With the year of the rabbit arriving in less than a month, people have started thinking about praying for a trouble-free year ahead, and have begun to ask temple workers how to keep the god Taisui happy.
Taisui rules over all other gods. He commands respect, and it is dangerous to anger him, as this will always lead to misfortune. The lunar almanac for the year of the rabbit was published early last month, and it shows that people born in previous years of the rabbit risk offending Taisui this year. The rooster is diametrically opposite the rabbit [on the Chinese zodiac wheel], and the horse and rat command the sides of the perpendicular axis of the wheel. It is therefore advisable for people born under these four zodiac years to go to temples to worship Taisui.
Temple workers have found that in recent years young people have been praying to Taisui with specific themes, rather than the traditional generalized prayers. Some people have been asking for a better relationship with their partner, others for luck with their finances, and others for success in civil service examinations.
PHOTO: MENG CHING-TZU, LIBERTY TIMES 照片：自由時報記者孟慶慈
The abbot of the Grand Guanyin Pavilion Sing-ji Temple in Tainan City says that the economy really is showing signs of recovery, as people coming to the temple to pray to Taisui are no longer nit picking over the fees. Over the past two years worshippers have been asking for group discounts, or asking whether they could just light one lantern for their whole family.
The abbot discovered that the age-level of people worshipping Taisui has dropped. In the past it was mostly older people, but now quite a few people in their twenties and thirties are coming to worship Taisui on their own behalf.
Interestingly, the younger generation is very specific about what they are praying for. One young couple came to ask Taisui to help them improve their relationship. Some young people are worried their boyfriend or girlfriend has changed, that they have become a little distant, and hope that Taisui can bring back some of the original magic to the relationship.
According to the abbot, prayers to Taisui are usually done prior to the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. An older woman, who was worried her business wasn’t going too well, came to pray to the Taisui of the Year of the Tiger last year and in more recent visits she appears to be in much better spirits.
According to the Web site of the Lugang Mazu Temple in Changhua County, people born under the years of the rabbit, rooster, rat, and horse should worship the Taisui of the year of the rabbit in order to pray for good fortune and avoid misfortune. The ritual of lighting lanterns is for all people, and not necessarily for those who risk offending Taisui, to pray for good health and a bright future. This involves writing down one’s name, date of birth, and address on the lantern, and then praying to the gods to bring good fortune and longevity and protection against bad luck.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY LIN YA-TI)
不到一個月就要迎接兔年，民眾為祈求來年一切順利，已經開始詢問安太歲等事宜。
太歲為百神之主，尊貴不可犯，犯者必凶。兔年農民曆都已在上個月初出版，兔年屬兔者犯太歲，屬雞者正沖，馬、鼠偏沖。因此建議這四個生肖的人，到廟裡安太歲。
廟方人員發現，近年來年輕一輩朝主題式安太歲，而非籠統求平順，有人求感情順利、求財運，也有人求公職考試順利而來安太歲。
台南大觀音亭興濟宮廟祝表示，景氣好像真的好轉，問安太歲的人不太計較費用。前兩年不乏信眾問一次安多人可否打折，或問可否全家共同安一個光明燈。
廟祝發現，安太歲者年齡層亦呈下降趨勢，過去幾乎都是年長者安太歲，現在不少廿、卅歲的民眾自己安太歲。
