If you’ve ever been to any East Asian countries, or seen them in pictures or TV shows, you

如果你曾經去過任何一個東亞國家，或是在照片還是電視節目上看過他們，你

probably noticed hundreds of people wearing surgical masks.

或許會注意到數百人戴著醫用口罩。

They wear them in public transport, cafes, in the street, and in the office.

他們在搭乘大眾交通工具、咖啡廳、街上和辦公室裡都戴著口罩。

Apparently, there’s an absurd number of surgeons in these countries who like to wear

顯然地，這些國家有很多外科醫師，他們喜歡穿

their work clothes home.

工作服回家。

Or not.

才怪。

In Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam, medical face masks have long ago become part of everyday

在日本、韓國、中國和越南，醫用口罩早就成為日常生活當中的

life.

一部分。

Even babies wear them all the time.

連嬰兒都經常配戴著。

It looks like the most obvious reason would be to not catch a cold.

最明顯的原因看來應該是避免感冒。

Well, technically, it all started with that.

嚴格說來，一切是這樣開始的。

Wearing a mask gives minimal protection from germs, though it’s the opinion of some that

戴口罩對於防護細菌的作用很小，有些人認為

viruses have no difficulty getting through them.

病毒能夠輕易地穿透它們。

But the real reason is that people who are already sick wear masks in an effort to not

但是真正的原因是生病的人戴口罩是為了避免

infect others.

傳染給他人。

The Japanese aren’t used to skipping a single workday, even if they’re not feeling well.

日本人沒有曠職的習慣，即使生病也是一樣。

When you’re sick, you’re constantly leaving a trail of germs that stay behind wherever

當你生病，無論你走到哪裡，你會不斷地留下一連串的

you go: on seats in public transport, doors, and hand-rails.

細菌：在大眾交通工具的座位、門和扶手上。

That’s why wearing a mask is a social courtesy: if you feel sick, you’re not supposed to

這就是為什麼戴口罩是一種社會禮節：如果你感到不舒服，你不應該

put everyone around you at risk.

帶給身邊的人風險。

This is part of the Asian mindset.

這是亞洲人觀念模式的一部分。

During flu epidemics in a cold season, every second man, woman, and baby in Asia wears

在寒冷季節的流感肆虐期間，亞洲的男女老少無時無刻不戴著

a mask.

口罩。

The fewer people get ill, the less the epidemic will spread, and the faster it’ll end.

越少人生病，流行病傳染範圍就越小，也就越快結束。

Another reason is air pollution.

另外一個原因是空氣污染。

Industrialized cities and thousands of cars don’t make for clean air.

工業化城市和成千上萬輛的汽皆對乾淨的空氣不利。

If you ride a scooter, and there are millions of them in Vietnam and China, you’ll want

如果你騎摩托車，在越南和中國有數百萬輛，你會想要

a mask.

戴口罩。

It protects not only from dust and emissions, but all sorts of flying insects that bump

它不僅能夠防塵和廢氣，還可以防止各種會在你高速行駛中

into your face at a high speed.

往你臉上撞的飛蟲。

Masks are also effective against allergies.

口罩也能夠有效防止過敏。

The end of February is the beginning of allergy season for people in Japan.

二月底是日本人過敏季節的開始。

Pollen spreads around the whole country for several months, till the end of May, and makes

花粉在全國各蔓延幾個月，直到五月底，這讓對

life miserable for those who are sensitive to it.

花粉敏感的人在生活上苦不堪言。

Red eyes, a runny nose, and itching are the most harmless signs of allergies.

紅眼、流鼻涕和搔癢是最無害的過敏徵狀。

No wonder people don’t ever take off their masks in the streets during spring.

也難怪人們在春季時不會在街上脫下口罩。

In those Asian countries where winters can be cold and frosty, masks can also help to

在一些亞洲國家，冬天非常寒冷，口罩也可以幫助

protect the face.

保護臉部。

A shallower upside to the masks for the ladies is that they hide your face if you didn’t

從更膚淺的層面上來說，口罩對於女士而言可以在來不及化妝的時候

have time to apply all your makeup.

將臉藏起來。

Put on some mascara and a mask and you’ll look great.

只要擦一些睫毛膏並戴上口罩看起來就很美了。

Men have their own advantage too: they can wear a mask to hide if they’ve failed to

對於男士也有好處：如果早上沒有刮鬍子，他們可以戴上口罩

shave in the morning.

遮掩。

What a great idea!

真是個好主意！

Asians wear masks so often that they’ve long ago become part of their wardrobe.

