中级口译：中国哲学的起源

 "Misfortunes of a nation may turn out to be fortunes of a philosopher," noted¹ Qian Mu, arenowned expert in Chinese cultural studies.

国学大师钱穆曾说过：“民族的不幸是哲人的财富”

The sentence vividly² summarizes ancient Chinese philosophers and their work, with Chinese history providing verification through the passage of time. In the majesticperiods of Chinese history like the Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, major achievements in the humanities occurred in the field of literature, but at times of social unrest, philosophical³ accomplishments⁴ were even more prominent.

这句话在中国哲学史上得到了很好的印证：国富民强的汉唐时代，古代文学熠熠生辉，而在动荡不安的年代，我们民族却在哲学上取得了很高的成就。

Ancient Chinese philosophers were born out of sorcery. After a series of incidents, ancient belief systems in destiny were gradually shaken and finally collapsed⁵. The symbolic⁶ events that indicated the birth of Chinese philosophy were all developed byhistoriographers and senior officials in the government of the Zhou Dynasty (about 11th Century-221BC) helping⁷ to explain natural and social phenomena⁸. The old-type sorcerers, who were most used to providing theological explanations, discarded their most familiar habits of resorting to augury⁹, and emerged anew as philosophers, trying to give logical explanations by employing reason. Chinese philosophy, as a new form of culture, was born.

中国古代哲学家们起初多信奉巫术。后来，随着历史的变迁，先前的信仰体系逐渐“礼崩乐坏”。中国哲学的起源，可以追溯到周朝统治阶层中负责解释自然、社会现象的史料编纂者和官员们。他们放弃了早先以占卜来诠释万事万物的习惯，开始试图寻求理性、逻辑的解释途径。中国哲学作为一种全新的文化形式，由此诞生了。

1 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

2 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

3 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

4 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

9 augury   

n.预言，征兆，占卦

参考例句：

• Augury is the important part of Chinese traditional culture.占卜是中国传统文化中的一个重要组成部分。
• The maritime passage was a good augury for the aerial passage.顺利的航海仿佛也是航空的好预兆。