Archive for May 9th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 138

Friday, May 9th, 2008
 
 

                          Click to Watch Video Podcast

  (3月27日播出)

  旁白: 普陀山位于舟山群岛的东部。

  Putuo Mountain lies to the east

  of Zhoushan Archipelago.

  是中国四大佛教名山之一,

  It is one of China’s four famous

  Buddhist mountains

  也是著名的海岛风景旅游胜地。

  as well as an island holiday resort.

  它以秀丽的自然风光,

  It is famous for its beautiful

  natural scenery

  悠久的佛教文化而闻名于世。

  and its time-honored Buddhist culture.

  韩佳: 快乐学汉语,万里海疆行!

  Learn Chinese the fun way and enjoy

  a happy journey across China!

  大家好,我是快乐的韩佳。

  Hi, I’m Merry Han Jia.

  王渊源:我是快乐的渊源。

  And I’m Happy Yuanyuan.

  韩佳: 那我们现在呢

  Now we have arrived

  已经来到了著名的普陀山。

  at the famous Putuo Mountain.

  王渊源:没错儿。

  Exactly.

  这普陀山与山西的五台山、

  Putuo Mountain, together with

  Wutai Mountain in Shanxi,

  四川峨嵋山、安徽九华山

  Emei Mountain in Sichuan and

  Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui,

  并称为中国四大佛教名山。

  are known as China’s four famous

  Buddhist mountains.

  韩佳: 这四大佛教名山啊

  These four famous Buddhist mountains

  分别是观音、文殊、地藏、普贤

  are worshiping venues of

  Guanyin, Wenshu,

  四大菩萨的道场圣地。

  Dizang and Puxian respectively.

  王渊源:“道场”是佛教的词汇吧?

  Is “dao chang” a Buddhist term?

  韩佳: 这“道场”啊

  A “dao chang”

  就是指和尚

  refers to a venue where a

  Buddhist monk

  或者是道士做法事的场所。

  or a Taoist priest holds

  religious ceremonies.

  王渊源:这些我还是头一回听说呢。

  This is my first time to hear

  about it.

  韩佳: 那我们现在就去

  Now we’re going to

  普陀山的南海景区看一看吧。

  take a look at the Nanhai Scenic

  Area on Putuo Mountain.

  渊源,这里呢

  Yuanyuan, here is

  就是南海景区的入口处了。

  the entrance to the Nanhai

  Scenic Area.

  你看,那边是一个天然的石码头。

  Look, there is a naturally

  formed stone dock.

  据说,在没有建成

  It is said that before

  普陀山客运码头之前,

  the passenger dock was built

  at Putuo Mountain,

  凡是到这里来的人

  all visitors who came here

  都要从那里上岸。

  got ashore from that spot.

  王渊源:“凡是”

  ”Fanshi”

  指在一定范围内所有的、毫无例外的,对吗?

  means all of the certain set of

  things with no exceptions, right?

  韩佳: 对。“凡是”这个词呢

  Right. “Fanshi” is used

  for emphasis,

  是强调一个限定的范围,

  meaning all of the certain set

  表示在一定范围内所有的、

  of things

  毫无例外的。

  with no exception.

  Fán shi lái zhèli de rén dōu huì jīngguò zhè ge dìfang

  凡 是 来 这里 的 人, 都 会 经过 这 个 地方。

  Everyone who came here would pass

  through this spot.

  那我们今天就从这里出发,

  And today, we’re going

  to set off from here

  去看一下普陀山的标志性建筑吧。

  to take a look at Putuo

  Mountain’s landmark.

  普陀山的标志性建筑

  Putuo Mountain’s landmark

  就是这尊南海观音铜像。

  is this Nanhai Guanyin

  bronze statue.

  这尊铜像高三十三米,重七十二吨。

  The bronze statue is 33 meters tall

  and weighs 72 tons.

  王渊源:可是我有个疑问。

  But I’ve got a question.

