2019年经济学人 著名华裔建筑大师贝聿铭(4)

 

In 1974 he managed to return; later he built, for the government, a hotel complex at Fragrant¹ Hill outside Beijing. He seized on this as a chance to wean the Chinese away from their drab eastern European blocks and back to the domestic traditions they had lost. But their break with the past had been too definite; they now wanted to copy the West, and did not care for the old motifs² he combined with his geometry and glass.

1974年，他回到了中国，后来他为政府建造了位于北京郊外香山的一家综合酒店。他抓住了这个机会，让中国人摆脱他们单调乏味的东欧街区，回归他们已经失去的国内传统。但是他们与过去的决裂太明确了，他们现在想要模仿西方，他不喜欢与几何和玻璃结合在一起的旧图案。

He did better with the Bank of China Tower for the bank his father had run, where his shaft³ of 70 slim, dark storeys, criss-crossed with white lines, was based on the angular growth of bamboo. Visiting shrines⁴ in the mountains once in childhood, he thought he heard the bamboo growing. Those mountains, like the gardens, led him to seek tranquillity⁵ in the buildings he designed. They sometimes seemed too exciting for that: sweeping⁶ stairways, soaring glass, razor-sharp angles,scintillating slopes.

他的中国银行大厦的设计做得更好，因为他父亲曾经营那家银行，这个修长、底部暗黑、有着纵横交错的白线的70层大楼，是基于竹子的角形生长设计的。有一次，他去山里的神祠，他觉得自己听到了竹子的生长。那些山峰就像花园一样，使他在自己设计的建筑里寻找宁静。它们有时似乎太令人兴奋了，以至于无法做到这一点：大规模的楼梯、高耸的玻璃、锋利的角度、闪闪发光的斜坡。

But at their heart lay those perfect forms, triangle, circle and square. Water often lay nearby, offering both transparency and reflection. A pyramid with water round it, as at the Louvre, was the very essence of serenity⁷: harmony of structure and spirit. It might take time to make its case; architecture was a slow art. But as it moved from newness to permanence, he felt beamingly sure that Parisians would agree with him.

但在他们的中心却有着那些完美的形状，三角形、圆形和正方形。水通常就在附近，既透明又有倒影。像卢浮宫一样，金字塔周围环绕着水，那是宁静的精髓：结构与精神的和谐。这可能需要时间来证明。建筑是一种慢艺术。但当它从新鲜走向永恒时，他非常确信巴黎人会同意他的观点。

1 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

2 motifs   

n. （文艺作品等的）主题( motif的名词复数 )；中心思想；基本模式；基本图案

参考例句：

• I try to develop beyond the old motifs. 我力求对传统的花纹图案做到推陈出新。 来自辞典例句
• American Dream is one of the most important motifs of American literature. “美国梦”是美国文学最重要的母题之一。 来自互联网

3 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

4 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

5 tranquillity   

n. 平静, 安静

参考例句：

• The phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished. 这个令人惶惑不安的现象，扰乱了他的旷达宁静的心境。
• My value for domestic tranquillity should much exceed theirs. 我应该远比他们重视家庭的平静生活。

6 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

7 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。