郭易英文企管科學院GuoYi BA English Akademia

郭老師祝各位今天七夕情人節都幸福滿滿喔!

看看七夕情人節的中英對照介紹吧

Let's see how much you know about 七夕情人節(Chinese Valentine’s Day)!

轉貼英文介紹：http://www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/culture/0895_cu1.html

Chihsi: Chinese Valentine's Day

By Bernado Tuso
Photos by Sung Chih-hsiung

On the evening of August 2nd (the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar), look carefully at the sky and you will, weather permitting, see the Cowherd (a bright star in the constellation Aquila, west of the Milky Way) and the Weaving Maid (the star Vega, east of the Milky Way) appear closer together than at any other time of the year.

The Chinese believe these stars are lovers. A legend tells how the Weaving Maid, the seventh daughter of the Jade Emperor, fell in love with and married a cowherd. However, they were overindulgent in their love and forgot their farming and weaving duties, which angered the Jade Emperor. He exiled and separated them on opposite banks of the Silver River (Milky Way), allowing them to meet each other only once a year on Chihsi, or the night of the double seventh (seventh month and seventh day), on a bridge formed by magpies.

The Brash and the Fair

Another legend is more romantic. It holds that an orphaned cowherd was mistreated by his elder brother and sister-in-law, and that they gave him an old ox and chased him out. The cowherd worked hard, and after only a couple of years he owned a small farm and house. He was lonely, however, with only the company of that faithful old ox.

One day the ox suddenly opened its mouth and talked, telling the cowherd that the heavenly Weaving Maid and her sisters were going to bathe in the Silver River and that he should go there to rob the Weaving Maid of her clothes while she was in the water. In exchange for the return of her clothes, she would become his wife. Surprised, the cowherd willingly fol-lowed the ox's instruc-tions and hid himself in the reeds at the river-bank, waiting for the girls to bathe.

The girls did come as foretold. As they were splashing about and having fun, the cowherd rushed out of the reeds and grabbed the Weav-ing Maid's clothing. In panic, the sisters dashed to their clothes, hur-riedly put them on, and ran away. The Weaving Maid, deprived of her clothes, stood on the riverbank and tried to cover herself with her hair as best as possible. The cowherd told her that he would not return her clothes unless she promised to be his wife. After a little hesitation and with a mixture of shyness and eagerness, she agreed to his request and they married.

The Jade Emperor at long last learned of the elopement, and in anger he punished them as described in the first legend. If it rains on the night of the double seventh, the time the two lovers meet on the magpie bridge, women on earth used to lament that "our elder sister is crying again." The raindrops are considered the tears of the Weaving Maid.

To complete a ritual passage to adulthood at Tainan's Kailung Temple, a 16-year old must first crawl past and under the offering table for Chiniangma(up) and then circle and pass under a miniature seven-story pagoda.

To Love and Protect

The double seventh is also an important day for young people. Chiniangma, literally meaning "seven mothers," is the name of the Weaving Maid and her six elder sisters, whom the Chinese believe are protectors of children under 16. A custom begun in the Ching dynasty requires parents, when a child reaches one year of age, to use a red thread to tie old coins under the child's neck, a protective amulet from Chiniangma. In the past, some people have substituted a silver coin or even a gold medal for the old coin. The red thread is replaced with a new one on every double seventh until the child grows up.

A person is considered grown up when he or she reaches 16; and a rite to mark the occasion is performed on the double seventh--the birthday of Chiniangma. This is somewhat confusing, since Chiniangma is a unified name; some claim the birthday is the Weaving Maid's, and some assert it belongs to the oldest sister--one more debating topic for the mortals of China.

In Taiwan, this Chiniangma custom is most prevalent in the Tainan area; on the double seventh, people go to Kailung Temple, which is almost 200 years old, and make 16-year-olds perform the ritual passage to adulthood by crawling under the offering table and by circling and passing under, three times, a miniature seven-story pagoda made of bamboo and paper and held up high by their parents.

For the Chinese woman who craves to have a child, double seventh is the best day of the year to beg Chusheng Niangniang, the Goddess of Birth. Who is this merciful goddess? She could be the Weaving Maid or any of her sisters, or any other goddess. There is no single answer; anyway, all some Chinese women care about is a child in their arms.

