中國傳統文化 第24期:重陽節

Chongyang Festival

重陽節

The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival.

每年中國農曆九月初九是重陽節，也被稱之爲重九節。

The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles in nature.

古人將天地萬物歸爲陰陽兩類。

Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and positive.

陰代表黑暗，陽則代表光明、活力。

Even numbers belong to Yin and odd numbers to Yang.

奇數爲陽，偶數爲陰。

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when the two Yang numbers meet. So it is called Chongyang. Chong means double in Chinese.

九是奇數，因此屬陽，九月初九，日月逢九，二陽相重，故稱“重陽”。

The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest-time. The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a festive happy atmosphere.

這一天，正值仲秋收穫季節，天高氣爽，收穫的喜悅增添了節日的氣氛。

The Double Ninth Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities. Many people go hiking and climbing in the country, enjoying Mother Nature’s final burst of color before she puts on her dull winter cloak. Some will carry a spray of dogwood.

重陽節非常適合戶外運動，是登高遠眺，舒暢胸懷的好時光。

It is hard to say when these customs were created.

很難追溯重陽節的起源。

But there are many stories which are closely related.

但是有許多相關的傳說。

The book Xu Qi Xie Ji, written by Wu Jun in the sixth century has one such story.

根據公元六世紀吳均的《續齊諧紀》記載:

In ancient times, there lived a man named Huan Jing. He was learning the magic arts from Fei Changfang, who had become an immortal after many years of practicing Taoism. One day, the two were climbing a mountain. Fei Changfang suddenly stopped and looked very upset.

“汝南桓景，隨費長房遊學累年。

He told Huan Jing, On the ninth day of the ninth month, disaster will come to your hometown.

長房謂之曰：九月九日汝家中當有災，

You must go home immediately.

宜急去，

Remember to make a red bag for each one of your family members and put a spray of dogwood in every one.

令家人各作絳囊，

Then you must all tie your bags to your arms, leave home quickly and climb to the top of a mountain. Most importantly, you must all drink some chrysanthemum wine.

盛茱萸以係臂，登高飲菊花酒，

Only by doing so can your family avoid this disaster.

此禍可除。

On hearing this, Huan Jing rushed home and asked his family to do exactly as his teacher said. The whole family climbed a nearby mountain and did not return until the evening.

景如言舉家登山。

（When they got back home, they found all their animals dead, including chickens, sheep, dogs and even the powerful ox. Later Huan Jing told his teacher, Fei Changfang, about this. Fei said the poultry and livestock died in place of Huan Jing’s family, who escaped disaster by following his instructions.）

回到家裏，他們發現家裏所有的動物包括雞，羊，狗，強壯的牛，都死了，而後景跟他的老師費長房說了此事，費說這些家禽和牲畜都是死在景的家裏，而景的家人是按照他的指點去做了所以躲過了災難。

And so it happened that climbing a mountain, carrying a spray of dogwood and drinking chrysanthemum wine became the traditional activities of the Chongyang Festival.

今世人九日登高飲酒，婦人帶茱萸囊，蓋始於此。”

The dogwood is a plant with a strong fragrance, and is often used as a Chinese herbal medicine.

茱萸是一種藥用植物。其味香烈，有逐風邪、治寒熱等功用。

People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill in late autumn.

古人把茱萸作爲驅邪的神物，每逢重陽節人人都要佩帶。

So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries. But the custom of carrying a spray of dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival is slowly dying out and many people, especially young people in the cities, do not even know what a dogwood spray looks like.

如今，插茱萸的習俗已不多見，許多城裏的年輕人甚至不知道茱萸長什麼樣。

Even though the tradition of carrying a few spray of dogwood dies out, that of climbing mountains is reaching new heights.

雖然插茱萸的習俗已不多見了，但是登高是重陽節的重要風俗。

Early in the Western Han Dynasty, about 2 000 years ago, people used to climb a high platform outside the capital city of Chang’an on the occasion of the Chongyang Festival.

早在兩千多年前的西漢時期，人們就在這一天前往京城長安郊外登高臺。

For many, it was the last outing of the year before the onset of winter The custom evolved into its present form，when people go climbing to get some exercise as well as enjoy the autumn scenery.

現如今，人們登山則是爲了邊鍛鍊身體邊欣賞秋景。

But what about those people who live in flat regions far from any mountain? The problem is solved by going for a picnic and eating cakes.

對於那些生活在遠離山區的人們來說，他們可以出外野餐，吃糕點。

The Chinese word for cake is Gao, a homonym of the Chinese word for high.

漢語“糕點”的“糕”和“登高”的“高”發音相同，

Mountains are high, so eating cake can, by a stretch of the imagination, take the place of going for a climb.

所以就用“吃糕”代替“登高”了。

Since nine is the highest odd digit, people take two of them together to signify longevity.

由於九是奇數中最大的一個，人們把兩個九放在一起來表示長壽。

Therefore, the ninth day of the ninth month has become a special day for people to pay their respects to the elderly and a day for the elderly to enjoy themselves.

因此，重陽節就成爲了傳統的敬老節日，

It has also been declared China’s day for the elderly.

政府也把它定爲老人節。