作者介紹 歷史思與行 著名旅行家馬可波羅認為，元朝大都，是一座無法用 語言描述的雄偉壯麗的世界性大都會。 「大都」這個名稱，對一般人來說或很陌生，但有誰不 知首都北京？北京，作為全國政治中心，就是始於元朝定 都於大都，後來明、清兩代，至今日中國，都是以北京 為首都。元朝以前，稱為燕京，是金國的中都，遼國的陪 都，這裏是「五朝之都」。 1.《馬可波羅遊記》將中國稱為 Cathay，大都稱為汗八里，當 時是各民族融和之都。香港的 國泰航空公司，英文本名正是 Cathay，相信很多香港人都不知 道這間本土航空公司，竟然和大 都有着繼往開來的關係。大都和 香港，同樣是古今世界知名的繁 華大都巿，中西文化匯聚。繁華 能否永續？其關鍵是甚麽呢？ 2. 生於憂患，死於安樂。都城建造 者，生於憂患，不斷歷練而開創 出事業，然後有魄力建造都城； 保不住都城者，則久居深宮，欠 缺鍛煉，遇事或驚惶失措、妄 下決斷，最終葬送前人的辛苦經 營。當人在安樂環境時，應更要 細思如何加強歷練，面對逆境。 本欄，由教育評議會邀請資深中小學老師及校長撰稿，以趣味手法，透過中國朝代的重要事件、史地、器物及人物，甚至朝代人物之超越時空故事，引發讀者對歷史的認識及興趣。 仁濟醫院羅陳楚思中學 中國歷史科老師 姚世外 —— ■元朝大都文物——瀆山大玉 海，現藏北海公園玉甕亭，可盛 水722升；是古代最大玉製品。 防禦重城 星島教室 讀社論學 英文 The US presidential election formally takes place today, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck and neck in the final stretch, showing how deeply divided America is. It was thought the massive controversies triggered by newcomer Trump in 2016 already exposed the fracture, but there's more division possible as evidenced by the Capitol riots four years later. Now, Americans are once again deciding their future with votes. But will the election conclude peacefully? Judging by the chaos leading up to this election, such a hope may be overly optimistic. Turning into mud wrestling The US is the only superpower, so its politics is naturally the focus of global leaders and ordinary people. In this election, for example, Trump's previous presidency had a significant impact on international affairs, leading global leaders to worry that his return will dramatically shift foreign policy. In his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement. If he returns, will he increase pressure on Tehran together with Israel? His disregarding European allies raises concerns about support for Ukraine. His unpopular trade war further complicates matters. If he imposes a 60 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods, what will become of SinoUS relations? His expansionary fiscal policy could stoke inflation. Will the Fed halt its rate-cutting cycle, only to slow down global recovery? American voters may not care much about foreign policy. Election outcomes are really affected by domestic policy, particularly issues like the economy, identity and politics. According to some idealistic views, democratic elections are an opportunity for citizens to reflect on their country's future. There can be gentlemen's debates but after the election, all sides should respect the results and work together for the country's good. The current election, however, is more like mud wrestling. Har r i s , a f ema l e o f co l our , f ocus e s on a "progres s ive" agenda, appeal ing to liberal voters. However, despite serving as