Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar eighth month, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". It is also widely known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, Lantern Festival, etc. In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October. This year, the Med-Autumn Festival falls on 3 Oct 09.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular East Asian and overseas Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Xia Dynasty.

The moon at the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is said to be at its fullest and brightest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colours and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and pomeloes together, and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common. There are additional cultural or regional customs, such as carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on buildings and towers, floating sky lanterns, burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e, performing Fire Dragon Dances.

The custom of worshipping the moon (called xiyue in Chinese) can be traced back as far as ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 - 1066 BC). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 - 221 BC), people held ceremonies to greet winter and worshiped the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival set in. It became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts as an expression of their best wishes for family reunion. When it became dark, they looked up at the full moon or went sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular.

Mid-autumn festival is a time to think of and remember people close to us. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

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欢愉的中秋节是在阴历八月十五，秋分时候庆祝。很多人只把它称为‘八月十五’。其他的称呼还包括：月节，月饼节，灯笼节，等等。在阳历，这个节日大概是在九月的第二个星期与十月的第二个星期之间。今年，中秋节是在十月三日。

中秋节是东亚与海外华人是一个很流行的节日，它可以追溯到三千年前的中国夏朝。

据说中秋时的月最圆最亮。和其他色彩浓厚的中国节日比起来，中秋节算是低调的。传统上，人们在户外月下吃月饼和柚子，同时赏月。现在，一般与家人朋友一起吃烧烤肉。还有其他文化与地方性的风俗，如提灯笼、在建筑物与高塔挂灯笼、飞天灯、烧香拜神（包括嫦娥）、表演火龙舞，等等。

中秋拜月（也叫夕月）的风俗可以追溯到夏商（公元前2000至1066年）。在周朝(1066 - 221 BC)，人们每到中秋节会以仪式来迎接冬天到来与拜月。到了唐朝 (618 - 907)，赏月与祭拜圆月十分盛行。南宋 (1127 - 1279) 人喜爱以圆月饼作为礼物送给亲友，以表他们对团圆的愿望。天暗之后，他们仰天望明月，并到湖边庆祝节日。自明 (1368 - 1644) 清 (1644 - 1911) 以来，庆祝中秋节的风俗达到空前的兴盛。

中秋节是我们思念与怀念我们亲近的人的时候。每到中秋节，人们会仰天望月，饮酒以庆祝他们的美好日子，或怀念在远方的亲友，为他们祝福。

Carps Jumping Over the Dragon Gate 鲤鱼跳龙门

It is common to see golden carp fish swim leisurely in peaceful ponds in Chinese gardens. The Chinese like carp fish because the Chinese character for carp (li) is pronounced the same as both the character (li) for "profit" and the character (li) for "strength" or "power". The carp is also a symbol for an abundance of children because it produces many eggs.

For the Chinese, a pair of carp symbolizes a harmonious marriage.

In Chinese paintings, a frequently seen image is of a carp swimming and leaping against the current of a river. This refers to the legend that a carp which is able to leap over the mythical "Dragon Gate" will become a dragon. This is an allegory for the persistent effort needed to overcome obstacles.

The legend comes from Tai Ping Guang Ji (Tai Ping Anthologies):

‘East of the Yellow River stood a mountain called Longmen (Dragon Gate). King Yu dug into it and made in it a one-li (half-km) long gate, through which the Yellow River flowed downward. On neither side of it could carriages or horses stand or move.

Towards the end of spring every year, yellow carps from the seas and rivers would vie with each other in coming to the gate and trying to get through it. But no more than seventy-two of them would succeed. Once they passed the Dragon gate, they would be followed by clouds and rain, and their tails would be burned off by heavenly fire. Then they would become dragon. ’

The story simply means that if a person works hard at whatever he does, he could one day become successful. The saying ‘carps jumping over the dragon gate’ is used to encourage a person to persist in one’s endeavour.

In the past, a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate was used as a metaphor for success in passing the imperial examinations which started about 2,000 years ago. The examinations were used to select the brightest brains for top government positions. Those who made it in the examinations would ensure prestige and wealth for the family.

On the basis of this legend, the Carp becomes, in the Chinese cultural tradition, a symbol of courage and perseverance. It teaches that only the fittest and the strongest can achieve the highest goals.
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在中国花园，我们经常可以看到金色的鲤鱼悠游于平静的水池中。华人喜欢鲤鱼，因为鲤与‘利’和‘力’同音。鲤鱼也代表百子千孙因为它产卵多。

对华人而言，成双鲤鱼代表美好婚姻。在中国画中，常看到的景色是鲤鱼逆水而游并跳跃。这是指鲤鱼能跳过神话中的‘龙门’成为龙的传说。这象征着需要坚持努力来克服阻碍。

这个传说来自《太平广记》：

龙门山,在河东界。禹凿山断门阔一里余。黄河自中流下，两岸不通车马。

每岁季春，有黄鲤鱼，自海及渚川争来赴之。 一岁中,登龙 门者,不过七十二。初登龙门，即有云雨随之，天火自后烧其尾，乃化为龙矣。

这个故事是说一个人如果努力去做他所要做的东西，终有一天他会成功。‘鲤鱼跳龙门’这句话一直是用来比喻在两千多年前就开始了的科举考试中中举。科举考试的目的是要选拔全国最优秀的人才进入朝廷。中选的人必为家庭带来荣华富贵。

