【英语早间课堂】与老外聊春节 贴春联（一）

The Spring Couplet, also called “couplet” or“a pair of antithetical phrases” is a special form of literature in China. The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and a horizontal scroll¹, bearing an inscription², usually an auspicious³ phrase above the gate. The sentence pasted on the right side of the door is called the first line of the couplet and the one pasted on the left side of door is called the second line of the couplet. On the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will paste up on doors a spring couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival. In the past, the Chinese usually wrote their own spring couplet with a brush or asked others to do for them, while nowadays, it is common for people to buy the printed spring couplets in the market. What's more , spring couplets which express good wishes is one of the house decorations. They are usually posted in pairs because even numbers are connected with good luck and auspiciousness⁴ in Chinese culture.

 

“春联”也被称为和“对联”或者是一组对偶的句子，在中国是一种特殊的文学形式。春联是由贴在门两侧的两组对偶的句子组成 ，在门上面的横批是一个吉祥的短语。贴在门右侧的句子被称为对联的上联，贴在门左侧的句子则称为对联的下联。在大年三十晚上，家家户户都会在门上贴上用红纸写的春联，传递出喜庆热闹的节日气氛。在过去，中国人常常用毛笔自己写春联或者是请别人写春联，而现在，人们普遍买市场上印刷好的春联。此外，传达着美好祝愿的春联是房屋的一种装饰。春联通常是地张贴。因为双数在中国文化中是好运和吉祥的象征。

 

哦，原来是这样，我现在知道了——春联有2联，是因为2这个数字是一个吉祥和幸运的象征的数字。春节贴春联也是装饰房屋的一种方式，使得屋子增添一种喜庆之气。春联贴在家门上是对自己的一种祝福，也是对来访客人的一种祝福。最重要的是，春联还展示了中国人民的才智，春联的句子是需要对仗的，要对偶，需要有一定的文学修养的人才写出来的。我们的文人写出了句子还不算是对联，对联还要用毛笔来书写，这就展示了中国的书法艺术，中国的书法艺术在国外是享有盛誉的。

 

转自可可英语

1 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

2 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

3 auspicious   

adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的

参考例句：

• The publication of my first book was an auspicious beginning of my career.我的第一本书的出版是我事业吉祥的开始。
• With favorable weather conditions it was an auspicious moment to set sail.风和日丽，正是扬帆出海的黄道吉日。

4 auspiciousness   

吉兆；幸运

参考例句：

• The folks take the phoenix as the symbol of auspiciousness and happiness. 民间即以次象征吉祥和喜庆来歌颂幸福的生活。 来自互联网
• Peafowl are precious birds that people love as a symbol of auspiciousness. 孔雀作为吉祥之鸟深受人们喜爱，是举世驰名的珍禽。 来自互联网