泉州市概况

一、泉州市概况

各位团友，欢迎来到泉州。泉州市地处我国东南沿海的九龙江下游北岸，与台湾隔海相望，终年气候温和，因而别名“温岭”。

泉州是我国许多东南亚华侨和台湾同胞的祖籍地，约有600万海外华侨的祖籍在泉州。

在一些早期的英文文献中，泉州又称Chinchew、Chinchu或Zayton(刺桐)。泉州建制始于公元718年的唐朝，因其靠近晋江入海口，这个天然海港很快发展为港口城市。中世纪的泉州已经是世界第二大海港，城里住着很多来自欧亚各国的居民，大批西方商人在此经商，传教士也随之而来，包括基督教和伊斯兰教的传教士。7世纪，默罕默德的弟子三贤、四贤来到泉州;14世纪，好几位基督教主教到泉州传教。泉州当时最出名的西方客人是马可·波罗。在他的游记里，马可·波罗形容刺桐港是“世界上最大的两个港口之一”，是“东方的亚历山大港”。

泉州是海上丝绸之路的起点。宋、元时期，瓷器代替了丝绸，成为主要的出口产品，当时的对外贸易达到鼎盛时期。泉州的德化就以白瓷出名，是当时主要的白瓷生产地。1987年在海上丝绸之路的南海发现的南宋沉船“南海一号”，距今已有八百多年，船上载满各种珍贵的货物，证明了当时繁荣的白瓷贸易。现在泉州海外交通史博物馆保存并展示了那个时期的许多文物，其中最重要的展品就是一艘1272年之后不久沉没的海船“泉州湾宋代海船”。1973—1974年间，这艘沉船被打捞上来并在馆内展出。

泉州对外贸易的鼎盛时期已经远去，给这个城市留下了丰富的文化遗产。泉州历史悠久，各种文化名胜、历史古迹在这里随处可见。来到泉州，您可以参观记载古代海上交通的祈风崖刻和民族英雄郑成功的陵墓;您也可以去看看中国第一座跨海石梁桥洛阳桥和世界上最长的石梁桥安平桥。您还可以到崇武古城欣赏当地独特的民俗、滨海美景和精美的石雕。除此以外泉州还有许多景点可供各位参观游览!

泉州不但是当时的商业中心，还聚集了世界上主要宗教，包括伊斯兰教、天主教、基督教、犹太教、印度教、婆罗门教、耆那教、佛教、索罗亚斯德教、摩尼教、道教、妈祖信仰等，因此联合国教科文组织把泉州确定为“世界宗教博物馆”。在泉州，您可以参观清净寺，又称艾苏哈卜寺，是中国最早的伊斯兰寺庙，其历史可追溯到公元1009年。这座寺庙表明中国和阿拉伯国家之间的友谊和文化交流。您可以参观开元寺，建于公元686年，是福建省最大的佛寺。受泉州的基督教、伊斯兰教和印度教等影响，开元寺的建筑包含许多非佛教元素，如寺庙里的天使雕刻和印度诸神的塑像。在泉州您还可以参观世界仅存的的摩尼教佛像石刻、开元寺东西塔，以及妈祖神庙，庙里供奉的妈祖在台湾和东南亚拥有众多信徒。在清源山您可以看看有中国最古老的道教石雕老君岩，还有灵山伊斯兰教圣墓，穆罕默德的第三和第四贤徒就埋葬于此。

泉州迄今保留着许多中国传统和文化，各种艺术形式和民间传统享誉国内外，如被称为中国音乐活化石的南音就是泉州艺术宝库中一颗璀璨的明珠，已被列入全国非物质文化遗产名录。南音起源于中原宫廷音乐，后来宫廷音乐家为躲避战乱南迁到福建，它也被带到南方并发扬光大，之后又融合了当地民间音乐，成为一种新的音乐种类，也就是南音。有趣的是，这种古老的音乐在它的起源地已经失传了。除了南音，其他历史悠久的珍贵文化遗产还包括:梨园戏、高甲戏、打城戏、提线木偶以及布袋木偶等。此外泉州还拥有德化瓷器、惠安石雕、安溪铁观音茶、南少林武术以及惠安女民俗文化。惠安女的穿着非常奇特，让人们以为她们是少数民族，实际上她们是汉族。传统的惠安女穿着短短的紧身上衣，松松垮垮的黑色大腿裤，头上包着头巾，戴着竹笠，肚子却裸露在外。她们常常在工地抬石头或沙子。

各位团友如果对博物馆感兴趣，泉州有很多博物馆可以参观。在市内您可以参观包括闽台缘博物馆、泉州海外交通史博物馆、泉州华侨历史博物馆、泉州伊斯兰教博物馆以及泉州南建筑博物馆等在内的多家博物馆。

泉州的自然景点也颇有特色，如有清源山、戴云山等，都很不错，可以玩上好几天的。

马可·波罗笔下神秘的刺桐港，我们来啦!

Chapter 5 Quanzhou

Overview of Quanzhou

Ladies and gentlemen，welcome to Quanzhou.The city is situated in the southeast coast of the country，facing Taiwan across the Straits.It stands on the north bank of the Jinjiang River’s lower reaches.The climate is mild all the year round，hence the nickname“Wenling”，or warm hill.

