Traditional Cultural Content and Interpreting English

In the north of China, there is an ancient city wall 6700 kilometers long. The Great Wall of China, which is now well known, starts from Jiayuguan in Gansu Province in the west and ends at Shanhaiguan in Hebei Province in the east. As one of the eight wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China has become a symbol of the Chinese nation and its culture.

With the construction of the Great Wall, many beautiful legends and stories have happened, and since then, these stories have spread all over the country. Stories that happened in the construction process abound, such as the story of Meng Jiangnu and the legend of Jiayuguan. The story of Meng Jiangnv is the most famous and widely circulated among all the legends about the Great Wall. This story happened in the Qin Dynasty (2265438-206 BC). It tells how Meng Jiangnv's crying made a section of the Great Wall collapse. Fan Qiliang, Meng Jiangnv's husband, was arrested by federal officials to build the Great Wall. Meng Jiangnv didn't hear anything from him after he left, so she began to look for him. Unfortunately, when she arrived at the Great Wall, she found her husband dead. Hearing the bad news, she cried her eyes out. Her howling caused part of the Great Wall to collapse. This story shows that the Great Wall is the product of thousands of civilians in China.

Another legend about Jiayuguan tells the story of a craftsman named Yi in the Ming Dynasty (BC 1368- 1644), who was proficient in arithmetic. He calculated that 99,999 bricks were needed to build Jiayuguan. The supervisor didn't believe him, saying that if they miscalculated even one brick, all the workers would be punished with hard labor for three years. After the project was completed, a brick was left behind the gate of Xiwang. The supervisor was glad to see the bricks and was ready to punish them. Yi deliberately said that this brick was used by the gods to repair the wall. A slight movement will lead to the collapse of the wall. Therefore, the brick has been there and has never been moved. You can still find it on the tower of Jiayuguan today.

In addition to the story of building the Great Wall mentioned above, there are a lot of stories about the current scenic spots. A famous legend is beacon tower. This story happened in the Western Zhou Dynasty (BC 1 1 century-BC 7 1 1 century). You Wang has a queen named Bos, who is very beautiful. The king likes her very much, but Bos never smiles. An official suggested that lighting the beacon tower would frighten the king's subjects and possibly make the queen smile. King, you like this idea. The subjects were fooled, and Bao Si smiled at the chaotic scene. Later, when the enemy invaded the Western Zhou Dynasty, you Wang set fire to the beacon tower and asked for help. No subjects came to help because they had been fooled once before. Thus, Zhou Wang was killed by the enemy and the Western Zhou Dynasty came to an end.

Beautiful stories and legends about the Great Wall help to maintain the vitality of China's history and culture. In every dynasty after the Great Wall was built, more stories were created and spread.

history

No one can say exactly when the Great Wall was built, but it is generally believed that it originated in the early Zhou Dynasty and was a military fortress to resist the invasion of border tribes. In the late Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC), the vassal states expanded their defense projects and built "huge" buildings to prevent attacks from other countries. It was not until the Qin Dynasty that Qin Shihuang (known as Qin Shihuang or the first emperor in western Renye Fang) connected the independent city walls built by Qin, Yan and Zhao to form a defense system on the northern border of the country. After the emperor unified the whole country in 2 14 BC, he ordered the construction of the Great Wall. It took about ten years to complete. The Great Wall starts from Zhao Lin in the west (in the east of Gansu Province today) and ends in Liaodong in the east (in Jilin Province today). The Great Wall is not only a fortification in the north, but also a symbol of the emperor's power.

Since the Qin Dynasty, Xiongnu, an ancient tribe living in the north of China, frequently harassed the northern border of the country. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (Emperor Wu Han) made three expeditions to Xiongnu in BC 127, BC 12 1 year and BC19. The Huns were driven to the northernmost part of the Gobi. In order to maintain the security of Hexi Corridor (today's Gansu Province), Qin Shihuang ordered the Great Wall to extend westward to Hexi Corridor and Xinjiang. In Dunhuang, Yumen and Yangguan, you can still see the ruins of beacon towers and fragments of the Han wall. A recent report shows that the site of the Great Wall of Han Dynasty was discovered near Lop Nur in Xinjiang, China.

In the subsequent Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui Dynasties, further construction and expansion were carried out.

At present, the Great Wall in Beijing is mainly a relic of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During this period, workers used bricks and granite to build the foundation of the city wall, and built complex designs and passages at strategic locations. In order to strengthen military control over the northern border, the Ming authorities divided the Great Wall into nine regions, each controlled by a town (garrison headquarters). The Ming Great Wall started from Yalu River (in today's Heilongjiang Province), passed through today's Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Ningxia, and reached Gansu. Total length 12700 Li (more than 5000 kilometers). Shanhaiguan and Jiayuguan are two well-preserved passes at both ends.

Today, the Great Wall has become a must-see attraction for every visitor to China. Few people can't help but say "Wow!" When they stood on the top of the beacon tower and looked at the dragon. For centuries, the Great Wall served successive dynasties as an effective military defense. However, only when a dynasty is weakened from the inside can the invaders from the north advance and conquer. The Mongols (Yuan Dynasty,1271-kloc-0/368) and Manchus (Qing Dynasty,1644-191kloc-0/) were able to seize power.

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The Great Wall was first built in the Spring and Autumn Period, with a history of more than 2,000 years. The Great Wall, known as the Great Wall of Wan Li, is actually more than 6,000 kilometers long, 6-7 meters high and 4-5 meters wide. There is a watchtower every few hundred meters along the Great Wall. We in China are proud of the Great Wall, because it is one of the wonders of the world and represents China ... Today, the Great Wall has become a famous scenic spot in the world. Every year, thousands of people, not only from China, but also from all over the world, visit it.