Chinese urged to return to traditional festival

时间：2007-06-20 01:18:02

（单词翻译:单击）

June 19 - The appeal of traditional Chinese holidays is alleged1 to lie in the eating: mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, sweet dumplings on Lantern Day, and glutinous2 rice dumplings for Duanwu, or Dragon Boat Festival.

 

But in the run-up to the Dragon Boat Festival, many are questioning whether modern China is being left starved of the spirit of the traditional holidays.

 

The Dragon Boat Festival on Tuesday will see housewives are wrapping glutinous rice with bamboo or reed leaves, which are, according to tradition, thrown into rivers to spare from the fish's mouths the body of a patriotic3 poet who drowned more than 2,000 years ago.

 

The poet, Qu Yuan, lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 B.C. to 221 B.C.). He drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province in 278 B.C., on fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, hoping his death could awaken4 the king to revitalize the kingdom.

 

The date has since been remembered as the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival, on which local fishermen row dragon boats along the Miluo river to search for Qu Yuan and scatter5 glutinous rice dumplings in the water to prevent the fish from eating his body.

 

But as the Chinese people's overall living standards improve, the traditional snack is increasingly available and there's much less to celebrate on the "glutinous rice dumpling day".

 

Some hotels and food companies have embellished6 the snack in expensive gift packages with the dumplings, salted eggs, wine and even abalone and shark's fins7 selling for around 2,000 yuan each.

 

"Many Chinese were hurt when the Republic of Korea's application to list Duanwu as its own cultural heritage was accepted by UNESCO in 2005," said Chen Jing, a professor of folk culture with the Nanjing University. "But it's a shame to see that many of us still take the occasion as one merely for eating snacks or for showing off wealth."

 

The whole nation needs to look back to the spirit of its traditional culture on these centuries-old holidays, experts say.

 

"Our forefathers8 believed that people were most susceptible9 to disease in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, also the hottest time of the year," said Gao Chengyuan, a specialist on folk customs based in Tianjin. "On Duanwu Festival, people got up early to collect dew to cleanse10 their eyes and drink liquor to ward11 off snakes and mosquitoes."

 

Children in particular would wear sachets filled with herbs and spices and aprons12 embroidered13 with the five evils -- scorpion14, toad15, spider, snake and centipede -- as mascots16 to protect them through the summer, said Gao.

 

"As a child I used to complain with my mother when she didn't conjure17 up a sachet as beautiful as my friends'," said Yang Jun, a 25-year-old store owner in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province. "When I have a daughter someday, I'll sew her the most beautiful sachets."

 

Through certain rituals, people would put the "evil spirits" on board dragon boats and compete to see whose bad luck was sent farther away, which was how the occasion got the name of "Dragon Boat Festival".

 

Many riverside towns in central and southern China still organize dragon boat races ahead of the festival, though many admit the holiday is more associated with eating than the race.

 

"We need to save from traditional culture from disappearing," said Prof. Chen Jing from Nanjing University. "Otherwise we'll lose even more heritage items."

 
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1 alleged gzaz3i     
a.被指控的，嫌疑的
参考例句：
  • It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
  • alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为
2 glutinous jeWzj     
adj.粘的，胶状的
参考例句：
  • The sauce was glutinous and tasted artificial.这种酱有些黏，尝起来不是非常地道。
  • The coat covering the soft candies is made from glutinous rice.包裹软糖的江米纸是由糯米做成的。
3 patriotic T3Izu     
adj.爱国的，有爱国心的
参考例句：
  • His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
  • The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。
4 awaken byMzdD     
vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起
参考例句：
  • Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
  • Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。
5 scatter uDwzt     
vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散
参考例句：
  • You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
  • Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。
6 embellished b284f4aedffe7939154f339dba2d2073     
v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色
参考例句：
  • The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句
7 fins 6a19adaf8b48d5db4b49aef2b7e46ade     
[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌
参考例句：
  • The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
  • Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句
8 forefathers EsTzkE     
n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人
参考例句：
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 susceptible 4rrw7     
adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的
参考例句：
  • Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
  • We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。
10 cleanse 7VoyT     
vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗
参考例句：
  • Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
  • Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。
11 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开
参考例句：
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。
12 aprons d381ffae98ab7cbe3e686c9db618abe1     
围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份）
参考例句：
  • Many people like to wear aprons while they are cooking. 许多人做饭时喜欢系一条围裙。
  • The chambermaid in our corridor wears blue checked gingham aprons. 给我们扫走廊的清洁女工围蓝格围裙。
13 embroidered StqztZ     
adj．绣花的
参考例句：
  • She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
  • She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。
14 scorpion pD7zk     
n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭
参考例句：
  • The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
  • The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
15 toad oJezr     
n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆
参考例句：
  • Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
  • Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。
16 mascots aecb9f35e21335e20c5eb14a9f5e4d45     
n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网
17 conjure tnRyN     
v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法
参考例句：
  • I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
  • I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

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