Franklin and Franklin impersonator
Every nation has its heroes, of course, If a nation is lucky, it has one who was so able in everything he or she did that the person's legacy stretches in many directions. Michelangelo comes to mind. Well, America has been fortunate in this respect, too.
每个国家自然都有自己的英雄。如果一个国家运气好，它就会有一个不论做什么事都有非人才干的英雄，他留下的遗产是多方面的。我们自然会想到米开朗琪罗 。在这方面，美国也很幸运。
Ben Franklin was an inventor not only of things, but of ideas. First some of the things, Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod; he created the first wood stove with a pipe out the back that extended through the wall. You may say: "So what in these days of forced air heating?" But in his time, the Franklin Stove produced far more heat than a fireplace, cost less to operate, was less smoky, and became popular all over the world. Franklin also published America's first magazine and organized its first postal service and its first lending library.
本·富兰克林是一位发明家，不仅发明东西，而且也发明思想。他发明的东西当中有避雷针；他还创造了第一个木制火炉，从背后通出一根烟囱管子插到墙劈里去。在现在使用暖气的时代，你可能会说：“那又有什么?”可是，在那个时代，富兰克林炉比壁炉发出的热量大得多，费用少，烟也少，因此而流行于全世界。富兰克林还出版了美国第一份杂志，组建了美国第一家邮政局和第一座出借书籍的图书馆。
Ben Franklin was also famous-- still is, 200 some years after his death-- for his witty observations, like, "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half--shut afterwards. " Or, "There never was a good war or a bad peace. " Another one: "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. "
本·富兰克林讲话谈谐风趣，他的一些言论在他死后200多年的今天依然十分出名。例如，他说过：“结婚前应该把眼睛睁得大大的；结婚后应该半睁半闭。”“从来没有好战争，也没有坏和平。”还有一句：“在这个世界上，只有死亡和交税是无法避免的。”
But he was much more than just a clever tinker with things and words. This moon" faced, simply dressed, somewhat obese man- he sometimes called himself "Mr. Fatsides" --was one of those who created the U. S. Declaration of Independence. It was he who put the "self-evident" in its most famous line- "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. " And when it appeared that the new United States may not be able to win its war against Britain, it was old Ben then in his 70s, who was dispatched to Paris and talked the French into sending soldiers and ships to help the Americans--help without which America today might well be a member of the British Common wealth. All the while he was in France, it must also be noted, he was pursuing, apparently with considerable luck, the ladies of King Louis XIV court.
但是，他远不仅只是一个善于摆弄东西和词藻的能工巧匠。这个圆脸、衣着简朴、略肥胖的人——有时候他自称是“胖子先生”——是美国独立宣言的作者之一。就是他在宣言中最著名的一句话里加上了“不言而喻”这几个字。这句话就是：“我们认为下述真理乃是不言而喻的：人人生而平等。”当新诞生的美国看起来可能打不赢这场同英国人的战争时，又是当时已届70高龄的本杰明被派往巴黎。是他说服法国人派来士兵和舶只以援助美国人——如果没有这一援助，今天的美国很可能还是英联邦的一个成员。还应提到，在他出使法国期间，他一直在向路易十四世宫廷里的贵妇们求爱，显然他的运气还很不错呢。
Ben's most enduring legacy, though, is the U. S, Constitution he helped write in Philadelphia in 1787. When the delegates got into wrangles with one another on how this new kind of government should work, it was Benjamin Franklin who was always there to arrange a compromise.
然而，本杰明·富兰克林所留下来的最持久的遗产是在他协助下于1787年在费城写成的美国宪法。当代表们就这一新型的政府究竟应该怎样工作而互相争论不休时，他总能安排一个折衷的解决方案。
He died at 84 in his beloved Philadelphia.
在他84岁那年，他在所热爱的费城去世。
A couple of centuries ago, no American was better known in Europe than a portly old man who wore his spectacles on the end of this nose. His name was Benjamin Franklin. The story is about a man who has dedicated his life to keeping Franklin's memory fresh.
200年前，在欧洲最负盛名的美国人莫过于一个眼镜架在鼻尖上的、胖胖的老人了。他的名字叫本杰明·富兰克林。本故事讲的是一个人为使人们对富兰克林的记忆常新而奉献一生的故事。
Ralph Archbold lives in a self-imposed time warp. Sort of. Fifteen years ago, he became fascinated with one of America's founding fathers. Benjamin Franklin, and decided that he' would make his living impersonating him. And he does. The other day I knocked on the door of Mr. Archbold's townhouse in Philadelphia. not far from where Mr. Franklin lived a couple of hundred years ago.
拉尔夫·阿奇博尔德生活在他给自己硬性规定的时间经线里，或多或少是这样的。15年前，他迷上了美国的创始人之一——本杰明·富兰克林，并且决定要以扮演富兰克林为生。现在他就是这样干的。阿奇博尔德先生住在费城一所城市住宅里，离两个世纪前富兰克林先生住的地方不远。
Benjamin Franklin, a scientist of world fame, one of the authors of the U. S. Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, was quite a ladies' man, even when he was in his 80s and that's when he was representing this country in Europe. Ralph Archbold knows every nook and cranny of Franklin's life" knowledge he further authenticates by looking like the old gentleman and dressing like him.
本杰明·富兰克林，世界闻名的科学家，美国独立宣言和宪法的作者之一，的确是一个喜欢在女人中混的男人。甚至当他已届80高龄时，也就是在他代表美国出使欧洲期间，也是如此。拉尔夫·阿奇博尔德了解富兰克林一生的每一个细节——他通过使自己的相貌和衣着都同富兰克林一样，以进一步证实他对富兰克林的一生了如指掌。
"I will do 600 performances. Just in schools I will do 400 performances, each one about an hour long. And then with conventions and meetings I am very busy. This is a full-time career, and it has been for the 15 years. "
“我演出600次以上。仅仅在各个学校里我就要演 出400次，每次1小时。那么还有年会、会议，我很忙。这是个专职工作，15年来一直如此。”
He makes a good living impersonating Franklin" But, there's more to it than that:
他靠扮演富兰克林过着优裕的生活。但是，还不仅如此而已：
"When I can be photographed with someone who will take the photo back and say, 'look, here I am with Ben Franklin, and you know what I found out about him that I didn't know?' that's an exciting outreach. It's exciting for me to realize that from all over the world people come here. they touch the 'Liberty' Bell, and then they might have a chance to meet Ben Franklin. And they have all heard about Ben, and they all love Ben. And that is really exciting. People . . . people really like to talk to Ben Franklin. "
“当我和某人照了一张相，他把相片带回去并对人说：'瞧!这是我和本·富兰克林一起照的。你知道吗，我了解到什么过去不知道的有关他的事?'这样往外一传是很令人兴奋的。我很激动地发现人们从世界各地到这里来，为的是用手摸一摸自由之钟，然后还有机会同本·富兰克林见面。他们都听说过本，都热爱本。这的确让人感到激动。人们……人们确实很愿意同本·富兰克林谈话。”
Thursday, October 25, 2007
霍金和他的世界Stephen Hawking and His World
Stephen Hawking and His World
斯蒂芬·霍金教授是当代享有盛誉的伟人之一，被称为在世的最伟大的科学家，当今的爱因斯坦。他在统一20世纪物理学的两大基础理论—爱因斯坦的相对论和普朗克的量子论方面走出了重要一步。1989年获得英国爵士荣誉称号。他是英国皇家学会学员和美国科学院外籍院士。
霍金教授1942年出生于英国牛津，这一天正好是伽利略的300年忌日。1963年，霍金教授被诊断患有肌肉萎缩症，即运动神经病。1965年获得理论物理学博士学位。1974年3月1日，霍金教授在《自然》上发表论文，阐述了自己的新发现—黑洞是有辐射的。在几个星期内，全世界的物理学家都在讨论他的研究工作（霍金所指的辐射被称为霍金辐射）。霍金的新发现，被认为是多年来理论物理学最重要的进展。该论文被称为“物理学史上最深刻的论文之一”。1975—1976年间，在其获得6项大奖中有伦敦皇家天文学会的埃丁顿勋章、梵蒂冈教皇科学学会十一世勋章、霍普金斯奖、美国丹尼欧海涅曼奖、马克斯韦奖和英国皇家学会的休斯勋章。1978年他获得物理界最有威望的大奖—阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦奖。1979年，被任命为著名的、曾一度为牛顿所任的剑桥大学卢卡逊数学教授。1988年，霍金的惊世之著《时间简史：从大爆炸到黑洞》（A Brief History of Time：from the Big Bang to Black Holes）发行。从研究黑洞出发，探索了宇宙的起源和归宿，解答了人类有史以来一直探索的问题：时间有没有开端，空间有没有边界。这是人类科学史上里程碑式的佳作。该书被译成40余种文字，出版了1000余万册。霍金教授的通俗演讲在国际上也享有盛誉，他的足迹遍布世界各地。他试图通过自己的书籍和通俗演讲，将自己的思想与整个世界交流。2000年初，霍金在美国白宫做了演讲，这是世界之夜（Millenium Evenings）活动的一部分，克林顿总统亲切会见他并向他表示祝贺。2001年10月又一部力作《The Universe in a Nutshell》出版发行。该书是《时间简史》的姐妹篇。在该书中，霍金揭示了自《时间简史》发表以来，理论物理学的伟大突破。
1942-1-8：出生于英国牛津。
1963：被诊断出肌萎缩性侧索硬化症。
1973：首部著作《空时的大型结构》出版。
1974：宣布发现黑洞辐射，成为英国皇家学会会员。
1979：《广义相对论评述：纪念爱因斯坦百年诞辰》出版。
1985：失去语言能力，使用带语音合成器的计算机。
1988：《时间简史：从大爆炸到黑洞》获沃尔夫基金奖。至今销售2500万册。
1993：《黑洞与婴儿宇宙及其它论文》出版。
A Brief History of Him
Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 (300 years after the death of Galileo) in Oxford, England. His parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at University College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.
His many publications include The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Stephen Hawking has three popular books published; his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell.
Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures.
My Experience with ALS (by Stephen Hawking)
I am quite often asked: How do you feel about having ALS? The answer is, not a lot. I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.
It was a great shock to me to discover that I had motor neurone disease. I had never been very well coordinated physically as a child. I was not good at ball games, and my handwriting was the despair of my teachers. Maybe for this reason, I didn't care much for sport or physical activities. But things seemed to change when I went to Oxford, at the age of 17. I took up coxing and rowing. I was not Boat Race standard, but I got by at the level of inter-College competition.
In my third year at Oxford, however, I noticed that I seemed to be getting more clumsy, and I fell over once or twice for no apparent reason. But it was not until I was at Cambridge, in the following year, that my father noticed, and took me to the family doctor. He referred me to a specialist, and shortly after my 21st birthday, I went into hospital for tests. I was in for two weeks, during which I had a wide variety of tests. They took a muscle sample from my arm, stuck electrodes into me, and injected some radio opaque fluid into my spine, and watched it going up and down with x-rays, as they tilted the bed. After all that, they didn't tell me what I had, except that it was not multiple sclerosis, and that I was an a-typical case. I gathered, however, that they expected it to continue to get worse, and that there was nothing they could do, except give me vitamins. I could see that they didn't expect them to have much effect. I didn't feel like asking for more details, because they were obviously bad.
The realisation that I had an incurable disease, that was likely to kill me in a few years, was a bit of a shock. How could something like that happen to me? Why should I be cut off like this? However, while I had been in hospital, I had seen a boy I vaguely knew die of leukaemia, in the bed opposite me. It had not been a pretty sight. Clearly there were people who were worse off than me. At least my condition didn't make me feel sick. Whenever I feel inclined to be sorry for myself I remember that boy.
Not knowing what was going to happen to me, or how rapidly the disease would progress, I was at a loose end. The doctors told me to go back to Cambridge and carry on with the research I had just started in general relativity and cosmology. But I was not making much progress, because I didn't have much mathematical background. And, anyway, I might not live long enough to finish my PhD. I felt somewhat of a tragic character. I took to listening to Wagner, but reports in magazine articles that I drank heavily are an exaggeration. The trouble is once one article said it, other articles copied it, because it made a good story. People believe that anything that has appeared in print so many times must be true.
My dreams at that time were rather disturbed. Before my condition had been diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There had not seemed to be anything worth doing. But shortly after I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed. I suddenly realised that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do if I were reprieved. Another dream, that I had several times, was that I would sacrifice my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die anyway, it might as well do some good. But I didn't die. In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research, and I got engaged to a girl called Jane Wilde, whom I had met just about the time my condition was diagnosed. That engagement changed my life. It gave me something to live for. But it also meant that I had to get a job if we were to get married. I therefore applied for a research fellowship at Gonville and Caius (pronounced Keys) college, Cambridge. To my great surprise, I got a fellowship, and we got married a few months later.
The fellowship at Caius took care of my immediate employment problem. I was lucky to have chosen to work in theoretical physics, because that was one of the few areas in which my condition would not be a serious handicap. And I was fortunate that my scientific reputation increased, at the same time that my disability got worse. This meant that people were prepared to offer me a sequence of positions in which I only had to do research, without having to lecture.
We were also fortunate in housing. When we were married, Jane was still an undergraduate at Westfield College in London, so she had to go up to London during the week. This meant that we had to find somewhere I could manage on my own, and which was central, because I could not walk far. I asked the College if they could help, but was told by the then Bursar: it is College policy not to help Fellows with housing. We therefore put our name down to rent one of a group of new flats that were being built in the market place. (Years later, I discovered that those flats were actually owned by the College, but they didn't tell me that.) However, when we returned to Cambridge from a visit to America after the marriage, we found that the flats were not ready. As a great concession, the Bursar said we could have a room in a hostel for graduate students. He said, "We normally charge 12 shillings and 6 pence a night for this room. However, as there will be two of you in the room, we will charge 25 shillings." We stayed there only three nights. Then we found a small house about 100 yards from my university department. It belonged to another College, who had let it to one of its fellows. However he had moved out to a house he had bought in the suburbs. He sub-let the house to us for the remaining three months of his lease. During those three months, we found that another house in the same road was standing empty. A neighbour summoned the owner from Dorset, and told her that it was a scandal that her house should be empty, when young people were looking for accommodation. So she let the house to us. After we had lived there for a few years, we wanted to buy the house, and do it up. So we asked my College for a mortgage. However, the College did a survey, and decided it was not a good risk. In the end we got a mortgage from a building society, and my parents gave us the money to do it up. We lived there for another four years, but it became too difficult for me to manage the stairs. By this time, the College appreciated me rather more, and there was a different Bursar. They therefore offered us a ground floor flat in a house that they owned. This suited me very well, because it had large rooms and wide doors. It was sufficiently central that I could get to my University department, or the College, in my electric wheel chair. It was also nice for our three children, because it was surrounded by garden, which was looked after by the College gardeners.
Up to 1974, I was able to feed myself, and get in and out of bed. Jane managed to help me, and bring up the children, without outside help. However, things were getting more difficult, so we took to having one of my research students living with us. In return for free accommodation, and a lot of my attention, they helped me get up and go to bed. In 1980, we changed to a system of community and private nurses, who came in for an hour or two in the morning and evening. This lasted until I caught pneumonia in 1985. I had to have a tracheotomy operation. After this, I had to have 24 hour nursing care. This was made possible by grants from several foundations.
Before the operation, my speech had been getting more slurred, so that only a few people who knew me well, could understand me. But at least I could communicate. I wrote scientific papers by dictating to a secretary, and I gave seminars through an interpreter, who repeated my words more clearly. However, the tracheotomy operation removed my ability to speak altogether. For a time, the only way I could communicate was to spell out words letter by letter, by raising my eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card. It is pretty difficult to carry on a conversation like that, let alone write a scientific paper. However, a computer expert in California, called Walt Woltosz, heard of my plight. He sent me a computer program he had written, called Equalizer. This allowed me to select words from a series of menus on the screen, by pressing a switch in my hand. The program could also be controlled by a switch, operated by head or eye movement. When I have built up what I want to say, I can send it to a speech synthesizer. At first, I just ran the Equalizer program on a desk top computer.
However David Mason, of Cambridge Adaptive Communication, fitted a small portable computer and a speech synthesizer to my wheel chair. This system allowed me to communicate much better than I could before. I can manage up to 15 words a minute. I can either speak what I have written, or save it to disk. I can then print it out, or call it back and speak it sentence by sentence. Using this system, I have written a book, and dozens of scientific papers. I have also given many scientific and popular talks. They have all been well received. I think that is in a large part due to the quality of the speech synthesiser, which is made by Speech Plus. One's voice is very important. If you have a slurred voice, people are likely to treat you as mentally deficient: Does he take sugar? This synthesiser is by far the best I have heard, because it varies the intonation, and doesn't speak like a Dalek. The only trouble is that it gives me an American accent.
I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work. This is thanks to the help I have received from Jane, my children, and a large number of other people and organisations. I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope.
