大雁塔尺寸_大雁塔

1

2009

年陕西省导游口试考试景点讲解：大雁塔英文导游词

As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building

and

a

holy

place

for

Buddhists.

It

is

located

in

the

southern

suburb

of

Xian

City,

about

4

kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Ci'en Temple complex,

it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of

construction, and its new square in front of the temple. It is rated as a National Key Cultural Relic

Preserve as well as an AAAA

Tourist Attraction.

This

attraction can

be

divided

into

three

parts:

the

Big

Wild

Goose

Pagoda,

the

Da

Ci'en

Temple, and the North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Big Wild Goose PagodaOriginally built

in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the

Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by

the hierarch Xuanzang.

Xuanzang

started

off

from

Chang'an

(the

ancient

Xian),

along

the

Silk

Road

and

through

deserts,

finally

arriving

in

India,

the cradle

of

Buddhism.

Enduring

17

years

and

traversing

100

countries,

he

obtained

Buddha

figures,

657

kinds

of sutras,

and several

Buddha

relics.

Having

gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en

Temple,

supervised

the

building

of

a

pagoda

inside

it.

With

the

support

of

royalty,

he

asked

50

hierarchs

into

the

temple

to

translate

Sanskrit

in

sutras

into

Chinese,

totaling

1,335

volumes,

which heralded a new era in the history of translation. Based on the journey to India, he also wrote

a

book

entitled

'Pilgrimage

to

the

West'

in

the

Tang

Dynasty,

to which

scholars

attached

great

importance.

First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five stories, it is now 64.5 meters (211.6

feet)

high

with

an

additional

two

stories.

It

was

said

that

after

that

addition

came

the

saying-'Saving

a

life

exceeds

building

a

seven-storied

pagoda'.

Externally

it

looks

like

a

square

cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure

is

very

firm.

Inside

the

pagoda,

stairs

twist

up

so

that

visitors

can

climb

and

overlook

the

panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are

engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Y

an Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by

noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.

As for the reason why it is called

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to

ancient

stories

of

Buddhists,

there were

two

branches,

for

one

of

which

eating

meat was

not

a

taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a

monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.'

At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks

were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They

established a pagoda where the wild goose fell

and stopped eating meat. Hence

it got the name

'Big Wild Goose Pagoda'.

Da Ci'en Temple

Da Ci'en Temple is the home of Big Wild Goose Pagoda. In 648, to commemorate the dead

virtuous queen, royalty ordered the building of a temple named 'Ci'en' (Mercy and Kindness), for

which

the

status

and scale

far

exceeded

all

others.

Today

,

with

an

area

of

32,314

square

meters

(38,648.5 square yards), one seventh of the original area, it still retains its grandeur.

Before

the

temple,

there

stands

a

statue

of

hierarch

Xuanzang,

the

meritorious

hierarch.

Walking on and across a small bridge, visitors will see the gates of the temple. With guarding lions,