清真寺英文导游词
52fw.cn 06-21 次遇见Today we’ll visit the Great Mosque。 It stood west of the Drum Tower in HuaJue Lane。 It is the most sizable Mosques in the city of Xi’an which is also one of the oldest and best—preserved Mosques in China。
Standing outside of the Great Mosques， we can see this one is not like the Mosques in Arabian with splendid domes， skyward eaves， and dazzling patterns。 This Mosque possesses much Chinese tradition in both design and styles outlook。 It shows the culture combinations between China and other countries。
Next， we are going to talk about how Islam was introduced into China。 Islam was founded in the early period of the 7th century and was introduced to China in the middle of the 7th century。 At that time， some Merchants， travelers， and missionaries from Arabic countries， Persia， and Afghanistan by land over the Sink Road and also by sea。 Many of them settled down and married the local women。 Their children became the first generation of Chinese Moslems。 However， massive immigration of Moslems to China was the result of Genghis Khan’s Western Expedition in the 13th century。 He conquered vast of land from Central Asia to East Europe， including the northern part of Iran。 Many of the Moslems were forced to enlist in the army。 Then in the 14th century， lots of Moslems took part in Zhu Yuan Zhang’s uprising。 Therefore， all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty ordered to protect the Moslems for their great contributions。 Nowadays， there are 17 million Moslems in China。 The Moslems in Xi’an are mainly the Hui people。 Ok， now， after known so much about the background history， you must curious about the Great Mosque。 Let’s get in and check it out。
It is said that the Mosque was built in Tang Dynasty。 However， judging from its architectural style， it was probably built in the Ming Dynasty。
The beacon tower was mostly built at the top of the mountain to give border alarm in ancient times。 It was constantly under special control。 Once the enemies were pressing on towards the border， the beacon tower began to take effect： it was made to smoke in the daytime while set on fire at night。
After get into the first courtyard， we can see there is a wood material arch which is nine meters high in front of us。 It was built earlier in the 17th century。 With glazed tiles， grand corners， and upturned eaves， the arch has a history of 360 years but still preserved very well。
Ladies and gentlemen， we are going to visit the last main structure on the axis———the Jade Buddha Chamber。 It is located on the second floor。 Please do not take pictures or video tape—recording in the chamber。
This way， please。 We are going to the second courtyard。 There are a lot of trees and flowers here。 In the center of this yard is a stone gateway。 Two tall tablets， with dragons caved on each ， are standing at the two sides of the gateway。 They record the details of the repair works since it was built。 One of these tablets carved “May Islam Fill the Universe” was wrote by Mi Fu， a famous calligrapher in Song Dynasty who is also a Moslem。 The other one carved “Royally Bestowed” wrote by Dong Qichang in Ming Dynasty。 These characters are treasures of Chinese calligraphy。
Keep going， we’ll arrive at the third courtyard。 At the entrance of this yard， we can see a moon tablet。 It was wrote in Arabic and used to show the calculation of the Hui calendars and the time for them to resume a meat diet。 It was compiled by a man in charge of the mosque called Xiao Xining。 Then， we’ll notice the three—storeyed wooden structure building in the center。 That is called the “Retrospection Tower”。 The function of this tower is calling the Moslems to come to worship。 It is the highest point of this Great Mosques。 Now， everyone， on the southwest side of the tower， we can see five wooden houses， we called them the “Water Houses”。 It is the place for Moslems clean themselves before they attend their services。