血型決定性格:科學還是傳說?大綱

Japanese crazy for blood types
血型決定性格：科學還是傳說？

Do you believe that blood types, like zodiac signs, can determine your personality? People in Japan take blood types very seriously, according to a recent BBC report. They have big implications for life, work and love. “What’s your blood type?” is often a key question in everything from matchmaking to job applications.
你相信血型會像星座一樣，決定一個人的性格嗎？近日，英國廣播公司BBC報道稱，在日本人們很注重血型。從生活、工作到戀愛，他們都會參考血型。“你是什麼血型？”已經成爲一個關鍵性問題，關係到相親、求職以及生活的方方面面。

Last year, four of Japan’s top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, selling More than 5 million copies altogether.
去年，日本10大暢銷圖書中有4本與血型決定性格有關，四本書的總銷量超過500萬冊。

Taku Kabeya, chief editor at Bungeisha, the publisher of one of the books, told The Huffington Post that he thought the appeal of these books comes from having one’s self-image confirmed. Readers discover the definition of their blood type and “It’s like ‘Yes, that’s me!’”
作爲其中一本圖書的發行人、文芸社主編Taku Kabeya在接受《郝芬頓郵報》採訪時稱，他認爲這類圖書的魅力源自人們對自我形象的認知。讀者看到書中對自己血型所下的定義時便會覺得“太對了，這就是我！”。

As defined by the books, type As are sensitive perfectionists and good team players, but they tend to be over-anxious. Type Os are curious and generous but stubborn, while ABs are artistic but also mysterious and unpredictable. Type Bs are cheerful, but have eccentric, individualistic and selfish traits.
按照書中定義，A型血的人是敏感的完美主義者以及優秀的團隊領導者，但同時往往過於焦慮。O型血的人好奇心強，慷慨大方，但十分固執；而AB型血的人很有藝術氣質，但太過神祕莫測。B型血的人性格開朗，卻性格古怪，崇尚利己主義且十分自私。

About 40 percent of the Japanese Population are type A and 30 percent are type O, while only 20 percent are type B, with AB accounting for the remaining 10 percent, according to the BBC.
BBC報道稱，日本人口中大約有40%的人是A型血，30%是O型血，而B型和AB型血的人數僅佔20%和10%。

Morning television shows, newspapers and magazines often publish blood type horoscopes and discuss relationship compatibility based on blood types. Popular comics and video games often mention a character’s blood type.
早間新聞節目、報紙以及雜誌常常會發布一些類似於占星術的血型分析，並探討戀人間的血型相容性。熱門喜劇以及電子遊戲也常常會提到某個人物的血型。

You can even buy soft drinks, chewing gum, and bath salts catering to different blood groups.
你甚至可以買到根據不同血型人羣所定製的軟飲、口香糖以及浴鹽。

Blood types, however, are simply determined by proteins in the blood. Why is it such a popular belief that they determine one’s character? One reason often given about the craze is that in a relatively uniform and homogenous society, it provides a simple framework to divide people up into easily recognizable groups.
然而，簡單來說血型是由血液中蛋白質決定的。爲何“血型決定性格”這種說法會如此受到人們的歡迎呢？導致這股熱潮的原因之一便是：在相對制式、趨同的社會裏，血型理論提供了一種簡單的框架將人分爲不同的類型。

“Being the same is considered a good thing here in Japanese society,” translator Chie Kobayashi told the BBC. “But we enjoy finding little differences that distinguish people.”
譯者千繪小林在接受BBC採訪時表示：“在日本社會，‘從衆’被視爲一種美德。但我們也喜歡找到這些區別人們的小差異。”The beliefs surrounding blood groups have been used in unusual ways.
血型理論還被應用到許多不同尋常的事物中去。

The women’s softball team that won gold for Japan at the Beijing Olympics is reported to have used blood type theories to design training for each player. Major companies reportedly make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types.
北京奧運會上奪取冠軍的日本女子壘球隊便針對每個隊員的不同血型進行訓練。據說，大多數公司會參考血型來爲員工安排任務。

In 1990 the Asahi Daily newspaper reported that Mitsubishi Electronics had announced the creation of a team made up entirely of AB workers, because of “their ability to make plans”.
1990年，《朝日新聞》的一篇報道稱，日本三菱電器組建了一個完全由AB型血員工組成的團隊，認爲“他們企劃能力強”。

These beliefs even affect politics. Last year, the country’s Minister for Reconstruction Ryu Matsumoto was forced to resign after only a week in office, after a bad-tempered encounter with local officials was televised. In his resignation speech he blamed his failings on his blood type.
血型學說甚至波及到政壇。去年，日本復興擔當大臣松本龍由於脾氣暴躁而與日本地方官員發生衝突，該事件被電視報道後，上任僅一週的松本龍就被迫辭職。在辭職演說中，他將自己的過失歸咎於血型。

“My blood is type B, which means I can be irritable and impetuous, and my intentions don’t always come across,” said a remorseful Matsumoto.
松本龍十分懊悔地表示：“我是B型血，這意味着我容易煩躁和衝動，我的本意經常被誤解。”

Not all see the craze about blood types as harmless fun, and the Japanese now have a term for it, “bura-hara,” meaning blood-type harassment.
並非所有的人都將這股熱潮視爲無傷大雅的玩笑，現在在日本有一個專門術語叫“bura-hara”，意思就是血型騷擾。

People with blood B and AB are especially looked down upon because according to their blood types they are strange and can’t get along with others. The negative images are so widely acknowledged that people with these blood types are reluctant to “come out”. It even affects their willingness to become blood donors.
B型和AB型的人尤其遭到人們的白眼，因爲這些血型的人性格古怪，無法與他人相處。這些負面形象得到人們的廣泛認同，使得這些血型的人十分抗拒站出來。這甚至還影響到他們想獻血的意願。