中国制伞有着悠久的历史，据记载，第一把折叠伞制作于公元21年。起初，丝绸常被作为伞面，在大约1000年前，纸质伞面开始更加流行了。

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，浙江杭州的一名丝绸织造厂工人利用竹子和当地丝绸制成了第一把绸伞。这种精致的伞很快在当地流行开来，于是，1935年，杭州有了第一家绸伞作坊。

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.

　　由于杭州西湖伞厂工人以及杭州工艺美术协会的研究院多远的努力，制伞技术正在不断完善，同时变得越来越精致。

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.

　　用来制作绸伞的竹子是从扬子江之南的江南地区精挑细选而来。一把伞通常需要来自同一根竹子从32到36段竹节，因此，当伞合上的时候，丝绸部分能被伞骨遮住。

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.

　　丝绸伞面很薄很轻盈，它不会阻挡空气流通，也不会被太阳晒得火热。丝绸常被染上明亮的颜色，上面的图案通常是通过喷、刷、绣或者画上去的。传统的丝绸伞面图案包括杭州西湖的美景，花、鸟、景观或者着传统盛装的美人。

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.

　　近年来，为了迎合不同的口味，越来越多的现代元素融入了绸伞，同时这些改变被证明是相当成功的，每年能生产出600,000把绸伞，其中三分之后被销往国外。

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.

　　很多人没有意识到，这看似精致脆弱的工艺品不仅仅可以用来遮阳避雨，而且这是杂技演员用来表演绳索行走的工具。事实上，有超过12钟不同种类的绸伞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.

（中国网综合 翻译 尤迎宁）

来源： 中国网综合    | 作者：中国网综合 翻译 尤迎宁    | 责编：胡金    审核：张渊

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