Article by Dai Kai
English Translation by Calvin Beideman
2019年12月26日中午，新加坡迎来了日环食奇观。“望日食月月光灭，朔月掩日日光缺”，短短三分四十秒的金环，预示着月亮遮不住太阳的光辉，被遮住的中心也是转瞬即逝。人们凭独特视角去拍摄，媒体皆争先恐后发报道。
2019年全球共发生三次日食，偏食、全食和环食各一次。下一次日环食天象将在2020年6月21日，届时将有十多个国家的部分地区可观赏到，包括中国。预知详情请浏览：https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2020-june-21
历史上，日食天象被历代君王所重视，因此，在没有照相和录像设备的古代，一定是要官员用语言来清晰描述的。
传说东汉恒帝在位时，正月初一，京城洛阳发生了日食，天突然变黑暗了。掌权的皇太后让大臣黄琼记录日食的情况。黄琼写道：“京城洛阳一带，日食很厉害……”太后看了这个记录，很不满意，批评道：“黄琼越老越糊涂，光说‘厉害’，怎么个厉害法，谁能明白？”黄琼着急，怎么写呢，当时还没有偏食、环食和全食等名称，黄琼急得团团转，也没想出办法来。眼看着就可能招来杀身之祸，他的小孙子黄琬却说：“爷爷，那天的日头像初三、初四的月牙儿，你这么写，不就行了吗？”黄琼照小孙子的话写上去，太后看了很满意，认为记录得具体明白。小黄琬只是用了个比喻，就解决了爷爷的难题。
想到古希腊哲学家亚里斯多德说：“比喻是天才的标识”。运用比喻能把抽象的道理具体化，能把深奥的东西通俗化，能把陌生的东西熟悉化，并能启发别人的联想和想象。不由遐思，在新加坡亲见了日环食的你，会用怎样的比喻来描述呢？
At noon on December 26, 2019, Singapore ushered in a glorious solar eclipse. “Looking at the eclipse, the moon does not shine, the new moon covers the sun blocks some of its light”, the golden ring last for just three minutes and forty seconds and indicates that the moon cannot fully cover the sun’s brightness, it can only cover the center briefly. People take pictures from different places and angles, and the media are scrambling to report.
There were three solar eclipses in the world in 2019, one partial eclipse, one total eclipse, and one ring eclipse. The next solar eclipse will be on June 21, 2020. By then, it will be visible in parts of more than ten countries, including China. To learn more, see: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2020-june-21
Kings throughout history have paid close attention to solar eclipses. In ancient times without photographic and video equipment, officials had to use language to describe an eclipse clearly.
It is said that when an Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty reigned, on the first day of the first month, a solar eclipse occurred in Luoyang, the capital, and the sky suddenly darkened. The empress dowager in power asked Minister Huang Qiong to record the eclipse. Huang Qiong wrote: “The area around the capital city of Luoyang is very terrible …” The empress dowager looked at this record and was very dissatisfied. She criticized: “Huang Qiong is getting older and more confused, just saying ‘terrible’, who can understand how terrible it is? Huang Qiong was anxious, what should he write? At that time, they didn’t have terms like partial eclipse, ring eclipse and whole eclipse. Huang Qiong was so anxious that he couldn’t figure out a way. Seeing that he might be killed because of this, his young grandson Huang Yan said: “Grandpa, the sun looks like the crescent moon of the third and fourth day of the month, can you just write that?” Huang Qiong wrote according to the words of his young grandson, The empress dowager looked very satisfied and thought that the record was specific and clear. Little Huang Yan just used a metaphor to solve Grandpa’s problem.
Think of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle saying, “A metaphor is a sign of genius.” The use of metaphors can embody abstract truths, popularize profound things, make strange things become familiar, and inspire others’ associations and imaginations. I can’t help thinking, what kind of metaphor would you use to describe the eclipse in Singapore?
It looks like someone took a bite out of the sun.
The sun is like a crescent moon, like the crescent moon on the Singapore flag.
The sun is like the moon, the moon is like the sun, Once in a century, they shine together.
The midday sun becomes the largest golden ring in the universe.
The Sun looks like a sickle by the corner of the building.
It looks like Nezha’s magical hoop was thrown into the sky.
OMG, where is the tree’s shadow? I just see a bench of stone eggs with glitter.
The view of the sun through the window is like a romantic Chinese painting of a night where dreams come true.
My name is Calvin, and I am an American who went to Carnegie Mellon with your teachers son. I am in Singapore for our college friends wedding. I am a friend of the Singapore junior reporters.