  这普陀山明明与东海相邻,

  Putuo Mountain obviously borders

  the East China Sea,

  那为什么这尊铜像

  but why is this bronze statue

  要叫做南海观音呢?

  called Nanhai Guanyin?

  韩佳: 是这样的,

  The reason is that,

  按照中国历代帝王的习惯,

  according to China’s pass

  dynastic practice,

  把长江以南的海域称为南海。

  all sea waters south of the Yangtze

  River were called the South Sea.

  所以普陀观音啊

  Therefore, the Putuo Guanyin here

  就被称为南海观音了。

  was called Nanhai Guanyin.

  王渊源:哦,原来是这样的。

  Oh, I see.

  韩佳: 那南海观音

  The Nanhai Guanyin

  是普陀山海天佛国的象征。

  is known as the symbol of the Putuo

  Buddhist Kingdom on the Sea.

  每年都会有很多人

  Every year, throngs of worshipers

  到这里来祭拜它。

  come here to pay homage

  to it.

  所以这种场面

  Scenes like this

  就可以用一个成语来形容。

  can be described with an idiom.

  王渊源:什么成语啊?

  What idiom?

  韩佳: 络绎不绝。

  ”Luoyi bu jue”.

  “络绎”就是指往来不断,

  ”Luoyi” refers to coming and going

  前后相接。

  incessantly.

  “络绎不绝”这个成语呢

  The idiom “luoyi bu jue”

  就是用来形容来来往往的行人、

  means in an endless stream

  车马连续不断。

  or continuous.

  王渊源:“络绎不绝”

  ”Luoyi bu jue”

  形容来来往往的行人、

  means in an endless stream

  车马连续不断。

  or continuous.

  那我们可以用“络绎不绝”

  So we can use “luoyi bu jue”

  来形容人多的场面,对吧?

  to describe a scene of a

  lot of people, right?

  韩佳: 说得没错儿。

  Yes, exactly.

  那这里呢会定期举行

  The Putuo Mountain Nanhai Guanyin

  普陀山南海观音文化节。

  Cultural Festival is held

  here regularly.

  到那个时候啊,

  On that occasion,

  来祭拜的人就更多了。

  there would be more worshipers here.

  旁白: 在普陀山我们看到的

  What we see on Putuo Mountain

  不仅有很多拜祭观音的人,

  not only many Guanyin worshipers,

  还有风格不一的寺院。

  but also various types of temples.

  这其中最有名、规模最大的

  The most famous and largest

  of them all

  就要数普济寺了。

  is the Puji Temple.

  韩佳: 渊源,这里呢

  Yuanyuan, here is

  就是普陀山的第一大寺——

  Putuo Mountain’s number

  one temple,

  普济寺了。

  the Puji Temple.

  它也是普陀山最主要的一座

  It is also one of Putuo

  Mountain’s major

  供奉观音的寺庙。

  shrines of Guanyin, the Goddess

  of Mercy.

  那在这里还有一种说法,

  There is also a saying

  here that

  就是“五步一楼,十步一阁。”

  there is a tower every five steps

  and a pavilion every ten steps.

  王渊源:那就是形容

  Which means there are

  普济寺的楼阁多,对吧?

  a lot of towers and pavilions

  in Puji Temple, right?

  韩佳: 对啊。

  That’s right.

  这里呢一共有三百多间楼阁。

  Altogether there are over 300

  towers and pavilions here.

  再往前走啊

  Further on

  就是普济寺的主殿大圆通殿了。

  is the temple’s main hall,

  the Great Yuantong Hall.

  王渊源:韩佳,这儿为什么要叫圆通殿呢?

  Han Jia, why is it called

  Yuantong Hall?

  韩佳: 其实“圆通”呢

  Yuantong

  就是观音的代名词。

  is a synonym for Guanyin.

  那圆通殿指的就是观音殿。

  So Yuantong Hall actually

  refers to Guanyin Hall.

  王渊源:你这么说我就明白了。

  Now I’m clear about it after

  your explanation.

