【功夫汉语】【技能】用英语讲解中国文化

用英语讲解中国文化



Chinese Classical Garden The Chinese classical garden is a precious treasure of our ancient Chinese architecture. It is a kind of environment art, which systematically combines artificial mountains and rivers, plants and buildings with the natural landscape. The construction standard of a Chinese classical garden is “artificial as it is, the garden must look ingenious and natural.”

When you go sightseeing in a Chinese classical garden, you should be able to appreciate its artistic concept which “makes use of the natural landscape to create the real fun of mountains and rivers for viewers.” Of the world’s three major garden systems, the Chinese classical garden is hailed as one of the origins of the world’s garden due to its long history and abundant connotations.
中国园林是把人造的山水、植物、建筑等与自然地貌有机结合的环境艺术，是我国古代建筑艺术的珍宝。其建造原则是“妙极自然，宛自天开”。游赏中国古典园林，能充分领略“假自然之景，创山水真趣”的园林意境。在世界三大园林体系中，中国园林历史悠久、内涵丰富，被誉为世界造园史上的渊源之一。




The Four Treasures of the Study The writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper were requisite treasures in the study of the scholars of ancient China, and they are often referred to as the “Four Treasures of the Study.” The writing brush and ink stick have been used by the Chinese to write and paint since 5,000 years ago. In the Qin Dynasty (221BC---206BC), people already used feathers of different hardness and bamboo trunks to make brushes.

During the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), man-made ink was used instead of natural ink. After paper was invented by the Chinese, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, brocade and silk, which originally functioned as writing surfaces, gradually faded out. The ink stone was first developed with the use of writing brushes and ink. After the Song Dynasty (960AD---1279AD), the “Four Treasure of the Study” particularly referred to hubi, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang province; huimo, the ink stick produced in Huizhou, Anhui province; xuan paper, a kind of paper produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui province; and duanyan, the ink stone made in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province (Zhaoqing was earlier called Duanzhou). Indeed, the Four Treasures of the Study” have writtin the whole Chinese civilization, as it is.
文房四宝 笔墨纸砚是中国古代文人书房当中必备的宝贝，被称为“文房四宝”。用笔墨书写绘画在中国可追溯到五千年前。秦时已用不同硬度的毛和竹管制笔；汉代以人工制墨替代了天然墨；有了纸张以后，简牍锦帛逐失其用；砚台则随笔墨的使用而发展。 “文房四宝”到宋朝以后特指湖笔、徽墨、宣纸、端砚。可以说文房四宝书写了整个中华文明。



Twelve Symbolic Animals
It is traditional in China,when a perpon is born,one animal(shuxiang)is used to symbolize this year.Shuxiang,also called shengxiao(any ofthe 12 animals representing the Earthly Branches), is a traditional way in China to number the years and to record a person's age.

The ancient Chinese people invented the method to designate the years by the Heavenly Stems consist of the characters:jia,yi,bing,ding,wu,ji,geng,xin,ren,and gui.And the Earthly Branches are composed of 12 characters: zi, shu, yin, mao, chen, si,wu,wei,shen,you,xu,hai.Combining each of the 10 Heavenly Stems with one of the 12 Earthly Branches in sequence creates 60 chronological symbols.For example jiazi,yichou,bingyin,etc.These 60 symbols are used in circles and thus each year has a chronological symbol.For example,2001 corresponds to xinsi,2002 to renwu in the lunar calendar;after 60 years,2061,once again,corresponds to xinsi, and 2062,to renwu.

Later,people used 12 animalsto correspond to the 12 Earthly Branches,forming the 12Symbolic Animals,namely 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 Horse,Earthly Branch Eight Sheep,Earthly Branch Nine Monkey,Earthly Branch Ten Rooster,Earthly Branch Eleven Dog,Earthly Branch Twelve Pig.Thus the zi year is the Year of the Rat,and the chou Year is the year of the Ox,and the yin Year is the Year of the Year of Tiger, etc. Therefore, when a person is born, he has an animal as his aymbolic animal.The year 2002 was a renwu year under lunar calendar,also the year of Horse,and so children born in this yea are all Horse babies.

