代王安石《祭蘇虞部文》曰：聊陳薄奠，以告

代王安石《祭蘇虞部文》曰：聊陳薄奠，以告 代王安石《祭蘇虞部文》曰:“聊陳薄奠,以告長違”。分開日久稱作“久違”,與“長違”的意思相去甚遠。若與友人闊別多年,可用“睽違數載”來表達,睽違就是分離。 道家思想對中國文化影響深遠。道教相信修煉者得道後能駕鶴飛升,“化鶴”本是得道成,之意,現在則泛指去世。東晉陶淵明《搜神後記》載:“丁令威本遼東人,學道於靈虛山,後化鶴歸遼”。唐代詩人崔顥《黃鶴樓》一詩又云: 昔人已乘黃鶴去～此地空餘黃鶴樓。 黃鶴一去不復返～白雲千載空悠悠。 黃鶴樓位於武漢,因古代傳說而富神秘色彩。一說謂古代,人子安曾乘鶴經過此地;另一說謂三國時費褘得道,在此駕鶴登,。不論何者為正,詩人之意在於借黃鶴樓抒己懷,慨嘆世事多變,滄海桑田。 道教相信,人得道後會長出鳥羽,飛升上天,故又以“羽化”作為成,之喻。晉代葛洪《抱朴子?對俗》曰:“古之得,者,或身生羽翼,變化飛行。”宋代蘇軾《前赤壁賦》有以下一句:“浩浩乎如馮虛御風,而不知其所止,飄飄乎如遺世獨立,羽化而登,”,寫作者與友人泛舟峭壁之下,在悠悠天地間恬靜寡欲的出塵境界。現今“羽化”一般解作離開人世。 **不同身分的人亡故,說法迥異。“薨謝”、“崩逝”專指王侯辭世;痛失賢良謂之“梁摧”、“玉摧”;“星隕”、“隕落”表示偉人身故;女子夭亡以“蕙損蘭摧”、“玉碎珠沉”喻之;未成年者早逝稱為“夭折”、“夭亡”。粵劇《帝女花?香夭》一折,講述長平公主與駙馬周世顯在連理樹下合巹交拜後雙雙仰藥自盡。長平公主貴為龍宮之花、崇禎皇帝的掌上明珠,其辭世遂以“香夭”代表。 委婉語的作用,是避免語言上的禁忌。在漢語裏,喻指離世的委婉語數目逾百,“過身”、“作古”、“謝世”、“安息”、“歸西”、“凋落”、“,游”、“永訣”、“善終”、“就木”、“撒手人寰”、“壽終正寢”:“正寢”是住宅的正房,古時諸侯將薨,遷於正寢:,都是較為常見的例子。 一個民族的文化底蘊越深,委婉語便越豐富。漢語委婉語之多,正好反映中國文化之深厚,也反映了中華民族含蓄敦厚的性情。 * 怙,粵音“戶”,普通話讀作“hù”。 ** 薨,粵音“轟”,普通話讀作“hōng”。 公務員事務局法定語文事務部 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES DIVISION, CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU 文訊 WORD POWER 第三十三期 二零零八年九月 Issue No.33 September 2008 The Journey of Life What is life? It is a question that has been asked and pondered upon by philosophers, writers and many others. Despite centuries of meditation, there is no standard answer, considering that all individuals are unique and they perceive their lives in their own way. The meaning of life is open to interpretation. “Everything flows and nothing stays… You can’t step twice into the same river.” This is one of the famous aphorisms of Heraclitus (540-480 BC). The Greek philosopher suggests that nothing lasts forever and hence nothing can transcend time. Life is like a body of flowing water which is constantly changing. When we step into the river again, it appears to be the same as before. Yet, it is no longer the same river that has wet our feet because the water is ever flowing. By the same token, we are different from the “we” that stepped into the water some time ago. Life never repeats itself. It can be lived only once and every moment of it should be treasured. “Time and tide wait for no man.” This English proverb echoes the words of wisdom of Russian writer Maxim Gorky (1868-1936): “Time is the most fair and reasonable — it never gives more to anyone.” Time flies like an arrow and no one can wind back the clock. There are so many things we need to look after in our daily lives that sometimes we have no time to catch our breath. Life is long if we live it meaningfully; life is transient if we just idle away our time. Instead of waiting for opportunities to emerge, we should seize our time and make the best out of it. Procrastination is the thief of time, and making up for lost time is not easy. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) says in Stray Birds, a collection of his poems, “The best does not come alone. It comes with the company of the all.” Though not as dramatic as a roller coaster ride, life is often marked by many ups and downs. Good times and bad times come in the same way as the tide ebbs and flows. At certain points in our life, the sea may be rough. As long as we do not lose heart in adversity, we