【正文】 古銅缸和鐵缸，其中最珍貴的是鎏金銅
缸。然而這些鎏金銅缸沒有逃脫侵略者刺刀刮體的厄運(yùn)。侵略者是誰？是英、美、德、法、俄、日、意、奧八國聯(lián)軍。為了鎮(zhèn)壓中國人民反帝的義和團(tuán)運(yùn)動(dòng)，1900年的8月13日至8月15日，八國聯(lián)軍攻陷北京，進(jìn)占紫禁城。救死扶傷和軍官們燒、殺、搶、掠，從宮中及頤和園等處動(dòng)掠奪的文物在各侵略國使館區(qū)堆積如山，至今仍有大量文物被倫敦、巴黎、紐約博物館攫為已有。這一切包括眼前這口缸上的道道刮痕都已成為帝國主義侵略中國的鐵證。是偽統(tǒng)治時(shí)期，大缸被拉出宮門，裝上日本侵略軍的卡車，用去制作子彈，再反過來屠殺我國人民。
（中和殿前）
眼前這個(gè)方形建筑是中和殿?；实叟e行大典前，先到此暫坐休息，會(huì)見一些官員?；实廴ヌ臁⒌?、日、月四壇祭祀時(shí)，前一天也要在中和殿里看祭文。每年二月皇帝到先家壇舉行親耕儀式，前一天要來這里閱視種子、農(nóng)具、祝文。這里現(xiàn)在陳列的是乾隆年間的兩面三刀頂肩輿，即八抬大轎
城角
故宮的四個(gè)城角，每一個(gè)角上有一座九梁十八柱七十二條脊的角樓，建造的可好看了。這四座角摟是怎么蓋的呢？北京有這么個(gè)傳說——
明朝的燕王朱隸在南京做了永樂皇帝以后，因?yàn)楸本┦撬鐾鯛敃r(shí)候的老地方，就想遷都北京，于是就派了親信大臣到北京蓋皇官。朱隸告訴這個(gè)大臣：要在皇宮外墻——紫禁城的四個(gè)犄角上，蓋四座樣子特別美麗的角樓，每座角樓要有九梁十八柱、七十二條脊。并且說：“你就做這個(gè)管工大臣吧，如果修蓋的不好是要?dú)㈩^的！”管工大臣領(lǐng)了皇帝的諭旨后，心里非常發(fā)愁，不知如何蓋這九梁十八柱、七十二條脊的角樓。
管工大臣到了北京以后，就把八十一家大包工木廠的工頭、木匠們都叫來，跟他們說了皇帝的旨意，限期三個(gè)月，叫他們一定要按期蓋成這四座怪樣子的角樓，并且說：“如果蓋不成，皇帝自然要?dú)⑽业念^，可是在沒殺我的頭之前，我就先把你們的頭砍了，所以當(dāng)心你們的腦袋?！惫ゎ^和木匠們對這樣的工程都沒把握，只好常常在一塊琢磨法子。
三個(gè)月的期限是很短的，一轉(zhuǎn)眼就是一個(gè)月了，工頭和木匠們還沒想出一點(diǎn)頭緒、一點(diǎn)辦法來，他們做了許多樣型，都不合適。這時(shí)候，正趕上六七月的三伏天氣，熱得人都喘不上氣來，加上心里煩悶，工頭和木匠們真是坐也不合適，躺也不合適。有這么一位木匠師傅，實(shí)在呆不住了，就上大街閑遛去了。
走著走著，聽見老遠(yuǎn)傳來一片蟈蟈的吵叫聲，接著、又聽見一聲吆喝：“買蟈蟈，聽叫去，睡不著，解悶兒去！”走近一看，是一個(gè)老頭兒挑著許多大大小小秫秸編的蟈蟈籠子，在沿街叫賣。其中有一個(gè)細(xì)秫秸棍插的蟈蟈籠子，精巧得跟畫里的一座樓閣一樣，里頭裝著幾只蟈蟈，木匠師傅想：反正是煩心的事，該死的活不了，買個(gè)好看的籠子，看著也有趣兒，于是就買下了。
這個(gè)木匠提著蟈蟈籠子，回到了工地。大伙兒一看就吵嚷起來了：“人們都心里怪煩的，你怎么買一籠子蟈蟈來，成心吵人是怎么著？”木匠笑著說：“大家睡不著解個(gè)悶兒吧，你們瞧??”他原想說你們瞧這個(gè)籠子多么好看呀！可是他還沒說出嘴來，就覺得這籠子有點(diǎn)特別。他急忙擺著手說：“你們先別吵吵嚷嚷的，讓我數(shù)數(shù)再說?！八严X蟈籠子的梁啊、柱啊、脊呀細(xì)細(xì)地?cái)?shù)了一遍又一遍，大伙被他這一數(shù)，也吸引得留了神，靜靜地直著眼睛看著，一點(diǎn)聲音也沒有。
木匠數(shù)完了蟈蟈籠子，蹦起來一拍大腿說：“這不正是九梁十八柱七十二條脊么？”大伙一聽都高興了，這個(gè)接過籠子數(shù)數(shù)，那個(gè)也接過籠子數(shù)數(shù)，都說：“真是九梁十八柱、七十二條脊的樓閣啊，”
大伙兒受這個(gè)籠子的啟發(fā)，琢磨出了紫禁城角樓的樣子，燙出紙漿做出樣型，最后修成了到現(xiàn)在還存在的角摟。
北京故宮英文導(dǎo)游詞 The Fobidden City
FORBIDDEN CITY(紫禁城)
(In front of the meridian gate)
This is the palace museum。 also know as the Purple Forbidden City. It is the largest and most well reserved imperial residence in China today. Under Ming Emperor Yongle, construction began in 1406. It took 14years to build the Forbidden City. The first ruler who actually lived here was Ming Emperor Zhudi. For five centuries thereafter, it continued to be the residence of23 successive emperors until 1911 when Qing Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the throne .In 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognized the Forbidden City was a world cultural legacy.
