張寧

Both in China and Japan the peach is related toimmortality1 and a long life. Peaches being a symbol oflongevity2 are often used when decorating3 birthday cakes andon birthday cards.

In China， the peach and the rod made from peach wood is also the symbol ofShou. Shou is one of the Three Star Gods. He is the god of longevity.

In Ancient Greece the peach was the sacred4 fruit of the god of marriage5，Hymen. It was a symbol of a happy marriage.

In the United States， Georgia is often called “The Peach State”. The peach isthe official state fruit of Georgia. Delaware has the peach blossom as its state flower.

在中國(guó)和日本，桃子都與長(zhǎng)生不老和長(zhǎng)壽有關(guān)。作為長(zhǎng)壽象征的桃子常被用于裝飾生日蛋糕和生日賀卡。

在中國(guó)，桃子和桃木制成的桃杖也是“壽星”的象征。“壽星”是三吉星之一。

他是長(zhǎng)壽之神。

在古希臘，桃子是婚姻之神許門(mén)的圣果，是幸福婚姻的象征。

在美國(guó)，喬治亞州通常被稱為“桃子之州”。桃子是喬治亞州的官方水果。特拉華州的州花是桃花。

Momotaro The Peach Boy

Stories about Momotaro are very popular in Japan.

An elderly couple lived their quiet lives just getting by. They were childless.

One day the old woman was down by the riverbanks washing clothes when shesaw a huge peach floating6 in the water. She became quite excited because such ahuge peach would provide enough food to last for several days. She managed to carrythe fruit back home.

Just as the couple were about to cut into this giant fruit it cracked open. Insidethe peach was a baby boy. The couple were shocked at first， but quickly calmeddown. They felt really happy. They finally had a son and named him Momotaro.

When Momotaro was around 15 years of age， he announced to his parents that itwas time for him to go out and do some good for the people. On his way to theisland， Momotaro made friends with a talking dog， a talking monkey and a talking pheasant7. With the help of the three animals， Momotaro defeated8 the demons9.

Momotaro and his animal friends returned to his parents with the treasures theyhad found. They lived happily ever after.

桃太郎

關(guān)于桃太郎的故事在日本非常流行。

一對(duì)老夫婦過(guò)著勉強(qiáng)過(guò)得去的平靜生活。他們沒(méi)有孩子。

一天，這位老奶奶在河邊洗衣服時(shí)，看到水里飄著一個(gè)大桃子。她非常興奮，因?yàn)檫@樣一個(gè)巨大的桃子足夠吃好幾天了。她設(shè)法把果子帶回了家。

就在夫婦倆準(zhǔn)備切開(kāi)這個(gè)巨大的果子時(shí)，它裂開(kāi)了。桃子里面有一個(gè)男嬰。這對(duì)夫婦一開(kāi)始感到震驚，但很快就平靜下來(lái)了。他們真的很開(kāi)心。他們終于有了一個(gè)兒子，并給他取名為桃太郎。

在桃太郎大約15 歲的時(shí)候，他向父母宣布，他是時(shí)候出去為人們做點(diǎn)好事了。在去島上的途中，桃太郎結(jié)識(shí)了一只說(shuō)話的狗、會(huì)說(shuō)話的猴子和會(huì)說(shuō)話的野雞。在三只動(dòng)物的幫助下，桃太郎戰(zhàn)勝了惡魔。

桃太郎和他的動(dòng)物朋友們帶著找到的財(cái)寶回到了他父母身邊。他們從此過(guò)上了幸福的生活。

Queen Mother of the West in Chinese mythology10

中國(guó)神話中的西王母

TheQueenMotheroftheWest（XiWangmu）was the Jade Emperors wife. Her palace is atMount Kunlun. Close to her courts on MountKunlun there was a peach tree which wouldblossom11 every 3000 years. It was the fruit ofthis tree she fed to the gods which ensured12 them immortality. The Feast13of the Peaches held by the Queen Mother of the West would take place onthe third day of the third lunar month.

西王母是玉皇大帝的妻子。她的宮殿在昆侖山中。在昆侖山上她的宮殿附近有一棵桃樹(shù)，每3000 年才會(huì)開(kāi)花一次。她給眾神吃了這棵樹(shù)的果實(shí)，確保了眾神的永生。西王母會(huì)在農(nóng)歷三月初三舉行蟠桃會(huì)。

Notes

1. immortality 不朽

2. longevity? 長(zhǎng)壽

3. decorate? 裝飾；裝點(diǎn)

4. sacred? 神的；神圣的

5. marriage 結(jié)婚；婚姻

6. float 使……漂浮

7. pheasant 野雞

8. defeat 擊??；戰(zhàn)勝

9. demon 魔鬼；惡魔

10. mythology 神話；神話故事

11. blossom 開(kāi)花

12. ensure? 確保；保證

13. feast? 宴會(huì)；筵席；盛會(huì)