斯蒂芬·霍金教授是当代享有盛誉的伟人之一，被称为在世的最伟大的科学家，当今的爱因斯坦。他在统一20世纪物理学的两大基础理论—爱因斯坦的相对论和普朗克的量子论方面走出了重要一步。1989年获得英国爵士荣誉称号。他是英国皇家学会学员和美国科学院外籍院士。
霍金教授1942年出生于英国牛津，这一天正好是伽利略的300年忌日。1963年，霍金教授被诊断患有肌肉萎缩症，即运动神经病。1965年获得理论物理学博士学位。1974年3月1日，霍金教授在《自然》上发表论文，阐述了自己的新发现—黑洞是有辐射的。在几个星期内，全世界的物理学家都在讨论他的研究工作（霍金所指的辐射被称为霍金辐射）。霍金的新发现，被认为是多年来理论物理学最重要的进展。该论文被称为“物理学史上最深刻的论文之一”。1975—1976年间，在其获得6项大奖中有伦敦皇家天文学会的埃丁顿勋章、梵蒂冈教皇科学学会十一世勋章、霍普金斯奖、美国丹尼欧海涅曼奖、马克斯韦奖和英国皇家学会的休斯勋章。1978年他获得物理界最有威望的大奖—阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦奖。1979年，被任命为著名的、曾一度为牛顿所任的剑桥大学卢卡逊数学教授。1988年，霍金的惊世之著《时间简史：从大爆炸到黑洞》（A Brief History of Time：from the Big Bang to Black Holes）发行。从研究黑洞出发，探索了宇宙的起源和归宿，解答了人类有史以来一直探索的问题：时间有没有开端，空间有没有边界。这是人类科学史上里程碑式的佳作。该书被译成40余种文字，出版了1000余万册。霍金教授的通俗演讲在国际上也享有盛誉，他的足迹遍布世界各地。他试图通过自己的书籍和通俗演讲，将自己的思想与整个世界交流。2000年初，霍金在美国白宫做了演讲，这是世界之夜（Millenium Evenings）活动的一部分，克林顿总统亲切会见他并向他表示祝贺。2001年10月又一部力作《The Universe in a Nutshell》出版发行。该书是《时间简史》的姐妹篇。在该书中，霍金揭示了自《时间简史》发表以来，理论物理学的伟大突破。
1942-1-8：出生于英国牛津。
1963：被诊断出肌萎缩性侧索硬化症。
1973：首部著作《空时的大型结构》出版。
1974：宣布发现黑洞辐射，成为英国皇家学会会员。
1979：《广义相对论评述：纪念爱因斯坦百年诞辰》出版。
1985：失去语言能力，使用带语音合成器的计算机。
1988：《时间简史：从大爆炸到黑洞》获沃尔夫基金奖。至今销售2500万册。
1993：《黑洞与婴儿宇宙及其它论文》出版。
A Brief History of Him
Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 (300 years after the death of Galileo) in Oxford, England. His parents' house was in north London, but during the second world war Oxford was considered a safer place to have babies. When he was eight, his family moved to St Albans, a town about 20 miles north of London. At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine. Mathematics was not available at University College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.
Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College. After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.
Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.
His many publications include The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Stephen Hawking has three popular books published; his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell.
Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures.
My Experience with ALS (by Stephen Hawking)
I am quite often asked: How do you feel about having ALS? The answer is, not a lot. I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.
It was a great shock to me to discover that I had motor neurone disease. I had never been very well coordinated physically as a child. I was not good at ball games, and my handwriting was the despair of my teachers. Maybe for this reason, I didn't care much for sport or physical activities. But things seemed to change when I went to Oxford, at the age of 17. I took up coxing and rowing. I was not Boat Race standard, but I got by at the level of inter-College competition.
In my third year at Oxford, however, I noticed that I seemed to be getting more clumsy, and I fell over once or twice for no apparent reason. But it was not until I was at Cambridge, in the following year, that my father noticed, and took me to the family doctor. He referred me to a specialist, and shortly after my 21st birthday, I went into hospital for tests. I was in for two weeks, during which I had a wide variety of tests. They took a muscle sample from my arm, stuck electrodes into me, and injected some radio opaque fluid into my spine, and watched it going up and down with x-rays, as they tilted the bed. After all that, they didn't tell me what I had, except that it was not multiple sclerosis, and that I was an a-typical case. I gathered, however, that they expected it to continue to get worse, and that there was nothing they could do, except give me vitamins. I could see that they didn't expect them to have much effect. I didn't feel like asking for more details, because they were obviously bad.
The realisation that I had an incurable disease, that was likely to kill me in a few years, was a bit of a shock. How could something like that happen to me? Why should I be cut off like this? However, while I had been in hospital, I had seen a boy I vaguely knew die of leukaemia, in the bed opposite me. It had not been a pretty sight. Clearly there were people who were worse off than me. At least my condition didn't make me feel sick. Whenever I feel inclined to be sorry for myself I remember that boy.
Not knowing what was going to happen to me, or how rapidly the disease would progress, I was at a loose end. The doctors told me to go back to Cambridge and carry on with the research I had just started in general relativity and cosmology. But I was not making much progress, because I didn't have much mathematical background. And, anyway, I might not live long enough to finish my PhD. I felt somewhat of a tragic character. I took to listening to Wagner, but reports in magazine articles that I drank heavily are an exaggeration. The trouble is once one article said it, other articles copied it, because it made a good story. People believe that anything that has appeared in print so many times must be true.
My dreams at that time were rather disturbed. Before my condition had been diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There had not seemed to be anything worth doing. But shortly after I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I was going to be executed. I suddenly realised that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do if I were reprieved. Another dream, that I had several times, was that I would sacrifice my life to save others. After all, if I were going to die anyway, it might as well do some good. But I didn't die. In fact, although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research, and I got engaged to a girl called Jane Wilde, whom I had met just about the time my condition was diagnosed. That engagement changed my life. It gave me something to live for. But it also meant that I had to get a job if we were to get married. I therefore applied for a research fellowship at Gonville and Caius (pronounced Keys) college, Cambridge. To my great surprise, I got a fellowship, and we got married a few months later.
The fellowship at Caius took care of my immediate employment problem. I was lucky to have chosen to work in theoretical physics, because that was one of the few areas in which my condition would not be a serious handicap. And I was fortunate that my scientific reputation increased, at the same time that my disability got worse. This meant that people were prepared to offer me a sequence of positions in which I only had to do research, without having to lecture.
We were also fortunate in housing. When we were married, Jane was still an undergraduate at Westfield College in London, so she had to go up to London during the week. This meant that we had to find somewhere I could manage on my own, and which was central, because I could not walk far. I asked the College if they could help, but was told by the then Bursar: it is College policy not to help Fellows with housing. We therefore put our name down to rent one of a group of new flats that were being built in the market place. (Years later, I discovered that those flats were actually owned by the College, but they didn't tell me that.) However, when we returned to Cambridge from a visit to America after the marriage, we found that the flats were not ready. As a great concession, the Bursar said we could have a room in a hostel for graduate students. He said, "We normally charge 12 shillings and 6 pence a night for this room. However, as there will be two of you in the room, we will charge 25 shillings." We stayed there only three nights. Then we found a small house about 100 yards from my university department. It belonged to another College, who had let it to one of its fellows. However he had moved out to a house he had bought in the suburbs. He sub-let the house to us for the remaining three months of his lease. During those three months, we found that another house in the same road was standing empty. A neighbour summoned the owner from Dorset, and told her that it was a scandal that her house should be empty, when young people were looking for accommodation. So she let the house to us. After we had lived there for a few years, we wanted to buy the house, and do it up. So we asked my College for a mortgage. However, the College did a survey, and decided it was not a good risk. In the end we got a mortgage from a building society, and my parents gave us the money to do it up. We lived there for another four years, but it became too difficult for me to manage the stairs. By this time, the College appreciated me rather more, and there was a different Bursar. They therefore offered us a ground floor flat in a house that they owned. This suited me very well, because it had large rooms and wide doors. It was sufficiently central that I could get to my University department, or the College, in my electric wheel chair. It was also nice for our three children, because it was surrounded by garden, which was looked after by the College gardeners.
Up to 1974, I was able to feed myself, and get in and out of bed. Jane managed to help me, and bring up the children, without outside help. However, things were getting more difficult, so we took to having one of my research students living with us. In return for free accommodation, and a lot of my attention, they helped me get up and go to bed. In 1980, we changed to a system of community and private nurses, who came in for an hour or two in the morning and evening. This lasted until I caught pneumonia in 1985. I had to have a tracheotomy operation. After this, I had to have 24 hour nursing care. This was made possible by grants from several foundations.
Before the operation, my speech had been getting more slurred, so that only a few people who knew me well, could understand me. But at least I could communicate. I wrote scientific papers by dictating to a secretary, and I gave seminars through an interpreter, who repeated my words more clearly. However, the tracheotomy operation removed my ability to speak altogether. For a time, the only way I could communicate was to spell out words letter by letter, by raising my eyebrows when someone pointed to the right letter on a spelling card. It is pretty difficult to carry on a conversation like that, let alone write a scientific paper. However, a computer expert in California, called Walt Woltosz, heard of my plight. He sent me a computer program he had written, called Equalizer. This allowed me to select words from a series of menus on the screen, by pressing a switch in my hand. The program could also be controlled by a switch, operated by head or eye movement. When I have built up what I want to say, I can send it to a speech synthesizer. At first, I just ran the Equalizer program on a desk top computer.
However David Mason, of Cambridge Adaptive Communication, fitted a small portable computer and a speech synthesizer to my wheel chair. This system allowed me to communicate much better than I could before. I can manage up to 15 words a minute. I can either speak what I have written, or save it to disk. I can then print it out, or call it back and speak it sentence by sentence. Using this system, I have written a book, and dozens of scientific papers. I have also given many scientific and popular talks. They have all been well received. I think that is in a large part due to the quality of the speech synthesiser, which is made by Speech Plus. One's voice is very important. If you have a slurred voice, people are likely to treat you as mentally deficient: Does he take sugar? This synthesiser is by far the best I have heard, because it varies the intonation, and doesn't speak like a Dalek. The only trouble is that it gives me an American accent.
I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work. This is thanks to the help I have received from Jane, my children, and a large number of other people and organisations. I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope.
Frederic Francois Chopin,钢琴诗人—肖邦
Frederic Francois Chopin
Frederic Francois Chopin, Polish-born composer and renowned pianist, was the creator of 55 mazurkas, 13 polonaises, 24 preludes, 27 etudes, 19 nocturnes, 4 ballads, and 4 scherzos.
Frederic Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, on February 22, 1810, to a French father and Polish mother. His father, Nicholas Chopin, was a French tutor to many aristocratic Polish families, later accepting a position as a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum.
Although Chopin later attended the Lyceum where his father taught, his early training began at home. This included receiving piano lessons from his mother. By the age of six, Chopin was creating original pieces, showing innate prodigious musical ability. His parents arranged for the young Chopin to take piano instruction from Wojciech Zywny.
When Chopin was sixteen, he attended the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, directed by composer Joseph Elsner. Elsner, like Zywny, insisted on the traditional training associated with Classical music but allowed his students to investigate the more original imaginations of the Romantic style as well.
As often happened with the young musicians of both the Classical and Romantic Periods, Chopin was sent to Vienna, the unquestioned center of music for that day. He gave piano concerts and then arranged to have his pieces published by a Viennese publishing house there. While Chopin was in Austria, Poland and Russia faced off in the apparent beginnings of war. He returned to Warsaw to get his things in preparation of a more permanent move. While there, his friends gave him a silver goblet filled with Polish soil. He kept it always, as he was never able to return to his beloved Poland.
French by heritage, and desirous of finding musical acceptance from a less traditional audience than that of Vienna, Chopin ventured to Paris. Interestingly, other young musicians had assembled in the city of fashion with the very same hope. Chopin joined Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, and Auguste Franchomme, all proponents of the "new" Romantic style.
Although Chopin did play in the large concert halls on occasion, he felt most at home in private settings, enjoying the social milieu that accompanied concerts for the wealthy. He also enjoyed teaching, as this caused him less stress than performing. Chopin did not feel that his delicate technique and intricate melodies were as suited to the grandiose hall as they were to smaller environments and audiences.
News of the war in Poland inspired Chopin to write many sad musical pieces expressing his grief for "his" Poland. Among these was the famous "Revolutionary Etude." Plagued by poor health as well as his homesickness, Chopin found solace in summer visits to the country. Here, his most complex yet harmonic creations found their way to the brilliant composer's hand. The "Fantasia in F Minor," the "Barcarolle," the "Polonaise Fantasia," "Ballade in A Flat Major," "Ballade in F Minor," and "Sonata in B Minor" were all products of the relaxed time Chopin enjoyed in the country.
As the war continued in Warsaw and then reached Paris, Chopin retired to Scotland with friends. Although he was far beyond the reach of the revolution, his melancholy attitude did not improve and he sank deeper into a depression. Likewise, his health did not rejuvenate either. A window in the fighting made it possible for Chopin to return to Paris as his health deteriorated further. Surrounded by those that he loved, Frederic Francois Chopin died at the age of 39. He was buried in Paris.
Chopin's last request was that the Polish soil in the silver goblet be sprinkled over his grave.
钢琴诗人—肖邦
肖邦是近代浪漫派的抒情音乐家，他在音乐史中，是一位神秘、爱国而最富于诗意生命的钢琴家。他一生创作了55部马祖卡舞曲，13部波罗涅滋，24首序曲，27首练习曲，19首夜曲，4首叙事曲以及4部诙谐曲。
1810年2月12日，肖邦出生于波兰华沙郊区的热拉佐瓦沃拉。他的父亲尼古拉斯是具有波兰血统的法国人，而母亲却是一位纯粹的波兰人。尼古拉斯原本是波兰贵族家庭的一名法语教师，后来到华沙的一所中学教授法语。
肖邦最初接触音乐的机会是跟随母亲学钢琴。六岁那年，肖邦创作出了人生的第一部作品，充分展现了他与生俱来的非凡的音乐天赋。不久后，他进入了父亲所在的学校学习，并在父母的安排下，跟随捷克音乐家W.日夫尼学习钢琴。
中学毕业后，肖邦进入华沙音乐学院学习，从师德国音乐家J.A.F埃尔斯纳。与日尼夫相同的是，埃尔斯纳在坚持古典派推崇的传统练习外，鼓励学生们从浪漫派中吸取灵感。
离开华沙音乐学院后，肖邦来到了当时的音乐圣地－维。在那里，肖邦不仅举行了多场音乐会，也发表了不少音乐作品。在波兰民族运动走向高潮，与沙俄的战争一触即发的时候，肖邦身在奥地利。不久，他回到华沙为出国做准备。临行前，华沙音乐学院的师生们为他送行，并赠以盛满祖国泥土的银杯。尽管从此肖邦再也没有回到他深爱着的祖国，他一直保存着这捧祖国的泥土。
为了得到更多浪漫派听众的认可，加上自己拥有一半的法国血统，肖邦来到了法国巴黎。有趣的是，许多抱有同样想法的年轻音乐家们也都聚集到了这座流行之都。在这里，肖邦结识了西欧文艺界许多重要人物，包括匈牙利艺术家李斯特，柏辽兹，意大利音乐家贝利尼等新浪漫主义的拥护者。
尽管肖邦有时也在大型音乐厅演出，但他更喜欢在家或是一些私人的场合，享受更融洽的氛围。他也更喜欢教学时放松的心情。肖邦认为他细致优美的演奏技巧和纷繁的旋律更适合小环境演奏，而不适合宏伟的音乐厅。
波兰陷入战火的消息促使他写了许多充满悲伤的作品，以表达对祖国波兰的哀伤与思念，其中包括名曲《革命练习曲》。肖邦的健康状况一直不佳，加上思乡心切，一度患上肺病，曾在法国南部疗养。期间写过不少成名的珍品。《F小调幻想曲》，《威尼斯船歌》，《幻想波罗涅滋舞曲》，《降A大调叙事曲》，《F小调叙事曲》，《B小调奏鸣曲》等都是在南部疗养时创作的。
战事从华沙蔓延到了巴黎，肖邦不得不和朋友们躲避至苏格兰。虽然肖邦远离了波兰的战火，但他忧郁的情绪丝毫没有改善，反而陷入了更深的沮丧之中。同样地，他的健康状况也没有恢复。回巴黎后，肖邦的健康状况急剧下降，最终在友人们的陪伴下逝世于巴黎的寓所中，结束了短短39年的生命。他的遗体被安葬在巴黎。
肖邦最后的遗愿是将银杯中祖国波兰的泥土撒在他的墓碑上。
Words:
Mazurka 马祖卡舞曲
Polonaise 波罗涅滋
Prelude 序曲
Etude 练习曲
Nocturne 夜曲
Ballad 叙事曲
Scherzo 诙谐曲
Prodigious 非凡的
Melancholy 忧郁的
Rejuvenate 恢复，复原
Deteriorate 恶化，衰退
Frederic Francois Chopin, Polish-born composer and renowned pianist, was the creator of 55 mazurkas, 13 polonaises, 24 preludes, 27 etudes, 19 nocturnes, 4 ballads, and 4 scherzos.
Frederic Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, on February 22, 1810, to a French father and Polish mother. His father, Nicholas Chopin, was a French tutor to many aristocratic Polish families, later accepting a position as a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum.
Although Chopin later attended the Lyceum where his father taught, his early training began at home. This included receiving piano lessons from his mother. By the age of six, Chopin was creating original pieces, showing innate prodigious musical ability. His parents arranged for the young Chopin to take piano instruction from Wojciech Zywny.
When Chopin was sixteen, he attended the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, directed by composer Joseph Elsner. Elsner, like Zywny, insisted on the traditional training associated with Classical music but allowed his students to investigate the more original imaginations of the Romantic style as well.
As often happened with the young musicians of both the Classical and Romantic Periods, Chopin was sent to Vienna, the unquestioned center of music for that day. He gave piano concerts and then arranged to have his pieces published by a Viennese publishing house there. While Chopin was in Austria, Poland and Russia faced off in the apparent beginnings of war. He returned to Warsaw to get his things in preparation of a more permanent move. While there, his friends gave him a silver goblet filled with Polish soil. He kept it always, as he was never able to return to his beloved Poland.
