英文文案-derivation
英语畅谈中国文化50主题 第11章 Yellow：China’S Favorite
Color 黄，中国人崇尚的颜色
A：Chinese people seem to
like the red and yellow colors a lot. The two
colors are
used for the Chinese national flag.
They are also the predominant colors for the
cover design of some important books, as well
as in the decorations for major events,
such
as the flower display in Tian’anmen Square during
the National Day holidays.
A：中国人似乎很喜欢红黄两色，你看，中
国国旗就是由这两种颜色组成的。很多重大场合
或重要书籍的装帧总会用到这两种颜色。国庆节天安门广
场摆放的花坛，也是以这两种颜色
作主调。
B：The color
preferences of the Chinese people are influenced
by the five elements
of metal, wood, water,
fire and earth, in addition to geographical
locations and
weather. China is a huge and
geographically diversified country. It is cold in
the
north so people there like warm colors.
But it is just the opposite in the south.
Of
all the warm colors, the Han people like yellow
especially.
B：中国人对色彩的好恶除了受地理、气候的影响外，也受到传统五行说的影
响。从地理方
面说，中国是个地域广阔的国家，北方寒冷，人们喜欢暖色；南方炎热，人们喜欢冷色。在
暖色中，汉民族最崇尚黄色。
A：Maybe because the Hans
originated in the Yellow River Plateau, a region
where
yellow was the prevailing color.
A：这也许是因为汉民族的发源地是黄土高原，这个地域满目黄土之色。
B：You are
probably right. As far as the five elements are
concerned, the
corresponding colors are white,
green, black, red, and yellow. Yellow is the
predominant color and is situated in the
center of the diagram. Yellow was also the
color representing the imperial court in
traditional China. It was established as
the
authoritative color representing the Emperor
during the Han Dynasty more than
2000 years
ago. During the Sui Dynasty, yellow was officially
designated as the
exclusive color for the
imperial family. It was used in the Emperor’s
clothes, the
paper on which the Emperor
published his decrees, and the calendar that was
printed
by the Imperial Court.
B：可能是吧。从五行说
来看，金、木、水、火、土所代表的五色分别是白、青、黑、赤、
黄，其中黄为主色，位在中央。在中国
古代社会，黄色是皇权的象征。在两千多年前的汉代，
朝廷就规定“衣尚黄”，确立了黄色的权威地位。
从隋朝起，黄色成为皇家专用的颜色。皇
帝的龙袍称作黄袍；皇帝的文告用黄纸写成，称黄榜；皇帝颁发
的历书用黄纸印刷，称为黄
历。
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A：People
have a tradition of making a “longevity outfit”
for the deceased. The
inner side of the outfit
is always yellow. The bottom of the coffin is also
lined
with yellow silk.
A：据我所知，按照传统，死者去世后穿
的衣服称作“寿衣”，它讲究双层缝制，里面那一
层一定要用黄色。棺材的底部也要铺上黄绸布。
B：During the 1980s and 1990s, taxis in Beijing
were all painted yellow. Those taxis
were very
popular because of space and low fares. However,
they were considered
inappropriate for Beijing
and were replaced with new models. The new taxis
use a
standard color pattern with yellow at
the bottom, which acts as a reminder of
Beijing’s Imperial tradition.
B：上世纪八九十年代，北
京街头跑着的出租车就是黄色的面包车。它因为价廉且空间大而
广受欢迎。后来这种车型被认为有碍京城
市容而被新车型取代。现在的出租车采用统一的颜
色，下半部为土黄，以体现北京皇家名城的传统。
A：Nowadays, people always refer to pornography
as “yellow literature” and
pornographic films
as “yellow movies.” That reference can be traced
to a newspaper
from the 19th century United
States, which used to print vulgar paintings in
yellow.
A：现在，人们称色情文学为“黄色小说”，称色情电影为“黄色电影”。这种说法来
源于
19世纪美国的一家报纸，该报社以黄色印刷趣味低下的漫画。
B：The word
“yellow” in the campaign statement of “Eradicate
the yellow and fight
against the illegal”
refers to pornography. I guess we all need to be
very careful
with the yellow color since it is
used to represent both the Imperial Court and bad
taste. In olden times, a person could be
beheaded for the misuse of yellow. It can
also
cause trouble today if a person associates himself
with the wrong yellow.
B：现在的词汇“扫黄打非”中的“黄”就有色情的
意思。这种有时贵为皇家专用，有时又
表示低级趣味的颜色，用起来还真要小心。古时用错了黄色会杀头
，今天错用了黄色会闯祸。
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