Archive for May 17th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 146

Saturday, May 17th, 2008
 
 

                          Click to Watch Video Podcast

  (4月10日播出)

  合: 小小竹排江中游。

  ”The small bamboo raft floats

  on the river.

  巍巍青山两岸走。

  The green mountains walk

  along the banks.”

  韩佳: 观众朋友们,大家好!

  Hello, everyone!

  欢迎来到风光迷人的桃渚!

  Welcome to the scenic town

  of Taozhu!

  王渊源:你们瞧,

  Look,

  这里到处都是

  everywhere you can see

  美丽宁静的田园风光啊。

  a picture of beautiful, serene

  and idyllic scenery.

  简直就是一个世外桃源嘛!

  It’s absolutely a Shangri La!

  旁白: 桃渚位于临海市东部。

  Taozhu lies in the eastern

  part of Linhai.

  桃江从这里流过,

  The Taojiang River flows past here,

  把农田分割、包围成

  dividing the land

  大小不一、形状各异的十三个渚。

  into 13 big and small islets.

  “渚”就是水中间的小块陆地。

  The “zhu” here refers to a small patch

  of land surrounded by water.

  于是人们就把这一带叫做

  The place is also known as

  “桃江十三渚”。

  13 Islets of the Taojiang River.

  而桃渚这独特的田园风光

  Thus Taozhu’s idyllic landscape

  也就从此美名远扬了。

  has become known far and wide.

  韩佳: 怎么,渊源还在陶醉呢?

  Why, is Yuanyuan still being

  fascinated by the scenery?

  王渊源:对啊。

  Yeah.

  看到这美不胜收的景色,

  Seeing the scenery here that is

  more beautiful than one can observe,

  能不陶醉嘛?

  how can I not be fascinated?

  韩佳: 哎,这个成语用得不错。

  Wow, you used this idiom perfectly.

  那你说说它的意思啊?

  Then do you know what

  it means?

  王渊源:好啊。“美不胜收”

  Sure. “Mei bu sheng shou”

  是说美好的东西太多了,

  means there is more beauty

  都看不过来了。

  than one can observe.

  韩佳: “美不胜收”这个成语是说

  The idiom “mei bu sheng shou”

  美好的东西太多了,

  means there is more beauty

  都看不过来了。

  than one can observe.

  Zhèli de fēngguāng měibúshèngshōu

  这里 的 风光 美不胜收。

  The scenery here is more beautiful

  than one can observe.

  其实,桃渚啊

  In fact, in Taozhu,

  除了有美丽的田园风光之外呢,

  apart from its idyllic scenery,

  还有非常丰富的火山地质资源。

  there are also rich volcanic

  geological resources.

  所以我们今天要看的东西还很多呀。

  So, there’ll be many things for

  us to see today.

  渊源,你看,这石柱峰啊

  Yuanyuan, look, Shizhu Mountain

  就是一处典型的火山地质景观。

  is a typical volcanic spectacle.

  王渊源:哎,看起来挺特别的。

  Yeah, it looks very special.

  那它到底是怎么形成的呀?

  How exactly did it form

  like this?

  韩佳: 它主要是由八千万年前

  It formed mainly through

  volcanic eruptions

  中生代火山岩浆喷发而形成的。

  during the Mesozoic Era 80

  million years ago.

  这石柱峰是两次火山喷发、

  This mountain resulted from

  two eruptions

  岩浆覆盖的结果。

  of volcanic lava.

  王渊源:哦,还真是啊。

  Yeah, it is certainly true.

  上面还有很明显的分界呢。

  It still bears clear marks of

  overlapping lava.

  韩佳: 对啊。

  Yes.

  第一次火山喷发之后,

  After the first volcanic eruption,

  因为地壳运动,

  because of the movement of

  the earth crust,

  这里又变成了海洋。

  the place here turned into

  part of the sea.

  那下面先形成的那一部分呢,

  The early formed lower part

  经过海水的冲刷和腐蚀

  became very rugged

  变得凹凸不平。

  due to the washing and erosion

  of the seawater.

  成了我们现在看到的褐红色。

  It has turned red-brown as

  we see today.

  这跟第二次火山喷发形成的岩石

  It looks quite different from

  the rock formations

  有了很大的区别。

  that resulted from the second eruption.

  王渊源:哦,原来是这样的。

  Oh, I see.

  大自然可真神奇啊!

  Mother Nature is just fantastic!

  韩佳: 对啊。谁能想到

  Yeah. Who would imagine

  八千万年前的火山喷发

  the disastrous volcanic eruptions

  原本是一场灾难,

  some 80 million years ago

  可到了今天,对人类来说

  could have turned into a huge asset

  却是一笔巨大的财富?

  for people today?