French by heritage, and desirous of finding musical acceptance from a less traditional audience than that of Vienna, Chopin ventured to Paris. Interestingly, other young musicians had assembled in the city of fashion with the very same hope. Chopin joined Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, and Auguste Franchomme, all proponents of the "new" Romantic style.
Although Chopin did play in the large concert halls on occasion, he felt most at home in private settings, enjoying the social milieu that accompanied concerts for the wealthy. He also enjoyed teaching, as this caused him less stress than performing. Chopin did not feel that his delicate technique and intricate melodies were as suited to the grandiose hall as they were to smaller environments and audiences.
News of the war in Poland inspired Chopin to write many sad musical pieces expressing his grief for "his" Poland. Among these was the famous "Revolutionary Etude." Plagued by poor health as well as his homesickness, Chopin found solace in summer visits to the country. Here, his most complex yet harmonic creations found their way to the brilliant composer's hand. The "Fantasia in F Minor," the "Barcarolle," the "Polonaise Fantasia," "Ballade in A Flat Major," "Ballade in F Minor," and "Sonata in B Minor" were all products of the relaxed time Chopin enjoyed in the country.
As the war continued in Warsaw and then reached Paris, Chopin retired to Scotland with friends. Although he was far beyond the reach of the revolution, his melancholy attitude did not improve and he sank deeper into a depression. Likewise, his health did not rejuvenate either. A window in the fighting made it possible for Chopin to return to Paris as his health deteriorated further. Surrounded by those that he loved, Frederic Francois Chopin died at the age of 39. He was buried in Paris.
Chopin's last request was that the Polish soil in the silver goblet be sprinkled over his grave.
钢琴诗人—肖邦
肖邦是近代浪漫派的抒情音乐家，他在音乐史中，是一位神秘、爱国而最富于诗意生命的钢琴家。他一生创作了55部马祖卡舞曲，13部波罗涅滋，24首序曲，27首练习曲，19首夜曲，4首叙事曲以及4部诙谐曲。
1810年2月12日，肖邦出生于波兰华沙郊区的热拉佐瓦沃拉。他的父亲尼古拉斯是具有波兰血统的法国人，而母亲却是一位纯粹的波兰人。尼古拉斯原本是波兰贵族家庭的一名法语教师，后来到华沙的一所中学教授法语。
肖邦最初接触音乐的机会是跟随母亲学钢琴。六岁那年，肖邦创作出了人生的第一部作品，充分展现了他与生俱来的非凡的音乐天赋。不久后，他进入了父亲所在的学校学习，并在父母的安排下，跟随捷克音乐家W.日夫尼学习钢琴。
中学毕业后，肖邦进入华沙音乐学院学习，从师德国音乐家J.A.F埃尔斯纳。与日尼夫相同的是，埃尔斯纳在坚持古典派推崇的传统练习外，鼓励学生们从浪漫派中吸取灵感。
离开华沙音乐学院后，肖邦来到了当时的音乐圣地－维。在那里，肖邦不仅举行了多场音乐会，也发表了不少音乐作品。在波兰民族运动走向高潮，与沙俄的战争一触即发的时候，肖邦身在奥地利。不久，他回到华沙为出国做准备。临行前，华沙音乐学院的师生们为他送行，并赠以盛满祖国泥土的银杯。尽管从此肖邦再也没有回到他深爱着的祖国，他一直保存着这捧祖国的泥土。
为了得到更多浪漫派听众的认可，加上自己拥有一半的法国血统，肖邦来到了法国巴黎。有趣的是，许多抱有同样想法的年轻音乐家们也都聚集到了这座流行之都。在这里，肖邦结识了西欧文艺界许多重要人物，包括匈牙利艺术家李斯特，柏辽兹，意大利音乐家贝利尼等新浪漫主义的拥护者。
尽管肖邦有时也在大型音乐厅演出，但他更喜欢在家或是一些私人的场合，享受更融洽的氛围。他也更喜欢教学时放松的心情。肖邦认为他细致优美的演奏技巧和纷繁的旋律更适合小环境演奏，而不适合宏伟的音乐厅。
波兰陷入战火的消息促使他写了许多充满悲伤的作品，以表达对祖国波兰的哀伤与思念，其中包括名曲《革命练习曲》。肖邦的健康状况一直不佳，加上思乡心切，一度患上肺病，曾在法国南部疗养。期间写过不少成名的珍品。《F小调幻想曲》，《威尼斯船歌》，《幻想波罗涅滋舞曲》，《降A大调叙事曲》，《F小调叙事曲》，《B小调奏鸣曲》等都是在南部疗养时创作的。
战事从华沙蔓延到了巴黎，肖邦不得不和朋友们躲避至苏格兰。虽然肖邦远离了波兰的战火，但他忧郁的情绪丝毫没有改善，反而陷入了更深的沮丧之中。同样地，他的健康状况也没有恢复。回巴黎后，肖邦的健康状况急剧下降，最终在友人们的陪伴下逝世于巴黎的寓所中，结束了短短39年的生命。他的遗体被安葬在巴黎。
肖邦最后的遗愿是将银杯中祖国波兰的泥土撒在他的墓碑上。
Words:
Mazurka 马祖卡舞曲
Polonaise 波罗涅滋
Prelude 序曲
Etude 练习曲
Nocturne 夜曲
Ballad 叙事曲
Scherzo 诙谐曲
Prodigious 非凡的
Melancholy 忧郁的
Rejuvenate 恢复，复原
Deteriorate 恶化，衰退
当普通人做出杰出成就When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordina
◎ Jody Williams 其人及其事迹
1997年的诺贝尔和平奖得主Jody Williams生于1950年，她有一位长期为身心障碍所苦的哥哥，其兄长自童年起便不断遭受同侪的欺负以及社会歧视的眼光，也因为这样的经历，让Williams感同身受，在她相当年幼的阶段即开始孕育了对于不公不义事物的憎恶。在美国唸完文学硕士学位之后，她到墨西哥去当了两年的语文老师。在墨西哥的这两年，她首度看到了美国富裕社会之外，属于赤贫世界的悲惨景象。当她回到美国，便迁移到华盛顿，进入约翰霍普金斯大学主修国际关系硕士。在这段岁月当中，她为美国的不当介入萨尔瓦多内战而感到愤怒，逐渐地，她将自己对于社会正义的热情和关怀转变成为一种 “志业”（work）。在1984到1986年间，Williams参与中南美洲的教育计画方案，而自1986到1992年间，她带领并推动国际对萨尔瓦多的人道救援计划，同时担任该计画的副主席。1991年底，美国越战退伍军人协会的主席Bobby Muller邀请Williams参与发起一个世界性禁雷运动的议题，熟悉美国对中美洲政策的Williams也就因此而有机会能够将自己的热情和理念，面向广大国际社会的政府和非正式部门。
作为反地雷组织首席策略士的Williams，她密集地以写作和演说来让世人更了解地雷的问题和禁雷之必要。她游说的主要对象包括联合国、欧盟议会以及非洲统一联盟等大型国际组织。为了能够让ICBL的禁雷理念能够更具说服力、更能引起世人的共鸣，Williams花了两年的时间，对四个遭受地雷影响的国家作绵密的田野调查，并和Shawn Roberts合着了一本书“在枪声沉寂之后”（After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines），这本书论述了地雷所带来的社会经济影响，除了控诉地雷受害者负担过高的医疗费用之外，同时分析地雷对于一个社群的长期影响，包括工作机会的减少，以及土地可使用性的剧减，因为这些遭受地雷污染的土地无法拿来供农业或是放牧使用，更不用说拿来买卖了．．．．
节目简介：
NPR为美国国家公共电台简称(National Public Radio)，是一家以美国本土民众为广播对象的综合电台，这无疑使它成为基础较好的英语学习者提高听力水平的良好素材。事实上，它的不少材料入选我国英语本科专业必修课《Listen to This》之中。在这里，你可以听到活生生的美语发音和表达方式，了解到地道的美国历史文化和最新的时事动态，从而真正使你的听力水平再上一个台阶。
NPR 的听写素材选自最受欢迎的栏目Morning Edition、Day to Day、All Things Considered，内容包括时评、随感、专访、影评、书评和经济报道，播音员声音悦耳动听，内容丰富多彩。
I believe in the power of love. . .
I believe that a generation of ...
I believe in the impossible
I believe that everyone wants to love and be loved.
I believe in people.
This I believe. For our Monday series, This I Believe we have an essay from Jody Williams. She shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work as founding coordinator of the International campaign to ban landmines. Here is our series curator , independent producer, Jay Alision.
In the early 1980s, Jody Williams was not on track to a Nobel Peace Prize. In fact she was working for a temperary employment agency. Leaving a subway station one day, she was handed a leaflet about global activism which provoked her to change the direction of her life. That descion , that affirmation of the potential of individual action still guides her. Here is Jody Williams with her essay for this I believe.
Official Transcript:
I believe it is possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For me, the difference between an "ordinary" and an "extraordinary" person is not the title that person might have, but what they do to make the world a better place for us all.
I have no idea why people choose to do what they do. When I was a kid I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I did know what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to grow up, have 2.2 kids, get married, the whole white picket fence thing. And I certainly didn't think about being an activist. I didn't even really know what one was.
My older brother was born deaf. Growing up, I ended up defending him and I often think that is what started me on my path to whatever it is I am today.
When I was approached with the idea of trying to create a landmine campaign, we were just three people in a small office in Washington, DC in late 1991. I certainly had more than a few ideas about how to begin a campaign, but what if nobody cared? What if nobody responded? But I knew the only way to answer those questions was to accept the challenge.
If I have any power as an individual, it's because I work with other individuals in countries all over the world. We are ordinary people: My friend Jemma from Armenia; Paul from Canada; Kosal, a landmine survivor from Cambodia; Haboubba from Lebanon; Christian from Norway; Diana from Colombia; Margaret, another landmine survivor from Uganda; and thousands more. We've all worked together to bring about extraordinary change. The landmine campaign is not just about landmines -- it's about the power of individuals to work with governments in a different way.
I believe in both my right and my responsibility to work to create a world that doesn't glorify violence and war, but where we seek different solutions to our common problems. I believe that these days, daring to voice your opinion, daring to find out information from a variety of sources, can be an act of courage.
I know that holding such beliefs and speaking them publicly is not always easy or comfortable or popular, particularly in the post-9/11 world. But I believe that life isn't a popularity contest. I really don’t care what people say about me -- and believe me, they’ve said plenty. For me, it’s about trying to do the right thing even when nobody else is looking.
I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant. The only thing that changes this world is taking action.
I believe that words are easy. I believe the truth is told in the actions we take. And I believe that if enough ordinary people back up our desire for a better world with action, I believe we can, in fact, accomplish absolutely extraordinary things.
Jody Williams, with her essay for This I Believe. Williams almost always speaks extemporaneously but she obliged this by writing down her beliefs for our series. We hope you might do the same. To find out about submitting in an essay, please visit our website npr. org, or call 202-408-0300. Incidentally this weekend you can find an essay from Maria Hosey Perez as for Lauderdale Florida in USA Weekend Magzine, our print partner. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Alison.
And next Monday on Morning Edition an essay from position pious come out of a rural Colorado. This I Believe is made possible by a grant from Farmers Insurance.
This is NPR. National Public Radio.
1997年的诺贝尔和平奖得主Jody Williams生于1950年，她有一位长期为身心障碍所苦的哥哥，其兄长自童年起便不断遭受同侪的欺负以及社会歧视的眼光，也因为这样的经历，让Williams感同身受，在她相当年幼的阶段即开始孕育了对于不公不义事物的憎恶。在美国唸完文学硕士学位之后，她到墨西哥去当了两年的语文老师。在墨西哥的这两年，她首度看到了美国富裕社会之外，属于赤贫世界的悲惨景象。当她回到美国，便迁移到华盛顿，进入约翰霍普金斯大学主修国际关系硕士。在这段岁月当中，她为美国的不当介入萨尔瓦多内战而感到愤怒，逐渐地，她将自己对于社会正义的热情和关怀转变成为一种 “志业”（work）。在1984到1986年间，Williams参与中南美洲的教育计画方案，而自1986到1992年间，她带领并推动国际对萨尔瓦多的人道救援计划，同时担任该计画的副主席。1991年底，美国越战退伍军人协会的主席Bobby Muller邀请Williams参与发起一个世界性禁雷运动的议题，熟悉美国对中美洲政策的Williams也就因此而有机会能够将自己的热情和理念，面向广大国际社会的政府和非正式部门。
作为反地雷组织首席策略士的Williams，她密集地以写作和演说来让世人更了解地雷的问题和禁雷之必要。她游说的主要对象包括联合国、欧盟议会以及非洲统一联盟等大型国际组织。为了能够让ICBL的禁雷理念能够更具说服力、更能引起世人的共鸣，Williams花了两年的时间，对四个遭受地雷影响的国家作绵密的田野调查，并和Shawn Roberts合着了一本书“在枪声沉寂之后”（After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines），这本书论述了地雷所带来的社会经济影响，除了控诉地雷受害者负担过高的医疗费用之外，同时分析地雷对于一个社群的长期影响，包括工作机会的减少，以及土地可使用性的剧减，因为这些遭受地雷污染的土地无法拿来供农业或是放牧使用，更不用说拿来买卖了．．．．
节目简介：
NPR为美国国家公共电台简称(National Public Radio)，是一家以美国本土民众为广播对象的综合电台，这无疑使它成为基础较好的英语学习者提高听力水平的良好素材。事实上，它的不少材料入选我国英语本科专业必修课《Listen to This》之中。在这里，你可以听到活生生的美语发音和表达方式，了解到地道的美国历史文化和最新的时事动态，从而真正使你的听力水平再上一个台阶。
NPR 的听写素材选自最受欢迎的栏目Morning Edition、Day to Day、All Things Considered，内容包括时评、随感、专访、影评、书评和经济报道，播音员声音悦耳动听，内容丰富多彩。
I believe in the power of love. . .
I believe that a generation of ...
I believe in the impossible
I believe that everyone wants to love and be loved.
I believe in people.
This I believe. For our Monday series, This I Believe we have an essay from Jody Williams. She shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work as founding coordinator of the International campaign to ban landmines. Here is our series curator , independent producer, Jay Alision.
In the early 1980s, Jody Williams was not on track to a Nobel Peace Prize. In fact she was working for a temperary employment agency. Leaving a subway station one day, she was handed a leaflet about global activism which provoked her to change the direction of her life. That descion , that affirmation of the potential of individual action still guides her. Here is Jody Williams with her essay for this I believe.
Official Transcript:
I believe it is possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. For me, the difference between an "ordinary" and an "extraordinary" person is not the title that person might have, but what they do to make the world a better place for us all.
I have no idea why people choose to do what they do. When I was a kid I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I did know what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to grow up, have 2.2 kids, get married, the whole white picket fence thing. And I certainly didn't think about being an activist. I didn't even really know what one was.
My older brother was born deaf. Growing up, I ended up defending him and I often think that is what started me on my path to whatever it is I am today.
When I was approached with the idea of trying to create a landmine campaign, we were just three people in a small office in Washington, DC in late 1991. I certainly had more than a few ideas about how to begin a campaign, but what if nobody cared? What if nobody responded? But I knew the only way to answer those questions was to accept the challenge.
If I have any power as an individual, it's because I work with other individuals in countries all over the world. We are ordinary people: My friend Jemma from Armenia; Paul from Canada; Kosal, a landmine survivor from Cambodia; Haboubba from Lebanon; Christian from Norway; Diana from Colombia; Margaret, another landmine survivor from Uganda; and thousands more. We've all worked together to bring about extraordinary change. The landmine campaign is not just about landmines -- it's about the power of individuals to work with governments in a different way.
I believe in both my right and my responsibility to work to create a world that doesn't glorify violence and war, but where we seek different solutions to our common problems. I believe that these days, daring to voice your opinion, daring to find out information from a variety of sources, can be an act of courage.
I know that holding such beliefs and speaking them publicly is not always easy or comfortable or popular, particularly in the post-9/11 world. But I believe that life isn't a popularity contest. I really don’t care what people say about me -- and believe me, they’ve said plenty. For me, it’s about trying to do the right thing even when nobody else is looking.
I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant. The only thing that changes this world is taking action.
I believe that words are easy. I believe the truth is told in the actions we take. And I believe that if enough ordinary people back up our desire for a better world with action, I believe we can, in fact, accomplish absolutely extraordinary things.
Jody Williams, with her essay for This I Believe. Williams almost always speaks extemporaneously but she obliged this by writing down her beliefs for our series. We hope you might do the same. To find out about submitting in an essay, please visit our website npr. org, or call 202-408-0300. Incidentally this weekend you can find an essay from Maria Hosey Perez as for Lauderdale Florida in USA Weekend Magzine, our print partner. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Alison.
And next Monday on Morning Edition an essay from position pious come out of a rural Colorado. This I Believe is made possible by a grant from Farmers Insurance.
This is NPR. National Public Radio.
Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang Mausoleum
Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum and the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum
Emperor Qin Shihuang (259-210B.C.) had Ying as his surname and Zheng as his given name. He name to the throne of the Qin at age 13, and took the helm of the state at age of 22. By 221 B.C., he had annexed the six rival principalities of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei, and established the first feudal empire in China's history.
In the year 221 B.C., when he unified the whole country, Ying Zheng styled himself emperor. He named himself Shihuang Di, the first emperor in the hope that his later generations be the second, the third even the one hundredth and thousandth emperors in proper order to carry on the hereditary system. Since then, the supreme feudal rulers of China's dynasties had continued to call themselves Huang Di, the emperor.
