該怎麼向歪果仁解釋中國的十二生肖呢？

主題：豬年到了，你對十二生肖瞭解多少呢？

演講者：

薛曉嵐

內容節選：

So what is the Chinese zodiac， exactly？ Most Westerners think of Greco-Roman zodiac， the signs divided into 12 months。 The Chinese zodiac is different。 It‘s a 12-year cycle labeled with animals， starting with a Rat and ending with a Pig， and has no association with constellations。

到底什麼是中國的生肖呢？大多數西方人聽說過希臘羅馬12星座。這些星座把一年分成12個月。中國生肖不同。中國生肖是以動物命名的，一個12年的迴圈。以鼠開始，以豬結尾。它們與星座沒有任何聯絡。

For example， if you were born in 1975， you are a Rabbit。 Can you see your zodiac sign there？ Our Chinese ancestors constructed a very complicated theoretical framework based on yin and yang， the five elements and the 12 zodiac animals。

比如你出生在1975年，你就屬兔。大家可以看到自己的生肖麼？中國的老祖先以陰陽、

五行

和12生肖為基礎，建立了一套非常複雜的理論框架。

Over thousands of years， this popular culture has affected people’s major decisions， such as naming， marriage， giving birth and attitude towards each other。 And some of the implications are quite amazing。

千百年來，這種流行文化影響著人們的大部分決定，比如起名、婚介、生產甚至對彼此的態度。其中一些涵義令人稱奇。

The Chinese believe certain animals get on better than the others。 So parents choose specific years to give birth to babies， because they believe the team effort by the right combination of animals can give prosperity to families。

中國人相信某些生肖與其它生肖比較好相處。所以夫婦選擇特定的年份生孩子，因為他們相信特定的生肖組合，會讓家族更加繁榮。

We even refer to the zodiac when entering into romantic relations。 I‘m a Pig； I should have perfect romance with Tigers， Goats and Rabbits。 Chinese people believe some animals are natural enemies。 As a Pig， I need to be careful with a Snake。 Raise your hand if you are a Snake。 Let’s have a chat later。

甚至談戀愛的時候也會參考生肖。我屬豬，我最好的戀愛物件是屬虎，羊和兔的人。中國人相信有些生肖天生相剋。對於屬豬的人來說我要小心屬蛇的人。各位屬蛇的人請舉手。我一會有話跟你們說。

We believe some animals are luckier than the others， such as the Dragon。 Unlike the Western tradition，the Chinese Dragon is a symbol for power， strength and wealth。 It‘s everyone’s dream to have a Dragon baby。 Jack Ma‘s parents must have been very proud。 And they are not the only ones。

我們相信有些生肖更加好運，比如生肖龍。不同於西方傳統，中國龍是權力、力量和財富的象徵。每個人都希望有一個龍寶寶。馬雲的父母就非常自豪。 這種現象非常普遍。

In 2012， the Year of the Dragon，

the birthrate in

China， Hong Kong and Taiwan increased by five percent。 That means another one million more babies。 With a traditional preference to baby boys， the boy-girl ratio that year was 120 to 100。 When those Dragon boys grow up， they will face much more severe competition in love and job markets。

2012年是龍年，

中國香港

和臺灣的嬰兒出生率提高了5%。比正常多出了一百萬新生兒。加之生男孩的傾向明顯，那年的男女比例為120：100。當屬龍的男孩長大， 他們會面臨更加激烈的婚姻和職場挑戰。

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英趣思聽|該怎麼向歪果仁解釋中國的十二生肖呢？