Archive for March 24th, 2008
Chinese Character – 门 Door;Gate
Monday, March 24th, 2008
Cri – Lesson 85
Monday, March 24th, 2008
M: Dà jiā hǎo. Huān yíng nǐ men dào Xiàn zài Xué Hàn yǔ. Wǒ shì ML.S: Wǒ shì Stuart. Ok, everybody say with ML, ‘today we learn Lesson 85’.
M: Zhǔn bèi, kāi shǐ. 今天我们学第八十五课 jīn tiān wǒ men xué dì bā shí wǔ kè.
S: Hěn hǎo.
M: Stuart, 今天我们学什么 jīn tiān wǒ men xué shén me?
S: How about more on ways of getting around. Like问路, asking directions, wèn lù. Don’t forget to listen, speak, and guess. Tīng, shuō, cāi yi cāi.
M: Hǎo zhú yi.
M: We want to go to the Friendship Store, 我们要去友谊商店, wǒ men yào qù Yǒu yí Shāng diàn.
S. We don’t know how to get there. 我们不知道怎么走 wǒ men bù zhī dào zěn me zǒu.
M: So, we’ll ask the way. 所以我们问路 suǒ yǐ, wǒ men wèn lù.
M. Mister, we want to go to the Friendship Store. Could you please tell us how to get there? 先生， 请问，我们要去友谊商店。我们怎么走 xiān shēng, qǐng wèn, wǒ men yào qù Yǒu yí Shāng diàn. Wǒ men zěn me zǒu?
MAN. Go north. 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu. When you get to Chang’an Avenue, head east到了长安街,往东走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng dōng zǒu.
S: Go north, 往北走 wǎng běi zǒu. When we get to Chang’an Avenue, head east到了长安街,往东走，dào le Chang’an Jie, wǎng dōng zǒu. Duì ma?
MAN. Duì le.
M. xiè xie nín.
MAN: bú kè qi..
S. Now let’s look at some of the new stuff. We want to go to the Friendship Store, 我们要去友谊商店.
M. wǒ men yào qù Yǒu yí Shāng diàn. We’ve learnt 友谊，meaning ‘friendship, as in the Friendship Hotel, Yǒu yí Bīn guǎn.
S. And 商店 SHANG DIAN shāng diàn, 1st tone 4th tone, shāng diàn, meaning ‘shop’ or ‘store’. So, Yǒu yí Shāng diàn, the Friendship Store. Say, ‘we want to go to the Friendship Store’.
M. Hěn hǎo. 我们要去友谊商店, again, wǒ men yào qù Yǒu yí Shāng diàn.
S.我们不知道怎么走
M. wǒ men bù zhī dào zěn me zǒu. zěn me zǒu, literally, ‘how to go’.
S. So, you guys at home say, We don’t know how to get there.
M. Duì le. wǒ men bù zhī dào zěn me zǒu.
S: So, we’ll ask the way. 所以我们问路
M. suǒ yǐ, wǒ men yào wèn lù. 问WEN wèn, to ‘ask’. 路LU lù, is ‘road’, lù.
S. So what does wèn lù mean? Duì le, to ‘ask the way’ wèn lù, wèn lù.
M. So we’ll finish with the first bit again, then look at the rest next lesson.
S. 我们要去友谊商店. wǒ men yào qù Yǒu yí Shāng diàn.
M. 我们不知道怎么走 wǒ men bù zhī dào zěn me zǒu.
S. 所以我们问路 suǒ yǐ, wǒ men wèn lù.
M. And continue next lesson. Zài jiàn.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
China Travel – Haibao Pagoda in Yinchuan
Monday, March 24th, 2008 |
Located about 1.5 kilometers northwest of downtown Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Haibao Pagoda Temple is one of the major Buddhist temples opened to public in China. And, the pagoda in the temple is the most ancient Buddhist architecture in Ningxia, and is among the first group of national key cultural relics sites.
The Haibao Pagoda Temple was called the Haibao Buddha Hall in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and early Republic of China. Surrounded by exuberant poplars, willows and other trees, the temple has a quiet surrounding. It is said that there was a lake here long ago and the Haibao Pagoda was situated on an island in the lake. Bulrushes grew thickly in the lake and a lot of fish stayed in the water. Every March 4 of the lunar year, people got out of the city and crossed the lake by boat to attend the annual temple fair.
The topping Haibao Pagoda in the temple is the mainstay architecture. The pagoda was originally called the Black Pagoda. It is also known the North Pagoda. Nothing is known about its construction time, but it was rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. It is a brick pagoda modeled on multi-storeyed counterparts. The existing pagoda has nine storeys — eleven storeys if the base and pedestal are included, and is 53.9 meters high. The pagoda is built on a square brick base, each side measuring 19.7 meters long and 5.7 meters high. Its ground ichnography is cress-shaped, which is rare in multi-storeyed pagodas. The first storey has a portico and an arched door. Inside is an arhat niche flanked by brick steps leading to the top of the pagoda. Arched doors on the front of each storey are flanked by false niches. The interior of the pagoda is also cross-shaped and in the center of each floor is a square chamber. The pagoda tapers by fifteen to twenty centimeters from one storey to the next. The steeple of the Haibao Pagoda is different from that of other pagodas. It is peach-shaped and built of green glazed bricks.
The Haibao Pagoda was ruined several times in earthquakes and underwent several repairs. The present 11-storey pagoda was the result of reconstruction during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. After reconstruction, it had two fewer storeys than the original one and the brick steps inside it were changed into wooden steps, which spiral upwards to the top. On the top of the pagoda, visitors will have a good view of Yinchuan City.
In the past 20 years, the Chinese government invested heavily to repair the Haibao Pagoda and the temple, added a bell tower, a drum tower, wing-rooms and a greenhouse, expanded and repainted the bounding wall, constructed a road to the scenic spot and set up an administrative unit here. The Haibao Pagoda Temple has become an important scenic spot with its entirely new appearance.
(Source: chinaculture.org)