After he had annexed the other six states, Emperor Qin Shihuang abolished the enfeoffment system and adopted the prefecture and county system. He standardized legal codes, written language, track, currencies, weights and measures. To protect against harassment by the Hun aristocrats. Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the Great Wall be built. All these measures played an active role in eliminating the cause of the state of separation and division and strengthening the unification of the whole country as well as promotion the development of economy and culture. They had a great and deep influence upon China's 2,000 year old feudal society.
Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the books of various schools burned except those of the Qin dynasty's history and culture, divination and medicines in an attempt to push his feudal autocracy in the ideological field. As a result, China's ancient classics had been devastated and destroy. Moreover, he once ordered 460 scholars be buried alive. Those events were later called in history “the burning of books and the burying of Confucian scholars.”
Emperor Qin Shihuang, for his own pleasure, conscribed several hundred thousand convicts and went in for large-scale construction and had over seven hundred palaces built in the Guanzhong Plain. These palaces stretched several hundred li and he sought pleasure from one palace to the other. Often nobody knew where he ranging treasures inside the tomb, were enclosed alive.
Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum has not yet been excavated. What looks like inside could only be known when it is opened. However, the three pits of the terra-cotta warrior excavated outside the east gate of the outer enclosure of the necropolis can make one imagine how magnificent and luxurious the structure of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum was.
No.1 Pit was stumbled upon in March 1974 when villagers of Xiyang Village of Yanzhai township, Lintong County, sank a well 1.5km east of the mausoleum. In 1976, No.2 and 3 Pits were found 20m north of No.1 Pit respectively after the drilling survey. The terra-cotta warriors and horses are arrayed according to the Qin dynasty battle formation, symbolizing the troops keeping vigil beside the mausoleum. This discovery aroused much interest both at home and abroad. In 1975, a museum, housing the site of No.1 and covering an area of 16,300 square meters was built with the permission of the State Council. The museum was formally opened to public on Oct.1, the National Day, 1979.
No.1 Pit is 230 meters long from east to west, 62m wide from north to south and 5m deep, covering a total area of 14,260 square meters. It is an earth-and-wood structure in the shape of a tunnel. There are five sloping entrances on the eastern and western sides of the pit respectively. The pit is divided into eleven corridors by ten earthen partition walls, and the floors are paved with bricks. Thick rafters were placed onto the walls (but now one can only see their remains), which were covered with mats and then fine soil and earth. The battle formation of the Qin dynasty, facing east. In the east end are arrayed three lines of terra-cotta warriors, 70 pieces in each, totaling 210 pieces. They are supposed to be the van of the formation. Immediately behind them are 38 columns of infantrymen alternating with war chariots in the corridors, each being 180m long. They are probably the main body of the formation. There is one line of warriors in the left, right and west ends respectively, facing outwards. They are probably the flanks and the rear. There are altogether 27 trial trench, it is assumed that more than 6,000 clay warriors and horses could be unearthed from No.1 Pit.
No.2 Pit sis about half the size of No.1 Pit, covering about 6,000 square meters Trail diggings show this is a composite formation of infantry, cavalry and chariot soldiers, from which roughly over 1,000 clay warriors, and 500 chariots and saddled horses could be unearthed. The 2,000-year-old wooden chariots are already rotten. But their shafts, cross yokes, and wheels, etc. left clear impressions on the earth bed. The copper parts of the chariots still remain. Each chariot is pulled by four horses which are one and half meters high and two metres long. According to textual research, these clay horses were sculptures after the breed in the area of Hexi Corridor. The horses for the cavalrymen were already saddled, but with no stirrups.
No.3 Pit covers an area of 520m2 with only four horses, one chariot and 68 warriors, supposed to be the command post of the battle formation. Now, No.2 and 3 Pits have been refilled, but visitors can see some clay figures and weapons displayed in the exhibition halls in the museum that had been unearthed from these two pits. The floors of both No.1 and 2 Pits were covered with a layer of silt of 15 to 20cm thick. In these pits, one can see traces of burnt beams everywhere, some relics which were mostly broken. Analysis shows that the pits were burned down by Xiang Yu, leader of a peasant army. All of the clay warriors in the three pits held real weapons in their hands and face east, showing Emperor Qin Shihuang's strong determination of wiping out the six states and unifying the whole country.
The height of the terra-cotta warriors varies from 1.78m, the shortest, to 1.97m, the tallest. They look healthy and strong and have different facial expressions. Probably they were sculpted by craftsmen according to real soldiers of the Qin dynasty. They organically combined the skills of round engraving, bas-relief and linear engraving, and utilized the six traditional folk crafts of sculpturing, such as hand-moulding, sticking, cutting, painting and so on. The clay models were then put in kilns, baked and colour-painted. As the terra-cotta figures have been burnt and have gone through the natural process of decay, we can't see their original gorgeous colours. However, most of the terra-cotta figures bear the trace of the original colours, and few of them are still as bright as new. They are found to be painted by mineral dyestuffs of vermilion, bright red, pink dark green, powder green, purple, blue, orange, black and white colours.
Thousands of real weapons were unearthed from these terra-cotta army pits, including broad knives, swords, spears, dagger-axes, halberds, bows, crossbows and arrowheads. These weapons were exquisitely made. Some of themes are still very sharp; analyses show that they are made of alloys of copper and tin, containing more than ten kinds of other metals. Since their surfaces were treated with chromium, they are as bright as new, though buried underground for more than 2,000 years. This indicates that Qin dynasty's metallurgical technology and weapon-manufacturing technique already reached quite a high level.
In December 1980, two teams of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 metres west of the mound of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum. These single shaft four-horse chariots each comprises 3,462 spare parts, and has a body with two compartments, one behind the other, and an elliptical umbrella like canopy. The four horses harnessed to the chariot are 65-67 centimeters tall. The restored bronze chariots and horses are exact imitations of true chariot, horse and driver in half life-size.
The chariots and horses are decorated with coloured drawings against white background. They have been fitted with more than 1,500 pieces of gold and silvers and decorations, looking luxurious, splendid and graceful. Probably they were meant for the use of Emperor Qin Shihuang's soul to go on inspection. The bronze chariots and horses were made by lost wax casting, which shows a high level of technology. For instance, the tortoise-shell-like canopy is about 4mm thick, and the window is only 1mm thick on which are many small holes for ventilation. According to a preliminary study, the technology of manufacturing the bronze chariots and horses has involved casting, welding, reveting, inlaying embedding and chiseling. The excavation of the bronze chariots and horses provides extremely valuable material and data for the textual research of the metallurgical technique, the mechanism of the chariot and technological modeling of the Qin dynasty.
No.2 bronze chariot and horses now on display were found broken into 1,555 pieces when excavated. After two-and-half years' careful and painstaking restoration by archaeologists and various specialists, they were formally exhibited in the museum on October 1, 1983. No.1 bronze chariot hand horses are on display from 1988.
Emperor Qin Shihuang (259-210B.C.) had Ying as his surname and Zheng as his given name. He name to the throne of the Qin at age 13, and took the helm of the state at age of 22. By 221 B.C., he had annexed the six rival principalities of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei, and established the first feudal empire in China's history.
In the year 221 B.C., when he unified the whole country, Ying Zheng styled himself emperor. He named himself Shihuang Di, the first emperor in the hope that his later generations be the second, the third even the one hundredth and thousandth emperors in proper order to carry on the hereditary system. Since then, the supreme feudal rulers of China's dynasties had continued to call themselves Huang Di, the emperor.
After he had annexed the other six states, Emperor Qin Shihuang abolished the enfeoffment system and adopted the prefecture and county system. He standardized legal codes, written language, track, currencies, weights and measures. To protect against harassment by the Hun aristocrats. Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the Great Wall be built. All these measures played an active role in eliminating the cause of the state of separation and division and strengthening the unification of the whole country as well as promotion the development of economy and culture. They had a great and deep influence upon China's 2,000 year old feudal society.
Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered the books of various schools burned except those of the Qin dynasty's history and culture, divination and medicines in an attempt to push his feudal autocracy in the ideological field. As a result, China's ancient classics had been devastated and destroy. Moreover, he once ordered 460 scholars be buried alive. Those events were later called in history “the burning of books and the burying of Confucian scholars.”
Emperor Qin Shihuang, for his own pleasure, conscribed several hundred thousand convicts and went in for large-scale construction and had over seven hundred palaces built in the Guanzhong Plain. These palaces stretched several hundred li and he sought pleasure from one palace to the other. Often nobody knew where he ranging treasures inside the tomb, were enclosed alive.
Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum has not yet been excavated. What looks like inside could only be known when it is opened. However, the three pits of the terra-cotta warrior excavated outside the east gate of the outer enclosure of the necropolis can make one imagine how magnificent and luxurious the structure of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum was.
No.1 Pit was stumbled upon in March 1974 when villagers of Xiyang Village of Yanzhai township, Lintong County, sank a well 1.5km east of the mausoleum. In 1976, No.2 and 3 Pits were found 20m north of No.1 Pit respectively after the drilling survey. The terra-cotta warriors and horses are arrayed according to the Qin dynasty battle formation, symbolizing the troops keeping vigil beside the mausoleum. This discovery aroused much interest both at home and abroad. In 1975, a museum, housing the site of No.1 and covering an area of 16,300 square meters was built with the permission of the State Council. The museum was formally opened to public on Oct.1, the National Day, 1979.
No.1 Pit is 230 meters long from east to west, 62m wide from north to south and 5m deep, covering a total area of 14,260 square meters. It is an earth-and-wood structure in the shape of a tunnel. There are five sloping entrances on the eastern and western sides of the pit respectively. The pit is divided into eleven corridors by ten earthen partition walls, and the floors are paved with bricks. Thick rafters were placed onto the walls (but now one can only see their remains), which were covered with mats and then fine soil and earth. The battle formation of the Qin dynasty, facing east. In the east end are arrayed three lines of terra-cotta warriors, 70 pieces in each, totaling 210 pieces. They are supposed to be the van of the formation. Immediately behind them are 38 columns of infantrymen alternating with war chariots in the corridors, each being 180m long. They are probably the main body of the formation. There is one line of warriors in the left, right and west ends respectively, facing outwards. They are probably the flanks and the rear. There are altogether 27 trial trench, it is assumed that more than 6,000 clay warriors and horses could be unearthed from No.1 Pit.
No.2 Pit sis about half the size of No.1 Pit, covering about 6,000 square meters Trail diggings show this is a composite formation of infantry, cavalry and chariot soldiers, from which roughly over 1,000 clay warriors, and 500 chariots and saddled horses could be unearthed. The 2,000-year-old wooden chariots are already rotten. But their shafts, cross yokes, and wheels, etc. left clear impressions on the earth bed. The copper parts of the chariots still remain. Each chariot is pulled by four horses which are one and half meters high and two metres long. According to textual research, these clay horses were sculptures after the breed in the area of Hexi Corridor. The horses for the cavalrymen were already saddled, but with no stirrups.
No.3 Pit covers an area of 520m2 with only four horses, one chariot and 68 warriors, supposed to be the command post of the battle formation. Now, No.2 and 3 Pits have been refilled, but visitors can see some clay figures and weapons displayed in the exhibition halls in the museum that had been unearthed from these two pits. The floors of both No.1 and 2 Pits were covered with a layer of silt of 15 to 20cm thick. In these pits, one can see traces of burnt beams everywhere, some relics which were mostly broken. Analysis shows that the pits were burned down by Xiang Yu, leader of a peasant army. All of the clay warriors in the three pits held real weapons in their hands and face east, showing Emperor Qin Shihuang's strong determination of wiping out the six states and unifying the whole country.
The height of the terra-cotta warriors varies from 1.78m, the shortest, to 1.97m, the tallest. They look healthy and strong and have different facial expressions. Probably they were sculpted by craftsmen according to real soldiers of the Qin dynasty. They organically combined the skills of round engraving, bas-relief and linear engraving, and utilized the six traditional folk crafts of sculpturing, such as hand-moulding, sticking, cutting, painting and so on. The clay models were then put in kilns, baked and colour-painted. As the terra-cotta figures have been burnt and have gone through the natural process of decay, we can't see their original gorgeous colours. However, most of the terra-cotta figures bear the trace of the original colours, and few of them are still as bright as new. They are found to be painted by mineral dyestuffs of vermilion, bright red, pink dark green, powder green, purple, blue, orange, black and white colours.
Thousands of real weapons were unearthed from these terra-cotta army pits, including broad knives, swords, spears, dagger-axes, halberds, bows, crossbows and arrowheads. These weapons were exquisitely made. Some of themes are still very sharp; analyses show that they are made of alloys of copper and tin, containing more than ten kinds of other metals. Since their surfaces were treated with chromium, they are as bright as new, though buried underground for more than 2,000 years. This indicates that Qin dynasty's metallurgical technology and weapon-manufacturing technique already reached quite a high level.
In December 1980, two teams of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 metres west of the mound of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum. These single shaft four-horse chariots each comprises 3,462 spare parts, and has a body with two compartments, one behind the other, and an elliptical umbrella like canopy. The four horses harnessed to the chariot are 65-67 centimeters tall. The restored bronze chariots and horses are exact imitations of true chariot, horse and driver in half life-size.
The chariots and horses are decorated with coloured drawings against white background. They have been fitted with more than 1,500 pieces of gold and silvers and decorations, looking luxurious, splendid and graceful. Probably they were meant for the use of Emperor Qin Shihuang's soul to go on inspection. The bronze chariots and horses were made by lost wax casting, which shows a high level of technology. For instance, the tortoise-shell-like canopy is about 4mm thick, and the window is only 1mm thick on which are many small holes for ventilation. According to a preliminary study, the technology of manufacturing the bronze chariots and horses has involved casting, welding, reveting, inlaying embedding and chiseling. The excavation of the bronze chariots and horses provides extremely valuable material and data for the textual research of the metallurgical technique, the mechanism of the chariot and technological modeling of the Qin dynasty.
No.2 bronze chariot and horses now on display were found broken into 1,555 pieces when excavated. After two-and-half years' careful and painstaking restoration by archaeologists and various specialists, they were formally exhibited in the museum on October 1, 1983. No.1 bronze chariot hand horses are on display from 1988.
万里长城Culture of the Great Wall
In the north of China, there lies a 6,700-kilometer-long (4,161-mile-long) ancient wall. Now well-known as the Great Wall of China, it starts at the Jiayuguan Pass of Gansu Province in the west and ends at the Shanhaiguan Pass of Hebei Province in the east. As one of the Eight Wonders in the world, the Great Wall of China has become the symbol of the Chinese nation and its culture.
Lots of beautiful legends and stories about the Great Wall took place following along the construction, and since that time these stories have spread around the country. Those that happened during construction are abundant, such as Meng Jiangnu's story and the legend of the Jiayuguan Pass. Meng Jiangnu's story is the most famous and widely spread of all the legends about the Great Wall. The story happened during the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). It tells of how Meng Jiangnu's bitter weeping made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Meng Jiangnu's husband Fan Qiliang was caught by federal officials and sent to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnu heard nothing from him after his departure, so she set out to look for him. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the great wall, she discovered that her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she cried her heart out. Her howl caused the collapse of a part of the Great Wall. This story indicates that the Great Wall is the production of tens of thousands of Chinese commoners.
Another legend about the Jiayuguan Pass tells of a workman named Yi Kaizhan in the Ming Dynasty (1368BC-1644BC) who was proficient in arithmetic. He calculated that it would need 99,999 bricks to build the Jiayuguan Pass. The supervisor did not believe him and said if they miscalculated by even one brick, then all the workmen would be punished to do hard work for three years. After the completion of the project, one brick was left behind the Xiwong city gate. The supervisor was happy at the sight of the brick and ready to punish them. However Yi Kaizhan said with deliberation that the brick was put there by a supernatural being to fix the wall. A tiny move would cause the collapse of the wall. Therefore the brick was kept there and never moved. It can still be found there today on the tower of the Jiayuguan Pass.
In addition to the above-mentioned stories about the construction of the Great Wall, there are also plenty of stories about current scenic spots. A famous one is the legend of the Beacon Tower. This story happened during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC-711 BC). King You had a queen named Bao Si, who was very pretty. King You liked her very much, however Bao Si never smiled. An official gave a suggestion that setting the beacon tower on fire would frighten the King's subjects, and might make the queen smile. King You liked the idea. The subjects were fooled and Bao Si smiled at the sight of the chaos. Later enemies invaded Western Zhou, King You set the beacon tower on fire to ask for help. No subjects came to help because they had been fooled once before. Thus, King Zhou was killed by the enemy and Western Zhou came to an end.
Beautiful stories and legends about the Great Wall help to keep alive Chinese history and culture. In each dynasty after the building of the Great Wall, many more stories were created and spread.
北京-天坛
(Inside the South Gate of the Temple of Heaven)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Welcome to the temple of Heaven. (After self-introduction) preserved cultural heritages of China. There are basically two kinds of visitors who come here: local pensioners who do exercises here in the morning and evening and sightseers both from home and abroad. All in all, there are 12 million visitors very year. Now we are going to go along the route that leads to the alter. It will take roughly one hour. Mind you, the emperor also walked along this route to pay tribute to the God of Heaven.
(Along the Southern Sacred Road leading to the Circular Mound Altar)
The largest group of architectures ever to be dedicated to Heaven, the Temple of Heaven served as an exclusive altar for Chinese monarchs during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was decreed that rulers of successive dynasties would place altars in their own capitals to worship Heaven and pray for good harvest. But why?
The ancient Chinese believed that Heaven was the supreme ruler of the universe and the fate of mankind, and thus worshiping rites dedicated to Heaven came into being. The Heaven the ancient Chinese referred to was actually the Universe, or nature. In those days, there were specific rites of worship. This was especially true during the Ming and Qing dynasties when elaborate ceremonies were held.
