hello大家好！1631 年，莫卧儿帝国皇帝沙·贾汗（Shah Jahan）的妻子穆塔兹·玛哈尔（Mumtaz Maha）诞下了他们的第 14 个孩子。一个健康的女婴诞生，但穆塔兹不久后去世。皇帝失声痛哭，决定要建一座配得上他挚爱皇后的陵墓...... 演说题目：The Taj Mahal: A monument to eternal love It's 1631 in Burhanpur, and Mumtaz Mahal, beloved wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, is giving birth to their 14th child.1631年，在印度的布尔汉普尔，莫卧儿帝国皇帝沙·贾汗的爱妻穆塔兹·玛哈尔，诞下了他们的第14个孩子。 A healthy girl is born, but not without difficulty. 一个健康的女婴诞生，但过程并非一帆风顺。 Shah Jahan rushes to Mumtaz's side, but he cannot save her.沙·贾汗奔向穆塔兹的身边，但他无法拯救自己的爱人。 Sobbing uncontrollably, the emperor decides to build a tomb worthy of his queen:皇帝失声痛哭，决定要建一座配得上他挚爱皇后的陵墓： an earthly replica of Paradise to embody their perfect love and project the power of the Mughal Empire for all time.它得是天堂仙境在尘世的复制品，来表达他们这份完美的爱情，并彰显莫卧儿王朝不朽的权柄。 Construction of the Taj Mahal began roughly seven months later.泰姬陵的建设大约在七个月后开始。 Royal architects worked to bring Shah Jahan's vision to life at a site chosen by the emperor in the bustling imperial city of Agra.皇家建筑师们努力将沙·贾汗的愿景变为现实。皇帝为陵墓选址在繁华的皇城阿格拉。 The Yamuna riverfront was already dotted with exquisite residences, gardens, and mausoleums.亚穆纳河畔已经点缀着精致的住宅、花园和陵墓。 But when complete, the Taj Mahal would be the most magnificent structure of all.但建成后，泰姬陵将是所有建筑中最宏伟的。
In addition to housing Mumtaz's mausoleum, the plans included a garden, mosque, bazaar,建筑计划不仅包括穆塔兹的陵寝，还有花园、清真寺、集市， and several caravanserais to house visiting merchants and diplomats.以及为商人和外交官提供住宿的商旅客栈。 Together, this complex would seamlessly blend Persian, Islamic, Indian, and European styles,整座建筑流畅完美地融合了波斯、伊斯兰、印度以及欧洲风格， establishing the Taj Mahal as the culmination of Mughal architectural achievement.泰姬陵是莫卧儿建筑成就的集大成者。 The entire compound was laid out on a geometric grid, incorporating meticulously planned bilateral symmetry.整个园区的布局具有几何精确性，在建筑美学上，两边完全对称。 To further establish an atmosphere of balance and harmony, the architects divided the complex into two spheres,为了进一步营造平衡与和谐的氛围，建筑师们将泰姬陵划分为两个部分， representing the spiritual and earthly domains.代表了精神和世俗的领域。 Most of the structures were made of brick and red sandstone, with white marble accents.大部分结构由砖块与红砂石砌造，配有白色大理石点缀。 This was a common motif in Mughal architecture,这是莫卧儿建筑的常见风格， inspired by ancient Indian traditions associating white with spiritual purity and red with warriors and royalty.受古代印度传统的启发，白色象征着精神世界的纯洁，而红色象征着勇士与皇族。 But the central mausoleum took more inspiration from the Islamic tradition.不过中央陵寝的设计灵感更多地取自伊斯兰传统。 Framed by four minarets, the structure was covered entirely in white marble from quarries over 400 kilometers away.四周环绕着四座尖塔，整个建筑结构完全被开采自400公里外的纯白色大理石覆盖。 Its main dome towered above the skyline, and those within the cavernous chamber experienced an otherworldly echo lasting almost 30 seconds.它的主穹顶高耸入云，室内洞穴式的结构会带来持续近30秒的空灵回声。 