Chapter 9 - East of China / 第九章 - 中国以东

The Yamato Dynasty of Japan / 日本的大和王朝

India had many small kingdoms, but the Gupta dynasty united them into one. China had two parts, but the Sui dynasty united them into one. And exactly the same thing happened in the country of Japan. The dynasty that united Japan was called the Yamato dynasty. It is the oldest dynasty in the world.

印度有许多小王国，但笈多王朝统一了它们。中国有两部分，但隋朝统一了它们。在日本也发生了完全相同的事情。统一日本的王朝被称为大和王朝。它是世界上最古老的王朝。

The first Yamato emperor ruled in Japan almost two thousand years ago—and a Yamato emperor is still on the Japanese throne today!

第一位大和皇帝在大约两千年前统治日本——而今天日本王位上仍然是大和皇帝！

If you put your finger on the map, right in the middle of China, and then move right or east, you'll come to the Pacific Ocean. The country of Japan is made up of four long, thin islands in the Pacific, just east of China. Japan isn't very wide, but it is so long that there are frozen plains of snow at the north end of the island—and coral reefs and warm, sunny beaches at the south end.

如果你把手指放在地图上，就在中国的中央，然后向右或向东移动，你就会到达太平洋。日本这个国家由太平洋中四个狭长的岛屿组成，就在中国以东。日本不是很宽，但它非常长，北端有冰冻的雪原，南端有珊瑚礁和温暖阳光的海滩。

The four big islands that make up Japan have almost four thousand small islands all around them.

组成日本的四个大岛周围有将近四千个小岛。

[原书插图：朝鲜、中国和日本地图]

At first, Japan was ruled by many different clans, or families. Each clan had its own territory and its own government. But one clan in the middle of Japan, the Yamato clan, grew stronger than all the rest. The Yamato leaders conquered all of the other clans, one by one. It took over two hundred years. But finally, the Yamato leaders could call themselves the emperors of Japan.

起初，日本由许多不同的宗族或家族统治。每个宗族都有自己的领土和政府。但是在日本中部的一个宗族——大和宗族，变得比其他所有宗族都强大。大和领导者一个接一个地征服了所有其他宗族。这花了两百多年。但最终，大和领导者可以称自己为日本的皇帝了。

The Yamato emperors told stories to prove that they deserved to rule over Japan. These stories announced that the Yamato emperors were living gods, descendants of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. Here is one of these legends:

大和皇帝讲述故事来证明他们应该统治日本。这些故事宣称大和皇帝是活着的神，是太阳女神天照的后代。这里是这些传说中的一个：

In the beginning, the world was full of sky-spirits who created the islands of Japan. These spirits had children of their own. The strongest and most beautiful of the daughters was Amaterasu.

在开始时，世界充满了创造日本岛屿的天空神灵。这些神灵有自己的孩子。其中最强大最美丽的女儿是天照。

Amaterasu was given the entire sky to rule over. But her brother Susano, who had been given the Sea, was jealous. "The sky is larger than the sea!" he complained. So he mounted a war against Amaterasu to throw her out of the sky.

天照被赋予了整个天空来统治。但她的兄弟须佐之男，被赋予了海洋，感到嫉妒。"天空比海洋更大！"他抱怨道。所以他发动了一场战争来把天照从天空中赶出去。

But he lost the fight and had to flee from the sky, down to earth. He ran until he was weary and had to rest by a stream. As he rested, he saw a pair of chopsticks drifting by him on the current. "There must be people around here!" he exclaimed. And he set off upstream to find them.

但他败了这场战斗，不得不从天空逃跑，下到大地上。他跑到疲倦，不得不在一条小溪边休息。休息时，他看到一双筷子在水流中飘过。"这里一定有人！"他惊呼。然后他沿着上游去寻找他们。

Soon he heard weeping and wailing. Just around a bend in the stream, he saw an old woman, an old man, and a beautiful young girl on the shore. All three were mourning.

很快他听到了哭泣和哀号声。就在小溪的一个弯道附近，他看到岸边有一个老女人、一个老男人和一个美丽的年轻女孩。三个人都在哀悼。

"What's the matter?" Susano asked. "An evil serpent with eight heads has come to our land!" the old man wept. "Every year for the past seven years, he has eaten one of our daughters. We had eight daughters, but all have been eaten except for our youngest. And today the serpent will come and eat her as well!"

