羊年話羊

韓天福

The Year of Horse went by， and the Year of Sheep comes. With fireworks bursts into the sky celebrating the Lunar New Year， Sheep Year come to the earth after twelve years for one round. They had spread through the ages and known to everybody that“The sheep falls into a tigers mouth”， “The sigh of losing sheep” and other relevant1 idioms about sheep.

駿馬西去，神羊東來。隨著新年陣陣賀歲的煙花騰空而起，十二年一輪的羊年又來到了。“羊落虎口”、“亡羊之嘆” 等有關羊的成語故事早已流傳千古，無人不曉。

In Chinese folklore， the sheep is as great as Prometheus who is a mighty2 figure in the ancient Greek mythology3. Like Prometheus who was sent to the altar4 for the sake of stealing fire from heaven to the world， sheep lost his life for justice because of pilfering5 corn seed to man. As early as in prehistoric ancient times， humans were severely malnourished6， pale and thin because there were no grains on the earth. One fall， taking advantage of nightfall， a God sheep came earth who took of grains （rice， millet， wheat， beans， cotton） from the welkin7 putting in his

mouth without telling the Jade Emperor. The God sheep didnt only take the seed to humans， but also entrust the method for planting them， after that quietly returned to the heavenly palace.

在中國民間傳說中，羊是一位如同希臘神話中的普羅米修斯一樣偉大的人物，普羅米修斯因給人間盜天火而被送上了祭臺，羊則因給人類盜五谷種子而舍身取義。早在遠古洪荒時代，人類因人間沒有五谷而嚴重營養不良，面黃肌瘦。有一年秋天，一只神羊瞞著玉帝從天宮摘下五谷（稻、稷、麥、豆、棉）含在口中，趁著夜色來到凡間。神羊把種子交給人類，又囑咐了種植五谷的方法，就悄悄地回天宮去了。

Human sowed the seed， then crops grew in that year. Grains spikelet8 looked like cavel9 and sheep tail. They held a grand farmhouse ritual to appreciate the grace of sheep to send seeds. Grand memorial ceremony alarmed the Emperor. The Emperor found grains appear on earth， and immediately thought of God sheep. After figuring out the situation， the Emperor was furious， and commanded the official to slaughter10 sheep of God， and let the mortals eat the sheep.

人類播下種子，當年就長出了莊稼。五谷的穗既似羊角，又像羊尾。人們舉行了盛大的農家祭祀儀式，以感激神羊的送種子之恩。盛大的祭祀儀式驚動了玉帝，玉帝發現人間出現了五谷，立即想到這是神羊所為，查明情況后，玉帝大怒，命令天官宰殺神羊，并要下階凡人吃羊。

The next year， the odd thing happened. In the place of sheep execution11， it grew the grass first， then grew a little lamb， sheep thrived from this mortal to graze for a living and they put

their own flesh， milk， leather to humans selflessly. To express gratitude for the sheep， human hold a memorial ceremony for every year to show remembrance and thanksgiving.

第二年，奇怪的事兒發生了，在神羊行刑的地方，先是長出了青草，后來長出了小羊羔，羊從此在凡間繁衍生息，以吃草為生，把自己的肉、奶、皮無私地奉獻給人類。人類則出于對神羊的感謝，每年都舉行祭奠，以示紀念和感恩。

Sheep also has its powerful side. There is a leader with two flashing blue eye in the vast prairie， and it meets the tiger without fear and meets the wolf without horror. On the head is one pair of shining coldness， bayonet-like horns. It is fearless， courageous and rush to the enemy.

羊也有它強而有力的一面。茫茫大草原終有一只兩眼閃著藍光的領頭羊，它遇虎而不懼，遇狼而不慄，頭頂著一對閃著寒光、刺刀般的羊角，不畏強暴，咆嘯地沖向天敵。

We Chinese have twelve Chinese zodiacs. The sheep is the most gentle of the zodiacs. People who was born in the Year of Sheep， known as the most kind-hearted giver. They are often honest， friendly， easily affected by the unfortunate experience of others. They are good-tempered and are even a bit of shy. They are handsome， elegant and easygoing， also their self-esteem is very strong. They are very particular about the appearance. Friendly and docile sheep is symbol of auspiciousness12， kindness， nicety， polite， righteousness and filial piety13.

