The Great Wall 万里长城 - 14
The new Manchu dynasty tried something different with their neighbors, diplomacy 1. Here in their lovely Summer Palace, they greeted delegations 2 from all over the Eastern world. Attendance was compulsory 3. Neighbors were expected to pay tribute to the emperor. This was Manchu diplomacy. But guests had to be comfortable. The emperor even sent officials to Tibet to draw and measure the Dalai Lama's residence and then built a scale model to make his guest feel at home. The Dalai Lama (达赖喇嘛) never made the trip.
But the other great spiritual leader of Tibet, the Panchen Lama (班禅喇嘛) did pay a visit. So great was his prestige that according to Tibetan sources, he was asked by the emperor to sit on the dragon throne, a totally unique privilege. Chinese sources pictured him in a rather more humble 4 pose, offering the emperor a sacred scarf. And for him, the emperor had his palace in Tibet faithfully reconstructed. It was certainly cheaper to build these great temples with their sinuous 5 golden dragons than to man and maintain the Great Wall. The emperor even went so far as to learn Tibetan, so as to talk to his visitor without translators. And he ordered all the main public inscriptions 6 to be in all the languages of the Manchu Empire: Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian and Manchu. Many monks 7 settled here and still continue to worship, long after the last emperor had left his throne.
And as for the Great Wall, it was allowed to fall into ruin once again. A defense 8 no longer needed. The only wall the Manchu dynasty cared about was the one that ran right around their palace, built to protect the wild game they loved to hunt. The Great Wall, for the first time in its history, was of no value to the Chinese people. And now the wall's last intriguing 9 chapter was about to be written. The Great Wall, the longest and most astonishing of all the world's ancient wonders lasted 2,000 years, but it was only in the last 200 years that the West got a good look at it. In 1793, the British dispatched a diplomatic expedition to China, led by Lord Macartney (马戛尔尼), in an effort to open it up to British trade. When Macartney stopped to admire the wall as he journeyed across China, his Chinese guides were puzzled. Why would anyone be interested in the pile of ancient stones? One member of the team drew a sketch 10 of the wall, one that was reproduced thousands of times and is still how most people view the Great Wall today. Every ambassador to China received by the emperor was obliged to kowtow, that is to bow three times each accompanied by three acts of prostration 11, the forehead touching 12 the ground nine times in all.
scale model: A scale model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object being represented. Very often the scale model is smaller than the original and used as a guide to making the object in full size
kowtow: kneel and touch one's forehead to the ground
prostrate: throw oneself flat on the ground in reverence or submission
- The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
- This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
- In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
- The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
- Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
- Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。
- In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
- Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
- The river wound its sinuous way across the plain.这条河蜿蜒曲折地流过平原。
- We moved along the sinuous gravel walks,with the great concourse of girls and boys.我们沿着曲折的石径,随着男孩女孩汇成的巨流一路走去。
- Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
- The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。
- The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
- He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
- The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
- These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
- It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
- I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
- a state of prostration brought on by the heat 暑热导致的虚脱状态
- A long period of worrying led to her nervous prostration. 长期的焦虑导致她的神经衰弱。