西安最古老的两座清真大寺——化觉巷清真大寺

The Great Mosque

这就是清真大寺，共有四个院落。现在我就陪大家一一参观。

清真大寺，位于西安鼓楼西北的化觉巷内，又称“化觉巷清真大寺”，它与位于大学习巷的清真大寺并称为中国西安最古老的两座清真大寺，因其在大学习巷寺以东，故又叫“东大寺”。其主体建筑坐西向东，南北宽50米，东西进深约250米，占地面积近12 500平方米。

化觉巷清真寺是西安70 000多穆斯林过宗教生活的主要场所，也是陕西省重点文物保护单位。寺内处处是亭台楼阁、雕梁画栋，从设计施工到艺术造型，既有中华民族的传统风格，又有伊斯兰清真寺的格调和特点。

第二进院落中心有一石牌坊，它的两侧各立一通冲天雕龙碑，记载历代重修情况。碑阴分别刻有宋代大书法家米芾“道法参天地”和明代书法家董其昌“敕赐礼拜寺”手书，其笔力飘逸，走势遒劲，字形匀称，堪称我国古代书法艺术的杰作。

现在大家进入的是第三个院落。

第三进院落入口处的敕修殿里藏有推算伊历的阿拉伯文“月碑”，院落中心有一座三层八角形木质结构的“省心楼”，它和阿拉伯伊斯兰教清真寺的宣礼塔作用相同，是呼唤教徒们来礼拜的塔楼。西南方向的5间厢房叫“水房”，是教徒礼拜前沐浴的地方。

第四进院落中央有一座“凤凰亭”，是教徒们等候礼拜的地方。亭后是面积近1 300平方米的礼拜殿，一次可容纳1 000多人礼拜。殿内天棚藻井达600多幅。大殿的墙壁、门及藻井上的图案，均为蔓草花纹和阿拉伯文字组成的彩绘图案。大殿西端的“神坛”是阿訇带领教徒们面向麦加，高诵《古兰经》，虔诚礼拜的地方。

清真大寺在市区中心，周围是伊斯兰教信徒杂居的社区小巷，因而宗教活动仍相当频繁。平日里前往做礼拜的教徒，每天有500人左右，而一到星期五就可能多达2 000人以上。由于中国传统建筑和伊斯兰建筑艺术风格如此巧夺天工的结合，令人叹为观止。因而，它被联合国教科文组织列为世界伊斯兰文物之一。

欣赏完这里，我们要去看看唐朝的建筑了。

This is the Great Mosque.It has four courtyards.Now I will show them to you one by One.

The Great Mosque lies in Huajue Lane close to the Drum Tower.Together with another great mosque located in Daxuexi Lane they are the two oldest mosques in the ancient City of Xi'an.As the mosque lies to the east of Da－xuexi Lane，it is known as the Eastern Great Mosque.In the mosque compound，the main building faces east and the compound is a rectangle of 250 meters by 50 meters，covering an area of 12 500 square meters.

The Great Mosque in Huajue Lane is an important location for religious activities of over 70 000 Moslems in Xi'an.It is also an important historical monument in Shaanxi Province.Apart from its Islamic look and style，the mosque possesses much Chinese tradition in both design and artistic outlook.It assumes the striking features of a Chinese pavilion with painted beams and engraved ridgepoles.

The stone memorial gateway in the center of the second courtyard is flanked by two tall tablets，with carved dragons.They record the details of the repair work completed since the building of the mosque.One tablet bears cha－racters written by the Song master calligrapher Mi Fu—“May Islam Fill the Universe”.The other bears characters written by the Ming master calligrapher Dong Qichang—“Royally Bestowed”.With virile strokes in an elegant style they are known as master－pieces in the art of Chinese calligraphy.

Now we have entered the third courtyard.

At the entrance of the third courtyard is a hall built by an order of the Royal Court.A Crescent Tablet showing the calculation of the Hui Calendar is stored there.A three－storied octagonal wooden structure called the Retrospection Tower stands in the center of the courtyard.It functions in the same manner as a mi－naret in an Arabian mosque.Orders are often sent from the tower to call Moslems to worship.The five wooden houses，called“Water Houses”in the southwest section of the mosque，were where the believers bathed themselves before they attended their services.

Inside the fourth courtyard，there is a structure called the Phoenix Pavilion.It is a place where worshipers wait their turn to go to the prayer hall.A 1 300－square－meter prayer hall stands at the back of the Phoenix Pavilion.It can hold over 1 000 worshipers.The ceiling is decorated with over 600 panels.The walls of the hall，the entrance and the panels，are all decorated with patterns of trailing plants and Ara－bic letters.The Shrine at the western end of the hall is where the Imam and worshipers chant the Koran while facing in the direction of Mecca.

The Great Mosque lies in the center of the city. Clustered by old houses and narrow lanes of the Muslim community in the city the mosque is still very active with about 500 believers pray－ing there on weekdays and it attracts some 2 000 on Fridays. The well－knit combination of traditional Chinese architecture with typical Islamic styles is acclaimed by many people as the pinnacle of perfection.Therefore，the mosque is listed by the Organization of Education，Science and Culture of the United Nations as one of Islam's cultural relics.

After enjoying this scenic spot，we will go to visit buildings of the Tang Dynasty.

快乐旅途

教　导

Education

鼠妈妈正在向子女们介绍处世之道，正好遇到了一只猫，妈妈立刻开始学狗叫，猫便逃之夭夭。

妈妈转身对小家伙们说道：“这说明学门第二外语是多么的重要！”

Mamma Mouse was introducing her offspring to the ways of the world when they were confronted by a cat.Mamma immediately began barking like a dog.The cat took off.

Turning back to her young，Mamma announced，“That shows the importance of learning a second language.”