立秋桃祭

Audio #

汉字 #

立秋前夕，丽丽和弟弟小明在院子里高兴地摘桃子。院子里的桃树结满了熟透的桃子，红红的，软软的。

小明说：“姐姐，这个桃子又大又红，一定很甜！” 丽丽笑着说：“我也觉得特别甜！我们多摘一些，让妈妈教我们做桃酱。”

他们把满满一篮子桃子拿进厨房。妈妈洗干净桃子，把皮去掉，切成小块。然后她教丽丽和小明把桃子和糖放在锅里，用小火慢慢煮。小明小心地搅着，甜甜的香味飘了出来。丽丽尝了一小口，高兴地说：“真好吃！比买的甜多了。”

爸爸在院子里摆好一张小桌子，放上祖先的照片、香炉和一些水果。他带着丽丽和小明一起把新做的桃酱和最大的桃子摆在祭品前面。他们点上香，恭恭敬敬地磕了三个头。爸爸轻声说：“秋天要来了，求祖先保佑我们全家平安、丰收。” 晚风从院子吹过，带来一丝凉爽。

全家人围坐在桌旁，一边吃着甜甜的桃子，一边喝着热茶。妈妈笑着把桃酱抹在面包上分给大家。丽丽看着天上慢慢变黄的树叶，心里暖暖的。她知道，秋天来了，这是一个团圆和感恩的季节。

Pinyin #

Lìqiū qiánxī, Lìlì hé dìdi Xiǎomíng zài yuànzi lǐ gāoxìng de zhāi táozi. Yuànzi lǐ de táoshù jiē mǎn le shú tòu de táozi, hónghóng de, ruǎnruǎn de.

Xiǎomíng shuō: “Jiějie, zhège táozi yòu dà yòu hóng, yīdìng hěn tián!” Lìlì xiàozhe shuō: “Wǒ yě juéde tèbié tián! Wǒmen duō zhāi yīxiē, ràng māma jiāo wǒmen zuò táojiàng.”

Tāmen bǎ mǎnmǎn yī lánzi táozi ná jìn chúfáng. Māma xǐ gānjìng táozi, bǎ pí qùdiào, qiē chéng xiǎo kuài. Ránhòu tā jiāo Lìlì hé Xiǎomíng bǎ táozi hé táng fàng zài guō lǐ, yòng xiǎo huǒ màn man zhǔ. Xiǎomíng xiǎoxīn de jiǎo zhe, tiántián de xiāngwèi piāo le chūlái. Lìlì cháng le yī xiǎo kǒu, gāoxìng de shuō: “Zhēn hǎochī! Bǐ mǎi de tián duō le.”

Bàba zài yuànzi lǐ bǎi hǎo yī zhāng xiǎo zhuōzi, fàng shàng zǔxiān de zhàopiàn, xiānglú hé yīxiē shuǐguǒ. Tā dài zhe Lìlì hé Xiǎomíng yīqǐ bǎ xīn zuò de táojiàng hé zuì dà de táozi bǎi zài jìpǐn qiánmiàn. Tāmen diǎn shàng xiāng, gōnggōngjìngjìng de kē le sān gè tóu. Bàba qīngshēng shuō: “Qiūtiān yào lái le, qiú zǔxiān bǎoyòu wǒmen quánjiā píng’ān, fēngshōu.” Wǎnfēng cóng yuànzi chuī guò, dài lái yī sī liángshuǎng.

Quánjiārén wéi zuò zài zhuō páng, yībiān chī zhe tiántián de táozi, yībiān hē zhe rè chá. Māma xiàozhe bǎ táojiàng mǒ zài miànbāo shàng fēn gěi dàjiā. Lìlì kàn zhe tiānshàng màn man biàn huáng de shùyè, xīn lǐ nuǎnnuǎn de. Tā zhīdào, qiūtiān lái le, zhè shì yī gè tuányuán hé gǎn’ēn de jìjié.

English Translation #

On the eve of the Start of Autumn, Lili and her younger brother Xiaoming were happily picking peaches in the yard. The peach tree in the yard was full of ripe peaches, red and soft.

Xiaoming said, “Sister, this peach is so big and red, it must be very sweet!” Lili smiled and said, “I think it’s especially sweet too! Let’s pick more and have Mom teach us to make peach jam.”

They carried a full basket of peaches into the kitchen. Mom washed the peaches clean, removed the skins, and cut them into small pieces. Then she taught Lili and Xiaoming to put the peaches and sugar into a pot and simmer them over low heat. Xiaoming stirred carefully, and a sweet fragrance drifted out. Lili tasted a small bite and said happily, “It’s delicious! Much sweeter than store-bought jam.”

Dad set up a small table in the yard, placing the ancestors’ photos, an incense burner, and some fruit on it. He took Lili and Xiaoming to place the freshly made peach jam and the biggest peaches in front of the offerings. They lit incense and respectfully kowtowed three times. Dad said softly, “Autumn is coming. We ask our ancestors to bless our whole family with safety and a good harvest.” An evening breeze blew through the yard, bringing a touch of coolness.

The whole family sat around the table, eating sweet peaches and drinking hot tea. Mom smiled as she spread peach jam on bread and shared it with everyone. Lili looked at the leaves in the sky slowly turning yellow, and her heart felt warm. She knew that autumn had come—a season of reunion and gratitude.

Grammatical Points and Analysis #

Verb-Object Phrases: #

• 摘桃子 (zhāi táozi) — pick peaches
• 做桃酱 (zuò táojiàng) — make peach jam
• 摆好祭品 (bǎi hǎo jìpǐn) — set up offerings
• 祭祖 (jìzǔ) — worship ancestors (祭 = worship, 祖 = ancestors)
• 迎接秋天 (yíngjiē qiūtiān) — welcome autumn

Resultative Complements: #

• 熟透 (shú tòu) — ripe through; the complement 透 indicates thoroughness, meaning “completely ripe”
• 洗干净 (xǐ gānjìng) — wash clean; 干净 is the result of washing
• 切成 (qiē chéng) — cut into; 成 indicates the change of state into small pieces
• 做成 (zuò chéng) — make into; 成 signals successful transformation into jam
• 摆好 (bǎi hǎo) — arrange well; 好 shows that the action is completed and in a satisfactory state

Questions #

1. 丽丽和小明在院子里摘了什么水果？ (Lìlì hé Xiǎomíng zài yuànzi lǐ zhāi le shénme shuǐguǒ?) — What fruit did Lili and Xiaoming pick in the yard?

2. 全家人一起吃了什么来迎接秋天？ (Quánjiārén yīqǐ chī le shénme lái yíngjiē qiūtiān?) — What did the whole family eat together to welcome autumn?

Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional and generated by AI. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are purely coincidental.