山行

杜牧

远上寒山石径斜，白云生处有人家。

The stone trail in the cold hills zigzags far,

Amid white clouds so deep households there are.

停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花。

Cart stopped,in maples I sit for late hours,

Frosted autumn leaves outshine February flowers in redness.

Autumn might be the most colorful season in China with the leaves turning from golden yellow to red.Activities like hiking become popular as people take in the bright red leaves.

秋叶由黄转红，秋天可能是中国最多姿多彩的季节了，在一片明亮的红叶中，徒步旅行这样的活动越来越受人们欢迎。

Reveling in the view is an old tradition starting in ancient times.Du Mu,a well-known poet from the Tang Dynasty (618-904) depicted the mountainous scenery in a poem:"I stopped the coach as charmed by the maple woods; Frosted autumn leaves outshine February flowers in redness."

赏红叶是一个始于古代的传统，唐朝诗人杜牧(618-904)在一首诗中描绘了山中秋景:“停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花。"

霜降是中国传统二十四节气（the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms）中的第十八个节气，英文表达为Frost's Descent或Hoar-Frost Falls。霜降期间，气候由凉向寒过渡，所以霜降的来临意味着“寒秋”的开始。

“Frost's Descent”，or “Hoar-Frost Falls” ，usually happens on October 23 or October 24 each year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 210 degrees.

霜降通常是在每年的10月23日到10月24日，这个时候太阳直射点到达天文经度210度。

During Frost's Descent, frost begins to appear. But in the lower reaches of the Yellow River region, frost first appears in late October or early November. As Frost's Descent comes, the world is filled with the atmosphere of late autumn.

霜降时节，冰霜开始出现了。但在黄河下游地区，初霜会在十月末或十一月初出现。随着霜降的来临，整个世界都充满了晚秋的气息。

Literally，“Frost's Descent” refers to the time when frost starts to descend across China.or “the dews were congealed into frost" due to the coldness, as recorded in ancient Chinese books.

字面上来说，霜降指的是中国开始下霜的日子，据古籍记载，“气肃而凝，露结为霜矣”即天气逐渐变冷，露水凝结成霜（frost）。这段时间里，植物慢慢失去生机，大地变得萧条，所以民间有“霜降杀百草”的说法。

Frost's Descent is the last solar term of autumn, during which time the weather becomes much colder than before and frost begins to appear.

霜降是秋季的最后一个节气，在此期间，天气相较之前会冷得多，寒霜开始出现了。

During the Frost’s Descent season, the weather is getting colder and colder, frosts begin to appear, the sky is high and bright, grasses begin to turn yellow, and maple leaves turn red.

它的出现意味着秋将逝，冬将至。霜降是秋天的最后一个节气，天气渐冷，初霜出现，草木开始泛黄，天高云淡，枫叶尽染。

By this time, most of the harvesting work is already completed in northern China. Even the most cold-resistant crops can no longer grow. Large swaths of the fields in the north are done for the season,and farmers are now able to enjoy a period of rest.

霜降时，中国北方大部分的秋收工作已经扫尾，即使是最耐寒的农作物也不能生长。秋收农忙已经结束，农民们可以休息一段时间了。

But in the south, the harvest is still in its heyday,as farmers have to take home the sweet potatoes before they are destroyed by the coming frost.while the winter wheat and oilseed rape need to be mothproofed.

而南方此时正处于“三秋”大忙时节，农民们需要在降霜之前把红薯收获以防止其被冻伤，还要做好冬小麦和早茬油菜的防虫工作。

In south and north. after a year of farming. now it is time to plow the fields and prepare the soil for next year.

南北方的土地经过一年的耕种，现在是犁地为下一年的土壤肥沃做准备了。

整理：2023年10月26日于北城家园