这个村庄如何为农历新年每天制造5万根香 | 大生意：英语精读讲义

At the beginning of the year,

每逢年初，

this Vietnamese town turns a sea of pink. 習語

这座越南小镇就会化作一片粉红色的海洋。

About 70% of Quang Phu Cau village make incense sticks.

Quang Phu Cau村约70%的村民都以制香为生。

That's about 3,000 households,

这相当于约3000户人家，

all in preparation for Tet, 講解

全都在为Tet节做准备，

or Vietnamese Lunar New Year,

也就是越南农历新年，

the country's most important holiday.

这是全国最重要的节日。

Artisans here have made these colorful incense sticks for generations. 語法

这里的手艺人世世代代都在制作这些色彩缤纷的香。

But the industry almost didn't survive. 語法

但这个行业一度差点消失。

Many young workers left for more lucrative jobs. 短語搭配

许多年轻工人转而去做收入更高的工作。

The xưa thì gần như 100% dân làng đều làm.

过去，村里几乎人人都会制香。

Hiện nay ở ở làng chúng tôi thì chỉ còn vài ba nhà sản xuất lớn thôi.

如今，我们村只剩下两三家大型生产商了。

Then in 2019,

随后在2019年，

India, 語法

印度——

the village's biggest customer,

这个村最大的客户——

restricted imports of Vietnamese incense sticks. 短語搭配

限制了越南香的进口。

So Thi had to change his production process and find buyers within Vietnam.

因此，Thi不得不改变生产流程，并在越南国内寻找买家。

Through his cooperative,

通过他成立的合作社，

he's been able to stay afloat, 講解

他才得以维持经营，

crafting 50,000 sticks a day. 語法

每天制作5万根香。

We visited the village's largest factory

我们走访了村里最大的工厂，

to see how it's keeping the incense tradition alive. 短語搭配

看它如何让制香传统延续下去。

Incense sticks have two parts,

一根香由两部分组成：

the core stick and the incense powder.

香芯和香粉。

Cây chân hương thì được làm bằng cây vầu,

香芯是用vầu竹做的，

cây vầu, cây nứa ở trên rừng.

这些vầu竹和nứa竹都来自山林。

Once the bark is harvested, 語法

竹皮采下后，

farmers bring the bunches here to be weighed and sold. 語法

农户会把成捆的竹皮运到这里称重出售。

Just down the road,

就在不远处，

villagers carefully split the bark into smaller sticks

村民们小心地把竹皮劈成更细的竹签，

and lay them out to dry in giant stacks around town. 短語動詞

再把它们放到村子各处，堆成一座座巨大的垛来晾晒。

Next,

接下来，

they head to the chopper.

它们会被送进切割机。

With the machine's help, 短語搭配

在机器的帮助下，

they can chop tens of thousands of sticks in a day. 短語搭配

工人一天能切出数万根竹签。

Which can be up to 16 inches long. 語法

每根最长可达16英寸。

Then they're trucked to Thi's incense factory.

随后，这些竹签会被卡车运到Thi的制香厂。

Here workers sort the stems into bunches. 短語搭配

工人在这里把香芯分拣成束。

Then they hand-dip the ends in colorful buckets of dye.

然后用手把末端浸入一桶桶彩色染料中。

They're dyed either pink, 語法

它们要么被染成粉红色，

which represents the lotus, 文化背景

象征着莲花——

Vietnam's national flower,

越南的国花；

or red for the country's flag.

要么染成代表越南国旗的红色。

Carefully,

工人动作十分小心，

the bunches are fanned out to dry. 短語動詞

把一束束香呈扇形摊开晾干。

In preparation for the Tet holiday,

为迎接Tet节，

workers blanket the village in these pink bunches. 習語

工人用这些粉红色的香束铺满整个村庄。

Công nhân chỉ nhuộm buổi sáng và đến chiều là thu được.

工人只在早上染色，到了下午就能收起来。

Có là một nắng thôi là thu được.

只要晒一天太阳就够了。

Khô là đã khô.

这时就已经完全干透了。

Over on the other side of the factory, 表達脈絡

在工厂的另一边，

workers make the incense powder.

工人们负责制作香粉。

In this village,

在这个村子里，

locally harvested canarium sap is mixed with charcoal for the signature black color. 講解

人们把当地采集的橄榄属树木的树液与木炭混合，调出特有的黑色。

The exact proportions are secret.

具体配比是秘密。

Về cơ bản là công thức đã được truyền từ các cụ ngày xưa để lại.

基本上，这个配方是老一辈传下来的。

This mixture gives the sticks their fragrance when burned. 語法

香燃烧时，这种混合物会散发出香气。

Hương về hương trầm,

香型包括沉香，

hương bài.

以及香根草。

Once the pink sticks are done drying, 語法

粉红色的香芯晾干后，

workers feed them into one of these machines. 短語搭配

工人会把它们送入这些机器中的一台。

It automatically coats on the incense powder.

机器会自动给香芯裹上香粉。

Ngày xưa thì các cụ chủ yếu là thủ công 100% và sản lượng nó gấp hơn 10 lần so với làm tay.

