中华文化英文讲系列（5）：跟老外聊聊北京的市井民风

李晶

上回我们说到胡同，胡同里洒满了京腔京韵，而四合院是其重要的组成部分。四合院和胡同一样，也是老北京人的精神家园，那里承载的文化传统也同样让中外游客痴迷。这些年，老外背包客和深度游的外国游客都喜欢去逛逛胡同，感受市井民风。进了胡同，四合院当然是最大的看点。如何将四合院的建筑特色、文化内涵用英语讲解明晰，真成了一件要紧事！接下来，我们就来了解一下北京的四合院，学习介绍四合院的英语表达吧！

北京四合院的起源和建筑特点

北京四合院作为民居的主要形式要追溯到元朝定都北京。“四合院”这三个汉字就体现了这种建筑形式最典型的特点：它是一个院落，四周合围，构成封闭空间。因此，我们在英语里，用quadrangle来命名“四合院”似乎比较恰当。我们来看看《柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典》对这个词的英文释义：“A quadrangle is an open square area with buildings around it， especially in a college or school.”从释义上看，四合院和外国朋友所理解的quadrangle是有一些区别的。因此，我们解释的时候可以多增加一些特点介绍。当然，也可以用courtyard。《柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典》对courtyard的释义是：“A courtyard is an open area of ground which is surrounded by buildings or walls.”从英文解释上看，quadrangle和courtyard这两个单词并无太大区别，只是quadrangle更侧重表达校园的含义。有人之所以选用quadrangle还有一个原因就是它和我们所说的“四合院”中的“四”有一些联系，因为quad-这个词根的意思是“四”。

在向外国朋友介绍四合院的概况时，可以参考下面这段英文表达。

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.

四合院的封闭性一方面源于中国人对于家庭隐私的保护；另一方面，封闭性也有自然和社会因素。从自然环境来说，北京风沙大，特别是冬天，寒风凛冽，四面高墙的四合院可以抵御寒冷的北风和沙尘。从社会环境来看，北京是个大都市，在作为政治文化中心和货物集散中心的同时，人员流动性大，家园的安全就成为一个很现实的问题，四合院的设计就正好考虑到了安全的因素。

上述四合院的封闭性可以用英文表达如下。

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.

北京四合院的内部构造

正如皇帝的宫殿（如故宫）坐北朝南一样，四合院一般也坐北朝南。南面草木繁茂，阳气充足，中国人认为坐北朝南原则是对自然现象的正确认识，顺应天道，受日月之光华，方能获得生理、心理乃至家族运势方面最大的裨益。

这部分内容可以参考如下一段英文表达。

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样，四合院的建筑也遵照了“对称”原则。一个大户人家完整的四合院由南向北包含了大门前的影壁（outside screen wall）、宅门（house gate）、倒座房（亦称“南房”，southern room）、进门后的影壁（inside screen wall）、抄手游廊（veranda）、垂花门（floral pendant gate）、东西厢房（eastern and western wing rooms）、庭院（yard）、正房（亦称“北房”，principal room）、耳房（side room）和后罩房（back room）。中国古代讲究长幼尊卑，男尊女卑，这些也都体现在四合院里各种类型房屋在家庭成员中的分配。正房作为四合院内最好的房屋，是家庭里年长的“家长”起居的地方。东西厢房分别是长子和次子的住所。倒座房一般是给佣人住的，而后罩房主要是未出嫁的女儿的闺房和佣人的房间。

关于四合院的布局，可以用下面这段英文来表达。

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，庭院处于四合院的中心位置，形成了正房、厢房全部正对庭院的开放格局。无论站在正房还是厢房的门前，都能看到眼前一片开阔的庭院。庭院里种植着各种花草树木，寒来暑往，发芽、开花、结果，尽显生命的轮回和交替。有的庭院里摆着金鱼缸、挂着鸟笼，养着各色金鱼和小鸟，鱼翔浅底，鸟鸣争春，生命的色彩在这里更显灿烂。四合院彰显了中华文化中天人合一、人与自然和谐共存的哲学思想。

上面这段内容可以用英文表达如下。

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.

作为家族延续的见证和亲情维系的纽带，四合院将中国人的生活梦想和生存现实联系在一起。中国人重视家庭、渴望亲情的传统价值观念在四合院中体现得淋漓尽致。封闭的四合院是中国人尽享天伦的精神家园。

上面这段内容可以用英文表达如下。

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.