英语泛读第二册Numbers-and-Omens原文及翻译

1NumbersandOmensThereisasetoffamousstreetsinGaoxiongCityinTaiwan,China,whichallbeginwithnumbers.TheyareYixin(OneHeart),Ersheng(TwoSacreds),Sanduo(ThreeMores),Siwei(FourUpholds),Wufu(FiveFortunes),Liuhe(SixRealm),Qixian(SevenVirtues),Bade(EightMoralPrecepts),Jiuru(NineWishes),andShiquan(PerfectTen)streets.Thissequenceofauspiciousstreetnamesgivespeopleawarmfeelingwhentheyhearit,andbringmorethanalittlelucktotheresidents.Manyforeignvisitorscan’thelpbutexclaimthattheChinesearereallycreative,andcanlinenumbersupso“auspiciously”.Chinesenotonlyusenumberstoappealforgoodfortune,theyalsobringthemouttochewpeopleout:“You250[fool],youdothingsneitherthreeorfour[withoutanyorderoroutoftouch],andstillyoudaretosaythatI’m13points[stupid]and3-8[scatterbrained].”Althoughitisn’treallypossibletoknowwherethesecamefrom,onethingisforsure:numbersareintimatelyrelatedtothedailylifeofChinese!中国台湾的高雄市有一组有名的道路，都是以数字起头，它们是一心路、二圣路、三多路、四维路、五福路、六合路、七贤路、八德路、2九如路、十全路。这一串吉祥的路名让人听了感到温暖，并给沿街居民带来不少好运气。许多外国游客赞叹不已，说中国人真有创造性，竟能够把数字排列得如此“吉祥”。中国人不仅用数字求好运，还用数字骂人：“你这个二百五（呆子），你做事不三不四（不上规矩），你还敢说我是十三点（愚蠢），说我是三八（心不在焉）。”尽管不可能真的了解这些用法的来源，但是有一点可以肯定：数字与中国人的日常生活密切相关！OriginsintheBookofChangesInantiquity,peoplekepttalliesbytryingknots,andonlyemployednumbersandwordslateron.Fromnaturalphenomenaandlifeexperience,peoplecametorecognizethesignsofchangeinaparticularmatter.Forexample,therewastheancients’sayingthat“ifthemoonhasahaloitwillbewindy,andadampplinthforetellsrain.”Itisinevitablethattherewillbemisfortuneinlife,sopeoplebegantoadoptwaystoattracttheauspiciousandexpelthemalicious.Addtothisthatpeoplehavepsychologicalactivityandtheabilitytolinkthingstogetherintheirminds,andawholesetofauspiciousness-attractingandevil-expellinghabitstookshape.3源出《易经》：远古时期人们结绳记事，后来才使用数字和文字。通过观察自然现象、积累生活经验，人们逐渐能够认识万物变化的预兆，比如，古人说：“月晕知风，础润知雨。”由于生活中不可避免地会发生不幸事件，所以人们就用各种方式祈福驱邪，加上人们的心理活动和联想能力，于是就形成了一整套祈福避祸的风俗习惯。TheIChingorBookofChangesisacompilationwhichrecordstheexperienceofpeopleinancienttimeswithluckanddivination.IntheBookofChanges,eachnumberhassomesignificance:oneisthetai-jior“greatsupreme”,twoisthe“tworituals”,threeisforthe“threepowers”,fourforthe“fourdirections”,fiveisforthe“fivepathway”,sixstandsforthe“sixrealm’,sevenforthe“sevenrulesofgovernment”,eightmeansthe“eighttrigrams”,nineisforthe“ninechains”,andtenisthetendepictions”.《易经》记载了古人预测吉凶祸福的占卜活动，《易经》中的每一个数字都有一定的含义：一为“太极”，二为“两仪”，三为“三才”，四为“四象”，五为“五行”，六为“六合”，七为“七政”，八为“八卦”，九为“九星”，十为“十干”。