中国故事英文演绎

1The word myth originates from the Roman word mythos, meaning speech, tale, fiction or narrative

2Myth is an anonymous account with supernatural characteristics that tends to explain natural phenomena and origin of humanity, culture, and other incidents

3Mythology can be defined as the study of myths or can be used to refer to a collection of myths that usually describe a particular group of people or culture, such as their　history, religion, and ancestry

4Different cultures often reveal some similar themes or images in their myths Some scholars believe that these similarities result from　archetypes present in the conscious levels of every persons mind

5Chthonic myths that involve death and rebirth motifs, typically characterized by natural disasters such as flood, storm, hurricane, earthquake and other natural phenomena unexplainable to ancient people

6Pan Gu was often regarded as the god who created heaven and earth and Nvwa as the goddess who created humans

7The story of Nvwa creating mankind provided an explanation for the social hierarchy in ancient China It was said the few people created by her own hand became the rich and the powerful and the majority she flung as drops from the rope became the poor and

8Fu Xi and Nvwa were credited with creating the Eight Trigrams, which formed the basis for the philosophy of the Book of Changes

9It is said that the current custom of a bride covering their face with a fan or a veil at a marriage ceremony originated from the story of the creation of mankind by the union of Fu Xi and Nvwa, who were brother and sister

10Shennong is honored as the ancestor of Chinese herb medicine and agriculture

11Shennong often used cha, which originally meant to drink or to eat as an antidote

12The social position of the businessmen was superior in our feudal society

13Wang Hai is now honored as the ancestor of commerce of China and highly respected by the later generations as a result of his initiating commercial trade

14One of Wang Hai’s ancestors named Xi Zhong penned the wild horses and put fodder into mangers to raise them Later, he created halters to lead the horses for carrying goods

15Wang Hai found the most sensitive place of an ox was its nose He later created vehicles pulled by oxen and they became the important tool for transferring people and goods

16With the help of vehicles pulled by horses and oxen, Wang Hai led his clansmen to do business with other tribes on a large scale Soon, their tribe became the richest and the most influential one

17The influence and prosperity of Shang tribe laid the solid material foundations for defeating the Xia Dynasty and setting up of a new one －－- the Shang Dynasty

18Comparative mythology has uncovered a number of recurring themes between the myths of different cultures, such as the creation myth, disaster myth and hero myth Among them, disaster myth is at the foundation of almost every culture

19The creation of the universe, the Earth, and humans, are three major subjects covered in nearly, if not all creation mythology

20In Norse mythology, Ymir’s brothers and sisters slew him and fashioned the cosmos from his　corpse

21Disaster myths are those that are related with natural disasters such as flood, storm, hurricane, earthquake, and other natural phenomena unexplainable to ancient people

22Ritual myths mainly explain the performance of certain religious practices or patterns and are usually associated with temples or centers of worship

23Traditionally, consanguineous marriage between closely related blood relatives was not prevalent in different cultures all over the world

24Consanguineous marriage was encouraged in ancient time for the benefit of preserving family wealth, strengthening family ties, maintaining family structure or a closer relationship between the wife and her in-laws, and keeping tradition and cultural value

25It was said Gun, the father of Yu accepted the commission from the Emperor of Heaven and decided to use Xirang(息壤), a self-expanding soil, given by the Emperor of Heaven to control the flooding water

26The four classic folktales in Chinese culture are the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid, Lady Mengjiang Crying at the Great Wall, Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy and the Legend of White Snake

27The four classic folktales are all legends that eulogize genuine love between men and women in ancient China

28Folktales are usually spread in writings instead of orally

29On each side of the Milky Way , there are the Altair star and the Vega star

30The Vega is the daughter of the Queen Mother

31The beautiful clouds woven by the Vega changed their colors with time and season, so it is called ‘Heaven Clothes’

32The Cowherd’s brother and sister-in-law treated him very well

33The old cow in the story was originally Taurus Star in the heaven

34The Cowherd happened to meet across the Weaver at the Bilian Pool

35After being married, the Cowherd and the Weaver gave birth to two sons

36Before its death, the old cow told the Cowherd to keep its skin that could help him fly in the sky

37When the Queen Mother knew about the marriage between the Cowherd and the Weaver, she was furious and went to arrest the Weaver herself

38The Cowherd chased the Weaver and the celestial troops with the help of the cowhide

39The Queen Mother pulled out the jade hairpin on her head and drew a heavenly river between the Cowherd and the Weaver

40Finally, the Queen Mother compromised that the Cowherd and the children stayed in the heaven and the family met once a year on July 7th on lunar calendar

41Legend has it that on lunar July 7th each year, the Cowherd and the Weaver meet on the swallow bridge

42Qixi festival is originated from the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver

43On the evening of lunar July 7th, girls beg the Weaver Maid for wisdom and smart skills of embroidery, so lunar July 7th is also called Qiqiao Festival

44Marriage in the Cowherd and Weaver Maid is an ideal marriage pattern of husband farming and wife weaving in agricultural society in ancient Chinese culture

