Archive for December 30th, 2008

China Travel – Sites of the Pool of Lin Zexu Destroying Opium and the Humen Batteries

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The site of Lin Zexu Opium-destroying Pool is located at the gate of Taiping Town, Dongguang County, Guangdong Province. There are Humen People’s Anti-British Monument in the Opium War (1840) and Opium War Museum.
The site of Lin Zexu Opium-destroying Pool is leaning on Niubei Mountain in the north, with the Pearl River in the south. In its west, there stands the pass of the Taiping Town.
In the late 1930s, the smuggling of opium to China from Britain and America was rampant, posing a big threat to the Qing Regime. With the support of the great mass, Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was determined to ban the entry of opium. He even forced British and American dealers to hand over more than 20,000 boxes of opium, weighing over 118.5 million kilograms altogether, and burnt them in public from June 3 to 25, 1839 in Humen. Two quadrate pools, with each side measuring 45 meters, were used to destroy the opium. The pools are made up of flagstones on its bottom, having rails around. There are a culvert near them and a drain behind. When burning the opium, people first filled the pools with water and then put salt into them to turn the water into thick brine. Opium was put into the thick brine then to be dissolved, and at last quicklime was put in it to get the opium disintegrated completely. The destroyed opium was drained to the river.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Culture – Capital of Guge Kingdom

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

 

Site of the capital of Guge Kingdom

 

Location: Zada County, Tibet Autonomous Region

 

Period: mid of 10th century-beginning of 17th century

 

Excavated in 1985

 

Significance: It has offered important materials for the study of the history, art, religion and military conditions of Guge Kingdom.

 

 Introduction

 

More than 1,000 years ago, a powerful kingdom with a splendid civilization was born here. But after over 700 years of rule, the kingdom was destroyed by internal disorder and invasion from the outside. The ruins of the capital of Guge Kingdom, located in Zhada County, are well-known throughout the world and are under key protection of the State. 

Pedigree of kings of Kingdoms of Tufan and Guge demonstrated by their portraits: mural (up); Stone with patterns: religious object: (bottom)

 

The ruins cover an area of 200,000 square meters. The buildings follow the hill to its top in a rigid layout and an imposing manner. The 11-storeyed castle is more than 300 meters high. It is home to houses, caves, pagodas, blockhouses, defense works and tunnels. The previously stylish caves are now seriously damaged. Few works of architecture remain intact, but Guge’s appearance is still imposing.

 

There are five well-preserved temples full of beautiful murals, which combine Han painting skills with Indian and Nepal styles. Besides, two caves with murals, three barns, tombs and one weapon storage. Around the Site scatters a large quantity of iron corselets, shields and arrows.

 

 History

 

Guge is a miracle. For years it strongly attracted numerous explorers, scholars, artists and journalists who traveled from afar to investigate and search for treasures. According to historical records, after the last king of the Tubo Dynasty, Lang Darma, died, the royal family began to fight for the throne. Gyide Nyimagun, Long Darma’s descendent, lost the war and ran away to Ngari, where he established a small kingdom. Later, Gyide Nyimagun divided Ngari into three parts and gave them to his three sons.

 

The Guge Kingdom was ruled by Dezogun, Gyide Nyimagun’s third son. His regime ran for more than 700 years before being destroyed in a war. According to the Annals of Kings and Officials in Tibet, a total of 16 kings ruled the Guge Kingdom, and Guge Castle was accomplished through constant construction between the 10th and 16th century. Guge has a very significant position in the history of economic and cultural development of Tibet. Many significant Buddhist doctrines of ancient India were passed on to hinterland Tibet via Guge. Guge was also one of the important commercial ports linking ancient Tibet with the outside world. After the Tubo Dynasty died out, Tibet entered a 400-some year period of isolation. Guge was always a large and powerful kingdom. Even the dust of time cannot hide its prosperity and past glory.

