大雁塔英文介绍Asthesymboloftheold-lineXian,BigWildGoosePagodaisawell- preservedancientbuildingandaholyplaceforBuddhists.Itislocatedinthesou thernsuburbofXianCity,about4kilometers(2.49miles)fromthedowntownofthe city.StandingintheDaCi'enTemplecomplex,itattractsnumerousvisitorsfori tsfameintheBuddhistreligion,itssimplebutappealingstyleofconstruction, anditsnewsquareinfrontofthetemple.ItisratedasaNationalKeyCulturalReli cPreserveaswellasanAAAATouristAttraction. Thisattractioncanbedividedintothreeparts:theBigWildGoosePagoda,th eDaCi'enTemple,andtheNorthSquareofBigWildGoosePagoda. BigWildGoosePagoda Originallybuiltin652duringthereignofEmperorGaozongoftheTangDynast y(618- 907),itfunctionedtocollectBuddhistmaterialsthatweretakenfromIndiabyth ehierarchXuanzang. XuanzangstartedofffromChang'an(theancientXian),alongtheSilkRoadan dthroughdeserts,finallyarrivinginIndia,thecradleofBuddhism.Enduring17 yearsandtraversing100countries,heobtainedBuddhafigures,657kindsofsutr as,andseveralBuddharelics.HavinggottenthepermissionofEmperorGaozong(6 28- 683),Xuanzang,asthefirstabbotofDaCi'enTemple,supervisedthebuildingofa pagodainsideit.Withthesupportofroyalty,heasked50hierarchsintothetempl etotranslateSanskritinsutrasintoChinese,totaling1,335volumes,whichher aldedanewerainthehistoryoftranslation.BasedonthejourneytoIndia,healso wroteabookentitled'PilgrimagetotheWest'intheTangDynasty,towhichschola rsattachedgreatimportance. Firstbuilttoaheightof60meters(197feet)withfivestories,itisnow64.5 meters(211.6feet)highwithanadditionaltwostories.Itwassaidthataftertha tadditioncamethesaying-'Savingalifeexceedsbuildingaseven- storiedpagoda'.Externallyitlookslikeasquarecone,simplebutgrandanditis amasterpieceofBuddhistconstruction.Builtofbrick,itsstructureisveryfir m.Insidethepagoda,stairstwistupsothatvisitorscanclimbandoverlookthepa noramaofXianCityfromthearch- shapeddoorsonfoursidesofeachstorey.Onthewallsareengravedfinestatuesof BuddhabytherenownedartistYanLibenoftheTangDynasty.Stelesbynotedcallig raphersalsogracethepagoda. AsforthereasonwhyitiscalledBigWildGoosePagoda,thereisalegend.Acco rdingtoancientstoriesofBuddhists,thereweretwobranches,foroneofwhichea tingmeatwasnotataboo.Oneday,theycouldn'tfindmeattobuy.Uponseeingagrou pofbigwildgeeseflyingby,amonksaidtohimself:'Todaywehavenomeat.Ihopeth emercifulBodhisattvawillgiveussome.'Atthatverymoment,theleadingwildgo osebrokeitswingsandfelltotheground.Allthemonkswerestartledandbelieved thatBodhisattvashowedhisspirittoorderthemtobemorepious.Theyestablishe dapagodawherethewildgoosefellandstoppedeatingmeat.Henceitgotthename'BigWildGoosePagoda'. DaCi'enTemple DaCi'enTempleisthehomeofBigWildGoosePagoda.In648,tocommemoratethe deadvirtuousqueen,royaltyorderedthebuildingofatemplenamed'Ci'en'(Merc yandKindness),forwhichthestatusandscalefarexceededallothers.Today,wit hanareaof32,314squaremeters(38,648.5squareyards),oneseventhoftheorigi nalarea,itstillretainsitsgrandeur. Beforethetemple,therestandsastatueofhierarchXuanzang,themeritorio ushierarch.Walkingonandacrossasmallbridge,visitorswillseethegatesofth etemple.Withguardinglions,thetempleseemsstatelyforlionsweresaidtofunc tionastalismans. Enteringthetempleyouwillseetwobuildings- BellTowerintheeastandDrumTowerinthewest.InsidetheBellTowerhangsaniron bell15tons(14.76grosstons)inweight.Itwasmoldedin1548intheMingDynasty( 1368- 1644).AlongthecentralaxisarearrangedtheHallofMahavira,SermonHall,BigW ildGoosePagoda,andtheHallofXuanzangSanzang.IntheHallofMahaviraarethre ecarvedstatuesofSakyamuni,and18arhatsaswellasXuanzang.TheSermonHallis whereBuddhistdiscipleswouldlistentoasermon.AbronzestatueofAmitabhaisd edicatedandaBuddhastatueiscollectedbyXuanzangasoblation.TheHallofXuan zangSanzangisnorthofBigWildGoosePagoda.InthishallareXuanzang'srelican dabronzestatueofaseatedXuanzang.Theinnerwallischiseledwithmuralsdepic tingthishierarch'sstory.RenownedasthecontemporaryDunhuangBuddhiststor ehousepraisedbyUNESCO,itisthebiggestmemorialofXuanzang. NorthSquareofBigWildGoosePagoda SurroundingBigWildGoosePagoda,thesceneryisalsoquitecharming,espec iallythesquarenorthoftheDaCi'enTemple.Coveringabout110,000squaremeter s(131563squareyards)plus20,000squaremeters(23920.6squareyards)ofwater area,itholdsmanyrecords:inAsia,itisthebiggestTang- culturesquare,thebiggestfountainandwaterscapesquare,andthelargest- scalesculpturesarea.Intheworld,ithasthemostbenches,thelongestlight- belt,andthelargest-scaleacousticcomplex. Theentiresquareiscomposedofwaterscapefountains,aculturalsquare,ga rdensandtouristpaths.ThereyoucantasterealChinesecultureandtraditionsa ndfullyenjoythetrulyattractiveviews.Withreliefsonthethemeoftheprosper ousTangDynasty,200-meter-long(656-foot- long)sculpturegroups,8groupsofsculptedfigures,40relievosontheland,and 22stylesofmusicalfountains,ithasbecomeamust- seewhenyouvisitBigWildGoosePagoda.。