This time last year… The phrase that recently lit up social media is both poignant and sickening in equal parts. When Covid 19 began subjectively for each of us is a tale our grandchildren shall endure on par with the Moon Landing and 9/11 stories. For the most part, the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations in 2020 were an altogether different colour to 2021.
去年的这个时候……最近社交媒体上的这句话既凄美又令人恶心。 当新冠肺炎对我们每个人来说主观地开始时，这是一个故事，我们的孙子孙女将与登月和9/11故事相提并論。 在大多数情况下，2020年中国新年庆祝活动的开始与2021年完全不同。
So much has changed since last Lunar New Year, in many ways the world is now unrecognisable. In others, it remains stoically, solidly the same. Routine proves a bastion of tranquility in the eye of the tempest of change that is our present. New Year rolls around, pandemic or no pandemic, as did Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. Much like the ship of Theseus, which bobbed in the Mediterranean as a memorial to Theseus’ heroic slaying of The Minotaur, these cultural celebrations bob in the sea of daily uncertainties that drive even the most stoic of us to bow our heads at times.
自去年农历新年以来，发生了如此多的变化，在许多方面，世界现在都无法辨认。 在其他人中，它仍然坚忍不拔，坚定地保持不变。 例行公事证明了我们当下的变化风暴眼中的宁静堡垒。 新年是大流行或非大流行，排燈节、光明節和圣诞节也是如此。 就像忒修斯的船在地中海摇摆，以纪念忒修斯英勇地杀死牛头怪一样，这些文化庆祝活动在日常不确定的海洋中摇摆，甚至让我们最坚忍不拔的人有时会低头。
On New Year’s Eve as the clock strikes 12, Irish folk open the front door and sweep out the old year. On the stroke of midnight, we welcome in the New. This we can still do. Some things don’t change.
除夕夜，当时钟敲响12点时，爱尔兰人打开前门，扫除旧年。 在午夜的敲击中，我们迎接新。 我们仍然可以做到这一点。 有些事情不会改变。
And some things do.
有些事情确实。
The paradox of The Ship of Theseus was thus posed by Plutarch, the Ancient Greek philosopher (ca. 45–120 CE). If over time, the planks of wood and sections of sails and mast and everything is replaced, at what point does the ship cease to be the “original” ship of Theseus? Is it when the first plank is removed? Or somewhere in the middle? Plank 698 perhaps? How much can a thing change and still be considered to be the same?
因此，古希腊哲学家普鲁塔克提出了《忒修斯之船》的悖论（约 公元45-120年）。 如果随着时间的推移，木板、帆和桅杆以及所有东西都被替换了，那么这艘船什么时候就不再是忒修斯的“原始”船了？ 是第一个木板被移除的时候吗？ 还是在中间的某个地方？ 或许是木板698？ 一件事情能改变多少，并且仍然被认为是相同的？
This is my 9th Chinese New Year. Much has changed since that first, freezing fracas back in 2013. The windows shuddered and babies bawled into the wee hours of the morning as fireworks whistled into the velvet night sky and exploded outside our seventh-floor apartment. A lucky number in Western mystical lore, it means nothing in Chinese and for my first Chinese New Year, F.O.B. (Fresh-off-the-Boat) that I was, not my seventh-floor apartment nor lucky four leafed clover, not my scapular of the Virgin Mary from Lourdes nor the sea of votive candles Grandma burned for our safe return assuaged the horror of that first cacophony of light and sound in the dead of night.
这是我的第9个中国新年。 自2013年第一次冻结起重来，变化很大。 窗户颤抖着，婴儿在凌晨时分嚎叫着，烟花在天鹅绒般的夜空中呼啸，在我们七楼的公寓外爆炸。 西方神秘传说中的幸运数字，在中文中毫无意义，对于我的第一个中国新年，F.O.B.（刚下船），我不是我的七楼公寓，也不是幸运的四叶三叶草，也不是我来自卢尔德的圣母玛利亚的肩胛骨，也不是祖母为我们安全返回而燃烧的许愿蜡烛的海洋，减轻了深夜中第一次光和声音的不和谐的恐怖。
Now called Lunar New Year, an act of inclusivity which recognises the celebration of the same holiday widely throughout Asia, CNY has undergone some pretty cathartic changes over the last nine years, the change in nomenclature perhaps the least significant despite being the most obvious. In no particular order, here are some things that have evolved since the Blitzkrieg of 2013.
