Travel in Chinese Lesson 87 Mongolian Yurt 1

内蒙古草原

小杰：爸爸，爸爸。

人豪：哎，小杰。

小杰：好看吧，我在那边采的。

人豪：真好看。小杰，草原好玩儿吧。

小杰：好玩儿。这儿又大又漂亮，还有那么多的花。你闻闻，好香啊。

人豪：嗯 ，是香。

小杰：爸爸，我们别回家了，就住在这儿吧。

人豪：哈哈，那要是我们住在这儿，你不想妈妈啊？

小杰：我们可以把妈妈接到这儿来和我们一起住啊，然后盖一间大房子。

人豪：那你想盖一间什么样的房子呢？

小杰：嗯，我看那边有很多白色的房子，我们也可以盖一间那样的房子啊。

人豪：白色的房子？哦，那样的房子应该叫蒙古包。

小杰：蒙古包？“包”是“包子”的包吗？

人豪：哈哈，是倒是一个字，不过这意思可就完全不一样了。这里的“包”是满语，是“家”和“室”的意思。

小杰：我明白了，蒙古包就是蒙古人的家。那呼和浩特的意思就是蒙古的城市了？

人豪：你真聪明。不过“浩特”不是满语，是蒙语，是城市的意思。

小杰：真好玩儿！爸爸，我想看看蒙古包里边是什么样的。

人豪：爸爸有一个朋友就住在前边的蒙古包，走，带你去看看吧。

小杰：太好了。

(蒙古包外)

爸爸：小杰你看，到了，就是这儿。

人豪：塔赛奴！欢迎，欢迎！

爸爸：塔赛奴！我的好朋友，好久不见了。这是女儿乌兰吧？

人豪：是啊。

爸爸：这是我女儿小杰，快叫叔叔。

小杰：叔叔好。

人豪：呦，都长那么高了。

小杰：叔叔，塔赛奴是什么意思啊？我怎么一点儿都听不懂啊？

人豪：这塔赛奴是蒙古语，就是Hello的意思。

小杰：这么有用的一句话，我一定学会。塔赛奴，叔叔，我说得对吗？

朋友：对对，来，请到屋里坐吧。

人豪：好，走！
 

Translation:

Xiaojie: Dad, Dad!

Renhao: Xiaojie!

Xiaojie: Aren’t they pretty? I picked them over there.

Renhao: Very pretty. Xiaojie, isn’t it fun at the grasslands?

Xiaojie: It’s great fun. It’s so big and beautiful here, and there’re so many flowers. Smell them! They’re so fragrant.

Renhao: Yes. They do smell good.

Xiaojie: Dad, let’s not go home, and just live here instead.

Renhao: Haha, but if we lived here, wouldn’t you miss your mum？

Xiaojie: We can bring mum here to live with us, and then build a big house.

Renhao: What kind of house would you like to build？

Xiaojie: Hmm, I see lots of white houses over there. We could build one like that, too.

Renhao: White houses？Oh, houses like that are called Mongolian yurts.

Xiaojie: Mongolian yurt？Is that the same character as “bao” in “baozi”?

Renhao: Haha, it is the same character, but it means something totally different. Here“bao” is the Manchurian term for “family” and “room”.

Xiaojie: I see. A Mongolian yurt is a Mongolian person’s home. In that case, does “Hohhot” mean “Mongolian city”？

Renhao: You are so sharp. But “Hot” isn’t Manchurian; it’s Mongolian, and it means “city”.

Xiaojie: Interesting！Dad, I want to see what a Mongolian yurt is like on the inside.

Renhao: I have a friend who lives in a Mongolian yurt just up ahead. Come on. I’ll take you for a look.

Xiaojie: Great!

Renhao: Look, Xiaojie, here we are.

Friend: Tasanu ！Welcome！

Renhao: Tasanu！Long time no see, my good friend. Is this your daughter Wulan?

Friend: Yes.

Renhao: This is my daughter Xiaojie. This is your uncle.

Xiaojie: Hi, uncle.

Friend: Wow, you ’re already so tall!

Xiaojie: Uncle, what does Tasanu mean？ How come I don’t have a clue what you said?

Renhao: Tasanu is Mongolian, and it means “hello”.

Xiaojie: I definitely want to remember a sentence as useful as that one. Tasanu! Uncle, am I saying it correctly？

Friend: That’s right. Come on, take a seat inside.

Renhao: OK! Let’s go!
 

Bookmarks

1、要是 if

（例）要是时间来得及的话，不如我们坐船去那儿吧。

If we have enough time, why don't we go there by boat?

（例）要是我今天不带伞，肯定就被淋成落汤鸡了。

If I haven't brought an umbrella today, I would have been soaked in the rain like a chicken in the soup.

Sign Posts

Mongolian Yurt

The most picturesque feature in the vast plains of Inner Mongolia are the traditional homes known as yurts that you will find scattered across the grasslands.

The Mongolian Yurt, also called a ger, is a domed tent that has been used by Mongolian nomads for centuries. A circular wood frame at the top is supported by slim wooden poles about two meters long that extend to the top of the walls. The walls themselves are an interwoven latticework structure. The frame is covered with a thick piece of felt fastened from the outside of the yurt with ropes. The felt strip is usually white and decorated with red or blue. The product is a beautiful yurt with an adjustable opening on top which provides both light and ventilation. According to tradition, the wooden door usually faces south or southeast.

Mongolian yurts are ideally suited to the traditional nomadic lifestyle of this region, and is both beautiful and practical. The component parts of the yurt can be easily disassembled and transported as families migrate twice a year. Its domed structure prevents the accumulation of snow or water and enables the structure to withstand wind storms. The layers of felt can be adjusted according to the temperature, and the bottom of the felt can be rolled up for ventilation. ?The yurts are cool in summer and warm in winter.

One can’t mention Inner Mongolia without talking of the most famous Mongolian of all, Genghis Khan, who established the Mongol nation, conquered most of the known world, and earned the reputation as one of the great military leaders of all time. once Khan had eliminated all opposition in his native territory and effectively established the Mongol nation, he looked elsewher to expand his empire. In 1206 he invaded China and within two years breached the "Great Wall." Within several years he had conquered all of China and the Korean Peninsula. In 1219, he turned his army westward and soon conquered the regions that today include Iraq and Iran, parts of India and Pakistan, Russia and Eastern Europe. By 1226, Genghis Khan ruled an empire that stretched from Poland in the west to Korea in the east and from Vietnam in the south to Russia's Arctic Ocean shores in the north. Khan's empire, known in Chinese history as the Yuan Dynasty, lasted for more than 150 years after his death due to able leadership by his sons and grandsons.

Substitution and Extension

1、sth+倒是+sth (v or adj)，concede a point, often followed by 不过/但是 to show change

（例）这个房间好倒是好，不过租金太贵了。

This room is admittedly quite good. But the rent is too expensive.

2、一点儿都（也）not the least bit, not at all

（例）我穿这件衣服一点儿都不好看。/一点儿也不好看。

This clothing doesn't look good on me at all.