Weoftensay“threeyangmakegoodfortune”todescribethehopethatmisfortunewillbeheldatbayandgoodluckwillfollow.ItisasayingoftenusedattheNewYearandsymbolizesanewbeginningand4findsitsoriginsintheBookofChanges.YangisthepositiveforceandthereisenormousYangandveryweakYin(Negativeforce)inthefirst,second,andthirdoftheninetrigrams.SothethreeYangareverypositive.我们常说“三阳开泰"，以期远离凶险，万事亨通。这句成语源自《易经》，常常在新年里使用，表示新的开端。阳是宇宙间的正气，在九爻的第一爻、第二爻和第三爻中，阳已经远盛于阴，所以三阳的阳气极盛。Someonefeelsthatnumbershavenoconnectionwithfortunegoodorill,saysthattheonlysignificancenumbershaveiswhatpeopleascribetothem.Tryingtosaythatagivennumberiseitherauspiciousorominousismeresuperstition.Still,unliketheWesternsensitivitytothenumber13,Chinesehaveawholephilosophybuiltuparoundnumbers,whichisspreadorexperiencedinreallife.国际道教基金会主席李恒力（音译）认为数字和祸福并无任何联系，它们的意义是人们强加上去的，硬要说一个数字吉利或不祥，只不过是迷信而已。中国人不像西方人那样只对数字13敏感，他们对数字有一整套观点，体现在日常生活中。5Godscanbealone,butpeoplecannotOneisnumbermarkingthebeginning,andalsohasthemeaningof“independent”or“alone”.神仙可以孤单，人却不能孤单：“一”是表示开端的数字，同时含有“单独”或“孤单”的意思。InTaiwanpeoplepreferevennumberswhichsymbolize“fortunecomesinpairs.Theyaremorewaryofone,three,five,seven,andnine.Becausethecharacterfor“odd”inChinese(dan)alsomeans“alone”,peoplearenotveryfondofit.Butalthoughpeoplelikeevennumbers,thegodscanbealone.Thusinodd-numberedmonthsholidayshavebeenstipulatedtohelppeoplegetby,fromNewYears(firstdayofthefirstmonthonthelunarcalendar)andTombSweepingDay(thirddayofthethirdmonth)todragonBoatFestival(fifthofthefifth),ChineseValentine’sDay(sevenoftheseventh),andOldPeople’sDay(ninthdayoftheninthmonthinthelunarcalendar).台湾神学院神学教授童凤婉（音译）指出，台湾人偏爱双数，因为双数表示“好事成双”。他们对一、三、五、七、九等单数比较谨慎。由于单数的“单”字在汉语里有“孤单”的意思，所以人们不大喜欢这个字。虽然人们喜欢双数，但神仙们却可以孤单，因此单月里定下一些节日让人们庆祝，从新年（农历正月初一）和清明节（三月初三），到端午节（五6月初五）、七夕（七月初七）和重阳节（九月初九）等都是单数。Atweddings,whenChinesepeoplegive“redenvelopes”withgiftsofcash,theyonlysendevenamounts,like1200or3600.becausethepronunciationof“four”isclosetothatof“death”,ifyousend4400tothebrideandgroom,peoplewon’tbegratefulandmightevencriticizeyoubehindyourbackforfailingtounderstandbasicmanners.Atfunerals,ontheotherhand,peopleusuallygiveofferingswiththelastdigitbeingodd,soastoavoidillfortunenotcome“alone”.婚礼上，中国人会送装有现金的“红包”，但只送双数，如1200元或3600元。由于台湾话“四”的发音近似“死”，所以，如果你送给新郎新娘4400元的话，他们不但不会感谢你，甚至还会暗地里骂你不懂规矩。然而在葬礼上，人们送礼的末位数都是单数，这是为了避免“祸不单行”。