青出于蓝，青于蓝

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青出于蓝，青于蓝
IS BLUE BLUER THAN DARK BLUE？

「青」也是中国五色之一；一般提到「青」总认为是「蓝」的同义字。不错，「青」色常指「蓝」色，如蔚蓝的天空称之为「青天」，也就是「蓝天」；蓝色牛仔裤叫做\"blue jeans \"；有一种天然染料叫做「靛青」，又称为「蓝靛」(indigo)。

然而，「青」还指其他的颜色。第一，「青」常用来形容「绿」色。在我们日常生活里，有不少字汇是用「青」来形容「绿」色的，如：青草、青果、青葱、青菜等；其「青」字，其实是指「绿」色的；「青青」也就是指绿油油的草色，如「青青河畔草」(古诗句)。接着，「青」有时也指「黑」色而言。比如在京剧里饰演贞淑妇女的旦角多穿黑衫出场，称其为「青衣」；又用「青绿」来形容「浓绿」或「深绿」(dark green )；指青绿的样子为「青虚虚」；称青黑色马为「青骊」；同时也把妇女乌黑的头发(dark hair)称为「青丝」等等。

中文的「青」或「蓝」相等于英文的\"blue\"，而\"blue\"既可以当作形容词使用，也可以作为名词及动词使用。

我们先谈当作形容词使用时的\"blue\"的各种字义及其用法：第一，\"blue\"是等于青色的，(天)蓝色的，蔚蓝的：

It's a fine day today, and the sky is blue.
(今天天气很好，天空晴朗无云。)

She wears a light blue dress and looks extremely attractive.
(她穿着淡蓝色衣服，显得非常迷人。)

Mr. Brown painted his living room blue.
(布朗先生把房子漆成蓝色。)

若干英文词句里，原来是因其\"blue\"的颜色得名而后演变成为含有特殊意义者，如blue-pencil, blue-collar worker, blue print等。

\"blue-pencil \"原指新闻、杂志等的编辑们，用蓝色笔来修改稿子，后来演变为「编辑，修订，改稿，或删除」(editor censor)之意：

Essays written by high school students need to be blue-penciled.
(高中学生所写的作文需要修改。)

The censor examined a book and blue-penciled some improper remarks in it.
(检查官审查一本书，并删除里面的若干不妥之处。)

The editor-in-chief blue-penciled the article written by his reporter.
(总编将他的采访记者所写的文章加以修改。)

工厂的工作服或制服常用「蓝色」布料制成；因此，后来就称工厂的工人或技工人员为\"blue-collar worker \"；相对的，称坐在办公室的人员为\"white-collar worker \"，其工作为 \"white-collar job\"：

The owner of the factory gave a big new year's party for all the blue-collar workers, including the mechanics.
(工厂老板为了所有工人，包括技工、卡车司机等，举行盛大的新年聚会。)

All the blue-collar workers who worked on the construction site went on strike.
(所有在工地工作的工人参加了罢工。)

老式的晒图机复印出来的图样是蓝色，因而称其为\"blueprint\"(蓝图)。现在蓝图的字义延伸而包括任何设计图样以及详细的计划或方案。

The City Government officials presented to the City Council their blue print for the development of a recreational area in New York.
(市政府官员向市议会提出咱纽约发展休闲区域的详细方案。)

\"blue print\" 又可以拼在一起写成“blueprint”而可以用做名词，也可以用做形容词：

The construction of a music hall is still on the blueprint stage.
(音乐厅的建造还在筹划的阶段。)

其次\"blue\"也指[脸色，皮肤等]因恐惧、寒冷或打伤而「发青的、发紫的、发白的」等意：

When she saw a car rushing toward her, her face turned blue with fear.
(当她看到一部车冲过来时，她吓得脸色发青。)

High on the mountain, their hands became blue with cold.
(在高山上，他们冻得手都发紫了。)

打伤而发紫又可用\"black and blue\"，如，The boy riding on the bicycle hit a big tree and was all black and blue.
(骑自行车的男孩撞到大树而身上伤痕斑斑。)

When her son took off his shirt, she discovered that his arms were black and blue.
(当他儿子脱下衬衫时，她发现他的双臂受伤而发紫。)

\"blue\"又指「〔情绪等〕忧郁的，沮丧的，情绪低落的」的意思：

He looks blue today because he failed the examination.
(因为考试不及格，今天他看起来情绪低落的样子。)

Do you feel blue when it rains？
(下雨天你会不会觉得心烦呢？)

I don't know why but I'm feeling rather blue today.
(我不知道为什么今天总觉得心情不好。)

His girl friend was blue about not being invited to the dance party yesterday.
(他的女朋友昨天因未被邀请参加舞会而沮丧。)

Things are looking bluer than ever for us.
(情况对我们愈来愈不妙了。)

英美国家一周工作五天；星期六及星期天休息。因此，在英美(或许还有其他国家)星期五晚上就算周末。不管休息两天或一天半，大家总是利用周末参加休闲活动以舒展身心。喜欢健行或郊游的人就一家老少开车去爬山郊游，中途常常遇到交通阻塞，在公路上也常耽误许多时间，游完回家后，已经是疲惫不堪。一想到星期一要上班就觉得痛苦万分，于是许多人称星期一为\"blue Monday\"(忧郁的星期一)：

It really is blue Monday after a wonderful weekend.
(过了愉快的周末之后，星期一〔要上班〕实在是令人沮丧。)

还有一词－\"blue funk\"，也是表示令人沮丧或泄气的意思：

Nearly every time he reads the newspaper or watches television about the sad state of the economy he gets into a blue funk.
(差不多每次他在报上或电视上看到可悲的经济状态时，他就感觉泄气。)