 

 Cultural Heritage

 

There are a total of 1,416 surviving pieces of architecture, including 879 caves, 445 houses, 60 blockhouses, 28 pagodas, and four tunnels, which lead in all directions inside the architectural group. At the outer ring there are walls made of loess, which are decorated with many figures of Buddha, scriptures and incantations in Tibetan, and Sanskrit engraved on large cobbles. The houses within the ruins have wooden structures and level roofs.

 

The larger works of architecture include the Red Temple, the White Temple, the king’s palace and the meeting hall. The White Temple and the Red Temple are about the same size, covering about 300 square meters. Within the temple there are 36 square pillars. The pillars and the ceiling are covered with colored drawings of patterns and figures of Buddha, and all the walls are covered with frescoes of different subjects. The White Temple boasts a precious mural painting of successive kings of Tubo and the genealogy of the Guge king. Even with the passing of several hundred years, the frescos remain bright and lustrous. Having been neglected for years, both the Red Temple and White Temple are dilapidated.

 

The only path from the base of the hill to the palace halls on the hilltop is a man-made tunnel. The upper part of the Guge Castle holds the Winter Hall and Summer Hall, where the royal family lived. They are empty now. Only the frescos and wooden engravings in Tancheng Hall are well preserved. Guge’s colored paintings, frescos and sculptures are rich works of a high artistic level and immense research value.

 

Guge seems to be an encyclopedia, with a long history, deeply-rooted culture, mystic legends and many unfathomable enigmas. The ruins of the Guge Kingdom, standing on the desolate land, silently relate the history and give forth the light of art.

Source: chinaculture.org

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 373

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
 
 

  大牛:全体听令!现在出发!

  Attention, everyone! Now set off!

  这是怎么回事?

  What’s up?

  现在出发!

  Set off now!

  韩佳:哎,大牛,你不等我?

  Hey, Daniel, why didn’t you wait for me?

  这是要去哪儿啊?

  Where on earth are you going?

  大牛:韩佳,你来了。

  Han Jia, here you are.

  其实我也只是嘴上过过瘾。也没人听我的。

  Actually, I’m only trying to satisfy

  my mouth. No one listens to me.

  韩佳:嗨!师傅,可以开船了。

  Oh! Sir, we may set sail now.

  大牛:韩佳,我们现在坐船去哪儿?

  Han Jia, where are we going on the boat?

  我知道了。是去探险对吧?

  Oh, I know. Are we going on an

  exploratory trip?

  韩佳:才不是呢。

  No way.

  我今天要去看看

  We are going to see some sights

  只有在船上才能看得到的风景。

  that we can only see aboard a boat.

  大牛,你快来看。

  Daniel, come over here and look.

  大牛:看什么呀?

  What do you want me to see?

  韩佳:你看对面的那座山。

  Look at that mountain opposite us.

  像不像一尊巨大的睡佛呀?

  Does it resemble a giant sleeping Buddha?

  大牛:哎,还真挺像。

  Eh, it does look like one.

  韩佳:从这里看过去,

  Seeing from here,

  乐山大佛正好端坐在睡佛的胸部,

  we’ll find the Leshan Giant Buddha sitting

  right on the chest of the sleeping Buddha,

  所以呢就形成了佛中有佛的奇观了。

  forming a miraculous sight of two Buddhas.

  大牛:嗯,还真是这么回事。

  Yeah, this is absolutely true.

  不过这是巧合呢

  But is this a pure coincidence

  还是建造者们刻意设计的呢?

  or a “ke yi” design of the builders?

  Zhè shì qiǎohé háishi jiànzàozhě kèyì hèjì de ne?

  这 是 巧合 还是 建造者 刻意 设计 的 呢?

  Is it a coincidence or did the builders

  design it like that deliberately?

  韩佳:这个我就不知道了。

  I don’t know.

  不过你刚才说的“刻意”呢。

  But you said just now “ke yi”.

  我有必要解释一下。

  I’d like you to explain it.

  韩佳:“刻意”是个副词,

  ”ke yi” is an adverb here,

  就是说用尽了心思。

  meaning painstakingly.

  大牛:“刻意”读四声,表示用尽心思。

  ”ke yi” two fourth tones, means on purpose.