Coins tied with a red thread and hung around a child's neck are used as a protective amulet in the tradition of Chiniangma.

To Woo or To Be Wooed

A girl will be more attractive to a suitor if she has talents of one kind or another in addition to being beautiful. In the old days of China, needlework was necessary as part of a girl's dowry. The Weaving Maid is also an excellent seamstress.

On the eve of the double seventh, as the old custom goes, love and reproduction falls. Inthe old days, the double seventh functioned as the Chinese womem's day.

So many things--of joy and tears, praise and lament, hope and yearning--fall on the double seventh. Ironically, the whole seventh lunar month, the Chinese believe, is the Ghost Month(from July 27 to August 25 this year on the Gregorian calendar), during which the gates of Hades open, allowing the sprits of the dead(or "good buddies," the Chinese prefer to call them) to roam the earth where the living reside. To avoid any trouble those spirits might make, the living try their best ot shun activities which can be postponed or done beforehand--no moving, no getting married, no shopopening, no project-starting, no swimming(lest you be dragged into the deep), no reckless driving(a good idea anytime), no surgery, and plainly "no nothing."

As Irony plays with life and love, so this time of taking care of the afterworld coincides with Chinese Valentine's Day. Confused? Just remember to take care of love and romance, too.

中國情人節習俗
	由於地域文化的差異，同一個七夕節，全國各地的節日活動內容也各不相同，呈現出豐富多彩的特色。這裡略加闡述各地區的活動。     在江蘇嘉興塘匯鄉古竇涇村，有七夕香橋會。每年七夕，人們都趕來參與，搭制香橋。所謂香橋，是用各種粗長的裹頭香（以紙包著的線香）搭成的長約四五米、寬約半米的橋梁，裝上欄杆，于欄杆上扎上五色線製成的花裝飾。入夜，人們祭祀雙星，乞求福祥，然後將香橋焚化，象徵著雙星已走過香橋，歡喜地相會。這香橋，是由傳說中的鵲橋傳說衍化而來。          在膠東地區，多於七夕拜七姐神。年輕婦女穿上新裝，歡聚一堂，于庭中盟結七姐妹，口唱歌謠：“天皇皇，地皇皇，俺請七姐姐下天堂。不圖你針，不圖你線，光學你七十二樣好手段。”不少地方還製作“巧花”，少女們用麵粉制牡丹、蓮、梅、蘭、菊等帶花的餅饃食品（或稱巧果），還有巧菜，即于酒盅中培育麥芽（此即宋代的“種生”），用巧果、巧菜來祭祀織女。          