Even though the Chinese people now number the years and their age under the Gregorian calendar,the still continue to use the symbolic animals.As long as people know a person' probable age and his symbolic animao,people can infer his exact age and year of birth.
十二生肖
中国民间有一个传统习俗，人一出生，就有一种动物做他的属相。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”，有十个字组成，这十个字是：甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、己、庚、辛、壬、癸。“支”是“地支”，由十二个字组成，这十二个字是：子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戌、亥。把天干的十个字和地支的十二个字按顺序配合起来，可以得到60种排列，如：甲子、乙丑、丙寅……

这60种排列周而复始，循环使用，每六十年叫做“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；而六十年后，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、龙、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，丑年出生的属牛，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时，仍然习惯用属相纪年和推算年龄。




Wedding
Marriage is the most important thing in the life.In China, a traditional wedding is simple and lively,ceremonious,and joyful.There are some unique features in this ceremony,but in modern society,especially in the city ,it is hardly seen any more.

The bridal sedan is the core of the traditional wedding.In wedding,the bride should sit in the sedan, then be lifted from her mother's home to her husband' home. Generally,there are two kinds of sedan,that is ,four-lifter and eight-lifter, also divided into "dragon sedan"and"phoenix sedan".There are so many suites who hold gongs,umbrellas,fans and so on,besides lifters,In group,there are more than ten people at least, and the occasion is very magnificent.In a traditional weddin, accompanied with a bridesmaid, the bride wearing a red veil and led along by the bridesgroom who holds a red silk in his hand,enters the bridal sedan.On the way to the husband's home,lifters jolt the sedan as it is necessary in a joyful wedding. Lifters swing the sedan from left to right,causing the bride to sit unsteadily inside. Some times the bridegroom has to substitute for his bride or beg to everyone else, while,all laugh to adding to the jubilance.

The wedding ceremony is the most important part of a traditional Chinese wedding. The newlyweds go to the table for heaven and earth where there is a dou(a kind of basket)full of grain.The dou is written with red paper.There are many coins placed in the four corners of the dou to provide the"luck" meaning to the guests.There is a cypress branch,called "ready source of money",decorated with copper coins.Besides,one steelyard ,a mirror ,a loom,alamp or a candle are also placed near the dou.Afterwards, the groom stand on the left side,the bride right by his side,while the director prompts,"First bow to the heaven and earth; second bow to the parents;third bow to each other".According to the folk saying, they will not be the formal couple until bowing to the heaven and earth.As a result, people pay a great attention to this ceremony.An interesting custom is that if the groom cannot come to this ceremony,he should ask his sister to hold a cock instead.

After taking the bridal sedan,bowing to the heaven,it's time for the newlyweds to go to the bridal chamber.According to custom,their relatives and friends get together in the bridal chamber to banter the newly weds.At this time,the newlyweds will never get angry enven if the teasing games are a bit outrageous,but will try to skillfully dissolve since the relatives and friends intend to delight them.
中式婚礼
结婚是人生中的一件大事。传统的中式婚礼古朴而又热闹，隆重、喜庆并且礼节周全，场面的铺陈颇具特色，不过在现代，尤其是在城市里，已经很少见了。

花轿是传统婚礼的核心内容之一。结婚时，新娘要坐在花轿里从娘家被抬到男方家中。花轿一般分四人抬，八人抬两种，又有“龙轿”“凤轿”之分。除去轿夫之外，还有持笙锣、伞、扇等的随行人员，一般的轿队少则十几人，多则几十人，很是壮观。传统的中式婚礼中，新娘要蒙着红盖头，在伴娘的伴随下，由新郎手持的大红绸牵着，慢慢地登上花轿。在新娘成花轿去往男方家里的途中，颠花轿是必不可少的热闹场面。轿夫一起左摇右摆使花轿不稳，新娘坐在里面也是左摇右晃。有的时候，新郎甚至不得不代替新娘或者和新娘一起向众人抱拳施礼求饶，而这个时候，众人欢笑不止，实际上是为了增添新人成婚之日的喜庆气氛。

中式传统婚礼的最重要的部分便是拜堂成亲。新人走到天地桌前，上面摆放有装满粮食的斗，斗的四周写上“金玉满斗”四个大字，以红纸封口，斗内四角放若干硬币，以供拜完天地后看热闹的亲朋好友掏出来求取吉利之意。斗中要插一柏枝，枝上缀有铜钱，这个柏枝便被称作“摇钱树”。斗旁放一杆秤、一面镜、织布机杼、一灯或一蜡烛。新郎在右，新娘在左，并肩站在天地桌前，执事人高声喊道：“一拜天地，二拜高堂，夫妻对拜”。民间的说法认为，男女只有在拜过天地后才能算作是正式夫妻，因此对这个拜堂的仪式非常重视。还有民间习俗有这样有趣的研究，即如果新郎在结婚的当天因故不能拜天地，就让他的姐妹抱只公鸡来代替。

