大学英语教材西方文化读本翻译整理

Unit1

根据传说，伏羲生于中国西部，出生之前在其母腹中孕育了12年。伏羲教会了人类打猎、捕鱼、驯养野兽、饲养家禽。伏羲制定了人类的嫁娶制度，教会人们劈柴取火和烹煮食物；他还通过龟背上的裂纹创立了八卦，这些八卦成为数学、医学、占卜学和风水的基础。此外，伏羲还创造了中华民族的图腾龙，被认为是中国历史上第一个真正的统治者。

Fuxi was born in the west part of China and, according to legend, he was carried in his mother’s womb for twelve years before birth. He taught people how to hunt, fish, domesticate animals and tend their flocks. He instituted marriage and taught people how to devise tools to split wood, kindle fire and cook food. He devised the Trigrams, which evolved from markings on tortoise shells. These trigrams served as the basis for mathematics, medicine, divination and geomancy. Furthermore, he created the Chinese dragon as the totem of the nation and was considered as the first real ruler.

Unit2

儒家的创始人是孔子（公元前551—479），他提出了一套道德规范，基于五种美德：仁、义、礼、智、信。其中“仁”被认为是他的哲学理念的基石，代表着忠诚、孝道(filial piety)、宽容和善良。他还提倡人与人之间和谐相处、按照行为规范标准建立生活社区。他的追随者之一孟子(公元前372-289)不断地向统治者们游说，试图说服他们修

身养德，为人典范，以仁政赢得人民的尊重。

Confucius (551—479 BC) was the founder of Confucianism. He advocated a set of moral code on basis of five merits: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness. Among them, benevolence was considered as the cornerstone of his philosophy, which stands for faithfulness, filial piety, tolerance and kindness. He also requested people to keep in good harmony with each other and establish a community ruled by standard manners and behavior. One of his followers, Mencius (372-289BC), repeatedly tried to convince rulers that the ruler should cultivate moral perfection in order to set a good example to the people and the ruler who governed benevolently would earn the respect of the people.

Unit3

“送别”是唐诗里常见的主题。通过赠诗给一个即将离别的友人，诗人常常表达自己的悲伤之情。送别诗里常用的意象(image)有音乐、酒和柳枝。音乐是送别仪式必不可少的部分。音乐通常由琵琶等古典乐器演奏，旋律优美而悲伤。在这种场合，喝酒也是必要的。也许这是因为酒能够让人得到安慰，忘却生活中的烦恼以及与友人离别的愁绪。送别的另一个风俗便是为友人送上柳枝。因为“柳”和“留”同音。通过这种方式，诗人就表达了让友人永远留下来的愿望。

‘Parting’ was a common theme in Tang poetry. By writing a poem to a friend who was leaving, the poet usually showed his sorrow and sadness.

Images frequently used in a parting poem included music, liquor and a willow twig. Music was an important section of the parting ceremony. The music, which was often melodious and sorrowful, was played by traditional instruments such as ‘Pipa’. Drinking liquor was also a necessary part on these occasions. Perhaps it was because liquor could console people and help them forget troubles in life and the sadness of parting from a friend. Another custom was giving a willow twig to the leaving friend, since ‘willow’ in Chinese has the same pronunciation of that of ‘stay’. In this way, the poem expressed his wish that his friend stay with him forever.

《红楼梦》（Dream of the Red Chamber）是中国文学“四

大名著”之一。它写于18世纪中叶，并被认为是中国文学中

的杰作(masterpiece)以及中国小说史上的顶峰。许多学者都

致力于该作品的研究，而这个研究领域也被称作“红学”(Redology)。人们通常认为该小说反映了作者曹雪芹自

己的经历以及他家族的兴衰。该书的优秀之处不仅在于它的

情节和人物塑造(characterization)，同时也在于它对当时社会

生活结构的精确、细节的描写。几个世纪以来，小说中的许

多词句已经融入了中国人的日常语言。由此可见该书经久不

衰的魅力。

A Dream of Red Mansions is one of the ‘Four Great Classical Novels’ of Chinese literature. It was written in the middle of the 18th century and