中華文化英文講系列（3）：四九城里看北京

北京有800多年的建都史，是中國(guó)四大古都之一。作為國(guó)際文化交流的中心，北京每天都要接待來(lái)自世界各地的友人。很多來(lái)中國(guó)旅游的國(guó)際友人都把北京作為第一站，北京也是最重要的目標(biāo)游玩城市之一。除了游客，還有許多外國(guó)人在北京工作、學(xué)習(xí)。不管他們來(lái)北京做什么，了解這座對(duì)于他們來(lái)說(shuō)略顯神秘的古都，感受古都獨(dú)有的歷史文化神韻，都是他們共同的向往。我們周?chē)惨欢ㄓ幸恍┩鈬?guó)朋友，因此總免不了要帶他們品品小吃，串串胡同，講講歷史，聊聊文化。

北京建都肇始和歷經(jīng)朝代

北京作為封建朝代的都城，在漫長(zhǎng)的歷史中形成了特有的城市規(guī)劃，在城門(mén)和城市布局上大有講究。本期文章中，我們主要介紹北京的“皇城”和“內(nèi)城九門(mén)”。在英文介紹中，除描述歷史事件用過(guò)去時(shí)態(tài)，描述城市格局與一般事實(shí)都用現(xiàn)在時(shí)態(tài)。

史學(xué)界一般將1153年金朝完顏亮遷都燕京作為北京建都的起點(diǎn)，當(dāng)時(shí)的北京被稱(chēng)為“中都”。此后，北京作為都城歷經(jīng)元、明、清數(shù)個(gè)封建朝代，將皇城和城門(mén)文化推向了頂峰。

在向外國(guó)友人介紹北京的建都史時(shí)，歷史溯源不需過(guò)細(xì)，主要是讓他們有大致的時(shí)間輪廓和概念。特別要注意的是，“中都”是有明確意義的名稱(chēng)，而不僅僅是一個(gè)地名，因此要做意義上的介紹。

城門(mén)在北京城的歷史上扮演著重要角色，因此民間又將老北京城稱(chēng)為“四九城”，其中“四”指的是皇城四門(mén)，而“九”是指內(nèi)城九門(mén)。

上面這些內(nèi)容可以用如下這段英文來(lái)表達(dá)。

The history of Beijing as the capital can be traced back to the year 1153 in the Jin Dynasty. Beijing， then， was called “Zhongdu，” meaning “the middle capital，” as the earlier capital of Jin had been in the far north of China. After Jin， the successive Yuan， Ming and Qing Dynasties all made Beijing their capital and worked on the long-term construction of the imperial city and the inner city with city gates. Since the city gates have played an important role in the history of Beijing， the local people often call Beijing “the City of Four and Nine，” which refers to the four gates of the imperial city and the nine gates of the inner city.

皇城布局

皇城以紫禁城為中心，東起東安門(mén)，西到西安門(mén)，南起天安門(mén)，北至地安門(mén)，包括了中南海（紫禁城以西）、景山（紫禁城以北）、北海（中南海以北）等迄今仍保留的建筑群和園林群。在天安門(mén)至午門(mén)的東西兩側(cè)，東邊是太廟（即現(xiàn)在的勞動(dòng)人民文化宮），西邊是社稷壇（即現(xiàn)在的中山公園）。此處方位較多，涉及的建筑群也比較多，給外國(guó)友人講解時(shí)最好配地圖。

所謂“四九城”之“四”即指圍繞皇城的這四門(mén)。在介紹這四門(mén)時(shí)，也應(yīng)注意介紹它們名稱(chēng)的意義。“安”是指“安定”，這四門(mén)意在體現(xiàn)“東西、天地都安定”的良好愿望。

中南海和北海的命名與其地理位置有關(guān)—天安門(mén)以西與其南北平行的位置上，從南往北依次是南海、中海和北海。

以上內(nèi)容若用英文表達(dá)，可以參考如下兩段話(huà)。

The centre of the imperial city is the Forbidden City， in which the Emperors worked， lived and performed ceremonies. The four gates of the imperial city are located at the four sides—east， west， north and south， and their names all bear the same good wish of stability. The east and west gates are called stability of the east and west respectively， while the north and south gates are named stability of earth and stability of heaven.

