中華文化英文講系列（5）：跟老外聊聊北京的市井民風

李晶

上回我們說到胡同，胡同里灑滿了京腔京韻，而四合院是其重要的組成部分。四合院和胡同一樣，也是老北京人的精神家園，那里承載的文化傳統(tǒng)也同樣讓中外游客癡迷。這些年，老外背包客和深度游的外國游客都喜歡去逛逛胡同，感受市井民風。進了胡同，四合院當然是最大的看點。如何將四合院的建筑特色、文化內涵用英語講解明晰，真成了一件要緊事！接下來，我們就來了解一下北京的四合院，學習介紹四合院的英語表達吧！

北京四合院的起源和建筑特點

北京四合院作為民居的主要形式要追溯到元朝定都北京?！八暮显骸边@三個漢字就體現了這種建筑形式最典型的特點：它是一個院落，四周合圍，構成封閉空間。因此，我們在英語里，用quadrangle來命名“四合院”似乎比較恰當。我們來看看《柯林斯高階英漢雙解學習詞典》對這個詞的英文釋義：“A quadrangle is an open square area with buildings around it， especially in a college or school.”從釋義上看，四合院和外國朋友所理解的quadrangle是有一些區(qū)別的。因此，我們解釋的時候可以多增加一些特點介紹。當然，也可以用courtyard?！犊铝炙垢唠A英漢雙解學習詞典》對courtyard的釋義是：“A courtyard is an open area of ground which is surrounded by buildings or walls.”從英文解釋上看，quadrangle和courtyard這兩個單詞并無太大區(qū)別，只是quadrangle更側重表達校園的含義。有人之所以選用quadrangle還有一個原因就是它和我們所說的“四合院”中的“四”有一些聯系，因為quad-這個詞根的意思是“四”。

在向外國朋友介紹四合院的概況時，可以參考下面這段英文表達。

Quadrangles， also known as courtyards， have been built in Beijing ever since it first became the capital during the Yuan Dynasty. In the past they were the main form of residence there and were built in large quantities. The courtyard was enclosed by its surrounding buildings—one row on each side—and there was a gate which led outside.

四合院的封閉性一方面源于中國人對于家庭隱私的保護；另一方面，封閉性也有自然和社會因素。從自然環(huán)境來說，北京風沙大，特別是冬天，寒風凜冽，四面高墻的四合院可以抵御寒冷的北風和沙塵。從社會環(huán)境來看，北京是個大都市，在作為政治文化中心和貨物集散中心的同時，人員流動性大，家園的安全就成為一個很現實的問題，四合院的設計就正好考慮到了安全的因素。

上述四合院的封閉性可以用英文表達如下。

Unlike western houses， Beijing courtyards were not open plan as privacy was highly valued when enjoying time with the family. Being the political and cultural center， as well as a distributing center for goods， the capital， Beijing， had a high mobility of migrants. This brought with it a cause for concern when it came to the security of peoples homes. The enclosed walls offered people a sense of security. The climate of Beijing also contributed to the high-walled design of the courtyard. Strong cold winds in winter and sandstorms in spring were annoyances to Beijingers， but the high walls provided shelter from the cold and the sand.

北京四合院的內部構造

正如皇帝的宮殿（如故宮）坐北朝南一樣，四合院一般也坐北朝南。南面草木繁茂，陽氣充足，中國人認為坐北朝南原則是對自然現象的正確認識，順應天道，受日月之光華，方能獲得生理、心理乃至家族運勢方面最大的裨益。

這部分內容可以參考如下一段英文表達。

The orientation of the courtyard followed that of the Emperors palaces （such as the Forbidden City）， facing south towards the sun. The ancient Chinese believed that the positioning of the house to face south was in accordance with nature. The belief that complying with the law of nature grants benefits to health， mood and even the luck of the whole family has been widely-accepted throughout the whole of Chinese civilization.

和北京城市的布局一樣，四合院的建筑也遵照了“對稱”原則。一個大戶人家完整的四合院由南向北包含了大門前的影壁（outside screen wall）、宅門（house gate）、倒座房（亦稱“南房”，southern room）、進門后的影壁（inside screen wall）、抄手游廊（veranda）、垂花門（floral pendant gate）、東西廂房（eastern and western wing rooms）、庭院（yard）、正房（亦稱“北房”，principal room）、耳房（side room）和后罩房（back room）。中國古代講究長幼尊卑，男尊女卑，這些也都體現在四合院里各種類型房屋在家庭成員中的分配。正房作為四合院內最好的房屋，是家庭里年長的“家長”起居的地方。東西廂房分別是長子和次子的住所。倒座房一般是給傭人住的，而后罩房主要是未出嫁的女兒的閨房和傭人的房間。

關于四合院的布局，可以用下面這段英文來表達。

The concept of “symmetry” was also applied to the architectural design of courtyards， and this is very evident in the design of the capital city. Moving from south to north， a standard courtyard consisted of an outside screen wall， a house gate， southern rooms， an inside screen wall， a veranda （porch）， a floral pendant gate， eastern and western wing rooms， a yard and principal （north） rooms with side rooms and back rooms. The ancient Chinese culture stressed the hierarchy of old and young， man and woman， and this manifested itself in the arrangements of rooms in a courtyard. Being the best rooms， the principal rooms were for the family elders. The eastern and western wing rooms were the eldest and second sons homes respectively. Servants resided in the southern rooms and the unmarried daughters and some other servants dwelled in the back rooms.

北京四合院的文化精髓

四合院的精髓在于庭院，庭院處于四合院的中心位置，形成了正房、廂房全部正對庭院的開放格局。無論站在正房還是廂房的門前，都能看到眼前一片開闊的庭院。庭院里種植著各種花草樹木，寒來暑往，發(fā)芽、開花、結果，盡顯生命的輪回和交替。有的庭院里擺著金魚缸、掛著鳥籠，養(yǎng)著各色金魚和小鳥，魚翔淺底，鳥鳴爭春，生命的色彩在這里更顯燦爛。四合院彰顯了中華文化中天人合一、人與自然和諧共存的哲學思想。

上面這段內容可以用英文表達如下。

The yard， located in the center of the courtyard， formed the heart of courtyard culture. All the doors of the principal rooms and wing rooms opened onto the yard， so that when standing inside the rooms， one had a wide view of the trees， flowers， grass and other plants in the yard. As winter left and spring came， and summer passed and autumn appeared， the buds， flowers and fruit each told their own stories as part of the cycle of life. There were also goldfish tanks and birdcages to be found in the courtyard. Fish swam vigorously and freely， birds sang melodiously and delightedly， and the color of life shone brightly. The courtyard highlighted the philosophical idea of traditional Chinese culture that man， when existing harmoniously with nature， is an integral part of nature.

作為家族延續(xù)的見證和親情維系的紐帶，四合院將中國人的生活夢想和生存現實聯系在一起。中國人重視家庭、渴望親情的傳統(tǒng)價值觀念在四合院中體現得淋漓盡致。封閉的四合院是中國人盡享天倫的精神家園。

上面這段內容可以用英文表達如下。

As a bond of kinship and testimony to the continuity of the family， the courtyard is a combination of Chinese peoples dreams and living reality. The enclosed courtyard is our spiritual home where we can cherish family life and family affections.