香港的纸钱匠加班工作给饿鬼补充物资

Gary

香港的纸钱匠加班工作给饿鬼补充物资

Hong Kong's paper crafterswork overtime to feed hungry ghosts

原创翻译：龙腾网

HONG KONG (Reuters) - At a workshop in an old Hong Kongneighborhood, paper craftsman Ha Chung-kin uses delicate sheets ofpaper and sticks of bamboo to fashion a huge, expensive boat thatwill soon be consigned to the flames.

香港（路透社）——在香港旧街坊的一个车间里，纸钱匠Ha Chung-kin用精美的纸张和竹棍做成即将被焚烧的昂贵巨型船只。

The Hungry Ghosts festival that has prompted Ha's exquisite laborscenters on a superstition that the spirits of the dead return toEarth during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, whichruns from August 7 to September 4 this year.

饿鬼节给Ha先生精致的车间蒙上了迷信色彩——死人的灵魂会在中国农历的第七个月份回归尘世，今年的日期是从8月7号到9月4号。

Five meters (16 feet) long, Ha's boat is one of numerous paperofferings ordered by Buddhist temples at this time of year, whenmany Chinese around the world tread more cautiously and make anextra effort to appease the roaming souls.

长达16英尺，Ha的船只是佛堂在每年这个时候订购的众多纸扎祭品之一。这时全球很多华人行事更谨慎，额外努力地平息游荡的灵魂。

All kinds of items made of paper - including clothes, "gold" and"silver" ingots, mansions and boats - are burned to ensure theghosts have enough to tide them over until the next year.

包括衣服， 金银锭，大厦和船只在内的所有的物品都是用纸做的，将它们烧去以确保鬼魂有足够的物资度过一年。

"You can earn a living by making paper crafts," Ha said. "If youare good enough to turn paper into all kinds of things, you canmake good money from it."

“你可以靠制作纸工艺品来谋生，”Ha先生说。“如果你擅长把纸做成各种物品，你就可以靠这个赚不少钱。”

The paper boat costs HK$35,000 ($4,500) and takes a skilledcraftsman 10 days to finish.

这只纸船价格为3.5万港币，技工要花去10天时间才能完成。

But fewer young people are willing to take on the job in Hong Kongafter a boom period in the 1980s. Now the city of more than 7million people has fewer than 10 all-round master craftsmen, Hasays, making it hard to meet demand.

但是自20世纪80年代的兴旺期过后，越来越少的年轻人愿意从事这个工作。他说，现在这个城市逾700万人中还没有10个全面的工匠大师，使得人员供不应求。

Ha's shop supplies a sizable portion of the paper offerings to thelocal market. For this year's Hungry Ghosts festival, it had morethan 40 orders, some worth more than HK$100,000.

Ha先生的车间给当地市场供应了极大部分的纸扎祭品。今年的饿鬼节，他们受到40个订单，有些订单价值高于10万港币。

Orders flow in through the year, as paper lanterns and other itemsfeature in many Chinese festivals. Ha's shop also gets busy atHalloween - when Westerners celebrate ghosts, witches and goblins -to make scary items for theme parks and costume parties.

整年都会有订单，因为纸灯笼和其他物品在很多中国的节日里起重要作用。Ha先生的车间在万圣节也会很忙——那时西方人庆祝幽灵，女巫和小妖——为主题公园和化妆舞会制作吓人的物品。

Slimmer profit margins due to competition from the Chinese mainlandand long hours are major factors that discourage people fromentering the business. At this busy time of year, Ha and his teamtoil up to 16 hours a day.

中国大陆的竞争造成的薄利和长时间的工作是阻止人们进入这个行业的主要因素。每年这个忙季的时候，Ha和他的团队要辛苦工作16个小时。

Fortunately, Ha's 26-year-old son enjoys the work.

幸运的是，ha 先生26岁的儿子喜欢这份工作。

"The fact we can use the materials to make cars, iPhones and othertrendy products fascinated me," Sam Ha said as he stuck colorfultassels to the stern of the boat. "It prompted me to create newthings so our customers will have more choices."

“我们可以用这些材料做车，iPhone和其他我喜欢的流行产品，”SamHa边说着把彩色的流苏嵌进船尾。“这激起我去创造新的产品，这样顾客就更有的选了。”