故宫的英文介绍.doc

故宫旳英文简介

　 What sｔｒikes one ｆirst　ｉn a birｄ'ｓ -eyｅ ｖiew　oｆ Beiｊｉng ｐｒoper ｉs a vasｔ　traｃt ｏｆ goｌdeｎ roofs flasｈinｇ　bｒillｉantly　ｉｎ tｈe ｓun wiｔh purple wａｌls occasｉonalｌｙ　ｅｍergｉｎg amid ｔhem and a ｓtretｃh　of ｌｕxurｉａnt ｔrｅe ｌeａｖｅｓ　fｌaｎｋing ｏｎ ｅaｃｈ side. Thaｔ　is tｈｅ　foｒｍeｒ　Ｉmperial Ｐaｌacｅ, poｐularly knowｎ as　the Foｒbiｄden Ciｔｙ,　ｆroｍ which twenｔy－foｕr eｍpeｒors oｆ　thｅ Ｍinｇ and　Ｑinｇ Dynasｔｉｅs ｒuled Chiｎａ fｏr ｓome 5０0 ｙears——frｏm1４２0 to 191１.　Ｔｈe　Ｍing Ｅｍｐeｒｏｒ Yｏng Lｅ, who usurpｅd　tｈe　throｎｅ ｆroｍ his　neｐheｗ and　ｍａｄe Bｅijing thｅ　caｐital,　ｏrｄereｄ its　coｎstrucｔion，　on　whｉch ａｐｐｒoximatelｙ 10,000　arｔisｔs and a　miｌlioｎ　ｗoｒｋmｅｎ toiｌeｄ fｏｒ 14　yearｓ from　1４0６ to　14２0. Ａt ｐrｅseｎt, tｈe Pａlaｃe　iｓ an elaborate museum thaｔ prｅsｅnｔs thｅ　larｇest and　ｍost ｃomplｅte ｅnsｅmble of　trａdiｔiｏnaｌ aｒchｉｔectｕrｅ complex　ａｎｄ ｍｏre thaｎ 9００,000 piｅces ｏf　court treaｓures in all dynaｓties in　China.
Lｏcateｄ　ｉn　tｈe cｅｎｔeｒ oｆ　Ｂeijing, the entire palaｃe　ａrea, ｒectanguｌａr　ｉn shape and 72 ｈectares iｎ siｚe, is surrｏundeｄ by waｌls ten　metｅrｓ　high　and a mｏat　52 meters wiｄe. At　eacｈ　ｃoｒner　of tｈｅ waｌl stands　a　ｗatchtｏwer witｈ a doｕｂle-ｅave ｒｏｏｆ　coveｒeｄ with　yelloｗ　gｌａzｅｄ tiｌes.
　 The mａin builｄｉｎgs, the　ｓix　greaｔ halls, ｏne ｆollowing tｈe other， are　set　ｆａcｉng sｏuth aｌong the ｃenｔral　ｎorｔh－south axis frｏｍ ｔｈｅ Meｒidian Gaｔe, tｈｅ ｓouth ｅｎtrａncｅ, ｔo Sｈenwｕｍｅn,　thｅ greaｔ gatｅ pｉｅrcing in the　north ｗall. Ｏn eitheｒ side oｆ thｅ ｐalace ａｒe　manｙ comparatively small　bｕｉldings.　Symmetｒiｃａｌly　in　the nｏrtheastｅｒn section lie the　six Eａｓtｅrn　Pａlacｅs aｎd in tｈｅ nｏrｔhwesteｒn sｅcｔion thｅ　sｉx Wｅｓteｒn　Palaces.　Tｈe Pａlaｃe area is diｖiｄed iｎto tｗｏ ｐaｒtｓ: the Outeｒ Courｔ and the Ｉnner Palacｅ． Ｔｈe formeｒ　ｃonｓisｔs ｏf　the fｉrｓｔ three maｉn haｌls, wheｒｅ tｈe　emｐeｒor　receｉved his ｃourtiers　ａnd conducｔed　graｎd ｃeremoniｅｓ, whilｅ ｔhe latｔer wａs the liviｎg quartｅrｓ ｆor tｈe　iｍｐerｉal　reｓidence． At　the ｒｅａr of the Inneｒ Paｌaｃe　is　ｔｈe Ｉｍｐeriａl Gaｒdeｎ ｗherｅ tｈe emperor anｄ his famiｌy ｓｏｕｇｈt　recreａtion.
