這條村莊如何為農曆新年每天製造5萬枝香 | 大生意：英語精讀講義

At the beginning of the year,

每逢年初，

this Vietnamese town turns a sea of pink. 慣用語

這座越南小鎮就會化作一片粉紅色的海洋。

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

Quang Phu Cau村約70%的村民都以製香為生。

That's about 3,000 households,

這相當於約3,000戶人家，

all in preparation for Tet, 講解

全都在為Tet節做準備，

or Vietnamese Lunar New Year,

也就是越南農曆新年，

the country's most important holiday.

這是全國最重要的節日。

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

這裡的工匠世世代代都在製作這些色彩繽紛的香枝。

But the industry almost didn't survive. 文法

但這個產業一度差點消失。

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

許多年輕工人轉而從事收入更高的工作。

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

過去，村裡幾乎人人都會製香。

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

如今，我們村只剩下兩三家大型製造商了。

Then in 2019,

接著在2019年，

India, 文法

印度——

the village's biggest customer,

這個村子最大的客戶——

restricted imports of Vietnamese incense sticks. 片語搭配

限制了越南香枝的進口。

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

因此，Thi不得不改變生產流程，並在越南國內尋找買家。

Through his cooperative,

透過他成立的合作社，

he's been able to stay afloat, 講解

他才得以維持經營，

crafting 50,000 sticks a day. 文法

每天製作5萬枝香。

We visited the village's largest factory

我們走訪了村裡最大的工廠，

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

看它如何讓製香傳統延續下去。

Incense sticks have two parts,

一枝香由兩部分組成：

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竹製成的，

cây vầu, cây nứa ở trên rừng.

這些vầu竹和nứa竹都來自山林。

Once the bark is harvested, 文法

竹皮採收後，

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

農民會把成捆的竹皮運到這裡秤重出售。

Just down the road,

就在不遠處，

villagers carefully split the bark into smaller sticks

村民小心地把竹皮劈成更細的竹籤，

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

再把它們放到村子各處，堆成一座座巨大的竹籤堆來晾曬。

Next,

接下來，

they head to the chopper.

它們會被送進切割機。

With the machine's help, 片語搭配

在機器的協助下，

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

工人一天能切出數萬根竹籤。

Which can be up to 16 inches long. 文法

每根最長可達16英吋。

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

接著，這些竹籤會由卡車運到Thi的製香廠。

Here workers sort the stems into bunches. 片語搭配

工人在這裡把香芯分類紮成一束束。

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

然後用手把末端浸入一桶桶彩色染料中。

They're dyed either pink, 文法

它們不是染成粉紅色，

which represents the lotus, 文化背景

象徵蓮花——

Vietnam's national flower,

越南的國花；

or red for the country's flag.

就是染成代表越南國旗的紅色。

Carefully,

工人動作十分小心，

the bunches are fanned out to dry. 片語動詞

把一束束香呈扇形攤開晾乾。

In preparation for the Tet holiday,

為迎接Tet節，

workers blanket the village in these pink bunches. 慣用語

工人用這些粉紅色香束鋪滿整座村莊。

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

工人只在早上染色，到了下午就能收起來。

Có là một nắng thôi là thu được.

只要曬一天太陽就夠了。

Khô là đã khô.

這時就已經完全乾透了。

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

在工廠的另一頭，

workers make the incense powder.

工人負責製作香粉。

In this village,

在這座村子裡，

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

人們把當地採集的橄欖屬樹木的樹液與木炭混合，調出特有的黑色。

The exact proportions are secret.

確切比例是祕密。

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

基本上，這個配方是老一輩傳下來的。

This mixture gives the sticks their fragrance when burned. 文法

香燃燒時，這種混合物會散發香氣。

Hương về hương trầm,

香型包括沉香，

hương bài.

以及香根草。

Once the pink sticks are done drying, 文法

粉紅色的香芯晾乾後，

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

工人會把它們送進其中一台機器。

It automatically coats on the incense powder.

