What comes to your mind when you think of Beijing? The Forbidden City? Tian’anmen Square? The Temple of Heaven?
提起北京，你會(huì)想到什么？故宮、天安門廣場還是天壇？

These famous landmarks are all located along the central axis. As the best-preserved core area of the old city of Beijing, the central axis is now under consideration for UNESCO’s World Heritage status.
這些著名的地標(biāo)建筑均位于北京中軸線上。作為古代北京城市保存最完好的核心區(qū)域，北京中軸線已向聯(lián)合國教科文組織申請加入世界遺產(chǎn)。

The central axis refers to the “l(fā)ine” that separates the eastern and western parts of Beijing. At 7.8 kilometers long, it runs from Yongding Gate in the south to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower in the north. Construction began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and continued during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
北京中軸線是一條分割北京東西部的“線”。此線長7.8公里，南起永定門，北至鐘鼓樓，始于元代(1271年-1368年)，并由明清兩代延續(xù)。

The central axis is like the backbone of Beijing. It smartly organized the palaces, temples and altars, markets and streets in ancient times, UNESCO noted.
中軸線就像北京的脊梁。聯(lián)合國教科文組織指出，北京中軸線巧妙地串聯(lián)了古代的宮殿、寺廟、祭壇、市場和街道。

The central axis shows the traditional Chinese concept of “respecting the center”. This stressed the importance of imperial power, as the royal palace would be in the central spot. Other important buildings were placed around it. For example, the Imperial Ancestral Temple was to the east of the Forbidden City, while the Altar of Land and Grain lay to the west.
北京中軸線體現(xiàn)了中國傳統(tǒng)的“尚中”觀念，將皇宮置于中心位置，其他重要建筑安置在四周，從而強(qiáng)調(diào)皇權(quán)的重要性。例如，太廟在故宮東面，而社稷壇在其西面。

The central axis also shows traditional Chinese ideas like harmony between man and nature and following order. It runs from the south to the north, the same as the direction of a meridian. The ritual culture that started from the Zhou Dynasty (11th century-256 BC) stressed balance, symmetry and order. There are lots of symmetric buildings along the axis. The Forbidden City is the most well-known.
北京中軸線還體現(xiàn)了中國傳統(tǒng)思想，如天人合一、和諧共生、井然有序。中軸線自南向北延伸，與子午線的方向相同。始于周朝(公元前11世紀(jì)-公元前256年)的禮樂文化注重平衡、對稱和秩序，因而沿軸線排布有很多對稱的建筑，其中故宮最為著名。

Beijing was not the first city to use a central axis. During the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), the city Yecheng had a street running from the east to the west. It separated the royal palaces from common people’s living and business areas. In Chang’an (now in Shaanxi province), the capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), there was a wide street from the north to the south. It made the city symmetrical.
北京并不是第一個(gè)使用中軸線的城市。三國時(shí)期(220年-280年)，鄴城有一條自東向西的街道，將皇家宮殿與平民的生活區(qū)和商業(yè)區(qū)分隔開。在唐朝(618年-907年)的都城長安(今陜西省)，有一條從北至南的寬闊街道，將城市對稱分割。

“The central axis is more than a material relic. It is also a continuation of the traditional Chinese city layout concept,” said Shan Jixiang, former director of the Palace Museum.
故宮博物院前院長單霽翔說：“中軸線不是簡單的物質(zhì)遺存，而是中國傳統(tǒng)都城規(guī)劃觀念的不斷延續(xù)?！?/span>

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高二868期