  刻意。

  ”ke yi”.

  那韩佳,大佛的头部

  Han Jia, the mountain that forms

  the Buddha’s head

  应该就是著名的乌尤山吧?

  must be the renowned Wuyou Mountain?

  韩佳:嗯,没错。

  Yes.

  而且还是古离堆呢。

  And it’s also an ancient “li dui”.

  大牛:离堆?

  ”li dui”?

  这个词儿我在哪儿听过。

  It seems I’ve heard of the term somewhere.

  哦,对了,在都江堰。

  Oh, yeah, at the Dujiang Weir.

  都江堰就有离堆。

  There is a “li dui” at the Dujiang Weir.

  韩佳:你的记性倒是不错啊。

  You have a good memory.

  不过这两处离堆啊作用可不一样。

  But these two “li dui” functioned

  very differently.

  大牛:我记得都江堰的离堆主要是起灌溉作用。

  I remember the Dujiang Weir “li dui”

  functioned mainly for irrigation.

  那这乌尤山是起什么作用的呢?

  What did this Wuyou “li dui”

  function for?

  韩佳:话说两千多年前,

  Over 2,000 years ago,

  这里正是岷江、青衣江、大渡河

  this place was the confluence of

  three rivers,

  三江汇流之处。

  the Minjiang, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers.

  大渡河自西而下,

  The Dadu Rivers flowed here from the west

  惊涛拍岸、水流湍急。

  with torrential waves and rapid currents.

  翻船事故常有发生。

  Shipwreck was a common occurrence here.

  太守李冰为了减弱水势,

  To slow down the currents, Governor Li Bing

  便率领众人在乌尤山和凌云山之间

  led people to cut open a spillway between

  开凿麻浩溢洪道,

  the Wuyou and Lingyun mountains

  引部分江水绕乌尤山而下。

  to divert part of the water to flow

  around the Wuyou Mountain.

  将乌尤山和凌云山分离,

  The separation of the Wuyou and

  Lingyun mountains

  使之成为了水中孤岛。也就是离堆了。

  resulted in an island surrounded by water.

  This is what a “li dui” means.

  大牛:真棒!原来你还会说书啊。

  Great! Actually you are also a story teller.

  韩佳:过奖。过奖。

  Thanks. I am flattered.

  大牛:听你这么一说我就明白了,

  After your explanation, now I

  understand that

  其实这乌尤山就是为分洪而形成的离堆。

  the Wuyou Mountain is actually an isolated

  hill formed for flood diversion purposes.

  Qíshí wūyóushān shì wèi fēnhóng ér xíngchéng de líduī.

  其实 乌尤山 是 为 分洪 而 形成 的 离堆。

  Actually Mt.Wuyou was formed to

  divert floodwaters.

  韩佳,那里为什么写着正觉禅林?

  Han Jia, why there’s a name written

  there, Zhengjue Temple?

  韩佳:那是因为乌尤寺原名就叫正觉寺。

  That’s because the current Wuyou Temple

  was originally called Zhengjue Temple.

  始建于唐代。

  It was first built in the Tang Dynasty.

  后来到了北宋时期才改名为乌尤寺的。

  Later in the Northern Song Dynasty,

  it was renamed Wuyou Temple.

  我们现在看到的寺庙

  The temple we see today

  是在清朝以后翻修过的。

  was renovated after the Qing Dynasty.

  乌尤寺可是中国重点寺院之一啊。

  Wuyou Temple is one of the major

  Buddhist temples in China.

  我们身后的乌尤殿里面有一件宝贝。

  There is a treasure in the Wuyou

  Hall behind me.

  大牛:有宝贝啊?我已经迫不及待了。

  A treasure?

  I can’t wait to see it.

  不过虽然我很想马上就看到宝贝,

  Although I am eager to see it,

  我还是得先给您讲一讲

  I still have to explain to you what

  “迫不及待”这个成语。

  the phrase “po bu ji dai” means.

  “迫不及待”形容急迫得不能等待了。

  ”po bu ji dai” means that someone

  can’t wait to do something.

