美國之音2007標(biāo)準(zhǔn)下半年ALiving the Simple Life

Living the Simple Life

By Liu Enming
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
19 July 2007

"Welcome to the Amish Farm and House. My name is Eric. I will be giving you a brief tour about who the Amish are, their lifestyle, their clothing, why they do the things they do. Right now you are at the Amish Farm and House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We are the first Amish home open to the public; we opened in 1955," . Eric Conner, the marketing director of the Amish House and Farm. He says the Amish people choose to live a simple life based on their religious beliefs.

"They came from Europe, specifically Germany and Switzerland. In 1693 they were a persecuted religious group, Because of their persecution, they were forced to meet in homes, meet in basements, and meet in caves for their church services. So when they came to America, they wanted to keep using their homes as their church buildings."

The Amish are very devout and take seriously the biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world including electricity. Power comes from propane, kerosene, wood, coal, or natural gas.

Their simple life is even reflected in their plain clothing. In the picture on the left, Conner explains the dress inside this Amish girl's room. "This is not only a church dress. It's also her wedding dress. At the wedding is the last time she wears the white. After the ceremony is over, she comes up to her room, takes off the cape and apron, saves them for the rest of her life. Because the next time she is wearing them, she is wearing these two pieces in a coffin."

Conner says, in the Amish community, hats tell men apart from boys. "Here is a teenager's hat. You know he is a teenager by the flatness of the hat and also the ridge around the top. This means he is in this what they call the running-around period, meaning they can date, they can choose whether to become an Amish or not. Becoming Amish is voluntary, it's not mandatory."

As the world around the peaceful farmland changes, so have some of the traditions of the Amish. Lester Hoover, a tour guide at the farm, says transportation is no longer limited to horse-drawn buggies. "There is a division among the Amish over the automobile. One group got automobiles, another group kept the horse and buggy. we just simply name them old order -- drive the horse and buggy, and the new order -- drive the automobiles. They have electric, they have meeting houses and they don't have green shades."

But many traditions remain. Amish children attend one-room schoolhouses through grade eight and farming is the mainstay of Amish life. Hoover says there are normally two horses on a farm for buggies. Several mules are kept for farming. Milking is one of the most important sources of income on the farm.

Many Amish leaders believe their separation from the outside world strengthens their community. And that community is thriving. Despite what many on the outside would describe as a backwards lifestyle, the Amish population in Lancaster County has almost tripled over the past half century.

過著簡樸的生活

歡迎來到阿米緒農(nóng)場莊園。我叫Eric。我將帶領(lǐng)你觀看誰是阿米緒人，他們的生活方式，他們的衣著，為什么他們做這樣的事情?，F(xiàn)在你正在位于賓夕法尼亞州的蘭開斯特的阿門農(nóng)場莊園。我們是首次對外開放阿門莊園。他說阿米緒人堅(jiān)信自己的宗教信仰過著簡樸的生活。

他們來自歐洲，主要是德國和瑞士。在1693年，他們是一個受迫害的宗教團(tuán)體。由于他們遭受迫害，他們被迫在家中，地下室和窯洞中作祈禱。所以當(dāng)他們來到美國，他們想保持利用自己的家作為他們的教堂建筑物。

阿米緒人非常虔敬，認(rèn)真對待圣經(jīng)命令，把自己從世界事物中分離出來，包括電。能量來源于丙烷，煤油，木頭，煤和天然氣。

他們簡樸的生活可以從他們樸實(shí)的衣著表現(xiàn)出來。在一幅畫的左面，Conner 解釋一件掛在阿米緒女孩屋里的衣服。“這不僅僅是一件教堂女服，也是她的結(jié)婚禮服，是她上次在婚禮上穿的這件白色衣服。在儀式結(jié)束之后，她進(jìn)入屋子脫掉海甲和衣裙，保存起來備用。因?yàn)橄麓嗡€要穿他們，把他們帶進(jìn)棺材。

Conner說，在阿米緒社區(qū)，帽子可以把男人和男孩區(qū)分開來。“這是個十幾歲青少年的帽子，通過帽子的平面和頂部的邊緣你可以知道他是個男孩。這意味著他處于孩童時代，他們可以約會，可以選擇將來自己是否成為阿米緒人。成為阿米緒人是自愿的，不是強(qiáng)制的。

當(dāng)世界和平農(nóng)田發(fā)生變化時，阿米緒人保留自己的一些傳統(tǒng)。Lester Hoover是一個農(nóng)場的導(dǎo)游，說運(yùn)輸不再局限于馬拉車。“有無汽車的阿米緒人之間劃分明顯界線，一些人擁有汽車，另一些人保持馬拉車。我們把趕馬拉車簡單地命名為老秩序，開汽車為新秩序。他們有電，有禮拜堂，沒有精神綠茵。

但是很多傳統(tǒng)都被保留。阿米緒兒童就讀單室學(xué)校讀到八年級便進(jìn)入農(nóng)場，農(nóng)場是阿米緒人生活的主要支柱。Hoover說通常有兩匹馬拉車。幾匹騾子保持在農(nóng)田耕作。擠奶是農(nóng)場收入的最重要來源之一。

很多阿米緒領(lǐng)導(dǎo)認(rèn)為他們與外界的隔離壯大了他們社區(qū)。社區(qū)正在興旺。盡管外界很多人士把它描述為落后的生活方式，蘭開斯特縣的艾米緒人口數(shù)目在過去的半個世紀(jì)翻了3倍。