春风三月弄纸鸢

2009-03-14 04:53
中学生英语·中考指导版 2009年3期
关键词:阳春纸鸢鲁班

孙 琴

柳条搓线絮搓棉,搓够千寻放纸鸢。

消得春风多少力,带将儿辈上春天。

——明代书画家徐渭

阳春三月:细柳如丝,燕语如歌。我们用什么来衬托这无限春光?对于中国人来说,莫过于风筝了。看到它,就仿佛看到春天在地朝我们走来。但是您知道中华的先人们是如何发明风筝的吗?请同我一起来追寻风筝(纸鸢)的渊源吧……

engzheng is a kind of folk toy as well as a handicraft. It is made from slender slips of bamboo as the frame with thin paper plastered and a long thread to fly with. It flies into the sky with wind.

风筝也许是最流行的一种民间手工艺品了。它不仅没有随历史的沉积而消亡,反而随时间的推移,更受国人青睐。小小的风筝如何会有这种魔力呢?

However, Fengzheng in its earliest stage1 did not look like what we see today, and it was not invented for amusement. It is said that Lu Ban was the inventor, who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period2(770-476 B. C.). Enlightened3 from the sparrow hawk spiraling in the sky, Lu Ban made one with bamboo and called it “bamboo sparrow”, which was said to have remained “flying in the air for three days”. This was actually the earliest Fengzheng. Fengzheng in its earliest stage did not look like what we see today.

早期的风筝并不是如今呈现在我们面前的轻巧样子,而是沉重的竹鹞或木鹞。它的发明者是木工的鼻祖——鲁班。据《鸿书》记载:鲁班曾制作过木鸢,曰:“公输班制木鸢以窥宋城”。聪明的鲁班以鸟为形,削竹为料,制造成了“上天三日而不下”的风筝的雏形。

When paper was invented, it replaced bamboo to make a lighter Fengzheng, which was named “paper bird” at that time. According to historical records, emperor Liangwu of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 A. D.) used a Fengzheng to send his message4 for help when he was besieged in a city.

造纸术的发明也带来了风筝的革命,一种更轻的纸风筝被发明出来,称为纸鸢。

这期间,还有一段传奇故事:据史书记载,在南北朝,梁武帝被侯景围困于台城(现南京鸡鸣山南),就是通过风筝把救援信送出城外。

In the Song Dynasty (960-1270 A. D.), people loaded fire powder on Fengzheng to assault the enemies by tying a piece of kindling incense5 on the fuse6 and flying it into the sky above the enemy camp, where it exploded and caused chaos. Then they took the advantage7 to launch an attack and defeated the enemy. It is thus evident that Fengzheng was originally made for military use.

在宋代时,人们更用风筝屡创奇招。他们在风筝上装上火药,去突袭敌人。方法是在导火线上绑上一段燃着的香火,并且将风筝放到敌营上空,趁燃烧爆炸,造成混乱,然后突袭敌军。大家看,古代军用的风筝和如今的燃烧弹是不是有异曲同工之处呢?看来风筝的渊源起于军事。

It was from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A. D.) on that Fengzheng gradually became a toy for entertainment. But at that time, this entertainment was limited to the children of nobility and the rich. Getting bored with the silent Fengzheng, they tied a bamboo whistle on it. When they flew Fengzheng in the air, the wind blew the whistle and made a sound much like that produced by zheng(an ancient musical instrument), which was very pleasant to the ear. People then vividly named it Fengzheng (wind musical instrument).

在全唐盛日,四海升平,一直被用于军事上的纸鸢,随着传统节日清明的兴起,开始向民间娱乐型转化, 逐渐成为娱乐的玩具。但是风筝还只是有钱人家的子弟的玩具。因为他们对风筝鸦雀无声地在空中飞行感到厌烦,就在风筝上系一个竹哨。在空中,风入竹哨,发出如“古筝”般的声音。这就是风筝名称的由来。唐代诗人高骄曾有“夜静弦声响碧空,官商信任往来风。”“依稀似曲方堪听,又被风吹别调中”等咏风筝诗句。

Only after the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 A.D.) was paper Fengzheng increasingly made, and from then on it turned from the entertainment for the rich into a popular one among the ordinary people.

在宋代,变成大众化的普通流行玩具。到了清朝,风筝更发展成一门艺术。曹雪芹就是一位制宫廷样式风筝的高手,他还将放风筝的情景写进了《红楼梦》里。

读了风筝发展的曲折历史,您是否感到小巧的风筝背后有许多故事和传奇呢?阳春三月间轻飏的风筝正是我们对春天的期盼,但愿风筝“消得春风多少力,带将儿辈上春天。”

1. stage:除了表示“舞台;讲台”外,还有“(发展等的)时期、阶段”的意思。如文中的fengzheng in its earliest stage 最初的风筝。另外我们常说的:“处在关键时期”,就可以表达成:to be at a crucial stage。

2. the Spring and Autumn Period:春秋时期,指公元前770~前476年中国各诸侯国争霸的时代。战国时期则是:the Warring States Period 。

3. enlighten: lighten是“照亮”,前缀en- 则表示“置于……中”,两者合在一起,很形象生动地描绘了“一个在蒙昧中的人被知识唤醒的过程”。所以enlighten就是“启发、教化”的意思。你看,合成词是不是很容易记忆呢?

4. message:这是一个用途很广泛的词,基本作“信息、电报”讲。在打电话中我们常用leave a message留个口信,take a message 记下留言。而a message of greeting (a congratulatory message)则表示“贺电”。

5. incense:香料在英语中的说法可谓多样。incense是“(供神焚烧的)香,香料”;perfume则着重“香水,香料”;flavoring是“调味料,佐料,香料”,aromatic 是“芳香之物,香料”。我们仿佛是生活在一片香气之中。

6. fuse:在这里是“导火线”的意思,它还可指“保险丝”。

7. take the advantage: 是“利用好机会,某事等”。常用词组take the advantage of sth.例如:We took advantage of weather to go on a hike. 我们趁着好天气去远足。

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