  例如,“我迫不及待”就是我不能等了。

  For example, “wo po bu ji dai”,

  I just can’t wait.

  韩佳:“迫不及待”这个成语

  The phrase “po bu ji dai”

  用来形容急迫得不能再等待了。

  means someone is too eager to wait.

  大牛现在的这个样子就是迫不及待。

  The way Daniel looks now

  is “po bu ji dai”.

  大牛:迫不及待。

  ”po bu ji dai”.

  韩佳:大牛,

  Daniel,

  这尊全部用青铜浇铸的乌尤菩萨像

  this bronze Bodhisattva Wuyou statue

  就是乌尤寺的镇寺之宝了。

  is the most valuable treasure of

  Wuyou Temple.

  大牛:刚才我没听错吧?

  Did I hear it wrongly?

  你说这是菩萨啊?

  Did you say it’s a Bodhisattva?

  韩佳:对啊。

  Yes, I did.

  乌尤菩萨是观音菩萨的化身。

  Bodhisattva Wuyou is the incarnation of

  Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy.

  这可是乌尤山最早的佛教造像。

  You know its’ the earliest of Buddhist

  images on the Wuyou Mountain.

  Zhè shì wūyóushān zuì zǎo de fójiào zàoxiàng.

  这 是 乌尤山 最 早 的 佛教 造像。

  This was the earliest image of

  Buddha on Mt.Wuyou.

  大牛:我们去过的寺庙不算少吧,

  We’ve been to many Buddhist temples,

  可这样的菩萨像我还是头一次看到。

  but this is the first time I have ever seen

  a Bodhisattva image like that.

  韩佳:对,对,对。我也是。

  Yes, indeed.

  This is also the first time for me.

  这样的菩萨造像在中国汉传佛教寺院中

  A bodhisattva image like this

  is really rare

  的确很少见。

  in Chinese Buddhist temples.

  大牛:韩佳,看了这件宝贝,

  Han Jia, after this treasure,

  接下来看什么?

  what are we going to see next?

  韩佳:接下来看看手表。

  Next we have to see our watches.

  我们没时间了。

  We don’t have much time.

  大牛:有时间,赏心悦目嘛。

  But there is time for today’s Feast

  for the Eyes.

  赏心悦目:

  乌尤山四面环水,孤峰兀立

  The Wulong Mountain is isolated by water.

  乌尤寺耸立于山间

  The Wulong Temple on the mountain

  寺庙始建于唐代

  was built in the Tang Dynasty.

  建筑依山就势,布局巧妙

  Taking advantage of the mountain terrain,

  the temple is laid out in an ingenious manner.

  佛像法相庄严

  In addition to the stately Buddha statues,

  木刻精雕细镂

  there are also superbly crafted wooden sculptures.

  是我国古寺庙中上乘之作

  They are considered paradigmatic works of art

  of ancient Chinese temples.

  韩佳:登上乌尤山啊,

  Standing on the Wuyou Mountain,

  那周围的美景真是尽收眼底。

  we have a panoramic view of the

  scenery below.

  难怪有“峨眉远秀三江浮,

  No wonder there is such a verse:

  ”Emei’s beauty is afloat on three rivers.

  登此可轻万户侯”的诗句。

  Standing here you can disdain all

  high officials.”

  大牛:韩佳,别感慨了。

  Han Jia, don’t be sentimental.

  还是给观众朋友们出题吧。

  You’d better tell our audience today’s

  question.

  韩佳:好吧。

  Okay.

  (问题部分略)

  韩佳:当然了,您也可以拨打我们的热线电话

  Of course, you can also dial our hotline

  将您的答案和建议直接告诉我们,

  to tell us your answer or suggestions

  大牛:010—68539950。

  at 010-6853 9950.

  韩佳:好了。感谢您收看我们今天的节目。

  That’s it. Thanks for watching our

  today’s program.

  我们明天见。

  See you tomorrow.

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn Chinese and have friends everywhere. .

(Source: cctv.com)