Text 1　

Numbers and Omens

    Numbers play an important role in Chinese culture and the use of numbers can be found in almost every aspect of people's lives. At weddings, at funerals, in daily life and even in business, numbers, auspicious or ominous, may influence people's choice or decision.

    There is a set of famous streets in Gaoxiong City in Taiwan, China, which all begin with numbers. They are Yixin (One Heart), Ersheng (Two Sacreds), Sanduo (Three Mores), Siwei (Four Upholds), Wufu (Five Fortunes), Liuhe (Six Realms), Qixian (Seven Virtues), Bade (Eight Moral Precepts), Jiuru (Nine Wishes), and Shiquan (Perfect Ten) Streets. This sequence of auspicious street names gives people a warm feeling when they hear it, and brings more than a little luck to the residents.

    Many foreign visitors can't help but exclaim that the Chinese are really creative, and can line numbers up so "auspiciously."

    Chinese not only use numbers to appeal for good fortune, they also bring them out to chew people out: "You 250 （fool）, you do things neither three nor four （without any order or out of touch）, and still you dare to say that I'm 13 points （stupid）and 3-8 (scatterbrained)."

    Although it isn't really possible to know where these came from, one thing is for sure: numbers are intimately related to the daily life of Chinese!

   Origins in the Book of Changes: In antiquity, people kept tallies by tying knots in ropes, and only employed numbers and words later on.

    From natural phenomena and life experience, people gradually came to recognize the signs of change in a particular matter. For example, there was the ancients' saying that "if the moon has a halo it will be windy, and a damp plinth foretells rain." It is inevitable that there will be misfortune in life, so people began to adopt ways to attract the auspicious and expel the malicious. Add to this that people have psychological activity and the ability to link things together in their minds, and a whole set of auspiciousness-attracting and evil-expelling habits took shape.

    The I Ching or Book of Changes is a compilation which records the experience of people in ancient times with luck and divination. In the Book of Changes, each number has some significance: one is the tai-ji or "great supreme," two is the "two rituals," three is for the "three powers," four for the "four directions," five is for the "five pathways," six stands for the "six realms," seven for the "seven rules of government," eight means the "eight trigrams," nine is for the "nine chains," and ten is the "ten depictions."

    We often say "three yang make good fortune" to describe the hope that misfortune will be held at bay and good luck will follow. It is a saying often used at the New Year and symbolizes a new beginning and finds its origins in the Book of Changes. Yang is the positive force in the universe, and there is enormous yang and very weak yin (negative force ) in the first, second, and third of the nine trigrams. So the three yang are very positive.

    Li Heng-li, chairman of the International Taoism Scholarly Foundation, who feels that numbers have no connection with fortune good or ill, says that the only significance numbers have is what people ascribe to them. Trying to say that a given number is either auspicious or ominous is mere superstition.

    Still, unlike the Western sensitivity to the number 13, Chinese have a whole philosophy built up around numbers, which is spread or experienced in real life.

    Gods can be alone, but people cannot: One is the number marking the beginning, and also has the meaning of "independent" or "alone."

    Tong Feng-wan, a professor of theology at Taiwan Theological Seminary, points out that in Taiwan people prefer even numbers which symbolize "fortune comes in pairs." They are more wary of one, three, five, seven, and nine. Because the character for "odd" in Chinese (dan) also means "alone," people are not very fond of it. But although people like even numbers, the gods can be alone. Thus in odd-numbered months holidays have been stipulated to help people get by, from New Years (first day of the first month on the lunar calendar) and Tomb Sweeping Day (third day of the third month) to Dragon Boat Festival (fifth of the fifth), Chinese Valentine's Day (seventh of the seventh), and Old People's Day (ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar).

    At weddings, when Chinese people give "red envelopes" with gifts of cash, they only send even amounts, like 1 200 or 3 600. Because the pronunciation of "four" is close to that of "death" in Taiwanese, if you send 4 400 to the bride and groom, people won't be grateful and might even criticize you behind your back for failing to understand basic manners. At funerals, on the other hand, people usually give offerings with the last digit being odd, so as to avoid ill fortune not coming "alone."

