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Zheng He’s Amazing Voyages 郑和下西洋六百周年

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

In 1405, a magnificent fleet of sixty-two “treasure” ships sailed from China under the command of Admiral Zheng He. The largest ships were over 133 meters long and 50 meters wide, larger than any other ships on earth at the time. Enormous red silk sails hung from nine giant masts. Escorting them were hundreds of smaller craft carrying water, horses and other supplies. The entire fleet crew totaled more than 27,000 soldiers and sailors. Each sailing ship required a lot of room to maneuver; therefore, the boats were spread out over many square kilometers of sea. Displaying the strength, power and glory of China, the fleet would have awed all who saw it.

1405年，一支有62艘「宝船」的庞大舰队在郑和将军的指挥下自中国启航。最大的船舰长超过133公尺宽50几公尺，比当时世界上任何一艘船都还巨大。巨大红丝制的帆挂在九支大桅杆上。护卫着这些船前进的是上百艘较小的船，这些较小的船载运水、马匹及其它补给物资。整个船舰共有两万七千多名士兵和水手。每艘船都需要很大的海上空间来操作，因此这些船只在海上散布开来好几平方公里。整个舰队彰显了中国的力量、权势和荣耀，让所有人见到敬畏三分。

Zheng He’s first voyage took him all over Southeast Asia. Records of his visits can still be found today in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. The admiral and his brave fleet faced fierce storms and pirate attacks as they collected tribute for the Ming emperor. On their return to China, they were loaded with treasures, including exotic spices and jewels. On subsequent voyages, they collected treasures and even animals from as far away as the east coast of Africa. In 1415, after the fourth voyage, they displayed a giraffe to the imperial court, where it was mistaken for a unicorn.

郑和首航遍及东南亚，越南、马来西亚、印度尼西亚和印度至今仍可见郑和造访的纪录。郑和及其英勇的船队在为朝廷收集贡品时曾面临狂风暴雨并遭海盗袭击。回航中国途中，他们满载着宝物，包括珍奇的香料及珠宝。往后几次航程中，他们还收集了远至非洲东岸的宝藏，甚至还有动物。在第四趟航行之后，他们于1415年向朝廷展示一头长颈鹿，竟被误认为独角兽。

2005 is the 600^th anniversary of Zheng He’s maiden voyage. Like the explorers Columbus and Magellan (who were not even born when Zheng He set sail), the Chinese admiral rightly deserves to have his accomplishments celebrated as an achievement for all humankind.

2005年市政和首航的六百周年纪念。像探险家哥伦布和麦哲伦(这两位在郑和下西洋时甚至还没出生呢!)一样，郑和的功绩理所当然也值得被视为一项造福全人类的成就来庆祝。

Vocabulary

admiral [ˋædmərəl] n. 海军上将

escort [ˋɛskɔrt] v. 护送；为……护航；陪同

awe [ɔ] v. 使敬畏；使畏怯

tribute [ˋtrɪbjut] n. 贡物

exotic [ɛgˋzɑtɪk] adj. 异国情调的；奇特的

subsequent [ˋsʌbsɪ͵kwɛnt] adj. 随后的

imperial [ɪmˋpɪrɪəl] adj. 帝国的

maiden [ˋmedn] adj. 初次的，新的

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under the command of 由…… 的指挥下

sail [sel] n. 帆，篷

mast [mæst] n. 桅杆

craft [kræft] n. 船

maneuver [məˋnuvɚ] v.（部队等）实施调动; 巧妙地操纵

spread out 散开

voyage [ˋvɔɪɪdʒ] n. 航行

unicorn [ˋjunɪ͵kɔrn] n.（传说中身体似马，头上长一只角的）独角兽

set sail 启航

rightly [ˋraɪtlɪ] adv. 理所当然地

課文中英文講解

Six hundred years after Zheng He’s amazing maiden voyage, there is a renewed interest in his travels.In part, this is because his accomplishments demonstrate just how highly developed Chinese maritime power was at the time. They had large, multi-masted ships, and sails that allowed them to tack into the wind, whereas the Europeans did not develop similar large-scale vessels and maritime technology until much later in the 15^th century.

