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@ 51269 鄭和七下西洋
A: 老爸，今天學校給了我們一個作業。題目是我心中的航海家。你說寫誰好？
lǎobà, jīntiān xuéxiào gěi le wǒmen yī ge zuòyè. tímù shì wǒ xīnzhōng de hánghǎijiā. nǐ shuō xiě shéi hǎo?
Dad, I got an assignment at school today. The topic is: 'the navigator closest to my heart.' Who do you think I should write about?
B: 你的作業，怎麼問起我來了。你先想想你對哪個航海家比較熟悉？
nǐ de zuòyè, zěnme wèn qǐ wǒ lái le. nǐ xiān xiǎng xiang nǐ duì nǎ ge hánghǎijiā bǐjiào shúxī?
It's your homework. Why are you asking me? First, think about which navigators you're relatively familiar with.
A: 我都不太瞭解。
wǒ dōu bùtài liǎojiě.
I'm not really acquainted with any of them.
B: 歷史課你都是怎麼學的。
lìshǐkè nǐ dōu shì zěnme xué de.
What have you learned in history class?
A: 哦！想起來了。麥哲倫成功環繞地球一週。
ò! xiǎng qilai le. Màizhélún chénggōng huánrào dìqiú yī zhōu.
Oh, I remember! Magellan successfully sailed around the world.
B: 還有呢？
háiyǒu ne?
And who else?
A: 達伽馬開闢了西歐到印度的航線。還有哥倫布發現了新大陸。
Dájiāmǎ kāipì le Xīōu dào Yìndù de hángxiàn. háiyǒu Gēlúnbù fāxiàn le xīndàlù.
Vasco da Gama set off from Western Europe and sailed to India. Also, Columbus discovered the new world.
B: 臭小子，想到的都是外國人。我們中國也有一位偉大的航海家。而且出海時間比你說的那三位都要早。
chòu xiǎozi, xiǎngdào de dōu shì wàiguórén. wǒmen Zhōngguó yě yǒu yī wèi wěidà de hánghǎijiā. érqiě chūhǎi shíjiān bǐ nǐ shuō de nà sān wèi dōu yào zǎo.
You little rascal, all the ones you've thought of are foreigners. China has a great navigator as well and he went out to sea earlier than all three of the ones you mentioned.
A: 誰啊？
shéi a?
Who?
B: 鄭和！
Zhèng Hé!
Zheng He!
A: 哦，就是那個太監。
ò, jiù shì nà ge tàijiàn.
Oh, that eunuch.
B: 太監怎麼了，在當時他可是四品的官。
tàijiàn zěnmele, zài dāngshí tā kě shì sì pǐn de guān.
So what if he was a eunuch. At the time he was a fourth level official.
A: 對，老師說過，是個挺大的官。他從1405年開始七下西洋，最遠到過非洲東岸呢。
duì, lǎoshī shuō guo, shì ge tǐng dà de guān. tā cóng yī sì líng wǔ nián kāishǐ qī xià Xīyáng, zuì yuǎn dào guo Fēizhōu Dōng'àn ne.
That's right. Our teacher told us he was a pretty important one. In 1405 he set out on the 7 trips to the Western world. The farthest place he went was the eastern coast of Africa.
B: 呵呵，還好，沒把知識都還給老師。
hēhē, háihǎo, méi bǎ zhīshi dōu huángěi lǎoshī.
Hehe, not bad. You haven't forgotten everything your teacher told you.
A: 那當然，我還知道當時他所統領的船叫寶船，是當時世界第一大船呢。
nà dāngrán, wǒ hái zhīdào dāngshí tā suǒ tǒnglǐng de chuán jiào bǎochuán, shì dāngshí shìjiè dì yī dà chuán ne.
Of course not. Also, I know that the ship he commanded was called a 'treasure ship' and at the time it was the best ship in the world.
B: 那我問你，為什麼鄭和要七下西洋？
nà wǒ wèn nǐ, wèishénme Zhèng Hé yào qī xià Xīyáng?
Well, then let me ask you, why did Zheng He sail the 7 trips to the Western world.
A: 這個，我不太清楚。
zhè ge, wǒ bùtài qīngchǔ.
Now that I'm not so sure about.
