁的意思。关于:“抓周儿”,最早记载于北齐。“抓周儿”也就是在小孩儿满周岁那天,吃中午的长寿面之前,摆上经书、笔、墨、纸、砚、 算盘、钱币、账册、首饰、花朵、胭脂、吃食、玩具等,如果是女孩儿则要加摆铲子、勺子(炊具)、剪子、尺子(缝纫用具)、绣线、花样子(刺绣用具),再由大人将小孩抱来,令其端坐,父母及他人不给予任何的引导或暗示,任孩子随意挑选,看他先抓什么,后抓什么,并以此为依据来预测孩子可能存在的志

17、趣和将从事的职业以及前途。 One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch (Zhuazhou) of Babies In China, the one-month-old feast and one-year-old catch of a baby are of unique Chinese characteristics. These two ceremonies are of milestone-like significance in the growing process of a baby. On the day when a baby is

18、a month old, the family of the baby will invite their friends and relatives to a ceremony to celebrate the occasion . In a traditional one-month-old ceremony, there will be a rejoicing and festive atmosphere in the family and the feast is supposed to be lively and joyful. However, in recent years th

19、is custom has been gradually abandoned among city dwellers, especially among young couples. Nevertheless, the one-month-old ceremony of a baby still remains a memorable and happy moment for every family. Zhou in the word zhuazhou means “a baby is one year old”. The earliest historical record about z

20、huazhou appeared during the Dynasty of northern Qi. On the day when a baby is a year old, The family of the baby will lay out sutras, brush pens, ink sticks, paper, ink slabs, abacus, copper coins, account books, jewelries, flowers, rouge, foods, toys, etc. For girls, scoops, scissor-cut(articles fo

21、r embroidery) will be added. The parents then put the baby in front of these articles and make it sit up. Nobody will give any instruction or cue to the baby so that it is left free to choose by itself. Watching the baby catch the articles it likes, the family can then make predictions about its pot

22、ential interests, future career and development. 十二属相 中国民间有一个传统习俗,人一出生,就有一种动物作他的属相。属相,也叫“生肖”,是中国民间传统的纪年和计算年龄的方法。 中国古代的纪年法是帝王年号与“干支”并用,其中“干支纪年法”从史书上有明文记载的公元前841年(庚申年),一直沿用到现在。“干”是“天干”,由10个字组成,这10个字是:甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、己、庚、辛、壬、癸。“支”是“地支”,由12个字组成,这12个字是:子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戌、亥。把天干的10个字和地支的12个字按顺序配合起来,可以得到60种排列,

23、如:甲子、乙丑、丙寅这60 种排列周而复始,循环使用,每60年叫做“一个甲子”。如公历的2001年,是农历的辛巳年,公历的2002年,是农历的壬午年,而60年后,2061年又是辛巳年,2062年又是壬午年。从东汉(25-220)时开始,人们又用鼠、牛、虎、兔、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪12种动物来配十二地支,组成了十二生肖,也叫十二属相。这就是:子鼠、丑牛、寅虎、卯兔、辰龙、巳蛇、午马、未羊、申猴、酉鸡、戌狗、亥猪。这样,子年是鼠年,丑年是牛年,寅年是虎年于是,每个人一出生,就有一种动物作他的属相。子年出生的属鼠,丑年出生的牛,寅年出生的属虎,以此类推。 现在,中国人在用公历纪年和计算年龄的同

24、时,任然习惯用属相纪年和推算年龄。 Twelve Symbolic Animals It is traditional in China, when a person is born, one animal (shuxiang) is used to symbolize this year. Shuxiang, also called shengxiao (any of the 12 animals representing the Earthly Branches), is a traditional way in China to number the years and to recor

25、d a persons age. The ancient Chinese people invented the method to designate the year by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. The Heavenly Stems consist of ten characters: jia (Heavenly Stem one), yi(Heavenly Stem Two), bing(Heavenly Stem Three), ding(Heavenly Stem Four), wu(Heavenly Stem Five),

26、 ji(Heavenly Stem Six), geng(Heavenly Stnm Seven), xin(Heavenly Stem Eight), ren(Heavenly Stem Nine), and gui(Heavenal Stem Ten). And the Earthly Branches are composed of 12 characters: zi(Earthly Branch One), chou(Earthly Branch Two), yin(Earthly Branch Three), mao(Earthly Branch Four), chen(Earthl

27、y Branch Five), si(Earthly Branch Six), wu(Earthly Branch Seven), wei(Earthly Branch Eight), shen(Earthly Branch Nine), you(Earthly Branch Ten), xu(Earthly Branch Eleven), and hai(Earthly Barch Twelve). Combining each of the 10 Heavenly stems with one of the 12 Earthly Baranches in sequence creates

28、60 chronological symbols. For example, jiazi(Heacenly Stem One Earthly Bratch One), yichou(Heavenly Stem Two Earch Two),Bingyin(Heavenly Stem Three Earthly Branch Three), etc. These 60 symbols are used in circles and thus each year has a chronological symbol. For example, 2001 corresponds to xinsi,

29、2002 to renwu in the lunar calendar; after 60 years, 2061, once again, corresponds to xinsi, and 2062, to renwu .Later, people used 12 animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monken, rooster, dog and pig) to correspond to the 12 Earthly Branches, forming the 12 symbolic Animals

30、, namely, Earthly Branch One Rat, Earthly Branch One Rat, Earthly Branch Two Ox, Earthly Branch Three Tiger, Earthly Branch Four Rabbit, Earthly Branch Five Dragon, Earthly Branch Six Snake, Earthly Branch Seven House, Earthly Branch Eight sheep, Earthly Branch Nine Monkey, Earthly Branch Ten Rooste

31、r, Earthly Branch Eleven Dog, Earthly Branch Twelve Pig. Thus the zi year is the of the Rat, and the chou year is the year of the Ox, and the yin year is the year of the Tiger, etc. therefore, when a person is born, he has an animal. The year 2002 was a renwu year under lunar calendar, also the Year

32、 of House, and so children born ini this year are all House babies. Even though the Chinese People now number the years and their age under the Gregorian calendar, they still continue to use the symbolic animals. As long as people know a persons probable age and his symbolic animal, people can infer his exact age and year of birth. 文房四宝 自古以来,人们写字作画离不开纸、墨、笔、砚。这四种文具被称为“文房四宝”。 中国文房四宝的品种十分丰富。其中最著名的是宣纸,徽墨,湖笔和端砚。 纸宣纸是一种名贵的纸张,早在唐代,就已经作为贡品献给皇帝。由于这种纸的产地在安徽省的宣城附近,所以被人们称为“宣纸”。宣纸洁白、细密、均匀、柔软,拉力大,吸水性强,墨色一落到纸上,就能很快渗透,最能表现出中国书法和绘画的特点。由于宣纸存放很长时间都不会破碎、变色,也不易被虫蛀,所以,很多中国古代的宣纸字画保存了几百年、上千年,仍然完好无损。 墨