The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420 during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. Situated in the southern part of the city, this grand set of structures covers an area of 273 hectares. To better symbolize heaven and earth, the northern part of the Temple is circular while the southern part is square. The whole compound is enclosed by two walls, a square wall outside a round one. The outer area is characterized by suburban scenery, while the inner part is used for sacrifices. The inner enclosure consists of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest and the Circular Mound Altar.
(Along the Imperial Passage leading from the Southern Lattice Star Gate in front of the Circular Mound Altar)
The Circular Mound Altar is enclosed by two walls, each containing four groups of Southern Lattice Star Gate, each in turn consisting of three doors, with 24 marble doors altogether. Standing on the passage facing north, you will notice that with each pair of doors on is narrower than the other. This reflects the feudal hierarchy: the wider door was reserved for monarchs, while the narrower one was used by courtiers.
On the day of the ceremony, the emperor would don his ritual costume and be ushered in by the official in charge of religious affairs. He ascended the three terraces in the forefront to pay tribute at the alter.
(Atop the Circular Mound Alter)
we are now on the top terrace of the Altar, or the third terrace. Each terrace has a flight of 9 steps. At the center of this terrace lies a round stone surrounded by 9 steps. At the center of this terrace lies a round stone surrounded by 9 concentric rings of stone. The number of stones in the first ring is 9, in the second, 18, up to 81 in the 9th ring. Even the number of carved balustrades on these terraces is a multiple of 9. But why?
According to ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang were two opposing factors. Heaven and the odd numbers belonged to yang while the Earth and even numbers belonged to yin. Nine was the largest heavenly number accessible to man. What is more, the ancient people also believed that heaven consisted of nine layers and that the emperor's abode was on the uppermost tier.
Once more look at the round stone in the center. The upper terrace is nine zhang (a Chinese unit of length, one zhang equals 3.3 meters) in circumference, while the middle is 15 zhang, the lower, 21 zhang. Classified as yang numbers, the sum of these numerals is 45 zhang which was meant to symbolized success. What is more, by applying the concept of odd numbers and strengthening nine and its multiples, the concept of heaven was thus illustrated and realized. The concept of nine will also be mentioned when we visit some other buildings.
Now I will give you a brief account of what happened here annually on the Inter Solstice. The memorial tablet dedicated to Heaven would be set up on the north side of the terrace, while tablets dedicated to the emperor 's ancestors would be enshrined on the flanks. The service would begin around 4 o'clock in the morning. All of the lanterns would be lit. In the foreground, a sacrificial calf is being barbecued. On the square in front of the altar, the emperor, under heavy escort of nearly a thousand courtiers, princes of royal blood, musicians, dancers and uniformed soldiers, would slowly ascend the altar to offer sacrifice and pray in honor of Heaven. When the service drew to a close, the sacrifice offered in front of the memorial tablets would be incinerated. All of participants would watch the thick smoke rise upward as if they were seeing God off. Music and dancing would follow. In the end, the emperor would return to the Forbidden City secure in the belief that he would be blessed and protected by Heaven until the next winter Solstice. It is interesting to note that, the stone in the very middle of the altar was of major importance, since it was where the emperor used to stand to say his prayer. The stone, which is known as the God's heart Stone, is peculiar in that it is characterized by a specific acoustic phenomenon: it made the emperor's voice clearer and louder, thus adding to the mystic atmosphere of the service. You can try this out by yourself. (Proceed northward to pass through the Lattice StarGate)
(In front of the Gate of glazed tiles)
this structure is known as Heaven's Storehouse. It is entered through the Gate of glazed Tiles. The roofing, beams, and brackets are all made of glazed tiles or bricks. This is the only structure of its kind in china today.
The Heaven's Storehouse was where memorial tablets dedicated to the gods were kept. Douglas Hurd, a former British foreign secretary, once said, "God attends to His affairs on the Cir4cular Mound Altar but stays here. " Now let's go into see it (Go through the left side door)
(In the courtyard of Heaven's Storehouse)
this is the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the main structure of Heaven's Storehouse. It was built in 1530 and is 17 meters in height and 19 meters in diameter. The structure feature blue roofs topped by a gilded ball, and carved wooden doors and windows. It is decorated with colored paintings. Founded on a 3-meter-hign round marble terrace, the building also features a gigantic carved marble ramp laid in the stone staircase leading up to the front entrance. The ramp is carved in "Two dragons Playing with a pearl" design in relief. We will enter the main hall by going up the stone staircase on the eastern side.
(On the marble terrace of the main hall)
The arch of the hall is buttressed by 16 giant pillars on two rings. On top of the pillars there are gilt brackets supporting a circular caisson, or covered ceiling. The ceiling is characterized by a golden coiling dragon design. The 8 pillar of the inner ring are painted scarlet and decorated with golden lotuses.
To the north of the hall there is a marble pedestal. Atop it, up a wooden flight of 9 steps, is where the major tablet dedicate to Heaven was enshrined. On each flank four tablets are enshrined in honor of the ancestors of the Qing emperors. In the annex hall in honor of the ancestors of the Qing emperors, and in the annex halls in the courtyard, there are tablets dedicated to the deities of the sun, moon, constellation, cloud, rain, wind and thunder.
(Echo Wall and Triple –sound Stones)
Aside from exquisitely laid out architectures, Heaven's Storehouse is also famous for two structures with peculiar acoustic features, i. E. the Echo Wall and the Triple- Sound Stone. A mere whisper at any point close to the wall can be heard clearly on the other side, although the parties may be 40 or 50 meters apart. This is possible because the wall is round and hermetically constructed with smooth, solid bricks.
In front of the steps leading away from the halls is the Triple Sound Stone. If you stand on the first stone and call out or clap your hands, the sound will echo once; on the second stone, the sound will be heard twice; and on the third stone, the sound will repeat three times. Hence the name. (Go out through the right door and stroll along the circular path northward)
(Nine-Dragon Cypress)
the Temple of Heaven is also famous for its cypress trees-there are more than 60,000 cypress trees in all, among which over 4,000 are more than one hundred years old, adding to the solemn atmosphere of the temple. This tall cypress was planted more than 500 years ago. Its thick branches and twisting trunk resembling nine coiling playful dragons; thus it is known as the Nine-Dragon cypress. It is said that this tree was here to welcome the monarchs. Now it is here to welcome visitor from all over the world.
(In the south of Chengzhen Gate)
now we are back again on the Central Axis. This brick-arched gate is known as Chengzhen (Adopting Fidelity). This gate is the northern gate of the Circular Mound Altar and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is situated at the extreme end of the axis. It was used by the emperor in the first month of every lunar year for services dedicated to good harvest.
(On the Red Stairway Bridge)
entering the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, we set foot on a raised passage 360 meters long, which the emperor also took to proceed to the hall. This broad north-south walkway, called Danbiqiao (Red Stairway bridge), connects the two sets of main building in the Temple of Heaven and constitutes a single axis.
The passage is divided into left, control and right paths by the cross arrangement of slabs. The central and the widest path is known as Heavenly Thoroughfare, which was reserved exclusively for God; nobody, including the emperor, was allowed to set foot onto it. The emperor used the path on the east, which is known as the Imperial Walk. The ministers and princes used the one on the west. Interesting enough, there is no walkway left for ordinary people. This is because the Temple of Heaven used to be off-limits to them.
Contrary to appearances, this walkway is not a bridge at all. But how so? This road is 4 meters above the ground and there is a cavern underneath that was reserved for sacrificial oxen and sheep. The cattle were slaughtered at a slaughterhouse about 500 meters away and brought here for sacrifice. All in all, it can be said this walkway did serve as bridge and can be looked upon as the first cloverleaf in Beijing.
Looking back at the thoroughfare, you may realize that this walk is gaining height toward its northern end. As people approach the architectural group of the Hall of Prayer for good Harvest, the flanking groves of cypress recede and perspective widens. Here you are in Heaven.
(Costume-Changing Terrace)
The marble terrace up ahead is called jufutai, or Costume Changing Terrace. It is located to the east of the Red Stairway Bridge and covers a space of 25 square meters. IT has marble Slab balustrades. The day before the service, officials in charge would put up a yellow satin tent on the terrace for the emperor to change out of his yellow dragon robe into blue ceremonial clothes. After the service, the emperor would return to the tent and change back into his imperial robe before returning to the palace. (Proceed to the South Gate of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest)
(At the Gate of Prayer for Good Harvest)
this structure is called the Gate of Pray for Good Harvest. We can catch a slight glimpse of the central building, the Hall of Prayer for Good harvest, though the colonnade of the Gate. A gigantic and lofty group of buildings, the complex includes the Gate of Prayer for Good Harvest, the hall of prayer for good harvest, eastern and western annex halls, the Huanqian (Imperial heaven) Long corridor, Heaven Kitchen, slaughterhouse, etc. the annex halls were symmetrically built on a 1.5-meter-hignbrick-and-marble terrace, to set off the loftiness and magnificence of the main hall. This unique building, 38 meters in height, is characterized by a cone-shaped structure with triple eaves and a top that is crowned by a gilt ball. The roofing is made of blue glazed tiles, the color of the sky. Underneath the roof, the beams and bracket are decorated with colored paintings. The base of the structure is a triple-tiered, circular marble terrace. At a distance, the terrace looks like a gigantic, spiraling cloud with the structure perched on top of it.
Today the hall of prayer for good harvest is the hallmark of Beijing, which enjoys a prolonged history of civilization.
(At the base of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest)
The base of the hall is a triple-tiered, circular marble terrace, which is 90 meters in diameter and 6 meters in height, covering a space of 4,000 square meters. Meticulous accuracy was given to the layout of the structure. In the middle of each three-tiered flight of stairs, there is a giant marble ramp carved in cloud, dragon and phoenix designs. To set off the ramps, the top of the balustrades and downpipes are designed with corresponding floral scrolls. In southern part of each tier, a gigantic bronze incense burner is placed. Sandalwood was burnt in them when rites were observed.
(In front of the hall of Prayer for good harvest)
climbing up this marble terrace, we see the main hall, a masterpiece of ancient China. Looking up you will see the caisson, or covered ceiling, characterized by complex designs of dragons and phoenixes. In and out, the hall is decorated with colored drawing of dragons and phoenixes.
Without the use of steel, cement and nail, and even without the use of big beams and crossbeams, the entire structure is supported by 28 massive wooden pillars and number of bars, laths, joints and rafters. The four central pillars, called the dragon-Well Pillars, are 19.2 meters high and painted with designs of composite followers, representing the four season. There are two rings of 12 scarlet pillars each. The inner ring represents the 12 months and the outer rings the 12 divisions of the day and night. Between the two rings there are 24 partitioned spaces to mark the solar terms of the Chinese lunar year. The pillars, 28 in number, also represent the 28 constellations in the universe- the ancient Chinese believed that there were 28 constellations that made up the sky.
The center of the stone-paved floor is a round marble slab, which is 88.5 centimeters in diameter. Interestingly, the slab features natural black and white veins, corresponding to the dragon-phoenix design on the ceiling. This particular slab is known as the Dragon-phoenix stone and is regarded as a treasure inseparable from the hall.
The furnishings within the hall are placed in their original positions dating back to when Emperor Xianfeng ruled. In the forefront and above the throne are enshrined tablets in commemoration of Heaven. On either table on each side tablets of the emperor's ancestors were placed. Each tablet is fronted by an altar. A total of 24 kinds of offering were made on it, including soup, wine, assorted cereals, and a calf.
The sacrificial rites were observed in the wee hours of the morning, sometime in the first month of the Chinese lunar year. Because it was still dark, candles, lanterns and torches were lit. This lighting coupled with the incense being burnt inside the hall, helped make the ceremony both grand and mystical.
By the time the service began,207 musicians and dancers would be performing on platforms outside the hall. The emperor, in his blue sacrificial robe and with an air of piety and sincerity, would walk slowly into the hall, kowtow, and offer wine and prayer in honor of the deities and his ancestors. All of the offerings would then be taken to incinerators on the eastern side of the gate of prayer for Good Harvest. With this we conclude our visit to the Temper of Heaven. The feudal monarchs and their sacrificial rites have long vanished in history. However, this group of magnificent and lofty structures remain as a fine testament of the ancient Chinese's ingenuity and as one of the cultural heritages of mankind.
(On the Long Corridor)
From the Eastern Gate of the hall of prayer for good harvest, we have now entered a 300-meter-long corridor. Consisting of 72 sections, this corridor served as a connecting building between the Slaughterhouses. Heaven Kitchen, and the main hall, It is said that this once served as a sacrificial food production line. Flanking the corridor are shopping stalls. You may find some souvenirs for your family and friend there.
Well, that is all for this tour. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your next visit. Good luck and bon voyage.
四川-峨眉山英文导游辞
Mt.Emei is one of the "four famous mountains"in China. It lies about 168km from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Before the tour of the holy mountain, it is important to obtain some inforation about the spread of Buddhism in China, Buddhism in Mt. Emei and its hiking routes.
The Spread of the Buddhism
Buddhism was founded in India around the 16th century BC. It is said that the founder was Sakyamuni. Sskyua was the name of the clan to which his family belonged. Sakyamuni was a prince and was brought up in luxury. In his 20s, he became discontented with the world. Every day he had to face with sights of sickness, death and old age since the body was inescapably involved with disease, decrepitude and death. Around the age of 30 he made his break from the material world and plunged off in search of enlightenment.
Sakyamuni began by studying Hindu philosophy and Yoga. Then he joined a band of ascetics and tried to break the power of his body by inflicting severe austerities on himself. However, no matter how he held his breath until his head burst and starved his body until his ribs jutted out, he failed to enlighten himself. Finally Sakyamuni followed the principle of the middle way in which he would live between the extremities of asceticism on one hand and indulgence on the other. As the story goes, he devoted the final phase of his search for enlightenment to meditation and mystic concentration. One evening he sat beneath a fig tree, slipped into a deep meditation and achieved enlightenment from his mystic concentration.
Sakyamuni founded an order of monks and for the next 45 years or so peached his ideas around 480 BC. Sakyamuni teaches that all life is suffering. Everyone is subjected to the trauma of birth, to sickness, decrepitude and death. Real happiness can't be achieved until suffering is overcome. The cause of unhappiness is 'desires',specifically the desire of the body and the desire personal fulfillment. In order to overcome the desirs and achieve happiness, it requires the following eight-fold path.
1.Right knowledge
Buddhist followers should believe that all life is suffering. It is caused by the desire for personal gratification.
2.Right Aspiration
Buddhist followers should becomw passionately involved with the knowledge of what life's problems basically are.
3.Right Speech
Buddhist followers shousd avoid lies, idle talk, abuse,alander and deceit.
4.Right Behavior
Buddhist followers should show kindness and avoid self-seeking and personal fulfillment in all actions.
5.Right Livelihood
Buddha considers spiritual progress impossible if one has occupied himself/herself with slave-dea-ling or prostitution.
6.Right Effort
The effort os the will to develip virtues and curb paddion.
7.Right Mindfulness
Buddhist followers should practise self-exami-nation and cultivate themselves to overcome the state of semi-alertness and become aware of what os happwning to them.
8.Right Absorption
The absorption involves the techniques of Hinduism's raja yoga and leads to the same goal.
By following the eight fokd pah, Buddhist followers aims to attain Nirvana, a condition beyond the limits of the mind, feelings, thoughts, the will and ecstasy. Buddhism accepts the concept of reincarnation, the circle of rebirth; it accepts the law of cause and effort.
Buddhism has many sects, of which the Mahayana and the hinayana are two major schools. The Mahayana holds that the fate of the individual is linked to the fate of all others. The Buddha won't float off into his own Nirvana leaving other peope behind. He not ony shows the people the way up into their Nirvana, but also continues to exude spiritual help to those seeking Nirvana. The Hinayana holds that the path to Nirvana is an individual purauit. People who seek Nirvana must tread the path to Nirvana on their own.
Mahayana Buddhism is generally believed to have been ntroduced into regions inhabited by the Han people around the first century A.D.In the Wei and Jin Dynasties(220-420) it spread to a fairly large part of the country. During the Southern anB Northern Dynasties(420-589) the ruling cladd furthered the dissemination of Buddhism. More temples and monasteries were built; Buddhist scriptures were translated. The influence of Buddhism was felt everywhere across the conutry. By the Sui and Tang Dynasties(581-907) Buddhism had reached its apex of popularity and splendor.
Buddhism gradually took root in the Chinese soiety, having adapted considerably to Chinese ways of thinking and practice. As the most influential religion in China, Buddhism has an impact on Chinese philosophy, morality, literature, art and many other foelds.
Buddhism in Mt.Emei
It is almost two thousand years since Buddhism was introduced from India. Its monasteries covers everywhere in China except a few Daoist mountains like Mt. Qingcheng. It is commonly said that Buddhist monks have occupied much mote well-known mountains for their Buddhist ptrpose than Daoist priests. However, most of Buddhist followers bwliwvw that only the fotr famous mountains in China are the Buddhist holy places. They are Mt. Wmei in Sichuan, Mt. Putuo in Zhejiang, Mt. Wuta in Shaanxi and Jiuhua in Anhui. Each mountain is dedicated to different Bodhisattvas. In Chinese Bodhisattva usually is referred as pusa, a potential Buddha, who has achieved perfect enlightenment and decided to bring salvation to all suffering creatures before entering into Nirvana. Therefore, each Bodhisattva has his own ritual place to salvage suffering creatures .Wenshu performs the Buddhist rites in Mt Wuta, and Guanyin in Mt. Putuo. Dizang is said to have gained enlightenment in Mt Jiuhua. Puxian is regarded as one of the four well-known Bodhisattvas of China's Buddhism. Legend has it that Mt. Emei in Sichuan is the place where he performs the Buddhist rites. Puxian and Wenshu appear in a pair in suppirt of Sakymuni. They usually stand side by side with Sakymuni. The middle. Puxian is the right attendant. He rides a white elephant, and Wenshu a lion as we often see in monasteries. Wenshu is a symbol of Wisdom while Puxian Benevolence. Buddhism encourages its followers to study hard at the Buddhist theory, and then use what they have learnt to do charitable works for the purpose of salvaging the suffering creatures. More likely Wisdom and Benevolence display the Buddhist proceess step by step.
