建筑哲学第 14 课

An endless variety of pagodas were built in China, 中国开始出现各式各样的宝塔
and eventually the original meaning as a shrine containing a holy relic was diminished. 保存圣人遗骨的原始意义逐渐消失
In China the pagoda evolved into both a practical watch tower and a defense against evil spirits. 宝塔在中国 演变成了望和避凶之用

Pagodas could be seen at a great distance to aid travelers. 旅人可从远方看到塔
And almost every town or city in ancient China had at least one pagoda built in the North-east corner of the town 几乎每座古城 都在东北角至少建有1塔
to block the entry of evil spirits coming from that inauspicious devil direction''. 以阻挡来自邪恶方向的不祥之气

One emperor took the on architectural legacy of his ancestors, and outdid them all. 有位皇帝不仅继承先人 建筑传统，且将之发扬光大
The vision of the Emperor Yongle was most grandiose in Chinese history.
永乐是中国史上 野心最大的皇帝
We can find a monument to this vision in an unlikely place. 他梦想的遗迹出现在 一个难以置信的地方

The Yangshan stone tablet, nestled the hills outside the old capital of Nanjing in southeastern China, 永山石碑位于中国东南 古都南京城外的山间
is not described in tourist guidebooks 旅游书多未介绍
and even many Chinese living in Nanjing don't know about it. Probably because it's just a rock 南京当地人也未必知晓可能是因为这不过是块石头
But what a rock! 但这石头不同凡响

The site is an old imperial quarry. 此地是古皇室采石场
The emperor Yongle, who ruled in the early 1 5th century, wanted to 15世纪初执政的永乐大帝
construct the grandest tomb imaginable for his father, Hongwu, the founder of the Ming dynasty. 想为父亲明太祖朱洪武 建造最大的墓

So in this quarry, he ordered the construction of a headstone in three parts - 他命人在此采石场 分3组制造墓碑
base, tablet and cap stone. 分别是基座，墓碑和碑顶

It was to be the biggest memorial in the world. 它将是世上最大的墓碑
Court engineers designed a tablet that would have been 85 meters or 256 feet high - 宫廷工程师设计了85公尺高的 墓碑，相当于256尺
longer than a 7 47 passenger plane. 比747客机还长
Thousands of workers spent years of unimaginable labor carving the stone from the mountain. 数千工人花数年工夫就着山雕刻石头

It was only then they began to think about how they were going to move the tablet to the gravesite. 这时他们才开始思考应如何将石头运至墓地
It weighs 31,000 tons, and even with today's technology there is probably no way it could be easily moved.石头重3万1千吨即使以现今科技 也难以轻易搬运