  韩佳: 那这里呢

  The hall

  还被称为“天下圆通殿之祖”呢。

  is also known as the Mother of

  All Yuantong Halls in China.

  王渊源:能有这样的称号可真不简单。

  It is just great to get this

  type of title.

  韩佳: 据说,每当普陀山

  It is said whenever there

  is an important

  有重大佛事活动的时候啊,

  Buddhist ceremony held at Putuo,

  都会在这座大殿举行。

  it is always held here in

  this big hall.

  旁白: 在普陀山,

  On Putuo Mountain,

  除了有各种规模的寺院,

  in addition to the various temples,

  还有一个以自然景观优美

  there is also the Xitian

  Scenic Area,

  而著称的西天景区。

  which is known for its beautiful

  natural scenery.

  王渊源:哇,好大的一个“心”字呀!

  Wow, what a big character

  of “xin”!

  韩佳: 对啊。这个“心”字呢

  Yes. This Chinese character “heart”

  被称为普陀山最大的石刻文字。

  is considered the biggest of characters

  carved in stone at Putuo.

  它中间那一点上面呢

  Just that dot in the center is

  可以坐八、九个人。

  big enough for eight or

  nine people to sit on it.

  整个字上面可以坐上百人呢。

  About a hundred people can sit

  on the entire character.

  王渊源:“上百人”的“上”是什么意思呀?

  What’s the meaning of “shang”

  as in “shang bai ren”?

  韩佳: “上”在这里呢

  The “shang” here

  是达到、够的意思,

  means nearly or enough,

  指达到一定的程度或者是数量。

  often used to refer to a degree

  or number.

  王渊源:“上”在这里是达到、够的意思。

  ”Shang” here means to reach

  or as many as.

  Zhèli néng zuò xià shàng bǎi rén

  这里 能 坐 下 上 百 人。

  Nearly a hundred people can sit here.

  韩佳: 像这么大的石刻文字啊

  Characters this size carved

  in stone

  在中国也是很少见的。

  are also rarely seen in China.

  这可是普陀山

  This is surely one of

  Putuo Mountain’s

  王渊源:一道亮丽的风景啊。

  spectacular sights.

  韩佳: 对啊。

  Yes indeed.

  王渊源:韩佳,你帮我拍张照吧?

  Han Jia, could you help

  take a picture of me?

  韩佳: 在这个“心”字上面照相啊

  Posing for photos before

  the character “xin”

  可是有讲究的。

  has a number of connotations.

  一个人照呢,

  A one-person photo

  就表示一心一意。

  means to be single-hearted.

  两个人合影呢,

  A two-person photo

  就表示心心相印。

  means to be heart to heart.

  三个人照啊,

  A three-person photo

  就表示三心二意了。

  means to be half-hearted.

  那四个人以上照呢,

  And a photo of four or

  more persons

  就表示万众一心。

  means to be all of

  one heart.

  王渊源:这挺有意思呀。

  That’s interesting.

  那我们就万众一心,来个合影吧!

  Then let’s have an all-of-one-

  heart photo!

  韩佳: 好啊,好啊。

  Good, good.

  赏心悦目:

  普陀山是中国四大佛教名山之一

  Putuo Mountain is of China’s four Buddhist mountains,

  也是名扬中外的“海天佛国”

  known as the Buddhist Kingdom on the Sea.

  南海观音工艺精巧 举世罕见

  The exquisite Statue of Nanhai Guanyin

  has few peers in the world.

  大圆通殿宏大巍峨 气魄非凡

  The Great Yuantong Hall is majestic in style.

  在观音菩萨的道场

  Here at this Guanyin shrine,

  感受到悠久的佛教文化

  visitors can get a feel of the age-old Buddhism.

  诸多景观既以山林幽静见长

  The various scenic spots here are characterized

  by serene mountain groves

  又以海天壮阔取胜

  and spectacular sea vistas,

  吸引着无数宾客

  always attracting large numbers of visitors.

  王渊源:来吧。

  Come on here.

