星空瞰华夏（2020）

These findings suggest there's truth in the ancient texts.
这些发现证明古书♥记♥载中存在真♥相♥
And that means, there may also be truth in what they record
这也说明 秦始皇另一项工程的记录中
of another of the emperor's construction projects.
也存在真♥相♥
A huge defensive wall.
一堵巨大的防御高墙
The first Great Wall of China.
中国的第一座长城
Though little remains today, the records show
尽管只留存了一些遗迹 记录显示
it stretched for nearly 2000 miles across northern China.
它曾经在中国北部绵延近3200千米
They also reveal the human cost
它也揭露了秦始皇野心背后
of the emperor's ambition.
所付出的人力代价
He forced 300,000 soldiers and half a million laborers
他强迫三十万士兵和五十万劳力
to work on its construction.
去建造长城
And for many, it was a death sentence.
对许多劳力来说 这就是死刑
They died of starvation or fatigue,
他们死于饥饿或者劳累
or in some cases they were flogged to death.
在某些情况下 他们还被鞭打致死
But it cemented emperor Qin Shi Huang Di's place
但在世界历史上
in all of world history.
这都巩固了秦始皇的地位
After an incredible journey spanning thousands of miles
经历了一段跨越千万千米和历史长河的
and reaching far into the past,
美妙经历之后
I'm nearing the end of my quest.
我的探索也将要到达终点
But one intriguing mystery remains.
但仍存一个有趣的谜团未解
Did the first emperor really conjure up the idea
中国第一位皇帝想要建造长城的想法
for a Great Wall, right out of thin air?
真的是凭空出现吗
To find the answer, I need to go back even further,
为了寻找答案 我需要回到更久远的以前
to a time before his bloody rise to power,
在秦始皇的血腥成为暴♥政♥之前
and before the formation of China itself.
也在中国的建立之前
I want to investigate one final mystery
我想要研究中国长城的
surrounding the Great Wall of China.
最后一个谜团
Just how did the first emperor get his idea
究竟中国的第一位皇帝从哪里受到启发
to build a colossal defensive wall?
建造这堵巨大的防御高墙
That question has taken me 300 miles north of Xi'an,
为了研究这个问题
to the Loess Plateau.
我来到了西安以北480千米的黄土高原
I'm following satellite images to mysterious lines of rocks
我沿着卫星图像中神秘的石头线条
and steep earth banks,
和陡峭的路堤行走
the remains of a primitive and clearly ancient wall.
探索这堵原始古老的城墙遗迹
There's pieces of pottery, scattered all over here.
这里有四散的陶器碎片
All around,
四周都存在着线索
clues to who built it.
告诉我们是谁建造了这堵城墙
I mean, this piece is just commoner.
这一片陶器非常普通
Commoner, like cooking jar,
普通的陶器 比如烹饪容器
and the designs on the outside tell me this is very early.
它的外部设计告诉我 这片陶器非常古老
We're talking about pre-Qin empire.
大概是先秦时期
2200 years ago, at a time before the first emperor came to power,
2200年前 第一位皇帝掌权之前
China was divided into seven warring states.
中国被分为战国七雄
To protect their territories,
为了保护他们的领土
each state built their own defensive walls.
各国建造了它们自己的防御城墙
Incredibly, these are the remains of a wall
不可置信的是 这里就是中国统一之前的
built before the formation of China itself.
城墙遗迹
This is pretty cool.
这些遗迹太壮观了
In 221 bc, the king of one of the warring states,
公元前221年 战国七雄中的一位国王
Qin Shi Huang Di, is waging bloody war.
秦始皇发动了一场血腥的战争
He crushes all other states, unites China
他打败了其余国家 统一中国
and declares himself the first emperor.
自称中国首位皇帝
With his newfound power,
凭借他前所未有的权利
he combines the warring states existing walls,
他合并了战国七雄仍存的防御城墙
and builds new stretches,
并且建造了新的延伸
to create one huge defensive shield, over 3,000 miles long.
缔造了一堵4800多千米的巨大防御城墙
The first true Great Wall of China.
这是中国真正意义上的第一座长城
His incredible construction
秦始皇的丰功伟业
would be extended and developed by the Han dynasty.
将会被延续到汉朝继续发展
And over 1,000 years later,
1000多年后
the Ming dynasty would take things even further,
明朝将会更进一步
creating the monument we see today.
建造了我们今天所见的长城
The Great Wall was not one single thing,
长城并不仅仅是一堵城墙
it was a mesh of many walls that span a huge periods of time.
它由千百年来的许多城墙交织而成
I mean truly, China is defined by its walls.
实际上 长城界定了中国的疆土
My investigation has taken us right across China,
我的调查带领我们横跨中国
to the edge of empire.
来到了中国的尽头
I've tracked the Great Wall back to its very roots,
我对长城追踪溯源
more than 2,200 years ago,
回到了2200多年前
and revealed how it's not one wall
并且揭露了长城其实并不是一堵城墙
but many, that evolved over the centuries
而是许多城墙 经历了几个世纪的演变后
into an astonishing military masterpiece.
变成了如今令人惊叹的军事杰作
We always knew it was big, but now,
我们一直都知道长城的巨大 但现在
using the latest satellite imagery and cutting-edge technology,
通过使用最新的卫星图像和前沿科技
Chinese archaeologists are revealing
中国考古学家正在揭露
that this world icon is even greater than we ever imagined.
这座世界性的标志比我们想象的更为壮观
It's more than twice as long as previously thought,
它是我们曾经以为的两倍长
spanning 13,000 miles,
绵延两万千米
Long enough to stretch half-way around the earth.
长度足够绕地球半周
On this journey,
在这趟旅程中
I've learned that the Great Wall was as alive and dynamic
我发现长城和世世代代的建造者一样
as the generations of people who built it.
生动鲜活
It's the result of struggle and achievement
它是奋斗和成就的结晶
spanning more than 2000 years.
跨越两千多年
It's not just an enduring symbol of ancient China,
它不仅仅是古代中国的一个持久象征
it's the story of China itself.
它本身就是中国故事