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          故鄉端午        紀毓鼎（1915-2005）

The Dragon Boat Festival

in My Hometown

譯者/Translator: Crystal Tai (the author's granddaughter)

陰曆五月端陽，故鄉沒有賽龍舟的習俗。可能是由於河道不寬，農民人人是操舟能手，不覺得賽龍舟好玩。

During the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth of the fifth lunar month, my hometown differed from most other places in China by not having dragon boat races. That was probably because our waterways were not very wide and our farmers were all boating experts. Dragon boat racing was not challenging enough for them.

每到端午節，我家大廳向來掛着墨龍。那巨龍翻騰，若隱若現，噴雲吐霧，欲風欲雨，令我們感到暑氣漸消，清涼自在。

My family always hung an ink painting of a dragon in the living room for the Dragon Boat Festival. The huge dragon roared in the painting, half hidden in the clouds and mist coming out of his mouth, about to bring on winds and rain showers, making us feel the heat around us disappearing, leaving us cool and  

提起龍，中國人自古以來視為神物，可是誰也不曾看到真正的龍，只是從圖畫中定其形象而已。故鄉老農們卻說看見過烏龍吸水。某年端午節過後一個夏日，我們兄弟在後門外紫藤花下玩耍，忽聞佣人們叫看烏龍戲水。我們迅速跑到河邊，看到遙遠的東北方天空有一黑一白兩條龍，翻滾旋轉，或上粗下尖，或上尖下粗，蔚為奇觀。

Speaking of dragons, Chinese people have always regarded them as semi-gods, but no one has ever seen a real dragon. We've only seen their images in pictures. However, some elderly farmers in my hometown said they had seen a black dragon drinking water. One summer day right after the Dragon Boat festival, my brothers and I were playing under an arch of wisteria outside of the back door. All of a sudden, our servants came to tell us to watch black dragons play with water. We quickly ran to the river bank. Then we saw a black dragon and a white one in the northeastern sky, far away from us. They were tumbling and twisting, sometimes thicker on top and thinner at the bottom, sometimes thinner on top and thicker at the bottom. It was a marvelous view!

同時，我們立身處風力增強，木葉簌簌，大有山雨欲來之勢。大約十餘分鐘後，雙龍方告消失。我們雖只見龍身，不見龍顏，但已很滿足了。後來我長大了，才知那其實是颱風。

In the meantime, winds became stronger where we were. Leaves of the trees around us were trembling. A rain shower seemed to be looming. In more than 10 minutes, the two dragons disappeared. We only saw the dragons' bodies, not their faces, but we were content about it. Later, as I grew up, I realized the phenomenon actually had been a typhoon.

鄉人愛龍，包粽子也包出一種龍粽，有幾尺長，粗頭細尾，活像條條绿龍。龍粽非常難包，必须具特殊技巧，包來作古禮婚嫁之用。包龍粽用的葉子非一般竹葉，而是蘆柴葉子。我家園溝的岸邊長满了蘆柴，葉子薄，大，有特殊清香，不只用於龍粽，端午節包一般的粽子，蘆柴葉也是好材料。

People in my village loved dragons. They made a special rice dish, “dragon zongzi,” each one of which was a few feet long, with a thick head and thin tail, just like a green dragon. It was difficult to make dragon zongzi. Only those with specialized skills were able to produce them as traditional wedding gifts. They did not use ordinary bamboo leaves to wrap glutinous rice when making the dragon zongzi. Instead, they used leaves from a special type of reed. Such plants grew densely along the canals surrounding my family's villa. Their leaves were thin and large, with a particularly refreshing scent. They were used not only to wrap dragon zongzi but also for regular zongzi consumed during the Dragon Boat Festival.

端午節在故鄉有些特殊規矩，比如全家人這天要秤一下體重，意思是說酷暑影響食慾，容易疲勞，提醒大家注意健康。而小孩們除了秤體重，還要坐在門坎上吃一個白水煮雞蛋，說是會長得快。不知是哪來的迷信。

My hometown had some special rules for the Dragon Boat Festival. For instance, all the family members weighed themselves on this day. It was meant as a reminder for people to take care of their health while summer heat might affect their appetite and cause fatigue. After weighing themselves, children had to sit on the threshold of the door, and each of them would be given a boiled egg to eat there. The boiled egg eaten that way was believed to help children grow faster. I don't know where or how the superstition started.

中國人說端午節是最毒的日子。這天故鄉家家插菖蒲艾草，還用盆子装满乾艾葉，掺雄黄點燃，放各房間内讓其烟薰。

Chinese people say the Dragon Boat Festival is when all the poisonous pathogens come out. On this day, every household of my hometown tied some calamus and wormweed stalks onto the windows for their anti-pathogenic capacities. People also filled a container with dried wormweed leaves, poured in a little realgar, and then burned the contents. They placed such a container in every room, with the door closed to let the smoke permeate the room.

小孩們不能喝雄黃酒，就沾些在額頭上畫個王字。同時孩子們穿着織有老虎和各類蛇蟲圖案的背心。婴兒還有虎頭鞋子，帽子。經過這樣打扮，據說可以百毒不侵。

Children were not allowed to drink realgar wine, so adults would dab some realgar wine on each child's forehead to draw the Chinese character wang, which means “king,” to empower the child against pathogens. In the meantime, each child was wearing a vest with a tiger, a snake, or some bugs embroidered on it. Babies were also wearing shoes and hats decorated with tiger-head-shaped ornaments. People in my hometown believed such outfits could make children invincible to all kinds of poison.

中國五千年文化實在太廣博精深，學無止境。奇風異俗也可顺此誌之，點綴鄉情野趣。

Chinese culture, being five thousand years old, is very complex. There's too much to learn about it. Even weird customs are worth mentioning here, as they have spiced up country life.

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【法奶日報www.lulijen.com2015.6.18.出刊，第9-1417號】