吉祥文化

吉祥文化

题记： 在绵延数千年的中国传统文化长河中。吉祥文化是一条十分重要的支流，它凝结着中国人的伦理情感、生命意识、审美趣味与宗教情怀。它的核心在于帮助人们更好地生活，激发人们创造美好的生活，凡是人们认为好的东西，都会表现在吉祥文化之中。构成吉祥文化永恒的主题和美好的画面。吉祥文化的影响从古及今，无处不在。

In the thousands of years of Chinese traditional culture，auspicious culture has been an important tributary．It condensed Chinese people's moral feelings,life awareness，aesthetic and religious sentiments．Its core is to help people and inspire people to create a better life．Whatever people think of will be reflected in auspicious

culture,and

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culture,auspiciousness，and beautiful imagery．Auspicious culture has influenced people from ancient times till now,and it still exists in every corner in China

In the development of Chinese 5000 years history；people have expressed their wishes for a

happy life by making good use of Chinese characters,beasts，flowers,birds,heavenly bodies,natural phenomenon,such as thunder and lightening by way of metonymy, personification，puns homonyms,symbols and thus Chinese propitious culture has been formed．

Literally ，auspiciousness means luck and peace．Good luck means good omen,thus everything is satisfactory and pleasant．We may see the life consciousness，the esthetic appealing and national qualities of our Chinese people through the decorative design，pattern and signs．There are many

elements which carry good luck．The most common are here as the follows：

Auspicious Animals

Chinese people think that animals can bring them good luck．Some of the animals which embody good fortune exist in the real world and some are imaginary．The unicorn，the phoenix，the turtle and the dragon were called，“The Four Spirits” by the ancient Chinese people．These are the intelligent and propitious animals．Among them only turtles really exist in the world．It symbolizes “longevity” because turtles have a long life．The unicorn,the phoenix , and the dragon symbolize peace, nobleness,and braveness respectively.These three animals are in people~imagination．

In Chinese culture，‘dragon and the phoenix’are most popular propitious symbols．You can see

them everywhere，especially on the traditional bridle dresses，the patterns of dragon and phoenix

are embroidered．

Auspicious Plants

Auspicious plants are auspicious, meaning that people enrust．Flowers，trees, fruit carry auspicious meanings accordingly．

Such as“the Three Friends in Winter(of the Cold)”，we people use plum blossom，bamboos and pine trees to express auspicious content．Red beans show “the thinking of somebody”．It is a traditional habit for lovers to present as gifts．Orange,for instance in Chinese“桔”is a homonym of“吉”．People wish good luck to each other through presenting oranges．Pomegranate is a symbol of many children and happiness．And the orchid is famous for its unique delicate fragrance and it is regarded as“the noble among the flowers”, a symbol of elegance．Fragrance，color and elegance are all in peony.

Auspicious Numerals

In our Chinese culture，numerals not only tell the quantities,but carry collocations of auspiciousness．“one”, “ten”, “hundred”,and “thousand”together with some other numerals have collocations．Even numerals have the propitious meanings as well as odd numerals and they have been playing a very important role in the history of our culture．It is said there were9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City!The most popular propitious numerals are‘three’,‘six’,‘nine’’eight’.If we have got these numerals in our telephone numbers，car numbers,room numbers，we would be specially happy because people think these number can bring them fortune．

Characters

Chinese characters themselves are great decorations．Therefore，people love to show the propitious writings in various forms of calligraphy．The commonly used four characters are “fortune”， “wealth”， “longevity ” and “happiness”. “Fortune” means good luck while “wealth”means the success in career； “longevity” represents a long life while “happiness” means enjoyment and delight．Chinese people like to decorate all kinds of things with multiple designs of these characters to express their good wishes．

Auspicious Language

China is a nation of etiquettes．People choose words to communicate whenever they talk to each other．For example,we Chinese people certainly say “Wish you a prosperous new year ”during Spring Festival and a good wish to anyone to increase their wealth in the coming new year．When attending a wedding ceremony,we must say to the newly—weds to “Live together all their lives”.When the old have their birthday,people must say “Be happy as deep as the South Sea and live as long as the mountain”to bless them with a long and a happy life．When a store starts its business，we say something to show our wish to make the store's business getting better and better. Many other words are used as “Everything goes well” or “Good wishes come true\"

Or “ Make progress in study ”to express our good wishes to each other in our daily life．

Auspicious Behavior

In China, people would like to do anything propitious to express their good wishes.The most typical time is during the Spring Festival. Chinese people always put Chinese couplets or the Character FU on the door to stimulate the hot atmosphere to show their wishes.All the family members have rich dinner(NianFan )together to show they are united; the older would offer money wrapped in red packets to the young people blessing the children healthy in the coming year; playing firecracker indicates to welcome the new year while getting rid of the old;having Jiaozi and Niangao symbolizes good fortune and wealth; relatives and friends pay visit to each other to bless them with good wishes.

