The Mourning Day

許淵衝 譯

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day；

The mourner‘s heart is going to break on his way。

Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours？

A cowherd points to a cot’ mid apricot flowers。

這首《清明》是唐代文學家杜牧的詩作。此詩寫清明春雨中所見，色彩清淡，心境淒冷，歷來廣為傳誦。全詩運用由低而高、逐步上升、高潮頂點放在最後的手法，餘韻邈然，耐人尋味。

許老的翻譯也是讓人叫絕，使用了aabb的押韻形式，讀起來朗朗上口，韻味十足。

drizzling“毛毛細雨”十分形象的描繪出了清明時節的“雨紛紛”；第三句採用意譯，不只是“問酒家”，其背後的深意是to drown his sad hours“借酒消愁”，正好承接上句的heart break“心碎”；最後一句的cot在古英語中意思是“小而簡單的村舍、小屋”，用得也是十分的巧妙而妥帖。

The Qingming or Ching Ming festival， also known as Tomb Sweeping Day in English （sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors‘ Day）， is a traditional Chinese festival。 It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar。 This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox， either 4 or 5 April in a given year。

清明節在英語中被稱為Tomb Sweeping Day（有時也被稱為Chinese Memorial Day或者Ancestors’ Day） ，是中國的一個傳統節日。清明是中國傳統陰曆第五個節氣的第一天，這使得它成為春分後的第15天，在一年中的4月4日或5日。

During Qingming， Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites， pray to their ancestors， and make ritual offerings。 Offerings would typically include traditional food dishes， and the burning of joss sticks and joss paper。 The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one‘s ancestors in Chinese culture。

清明節期間，中國家庭會到祖先的墳墓前掃墓，向祖先祈禱，並舉行祭祀活動。祭品通常包括傳統菜餚，以及燒香和燒紙。這個節日體現了中國文化中尊敬祖先的傳統。

The Qingming Festival has been observed by the Chinese for over 2500 years。 It became a public holiday in China in 2008。

中國人慶祝清明節有2500多年的歷史，2008年，成為法定假日。

Origin 起源

The festival originated from the Cold Food or Hanshi Festival which remembered Jie Zitui， a nobleman of the state of Jin （modern Shanxi） during the Spring and Autumn Period。

清明節來源於寒食節，而寒食節是為了紀念春秋時期晉國（今山西）貴族介子推。

Amid the Li Ji Unrest， he followed his master Prince Chong’er in 655 BC to exile among the Di tribes and around China。 Supposedly， he once even cut meat from his own thigh to provide his lord with soup。

公元前655年，在李紀動亂中，介子推跟隨主人重耳公子流亡到狄部落以及其他各地。據說，有一次他甚至從自己的大腿上割下肉來煮湯給他的主人充飢。

In 636 BC， Duke Mu of Qin invaded Jin and enthroned Chong‘er as its duke， where he was generous in rewarding those who had helped him in his time of need。 Owing either to his own high-mindedness or to the duke’s neglect， however， Jie was long passed over。 He finally retired to the forest around Mount Mian with his elderly mother。

公元前636年，秦穆公入侵晉國，封重耳為國君（即晉文公，春秋五霸之一），重耳對幫助他的人給予慷慨的回報。然而，由於介子推的高傲，或者由於晉文公的疏忽，介子推早就被忽略了。最後，他和年邁的母親回到了綿山附近的森林裡。

The duke went to the forest but could not find them。 He then ordered his men to set fire to the forest in order to force Jie out。 When Jie and his mother were killed instead， the duke was overcome with remorse and erected a temple in his honor。

晉文公去了森林，但是找不到他們。於是，他命令火燒綿山，以逼出介子推。當介子推和他的母親被燒死的時候，齊桓公後悔不已，為他建了一座廟。

To commemorate Jie， the duke ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie‘s death。 Thus began the “Cold Food Festival”， a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit。

