祥瑞vs邪恶？外国人眼中的中国龙（英汉双语版）
中国各式描绘仙奇怪异的文学作品中，龙这种“迷之生物”都不曾缺席过。
作为中华民族最古老的图腾之一，龙通常都是尊贵和祥瑞：和西方神话里的那些为祸人间、最后被勇者或王子暴打的长翅膀+能吐火的大蜥蜴——Dragon，有着显著的不同。
这个文化上的有趣差异，成功引起了新航道济南学校外教James老师的关注。
Q：中国神话里的龙都是正面形象吗示人？
A：也不尽然....
除了“哪吒斗恶龙”的故事之外，热爱中国文化也热爱济南的James老师，还从济南当地的神话中找到一个反例。
这到底是一个怎样的故事呢？别着急，James老师写都在这封信里了，我们来看看吧。
Today I would like to say something about mythology, and more specifically about the subject of dragons. Many people will say to me that in China Dragons have an auspicious meaning, whereas in western countries they are merely evil monsters. As with most discussions about cultural differences this is a gross over-simplification. In many European countries, such as Wales and Romania, dragons have been a symbol of strength and power for centuries. Even to this day the national flag of Wales features a crimson dragon as its major motif. Likewise, in China there are more than enough myths and legends that feature dragons as their wicked antagonists. One of these revolves around the city of Jinan and the Jiaolong, or Flood Dragon.
今天咱们聊聊神话，确切地讲，是聊聊“龙”。不少人会跟我说，龙在中国代表祥瑞，不过到了西方，就成了单纯的邪物。这种说法呢，和大多数有关文化差异的讨论一样，过于“简单粗暴”。比如，几个世纪以来，罗马尼亚和威尔士这些欧洲国家都把龙视为力量和权力的象征。时至今日，一条猩红色龙仍是威尔士国旗的主要图案。同样，中国的神话传说当中也不乏恶龙的形象，其中一个便是围绕着济南城和蛟龙展开的。
济南
This tale features a wonderful cast of characters. The first of whom is the semi-mythical Emperor Shun. Unfortunately, contemporary records of Shun no longer exist, but his story has reportedly been passed down by word of mouth for over four thousand years.
故事里，刻画了许多鲜活的人物形象，其中就包括介乎神话和史实之间的舜帝。不幸的是，关于舜的当时记载已不复存在，但他的故事据说已经被口口相传了4000多年。
However, this story does not really concern itself with Shun the man, but rather the drinking well he left behind, and another legendary figure: Yu the Great, tamer of the Yellow River.
不过，这个故事讲的并非舜他本人，而是他留下的一口井，以及另一个传奇人物——“驯服”黄河的大禹。
The story is set after Shun’s death. Jinan is ravaged by the wanton destruction wreaked upon it by the Jiaolong, whose control of the raging current brings devastation to the people of Jinan. Only Yu has the power to tame the beast, and does so by tricking it into entering the well of Shun and binding it in chains. He leaves it with the prophecy that the dragon will never be free until the chain blooms with flowers.
故事发生在舜死后，蛟龙操控激流怒涛，对济南大肆破坏，人们深受其害。有能力制服蛟龙的只有禹一个人。他把这只凶兽引入舜的井里，留下了封印：铁链不生花朵，恶龙不得挣脱。
It is at this point that the story takes a bizarre twist. As the legend goes, after the passing of many centuries the well was visited by the Song Dynasty poet Li Qingzhao and her maid servant. The servant places her flower-covered bonnet on the post holding the chain and immediately the Flood dragon unleashes a torrent of water which erupts from the opening of the well. Over time the flowers of the bonnet grow and wind their way around the chain until eventually the dragon can escape and never dares to return to Jinan again.
就在这时，故事发生了离奇的转折。相传，几百年之后到了宋朝，诗人李清照和她的侍女来到了这口井。仆人把她插着花的帽子放在缠绕着铁链的柱子上。霎时间，蛟龙立刻从口中喷出水柱，一股急流从井口喷涌而出。帽子上的花竟开始生长并缠绕在铁链上，直到最终恶龙得以逃脱，却再也不敢回济南了。
It is very easy to dismiss mythology as nonsense, but as fantastical as the stories may seem, they do reflect real concerns of the time. The flooding of the Yellow River did bring great suffering to the people, who lived upon its banks, and Yu the Great is the man who is credited with diverting the flow of water, and bringing safety to the river basin.
我们很容易将神话视为无稽之谈，不过，尽管这些故事看起来很离奇，但它们确实反映了当时的情况。黄河的泛滥让两岸的人民苦不堪言；大家认为，是大禹分流了河水，治理了黄河的水患，给黄河流域带来安全的人。
So why did Li Qingzhao appear in this story? Was there another great flood during her lifetime? I would personally speculate that maybe the flood is more representative of a manmade catastrophe. Li Qingzhao lived in Jinan during the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was forced to flee south as the territory was invaded. Could the flood be symbolic of the political struggles that were sweeping through the region at the time?
那么为什么李清照会出现在这个故事里呢？在她的一生中还经历过另一次黄河大洪水吗？我个人推测，也许洪水代表着人祸。北宋末年，李清照在济南生活，由于国家领土沦陷，而被迫向南逃亡。洪水是否是象征着当时席卷该地区的政治斗争呢？
However you choose to interpret the story, there are subtle reminders of it throughout Jinan if you care to look for them. Many road names contain the character Shun, and just opposite one of the opulent, gleaming shopping centres that have sprung up in recent years, there is a small stone well. This is rumoured to be the original well of Shun. Brave visitors to Jinan may wish to take a break from window shopping, peer down the well and stare into the possible lair of Jiaolong the flood dragon!
无论你选择如何解读这个故事，如果你愿意去寻找，济南到处都有关于这个故事的微妙提示。许多道路的名字中都有“舜”这个字。在最近几年建成的富丽堂皇、熠熠生辉的购物中心的对面，有一口小石井。这就是传说中的舜留下的水井。如果你有胆量，来济南逛街逛累了、休息的时候，也不妨向下看一眼井，凝视一下蛟龙的巢穴!
James老师的供稿，无论是这篇，还是之前关于蒲松龄的那一则：中国故事里的“怪力乱神”，为何能让老外上头，都足以成为济南旅游的攻略~
这封来信不但为我们展示了James老师对中国文化的热忱，也告诉了我们：东西方存在文化上的差异，但在一些事物上，双方是可以达成一致的。
一定程度上讲，文化上达成的普世性，是消除沟通隔阂的有效途径。这不但需要我们增进对中国文化的理解，也需要我们打磨好英语水平，将包罗万象的中国故事，讲述给那些像James老师那样渴望了解中国的外国朋友。
我们也希望能看到越来越多的外国人
对中国同样真实的热爱
越来越多的中国故事在这里被讲述
在今天这个全球化时代，文化越来越被看作是一个国家和民族的软实力，重视和挖掘我们深远的传统文化，保持文化的自信、自觉是多么重要。
所以，我们需要一种人才，一种兼具中华文化根基又懂得用国际语言和世界交流的人；我们更需要一种能力，一种既能精通汉语语言文化又能玩转英语世界的能力；
或许，我们还需要一本可以将人才与能力这两个因素连接起来的教材。它不仅要让读者懂得欣赏中国文化，同时要让中国人学会用英语向世界讲述我们自己国家的历史文化。
它就是《用英语讲中国故事》系列丛书。
用英语讲中国故事
由新航道国际教育集团组织国内外教育界、翻译界权威专家编写。本书采用汉英对照形式，通过不同级别内容的变化，帮助青少年中英文阅读和写作能力双重提升。