One of the Buddhist doctrines says that after Puxian achieved perfect enlightenment, he vowed to retrn back to the world and not to accept his own salvation until all sentient beings, humans and animals had been saved. Puxian went out on his elephant to realize his ambition. his six-tusk elephant enjoys a high statue in the Buddhist world known as the Elephant King. Wannian Monastery is dedicated to the gilded statue of Puxian who sits on the white elephant. This statue, 8.5m high, is cast in copper and bronze, weighing estimatedly 62,000kg in a brick hall .One doctrine says:"Puxian has many images. He puts himself into different forms based on the Buddhist predestined relationship. The ordinary human beings can only see him in a human bodily form, who sometimes stands by Sakyamuni,or simetimes rides on his white elephant." According to the explanation of the Buddhist texts, it is almost impossible for the ordinary human beings to see Puuxian's Fa and Bao images unless they hike up to the Golden summit of the mountain, where the pious Buddhists may see Puxian's Bao image in Buddhist Aureole-rainbow rings. In ancient times the Buddhist Aureole was called the illuminant image,which indicates that the Puxian reveals himself in his BUddhist Aureole only before the people who have the Buddhist predestined relationship.It is the iluminant image in the Golden Summit that has made the mountain nationally famous.
At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty,Buddhism came imto China.It is commonly said that Buddhism began to develop in Sichuan during the Eastern Jin Dynasty .It is very hard to find out when the first monastery was built,and who was the first Buddhist monk to perform his rites in the mountain.The local historical records have no written information about Buddhism in the mountain,which occurred before the Jin Dynasty. As early as in 400 a monk by the name of Huichi arrived at Mt. Emei. At that time only a few ascetic practitioners lived in the animal-haunted mountain.Staying with them,Huichi started to build a temple with a statue of Puxian set up inside .The current Wan Nian Monastery grew out of the earliest temple.Huichi was considered the founder of Buddhism in the mountain.
During the Western Jin Dynasty (265-317) a Daoist priest by the name of Qianming estab lished a Daoist temple called Qian Ming Temple in the mountain.It was the biggest Daoist temple in the mountain where a hundred Daoists priests performed Daoism . At the beginning of the southern and Nouthern Dynasties(420-550), the priests decided to choose their head to be in charge of the temple. However, they had an endless dispute because of the difference of opinions . A Bddhist monk by the name of Mingguo went to the temple and taught the priests Buddhism.Finally all the priests were converted to Buddhism, and the Daoist temple became a Buddhist monastery by the name of Zhong Feng Moonastery,During the Southern and Nouthern Dynasties,Buddhism developed in the mountain.A monk from India came to Sichuan.His name was Baozhang,the first foreign monk who arrived at the mountain after his short stay in Chengdu.According to the local historical records,Baozhang set up a monastery by the name of Ling Yan Monastery.A stream flowed along the foreground of the monastery.Behind it ,over a misty mountain,dark trees merged imperceptibly into the rest of the landscape.The monastery continued its development in the following dynasties.It was said that the monastery was the biggest in the mountain with 48 halls inside in the Ming Dynasty.Unfortu-nately it was destyroyed by a fire towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. During his stay in China Baozhang translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and made a contribution to the culture exchange between China and India.
During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Buddhism in Sichuan developed considerably because some emperors supported Buddhism During their reins .some important Buddhist constructions were set up in Sichuan such as Bao Guang Monastery (the divine light monastery) in xindu County ,the Giant Buddha in Leshan City ,and Wen Shu Monastery in Chengdu.Of course, Buddhism in the mountain was no exception.Some famous monks kept visiting the mountain.
Xuan Zang made a pilgrimage to the sacred land of India to collect manuscripts and images and visit the well-known shrines from 629 to 645, leaving a valuable account of his travels in his "Records of the western Regions", Before his journey ,Xuan Zang came to the mountain.He visited Puxian,earnestly hoping to get blessings from him .On his way up to the mountain he came across an old monk who offerd him a Buddhist scripture. After reading it ,Xuan zang felt more confident for his long journey to india.Legend has it that Puxian put himself in the bodily form of the old monk .From 779 to 805, Weigao, the local top military commander in west Sichuan, donated to support Buddhist development both in Leshan and Mt.E-mei.During the rein of Xizong(874-888) of the Tang Dynasty, a well-known monk by the name of Huitong came to the mountain from Zhijiang. He stayed in Baishui Monastery as the abbot, He employed many workers to maintain and enlarge the existed monasteries, and at the same time he himself arrfanged workers to establish Qingyin Pavilion Monastery. He even invited his yiunger sister huixu, a Buddhist nun to stay in He Shui Monastery. Huixu was the first unu in Mt. Emei.
During the Song Dynasty Buddhism in the moutain further developed, In 964 Zhao Kuangyin the first empperor of the Song dynasty sent a 300-member-delegation of monks headed by Jiye, a well-known monk to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures, In 976 they came back with Buddhist materials and images. Due to Jiye's great deeds, Emperor Taizhong honored him by allowing him to choose a place in China to perform his Buddhism. Jiye decided to go to Mt. Emei, where he stayed in Niuxin Monastery to perform his Buddhist rites. Zao Kuangyin also asked one of his assistants by the name of Zhang to come to Chingdu, where Zhang was responsible for casting a 8.50-meter-high statue of Puxian in copper and bronze, and then transporting it to the Baishui Monastery on the site of the Wannian Monastery. Several Sing emperors kept presenting Buddhist scriptures, paintings and valuable gifts to Baishui Monasters stood at the lower part of the mountain. At that time only a few visitors or monks hiked the mountain via the current Wannian Monastery. The monasteries above Wsnnisn Monsastery remained very primitive, still less the monastery on the Golden Summit, which was no more than a wooden house without a monk to live in.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties most of the emperors helped develop Buddhism in China. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first ming Emperor used to be a monk. In his monk career Zhu Yuanzhang had a close contact with a monk by the name of Guangji who later worked in a monastery in the mountain. Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to reestablisshed Xiwa Monastery. After the completion of the monastery, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him to stay in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but Guangju kindly refsed the invitqation and cotinued his stay in the mountain.
Zhu Yijun was the ling-reining Ming Emperor (1573-1620) who was buried in Dingling, one of the ming Tombs. he and his two wives reposed in the underground palace, which was excavatedf in August, 1956. As a story goes, his mother wanted very much to give a birth to a boy in order to inherit the imperial throne. Therefore, she came to the mountain where she kneeled before the statue of Puxian in Baishui Monastery vowing that she would establish a new monastery and gilt the statue of Puxian if she was blessed to have a boy. Soon afterwards Zhu Yijun was born, and he himself ascended the throne as expected. In 1600 the emperor issued an imperial edit to establish a beamless brick hall and gilt the statue of Puxian on the white elephant. He even renamed Baishui Monastery as Wannian Monastery to celebrate his mother's birthday.
In 1602 four bronze halls were cast in Changan on the current site of Xi'an. One of them was moved up to the top of the mountain from which the Golden Summut was named. The hall was 8m high and 5m wide. There are no written records about how the hall was carried uyp the mountain. Unfortunately the hall was completely destroyed by a fire. In 1828 a monk by the name of Yuexzhao collected donations to set up a glazed-golden-roof brick hall, which replaced the bronxe hall. In 1972 another fire occurred, The hall, a telecom tower and andther monastery were all destroyed. The new monastery completed in 1990 still bears traces of its original splendor.
Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, Buddhism declined because of a local war, which lasted many years in Sichuan. By the end of the Qing Dynasty Buddhism in the mountain had been restored as much as in the Ming Dynasty. Both Baoguo and Fuhu monasteries were enlatged in the Qing Dynasty and now become the largest ones in the mountain.
Before 1949, there were more than 70 monasteries and over 3,000 monks in all in the mountain. The monasteried owned a large amount of farming land to stpport the monks. Half of farmers at the foot of the mountain worked for the monasteries.
Routes concerned
Every Chinese or overseas visitor enkoys climbing to the top of Mt. Emei——the Golden Summit more than 10,000-feet-high. The mountain itself is shrouded in the ever-hanging cloud of fog. Fir trees, pines and cedarsclithe the slopes; lofty crags, cloud-kissing precipices, butterflies and azaleas together form a nature reserve of sorts. At the Golden Summit one stands above the fog and gets a beautiful view, especially in the early morning when mountaintops are bathed in the radiance of the rising sun. Late in the tare afternoon the viewers may see the Magic Light,which appears as a multicolored ring of light in the sky with the shadow of the viewer moves. This light phenomenon was traditionally known as Buddha's Aureole or the Emei Buddhist Glory. Actually it is a rainbow ring, produced by tefraction of water particles that attach themselves to a person's shadow in a cloudbank below the summit. Devout Buddhists, thinking this was a call from yonder,used to jump off the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice in the belief that they would thus encounter Puxian. So during the Ming and Qing dynasties officials set up iron poles and chain railings to prevent sticides.
Totrists usually start their ascent of the mountain at Baoguo Monastery, originally constructed in the 6th century but entirely rebuilt in the 17th. There are two paths to Jinding, named after a glistening bronxe hall that once crowned the main peak of the mountain. The northern path is wide and easy to follow. The southern path is more rugged and winding. Because it is easier to go up than to come down, most people ascend by the southern route and return on the northern one. At predent there is a cable-car transportation up to the summit. Tourists can continue either on foot or by cable-car.
The northern route passes Bailong Cave, Wannian Monastery and Zhanlao Terrace. The southern route passes through Fuhu Monastery, Qingyinge Monastery, Jiulao Cave and Yuxian Monastery. The two paths converge and lead to Xixian Poolm so called after the legend that Puxian passed here on his white elphant, which he washed in the pool before resuming his trip. Xixi9an Pool is the place where tourists frequently come across wild monkeys who usually stand along the path begging for food from tourists. The Chinese find the monkeys an integral part of the mountain trip and like to offer them some food fo0r fun. If you have no food, you should thrust open palms towards the monkeys to show you have no food. The path continues to Leidongping Tettace, a small temple in which the thunder god was supposed to live, and finally to jinding-the Golden Summit itself.
The hiking is spectacular and tiring, and the path difficult to follow in places. No matter whether you ascend or descend, youy have to keep a cautious eye on the next step. You should stop occasionally to get a longer view and enjoy the beautiful scenes. The scenery is also and excusw to rest and let your pounding hearts slow down. Whenever you come across a lovely waterfall and spectacular gorge, you should sit by the waterfall, content with the stately beauty and blessings of that spot.
云南景点介绍：Xishuangbanna
Xishuangbanna is the southernmost prefecture of Yunnan Province. The prefecture is nicknamed " Aerial Garden " for its luxuriant and multi-layered primitive woods and tropical rain forests, which are teeming with animals and plants.
Renowned as a huge natural zoo, Xishuangbanna''s rain forest and monsoon jungles provide a habitat for nearly 1000 species of animals. Within thick and boundless forests wild elephants and wild oxen ramble about, with peacocks in their pride, gibbons at play, and hornbills whispering.
Thirteen species of wild life enjoy state protection, including loris, the gibbons, the red-necked cranes, the brown-neck horn-bills, and the green peacocks, which to the Dai people are a symbol of peace, happiness and good fortune and whose graceful postures can put professional dancers to shame. The region has 5,000 kinds of plants or about one-sixth of the total in China. This has earned it the renown and sobriquet " The moonstone on the Crown of the Kingdom of Plants ".
Among these are such fascinating ones as the " color-changing flower " whose colors change three times daily and the "dancing herb " whose leaves rotate gently. Then there is " mysterious fruit " which reverse tastes, turning sour to sweet.
Species of trees that go back a million years are still propagating themselves. The " King of Tea Trees ," which authorities say is at least 800 years old, continues to sprout, adding extraordinary splendor to the homeland of the famous Pu''er tea. In Xishuangbanna, there is a saying: "Even a single tree can make a forest and an old stalk can blossom and beat fruit ."
Notes:
1. Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
2. Aerial Garden 空中花园
3. Pu''er tea 普洱茶
Renowned as a huge natural zoo, Xishuangbanna''s rain forest and monsoon jungles provide a habitat for nearly 1000 species of animals. Within thick and boundless forests wild elephants and wild oxen ramble about, with peacocks in their pride, gibbons at play, and hornbills whispering.
Thirteen species of wild life enjoy state protection, including loris, the gibbons, the red-necked cranes, the brown-neck horn-bills, and the green peacocks, which to the Dai people are a symbol of peace, happiness and good fortune and whose graceful postures can put professional dancers to shame. The region has 5,000 kinds of plants or about one-sixth of the total in China. This has earned it the renown and sobriquet " The moonstone on the Crown of the Kingdom of Plants ".
Among these are such fascinating ones as the " color-changing flower " whose colors change three times daily and the "dancing herb " whose leaves rotate gently. Then there is " mysterious fruit " which reverse tastes, turning sour to sweet.
Species of trees that go back a million years are still propagating themselves. The " King of Tea Trees ," which authorities say is at least 800 years old, continues to sprout, adding extraordinary splendor to the homeland of the famous Pu''er tea. In Xishuangbanna, there is a saying: "Even a single tree can make a forest and an old stalk can blossom and beat fruit ."
Notes:
1. Xishuangbanna 西双版纳
2. Aerial Garden 空中花园
3. Pu''er tea 普洱茶
Thailand
GO DIVE IN THE GULF OF THAILAND
If you have done it before, you are already addicted. If you haven''t, then it is remarkably easy. Whatever: Koh Samui is your gateway to the best diving sites in the Gulf of Thailand.
Imagine being weightless, suspended in a world of color and light. As in a dream you can fly anywhere, exploring a rainbow-hued garden. The ocean here is a fantasy land, and the wonderful thing is, that anyone can enter it.
Not a strong swimmer? You don''t have to be. Scared of sharks and other sea monsters? They will be more afraid of you. Don''t want to be shown up as a land lubber? We''re all like that.
Professional diving instructors have to go through rigorous training before they can qualify, and part of that includes putting people at their ease.
So, ready to take the plunge?
Most of the diving schools on Samui will offer an introductory course which involves a swimming pool dive. This usually has an amazing effect on anyone who has any doubts, because the very act of strapping on the equipment and disappearing under the surface of even a hotel pool gives that essential little spurt of confidence.
After that you are ready to begin exploring , and the sheer diveability of Samui is what brings so many people here. The calm waters with their gradual depths just off the beaches are almost designed for beginners. Further out, at other island and rocky outcrops, there are other dive sites perfect for the novice and the experienced diver.
Apart from Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and the Ang Thong National Marine Park Archipelago offer great snorkeling sights. Many are easily accessible on a day-trip: the overnighters will include land accommodation, as few boats from Samui have sleeper facilities.
Koh Pha-Ngan is developing as a tourist resort and now offers some attractive beachfront accommodation. It takes just 45 minutes to reach the island by boat from Samui, and once you are there the easiest way to travel from beach to beach is by water taxi: the rocky interior of the island is hard on walkers.
Off the beaches you will fine Coral reefs, but the nearby smaller islands do have clearer waters with better reefs. Koh Mah is generally rated the best, and it''s about 45 minutes from Pha-Ngan : a nicely sloping reef here, with caves and crevices forming homes for snappers and sweetlips makes this a very pretty dive. Koh Tae Nok and Koh Tae Nai are also recommended.
[R-p6]These are two islets just off Pha-Ngan,and the site is good for beginners as the maximum depth is around 16 meters. There are some attractive coral mounts here, with sponges and sea cucumbers, and the sandy seabed in between the islets is home to lizard and goby fish.
Hin Bai, or Sail Rock, is a dramatic rocky outcropping about 2 1/2 hours from Samui''s Chaweng Beach. You can dive here to depths of more than 30 metres, and one of the most distinctive features is the 12 underwater pinnacles with their rocky gorges. There is plenty of brilliantly colored soft coral at this site, and it is also a mating and spawning ground for groupers and snappers. You may see the occasional whale shark which feeds on the plankton close to the surface.
[R-p7]Some two hours from Samui is Koh Wao, which with its shallow water of a maximum 19 meters has particularly colorful coral growing in the warm sunlight. There is a particularly dense population of coral fish here, plus butterfly and angel fish and snappers. Antler corals are host to sea anemone, and brain corals to starfish and big oysters.
Hin Nippon, or Jap Rock, is only 10 minutes from Koh Wao, and experienced divers come here for the deeper dives of 30 meters or more. About half-way down are shoals of barracudas and yellow tails, and with a strong current prevailing big fish often swim in from the deep ocean to feed on plankton and other marine creatures.
Koh Tao is an up and coming dive center, following close on the heels of Samui as its infrastructure improves. You reach Koh Tao by boat in about five hours from Samui. Much of the beachfront accommodation is still fairly pretty basic, but is already beginning to improve.
[R-p8]The island''s name in Thai means "Turtle Island" and on a clear day you can see its distinctive humped shape 55 km away on Samui. Apart from its turtle-shape, it does in fact play host to sea turtles who every year crawl up the beaches to lay their eggs in the sand. For divers, the island is far enough offshore to be away from riverine sediments from the mainland, and the waters are exceptionally clear. Some of the best diving can be had at around 18 meters, an easy depth for novices, and there are many shallow sites for snorkelers.
