九九重陽節(jié)

編者注

農(nóng)歷九月初九為傳統(tǒng)的重陽節(jié)，又稱“老人節(jié)”。重陽節(jié)早在戰(zhàn)國時期就已經(jīng)形成，到了唐代，重陽被正式定為民間的節(jié)日，此后歷朝歷代沿襲至今。重陽又稱“踏秋”，與三月初三“踏春”皆是家族傾室而出。重陽這天所有親人都要一起登高“避災”，插茱萸、賞菊花。自魏晉重陽氣氛日漸濃郁，為歷代文人墨客吟詠最多的幾個傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日之一。

The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar(農(nóng)歷)， so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival. The festival is based on the theory(原理) of yin and yang. The ancients(古人) believed that all natural phenomena(現(xiàn)象) could be explained by this theory. Numbers are related to this theory. Even numbers (偶數(shù)) belong to yin and odd numbers (奇數(shù)) to yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two yang numbers meet. So it is called Chongyang. Chong means double in Chinese.

重陽節(jié)是中國農(nóng)歷九月初九這一天，因此它又被叫做“雙九節(jié)”。這個節(jié)日是以“陰”和“陽”為基礎。古人認為所有的自然現(xiàn)象都可以用這個原理來解釋，就連數(shù)字也與這個原理相關。偶數(shù)屬于“陰”，而奇數(shù)屬于“陽”。農(nóng)歷九月初九這一天，兩個陽性數(shù)字相遇。因此，它被稱為“重陽”。“重”在漢語中的意思是“雙的”。

Chongyang Festival has been an important festival since ancient times. The festival is celebrated in the golden season of autumn， at harvest-time. The Chongyang Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities. Many people go hiking or climbing mountains in the country， enjoying the beautiful scene. Some will wear cornel （茱萸） on their heads.

從古代起，重陽節(jié)就是一個很重要的節(jié)日。人們在金秋時節(jié)豐收之時慶祝這個節(jié)日。重陽節(jié)通常因為戶外活動而精彩。很多人會去鄉(xiāng)下遠足或者爬山，欣賞美麗的景色。有些人會在頭上插上茱萸。

It’s hard to say when these customs were created. But there are many stories related to these customs. The book Xu Qi Xie Ji， written by Wu Jun in the sixth century， has such a story. In ancient times， there was a man named Huan Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang who was an immortal (神仙). One day， the two were climbing a mountain. Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset. He said to Huan Jing，

“Disasters would come to your hometown on the ninth day of the ninth month. You must go home immediately. Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and put cornel in each bag. Then you must tie all your bags to your arms， leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly， you all must drink some chrysanthemum (菊花) wine. Only by doing this can your family members avoid this disaster.”

很難說這些習俗是什么時候產(chǎn)生的。但是關于這些習俗有很多傳說。六世紀時吳均的《續(xù)齊諧記》一書就有一個這樣的故事。很久很久以前，有一個叫桓景的年輕人，他跟著神仙費長房學習仙術。一天，他們兩人正在爬山，突然，費長房突然停下來，看起來很沮喪。他告訴桓景：“在九月初九這一天，災難將降臨到你的家鄉(xiāng)。你必須馬上回去。記住為你的家人每人做一個紅色的袋子，在每個袋子里面放茱萸。然后，你們要將袋子系在手臂上，迅速離開家，并馬上爬到一座山的山頂。最重要的是，你們都必須喝菊花酒。只有這樣做，你的家人才能躲過這一大難。”

On hearing this， Huan Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening. When they got back home， they found all their animals dead， including chickens， sheep， dogs and even the ox. Later， Huan Jing told his teacher about this. Fei Changfang said the poultry (家禽) and livestock (家畜) died in place of Huan Jing’s family because they followed his instructions.

聽到這些，桓景匆忙趕回家，叫他的家人嚴格按照他的老師所說的做。恒景的家人都爬上了附近的一座山，直到晚上才回家。回到家時，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)家里所有的動物都死了，包括雞、羊、狗，甚至是牛。后來，桓景把這件事告訴了他的老師。費長房說那些家禽和家畜代替桓景的家人死了，因為桓景的家人按照他的指示做了。

And so climbing a mountain， wearing cornel and drinking chrysanthemum wine be-

came the traditional activities of the Chongyang Festival.

因此，爬山、插茱萸、喝菊花酒成了重陽節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)活動。

The cornel is a plant with a strong fragrance (香味)， and is often used as a Chinese herbal(草藥的) medicine. People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spirits (惡靈) and prevent one from getting a chill in late autumn. So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries. But the custom of wearing cornel during the Chongyang Festival is slowly dying out and many people， especially young people in the cities， do not even know what cornels look like.

茱萸是帶有濃烈香味的一種植物，它通常被用來做中草藥。古人相信它可以驅趕惡靈，防止人在深秋時著涼。因此它被用來做中草藥的歷史可以追溯到好幾個世紀前，但是在重陽節(jié)時佩戴茱萸的習俗正在慢慢地消失，很多人，尤其是城市里的年輕人甚至不知道茱萸長什么樣子。