Archive for September 19th, 2008

Chinese Characters: bachelor (an unmarried man):单身汉

Friday, September 19th, 2008

bachelor (an unmarried man):

Chinese Pinyin: dan1 shen1 han4

 

(Source: about.com)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 271

Friday, September 19th, 2008

                             Click to Watch Video Podcast

 韩佳: 快乐学汉语,万里海疆行!

  Learning Chinese the fun way on the

  Happy Journey along the Coastline!

  大家好,我是快乐的韩佳。

  Hi, I’m Merry Han Jia.

  王渊源:快乐的渊源也向您问好。

  And I’m Happy Yuanyuan also

  saying hello to you.

  韩佳: 我们身后的这座建筑

  The structure behind us

  您肯定不会陌生的。

  must be very familiar to you.

  那就是非常有名的大三巴牌坊。

  That’s the famous Tai Sam Ba Archway,

  (the Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral).

  王渊源:这可是澳门的标志性建筑。

  It is the landmark of Macao.

  只不过…

  Only …

  韩佳: 不过什么?

  Only what?

  王渊源:大三巴牌坊

  The name, Tai Sam Ba Archway,

  这个名字实在是有点儿奇怪。

  sounds really a bit strange.

  干吗要叫这么奇怪的名字?

  Why does it have this

  strange name?

  是谁起的呀?

  Who named it?

  韩佳: 这个问题嘛,

  To answer this question,

  还得从大三巴的历史说起。

we have to start with the history

  of Tai Sam Ba.

  王渊源:历史?

  Its history?

  韩佳: 对呀。

  Yes.

  这大三巴牌坊呢

  The Tai Sam Ba Archway

  就是当年著名圣保禄大教堂的前壁。

  used to be the front wall of

  the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral.

  王渊源:圣保禄大教堂,

  Was St. Paul’s Cathedral

  那不是号称“东方的梵蒂冈”嘛?

  known as the Vatican of the East?

  据说是当时远东最大的教堂了。

  It was the largest cathedral

  in the Far East at the time.

  韩佳: 是啊,没错儿。

  Yes, exactly.

  在明清时期,

  During the Ming and Qing dynasties,

  人们又把圣保禄大教堂称为三巴寺。

  people called St. Paul’s Cathedral

  Sam Ba Temple.

  王渊源:那是为什么呀?

  Why?

  韩佳: 是这样的。“三”呢是Sam

  The fact is that the word “Sam”

  就是“圣”的谐音。

  is the homophone of Saint.

  而“八”呢是Paul 就是“保禄”的谐音。

  And “Ba” is the homophone of Paul.

  所以呀它才有了这个别名。

  That’s why the cathedral

  has this alias.

  王渊源:哦,原来是这样。

  Oh, that’s where the name

  came from.

  St.Paul,三巴。

  St. Paul-Sam Ba.

  韩佳: 又因为当时呢,

  Besides, at that time,

  澳门已经有一个三巴仔教堂了,

  there was already another cathedral

  called Sam Ba,

  所以人们就在圣保禄大教堂前

so people added Tai before

  Sam Ba

  加了一个大字来区别。

  to differentiate them.

  1836年的时候,

  In 1836,

  圣保禄大教堂发生了火灾。

  a big fire occurred in St.

  Paul’s Cathedral.

  除了前壁之外,

  Except the front wall,

  其他呢都被烧毁了。

  everything was burned down.

  留下的这前壁,

  The remaining front wall

  因为外形酷似中国传统的牌坊。

  looks quite like a traditional

  Chinese archway.

  所以呀,当地人就管它叫大三巴牌坊。

  So local people call Tai Sam

  Ba Archway.

  王渊源:大三巴不仅雄伟高大,

  Tai Sam Ba is not just magnificent,

  而且它的造型也非常有特色。

  but its shape is very unique.

  韩佳: 是啊。

  Yes.

  您瞧,这牌坊上面呢

  Look, on the top part of

  the wall,

  有一个高高在上的十字架。

  there is a cross.

