[转帖]Don't be ashamed of your culture

莹火

Don't be ashamed of your culture
By O. P. Rana (senior editor with China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-17 07:07
   

Cities in China are fast losing their architectural splendor to Western-style, glitzy (耀眼的) skyscrapers. The ravages (毁坏; 蹂躏) of modern life and the hunger for (极需…, 渴望得到…) more land are swallowing up traditional houses such as those in Beijing's hutong. Despite all this, the imperial structures in the capital, the colonial buildings of Shanghai, the magnificent edifices (大厦，大建筑物) in lesser-known towns, and the Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist temples will remain on China's map for thousands of more years.

Everything in and about China has a history, a written history of more than 5,000 years. Texts written long before Confucius (孔子) can still be deciphered, so long is its literary tradition. The prose epic reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), when three of the four Chinese classics Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义), Outlaws of the Marsh (水浒传) and Journey to the West (西游记), were written. Poetry had already reached its zenith (顶点, 极点) in the Tang Dynasty (AD618-907). Such is the power and grace of the language that all subsequent Chinese poetry forms have been derived from it - right down to Guo Moruo and Ba Jin.

But then, writing has always been an art in this country. Calligraphy, rather than painting, is traditionally regarded as the highest form of visual art. In fact, any Chinese character is a work of art - so intricate are its stokes, so stylized the hand-written pattern, so full of vigor its appearance.

The language, the literature, the history, the customs and traditions and the way of life have given birth to the unique culture that is China's. But ask a young urban couple what they plan to wear on their wedding day, and the answer more often than not would be: a Western-style white wedding gown for the bride and a Western suit for the groom. Some couples do get married both in the traditional and Western way, but they still need the Western outfits.

So what's left of a Chinese wedding? The food at the banquet? Maybe, but more and more Western dishes have started appearing on the menu.

Every society is known by and for its distinct culture. A government (like the NPC and the CPPCC have been doing for the past fortnight) can treat the illnesses in the economy, attend to the body politic, right wrongs in society and ensure justice, but it cannot determine culture. Culture is something that belongs to the people and their way of life. In more ways than one, it reflects their proximity to their roots.

True, it's no longer possible for a couple to go through the rigors of a traditional Chinese marriage. The traditional go-betweens (中间人，媒人) have given way to the "virtual" matchmakers on the Internet. Very few betrothals (订婚) take place, and a bride's family rarely sends its daughter to the "cock loft", or a separate part of the house, with her closest friends days before the wedding. Friends of a bride-to-be rarely sing songs of lament, cursing the go-between and the groom's family for snatching her away from her loved ones (still one of the highlights of an Indian wedding). The hairdressing ritual is taken care of by beauty parlors.

Not everyone can be a writer, an architect or a painter and leave a cultural imprint (铭刻，牢记) on society. But we can at least see more brides in traditional Chinese jackets, red shoes and perhaps red silk veils covering their face, can't we? And more grooms can be seen in long gowns, red shoes and a red silk sash with a silk ball on their shoulders, can't they?

After all, this is what culture is all about. There's nothing shameful or outdated about it. On the contrary it is a matter of great pride.

莹火

占个沙发，稍后编辑～

掌柜

goole在线翻译的意思（肯定不准）

不要感到羞耻，你的文化
由澳体育蛙（资深编辑与中国日报）
更新日期： 2008年3月17日7时07分

中国各大城市正迅速失去其建筑的辉煌，以西式， glitzy的摩天大楼。蹂躏的现代生活和饥饿，为更多的土地是吞咽了传统民居，例如那些在北京的胡同。尽管这一切，帝国结构，在资本，殖民地的建筑物，上海，宏伟的大楼，在不太知名的城镇，以及佛教，儒教和道教宫观将继续对中国的地图，为成千上万的更多年。

一切都在和中国有历史，有文字记载的历史以上的五千年。书面文本之前很久孔子仍然可以破译，只要是它的文学传统。散文史诗达到高峰期间，明朝时（ 1368年至1644年） ，当三个四个中国经典三国演义中，不法分子的沼泽和西游记，写的。诗歌已达到了顶点，在唐代（ ad618 - 907 ） 。这是权力和恩典的语言，其后所有的中国诗歌的形式已被来自它-的权利，下降到郭沫若与巴金。

但后来，写作一直是一种艺术，在这个国家。书法，而不是绘画，是传统上被视为最高形式的视觉艺术。事实上，任何中文字符是一个艺术作品的-使错综复杂的是它的斯托克斯，所以程式化的手写模式，使充满生机，它的出现。

语言，文学，历史，习俗和传统和生活方式有鉴于出生到独特的文化，这是中国的。柏迪问一个年轻的城市夫妇，他们计划磨损对自己的婚礼当天，答案往往不是将是：一西式婚礼的白色的袍子，为新娘和西方适合新郎。有些夫妇结婚，这样做，无论是在传统的和西方的方式，但他们仍然需要西方的服装。

那么，剩下的一个中国人的婚礼？食物在宴会上？也许，但越来越多的西式菜肴已开始出现在菜单上。

每一个社会是已知的由和其独特的文化。政府（如全国人民代表大会和人民政协已做过去两星期）可以治疗的疾病，在经济，出席该机构的政治，权利的错误在社会和确保司法公正，但它并不能确定文化。文化是一件属于人民，和他们的生活方式。在更多的办法比一，它反映了它们接近自己的根。

诚然，它的已不再可能为一对夫妇要经过严格的中国传统婚姻。传统去betweens已让位给“虚拟”媒人在互联网上。极少数订婚采取的地方，和新娘的家人很少传送其女儿“公鸡的阁楼” ，或一个单独的一部分，内务，与她最亲密的朋友前几天的婚礼。朋友一个新娘要被很少唱歌的慨叹，骂围棋之间和新郎的家人抢夺她的离开她的亲人（仍然是一个突出的一个印度婚礼） 。该美发仪式是照顾，由美容院。

不是每个人都可以成为作家，是一名建筑师或画家留下的文化印记，对社会。但我们至少可以看到更多的新娘，在中国传统的外套，红色的鞋，也许红色丝绸面纱，包括他们的脸，我们不能？和更多的新郎可以看出，在长期的袍，红色的鞋和一个红色的丝绸窗框与丝球对他们的肩膀上，他们不能呢？

毕竟，这是什么文化，是所有约。没有什么可耻的或过时的有关情况。与此相反，它是一件非常自豪。

莹火

[em06]我要删了你这贴……

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