吳哥

Each king wanted to build a splendid temple．They were trying to create Heaven on Earth．The whole of Angkor was built over a period of about 600 years． It never stopped． This ancient city is known to the world as Angkor Wat after its most beautiful temple，but the true wonder is the city itself，which is actually called Angkor．

The first temples were completed in the eighth century by，early Khmer king Jayavarman and his heirs kept building on his legacy． It was to recreate in Hindu mythology the Mount Mira，the Hindu Heaven． And the kings wanted to elevate themselves to a god like status and progressive kings enlarged upon it． And so it just grew and grew．

The lush jungle paradise they created inevitably caught the attention of the neighboring kingdom of Siam(now known as Thailand)． After one hundred years of off and on battles，the Thai armies began to get the upper hand． At the end of it，the Cambodian people were exhausted． Their resources had run out. The Thais had a relatively easy victory when they finally sacked Angkor in 1431． But a mystery surrounds their victory. Without warning the Thai armies abandoned Angkor as suddenly as they conquered it and to this day no one knows why． The Royal Court just literally walked away from Angkor completely． The couple of temples were maintained and visted from time to time. But basically they just turned their back on it.

The magnificent city became lost in the mists of time． Rumors of his sacred city floated through out the jungles of Southeast Asia for centuries. The local were telling stories．There had been French naturalists through the area，but no one believed the tales. Then，in 1860 the French explorer Henri Mahout set out to find Angkor． One day he stepped into a jungle clearing and found himself walking through the imperial ruins of the ancient city．Over one hundred year later，the world also began to understand the glory of Angkor．

每個(gè)國王都想新建一座富麗堂皇的廟宇，試圖營造人間的天堂。吳哥的整體建筑花了大約600年的時(shí)間，并且從未停止。這座古城被世人稱為吳哥窟，以城中最美的廟宇的名字命名，而真正的奇跡是這座名叫吳哥的城市本身。

第一批寺廟建于8世紀(jì)古高棉國王耶跋摩，他的后代們繼承祖業(yè)，繼續(xù)修建。它要重現(xiàn)印度神話中的米拉山——印度人的天堂。國王們想把自己提升到神那樣的位置，于是一代代的國王不斷地?cái)U(kuò)建，所以它就越建越大。

他們創(chuàng)建奢華的叢林天堂不可避免地引起了鄰國暹羅王國(即現(xiàn)在的泰國)的注意。經(jīng)過100年斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的爭斗，泰國軍隊(duì)開始占了上風(fēng)。柬埔寨人最終筋疲力盡，他們的資源消耗殆盡。泰國人很容易就取得了勝利，終于在1431年洗劫了吳哥。但他們的勝利卻罩著一層神秘的面紗，就像他們迅速征服吳哥一樣，泰國軍隊(duì)一聲不響地迅速放棄了吳哥，至今誰也不知道其中原因。皇室完全地撤離了吳哥，一些廟宇仍得到維護(hù)并不時(shí)有人來看一看，但基本上吳哥已被皇室遺棄了。

這座華麗的古城被湮滅在時(shí)間的迷霧中。幾百年來，在東南亞的叢林中，一直流傳著有關(guān)這座圣城的傳說。當(dāng)?shù)厝酥v述著種種故事。曾有一些法國自然學(xué)家到過這個(gè)地方，但沒有人相信這些傳說。后來，在1860年，法國探險(xiǎn)家亨利·馬烏開始尋找吳哥。有一天他步入了一片叢林空地，發(fā)現(xiàn)他正走在這座古城的廢墟上。100多年后，各國也開始認(rèn)識(shí)吳哥的輝煌。

注釋

①temple n．圣堂，廟宇，教堂，禮拜堂，太陽穴，鬢角

②mythology n．神話，神話學(xué)

③literally n．逐字地，照字面地；真正地；簡直

④naturalist n．自然主義者

⑤mahout an．趕象人，象夫