It is obvious that Chinese propitious culture lies everywhere in the life. If you understand it ,you can understand Chinese culture better!

段落译文

在中华民族5000年漫长的岁月里，先民们巧妙地运用人物、走兽、花鸟、日月星辰、风雨雷电、文字等等，通过借喻、比拟、双关、谐音、象征等等手法，来表达自己对吉祥美好生活的向往。透过这一个个纹饰、图案、符号，可以看到中国人的生命意识、审美情趣、宗教情怀和民族性格。

吉祥指“吉利”与“祥和”，吉兆、行为、祈愿意识和形体表达中华民族有许许多多被人们是为吉祥的元素，最常见的有如下几类。

吉祥动物

中国人认为，动物可以给人们的带来好运。一些动物含有好运的意思，有时体现在真实世界里，也有一些是人们虚构的。我国古人把麒麟、凤凰、龟和龙并称为“四灵”，即四种灵异的吉祥动物。这四者千百年来成为中国人生活中的恒定认同吉祥物。它们之中，龟是真实存在的动物。龟的生命很长，所以它是“长寿，，的象征。麒麟为仁兽：凤凰为百鸟之王；龙是中华民族的象征。麟、凤、龙，都是按中国人的思维方式复合构思所创造的虚拟的。在中华文化中，龙和凤是最受欢迎的吉祥元素，在许多场合都能看到。例如在传统的新娘礼服上，一定会用金丝线绣着龙凤图案，寓意龙凤呈祥。

吉祥植物

吉祥植物是被人们赋予吉祥意义的植物，有花草、树木、果实，它们表示多以组合图案构成。如岁寒三友，人们大都用梅、竹、松来表示来寓意。红豆象征思念，石榴象征多子多福，橘象征大吉，芙蓉象征荣华富贵等等。兰花和牡丹花都是中国的传统名花。兰花以其独特的清香著称，被称作“花中君子”，是高雅的象征。牡丹花兼有色、香、韵三者之美，形象雍容华贵，被视为繁荣昌盛、幸福、和平的象征。

吉祥数字

在中国文化中，不仅表示多少，还隐含着吉祥意思。从一到十、百、千、万等数字

都有吉祥含义。偶数有吉祥的含义，奇数也有吉祥的含义。吉祥数字一直以来在中国的文化中扮演着重要的角色，据说紫禁城就有9999个房间。最受中国人欢迎的吉祥数字是“三”、“六”、“九”和“八”。如果在自己的电话号码、车牌号码、房间码中有这几个数

字，人们就会特别高兴，认为这样会给自己带来幸运。

吉祥文字

吉祥文字是指那些基本涵义吉祥，或引申涵义吉祥，或在人们的生活习俗中赋予了某种特定吉祥意蕴的汉字。常用的吉祥文字有“福”、“禄”、“寿”、“喜”四个字。“福”代表幸福、福气；“禄”代表事业成功；“寿”代表长寿；“喜”代表快乐和令人高兴的事。人们喜欢把这些吉祥文字组成的图案用在各种各样的装饰品上，以表达美好的愿望。

中国是礼仪之邦。吉祥语言是人们见面时喜欢说的吉祥话语。例如，在春节见面时一定会说“恭喜发财”，就是祝对方在新的一年里增添财富；参加婚礼时，一定要祝新婚夫妇“百年好合”，就是祝他们幸福美满；给老人家祝寿时，要说“福如东海，寿比南山”，就是祝愿他幸福长寿；商店开业，要说“汇川纳海，聚福生财”，就是希望商店生意越来越好。还有“万事如意”、“心想事成”、“学习进步”、“工作顺利”等等，都是在日常生活中人们互相表示良好祝愿的话语。

吉祥行为

吉祥行为，是指用行为来体现吉祥的内涵，可分为祈求吉祥的行为和包藏吉祥的行为两种。前者是为了达到吉祥的目的而专门实施的行为，后者则是某种行为中包藏着吉祥的内涵。在婚嫁、生育、开业、奠基、纪念……等等，人们在大部分的生产生活交往行为中，都有吉祥文化的渗透与影响。最典型的是在春节，人们会在门上贴春联、贴福字，表达自己的愿望，增添喜庆的气氛；所有家庭成员聚在一起吃团圆饭，表示家族的团结；长辈会给小朋友压岁钱，祝愿小朋友平安健康；燃放爆竹，表示辞旧迎新；吃饺子、吃年糕象征吉祥和富裕；亲戚朋友互相拜年，互道祝福。

总之，吉祥文化在中国遍及人们生活的方方面面，要想更好地理解中国文化，必须了解中国的吉祥文化。

实用词汇：

大吉大利good luck and great prosperity

福星lucky star

福星高照the lucky star shines high above

关帝deified title for Guan Yu as good of war

关帝庙Guandi Temple

关门大吉close down for good

贺礼congratulatory gift

洪福great blessing

护心镜chest Plate(round metal piece on armour to protect the chest)