　　The ｍain　enｔraｎcｅ ｔo the Palacｅ ｉs ｔhe Mｅｒidiaｎ Ｇａte(１)， which was sｏ named becａusｅ ｔhe eｍperor　consｉdeｒed himｓelf ｔｈe "Son　of　thｅ Heａｖeｎ" ａnｄ thｅ Ｐａlace the centｅr　of　ｔhｅ　univeｒsｅ，　hence ｔhe ｎortｈ-south ａxｉs　ａs ｔｈｅ Ｍeridｉan linｅ ｇoiｎｇ rｉghｔ throｕgh the Paｌａｃe． Ｔhe ｇate ｉs　crowneｄ wｉth fiｖｅ toweｒｓ, coｍmonly known as tｈe Ｆｉｖe－Phoenｉx Ｔｏwerｓ（2）, whｉch ｗerｅ installｅd wiｔｈ　dｒums　and bｅllｓ. Wheｎ　the emperor wｅnt to the Temple ｏf Hｅａｖen, bｅlｌs　wｅｒe　struck tｏ　mark thｉs impｏrtａnt ocｃasion． Ｗheｎ ｈe ｗent to　ｔhe Ancｅstｒal Temｐle, it waｓ thｅ drｕms that ｗｅrｅ　beaｔeｎ to ｐuｂlicize　tｈｅ evｅnt.
　 Ｂeyond　the　Meriｄｉaｎ Ｇａte uｎｆｏｌdｓ a vast courｔyard ａｃroｓｓ whｉch thｅ Inner Ｇｏｌden　Water River runｓ frｏm east　ｔo ｗest．　Ｔhe rｉver iｓ spaｎned by ｆｉvｅ brｉdｇeｓ, ｗhicｈ wｅre suppoｓed to　bｅ symbols　oｆ thｅ fiｖe viｒtuｅs prｅａｃhed　ｂy　Ｃoｎfｕcｉus——beｎevolenｃe， righteoｕsness, ｒites， ｉntellｉgence, ａnd　fｉdelity(3)．
　Aｔ the　norｔh eｎd　of　tｈe couｒtyaｒd　ｉs ａ　thrｅe－ｔierｅd whｉte　maｒblｅ terrａcｅ, ｓeven　ｍeteｒs abｏｖｅ　the　groｕnd, on whicｈ, ｏne　aftｅr ａnoｔheｒ, stａnd threｅ majesｔｉc ｈallｓ; the Hａll of Sｕpｒemｅ Hａrｍony(4), tｈe　Hａll　ｏf Coｍplｅtｅ Ｈａrｍoｎy(5)， ａnd　the Hａll ｏf　Pｒeserving Harmony(６).
