中国文化英语教程Unit 4

1、Unit 4 The Temple of Heaven:Reverence with Awe and Gratitudep Lead-inp Text studyp ExercisesContentLead-inp Introductionp Ceremonial Offerings of the Emperorp Holding Nature in Awep Humanity and Heaven in CommunionText studyIntroductionThe Temple of Heaven was constructed during the reign of Emperor

2、 Yongle (r.1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and completed in 1420, about the same time as the Forbidden City.When Emperor Yongle moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1420, it was at the Temple of Heaven that he performed the important ritual of paying tribute to Heaven and Earth.E

3、mperor Yongle Introduction Nearly 600 years later, the Temple of Heaven still stands intact in the south of Beijing. It not only presents a beautiful spectacle, but also represents the Chinese pursuit of harmony between Heaven and mortals.IntroductionCeremonial Offerings of the EmperorCeremonial Off

4、erings of the EmperorCeremonial Offerings of the EmperorNote:祈年殿是皇帝每年正月上辛日举行祈谷礼的地方，据说设计时以圆形平面象征天，以四龙井柱象征四季，以十二根金柱和檐柱分别象征十二月和十二时辰。Ceremonial Offerings of the Emperor圜丘坛全景A birds-eye view of the Circular Mound AltarNote: 圜丘坛为每年冬至日祭天处，为汉白玉石砌的三层露天圆坛，围绕着石雕栏杆。Ceremonial Offerings of the EmperorCeremonial

5、Offerings of the EmperorCeremonial Offerings of the EmperorTraditional Chinese view on heavenCeremonial Offerings of the Emperor And calamity (灾害) was taken as the punishment from Heaven. In the second year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (r. 1875-1908), the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was burn

6、ed down in a big fire. The emperor lost his composure (镇静) at the news and all the ministers turned ashen, believing the disaster to be a bad omen (预兆) from Heaven.Ceremonial Offerings of the EmperorCeremonial Offerings of the EmperorHolding Nature in AweThe colorWhile blue is the thematic color, th

7、e three main structures of the Temple of Heaven all stand on triple-terraced white foundations. The colors used invoke a strong sense of purity and sublimity (祟高)qualities the Chinese attribute to Heaven.The layoutCareful visitors will notice the centripetal (向心的) structures of the two main building

8、s: the Circular Mound Altar and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.This type of architecture gives one a sense of reaching up to Heaven while ascending the steps.Holding Nature in AweHumanity and Heaven in CommunionAncient Chinese believed that people could communicate with Heaven, and the Temple

9、of Heaven was built to enable this. The echo of sound at the Circular Mound Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇) are evidence of what our forebears believed to be communicating with Heaven.Humanity and Heaven in Communion皇穹宇：祭天所用“皇天上帝”牌位平时即贮于此，是座圆形单檐攒尖蓝琉璃瓦顶建筑，殿有八根内柱，上部挑出镏金斗拱，承圆形天花，宛如伞盖。If yo

10、u stand on the Heavenly Heart Stone on the Circular Mound Altar, you can hear your voice rise from underneath your feet and echo back from the wall around the Altar. The resounding echo, according to the designers, represents Heavens reply to whatever the speaker asks for.Humanity and Heaven in Comm

11、unionWhen you stand inside the outer wall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and speak into the wall, a friend at a point farther away along the wall can hear your voice; it resembles making a phone call to someone. Humanity and Heaven in CommunionEcho wallHumanity and Heaven in CommunionThis phenomen

12、on, due to the much shorter length of the sound waves compared to the radius of the round wall, gave rise to the nickname echo wall for the outer rim of the Vault.Exercisesp Comprehensionp Communicationp ApplicationComprehensionl. Skimming and ScanningGo through the passage quickly and judge whether

13、 the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage._1) The Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City were completed almost at the same time._2) The emperor used to make offerings to Heaven at the temple twice a year._3) Ancient Chinese people regarded disasters as punishment

14、from Heaven._4) The main color of the buildings for the temple is yellow._5) You can reach up to Heaven while ascending the steps of the buildings._6) According to the designers, the Heavenly Heart Stone can give Heavens reply to whatever the mortals ask for.Comprehension1. Read the passage carefull

15、y and fill in the following blanks with the missing information. 1) The area of the Temple of Heaven is times that of the Forbidden City. 2) The emperor might also come to the Temple of Heaven in times of drought or flood in order to . 3) Our ancestors were always grateful to Heaven because _ .II. C

16、areful ReadingComprehensionnearly fivepray for assistance from HeavenHeaven was more inclined toward love andtolerance, punishing people only occasionally 4) To the Chinese people, _ are qualities of Heaven. 6) The principle of the echo wall is that _ _. 5) The centripetal structures of the two main

17、 buildings give one a sense of _ _.Comprehensionpurity and sublimity reaching up to Heaven while ascending the steps compared to The radius of the round wall, the length of the sound waves is much shorter 1) triple-terraced5) tablet2) foundations3) tiers4) flagstone三层的三层的台基台基排排石板石板檐板檐板2. The followi

18、ng are the words and expressions related to Temple of Heaven. Translate them into Chinese.Comprehension 6) altar7) echo wall8) thematic color9) centripetal structures祭坛祭坛回音壁回音壁主色调主色调向心结构向心结构ComprehensionThe following is a tour guide to the Temple of Heaven. The paragraphs are given in the wrong orde

19、r. You are required to reorganize these paragraphs into a coherent passage. The map below is for your reference.CommunicationCommunicationA. The temples main building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where the emperor prayed for good harvests. It is a magnificent triple-gabled circular build

20、ing, 30 meters in diameter and 38 meters tall, built on three levels of marble stone base. The building is completely wooden, without any nails.B. The Imperial Vault of Heaven is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Praye

21、r for Good Harvests and resembles it in shape, but is smaller. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, that can transmit sounds over long distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge, a 360-meter-long upward walkway that slowly asc

22、ends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer.CommunicationC. The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing, in Xuanwu District. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply an

23、d graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the worlds great civilizations. The symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on the architecture and city planning in the Far East over many centuries.CommunicationD. The temple c

24、onsists of two parts: the inner altar and the outer altar. The main buildings are in the inner altar on the north-south axis. At the southern end are the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar, and at the northern end are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Hall of Imperial Zenith.CommunicationE. Around the Hall of Abstinence are two imperial ditches and they are circled by a 163-bay walkway. The Abstinence Bronze Man Pavilion and Time and Memorial Tablets Pav