居于这个传说，鲤鱼成为中国传统文化中勇气与耐性的象征。它告诉我们只有适者与最坚强会达到人生最高目标。

Blow Hot and Cold 朝三暮四

The idiom ‘blow hot and cold’ refers to changing one's mind easily, as in Peter's been blowing hot and cold about taking an overseas holiday. This expression comes from Aesop's fable (c. 570 BC) about a man eating with a satyr (ancient god who roamed the woods and mountains) on a winter day. At first the man blew on his hands to warm them and then blew on his soup to cool it. The satyr thereupon renounced the man's friendship because he blew hot and cold out of the same mouth. The expression was repeated by many writers, most often signifying a person who could not be relied on.

In Chinese, the proverb Zhao San Mu Si (literally means Three at Dawn and Four at Dusk), has the same meaning. The proverb comes from a story told by Lie Zi who lived in the Warring States period (476 – 221 BC).

Once upon a time, in the state of Song, there lived a man who kept monkeys. He was very fond of monkeys and kept a large number of them. He could understand the monkeys and they could also understand him. He reduced the amount of food for his own family in order to satisfy the monkey‘s demands. After a while his family did not have enough to eat, so he wanted to limit the food for the monkeys.

But he was afraid that the monkeys would not submit to him. Before doing that he played a trick on them： “If I give you three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening, would that be enough?” he asked the monkeys. All the monkeys rose up in a fury. After a while, he said, “If I give you four chestnuts in the morning and three in the evening, would that be enough?” All the monkeys lay on the floor, very happy with this proposal.

Originally this proverb was used to mean a fool can be tricked by changing the appearance but now it has evolved into meaning unreliable person who is inconsistent or changes his mind easily.

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英语成语‘blow hot and cold’（呼热呼冷）指一个人拿不定主意，比如彼得对出国旅行这件事，一直‘呼热呼冷’。这句话出自伊索（大约公元前570年）寓言中关于某人在冬天与萨梯(希腊神话中的出入于山林之神)一起用餐的故事。开始时该人用口吹手指来取暖，然后又用口吹热汤以凉之。萨梯因此与之断交，因为他用相同的口来呼出热气与冷气。这句话为不少作者引用，大多象征一个不能信赖的人。

在中国，成语‘朝三暮四’有相同的意思。这句成语来自战国时代(476 – 221 BC) 的列子所讲的一个故事：

宋有狙公者，爱狙，养之成群，能解狙之意，狙亦得公之心。损其家口，充狙之欲，俄而匮焉。
将限其食，恐众狙之不驯于己也，先誑之曰：“与若茅，朝三暮四，足乎？”众狙皆起而怒。俄而曰：“与若茅，朝四暮三，足乎？”众狙皆伏而喜。

这句成语原本是指容易被外表所骗的呆子，现在演变成指那些不一致或善变的不可信赖的人。

Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream 庄周梦蝶

There is a Chinese saying that life is like a dream and a dream is like life. This is illustrated vividly by Zhuangzi with the following story:

‘Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly. What fun he had, doing as he pleased! He did not know he was Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhou. He did not know whether Zhou had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly had dreamed he was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is meant by the transformation of things.’

The story probably also sums up much of Zhuangzi’s thought. How do we know when we’re dreaming, and when we’re awake? How do we know if what we perceive is “real” or a mere “illusion” or “fantasy”? Is the “me” of various dream-characters the same as or different from the “me” of my waking world? How do I know, when I experience something I call “waking up” that it is actually a waking up to “reality” as opposed to simply waking up into another level of dream?

It is interesting to note that he used butterfly as the thing in his dream. The butterfly is a symbol of transformation; it follows the breeze yet arrives at the flower; its actions are spontaneous and free. Thus it doesn't wear itself out fighting the forces of nature.

Once fully awakened, if one can tell, one may distinguish between what is a dream and what is reality. Before one has fully awakened, such a distinction is not even possible to draw empirically.

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华人有句俗语说：人生如梦，梦如人生。庄子的一下故事就很好的说明了这一点：

“昔者庄周梦为蝴蝶，栩栩然蝴蝶也，自喻适志与，不知周也。俄然觉，则蘧蘧然周也。不知周之梦为蝴蝶与，蝴蝶之梦为周与？周与蝴蝶则必有分矣。此之谓物化。”

这个故事可能概括了庄子大部分的思想。我们如何知道我们何时在做梦，何时清醒？我们如何知道我们所看到的是‘实在’或者只是‘幻觉’或‘幻想’？在梦中许多个体的‘我’与醒后世界里的‘我’是否是相同的还是不同的‘我’？我如何知道，当我经验我所谓的‘醒来世界’是真真实实的清醒‘现实’，或只是相对于另一个层次的梦境？

很有趣的，我们注意到他用蝴蝶作为梦境之物。蝴蝶是变换的符号，它随着和风找到花朵，它的行动自然与自由。所以在与自然斗争中，它不会疲惫。

一旦完全清醒 -- 如果我们能知道的话，我们可以分辨清楚梦与现实。在我们还没有完全清醒之前，以经验来作出这个辨别根本就不可能。