  韩佳: 观众朋友们,

  Audience friends,

  趁渊源在组织大家

  while Yuanyuan is lining up

  排队形的时候呢,

  my colleagues for the photo taking,

  我来给您出今天的有奖问答题。

  let me set today’s award-winning

  question for you.

  您听好了。题目是这样的。

  Listen carefully. Here’s the question.

  (问题部分略)

  王渊源:哎,韩佳,你来吧。

  Eh, Han Jia, come on.

  就差你一个。

  You’re the only one missing.

  韩佳: 好啊。

  Okay.

  摄影师:大家看镜头。

  All look at the camera.

  合: 一,二,三,茄子!

  One, two, three, cheers!

      (Source: cctv.com)

China Travel – Lingering Garden (2)

Friday, May 9th, 2008

Walk eastward from the Jifeng Building, you will get to the eastern scenic spot of the Lingering Garden. Here is for buildings. Different forms of buildings with corridor here and there show the elegance, serenity, and glory. The Wufengxian Hall and the Linquan Maoshi Hall are the two major scenic spots of the east part.

 

The Wufengxian Hall, as the largest hall throughout China, is also called Nanmu Hall because of the Nanmu used for its beams. It is 5-bay wide and built of hard rocks. Furnishings inside are elegant. Five rockeries that stand in the front of the hall are the biggest of all the rockeries-in-lake in Suzhou City. A small and novel yard is behind the hall with rockeries, ponds and corridors in it.

 

The Linquan Maoshi Hall is 5-bay wide with single-eaved gable and hip roof. It includes two rooms: the south room called Qishishou Taigu Veranda and the north room called Linquan Maoshi Hall. A round ridge roof caps the inner hall. The beams in the south room are round, simple and elegant; while those in the north room are flat and richly ornamented. Accordingly, these two rooms are collectively called as the Yuanyang (mandarin duck) Hall. The whole building is marvelous and glorious so that it is regarded as the masterpiece of the classical buildings in China. The hall faces northward three famous rockeries of the Lingering Garden: the Guanyun Hill stands in the middle, and the Ruiyun Hill and the Youyun Hill stand on its sides. The Guanyun Hill is 5-zhang (1 zhang = 3.33m) high, featuring wrinkles, thinness, transparence and holiness. It can be described as crystal-clear. As the highest rockery-in-lake of all the gardens in Suzhou City, the Guanyun Hill is said to be relics from a historical site in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), or relics of the East Garden of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Below the three hills, rockeries scatter here and there with blooming flowers and grass. Around the three hills are the Huanyun Pond, the Guanyun Pavilion, the Guanyun Building, the Guanyun Platform, the Shangyun Hut and so on. These buildings are all magnificent and elegant.

 

The pavilion of Good sunshine, nice rainfall and fast snow is next to the Guanyun Hill. Here is the beginning of the south part that takes on idyllic scenery. Corridors, bamboos, straw sheds, peach and apricot blossoms, beanstalks and pumpkin vines, bridges and waters altogether create the sense of the Land of Peach Blossoms.

 

The west part is known for the interesting rockeries that are integrated into the natural scenery. Stones on them alternate with the earth; maple trees have grown into a forest. On the left, walls are weaving; to the north, a peach yard is also called small peach dock; in front, a brook is winding away. From the top of the rockeries, the Huqiu Hill, the Tianping Hill, the Shangfang Hill as well as landscapes in the west yard can be seen clearly.

 

The four scenic spots of the Lingering Garden are of different features. They set off each other with certain connection, but distinguish from each other at the same time. Though empty buildings alternate with solid ones, and the scenery seems complicated, they share a distinct gradation. When viewed in ichnographic angle, they are rich in changes; when viewed in dimensional angle, they are natural and have many appearances. The corridor connecting all the scenic spots is 700 meters long in total, winding with the topography and making the scenery endless and changeable. It is really a masterpiece of gardens in China.

 

(Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Characters: ability 能力

Friday, May 9th, 2008

ability:

Chinese Pinyin: neng2 li4

(Source: about.com)