To the north of the Forbidden City， there are two royal back gardens， now Jingshan Park and Beihai Park. Hai means a great lake， and Bei refers to the north. South of Beihai and west of the Forbidden City there is a royal palace called Zhongnanhai， meaning the middle and south lake. To the southeast of the Forbidden City is the Imperial Ancestral Temple， now known as Beijing Working People’s Culture Palace， and to the southwest of the Forbidden City is the Altar of Land and Grain， now known as Zhongshan Park in commemoration of Dr. Sun Yet-sen.

北京城市布局和內(nèi)城九門(mén)

北京城市布局是以中軸線為基礎(chǔ)的對(duì)稱(chēng)設(shè)計(jì)，這一點(diǎn)在北京的地名上也多有體現(xiàn)，很多地名都是東西對(duì)稱(chēng)的。皇帝位于中心，象征至高無(wú)上的權(quán)力和地位。城市設(shè)計(jì)中也體現(xiàn)天人合一的思想，因此有天安門(mén)、地安門(mén)，體現(xiàn)了天地安寧的良好愿望。同時(shí)，為了祈禱風(fēng)調(diào)雨順，農(nóng)業(yè)豐收，在內(nèi)城的南北兩端設(shè)有天壇和地壇，供皇帝祭祀祈福。為了體現(xiàn)對(duì)太陽(yáng)和月亮的敬畏，在內(nèi)城的東西兩端還設(shè)立了日壇和月壇，供皇帝祭祀日月。

這段內(nèi)容可以用英文表達(dá)如下。

The basic principle of the design of the city is symmetry with its axis running through the inner city. The Emperor lived at the centre， on the axis， to claim sanctification and sovereign power. Areas are laid out symmetrically in all four corners—north， south， east and west. Chinese people have always believed that heaven， earth and man are integral parts of nature. Therefore， in addition to the north and south gates being named the stability of earth and heaven respectively， there is also a Temple of Heaven and an Altar of Earth for the Emperor to offer sacrifices and pray for protection from natural disasters and also for good harvests. In awe of the sun and the moon， there is also an Altar of the Sun and an Altar of the Moon for the Emperor to offer blessings of peace and prosperity for the state.

北京內(nèi)城共有九門(mén)，其中正陽(yáng)門(mén)居中，為皇帝專(zhuān)用，主要是春冬兩季祭祀之用。冬往天壇祭天祈年，春往先農(nóng)壇親歷躬耕。其他各門(mén)從南至北基本東西對(duì)稱(chēng)。每個(gè)門(mén)都有其特定的功能，也有一些小故事。

這些內(nèi)容可以用英文表達(dá)如下。

The inner city is enclosed within nine city gates， of which the Zhengyang Gate was exclusively for the Emperor. The Zhengyang Gate is on the south side of the Forbidden City， and is located on the axis. In winter， the Emperor went to the Temple of Heaven from Zhengyang Gate to pray for a rich harvest in the following year. In spring， he went to the Altar of Ancestor Farmer from Zhengyang Gate to cultivate crops by himself to encourage agriculture. The other eight gates are all placed symmetrically in the east and west and each gate had its own function， leaving behind its own stories in history.

內(nèi)城其他八門(mén)在歷史上的功能主要是運(yùn)輸物資，也有個(gè)別城門(mén)是軍隊(duì)出征、回朝專(zhuān)用。具體如下表所示。

要介紹內(nèi)城其他各門(mén)的功能，可以參考如下一段英文。

Apart from Zhengyang Gate， the other eight gates were mainly for the transportation of goods. Some were also for the troops to go out to fight battles and to return victoriously. Desheng Gate， meaning the gate of triumph， was the gate for troops to set out. Anding Gate， with the wishes of stability and peace， was the gate through which troops returned after victories. Chongwen Gate was where heavy taxes were imposed， so in ancient times， in order to evade them， merchants usually brought their goods at night， and secretly climb over the city wall. The function of a gate followed the principle of proximity—goods were transported into the city through the gate closest to the goods’ place of origin. Coal was produced in Mentougou， so Fucheng Gate was the nearest gate when coal was being delivered to the inner city. The royal family drank spring water from Yuquan Mountain， so Xizhi Gate was the one for water.

歲月變遷，帶走了所有老城門(mén)和城墻的故事，使它們只能留在歷史和記憶中。但是，那些輝煌的文化歷久彌新，依然植根于新老北京人乃至每一個(gè)中國(guó)人的心中。