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长城的英文介绍
作者：博客英语… 文章来源：博客英语网 更新时间：2006-12-9 17:09:08
The Great Wall, like the Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal(1) in India and the Hanging Garden of Babylon(2), is one of the great wonders of the world.
Starting out in the east on the banks of the Yalu River in Liaoning Province, the Wall stretches westwards for 12,700 kilometers to Jiayuguan in the Gobi desert, thus known as the Ten Thousand Li Wall in China. The Wall climbs up and down, twists and turns along the ridges of the Yanshan and Yinshan Mountain Chains through five provinces——Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu and two autonomous regions——Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, binding the northern China together.
Historical records trace the construction of the origin of the Wall to defensive fortification back to the year 656 B.C. during the reign of King Cheng of the States of Chu. Its construction continued throughout the Warring States period in the fifth Century B.C. when ducal states Yan, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were frequently plundered by the nomadic peoples living north of the Yinshan and Yanshan mountain ranges. Walls, then, were built separately by these ducal states to ward off such harassments. Later in 221 B.C., when Qin conquered the other states and unified China, Emperor Qinshihuang ordered the connection of these individual walls and further extensions to form the basis of the present great wall. As a matter of fact, a separate outer wall was constructed north of the Yinshan range in the Han Dynasty(206 BC——1644 BC.), which went to ruin through years of neglect. In the many intervening centuries, succeeding dynasties rebuilt parts of the Wall. The most extensive reinforcements and renovations were carried out in the Ming Dynasty (1368——1644) when altogether 18 lengthy stretches were reinforced with bricks and rocks. it is mostly the Ming Dynasty Wall that visitors see today.
The Great Wall is divided into two sections, the east and west, with Shanxi Province as the dividing line. The west part is a rammed earth construction, about 5.3 meters high on average. In the eastern part, the core of the Wall is rammed earth as well, but the outer shell is reinforced with bricks and rocks. The most imposing and best preserved sections of the Great Wall are at Badaling and Mutianyu, not far from Beijing and both are open to visitors.
The Wall of those sections is 7.8 meters high and 6.5 meters wide at its base, narrowing to 5.8 meters on the ramparts, wide enough for five horses to gallop abreast. There are ramparts, embrasures, peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top, besides gutters with gargoyles to drain rain-water off the parapet walk. Two-storied watch-towers are built at approximately 400-meters internals. The top stories of the watch-tower were designed for observing enemy movements, while the first was used for storing grain, fodder, military equipment and gunpowder as well as for quartering garrison soldiers. The highest watch-tower at Badaling standing on a hill-top, is reached only after a steep climb, like "climbing a ladder to heaven". The view from the top is rewarding, hoverer. The Wall follows the contour of mountains that rise one behind the other until they finally fade and merge with distant haze.
A signal system formerly existed that served to communicate military information to the dynastic capital. This consisted of beacon towers on the Wall itself and on mountain tops within sight of the Wall. At the approach of enemy troops, smoke signals gave the alarm from the beacon towers in the daytime and bonfire did this at night. Emergency signals could be relayed to the capital from distant places within a few hour long before the invention of anything like modern communications.
There stand 14 major passes (Guan, in Chinese) at places of strategic importance along the Great Wall, the most important being Shanghaiguan and Jiayuguan. Yet the most impressive one is Juyongguan, about 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing.
Known as "Tian Xia Di YI Guan" (The First Pass Under Heaven), Shanghaiguan Pass is situated between two sheer cliffs forming a neck connecting north China with the northeast. It had been, therefore, a key junction contested by all strategists and many famous battles were fought here. It was the gate of Shanghaiguan that the Ming general Wu Sangui opened to the Manchu army to suppress the peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng and so surrendered the whole Ming empire to the Manchus, leading to the foundation of the Qing Dynasty. (1644-1911)
Jiayuguan Pass was not so much as the "Strategic pass Under the Heaven" as an important communication center in Chinese history. Cleft between the snow-capped Qilian Mountains and the rolling Mazong Mountains, it was on the ancient Silk Road. Zhang Qian, the first envoy of Emperor Wu Di of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C-24 A.D), crossed it on his journey to the western regions. Later, silk flowed to the west through this pass too. The gate-tower of Jiayuguan is an attractive building of excellent workmanship. It has an inner city and an outer city, the former square in shape and surrounded by a wall 11.7 meters high and 730 meters in circumference. It has two gates, an eastern one and a western one. On each gate sits a tower facing each other. the four corners of the wall are occupied by four watch towers, one for each.