坐完花轿、拜完天地、接下来新人要入洞房了。洞房是一直延续下来的叫法，新人入了洞房以后，按照习俗，新郎新娘的同辈亲友聚集在洞房里，对新郎新娘开一些充满暗示的玩笑。这时即便过头一点，新郎新娘也不会生气，而是想办法巧妙化解，因为亲朋好友闹洞房图的是高兴和热闹。




Cheong-Sam and Traditional Chinese Costumes
The cheong-sam has its origin in the Manchu female's costumes in the Qing Dynasty and has been regarded as the model of Chinese traditional habilatory culture .As for the reason, the cheong-sam not only accords withe the characteristic of harmony within Chinese culture in terms of the style ,but also shows rich oriental idiosyncracy with regard to ornamental techniques.In addition, the cheong-samwill give more pominence to a lady's slender figure , and also help to heighten the center of gravity of human bodies together withe high-heel shoes, so taht civility,elegance and dignety will be fully displayde.Therefore,the cheong-sam developed its own trend ,which has been long lasting.

As for the traditional clothes of Chinese men ,the long gown and mandarin jacket are typical.Both of them have roundnecks and narrow sleeves. The mandarin jacket can be seen as a kind of Chinese-style jacket with buttons down the front, mostly with sleeves like a horse's hoof.However,the front of long gowns, with buttons on the right,is basically large.There is also a type of garment combining the long gown and the mandarin jacket ,and they will only have the under-half part,buttoning in the under lap of the mandarin jacket.The long gown and mandarin jacket will giver the impression of comfortableness and ease as well as sobriety.

In 2001,the presidents struck a pose on the stage in Chinese style costumes at the APEC Forum,and thus a trend of wearing Chinese style costumes came into being. The very reason why clothing with Chinese style has been labeled as Chinese -style costumes is that the place where overseas Chinese reside in has been called “Chinese town “and consequently the costumes which the Chinese wear are called Chinese style costumes. Current Chinese-style costumes were transformed from the mandarin jacket of the Qing Dynasty, and there are four major characteristics in terms of design. First, Chinese-style costumes have a stand-up collar and buttons in very middle of the front of the jacket; second, there is no seam between sleeves and jacket; third, the costumes are jackets with buttons down the front or in diagonal way; last, they have right-angled buttons. In addition, with regard to the outside material, Chinese costumes are mostly made with silk.

Moreover, the feature of clothing varies with areas and nationalities. For instance, the bellyband is the traditional close-fitting costume in Central China and north of Shanxi .The bellyband is just like the front of vest with a lace tying to the neck and it an prevent children from catching a cold. The children's wearing of bellyband will also show their naivety. Most bellybands will be embroidered with the pattern of tiger head and the "Five Poisons”, which contain a parents' nice expectation of wishing their children health. To take the costumes of the Yi Nationality as another example, they are rather distinctive with three types of women's had wears including decorating brocade round the head and ASAP with an embroidered case. Especially in the area of Hong he, women's head wears are full of beautiful colors and styles .They prefer silver ornaments to show their riches and beauty .However, the manteaux can be regarded as the distinctive costumes for all people of the YiNationality, which are mostly made of fur, delaine, hemp and straw and whose colors are mainly cyan and blue.
旗袍与中国传统服饰
旗袍源自清代满族女性服饰，被誉为中国传统服饰文化的典范。它不仅在整体造型的风格方面符合中国文化和谐的特点，而且它的装饰手法也展现着浓厚的东方特质。另外，穿旗袍可以增加形体的修长感，配上中高跟鞋，更可以抬升人体的重心，将东方女性的端庄、典雅和含蓄的美展露出来。因此旗袍在中国民族服装中独领风骚，久盛而不衰。