B: 其實有幾種說法，有的說是為了尋找當時戰敗的前任皇帝，有的說是向別的國家耀武揚威。不過大多數人認為七次航行都有不同的目的。比如第一次是安撫南洋的小國，減輕倭寇對中國沿海地方的騷擾。第二次是通商。還有幾次是開闢新的航線。
qíshí yǒu jǐ zhǒng shuōfa, yǒude shuō shì wèile xúnzhǎo dāngshí zhànbài de qián rèn huángdì, yǒude shuō shì xiàng biéde guójiā yàowǔyángwēi. bùguò dàduōshù rén rènwéi qī cì hángxíng dōu yǒu bùtóng de mùdì. bǐrú dì yī cì shì ānfǔ Nányáng de xiǎo guó, jiǎnqīng wōkòu duì Zhōngguó yánhǎi dìfang de sāorǎo. dì èr cì shì tōngshāng. háiyǒu jǐcì shì kāipì xīn de hángxiàn.
Actually there are a few different theories. Some say it was in order to search for the emperor of that time's defeated predecessor. Some say it was display of power directed at other countries. However, most everybody thinks that each of the 7 trips had different objectives. For example, the first time was to pacify the small countries in the southern sea; in order to decrease the number of places Japanese pirates were harassing along the Chinese coast. The second time was trade. Also, many times it was in order to create new shipping routes.
A: 老爸，你說的真有意思。
lǎobà, nǐ shuō de zhēn yǒu yìsi.
That's really interesting dad.
B: 第七次航行，鄭和到了麥加。因為他信奉伊斯蘭教，所以也算是了了心願。他不僅對中華文明的發展有貢獻，而且還開闢了許多新的航線，對當時東南亞地區的影響很大。有的地方現在還保留著當時鄭和留下的遺蹟和習俗呢。
dì qī cì hángxíng, Zhèng Hé dào le Màijiā. yīnwèi tā xìnfèng Yīsīlánjiào, suǒyǐ yě suàn shì liǎo le xīnyuàn. tā bùjǐn duì zhōnghuáwénmíng de fāzhǎn yǒu gòngxiàn, érqiě hái kāipì le xǔduō xīn de hángxiàn, duì dāngshí Dōngnányà dìqū de yǐngxiǎng hěn dà. yǒude dìfang xiànzài hái bǎoliú zhe dāngshí Zhèng Hé liúxià de yíjì hé xísú ne.
The seventh time he set sail, Zheng He went to Mecca. Because he believed in Islam he was also fulfilling his religious duty. Not only did he contribute to the development of Chinese society, he also opened many new shipping routes. He had a very big effect on the area of South East Asia at the time. Even now there are places which still retain some traces and customs left behind by Zheng He.
A: 老爸，我決定了，這次的作業我要寫我心中的航海家，鄭和。
lǎobà, wǒ juédìng le, zhècì de zuòyè wǒ yào xiě wǒ xīnzhōng de hánghǎijiā, Zhèng Hé.
Dad, I've decided. For this assignment, I'm going to write, 'The navigator closest to my heart: Zheng He'.
Key Vocabulary
航海家 hánghǎijiā navigator, seafarer
麥哲倫 Màizhélún Magellan
環繞 huánrào to encircle
達伽馬 Dájiāmǎ Vasco da Gama
開闢 kāipì to open up
航線 hángxiàn shipping line
哥倫布 Gēlúnbù Columbus
鄭和 Zhèng Hé Zheng He
太監 tàijiàn eunuch
四品 sì pǐn fourth-level
西洋 Xīyáng Western world
統領 tǒnglǐng to command
前任 qián rèn predecessor
耀武揚威 yàowǔyángwēi to flaunt one's strength
安撫 ānfǔ to placate
南洋 Nányáng South Seas
倭寇 wōkòu Japanese pirates
騷擾 sāorǎo to harass
通商 tōngshāng to connect
麥加 Màijiā Mecca
信奉 xìnfèng to believe in
伊斯蘭教 Yīsīlánjiào Islam
了了心願 liǎo le xīnyuàn to realize one's desires
遺蹟 yíjì traces
Supplementary Vocabulary
明朝 Míngcháo Ming Dynasty
九品芝麻官 jiǔpǐn zhīmaguān 9 levels of officaldom
東洋 Dōngyáng Atlantic Ocean
安慰 ānwèi to comfort
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