在郑和惊人的首航六百年后，他的游历又引起人们的兴趣，在某种程度上是因为他的成就显示了当时中国海权有多么强大。他的船队有大型的多桅船只，而风帆也让船只能随风改变船向；然而欧洲却要到十五世纪末期才发展出类似的大型的船只及海洋科技。

The Ming emperor Zhu Di commanded Zheng He to carry the glory and prestige of Imperial China to “barbarians” from beyond the seas.” Zheng He was, in more practical terms, also to collect tribute for the Empire and to establish a trading network. All in all, Zheng He travelled more than 50,000 kilometers over seven voyages. And those seven voyages may just have been the inspiration for the stories of Sinbad the Sailor, according to some scholars.

明成祖朱棣下令要郑和向「海外的蛮夷之邦」宣扬中国国威。以更实际的说法，郑和也是要去收集要贡给朝廷的贡品及建立贸易网。整体来说，郑和七次出海航行超过五万公里。根据某些学者的说法，这七次航行可能就是《天方夜谭》里水手辛巴达故事的灵感来源。

After the emperor Zhu Di died, there was a sudden reversal in Chinese maritime policy. Larger ships were burned, the navy was mostly disbanded, and China intentionally cut itself off from the rest of the world. Even more shockingly, all of the records of Zheng He’s voyages were also destroyed. According to Gavin Menzies, author of the controversial book 1421, those records may have held evidence that Zheng He discovered the Americas and even Australia!

明成祖死后，中国的海洋政策突然大转弯。较大型的船舰被焚毁，海军大半被解散，而中国也刻意孤立自己不与外界往来。更令人惊讶的是，郑和下西洋的所有纪录也都被销毁。根据争议性的《1421:中国发现世界》作者盖分孟西士的说法，那些纪录可能拥有郑和发现美洲甚至澳洲的证据!

Historians can only guess that how different world history might be if those records hadn’t been destroyed. In any case, it’s likely that the 600^th anniversary celebrations of Zheng He’s maiden voyage will inspire more interest in discovering the truth of this great admiral’s amazing journeys.

历史学家也只能推测，假如这些纪录没被销毁，世界历史会变成怎样。不论如何，郑和首航六百周年纪念的庆祝活动可能会引起更多想挖掘这位伟大海军将领的惊人航行真相的兴趣。

－By Ben Andrews

Vocabulary

renewed [rɪˋnjud] adj. 重新的，再度的

maritime [ˋmærə͵taɪm] adj. 海的；海事的；航海的

prestige [prɛsˋtiʒ] n. 名望，声望，威望

barbarian [bɑrˋbɛrɪən] n. 野蛮人

reversal [rɪˋvɝs!] n. 反向; 反转

intentionally [ɪnˋtɛnʃən!ɪ] adv. 有意地，故意地

controversial [͵kɑntrəˋvɝʃəl] adj. 有争议的

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in part 在某种程度上；部分地

tack [tæk] v. 使（船）抢风转变航向

in .... terms 就.....而言

all in all: 从各方面考虑, 从各方面来说 as a whole; generally

disband [dɪsˋbænd] v. 解散；遣散

cut oneself off 使...孤立

in any case 无论如何

likely [ˋlaɪklɪ] adj. 很可能的[+to-v][+that]

Reading Questions 

1. According to the articles in the unit, what was one of the purposes of Zheng He’s voyages?

A. To keep pirates from attacking Chinese merchants that were sailing around Southeast Asia.

B. To attack the enemies of China and remove any threat of invasion.

C. To establish trade routes and bring gold and treasures back to the emperor.

D. To steal technology from the countries of Europe, which were more advanced.

2. What does the word “maneuver” in the first paragraph of day one mean?

A. To create a map

B. To move supplies from one ship to another

C. To move and turn a ship

D. To signal and communicate with ships

3. What happened to the records of Zheng He’s voyages?

A. They were published in a book in the year 1421.

B. They were unfortunately lost at sea when the fleet met a storm.

C. They were destroyed some time after the emperor Zhu Di died.

D. They were lost, but rediscovered amazingly in Australia.

4. How does the author feel about the fact that China cut itself off from the rest of the world?

A. He is surprised that China would do such a thing.

B. He understands that it was a necessary thing for China to do at the time.

C. He thinks that China would have been a world power sooner if they hadn’t.

D. He believes that China would have gone on to discover America before Columbus did.

'Zheng He' - The Great Voyager 1405-1433 AD

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