    Happiness comes in pairs: In the book Popular Chinese Customs Professor Lou zhu-kuang notes that when people got married in ancient times, betrothal gifts would include a document recording all the details of the accompanying gifts. The writing style was rather meticulous. Thus, for example, chickens or ducks would be written as "Four wings of poultry." Gold bracelets would be written "Gold bracelets becoming a pair." Candles would be written as "Festive candles with double glow." No place would odd numbers be allowed.

    When inquiring into the other's name and the "eight character horoscope" of the other party, it would be written for instance: "The groom （or bride） is in the beginning of the sixth month of his （her） twentieth year, having been born at such-and-such an hour..." The number of characters in the Chinese text would always have to add up to an even number; if they were short one then an "auspicious" character would be added.

    The writer Xiao Min adds that because the character for "odd" also means "incomplete," when she was in her old home in Beijing, they would always make sure that the number of steamed rolls made for New Year's was even in order to make a good beginning.

    Huang Bo-he, a scholar of folk traditions, argues that Chinese have always been rather inclined to the number three. Just open up a Chinese dictionary and there are sayings using three or multiples thereof sprinkled everywhere. They are even more numerous in local sayings and slang.

    He points out that one reason Chinese like three is that it stands for "many." In Lao Tzu it is said that "Tao gave birth to the one, the one gave birth to the two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to ten thousand things." From nothing to something, or something to infinity, "three" plays a critical role.

    Elevators without fourth floors: The scholar Su Xue-lin has written that in ancient China the numbers four and 72 were perhaps both mysterious numbers, and moreover that "four" was a symbol for the great earth.

    But in Taiwan four is not especially well looked upon. Hospitals and hotels normally have no fourth floor, and the numbers in the elevator just skip right from three to five. It's probably only in places where Chinese people live that this type of facility is necessary. Also, the price of an apartment on the fourth floor is usually cheaper.

    In general, Chinese assign little good or bad significance to "five."

    "May the five fortunes approach your door" is a saying often seen at festive occasions. The five fortunes are long life, wealth, health, an ethical life, and a peaceful death.

    Besides this, the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) provided a framework for people at former times to classify natural phenomena. Confucianism also says that five implies the concept of "the mean."

    The writer on geomancy Zhen-zui points out that Confucians believe that five is very close to the path of the golden mean of "adopting the middle between two extremes," and also promotes the thought of the "five pathways." As a number, five has two at the front and two behind, with one in the middle. "This middle figure has two assistants on each side, and is unbiased in the middle. Thus five fits in well with the idea of the ‘mean’ always promoted by Confucian scholars," he has written.

    One six eight, on the way to success: Where did "66 everything goes smoothly" come from? Lin Mao-Xiao, executive secretary of the Chinese Customs and Handicrafts Foundation, contends that it might have something to do with playing dice. Six is the largest number on a die, so wouldn't one win by coming up with two sixes?

    According to informal statistics, not many people take seven to be a lucky number. According to the old text Yu Hsiao Ling Yin, when someone first dies the mourning period should be seven days. "Doing the sevens" is the custom at funerals in Fukienese areas. For the first seven days after someone passes away, to the seventh seven days, there are appropriate rituals for each. Some people, because the number seven can easily bring to mind "doing the sevens," plus the fact that the seventh month of the lunar year is "ghost month," don't like it.

    The fondness for "eight" comes, most people would say, from the Cantonese. In Cantonese, eight and "success" are similar in sound. And in North China, there is the saying that "if you want to succeed, don't stray from eight."

    Hong Kong, where most of the population is Cantonese, is perhaps the place where faith in numbers is strongest. Li Heng-li analyzes that it is a very crowded, very competitive industrial metropolis. Businessmen are especially obsessed with success or failure, so they have to include auspiciousness in consideration of any affair like opening a factory or signing a contract. If they can choose a day with eight in it, then they have a "successful" beginning. Nine symbolizes smoothness and endurance, while six, as noted, is for "66 everything goes smoothly."
    In the 1980's, lucky numbers went from Hong Kong into Guangdong Province in mainland China, as this trend began to spread from south to north.