HappinesscomesinpairsWhenpeoplegotmarriedinancienttimes,betrothalgiftswouldincludeadocumentrecordingallthedetailsoftheaccompanyinggifts.Thewritingstylewasrathermeticulous.Thus,forexample,chickensorduckswouldbewrittenas“Fourwingsofpoultry”.Goldbraceletswouldbewritten“Goldbraceletsbecomingapair”.Candleswouldbewrittenas“Festivalcandleswithdoubleglow”.Noplacewouldoddnumbersbe7allowed.双喜临门：娄祝匡（音译）教授在《中国民间习俗》一书中提到，古代人结婚送聘礼嫁妆时，会附一张礼帖，详细 记录 混凝土 养护记录下载土方回填监理旁站记录免费下载集备记录下载集备记录下载集备记录下载 每一件礼物，措辞颇有讲究，譬如，鸡鸭会写成“德禽四翼”，金手镯写成“金镯成双”，蜡烛写成“喜烛双辉”，绝不允许出现单数。Wheninquiringintotheother’snameandthe“eightcharacterhoroscope”oftheotherparty,itwouldbewrittenforinstance:“Thegroom[orbride]isinthebeginningofthesixthmonthofhis[her]twentiethyear,havingbeenbornatsuch-and-suchanhour…”ThenumberofcharactersintheChinesetextwouldalwayshavetoadduptoanevennumber;iftheywereshortonethenan“auspicious”characterwouldbeadded.”向女方“问名”或互换“生辰八字”用的庚贴可能会写成“男某某乾造某某年某某月某某日某时建生”以及“女某某坤造某某年某某月某某日某时瑞生”，所用字数也要凑成偶数，如果缺一个字，就会加上一个“吉祥”的字。Awriteraddsthatbecausethecharacterfor“odd”alsomeans“incomplete”,whenshewasinheroldhomeinBeijing,theywouldalwaysmakesurethatthenumberofsteamedrollsmadeforNewYear’swaseveninordertomakeagoodbeginning.8作家肖敏（音译）补充说，由于“单”字含有“不完整”之意，所以，在她的北京老家，新年时人们做的花卷一定得是双数，预示着有个好的开始。Ascholaroffolktraditions,arguesthatChinesehavealwaysbeenratherinclinedtothenumberthree.JustopenupaChinesedictionaryandtherearesayingsusingthreeormultiplesthereofsprinkledeverywhere.Theyareevenmorenumerousinlocalsayingsandslang.民俗学者黄博和（音译）认为，中国人一向比较喜欢使用“三”这个数字。打开任何一本汉语词典，随处可见由“三”或其倍数构成的词组，各地的谚语和俚语中更是不计其数。HepointsoutthatonereasonChineselikethreeisthatitstandsfor“many”.InLaoTzuitissaidthat“Taogavebirthtotheone,theonegavebirthtotwo,twogavebirthtothree,andthreegavebirthtotenthousandsofthings.”Fromnothingtosomething,orsomethingtoinfinity,“three”playsacriticalrole.他指出，中国人喜欢“三”字的一个原因是，三表示“多”。《老子》中写道：“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。”从无到有，从有到无限，“三”起着关键作用。ElevatorswithoutfourthfloorsInancientChinathenumber4and72wereperhapsbothmysterious9numbers,andmoreoverthat“four”wasasymbolforthegreatearth.没有四楼的电梯：学者苏雪林（音译）写道，在中国古代，“四”和“七十二”这两个数字可能都是神秘的数字，而且“四”象征着大地。ButinTaiwanfourisnotespeciallywelllooked-upon.Hospitalsandhotelsnormallyhavenofourthfloor,andthenumbersintheelevatorjustskiprightfromthreetofive.It’sprobablyonlyinplaceswhereChinesepeoplelivethatthistypeoffacilityisnecessary.Also,thepriceofanapartmentonthefourthfloorisusuallycheaper.