If you remain in a blue funk too long, it can make you ill.
(如果你长期陷于沮丧状况时，可能会使你生病。)

\"blue\"也用来形容「色情的，猥亵的」话或电影等：

That professor likes to tell blue jokes.
(那一位教授喜欢讲荤笑话。)

They were caught showing blue films in the theater and were arrested by the police.
(他们在戏院放映色情电影被查到而遭警方逮捕。)

\"blue\"还指「有学问的；对于文学、诗歌有强烈兴趣的」妇女，称其为\"blue stocking\"：

Mrs. Blue is a blue stocking; she likes to show off her knowledge of modern art, and never misses an art show.
(布鲁太太是位文学修养很高的人，常要夸示她对现代艺术的知识，并且有展览会就一定去参观。)

I know a blue stocking who spends most of her leisure time reading novels and attending plays.
(我认识一位有文学教养的人；她一有时间就看小说和戏剧。)

此外，\"blue\"也有「严格的」之意，像用在\"blue law\"一词里的\"blue\"。\"blue law\"原来是美国殖民时期的清教徒所订的法律，禁止在星期天跳舞、喝酒等，以后转用为有关个人行为的严格规定，如禁止公务员涉足酒家、舞厅、夜总会、或不该接受款宴等等：

We have a blue law that government employees are prohibited from dancing and drinking in the night clubs, dancing halls, etc.
(我们有严格的规定说公务员不许涉足于夜总会、舞厅等场所喝酒跳舞。)

\"blue\"还用来指「高贵的，贵族后裔的」之义，如\"blue blood\"。

The lady speaks, acts and walks as a blue blood.
(那一位女士说话，行为以及步态都像个贵族出身。)

在梁朝以前，「青」曾经也有过代表高贵之意，如「青楼」古时则指显贵之家；只是梁朝以后才降格而指妓院了。我们说人忠诚可靠时也说：\"He is true blue\"也就是等于\"he is very loyal \"的意思了。

至于把\"blue\"当名词使用时，其主要字义有

青色，天蓝色(blue color)，如light blue(淡蓝色)，dark blue(深蓝色)
[/li]青天，蓝天(the blue sky)
[/li]穿着青[蓝]色衣服的人，如a charming lady dressed in blue(穿着蓝色衣服的迷人妇人)
[/li]蓝色染料〔颜料〕
[/li]

如果加定冠词\"the\"—\"the blue\"—则用在文学作品及诗歌里来表示「天空」(the sky)，「海洋」(the sea)，「虚无」(the unknown)等意。假如\"blue\"取复数形—\"the blues\"—的话，就指源自美国南部黑人表现其哀怨情感的一种速度缓慢的哀歌及其演变出来的爵士乐，以及所谓「蓝调」乐曲与舞蹈；\"the blues\"又有「忧郁，沮丧，闷闷不乐的状态」之谓而用于\"give the blue, have the blue, sing the blue \"等的惯用词句(也等于\"be blue\"或\"feel blue\")：

I have the blues sometimes when the weather is bad, particularly when it is raining and humid.
(尤其下雨天而湿气重的时候，我有时觉得心情不佳。)

She sings the blues all the times, whether the day is sunny or coludy.
(不管天气好坏，她总是闷闷不乐。)

当做动词使用时，\"blue\"为(及物动词)「使成天蓝色；染成蓝色」；(不及物动词)「呈蓝色」之意，但平常不大常用，在此不加细述。

英文里含有\"blue\"的成语不少。下面举出若干以供读者参考：

\"bolt from the blue\"－与中文的「青天霹雳」或「晴天霹雳」完全吻合，是指「意料不到」或「突如其来」的意思：

His decision to resign from such a good job was a bolt from the blue to his friends.
(他对如此的好工作决定辞职不干实在出他朋友的意料之外。)

\"out of the blue\"也是表示「突然」或「出其不意地」等意，也就是说\"out of a clear sky\"或\"out of a clear blue sky \"等，如：

\"When she walked alone in a narrow alley, suddenly out of the blue she found several young men around her. \"
(她一个人在一条空巷行走时忽然间四周冒出几个年轻人。)

\"once in a blue moon\"指「几乎很少」的意思，如：

\"Once in a blue moon, you will find a valuable book in the secondhand book stores. \"
(你几乎很少在旧书店找到有价值的书。)

\"Since our parents live so far away, in recent year we get to see them once in a blue moon. \"
(因为父母住在远处，所以我们近来很少和他们见面。)

我们常说「青出于蓝，青于蓝」用来比喻学生胜过其老师。那末，究竟此处「青」与「蓝」有什么区别呢？「蓝」字的字义为

(植物)蓼科，一年生草木，叶子可作染料；俗称靛青，蓝靛
[/li]深青色，如「春来江水绿如蓝」(白居易，忆江南词』商务国语辞典)
[/li]

换句话说，按照第一义是指青色染料，照第二义则指「深蓝色」或「深绿色」。如此一来，第一个字义的「蓝」就很像英文的\"indigo\":

n. Any of various plants of the genus indigofera, some of which yield a blue dye stuff...; a blue dye obtained from indigo or other plants or produced synthetically.
[/li]A dark blue to gayish purplish blue(American Heritage Dictiorary)
[/li]

「青出于蓝」是源自荀子劝学篇－「青取自于蓝，青于蓝」；这一句如果按照上述第二义则成为\"blue is bluer than dark blue ...\"而显然是不妥的；因而应从第一义翻译较为妥当：\"Blue is extracted from indigo plant but is bluer than it. \"现在我们用的「青出于蓝，青于蓝」的喻意则是\"A pupil excels his teacher. \"