  向下分五层。

  The wall consists of five levels.

  那每一个壁龛里,

  In every niche in the wall,

  都安放着一尊铜像。

  there is a bronze statue.

  而且每一尊铜像和图案

  And every bronze statue with

  different patterns

  都有它不同的意义。

  has different meanings.

  王渊源:是啊。

  Yes.

  你看见离十字架最近的鸽子的铜像了吗?

  Do you see that pigeon statue

  nearest to the cross?

  据说它代表圣神。

  It is said to signify God.

  韩佳: 对。

  Yes.

  王渊源:人们通过这块前壁,

  This front wall is enough

  足以想象出当年圣保禄大教堂的气势。

  for people to imagine the imposing presence

  of St. Paul’s Cathedral at the time.

  韩佳: 嗯,说得没错儿。

  Yes, exactly.

  “足以”呢就是指完全可以,

  ”Zuyi” means to be sufficient,

  够得上的意思。

  or enough to.

  王渊源:“足以”是个动词,

  So “zuyi” is a verb

  指完全可以,够得上的意思。

that means to be sufficient,

  or enough to.

  韩佳: 比如我们刚才说的,

  For example just as we said,

  Rémen tōng guò zhè kuài qián bì zú yǐ xiǎngxiàng dāng

  Nián jiāotáng de qìshi

  人们 通 过 这 块 前 壁,足 以 想象 当

  年 教堂 的 气势。

  This front wall is enough for people to imagine

  the imposing presence of the church at the time.

  和大三巴,

  Close to Tai Sam Ba,

  也就是圣保禄大教堂原址距离非常近的,

  that is the Ruins of St.

  Paul’s Cathedral,

  就是圣保禄大学遗址了。

  is the ruins of St. Paul’s College.

  王渊源:哎,这所学院我可听说过。

  Eh, I’ve surely heard of

  this college.

  好像是当时远东第一所

  It seemed to be the first school

  in the Far East

  具有西方大学学制规模的学校。

  that had a Western college

  educational system.

  韩佳: 嗯,是的。

  Yeah, that’s right.

  当时,这所学校在课程设置方面

  At the time, this school

  offered courses

  既借鉴了葡萄牙大学的相关规章制度,

  on the basis of the relevant systems

  of Portuguese universities

  同时又融合了澳门以及中国

  while also adopting the traditional

  Confucianism

  传统的儒家文化特色,

  in Macao and China at large,

  这应该是入乡随俗吧。

  just as the saying goes,

  ”Do as the Romans do.”

  王渊源:韩佳,我还听说

  Han Jia, I also heard that

  这所学校的许多毕业生,

  many graduates from this college

  后来都成了大名鼎鼎的人物了。

  all became important persons later.

  韩佳: 对呀。

  Yes.

  而且这些学生都来自天南地北,

  And these students came from

  different places

  哪儿的都有。

  and from all walks of life.

  王渊源:天南地北?

“Tian nan di bei”?

  天南地北是哪儿啊?

  What place is it?

  韩佳: “天南地北”

  ”Tian nan di bei”

  不是指具体的某个地方。

  does not refer to a certain place.

  而是用来形容距离遥远,

  It means poles apart, or from

  different places

  也指相距遥远的不同地方。

  that are far apart from each other.

  王渊源:哦。“天南地北”形容距离遥远,

  Oh. So “tian nan di bei” means poles

  apart, or from different places

  也指相距遥远的不同地方。

  that are far apart from each other.

  韩佳: 像德国的汤若望、

  Such as Johann Adam Schall

  von Bell from Germany,

  比利时的南怀仁,

  Ferdinand Verbiest from Belgium

  以及意大利的郎世宁等等。

  and Giuseppe Castiglione from Italy.

  都毕业于这所大学。

  They all graduated from this college.

  王渊源:好像意大利的利玛窦,

  It seems that Matteo Ricci of Italy

  也曾经在这里学习过

  also studied

  汉语和中国礼仪呢。

  Chinese and Chinese etiquette here.