现在被称为农历新年，这是一种包容性的行为，在整个亚洲广泛承认同一节日的庆祝活动，春节在过去九年中经历了一些相当宣泄的变化，尽管最明显，但命名法的变化也许是最不重要的。 没有特定的顺序，以下是自2013年闪电战以来的一些演变。
It is no longer an absolute and total mystery to me. Like fellow author Chesna Goel, I too made a mess of figuring out my Chinese Zodiac animal. Us early January babies may possibly belong to the tail end of the old Zodiac animal, rather than that of their birth year, so instead of being a newly-hatched Rooster, I am in fact a Mature Monkey. In fairness, anyone who knows me could have told you that. The only traits I share with the rooster are the proclivity for chasing people out of my space and pecking their eyes out when they disturb me whilst introverting. Apart from that, it’s Monkey-Mania here. Mischievous, impulsive and liable to flee up a tree at the first sign of danger, the Monkey is liked well enough amongst the Zodiac animals of China except for when it’s wigging out and flinging monkey missiles at unexpected visitors.
对我来说，这不再是绝对和完全的谜团。 和作家Chesna Goel一样，我也搞得一团糟，弄乱了我的中国十二生肖动物。 我们一月初的婴儿可能属于古老的十二生肖动物的尾端，而不是它们出生年份的尾端，所以我不是一只新孵化的公鸡，而是一只成熟的猴子。 公平地说，任何认识我的人都可以告诉你。 我和公鸡共享的唯一特質是把人赶出我的空间的倾向，当他们在内向的同时打扰我时，会啄出他们的眼睛。 除此之外，这里是Monkey-Mania。 猴子调皮、冲动，一有危险就会从树上逃跑，在中国的十二生肖动物中很受欢迎，除了它向不速之客发射猴子导弹时。
I asked around the younger local populace about the Zodiac signs that were more or less appealing to the up-and-coming Chinese generation. It appears not much has changed in the popularity stakes; Dragon and Tiger heading up the polls for best Zodiac sign, Rat and Pig lingering at the other end of the list. It does seem rather unfortunate to be assigned with unflattering characteristics at birth, but one of the charms of the Chinese Zodiac is its forthright frankness. It calls a spade a spade, and recognises that all signs, like all humans, have their virtues and their vices.
我向当地年轻人询问了对新兴中国一代或多或少有吸引力的十二生肖。 人气似乎没有什么变化；龙和虎在最佳十二生肖的民意调查中名列前茅，老鼠和猪在名单的另一端徘徊。 出生时被赋予不光彩的特征似乎相当不幸，但中国十二生肖的魅力之一是它直率的坦率。 它称它为黑桃，并认识到所有迹象，就像所有人类一样，都有其美德和恶习。
In demystifying CNY and the mystery of the Zodiac animals, I also learned much about people’s perceptions of good and bad, right and wrong. The origin myth of the Chinese Zodiac tells that the rat came first in the race of animals organised by the Jade Emperor to establish the order of the Zodiac
在揭开春节和十二生肖动物的神秘面纱时，我还学到了很多关于人们对善与坏、对与错的看法。 中国黄道十二宫的起源神话说，老鼠在玉皇大帝为建立黄道十二宫秩序而组织的动物种族中排名第一
Hopping off the head of the noble Ox just before the finish line, the rat secured first place for himself. It was certainly not a principled means of winning the challenge. And still, life goes on. Life is a daily juggling act of decisions and judgement and shots in the dark. Sometimes, we just do what we can to survive. The wheel keeps turning, though, and each new day is a new opportunity to juggle some more, drop the ball better.