  王渊源:等等。

  Wait a minute.

  这笔和财富有什么关系?

  What does a pen, or brush,

  have to do with an asset?

  韩佳: 哦,我刚才说的“笔”

  Oh, by “bi” I didn’t mean

  并不是指写字的工具。

  any writing tool.

  在这里“笔”是一个量词,

  The “bi” here is a measure word

  用于钱或者是与钱有关的事物。

  used for money or things related

  to money.

  比如说,一笔钱,一笔生意。

  For instance, a sum of money,

  a business deal.

  王渊源:“笔”在这里是个量词,

  ”Bi” here is a measure word

  用于钱或者是与钱有关的事物。

  that is used for money or things

  related to money.

  Zhèli de huǒshān dìzhi jǐngguān shì yìbǐ jùdà de cáifù

  这里 的 火山 地质 景观 是 一笔 巨大 的 财富。

  The volcanic landscape here

  is a huge precious resource.

  旁白: 桃渚是临海国家地质公园的

  Taozhu is an important part

  重要组成部分。

  of the Linhai National Geological Park.

  蕴藏着非常丰富的火山地质资源。

  It has abundant volcanic

  geological resources.

  刚才咱们已经看过了

  Just now we watched

  独具特色的石柱峰。

  the unique Shizhu Mountain.

  如果您还觉得不过瘾呢,

  If you are still not so satisfied,

  那就接着跟我走。

  then follow me.

  这里有一处火山奇观,

  There is another volcanic spectacle,

  您保准从没见过。

  which you must have never

  seen before.

  王渊源:不是说要看奇观吗。

  You said to see some sort

  of spectacle.

  干吗带我到石料场啊?

  But why did you bring me to

  a quarry here?

  韩佳: 外行了吧?

  Aren’t you a layman?

  这哪是什么石料场啊。

  This is not at all a quarry.

  这里是桃渚的临海大火山。

  It is Taozhu’s Linhai Great Volcano.

  这满山遍野五边形、六边形的石柱,

  The five-sided and six-sided stone columns

  that are scattered all over the mountain

  就是我所说的奇观了。

  are exactly the spectacle

  I mentioned.

  王渊源:你是说这些

  Do you mean these

  五边形、六边形的石柱,

  five-sided and six-sided stone columns

  也都是火山喷发形成的呀?

  also formed through volcanic eruptions?

  韩佳: 对啊。据说,

  Yes. It is said

  原来这里是一个火山口熔岩湖。

  the place here was originally

  a crater lake.

  后来,湖里的熔岩经过冷却之后,

  Later, the lava in the crater

  cooled down,

  凝固、收缩,

  solidified and contracted

  就形成了现在的这个样子。

  to become what it looks

  like today.

  据专家估计,

  According to experts’ estimates,

  这里大概有一千五百多万根

  there are about 15 million

  这样的熔岩柱。

  such volcanic columns here.

  王渊源:啊,有这么多呀!

  Wow, so many!

  这种景观我还是第一次见到呢。

  This is my first time to see

  this spectacle.

  简直是太不可思议了!

  It is just incredible!

  韩佳: “不可思议”就是指

  ”Bu ke siyi” means

  不能理解、不可想象。

  incredible or unbelievable.

  王渊源:“不可思议”就是指

  ”Bu ke siyi” means

  不能理解、不可想象。

  incredible or unbelievable.

  韩佳: 我第一次听说的时候,

  When I heard about it

  the first time,

  也觉得不可思议。

  I also considered it unbelievable.

  所以说这里是奇观。

  That’s why I said it was

  a spectacle.

  一点儿也不过分吧。

  It was no exaggeration.

  王渊源:不过分,不过分。

  No, it was no exaggeration.

  我们今天能看到

  Today we are able to see

  这样神奇美妙的火山景观,

  the fantastic volcanic spectacle,

  也算是没白来了。

  so we didn’t come here

  for nothing.

  那我们接下来要去哪儿呢?

  What is our next destination?

  韩佳: 这个嘛,

  As for this question,

  就要看看今天的赏心悦目喽。

  we take a look at today’s Feast

  for the Eyes.

  赏心悦目:

  桃渚的田园风光

  The idyllic landscape of Taozhu

  早已闻名遐尔

  is known far and wide.

  古旧的田舍 石井

  The time-honored farmhouses and stone wells

  展示着农耕文明的质朴与智慧

  show the simplicity and wisdom

  of farming civilization.

  大自然的神妙功力

  The magic power of Mother Nature

  造就了独特的火山地质景观

  created this unique volcanic landscape.

  这里历经八千万年的沧桑巨变

  After 80 million years of changes,

  神奇依旧 壮美依然

  it remains miraculously beautiful and magnificent.