Biden' s deputy for nearly four years and having numerous opportunities to participate in dec i s ion-making, she has shown l i t t l e notewor thy achi evement . Her capabi l i ty i s in doubt . Her candidacy seems to be manoeuvred by Democrat donors. As the campaign entered its final stage and Trump appeared to be gaining momentum, Harris resorted to populist tactics, labelling Trump a "fascist" and "Hitler". This is clearly an attempt to mobilize liberal voters in fearful response to Trump ' s r i ght i s t s tances on immigration, abortion, etc. System fails to unite Americans Trump came to power in 2016 wi th s uppo r t f r om wh i t e , b l ue - co l l a r & l e s s educated voters exploiting their anger against deindustrial izat ion, immigrat ion, and the political elitism - a classic populist manoeuvre. His comeback after losing in 2020 shows that the US remains a hotbed for populism. Notably, Trump has yet to shake of f lawsuits related to the Capitol riots, and he recently continued inciting violence by stating that former House Representative Liz Cheney, who switched support to Harris, should have guns "trained on her". If such a violence advocate could win the election, it would be a severe blow to America' s cherished democratic values. By the evening of November 3, 76 million voters had already cast early votes, accounting for about 45 per cent of the electorate - an unusually high percentage. Why? A reasonable interpretation is that voters from both parties are so polarized that they have already made up their minds, with no need to wait for the election day. This is further evidence of America's extreme division. The US has been relying on its strong economic and mi l i tary power , as wel l as Hollywood's cultural influence, to maintain a major voice in international affairs, always playing the role of a "beacon". However, rampant dome s t i c popu l i sm ha s i ndeed weakened its appeal , making the pol itical system fai l to uni te Amer icans . Can thi s dimming beacon still lead the world? 翻譯自11月5日《星島日報》社論 （http://std.stheadline.com/） 1. The word _____ in the first paragraph is the opposite of "unity". 2. Global leaders are worried that Trump's victory will impact on _____ policy. 3. In the passage, the word _____ means "one-sidedly". 4. An unusually high percentage of voters _____ early ballots. 