　　The　Hall ｏf Sｕpreme　Harmony, rectangular in sｈape，　2７ metｅｒs ｉn heighｔ, 2，３00 ｓqｕaｒe meｔers　in areａ, is tｈe grandest and　mosｔ imｐｏrtanｔ　hａll iｎ thｅ Ｐａlaｃe comｐｌｅx． It　is alsｏ Chiｎa'ｓ ｌａrgesｔ　existing　palaｃｅ ｏｆ　wｏod　ｓtrｕｃｔure ａnd an　outstａnｄing eｘamｐle of　ｂrｉlliaｎt cｏlor cｏｍbinations. This hａll used ｔo be tｈe ｔｈroｎe hａll for ceremｏniｅs　ｗｈicｈ maｒｋeｄ ｇreａｔ　occａsiｏnｓ: the Wiｎｔer Sｏlsｔiｃe,　thｅ Ｓpring Festiｖal,　thｅ emperｏr's birｔｈday aｎd enthronemenｔ, ａnd the　dｉspatch of　gｅneｒalｓ to　ｂatｔles, ｅtc. On such ocｃａsions theｒe woｕld be an iｍpeｒial guard of honor staｎdｉng　in front　of tｈe Hａll thａt　ｅxtｅnded　ａll the wａy　to　thｅ Meｒidiaｎ gate．
On　the norｔh fａce　ｏｆ tｈe hall in the centeｒ　ｏf　fouｒ　coｉlｅd-goｌden draｇｏn coｌuｍns is　tｈe "Golｄｅn Ｔhrone", wｈiｃh wａs cａｒved oｕｔ of sandaｌwｏod．　The ｔhｒone rests on ａ ｔｗo-ｍｅtｅｒ-higｈ pｌａtｆorm ｗith　a scｒｅen behiｎｄ it. In ｆront ｏf it, tｏ ｔｈe　lefｔ ａnd riｇht，　sｔand ornamenｔal crａneｓ, ｉｎceｎｓe ｂurnｅrs aｎd otheｒ orｎameｎｔs.　Ｔhe ｄragｏn ｃolumns enｔwined witｈ goldｅn　draｇｏns　ｍｅａsure onｅ mｅter　in　diametｅr.　Tｈe ｔhronｅ ｉtseｌf, the　platｆorｍ and tｈe scｒeｅn aｒe aｌl carved wiｔh　dｒagｏn designs．　High aboｖｅ ｔhe ｔhroｎe is a cｏlｏr-painted　ｃｏfferｅd ceｉling whiｃh cｈaｎｇes iｎ　shape frｏm sｑuａｒe　to octagoｎal tｏ ｃiｒcｕlaｒ　ａs ｉt ascｅnds ｌayeｒ ｕpｏn　lａyer. Ｔhe uｔｍoｓｔ　central　vault iｓ carved wｉth the gｉlded　ｄesign oｆ ａ　drａｇon ｔｏying ｗith peaｒls. ｗｈen　the Ｅmpｅror ｍountｅd thｅ throｎe,　golｄ bellｓ　and jａde ｃｈｉmｅs sｏunｄed　from ｔhe　ｇａｌlｅrｙ,　and　ｃｌoｕdｓ of iｎｃeｎsｅ rosｅ ｆrom the ｂroｎｚe cranes anｄ ｔorｔoｉseｓ　and trｉpoｄs ｏuｔside the ｈaｌl on　thｅ ｔerrａｃe. The aｕra of　ｍａｊeｓty cｒｅated　by thｅ imposiｎg　aｒchiteｃture aｎd　solemn riｔual wｅre desｉgｎｅd ｔo keｅp　ｔｈｅ ｓuｂjects of ｔhe "Son oｆ the Heaven" in ａwe anｄ reｖerence.
　　The Hａll　of　Coｍplｅte Ｈａrmｏnｙ is sｍaller ａnd ｓquare with wiｎdows　oｎ all ｓiｄｅs. Ｈeｒe tｈe emperor rehearsed for cｅremonies.　Iｔ iｓ foｌlowed by the Ｈall of Pｒeseｒvｉng　Harｍoｎy in whiｃh　ｂanquets and iｍｐｅrｉａl exａmｉｎａtiｏｎｓ　werｅ held.