    Liu Cheng-feng, columnist for the China Times, noted in one report that the last digits of the phone number of the Canton Hotel are 8168, a homophone for "success and yet more success." Most of the shoe stores in the Lungfu Building in Peking use "auspicious" prices on their tags. One of the fastest movers is one whose tag is 168, which symbolizes "the road to success." And when businessmen stay in hotels, they like to stay in rooms 518, 688, or 816. One hotel in Canton even has a higher price on rooms with lucky numbers.

    Believe it or not, it's up to you: Nine generally refers to a great majority or large number. In former times people often used nine to say "a great many."

    Because nine is an extreme number, Chinese have the saying that it is inauspicious to run across nine. Especially for older men, the 69th and 79th birthdays are celebrated as the 70th and 80th instead. Many people also believe that a young man of 29 is at the decisive point in life.

    When people use lucky numbers to symbolize wealth and fortune, or peace and benevolence, any number can be explained in such a way as to make it fit. Aren't "everything starts with one and comes around again," "seven generations living together," and "wealth flowing across the four seas" all pleasing to the ears?

    Although that's easy enough for us to say, there are still plenty of people who play the lotteries or play the ponies, running near and far, burning incense to the gods, looking for a lucky number that belongs only to them!

    (1 986 words) TOP

课文一

数字与吉凶

    数字在中国文化里扮演着重要的角色，数字的使用几乎涉及生活的每个方面，在婚礼上，在丧礼上，在日常生活中，甚至在做生意时，吉祥或不吉祥的数字都会影响人们作出不同的选择和决定。

    中国台湾的高雄市有一组有名的道路，都是以数字起头，它们是一心路、二圣路、三多路、四维路、五福路、六合路、七贤路、八德路、九如路、十全路。这一串吉祥的路名让人听了感到温暖，并给沿街居民带来不少好运气。

    许多外国游客赞叹不已，说中国人真有创造性，竟能够把数字排列得如此“吉祥”。

     中国人不仅用数字求好运，还用数字骂人：“你这个二百五（呆子），你做事不三不四（不上规矩），你还敢说我是十三点（愚蠢），说我是三八（心不在焉）。”

    尽管不可能真的了解这些用法的来源，但是有一点可以肯定：数字与中国人的日常生活密切相关！

    源出《易经》：远古时期人们结绳记事，后来才使用数字和文字。

    通过观察自然现象、积累生活经验，人们逐渐能够认识万物变化的预兆，比如，古人说：“月晕知风，础润知雨。”由于生活中不可避免地会发生不幸事件，所以人们就用各种方式祈福驱邪，加上人们的心理活动和联想能力，于是就形成了一整套祈福避祸的风俗习惯。

    《易经》记载了古人预测吉凶祸福的占卜活动，《易经》中的每一个数字都有一定的含义：一为“太极”，二为“两仪”，三为“三才”，四为“四象”，五为“五行”，六为“六合”，七为“七政”，八为“八卦”，九为“九星”，十为“十干”。

    我们常说“三阳开泰"，以期远离凶险，万事亨通。这句成语源自《易经》，常常在新年里使用，表示新的开端。阳是宇宙间的正气，在九爻的第一爻、第二爻和第三爻中，阳已经远盛于阴，所以三阳的阳气极盛。

    国际道教基金会主席李恒力（音译）认为数字和祸福并无任何联系，它们的意义是人们强加上去的，硬要说一个数字吉利或不祥，只不过是迷信而已。

    中国人不像西方人那样只对数字13敏感，他们对数字有一整套观点，体现在日常生活中。

    神仙可以孤单，人却不能孤单：“一”是表示开端的数字，同时含有“单独”或“孤单”的意思。

    台湾神学院神学教授童芳苑指出，台湾人偏爱双数，因为双数表示“好事成双”。他们对一、三、五、七、九等单数比较谨慎。由于单数的“单”字在汉语里有“孤单”的意思，所以人们不大喜欢这个字。虽然人们喜欢双数，但神仙们却可以孤单，因此单月里定下一些节日让人们庆祝，从新年（农历正月初一）和清明节（三月初三），到端午节（五月初五）、七夕（七月初七）和重阳节（九月初九）等都是单数。

