| The day of the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Moon Festival, falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, and usually in late September or in early October according to the Gregorian calendar. This year, the festival falls on October 3. |
每年陰歷八月十五日是中國(guó)的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日中秋節(jié)，通常是在公歷九月末或十月初，今年的中秋節(jié)是公歷十月三日。 |
| As the day draws near, mooncakes become the most popular food and a gift given to mark the occasion. With the range of mooncakes changing constantly, a new variety, packaged in wooden, bamboo, and silk boxes, has been prevailing on the market. These luxuriantly packaged mooncakes are selling well both in supermarkets and hotels around the country. |
隨著中秋節(jié)一天天的臨近，月餅成為這一時(shí)期的搶手貨和禮品。隨著月餅種類的不斷變化，一種新型的木制、竹制和絲制包裝盒的月餅在市場(chǎng)上開始流行。這種豪華包裝的月餅在國(guó)內(nèi)的各大超市和酒店十分走俏。 |
| Some producers obviously believe that people will be more likely to purchase their mooncakes if the packaging is extremely attractive, and they even add “gifts” inside such as bottles of wine or a small golden figure of Buddha. |
一些廠商顯然相信如果月餅的包裝極度引人注目，人們就一定會(huì)購(gòu)買，有些廠商甚至將瓶裝酒或金制佛像這類“禮品”裝在月餅盒中。 |
| Most of the luxury boxes are thrown away after the mooncakes have been eaten. I remember during my childhood, mooncakes came only in paper cartons with beautiful designs printed on them. It seems that Chinese people now have a tendency to pursue luxury after the “problem of adequate food and clothing” has been settled. What a waste! |
人們通常在吃完月餅后就將這些豪華月餅盒扔掉了。我記得我小時(shí)候月餅是被包在印有漂亮圖案的紙盒里。中國(guó)人現(xiàn)在好像在“溫飽問題得以解決之后”有一種追求豪華的趨勢(shì)。 |
| It is a Chinese tradition to visit others with presents, usually food, during festivals. People usually choose those with good-looking packages for the sake of “face”, no matter the true value of the food itself. However, tradition should not become an excuse for waste in a timber-deficient nation like China. |
節(jié)日期間帶禮品走親訪友是中國(guó)人的傳統(tǒng)，這些禮品通常是食品。人們?yōu)榱?span lang="EN-US">“面子”上過得去通常選擇那些包裝好看的食品，很少考慮食品本身的價(jià)值。然而，傳統(tǒng)不應(yīng)該被當(dāng)成浪費(fèi)的借口，尤其是在中國(guó)這樣一個(gè)木材缺少的國(guó)家。 |
| Some Chinese experts estimate that 10 million wooden mooncake boxes require the felling of over 100 trees, each with a diameter of at least 10 centimeters. In a sense, Chinese consumers are not only eating mooncakes; they are devouring a lot of trees, too! |
據(jù)中國(guó)專家統(tǒng)計(jì)，每一千萬盒月餅需要砍伐一百棵直徑至少十厘米的樹木。在某種意義上說，中國(guó)消費(fèi)者消費(fèi)的不僅僅是月餅，也在消費(fèi)著許許多多的樹木。 |
| China is not particularly rich in woodland resources. Only 16.55 percent of its territory is covered by forests, ranking 111th in the world. This cannot possibly satisfy the needs of 1.3 billion people accounting for more than 20 percent of the world’s total population. |
中國(guó)的林木資源很不豐富。中國(guó)國(guó)土的森林覆蓋率只有16.55%，位于世界第111位。這遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不能滿足占世界人口20%的13億中國(guó)人的需要。 |
| Currently a “green packaging” drive has been prevailing around the world. Germany has introduced a “Law of Recycling Economy”. Denmark has been the lead in implementing the system of “green tax”. Over-packaging is illegal in South Korea. Many countries demand manufacturers, importers and retailers to take the responsibilities for recycling and remanufacturing of package materials. These practices deserve some consideration in China. |
目前一場(chǎng)“綠色包裝”運(yùn)動(dòng)正在全世界展開。德國(guó)引進(jìn)了“循環(huán)經(jīng)濟(jì)法”。丹麥引帶頭實(shí)施“環(huán)保稅”。過度包裝在韓國(guó)屬于違法行為。許多國(guó)家要求生產(chǎn)廠家、進(jìn)口商和批發(fā)商對(duì)包裝材料的循環(huán)使用和再生產(chǎn)負(fù)責(zé)。這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)值得中國(guó)借鑒。 |
| Every year before the Mid-Autumn Festival, I receive a few boxes of mooncakes as presents from my friends and relatives and most of these gifts are in the most luxuriant packaging. However, I seldom eat these mooncakes, but, instead, give them to other friends and relatives. To treat myself and my daughter, I buy non-packaged cakes, which are much cheaper than their luxury equivalents. They also taste very delicious. Sometimes I buy mooncakes after the festival because they are then more than 50 percent cheaper! |
每年中秋節(jié)前我都收到親朋好友贈(zèng)送的一些月餅，這些月餅大多都包裝十分豪華。但是我很少吃這些月餅，事實(shí)上，我把它們又轉(zhuǎn)送給別的親朋好友。我通常買些簡(jiǎn)易包裝的月餅來給我自己和我女兒吃，這些月餅比那些豪華包裝的月餅便宜得多，但味道也很好。有時(shí)候，我甚至在中秋節(jié)后買些月餅，因?yàn)槟菚r(shí)候的價(jià)格往往比節(jié)前便宜一半還多。
(China.org.cn 李京榮 譯) |