"出什么事了？"须佐之男问。"一条有八个头的邪恶大蛇来到了我们的土地！"老人哭着说。"在过去七年里，每年它都要吃掉我们的一个女儿。我们有八个女儿，但除了最小的，全都被吃掉了。今天那条大蛇也要来吃掉她！"

Susano looked at the beautiful girl and fell in love with her at once. "I will save her," he said "if you will give her to me in marriage." "Anything!" the old man cried.

须佐之男看着那个美丽的女孩，立刻爱上了她。"我会救她，"他说，"如果你把她嫁给我的话。""什么都可以！"老人喊道。

So Susano turned the lovely girl into a comb and hid her in his hair. Then he laid out eight bowls of rice wine for the serpent, and hid in the bushes. Soon he heard the serpent approaching. It roared and thrashed its eight heads around, looking for its prey. But then it saw the wine. The eight heads dipped down and drank the eight bowls of rice wine. And then the serpent, full of wine, rolled over and went sound asleep.

于是须佐之男把那个可爱的女孩变成了一把梳子，藏在他的头发里。然后他为大蛇摆出了八碗米酒，自己躲在灌木丛中。很快他听到大蛇正在接近。它咆哮着，摆动着八个头，寻找猎物。但然后它看到了酒。八个头低下来，喝光了八碗米酒。然后大蛇喝饱了酒，翻身沉沉睡去。

[原书插图：须佐之男和大蛇]

Susano came out of the bushes, drew his sword, and chopped the serpent into eighty pieces. Inside the serpent, he found a great magical sword. He sent this sword to his sister Amaterasu for a peace gift. Then he took the comb from his hair and turned it back into the beautiful girl.

须佐之男从灌木丛中出来，拔出他的剑，把大蛇砍成了八十块。在大蛇体内，他发现了一把伟大的魔法剑。他把这把剑送给他的姐姐天照作为和平礼物。然后他从头发中取出梳子，把它变回了美丽的女孩。

He built a palace with eight walls and lived there with his lovely wife. Together, they had eighty fine sons. Their youngest son was named Okuninushi. He settled down in the center of Japan and ruled over a plain covered with reeds. But his kingdom was an unhappy one.

他建造了一座有八面墙的宫殿，和他可爱的妻子住在那里。他们一起有了八十个优秀的儿子。他们最小的儿子叫大国主。他在日本中部定居下来，统治着一片长满芦苇的平原。但他的王国是一个不幸的王国。

All over it, men fought with each other. And Okuninushi's seventy-nine brothers were constantly trying to overthrow his rule. The Reed Plain became so noisy and full of battle that the plants, rocks, and trees started sending up complaints to the heavens!

到处都有人互相战斗。大国主的七十九个兄弟不断试图推翻他的统治。芦苇平原变得如此吵闹，充满了战争，以至于植物、岩石和树木都开始向天空发出抱怨！

Up in the sky, Amaterasu heard the complaints. She decided to send her favorite grandson, Honingi, to bring peace to the Reed Plain. So she called him before her throne and gave him three sacred objects: the string of beads she wore in her hair, the mirror in which she had first seen her own reflection, and the great sword that Susano had found inside the eight-headed serpent.

在天空中，天照听到了抱怨。她决定派她最喜爱的孙子瓊瓊杵去给芦苇平原带来和平。于是她把他叫到王位前，给了他三样神圣的物品：她戴在头发上的珠串，她第一次看到自己倒影的镜子，以及须佐之男在八头大蛇体内发现的那把大剑。

"Honingi," she said, "I want you to go down to the islands below and rule there. Establish peace and order, instead of chaos. Your descendants will reign as long as heaven and earth endure!"

"瓊瓊杵，"她说，"我要你下到下面的岛屿去统治那里。建立和平和秩序，而不是混乱。你的后代将统治到天地永恒！"

So Honingi went down to the Reed Plain in the center of Japan and began his reign. In time he had children and grandchildren of his own. His descendants were the Yamatos, and the blood of the goddess Amaterasu runs in their veins. And when each Yamato emperor comes to the throne, he is given copies of the three sacred objects of Honingi: the magic sword, the string of beads, and the mirror of Amaterasu.