Quanzhou is an emigration source ofmany overseas Chinese in South East Asia and Taiwan.About 6 million people with their ancestors from Quanzhou are now living abroad.

In some early English literature，Quanzhou is also known as Chinchew，Chinchu，or Zayton.The town was founded in A.D.718 during the Tang Dynasty.Because of its position near the mouth of the Jinjiang River that flows into a vast natural harbor，Quanzhou quickly developed as a port.During the middle ages，Quanzhou was the world’s second largest seaport，hosting a large community of foreign－born inhabitants fromacross the Eurasian world.A large number of Western merchants were based here.Along with the merchants came missionaries，both Christian and Muslim.Records indicate that Mohammed’s third and fourth disciples visited Quanzhou in the 7th century，and several 14^thcentury bishops also did their missionary work in the city.Its most renowned Western visitor was Marco Polo.The port city of Zayton was described by Marco Polo as“one of the two greatest havens in the world”and“the Oriental Alexandria”.

Quanzhou was also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road.In the Song and Yuan Dynasties，porcelain replaced silk as the main exported product and foreign trade reached its peak of prosperity.At that time，Quanzhou’s Dehua，a township well known for its ceramic white ware，was an important white ware capital.The South China Sea No.1 or Nanhai No.1，an 800－year－old treasure－bestowed merchant ship discovered on the Maritime Silk Road of the South China Sea，testifies to the once flourishing white ware trade.Today，a number of relics related to that era are preserved and exhibited in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.A particularly important exhibit is the so－called Quanzhou ship，a seagoing junk that sunk some time after 1272，and was recovered in 1973－74.

Now，the heyday of Quanzhou’s foreign trade is gone，leaving a city with rich cultural heritages.Due to the city’s long history，places of historical and cultural interests are found in almost every corner in Quanzhou.Here you can see and the Wind－praying Stone Inscriptions that recorded ancient maritime transportation，and the tomb of the national hero General Zheng Chenggong，who recovered Taiwan from the Dutch colonists.You can also go to Luoyang Bridge，China’s first cross－sea stone beambridge，the Anping Bridge，the world’s longest stone beam bridge，and Chongwu Ancient Walled City where you can appreciate unique folk customs，coastal scenery and wonderful stone carvings.There’s a lotmore to see in thismythical city!

UNESCO designated Quanzhou as a“Museum of World Religions”because Quanzhou was not only a great center of commerce but also a host to every major religion in the world，including Islam，Catholicism，Nestorian Christianity，Judaism，Hinduism，Brahmanism，Jainism，Buddhism，Zoroastrianism，Manichaeaism，Taoism，and Mazu worship.Here in the city you can visit the Qingjing Mosque，also known as Ashab Mosque，China’s earliest mosque that could be dated back to the year 1009.It was built as a sign of friendship and cultural exchanges between China and the Arab countries.You can visit Kaiyuan Temple built in the year 686.It is the largest Buddhist temple in Fujian.Due to the influence of Christianity，Islam and even Hinduismin Quanzhou，the temple features borrowings from non－Buddhist religions，such as the engravings of angels in the temple and sculptures of Hindu gods.Also you can visit the last Manichaeist carving in China，the East and West Pagodas，and the Mazu Temple which is very popular among Taiwanese and overseas Chinese.In the Qingyuan Mountains，you can take a look at the earliest Laozi Statue in China，the Lingshan Islamic Tombs where Mohammed’s third and fourth disciples were buried.

Ancient Chinese tradition and culture have been well preserved in Quanzhou.Various forms of art and folk customs in the city enjoy a high reputation home and abroad.The Nanyin Music，known as a living fossil of Chinese music，is a sparkling gemamong them.It was inscribed in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.It originated as royal palace music in central China，but eventually established itself in southern China when court musicians migrated to South Fujian to escape civil wars.The music later blended into the local folk music and became a new music genre，the Nanyin Music.Interestingly，the ancient music was lost in central China where it originated.Other valuable cultural heritages include the Liyuan Opera，Gaojia Opera，Dacheng Opera，stringed puppet show，and hand puppet show among other time－honored folk arts.Also notable are Dehua porcelain，Huian stoneware，Anxi Tieguanyin Tea，and South Shaolin martial arts，as well as Hui’an Women folk culture.The dress of Hui’an Women is so peculiar that one might mistake themas of an exotic minority tribe;in fact they are Han Chinese.Traditional Hui’an women wear short，tight blouses and baggy，black trousers，covering their heads with scarves and bamboo hats but leaving their bellies bare.They are often seen in construction sites，lugging and carrying baskets of stone or sand.

If you are interested in museums，you’ll have a lot to see in the city.Here you can visit the Fujian－Taiwan relationship Museum，Quanzhou Maritime Museum，Quanzhou Museum，Quanzhou Overseas Chinese Museum，Quanzhou Islam Museum，and Quanzhou Southern Architecture Museum.

Quanzhou also boasts its natural beauty.Mount Qingyuan and Mount Daiyun，for example，are good options for you.There is definitely enough to keep you busy for a few days.

Marco Polo’smystical，magical port of Zaytun，here we come!

Vocabulary:

Nestorian Christianity　　　n.景教

Judaism　　　n.犹太教

Zoroastrianism　　　n.索罗亚斯德教

Manichaeism　　　n.摩尼教

intangible　　　a.无形的

time－honored　　　adj.历史悠久的