就在终点线之前，这只老鼠从高贵的牛的头上跳下来，为自己赢得了第一名。 这当然不是赢得挑战的原则性手段。 不过，生活还在继续。 生活是每天的决策、判断和在黑暗中射击的杂耍行为。 有时，我们只是尽我们所能生存。 然而，车轮一直在转动，每一天都是一个新的机会，可以更好地处理一些杂耍，更好地丢球。
The all-night pyromaniac, festival of light no longer steals the sleep of the uninterested. Government restrictions on the use of fireworks since 2014 have rendered them almost obsolete within the city limits. The occasional renegade will set off a firecracker to scare away the “Nian” and other evil spirits around CNY, but strict prohibitions have reduced waste pollution, air pollution and noise pollution so considerably, it’s a whole new CNY experience. One that doesn’t end in a bout of shell shock, in my case.
通宵狂热，光明节不再偷走不感兴趣的人的睡眠。 自2014年以来，政府对烟花使用的限制使烟花在城市范围内几乎过时。 偶尔的叛徒会放鞭炮，吓跑春节周围的“年”和其他邪灵，但严格的禁令大大减少了废物污染、空气污染和噪音污染，这是一个全新的春节体验。 就我而言，不会以一次炮弹休克结束。
Another big shift has occurred in the pulse of the city itself. It no longer falls into a total, complete Post-Zombie apocalypse dead zone. My first CNY was spent wandering the empty streets of Xianlin wondering where all the people had gone. It was perfectly mysterious. One day, the neighbourhood was a flurry of red lanterns and smiling snakes, the 2013 CNY Zodiacal animal. And the next, there wasn’t a soul in sight, every noodle shop, street vendor and blessed living business closed its doors and the people vanished. My cultural ignorance had not prepared me for the silence. Back in 2013, grocery shopping via the Hema App had not yet revolutionised the life of the working mother. We didn’t starve, but we bought some pretty gnarly-looking vegetables in Suguo and started to look funny at the goldfish at one point. Then, as suddenly as the world shut down, it opened back up again, and on life slithered like the tenacious and clever snake.
城市本身的脉搏发生了另一个重大转变。 它不再完全陷入僵尸后世界末日的死区。 我的第一个春节是在仙林空荡荡的街道上闲逛，想知道所有的人都去了哪里。 它非常神秘。 有一天，附近一連串的紅燈籠和微笑的蛇，2013年春節十二生肖動物。 接下来，一个灵魂都看不见了，每家面条店、街头小贩和幸福的生活企业都关门了，人们也消失了。 我的文化无知并没有让我为沉默做好准备。 早在2013年，通过Hema应用程序购买杂货还没有彻底改变工作母亲的生活。 我们没有捱餓，但我们在Suguo买了一些看起来很粗糙的蔬菜，一度开始看着金鱼看起来很有趣。 然后，当世界突然关闭时，它又重新打开了，生活像一条顽强而聪明的蛇一样滑行。
One of the biggest changes of all will be the wide-scale decision not to travel for CNY this year, given the risk of contagion and transmission of the virus. The response of locals and expats alike has been supportive of this initiative, and yet, will this be the plank that breaks the Ox’s back? How can a species so designed for interaction bear the ignominy of separation during our most treasured times?
鉴于病毒的传染和传播风险，最大的变化之一是今年决定不为人民币旅行。 当地人和外籍人士的反应都支持这一倡议，然而，这会是打破牛背的木板吗？ 在我们最珍贵的时代，一个为互动而设计的物种怎么能忍受分离的侮辱呢？
We bear it because nature has also endowed us with the knack of pragmatism. A ship is a ship, when all is said and done. Though changes may come too fast and too frequently at times, it is always better to replace a rotten board before it gives way. A sturdy ship is built and maintained by changing that which is necessary and maintaining the rest. The business of life is learning the wisdom to know the difference.
我们忍受它，因为大自然也赋予了我们实用主义的诀窍。 说到做到，船就是船。 虽然有时变化可能来得太快和太频繁，但最好在腐烂的木板让路之前更换它。 一艘坚固的船是通过改变必要的东西和维护其余的来建造和维护的。 人生的事业是学习智慧来了解区别。
Xin Nian Kuai Le.
新年快乐。