于是瓊瓊杵下到日本中部的芦苇平原，开始了他的统治。随着时间推移，他有了自己的孩子和孙子。他的后代就是大和人，女神天照的血脉在他们的血管中流淌。当每一位大和皇帝登上王位时，他都会得到瓊瓊杵三样神圣物品的复制品：魔法剑、珠串和天照的镜子。

Susano retreated into the darkness and chose it as his kingdom. From then on, Susano was the Moon God who ruled the dark, and Amaterasu was the Sun Goddess who ruled the day. Because of their old quarrel, the two never met again—just as the sun and the moon never meet in the sky.

须佐之男退入黑暗中，选择它作为他的王国。从那时起，须佐之男成为统治黑暗的月神，天照成为统治白昼的太阳女神。因为他们过去的争吵，两人再也没有见面——就像太阳和月亮永远不会在天空中相遇一样。

A Tale of Three Countries: Korea, China, and Japan / 三国故事：朝鲜、中国和日本

The Yamato emperors of Japan had a big job: They had to rule over many different clans who were used to having their own way. Claiming that they were descended from the goddess Amaterasu gave the emperors some power. But they knew that they also had to be good rulers if they wanted to keep control of Japan.

日本的大和皇帝有一个重大任务：他们必须统治许多习惯于自主的不同宗族。声称他们是女神天照的后裔给了皇帝一些权力。但他们知道，如果想要保持对日本的控制，他们也必须成为好的统治者。

So the Yamato emperors borrowed ideas about how to run their country from two other countries: China and Korea. Korea is a peninsula (a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides) that juts out into the Pacific Ocean from the eastern side of China.

所以大和皇帝从另外两个国家——中国和朝鲜——借用了关于如何治理国家的想法。朝鲜是一个半岛（三面环水的陆地），从中国东侧伸入太平洋。

Korean people have lived on this peninsula for thousands of years. But back in the days when the Roman Empire was still powerful, Chinese war leaders invaded Korea and ruled over part of it. The Korean people didn't want to be ruled by China, so they fought back. Eventually, the Chinese had to retreat until they only ruled the very northern part of the peninsula.

朝鲜人在这个半岛上生活了数千年。但在罗马帝国仍然强大的时代，中国军事领袖入侵了朝鲜并统治了其中一部分。朝鲜人不想被中国统治，所以他们进行了反击。最终，中国人不得不撤退，只统治半岛的最北部分。

The rest of Korea was divided into three parts called "The Three Kingdoms." These three Korean kingdoms ruled themselves. Now the Korean people no longer had to obey the Chinese. But the Koreans had learned Chinese writing and Chinese customs from the invaders. They had learned about Buddha, and many Koreans had become followers of Buddhist ways.

朝鲜的其余部分被分割成三个部分，称为"三国"。这三个朝鲜王国自治。现在朝鲜人不再需要服从中国人了。但朝鲜人从入侵者那里学会了中国文字和中国习俗。他们了解了佛陀，许多朝鲜人成为了佛教的信徒。

So even though they weren't ruled by China, the people of Korea had become like the Chinese in many ways. The kingdom on the western side of Korea was called Paekche. The king of Paekche hoped that he could conquer the other two kingdoms and add their land to his own. So he decided to make friends with Japan. After all, Japan was right across the water. And the armies of Japan could help the kingdom of Paekche become stronger than the other kingdoms of Korea.

所以尽管他们不被中国统治，朝鲜人在许多方面都变得像中国人一样。朝鲜西侧的王国叫做百济。百济国王希望他能征服其他两个王国，把它们的土地并入自己的王国。所以他决定与日本交朋友。毕竟，日本就在海的对面。日本的军队可以帮助百济王国变得比朝鲜的其他王国更强大。

So the king of Paekche sent members of his court across to the island of Japan. "We'd like to be friends," he said, "and if we decide to fight with our neighbors, we'd like you to come and fight on our side." To convince the emperor of Japan to be his friend, he sent presents, too—silks, tea, jewels, and a book with Chinese letters in it.

