中英雙語話史記 第40期:秦長城

Qin Great Wall

秦長城

After Qin Emperor Shihuang unified China, he sent forces led by general Meng Tian to suppress the Huns, and gained much land.

秦始皇統一中國後，他派將軍蒙恬爲首的部隊去鎮壓匈奴，並獲得遼闊的土地。

In order to guard against the attacks from the Huns, Meng Tian led soldiers to build the world-renowned Great Wall.

爲防範來自匈奴的攻擊，蒙恬率領戰士建造了舉世聞名的萬里長城。

In the Warring States Period (475----221B.C.), many states built the Great Wall as fortification.

在戰國時期 (公元前475-221年)，許多國家建造了長城作爲防禦工事。

The states of Qin, Zhao and Yan all once built some sections to resist the Huns invasions.

秦、趙、燕都曾建造部分長城以抵禦匈奴入侵。

It was not until the Qin Dynasty (221----206B.C.) that Meng Tian connected the separate walls to form a defensive system on the northern border.

直到秦朝(公元前221----206年)蒙恬纔將分散的牆壁連接起來，在北部邊境形成了一個防禦性的系統。

It took about nine years to finish and the wall stretched from Lintao (in the eastern part of today’s Gansu Prov-ince) in the west to Liaodong (in today’s Jilin Province) in the east.

這個龐大的工程耗費了九年的時間才得以完成，長城從臨洮(今甘肅省東部) 西部一直延伸到遼東(今吉林省)東部。

The 5 000-kilometer-long wall not only served as a defense in the north but also symbolized the power of the emperor.

綿延5000公里的長城不僅僅是北方的防禦工事，更代表着帝國的權力。

Further construction and extensions were made in the successive Han (206B.C.----220A.D.), Northern Wei (386----534), Northern Qi (550----577) and Sui (581----618) dynasties.

其後的漢朝（公元前206年----公元220年），北魏（386----534）北齊（550----577）以及隋朝（581----618）都對長城進行了進一步的修繕和擴建。

And in terms of both length and quality, the later constructions were better than that made in Qin.

無論從長度還是質量上來看，這些後世的工程都比秦朝的要精良得多。

The present Great Wall in Beijing is mainly remains from the Ming Dynasty (1368----1644).

現今在北京保存下來的長城主要是明長城。

During this period, bricks and granite were used when the workers laid the foundation of the wall and sophisticated designs and passes were built in the places of strategic importance.

明朝時，石磚和花崗岩被用於建造長城的地基部分，而精密複雜的設計和關口則被建造在有重要戰略意義的位置。

To strengthen the military control of the northern frontiers, the Ming authorities divided the Great Wall into nine zones and placed each under the control of a Zhen (garrison headquarters).

爲加強對北方邊境的軍事控制，明朝廷將長城分爲九個區，將其安排在每個鎮 (駐軍總部)的控制下。

The Ming Wall starts from Yalujiang River (in today’s Heilongjiang Province), via today’s Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, to total length reaches 12700 li (over 5 000 kilometers).

明長城東起鴨綠江(今黑龍江省境內)，經過遼寧、 河北、 內蒙古、山西、陝西、寧夏，綿延12700裏（超過5000公里），西止甘肅。

The Shanhaiguan Pass and the Jiayuguarv Pass are two well-preserved passes at either end.

山海關和嘉峪關市迄今保存相對完好的兩個關口，它們坐落在長城的兩端。

Its height varied from 5 to 10 meters and watch houses were built every 130 meters.

長城的高度在5到10米之間，每隔130米就有一個瞭望塔。

If enemies came to invade, hays blended with wolf shit was bum in the daytime, the smoke of which would rise very high so that sentinels could get the warn.

如果有敵人入侵，乾草摻雜狼糞，這在白天這可以充當送信兵——其燃燒後煙會高高地升起，哨兵因此得到了遠方的警告。

At night, firewood combined with sulphur would make so bright a fire that sentinels miles away could get noticed.

到了晚上，木柴硫一起燃燒會發出明亮的火焰，甚至幾公里外的哨兵都可以注意到。

We can see frie remains of the Qin Wall today.

我們在今天還可以看到秦長城的遺蹟。

Five miles to the north-west of Datong in Shanxi Province there is a purple wall whose name is Purple Pass.

距今山西大同5英里外的西北方有一座紫色的長城，名曰紫關。

And ten kilometers west to the Minxian city in Gansu Province we can also find remains of the Qin Wall.

甘肅省岷縣往西十公里處我們也可以找到的秦長城遺蹟。

The famous Badaling Great Wall we see today was built in the Ming Dynasty.

而我們今天看到的著名的八達嶺長城始建於明朝。