鼠年話鼠：十二生肖“鼠”它靈
生肖文化作為一種古老的民俗文化現象，已是中華民族文化不可分割的一部分。
As an ancient folk tradition, the knowledge of Chinese zodiac is an integral part of Chinese culture.
鼠是中國傳統十二生肖之首。相傳，玉皇大帝決定挑十二種動物代表人間生肖，在規定到天宮的那天一早，小老鼠悄悄早起，坐在老牛身上首先到了天宮門口，並從牛角上搶先一步跳了進去，為此成為十二生肖之首。
Rat is the first of the twelve traditional Chinese zodiac animals. According to legend, the Jade Emperor decided to choose twelve kinds of animals to represent the human zodiac. On the day he was appointed to the heavenly palace, a little rat had gotten up early, sat on the old ox and entered the gate of the heavenly palace. The rat jumped out from the horn of the ox, thus becoming the first of the twelve zodiac.
鼠的第一個象徵意義是靈性。上個世紀九十年代，我國拍攝製作的經典動畫《十二生肖》中，即把鼠稱為“機靈鼠”，它勇敢機敏的協助人類，最終打敗了妖魔，故事情節感人。
The first symbolic meaning of rat is intelligence. A classic animation ‘The Chinese Zodiac’ shot and produced in China in the 90s gave the rat the tag of a ‘smart rat’. It was a brave animal, quick to help human beings and when it finally defeated the demons. The story touched hearts.
鼠的第二個象徵意義是生命力強。老鼠的成活率高、壽命長。民間剪紙和木版年畫《老鼠嫁女》中的老鼠都是子神，老鼠在每年中國農曆正月初七“人日”那天嫁女，即繁衍人類萬物之意。
The second symbolic meaning of rat is vitality. The survival rate of a rat is high and lifespan long. The rat in the folk paper-cut and woodblock New Year’s painting ‘Rats Marry Their Daughters’ are all gods from the time of Zi. Rats marry their daughters on the seventh day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar every year, that is to say, to reproduce human beings and other creatures.
在中國戲劇舞臺上，東晉時期民間就有了“老鼠推磨”、“老鼠盪鞦千”的鼠戲表演。而宋代的故事戲《五鼠鬧東京》給人們留下了深刻的印象。
The rat also made frequent appearances on the stage. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, one could see rats pushing the mill and swinging rats performing among the people. A play during the Song Dynasty titled ‘Five Rats Mess Dongjing upside down’ left a deep impression on people.
中國還有很多歇後語與鼠有關，如 “老鼠掉進米缸裏——因禍得福”、“老鼠鑽書箱——咬文嚼字”、“老鼠逗貓——沒事找事”等，這些歇後語詼諧風趣，令人過目難忘。
In local parlance as well, rats have found space. There are many humorous sayings associated with rats —‘Rats Fall into Rice Bowls — Good Luck in Misfortune’, ‘Rats Drill into Study Boxes — Chew Words’, ‘Rats Tickle Cats - Have Nothing to Do with’.
現今，中國的南北各地都有張貼年畫或剪紙的風俗，“老鼠嫁女”、“老鼠娶親”的年畫和剪紙被視為“吉祥物”，過年過節時貼在墻上和窗戶上，既熱鬧了新春佳節的氣氛，也寄託了人們對新一年的企盼。
Nowadays, there is a custom of putting up new year pictures or paper-cut in north and south of China. The New Year pictures and paper-cut of ‘Rats Marry Daughters’ and ‘Rats’ Wedding’ serve as mascots. They are pasted on walls and windows during the new year, which not only enlivens the atmosphere of the new spring festival, but also places people’s expectation for the new year.
2020年西曆1月25日，中國迎來了農曆庚子鼠年，因為有一個“閏四月”，這一年共有384天，這也意味著，鼠年要多上一個月的班。而農曆4月出生的人，可以過兩次農曆生日。此外，這個鼠年會有兩個“立春”。你發現了嗎？
On January 25, 2020, China ushered in the year of Gengzi rat in the lunar calendar. Because this is a ‘leap April’, which has a total of 384 days, this also means that the year of the rat will spell an extra month of work. But on the bright side, people born in April can have two lunar birthdays. In addition, the year of the rat will have two "beginnings of spring". Amazing, isn’t it?