機器會自動為香芯裹上香粉。

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

過去，老一輩完全靠手工製作；如今機器的產量是手工的十多倍。

Workers dry the sticks a second time.

工人會進行第二次晾曬。

Chúng tôi tiến hành phơi,

接著，我們把香拿去晾曬，

phơi trên dàn phơi.

放在晾曬架上曬乾。

They need good temperature and lots of sun,

這個步驟需要適宜的溫度和充足的陽光，

because if the incense is wet, 文法

因為香一旦受潮，

it won't burn.

就點不著。

Next,

接下來，

workers package up the sticks in plastic.

工人用塑膠將香包裝起來。

Today,

如今，

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

Thi主要把香賣給越南國內的批發商，每束65美分。

But like most of this village,

但和村裡大多數人一樣，

Thi used to sell primarily to India, 文法

Thi過去主要把香賣到印度，

about 300 tons a year.

每年約300噸。

Those sticks used in religious worship were shorter, 文法

用於宗教祭拜的香比較短，

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

而且Thi不添加香料，因為印度買家偏好自己添加。

India was Vietnam's biggest customer.

印度曾是越南製香業最大的客戶。

By some estimates, 表達脈絡

據一些估算，

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

印度進口的香有90%來自越南。

But in 2019,

但在2019年，

India partially banned imported Vietnamese incense sticks. 用詞

印度對進口越南香實施了部分禁令。

Paired with younger generations leaving for other jobs,

再加上年輕一代紛紛離開，另謀工作，

Quang Phu Cau's incense industry struggled.

Quang Phu Cau的製香業陷入困境。

wanting to keep the century-old tradition alive,

為了讓這項百年傳統延續下去，

Thi got creative. 片語搭配

Thi想出了新辦法。

First,

首先，

he designed the product to better reflect Vietnamese tastes. 用詞

他重新設計產品，讓它更符合越南人的喜好。

He cut the sticks longer, 文法

他把香做得更長，

dyed them pink,

染成粉紅色，

and added fragrance.

並加入香料。

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

接著，他添購機器來加快生產。

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

工人原本每天手工只能製作500枝香，使用機器後則能生產5萬枝。

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

Thi還與村裡另外12位製香業者共同成立一家合作社。

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

合作社成立後便辦理了商業登記，

đảm bảo

更有保障。

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

這樣一來，他就能從村外招募更多工人。

Next,

接著，

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

他開始在越南國內尋找新買家，以彌補失去的印度生意。

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

為此，Thi向國家智慧財產局登記了產品。

Now his products are traceable with barcodes, 用詞

如今，他的產品可透過條碼追溯，

making it easier to find domestic wholesale buyers. 文法

更容易找到國內批發買家。

Today,

現在，

Thi sells about 80 tons domestically each year.

Thi每年在越南國內銷售約80噸香。

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

這還不到他過去銷往印度數量的三分之一。

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

但他已提高供應越南客戶的產量。

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

如今，他的合作社工廠已是村裡規模最大的一家。

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

Thi現在有足夠的產能，為一年中最重要的節日做準備——

Tet.

Tet節。

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

寺廟全年舉行宗教儀式時都會用到香。

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

據說，香枝升起的縷縷煙霧能連結靈界與人間。

Cầu cho một thế giới bình an.

祈願世界和平。

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

願家家戶戶、每一個人都平安、健康、幸福，

an khang thịnh vượng.

安康興旺。

By Vietnamese Lunar New Year,

越南農曆新年

usually in January or February,

通常在1月或2月到來。

The factory runs all year,

這家工廠全年運轉，

but in the lead up to Tet, 片語搭配

但在Tet節前夕，

Thi earns 40% more in revenue,

Thi的營收會增加40%，

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

他的團隊每天也會多生產200磅香。

He also makes yellow, brown, and red sticks,

他還製作黃色、棕色和紅色的香，

as well as incense coils and cones.

以及盤香和塔香。

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

它們讓Quang Phu Cau香村的芬芳飄遍越南。