Dragon-Boat Race（2）

赛龙舟（2）

Dragon-boat Race in the Tang Dynasty has been held continously.

龙舟竞赛在唐代已成风俗。

It is recorded that Dragon-boat Race had become a custom in the Tang dynasty.

根据历史资料记载, 到了唐代时期龙舟竞赛活动就已经成为一种风俗。

The two emperors, Tang Xuanzong and Tang Jingzong loved watching it.

唐玄宗、唐敬宗都喜爱观看龙舟竞赛,
Still Tang Jingzong ordered to build 20 immense dragon boats,so that he could enjoy the dragon boat race on the Dragon-boat Festival.

唐敬宗甚至下令建造20艘巨大龙舟, 供自己在端午节时观赏龙舟竞渡之用。

The scale of the dragon-boat races in the Tang dynasty was great.Usually more than ten boats would participate, and then hundreds and thousands of audience would come and cheer.

唐代时龙舟竞渡活动的规模相当宏大, 通常有数十艘巨大的龙舟参赛, 且观者如潮, 喊声震天。

Those who want to win in the race must have the following qualifications.

赢得龙舟竞渡活动必须具备以下条件,

First; the boat must be built with high-qualified wood because the dragon boat is immense, about ten zhangs long.

首先, 必须选择优质木材建造龙舟, 因为龙舟巨大, 一般在10丈左右,

If the wood is too heavy, it will affect its speed, so it is usually made of light fir wood.

如果所用木材过重, 必会影响它的行进速度, 因此, 人们通常用质轻的杉木打造龙舟。

Second, excellent oarsmen should be chosen.

其次, 要有优秀选手。

Only the players who have energy, endurance as well as rowing skills can win the closely fought game.

有了力量又有耐力且掌握了选船技巧的划手, 才能在激烈的竞争中胜出。

In order to select the top oarsmen, a very effective way is discovered: two contestants sit in a boat back to back,and then they row with full energy to the directions they are facing.

为了选拔优秀的划手, 人们发明了一种极为有效的方法:让两位选手背靠背坐在一只小船上, 然后各自用力向自己面对的方向划船, 船移向谁所划的方向,

The one wins when the boat moves to his direction and is elected as the player in the team.

谁就是胜者, 就被选拔到龙舟竞渡队伍中。

Third, an excellent dispatch is very necessary.

再者是要有良好的调度。

Because there are more than ten or even a hundred oarsmen on a dragon boat, it is hard for them to win the game if they are out of step, so an excellent dispatch is necessary for victory.

每艘龙舟上的参赛人员少则十几个人, 多则上百人, 若划手们不能步调一致, 是很难取胜的。为了胜利, 要有优秀的调度。

It is usually, done by putting a drum in the center of the boat, and a strong man is chosen to beat it, which not only lends impetus and strength,

通常是，把鼓放在船的中心，找一个强壮的人敲击大鼓，这不仅是推动力而且是力量，

but helps oarsmen to unity the rhythem accordingly and keeps them in step to win the game in the end. Besides, an excellent coxswain is very important,too.

龙舟要步调一致,才能取得最后的胜利。此外, 还要有好的领向员。

Once the boat sets off, it moves forward like a lightning. if it moves off the right direction, it can hardly be adjusted.

因为龙舟一旦启动, 其行如飞, 若在方向上发生偏差, 很难调整过来。

The method-to scramble for the award is to win, started from the Tang dynasty.

龙舟竞渡中夺标定胜负的比赛方法始于唐朝。

Then two kinds of awards existed: the stationary one or the moving one.

标分两种, 一是固定标, 一是活动标。

The stationary award is usually a prize on the top of pole in the water.The one who gets the prize first wins.

固定标通常是在水中立一杆, 杆上放奖品, 谁先取得奖品, 谁就是赢家；

The moving award is a prize on the blown-up bladder in the water. When the boat approached it，best swimmer jumped into water and got the prize,

活动标把动物膀胱充气后放人水中, 再挂上奖品, 龙舟接近此活动标后, 由一名游泳高手人水夺取此标。

which required the coxswain had correct judgment about the target and guided all the oarsmen to adjust the direction of the boat quickly.

这就要求领向员对目标要有较强的判断力, 并指引全体人员灵活地调整方向。

The Continuous Dragon-Boat Race in China

龙舟竞赛代代相传

Dragon-boat Race in the Song dynasty was as exciting as in Tang.

到了宋代, 龙舟竞渡活动丝毫不逊色于唐代。

First, the emperor and his relatives loved watching the dragon-boat race, so dragon-boat race was often held in the imperial area Jinming Pool in the Capital Bianliang (the modern city Kaifeng in Henan province ).

首先是皇室贵胄极爱观看龙舟竞渡表演, 在京城汴梁(今河南开封)皇家禁地金明池经常进行龙舟竞赛。

Then, the folk dragon-boat race was vigorous. When it came to the Ding dynasty,though Manchu did not have the drag-on-boat race custom,they were moved immediately by the exciting scene of the dragon-boat race and caught up in it.

再者就是民间龙舟竞渡活动轰轰烈烈。到了清朝, 虽然满人没有龙舟竞渡活动的风俗, 但是, 很快被汉人的龙舟竞渡活动的热闹场面所感染, 并陶醉其中。

Therefore, the race surpassed the former dynasties quickly in terms of the number of participants as well as its influence.

因此, 清朝时期的龙舟竞渡活动很快都超过了历代各朝。

Nowadays, dragon-boat race has been a world competitive game. The 1st World Dragon-Boat Championships was held in China in 1995, in which 14 teams from the countries and regions participated.

今天, 龙舟竞渡活动已是一项国际性的比赛活动。1995年, 首届国际龙舟锦标赛在中国举行, 有14个国家和地区派队伍参加了比赛。

The Dragon-boat Race originating from ancient China now influences the world with its special magic power.

龙舟竞渡这项源于古老中国的活动, 正以其特有的魅力影响着世界。