Autumn Tiger
秋老虎
Although Start of Autumn indicates the beginning of autumn, hot weather will not come to an end. The period of hot days after Start of Autumn, usually lasting for 30 days, is called "Autumn Tiger" or "Indian Summer." Because of decreasing precipitation, it is even more sweltering during this period than during Major Heat.
虽然立秋预示着秋天的开始，但是炎热的天气还远没有结束。立秋过后，炎热的天气通常还会再持续30天，这段时间被称之为“秋老虎”，北美人称之为“印第安夏”。这一段时间甚至会比大暑还要热。
据某媒体报道，有两名武汉名牌高校英语专业女大学生，应聘工地翻译职位时，现场接受翻译考试出语“雷人”，其中一人将“秋老虎”直译成“autumn tiger”(秋天的老虎）。
“秋老虎”、“小阳春”，都是中文里特殊的表达方式，那么如何用英文来表达“深秋季节的一段暖和天气”呢？其实英文中有个与之相对应的短语， "Indian Summer"。"Indian Summer"指秋天的一段暖和、干燥的天气，往往出现在9月下旬、10月和11月，有时候也会出现在8 月或12月，爱伦-坡曾把它称作 "strange interregnum occurring in autumn" 。 "Indian Summer"中的"Indian"绝对不是指印度，而是指美洲的土著民族印第安人，因为这样的天气出现在美国东海岸中部各州，北到新英格兰，西至大平原。这种天气往往伴随着灾难性的大雾。
"Indian Summer"首次出现在1778年一位法国籍美国人的书中，他在描写殖民地的农场中写道:
"Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares [the earth] to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer."
那么他为什么会在文章中提到 "smoke"一词呢？一种说法认为印第安人为了在冬天来临之前用火烧的方法把躲藏起来的猎物驱逐出洞，或者是用火将耕地上的杂草烧尽以便第二年春耕，所以才有了"smoke"一词。
爱伦·坡在他的A Tale of Ragged Mountains，也提到"smoke"一词（"the thick and peculiar mist, or smoke, which distinguishes the Indian Summer"）, 增加了这一说法的可信度。菲利普·多德里奇在他的 Note on the Indian War in West Virginia (1842) 对"smoke"一词提供了另一种说法。他写道，“烟雾笼罩的日子开始了，它将要持续一段时间。这样的天气被称为Indian Summer，因为这段小阳春的天气为印第安人去骚扰移民地区的人们提供了机会。”（"The smokey time commenced and lasted for a considerable number of days. This was the Indian summer, because it afforded the Indians another opportunity of visiting the settlements with their destructive warfare."）因为印第安人在天凉以后就不再向移民地区发起突袭，除了有这样一段暖和的天气。那么"smoke"就是印第安人焚烧村庄和房屋的结果。这些说法到底哪个正确，还是得由您自己作出选择，因为这些都是民间的说法。
在英国，人们也开始用"Indian Summer"来代替 "St. Luke's little summer", "St. Martin's summer", "All Hallows summer" 表示“秋老虎”、“小阳春”这个意思。 如 "An Indian summer in the West Country brought peak holiday traffic jams in Devon yesterday" (Sunday Times, September 16, 1962). 此外，a spell of hot weather after the Beginning of Autumn; the after summer; the old wives' summer 这些翻译也都是可以的。old wives' summer，它指的是“A period of calm, clear weather,with cold nights and misty morningsbut fine warm days, which sets in over central Europe toward the end of September; comparable to Indian summer.” 11月的印第安之夏，9月的老妇人的夏日，和我们的秋老虎在时间上还是有些差别的，不过相较而言，老妇人离我们更近 。
总之，北美的Indian summer和欧洲的old wives' summer，和我们的秋老虎，相映成趣，不亦乐乎(虽然差别还是有的 )。老外的“印第安之夏”和“老妇人的夏日”是相对爽快得多的绝世好天气，而我们的秋老虎带给我们更多的是反感(从老虎一词就可以看出对它的抵触)——炎热的天气太难受了。毕竟大家还是喜欢秋高气爽多一点。无论如何，这鬼天气已经过去了！
In China, many people describe hot days in autumn as the "Autumn Tiger"(Indian Summer). However, Mr. Zhou Chunyu, director of Hangzhou Observatory explained that the "Autumn Tiger" is actually the weather in which the sub-tropical high pressure returns to Yangtze River regions, it again brings continuous sunny days with high temperature. Although the "Autumn Tiger" has such power as the king of the forest, the heat is actually different from the summer. We can enjoy some coolness in the morning and evening.
About twenty years in Hangzhou history have seen the "Autumn Tiger" since 1951. However, it is September after all, so the "Autumn Tiger" will be dying soon in the days to come.