过去，老一辈完全靠手工制作；如今机器的产量是手工的十多倍。

Workers dry the sticks a second time.

工人会进行第二次晾晒。

Chúng tôi tiến hành phơi,

接着，我们把香拿去晾晒，

phơi trên dàn phơi.

放在晾晒架上晒干。

They need good temperature and lots of sun,

这一步需要适宜的温度和充足的阳光，

because if the incense is wet, 語法

因为香一旦受潮，

it won't burn.

就点不着。

Next,

接下来，

workers package up the sticks in plastic.

工人用塑料将香包装起来。

Today,

如今，

Thi sells mostly to wholesalers within Vietnam at 65 cents a bunch. 短語搭配

Thi主要把香卖给越南国内的批发商，每束65美分。

But like most of this village,

但和村里的大多数人一样，

Thi used to sell primarily to India, 語法

Thi过去主要把香卖到印度，

about 300 tons a year.

每年约300吨。

Those sticks used in religious worship were shorter, 語法

用于宗教祭拜的香更短，

and Thi added no fragrance because Indian buyers preferred to add their own. 語法

而且Thi不添加香料，因为印度买家更喜欢自己添加。

India was Vietnam's biggest customer.

印度曾是越南香业最大的客户。

By some estimates, 表達脈絡

据一些估算，

90% of India's incense imports came from Vietnam.

印度进口的香中有90%来自越南。

But in 2019,

但在2019年，

India partially banned imported Vietnamese incense sticks. 用詞

印度对进口越南香实施了部分禁令。

Paired with younger generations leaving for other jobs,

再加上年轻一代纷纷离开，另谋工作，

Quang Phu Cau's incense industry struggled.

Quang Phu Cau的制香业陷入了困境。

wanting to keep the century-old tradition alive,

为了让这项百年传统延续下去，

Thi got creative. 短語搭配

Thi想出了新办法。

First,

首先，

he designed the product to better reflect Vietnamese tastes. 用詞

他重新设计产品，让它更符合越南人的喜好。

He cut the sticks longer, 語法

他把香做得更长，

dyed them pink,

染成粉红色，

and added fragrance.

并加入香料。

Then he added machines to speed up production. 短語動詞

随后，他添置机器来加快生产。

The workers went from being able to make 500 sticks a day by hand to 50,000 using machines. 語法

工人原先每天手工只能制作500根香，使用机器后则能生产5万根。

Thi also launched a cooperative with 12 other incense makers in the village. 短語搭配

Thi还与村里另外12位制香人共同成立了一家合作社。

Được thành lập hợp tác xã thì có đăng ký kinh doanh,

合作社成立后便办理了工商登记，

đảm bảo

更有保障。

That way he could recruit more workers outside his village. 表達脈絡

这样一来，他就能从村外招募更多工人。

Next,

接着，

he set out to find new buyers inside Vietnam to replace his lost business from India. 短語動詞

他开始在越南国内寻找新买家，以弥补失去的印度业务。

So Thi got his product registered with the National Office of Intellectual Property. 語法

为此，Thi在国家知识产权局为产品办理了注册。

Now his products are traceable with barcodes, 用詞

如今，他的产品可通过条形码追溯，

making it easier to find domestic wholesale buyers. 語法

更容易找到国内批发买家。

Today,

现在，

Thi sells about 80 tons domestically each year.

Thi每年在越南国内销售约80吨香。

That's less than a third of what he sold to India. 語法

这还不到他过去销往印度数量的三分之一。

But he has ramped up production for Vietnamese customers. 短語動詞

但他已经提高了面向越南客户的产量。

Now his cooperative's factory is the largest in the village.

如今，他的合作社工厂已是村里规模最大的一家。

Thi now has enough capacity to prepare for his biggest event of the year, 用詞

Thi现在有足够的产能，为一年中最重要的节日做准备——

Tet.

Tet节。

Incense sticks are used in religious ceremonies in temples year-round. 文化背景

寺庙全年举行宗教仪式时都会用到香。

The line of incense smoke is said to connect the spiritual world to this one. 講解

据说，香升起的缕缕烟雾能连接灵界与人间。

Cầu cho một thế giới bình an.

祈愿世界和平。

Mọi nhà, mọi người đều an lành, mạnh khỏe, hạnh phúc,

愿家家户户、每一个人都平安、健康、幸福，

an khang thịnh vượng.

安康兴旺。

By Vietnamese Lunar New Year,

越南农历新年

usually in January or February,

通常在1月或2月到来。

The factory runs all year,

这家工厂全年运转，

but in the lead up to Tet, 短語搭配

但在Tet节前夕，

Thi earns 40% more in revenue,

Thi的营收会增加40%，

and his team makes 200 more pounds of incense sticks daily.

他的团队每天也会多生产200磅香。

He also makes yellow, brown, and red sticks,

他还制作黄色、棕色和红色的香，

as well as incense coils and cones.

以及盘香和塔香。

They spread the sweet aroma of the Quang Phu Cau incense village across Vietnam. 表達脈絡

它们让Quang Phu Cau香村的芬芳飘遍越南。