Basics of Chinese Culture

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Unit 8 Literature

A. Classical Literature

Liu Xiaoting

两弯似蹙非蹙笼烟眉，一双似喜非喜含情目。

Her mist-wreathed brows at first seemed to frown, yet were not frowning; her passionate eyes at first seemed to smile, yet were not merry.

Chen Qiuxu

中国古典文学有诗歌、散文、小说以及词、赋、曲等多种表现形式，在各种文体中，又有多种多样的艺术表现手法。

There are many forms of expression in Chinese classical literature, such as poetry, prose, novels, ci, fu and qu. In all kinds of literary forms, there are a variety of artistic expression techniques.

Hu Jingchen

汉赋其主要特点是铺陈写物，不歌而诵，是中国古代特有的一种文学体裁。

The main features of Han Fu are to lay out the writings and recite them without singing. It is a literary genre unique to ancient China.

Li Leyi

林黛玉是书中一位富有诗意美和理想色彩的悲剧形象,她美得让人由衷地心疼和爱怜，更具艺术魅力的是她无与伦比的丰富而优美的精神世界。

Lin Daiyu is a tragic image of poetic beauty and ideal brilliance in the book, she is so beautiful that people sincerely love her and feel pitiful for her, and her unparalleled abundant and elegant spiritual world is more artistically charming.

Li Qi

《红楼梦》是一部具有世界影响力的小说，举世公认的中国古典小说巅峰之作，中国封建社会的百科全书。

A Dream of Red Mansions is a novel with world influence, which is universally recognized as the peak of Chinese classical novels and an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society.

Luo Xiaodi

中国古典文学广义的指自先秦至清代末年的中国文学，包括作家、作品、文学事件，文体起源与发展历程，文学运动、流派，文学理论，作家作品的考据、研究等等。

In a broad sense, Chinese classical literature refers to Chinese literature from the pre-qin period to the end of the Qing Dynasty, including writers, works, literary events, the origin and development of literary style, literary movements, schools, literary theory, Textual Research and so on.

Li Haowen

儒林外史全篇没有贯穿始终的主要人物和故事框架，而是一个个相对独立的故事的连环套；前面一个故事说完了，引出一些新的人物，这些新的人物便成为后一个故事中的主要角色。

The whole book of Scholars has no main character who shows up from the beginning to the end, nor did a story structure. But it has several separate stories. They are connected by some new characters showing up in the previous story and then they will be the main characters in the next.

Liu Li

汉赋其主要特点是铺陈写物，不歌而诵，是中国古代特有的一种文学体裁。

The main characteristic of Han Fu is to lay out and write things without singing. It is a special literary genre in ancient China.

Qin Ruijing

《离骚》把最为生动鲜艳、只有在原始神话中才能出现的那种无羁而多义的浪漫想象，与最为炽热深沉，只有在理性觉醒时刻才能有的个体人格和情操，最完满地溶化成了有机整体。

Translation: “Li Sao”perfectly combines the most wild, vivid and colorful romantic imagination, which can only appear in the primitive myths, and the most intense and deep individual personality and sentiment, which can only be found in the moment of rational awakening, into an organic whole.

Shi Shuwen

《诗经》三百零五篇中，有一百四十四篇涉及植物，唯有诗歌最能释木。

Of the 305 passages in The Book of Songs, 144 passages relate to plants, only poetry can explain wood best.

Zhang Yuanling

《桃花扇》写李香君和侯方域的离合之情的部分不多，反而是国家兴亡之势的描写占了上风。因此他们之间的爱情，便成了沧海中的一粟，最后化作一缕云烟。

The Peach Blossom Fan is not long in the length of depicting the vicissitudes of Li Xiangjun and Hou Fangyu, but long in describing the fate of Ming Dynasty. Then their love was no more like a drop in the ocean, and finally disappeared as a cloud of vapor.

Luo Feng

Records of the Historians covers the world as it was then known to the Chinese and a 2500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time.

《史记》记载了自黄帝至汉武帝太初年间（即司马迁所处朝代）共2500年的历史。

Ma Qian

《史记》被称为“史家之绝唱，无韵之离骚”。

Records of the Historian has the reputation of " the masterpiece of the history, the Li Sao without rhythm."

Li Xiangyun

中国诗词闻名世界，却也极难翻译。

Chinese poetry and ci lyric are famous all around the world, but they are very difficult to translate.

Ai Xin

《诗经》是我国第一部诗歌总集。编成于春秋时期，大抵是西周初年至春秋中叶500年间的作品，共305篇，代表了2500多年以前诗歌创作的最高成就。

The Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of verse in China, which presents the top achievement of poetic creation more than 2500 years ago. It is compiled during the Spring and Autumn period about 305 works, roughly composed from the early Western Zhou dynasty to the middle of the spring and autumn period.

Xia Ke

可怜无定河边骨，犹是春闺梦里人。

Those miserable piles of bones near the Wuding lake, are still sweet husbands in their wives’ dreams.

士为知己者死，女为悦己者容。

A man would die for someone appreciates him, a woman will dress up for someone she likes.

但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

I wish the one I care about will live long and healthy, so we can share the same moon no matter how far apart we are.

Liu Siyu

《诗经》里的作品多方面描写了现实生活，表现了不同阶层人民在现实生活中的各种感受，真实地反映了现实生活。

Compositions in The Book of Songs depicted real life from various perspective, showed the feelings of people of different classes in it, and truly reflected it.