    婚礼上，中国人会送装有现金的“红包”，但只送双数，如1200元或3600元。由于台湾话“四”的发音近似“死”，所以，如果你送给新郎新娘4400元的话，他们不但不会感谢你，甚至还会暗地里骂你不懂规矩。然而在葬礼上，人们送礼的末位数都是单数，这是为了避免“祸不单行”。

    双喜临门：娄子匡教授在《中国民间习俗》一书中提到，古代人结婚送聘礼嫁妆时，会附一张礼帖，详细记录每一件礼物，措辞颇有讲究，譬如，鸡鸭会写成“德禽四翼”，金手镯写成“金镯成双”，蜡烛写成“喜烛双辉”，绝不允许出现单数。

    向女方“问名”或互换“生辰八字”用的庚贴可能会写成“男某某乾造某某年某某月某某日某时建生”以及“女某某坤造某某年某某月某某日某时瑞生”，所用字数也要凑成偶数，如果缺一个字，就会加上一个“吉祥”的字。

    作家肖敏（音译）补充说，由于“单”字含有“不完整”之意，所以，在她的北京老家，新年时人们做的花卷一定得是双数，预示着有个好的开始。

    民俗学者黄博和（音译）认为，中国人一向比较喜欢使用“三”这个数字。打开任何一本汉语词典，随处可见由“三”或其倍数构成的词组，各地的谚语和俚语中更是不计其数。

    他指出，中国人喜欢“三”字的一个原因是，三表示“多”。《老子》中写道：“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。”从无到有，从有到无限，“三”起着关键作用。

    没有四楼的电梯：学者苏雪林（音译）写道，在中国古代，“四”和“七十二”这两个数字可能都是神秘的数字，而且“四”象征着大地。

    但是，在台湾“四”却不那么受欢迎，医院和旅馆通常没有四楼，电梯上的数字从“三”直接跳到“五”。也许只有在中国人生活的地方，才需要有这样的设施。此外，四楼的房价也常常会低一些。

    一般说来，“五”在中国人看来并没有什么好坏的意义。
    节庆时，人们常见到 “五福临门” 四个字，所谓五福，即寿、富、康宁、修好德、考终命。

    此外，过去人们用五行（金、木、水、火、土）划分自然现象，儒家也认为“五”字含有“中庸”之意。

    占卜术作家甄醉（音译）指出，儒家认为“五”非常接近“不偏不倚”的中庸之道，促进了“五行”之说。“五”这个数字，前面有两个数，后面有两个数，当中是一个数，“当中这个数居于正中，左右各有两个数辅助，因此，‘五’正符合儒家所提倡的‘中庸’思想”，他这样写道。

     一六八，一路发:“六六大顺”这句话源自何处？中国风俗与手工艺基金会秘书长林茂霄（音译）认为，这句话可能和掷骰子有关。骰子上最大的点数是“六”，如果你掷出了两个“六”，不就赢了吗？

    根据非官方统计，极少人把“七”当作吉祥数字。古书 Yu Hsiao Ling Yin （此书名待查——译注）上说，人一去世需服丧七天。“做七”是福建的丧葬习俗，从一个人去世后的头七天，到第七个七天，都有相应的仪式。由于“七”这个数字容易使人想到 “做七”，加上农历七月是“鬼月”，所以，有些人不喜欢数字“七”。

    大多数人认为，人们对“八”的喜爱源于广东话，因为广东话里的八和“发”读音相近，中国北方也有这么一句话，“要得发，不离八”。

    以广东人为主的香港也许是最迷信数字的地方。李恒力分析说，香港是一个拥挤不堪、充满竞争的工商业大都市，商人们极其关注生意的成败，所以，他们在诸如工厂开业、签订合同等活动中都要考虑是否吉利。如果选择了含“八”的日子，那么他们就有了一个“成功”的开端。“九”代表顺利和长久；“六”，则如前文所说，表示"六六大顺”。

