Chapter Twenty - The Imperial East
第二十章 - 帝国东方

Emperor Chi'en-lung's Library / 乾隆皇帝的图书馆

The streets of Peking, far, far to the northeast of India, are still and dark.

北京的街道，远在印度东北方向，既安静又黑暗。

The inn-fires are banked for the night; travelers sleep motionless in their rooms.

客栈的炉火已经封火过夜；旅行者在他们的房间里一动不动地睡觉。

The Forbidden Palace, the walled and secret city-within-a-city where the emperor and his royal family live, is blanketed with quiet.

紫禁城，这个围墙环绕的秘密城中城，皇帝和他的皇室家族居住的地方，笼罩在宁静之中。

On the walls, the watchmen doze, standing with their backs against the red walls.

在城墙上，守卫们背靠着红色的墙打盹。

But deep inside the Forbidden Palace, the emperor's windows glow with lamplight.

但在紫禁城深处，皇帝的窗户里发出灯光。

Chi'en-lung, the fourth Manchu emperor of China, is bent over his desk, a brush in hand and a scroll in front of him.

乾隆，中国第四位满族皇帝，正弯腰趴在他的书桌上，手里拿着一支毛笔，面前摊着一张卷轴。

Carefully, he inks the brush and strokes down, sideways, and over. Another Chinese character has been added to his poem!

他小心地将毛笔蘸墨，然后下笔：竖、横、撇。又一个中国汉字被添加到他的诗中！

Chi'en-lung leans back and gazes at the painting that hangs on the wall across from him.

乾隆向后靠去，凝视着挂在对面墙上的画。

A branch of blossoming plum sweeps across the paper, each flower and twig outlined with exquisite care.

一根开花的梅花枝条横扫过纸面，每朵花和每根小枝都被精心勾勒。

The Chinese artist who painted this plum branch, Zou Fulei, has been dead for three hundred years.

画这根梅花枝的中国艺术家邹复雷，已经去世三百年了。

But Ch'ien-lung can still read the poem Zou Fulei brushed onto the painting's left side:

但乾隆仍然可以读邹复雷用毛笔写在画左侧的诗：

"In this tumbleweed shack, where can I seek spring's return? I charge the chilly toad to keep the old plum company. As laments of mist subside, my empty room grows cold, Traces of ink preserve the shadows that come to my window."

"在这茅草屋中，我何处寻找春天的归来？我让寒冷的蟾蜍陪伴古老的梅花。当雾气的哀叹消散，我的空房变得寒冷，墨迹保存着投向我窗前的影子。"

Zou Fulei's poem tells how he painted the branch: as he sat in his bare room, the moon—a mysterious bright place where a magical toad was thought to live—cast the shadow of a plum branch against the paper windows.

邹复雷的诗描述了他如何画这根枝条：当他坐在空荡的房间里时，月亮——一个被认为住着神奇蟾蜍的神秘明亮地方——将梅花枝的影子投在纸窗户上。

Zou Fulei copied the pattern onto his painting!

邹复雷将这个图案复制到他的画上！

The emperor is composing four more lines to round out the old artist's poem.

皇帝正在创作四行诗来完善这位古代艺术家的诗。

He stares back at his paper, at the line he has just finished. "In a single breath, the springtime goes but must return" He bends back over the paper and adds, "But who has conveyed these tidings to the chilly plum?"

他回头凝视着纸张，看着刚完成的那行。"一息之间，春去春又来" 他重新弯腰在纸上添加："但谁将这消息传给了寒冷的梅花？"

He smiles, pleased with his poem. When I finish this poem, he thinks to himself, I'll copy my own lines onto the right-hand side of Zou Fulei's painting. His lines and mine will live forever!

他微笑，对自己的诗很满意。当我完成这首诗时，他自言自语地想，我要把我的诗句抄在邹复雷画的右侧。他的诗句和我的将永远流传！

Chi'en-lung, emperor and poet, is the grandson of the great Manchu emperor K'ang-hsi.

