旅游英语景点介绍—大理崇圣三塔 The Three Pagodas Temple of Dali

　　【简介】崇圣寺始建于南诏丰佑年间(公元824～859年)，在大理国时期扩展为890间屋子、11400尊佛像、三阁、七楼、九殿及百厦，被称为“佛都”。崇圣寺曾有五大重器：三塔、南诏建极大钟、雨铜观音铜像、元代高僧圆护大师书写的“证道歌碑”及“佛都匾”、明代的“三圣金像”，由于年代久远，5大重器只剩下三塔。崇圣寺于清军围剿杜文秀时被毁。三塔矗立于崇圣寺大门前，寺东为千寻塔，即大塔，南、北为小塔，排列成三角形。大塔名曰千寻塔，全名“法界通灵明道乘塔”。建于南诏蒙劝丰佑时期(823年—859年)，即唐长庆四年到开成四年。千寻塔高58米，为16层方形密檐式砖塔，塔内空心，置有似“井”字形交叉木骨架，可以攀登塔顶;塔身下部为石砌台基，高1.1米，上层台基为砖砌须弥座，高1.9米。属于典型的唐代建筑风格。千寻塔西，等距约70米远的地方，有南北两座小塔，建于大理国时期，即在五代末宋代初期，高约42米，为十级八角形密檐式空心砖塔。在主塔台基石砌照璧上，嵌有明代万历年间黔国公沐英之孙沐世阶书写的“永镇山川”四字。三塔处于地震频繁地区，千百年仍巍然屹立，l961年崇圣寺三塔被列为全国文物保护单位。1979年维修三塔时，曾在千寻塔内发现了写经、经卷、铜镜和金、银、木、水晶等佛像，各种药材共600余件。

大理崇圣三塔The Three Pagodas Temple of Dali

Today we are going to visit the three pagodas temple of Dali. Welcome, everyone!

Before we got the three pagodas temple, I would like to give you a brief introduction of Dali. Why is it called “Dali”? As we all know Dali has a long history. After the Kingdom of NanZhao, Duansiping Established the Kingdom of Dali. “li” this Chinese word refers to “manners”, indicated the hope of the king that make his country a prosperous and civilized place.

Dali is a world –famous tourist attraction. It is rich in cultural heritages and tourist resources. Dali is widely claimed as “the Oriental Switzerland”, “the Chinese Geneva” and “the Pearl on the Yunnan Plateau”. Each year, it attracts thousands of tourists both at home and from abroad to pay a visit. For example, the Cangsang mountain, Erhai lake, Dali Ancient city and the Three Pagodas are all important resorts in Dali. And we are all familiar with the saying:”wind, flowers, snow and the moon”, which refers to the snow on Cangshan mountain, the moon of the Erhai Lake, the wind of Shangguan county and the flowers in Xiaguang county. There are regarded as the best sight of Dali. We will enjoy them later.

The Bai Nationality is the chief nationality in Dali Prefecture. It has the second biggest population among the 25 ethnic minorities in Yunnan, totaling more than 1,000,000 people. The Bai people have a long history and a well-developed culture. Under the influence of the Han people, some of their customs and habits are quite similar to those of the Han people. As our bus keeps moving on towards Dali, you will see more and more houses and villiages that have a strong local colour of the Bai people.

Dali City is the capital of the Bai Autonomous Prefecture. As the largest city in the west of Yunnan, it covers an area of 1,400 square kilometers with a population of more than 450,000. In addition, Dali City is the political, economic and cultural center of Dali, as well as one of the important gateways to the Southeast Asian nations.

OK, everyone, we are now at the Three Pagodas Temple. Let’s go inside and see.来源：www.examda.com

Three Pagodas are the ancient landmarks. They have been the symbol of Dali. The temple located in the piedmont of Cangshan mountain and the near the Erhai Lake. The three pagodas are the only building of the temple. Because the temple went through the war and has been ruined. In Chinese we call it “cong shen”, which means admiring the Buddha, and this Buddha refers to the 观音.

After cross this plaza we will be in the temple. See ,the three pagodas stand there. The major Pagoda, built during the period of NanZhao State, stands 69 meters in height and is divided into 16 tiers. Each tier is inlaid with the statues of Buddha. On its front, four Chinese characters are quite striking, meaning “Ensuring Tranquility to Mountains and Rivers Forever.” From this, we can conclude that one of the reasons to built this pagoda is to prevent disasters. This pagoda, we call it “千寻”.

I am sure you have noticed the two small pagodas. They were built at the beginning of 10th century during the period of Dali State. Each Stands 42 meters in height and is divided into 10 tiers. They are made from bricks.

The three pagodas have a history of more than 1,000 years. They have warthered the storms and earthquakes several years. Still, the three pagodas stand firm and erect. They clearly show us the exquisite and superb craftsmanship of the ancient Chinese architecture.

In recent years, the local government renovated the three pagodas. During the renovation, inside the major pagoda were found lots of treasures: Buddhist Sciptures, gold, silver, bronze and iorn wares, pearl, agate, amber, jade and some herbs, totaling more than 600 pieces.

These three pagodas make a beautiful picture. If seen from a far distance, you will have such a feeling that how can this miracle exist in this world. Every time when I saw them, I always wondered that. They are really the wonderful works made by Bai people.

This way, please, everyone. Now we can see the Statue of Yutong 观音. It is a rebuilt one, the original one was destroyed before. This statue is different from other statues of观音 in other places around China. What’s the difference? Please look at it clearly. It’s face looks like a woman’s face, and it’s body resembles a man’ s body. This feature can not be found in other statue.

After visiting the temple, we will go to enjoy the scenery of Cangshan mountain and Erhai Lake, Ok ,Let’s go, everyone.