乙未话羊

Talking of the Sheep in the Yi Wei Year

今年是中国传统的羊年。羊是人类的朋友,中国先民们的一些审美标准与＂羊＂字息息相关,如：羊口为＂善＂,羊大为＂美＂等。自古以来,人们有许多美好的情感,如＂祥＂、＂葬行＂、＂喜洋洋＂等字词都来源于＂羊＂字。

This year is the Year of Sheep in Chinese traditions.Sheep are friends of the mankind.Some aesthetical standards of the Chinese ancestors are closely related to the word of 'sheep.' For instance,the mouth of the sheep is 'kindness,' a big sheep means 'beauty,' and so on and so forth.From ancient times,many beautiful feelings of people originated from the Chinese character of 'sheep,' for example, 'Xiang(prosperity)' 'Shanxing(good deeds)' and 'Xiyangyang(beaming with joy).' In the Outlook of the World of this issue,the photos of sheep are used to reflect the friendliness between people and sheep,and animals in general.