VOA常速英语:舞狮有助于美籍华人保护中华传统

In Chinese-American communities throughout the United States, the Chinese New Year Parade is a highly anticipated event.One of the staples of any parade is the lion dance, an ancient tradition that has roots and sources and one tool,using mythical figures like this fierce lion to ward off people’s spirits.
全美范围内，在美籍华人社区，中国春节大游行是万众瞩目的盛会。在所有游行中，有一项“重头戏”，那就是舞狮，舞狮的传统源远流长，人们希望用神话里的人物，如凶猛狮子的威猛形象来驱邪辟鬼。

The D.C.-based Chinese Youth Club plays a key role in preserving this tradition at the annual parade in Washington’s Chinatown.Every Friday night all year long, adults and children members of the club diligently prepare for the yearly performance.The New Year falls on Saturday, January twenty-eighth this year, the parade is the following day.
在华盛顿唐人街一年一度的游行当中，设立于华盛顿的中国青年俱乐部对于保护这一传统，发挥着重要作用。俱乐部成员既有成人，也有儿童，过去的一整年当中，每周五晚上，他们都为年度表演辛勤准备。今年的春节恰逢一月二十八日，星期六，游行时间为春节第二天。

“I (will go) to the parade.” (The parade? Why is that?)“Because there’re a lot of people watching.”“A place where all people go, where there is a lot of people to help them.”The lion dance has been documented since the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century as a performance enriched by foreign influences because lions are animated to China.Later, the tradition spread to other places like Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
“我会参加春节游行。”（为什么想参加游行呢？）“因为到时候会有很多人前去观看。”“人们都会去到那里，也会有很多人去帮忙。”早在七世纪时，唐代就有关于舞狮的文献记载，受外来影响，舞狮表演愈加丰富多彩，在中国，狮子这种猛兽是活力的象征。后来，这一传统传到了日本、韩国和越南等地。

The Chinese Youth Club was founded in 1939 and has been actively engaging the communities around Washington through various cultural programs including its famed lion dance.Now the third generation performs this dance.Exceedingly young members is intrigued to calligraphy and meaning.Parents like I-Hsin Lee McConnell are enthusiastic about the club, her daughter joined the troupe a month ago.“Since she is born in America, I think it’s important for her to connect with the ancient culture that I grew up with.This is something that she doesn’t get much exposure to, so this is a way to get back to her roots, her ancient roots.”
中国青年俱乐部成立于1939年，一直积极参与华盛顿的社区团体，展示各种文化项目，其中包括颇负盛名的舞狮活动。现今，舞狮表演已经传到了第三代人。这些俱乐部成员年龄很小，还对书法艺术很感兴趣。包括鑫·李·麦康奈尔在内的很多家长，都对俱乐部表现出极大的热情，一个月前，她的女儿加入了舞狮团。“她出生在美国，所以我认为，对于她来说，和这种古老的文化产生联系十分重要，我就是在这种文化氛围中长大的。她没能接触到这种文化，所以这是一种途径，让她感受古老的传统，找寻自己文化的‘根’。”

It might look easy, but the lion dance requires tough physical condition and superb acrobatics skills.The hardest move-trainer Steven Lee is to jump and stand on his partner’s shoulders.Sometimes, even he can’t avoid accidents.
看起来或许很简单，但舞狮需要强壮的体格和高超的杂技表演技巧。教练史蒂文·李需要完成一个高难度动作：跳上并站立在另一位舞狮者的肩头。有时候，就连他也不能避免意外发生。

“Last (time when) we are practicing, I sat on someone’s head and we are attempting to do the short stand,so I started to stand and I swayed back and I fell back where is in... it’s... I’m okay now.It’s maybe like two years ago.”
“有次我们在练习的时候，我坐在另一位舞狮者的头上，我们想尝试做出站立的动作，我慢慢站起来，结果身体后仰，摔了下去，嗯，不过我现在已经没事了。这应该是两年前的事了。”

Fellow trainer Jason Lee has been lion dancing since he was six.He says this is an important tradition in his family and he believes that learning and preserving it has a reach to his identity.“I want to pass on what I’ve learned to other, not necessarily Chinese members, but other people in the community.It doesn’t matter what ethnicity it is, they just need to get this exposure, it’s like learning a new dance.If you’re learning a new dance in another culture, kind of you wanna see like what they do, how did they do this dance.It’s the same for me, I want to step out the community, more about it out reach, far more about it out reach for me.”
詹森·李也是一名教练，六岁起他就开始学习舞狮。他说道，舞狮是他们家族一项重要的传统，并且相信，学习、保护舞狮的传统有助于实现自我的身份认同感。“我想把我学到的这些传递给其他人，不一定非得是华人，也包括社区里其他的人。这与种族没有关系，他们需要接触到这些东西，就好比学习一种新的舞蹈。如果一个人学习异域文化的一种舞蹈，他就会希望观察这种文化所养育的人们的行为，以及他们跳舞的方式。我也一样，我想要走出社区，去传播这种文化。”

That’s a common goal, “I think I would hope she continues with this cause this is part of her culture.And you now, even though I’m Asian, I was born in Taiwan, I was never given the chance to participate in a lion dance.And as a kid, I was always very envious of other children, other adults who got to dance.So now she gets to participate, and I hope she keeps up with it.”
这是一个共同的目标，“在我看来，我很希望女儿继续学习舞狮，因为这是自身文化的一部分。虽然我是亚洲人，出生在台湾，但我个人从来没有机会参加舞狮活动。小时候，我特别羡慕那些能参加舞狮的孩子和大人。现在她有机会参加，我希望她能坚持下去。”

Even thousands of kilometers away from their homeland, Chinese communities are finding that this ancient dance will help younger generations embrace their cultural roots.
虽然与祖国相距甚远，海外华人认为，舞狮这一古老传统能帮助年轻一代拥抱中华文化的“根”。

From Gaithersburg Maryland, Rivan Dwiastono, VOA News.
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