亞洲人戴口罩的頻率很高，口罩早就成為他們造型的一部分。

Young people try to pick out a mask color and shape to match their outfit.

年輕人會挑選口罩的顏色和形狀來搭配他們的穿著。

Manufacturers produce them as a trendy accessory in different colors and materials, and Asian

製造商將它們視為時尚配件，生產不同的顏色和材質，而亞洲

designers call masks an element of “smog couture”.

設計師將口罩稱為「霾害時尚」。

Still another reason masks are so popular in the countries of East Asia is that they

口罩在東亞國家如此受歡迎的另一個原因是他們

help to hide a person’s emotions.

可以幫助隱藏一個人的情緒。

If you don’t want to share your sadness or joy with others, masks will help you with

如果你不想和其他人分享你的悲傷或喜悅，口罩可以

that.

幫助你。

It’s a true gift for introverts who don’t feel like talking to strangers or answering

對於個性內向，不想與陌生人交談或回答商店售貨員

questions from shop assistants.

問題的人來說，口罩是一個真正的禮物。

Some people also wear headphones and feel safe and protected wherever they go.

有些人也會戴耳機，讓他們走到哪裡都感到安全受到保護。

The Asian masks market is thriving, they spend $230,000,000 on masks yearly in Japan alone.

亞洲口罩市場正蓬勃發展，僅僅在日本，他們每年花上 2.3 億美元購買口罩。

New options appear all the time.

不斷推出新的選擇。

One Japanese manufacturer even started producing masks that help with shedding weight.

一家日本製造商甚至開始生產有助於減輕體重的口罩。

They have a special color and flavor that stimulate the metabolism to help its owner

它們具有特殊的顏色和口味能夠刺激新陳代謝以幫助配戴者

get in shape.

維持身材。

Wow, I assumed it would just plug up his mouth.

哇，我以為那是要拿來塞住他的嘴。

My bad.

是我誤會了。

But this isn’t the only interesting tradition in Asia that surprises foreigners.

不過這還不是亞洲唯一一個讓外國人感到驚訝的有趣傳統。

This ancient culture has hundreds of mysteries.

這個古老文化擁有數百個神秘的事物。

Asia is the biggest continent in square miles and population.

亞洲是平方英里面積最大人口最多的大陸。

It’s bigger than the entire surface of the moon by 2.9 million square miles.

它比整個月球表面大上 290 萬平方英里。

The population of the whole continent is 60% of the world’s population.

整個亞洲大陸的人口佔世界人口的百分之 60。

If all these people stand together holding each other’s hands, nothing would get done

如果這些人手牽手站在一起，

– oh, and they’d make 100 circles around the Earth.

哦，他們還能繞地球 100 圈。

Only one Chinese province, Sichuan, has more people in it than Greece, Portugal, Netherlands,

單單一個中國的省份，四川的人口就超過希臘、葡萄牙、荷蘭

Austria, Guatemala, Malaysia, Australia and Canada put together.

奧地利、瓜地馬拉、馬來西亞、澳洲和加拿大的人口總和。

And this province is only the 4th biggest in China.

而它只是中國的第四大省。

Though China is in 5 time zones, there’s officially only one that they use.

雖然中國橫跨 5 個時區，官方卻只使用一個。

The government accepted this rule in the middle of the 20th century to make the people of

政府在 20 世紀中葉採納這個法則，讓中國人民

China more united.

更具有一致性。

That’s why, when it’s 6 am in Beijing, the Western territories will be in darkness

這也就是為什麼在北京時間早晨 6 點鐘，西方區域還有 2 個小時

for 2 more hours.

的黑夜。

The Vietnamese New year, Tet, is a birthday for everyone.

越南新年，Tet，是每個人的生日。

It starts on the first day of the Moon calendar, which is at the end of winter, and is celebrated

它開始於農曆的第一天，也就是冬天的結束，要連續慶祝

for several days.

好幾天。

The Vietnamese and Koreans count their age by the number of Moon years.

越南人和韓國人用農曆來計算自己的年紀。

So even if a child is born several days before Tet, they won’t turn one year old until

因此就算一個孩子在 Tet 前幾天出生，他們要等到過了下一個新年

their first Tet.

才算滿一歲。

The Thai New Year is celebrated from April 13 till April 15, and is the oldest festival

泰國新年的慶典在 4 月 13 日 到 4 月 15 日 ，它是最古老的節日

that marks the change of seasons.

標記著季節的變換。

One of the main rituals of this holiday is smearing each other with a mixture of water,

這個假期的主要儀式之一就是將水、麵粉和滑石粉的混合物

flour, and talc.