[L-p9] Ao Leuk is just off the island and offers depths of up to 12 metres, a very relaxing way to unwind after the journey from Samui. Some unusual rock formations can be seen here, with clumps of sponges and some sea whips. Staghorn coral is home to schools of small white spotted damsel fish.
For a night dive, Koh Nang Yuan is just 25 minutes from Koh Tao. There is a sheltered bay on the eastern side of the islet which is ideal with depths of up to12 meters.
[L-p10] In the light of your torch you will surprise nocturnal fish and crustaceans, and some of the shy fish which spend the day deep in caves and crevices and only come out at night.
Chumporn is also emergine as a dive center, with day dive programs to offshore islands located just one or two hours from the coast.
The dive sites surrounding the islands of Koh Ngam Noi and Koh Ngam Yai offer some very comfortable depths of between 10 and 18 meters, and the sea is very calm here. There are also some interesting swim-throught, hard and soft coral, and a huge variety of fish. The islands are famed for more than their diving sites: the caves and crannies here are home to the swifts who build those nests so highly prized by lovers of Chinese food the world over.
The outcrops of Hin Lak Ngan and Hin Pae offer excellent dive sites with depths going to 25 metres or more. The rock walls are riddled with crevices, holes and caves, and if you hover gently outside these you may be rewarded with a pair of eyes peeping curiously back at you.
It takes an experienced skipper to find the Northern Pinnacles, Located about 40 minutes from Koh Tao, and only recently discovered. He steers by taking readings off distant landmarks, and it is rather like a treasure hunt. Once you have found the place, there is plenty of excitement, and it is well worth the excursion. Man-sized groupers, Spanish mackerel and eagle ray are all part of the marine life. You can swim through gorges and there is a cave at 25 meters which, if you enter and swim upwards through the funnel in the roof, will bring you out at a depth of 18 meters.
Progressing from novice to the kind of experience levels which allow you to tackle some of the more fascinating dives is highly satisfying.
Question:
1.What will most of the diving schools on Samui offer ? (an introductory course which involves a swimming pool dive)
2.What is the easiest way to travel from beach to beach ? ( by water taxi)
3.What does "Koh Tao" in Thailand mean ("Turtle Island"? Apart from its turtle-shape, it does in fact play host to sea turtles who every year crawl up the beaches to lay their eggs in the sand. )
address:http://www.ztwang.net
If you have done it before, you are already addicted. If you haven''t, then it is remarkably easy. Whatever: Koh Samui is your gateway to the best diving sites in the Gulf of Thailand.
Imagine being weightless, suspended in a world of color and light. As in a dream you can fly anywhere, exploring a rainbow-hued garden. The ocean here is a fantasy land, and the wonderful thing is, that anyone can enter it.
Not a strong swimmer? You don''t have to be. Scared of sharks and other sea monsters? They will be more afraid of you. Don''t want to be shown up as a land lubber? We''re all like that.
Professional diving instructors have to go through rigorous training before they can qualify, and part of that includes putting people at their ease.
So, ready to take the plunge?
Most of the diving schools on Samui will offer an introductory course which involves a swimming pool dive. This usually has an amazing effect on anyone who has any doubts, because the very act of strapping on the equipment and disappearing under the surface of even a hotel pool gives that essential little spurt of confidence.
After that you are ready to begin exploring , and the sheer diveability of Samui is what brings so many people here. The calm waters with their gradual depths just off the beaches are almost designed for beginners. Further out, at other island and rocky outcrops, there are other dive sites perfect for the novice and the experienced diver.
Apart from Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and the Ang Thong National Marine Park Archipelago offer great snorkeling sights. Many are easily accessible on a day-trip: the overnighters will include land accommodation, as few boats from Samui have sleeper facilities.
Koh Pha-Ngan is developing as a tourist resort and now offers some attractive beachfront accommodation. It takes just 45 minutes to reach the island by boat from Samui, and once you are there the easiest way to travel from beach to beach is by water taxi: the rocky interior of the island is hard on walkers.
Off the beaches you will fine Coral reefs, but the nearby smaller islands do have clearer waters with better reefs. Koh Mah is generally rated the best, and it''s about 45 minutes from Pha-Ngan : a nicely sloping reef here, with caves and crevices forming homes for snappers and sweetlips makes this a very pretty dive. Koh Tae Nok and Koh Tae Nai are also recommended.
[R-p6]These are two islets just off Pha-Ngan,and the site is good for beginners as the maximum depth is around 16 meters. There are some attractive coral mounts here, with sponges and sea cucumbers, and the sandy seabed in between the islets is home to lizard and goby fish.
Hin Bai, or Sail Rock, is a dramatic rocky outcropping about 2 1/2 hours from Samui''s Chaweng Beach. You can dive here to depths of more than 30 metres, and one of the most distinctive features is the 12 underwater pinnacles with their rocky gorges. There is plenty of brilliantly colored soft coral at this site, and it is also a mating and spawning ground for groupers and snappers. You may see the occasional whale shark which feeds on the plankton close to the surface.
[R-p7]Some two hours from Samui is Koh Wao, which with its shallow water of a maximum 19 meters has particularly colorful coral growing in the warm sunlight. There is a particularly dense population of coral fish here, plus butterfly and angel fish and snappers. Antler corals are host to sea anemone, and brain corals to starfish and big oysters.
Hin Nippon, or Jap Rock, is only 10 minutes from Koh Wao, and experienced divers come here for the deeper dives of 30 meters or more. About half-way down are shoals of barracudas and yellow tails, and with a strong current prevailing big fish often swim in from the deep ocean to feed on plankton and other marine creatures.
Koh Tao is an up and coming dive center, following close on the heels of Samui as its infrastructure improves. You reach Koh Tao by boat in about five hours from Samui. Much of the beachfront accommodation is still fairly pretty basic, but is already beginning to improve.
[R-p8]The island''s name in Thai means "Turtle Island" and on a clear day you can see its distinctive humped shape 55 km away on Samui. Apart from its turtle-shape, it does in fact play host to sea turtles who every year crawl up the beaches to lay their eggs in the sand. For divers, the island is far enough offshore to be away from riverine sediments from the mainland, and the waters are exceptionally clear. Some of the best diving can be had at around 18 meters, an easy depth for novices, and there are many shallow sites for snorkelers.
[L-p9] Ao Leuk is just off the island and offers depths of up to 12 metres, a very relaxing way to unwind after the journey from Samui. Some unusual rock formations can be seen here, with clumps of sponges and some sea whips. Staghorn coral is home to schools of small white spotted damsel fish.
For a night dive, Koh Nang Yuan is just 25 minutes from Koh Tao. There is a sheltered bay on the eastern side of the islet which is ideal with depths of up to12 meters.
[L-p10] In the light of your torch you will surprise nocturnal fish and crustaceans, and some of the shy fish which spend the day deep in caves and crevices and only come out at night.
Chumporn is also emergine as a dive center, with day dive programs to offshore islands located just one or two hours from the coast.
The dive sites surrounding the islands of Koh Ngam Noi and Koh Ngam Yai offer some very comfortable depths of between 10 and 18 meters, and the sea is very calm here. There are also some interesting swim-throught, hard and soft coral, and a huge variety of fish. The islands are famed for more than their diving sites: the caves and crannies here are home to the swifts who build those nests so highly prized by lovers of Chinese food the world over.
The outcrops of Hin Lak Ngan and Hin Pae offer excellent dive sites with depths going to 25 metres or more. The rock walls are riddled with crevices, holes and caves, and if you hover gently outside these you may be rewarded with a pair of eyes peeping curiously back at you.
It takes an experienced skipper to find the Northern Pinnacles, Located about 40 minutes from Koh Tao, and only recently discovered. He steers by taking readings off distant landmarks, and it is rather like a treasure hunt. Once you have found the place, there is plenty of excitement, and it is well worth the excursion. Man-sized groupers, Spanish mackerel and eagle ray are all part of the marine life. You can swim through gorges and there is a cave at 25 meters which, if you enter and swim upwards through the funnel in the roof, will bring you out at a depth of 18 meters.
Progressing from novice to the kind of experience levels which allow you to tackle some of the more fascinating dives is highly satisfying.
Question:
1.What will most of the diving schools on Samui offer ? (an introductory course which involves a swimming pool dive)
2.What is the easiest way to travel from beach to beach ? ( by water taxi)
3.What does "Koh Tao" in Thailand mean ("Turtle Island"? Apart from its turtle-shape, it does in fact play host to sea turtles who every year crawl up the beaches to lay their eggs in the sand. )
address:http://www.ztwang.net
气功和太极拳
Theoretical basis of Qigong The human body is a complicated system. Gases form, food is digested, Qi and blood circulate, saliva secretes, waste material is discharged, the PH changes, and spiritual activity influences metabolisms, all happening continuously in response to the growth of life. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) regards such physiological changes as results of fluctuations and changes in the flow and function of Qi which circulate throughout the body through channels and collaterals. Qigong is a psychopneumatological exercise, drills posture, respiration and focus of the mind in order to unclog the channels and collaterals and re-establish body equilibrium.
Benefits of practicing Qigong: Qigong can affect the complex mechanism of the human body in various ways. Qigong experts and doctors in the past have done much research and established many theories. Contemporary research has further proven that Qigong is a holistic exercise, which requires little of the environment but produces a positive effect on the functions of all body organs and systems or tracts.
Effects on the Respiration System The effect of Qigong is very obvious on the respiratory system. Most people can deepen, prolong, invigorate and slow down their breathing after from 10-20 times per minute to 4-5 times or even fewer. When Qigong practice is effective, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide decrease. This indicates that Qigong increases alveolar ventilation by activating gas exchange. Reduction in the number of respiration does not cause shortage of oxygen but saves much bio-physiological energy which otherwise would be consumed in more respiratory movement.
Effects on the Digestive System Qigong exercise invigorates and regulates digestion. Studies have shown that the up-and-down movements of the diaphragm muscles in the Qigong-practicing group of patients were much larger on scale than in a comparison group that did not practice Qigong. The stomach fundus of a Qigong practitioner was also found to be six times higher than that of a non-practitioner. These Qigong-related changes prevent diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and premature aging.
Effects on the Blood Function Qigong can dramatically change the peripheral blood picture. Measuring Qigong effects on blood shows white cells increase 13 to 23 percent on average. The phagocytic index of white cells may also increase from 40 percent to over 90 percent after Qigong practice.
Effects on Cardiovascular Function Static Qigong (also known as Quiescent Exercise) is particularly effective in slowing the rate of heartbeat. Qigong can significantly reduce pulmonary pressure, of which the effect is better than intravenous injection. After Qigong practice, the systolic pressure dropped 18 millimeters and the diastolic dropped 16 millimeters.
Effects on Metabolism It has been proved that a practitioner抯 gas metabolism is reduced when one enters the quiescent state of Qigong, but change in the quantity of oxygen while doing Qigong exercise can reduce gas metabolism to the minimum level required by the human body ordinarily, which is lower than simply lying.
Effects on the Nervous System Function Practicing Qigong can produce beneficial effects on the function of the nervous system, especially the cerebral cortex.
Taiji ( Tai Chi)
Taiji originated from ancient China. Nowadays, it is practiced as an exercise for health. It……
- is suitable for almost anyone
- is easy to learn for health improvement
- has gentle and circular movements
- integrates the body and mind
- has many different forms
- is enjoyable to practice
- is known in China for centuries to be effective for arthritis
Concentrating on correct posture and breathing control, Tai Chi's movements are fluid, graceful and well balanced, promoting the complete harmony of body and mind. Tai Chi provides the mental relaxation and physical fitness so essential in our modern stress-filled lives.
Tai Chi is an unusual form of martial arts whereby we believe in building strength - mental and physical from within, softness is stronger than hardness, moving in a curve is better than a straight line, yielding is more efficient than confronting. It is especially different from western types of sports such as rugby where the harder and quicker the better. Tai Chi is a sport that strengthens the body as well as the mind from within.
北京人遗址
Peking Man was discovered in Zhoukoudian village, on the Longgu Mountain, Fangshan district, Beijing, which was listed as a world cultural heritage site in 1987. In the 1920s archaeologists discovered a complete skull of an ape-man dating back 600,000 years which was later named as Peking Man. Stone tools and evidence of Peking Man's use of fire were later found on the mountain. Studies have shown that Peking Man walked on his feet and lived 690,000 years ago. His society lived in groups in caves and survived by hunting. The group could make use of rough stone tools and knew how to use fire for heating and cooking.
The discovery included six complete skulls of Peking Man, 12 skull fragments, 15 mandibles(1), 157 teeth and some sections of broken femur(2), shinbone(3), and upper arm bones belonging to more than 40 individuals of different ages and sexes. In addition 100,000 fragments of stone tools were found together with sites used for fire and burnt bones and stones.
Peking Man created a unique Old Stone Culture which had much influence to the Old Stone Culture of north China. Stone tools are the principal relics of this remote culture. Also discovered in Zhoukoudian are stone points, a new production tool then, and bone articles made and used by Peking Man. Found in the caves were such tools as the larger end of an antler that had been used as a hammer and the sharp end of an antler used as a digging tool.
The use of fire was a milestone of the development of civilization and the discovery of Peking Man has pushed back the time that man first used it by tens of thousands of years. The largest ash pile discovered in the caves is six meters thick. Fire allowed people to eat cooked food instead of raw food and promoted the development of the brain and improved health. With his rough tools and simple living conditions Peking man created a unique and very ancient culture.
Included in the UNESCO(4) world heritage list in 1987.
Notes:
1. mandible 下鄂骨
2. femur 大腿骨
3. shinbone 胫骨
4. UNESCO 联合国教科文组织（United Nationals Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
北京-颐和园英文导游辞
The tour will take 4-6 hours. The route is as follows:
Outside the East Gate–in front of the Hall of benevolence and Longevity- in front of Garden of Virtuous Harmony-in front of the Grand Theater Building- a lakeside walk from the Garden of Virtuous Harmony to the Hall o Jade Ripples- in front of the o Jade Ripples- in front of the Yiyunguan (Chamber of Mortal Being)-Hall of happiness and longevity- in front of the Yaoyue (Chamber of Mortal Beings)-Hall of Happiness and Longevity-in front of the Yaoyue (Inviting the Moon) Gate of the Long Corridor- strolling along the Long Corridor- visiting an exhibition of cultural relics- in front of the Hall of Dispelling Clouds- inside the Hall of Dispelling Clouds- atop the Tower of Buddhist Incense- on a hilltop leading from the back door of the Tower of Buddhist Incense- on a hilltop leading from the back door of the Tower of Buddhist Incense- inside the Garden of Harmonious Interest –outside the south gate to Suzhou Shopping Street- atop the stone bridge inside the Suzhou shopping street –on the road from the south gate of suzhou shopping street- on the road form the south gate of suzhou shopping street to the marble boat- in front of the ruins of the Garden of complete spring –along the lakeside by the marble boat-boating on the Kunming Lake-leaving out through the East Gate.
(Outside the east gate)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Welcome to the Summer Palace. (After the self-introduction of the guide -interpreter) I hope this will be an interesting and enjoyable day for you.
During our tour, you will be introduced to time honored historical and cultural traditions, as well as picturesque views and landscapes.
The construction of the Summer Palace first started in 1750. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday and China was a powerful Asian country with vast territories. The monarch in power then was Emperor Qianlong. With supreme power and large sums of money, he summoned skillful and ingenious artisans from all over the country to carry out this construction work in honor of his mother's birthday. After 15 years and one seventh of the nation's annual revenue spent, the Garden of Clear Ripples was completed and served as a testimony to China's scientific and technological achievements. In 1860, this vast royal garden was burnt down along with the Yuanming Yuan (Garden of Perfection and Brightness) by Angol-French allied forces. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi reconstructed the garden on the same site and renamed it the Garden of Nurtured Harmony (Summer Palace). Characterized by its vast scope and rich cultural embodiments, the Summer Palace has become one of the most famous tourist sites in the world.
This is the main entrance to the Summer Palace-the East Gate On top of the eaves of the door there is a plaque bearing a Chinese inscription which means "Garden of Nurtured Harmony", whose calligrapher was Emperor Guangxu. The gate that you are now entering was used exclusively by the emperor, the empress and the queen mother. All others used the side doors.
(Inside the East Gate)
The Summer Palace can be divided into two parts: Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. The whole garden covers an area of 290 hectares, of which three- fourths consists of a lake and rivers. This imperial garden features 3,000 room-units and covers an expanse of 70,000 square meters with more than 100 picturesque spots of interest. The layout of the Summer Palace includes three groups of architectures: palaces where the emperor attended to state affairs, resting palaces of the emperor and empress, and sightseeing areas. Entering the East Gate we will come the office quarters. Entering the East gate we will come to the office quarters. The annex halls on both sides were used for officials on duty.
This is the Gate of Benevolence and Longevity. Above the door there is a plaque bearing the same name in both Chinese and Manchurian characters. The gigantic rock in the foreground is known as Taihu rock, or eroded limestone, quarried in Jiangsu Province and placed here to decorated the garden.
On the marble terrace sits a bronze mythical beast, known as Qilin or Xuanni. It was said to the one of the nine sons of Dragon King. A point of peculiar interest is that it has the head of a dragon, antlers of a deer, the tail of a lion and hooves of an ox, and is covered with a unique skin. IT was considered an auspicious creature that brought peace and prosperity.
This grand hall is the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. It was built in 1750, and was known as the Hall of Industrious Government. Emperor Qianlong ruled that the halls where monarchs attended to state affairs would be named after them. After the rebuilding of the Summer Palace, the hall was renamed, suggesting that benevolent rulers would enjoy long lives.
