According to Japanese legend, a young man named Sen no Rikyu sought to learn the elaborate(adj.精致的） set of customs known as the Way of Tea. He went to tea-master Takeeno Joo, who tested the younger man by asking him to tend the garden. Rikyu cleaned up debris（n.废弃物） and raked（v.耙） the ground until it was perfect, then scrutinized（v.检查） the immaculate（adj.完美的） garden. Before presenting his work to the master, he shook a cherry tree, causing a few flowers to spill randomly（adv.随机地） onto the ground.
日本传说中，茶道大师千利休年轻时去找前辈Takeeno Joo学习茶艺，作为考验，千利休被要求照料花园。千利休清理垃圾，耕作土地，直至完美，然后仔细审视洁净的院落。最后，在向主人展示他的成就之前，他总会摇动院里地樱花树，让花朵随意地洒落在地面之上。
To this day, the Japanese revere（v.尊重） Rikyu as one who understood to his very core a deep cultural thread（n.线） known as wabi-sabi. Emerging in the 15th century as a reaction to the prevailing aesthetic(n.审美） of lavishness（n.奢侈）, ornamentation（n.装饰）, and rich materials, wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity（n.丰富性） in earthiness（n.质朴）, of revering authenticity above all. In Japan, the concept is now so deeply ingrained（adj.根深蒂固的） that it’s difficult to explain to Westerners; no direct translation（直译） exists.
时至今日，由于他对侘寂文化脉络地透彻理解，千利休在日本仍备受推崇。15世纪，流行审美中充斥着奢华缀饰和纷繁材料；这种情况中应运而生的的侘寂则是一种在不完美之中发现美，在质朴之中发现深刻，推崇真实纯净的艺术。这一概念在日本根深蒂固，很难解释给西人，也没有直接的对译。
Broadly, wabi-sabi is everything that today’s sleek（adj.圆滑的）, mass-produced, technology-saturated（adj.饱和的） culture isn’t. It’s flea（n.跳蚤) markets, not shopping malls; aged wood, not swank(华丽的） floor coverings; one single morning glory, not a dozen red roses. Wabi-sabi understands the tender（adj.温和的）, raw beauty of a gray December landscape and the aching elegance of an abandoned building or shed（n.小屋）. It celebrates cracks and crevices（n.缝） and rot（n.腐朽） and all the other marks that time and weather and use leave behind. To discover wabi-sabi is to see the singular beauty in something that may first look decrepit（n.离散的） and ugly.
广义上来说，侘寂和现今文化的光鲜细腻，规模量产，技术饱和全然不同。侘寂出现在跳蚤市场、老旧的木地板和单独枝的牵牛花，而不是玫瑰花束。侘寂文化能够理解腊月灰蒙蒙的风景之中的纤弱和原始之美。裂缝，腐朽和其他的所有的时间的标记，都是侘寂文化要庆祝的主题。侘寂之美在于见证乍看起来离散丑陋的事物中发现美。
Wabi-sabi reminds us that we are all transient（adj.暂时的） beings on this planet—that our bodies, as well as the material world around us, are in the process of returning to dust. Nature’s cycles of growth, decay（n.腐烂）, and erosion（n.侵蚀) are embodied（v.体现） in frayed（adj.破损的） edges, rust, liver spots（黄褐色的斑点）. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace both the glory and the melancholy（n.悲伤） found in these marks of passing time.
侘寂醒示我们，在这颗星球上，我们都只不过是短暂的存在，我们的躯体以我们周围的物质世界，永远处在回归尘土的过程之中。自然之中，生长，腐朽，侵蚀的循环显露于破损的边缘，斑斑的锈迹，以及肌肤黄褐的斑点之上。我们学会接纳时间的印记中的荣光与忧愁。
Bringing wabi-sabi into your life doesn’t require money, training, or special skills. It takes a mind quiet enough to appreciate muted（adj.安静的） beauty, courage not to fear bareness, willingness to accept things as they are—without ornamentation. It depends on the ability to slow down, to shift the balance from doing to being, to appreciating rather than perfecting.
侘寂不需要钱财，训练，或是技巧。而是需要足够地静心来欣赏这静寂的美好，需要接受事物未经修饰的本来面目的意愿。侘寂取决于慢下来的能力，取决于于存在而非。。。之中寻找平衡，取决于欣赏而非试图完善。
You might ignite（v.点燃） your appreciation of wabi-sabi with a single item from the back of a closet: a chipped vase, a faded（adj.褪色的） piece of cloth. Look deeply for the minute details that give it character; explore it with your hands. You don’t have to understand why you’re drawn to it, but you do have to accept it as it is.
衣橱后的一件小东西，裂了缝的花瓶，褪色的布料--也许都会引起你对侘寂的欣赏。深深关注那些赋予其性格的细节，用你的双手去探索。你不明缘由地为之吸引，而你去不得不接受这一事实。
Rough textures（n.质地）, minimally processed goods, natural materials, and subtle hues are all wabi-sabi. Consider the musty-oily scene that lingers（v.徘徊） around an ancient wooden bowl, the mystery behind a tarnished goblet（n.高脚杯）. This patina（n.铜绿；光泽） draws us with a power that the shine of the new doesn’t possess. Our universal longing for wisdom, for genuineness（n.真实）, for shared history manifests（v.表明） in these things.
粗糙的纹理是侘寂，粗加工的产品是侘寂，天然的原料是侘寂，微妙的色调是侘寂。想想在古老的木碗周围留下的霉味油腻的场景，或是一只晦暗的高脚杯背后的奥秘。这种古色以一种崭新器物所不具备的力量吸引着我们衍发出我们对智慧，真诚，以及对共同历史的普遍渴望。
There’s no right or wrong to creating a wabi-sabi home. It can be as simple as using an old bowl as a receptacle（n.接收物） for the day’s mail, letting the paint on an old chair chip（v.剥落）, or encouraging the garden to go to seed. Whatever it is, it can’t be bought. Wabi-sabi is a state of mind, a way of being. It’s the subtle（adj.微妙的） art of being at peace with yourself and your surroundings.
创建一个wabi-sabi家是没有对错之分的。可以简单得将一只旧碗用于盛放当日的邮件，可以是让旧椅子上得漆片剥离碎落，可以是任凭花园里的杂草丛生。不管如何，这是一种买不到的风格。 因为Wabi-sabi是一种精神状态，一种生存方式，是与自己和周围环境保持和谐的微妙艺术。