Archive for August 10th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 231

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

                  Click to Watch Video Podcast

  旁白:    听说潮汕的民居

       I heard that residential houses in

       the Chaozhou-Shantou area

       十分有特色。

       are very unique.

       尤其是潮州的龙湖古寨,

       And the ancient village of Longhu,

       in particular,

       更是被称为“潮汕古建筑博览”。

       is regarded as an expo of ancient architecture

       in the Chaozhou-Shantou area.

       这么有特点的地方

       Such an unusual place

       那当然要去看看了。

       certainly deserves a visit.

       不过韩佳说要先看看资料,

       But Han Jia said we should look

       into some written material

       做做准备工作。

       and make some preparations first.

       我可等不急了。

       But I can’t wait any more.

       先去看了再说吧。

       I’d better go there to take

       a look first.

王渊源:相信大家一眼就看出来了,

       I’m sure at first sight, you’d

       tell that

       这龙湖古寨有着很长的历史。

       this ancient village Longhu has

       a very long history.

韩佳:    那到底有多长呢?

       How long is it?

王渊源:我不知道。

       I don’t know.

       我相信大家也看出来了,

       I’m sure that you also found

       这里房屋特别多。

       a lots houses here.

       可见过去这里十分热闹。

       From this we can tell that it was

       a very bustling place in the past.

韩佳:    那这里为什么会那么热闹呢?

       But why was it a bustling place

       in the past?

王渊源:这我也不知道。

       I have no idea about

       this either.

       你这人怎么老问我不知道的东西?

       Why did you always ask me about

       things that I have no idea about?

韩佳:    还好意思说?

       Do you have the nerve

       to complain?

       问你这个也不知道,

       You don’t know about this

       问你那个也不知道。

       and don’t know about that.

       简直是一问三不知嘛。

       You answer every question

       with “I don’t know”.

王渊源:原来是你呀韩佳!

      Oh, actually, it’s you, Han Jia!

       你刚才说什么“三不知”?

       What “san bu zhi” did you say?

韩佳:    “一问三不知”啊

       “Yi wen san bu zhi”

       就是不管问什么

       means to answer every question

       都说不知道。

       with “I don’t know”, or to

       know nothing.

王渊源:“一问三不知”

       So “yi wen san bu zhi”

       就是不管问什么

       means to answer every question

       都说不知道。

       with “I don’t know”, or to

       know nothing.

       我那什么不就是

       That’s because … because …

韩佳:    行了,行了,

       Now, now,

       就你刚才那样

       do you think the audience

       观众朋友们能满意吗?

       is satisfied with the way

       you did just now?

       让你看资料。

       I asked you to look into

       some written material.

       你就是不听。

       But you wouldn’t listen.

王渊源:我那不是着急嘛。

       That’s just because I was

       too anxious.

       还好,还好,

       It’s not bad that

       你总算来了。

       I’ve finally come here.

       还是你来给大家讲解吧。

       You’d better do the job

       of explaining.

       那我们刚才说到哪儿了?

       Where were we just now?

韩佳:    龙湖古寨的历史。

       The history of the ancient

       village Longhu.

王渊源:对对对,历史,历史。

       Yes, yes, its history.

       那这儿的历史?

       How old is its history?

韩佳:    龙湖古寨最早建于

       Longhu Village was first built in

       一千多年前的南宋。

       the Southern Song Dynasty

       over 1,000 years ago.

       但是它真正繁华起来

       But it began to really flourish

       是从五百多年前的明代开始的。

       during the Ming Dynasty more

       than 500 years ago.

       由于它靠近海边,

       Because it is close to the sea,

       所以就逐渐发展成了

       it gradually developed into

       一个滨海贸易的重镇。

       an important town of coastal trade.

王渊源:我说这儿的大多数的房子

       No wonder I found most of

       the houses here

       怎么修得这么别致。

       built so elegantly.

       原来是这儿的贸易发达,

       Actually trade here was quite developed,

       所以有钱的商人也多。

       so there were also many

       wealthy merchants here.

韩佳:    这点你是说对了。

       You’re right.

       在二十世纪初的时候,

       During the early 20th century,

       这个只有1.5平方公里的小寨子,

       this small village, 1.5 square

       kilometers in size,

       就已经有一百多座祠堂和宅院了。

       already had more than 100 family

       temples and large residential houses.

