ChinesePod
aChinesePod
@ 51067 盛唐風氣
A 小向，我問你，為什麼世界各地的"China Town"都被翻譯成"唐人街"，而不是"中國城"呢？
Xiǎo Xiàng, wǒ wèn nǐ, wèishénme shìjiègèdì de"China Town" dōu bèi fānyì chéng"tángrén jiē", ér bu shì"Zhōngguó chéng" ne?
Hey Xiao Xiang, let me ask you something: Why are all the China Towns in the world called ``Chinatown" in Chinese? Why not ``China-city"?
B 這還不簡單，唐"和"Town"諧音，所以叫"唐人街"咯。
zhè hái bù jiǎndān, táng hé"Town" xiéyīn, suǒyǐ jiào"tángrén jiē" lo.
Isn't it simple? ``Tang" and ``town" sound alike, so they're called ``China-towns." Duh!
A 就知道問你也白問！照你這麼說，凡是叫"Town"的地方都得叫"唐人街"囉？前邊的"China"給撇到哪邊去了？
jiù zhīdào wèn nǐ yě bái wèn! zhào nǐ zhème shuō, fánshì jiào"Town" de dìfang dōu děi jiào"tángrén jiē" luo? qiánbiān de"China" gěi piě dào nǎ biān qù le?
I knew it would be pointless to ask you! By your logic, shouldn't all places with a ``town" in their names be called ``Chinatown?" What happened to the China at the beginning?
B 那......就只能說明連現代人都還在懷念一千多年前唐朝盛世時候的中國。
nà...... jiù zhǐnéng shuōmíng lián xiàndài rén dōu hái zài huáiniàn yīqiānduōnián qián Tángcháo shèngshì shíhou de Zhōngguó.
Well...that can only go to show that even modern people still look back fondly on China's High Tang era of more than a thousand years ago.
A 算你腦子轉得快，那時候的中國可是"超級大國"外加"中央帝國"，是世界的中心。老外都扎堆來中國學習、觀摩取經呢！
suàn nǐ nǎozi zhuàn de kuài, nà shíhou de Zhōngguó kě shì"chāojídàguó" wài jiā"zhōngyāngdìguó", shì shìjiè de zhōngxīn. lǎowài dōu zhāduī lái Zhōngguó xuéxí, guānmó qǔ jīng ne!
I've got to hand it to you, you're quick! At that time, China really was a superpower and ``Middle Kingdom." It was the center of the world. Foreigners all came here to study, to see works of art and study the classics!
B 還有看美女。哎，那時的老外可真有眼福啊！滿大街都是像楊貴妃那樣體態豐腴的"胖美人"！如果放到現代，應該叫性感吧。
hái yǒu kàn měinǚ. āi, nàshí de lǎowài kě zhēn yǒu yǎnfú a! mǎn dàjiē dōu shì xiàng Yáng Guìfēi nàyàng tǐtài fēngyú de"pàng měirén"! rúguǒ fàngdào xiàndài, yīnggāi jiào xìnggǎn ba.
And they also came to see beautiful women! Foreigners in those days were really lucky to see so many beautiful women. ``Plump beauties," like Yang Guifei were all over the place. If they were in modern times, they would probably be called ``sexy!"
A 怎麼什麼事擱你嘴裡都那麼庸俗啊！楊貴妃的美是源自她的自信和內在氣質！唐朝人以胖為美的審美觀正好說明當時國富民強！
zěnme shénme shì gē nǐ zuǐ lǐ dōu nàme yōngsú a! Yáng guìfēi de měi shì yuánzì tā de zìxìn hé nèizài qìzhì! Tángcháo rén yǐpàngwéiměi de shěnměi guān zhènghǎo shuōmíng dāngshí guófùmínqiáng!
How come everything you say is so vulgar! Yang Guifei's beauty came from her self confidence and internal style. You can see why the country was rich and powerful during the time by looking at how they saw fat as a form of beauty!
B 是啊，大家營養好，又沒什麼事可操心，當然心寬體胖了。我從一本書上看到，當時皇帝的生活可奢侈了，用的都是波斯的銀器、歐洲的玻璃。
shì a, dàjiā yíngyǎng hǎo, yòu méishénme shì kě cāoxīn, dāngrán xīnkuāntǐpán le. wǒ cóng yī běn shū shang kàndào dāngshí huángdì de shēnghuó kě shēchǐ le, yòng de dōu shì Bōsī de yínqì, Oūzhōu de bōli.
