建造長城(the Great Wall)是為了防御來自蒙古(Mongolia)的北方人侵者。多年來，人們已經(jīng)建造了一些較矮小的城墻，但是秦始皇(Qin Shi Huang)決定建造一座巨大的城墻來保衛(wèi)他北邊的疆土。長城始建于秦朝，后續(xù)的朝代進行繼續(xù)建 造。后來，明朝重建了長城。我們今天所說的長城絕大部分都是明朝建造的。長 城是由農(nóng)民、奴隸、犯人以及皇帝決定懲罰的人建造的。

　　The Great Wall was built to defend against thenorthern invaders from Mongolia. Smaller andshorter walls had been built over the years, while QinShi Huang decided to build a single giant wall toprotect his northern borders. The construction ofthe Great Wall started in the Qin Dynasty and the following dynasties continued to work on itLater, the Ming Dynasty rebuilt the wail Most parts of the so- called Great Wall today was builtin the Ming Dynasty. The wall was built by peasants,slaves, criminals, and other people that theemperor decided to punish.

　　鄭和是一位偉大的中國探險家和艦隊指揮官。他主要進行了七次探險活動， 為中國皇帝(Chineseemperor)探索了世界，并在新的區(qū)域建立了與中國的貿(mào)易聯(lián)系。永樂帝(Emperor Yongle)想向世界其他國家展示中華帝國(theChinese Empire)的榮耀與權(quán)力，同時還想與世界其他國家建立貿(mào)易聯(lián)系。于是他任命鄭和為首席特使(ChiefEnvoy),命他成立一個艦隊去探索世界。鄭和指揮了一個大型艦隊，第一次航海時估計有超過200艘船，將近28000人。

　　The arts flourished during the Tang Dynasty. Poetrybecame an integral part of the Chinese culture.Learning poetry was a must for those who wanted topass the imperial examination. Some of the greatpoets in Chinese history lived in this time, such as LiBai, Du Fu, and Wang Wei. While the Tang Dynasty is worldwide famous for its poetry, otherart forms also became very popular during this period. Many forms of literature took shape,including short stories and history novels. Painting was also very popular oxid many famouspainters arose in this era.