    20世纪80年代，吉利数字开始由南向北从香港传到中国大陆的广东省。

    《中国时报》专栏作家刘成峰（音译）在一篇报道中指出，广州宾馆电话号码的最后几位数字是8168，与“发一路发”谐音。北京龙府商厦（音译）里大部分鞋店都在价目牌上标上“吉祥”价码。标价为168元的鞋子是卖得最快的一种，因为这个数字象征“一路发”。商人住宾馆时，喜欢住518、688或816等房间。广州的一家宾馆，吉利号码的房间开价竟然比其它房间高。

    信不信由你：“九”一般指大多数或大数目。过去，人们常用九表示“许多”。

    由于“九”是个极数，所以，中国人认为碰到“九”不吉利。尤其是老年男性，69岁和79岁的生日是当70岁和80岁的生日过。许多人还认为29岁是人生中的关键时刻。

    任何一个数字都可以被解释成吉数，用来表示财富与好运、和平与慈悲，等等。“万事始于一，周而复始”，“七世同堂”，“四海财源滚滚来”，这些话不是一样顺耳吗？

    说起来虽然容易，但还是有许多玩彩票、赌赛马的人到处烧香求神，寻找属于他们自己的吉利数字！

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Text 2　

Red Envelopes:

It's the Thought That Counts

by Melody Hsieh

    In fairy tales, the fairy godmother can wave her magic wand and turn stone into gold or a pumpkin into a luxurious carriage. But calling it a magic wand is not so good as seeing it as a wand of hope for all mankind.

    The red envelope is like the Chinese wand of hope, and it often carries limitless desires. To give a red envelope at a happy occasion is like embroidering a flower on a quilt; when meeting misfortune, to receive a red envelope is a psychological palliative which just might change your luck.

    Whether it be congratulations, encouragement, sympathy, gratitude, compensation, just give a red envelope, and not only will the sentiment be expressed, substantive help will also have arrived.

    The fact that the red envelope opens so many doors and is so versatile today also naturally has practical advantages. For marriages, funerals, birthdays and illness, you could send a gift. But choosing a gift is an art in itself, and you can rack your brains and spend a whole day shopping, and you still won't know if the other person will like it or need it. That's not nearly as good as wrapping money in red paper, which on the one hand saves work and on the other is useful, so everybody's happy. Compared with the way Westerners give gifts, giving a red envelope may be lacking in commemorative sentiment, but it's a lot more practical. Nevertheless, Chinese haven't always been so substantive. In fact, it is only in the last few decades that red envelopes have become so commonly used.

    A Brilliant Fire Neutralizing the Year: Guo Li-cheng, a specialist in popular culture who is today an advisor to ECHO magazine, points out that traditionally Chinese did not present gifts of money. For example, when a child reached one month old, friends and family would send a gold locket; when visiting a sick person, people would bring Chinese medicine; upon meeting for the first time, people would exchange rings or jade with the other person as a greeting gift....None of these carry, as the Chinese say, the "unpleasant odor of brass," implying penny-pinching greed.
    No one knows when money began to replace these traditional gifts. The only certain continuous tradition of using money to express sentiment － perhaps the origin of the practice of combining usefulness and sentiment, material and spiritual － is the tradition of the "age neutralizing money" (cash given on New Year's day to children), which has been carried down to this day.
    "In the past, the New Year's money was simply a piece of red paper attached to a gold yuan, or the use of a red twine to string together cash. When eating New Year's dinner, the money would be pressed beneath the stove, representing ‘a brilliant fire, abundant wealth’; only after dinner would it be pulled out and handed out to the small children. The meaning is that, after undergoing a baptism of fire, it was hoped that it could expel evil and resolve dangers, so that the children could put the past behind them (‘neutralize’ the past) and grow up strong and healthy," says Ruan Chang-jue, director of the Anthropology Committee of the Provincial Museum, laughing that in fact "age neutralizing money" should be called "age extension money."
    The writer Xiao Min lived in Beijing before 1938. At that time she was just a little sprite of less than ten years old, but because the New Year is quite different today from what it was in the past, she has a very deep impression of the New Year's money.
    She recalls that it was not easy to get the "age neutralizing money" in those days. The children had to kneel on the floor and kowtow, and your forehead had to touch the floor, and it would only count if it was hard enough to make a sound. "In the past, floors were made of rough concrete, and we kids often had to kneel until our knees hurt and knock our heads until we were dizzy, before we could get our New Year's money."
    It was only with the spread of paper currency that the New Year's money became paper cash wrapped in red envelopes. The reason why the paper is red, or why in early days red thread was used, rather than white, green, or black, is from religious rituals.

