Ahead of Lunar New Year, Chinese Debate
Fireworks Ban
农历新年前夕，中国人就烟花爆竹禁令展开辩论
Chinese lawmakers recently entered a fierce
online debate on whether fireworks should be used to celebrate the Lunar New
year this February.
中国立法者最近加入了网上一场对今年2月是否应该燃放烟花爆竹庆祝农历新年的激烈辩论。
They said a total ban on fireworks in the
country credited with inventing the noise makers would be hard to enforce. Lawmakers
said air pollution prevention and fire safety laws have led to
"differences in understanding" of the ban on fireworks.
他们表示，全面禁止燃放烟花爆竹在一个被认为发明了这种热闹玩意的国家将很难执行。立法者表示，大气污染防治和消防安全法导致了对烟花爆竹禁令的“理解分歧”。
However, it was never a total ban. In 2017,
official data showed 444 cities had banned fireworks. Since then, some of the
cities have loosened the bans. They permit fireworks at certain times of the
year and at special places.
然而，它从来都不是一项全面的禁令。官方数据显示，2017年有444个城市禁止燃放烟花爆竹。从那时起，一些城市放松了禁令。他们允许在一年中的特定时间和特殊地点燃放烟花。
This month, however, many counties made
announcements banning fireworks, restarting discussion on the ban. "We've
the right to fireworks," wrote a user of Weibo, a popular Chinese online
discussion service.
然而，本月许多县宣布禁止燃放烟花爆竹，重新引发了有关禁令的讨论。“我们有权利燃放烟花，”中国流行的在线讨论网站微博的一位用户写道。
Chinese folklore says the earliest
fireworks were invented 2,000 years ago to drive away the "nian." The
nian, the story goes, was a monster that hunted people and animals before the
Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.
中国民间传说称，最早的烟花是2000年前发明用来驱赶“年兽”。据说，年兽是一种在农历新年或春节前猎杀人和动物的怪物。
Since then, fireworks came to be used to
celebrate other events. Some Chinese say the fireworks bans were necessary to
protect the environment.
从那时起，烟花开始被用来庆祝其他活动。一些中国人说，为了保护环境，禁止燃放烟花爆竹是必要的。
An online opinion study by the official
Beijing Youth Daily found that over 80 percent of people supported fireworks
during Spring Festival. The festival is the most important holiday on the
Chinese calendar.
官方的《北京青年报》在网上进行的一项民意调查发现，超过80%的人支持春节期间燃放烟花爆竹。这个节日是中国日历上最重要的节日。
Some also said the ban was ironic after the
United Nations recently named the Spring Festival an official holiday, a move
supported by Chinese officials. "The Spring Festival belongs to the world,
but China's is almost gone," wrote another Weibo user.
一些人还表示，这项禁令颇具讽刺意味，因为联合国最近将春节定为官方节日，这一举措得到了中国官员的支持。另一位微博用户写道：“春节属于世界，但中国的春节（传统）几乎已经消失了。”
Southern Hunan province is a worldwide
supplier of fireworks. Its exports totaled $579 million from January to
November, state media reported. That number is far greater than domestic sales.
湖南省是世界性的烟花供应商。据官方媒体报道，今年1月到11月，湖南烟花出口总额为5.79亿美元。这个数字远远超过国内销售额。
苏格拉底有一句名言：
我知我无知
。说的是，当你认识到的东西越多就越发现自己无知。苏格拉底认为，人对于客观世界的认识是有限的，且不可能完全认识客观世界，并且不应对客观世界刨根究底。神对于世界的规划自有安排，若人一意孤行地探索世界和自然的奥秘，则最终将亵渎甚至触怒神明。正因为人对神所构建的世界不可能实现完全认知，因此那些宣称自己能够认识和改造世界的人，本身便是无知的代言。尽管苏格拉底的关于“ 我知我无知”的观念的解读，在现在看来有失客观科学。但至少苏格拉底告诫人们，人的认知是有限的，现有的知识甚至可能存在错误和疏漏。因此，无论任何时代，我们都必须对自己的无知加以认识并通过不懈的开拓，去更新甚至颠覆固有的知识结构。我们在求学之路上也要报以我知我不知的心态，才能走得更远、终有所成。最后，祝愿每一位考研学子都能顺利上岸！