在陜西，七夕夜女孩子們則要用稻草扎成個一米多高的“巧姑”之形（又叫巧娘娘，即織女），並讓她穿上女孩子的綠襖紅裙，坐在庭院裏；女孩子們供上瓜果，並端出事先種好的豆芽、蔥芽（即“種生”，婦女們稱巧芽芽），剪下一截，入擴一碗清水中，浮在水面上，看月下的芽影，以占卜巧拙；並穿針引線，競爭快慢；舉行剪窗花比賽，以爭智巧。          在福建，婦女、女孩子們擺設香爐和各式祭品：茶、酒，花瓶中插花，還有五子（桂圓、紅棗、榛子、花生、瓜子）和織女用的脂粉。祭拜雙星後，即把獻給織女的脂粉分成兩半，一半投向屋頂給織女，一半自己梳粧美容。相傳與織女共用脂粉，可使自己的美麗容貌保持不衰。而五子的擺設，寓有求生育之意。婦女們並吃茶食瓜果，玩乞巧遊戲。          在廣東，最重視七夕節的是清代、民國年間，並流傳有許許多多有趣的風習。屈大均《廣東新語》中，即已記載了清初“七娘會”的盛況，民國年間，並流傳有許許多多有趣的風習。屈大均《廣東新語》中，即已記載了清初“七娘會”的盛況，民間多稱“拜七姐”。據參加過民國年間的“拜七姐”活動的老人回憶，廣州西關一帶，尤為盛行“拜七姐”。活動一般是在少女少婦中進行（男子與老年婦女只能在一旁觀看，並行禮祭拜而已），預先由要好的十數名姐妹組織起來準備“拜七姐”，在六月份便要將一些稻穀、麥粒、綠豆等浸在瓷碗裏，讓它們發芽。臨近七夕就更加忙碌，要湊起一些錢，請家裏人幫忙，用竹篾紙扎糊起一座鵲橋並且製作各種各樣的精美手工藝品。到七夕之夜，便在廳堂中擺設八仙桌，繫上刺繡臺圍（桌裙），擺上各種精彩紛呈的花果製品及女紅巧物，大顯女兒們的巧藝。有用剪紙紅花帶圍著的谷秧、豆芽盤，盤中點著油燈，燈光透出彩畫薄紙燈罩，艷彩奪目；有精心佈置的插花，幽香四溢的白蘭、茉莉、素馨及其他鮮花插在銅瓷花瓶裏；有茶匙般大的荷、玫瑰、夜合、山茶插在小盆中，一朵真的配一朵假的；還有把蘋果桃柿等生果切削拼疊成各種鳥獸等形狀的果盤；寸許長的繡花衣裙鞋襪及花木屐；用金銀彩線織繡的小羅帳、被單、簾幔、桌裙；指甲大小的扇子、手帕；用小木板敷土種豆粟苗配細木砌的亭臺樓閣，總之是越細緻越顯得巧。又用米粒、芝麻、燈草芯、彩紙製成各種形式的塔樓、桌椅、瓶爐、花果、文房四寶及各種花紋和文字的麻豆砌成的供品；還挂一盞盞的玻璃或彩紙的花燈、宮燈及柚皮、蛋殼燈（上雕山水花鳥圖案），動物形燈。最惹人愛的，是女兒們用彩綢扎制的精美的雛偶，即布娃娃。雛偶有牛郎、織女及一對小兒女的形象，一般放于上層，下邊是吹蕭彈琴舞蹈的小兒形象，慶賀雙星相會之意。還有“西廂”、“紅樓”、“楊門女將”等成套的戲劇人物形象（也與瓷塑雛偶，是家長買給小兒女作節日禮物的）。另外，當然也少不了陳列化粧用品，如小胭脂盒、鏡、彩梳、絨花、脂粉等，既供織女使用，也供女兒們自用。還有蠟制瓜果、小動物等。此外就是甜鹹點心、茶、酒、瓜子、花生等食物，必不可少的是燭臺、香爐、插上香燭，並用最好的檀香點燃。          女兒們在七夕夜要盡情梳粧打扮，用天河水沐浴、洗頭髮，然後換上錦綢裙襖、旗袍，頭上梳髮髻，戴上白蘭、素馨等花飾；再畫眉、抹脂粉、點絳唇、額上印花；用鳳仙花汁染指甲。經過這番打扮，女兒們一個個如同仙子下凡，圍坐于八仙桌旁，鵲橋邊上，進行各種遊戲：或自娛自樂，吟詩作對，行令猜謎，並穿針祭拜乞巧；並指點天上北斗七星（相傳織女是七星姐妹中的一員）及雙星，講述牛女故事、詩文典故；或請來歌姬，演唱粵曲，奏八音樂等，女兒們也自奏琴蕭等樂器。這時人們可往各處人家參觀乞巧桌陳設，到的人雖多，主人也仍高興招待。歡慶至半夜十二點鐘，為織女下凡之吉時，此時所有的燈彩、香燭都點燃，五光十色，一片輝煌；姑娘們興高采烈，穿針引線，喜迎七姐，到處歡聲鼎沸。最後歡宴一番，這才散去。誠如清詩人汪侖（傳說中的魚名）《羊城七夕竹枝詞》聽說：“繡闥瑤扉取次開，花為屏障玉為臺。青溪小女藍橋妹，有約會宵乞巧來。”          其他各地區，七夕之風也大略與上述相近。如清代潘榮陛《帝京歲時紀勝》：“七夕前數日，種麥于小瓦器，為牽牛星之神。謂之‘五生盆’。……街市賣巧果，人家設宴，兒女對銀河拜，鹹為乞巧。”另外北京還要擺設切成蓮花形的西瓜、香瓜等，並於瓜果麥秧上扎彩線，十分美觀。北京竹枝詞，即有“五生盆結綵層層”句，又丟巧針求巧。在清代皇宮中亦有祭祀雙星，宮女丟巧針之俗。在頤和園昆明池上要打浮橋，隱喻天上鵲橋，供帝後觀玩。還有飲宴、演戲等。