故宮古建的抗震功夫是如何煉成的？

圖片來自「故宮博物院」官方微博

故宮是我國重要的文化瑰寶，歷經數百年風雨，無數場地震卻依然屹立不倒。那麼，故宮建築如此堅固的秘密到底是什麼呢？

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Beijing』s Forbidden City is a place full of wonder. From its thousands of rooms to its many beautiful artifacts, there』s no wonder it』s one of China』s most popular tourist destinations.

北京的故宮是個神奇之地，從成千上萬間房間到無數精美的工藝品，它成為中國最受歡迎的旅遊景點之一也不足為奇了。

But even more than 600 years after it was built, it』s still managing to serve up surprises.

但就在故宮建成600多年後的今天，它依然在不斷地給人們帶來驚喜。

Since it was built during the Ming Dynasty, it』s estimated that the Forbidden City has survived more than 200 earthquakes.

故宮初建於明代，據估算，故宮至今已經歷了200多次地震。

And while most structures aren』t made to survive natural disasters, let alone ones built hundreds of years ago, it seems that the Forbidden City was built to withstand anything.

大多數建築都無法抵禦天災，更不必說那些百年老建築了，然而故宮卻似乎能經受住一切考驗。

圖片來自「故宮博物院」官方微博

A recent television documentary by UK broadcaster Channel 4 explored the skills of the ancient building』s designers. A group of Chinese carpenters and engineers were shown building a scale model of one of the Forbidden City』s palaces, at one fifth of the size.

英國廣播公司第4頻道近日推出的一部電視紀錄片就探索了這一古建築的設計師們所採用的技巧。在片中，一群中國工匠們按照1:5的比例製作了故宮一處宮殿的模型。

To show how strong ancient Chinese architecture really is, the model was put to the test. It was subjected to a simulated earthquake of 9.5 on the Richter scale – equivalent to the largest ever recorded quake – and survived. Instead of falling apart, the model was just moved gently during the test.

為了展示中國古建築有多麼堅固，人們還對該模型進行了測試。它經受了一場里氏9.5級的模擬地震——相當於有記載以來的最強地震強度——卻依然屹立不倒。在測試過程中，模型並沒有坍塌，只是發生了些許位移而已。

According to experts, the answer to the Forbidden City』s strength, as well as other ancient Chinese structures』, lies in dougong– a centuries-old building method invented in China.

專家表示，故宮以及其他中國古建築屹立不倒的答案就在於斗拱——一種流傳數百年的中式建築方法。

This is the name for special brackets on buildings. Despite being held together without any nails or glue, the brackets are perfect at keeping structures together when the weather gets rough.

斗拱指的是建築中的一種特殊構件。它既沒有使用釘子，也不用粘合劑，卻依然能在惡劣天氣中牢牢地組裝在一起。

圖片來自「故宮博物院」官方微博

「Dougong design is an important earthquake-resistant feature of classical Chinese structures because the framework changes in shape when under pressure, much like the shock absorbers of a car,」 according to Chinese National Geography.

據《中國國家地理》報道，「斗拱設計是中國古典建築結構中一大重要的抗震特點，其原理在於，遇到壓力時，該框架將會改變形狀，就像汽車的減震器一樣。」

「Ancient Chinese craftsmen created structures that were both enduring and aesthetically pleasing [using dougong], revealing their advanced understanding of mathematics, architecture, materials, and structural science.」

「中國古代工匠創造了斗拱這一既堅固又美觀的結構，體現了他們在數學、建築、材料以及結構科學方面的深入理解。」

The Forbidden City draws visitors because of its rich history and cultural significance, but perhaps it should add one more thing to its list of attractions: earthquake shelter.

故宮因其悠久的歷史以及文化意蘊吸引了無數遊客，但或許它的魅力還得再加上這一點:地震庇護所。

本文選自《二十一世紀學生英文報·高二》683期

本文音頻由我報外籍專家Dale Fox朗讀

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