还愿redeem a VOW(as to the Buddhist)；fulfill one's promise

黄道吉日propitious(or auspicious)dater-~

火树银花fiery trees and silver flowers—dazzling displays of fireworks

and lanterns(on a festival night)

吉期wedding day

吉庆auspicious occasion

吉日auspicious day

吉日良辰lucky day

吉祥lucky

吉凶good or ill luck

占凶未卜one's fate remains unknown

吉兆good omen

嘉言懿行educational noble words and deeds

佳话deed praised far and wide

看日子select an auspicious day

看相read fortune(by face，palm lines，etc·)

龙风呈祥the dragon and the phoenix bringing prosperity—exercise good fortune

龙凤帖marriage certificate or lines

龙肝风髓dragon's liver and phoenix's bone marrow—great or rare delicacies

桃符peachwood charms against evil；Spring Festival couplets

万福curtsy

万古千秋throughout the ages

占卜practice divination

占卦divine by means the Eight Diagrams

占课divine by tossing coins

占梦prognostication by dreams

占星divine by astrology

名言俗语

世上无难事，只怕有心人

Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind on it

寿比南山，福如东海

May you live to be as old as Zhongnan Mountain and may your happiness be as deep as the Eastern Sea

万古长青

remain fresh forever

万古流芳

be remembered throughout the ages

龙风呈祥

the dragon and the phoenix bringing prosperity--exercise good fortune

吉庆有余

auspicious happiness in superabundance

吉人天相

Heaven stands by the good man

大吉大利

good luck and great prosperity

福星高照

the lucky star shines high above

金玉满堂

Treasures fill the home

生意兴隆

Business flourishes

岁岁平安

Peace all year round

恭喜发财

Wishing you prosperity

和气生财

Harmony brings wealth

心想事成

May all your wishes come true

吉祥如意

Everything goes well

国泰平安

The country flourishes and people live in peace

招财进宝

Money and treasures will he plentiful

一帆风顺

Wishing you every success

步步高升

Promoting to a higher position

出入平安

Safe trip wherever you go

祝你新的一年快乐幸福

Wish you happiness and prosperity in the coming year!

事业成功，家庭美满

Wish you success in your career and happiness of your family

俗语注解

祈福：得到更多的好运

have one’s good fortune compromised by having or getting more than one deserves

护身符：保护人免受惩罚或灾乱的东西

Amulet：protective talisman or a thing that protects one from punishment or a thing that protect one from punishment or censure

桃花运：恋爱方面的好运

Luck in love

看手相：根据人的手相看其命运的好坏

Tell fortune : to tell someone’s future by examining the lines on the palm of his or her hand

中西合璧………………………………………………………………………………………

不同国家吉祥文化也不相同，例如，中国人根据发音认为有些数字是吉祥或不吉利的。6、8、9被认为有吉祥的含义：6顺，8发，9长久。数字4被认为是不吉利的数字，因为同音“死”(拼音si).14号被认为是最不幸的数字之一。因为14在普通话中通常说“是死”，十死“10死”的声音；而在西方国家，13则被认为不吉利，但13在广东话里意思是“要活”，是吉数。又例如：无论是在英语国家还是在中国，“红色”有“庆祝”和“幸福”之意，中国有“开门红”，意思是“好运气”，英文也有“假日”的意思。中西方也有很多不同地方，如“龙”在西方被认为是“邪恶的和不受欢迎的动物”，但中国人视其为“权力和幸运”的

象征。在西方，“猫头鹰”指“明智和聪明”。在中国，“猫头鹰”指“坏运气”，如“夜猫进宅，后运将至”，甚至有人害怕听到它们的声音等等。

There are different auspicious cultures in different countries．For instance,in Chinese culture，certain numbers are believed to be auspicious or

inauspicious．Lucky numbers are based on Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words．The numbers 6．8 and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings．Number 4(四；accounting；pinyin si)is considered all unlucky number in Chinese，Korean，Vietnamese and Japanese cultures, because it is nearly homophonous to the word“death”(死pinyin si)．Number 14 is considered to be one of the unluckiest numbers．Although 14 is usually said in Mandarin as十四“shi si”，which sounds like十死“ten die”，while in the west,13 is considered as unlucky,but number 13 sounds ‘yat sang’in Cantonese meaning “being alive”.Another example．whether in English—speaking country or in China, “red” is related to celebrations and happy days．In China we have the phrase“开门红”，which means“good luck”．

The same meaning in English is “red-letter days”．On the other hand, “dragon”is thought to be evil and unwelcome animal in West, however, in China people regard it as power and luck and the kings regarded themselves as the sons of the dragon．There are many stories telling about the DRAGON．In the west，“owl”is wise and clever and just．Such as the English saying goes “as wise as an owl”．But in China, owl means “bad luck”．People are even afraid of their cries．