但是，在台湾“四”却不那么受欢迎，医院和旅馆通常没有四楼，电梯上的数字从“三”直接跳到“五”。也许只有在中国人生活的地方，才需要有这样的设施。此外，四楼的房价也常常会低一些。Ingeneral,Chineseassignlittlegoodorbadsignificanceto“five”.“Maythefivefortunesapproachyourdoor”isasayingoftenseenatfestivaloccasions.Thefivefortunesarelonglife,wealth,health,anethicallife,andapeacefuldeath.一般说来，“五”在中国人看来并没有什么好坏的意义。节庆时，人们常见到“五福临门”四个字，所谓五福，即寿、富、康宁、攸好德、考终命。Besidesthis,thefiveelements(metal,wood,water,fire,earth)providedaframeworkforpeopleatformertimestoclassifynatural10phenomena.Confucianismalsosaysthatfiveimpliestheconceptof“themean.”此外，过去人们用五行（金、木、水、火、土）划分自然现象，儒家也认为“五”字含有“中庸”之意。Confuciansbelievethatfiveisveryclosetothepathofthegoldenmeanof“adoptingthemiddlebetweentwoextremes”,andalsopromotesthethoughtofthe“fivepathways”.Asanumber,fivehastwoatthefrontandtwobehind,withoneinthemiddle.Thusfivefitsinwellwiththeideaofthe“mean”alwayspromotedbyConfucianscholars.占卜术作家甄醉（音译）指出，儒家认为“五”非常接近“不偏不倚”的中庸之道，促进了“五行”之说。“五”这个数字，前面有两个数，后面有两个数，当中是一个数，“当中这个数居于正中，左右各有两个数辅助，因此，„五‟正符合儒家所提倡的„中庸‟思想”，他这样写道。Onesixeight,onthewaytosuccessWheredid“66everythinggoessmoothly”comefrom?Itmighthavesomethingtodowithplayingdice.Sixisthelargestnumberonadice,sowouldn’tonewinbycomingupwithtwosixes?一六八，一路发:“六六大顺”这句话源自何处？中国风俗与手工艺基金会秘书长林茂霄（音译）认为，这句话可能和掷骰子有关。骰子上最大的点数是“六”，如果你掷出了两个“六”，不就赢了吗？11Accordingtoinformalstatistics,notmanypeopletakeseventobealuckynumber.AccordingtotheoldYuHsiaoLingYin,whensomeonefirstdiesthemourningperiodshouldbesevendays.“Doingthesevens”isthecustomatfuneralsinFukieneseareas.Forthefirstsevendaysaftersomeonepassesaway,totheseventhdays,thereareappropriateritualsforeach.Somepeople,becausethenumbersevencaneasilybringtomind“doingthesevens”,plusthefactthattheseventhmonthofthelunaryearis“ghostmonth”,don’tlikeit.根据非官方统计，极少人把“七”当作吉祥数字。古书YuHsiaoLingYin（此书名待查--译注）上说，人一去世需服丧七天。“做七”是福建的丧葬习俗，从一个人去世后的头七天，到第七个七天，都有相应的仪式。由于“七”这个数字容易使人想到“做七”，加上农历七月是“鬼月”，所以，有些人不喜欢数字“七”。Thefondnessfor“eight”comes,mostpeoplewouldsay,fromtheCantonese.InCantonese,eightand“success”aresimilarinsound.AndinNorthChina,thereisthesayingthat“ifyouwanttosucceed,don’tstrayfromeight”.大多数人认为，人们对“八”的喜爱源于广东话，因为广东话里的八和“发”读音相近，中国北方也有这么一句话，“要得发，不离八”。HongKong,wheremostofthepopulationisCantonese,isperhaps12theplacewherefaithinnumbersisstrongest.Itisaverycrowded,verycompetitiveindustrialmetropolis.Businessmenareespeciallyobsessedwithsuccessorfailure,sotheyhavetoincludeauspiciousnessinconsiderationofanyaffairlikeopeningafactoryorsigningacontract.Iftheycanchooseadaywitheightinit,thentheyhavea“successful”beginning.Ninesymbolizessmoothnessandendurance,whilesix,asnoted,isfor“66everythinggoessmoothly.