  韩佳: 是啊。

  Yes.

  他们把西方的科学技术传到了中国,

  They introduced Western science

  and technologies into China

  同时又把中国的文化带到了欧洲。

  and at the same time, brought

  Chinese culture to Europe.

  可以说,完成了历史上

  It can be said that they fulfilled

  一次非常重要的东西方文化交流。

  a very significant cultural exchange in

  history between East and West.

  王渊源:这里就是范礼安神父的墓穴。

  This is the tomb of Father Valignano.

  当年,正是他一手创办了

  At the time, it was he who founded

  辉煌一时的圣保禄学院。

  the once-glorious St. Paul’s College.

  韩佳: 嗯,说得没错儿

Yes, exactly.

  渊源刚才说到的“一时”呢。

  Yuanyuan just said “yishi”.

  在这里就是一个时期的意思。

  Here it means a period of time.

  王渊源:“一时”就是一个时期的意思。

  So “yishi” means a period of time.

  Dāng nián tā chuàngbàn de shèngbǎolù xuéyuàn huīhuáng yì shí

  当 年 他 创办 的 圣保禄 学院 辉煌 一 时。

  That was a glorious period of history for

  St. Paul’s College, which he founded.

  挨着范礼安神父墓室的

  Next to Father Valignano’s Tomb

  是天主教艺术博物馆。

  is the Museum of Sacred Art.

  这里展示了三十多件

  On display here are more

  than 30

  来自澳门各教堂和修道院的宗教珍品。

  valuable religious relics from Macao’s

  various churches and monasteries.

  韩佳: 嗯,比如,那边的圣澳斯定彩色木雕。

  Yes, such as St. Augustine’s color

  wood carving over there.

  就是十七世纪的作品

  The work dates from the 17th entury.

  那这间博物馆的藏品,

  The exhibits of this museum

  不仅能让人们看到

  enable visitors not only to see

  澳门宗教文化的变迁,

  the changes of Macao’s

  religious culture,

  同时,还可以让人们感受到

  but also get a feel for

  相关艺术的发展和变化。

  the development and changes of

  the relevant arts.

  真的是不虚此行。

  Our visit wasn’t futile indeed.

  王渊源:其实,关于大三巴牌坊,

  In fact, as for the ruins of St.

  Paul’s Cathedral

  关于圣保禄学院遗址,

  and St. Paul’s College,

  还有很多细节

  there are still a lot more details

  值得我们细细品味呢。

  worthy of our appreciation.

  韩佳: 是啊。

  Yes.

  那就让我们走进接下来的赏心悦目,

  Now let’s move on to the following

  Feast for the Eyes

  一起去慢慢感受吧。

  to get the feel of these

  beautiful sights.

  赏心悦目:

  大三巴牌坊是澳门的标志性建筑之一

  The Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral is

  one of the landmarks of Macao.

  精美绝伦的艺术雕刻

  The exquisite carvings set off

  将大三巴牌坊装饰得古朴典雅

  the antiquity and beauty of this

  historical monument.

  牌坊总共分为五层

The wall, which has five levels,

  融汇了东西方建筑艺术的精华

  is a fusion of the quintessence of

  Western and Chinese architecture.

  圣保禄学院是当时远东最早的西式大学

  St. Paul’s College was the earliest Western

  institution of higher learning in the Far East.

  如今 孤独残破的石壁爬满青苔

  Today, the lonely, moss-covered

  stone walls seem

  仿佛在向人们诉说着学院过去的辉煌

  to be recounting the college’s glorious past.

  三十多件来自澳门各教堂

  Over 30 valuable religious relics from

  Macao’s various churches

  和修道院的宗教珍品

  and monasteries

  集中于天主教艺术博物馆

  are on display at the Museum of

  Sacred Art

  给人以美的享受

  to be enjoyed by all visitors.