中国男子的传统服饰比较有代表性的为长袍、马褂，长袍和马褂都是满族男子的服装，盘领、窄袖，马褂是对襟，大都有马蹄袖，长袍为大襟。也有马褂、长袍相连的两部形式，这种形式的长袍只有下半截，连扣在马褂的内下摆。长袍马褂给人的感觉是既不乏庄重，又显得洒脱和舒适。

2001年APEC会议各国元首穿着“唐装”集体亮相，掀起了一股以穿“唐装”为时尚的风潮。将“唐装”作为中式服装的通称，主要因为国外都称华人居住的地方为“唐人街”，所以“唐人”作为中式服装的通称，主要是因为国外都称华人居住的地方为“唐人街”，所以“唐人”穿的衣服自然就叫做“唐装”了。当今的“唐装”是由清代的马褂演变而来的，它的款式结构有四大特点：一是立领，上衣前中心开口，立式领型；二是连袖，即袖子和衣服整体没有接缝，以平面裁剪为主；三是对襟，也可以是斜襟；四是直角扣，也就是盘扣；另外从面料来说，则主要使用织锦缎面料等。

另外，中国不动地域和不同民族的服饰也各有特色。比如，肚兜就是关中和陕北的传统的贴身服饰，肚兜的形状就像背心的前襟，上面用布带系在脖颈上，下面两边各有一条带子系在腰间，它可以避免肚子受凉，夏天时儿童穿在外面也显得天真烂漫。在儿童穿的肚兜上尝尝绣有虎头像和“五毒”图案，给予了大人希望孩子健康成长的美好祝愿。再比如，中国少数民族彝族的服饰也很有特点。彝族妇女的头饰大致有缠头、包帕、绣花帽三类，其中红河地区妇女的头饰更是琳琅满目，以银饰为贵为美。披风是彝族男女皆备的特色服装，以动物皮毛、毛麻织品和草编织制品为原料，以青、蓝二色为主。



One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch(zhuazhou) of babies
In China,One-Month-Old Feast and One-Year-Old Catch of a baby are of unique Chinese characteristics. These two ceremonies are milestone-like significance in the growing process of a baby.

On the day when a baby is 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 this custom has been gradually abandoned among young people. Nevertheless, One-Month-Old Feast 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 zhuazhou appearde during the Dynasty of Northern Qi.On the day when ababy 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, rouges,foods,toys,etc.For girls, scoops, scissors, rulers, thread, scissor-cut will be added.The parents then put the baby in front of these articles and make it sit up. Nobody will give and 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 potential interests,future career and development.
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，满月就要办得热热闹闹才行。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，仍然是一个非常值得纪念的高兴的日子。

“抓周儿”中的“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趣和将从事的职业以及前途。




Chinese Characters Chinese characters were initially meant to be simple pictures used to help people remember things. After a long period of development, it finally became a unique character system that embodies phonetic sound, image, idea, and rhyme at the same time.

The writing system, which was extremely advanced in ancient times, began with inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells, and these are regarded as the original forms of Chinese characters. Afterwards, Chinese characters went through numerous calligraphic styles: bronze inscriptions, official script, regular script, cursive script, running script, etc.

Chinese characters are usually round outside and square inside, which is rooted in ancient Chinese beliefs of an orbicular sky and a rectangular Earth. The five basic strokes of Chinese characters are “---“ (the horizontal stroke) “│” (the vertical stroke), “／”( the left-falling stroke), “＼” (the right-falling stroke), and “乙” (the turning stroke).
汉字是从原始人用以记事的简单图画，经过不断演变发展最终成为一种兼具音、形、意韵的独特文字。现存中国古代最早成熟的文字是甲骨文，被认为是现代汉字的初形。此后，汉字又经历了金文、隶书、楷书、草书、行书等不同的阶段。汉字结构“外圆内方“， 源于古人”天圆地方“的观念。汉字有五种基本笔画，即：横、竖、撇、捺、折。




Chinese Chopsticks The Chinese way of eating with chopsticks is unique in the world. The recorded history of chopsticks started more than three thousand years ago. Chopsticks were named zhu in ancient Chinese. They look deceptively simple to use, but possess multi-various functions, such as clamping, turning over, lifting up, raking, stirring, scooping, poking, tearing, and so on.