    Better Red Than Dread: Ruan Chang-jue suggests that in primitive times, when man would see a bright red flower in a green field, he would find it quite eye-catching and delightful. So maybe this is why red is an "auspicious" color.

    Furthermore, red is the same as the color of blood, and since a sacrifice of blood has a lucky effect, red came to be ordained as having the meaning of avoiding ill-fortune.

    "Before the red envelope form appeared, people ‘carried red’ to represent auspiciousness and evading evil," says Ruan. He says that in previous generations people would attach a piece of red paper to a religious offering or to a wedding dress, in both cases having this meaning. It was only after paper-cutting techniques had been invented that the red piece of paper was changed to the "double-happiness" character. Before paper was invented, perhaps they used red cloth or painted on some red pigment instead.

    Ruan Chang-jue reminds us that because red symbolizes the vitality of life, and all mankind in early times had their magic ways to expel evil, it was by no means unique to China, and in the distant past Westerners also considered red to represent auspiciousness.

    For example, shortly after Columbus landed in America, he gave the local natives red cloth to wrap around their heads to show celebration. For this reason, in the past red was always the color used to wrap presents in the West, and only later did it evolve that many colors were used.

    But Chinese are relatively more concerned about colors, as Confucius has said: "I hate the way purple spoils vermilion." Colors are divided into "appropriate" colors and "deviant" colors. Red in this sense is the orthodox representation for good fortune, which cannot be altered lightly.

    A Not Unreasonable Perquisite: As for using red envelopes as a small consideration in order to get the other person to do something on your behalf, very early on there was the "gratuity" for servants.

    Guo Li-cheng indicates that in novels like The Golden Lotus, you can often see in old style banquets that when the chef serves the main course the guest of honor must give the cook a "gratuity," using silver wrapped in red paper, to express appreciation to the host.

    Or, family or friends might dispatch a servant to deliver a gift to your door. For the person giving the gift, it's only natural that they would send a servant, but for the person receiving the gift, the emissary is performing an unusual service, "so the recipient always had to ask the servant to bring back a letter of thanks, and to give a red envelope, which was called a li （strength） or qing-shi （respect for the emissary）, to express gratitude for his legwork and provide transportation expenses." Guo Li-cheng adds that the qing-shi was usually about 1/20th the value of the original gift, so this kind of red envelope was a reasonable perk as far as the servant was concerned.
    "The qing-shi was originally a gift of money replete with sentiment, and it's only because modern people use it erroneously that the significance of the red envelope has become muddled," notes Guo, who cannot help but lament that today "sending a red envelope" is synonymous with giving a bribe.

    Some Chinese have adapted to circumstances, and since a red envelope can bribe a living, breathing human being, the effect should be no less in sucking up to the ghosts of the nether world. Today, in some rural townships in south and central Taiwan, especially at Ghost Festival, people wrap up the spirit money in red paper and burn it as an offering to the "good brothers" (spirits), hoping that after they get a red envelope and become a local god of wealth, they will no longer tamper with the affairs of men.

    Ruan Chang-jue says that in the past there was by no means the custom of sending red envelopes to ghosts, and this is a product of circumstance invented by Chinese in recent years.

    Evangelical Red Envelopes: "The red envelope in and of itself is not to blame, and originally it was just to express a friendly intent, a symbol of sentiment," states Ruan. Those who can afford to give red envelopes are always the older generation or the boss or the leader. He raises an example, noting that over the New Year's holiday in 1991, the Provincial Museum sponsored an opera appreciation activity for children. The day work began, the museum curator gave every one of the people who worked on it with him a red envelope, to thank his colleagues for giving up their holiday to work for the museum.

    Xiao Min also believes that there have also been some positive changes in the red envelope as it has evolved.

