關於北京胡同的英語美文
北京胡同是歷史發展的印記,從元代的建立,明朝的繁榮,清朝的鼎盛,民國的衰落,直至今天的根本性變革,北京胡同的存在和變化都是值得關注的話題。小編精心收集了，供大家欣賞學習!
篇1
HUTONG TOUR IN BEIJNG
A "hutong" is an ancient city alleyway or lane typical of ancient Beijing,where hutongs once ran into the thousands.
Hutongs were first built around the walled imperial compound known as the Forbidden City.The majority of these alleyways were built during the Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasties ***1271—1911***.At the height of each era,the emperor arranged the residential areas surrounding his moat according to a system of etiquette hailing back to the Zhou Dynasty ***C.1100—221 B.C.***.
At its heart was the Forbidden City,surrounded by main roadways travelling east-west and north-south.There were originally two kinds of hutongs.The first were grouped to the east and west of the Forbidden City and laid in an orderly design alongside main roadways.Most of these hutongs housed members of the royal family,officials,eunuchs and aristocrats.The second type of hutong was a crude version of the first,located far to the north and south of the sprawling imperial compound,inhabited by merchants and commoners.
What both had in common was the type of structure lining the alleyways.The "siheyuan" known in English as a quadrangle,or courtyard complex,invariably comprised four main buildings facing each compass point and surrounded by a high wall.The size and design of each complex reflected the social status of the inhabitants.
Wealthy families often boasted several walled courtyards surrounded by a main wall,each building decorated with intricately carved and painted beams and pillars.
The quadrangles of the poor were of a much simpler construction with small gates and low ceilings.Beijing's meandering hutongs are passageways formed by thousands of closely arranged quadrangles of different sizes.The main buildings of most of these structures face south for optimum sunlight,especially during the bitter Beijing winters.Because of this,the majority of the city's hutongs run east to west.Between the major hutongs meandered narrow alleys running north to south to allow convenient passage through what was once a vast maze of gray brick and tiled roofs.
Old Beijing is in essence a magnified quadrangle,symmetrically arranged and surrounded by a high city wall that was torn down half a century ago to make way for a beltway ringing the increasingly modern capital.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty,China's economy was in tatters.But pleasure-loving Beijing continued to cater to the emperor and his hangers-on.Life was mostly confined to the hutongs.The quadrangle reflected the way of life and social culture of the times.
篇2
Beijing 's hutongs,lanes or alleys formed by lines of siheyuan ***a compound with houses around a courtyard*** where old Beijing residents live,witness the vicissitude of the city.
The word "hutong" originates from the word "hottog" which means "well" in Mongolian.Villagers dig out a well and inhabited there.Hutong means a lane or alley,in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan ***a compound with houses around a courtyard*** where old Beijing residents live.Be care not to lost in it!It was recorded that in the Yuan a 36-meter-wide road was called a standard street,a 18-meter-wide one was a small street and a 9-meter-wide lane was named a hutong.In fact,Beijing 's hutongs are inequable ranging from 40 centimeter to 10 meter in wide.The longest has more than 20 turns.Either in east-west or north-south,Beijing 's hutongs varied as slant,half or blind hutongs" cul-de-sacs.The gray-tiled houses and deep alleys crossing with each other in identical appearance like a maze,you will find it much fun to walk through but be care not to lost yourself.
篇3
Hutong老北京胡同
"Hutong"，H-U-T-O-N-G what does Hutong mean?
According to experts，the word Hutong originated from Mongolian language meaning"Well".In ancient times，people tended to gather and live around wells. So the original meaning of Hutong should be"a place where people gather and live."Another explanation says that during the Yuan Dynasty，about 13th century，residential areas in the city were divided into many divisions. Between the smaller divisions were passageways for people to travel through. And those passageways also functioned as isolation belts against fire risks. In Mongolian language，passageways of this kind were called Hutong. But no matter what Hutong exactly means，one thing is for sure，that is，Hutong first appeared in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty. In the early 13th century，a Mongolian tribe from the north became very strong. Led by Genghis Khan，the Mongolian occupied Beijing，the capital of the Jin Dynasty. In the year 1271，Kubla Khan，the grandson of Genghis Khan，ounded Yuan Dynasty and set Beijing as the capital city in the following year. Unfortunately，the old city was completely destroyed during the war. So they had to rebuild it. In old China，all the structures and roads were required to be symmetrical. So the city was well designed. First，they had to find a center，and then built a regular square city. The layout of the city was very much like a chessboard. About 50 residential areas were constructed，with straight roads and Hutongs in between. At the time，there was a clear definition for avenue，street and Hutong. A 37-metre-wide road was called an avenue，an 18-metre-wide one was called a street，and a 9-metre-wide lane was called a Hutong. Most of today's Hutong were formed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties that followed. Nobody knows exactly how many Hutongs there are in nowadays Beijing. But one thing is for sure，if we connected all the Hutongs together，their total length would even be longer than the famous Great wall，which is about 4000 miles longer. Or to make it clear，it could build a highway from Seattle to Boston，all across America!
Today you can find various Hutongs with different shapes，lengths or directions.The shortest one is only 40 centimeters wide，which means a person like me has to walk sideways to get through. And some Hutongs have more than 20 turns. With the growth of the population，many old Hutongs have disappeared to make way for high-rise apartments. Today I'm very happy to show you some well-preserved Hutongs，and to let you experience the typical Chinese life. Are you ready?Let's go!
As we walk through the Hutongs，you may find most of them look almost the same with gray-colored walls and bricks. Actually inside those walls are the courtyard houses，where people live. In Chinese we call them"siheyuan"."Si"literally means four,"he"means to surround，and"yuan"refers to the courtyard. So a rectangular wall enclosing four houses，one built on each side facing into the center，is called a Siheyuan. When they were first built，usually one Siheyuan was owned by only one family，but nowadays，with the growth of the population，most Siheyuans are shared by 4 to 10 families.