我們中國人有十二生肖屬相，羊可是最富溫和的屬相。出生于羊年的人，被譽為最善良的施舍者。他們往往為人正直、親切、易被別人的不幸經歷所感動。他們脾氣溫順甚至有些羞怯。他們風度翩翩，舉止優雅灑脫，自尊心極強，十分講究外表的禮冠。羊友好溫順，是吉祥、善良、美好、知禮、知義、知孝的象征。

The sheep is the source of life and the symbol of high status. Sheep is the faithful companion of human and an indispensable source of life. Not only is the parts of the whole body of sheep treasure， but lamb is one of the best dishes of all meat， such as Shaanxi and Sichuans cuisine—steamed mutton， sheepskin can produce various leather goods and the nutritional value of goat milk even far more than that of the milk.

羊是生命之源，是崇高地位的象征。羊自古以來是人類的忠實伴侶和不可或缺的生活來源。羊全身都是寶，羊肉是所有肉類的最佳佳肴之一，如：陜西和四川的美味佳肴——羊肉泡饃。羊皮可以制作各類皮革品，羊奶的營養價值甚至遠遠超過了牛奶。

Throughout the ages， the dream of millions of Chinese people is holding their heads up， and our countrys peace and prosperity. Today， the entire country is being carried out mass line of educational practice， the eternal spirit of Jiao Yulu summons from generation to generation of Communists. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people devote themselves to economic construction with the spirit of winning， high morale14， a new attitude， fiery passion. China has witnessed a vibrant， wealthy and strong， beautiful colorful scenery. The nation likes a sleeping lion， when it wakes up， the whole world trembles. Great China stands at the top of the world！We should always keep in mind what General Secretary Xi tells us that practice the core values， learning to study， learning to behave， learning to be grateful and study hard to achieve the great rejuvenation15 of the Chinese dream， then make unremitting efforts to strive for success.

古往今來，億萬中國人民所夢寐以求的愿望便是揚（羊）眉吐氣、國泰民安、繁榮昌盛。如今，舉國上下正開展群眾路線教育實踐活動，永恒的焦裕祿精神召喚著一代代共產黨人。意氣奮發的億萬中華兒女以必勝的信念、高昂的斗志、嶄新的姿態、火熱的激情投身到經濟建設之中，華夏大地呈現出一派生氣盎然、國富民強、萬紫千紅的美好景色。一頭沉睡百年雄獅清醒了，讓世界為之顫抖，偉大的中華民族屹立在世界之巔！我們要時刻牢記習總書記的敦敦教誨，踐行核心價值觀，學會學習、學會做人、學會感恩，為實現中華民族偉大復興的中國夢而發憤讀書，為成功做出不懈的努力！

下面我們一起來看看有關羊的俗語吧！

迷途羔羊 ? ? a lost sheep

亡羊補牢 ? ? Better late than never.

羊腸小道 ? ? a narrow winding trail

羊落虎口 ? ? The sheep falls into a tigers mouth.

虎入羊群 ? tigers among a flock of sheep

十羊九牧 ? ? Nine shepherds look after ten sheep.

順手牽羊 ? ? Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat.

羊毛出在羊身上 Without a sheep， there can be no wool.

披著羊皮的狼 ? ? a wolf in sheeps clothing

掛羊頭，賣狗肉 Cry up wine， and sell vinegar.

1. relevant [■] adj. 相關的

2. mighty [■] adj. 強有力的

3. mythology [■] n. 神話

4. altar [■] n. 祭壇

5. pilfer [■] vt. 偷盜

6. malnourished [■] adj. 營養不良的，營養失調的

7. welkin [■] n. 天空

8. spikelet [■] n. 穗;細長的尖狀物

9. cavel [■] n. 羊角

10. slaughter [■] vt. 屠宰，屠殺

11. execution [■] n. 死刑

12. auspiciousness [■] n. 吉兆，幸運

13. filial [■] adj. 孝順的;piety [■] n. 孝敬，虔誠;filial piety 孝道，孝順

14. morale [■] n. 士氣，斗志

15. rejuvenation [■] n. 復原，恢復活力