Archive for February 21st, 2009

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 426

Saturday, February 21st, 2009
 
 

  大牛:急死人了!节目都开始了,

  I am worried to death! Our program

  has started,

  韩佳还在那边喝茶。

  but Han Jia is still drinking her tea

  over there.

  还美其名曰:“体验生活”!

  And she euphemistically calls it

  ”experiencing life”!

  您说,我和她比是不是敬业多了?

  Don’t you think that I am a lot more

  dedicated than she is?

  韩佳:谁在那儿王婆卖瓜自卖自夸呢?

  Who is blowing his own trumpet here?

  大牛:哟,韩佳。茶喝完了。味道怎么样?

  Oh, Han Jia. You’ve finished drinking.

  How did it taste?

  韩佳:先不说味道怎么样。

  Let’s not talk about tasting first.

  我倒想起一个人来。

  But it does remind me of a man.

  大牛:谁啊?

  Who?

  韩佳:茶圣陆羽。

  Lu Yu, the Tea Saint.

  大牛:陆羽,就是那位撰写了

  Was Lu Yu the man who wrote

  世界上第一部茶叶专著的陆羽吗?

  the world’s first book on tea?

  韩佳:对啊。你知道吗

  Yes. Do you know

  陆羽泉就在这里

  the Lu Yu Spring is right here

  杭州余杭的径山镇?

  in the town of Jingshan near Hangzhou?

  大牛:韩佳你看,多大的茶壶啊!

  Han Jia, look. What a huge teapot!

  要是用它沏上一壶茶,

  If it was used to brew tea,

  够全镇的人喝一星期的。

  it would be enough for the consumption

  of the whole town for a week.

  韩佳:这茶都泡一个星期了,还怎么喝啊?

  Is the tea brewed for a week still drinkable?

  我看我们还是来给大家讲讲“沏”这个词。

  I suggest we talk about the word “qi” first.

  “沏”是个动词。

  ”qi” is a verb.

  意思就是说拿开水冲、泡。

  meaning to steep something in

  boiled water.

  我们常常说“沏茶”。

  We usually say “qi cha” – to brew tea.

  大牛:“沏茶”,“沏”读一声,“茶”读二声,

  ”qi cha”, 1st tone, 2nd tone,

  就是拿开水冲、泡。

  means to brew tea.

  沏茶。

  ”qi cha”.

  我得上去看看。

  I want to have a look up there.

  韩佳:你不是要去看陆羽泉吗?

  Don’t you want to see the Lu Yu Spring?

  大牛:看。在哪儿呢?

  Yeah. Where?

  韩佳:就在那院子里呢。走。

  It’s right in that courtyard. Come on.

  大牛:韩佳,当年陆羽就是用这里的泉水

  Han Jia, did Lu Yu use the spring

  water here

  煮茶的呀?

  to brew his tea?

  韩佳:没错。从唐朝到现在,

  Exactly. Since as early as the

  Tang Dynasty,

  这里的泉水始终甘洌清醇。

  the water here has remained pure

  and sweet.

  遇到干旱也不干涸。

  It has never dried up even during droughts.

  号称天下第三泉。

  It is known as the Third Most Famous

  Spring under Heaven.

  Lùyǔquán hàochēng tiānxià dì sān quán.

  陆羽泉 号称 天下 第 三 泉。

  Lu Yu Spring is fameds as the third

  spring under the heavens.

  大牛:可是韩佳,

  But Han Jia,

  这池子为什么要分成两部分呢?

  why is this pool divided into two parts?

  韩佳:上面这部分是饮用水。

  The part, which is higher, is used for

  drinking water.

  下面这部分是用来涮洗东西的。

  And the part down below is for

  washing purposes.

  大牛:一高一低还挺科学。

  It is quite scientific to build one pool

  higher than the other.

  韩佳,这里刻的都是什么啊?

  Han Jia, what’s the engraved

  inscription here?

  韩佳:这就是陆羽的《茶经》。

  That’s the Tea Classic written by Lu Yu.

  它里面讲了茶树生长的自然条件;

  It tells about the natural conditions

  for the growth of tea trees;

  茶的制作方法;

  the processing of tea leaves

  饮茶的过程以及如何品茶等等。

  and the process of tea drinking

  and tasting.

  十个方面的内容。

  Altogether it covers ten topics

  dealing with tea.

  大牛:写得真够全面。真了不起啊!

  It’s so comprehensive. A great work!

  韩佳,我知道中国有什么《茶经》、

  Han Jia, I know in China there are

  books like

  《易经》、《道德经》。

  ”cha jing”, “yi jing” and “dao de jing”.