為了紀念介子推，晉文公下令每年的這一天禁止生火，這就是寒食節的來源，這一天家家戶戶只能吃生冷的食物，

The Cold Food Festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival。 As time passes， the Qing Ming festival replaced the Cold Food festival。 The custom of worshiping jie zitui also became a custom of sweeping tombs and worshipping ancestors on tomb-sweeping day。 To make the visit even more meaningful， some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors。

寒食節是在清明節的前一天，古人常把寒食節的活動延續到清明，久而久之，清明取代了寒食節。拜介子推的習俗也變成了清明掃墓祭拜祖先。為了使紀念祖先的儀式更有意義，應該讓年輕一代的家庭成員瞭解先人過去的奮鬥歷史。

Customs 習俗

1、Tomb Sweeping 掃墓

The major custom in Qingming Festival is tomb sweeping。 On this day， people visit their family graves to remove any underbrush that has grown。 They would uproot weeds near the gravesites， wipe the tombstones and decorate the tombstones with fresh flowers。 And then they will set out offerings of food and paper money。

清明節的主要習俗是掃墓。在這一天，人們都會前往他們的家族墓地進行拜祭。他們會剷除墓地周圍的雜草，擦拭墓碑，以及用鮮花裝飾墓碑。然後，放置貢品和燒紙錢。

2、Spring Outing 春遊、踏青

Not only it is a day for commemorating the dead， is it also a festival for people to enjoy themselves。 During April， everything in nature takes on a new look， as trees turn green， flowers blossom， and the sun shines brightly。

清明節不僅僅是一個紀念故人的節日，人們也可以在這一天進行娛樂活動。在4月份，大自然煥然一新，樹木變綠，花朵綻放，陽光普照。

It is a fine time to go out and to appreciate the beautiful scenes of nature during the festival。 Spring outings not only add joy to life but also promote a healthy body and mind。

節日期間，大家可以好好地去感受一下自然的魅力。春遊不僅能給生活帶來愉悅，同時也可以促進身體和心靈的健康。

3、Flying Kites 放風箏

Flying kites is an activity favored by many people during the Qingming Festival。 Kites are not only flown at day time but also in the evening。 Little lanterns are tied to the kite or to the string that holds the kite。 And when the kite is flying in the sky， the lanterns look like twinkling stars that add unique scenery to the sky during the night。

在清明節期間，許多人都喜歡放風箏，無論白天還是晚上。將小燈籠系在風箏或放風箏的繩子上，當風箏在空中飛舞時，燈籠看起來像閃爍的星星，會給夜晚的天空增加一些獨特的風景。

What makes flying kites during this festival special is that people cut the string while the kite is in the sky to let it fly free。 It is said that this brings good luck and that diseases can be eliminated by doing so。

清明節放風箏的特別之處，是當風箏被放飛到高空時，人們會將風箏線剪斷，讓它自由飛翔，據說這樣可以帶來好運和消除疾病。

4、willow branches inserted on each gate插柳

Because Jie Zitui died embracing a willow tree， the willow is believed to have miraculous powers against evil。 During the Qingming Festival， willow branches are hung on door fronts and used to sweep the tombs。

因為介子推死的時候抱著一棵柳樹，所以柳樹被認為擁有一種可以對抗邪惡的神奇力量。清明時節，人們會將柳枝掛在門前，或拿柳枝進行掃墓。

5、Swinging 盪鞦韆

During the Ming Dynasty， swinging was a desig-nated recreation on Tomb Sweeping Festival。 According to the Annals of the Ming Court， this day was also called Swing Festival， when swings were suspended in the Hall of the Forbidden City and in all the residential complexes where palace ladies resided。 Ladies of the imperial household wore colorful silks especially made for the occasion， and amused themselves on swings。

明朝期間，盪鞦韆是清明節的一個指定的娛樂活動。根據明朝的史冊記載，清明節也被稱為鞦韆節，這一天紫禁城的大廳和宮中女子們居住的地方都會掛上鞦韆，她們穿著節日特製的五彩繽紛的絲綢衣服，在鞦韆上玩耍逗樂。

END