传统手艺的消失 The Disappearance of Traditional Crafts

随着suízhe时代shídài的de发展fāzhǎn，很多hěn duō传统chuántǒng手艺shǒuyì正在zhèngzài慢慢mànmàn消失xiāoshī。

With the development of the times, many traditional crafts are slowly disappearing.

我wǒ的de爷爷yéye是shì一yí位wèi木匠mùjiàng，他tā做zuò的de家具jiājù不用búyòng一yì颗kē钉子dīngzi，却què结实jiēshi得de能néng用yòng几十jǐshí年nián。

My grandfather is a carpenter; the furniture he makes uses not a single nail, yet it is sturdy enough to last for decades.

过去guòqù，几乎jīhū每měi条tiáo老街lǎojiē上shang都dōu有yǒu铁匠tiějiàng、裁缝cáiféng和hé修xiū鞋xié的de师傅shīfu。

In the past, almost every old street had a blacksmith, a tailor, and a shoe-repair master.

如今rújīn，工厂gōngchǎng生产shēngchǎn的de商品shāngpǐn又yòu便宜piányi又yòu方便fāngbiàn，愿意yuànyì学xué手艺shǒuyì的de年轻人niánqīngrén越来越yuèláiyuè少shǎo。

Nowadays factory-made goods are both cheap and convenient, and fewer and fewer young people are willing to learn a craft.

一yì门mén手艺shǒuyì往往wǎngwǎng需要xūyào十几shíjǐ年nián的de练习liànxí，收入shōurù却què不bù高gāo，这zhè是shì它tā消失xiāoshī的de主要zhǔyào原因yuányīn。

A craft often takes more than a decade of practice, yet the income is not high; this is the main reason it is disappearing.

爷爷yéye常cháng说shuō：“机器jīqì做zuò得de快kuài，但dàn做不出zuòbuchū手shǒu上shang的de温度wēndù。”

Grandpa often says, "Machines work fast, but they cannot produce the warmth of human hands."

幸运xìngyùn的de是shì，一些yìxiē人rén开始kāishǐ在zài网上wǎngshàng记录jìlù这些zhèxiē老lǎo手艺shǒuyì，吸引xīyǐn了le不少bùshǎo观众guānzhòng。

Fortunately, some people have begun recording these old crafts online, attracting quite a few viewers.

有的yǒude年轻人niánqīngrén看kàn了le以后yǐhòu，专门zhuānmén跑pǎo到dào乡下xiāngxia去qù向xiàng老lǎo师傅shīfu学习xuéxí。

After watching, some young people make special trips to the countryside to learn from the old masters.

传统chuántǒng手艺shǒuyì不仅bùjǐn是shì一yì种zhǒng技术jìshù，还是háishì一代又一代yí dài yòu yí dài人rén生活shēnghuó的de记忆jìyì。

Traditional crafts are not only a kind of skill, but also the living memory of generation after generation.

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

手艺shǒuyìcraft; handicraft skill

木匠mùjiàngcarpenter

钉子dīngzinail

铁匠tiějiàngblacksmith

裁缝cáiféngtailor

记忆jìyìmemory

随着… (along with…)

随着 introduces an ongoing change that causes another change: 随着时代的发展，很多传统手艺正在慢慢消失。

随着经济的发展，人们的生活水平提高了。 — Along with economic development, people's living standards have risen.

不仅…还… (not only… but also…)

Adds a second, often more important layer: 传统手艺不仅是一种技术，还是一代又一代人生活的记忆。

他不仅会说汉语，还会写漂亮的汉字。 — He not only speaks Chinese, but also writes beautiful characters.

…，却… (yet; however)

却 marks an unexpected contrast inside a sentence: 一门手艺往往需要十几年的练习，收入却不高。

他学了很多年，却没有放弃。 — He studied for many years, yet he never gave up.

1. What is special about the furniture the writer's grandfather makes?

2. According to the text, what is the main reason traditional crafts are disappearing?

3. What hopeful development does the text mention?