Ep. S: Shéyáo Snake Kiln 蛇窯

(想聽2021年9月10日的廣播節目可以點開上面音符圖案的檔案 If you'd like to listen to the original 9/10/2021 radio episode, please click on the above music note to play the file)

When we talk about snakes, many people nowadays think of them as kind of scary. Maybe it's because some of them are poisonous, or maybe it's because lots of stories and movies show snakes as dangerous and sneaky. And while Taiwan does have poisonous snakes (12 deadly species out of nearly 50 different species on the main island), it's much easier to be hurt by a stray dog or cat here than it is to be bitten by any kind of snake.

But actually, in Chinese culture, snakes are not the bad guys that some other cultures show them as. Snakes are part of a lot of Chinese legends, the most famous one probably being The Legend of the White Snake. They have been so important that they were made one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. I myself actually kind of like snakes. That might be because my Chinese zodiac animal is the dragon, and in Chinese culture, snakes are viewed as "little dragons", kind of like they haven't yet evolved into the dragon form. And if you look at Chinese dragons (as opposed to Western dragons), they do look like snakes with legs!

Speaking of snakes and dragons, an interesting fact about the Taiwan snake kilns is that similar kilns exist in many Chinese-speaking places. Hangzhou, Guangdong and Singapore all have similar pottery-making places with long, narrow kilns built on slopes. However, while we call those snake kilns in Taiwan, they're called dragon kilns outside of Taiwan. From what I've read, the dragon kilns were used to fire pieces for the emperor (dragons are a symbol of the Chinese emperor), and snake kilns were used to fire pieces for everyone else. Maybe that's why we have different names for the kilns, but I think it would be more fun to write a legend about the two different kiln animals to explain why we call them differently. Who knows? Maybe one of you will be the one to write it, and add another legend to the list of amazing stories about the sneaky, magical and wonderous snake! (Remember to look at the bottom of the post for the song chords!)

當我們談論蛇時，現在很多人認為它們有點可怕．也許是因為其中一些是有毒的，或者是因為很多故事和電影都將蛇表現得既危險又狡猾．而雖然台灣確實有毒蛇（本島近50種不同種類中的12種致命），但在這裡被流浪狗或流浪貓傷害比被任何種類的蛇咬傷要容易得多．

但實際上，在中國文化中，蛇並不是其他文化中表現出來的壞人．蛇出現在很多中國傳說中，最有名的可能就是《白蛇傳》．它們如此重要，以至於它們成為中國的十二生肖之一．我自己其實蠻喜歡蛇，這有可能是因為我屬龍而在中國文化中蛇被視為＂小龍＂，就像它們還沒有進化成龍一樣．而且，如果你看中國龍（與西方龍相比），它們確實看起來像有腳的蛇！

說到蛇和龍，台灣蛇窯的一個有趣的事是，類似的窯在很多華語地區都有如杭州、廣東和新加坡都有類似的製陶場所，在斜坡上建有狹長的窯爐．但是，我們在台灣叫蛇窯，在台灣以外叫龍窯．據我所知，龍窯內器具是為皇帝燒製的（龍是中國皇帝的象徵）．蛇窯是用來燒製一般人的器具．也許這就是為甚麼我們對窯有不同的名稱，但我覺得寫一個關於兩種不同窯動物的傳說來解釋為甚麼我們對它們的稱呼不同會更有趣．誰知道？也許你們中的一個人會寫下這個故事，並在關於狡猾、神奇和奇妙的蛇的驚人故事列表中添加另一個傳奇！（記得看網頁最下面的地方就可以找到歌曲的和絃囉！）

Snake Kiln Song Lyrics歌詞

*Hi, I was reading about something in Taiwan called "snake kilns"?*
*你好,我剛剛在讀關於台灣有甚麼東西叫做「蛇窯」*

*Snake kilns, yes*
*蛇窯，是的*

*Well, do they have snakes in them? Are they scary?*
*那麼，它們裡頭是不是有蛇？會很可怕嗎？*

*Snake kilns, snake kilns, let me tell you about snake kilns.*
*蛇窯，蛇窯，讓我來告訴你關於蛇窯的事*

Snakes are a sneaky animal　蛇是一種狡猾的動物
They slither on the ground.　牠們在地上滑行
But their shape is great for something else,　但牠們的形狀非常適合其他用途
Something not sneaky, but wondrous　不是做偷偷摸摸的東西而是做奇妙的東西

The snake kilns of Taiwan　台灣的蛇窯
Big, old and long　又大又老又長
Wood-fired and strong　燃木而堅固
May they burn on　願它們繼續燃燒

Kilns have been important tools　窯是重要的工具
Across history　跨越歷史
They help us fire　它們幫助我們燒製
Pots and bowls for keeping food　用於保存食物的鍋碗瓢盆
And even toilets for...relief　甚至也燒馬桶為了．．．解放

Minnan immigrants from the Qing Dynasty　清朝閩南移民
Brought the snake kiln idea to Taiwan　將蛇窯創意帶到台灣
The glaze it makes is very special　它造成的釉很特別
And it fires tons of pieces all at once　而且一次可以燒出很多作品

They're the snake kilns of Taiwan　它們就是台灣的蛇窯
Big, old and long　又大又老又長
Wood-fired and strong　燃木而堅固
May they burn on　願它們繼續燃燒

*Oh! So they're big, long pottery kilns *named* for snakes!*
*哦！所以它們是大而長的陶器窯，以蛇*命名*喔*

*Yes. May they burn on.*　
*是的，願它們繼續燃燒*

*Right. May they burn on. I'll have to go see one now, thanks!*　
*嗯對，願它們繼續燃燒，我現在就應該去看看吧，謝啦！*