2008,96,84,72,60,48,36,24	2009,97,85,73,61,49,37,25	2100,98,86,74,62,50,38,26	2101,99,87,75,63,51,39,27	2000,88,76,64,52,40,2816	2001,89,77,65,53,41,29,17
2002,90,78,66,54,42,30,18	2003,91,79,67,55,43,31,19	2004,92,80,68,56,44,32,20	2005,93,81,69,57,45,33,21	2006,94,82,70,58,46,34,22	2007,95,83,71,59,47,35,23

有一次 , 我有機會和歐洲貴族聚餐 。
I had an opportunity to dine with a group of visiting aristocrats from Europe.

可能酒喝多了 , 一位德國貴族站了起來 , 諷刺說：「你們中國人都是屬什麼豬啊！狗啊！老鼠啊！不像我們 , 都是金牛座、獅子座、仙女座真不知道你們祖先怎麼想的？」
After a few glasses of wine, a guest from Germany stood up and commented in a mocking tone, “The Chinese zodiac system seems to suggest that Chinese are pigs, dogs, rats, and such. We in the West, on the other hand, belong to signs such as Taurus, Leo, and Virgo. I can't help but wonder what on earth the ancient Chinese were thinking in laying down such a system!”

當時這些貴族聽完哈哈大笑 , 還互相碰杯 , 先前的優雅完全不見了 。按理說 , 人家在罵你祖宗了 , 你即使沒有話說 , 起碼可以掀桌子啊！但所有人都坐著不吭聲 , 也可能是還沒反應過來 , 我當時只好平和地告訴在場所有外賓：
The European guests all cheered his comments and clinked glasses loudly, forgetting their manners. This was a direct insult to the Chinese which required a forceful response. However, the Chinese contingent sat there mute, seemingly too stunned to react. Finally, I got up to offer this gentle rebuff to our foreign guests:

「中國人的祖先是很實在的 , 我們12 生肖兩兩相對 , 六道輪迴 , 體現了我們祖先對中國人全部的期望跟要求 。」
“Our ancestors were actually a very pragmatic group of people. The twelve zodiac animals were designed in pairs to form six groups. They represent the high expectations placed on all Chinese by our ancestors.”

這時 , 現場氣氛雖然從嬉鬧轉為安靜 , 但是他們臉上還是一副不屑的樣子 。
Glancing around, I could see that even though the atmosphere in the room had turned away from frivolity, our esteemed guests were still showing plenty of disdain.

我說：
I proceeded:

「第一組是老鼠和牛 。老鼠代表智慧 , 牛代表勤奮 。智慧和勤奮一定要緊緊結合在一起 。如果光有智慧不勤奮 , 那就變成小聰明；而光是勤奮 , 不動腦筋 , 那就變成愚蠢 。所以這兩者一定要結合 , 這是我們祖先對中國人的第一組期望和要求 , 也是最重要的一組 。」
“The first pair of animals consists of the rat and the bull. The rat represents wisdom, while the bull represents diligence. Wisdom and diligence must go hand in hand. Wisdom without diligence is merely petty cleverness; while diligence without wisdom is plainly foolish. These two qualities must be merged as our ancestors expected of us. This is the first and the most important pair of zodiac animals.”


「第二組是老虎和兔子 。老虎代表勇猛 , 兔子代表謹慎 。勇猛和謹慎一定要緊緊結合在一起 , 才能做到所謂的膽大心細 。如果勇猛離開了謹慎 , 就變成了魯莽 , 而你沒有勇猛 , 一味的謹慎 , 謹慎就變成膽怯 。這一組也非常重要 , 所以放在第二 。」
“The second combination is of the tiger and the rabbit. The tiger represents bravery, while the rabbit represents prudence. Bravery and prudence should also be joined so that we have courage without recklessness. Bravery without prudence would lead to rash decisions; whereas blind prudence would imply timidity and be easily subdued. This is also an important pair of zodiac animals.”

我看著這些貴族 , 補上一句：「所以當我們表現出謹慎的時候 , 千萬不要以為我們中國人沒有勇猛的一面 。實際上 , 我們祖先追求的是一種和諧的智慧和圓融 , 從來不會單獨給一個要求和任務 。」

看著大家陷入沉思 , 我繼續往下說 。
As the guests meditated on my words, I continued:


「第三組是龍和蛇 。龍代表剛猛 , 蛇代表柔韌 。所謂剛者易折 , 太剛了容易折斷 , 但是如果只有柔的一面 , 就易失去主見 , 所以剛柔並濟是我們歷代的祖訓 。」
“The third pair consists of the dragon and the snake. The dragon represents strength, while the snake represents flexibility. We all know that strength that is too rigid cannot bend, and must eventually break; whereas flexibility without strength can turn one into a tiresome puppet. Therefore our ancestors wished us to temper strength with flexibility.”


