老外解读嫦娥奔月：一个心碎的故事

 　　The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for Chinese people all over the world to come together, eat special cakes and gaze at the full moon.

　　中秋节是一个全世界的华人和家人聚在一起吃月饼、赏月亮的节日。

　　Though a happy occasion, there's a heartbreaking story that explains how it came to be.

　　虽然这是一个快乐的节日，但这背后却有着一段令人心碎的传说。

　　Chinese legend tells of the hero Houyi and his beautiful wife Chang'e.

　　在中国的传说中，有位英雄叫做后羿，他有个美丽的妻子名叫嫦娥。

　　As with many legends, there are differing and often contradictory¹ accounts.

　　和其他很多传说一样，有关中秋节的传说也有很多不同的甚至是相互矛盾的版本。

　　One tells that Chang'e was a heavenly girl who worked among fairies and immortals² in the palace of the Jade³ Emperor. One day, she broke a special porcelain⁴ jar and was banished⁵ to live among humans on earth, with the promise that she could return if she performed valuable deeds there.

　　有一种版本中称，嫦娥原是玉皇大帝天宫中同其他仙女天神一起工作的女子。有一天，她打碎了一个特殊的瓷罐，因此被驱逐到凡间和人类生活在一起，只有当她做了好事她才能重新返回天上。

　　Joining a family of farmers, she met Houyi, a hunter and master archer⁶, and eventually, they would marry.

　　嫦娥在一户农民家里遇到了身为猎人和射手的后羿，后来他们结婚了。

　　But the world of mortals soon found itself in peril⁷. The Jade Emperor had 10 mischievous⁸ sons who transformed themselves into 10 suns, scorching⁹ the earth and its people. Houyi took it upon himself to save them. Using incredible strength and superior marksmanship, he shot down nine of the suns and left one in the sky so that humans could draw upon its warmth and light.

　　但是凡间随后就出现了危险。玉皇大帝的10个爱搞怪的儿子化作10个太阳，炙烤着大地和人类。后羿主动承担责任以拯救大家，他力大无比，射术超群，一口气射下了9个太阳，只留下一个给人们带来温暖和光芒。

　　It is here, again, that accounts diverge¹⁰. One version has it that both Houyi and Chang'e were heavenly beings, and that a vengeful emperor condemned¹¹ them to live on Earth as mortals thereafter. Houyi wished to avert¹² death, so he acquired an elixir¹³ that would confer immortality¹⁴. He was warned to drink only half the potion, and he reasoned that his wife could drink the rest.

　　故事到这里又分成了不同的版本。一个版本说后羿和嫦娥都是天上的神仙，皇帝想要报复他们所以罚他们下凡间成为人类。后羿为了能够长生不死拿到了不死药。但他只被允许喝半瓶，剩下的半瓶他准备留给妻子。

　　In one account of the legend, a greedy friend of Houyi's named Peng Meng tried to obtain the formula for himself, but Chang'e wouldn't let him, and drank it all. Another states that Chang'e could not resist immortality, and so consumed it herself.

　　一个版本的传说中，后羿有一个名叫蓬蒙的朋友，他为人奸诈，一心想偷那瓶不死药。嫦娥为了不让他偷走把整瓶都喝掉了。而另一个版本中，嫦娥是因为受不了凡人的生活而喝掉了整瓶不死药。

　　However you interpret the legend, it eventually transpired¹⁵ that Chang'e's body became light, and she flew out a window up to the moon, leaving her husband all alone on the Earth.

　　但是不论哪个版本，最后的结果都是嫦娥的身体变得越来越轻，接着她从窗户飞出飞向了月亮，把他的丈夫独自一人留在了凡间。

　　On a clear night, Houyi saw Chang'e in the moon, called out to her and even tried to shoot it down, but it was too late.

　　在一个月朗风清的夜晚，后羿看到了月亮上的嫦娥，他大声喊她并试图把她射下来，可一切都太晚了。

　　Now a lunar goddess, Chang'e was doomed¹⁶ to be apart from her husband forever. Houyi honoured his wife by arranging a table with incense¹⁷, meats and fruits that she loved. The tradition of making sacrifices to the moon carried through the ages, from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045 to 770 B.C.) onward¹⁸.

　　如今作为月亮女神，嫦娥注定与她的丈夫永远分离。后羿为了纪念妻子会在桌子上摆上香炉以及她爱吃的肉类和水果。祭祀月亮的传统就这样从西周时期（公元前1045年-前770年）传承至今。

　　And so it is today, that Chinese all over the world meet outside, eat together and gaze at a plentiful¹⁹ moon, like the legendary²⁰ and historical ancestors who came before.

　　因此今天世界各地的中国人在这个节日里都会聚在一起，像传说里的先人们一样，吃月饼、赏月亮。

1 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

2 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

3 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

4 porcelain   

n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的

参考例句：

• These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。
• The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。

5 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

7 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

8 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

9 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

10 diverge   

v.分叉，分歧，离题，使...岔开，使转向

参考例句：

• This is where our opinions diverge from each other.这就是我们意见产生分歧之处。
• Don't diverge in your speech.发言不要离题。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

13 elixir   

n.长生不老药，万能药

参考例句：

• There is no elixir of life in the world.世界上没有长生不老药。
• Keep your mind awake and active;that's the only youth elixir.保持头脑清醒和灵活便是保持年轻的唯一灵丹妙药。

14 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

15 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

16 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

17 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

18 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

19 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

20 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。