45The mode of love like the Cowherd and the Weaver can be traced in many folktales in Chinese culture

46The Cowherd Star represents farming in traditional Chinese culture

47The Weaver Maid is the goddess who controls weaving in Chinese culture

48Its said that on the eve of the seventh day of lunar July, young girls hide under the grapevine or pumpkin shed so that they can hear the whisper of the Cowherd and his children

49Girls also worship the Weaver Maid under the moonlight, thread needles, float needles on the surface of the water, spot auspicious spider weaving, breed and pray for offspring and eat qiaoguo

50The activities of Qixi not only reflect the ancient womens yearning for and pursuit of beautiful love, but also represent their dual responsibilities in marriage: needlework and giving birth to children

51Cao Cao thought he was the only hero in the three kingdoms period

52Heroes in Chinese culture are individualized

53There are many mythological heroes who fight against natural disasters for people in Chinese history

54Kua Fu decided to catch up with the sun so that he could ask him to stay longer

55The story of Kuafu racing with the sun reveals his perseverance

56The monkey became the king in Huaguoshan mountain due to its capability and courage

57The dragon king of the East China Sea sent the Monkey King the Miracle Key Stand as a gift

58The Monkey King cannot be hurt physically after eating peaches from Immortal Peach Feast

59Chinese national heroes, such as Huo Qubing, Wen Tianxiang, are people who contribute a lot to the country and people

60After being detained by the Huns, Su Wu managed to escape to the Lake Baikal and made a living there through herding sheep

61Su Wu was a diplomat in Han dynasty, whose spirit of never giving up and loyalty influences generations of people

62Yue Fei’s mother was upright and open-minded, who treated Yue Fei in a strict way

63Yue Fei was put into prison and executed for the guilt of Moxuyou

64Among Chinese cultural heroes, Bao Zheng is the symbol of integrity

65Guan Yu was honored as Martial Sage, enjoying the equal status with the Civil Sage, Confucius?

66Guan Yu accepted one gift from Cao Cao, which is a sword

67Asking Zhuge Liang to make 100,000 arrows in 10 days, Sun Quan needed arrows in water warfare

68Zhuge Liang borrowed arrows from Cao Cao with boats and archers

69Cai Wenji is considered as a Chinese heroine

70Mulan is good at martial arts and writing

71In both Chinese and western cultures, a hero is a person of outstanding qualities

72Mulan took the place of her father and joined the army to fight against Japanese pirates

73In China, we call people who have contributed a lot to the country heroes, including but not limited to peoples heroes, labor heroes, war heroes, revolutionary heroes, and space heroes

74The monkey king became famous in heaven and on earth after he had become immortal

75Qu Yuan is the representative of patriotism

76Fables have two main elements: storytelling and morality

77Fables came into being earlier than myths

78There were some fables in oracle bone inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty

79In the Han Dynasty, the fable creation mainly inherited the characteristics of the works in the Qin Dynasty

80Fables were closely related to the poetry and prose innovation in the Tang and Song Dynasties

81Looking into its social and historical roots, we can see that drawing feet for a snake is very ridiculous

82The idiompaint the lily means　icing on the cake

83Some Chinese fables and English idioms convey the same connotative meaning but with different images

84Liu Zongyuan’s well-known fables Three Precepts are The Elk in Linjiang, The Donkey in Qianzhou and The Rats in a Family in Yongzhou

85The donkey in the fable The Donkey in Qianzhou is an artistic image of a huge thing with formidable appearance and great ability

86The fable The Donkey in Qianzhou may not only satirize the ignorance of the troublesome man, but also imply that a competent man has no opportunity to show his talents

87Liu Zongyuan wrote the fable The Donkey in Qianzhou during his relegation

88The fable The Donkey in Qianzhou may reflect Liu Zongyuan’s complicated inner world following the failure of his political struggle: frustration, regret and even despair

89The Crow and the Pitcher　is a pre-Qin fable

90Aesops Fables were written by Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece in the 6th century BC

91In respect of main characters, animals are the leading role in Pre-Qin fables; while human beings are the leading role in Aesop’s fables

92The main characters in Pre-Qin fables are mainly folk figures, historical figures, and fictional figures

93Pre-Qin fables are literati’s creation by scholars and philosophers; while Aesop’s Fables are folk oral literature created by a lower class, such as the slave Aesop

94The narration of the story and morality are usually separated in Pre-Qin fable stories

95Pre-Qin fables didn’t become an independent literary genre, and they were affiliated to the works of various scholars

96Fables served as the bridges between the primitive mythological thinking and the rational thinking

97In the Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the introduction of Buddhist sutra fables brought new elements to the creation of Chinese fables

98In the State of Chu, people took dragons as their totems

99Both the Pre-Qin fables and Aesops Fables have complex plots, usually with two or more conflicts in one story

100In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Chinese fables absorbed the ideology and artistic techniques of European fables, without inheriting their own national tradition

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