  在这些书里面

  But what does the word “jing” mean

  “经”字应该怎么解释呢?

  in these books?

  韩佳:“经”就是指传统的具有权威性的著作。

  ”jing” means an authoritative classic work.

  大牛:哦,明白了。

  Oh, I see.

  “经”读一声,指传统的具有权威性的著作。

  ”jing”, first tone, means a famous

  and profound work of literature.

  英语里,“经”用”the book of”。

  In English, we often translated it as

  the book of something.

  例如,《易经》、《茶经》。

  For example, “yi jing”, the Book of Changes;

  ”cha jing”, the Book of Tea.

  韩佳,《诗经》和《茶经》的确很经典。

  Han Jia, both the Book of Poetry and

  the Book of Tea are great classics.

  韩佳:大牛,这里就是著名的径山了。

  Daniel, here’s the famed town

  of Jingshan.

  怎么样景色很不错吧?

  Do you think it’s beautiful?

  大牛:嗯。一看到竹林,

  Yes. As soon as I see these

  bamboo groves,

  我就有一种说不出的喜欢。

  I feel a kind of indescribable

  fondness for them.

  Wǒ yí kàndào zhúlín, jiù yǒu yì zhǒng shuō bu chū de xǐhuan.

  我 一 看到 竹林,就 有 一 种 说 不 出 的 喜欢。

  I can’t explain why but I feel so happy

  when I see bamboo forests.

  韩佳:为什么啊?

  Why?

  大牛:因为它既好看又好闻。

  Because they not only look graceful,

  but also smell good.

  韩佳:是这么回事。

  Oh, I see.

  的确是这样。你看那些翠竹。

  Yes it’s true. Look at these verdant

  bamboos.

  亭亭玉立,身姿挺拔。

  They are graceful, tall and upright.

  一阵风吹过,还有淡淡的竹香呢。

  In a breeze, you could smell their

  faint aroma.

  大牛:而且竹子浑身上下都是宝。

  Besides, every part of a bamboo

  plant is a treasure.

  韩佳:宝?你说说看。

  Treas

  大牛:这竹笋可以吃。

  Bamboo shoots can be eaten.

  这竹节可以用来做竹筒饭。

  Bamboo tubes can be used for cooking

  rice in a bamboo tube.

  这竹叶子…

  And bamboo leaves …

  对了,可以喂给大熊猫吃。

  yeah, they can be food for pandas.

  韩佳:这几大优点好像都跟吃有关啊。

  All these merits seem related to eating.

  大牛:你说中国人为什么这么喜欢竹子呢?

  Why do Chinese love the bamboo

  plant so much?

  韩佳:因为竹子给人的感觉

  Because they find the fine characters of

  就是正直、虚心、坚韧。

  straightforwardness, modesty and

  tenacity all in the plant.

  苏东坡说得好:

  As Su Dongpo put it:

  “宁可食无肉,不可居无竹。”

  ”I would rather give up meat than

  live in a house without bamboo.”

  大牛:苏东坡真是爱竹子爱到一定的程度了!

  Oh, Su Dongpo loved bamboo so much!

  韩佳:我们不是一直在说茶嘛。

  We were talking about tea all the time.

  怎么说着说着就说到竹子了?

  How could we have digressed from

  tea to bamboo?

  大牛:奇怪。

  That’s strange.

  韩佳:大牛,径山寺到了。

  Daniel, here is the Jingshan Temple.

  大牛:韩佳,我们跑到寺庙来干吗?

  Han Jia, what did we come to a

  temple here for?

  韩佳:它可是江南的五山十刹之首啊。

  This is the No. 1 Buddhist temple

  in south China.

  而且还跟茶有关。

  And it is also related to tea.

  大牛:一座寺庙能和茶有什么关系啊?

  Can a Buddhist temple be related to tea?

  韩佳:这你就有所不知了吧,

  You obviously don’t know that

  历史上径山寺的茶宴远近闻名。

  the tea feasts at Jingshan Temple

  were known far and wide in history.

  Jìngshānsì de cháyàn yuǎnjìn wénmíng.

  径山寺 的 茶宴 远近 闻名。

  The Tea Banquets at Jingshan Temple

  are famous near and far.

  相传径山寺的开山祖师特别喜爱饮茶,

  It is said the founder of Jingshan Temple

  loved tea very much

  经常组织茶宴。

  and often held tea feasts, or tea parties.

  茶宴的过程一般就包括

  A tea feast consists of

  献茶、闻香、观色、

  tea offering, smelling, observing,

  品味、论茶、交谈等环节。

  tasting, evaluation and conversation.

  大牛:就像你刚才说的喝茶的过程。

  Exactly the process of tea drinking

  which you described just now.

