苏说文化二十四节气之惊蛰（英文版）

惊蛰

如果让你来描绘春天到来的景象，你将怎样着笔？对中国人来说，只需要两个字——惊蛰。意思是当第一声春雷响起，冬眠的动物被惊醒破土而出。惊蛰是春天到来最直观的标志，这一天也是中国二十四节气之一。

If you are asked to describe the coming spring season what you are going to write down? For the Chinese the answer lies in only two words---Jingzhe. Jingzhe means that the first spring thunder awakens hibernating （hibernate vi. 过冬；（动物）冬眠） insects. As one of the 24 solar terms in China Jingzhe heralds （herald vt.是（某事）的前兆；预示） the advent （advent n. （重要事件、人物、发明等的）出现，到来） of the spring.

“惊”意为惊醒，而“蛰”则表示动物蛰伏地下冬眠。 “惊蛰”两字，着笔于动物对气候变化的反应，形象的勾画出一幅春回大地的景象，简单的笔墨颇得中国诗画写意的精髓。对于通晓中文的人来说，看到“惊蛰”二字，仿佛春天就在眼前。

“Jing” means awakening and “zhe” means underground hibernating insects. With an eye on animals’ reactions to seasonal changes, Jingzhe vividly depicts （depict vt. 描绘；绘画） an image of the returning spring season. It reminds us of the simplicity and beauty of Chinese poems and paintings. In the eyes of anyone who knows Chinese, the two words Jing and Zhe present them an image of the coming spring season.

当然实际上，唤醒冬眠动物的并非春雷声，而是日渐回暖的气温，这一时节除却塞北还是一片银装素裹的冬日景观，中国大部分地区气温都回升至零度以上。

What awakens hibernating animals, however, is not the spring thunder but the rising temperature. Jingzhe witnesses the temperature rising above 0°C in most parts of China although the northern side of the Great Wall is still blanketed with winter snow.

随着惊蛰的到来，春来的脚步也一日比一日紧凑，春天的景象次第在眼前铺陈。人们将惊蛰时节分为三段时期，称为“三候”（候，古代人把五天称为“一候”，现在气象学上仍然沿用：候温，每五天的平均气温。）。在中国人看来，每一“候”都有不同的生机：“一候”时桃花初绽，大地开始有了鲜艳的颜色；“二候”时鸟类的鸣叫声渐多；“三候”时春意盎然，鸟类开始进入求偶的季节。

Jingzhe witnesses the time that the spring season comes at a faster pace. During this period amazing changes of the spring season unfold one after another. People tend to divide the solar term Jingzhe into three pentads. In the eyes of the Chinese, different lives blossom in each pentad （pentad n. 五，五个一组）of Jingzhe. The first pentad is a time when peach flowers bloom and vegetation gradually covers the land. During the second pentad people start to hear the tweets（tweet n. 小鸟叫声） from an increasing number of birds. When the third pentad comes the spring season will be in its full swing, a time that the birds embrace their courtship season.

对农耕文明而言，季节的流转、物候的变化是指导一年耕作的重要标志。惊蛰时节，随着气温回升、大地解冻，农事活动渐渐繁忙起来。农谚说：“过了惊蛰节，春耕不能歇”。此时北方冬小麦返青生长，南方的油菜花开始见花，农民开始起早贪黑，忙于农活了。民间在惊蛰日有吃梨的习俗，“梨”和“离”同音，惊蛰吃梨寄托了人们的美好愿望，期盼害虫远离庄稼，确保一年的好收成。

In any agricultural civilization, seasonal shifts and phenological （phenological adj. 物候学的 ）changes can provide invaluable guidance for agriculture production. During Jingzhe, rising temperature and thawing soil herald the busy season of agricultural activity. According to the traditional Chinese folklore “The spring cultivation will not abate （abate v. （使）减弱，减退，减少） even after Jingzhe”. During Jingzhe the winter wheat in north China starts to turn green and rape flower in the south is ready to bloom. Farmers are busy in their fields from dawn to dusk. The Chinese have the custom of eating pear on the Jingzhe day. Since “pear” and “leave” have the same pronunciation in Chinese, this custom carries the people’s wish for a bumper （bumper adj. 异常大的；丰盛的）harvest in the hope that the pests will leave the crops alone.

惊蛰作为春天破土而出的标志，也有扫除冬日阴郁陈晦的意义。冬眠而出的蝼蚁虫豸四处觅食，人们会用艾草、清香熏染家中各处以驱赶虫豸并驱除霉味。久而久之，这一天也有了驱赶霉运的意义。

Heralding the advent of the vibrant spring season, Jingzhe also implies that the tedious （tedious adj. 冗长的；单调乏味的；令人厌烦的）and grim winter days finally come to an end. Insects awaken from hibernation look for foods everywhere. People light up wormwood （wormwood n. 艾草）and other herbs to dispel （dispel vt. 驱散，消除）insects in their houses. Later on, this practice got the meaning of getting rid of bad luck.

二十四节气是中国人千百年来以独特的视角观察自然、体察物候变化总结的规律，浸透着华夏文明的智慧。“惊蛰”节气是人们从春天的无数个瞬间中，抽取的一帧最典型画面，用“惊蛰”来标记春天的到来，恐怕是最合适不过的了。

   The 24 solar terms summarize the observation of the Chinese on the law of nature and phenological changes. They are the highlights of the wisdom in Chinese civilization. Jingzhe presents us a typical image of spring based on countless observations people have made on the spring season. To mark the advent of the spring season, Jingzhe is perhaps the most appropriate term.