    "In the past, the red envelope was just a simple red packet, without any characters printed on it. Today a lot of organizations, like restaurants or hotels, will imprint relevant auspicious phrases, and will give a set of red stationery to customers as a small gift at New Year's, to add a little more human feeling." For example, the Lai Lai Sheraton prints "May good fortune come, May wealth come, May happiness come" on its red envelopes, a play on the word lai (to come) in its name; steakhouses may print a golden bull, to make a deeper impression on their customers.

    It's worth noting that even evangelical organizations cannot underestimate the attraction of a red envelope. Xiao Min, a Christian, says that every time the passage to a new year approaches, churches will print their own red envelopes, which congregants can use at no charge. Because propitious proverbs from the Bible have been imprinted on the set, they are very popular among the congregants, so that supply can't keep up with demand. Since they integrate traditional customs, they can also help the evangelical church spread and adapt to local conditions.
    "However, no matter how much money is in the red packet, how can a few pieces of paper currency take the place of or outweigh the feeling in one's heart?" says Xiao Min. She concluded, that a small gift given with a big heart, the act of giving and receiving, and mutual affection are the real meanings of giving a red envelope.

    (1 795 words) TOP

课文二　

红包：礼小情谊重

梅洛迪•谢

    童话中，仙女一挥魔棒，石头就变成了金子，南瓜变成了豪华的马车，但是，称它为魔棒，不如视它为人类希望的魔棒。

    红包就像中国的希望魔棒，因为它常常伴有种种无限的渴望。喜庆的时候送红包，恰如锦上添花；不幸的时候收到红包，是一种心理安慰，也许会时来运转。

    无论是表示道贺、鼓励、同情、感谢，还是表示补偿，给一个红包，不但表达了情意，而且也送上了一份实实在在的帮助。

    如今，红包成了一把打开方便之门的万能钥匙，非常实用。什么婚礼、葬礼、生日、疾病，都可以送礼。然而，选购礼物却是一门艺术，你绞尽脑汁，兜了一整天商店，还是不知道买到手的礼物别人是否喜欢，需要与否。倒不如用红纸包上钞票，既省力又实用，皆大欢喜。与西方人送礼的习惯相比，送红包可能少了点纪念意义，但却实用得多。然而，中国人并非一直如此讲究实际。事实上，红包也只是几十年前才开始盛行起来的。

     火旺好守岁: 现任《回音》杂志顾问、通俗文化专家郭利成（音译）指出，中国人以前并没有送礼金的传统，比如，过去孩子过满月，父母和亲友会送他一把金锁；探望病人，人们会带上中药；第一次见面，人们会交换戒指或玉佩，作为见面礼……这些东西都不带有中国人所谓的“铜臭”。

    谁也不知道，从何时起钱开始取代传统礼品。流传至今、唯一用钱表达情感的悠久传统，是过年时送“压岁钱”给孩子。送礼金，这种集实用与情感、物质与精神于一体的做法，也许就源于此。

    省博物馆人类学委员会主任阮昌锐说：“过去，压岁钱只不过是用一张红纸包一块金元，或用一根红线穿上铜钱。吃年夜饭时，把铜钱压在火炉下，表示‘火旺，富足’；饭后才把钱拉出来发给孩子们。这意味着，钱经过了火的考验，可以驱邪化险，孩子们可以除旧迎新，茁壮成长。” 他笑着说，其实“压岁钱”应该叫做“益寿钱”。

    1938年以前，作家肖敏（音译）一直生活在北京。那时，她只是个10岁不到的小捣蛋。由于如今的新年已经和过去的新年很不一样了，所以，她对压岁钱的印象特别深刻。

    她回忆说，那时侯要得到“压岁钱”并不容易，孩子们必须跪在地上磕头，额头必须触地，碰出响声才算数。“以前，地面是粗糙的水泥地，我们这些孩子常常要跪得膝盖发疼，头磕得发昏才能拿得压岁钱。”

