驚蟄

如果讓你來(lái)描繪春天到來(lái)的景象，你將怎樣著筆？對(duì)中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，只需要兩個(gè)字——驚蟄。意思是當(dāng)?shù)谝宦暣豪醉懫?，冬眠的?dòng)物被驚醒破土而出。驚蟄是春天到來(lái)最直觀的標(biāo)志，這一天也是中國(guó)二十四節(jié)氣之一。

If you are asked to describe the coming spring season what you are going to write down? For the Chinese the answer lies in only two words---Jingzhe. Jingzhe means that the first spring thunder awakens hibernating （hibernate vi. 過(guò)冬；（動(dòng)物）冬眠） insects. As one of the 24 solar terms in China Jingzhe heralds （herald vt.是（某事）的前兆；預(yù)示） the advent （advent n. （重要事件、人物、發(fā)明等的）出現(xiàn)，到來(lái)） of the spring.

“驚”意為驚醒，而“蟄”則表示動(dòng)物蟄伏地下冬眠。 “驚蟄”兩字，著筆于動(dòng)物對(duì)氣候變化的反應(yīng)，形象的勾畫出一幅春回大地的景象，簡(jiǎn)單的筆墨頗得中國(guó)詩(shī)畫寫意的精髓。對(duì)于通曉中文的人來(lái)說(shuō)，看到“驚蟄”二字，仿佛春天就在眼前。

“Jing” means awakening and “zhe” means underground hibernating insects. With an eye on animals’ reactions to seasonal changes, Jingzhe vividly depicts （depict vt. 描繪；繪畫） an image of the returning spring season. It reminds us of the simplicity and beauty of Chinese poems and paintings. In the eyes of anyone who knows Chinese, the two words Jing and Zhe present them an image of the coming spring season.

當(dāng)然實(shí)際上，喚醒冬眠動(dòng)物的并非春雷聲，而是日漸回暖的氣溫，這一時(shí)節(jié)除卻塞北還是一片銀裝素裹的冬日景觀，中國(guó)大部分地區(qū)氣溫都回升至零度以上。

What awakens hibernating animals, however, is not the spring thunder but the rising temperature. Jingzhe witnesses the temperature rising above 0°C in most parts of China although the northern side of the Great Wall is still blanketed with winter snow.

隨著驚蟄的到來(lái)，春來(lái)的腳步也一日比一日緊湊，春天的景象次第在眼前鋪陳。人們將驚蟄時(shí)節(jié)分為三段時(shí)期，稱為“三候”（候，古代人把五天稱為“一候”，現(xiàn)在氣象學(xué)上仍然沿用：候溫，每五天的平均氣溫。）。在中國(guó)人看來(lái)，每一“候”都有不同的生機(jī)：“一候”時(shí)桃花初綻，大地開(kāi)始有了鮮艷的顏色；“二候”時(shí)鳥(niǎo)類的鳴叫聲漸多；“三候”時(shí)春意盎然，鳥(niǎo)類開(kāi)始進(jìn)入求偶的季節(jié)。

Jingzhe witnesses the time that the spring season comes at a faster pace. During this period amazing changes of the spring season unfold one after another. People tend to divide the solar term Jingzhe into three pentads. In the eyes of the Chinese, different lives blossom in each pentad （pentad n. 五，五個(gè)一組）of Jingzhe. The first pentad is a time when peach flowers bloom and vegetation gradually covers the land. During the second pentad people start to hear the tweets（tweet n. 小鳥(niǎo)叫聲） from an increasing number of birds. When the third pentad comes the spring season will be in its full swing, a time that the birds embrace their courtship season.?