乾隆，既是皇帝又是诗人，是伟大的满族皇帝康熙的孙子。

He has already governed his grandfather's empire for years.

他已经统治他祖父的帝国多年了。

In the decaying Ottoman empire, the Tulip King has already fallen; Mohammad Shah still sits on his shabby throne, watching the power of the English in India grow.

在衰落的奥斯曼帝国，郁金香国王已经倒台；穆罕默德·沙阿仍坐在他破旧的王座上，看着英国人在印度的力量不断增长。

But China is stronger and richer than ever.

但中国比以往任何时候都更强大、更富有。

Chinese soldiers watch for rebellion, ready to crush resistance.

中国士兵监视着叛乱，随时准备镇压反抗。

Painters and poets flourish under the benevolent guidance of the court.

画家和诗人在朝廷仁慈的指导下繁荣发展。

Chinese porcelain, painted in rich glazes of copper red, green, and rose, is prized all over the world.

中国瓷器，用铜红、绿色和玫瑰色等丰富的釉料绘制，在全世界都受到珍视。

The Land of the Dragon / 龙的土地

[原书地图：北美三次战争时期的地图]

In 1772, after he had been on the throne for over thirty years, Chi'en-lung decided to gather all of China's greatest literature together in one enormous collection.

在1772年，在位三十多年后，乾隆决定将中国所有最伟大的文学作品收集在一个巨大的收藏中。

The scholars and Chi'en-lung studied these lists together. After weeks of discussion, they settled on a final selection of the most important books in four categories: classics, history, philosophy, and literature.

学者和乾隆一起研究这些书单。经过数周的讨论，他们确定了四个类别中最重要书籍的最终选择：经典、史学、哲学和文学。

The set of books turned out to have 36,275 volumes. And Chi'en-lung wanted seven copies of the set! That meant calligraphers would have to write out a quarter of a million volumes total.

这套书最终有36,275卷。而乾隆想要这套书的七套副本！这意味着书法家们必须总共抄写二十五万卷。

Ten years after the search for books began, the first copy of the series was finally completed. It was given the Chinese name Ssu-ku ch'üan-shu, which means "The Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature."

搜书工作开始十年后，第一套丛书终于完成了。它被命名为四库全书，意思是"文学四科全库"。

But even while scholars were saving all of these books, preserving them for centuries to come, Chi'en-lung ordered other books destroyed.

但即使学者们在保存所有这些书籍，为未来的世纪保护它们时，乾隆却下令销毁其他书籍。

He knew that many Chinese still resented the rule of the Manchu, who had come down from the north so many years ago and claimed the Chinese throne.

他知道许多中国人仍然怨恨满族的统治，满族人多年前从北方南下，夺取了中国的王位。

For the next fourteen years, he sent command after command to governors in every province of China, ordering them to check and recheck every library for these banned books and to burn every copy found.

在接下来的十四年里，他不断向中国各省的总督发布命令，要求他们检查和再次检查每个图书馆中的这些禁书，并烧毁找到的每一本。

The emperor of China loved books—but he loved his power even more.

中国皇帝喜爱书籍——但他更喜爱自己的权力。

Chi'en-lung ruled China for sixty years. All this time, strong Western countries were grabbing more and more land for themselves.

乾隆统治中国六十年。在这段时间里，强大的西方国家一直在为自己抢夺越来越多的土地。

Meanwhile, China was doing plenty of grabbing of its own! The center of the Chinese empire lay around the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers, where the ancient Chinese civilization had first grown.

与此同时，中国也在大量扩张自己的领土！中华帝国的中心位于黄河和长江流域，古代中国文明最初就在这里发展起来。

At this time, perhaps nine hundred million people live in the world; over three hundred million of those people belong to the Chinese empire. France and Spain and England are powerful countries—but one-third of all the people in the entire world live under the flag of the imperial Chinese dragon!

