中國制傘有著悠久的歷史，據記載，第一把折疊傘製作于西元21年。起初，絲綢常被作為傘面，在大約1000年前，紙質傘面開始更加流行了。

China has a long history of making umbrellas, with the first collapsible one recorded as having been made in 21 AD. Silk was used for the cover at first, and paper became more popular around 1,000 years ago.

　　1932年，浙江杭州的一名絲綢織造廠工人利用竹子和當地絲綢製成了第一把綢傘。這種精緻的傘很快在當地流行開來，於是，1935年，杭州有了第一家綢傘作坊。

In 1932, a silk mill worker in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province worked the silk umbrella using bamboo struts and silk from the area. This exquisite umbrella soon became popular among the locals and by 1935 Hangzhou had a silk umbrella workshop.

　　由於杭州西湖傘廠工人以及杭州工藝美術協會的研究院多遠的努力，制傘技術正在不斷完善，同時變得越來越精緻。

The techniques have been perfected and have become more sophisticated over the years thanks to employees of the Hangzhou West Lake Umbrella Factory and researchers from the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts Institute. Now it takes dozens of procedures to make an umbrella which weighs a mere 0.25 kilogram.

　　用來製作綢傘的竹子是從揚子江之南的江南地區精挑細選而來。一把傘通常需要來自同一根竹子從32到36段竹節，因此，當傘合上的時候，絲綢部分能被傘骨遮住。

And, the bamboo used for making the umbrella is carefully selected from the Jiang’nan region that is south of the Yangtze River. An umbrella normally has 32 to 36 struts, or ribs, cut from the same stalk of bamboo, so that, when the umbrella is closed and the silk hides behind the ribs.

　　絲綢傘面很薄很輕盈，它不會阻擋空氣流通，也不會被太陽曬得火熱。絲綢常被染上明亮的顏色，上面的圖案通常是通過噴、刷、繡或者畫上去的。傳統的絲綢傘面圖案包括杭州西湖的美景，花、鳥、景觀或者著傳統盛裝的美人。

The silk surface is of course thin and light and doesn’t block out the air or become weathered by the sun. The silk is dyed with bright colors and patterns are added by spraying, brushing, embroidering, or painted. The traditional patterns for the silk include enticing sights at West Lake in Hangzhou, flowers, birds, landscape, or beautiful women in traditional attire.

　　近年來，為了迎合不同的口味，越來越多的現代元素融入了綢傘，同時這些改變被證明是相當成功的，每年能生産出600,000把綢傘，其中三分之後被銷往國外。

More modern elements have been adopted in recent years to cater to different tastes and the changes have proven successful, with two-thirds of the 600,000 silk umbrellas produced each year being exported.

　　很多人沒有意識到，這看似精緻脆弱的工藝品不僅僅可以用來遮陽避雨，而且這是雜技演員用來表演繩索行走的工具。事實上，有超過12鐘不同種類的綢傘可以用作更多不同的目的。

Many may not be aware of this but that seemingly delicate piece of work is not only used to provide shade or protection from the rain, it is also a tool of acrobats who use it for tightrope-walking. In fact, there are around a dozen different types of silk umbrellas used for a variety of purposes.

（中國網綜合 翻譯 尤迎寧）

來源： 中國網綜合    | 作者：中國網綜合 翻譯 尤迎寧    | 責編：胡金    審核：張淵

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