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韩佳：大家好，欢迎来到《快乐中国》。

Hello everyone.

Welcome to Happy China.

我是快乐的韩佳。

I’m Happy Han Jia.

大牛：我是快乐的大牛。

And I’m Happy Daniel.

今天我们来到了京杭运河边的古城，

Today, we’ve come to an ancient town

by the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal,

高邮。

Gaoyou.

韩佳：在2200年前的秦代，

2,200 years ago, during the

Qin Dynasty,

秦始皇在这里“筑高台置邮亭”，

the Emperor Shihuang had “zhu gao tai,

zhi you ting.”

高邮就是因此而得名的。

Thus was the name “Gao You.”

大牛：哦，就是说他先在这里

You mean, he first built

堆起了一个大大的土堆，

a giant hill here out of soil,

然后在上面建了一座亭子，是吧？

then built a pavilion on top, right?

韩佳：不是亭子，是驿站。

Not a pavilion, but a post house.

大牛：驿站？

Post house?

韩佳：大牛，你看。

Look, Daniel.

大牛：韩佳，这就是你说的驿站？

This is the post house you talked about?

韩佳：这叫盂城驿，

The Yu Cheng Post,

是中国保存最完好的古代驿站。

the best preserved ancient post

house in China.

Zhè shì zhōngguó bǎocún zuì wánhǎo de yìzhàn.

这 是 中国 保存 最 完好 的 驿站。

This is the most intact posthouse

remaining in China.

这叫盂城驿，

The Yu Cheng Post,

是中国保存最完好的古代驿站。

the best preserved ancient post

house in China.

距今有一千六百多年的历史了。

It has a history of over 1,600 years.

大牛：可是你还没说这驿站是干什么用的。

But you still haven’t told me what

the post house was used for.

韩佳：驿站就是古代专门

Post houses were used for

为那些传递政府文书的人

government mail deliverers

中途换马、住宿和休息的地方。

to stop to change horses and rest.

大牛：哦，我明白了。

Oh, I see.

相当于中国古代的邮局。

Sort of like ancient post offices.

韩佳：它只负责传递政府的文书，

But only government mail was delivered,

和现代的邮局还不一样。

thus different from modern post offices.

大牛：那普通的信件怎么寄呀？

How did regular mail get delivered?

韩佳：普通的信件就只能交给熟人捎带，

Regular mail? That only depended

on friends and acquaintances,

或者是交给民间的通信组织了。

or non-official communication organizations.

大牛：还真不太方便。

Not very convenient.

韩佳：我们进去看看。

Let’s go inside.

大牛，这大厅是用来接待政府官员的

Daniel, this front hall was used

o welcome officials.

大牛：哦，这驿站不是用来送信的吗。

I thought the post house was used

to deliver mail.

怎么还负责接待官员哪？

It also receives government officals?

韩佳：中国古代的驿站不仅仅有传递消息的职能，

Ancient Chinese post houses not

only delivers mail, but are also

而且还有招待路过的官员，

responsible for official receptions,

管理道路交通和货物运输的功用。

overseeing transportation,

and delivering cargo.

大牛：是吗，没想到这小小的驿站作用还挺多。

I can’t believe that a small post house

has so many purposes.

Zhè xiǎoxiǎo de yìzhàn zuòyòng hái tǐng duō.

这 小小 的 驿站 作用 还 挺 多。

This small posthouse had so many uses.

没想到这小小的驿站作用还挺多。

I can’t believe that a small post house

has so many purposes.

韩佳：在过去每隔30里地就要设一个驿站。

In the past, there was a post house

every 15 kilometers.

你想想全国有多少个。

You can imagine how many there

are in the country.

这驿站就像一个人全身的血管，

Post houses are like veins in a body,

把国家上下沟通了起来。

connecting all parts of the country.

大牛：上下？

“Shang xia?”

这“上下”不是表示大概的数量吗？

I thought “shang xia” was used to

approximate numbers.

韩佳：这“上下”有几种意思，

“Shang xia” has a few different meanings.

在这里“上下”表示上级和下级的意思。

Here, “shang xia” refers to upper

and lower levels.

大牛：这里“上下”表示上级和下级

Here “Shang xia” means “Shang ji” and

“Xia ji,”

上级指等级高；下级指等级低。

“Shang ji” means upper ranks and

“Xia ji” means lower ranks.