  王渊源:哇,好逼真啊!

  Wow, it looks so real!

  观众朋友,

  Audience friends,

  您刚才是不是也差一点儿以为

  did you also nearly believe

  是真的火山喷发了呢?

  it was a real volcanic eruption?

  韩佳: 虽然只是模型,

  Although it’s a simulation,

  不过能够这么近距离地感受到

  this is our first time to

  get a feel

  火山喷发的威力,

  for the tremendous force of

  a volcanic eruption

  我们还是第一次啊。

  at such close range.

  王渊源:我真的是第一次呀。

  This is surely my first time.

  我们今天在桃渚收获还是挺多的。

  Our Taozhu trip today was really

  a most rewarding one.

  只可惜,

  The only pity was that

  很多地方因为没有时间

  we didn’t have the time

  没办法去。

  for visiting other places.

  韩佳: 没关系。

  That doesn’t matter.

  留点儿遗憾,

  It’s a pity,

  下次还可以再来嘛。

  but we can come next time.

  那今天的有奖问答题?

  What about today’s award-winning question?

  王渊源:当然要包在我身上了。

  Of course, I’ll be responsible

  for that.

  (问题部分略)

  好了,

  Well,

  我们今天的节目就先到这里。

  our program for today has

  to end here.

  明天的节目还会更加精彩呢。

  Tomorrow’s program will be

  more wonderful.

  韩佳: 所以千万不要错过哦。

  You mustn’t miss it.

  王渊源:还有我们的口号不能忘。

  And don’t forget our slogan.

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

  Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

  韩佳: 明天见。

  See tomorrow.

      (Source: cctv.com)

China Travel – Puning Temple

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

The Puning Temple is located among the mountains to the north of the Mountain Resort of Chengde City in Hebei Province.

 

 

The Puning Temple is one of the famous Eight Outer Temples in Chengde City, Hebei Province. The Eight Outer Temples were constructed from the 52nd year (1713) of Emperor Kangxi’s reign to the 45th year (1780) of Emperor Qianlong’s reign. Originally there were 11 temples, but now there are only seven temples and one relic left, which are collectively called the Eight Outer Temples. There are the Puren Temple, the Pule Temple, the Anyuan Temple and the Pushan Temple (the only existing relic) to the east of the Mountain Resort; the Puning Temple, the Xumi Fushou Temple, the Putuo Zongsheng Temple and the Shuxiang Temple to the north of the Mountain Resort. All these temples are resplendent and magnificent, dotting the Mountain Resort like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon. If the halls and palaces of the Mountain Resort are the symbol of an emperor’s reign, then the numerous temples represent different regions or ethics, which have different political and historical background. These temples and the Mountain Resort together form a picture that symbolizes national integrity and ethical unity.

 

The Puning Temple was constructed in the 20th year (1755) of the Qianlong reign. In order to celebrate the suppression of rebellion of Junggar tribe, Emperor Qianlong invited the four troops that participated in the suppression to the Mountain Resort in October in the 20th year of the Qianlong reign. He dubbed leaders of the four troops, and ordered to build the Puning Temple.

 

The Puning Temple is of grand scale, occupying an area of more than 23,000 square meters. The main structure in the temple is the Hall of Great Buddha. The hall is 36.75 meters high, and has six storeys and multiple eaves. The top of the hall is a gold-plated dome. The hall, full of power and grandeur, is a representative of the architectural style of Chinese temples and mosques. A Bodhisattva statue with thousands of hands and eyes is enshrined in the hall. The statue, 21.85 meters in height and 110 tons in weight, is carved out of wood and plated with gold. It sits on a locus throne of 2.22 meters high. The statue has 42 hands, two of which clamp together and the rest with different musical instruments in them. The statue, with its dignified manner, is one of the famous large-scale wood-carved Buddha statues in China. The Hall of Great Buddha emblematizes Sumeru, and the Hall of Day Light, the Hall of Moon Light on the two sides of the Hall of Great Buddha symbolize day and moon respectively. There are black, red, white and green pagodas and eight white high terraces on the four sides of the Hall of Great Buddha. All around the hall there are other Tibetan constructions, such as pagodas and terraces. Besides the Hall of Great Buddha, there are the Miaoyan Room and the Hall of Scripture Preaching, where Qing emperors listened to the preaching and had a rest.

 

Three stone tablets are preserved in the Puning Temple. The whole building complex of the Puning Temple mixed the artistic style for Han, Tibetan and Indian architectures, and formed the typical image of a Buddha World with Buddha statues as its main body, holding an important position in the history of Chinese architecture.

 

 (Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Characters: ablaut 元音变化

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

ablaut:

Chinese Pinyin: yuan2 yin1 bian4 huan4

(Source: about.com)