故宫展出《清明上河图》 引来游客"故宫跑"

 　　An hour before the Forbidden City opened to visitors one recent morning, the stone courtyard just south of the ancient imperial palace was abuzz. Within the vermilion walls, the usual mix of uniformed palace workers, tour guides and tourists milled about beneath a pale blue sky. Loudspeakers blared a recording¹ about ticketing policies.

　　前不久的一个早晨，在故宫开门前一小时，这座古老宫廷南侧的一个红墙石头庭院里已经人声鼎沸。穿制服的故宫工作人员、导游和游客们在淡蓝色的天空下挤来挤去。扬声器里响亮地传出关于售票规定的录音。

　　But at the center of it all was an atypical sight: a phalanx of more than 1,000 people, flanked by palace workers whose job was to keep the ranks in line. Unlike most visitors, this small army had come with only one goal: to see "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," an early 12th-century painted scroll² considered so iconic that it is often called "China's Mona Lisa."

　　不过，人群中央的情景不同寻常：那是一个由1000多人组成的方阵，方阵两侧是故宫的工作人员，他们的任务是督促人们保持队形。不像大部分游客，这一小队人来这里只有一个目标：观看《清明上河图》。这幅创作于12世纪初的画轴极具代表性，被称为中国的《蒙娜丽莎》。

　　Since an exhibition celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Palace Museum opened in early September, people have been waiting for up to 10 hours to see this 17-foot-long masterpiece attributed to the painter Zhang Zeduan, an intricate ink-on-silk tableau³ of life in the Northern Song dynasty capital, Kaifeng. The best-known painting in the museum's vast collection, it has been shown in public only a few times, in Beijing most recently in 2005 for the museum's 80th anniversary.

　　从9月初故宫博物院开始举办这场庆祝成立90周年的展览时起，人们就等待长达十个小时观看张择端的这幅长17英尺（约5.28米）的绘画杰作。这幅绢本设色画轴复杂精细，生动描绘了北宋都城开封的生活。它是故宫博物院众多藏品中最著名的一幅画，仅公开展示过几次，最近一次在北京展出是2005年该博物院成立80周年之时。

　　故宫展出《清明上河图》 引来游客"故宫跑"

　　The fanatical interest in the work coincides with a concerted push by the Chinese government to encourage interest in traditional culture and values, as a way of emphasizing its links to a history that goes back thousands of years.

　　人们对这件作品产生狂热兴趣之时，正是中国政府部门协力激发人们对传统文化和价值观的兴趣之际。后者的目的在于突显中国几千年的历史。

　　And the crowds lining⁴ up have been widely covered both in the news media and on social media, particularly after photos began circulating of people frantically⁵ racing⁶ from the Meridian⁷ Gate entrance of the palace toward the exhibition hall. (Chinese news outlets⁸ were quick to label the phenomenon the gugong pao, or "Imperial Palace run.")

　　新闻和社交媒体纷纷报道人们争相排队参观的事，特别是在观众从午门狂奔至展厅的照片在网上传开之后（中国媒体很快称之为"故宫跑"）。

　　"There's been so much hype about this painting, so I decided⁹ to come early to check it out myself," said Jacqueline Zhang, 25, who works at a bank in Beijing and came at 5 a.m. to secure a place at the head of the line. She added, "This just shows how easily excited Chinese people can get."

　　"这幅画被炒得很热，所以我决定早点过来，亲眼看看，"25岁的杰奎琳·张(Jacqueline Zhang)说。她在北京的一家银行工作，为了能排在队伍前面，她早上5点就来了。她补充说："这表明，中国人多么容易激动。"

　　Past exhibitions of the scroll have attracted huge crowds, but the heightened fervor¹⁰ these days comes as the term "wenhua," or culture, and the desire to appear cultured have become increasingly prominent in China.

　　这幅画轴过去展览时也吸引了很多观众，但是如今的狂热是因为中国人越来越想有文化或者显得有文化。

　　"Now that people have money and social status, they want to show other people that they understand culture," said Chen Yimo, an expert in Chinese calligraphy¹¹ and painting.

　　"人们有钱有地位了，就想向别人表明自己懂文化，"中国书画家陈一墨说。

　　"Chinese people have a lot of respect for the term 'culture.' No matter how much money you have, if you don't have culture, then you're just a tuhao," said Mr. Chen, using a popular term for the crass¹² nouveaux riches.

　　"中国人十分尊重文化。不管你多有钱，要是没文化，你就只是个土豪，"陈一墨说。

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

3 tableau   

n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面）

参考例句：

• The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life.这部电影的画面生动地描绘了军人的生活。
• History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.历史不过是由罪恶和灾难构成的静止舞台造型罢了。

4 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

5 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

11 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

12 crass   

adj.愚钝的，粗糙的；彻底的

参考例句：

• The government has behaved with crass insensitivity.该政府行事愚蠢而且麻木不仁。
• I didn't want any part of this silly reception,It was all so crass.我完全不想参加这个无聊的欢迎会，它实在太糟糕了。