Sun Rui

《诗经》的作者身份十分广泛，有上层的公卿大夫，也有中下层的“士”，“风”类诗歌的作者大多是下层的平民百姓，同时这类诗歌大多是集体创作的。

The authors' identities of The Book of Songs are very broad, which include aristocracy of the upper class and also scholars of the middle and lower class. The authors of Wind Poetry are mostly common people of lower class. At the same time, this kind of poetry is mostly collective creation.

Yang Yuxin

《诗经》里的作品多方面描写了现实生活，表现了不同阶层人民在现实生活中的各种感受，真实地反映了现实生活。

The book of songs mainly described real life, showing all kinds of feelings of different people at different classes, truly reflecting people's real life at that time.

Yang Qing

在艺术上，窦娥冤体现了现实主义与浪漫主义风格的融合，反映了广大人民伸张正义、惩治邪恶的愿望。

Artistically, the Snow in Midsummer reflects the combination of realism and romanticism, and reflects the desire of the people to uphold justice and punish evil.

Yang Jiani

Journey to the West is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. In English-speaking countries, the work is widely known as Monkey, the title of Arthur Waley's popular abridged translation.

《西游记》是一部写于16世纪的明朝的中国小说, 作者是吴承恩。他是中国古典文学的四大名著之一。在英语国家，这部小说通常被称为“猴子”，源自Arthur Waley广为人知的翻译。

Yin Tanwen

中国古代四大名剧分别是《牡丹亭》、《桃花扇》、《长生殿》、《西厢记》。

There are four famous operas in ancient China, which called the Peony Pavilion, the Peach Blossom Fan, Palace of Eternal Youth, the Romance of the Western Chamber.

Yu Jing

文学是用语言塑造形象反映社会生活的一种语言艺术，是文化中极具强烈感染力的重要组成部分。

Literature is a kind of language art, using language to shape figures to reflect social life, and it is an important component with strong infection in culture.

Zhou Xiaolan

中国古典文学是中华民族最宝贵的文化遗产之一。

Chinese classical literature is one of the most precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.

Zhu Wenhao

甩发功，多为男性角色甩动头顶扎束的一绺长发，表现惊慌失措、悲愤交加、疼痛欲绝以及仓皇逃命、垂死挣扎等激烈异常的情绪和情境的一种表演特技。

Hair swing is a acting skills in Beijing opera. Usually, the male character whips a stunt of long hair from the top of his head to express abnormal emotions, such as panic, a mix of grief and anger, extreme pain, and to show fierce situation like rushing to escape and struggling desperately

Peng Lu

中国传统文化养育了中国古典文学，中国古典文学又大大丰富了中国传统文化，使传统文化更具有深刻的影响力。

Thanks to traditional culture, Chinese classical literature has become fertile, which, at the same time, enriches traditional culture and wins it more profound influence.

Guo Xinyi

《诗经》里的作品多方面描写了现实生活，表现了不同阶层人民在现实生活中的各种感受，真实地反映了现实生活，这是它的一大特色。

It is one of the most prominent characteristics of The Book of Songs that the real life is portrayed from more than one aspect in the poems and it manifests different feelings of different classes of people in their real life, so that the reality has its truly reflection.

Tips: 英文长句中一般评论在前，事实在后，所以可先翻译最后一句

英文中更喜欢用被动句，所以中间两句用被动形式更说得通

Liu Qinyu

The majority of the Odes date to the Western Zhou period (1046–771 BC), and were drawn from around 15 kingdoms, those which were mainly provinces and cities in the Zhongyuan area.

这本诗集可以追溯到西周时期（公元前1046-771），且其内容源自当时的15个王国，他们主要位于中原地区。

Liu Ying

原文：《尚书》的主要内容是尧舜至春秋时代一些君主和大臣的讲话，誓词，政令的记录，反映上古时代的政治观念和某些统治者的经验。

The Book of History mainly records the speeches, oaths and decrees of monarchs and ministers from Yao Shun period to Chunqiu period. It reflects political ideas in the ancient times and experiences of some governors.

Du Peixi

The Chinese classical poetry is a gem in the treasure house of Chinese literature as well as an important component of the Chinese traditional culture.

中国古典诗歌是中华文化宝库的一颗明珠,也是中华民族优秀传统文化的重要组成部分。

Tip：gem of the treasure house 的意思为珠宝屋里的宝石，为了使句子更多美感，翻译为宝库的一颗明珠。

Jiang Yun

水浒世界里只有一种颜色，那就是黑色。（中译英）

There is only a kind of color in Shui Hui Huan: black.

Li Shuo

《诗经》反映了劳动与爱情、战争与徭役、压迫与反抗、风俗与婚姻、祭祖与宴会，甚至天象、动物、植物等方方面面，是周代社会生活的一面镜子。

The Book of Songs is a mirror of social life in Zhou Dynasty, which reflects labor and love, war and corvee, oppression and resistance, customs and marriage, ancestor worship and banquet, even celestial, animal, plant and other aspects.

Peng Yu

The Dream of the Red Chamber was very highly regarded when it was published both in China and Japan and is reminiscent of a psychologically complex work like Dostoyevskiy’s.

《红楼梦》在中国和日本出版时都受到高度评价，让人联想到陀思妥耶夫斯基那样的心理复杂作品。