It is believed that the Palace Museum, or Zi Jin Cheng (Purple Forbidden City), got its name from astronomy folklore, The ancient astronomers divided the constellations into groups and centered them around the Ziwei Yuan(North Star). The constellation containing the North Star was called the Constellation of Heavenly God and star itself was called the purple palace. Because the emperor was supposedly the son of the heavenly gods, his central and dominant position would be further highlighted the use of the word purple in the name of his residence. In folklore, the term ‖an eastern purple cloud is drifting‖ became a metaphor for auspicious events after a purple cloud was seen drifting eastward immediately before the arrival of an ancient philosopher, LaoZi, to the Hanghu Pass. Here, purple is associated with auspicious developments. The word jin (forbidden) is selfexplanatory as the imperial palace was heavily guarded and offexplanatory as the imperial palace was heavily guarded and offlimits to ordinary people.
The red and yellow used on the palace walls and roofs are also symbolic. Red represents happiness, good fortune and wealth. Yellow is the color of the earth on the Loess Plateau, the original home of the Chinese people. Yellow became an imperial color during the Tang dynasty, when only members of the royal family were allowed to wear it and use it in their architecture.
The Forbidden City is rectangular in shape. It is 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meter wide from east west. It has 9,900 rooms under a total roof area 150,000 square meters .A 52meterwidemoat encircles a
—high wall which encloses the plex. Octagon —shaped turrets rest on the four corners of the wall. There are four entrances into the city: the Meridian Gate to the south, the Shenwu Gate(Gate of Military Prowess) to the north, and the Xihua Gate(Gate of military Prowess) to the north, and the Xihua Gate(Western Flowery Gate )to the west ,the Donghua (Eastern Flowery Gate) to the east.
Manpower and materials throughout the country were used to build the Forbidden City. A total of 230,000 artisans and one million laborers were employed. Marble was quarried from fangshan Country Mount Pan in Jixian County in Hebei Province. Granite was quarried in Quyang County in Hebei Province. Paving blocks were fired in kilns in Suzhou in southern China. Bricks and scarlet pigmentation used on the palatial walls came from linqing in Shandong Province .Timber was cut ,processed and hauled from the northwestern and southern regions.
The structure in front of us is the Meridian Gate. It is the main entrance to the forbidden City. It is also knows as Wufenglou(FivePhoenix Tower). Ming emperors held lavish banquets here on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar year in hornor of their counties .They also used this place for punishing officals by flogging them with sticks.
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