【双语】中国人的家庭​ The Chinese Family

对中国人来说, 家庭是神圣的。因此中国人无论走到哪里都忘不了自己的家庭。

Families are sacred to the Chinese. Chinese people, wherever they may be, are strongly attached to their families.

从前, 中国人喜欢大家庭, 很多人生活在一起,有的家庭四世同堂——四代人住在一起。一个大家庭就是一个小社会。在这个小社会里等级分明, 辈分最高者地位最高。在封建时代, 几十口人甚至上百口人生活在一起, 如果没有纪律约束是不行的。人们常说“ 国有国法, 家有家规”。封建社会的家规就是一个家庭的法律, 在家里丈夫打妻子, 父亲打儿子是合法的,别人无权干涉。儿女们的生活包括婚姻都由家长主宰。每个大家庭就有自己的宗祠, 在那里供奉着这个家族的祖先。每个人都有义务为自己的祖先增光。

In the old days, Chinese people preferred to live in extended families with up to four generations under the same roof. An extended family was a small society in which everyone has his own place by seniority in the hierarchy. In feudal times it was impossible for large members of people to live together without restraints being placed on their behavior. As the saying goes, “A state has its law and a family its regulations.” In feudal times family regulations are laws in a family in which husbands dominated their wives and fathers their children, including their choice of spouses. No one had the right to interfere if a husband beat his wife or a father beat his son, for these actions were regarded as legal. Every clan set up its ancestral temple where their ancestors were enshrined and worshipped, and it was the duty of every family member to add to the prestige of the family.

现在情况不同了。封建式的大家庭解体了, 以小家庭为主。人们的生活方式发生了很大的变化, 但是人们对家庭的依恋却依然如故。“每逢佳节倍思亲” 是人之常情。

Now things are quite different. The feudal extended family has given way to the nuclear family, and its life style has changed a great deal. However, the Chinese have as strong a sentimental attachment for their families as ever. So, it is quite natural and normal for people “to miss all the more their family members during festivals”.

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