Beｈind ｔhe Ｈaｌl of Pｒeserving Ｈａrmony　liｅｓ　a huｇe　maｒble　ramp with iｎterｔwｉｎｉnｇ cloｕds ａｎd dｒaｇｏns ｃａrved ｉn ｒｅlief. Tｈe slab, abｏut 6.5 ｍeters long,　３ meterｓ wide　and　2５0 tonｓ in wｅｉgｈt,　ｉs plａced between two　flights of mａrｂle　sｔeps aｌong wｈicｈ tｈe empｅroｒ＇s sｅｄan ｗaｓ ｃarried　up or doｗｎ the ｔｅrrace. Ｉt ｉs thｅ　ｌarｇest ｐｉece of stone ｃarvｉnｇ　ｉn tｈｅ Impeｒiaｌ　Paｌａce. Quarrｉｅd iｎ thｅ ｍｏuｎｔaiｎｓ scorｅs of ｋilomeｔers sｏuｔhwｅsｔ ｏf Beijing,　tｈｉs giｇａntｉc sｔｏne was moved　to　ｔhe ｃity　by　ｓliding　it ovｅr　ａ ｓpeciaｌｌy ｐaveｄ icｅ road ｉn wｉｎter. To　ｐｒｏvｉde ｅnougｈ　wateｒ to ｂuild　the　icｅ ｒoad， wells wｅrｅ　sunｋ at vｅｒｙ　５０0 meters along tｈe wａｙ.
Tｈe three hallｓ of the　Inner Palaｃｅ　arｅ reｐliｃaｓ　of ｔhｅ thｒee　haｌｌs　ｉn the　ｆrｏnt,　bｕｔ sｍaller ｉn　size.　Tｈｅｙ　are thｅ Pａｌaｃe　of　Hｅaｖenly Pｕrity(7), the Hall oｆ Ｕniｏn（8）， ａnｄ tｈe Ｐalace　of Ｅａrthly Tｒanquility(9).
　 The Paｌacｅ oｆ Ｈeavenlｙ　Ｐｕrｉｔy　wａｓ onｃe　ｔhe rｅｓｉdｅnce　of ｔhｅ　Ming　ｅｍperors and thｅ　ｆirst tｗｏ oｆ the Qiｎｇ empｅrｏrｓ． Thｅn the Qing Ｅmperoｒ Yｏng Zheng　ｍovｅｄ his residｅnｃe　tｏ thｅ Ｐalace　of Mentａl Ｃｕlｔivatｉon and tｕrｎｅd it into an ａｕdience haｌl to　receive　foreigｎ　enｖoys aｎd ｈａｎdlｅd the sｔatｅ ａffａｉｒｓ. Ｔｈe　pｒoｍｏtion aｎｄ demotion of offｉcials　wｅｒe ａlso　ｄecｉdｅd in　tｈis ｈａｌｌ. Afｔeｒ ｔhｅ emperor＇s dｅath his cofｆin waｓ　placed heｒe ｆor ａ 49-dａｙ ｐerｉod of moｕｒninｇ．
　　Tｈｅ Ｐaｌace ｏｆ　Unｉon waｓ thｅ empress＇s throｎe room ａnd the Hall of Ｅarthly Traｎqｕｉｌiｔy， onｃe a　pｒivate lｉvinｇ　rooｍ　for　the ｅｍpreｓｓ, waｓ ｐarｔｉtioned. The weｓt cｈambeｒ　seｒvｅd ｒeｌigｉｏus　pｕｒpｏses　aｎｄ　the　easｔ one　was thｅ brｉdal chambeｒ ｗhｅｒｅ tｈe neｗｌy marriｅd eｍperor aｎd eｍpreｓs　speｎt　thｅir first tｗo ｎｉgｈｔs afｔｅr　ｔheir ｗedding.
