中华文化英文讲系列：吃吃喝喝的那些事儿

上一期在讲主食故事的时候，我们就提到了历史上的“五谷”以及在当今中国人饮食文化中占据主要地位的“稻米”和“小麦”。水稻、糯稻所产的粮食经过必要的加工分别成为大米、糯米，小麦则经过碾皮，成为面粉。勤劳智慧的中国人民在漫长的历史发展中，用这些粮食制作出了不同种类的主食，丰富了中华饮食文化。传统上，南方主食以稻米为主，而北方则以小麦制作的面粉为主。但是，随着时代的变迁以及物流交通和农业技术的发展，这种分化越来越不明显，尤其是稻米，已经成为南北方共同的主食，在中国主食结构中的支配地位不可撼动。

大家对大米（rice）、小麦（wheat）、面粉（flour）这些词的英文表达都很熟悉，可是碰到糯米，就不知道用英语该怎么说了。我们知道，糯米产自糯稻，糯稻和水稻类似，加工出来的米粒也与大米类似，因此有时我们可借用rice这个词表达糯米的意思。但是通常情況下，还是需要与rice作区分。糯米与大米在口感上最大的不同就是糯米更有黏性。那么“黏性”这个词用英语如何表述？英语里有一个词是glue，《柯林斯高阶英汉双解学习词典》（下文简称《柯林斯》）对其的解释是“a sticky substance used for joining things together， often for repairing broken things”，也就是“胶水”的意思。由glue派生出的形容词glutinous则指very sticky （黏质的）。因此，glutinous rice就可以指“糯米”。当然，sticky也有“黏糊糊的”之意，《柯林斯》对其的解释是：“A sticky substance is soft， or thick and liquid， and can stick to other things. Sticky things are covered with a sticky substance.”所以，在英美国家的书籍和报刊中，也有用sticky rice来指“糯米”的。

关于英文中的flour这个词，大家可能只是把它理解为“面粉”。其实，我们在它的英文释义中可以发现flour指所有由粮食作物加工成的“粉状”物质。《柯林斯》的解释是：“a white or brown powder that is made by grinding grain used to make bread， cakes， and pastry.”Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English （下文简称Longman）的解释是：“a powder that is made by crushing wheat or other grain and is used for making bread， cakes， etc.”这两个解释里都包含了一个核心词powder，首先flour是一种“粉末”。但是，flour并不是单指小麦磨出的粉。这一点《柯林斯》说的是grinding grain，grain包含了wheat，但并不仅仅是wheat，所有谷物、粮食都可以统称为grain。而Longman则说得更为明确：wheat or other grain。厘清这个词的内涵和外延，对于我们介绍中国主食尤为关键。中国的主食里，由小麦以外的不同谷物碾磨成粉制作的食品种类繁多，如米粉、糯米粉做成的汤圆、元宵，小米面做成的黄米馍馍等。

关于主食情况的介绍，可以参考以下英文表达。

It is well-known that people in northern and southern China traditionally preferred different staple foods， namely wheaten flour and pounded rice respectively. Thanks to the progress of agricultural technology， transportation and logistics， however， the diversity of staple food preferences has weakened. Rice is now the principal staple of a Chinese diet for both northerners and southerners. Glutinous rice， another kind of rice， which is stickier than ordinary rice has also become popular on peoples dining tables， especially in the south， as it can be prepared into various kinds of delicious food. The Chinese also make flour from wheat， rice， glutinous rice and millet which can then be used in many tasty recipes.

由米制成的主食

将水稻舂出的米粒放在水里煮熟，就成就了中国人餐桌上常见的主食——大米饭。一碗米饭对于中国人来说是再平常不过了。值得称道的是，大米除了煮饭，还能变换出多种花样，制作成米线、米糕等非同寻常的主食。

米线就是将大米经过浸泡、沥干后，将米碾成面，制作成类似面条的食品。关于米线的起源，众说纷纭，但是不可否认的是，它是南北交融的产物。有一种说法是，北方人爱吃面条，吃不惯米饭，但是北方人到了南方，只能用大米制作主食，因此他们就想出用大米做米线的办法，也算是模拟出了面条的感觉。而米糕就类似于馒头，做法是将大米和糯米混合浸泡、沥干后碾成面，制成面团后蒸熟。

米线因酷似面条，而且它的来源与面条密不可分，所以通常被译为rice noodle。可是，“米糕”是不是可以译成rice cake呢？习惯上，rice cake指的是“年糕”，是由糯米制作的一种主食，而pudding更符合“米糕”的特点。《柯林斯》还专门对rice pudding进行了解释：“Rice pudding is a dessert made from rice， milk， and sugar.”虽然中国的传统米糕不用牛奶，但这个解释毕竟很符合“米糕”的特点了。

上述内容用英文表达，可以参考下文。

It is common for Chinese people to have a bowl of rice at the table for lunch or dinner. In addition to the humble bowl of rice， Chinese people have created a variety of other staple foods from this grain. For example， rice noodles and rice pudding. Noodles are produced by soaking the uncooked grain in water， draining it and then crushing in to produce rice flour which can then be made into noodles. Legend goes that rice noodles originated from the encounters of northern and southern people in ancient times. When people from the north， who were used to eating wheat-based products， travelled south， they couldnt get used to the taste of steamed rice. Thus they figured out an alternative way to satisfy their stomachs. The making of rice pudding is similar to that of rice noodles but with an additional ingredient of glutinous rice. The difference is that the rice flour is prepared into dough， which is then steamed before eating.