「接下來是馬和羊 。馬代表一往無前 , 直奔目標 , 羊代表和順 。如果一個人只顧自己直奔目標 , 不顧周圍 , 必然會和周圍不斷磕碰 , 最後不見得能達到目標 。但是一個人如果光顧著和周圍和順 , 之後他連方向都沒有了 , 目標也失去了 。所以一往無前的秉性一定要與和順緊緊結合在一起 , 這是我們祖先對中國人的第四組期望 。」
“The next combination is of the horse and the sheep. The horse represents a valiant and resolute march toward a goal, while the sheep represents the spirit of harmonious unanimity. If a person advances toward a goal without any consideration for his surroundings, then he is likely to encounter many conflicts. Similarly, if a person is forever trying to look for consensus, then he may eventually lose sight of his goal. Resoluteness and harmony should balance each other forming the fourth pair of the Chinese zodiac animals.”


「再接下來是猴子和雞 。猴子代表靈活 , 至於雞呢 , 以前的年代沒有時鐘 , 都是聽雞鳴聲決定一天的開始 , 所以雞定時打鳴 , 代表恆定 。靈活和恆定一定要緊緊結合起來 。如果你光靈活 , 沒有恆定 , 再好的政策最後也得不到收穫 。但如果說你光是恆定 , 一潭死水、一塊鐵板 , 那就不會有我們今天的改革開放了 。只有它們之間非常圓融的結合 , 一方面具有穩定性 , 保持整體的和諧和秩序 , 另一方面又能不斷變通地前進 , 這才是最根本的要旨 。」
“The next pair consists of the monkey and the rooster. The monkey represents agility, while the rooster, as the one animal to announce the start of each day since time immemorial, represents constancy. Agility and constancy must coexist. Agility without constancy can lead to good policies not seeing fruition. Constancy without agility, on the other hand, can be a pool of stagnant water, a massive monolith, which cannot reform itself. A perfect blending of the two allows for stability on the one hand and constant improvement on the other. That is what our ancestors expected of us and the reason these two animals are grouped together.”


「最後是狗和豬 。狗是代表忠誠 , 豬是代表隨和 。一個人如果太忠誠 , 不懂得隨和 , 就會排斥他人 。而反過來 , 一個人太隨和 , 沒有忠誠 , 這個人就失去原則 。以無論是對一個民族國家的忠誠、對團隊的忠誠 , 還是自己理想的忠誠 , 一定要與隨和緊緊結合在一起 , 這樣才容易真正保持內心深處的忠誠 。這就是我們中國人一直堅持的外圓內方 , 君子和而不同 。」
“Finally we have the combination of the dog and the pig. The dog represents loyalty, while the pig represents affability. A person who is loyal yet not agreeable tends to repel others. On the other hand, a person who is complaisant but without loyalty is a person without principles. Therefore loyalty towards one's country, loyalty towards one's team, and loyalty towards one's ideal must be combined with amiability. This is best expressed in the famous Confucius saying: ‘A true gentleman seeks harmony but keeps himself independent.’”

「中國人每個人都有屬於自己的生肖 , 有的人屬豬 , 有的人屬狗 , 這意義何在？實際上 , 我們的祖先期望我們要圓融 , 不能偏頗 , 要求我們懂得到對應面切入 。比如屬豬的人能夠在他的隨和本性中 , 也去追求忠誠；而屬狗的人則在忠誠的本性中 , 去做到隨和 。」
“Every Chinese has his or her own zodiac sign. Some belong to the family of the pigs, and some belong to the family of the dogs. By designing the Chinese zodiac system with pairs of complementary animals, our ancestors laid the expectation for us to seek the middle way and avoid leaning toward one extreme or another. They asked that those who were born in the year of the pig should build loyalty to complement an affable nature, and those who were born in the year of the dog should build amiability to complement a loyal temperament.”

解釋完12生肖 , 我說：「不知道你們那些寶瓶座啊、射手座啊、公羊座啊 , 體現了你們祖先哪些期望和要求 ? 也希望不吝賜教 。」
After thus explaining the Chinese zodiac system, I asked: “Does the western zodiac system represented by Aquarius, Sagittarius, Aries, and so on, also contain some meaningful expectation of your ancestors? I look forward to being enlightened.”

結果呢 , 這些貴族老爺們很長時間都沒說話 , 全場鴉雀無聲 , 一根針掉在地上都能聽見 。最後貴族們紛紛由衷地表示對中國人和中國人的祖先非常敬佩 : 「沒有想到中國的十二生肖有這麼深刻而實在的意義 。」
There was a prolonged silence during which, one could almost hear a pin drop. Finally the silence was broken by the guests who, one after another, expressed their heartfelt reverence for the ancient Chinese who had installed the Chinese zodiac system and imbued it with so much wisdom.

Story source : Internet    English translation : KCVZ

 

Chinese Zodiac Stamps - courtesy of U. S. Postal Service