       这龙湖古寨

       Longhu Village is billed

       之所以被称为“古建筑博览”,

       as an expo of ancient architecture

       就是因为它这里的古民居

       just because there are

       建筑风格呢都是多种多样的。

       various types residential houses here.

       在这里,你能发现

       Here you can find

       宋、元、明、清

       houses built in the styles

       好几个朝代的建筑风格呢。

       of the Song, Yuan, Ming and

       Qing dynasties.

 

王渊源:有这么多朝代的建筑风格!

       There are architectural styles of

       so many dynasties!

       真是挺难得的呀。

       This is really rare.

韩佳:    更为难得的是

       What’s even rarer is that

       有些房子把几个朝代的建筑风格

       some buildings get together

       the architectural

       都集中在了一起。

       styles of several dynasties.

王渊源:韩佳刚才说的“集中”

       Han Jia just said “jizhong”

       就是指把分散的

       means to concentrate,

       人、事物、力量等聚集起来。

       assemble, pool together or gather.

韩佳:    “集中”就是指把分散的

       “Jizhong” means to concentrate,

       人、事物、力量等聚集起来

       assemble, pool together or gather

       或者是把意见、经验等归纳起来。

       something separate.

 

    Yǒu  xiē  fángzi  jízhōng  le  hǎo  jǐge  cháodài  de jiànzhù fēnggé

              房子    集中        几个   朝代     建筑  风格。

       Some buildings get together the architectural

       styles of several dynasties.

 

       比如这座房子吧,

       For instance,

       整体呢是简约的明代风格,

       this house is basically in

       the Ming style,

       但是它的一些花纹和装饰

       but some patterns and decorations

       却又采用了精雕细刻的清朝风格。

       are in the more intricate Qing style.

王渊源:仔细看看,

       A close look proved

       还真像你说那么回事。

       what you said is quite true.

韩佳:    是啊。

       Right.

       除了特殊的建筑风格之外呢,

       Apart from their special

       architectural styles,

       这里的很多房子

       many of the houses here

       还用了非常有特色的

       are decorated using

       潮汕民间工艺来做装饰。

       some distinctive folk handicrafts peculiar

       to the Chaozhou-Shantou area.

       那其中最有特点的就要数贝灰塑了。

       The most characteristic of them all

       are the shell power carvings.

       你看,那就是贝灰塑了。

       Look, that is a shell

       powder carving.

王渊源:这不就是普通的浮雕嘛?

       Isn’t it an ordinary relief carving?

韩佳:    这你可说错了。

       No, you’re wrong.

       贝灰塑是用经过特别处理的

       A shell powder carving uses

       贝壳灰为原料,

       a kind of specially treated shell

       powder as the medium

       雕刻好了之后,

       A piece of such carving

       再贴在墙上或者是屋檐下,

       is then attached to a wall or

       under the eaves

       等它干了之后呢

       will look like a relief carving

       就会有浮雕的艺术效果了。

       after it is fully dried.

王渊源:用贝壳灰做原料,

       This is the first time I’ve

       ever heard that

       这还是我第一次听说呢。

       shell powder can be used

       as a material.

韩佳:    这是因为它的原料很特殊,

       But because the material is

       very special,

       所以这样的装饰品

       such decorations

       就只有在这样的沿海地区才能看得见。

       can be seen only in this coastal area.

王渊源:这也算是就地取材了吧。

       This is to draw on local resources.

韩佳:    ,说得没错儿。

       Yes, exactly.

旁白:    仔细看过去,

       If you look carefully,

       这里几乎每座房子

       you’ll find that nearly every

       house here

       都会用各种各样的特色工艺来装饰。

       is decorated with a special handicraft.

       看来,当年这些房子的主人

       It seems the owners of

       these houses

       都是很讲究的人呢。

       are quite tasteful.

王渊源:韩佳,我发现这里好多房子的大门口

       Han Jia, I found the gates

       of many houses here

       都挂着什么大夫第、进士第的牌匾。

       are bedecked with plaques written with

       “da fu di” and “jin shi di”.

       这是什么意思呀?

       What do they mean?