由糯米制成的主食

除了大米，南方人還种植糯米，并将糯米做成各种食品。其中比较典型的就是年糕。在南方很多地方，每到农历年底，四方八邻的人们聚集在石臼旁，用特制的木槌敲打糯米面，名曰“打年糕”。打年糕已经不再局限于制作一种食品，更是人们欢庆新春的一种娱乐方式。糯米面团裹上馅儿，还可以做成汤圆和元宵。吃汤圆和元宵也是春节里流传很久的风俗。

上述内容，可以参考如下英文表达。

People in the south of China plant glutinous rice as well as ordinary rice and cook it into a great diversity of foods. Niangao， meaning the New Year cake， also called rice cake in English， is a typical kind of food， specially made during the Spring Festival. People in the neighborhood all gather around the stone mortar， to help with the “strike，” striking the dough of glutinous rice， with a wooden hammer. The striking of rice cake is not only a way of making food， but also an amusement for celebrating the lunar New Year， and has been passed down through generations as a custom as well. Yuanxiao， or tangyuan， sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour for the Lantern Festival， are usually eaten at the end of the Spring Festival and are filled with sesame， peanut butter or even pork. Recent years have also witnessed innovation of the fillings which have now extended to chocolate， strawberry jam or blueberry jam.

每年的端午节，也就是农历五月初五，中国人会将糯米裹在粽叶里，再加入一些馅料，做成粽子，以纪念爱国诗人屈原。相传在农历五月初五这一天，屈原因不满当政者腐败，不堪目睹国之将亡的惨状，愤而投江。人们感念他的高风亮节，就在江中投下用糯米包裹的粽子喂鱼，祈求鱼虾不要食用他的尸体。

关于端午节的来历，可以参考如下英文表达。

Every year on May 5th of the lunar calendar， in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan， Chinese people make zongzi， a traditional Chinese pudding， by wrapping glutinous rice with reed leaves and filling them in the middle. On that day， Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river in despair at the tragedy of the corruption and incompetency which had led to the conquering of his homeland. In appreciation of his nobility of character and exemplary conduct， people dropped zongzi into the river to feed the fish and shrimps， praying that they would not eat his body. The tradition of eating zongzi on that day has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

米粥的熬制

大米和糯米还可以同豆类以及其他谷类一起熬粥。一锅粥可以有各种不同的食材，除了诸如谷物，还可以搭配坚果、枣等各种营养食品。在南方，有的粥里还会有蔬菜、猪肉、鱼肉等。比如，进入腊月，迎接春节，过腊八节，喝腊八粥，这种粥就是由大米、小米、糯米配上红枣、干桂圆、核桃等多种干果熬制成的。

需要注意的是“粥”这个词的翻译，我们一般就是译成porridge。大家仔细看一下porridge的含义。《柯林斯》对其的解释是：“a thick sticky food made from oats cooked in water or milk and eaten hot， especially for breakfast.”再看看Longman的解释：“oats that are cooked with milk or water and served hot for breakfast.”很明显，在英语里，porridge只是指“燕麦粥”，要表达我们的“粥”这个含义，可以借用porridge這个词，但在前面加一个rice就不会让外国人产生误解了。

上述有关粥的内容，可以用英文表达如下。

Rice porridge， another kind of common food on Chinese peoples dining tables， is always cooked with a variety of ingredients in addition to ordinary rice or glutinous rice. Nuts， Chinese jujubes and any nutritious food can be used in rice porridge. In southern China， even vegetables， pork， fish and offal are put in rice porridge. On Dec 8th of the lunar calendar， to welcome the incoming Spring Festival， people cook and have a special kind of rice porridge with rice， glutinous rice， Chinese jujubes， walnuts， and preserved longan.

“一条大河波浪宽，风吹稻花香两岸”，这首脍炙人口的《我的祖国》，伴随了几代中国人的成长，这两岸的“稻花香”可能也正是海内外炎黄子孙一辈子魂牵梦绕的中国情、中国心、中国结。

上述内容可以用英文表达如下。

The lyrics of a patriotic song My Homeland read “The waves of a great river broad， the paddies along the banks fragrant， with a breeze gently swaying.” Appealing to several generations of Chinese， the song accompanies them in their growth and witnesses the progress of a nation. The fragrance of rice must be the taste of the Chinese， the root of the Chinese， and the spirit of the Chinese.