Travel in Chinese Lesson 56 Beihai Park

（人豪和小杰在北海公园）

小杰：（一个人往前跑）爸爸，你快点儿啊。快到我这边来。

人豪：恩，这里的样子一点儿也没变，白塔、绿树、红墙，我仿佛又回到了以前的生活。

小杰：爸爸，你以前经常来这儿吗？

人豪：那当然了。爸爸小的时候，就经常到这儿来划船。

小杰：是吗？那个时候就有北海公园了？

人豪：看你说的，这个地方已经有近1000年的历史了，不过当时它是皇帝一个人的花园。一般的人可不能进来。

小杰：唉，那多没劲啊，我就爱和很多同学一起玩儿。

（走到九龙壁前）

小杰：爸爸，你看，（数数）1、2、3……刻着九条龙的墙。我上次和妈妈去故宫的时候好象也见过这样的墙。

人豪：小杰，这叫九龙壁。故宫里的那个也叫九龙壁。

小杰：恩，妈妈说中国古代的皇帝都喜欢龙，是这样的吗？那为什么又一定要刻上九条龙不可呢？

人豪：龙在中国一直被看作是皇帝的象征。九龙不仅代表着皇帝的尊贵，更有人认为它们也会给整个国家带来吉祥。

小杰：恩，爸爸，你看，九条龙的颜色都不一样，真好看。

（站在白塔前的平台上）

小杰：爸爸，这里风景真好。你看，那边有人在划船，我们也去吧。

人豪：我们歇一会再去划吧。爸爸刚才一口气走了那么久，有点累了。

小杰：爸爸，走吧，走吧，我来划，你坐着休息好了。

人豪：唉，小杰，要不然我先带你到“仿膳”吃点儿东西吧。

小杰：仿膳，那是一个什么地方？

人豪：以前皇帝吃饭就叫做用膳。“仿膳”是一个饭店的名字，就在北海公园里，据说卖的都是当年皇帝吃的东西和一些宫廷小吃。

小杰：宫廷小吃？

人豪：对，就是原来在皇宫里的人们经常吃的小吃。比如说豌豆黄、芸豆卷、小窝头、肉末烧饼……

小杰：啊，别说了，我饿了，我们快去吧。

人豪：你现在不着急去划船了？（开玩笑的口气）

小杰：顾不上，先去吃了好吃的再说。（拉父亲走）
 

（Opening scene: Renhao and Xiaojie at Beihai Park）

Xiaojie: （runs along by herself）Dad, hurry up. Come over here.

Renhao: Mmm, it hasn’t changed here at all, the white tower, green trees, red walls. It’s just like being back in the old days.

Xiaojie: Dad, did you used to come here often?

Renhao: Sure. When I was little, I used to come here and row boats all the time.

Xiaojie: Really? Beihai Park was around back then?

Renhao: Don’t be silly, this place has almost one thousand years of history, although back then it was the emperor’s personal garden. Ordinary people couldn’t come in.

Xiaojie: Oh, that’s no fun. I love hanging out with my friends.

（in front of the nine dragon wall）

Xiaojie: Dad, look （counts）1, 2, 3……the wall with nine dragons. I think I saw a wall like this the last time I went to the Forbidden City with mum.

Renhao: Xiaojie, this is called the nine-dragon wall. The one in the Forbidden City is also called the nine dragon wall.

Xiaojie: Hmm, mum says the emperors in ancient China all liked dragons, is that true? Then why do they have to have nine dragons engraved on them?

Renhao: Dragons have always symbolized the emperor in China. Nine dragons not only show the power of the emperor, but some people believed they would bring luck to the whole nation.

Xiaojie: Look, dad, the nine dragons all have different colors. That’s really pretty.

Renhao: Come on, Xiaojie. Let’s go up this way to have a look. （they climb the stairs）

Xiaojie: Dad, how about the white tower? I saw it outside the park. Let’s go up and have a look.

（at the platform in front of the white tower）

Xiaojie: Dad, the view here is so beautiful. Look, people are rowing boats over there. Let’s go too.

Renhao: Let’s take a break first. I’m a bit tired from all that walking.

Xiaojie: Dad, come on let’s go, I’ll row. You can sit there and rest.

Renhao: Hey, Xiaojie, how about I take you to eat at “Fangshan”.

Xiaojie: Fangshan, what kind of place is that?

Renhao: In the old days when the emperor dined, it was called “yong shan”. “Fangshan” (Imperial Style) is the name of a restaurant in Beihai Park. Supposedly they serve what the emperor used to eat and some imperial snacks.

Xiaojie: Imperial snacks?

Renhao: That’s right, snacks that people used to eat in the palace. Like pea flour cake, bean rolls, mini buns, mince stuffed sesame pancakes……

Xiaojie: Oh, please stop. I’m hungry; let’s go there now.

Renhao: So you’re not in a hurry to go boating? （joking）

Xiaojie: Not yet. Let’s go and eat some yummy stuff first. （grabs her dad）
 

Bookmarks
 

1）仿佛 as if

（例）看着这些老照片，我仿佛又回到了从前。

Looking as these old photos, it’s as if I've gone back to the past.

（例）他和爸爸长得很像，看到他就仿佛看到了他爸爸年轻时候的样子。

He looks a lot like his father. Looking at him, it’s just as if you’re looking at his father in his youth.

2）近 almost, up to

（例）中国有近五千年的文化历史。

China has almost five thousand years of cultural history.

（例）他年近半百。

He is almost fifty years old.

Sign Posts

Beihai Park

Beihai Park has been a playground for emperors for hundreds of years. Some attribute this site to Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China. The island at the southern end of the lake is said to have been created by excavating the lake on the orders of Kublai Khan, and this location is associated with his great palace. This would have been the centre of Beijing before the Forbidden city was build in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Unfortunately, all that remains of the Khan’s palace today s a large jar made of green jade.

Dominating this island, known as the Jade Islet, is a 36m high white dagoba, originally built in 1651 and then rebuilt in 1741. This is one of the most famous dagobas in all of China#

Stupas of all kinds appeared in China with the import of Buddhism. In Chinese, these are all known as 塔, including all styles of stupas and pagodas. Initially, stupas were said to contain some sort of Buddhist relic or ashes of a saintly Buddha. Other times, stupas were built to safekeep holy scriptures and various ritual implements. This leads to the terms 佛塔 Buddha’s pagodas or 宝塔 treasure pagodas.

The dagoba is a pagoda of Tibetan style and is sometimes called 喇嘛塔 after the Llamanist school of Buddhism. Mongolians have also been followers of this school, which originated in Tibet. So it makes sense that Kublai Khan would set about building a large dagoba in Beijing after selecing the city as the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. It was hoped that the dagoba would symbolize the regime’s divine power and keep the nation at peace.

Another attraction in Beihai Park is the 9 Dragon Wall 九龙壁, sculpted in 7 colours of glazed tile. Screen walls were common in traditional architecture for giving privacy to an entrance as well as serving as a symbol of rank. The number 9 and the dragon are both symbols of the Emperor. The screen wall in Beihai Park is considered the most splendid of three similar walls in China dating from the Ming dynasty. So the wall in Beihai Park is definitely worth seeing when you visit.

Substitution and Extension

1）一口气 the action happens continuously

（例）他渴坏了，一口气喝掉了一整瓶的水。

He was too thirsty. He drank a whole bottle of water at once.

2）顾不上 can't pay attention to

（例）他一工作起来就什么都忘了，常常连晚饭都顾不上吃。

When he starts working, he forgets everything else. He often even forgets to eat dinner.