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【往期回顾】 英汉双语阅读9：天安门城楼重新对外开放
【本期内容】 Dragon Boat Festival turns clock back to showcase China's rich history端午节让时光倒流，展示中国丰富的历史
Duanwu, also known as Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on Thursday this year, is an annual occasion for Chinese to have family reunions, watch dragon boat races, and eat zongzi - glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. 端午节，也被称为龙舟节，今年是星期四，是中国人一年一度的家庭团聚、观看龙舟比赛和吃粽子的日子。粽子是用竹子或芦苇叶包裹的糯米团子。 In some regions, on the morning of the festival, parents tie string bands in five colors around their children's wrists, ankles or necks. When the first rain comes after the festival, they cut the bands off and throw them into the water to drive away evil spirits. 在一些地区，在节日的早晨，父母会在孩子的手腕、脚踝或脖子上绑上五色的细绳。当节后第一场雨来临时，他们把带子剪掉，扔到水里来驱邪。
Xu Ning, 48, executive chef at Nanjing Great Hotel in Beijing, said: "The older generation likes to go to the food market to buy reed leaves and soak them in water for a night to make zongzi. As many people want a healthy diet, restaurants make different fillings for the dumplings." 48岁的徐宁（音）是北京的南京大酒店的行政总厨，他说：“老一辈的人喜欢去菜市场买芦叶，然后把它们泡在水里一晚上，用来包粽子。由于许多人想要健康的饮食，餐馆会为粽子做不同的馅料。” In 2009, Dragon Boat Festival was added to UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the first Chinese festival to receive this honor. The festival is believed to commemorate Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet from the Chu state during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). 2009年，端午节被列入联合国教科文组织人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录，这是中国第一个获得这一荣誉的节日。这个节日被认为是为了纪念战国时期（公元前475年至公元前221年）楚国的爱国诗人屈原。
Legend has it that as the Chu state faced imminent conquest by its adversaries, Qu took his own life by plunging into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which now marks the festival. 传说，在楚国即将被敌人征服之际，屈原在农历五月初五跳入汨罗江中自杀，这一天就被定为端午节了。 Qu came from Zigui county, Yichang city, Hubei province, where local people celebrate with their own customs on the fifth, 15th and 25th days of the fifth lunar month. 屈原来自湖北省宜昌市秭归县，当地人在农历五月初五、十五和二十五以他们自己的习俗来庆祝端午节。
Zheng Chengzhi has hosted the county's annual grand sacrificial ceremony for Qu since 2006, when his father, the previous host, died. 自从2006年郑承志（音）的父亲去世后，他接了父亲的班，一直主持该县一年一度的纪念屈原的大典。 He can't help shedding tears each time he reads the oration aloud. The emotions he feels go beyond a sense of responsibility to pass on heritage. The entire county celebrates Qu as the god of water, seeing him as a protective figure. More than that, the poet has become a father figure for Zheng. 每当他大声朗读致辞时，他都忍不住流下眼泪。他感受到的情感超越了传承传统的责任感。全县上下都把屈原尊为水神，把他看成是庇护神。更重要的是，这位伟大的诗人成了郑承志的父亲的化身。
"Qu's patriotism, people-oriented thought, honesty and inquiring mind are precious and worth learning about," said Zheng, the provincial inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of "Qu Yuan's legends". 省级非物质文化遗产“屈原传说”传承人郑承志说道：“屈原的爱国主义、以人为本的思想、诚实和求知的精神是宝贵的，值得我们学习。” After his address, as the dragon boat paddlers skillfully navigate the waters, a female performer dressed as Qu's younger sister sings an emotional song to call back his spirit. 在他致辞结束后，当龙舟手熟练地在水中航行时，一位打扮成屈原妹妹的女表演者唱了一首充满感情的歌，来召唤他的魂灵。 A poetry contest in Zigui, which has been staged for centuries, was once attended mainly by local farmers, who wrote poems about Qu and read them aloud to share with others. Zheng said it now attracts more contestants and the themes of their poems are not only about Qu but also modern lives. 在秭归县，几个世纪以来都会举办诗歌比赛，最初主要是当地的农民参加。他们写下关于屈的诗，并大声朗读，与他人分享。郑承志说，现在它吸引了更多的参赛者，诗歌的主题不仅是关于屈原的，还有关于当下的生活的。
【Source】China Daily 【Translated by】Spark Liao (廖怀宝) 【Illustration】From Baidu |
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