The arrangement of the hall has been left untouched. In the middle of the hall stands a throne made of sandalwood and carved with beautiful designs. In the background there is a screen carved with nine frolicking dragons. On either side of the throne there are two big fans made of peacock feathers, two column-shaped incense burners, crane-shaped lanterns and an incense burner assuming the form of Luduan, a mythological animal which was suppose to have the power to prevent fire. The small chambers on eight side were where the Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi rested and met officials on formal occasions.
On the verandah in the foreground of the hall there are bronze statues of dragon and phoenixes which served as incense burners on major occasions. They are hollow and smoke comes through holes on their backs. Also on the veranda are Tai Ping (Peace) bronze water vats made during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. As a precaution in case of fire, a fire was lit underneath the vats in the winter to keep the water in them from freezing.
(At the entrance of Garden of Virtuous Harmony)
we are now visiting the Garden of Virtuous Harmony, where Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi were entertained with Beijing Opera performances. IT mainly consists of the Dressing House, The Grand Theater Building and the Hall of pleasure smiles. The grand Theater Building known as the "Cradle of Beijing Opera" was uniquely laid out and magnificently decorated. On September 10, 1984, the Garden of Virtuous Harmony opened its doors to visitors. There are also 7 exhibition halls with articles of daily use on display here. The staff here put up court dresses of Qing Dynasty in order to give the visitor a more vivid impression.
(In front of the Grand Theater Building)
This building is 21 meters in height and 17 meters in width and features three tiers of tilted eaves and stages. All of the stages are connected to a raise, and a winch is installed at the top. A well and 5 ponds were sunk under the ground stage. There are trapdoors in the ceiling for fairies to descend, as well as on the floor for demons to surface. The underground passages also served as a means of improving resonance and making the performers' voices more audible. Of the three main theater building of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Theater Building is the tallest and the largest. The other two are Changyin (Fluent Voice) Pavilion in Chengde, an imperial summer resort. The building played a major part in fostering the birth and development of Beijing opera: since the completion of the Grand Theater Building, many performances were held in it in honor of the Empress Dowager Cixi.
(A lakeside walk from the Garden of Virtuous Harmony to the Hall of Jade Ripples)
We are now standing in the middle of a rockery behind the Hall of Benevolent and longevity. It appears that there's nothing special ahead. However, after we clear the rockery, we will reach Kunming Lake. This is an application of a specific style of Chinese gardening.
Not far away in the lake there is an islet. It is filled with peach and weeping willow trees and serves as an ideal place to appreciate the scenery. The pavilion on the islet is called Zhichun (Understanding Spring) Pavilion and is characterized by four- edged, multiple eaved roofs.
(In front of the Hall of Jade Ripples)
This group of special and quiet courtyard dwelling is the Hall of jade Ripples. It was first used by Emperor Qianlong to attend to state affairs. IT was also where Emperor Guangxu of the late Qing dynasty was kept under house arrest.
This hall is a hallmark of the Reform Movement of 1898, Emperor Guangxu was Empress Dowager Cixi's nephew. After Emperor Tongzhi died, Empress Dowager Cixi made her nephew, who was at that time four years old a successor in order to continue her wielding of power behind the scenes. When Emperor Guangxu was 19 years old, Empress Dowager Cixi relinquished power to him but continued to exert considerable influence. In 1898, the Reform Movement took place with the aim of sustaining the corn principles of the Qing Dynasty while reforming outdated laws. The movement lasted for 103 days until it was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor's six earnest reformists were beheaded and Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest which lasted for 10 years. All the back doors were sealed and a brick was put up behind the wooden partition on each side of the two annexes of the courtyard. Emperor Guangxu was closely watched by eunuchs. The wall remains intact for tourists to see. Dynasty while reforming outdated laws. The movement lasted for 103 days until it was suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi. The emperor's six earnest reformists were beheaded and Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest which lasted for 10 years. All the back doors were sealed and a brick was put up behind the wooden partition on each side of the two annexes of the courtyard. Emperor Guangxu was closely watched by eunuchs. The wall remains intact for tourists to see.
(In front of Yiyunguan (Chamber of Mortal Beings)
This was where Empress and empress dowager of China's feudal system. However, Emperor Guangxu was not the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The last in the line was Emperor Puyi, who ascended the throne in 1908 at the age of three, too young to be married. In 1912, he was forced to abdicate. During the short reign of Emperor Puyi, Empress Longyu handled state affairs on his behalf in the name of Empress Dowager. In 1911, a revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sun succeeded, and the year after, Empress Longyu announced the abdication of the last emperor of China.
(In the Hall of Happiness and Longevity)
The aged empress Dowager Cixi was so fond of the Summer Palace that she decided to live here from April through October of every year. This group of buildings served as her residence.
This group of courtyard dwellings consists of a forecourt and a backyard with annex courts on each side. The whole compound was basically made of wood, which is ideal for ventilation and lighting. With its quiet and tasteful layout, the Hall of Happiness and Longevity made life very easy and convenient. No wonder one of Empress Dowager Cixi's pleasure boat. On the pier there is a tall lantern post. Flanking the staircase leading to the main entrance of the hall, there are bronze cranes, deer and vases, symbolizing universal peace. The interior layout is the same as the imperial court, with throne, a large table and incense burners placed in the middle. At mealtime, eunuchs-in –waiting would make a gigantic table out of this table and Empress Dowager Cixi would dine on 128 courses. Because of this more than 1,800 tales of silver would be spent each month on meals. On the east side of the Living Room is the Cloak Room. The bedroom is on its west.
In front of the yaoyue (Inviting the Moon) Gate of the Long Corridor The famed Long Corridor is ahead. Facing Kunming lake and in the foreground of Longevity Hill, the Long Corridor stretches from Yaoyue (Inviting the Moon ) Gate to Shizhang (Stony Old Man) Pavilion. IT is 728 meters in length and consist of 273 sections and connects four octagonal pavilions. In 1990, it was listed in Guinness Book of World Records.
(Strolling along the Long Corridor)
The Long Corridor is one of the major structures of the Summer Palace. Since the corridor was designed to follow the physical features of the southern slope of Longevity Hill, four multiple-eaved, octagonal pavilions (Beauty-Retaining Pavilion, Enjoy-the Ripples Pavilion, Autumn Water Pavilion and Clarity Distance Pavilion) were placed at bends and undulation. Thus sightseers will hardly notice the rise and fall of the terrain. As a major part of the architectural style of the Summer Palace, the Long Corridor serves as an ingenious connector between the Lake and the hill. Scattered buildings on the southern slope were linked to create a unified complex.
This corridor can also be called a "corridor of paintings": There are more than 14,000 paintings on its beams. Some of them are of birds, flowers and landscapes of the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejian Province. Others present scenes from literary classics. The majority of the landscape painting were done under the order of Emperor Qianlong, who prepared the scenery of South China.
(By the door leading to the exhibition of cultural relics)
This group of temple-shaped structures are known as Qinghua (Clarified China) Hall, also known as Arhat Hall during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The original hall burned down in 1860. After it was reconstructed, it was renamed.
Qinghua Hall is now used as an exhibition hall displaying rare cultural relics collected in the Summer Palace. The hall consists of 6 exhibition rooms with tens of thousands of articles of treasure on display in turn. Among the exhibits there are bronze ware, porcelain, jade assemblages from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and rare and paintings. There is also a gigantic stone slab, which is more than 3 meters in height and width. It bears the handwritten inscriptions of Emperor Qianlong is commemoration of the suppression of a rebellion in the Xinjiang region. Only this slab survived when the Angle-French allied forces set fire to the Summer Palace.
(In front of the Gate of Dispelling Clouds)
Now we are approaching the central part of the structures on the lakeside slope, the Tower of Buddhist Incense within the Hall of Dispelling Clouds. The Hall of Dispelling Clouds was where numerous palatines kowtowed to Empress Dowager Cixi. It was surrounded by galleries and flanked by annex halls. In the forecourt there is a pool and marble bridges. Starting from the lakeside, there lies in succession a memorial archway, the Gate of Dispelling Clouds, the Hall of Dispelling Clouds and the Tower of Buddhist Incense. All of these structures are built on a central axis and each is taller than its predecessor. This was designed to give prominence to the last structure, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, which was a symbol of imperial power. The layout of this group of architectures was based on scenes described in Buddhist sutras. This group of structure is among the most magnificently constructed here in the Summer Palace.
(Inside the Hall of Dispelling Clouds)
The original buildings on this site were burned down by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. A new set of structures was built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu, and was called the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, suggesting that it was a fairyland.
The hall was built on a high terrace, and has 21 rooms. Inside the hall are a throne, screens, tripods and mandarin fans. On a platform you will see bronze dragons, phoenixes and tripods. At the foot of the platform there are four bronze water vats, the ancient form of fire extinguishers.
The 10th day of lunar October was, Empress Dowager Cixi's birthday. On that day, she sat on the throne here to receive congratulations and gifts.
Now we are going to pay a visit to the highlight of the Summer Palace- the Tower of Buddhist Incense. What we are now standing on is a stone terrace which is 20 meters in height. It has a semi-housed stairway of 100 steps, you will live for 100 years. So, let's go!
(In the front of the Tower of Buddhist Incense)
An octagonal structure with three storeys and quadruple eaves, the Tower of Buddhist Incense is the very center of the Summer Palace, and is one of the masterpieces of ancient Chinese architecture. The tower is 41 meters in height, and is buttressed by 8 solid pillars made of lignum vitae logs. With its complex structure, ingenious layout, towering terrace and convincing grandeur, the Tower of Buddhist Incense was artfully set out by the imperial gardens and beautiful scenery surrounding it. The Tower overlooks Kunming Lake and other picturesque spots within an area of tens of kilometers. On the west side of the Tower stands Baoyunge (Precious Cloud Pavilion). IT is made of bronze and is 7.5 meters in height and 270 tons in weight. It resembles its wooden counterparts in every detail. It is one of the largest and most exquisite bronze pavilions still on existence in China. Lamas prayed here during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in honor of the monarchs and their families. At the turn of the century 10 bronze windows were spirited abroad. In 1992 an American company bought the windows and returned them intact to China.
(On a hilltop leading from the back door of Tower of Buddhist Incense)
Now we can see the long and snaking Western Causeway and a shorter dike that divides Kunming Lake into three areas that contain South Lake Island, Seaweed-viewing Island and circle city island. The three islands represent three mountains in ancient Chinese mythology, i.e. penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. This peculiar method of incorporating a lake a three mountains within a single garden was a brainchild of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, bearing testimony to feudal monarchs' longing for longevity. As the legend goes many heavenly elixirs grew on the three mythical islands. Using artificial building techniques, the ancient Chinese built this masterpiece based on the myth to make the mythical on appear to be accessible to humans.
(Inside the Garden of Harmonious Interest)
Setting a garden within a larger garden has been one of China traditional architectural styles. The Garden of Harmonious Interest serves as a fine example of this.
This Garden was built under the order of Emperor Qianlong and modeled after the Jichang Garden (Garden of Ease of Mind )at the foot of Mount Huishan, Jiangsu Province. It was renamed by his son Emperor Jiaqing in 1811. The existing Garden was rebuilt by Emperor Guangxu. Empress Dowager Cixi used to go fishing here. The Garden features 10 waterfront platforms, pavilions and halls as well as hundreds of galleries
With all of its structures facing the lake and pools, the Garden of Harmonious Interest is basically a garden of waterscape. Spanning the vast expanse of the lake and pools are five bridges, each quite different from the others. The most famous of them is the bridge known as "Knowing –the Fishing-bridge." It is said that more than 2,500 years ago during the Warring States Period, two philosopher named Zhuang Zi had an interesting argument by the side of a pond.
Zhang said, "Fish swim to and fro in the water. What happy fish!"
Hui asked, "You are not a fish. How do you know they are happy?"
Zhuang replied, "You are not me. How do you know I don't know?"
Hui signed, "I am not you, therefore, I don't know you. And you are not a fish, so how do you know that fish are happy?"
Zhang said, "you ask me how I know fish are happy, why do you keeping me the same question?"
Although The Garden of Harmonious Interest was designed after Jichang Garden, it not only absorbed the original designs, but exceeded it.
(Outside the south entrance to Suzhou Shopping Street)
Now lets have a look at longevity Hill. On the back slope of the Hill stands a group of architectures. The centerpiece of structures there are known as the Four Continents and are dedicated to Buddhism. This group was laid out and arranged in accordance with Buddhist cosmology. Aside from a main shrine and structures embodying the Four Continents, there are eight towers representing Minor Continents. The shrine is surrounded by four Lamaist pagodas and between the major and minor continents, there two platforms representing the sun and the moon.
The Qing authority attached great importance to Buddhism. To further strengthen ties with the ethnic minorities who practiced Buddhism, the monarchs incorporated both Han and Tibetan styles of architecture into this group of temples.
Further north at the foot of the Four Major Continent lies the Suzhou Shopping Street. Built along the Back Lake of the Summer Palace, this street stretches about 300 meters and features more than 60 stores. It includes restaurants, teahouses, pawnshops banks, drugstores dye houses and publishing houses. In order to recreate the atmosphere of ancient times, visitors will have the chance to exchange their money to ancient style Chinese coins for use here. Storefronts are trimmed with traditional signboards and ornaments. The commercial culture of the mid-18th century has thus been recreated.
(Atop the stone bridge inside the Suzhou Shopping Street)
Visitors may be surprise to see that this shopping street is almost the same as that in South China. As a matter of fact, this street was designed after the shops along the canals in Suhzhou. Originally known as Emperor's Shopping Street, it was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. After making several inspection tours to South China and being duly impressed by its commercial prosperity, Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of this street.
The imperial shopping street was burnt down by Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. The site remained desolated until 1987, when reconstruction began. It was opened to the public in September 1990.
With commercial culture as its hallmark, the Suzhou Shopping Street is a vivid representation of China's traditional cultures.
(On the road from the south fate of the suzhou shopping street to the marble boat)
This is the hall of Pines. From it to the west we can walk to the Marble Boat. The path we are taking stretches between Longevity Hill and Back Lake. Monarchs and their cohorts used to stroll along it. Hence it was named Central Imperial Path. Along this path you will see lilacs all around. Hence, this road is also known as the Path of Lilac.
(In front of the ruins of the Garden of complete spring)
Quite a few unique structures were burnt down during the reign of emperor Qianlong, among which the Garden of Complete Spring was one of the most famous. The ruined and desolate courtyard by the roadside was its original site, which remains to be restored. This group of structures cover an area of 4,000 square meters and features a number of halls built on three different levels. All of the structures were connected with galleries and stone staircases. With its natural and ingenious combination of pavilions, a hall, galleries and rooms, the Garden of Complete Spring serves as a fine model for other gardens. Emperor Qianlong frequently visited this compound.
(Along the lakeside by the Marble Boat)
Now we have returned from the back of Longevity Hill to the front. There is the famous Marble Boat. This structure is 36 meters in length and its body was made of marble. On top of it is a two storeyed structure. The floor was paved with colored bricks. All of the windows are inlaid with multi-colored glass and the ceiling was decorated with carved bricks. The drainage system channels rain water down through four hollow concrete pillars and into the lake through the mouth of dragon heads.
According to a book written by Emperor Qianlong, the boat was used for enjoying the scenery and was supposed to be symbolic of the stability of the Qing Dynasty.
Halfway up the slope there stands the Hall for listening to Orioles. The ancient Chinese liken the warble of an oriole to beautiful songs and melodies, hence the name of the hall which used to be a theater. Now the hall is one of the most famous restaurants in China, featuring imperial dishes and desserts. It is a must for many foreign visitors to have lunch here when then come to Beijing. More than one hundred heads of state worldwide have dined here and the late Premier Zhou Enlai has held banquets here in honor of state guests. (Sightseers who want to try the restaurant can go boating after they eat. Those who do not can go abroad right away. Those who do not feel like taking the boat can stroll along the Long Corridor to the outside of the East Gate).
(Boating on Kunmin Lake)
We are now going to enjoy the lakeside scenery from a pleasure boat. As a main part of the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake covers an area of 220 hectares, or three fourths of the combined space of this summer resort. This natural lake is more than 3500 years old.
This lake was originally called Wengshan Lake. In 1749 Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of Qingyi Garden, the predecessor of the Summer Palace. Involving nearly 10,000 laborers, the lake was expanded and turned into a peach-shaped reservoir, the first of its kind for Beijing.
From 1990 to 1991, the Beijing Municipal Government ordered the first dredging of the lake in 240 years. Involving 200,000 men and hundreds of dredgers and other tools, a total of 625,600 cubic meters of sludge was dredged and 205 bombs dropped by the Japanese during the Anti-Japanese War were removed.
The summer palace set a precedent for sightseeing by boat. There used to be a large imperial flotilla, of which the "Kunming Merry Dragon" was the most famous. It was destroyed by the Anglo-French allied forces in 1860. To make the tour of the Summer Palace a more pleasant one, a large pleasure boat "Tai He" (Supreme Harmony )was built. This double –decked boat is 37.09 meters long,8,59 meters wide and 10.49 meters high. It can travel at a speed of 9 kilometer per hour. Small pleasure boats are also available to tourist.
Another major spot of interest on the Western causeway is Jingming (Bright View ) Hall. Both its front and rear face the lake. This structure also features three two- storeyed halls of varying heights.
Our tour is drawing to a close as we approach the shore. Today we only visited the major scenic areas of the Summer Palace. I have left other spot of interest for your next visit.
I will show you out through the East Gate. I hope you enjoyed today's tour. Thank you. Good-bye and good luck.
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