中国最大的沙漠——塔克拉玛干 坐落于此China's largest desert, the Taklamakan lies out here
它的名字被翻译成 Its name has been translated as
有去无回 you go in, and you never come out
这是一个酷热的地方 This is a place of intense heat
烈风吹舞着狂沙 abrasive wind blown sand
完全与生命作对 Totally hostile to life
虽然有足够勇敢的人们为之冒生命危险 Yet, there was a route through the desert
但至今仍然没有穿过沙漠的明确路线 for those brave enough to risk their lives for it
人们为沙漠的恐惧所诱惑 People were lured into the horrors of the deserts
是因为中国有一个如此强大的 because the Chinese had a secret so powerful
以至于可以改变历史历程的秘密 that it changed the course of history
那个秘密的答案埋藏在遥远的过去 The key to that secret lies in the distant past
传说 Legend has it
在5000年前 at around 5000 years ago
一位公主在她的花园中漫步 a princess was walking in her garden
突然有样不寻常的东西掉进茶杯中 when something unusual fell into her teacup
一种神奇的纤维从中抽了出来 A magical thread was extracted
它比黄金或珠宝更加贵重 and it became more prized than gold or jade
这种纤维 就是丝 The thread, was silk
这些渺小虫子孕育了无数 Incredibly, such a beautiful substance and all the history behind it
美丽丝线和引人入胜的传奇故事 come from a humble little insect
它就是蚕 the silkworm
蚕蛾每次产下数百个卵 Silk moths lay several hundred eggs
而孵化后的小蚁蚕 and the tiny caterpillars that emerge
只以桑叶为食 eat nothing but mulberry leaves
在长达五十天的暴饮暴食之后 After 50 days of gluttony
他们增重至幼虫体重的一万倍 they've grown 10 thousand times heavier
然而这个时期 But this stage
丝腺占了体重的四分之一 25 percent of their body mass is made up of silk glands
在转化成蛾的过程中 In the process of turning into adult moths
他们从一条丝开始吐丝成茧 they spin a cocoon from a single strand of silk
丝长甚至超过千米 which can be over a thousand meters long
丝质纤维因其超凡韧性和艳丽色泽 It was the legendary strength and brightness of silk fibers
而广受欢迎 that made it so sought-after
5000多年来 For over 5000 years,
人们在纤莹的丝线上编织出巨大的财富 people built great fortunes and mighty kingdoms
和强大的帝国 on these delicate threads.
古代商人在沙漠中留下的行商路线 And the desert routes those antient traders took
成就“丝绸之路”的伟大传说 became the fabled Silk Road
从生丝中缫丝的原理自发现伊始 The principle of extracting raw silk hasn't changed
就一直未变 since it's discovered
将收获的茧倒入沸水中 Harvested cocoons are droped into boiling water
使细长的丝茧散释开来 which unravels the long filaments
然后将之收集起来纺成生丝线 These are then gathered and spun into raw silk thread
在这里——古丝绸之路上的和田 Here at Hotan, on the ancient Silk Road
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