韩佳:    挂着这样的匾额,

       Such plaques hung above

       the gates

       就表明家里有人中过一定的功名。

       indicate that such families produced

       accomplished scholars.

       比如说进士第呢

       The “jin shi di” plaque, for instance,

       indicates that someone in the family

       就表明家里有人中过进士。

       became a successful candidate in

       the highest imperial examination.

       龙湖古寨的读书人很多。

       Longhu used to have a

       lot of learned people.

       当年,有五十多人中过举人、进士呢。

       More than 50 people won the honors

       of juren and jinshi degrees.

王渊源:有这么多啊!

       So many!

       这可不容易。

       It wasn’t easy indeed.

韩佳:    正因为这里非常重视教育,

       As people here attach great

       importance to education,

       所以当地人对老师也是很尊重的。

       teachers enjoy great respect here.

       那在这附近

       There is a special temple

       near hear

       就有一座专门为老师修建的祠堂。

       which was dedicated to a teacher.

王渊源:我们去看看。

       Let’s go take a look.

       还真有为老师建立的祠堂呢。

       There is indeed such a temple.

韩佳:    对啊。

       Yes.

       这里就是人们专门为

       This is a temple built

       一位叫王侗初的老师修建的祠堂。

       to honor a teacher called

       Wang Dongchu.

       他曾经在龙湖古寨的

       He taught at many private schools

       许多私塾都教过书。

       in Longhu Village.

       而且他教过的很多学生

       And many of his students

       后来都取得了不小的成就。

       achieved no small amount

       of success.

王渊源:“成就”的意思是?

       What does “chengjiu” mean?

韩佳:    “成就”就是指事业上的成绩。

       “Chengjiu” means achievement

       or success.

王渊源:“成就”就是指事业上的成绩。

       So “chengjiu” means achievement,

       accomplishment or success.

 Tāmen  dōu  qǔdé  le  bù   xiǎo  de  chéngjiù

       他们       取得              成就。

       They all achieved no small amount

       of success.

 

       不说别的,

       Everything else aside,

       光是这个祠堂

       this temple alone

       就说明了这里尊重老师的风气。

       demonstrates the fine tradition

       of respecting teachers.

韩佳:    是啊。这龙湖古寨虽然小,

       Yes. Although Longhu is

       a small village,

       但是它的文化底蕴却很深厚。

       its cultural tradition is very

       deep and solid.

       在这一片古朴的民居中,

       In these traditional houses,

       还有很多耐人寻味的内容。

       there are still many other

       interesting things.

       就让我们在接下来的赏心悦目中

       Let’s savor them in the following

       细细去品味吧。

       Feast for the Eyes.

 

 

赏心悦目:

 

       潮州民居极富地方特色

       Chaozhou residential houses have

       strong local characteristics.

       龙湖古寨便是其中的代表

       The most representative ones can be

       found in the ancient village of Longhu.

       历经百载的街道蜿蜒延伸

       The winding centuries-old streets

       古老的民居相连伫立

       are flanked by time-honored houses.

       精美的雕梁画栋

       The colors of carved beams and

       painted rafters

       久经风雨褪去了颜色

       have faded due to weathering.

       世事变迁 岁月沧桑

       Despite the passage of time,

       留下无数痕迹供后世瞻仰

       countless traces of the past have remained

       for people to wonder at.

韩佳:    好了,

       Well,

       精彩的赏心悦目之后呢,

       after the Feast for the Eyes,

       又到了我们的有奖问答时间了。

       now it’s time for our award-

       winning question.

王渊源:我们今天的有奖问答题是这样的。

       Here’s today’s award-winning question.

 

 

(问题部分略)

 

       节目的最后,

       At the end of the program,

       还是要提醒您别忘了我们的口号。

       we’d like to remind you not to

       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 you tomorrow.

 (Source: cctv.com)

 

 

 

Chinese Characters: Arkansas (state) 阿肯色洲

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

Arkansas (state):

Chinese Pinyin: a1 ken3 se4 zhou1

(Source: about.com)

Chinese Pinyin – ao (螯)

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

螯: [ áo ]
[ 国标码:F2FC 部首: 笔画:16 笔顺:1121533134251214 ]

1. nipper
2. Astacus fluviatilis

(Source: dict.cn)