Juyongguan, a gateway to ancient Beijing from Inner Mongolia, was built in a 15-kilometer long ravine flanked by mountains. The cavalrymen of Genghis Khan swept through it in the 13th century. At the center of the pass is a white marble platform named the Cloud terrace, which was called the Crossing-Street Dagoba, since its narrow arch spanned the main street of the pass and on the top of the terrace there used to be three stone dagobas, built in the Yuan Daynasty(1206-1368). At the bottom of the terrace is a half-octagonal arch gateway, interesting for its wealth of detail: it is decorated with splendid images of Buddha and four celestial guardians carved on the walls. The vividness of their expressions is matched by the exquisite workmanship. such grandiose relics works, with several stones pieced together, are rarely seen in ancient Chinese carving. The gate jambs bear a multi-lingual Buddhist sutra, carved some 600 years ago in Sanskrit(3), Tibetan, Mongolian, Uigur(4), Han Chinese and the language of Western Xia. Undoubtedly, they are valuable to the study of Buddhism and ancient languages.
As a cultural heritage, the Wall belongs not only to China but to the world. The Venice charter says: "Historical and cultural architecture not only includes the individual architectural works, but also the urban or rural environment that witnessed certain civilizations, significant social developments or historical events." The Great Wall is the largest of such historical and cultural architecture, and that is why it continues to be so attractive to people all over the world. In 1987, the Wall was listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.
The Great Wall
It's more than 2,000 years old, but the Great Wall of China remains one of
the great wonders of the world, an engineering feat rarely matched in the
22 centuries since its construction began. Stretching 4,500 miles, from
the mountains of Korea to the Gobi Desert, it was first built to protect
an ancient Chinese empire from marauding tribes from the north. But it
evolved into something far greater — a boon to trade and prosperity and
ultimately a symbol of Chinese ingenuity and will.
The Mutianyu Grate Wall The section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu is
within the bound-aries of Huairou County, 70 km northeast of Beijing. It
is one of the sixteen famous scenes in Beijing. Mutianyu joins Juyong Pass
in the west and Gubei Entrance in the east. Together with Badaling, it is
the quintes-sence of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. On the section of
the Great Wall at Mutian-yu the watchtowers are very closely spaced,
varied in style and refined in construcion. The Zheng Guan Tower is a
building on which three watchtowers crowd together. It is imposing, novel
and unique, an asset of the Great Wall. Gazing into the distance on this
section of the Great Wall, you are presented with a splendid sight. The
wall changes with the mountain slope, leaping onto the peaks one moment,
slipping into the low valleys the next, just like a huge dragon rising and
ready to fly to the sky. The tourist district of Mutianyu is relatively
well equipped in services. A cablecaris buiilt whereby tourists ride cable
cars to climb the Great Wall.
Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park 天门山国家森林公园
Tianmen Mountain, which is only 8 kilometers away from the downtown and with elevation at 1518.6 meters, is the holy place of Zhangjiajie City and revered as “Soul of Zhangjiajie” and the first fairy mountain in western Hunan Province.
Tianmen Mountain is a tourist and holiday resort integrating miraculous unique geological appearances, old-line religious culture, extraordinarily splendorous humanity relics and abundant precious natural resources
Tianmen Mountain Cableway, the longest passenger cableway in the world with a length of 7200 meters and a height gap of 1277 meters. It will give you an unforgettable memory in all your life.
Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven). Tongtian Avenue has 99 turns symbolizing that the Heaven has nine palaces. It is worth the title --- wonder of highway in the world. Through Tongtian Avenue, one reaches directly the Tianti--- celestial ladder. The grand celestial-like scene came into view.
Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Tianmen Mountain, which is only 8 kilometers away from the downtown and with elevation at 1518.6 meters, is the holy place of Zhangjiajie City and revered as “Soul of Zhangjiajie” and the first fairy mountain in western Hunan Province.
Tianmen Mountain is a tourist and holiday resort integrating miraculous unique geological appearances, old-line religious culture, extraordinarily splendorous humanity relics and abundant precious natural resources.
Tianmen Mountain Cableway, the longest passenger cableway in the world with a length of 7200 meters and a height gap of 1277 meters. It will give you an unforgettable memory in all your life.
Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven). Tongtian Avenue has 99 turns symbolizing that the Heaven has nine palaces. It is worth the title --- wonder of highway in the world. Through Tongtian Avenue, one reaches directly the Tianti--- celestial ladder. The grand celestial-like scene came into view.
There are altogether nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in the Tianti which runs to the Heaven Gate and is also the religious site for praying for happiness.
Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world. In the year 263, the thousand-meter high cliff of Songliang Mountain suddenly broke open into a door-like cave which became a rare wonder of the world. Hence Songliang Mountain is change to Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Cave runs south-northward with a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. It’s much like a gate towards the heaven.
In 1999, the masters of international stunt flying for the first time piloted the planes to fly through Tianmen Cave. There are 800 million audiences watching the live coverage.
In 2006, the Russia Air Force Aerobatic Flight Show was held in Zhangjiajie. It composed a new legend of Tianmen Mountain.
Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park
Tianmen Mountain, which is only 8 kilometers away from the downtown and with elevation at 1518.6 meters, is the holy place of Zhangjiajie City and revered as “Soul of Zhangjiajie” and the first fairy mountain in western Hunan Province.
Tianmen Mountain is a tourist and holiday resort integrating miraculous unique geological appearances, old-line religious culture, extraordinarily splendorous humanity relics and abundant precious natural resources.
Tianmen Mountain Cableway, the longest passenger cableway in the world with a length of 7200 meters and a height gap of 1277 meters. It will give you an unforgettable memory in all your life.
Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven). Tongtian Avenue has 99 turns symbolizing that the Heaven has nine palaces. It is worth the title --- wonder of highway in the world. Through Tongtian Avenue, one reaches directly the Tianti--- celestial ladder. The grand celestial-like scene came into view.
There are altogether nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in the Tianti which runs to the Heaven Gate and is also the religious site for praying for happiness.
Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave with the highest elevation in the world. In the year 263, the thousand-meter high cliff of Songliang Mountain suddenly broke open into a door-like cave which became a rare wonder of the world. Hence Songliang Mountain is change to Tianmen Mountain. Tianmen Cave runs south-northward with a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. It’s much like a gate towards the heaven.
In 1999, the masters of international stunt flying for the first time piloted the planes to fly through Tianmen Cave. There are 800 million audiences watching the live coverage.
In 2006, the Russia Air Force Aerobatic Flight Show was held in Zhangjiajie. It composed a new legend of Tianmen Mountain.
Tianmen Temple, which covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, has enjoyed a booming scene of pilgrims’ worship since the Ming Dynasty, and is the Buddhist center of Western Hunan. It was first built in Ming Dynasty and the present Tianmen Mountain Temple is a rebuilt one on the original site.
Tianmen Academy, built in 1303, the seventh year of Dade Period in Yuan Dynasty. It was destroyed in a battle in 1352. The present one is a rebuilt one on the original site. It is a cultural holy place of Tianmen Mountain.
Tianmen Mountain is also the second national forest park in Zhangjiajie City. It boasts intact primitive forests. There are a flood of rare trees and some precious medicine herbs. Here is still the paradise of the animals. All these shape the mountain into a “primitive garden in the air” that can’t find in another place.
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