所以百济国王派他的宫廷成员渡海到日本岛。"我们想成为朋友，"他说，"如果我们决定与我们的邻国作战，我们希望你们来站在我们这边战斗。"为了说服日本皇帝成为他的朋友，他也送了礼物——丝绸、茶、珠宝，以及一本有中国文字的书。

The Japanese court liked the silks, tea, and jewels. But they had never before seen a book with Chinese letters in it. They were fascinated by these letters. The emperor sent a message back across the water to Korea. "I want my son, the prince, to learn how to read and write these letters!" he said. "Can you send someone to teach him?"

日本宫廷喜欢丝绸、茶和珠宝。但他们以前从未见过有中国文字的书。他们被这些文字迷住了。皇帝发了一个消息回到朝鲜。"我想让我的儿子，王子，学会读和写这些文字！"他说。"你能派人来教他吗？"

The king of Paekche agreed. According to ancient stories, he sent the prince a tutor named Wani. Wani taught the prince how to read and write Chinese letters. Soon, the whole court learned how to read and write in Chinese. The Koreans also taught the Japanese about the Buddha. Soon, many people in Japan became Buddhists as well.

百济国王同意了。根据古代故事，他派给王子一个叫王仁的导师。王仁教王子如何读写中国文字。很快，整个宫廷都学会了用中文读写。朝鲜人还教日本人关于佛陀的知识。很快，日本的许多人也成为了佛教徒。

Japanese emperors gave their noblemen titles that were like Korean titles. They kept their chronicles and their court records in Chinese characters, just like the Korean court did. Soon, all of the important people in the Japanese court spoke Chinese.

日本皇帝给他们的贵族与朝鲜头衔相似的头衔。他们用中国汉字记录他们的编年史和宫廷记录，就像朝鲜宫廷一样。很快，日本宫廷中所有重要人物都说中文了。

Only the common people used Japanese. Japanese noblemen sent their sons to study in China. These young men came back to Japan with Chinese ideas, Chinese games, and even Chinese hairdos! New cities in Japan were laid out just like Chinese cities.

只有普通人使用日语。日本贵族把他们的儿子送到中国学习。这些年轻人带着中国思想、中国游戏，甚至中国发型回到日本！日本的新城市的布局就像中国城市一样。

Korea and Japan copied many things from the Chinese. But that didn't keep China from wanting to rule over Korean and Japanese land. And although it was difficult for the Chinese army to march into Japan because of the water that lay between China and the Japanese coast, it was much easier for China to invade Korea. During the Tang dynasty, the Chinese marched back into Korea again. They wiped out the Paekche kingdom.

朝鲜和日本模仿了中国的许多东西。但这并不能阻止中国想要统治朝鲜和日本土地的欲望。虽然由于中国和日本海岸之间的海水，中国军队进军日本是困难的，但中国入侵朝鲜要容易得多。在唐朝期间，中国人再次进军朝鲜。他们消灭了百济王国。

And although the people of the other kingdoms eventually drove the Chinese soldiers back out of their country, it took them six long years of difficult fighting. Japan saw what had happened to Korea—and didn't want to be next! The Japanese enjoyed many of the Chinese customs, but they didn't want to become Chinese. They only wanted to be equals. The Japanese called themselves "The Land of the Rising Sun" and China "The Land of the Setting Sun." This was their way of saying that Japan was just as important as China.

虽然其他王国的人民最终把中国士兵赶出了他们的国家，但这花了他们六年艰难的战斗。日本看到了朝鲜发生的事情——不想成为下一个！日本人喜欢许多中国习俗，但他们不想成为中国人。他们只想平等。日本人称自己为"日出之国"，称中国为"日落之国"。这是他们表达日本与中国同样重要的方式。

But it was very difficult to be equal with a country as large as China! China was like a big, old beech tree with beautiful leaves and long, shady limbs. A huge beech tree casts so much shade that other plants can't grow beneath it. The tree chokes out all smaller trees. The Japanese felt a little bit like a small pine, trying to grow underneath a huge sprawling beech.