  韩佳: 好,精彩的赏心悦目之后呢,

  Well, after the wonderful Feast

  for the Eyes,

  又到了出有奖问答题的时间了。

  it’s time we set the award-winning

  question again.

  那今天的题目呢是这样的。

  Here’s today question.

  (问题部分略)

  在这片被列入《世界遗产名录》的

  Listed among the World Heritage sites,

  澳门历史城区里,

  the historical city of Macao,

  除了大三巴,

  apart from the Ruins of St.

  Paul’s Cathedral,

  还有很多非常有特色、

  also has many other attractive

  有价值的老建筑。

  and valuable old buildings.

  那在今后的几天里呢,

  In the next few days,

  咱们就一起去感受它们的魅力吧。

  let’s experience their charms together.

  王渊源:好,咱们明天同一时间再见。

  Okay, let’s meet again tomorrow

  at the same time.

  别忘了我们的口号。

  Don’t forget our slogan.

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

  Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere

(Source: cctv.com)

China Travel – Kumtura Thousand-Buddha Caves

Friday, September 19th, 2008

 

The Kumtura Thousand-Buddha Caves lie 30 kilometers to the southwest of the Kuqa Prefecture in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

 

Kumtura in the Uygur language means the beacon tower in the desert. The groups of grottoes are distributed on the piedmont of the mountain on the east bank of the Weigan River or on precipices, and are divided into two parts, the south and the north parts, with a distance of 3 kilometers between the two parts. The grottoes are more concentrated in the north part, about 80 of which have been numbered. However, less than half of the grottoes and frescoes are comparatively well preserved. The grottoes in the north part are distributed over the east bank of the river and among some villages, and 32 of them have been numbered. Less than ten have been comparatively well preserved.

 

The grottoes were first chiseled in the fourth century. When the Buddhism was introduced from India and some other places to the Qiuci (an ancient state in the Western Regions), the Qiuci people assimilated the essence of the foreign arts and created their own artistic forms with both the characteristics of the times and the national styles based on their traditions. The frescoes of the early stage in the grottoes were completed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (386-581), while the frescoes of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) are concentrated on expounding scriptures with pictures, which is very similar to those in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. The frescoes of the last years of the Tang Dynasty were always mingled with prefaces in Chinese characters and the Uighur characters. The painting of Jiazi Benshen in the No.46 grotto was sketched out with comparative thick lines and smeared smoothly inside with ochre, which is full of three-dimensional effect. The Qiuci artists, from their own experiences, drew the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas in the Qiuci clothes that are overcoats with two drooping collars. As for the painting skills, the strokes are renowned as strong and tight like twisted iron wires. For instance, the Sad Bodhisattva of the Nirvana in the No.32 grotto, drawn with smooth and gentle strokes, is the representative work of this style.

 

The frescoes of the Tang Dynasty there are similar to those in the Central Plains (the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River) in terms of content and style. The frescoes were not only drawn with the rich and changeful lines, but also unevenly dyed. The two methods were so intrinsically integrated as to form the unique style of painting. The artists made a perfect combination of the realism and romanticism with their abundant imagination in the huge paintings on the stories such as The Pure Land in the West, The Medicine God in the East, Maitreya (Laughing Buddha) and so on. As for the mode of painting, they created the images of the Buddha and Bodhisattva as being elegant and dignified, tender and serene, and full of human kindness. For instance, the Flying Apsaras in the painting of Medicine God in the East, wearing flower hats and colorful ribbons, dance against the wind in pairs, graceful in the air, pretty and charming, which display their yearning and aspiration for the future life. While in the painting of Sad Bodhisattva in the No.36 grotto, some figures are drawn with tight and smooth strokes lines, others with the mixtures of thick and thin lines, and are slightly dyed, which make the figures appear tall and graceful. These magnificent gems of ancient art not only are the crystallization of the wisdom and art of the ancient Qiuci people, but also provide very precious materials for the research into the development history of the economy, characters, architecture, dancing, and industrial arts in Xinjiang.

(Source: chinaculture.org)