Perfecting the Italian stone-working technique, pietra dura,匠人们将意大利石材加工技术——硬石镶嵌（pietra dura）发挥至极致， craftsmen used all manner of semi-precious stones to create intricate floral designs representing the eternal gardens of Paradise.采用各式的次等宝石来打造精致的花纹图案，象征着天堂的永恒花园。 Calligraphers covered the walls with Quranic inscriptions.书法家在墙上刻上《古兰经》经文。 And because the Islamic depiction of Paradise has eight gates, the mausoleum's rooms were designed to be octagonal.因为在伊斯兰文化的描述中，天堂有八个大门，所以陵寝的房间被设计成八角形。 The garden in front of the mausoleum was split into four parts in the Persian style,陵墓前的花园以波斯风格被分成四部分， but its flora reflected the Mughals' nomadic Central Asian heritage.但是其中的植被体现的是莫卧儿中亚游牧文化的传承。 Flowers and trees were carefully selected to add color, sweet scents, and fresh fruit to be sold in the bazaar.精心挑选的花卉和树木为花园增添亮丽的色彩和香甜的气味。新鲜的水果在集市上售卖。 Masons built intersecting walkways, pools, and channels of water to weave through the lush greenery.石匠修建了相互交织的步道、水池、水路通道，巧妙地穿行于郁郁葱葱的绿植。 Even before its completion, Shah Jahan used the Taj to host the annual commemoration of Mumtaz's death,在泰姬陵未完工之时，沙·贾汗便用它来举行穆塔兹每年忌日的悼念活动， celebrating her reunification with the Divine.庆祝她与神灵的重聚。
Directly across the river, Shah Jahan built another sprawling garden with a central pool that perfectly reflected the mausoleum.在河的正对岸，沙·贾汗建造了另一个庞大的花园，其中央水池完美倒映着陵寝。 Building this intricate complex took 12 years and employed thousands of skilled craftsmen and artisans,打造这座结构错综复杂的建筑花费了12年，雇佣了数以千计的能工巧匠—— from masons and bricklayers to masters of pietra dura and calligraphy.包括石匠、砖匠、硬石镶嵌专家 以及书法家。 After the Taj was completed in 1643, Shah Jahan retained some of these craftsmen for routine repairs, and hired Quran reciters, caretakers,泰姬陵于1643年建成以后，沙·贾汗留下了一些匠人进行日常维修，又雇佣了《古兰经》诵读者、管理员 and other staff to maintain the complex.以及其他工作人员来维护建筑。 He paid these workers by establishing a vast endowment for the Taj— a system which remained in place until the early 19th century.这些工人的工资来自于沙·贾汗为泰姬陵设立的一笔巨额基金——直到19世纪早期， 该基金仍在运作。 Since its completion, Shah Jahan's grand memorial has drawn travelers from around the world.自竣工以来，沙·贾汗 这座巨型纪念碑便吸引着全世界的游客。 And every time a visitor is awed by the mausoleum, the emperor's goal is achieved anew.每一次游客在参观时油然而生的敬畏感，都代表着皇帝目标的又一次实现。 Unfortunately, after 15 years of presiding over Mumtaz's memorial, Shah Jahan fell ill and a war of succession broke out between his sons.不幸的是，泰姬陵建成的15年后，沙·贾汗得了重病，他的几个儿子开始夺权。 While Shah Jahan eventually recovered, his son, Aurangzeb, had already emerged as the new emperor.虽然沙·贾汗最终痊愈，但他的儿子奥朗则布已经作为新皇帝开始掌权。 For the last eight years of his life, Shah Jahan lived under house arrest in Agra's Fort, where he could see the Taj glimmering in the distance.在他人生最后的8年里，沙·贾汗被软禁在阿格拉堡，他可以遥遥地看着远处若隐若现的泰姬陵。 When he died in 1666, he was buried next to Mumtaz, his grave breaking the complex's symmetry,沙·贾汗死于1666年，他的陵寝被置于穆塔兹的旁侧，破坏了建筑的对称性。 so that his wife could remain at the Taj's center for all eternity.为的是使他的妻子可以永恒地处在泰姬陵的中心。 Remark：一切权益归TED所有，更多TED相关信息可至官网www.ted.com查询！