That's right! Everyone had plenty to eat, and nothing to worry about. Of course they would be happy and contented. I read in a book that at that time, the emperors lived so extravagantly. They used Persian silver and European glass.
A 那當然咯。唐朝的對外交通特別發達，不僅有陸上絲綢之路，還開闢了海上絲綢之路。對外貿易繁榮，想要什麼就有什麼。不過我最佩服的是他們並沒有貪圖享受而荒廢朝政，反而更加勵精圖治，讓中國社會走向了封建時代的頂峰！
nà dāngrán lo. Tángcháo de duìwàijiāotōng tèbié fādá, bùjǐn yǒu lùshàng sīchóuzhīlù, hái kāipì le hǎishàng sīchóuzhī lù. duìwàimàoyì fánróng, xiǎng yào shénme jiù yǒu shénme. bùguò wǒ zuì pèifú de shì tāmen bìng méiyǒu tāntú xiǎngshòu ér huāngfèi cháozhèng, fǎnér gèngjiā lìjīngtúzhì, ràng Zhōngguó shèhuì zǒuxiàng le fēngjiànshídài de dǐngfēng!
Of course! China had tons of connections with foreign countries during the Tang dynasty. Not only was there an overland Silk Road, there was even a Maritime Silk Road. Foreign trade flourished. You could get whatever you wanted. But most of all I admire those who leaders who didn't weaken the government by craving the trappings of power, and instead exerted themselves to make the country richer and more powerful. They allowed feudal Chinese society to reach its peak!
B 那全是因為唐朝皇帝都很開放和自信，有胸懷！像李白那樣什麼話都敢說的詩人，要是在暴君當政的時候，腦袋被砍一千次都不止！
nà quán shì yīnwèi Tángcháo huángdì dōu hěn kāifàng hé zìxìn, yǒu xiōnghuái! xiàng Lǐ Bái nàyàng shénme huà dōu gǎnshuō de shīrén, yàoshì zài bàojūn dāngzhèng de shíhou, nǎodài bèi kǎn yī qiān cì dōu bùzhǐ!
That's entirely because Tang dynasty emperors were very liberal and self-confident. They had a lot of heart! If a poet like Li Bai who dared to say anything had lived during a brutal military dictatorship, they would've chopped his head into thousands of little pieces!
A 不過他好像還是不滿足。"抽刀斷水水更流，舉杯消愁愁更愁。"
bùguò tā hǎoxiàng hái shì bùmǎnzú."chōudāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú, jǔbēi xiāochóu chóu gèng chóu."
But he still doesn't seem to have been very satisfied. ``It's pointless to try to solve problems with violence, and you can't drink your sorrows away."
B 詩人嘛，不痛苦就不叫詩人了。
shīrén ma, bù tòngkǔ jiù bù jiào shīrén le.
Ah, poets. If they weren't in pain, they wouldn't be poets.
Key Vocabulary
諧音 xiéyīn homophone
白問 bái wèn to ask in vain
撇 piě cast away
盛世 shèngshì heyday
扎堆 zhāduī to chit-chat
觀摩 guānmó to examine and feel (a work of art)
取經 qǔ jīng to learn from experienced people
眼福 yǎnfú good fortune
楊貴妃 Yáng Guìfēi Yang Guifei
豐腴 fēngyú plentiful
擱 gē to place
庸俗 yōngsú vulgar
源自 yuánzì to come from
審美觀 shěnměi guān aesthetic appreciation
國富民強 guófùmínqiáng rich nation and strong people
心寬體胖 xīnkuāntǐpán naturally happy and robust
荒廢 huāngfèi dilapidated
勵精圖治 lìjīngtúzhì to exert oneself to make the nation better
當政 dāngzhèng to take office
抽刀斷水水更流，舉杯消愁愁更愁 chōudāo duànshuǐ shuǐ gèng liú, jǔbēi xiāochóu chóu gèng chóu It's pointless to try to solve problems with violence, and you can't drink your sorrows away
Supplementary Vocabulary
盛唐 shèngtáng the literary high-water mark of the Tang dynasty
唐明皇 Tángmínghuáng Yang Guifei's husband, the emperor
富態 fùtài plump
豐衣足食 fēngyīzúshí well-fed and well-dressed
國泰民安 guótàimín ān peaceful country and citizenry
------
======