During the medieval ages, our city was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. Described as the “best contrived and noblest structure of all the East”, by French mathematician Le Comte, the building, also known as “Temple of Gratitude”, was designed and commissioned by the Chinese Emperor, Yongle, in honour of his parents.
在中世纪，我们的城市是世界七大奇迹之一的南京瓷塔的所在地。 这座建筑被法国数学家Le Comte描述为“整个东方最好的、最高贵的建筑”，也被称为“感恩神庙”，由中国皇帝永乐为纪念他的父母而设计和委托建造。
Construction of the tower was completed in the 15th century, over a period of 7 years. According to common belief, the Porcelain Tower originally was supposed to comprise 13 stories and have a total height of approximately 100 metres. As it was, even at nine stories and reaching a height of 80 metres, it ranked among China’s tallest buildings of the time.
这座塔的建造是在15世纪完成的，为期7年。 根据普遍的看法，瓷塔最初应该由13层组成，总高度约为100米。 就目前而言，它只有九层，高达80米，是当时中国最高的建筑之一。
Although it was not the tallest pagoda in China, it was commonly considered the most beautiful. The Porcelain Tower’s most outstanding characteristic was the material used in its construction, also lending the tower its name.
雖然它不是中国最高的宝塔，但它通常被認為是最美丽的。 瓷塔最突出的特点是其建筑中使用的材料，这也使这座塔得名。
The white porcelain bricks that lined the outside of the building reflected sunrays during daytime. With its undoubted aesthetic appeal, the porcelain also prevented the tower from heating up. The bricks were also glazed with different colours, combined to depict images of animals, flowers, and landscapes as well as Buddhist scenes.
白天，建筑外部排列的白色瓷砖反射着阳光。 凭借其毋庸置疑的美学吸引力，瓷器也防止了塔的升温。 砖块还涂有不同颜色的釉面，结合在一起描绘了动物、花卉和风景的图像以及佛教场景。
The shape of the building was also striking, forming an octagon at the base, while a golden sphere on its rooftop caught people’s eyes.
这座建筑的形状也很引人注目，在底部形成了一个八角形，而屋顶上的一个金色球体吸引了人们的目光。
In order to reach the top floor, it was necessary to climb 190 steps leading up a spiral staircase, while at night, approximately 140 lamps were hung from the Tower, providing both illumination and an even more stunning appearance than during daytime.
为了到达顶楼，需要爬上190级台阶，通往螺旋楼梯，而晚上，大约140盏灯挂在塔上，这既提供了照明，又比白天更令人惊叹的外观。
The pagoda quickly became famous at home and abroad, with Western visitors returning home to describe its beauty to their compatriots. The European admiration even went so far as to incite the construction of a number of pagodas inspired by the Porcelain Tower, including one in London’s Kew Gardens.
宝塔在国内外迅速出名，西方游客回国向同胞描述其美丽。 欧洲人的钦佩甚至促使人们建造一些受瓷塔启发的宝塔，包括伦敦邱园的一座。
Subjected to a turbulent history, the Tower experienced partial destruction in 1801, when a lighting bolt struck, blasting away the top three stories. They were soon restored, but less than 50 years later, the Tower became a victim of the Taiping Rebellion in 1850, when the Rebels wanted to keep citizens from using the tower as a hideout or a fort from which to launch attacks. Therefore, they tore apart the stairwell inside the tower. While not completely destroyed, the Tower lay abandoned for the following 6 years. Finally, in 1856 the Porcelain Tower’s life came to an end when the Taiping Rebels overran it in another angry attack. Their reasons for doing so are unclear, but it is commonly believed that they either wanted to make sure it could not be used as an observation post by their enemies or because they had a superstitious fear of it.
这座塔经历了动荡的历史，在1801年经历了部分破坏，当时闪电击中了，炸毁了前三层。 它们很快就被修复了，但不到50年后，塔成为1850年太平叛乱的受害者，当时叛军想阻止市民将塔用作藏身之处或发动攻击的堡壘。 因此，他们拆开了塔内的楼梯间。 虽然塔没有被完全摧毁，但在接下来的6年里一直被遗弃。 最后，在1856年，太平叛军在另一次愤怒的攻击中攻入了瓷塔，瓷器塔的生活就结束了。 他们这样做的原因尚不清楚，但人们普遍认为，他们要么想确保敌人不能将其用作观察哨，要么是因为他们对它有迷信的恐惧。
Fast forward to 2011, when Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men, donated ¥1 billion towards the tower’s re-construction. The new tower, named Bao’en Si, built on the same site, includes fitting tributes to its predecessor.
快进到2011年，中国首富之一王建林为塔的重建捐赠了10亿日元。 这座名为Bao’en Si的新塔楼建在同一地点，包括对其前身的适当致敬。