Chopsticks were taken as an auspicious mascot by ordinary people in ancient China. For example, the partial tone of chopsticks is often used by people as a metaphor at weddings to indicate a blessing or benediction for the couple to have a baby soon. Unlike using a knife and fork or one’s own hands, a pair of chopsticks also implies the meaning of “Harmony is what matters”. Chopsticks are highly praised by Westerners as a hallmark of ancient oriental civilization.
筷子 中国人使用筷子就餐的方式在世界上独树一帜。有史记载用筷的历史已有三千多年。筷子古时称为箸，它看似简单，但却同时具有夹、拨、挑、扒、拌、撮、戳、撕等多种功能。中国民间视筷子为吉祥之物，如婚俗中将筷子隐喻为快生贵子的祝福等。与使用刀叉以及手抓的 方式不同，成双结对的筷子含有“和为贵“的意蕴。西方人赞誉筷子是古老的东方文明。




Yangko Yangko is one of tradition folk dance of Han in China. It is usually performed in northern provinces. The dancers usually wear colorful and light costumes, and the performance is powerful and rapid. During some festivals such as Spring Festival, Lantein Festival, if people hear the sound of drum and gong, no matter how cold the weather is , they will come to street and appreciate the Yangko. Recent years, the old people in city of east-northern of China organized the team of Yangko by themselves, the teamers keep their health by dancing Yangko the whole year.
秧歌 秧歌舞是中国汉族的一种民间传统舞蹈，通常在北方省份表演。秧歌舞者通常穿上明亮多彩的表演服装，他们的表演动作有力迅速。在农历春节、元宵节等节日期间，人们一旦听到锣鼓声，不管外面天气有多冷，他们都会蜂拥到街上看秧歌舞表演。近年来，中国东北某些城市的老年人自发组织了了秧歌队，队员常年通过跳秧歌舞来保持健康，同事他们也乐在其中。




Dumplings Dumplings are one of the Chinese people’s favorite traditional dishes. According to an ancient Chinese legend, dumplings were first made by the medical saint---Zhang Zhongjing. There are three steps involved in making dumplings: 1) make dumpling wrappers out of dumpling flour; 2) prepare the dumpling stuffing; 3) make dumplings and boil them. With thin and elastic dough skin, fresh and tender stuffing, delicious taste, and unique shapes, dumplings are worth eating hundreds of times.

There’s an old saying that claims, “Nothing could be more delicious than dumplings”. During the Spring Festival and other holidays, or when treating relatives and friends, Chinese people like to follow the auspicious custom of eating dumplings. To Chinese people who show high reverence for family love, having dumplings at the moment the old year is replaced by the new is an essential part of bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new year.
饺子是深受中国人民喜爱的传统食品。相传为古代医圣张仲景发明。饺子的制作是包括： 1）擀皮、2）备馅、3）包馅水煮三个步骤。其特点是皮薄馅嫩，味道鲜美，形状独特，百食不厌。民间有“好吃不过饺子”的俗语。中国人接亲待客、逢年过节都有包饺子吃的习俗，寓意吉利。对崇尚亲情的中国人来说，“更岁交子”吃饺子，更是欢度除夕、辞旧迎新必不可少的内容。




Acupuncture Acupuncture is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In accordance with the “main and collateral channels” theory in TCM, the purpose of acupuncture is to dredge the channel and regulate qi and blood, so as to keep the body’s yin and yang balanced and achieve reconciliation between the internal organs. It features in traditional Chinese medicine that “internal diseases are to be treated with external therapy”.

The main therapy of acupuncture involves using needles to pierce certain acupoints of the patient’s body, or adopting moxibustion to stimulate the patient’s acupoints so as to stimulate the channels and relieve pain. With its unique advantages, acupuncture has been handed down generation after generation and has now spread all over the world. Nowadays, acupuncture, along with Chinese food, kung fu (otherwise known as Chinese martial arts), and traditional Chinese medicine, has been internationally hailed as one of the “four new national treasures.”
针灸是中医学的重要组成部分。按照中医的经络理论，针灸疗法主要是通过疏通经络、调和气血，来达到阴阳归于平衡，使脏腑趋于调和之目的。其特点是“内病外治”。主要疗法是用针刺入病人身体的一定穴位，或用艾火的温热刺激烧灼病人的穴位，以达到刺激经络。治疗病痛的目的。针灸以其独特的优势，流传至今并传播到了世界，与中餐、功夫、中药一起被海外誉为中国的“新四大国粹”。

本文来自网络，精选几篇文章中的内容编辑而成，原文均未找到出处。

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