英文版七夕起源 牛郎與織女的愛情故事

日期：2018-08-17 09:53 點擊：

【英文版：七夕起源】

The story goes that Zhi Nu, a goddess renowned for her weaving skills, went to the mortal world and met a cow herder named Niu Lang. The two fell in love, got married, and had two children. But when Zhi Nu’s mother, the queen mother of heaven, found out about their union, she became upset and angry, taking Zhi Nu back to heaven.

故事講述的是，一位以織造技藝而聞名的仙女織女來到人間，遇見了一個叫牛郎的放牛娃，兩人互生愛意，私自結(jié)婚，生了兩個孩子。但好景不長，織女的母親王母娘娘發(fā)現(xiàn)了他們的結(jié)合，勃然大怒，強行把織女帶回了天上。

Niu Lang was heartbroken. But an old cow that Niu Lang had once rescued revealed that he was actually a god injured in the mortal world and offered him his skin once he died. He told Niu Lang his leather could be used to make shoes that could fly him to heaven.

牛郎上天無路，很傷心。這時牛郎曾經(jīng)救過的一只老牛透露，它其實是一個在人間受傷的灰牛大仙，它死后會把自己的皮留給牛郎。它告訴牛郎，它的皮可以做成鞋子，穿著就可以飛上天。

When the cow died, Niu Lang made an attempt to find Zhi Nu with their children, but the queen mother of heaven used her hair pin to create a river of stars that would become the Milky Way to separate the two lovers. Their cries touched the magpies so much that thousands of them formed a bridge for the couple to walk over the river. Eventually, the queen mother relented and agreed to let the couple meet one night out of every year on Qi Xi, which means the seventh night, which they do with the help of their magpie friends.

老牛死后，牛郎按照老牛的話做了，拉著自己的兒女，一起上天追織女，眼看就要追到，豈知王母娘娘拔下頭上金簪一揮，一條波濤洶涌的銀河出現(xiàn)，把這對戀人分隔兩岸。他們只能相對哭泣，哭聲感動了喜鵲，成千上萬只喜鵲飛來，搭成了一座橋，讓牛郎織女走上鵲橋相會。最后，在喜鵲的幫助下，王母娘娘妥協(xié)了，允許這對夫婦每年在七夕的晚上相會，也即農(nóng)歷七月的第七個夜晚。

Qi Xi has since come to symbolize true love. In ancient times, girls would offer fruits and food to Zhi Nu on the night of the festival, praying for skillful hands like the goddess’s to weave with so they can find their ideal husbands. Children would also pick up wild flowers to hang on an ox’s horns in memory of the cow-god who sacrificed himself.

自那以后，七夕就成為了真愛的象征。在古時候，女孩們會在七夕晚上擺設(shè)水果和食物祭祀織女，祈求自己的雙手能像織女那樣靈巧，這樣她們就能找到理想的丈夫。孩子們也會采摘野花掛在牛角上，以紀念犧牲的牛神。

Festivals across greater China today celebrate a variety of different traditions in honor of Qi Xi. In China’s southeastern city Shaoxing , girls hide in pumpkins farms, believing those who can hear the whispers of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu would find love soon. In Hunan province , women fetch water from the mountains. Believing it to be holy, they wash their hair with so they can be blessed by Zhi Nu. Some even collect dew—symbolizing tears from the couple—in the early morning following Qi Xi, believing that drinking it would make them smarter. In Taiwan, people release floating lanterns into the sky to make wishes for love.

現(xiàn)在，中國各地都有不同的風俗慶祝方式，以紀念七夕。在中國東南部城市紹興，女孩們偷偷躲在南瓜地里，倘若能聽到牛郎織女相會時的悄悄話，日后便能很快找到如意郎君。在湖南，婦女從山上取水，他們認為七夕的水很神圣，用來洗頭發(fā)就可以得到織女的祝福。有些人甚至在七夕清晨收集露水——這象征著牛郎織女相會時的眼淚——他們相信喝完它會變得眼明手快。在臺灣，人們向天空中釋放孔明燈，為愛情許愿。

lunar calendar：n. 陰歷

heartbroken：[\\\\\\\\\'hɑ?tbr??k?n] adj. 悲傷的，傷心的

relent：[r?\\\\\\\\\'lent] vi. 變溫和，變寬厚;減弱;緩和;vt. 使變溫和;減輕

whisper：[\\\\\\\\\'w?sp?] n. 私語;謠傳;颯颯的聲音;vi. 耳語;密談;颯颯地;vt. 低聲說出