岭南名胜中英文导游(4)

佛山祖庙

The Ancestral Temple in Foshan

[简介]

    祖庙是佛山市内的一座古建筑，始建于北宋元丰年间{公元1078—1085年}；原建筑在元代{1206—1368}被焚毁，明洪武五年{1372年}重修，至今已有900多年的历史。祖庙原称“祖堂”，原是冶炼业供奉师祖的地方；至明代时，由于皇帝信奉佛道教，故逐渐变成了一座道教寺；祖庙现为佛山市博物馆。

[Introduction]

    The ancestral temple, first built during the Ming dynasty (1078-1085), is an ancient structure in Foshan city. It’s by original structure was destroyed fire during the Yuan dynasty. The temple was rebuilt in 1372 during the Ming dynasty.  The temple was formerly called “Ancestral Hall “and was shrine for workers of the metal-casting industry to worship their ancestral masters. It became a Daoist temple during the Ming dynasty because the Ming emperor believed in Daoism. Now it houses the Foshan City Museum.

    祖庙在建筑艺术上具有浓厚的中国传统的建筑风格和广东地方特色。整座建筑占地3000多平方米，院廊式布局，结构严谨。其屋顶为我国传统的歇山式结构{即由一条正脊，四个斜面组成}，下面用斗拱式梁和石柱支撑；着种斗拱结构造工精致，不用一根钉子，完全采用榫头，榫槽相互衔接。

    Covering a floor space of over 3000 square meter, the temple is built in the style of the Chinese traditional architecture. Its building complex is compactly laid out with the halls interspaced by courtyards and connected with corridors. Its roofs are constructed in the traditional “xieshan” style that is, each roof has a horizontal ridge at the top, which is joined at both ends by four inclined but bent-up ridges, with a slope on each of the four sides. The roof structure is supported by a wood en system of brackets are connected by mortise and tendon joints and not a single nail is used for connection.

    在装饰工艺上，祖庙建筑具有浓厚的广东地方色彩；屋脊、屋檐、墙壁以及庙堂内均有各式陶塑、灰塑、砖雕、木雕等，描述了我国传统民间故事和神话传说。这些装饰品制作精细，人物造型栩栩如生，是我国珍贵的古代艺术品；故祖庙有“东方民间艺术之宫”的称号。

    While being constructed in the national architectural style, the temple structure is unique in the national architectural style; the temple structure is unique in the way it is decorated, the way that is characteristic of Guangzhou Province. Pottery sculptures, line sculptures, brick carving, wood carvings and art can be found on the ridge, the eaves, the walls or elsewhere. These works of art are not only used for the purpose of decoration but are also depiction of varies scenes from Chinese folk stories and legends. They are delicately made to be life-like and are all master pieces of ancient Chinese folk art, so the temple is known as the Place of Oriental Folk Art.

[前殿]

    铜钟：这口大铜钟铸于明代，重约900公斤。旧时，每当有人前来参拜北帝时。寺庙守护人都要敲响此钟，提请北帝接受人们的参拜。

[The Front Hall]

    The Bronze Bell:This bronze bell was cast during the Ming Dynasty and weighs 900 kilos .In the old days, when the pilgrims to show their piety to the North God, they would pay a sum of money to the temple keeper, who would then sound the bell to call for silence. The God, it is said, would when be aroused and get ready to receive the pious worshippers.

    铁鼎：这尊大铁鼎是供参拜者焚毁纸钱同德，铸于明万历十六年（1588年），重1000多公斤；两边铸有“风调雨顺，国泰民安”八个大字。

    The Iron Tripod:This iron tripod was used for burning incense and paper ingots .It was cast during the Ming Dynasty and weighs 1.5tons.On its body are cast the names of the donators and two verses of prayers: May the state proper and the people live in peace! May the wind and rain nourish the crops!

    神案：祖庙内有众多的木雕工艺品。请看这张神案，上面刻有126个人物，所描述的是唐代名将李元霸降服烈马的故事。这张神案制作于清代二十五年（1899年），当时中国正饱受西方殖民主义者的侵略和欺凌；故这幅李元霸的伏龙驱雕塑其实是暗喻中国人民抗击殖民侵略的斗争。这几个头戴高帽、身穿燕尾服的洋人就是鸦片战争时侵略我国的英国侵略者；他们被打败后跪在地上求饶，丑态百出。

    The Holy Table:This table is carved with 126figures and was used as an altar for displaying offering to the gods. One of the pictures on it tells the story of a Tang Dynasty general Li Yuanba taming a fierce horse .It is said that this horse was extremely fierce and no one could ever get it under control but Li Yuanba ,who was a man of unusual strength .The table was made in 1899in the later stage of the Qing Dynasty ,when China was subjected to invasion and humiliation by the Western colonialists, so the picture is actually an implicit illustration of the Chinese people ’s struggle against foreign invaders. These men wearing tall hats and tailcoats are supposed to be the foreign aggressors. They are made either to fall on their backs or go down on their knees begging for mercy.

    樟木屏风：这是一面通雕樟木屏风，其特点是两面所刻得图案完全相同。上面有几个狮子；弄球者为雄，扶幼狮者为雌。在中国，狮子是权利和尊严的象征，所以在寺庙和过去有钱人家的门前通常都安放着石雕双狮。

    The Camphor Wood Screen:This is a camphor wood screen on which several lions are carved and its two sides are made to look exactly the same .The lion looking after a baby-li-on is female and other playing an embroidered ball is male .In the Chinese mythology, the lion is always a symbol of dignity and power .That’s why you can always see a couple of stone lions at the entrance to a temple or a house of the rich.

[正殿]

    这是祖庙的正殿。它建于明洪武五年（1372年），是祖庙最早的建筑。安放在殿内正中的神像是祖庙奉祀的主神北帝。北帝是道教中主宰北方，统领所有水族之神；据说他有消灾解困、治水御火及延年加寿的神力。这座铜像铸于1452年，重2.5吨。过去，每年农历初三（北帝延辰），人们都要抬上旁边那座北帝小铜像和这些兵器外出巡游，以祈求当地风调雨顺，免除水患。

[The Main Hall]

    This hall was built in 1372 during the Ming Dynasty and is oldest structure of the temple .The statue in the middle is the North God, the supreme master of the temple .According to Daoist dogma, the North God is the deity that dominates the Northern World and commands all the aquatic being .He is said to be able to dispel disasters of flood and fire and to lengthen people’s lives. This statue was cast in 1452 and weighs 2.5 tons. In the old days, on every March 3 in the lunar calendar, people would carry small statue at the side and these weapons to parade the streets so as to pray for a favorable weather for the crops

[黄飞鸿纪念馆]

    黄飞鸿是中国著名的武术家，1856年生于佛山，1925年去世，享年69岁。黄飞鸿的一生充满传奇色彩；他锄强扶弱。行侠仗义，其事迹深入人心，以他的事迹拍摄的电影超过100部。黄飞鸿纪念馆于2001年建成并对外开放，展出与黄飞鸿的生平事迹有关的实物和资料；现纪念馆已成为海内外武林弟子寻根拜祖的地方。

[The Huang Feihong Memorial Hall]

    Huang Feihong was a well-known Chinese kungfu master .He had a strong sense of justice and was always ready to challenge the bully and assist the weak and helpless. He was born in Foshan in 1856and died in 1925at the age of 69 .His life was full of legends and was reproduce in more than 100movies .The memorial hall, in which exhibits about his and deeds are on display, was built and open to the public in 2001 and has now become the ancestral home of his disciples in and out of China.

《导游实训教材》（Timwu 等编）