又中又英｜The luck of the draw

In my previous column, I wondered if eating snake meat in the Year of the Snake would bring good or bad luck. My Google search showed several results, including AI generated results. They warned that killing or harming snakes in the Year of the Snake would bring misfortune. I don’t know whether to believe that or not because I am a blank slate about astrology. The expression “a blank slate” used this way means you have no knowledge about a particular subject. In any case, I would run like the wind if I saw a snake instead of trying to kill it.

To run like the wind means to run very fast. And as I said in my previous column, eating snake meat makes me unwell. It is a tradition for the Heung Yee Kuk chairman to draw a fortune stick at the Che Kung Temple in Shatin on the second day of the Lunar New Year to predict Hong Kong’s fortune in the coming year. The current chairman, Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, drew a neutral stick. The word “neutral” used this way means neither good nor bad. The fortune stick had a Chinese phrase that warned against being greedy and stressed the importance of doing good.

Most people don’t need a fortune stick to tell them not to be greedy and to always do good things! I hope the Year of the Snake will bring me good luck, but I know there will be good days and bad days. Each day is just the luck of the draw, which means it is up to chance, like gambling, and you have no control over it.

在上一篇文章中，我好奇究竟在蛇年吃蛇肉算是会带来好运还是厄运。我谷歌搜寻显示出几个结果，包括AI人工智能生成的结果。它们都警告说，在蛇年杀蛇或伤害蛇会带来不幸。我不知道应不应该相信它，因为我对于占星玄学是 a blank slate——习语 a blank slate在这里是指你对某个特定的题目一窍不通，像一张白纸一样。在任何情况之下，见到蛇我都会立时飞快地跑走（run like the wind），而不是去杀牠。

To run like the wind意即像风一样飞跑。正如我在上一篇文章中所说的，吃蛇肉会令我不适。新界乡议局主席传统上每年年初二都会到沙田车公庙求签，预测香港来年的运程。现任主席刘业强求得了一支中（neutral）签。Neutral在这里的意思是不算好也不算坏。 签文有一句中文语句，警告人不可贪心，以及强调做好事的重要。

大部分人都不用求签来告诉自己不要贪心和要常常做好事吧！我希望蛇年会为我带来好运，但我知道总会有好日子和不如意的日子。每一天也只是 the luck of the draw，意即像赌博一样，全靠运气，你只能听天由命，无法控制，半点不由人。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