　　The　Iｍperｉal　Gaｒｄen　ｗａs laｉd out ｄurinｇ thｅ earｌy Ｍing　dynasty. Huｎdreds of pines ａnｄ cypresses　oｆfer shadｅ ｗhiｌｅ vaｒious flｏwers givｅ　cｏloｒs to the　gardeｎ alｌ ｙｅar ｒoｕnd ａｎd　fill　tｈe　aiｒ　wiｔh　tｈeir fragｒancｅ. In he cｅnｔer of the ｇarden　is the　Hall　oｆ Imperｉal Peacｅ, a Ｄaoist temｐle, ｗｉth a　flat rｏoｆ slightly ｓloｐinｇ down ｔｏ the ｆouｒ eaves． Thｉs　ｔype of roof waｓ　ｒare　iｎ aｎcient Ｃhiｎeｓe ａｒchiｔecturｅ.　In　he nｏｒthｅaｓtern coｒnｅｒ of tｈe garden　is ａ ｒoｃｋ ｈill, knoｗｎ as tｈe Hilｌ of the Pｉled-up　Wｏnders, ｗhiｃh　iｓ topｐed wｉtｈ　a pａvｉｌｉon. At ｔhe　fooｔ　ｏf the ｈill ａre twｏ　foｕntainｓ wｈｉcｈ jｅt two ｃｏｌuｍns oｆ　ｗaｔｅr high into the ａｉｒ.　It ｉs　sａid that oｎ tｈｅ ninth ｎigｈt ｏｆ the ninth montｈ　of the lｕｎar calenｄar,　tｈe empｒess wｏｕld moｕｎｄ thｅ hill to enｊoy the　auｔumn sceｎｅ.　Iｔ　is　ａｌso bｅlｉｅvｅd tｈat　cｌiｍbing ｔo a high ｐlａcｅ ｏn that daｙ ｗｏuｌd keeｐ peｏple sａｆe fｒoｍ contaｇiｏus diseaseｓ．
　 The siｘ Weｓterｎ　Paｌaｃeｓ　were resｉｄｅnces ｆｏr empｒesses　and　cｏｎcubiｎｅs.　Thｅy　aｒe kept in tｈeir ｏｒiginaｌ way ｆｏr　ｓhow. The sｉｘ Ｅastern Ｐaｌａces werｅ thｅ residｅｎｃes ｆor them toｏ.　But noｗ they serve as sｐecｉaｌ museums: tｈe　Museuｍ of Broｎｚe, tｈe　Muｓeum ｏf Pｏrcelaｉｎ aｎd　the　Ｍuseum of　Ａrtｓ and Cｒａftｓ of the Mｉng and Qing dyｎａｓｔies. In thｅ norｔheastern-mｏst seｃtion ｏf ｔhe Ｉｎneｒ Paｌacｅ　are tｈe Mｕseum　ｏf Ｔradｉtioｎal Ｃhinｅsｅ Paintiｎgｓ and the　Musｅｕm ｏｆ Jewelry ａnｄ　Treａｓuｒｅｓ ｗｈerｅ rare ｐieces of ｉmpeｒial colｌｅｃtionｓ ａrｅ ｏｎ dｉｓｐlay．
　　Nｏw the Forbidｄen Ｃiｔｙ　iｓ nｏ longer　ｆorbｉddｉｎg,　but　iｎvｉtｉｎg. A visit　ｔo thｅ Pａlacｅ Ｍｕseum　ｗｉlｌ　ｅnrｉｃh　the visitors' knｏwleｄgｅ　of histｏrｙ, economy， politiｃs,　arts　ａs　weｌl　ａｓ arｃｈitecturｅ iｎ ａncｉｅnt Ｃhｉnａ．
　　Nｏｔes：
1. tｈe Ｍｅｒidｉan Ｇate 午门
　　2． tｈe　Fivｅ-Phｏeｎｉｘ Ｔowers 五凤楼
　 3. bｅnevoleｎce, rｉｇhteousness， ritｅs, intelｌigence， and fideliｔｙ 仁、义、礼、智、信
　 4.　the Ｈａll of Sｕpｒeme Harmony　太和殿
5. ｔｈe　Hａll　ｏf Ｃｏｍplete Ｈａrmony 中和殿
　６. ｔhe Haｌl　of Preservｉng Ｈarmonｙ　保和殿
　　7. thｅ Pａlace of Ｈｅａveｎly　Ｐuriｔy　乾清宫
　8.　the Hａｌl　ｏf　Unｉon 交泰殿
　９. tｈe Palace　of Earthly Tｒanquｉｌｉtｙ 坤宁宫