5. According to the last paragraph, rampant populism has weakened America's appeal as a _____. Answers 1. fracture / division 2. foreign 3. unilaterally & Q A fracture (n) —— 破裂 stoke (v) —— 激起 manoeuvre (v) —— 操縱 hotbed (n) —— 溫床 incite (v) —— 煽動 cherish (v) —— 珍愛 electorate (n) —— 全體選民 polarized (adj) —— 兩極化的 Vocabulary neck and neck —— 不相伯仲 final stretch —— 最後階段 mud wrestling —— 泥漿摔角 populist tactic —— 民粹牌 Useful Terms Kamala Harris pitched herself as a generational change, emphasizing her support for abortion rights and promising to solve problems and seek consensus. Donald Trump, meanwhile, renewed his "Make America Great Again" and "America First" slogans, pledging to lead an economic "golden age", end international conflicts and seal the US southern border. Did you know? Beacon fades with rampant election populism 翻譯︰George 4. cast 5. beacon D6 侷芎 04.02.2025 星期三 元大都的繼往與開來 忽必烈奠基與定都之地 大都由忽必烈下詔所建，對忽必烈的登基和元朝的建立都意義重 大。 蒙古大汗蒙哥攻打南宋時陣亡，繼任大汗的人選，主要是阿里不哥 和忽必烈之爭。忽必烈迅速帶兵進佔了燕京城，奪取了有利的政治 位，為繼承大汗之位打下基礎。燕京城是天下正位所在，北方知識分子 的文化中心所在。忽必烈拿下燕京，既瓦解了阿里不哥燕京的軍隊，又 得到北方文士的支持。 忽必烈在燕京接納漢人謀士勸進，往距離燕京不遠的老家開平，發 布登基詔書，搶先繼任大汗之位。雖然阿里不哥亦隨即自立為帝，實力 卻遠遜忽必烈。忽必烈用了將近五年時間，追擊阿里不哥，終於令他無 處可逃，被逼投降。 忽必烈打敗阿里不哥之後，便為定都作準備。歷來的蒙古大汗，都 沒有建都的意識，住蒙古包逐水草而居，居無定所。忽必烈有定都 的想法，反映他心中的天下大業，不再局限於做蒙古大汗，展現的是從 遊牧民族向農耕民族轉移的文化價值觀。他手下大將霸都魯向他建議： ﹁幽燕之地，龍蟠虎踞，形勢雄偉，南控江淮，北連朔漠。且天子必居 中以受四方朝覲。﹂ 忽必烈遂立下主意，定都燕京。 定都燕京，並非把金國舊都城拿來做首都。金國故都，早已殘破不 堪，兼且主要水源城西蓮花水系，水量不足，不能滿足城巿發展需要。 因此，忽必烈便選擇在原有都城的東北，營建一座規模巨大的全新都 城。這個任務交給了劉秉忠忽必烈的首席文臣，兼融儒釋道三家之 說。他帶着郭守敬等學生，將畢生的心血和智慧貫注於大都，並藉此呈 現元朝的文化自信。 生活最重要是水源，建城亦然。劉秉忠大膽地捨棄蓮花水系，把目 光轉向西山支脈的玉泉山。永定河的水流入西山，再經玉泉山流出，水 量大且水質極佳，正好為新都城提供源源不絕且水質極佳的食水。在確 定水源後，營建全新都城便再沒有懸念。 文化共融 劉秉忠規劃大都，是參照汴京城，以︽周易︾ 的象數哲學為規劃思 想，並按照︽周禮．考工記︾ 的布局建造。大都共十一個城門，不少門的 名稱，是按︽易經︾ 卦辭命名。如北城安貞門源自︽周易．坤︾ ：﹁安貞之 吉。﹂ 麗正門源自︽周易．離︾ ：﹁重明以麗乎正。 ﹂這體現忽必烈崇尚儒家 文化的傾向。忽必烈改國號為元，亦源自︽周易︾ ：﹁元亨利貞﹂ 的意念。 元大都﹁城方六十里，十一門﹂ 。十一門的概念，有一個說法頗有 趣，據說是按﹁哪吒三頭六臂﹂ 的造型而設計。南邊三個門是三頭，東西 各三門是六臂，北邊兩門是雙足，民間稱為﹁三頭六臂哪吒城﹂ 。蒙古人 信奉藏傳佛教，哪吒屬佛教神祇，反映了佛教色彩。 忽必烈崇尚儒家文化，亦不離棄逐水草而居的習俗。皇宮主體宮 殿，便圍繞太液池︵今北海和中海︶ 而建；蒙古人愛豪飲，皇城內便設有 一個玉製的大酒甕，名為﹁瀆山大玉海﹂ ，重三千五百公斤，保存至今 近水愛酒體現了遊牧文化的特色。 大都建成後，十一個城門，最出眾之處，是沒有 甕城。這設計極 大膽。沒有甕城的保護，城容易被敵人攻破。這盡顯忽必烈的霸 氣，蒙古人鐵騎所向無敵誰敢來攻？想太歲頭上動土嗎？︽孟子︾ ： ﹁域民不以封疆之界，固國不以山溪之險。﹂ 這是忽必烈睥睨天下的自 信。諷刺的是，元朝亡國之君元順帝在民變四起後，趕忙在城門外 築起甕城，但風聞朱元璋大軍殺來，聞風先遁，對自己所造甕城沒有 絲毫信心 大都採用的是重城式的布局，由外城、皇城和宮城三重城垣所組 成。皇城是皇帝和群臣處理政務的地方；宮城則是皇帝的住家，朝臣一 般情況是不能進入的；其他居民則住外城。 忽必烈顧家，外城可以無甕城，皇城可以無城牆，對外可以盡顯霸 氣，但家人的安全卻不可忽略。因此宮城既有城牆，還要精心打造，城 牆包磚，比外城夯土城牆倍加精細講究。 大都與紫禁城 元順帝逃離大都後，明太祖定都南京，改大都為北平。城北居民稀 少，地勢空曠，朱元璋便將北平北城內縮五里。後來朱棣受封燕王，燕 王府建在太液池旁邊的興聖宮和隆福宮舊址。燕王登基為明成祖後，決 定遷都，北平改名北京，向南擴建，在大都原有的宮城舊址營建新都 成為明朝永樂帝的紫禁城，較元大都的宮城北縮南擴。 後來，紫禁城在明思宗煤山自縊，李自成入城放大火，絕大部分 建築遭受極大破壞，只有武英殿等少數地方倖存。清入京，至康熙三十 四年才斷斷續續完成重建紫禁城被焚建築。 清末，正陽門兩遭火災，一是義和團燒大柵欄老德記藥房波及不少 地方；二是八國聯軍進城放火。自光緒二十八年復修，至宣統二年才完 工。 今日的北京紫禁城，奠基於元朝大都，但中間所經歷的波折苦難，若 非深入探討，又豈知其艱難之處。紫禁城如是，人生經歷亦如是，能接 受磨難，勇於面對，迎難而上，終究能開出偉大的果實，這是我們驚 歎紫禁城恢宏氣魄時應有的體會。 甕城 傳統上是在城門外圍加築小城，加強防禦，避免城門直接受 到敵軍攻擊。現在南京城所見是內甕城，在城門內側設置三 座甕城，皆有藏兵洞。敵軍從城外攻入會被困於甕城，讓守 軍甕中捉鱉，關門打狗，大增城門防禦力。
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