有趣的是，年輕人主題式安太歲。曾有小情侶為了讓彼此的感情更好而一起安太歲，也有年輕人覺得男、女朋友最近不太一樣，有點冷淡，希望藉由安太歲讓感情恢復甜蜜。
廟祝說，安太歲一般都是元宵節前安，也就是農曆正月十五日。一名輕熟女因為覺得生意不太順，去年來安虎年太歲，最近見她來廟裡祈福，神情輕快許多。
根據彰化縣鹿港天后宮的網站，兔年安太歲，適用對象肖兔、雞、鼠、馬之犯太歲民眾，為了要趨吉避凶，必須安太歲。光明燈適用於本命年犯太歲者，亦適用於非犯太歲者，以祈求身體健康，前程光明。點光明燈即是將姓名、生辰、住址書寫於燈上，拜請神明保佑，增福益壽，避免運途不順。
（自由時報記者孟慶慈）
Street lights are often taken for granted until a power outage plunges the world into darkness. When that happens, the value of these lighting installations becomes evident as the world turns into a more dangerous place for pedestrians and motorists alike. The Chinese could claim to be the first to have constructed a crude type of street light. Around 500 BC, residents of Beijing employed a type of street lamp that used hollow bamboo pipes and natural gas vents to create burning torches. Later, ancient Romans adopted lamps fueled by vegetable oil, which relied on slaves to light and
A: Who else is on Billboard’s list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century?” B: No. 15 to 6 are: Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Usher, Adele, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Britney Spears. A: I can’t believe that Adele’s only at No. 10. B: No. 5 to 1 are: Lady Gaga, Drake, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Beyonce. A: Well, they surely deserve the honor. A: 《告示牌》雜誌的「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」，還有誰上榜啊？ B: 第15至6名是：麥莉希拉、大賈斯汀、妮姬米娜、阿姆、亞瑟小子、愛黛兒、亞莉安娜、小賈斯汀、肯伊威斯特、小甜甜布蘭妮。 A: 真不敢相信愛黛兒只排第10名。 B: 第5至1名是：女神卡卡、德瑞克、蕾哈娜、泰勒絲、碧昂絲。 A: 這幾位真是實至名歸！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: The 21st Century is now entering its 25th year. B: So Billboard has released a list: “The 25 greatest pop stars of the 21st Century.” A: Who are the greatest pop singers? B: No. 25 to 16 are: Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny, One Direction, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, BTS, The Weeknd, Shakira and Jay-Z. A: Wow, my favorite K-pop supergroup BTS has made it to the list. A: 21世紀正在邁入第25個年頭了。 B: 《告示牌》雜誌特別公布：「21世紀最偉大的25位流行歌手」。 A: 最偉大的歌手有哪些？ B: 第25至16名是：凱蒂佩芮、紅髮艾德、壞痞兔、1世代、小韋恩、火星人布魯諾、防彈少年團（BTS）、威肯、夏奇拉、Jay-Z。 A: 哇，我最愛的韓流天團BTS也上榜了！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
Spoiler alert and shift blame 破梗&甩鍋 在新冠疫情期間，無論是因為封城 (lockdown) 還是居家隔離 (self-isolation at home)，人們關在家中使用網路的時間大增。這也讓一些原本只存在於網路論壇的用語廣為普及。我們來談一下破梗 (spoiler alert) 與甩鍋 (shift blame) 這兩個用語。 有位古典文學教授 Joel Christensen 針對領導統御與疫情控制寫了一篇以古喻今、相當深入的文章：“Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales”，文中出現一些講法，可用來翻譯上述的流行語： In the 5th century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins Oedipus Tyrannos with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. (Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.) (Joel Christensen, “Plagues follow bad leadership in ancient Greek tales,” The Conversation, March 12, 2020) 作者提到 Oedipus（伊底帕斯）想找出瘟疫何以降臨他的城邦的緣由，加了一句：Spoiler alert: It’s his own bad leadership.（破梗：領導無方）。Spoiler alert 就是「破梗」，如果用在有人洩漏電影劇情的情境中，也可以翻作「小心爆雷」或「劇透警告」。疫情之下，在家看影集、電影成了很多人的娛樂，但要小心劇透 (spoilers)，很多 YouTube 上的影評在開頭也都會說 Spoiler alert!，警告還沒看過電影的觀眾小心爆雷、劇透。 至於「甩鍋」，源自大陸網民用語，通常意指某人犯了錯之後想推卸責任、轉移焦點、甚至讓別人背黑鍋的做法。疫情爆發後，相關網路資訊量爆增，許多中國網民也想找人為這場疫情負責，紛紛呼籲地方政府首長、地方黨書記不要「甩鍋」。 其實，在古代文學《奧德賽》中，就有「將自己的責任怪罪眾神」的說法，試用時下流行的「甩鍋」來重新翻譯： Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering, but they experience
RSS