互相塗抹。

And this helps with what -- a facial or something?

而它的好處是什麼 -- 像是敷臉嗎？

If you know about it, tell me in the comments.

如果你知道其中的意義，在留言裡告訴我。

The Japanese are the thinnest nation among the largest economies.

日本人在最大經濟體系的國家當中是最精瘦的。

And this is regulated by law!

這是法律規定的！

Japanese laws demand that men’s waist shouldn’t be wider than 33.5 inches.

日本法律要求男性腰圍不得寬於 33.5 英吋。

Women’s waists shouldn’t be wider than 35 inches.

女性腰圍不得寬於 35 吋。

People who break the law won’t be fined or jailed, but will get a medical consultation

違反法律的人不會被罰款或監禁，但是會得到醫療諮詢

and are usually put on a diet approved by the government.

並必須接受政府核准的節食計畫。

This is done for the sake of the nation’s health, since excess weight is generally linked

這麼做是為了國家的健康，因為體重過重通常和

with different diseases.

各種疾病有關聯。

So it’s their way to weigh you, so you don’t weigh, way, way too much.

所以這是他們控制你體重的方式，讓你不會超重。

The Chinese name their children after events.

中國人以事件命名他們的孩子。

In1992, China applied to hold the Olympic Games, and 680 newborn babies were called

1992 年，中國舉辦奧運，那一年有 680 名新生兒被命名

Aoyun, which means “Olympic Games” in Chinese.

奧運，也就是「Olympic Games」的中文。

Other popular names are “Creating the nation”, “Space travel”, and “Defense of China”.

其他熱門的名字像是「創建國家」、「太空旅行」和「中國國防」。

Apparently few if any, are named “Kung Fu Panda”.

顯然應該沒有人會被叫做「功夫熊貓」。

In Vietnam, men grow long fingernails.

在越南，男性留長指甲。

It’s considered a high-class mark, since only people who don’t do any hard work can

這被視為高級的象徵，畢竟只有不做粗重工作的人

manage this.

才能這麼做。

These are mainly people who work in shops and beauty salons.

這些人主要都是在商店裡和美容院工作的人。

“Inemuri” is the Japanese practice of taking a nap during the workday.

「Inemuri」是日本人在工作日小睡的習慣。

If you go to sleep in the office, nobody will judge or fire you.

如果你在辦公室裡睡覺，沒有人會批評你或開除你。

Quite to the contrary, it’s a sign that you work a lot and don’t have time to sleep

反而，這表示你工作繁忙，沒有時間在家裡

at home.

睡覺。

It’s also proved that a short nap during the day helps to rest and restore energy,

這也證明白天的小憩有助於休息和恢復精力

which means that people will work more efficiently.

意味著人們將更有效率地工作。

The famous Japanese dish, “sushi” originated from South Asia and is made from 2 main ingredients

著名的日本料理「壽司」，源自於南亞，以兩種東方菜餚－米和魚

of Eastern cuisine – rice and fish.

為主要食材製成。

The Japanese have eaten it for many generations, and got so used to it that they now have special

日本人幾代以來習慣吃壽司，在他們的腸道當中

bacteria in their gut that help to digest the seaweed better than people from other

有特殊的細菌，比起其他國家的人更能夠

nations do.

幫助消化海藻。

Skyscrapers in Hong Kong have huge holes about 40 feet high and 33 feet wide.

香港的摩天大樓有高約 40 英呎，寬約 33 英呎的大洞。

This is done so that dragons can fly through them when they go from the mountain to the

這麼做的原因是要讓龍從山上飛到海裡時

sea.

能夠穿過。

In other words, so that energy could flow easily.

換句話說，能量可以順暢地流動。

This is part of the Fengshui tradition that the Chinese believe in and follow in daily

這是中國人在日常生活當中信仰並遵循的風水傳統的一部分

life, even in architecture.

即使在建築中也是如此。

Holy Buildings!

神聖的建築！

Which of these Asian traditions or facts surprises you most?

哪些亞洲的傳統和事實讓你感到最驚訝？

Let me know down in the comments!

在留言中告訴我！

Hey, if you learned something new today, then give the video a like and share it with a

嘿，如果你今天有學習到新的東西，那麼給這支影片按個讚並和朋友

friend!

分享！

And here are some other cool videos I think you'll enjoy.

這裡還有一些很酷的影片我想你應該會喜歡。

Just click to the left or right, and remember stay on the Bright Side of life!

只要點擊左邊或右邊，記得關注 Bright Side 的生活頻道哦！