韩佳：驿站在国家上下级之间

Post houses were important in

传递消息起着非常重要的作用。

communications between different

levels of the government.

大牛：我们接着往下看。

Let’s keep going.

韩佳，来看。这里有水夫，挑水的；

Look, Han Jia. There are water carriers,

还有马夫，养马的；

and horse keepers,

还有兽医。这里要兽医干吗呀？

and veterinarians. Why are they here?

韩佳：兽医是给马看病的呀。

They have to treat horses.

你想，一个驿站里有五十多匹马呢，

Just think, a post house has

over 50 horses.

当然得有兽医了。

Of course there are veterinarians.

大牛：要那么多马干吗呀？

Why so many horses?

想起来了。

Oh, yeah. I know.

古代人需要骑马送信。

The ancients delivered mail

on horseback.

韩佳：马是古代最快的交通工具，

Horses were the fastest means

of transportation.

当然要骑马送信了。

Of course they delivered mail on horses.

大牛：我还以为像马拉松那样跑步送信的呢。

I thought they ran like Marathon

to do the delivering.

韩佳：也有步行送信的，

Some delivering were made by foot,

那只是在路程较短的时候才用。

but only when the distance was short.

重要的消息一律要骑马传递。

Important messages were all delivered

on horseback.

大牛：看来生活在没有电话、电报，

Living in times without telephones,

不能上网发邮件的时代，

telegrams, or e-mails,

传递消息就是累。

message delivery was a big task.

韩佳：没办法，只能求马儿快点跑了。

Just have to beg the horses to run fast.

大牛：韩佳，这不是鼓楼吗？

Han Jia, a drum house.

韩佳：对啊。那你知道它是用来干什么的吗？

Yep. But do you know

what it was used for?

大牛：这还不简单。

That’s easy.

它就是用来报时，或者召集开会的嘛。

It’s used to tell time and call meetings.

这个我早就知道了。

I’ve always known this.

韩佳：错了吧。这鼓楼不是用来报时的。

That’s not it. The drum house is

not used to tell time.

而是通过击鼓来通知驿站里的人，

By beating the drum, it signal the

people in the post house

远方有信送过来了，赶快把马准备好。

that there’s a delivery coming and

a horse must be prepared.

大牛：哦。那就是说

Oh. That means they would

得换一匹马骑到下一站，对吧？

change horse to go to the next stop, right?

韩佳：没错。一刻也不能停留一直前进，

That’s right. Without wasting a

minute of time.

那叫马不停蹄。

That’s called “ma bu ting ti.”

Mǎ bù tíng tí

马 不 停 蹄

Without stopping

大牛：马不停蹄就是一刻也不能停留一直前进。

“Ma bu ting ti” means not stopping for

an instant, moving ever onwards, nonstop.

马不停蹄。

“Ma bu ting ti.”

哎呀，韩佳，何止是马不能停，

Han Jia, that’s not only “ma bu ting ti,”

这人也没法歇着啊。

the people can’t rest either.

韩佳：是啊，古代传递信息是非常辛苦的。

Yeah, ancient mail delivering

was a difficult task.

大牛：观众朋友们，

Dear friends,

看来当一名中国古代的邮递员

it really doesn’t seem easy to be

an ancient

真不容易。

mail deliverer.

韩佳：好了，今天节目结束的时间就要到了。

Okay. It’s about time to wrap up for today.

大牛：别忘了马上还有精彩的赏心悦目。

Don’t forget the scenery montage

coming up.

记住我们的口号：

Remember our motto:

合： 学说中国话，朋友遍天下。

Chinese learned, friends earned!

赏心悦目：

古城高邮地处长江三角洲

The ancient town of Gaoyou is located

on the Yangtze Delta.

规模宏大的古代驿站至今完好保存

The large scale post house stands

perfectly intact today.

走进这里

Entering here,

仿佛又见当年驿站繁忙景象

one could imagine its liveliness

in the past.

虽历经沧桑 但古风犹存

The aura still sands of much

weathering of time.

大量的文物 史料

Numerous artifacts and records

展示着中华民族三千年的邮驿文明

reveal the 3,000-year-old Chinese

postal culture.

(Source: cctv.com)