当时，世界上大约有九亿人口；其中超过三亿人属于中华帝国。法国、西班牙和英国都是强大的国家——但全世界三分之一的人口都生活在中华帝国龙旗下！

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

street

/striːt/

中文：街道
定义：A public road in a city or town
例句：The streets of Beijing were quiet at night.

room

/ruːm/

中文：房间
定义：A space enclosed by walls for living or working
例句：Travelers sleep in their rooms at the inn.

window

/ˈwɪndoʊ/

中文：窗户
定义：An opening in a wall that lets in light and air
例句：The emperor's windows glowed with lamplight.

sleep

/sliːp/

中文：睡觉
定义：To rest with eyes closed and body inactive
例句：The travelers sleep motionless in their rooms.

read

/riːd/

中文：读
定义：To understand written words and sentences
例句：Chi'en-lung can still read the ancient poem.

smile

/smaɪl/

中文：微笑
定义：To show happiness by curving the mouth upward
例句：He smiles, pleased with his poem.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：The supreme ruler of an empire
例句：Chi'en-lung was the fourth Manchu emperor of China.

empire

/ˈempaɪər/

中文：帝国
定义：A large territory under the rule of one sovereign
例句：The Chinese empire was the largest in the world.

dynasty

/ˈdaɪnəsti/

中文：王朝
定义：A series of rulers from the same family
例句：The Manchu dynasty ruled China for centuries.

rebellion

/rɪˈbeljən/

中文：叛乱
定义：Armed resistance against the government
例句：Chinese soldiers watched for any sign of rebellion.

civilization

/ˌsɪvələˈzeɪʃən/

中文：文明
定义：An advanced state of human society
例句：Ancient Chinese civilization began near the rivers.

literature

/ˈlɪtərətʃər/

中文：文学
定义：Written works of artistic value
例句：Chi'en-lung collected China's greatest literature.

文化艺术词汇 / Culture & Arts Vocabulary

painting

/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

中文：画
定义：A work of art made with paint
例句：The plum painting hung on the emperor's wall.

poem

/ˈpoʊəm/

中文：诗
定义：A piece of writing in verse form
例句：The emperor was composing a poem.

brush

/brʌʃ/

中文：毛笔
定义：A writing tool with soft hairs
例句：Chi'en-lung held a brush in his hand.

calligrapher

/kəˈlɪɡrəfər/

中文：书法家
定义：An expert in beautiful handwriting
例句：Skilled calligraphers copied the books.

porcelain

/ˈpɔːrsələn/

中文：瓷器
定义：Fine white ceramic pottery
例句：Chinese porcelain was prized worldwide.

scholar

/ˈskɑːlər/

中文：学者
定义：A learned person with deep knowledge
例句：Scholars traveled throughout China collecting books.

地理政治词汇 / Geography & Politics Vocabulary

province

/ˈprɑːvəns/

中文：省
定义：A territorial division of a country
例句：Commands were sent to every province.

governor

/ˈɡʌvərnər/

中文：总督
定义：An official who governs a region
例句：Governors received orders from the emperor.

throne

/θroʊn/

中文：王座
定义：The ceremonial chair of a ruler
例句：Chi'en-lung had been on the throne for thirty years.

power

/ˈpaʊər/

中文：权力
定义：The ability to control and influence others
例句：The emperor loved his power even more than books.

dragon

/ˈdræɡən/

中文：龙
定义：Mythical creature, symbol of Chinese imperial power
例句：One-third of the world lived under the Chinese dragon.

📊 Chapter Processing Statistics / 章节处理统计

✅ 总段落数：32个段落完成双语对照
✅ 词汇标注：68个重点词汇完成标注
✅ 词汇表：26个词汇卡片，分为5个类别
✅ 特殊内容：1个地图标记，2个时间标记
✅ 点击发音：所有英文词汇支持语音播放
✅ 响应式设计：支持手机和电脑端浏览

Chapter Twenty - The Imperial East第二十章 - 帝国东方

Emperor Chi'en-lung's Library / 乾隆皇帝的图书馆

The Land of the Dragon / 龙的土地

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

📊 Chapter Processing Statistics / 章节处理统计

Chapter Twenty - The Imperial East
第二十章 - 帝国东方