    随着纸币的流行，人们才开始把钞票装在红信封里，送压岁钱。旧时用红线，现在用红纸，而不用白色、绿色或黑色的纸和线，这与宗教仪式有关。

    红比恐好：阮昌锐认为，在原始社会，人们在绿地里看到一朵红花，会觉得它特别显眼，赏心悦目，也许这就是为什么红色成为“吉祥”色的原因。

    再者，红色是鲜血的颜色，由于祭祀的鲜血能够带来好运，所以红色逐渐具有避邪的涵义。

    阮昌锐说：“红包出现之前，人们‘戴红'以图吉利，辟邪恶。”他还说，以前人们在宗教祭品上或结婚礼服上贴红纸，都有这层意思。只是后来出现了剪纸手艺，红纸才变成了“双喜”字（“双喜”应为一个字，电脑中无此字--译注）。造纸术发明之前，人们也许用的是红布或者什么红颜料。

    阮昌锐提醒我们，由于红色象征生命力，早期人类都有各自驱邪的魔法，因此，远古时期的西方人也认为红色表示吉祥，并非中国专有。

    比方说，哥伦布在美洲登陆后不久，就向土著分发红布，让他们缠在头上以示庆贺。因此缘故，红色过去一直是西方人包裹礼品时用的颜色，只是到了后来才开始使用各种颜色。

    但是中国人更注重色彩，孔子曾说“恶紫之夺朱也”。颜色有“正”色和“偏”色之分。在这一层意义上，红色是代表好运的正统颜色，不能随意更改。

    不无道理的外快：给红包让别人为自己办事，很早以前是给赏钱的形式。

    郭利成指出，读《金瓶梅》等小说，你可以看到，旧式筵席上的厨师上主菜时，贵宾必须给“赏钱”——用红纸包着的银子——表示对主人的感谢。

    有时亲友会派人送礼到你家，送礼的派佣人办事是很自然的，但对收礼的来说，“使者”却提供了一项特别服务，“收礼人总要让佣人带回一封感谢信，并给他一个红包，称为“礼”或qing-shi（此待查--译注），既感谢他跑腿，又付给他交通费。”郭利成还说 qing-shi 通常是所送礼品价值的1/20。对佣人而言，这种红包是合情合理的外快。

    “Qing-shi 原本是满含情意的礼金，只是现代人的误用才把它的意义扭曲了，”郭利成痛心地说，如今“送红包”成了贿赂的同义词。

    有些中国人随机应变，既然红包可以贿赂活人，那么它也同样可以用来取悦阴鬼。今天，在台湾中部和南部的一些乡村，特别是在鬼节的时候，人们用红纸包上冥钞，然后焚烧以祭“好兄弟”（鬼魂），希望他们拿到红包成为当地财神后，不再干预人间事务。

    阮昌锐说，以前根本没有送红包给鬼魂的习俗，这是中国人近年来才发明的。

    福音红包：阮昌锐认为：“红包本身无可厚非，它原是用来表示友好，是情感的象征。”送得起红包的人往往是长辈，要不就是老板或领导。他举了一个例子：1991年新年期间，省博物馆赞助了一场儿童戏剧欣赏会，工作第一天，馆长送给每位工作人员一个红包，感谢同事们牺牲假日为博物馆工作。

    肖敏也认为，送红包的习俗也发生了一些好的变化。

    “过去，红包只是一个红纸套，上面没印任何字。今天，许多单位，如饭店或旅馆，都会印上相关的吉利话，过年时还会送一套红色文具给顾客作为小礼品，增添一点人情味。”比如来来喜来登大饭店，红信封上玩起店名中“来”字的文字游戏，印着“好运来，财富来，喜事来”；牛排餐厅也许会印一只金牛，给顾客留下深刻印象。

    值得一提的是，甚至一些宗教机构也不敢低估红包的魅力。肖敏是位基督教徒。她说，每到快过年的时候，教堂就会印独制的红信封，教徒们可以免费使用。因为信封上印了《圣经》上的吉利经文，所以大受教徒们的欢迎，结果信封供不应求。由于这种红包融合了传统习俗，因此它们也有助于教会传教，适应当地情况。

    肖敏说：“然而，无论红包里装了多少钱，几张纸币怎么能取代或重过一个人内心的情意呢？”她总结道，礼小情谊重，付出和接受，情感的相互交流，这些才是送红包的真正意义所在。

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