以广东人为主的香港也许是最迷信数字的地方。李恒力分析说，香港是一个拥挤不堪、充满竞争的工商业大都市，商人们极其关注生意的成败，所以，他们在诸如工厂开业、签订 合同 劳动合同范本免费下载装修合同范本免费下载租赁合同免费下载房屋买卖合同下载劳务合同范本下载 等活动中都要考虑是否吉利。如果选择了含“八”的日子，那么他们就有了一个“成功”的开端。“九”代表顺利和长久；“六”，则如前文所说，表示"六六大顺”。Inthe1980s,luckynumberswentfromHongKongintoGuangdongProvinceasthistrendbegantospreadfromsouthtonorth.ThelastdigitsofthephonenumberoftheCantonHotelare8168,ahomophonefor“successandyetmoresuccess”.MostoftheshoestoresintheLongfuBuildinginBeijinguse“auspicious”pricesontheirtags.Oneofthefastestmoversisonewhosetagis168,whichsymbolizes“theroadtosuccess”.Andwhenbusinessmenstayinhotels,theyliketostayinrooms518,688or816.onehotelinGuangdongevenhasahigher13priceonroomswithluckynumbers.20世纪80年代，吉利数字开始由南向北从香港传到中国大陆的广东省。《中国时报》专栏作家刘成峰（音译）在一篇报道中指出，广州宾馆电话号码的最后几位数字是8168，与“发一路发”谐音。北京龙府商厦（音译）里大部分鞋店都在价目牌上标上“吉祥”价码。标价为168元的鞋子是卖得最快的一种，因为这个数字象征“一路发”。商人住宾馆时，喜欢住518、688或816等房间。广州的一家宾馆，吉利号码的房间开价竟然比其它房间高。Believeitornot,it’suptoyouNinegenerallyreferstoagreatmajorityorlargenumbers.Informertimespeopleoftenusedninetosay“agreatmany.”信不信由你：“九”一般指大多数或大数目。过去，人们常用九表示“许多”。Becausenineisanextremenumber,Chinesehavethesayingthatitisinauspicioustorunacrossnine.Especiallyforoldermen,the69thand79thbirthdaysarecelebratedasthe70thand80thinstead.Manypeoplealsobelievethatayoungmanof29isatthedecisivepointinlife.由于“九”是个极数，所以，中国人认为碰到“九”不吉利。尤其是老年男性，69岁和79岁的生日是当70岁和80岁的生日过。许多人还认14为29岁是人生中的关键时刻。Whenpeopleuseluckynumberstosymbolizewealthandfortune,orpeaceandbenevolence,andnumbercanbeexplainedinsuchawayastomakeitfit.Aren’t“everythingstartswithoneandcomesaroundagain,”“sevengenerationslivingtogether”,and“wealthflowingacrossthefourseas”allpleasingtotheears?任何一个数字都可以被解释成吉数，用来表示财富与好运、和平与慈悲，等等。“万事始于一，周而复始”，“七世同堂”，“四海财源滚滚来”，这些话不是一样顺耳吗？Althoughthat’seasyenoughforustosay,therearestillplentyofpeoplewhoplaythelotteriesorplaytheponies,runningnearandfar,burningincensetothegods,lookingforaluckynumberthatbelongsonlytothem!说起来虽然容易，但还是有许多玩彩票、赌赛马的人到处烧香求神，寻找属于他们自己的吉利数字！Notes:1.一心，二圣，三多，四维，五福，六合，七贤，八德，九如，十全2.divination:占卜术3.tai-ji:太极4.tworituals:两仪155.fourdirections:四象6.fivepathways:五常（仁、义、礼、智、信）7.eighttrigrams:八卦8.dan:单9.eightcharacterhoroscope:生辰八字10.thefiveelements(metal,wood,water,fire,earth):五材（金、木、水、火、土）11.themean:中庸