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Annus Mirabilis

2020/01/02 04:12:35 網誌分類: 生活
02 Jan
          In my previous column I said 2019 was an annus horribilis, which means a horrible year full of very bad events. Will 2020 be an annus mirabilis, which means a very auspicious year? No one can say for sure. Every Lunar New Year I invite feng shui expert Michael Chiang Hong-man to my TV show. This year, the first day of the Lunar New Year will be on January 25, which is earlier than normal. I hope Chiang Hong-man will come to my TV show again so I can ask him if 2020 will be an annus horribilis or an annus mirabilis. His predictions are usually spot on. When he came to my show last year, he said 2019 would be a bad year. He was spot on.

          If you are spot on, it means you are exactly right or totally correct. For many people, it takes a leap of faith to believe in feng shui or astrology. The word "astrology" means the study of the movements and positions of the moon, sun, stars, and planets in the belief they affect the lives of people. Feng shui experts also study such movements to make their predictions. The expression "leap of faith" means an act of believing in something that is not easily believable or believing in something that cannot be proven. For example, if a feng shui expert had told you at the start of 2019 that young people and police would fight each other with petrol bombs and teargas on the streets and in universities, it would have taken a leap of faith to believe him.

          I am not a feng shui expert but I think it would take a leap of faith to believe the anti-government protests would fizzle out. The expression "fizzle out" means to gradually end in a weak way because people are no longer interested. The 2014 Umbrella Movement fizzled out after 79 days. But the anti-extradition bill protests, which became an anti-government movement, have not fizzled out after seven months of protests. I cannot see the protests fizzling out anytime soon.

        *****

          在上一篇專欄中,我說二○一九年是個annus horribilis,意即多災多難的可怕之年。二○二○又會否是個annus mirabilis,意即大吉之年?沒有人能說得準。每年農曆新年,我都會邀請風水大師蔣匡文上我的電視節目。今年,農曆新年大年初一是一月二十五日,較往常為早。我希望蔣匡文會再來我的節目,好讓我請教他究竟二○二○年是可怕的一年(annus horribilis)還是大吉之年(annus mirabilis)。他的預測通常都很精準(spot on)。當他去年上來我的節目時,他說二○一九年是很差的一年,他又算準(spot on)了。

          若你是spot on,即是說你是確切的、說的一點也沒錯。對許多人來說,要相信風水又或占星術(astrology),是需要「信心之躍」(leap of faith)。Astrology是占星學,研究月亮、太陽、星宿與行星等天體的運行與相對位置,相信這些都會影響到人的命運。堪輿師亦會鑽研天體的運行,以作出預測。習語leap of faith是指對於一些不太可信,又或不能印證之物事,選擇跨出一步去相信。譬如,若果一位風水師在二○一九年之始就告訴你,年輕人與警方會在街上和大學裏以汽油彈和催淚彈互鬥,那就真的需要信心之躍(leap of faith)去相信他。

          我不是風水師,但我認為如果要相信反政府示威會fizzle out,也需要信心之躍(leap of faith)。習語fizzle out是指逐漸式微而告終,因為人們不再對之感興趣了。二○一四年雨傘運動在七十九天之後就逐漸衰微而結束(fizzled out)了;但反修例示威,後來演變成反政府運動,經過了七個月的抗議行動仍未衰敗(fizzled out)。我還未見到抗議行動在短期內減退或消散(fizzling out)的跡象。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

        
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