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@ 50959 中國鬼節
A 哎，我昨天晚上看見一個人在十字路口畫了個圈燒紙，嘴巴里還念念叨叨的，他在幹嗎呀？
āi, wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang kànjiàn yī gè rén zài shízì lùkǒu huà le ge quān shāozhǐ, zuǐbā li hái niànniandāodāo de, tā zài gànmá ya?
Last night I saw a guy at an intersection who had painted a little circle and was burning money inside. He was also chanting or muttering something. What in the world was he doing?
B 哦，七月十五快到了，他想祭祀一下去世的親人吧！這在中國挺平常的。
ò, qīyuèshíwǔ kuài dào le, tā xiǎng jìsì yīxià qùshì de qīnrén ba! zhè zài Zhōngguó tǐng píngcháng de.
Ah, the fifteenth day of the seventh month is coming soon. I bet he was making offerings to a dead relative. It's very common in China.
A 七月十五是什麼日子？
qīyuèshíwǔ shì shénme rìzi?
What is the fifteenth day of the seventh month ?
B 是鬼節，其實中國有三大鬼節。除了農曆七月十五，還有清明節和寒衣節。寒衣節就是農曆十月初一。
shì guǐjié, qíshí Zhōngguó yǒu sān dà guǐjié. chúle nónglì qīyuèshíwǔ, hái yǒu qīngmíngjié hé hányījié. hányījié jiùshì nónglì shíyuèchūyī.
It's the Ghost Festival. Actually in China there are three Ghost Festivals. Other than the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, there is also Tomb-Sweeping Day and Winter Clothing Day. Winter clothing day is the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar.
A 啊？這麼多鬼節，怎麼過啊？會不會像萬聖節那樣狂歡？
ǎ? zhème duō guǐjié, zěnme guò a? huìbuhuì xiàng wànshèng jié nàyàng kuánghuān?
Oh? There are so many Ghost Festivals. How do people celebrate them? Are they like Halloween, with all kinds of crazy fun?
B 七月十五我們一般就是燒點紙錢，再供點兒吃的喝的；清明的時候要掃墓上墳；十月初一要燒用紙做的衣服給先人，因為那時候天冷了。
qīyuèshíwǔ wǒmen yībān jiùshì shāo diǎn zhǐqián, zài gòng diǎnr chī de hē de; qīngmíng de shíhou yào sǎomù shàngfén; shíyuèchūyī yào shāo yòng zhǐ zuò de yīfu gěi xiānrén, yīnwèi nà shíhou tiān lěng le.
On the fifteen day of the seventh month of the lunar year, we generally just burn a little paper money, as well as some thing for the ghosts to eat or drink. On Tomb-Sweeping Day we go to the cemetery to sweep our ancestors' graves. On Winter Clothing Day, we burn paper clothing for our ancestors, because the weather starts getting colder at that time.
A 是不是有點迷信啊？我懷疑去世的人根本收不到。
shì bù shì yǒudiǎn míxìn a? wǒ huáiyí qùshì de rén gēnběn shōubùdào.
Isn't this just a little superstitious? I'm suspect dead people may just not receive the stuff.
B 這是我們懷念親人的一種方式。一邊燒一邊跟去世的人說說話，溝通溝通。現在還有人在網上祭祀呢！
zhè shì wǒ men huáiniàn qīnrén de yīzhǒng fāngshì. yībiān shāo yībiān gēn qùshì de rén shuōshuo huà, gōutonggōutōng . xiànzài hái yǒurén zài wǎngshàng jìsì ne!
This is a way for us to cherish the memory of our relatives. While we burn the paper, we also chat with the deceased, to stay in touch with them. These days there are even people who make offerings online!
A 鬼節有什麼忌諱嗎？
guǐjié yǒu shénme jìhuì ma?
Are there any taboos on Ghost Days?
B 通常我們會避免辦喜事或者出遠門。因為大家覺得這時候鬼門關大開，大鬼小鬼都出來啦！不太吉利。
tōngcháng wǒmen huì bìmiǎn bàn xǐshì huòzhě chū yuǎn mén. yīnwèi dàjiā juéde zhèshíhòu guǐménguān dàkāi, dàguǐ xiǎoguǐ dōu chūlai la! bù tài jílì.
Usually we try to avoid having weddings or going on a long trip. This is because everyone believes that the portal to the realm of ghosts is wide open. All the ghosts, big and small, come out! So it's not very lucky.
A 中國的鬼文化還真豐富。
Zhōngguó de guǐ wénhuà hái zhēn fēngfù.
China really has a rich ghost culture.
B 是啊。古代有《聊齋志異》，現在有網絡鬼故事，都超受歡迎。
shì a. gǔdài yǒu《 liáozhāizhìyì》, xiànzài yǒu wǎngluò guǐ gùshi, dōu chāo shòu huānyíng.
It's true. In the old days we had ``Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," now we have online ghost stories. Both are very popular.
A 不覺得恐怖嗎？
bù juéde kǒngbù ma?
Don't people think they're scary?
B 越恐怖越好！
yuè kǒngbù yuè hǎo!
The scarier the better!
Key Vocabulary
燒紙 shāozhǐ to burn paper
唸叨 niàndao to mumble
祭祀 jìsì worship ancestors
鬼節 guǐjié ghost festival
清明節 qīngmíngjié Tomb Sweeping Day
寒衣節 hányījié Winter Clothes Day
萬聖節 wànshèng jié Halloween
紙錢 zhǐqián paper money
掃墓 sǎomù tomb sweeping
上墳 shàngfén to maintain the grave
迷信 míxìn superstitious
懷念 huáiniàn to cherish the memory of
忌諱 jìhuì taboo
避免 bìmiǎn to avoid
鬼門關 guǐménguān the gate of hell
吉利 jílì auspicious
《聊齋志異》 liáozhāizhìyì The Strange Tales of Liao Zhai
恐怖 kǒngbù scary
Supplementary Vocabulary
中元節 zhōngyuánjié Festival of Dead Spirits
閻王 yánwáng king of hell
地獄 dìyù hell
陰間 yīnjiān afterworld
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