泰姬陵——愛的紀念碑

In the 1600's， a wonderful romance took place. At the age of fifteen， Prince Shah Jahan met a young girl within the walls of royal palace in Agra. The girl was called Mumtaz Mahal. Court poets celebrated the girl's unusual beauty. \"The moon\"， they said， \"hid its face in shame before her\". For both， it was love at first sight. Five years would pass before the lucky day chosen for their wedding， and from that moment， they became inseparable partners.

17世紀，一段美妙的羅曼史發生了。當時，年僅15歲的王子沙·賈漢在阿格拉的王宮里遇見了一個叫蒙泰茲·瑪哈的年輕女子。宮廷詩人曾這樣贊美這個女子非凡的美貌，他們說：“在她面前，月亮都要羞愧地藏起自己的臉。”王子和她一見鐘情。5年后，他們擇日舉行了婚禮，從那一刻起，他們成為了一對相濡以沫的夫婦。

In 1631， in the fourth year of his rule， Shah Jahan set out with his armies to suppress an uprising. Even though Mumtaz Mahal was in the ninth month of a pregnancy， she accompanied him as she had done many times before. On a warm evening of April in 1631， the queen gave birth to their fourteenth child， but soon afterwards suffered complications and died. According to the legend， with her dying breath， she got a promise from her husband on the strength of their love: to build for her a tomb more beautiful than any the world had ever seen before.

1631年，即沙·賈漢統治的第4年，他率兵鎮壓起義，即使有著9個月的身孕，蒙泰茲·瑪哈卻仍然像以前一樣陪伴著丈夫。在同年4月一個曖風習習的夜晚，這位王后生下了他們的第14個孩子，但此后由于產后并發癥她不久便仙逝了。根據傳說，在王后彌留之際，她的丈夫答應她修建一座世界上最漂亮的陵墓以見證他們的愛情。

Shah Jahan was left heart-broken and determined to build the finest monument in history to the love that a man has for a woman. After about sixteen years， and with the work of more than 20，000 workers， the Taj was finished in 1648. It was built on the bank of the Jumna River in Agra， India. Most of it was made of white marble.

沙·賈漢悲痛欲絕，并決定為這段愛情修建一座歷史上最完美的紀念碑。大約16年后，耗費了兩萬多勞動力，泰姬陵于1648年竣工。泰姬陵坐落在印度阿格拉的亞穆納河畔，其主體是用白色大理石修建的。

At the main entrance， there is a wonderful gateway， which is about 100feet high and 150 feet wide， with a famous archway. The gateway is constructed of red stone and has inlaid jewels in white marble， in a flower design. Symbolic of the gateway through which Muhammad entered heaven， it is a place of transition between the world of the senses and the world of the spirit.

在它的主要入口處，有一個大約30.48米高45.72米寬的帶有一個著名拱門的奇妙通道。這條通道由紅色石頭建造，并在花形設計的白色大理石里嵌有寶石。這條通道象征著穆罕默德通向天堂，它是由理性世界向精神世界的過渡。

From the gateway， when entering， the first sight is a beautiful garden. The garden spreads from the gateway all the way to the foot of the Taj. It is a typical Persian garden.

從這條通道進去，首先映入眼簾的是一個美麗的花園。這個花園從通道一直延伸到泰姬陵的腳下，是一個典型的波斯式花園。

In the center of the garden， there is a quadrate tank. This tank has been perfectly placed to reflect the Taj in its clear water. There are also four channels-which represent the four rivers in the Islamic conception of heaven-that all meet at the tank.

在花園的中央有一個方形水池。在它清澈的水中完美映射出泰姬陵無與倫比的美麗倒影。還有4條水道匯入水池——它們代表了伊斯蘭天堂中的4條河流。

According to the Islamic tradition， a woman who dies in childbirth is a martyr. On both sides of the Taj there are buildings made of red sandstone. The Mosque is the one on the west， and it is used for prayer. It faces towards Mecca as all mosques must do. Inside， the Mosque is decorated with words from the Koran. To the East of the Taj is another building that looks just like the Mosque. It is also made of red sandstone. Because the Rest House is faced away from Mecca， it couldn't be a mosque. Towering over and sitting between the Rest House and the Mosque is the Dome.

根據伊斯蘭的傳統，死于分娩的婦女將成為殉教者。泰姬陵兩側的建筑都是由紅砂石建造的，西邊的一座用于禱告的清真寺就是其中之一，同所有的清真寺一樣，這座清真寺也是朝向著麥加。清真寺的內部裝飾點綴著《可蘭經》中的文字。陵墓的東邊是另外一座看起來像清真寺的建筑。它也是由紅砂石建造的。因為這個休息室沒有面向著麥加，所以它不可能是一座清真寺。聳立于休息室和清真寺之間的是一座圓屋頂的建筑。

The sky forms a backdrop curtain to the Taj. It's the background. At night， when the sky is black， this little marble jewel box stands shinning in the moonlight; in the early morning， when the sky is pink and orange， the white marble reflects those colors; and at sunset， it has a completely different look. So the sky is as important as any other physical details around the Taj.

天空就像一塊幕布一樣罩著泰姬陵，構成其背景。在晚上，當天空變黑時，這個小小的大理石寶盒在月光下閃閃發光；在清晨，當天空呈現出粉紅和橘黃色時，白色的大理石折射出這些顏色的熠熠光芒；而在日出時，它又呈現出另外一番完全不同的景色。所以，天空就像陵墓周圍所有的物質材料一樣重要，構成了這幅美景。

Whether you know anything about India or about Indian architecture， it's a beautiful building. It is here that Shah Jahan came with his children to honor the memory of his beloved wife. Here， at last， he found comfort.

不管你是否了解印度或印度的建筑，泰姬陵都是一座漂亮的建筑。就是在這里，沙·賈漢同他的孩子們一起紀念他的愛妻。最終，在這里，他得到了慰藉。

愛鏈culture

Muhammad：阿布·阿爾卡西姆·穆罕默德·本·阿卜杜拉·本·阿卜杜勒·穆臺列卜·本·哈希姆（Abu al-Qasim Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Abd al-Muttalib Ibn Hashim 含意為“受到高度贊揚”）是穆斯林公認的伊斯蘭教的先知，是伊斯蘭教的創始人，中國的穆斯林普遍尊稱為穆圣。伊斯蘭一詞是阿拉伯語的音譯，原詞來自賽拉目，是和平和順從的意思。 按傳統的穆斯林傳記，他約于570年出生于麥加，632年6月8日逝世于麥地那。穆斯林認為穆罕默德是亞伯拉罕諸教的最后一位先知。此外他還統一了阿拉伯的各部落，并以此奠定了后來阿拉伯帝國的基礎。

◆編輯：Coffey