端午節

湖北省葛洲壩中學 袁芳供稿

端午節

Dragon Boat Festival

湖北省葛洲壩中學 袁芳供稿

編者注

端午節為每年農歷五月初五，又稱端陽節、午日節、五月節等；端午節是中國漢族人民紀念屈原的傳統節日，更有吃粽子；賽龍舟；掛菖蒲、蒿草、艾葉；薰蒼術、白芷；喝雄黃酒的習俗。“端午節”是中國法定節假日之一，并列入世界非物質文化遺產名錄。

The Dragon Boat Festival,also called the Duanwu Festival,is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar.For thousands of years,the festival has been marked by eating zong zi and racing dragon boats.

每年農歷五月初五是龍舟節，又稱端午節。吃粽子和賽龍舟的習俗已經有幾千年的歷史了。

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races,especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes.This regatta commemorates the death of Qu Yuan,an honest minister who was said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

在中國南方河流、湖泊比較多，賽龍舟是比較著名的活動。龍舟會主要是紀念忠誠之士——屈原，根據歷史記載，他自己投河溺水而死以表示對國家的忠誠。

Qu was a minister of the State of Chu(situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces),during the Warring States Period(475BC-221BC).He was upright,loyal to the state.However,when a dishonest official vilified Qu,he was disgraced and dismissed from office.Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials,Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.

屈原是戰國時期(公元前475-公元前221)，楚國(現在的湖北、湖北)的一名大臣。他正直、忠誠。但是后來遭到惡人的諂害而被貶官、流放。意識到自己的國家在奸臣的掌管之下，屈原在農歷五月初五懷抱一塊大石頭投入汨羅江溺水而死。

Fishermen nearby rushed over to rescue him but were unable to even find his body.The people of Chu who mourned the death of Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth month.

附近的漁民紛紛趕到，盡力營救屈原，但是他們沒有找到他的遺體。楚國人為了悼念屈原的死，他們每年的農歷五月初五都把米投入江里來祭奠他。

During the Duanwu Festival,a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu.Ingredients such as beans,lotus seeds,chestnuts,pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice.The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves or reed leaves to form a pyramid.The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu’s body.

端午節期間，人們吃用糯米做的粽子來紀念屈原。糯米里經常加入豆子、蓮子、栗子、豬肉和蛋黃。粽子是用竹葉或蘆葦葉包的，類似金字塔。龍舟賽象征人們盡量營救屈原的尸體。

鏈接

屈原(公元前340年~公元前278年)是中國文學史上第一位偉大的愛國詩人。他的作品共有25篇，篇目為：九歌、招魂、天問、離騷、九章、卜居、漁父。《離騷》是屈原的代表作，也是中國最早的長篇抒情詩。詩人用了許多比喻，無情地揭露了統治集團的丑惡，抨擊了他們的奸邪、縱欲、貪婪、淫蕩和強暴。同時，他也塑造了堅持正義、追求真理、不避艱難、不怕迫害、熱愛鄉土和人民的人物形象。