2.4 Ancient Kyoto—Garden of Temples古京都——寺庙之园

仿照中国隋唐时期的首都长安和洛阳建成的古京都遗址位于前首都平安京区域，建造于公元794年（平安时代开始），从那时起到江户时代（1600年至1868年）一直作为首都。作为一千多年来日本的文化中心，古京都不仅见证了日本木结构建筑，特别是宗教建筑的发展，而且也向世人展示着日本花园艺术的变迁，现在日本的花园设计艺术已经对全世界的景观花园设计产生了重大影响。

古京都有17座世界级文化遗产，其中有13座是寺庙。如金阁寺，原为西园寺恭经的别墅，后给足利义满。足利义满死后，根据遗言改为禅寺，取名鹿苑寺。金阁寺为三层，第二、三层的外墙用金箔贴成，远远望去，金光闪闪。三层高的金阁寺，每层都象征着不同时代的风格，塔顶尾部装饰着一只金铜合铸的凤凰，堪称一绝。银阁寺位于京都东山麓，1482年由足利义政按金阁寺造型修建，与金阁寺齐名。大德寺，建于1319年。大灯国师为开山祖师，后经战乱被焚。著名的一休大师经过几十年的漂泊布教后，以80岁的高龄任大德寺的主持，重建了大德寺。被称为“三步一寺庙、七步一神社”的京都有佛寺1500多座，神社2000多座，可见当时佛教已经在日本盛行，而古京都就是日本文化艺术的摇篮，佛教的中心。

Kyoto flourished as the capital of Japan for as long as 1000 years after 794. Thirteen temples,3 shrines and the Nijo Castle are all registered as world heritage sites. Buddhism had already been introduced from China and Chinese culture was having a profound（深远的）influence on Japan when the capital was moved from Heijo-ko (Nara), after ten years at Nagaoka, to Kyoto, under the name of Heian-ko, in 794 A.D.. The plan of the city, measuring 4.5km east-west and 5.1km north-south, was modeled on Chinese cities such as Chang'an, capital of Tang China.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple was built by Sakanoue Tamuramaro (758—811), a military commander and Enchin monk, and is one of the best sightseeing places in Kyoto. Among its many interesting features, the most famous is the "Kiyomizu-no-butai (main hall's wooden veranda)". It is supported by 139 pillars and built as though projected on to the mountain slope. It is said that if you jump from this veranda（阳台）and survive with no injuries, your wishes will be fulfilled and if you die, you will become a peaceful saint. For a long time there seemed to be no end to the people willing to jump from there and in order to stop this phenomenon, the government enacted a law in 1872 to prohibit（禁止）jumping.

Rokuon-ji Temple, commonly known as "Kinkaku-ji" or Golden Pavilion, was constructed in 1224 as a second house for an aristocrat. Later, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358—1408) took it over as his residence, and after his death, it was converted into a temple. This 3-tiered building facing the pond is a rare construction with each successive tier designed in a different style. Its stunning image embossed（饰以浮饰）with gold leaf and reflected in the pond, is indescribable. The famous novel Kinkaku-ji by Yukio Mishima (1925—1970) is based on an incident in 1950 when a young monk, obsessed（着迷）by the temple's beauty, set fire to it and burnt it down.

Ryoan-ji Temple is a well known for its "Sekitei" rock garden. There are no ponds or other water features in this garden; natural water scenery is expressed using stones and gravel（碎石）. The simple forms with lines in white gravel made by sweeping with a broom, and 15 large and small stones set at 5 points, symbolizes formal Japanese beauty, in which all superfluity（多余）is eliminated. There is also a bit of playfulness in the design as one of the 15 stones is always hidden behind another stone no matter from which angle the garden is viewed, which fascinates the tourists. By the way, this garden started appearing in overseas mass media after being highly praised by Queen Elizabeth on her visit here.

There are many other sightseeing points registered as world heritage sites apart from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kinkaku-ji Temple and Ryoan-ji Temple, which we have just introduced.

For instance, "Saiho-ji Temple" more familiar under its other name of "Koke-dera"because it has a garden covered with Koke (moss); "Jisho-ji Temple (Ginkaku-ji)" with its beautiful garden representing Higashiyama culture from the mid Muromachi period;"Ninna-ji Temple" known for its symmetrical five-story pagoda; "Kyouou Gokoku-ji Temple" (= To-ji) with its spectacle of 21 statues of Buddha expressing Tantric Buddhist ideology; "Enryaku-ji Temple" on Hiei Mountain with more than 200 towers and halls;"Daigo-ji Temple" built across Mount Daigo as one of the best large-scale temples in Kyoto; "Byodoin" famous for "Amidado" reflected like a floating palace in the water of a pond; "Kozan-ji Temple" considered the birthplace of Japanese tea and still filled with tea orchards（茶园）; a representative temple of the Zen Buddhist School "Tenryu-ji Temple"; "Hongan-ji Temple" (= Nishi-honganji) where various national treasures including the oldest Noh stage in Japan are preserved; "Kamowakeikazuchi-jinja Shrine"(= Kamigamo-jinja Shrine) with its brilliant vermilion-lacquered gate; "Kamomioya-jinja Shrine" as one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto; "Ujikami-jinja Shrine" with a main hall known as the oldest shrine architecture in Japan; and "Nijo-jo Castle" where the last Shogun lived and tourists come to view the incredible paintings on sliding screens. All of these heritage sites convey Japanese history and culture and offer many highlights that you should not miss, so it is strongly recommended that you plan your schedule in order to fit in as many places as possible when you visit Kyoto.

用英语畅谈Ancient Kyoto黄金句

☺ Buddhism had already been introduced from China and Chinese culture was having a profound influence on Japan when the capital was moved from Heijo-ko (Nara), after ten years at Nagaoka, to Kyoto, under the name of Heian-ko, in 794 A.D..佛教已经从中国传入日本，日本自奈良迁都到长冈10年之后，又于794年再度迁都到京都，取名平安京，此时中国文化对日本已经产生深远的影响。

☺ It is said that if you jump from this veranda and survive with no injuries, your wishes will be fulfilled and if you die, you will become a peaceful saint.据说，如果你从这个阳台上跳下去并且毫发无伤地活下来的话，你的愿望就能成真，但是如果你死了的话，你将成为一位平和的圣人。

☺ Rokuon-ji Temple, commonly known as “Kinkaku-ji” or Golden Pavilion, was constructed in 1224 as a second house for an aristocrat.鹿苑寺，通常称为金阁寺，建于1224年，是一位贵族的第二宅邸。

☺ There is also a bit of playfulness in the design as one of the 15 stones is always hidden behind another stone no matter from which angle the garden is viewed, which fascinates the tourists.在设计上还有点趣味性，因为总共15块石头，无论从哪个角度看石庭，都只能看到14个，这吸引了众多游客前来观赏。

☺ There are many other sightseeing points registered as world heritage sites apart from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kinkaku-ji Temple and Ryoan-ji Temple, which we have just introduced.除了我们刚刚介绍过的清水寺、金阁寺和龙安寺，还有很多其他被列为世界遗产的景点。

用英语畅谈Ancient Kyoto