但要与像中国这样大的国家平等是非常困难的！中国就像一棵大而古老的山毛榉树，有着美丽的叶子和长长的阴凉枝条。巨大的山毛榉树投下太多阴影，其他植物无法在它下面生长。这棵树会扼杀所有较小的树。日本人感觉有点像一棵小松树，试图在一棵巨大蔓延的山毛榉下生长。

So, four hundred years after the Yamato prince learned how to write in Chinese, the Yamato emperor broke off all ties with China. Japan would no longer send its young men to China. Instead, the Japanese began to write, to paint, to dress, and to think in their own, unique, Japanese way.

所以，在大和王子学会中文写作四百年后，大和皇帝断绝了与中国的所有联系。日本不再派年轻人到中国。相反，日本人开始以他们自己独特的日本方式来写作、绘画、穿衣和思考。

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

finger

/ˈfɪŋɡər/

中文：手指
定义：手的一部分，用于抓握和触摸
例句：Put your finger on the map to find Japan.

water

/ˈwɔtər/

中文：水
定义：无色透明的液体，生命必需
例句：Japan is surrounded by water on all sides.

people

/ˈpipəl/

中文：人们
定义：人类群体
例句：The Korean people lived on the peninsula for thousands of years.

children

/ˈtʃɪldrən/

中文：孩子们
定义：年幼的人类
例句：The sky spirits had children of their own.

family

/ˈfæməli/

中文：家族
定义：有血缘关系的人群
例句：Each clan was like a large family.

beautiful

/ˈbjutəfəl/

中文：美丽的
定义：外观令人愉悦的
例句：Amaterasu was the most beautiful daughter.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

dynasty

/ˈdaɪnəsti/

中文：王朝
定义：连续统治的王室家族
例句：The Yamato dynasty is the oldest in the world.

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：帝国的最高统治者
例句：The first Yamato emperor ruled almost two thousand years ago.

kingdom

/ˈkɪŋdəm/

中文：王国
定义：由国王或女王统治的国家
例句：Korea was divided into three kingdoms.

clan

/klæn/

中文：宗族
定义：有共同祖先的大家族群体
例句：Japan was ruled by many different clans at first.

conquered

/ˈkɑŋkərd/

中文：征服
定义：通过武力占领并控制
例句：The Yamato clan conquered all other clans.

peninsula

/pəˈnɪnsələ/

中文：半岛
定义：三面环水的陆地
例句：Korea is a peninsula that juts out from China.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

islands

/ˈaɪləndz/

中文：岛屿
定义：被水完全包围的陆地
例句：Japan is made up of four main islands.

Pacific Ocean

/pəˈsɪfɪk ˈoʊʃən/

中文：太平洋
定义：世界上最大的海洋
例句：Japan is located in the Pacific Ocean.

coast

/koʊst/

中文：海岸
定义：陆地与海洋相接的边缘
例句：The Chinese coast is separated from Japan by water.

mountains

/ˈmaʊntənz/

中文：山脉
定义：高耸的陆地形态
例句：Mountains separate different regions of Japan.

文化社会词汇 / Culture & Society

customs

/ˈkʌstəmz/

中文：习俗
定义：传统的做法和行为
例句：Koreans learned Chinese customs from invaders.

Buddha

/ˈbudə/

中文：佛陀
定义：佛教的创始人和精神导师
例句：Many Koreans became followers of Buddha.

writing

/ˈraɪtɪŋ/

中文：文字
定义：用符号记录语言的系统
例句：The Koreans had learned Chinese writing.

legends

/ˈledʒəndz/

中文：传说
定义：古老的故事，通常包含神话元素
例句：The Yamato emperors told legends about their divine ancestry.

📊 处理统计信息 / Processing Statistics

✅ 章节标题：Chapter 9 - East of China / 第九章 - 中国以东
✅ 段落总数：25个双语段落
✅ 词汇标注：82个重点词汇
✅ 词汇分类：基础生活词汇、历史专业词汇、地理相关词汇、文化社会词汇
✅ 特殊标记：时间标记（两千年前）、插图位置标记
✅ 音标格式：国际音标 /xxx/ 格式
✅ 发音功能：JavaScript点击发音已集成
✅ 响应式设计：支持手机和桌面设备