  韩佳:你去干什么啊?

  Where are you going?

  大牛:我要好好看看寺庙啊。

  I’m going to take a close look at the temple.

  韩佳:不急。让我们和观众朋友们

  Wait a minute. Let’s watch today’s

  一起在赏心悦目中

  Feast for the Eyes with our audience

  好好地领略一下江南古刹的遗风吧。

  to appreciate this charming ancient temple.

  大牛:一会儿见。

  See you later.

  赏心悦目:

  径山寺有着江南古刹之首的美名

  The Jingshan Temple is known as a famous

  Buddhist shrine in south China.

  径山寺依山而建 宁静雅致

  The graceful and quiet temple

  lies on a mountain slope.

  繁茂挺拔的竹林尽显古刹遗风

  Its antiquity is perfectly set off by

  verdant and lush bamboos.

  这里的“陆羽泉”被称为天下第三泉

  The Lu Yu Spring here is known as the

  third most famous spring in China.

  陆羽泉的水质甘洌清纯

  The spring water here is crystal-clear

  and tastes sweet.

  陆羽的《茶经》天下闻名

  The Book of Tea written by Lu Yu

  is a rare classic work on tea.

  日本流行的茶道就源于径山寺的茶宴

  Japanese tea ceremonies originated from

  the tea feasts of the Jingshan Temple.

  大牛:好了,看完了赏心悦目的风光之后,

  After seeing the Feast for the Eyes,

  又要给您出今天的问题了。

  now it’s time again for you to set

  today’s question.

  ( 问题部分略)

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn Chinese and have friends everywhere!

(Source: cctv.com)

Beijing Olympic – Hong Kong police ready for equestrian events

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

Hong Kong Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) Suen Kwai-leung said here Tuesday the police had come up with a comprehensive manpower plan for the Olympic and Paralympic venues/sports/equestrian/index.shtml’ target=_blank>Equestrian Events, noting 2,000 to 4,000 officers would be deployed for the events.

“It will be a great challenge for Hong Kong Police since the whole operation will last for 55 days,” Suen told a press conference here Tuesday. “But we have been working closely with the Equestrian Company on the security arrangements.”

Leave restrictions will be imposed for the police officers from Aug. 1 to 24 and any training activities unrelated to operations or the events will be suspended, Suen said.

He said the internal security of the competition venues will bemainly handled by the security guards from the equestrian company and there are operation rules for the guards to follow and the police have got involved in their training.

Despite noting Hong Kong’s security threat is moderate, Suen did not rule out the possibilities of any changes in future as thethreat assessment is ongoing.

He reiterated that Hong Kong Police will continue to maintain close liaison with the Chinese mainland and overseas law-enforcement agencies.

On the arrangements for demonstrators, Suen urged organizations which plan to stage demonstrations during the events to contact the police for better coordination.

While the Police will do their best to facilitate demonstrators’ requests, they will also try to keep the inconvenience caused to the public to a minimum, he added.

(Source: en.beijing2008.cn)

China Travel – Ling Canal

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

The Ling Canal lies in Xing’an County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

 

After Qin Emperor Shihuang conquered the six states and united China, he ordered the construction of Ling Canal between 223BC and 214BC. At a length of 34 kilometers, the canal joins the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River, connecting the two water systems of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River. The whole canal system was finally completed, with numerous renovations during the Eastern Han (25-220) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties. 

 

The Ling Canal is not only one of the most famous irrigation works in ancient China, but also a scenic spot with an enchanting landscape. The canal’s original name was Qinzao Canal, but it was renamed in the Tang Dynasty.

 

The watershed project of the Ling Canal is located in the reservoir, three kilometers east of Xing’an City. The project comprises a spade-shaped dam and two dykes. The dam is about six meters high, 74 meters long and 23.4 meters wide, cutting the Xiangjiang River into two streams. The two dykes, forming a ” Y” shape, further fortify the dam. The dykes are much shorter than both banks of the Xiangjiang River, allowing floodwater to pour down into its watercourse. In addition to blocking the river and channeling water into the canal, the watershed dam also automatically drains out excess water.

 

To solve problems of shallow, narrow, windings and rapid sections, dykes shaped like semi-circles are built where the water is shallow, rapidly raising the water level so boats can pass. Such dykes are the original form of water locks and the earliest control measure used in sea navigation in the world.

 

The Ling Canal connects the Pearl and Yangtze rivers, promoting economic and cultural exchanges between people of the Central Plain and the area south of the Five Ridges (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces). The canal has undergone many renovations since China’s liberation, and become an important irrigation canal in Xing’an.

 

(Source: chinaculture.org)