Developingideas

MASTEROFTIME

1InthequietcourtyardsofXiSanSuo,behindthehighwallsoftheForbiddenCity,timeticksatitsownpace.Ifithadn’tbeenforathreeepisodedocumentary,outsiderswouldneverhaveknownthattheplainlydressedpeopleworkingherearemastersoftheircraft,whohavespenttheirlives

restoringpreciousantiques.Amongtheseistheclockrestorationmaster,WangJin.

2Walkingthroughthesevencrimsongatestowardshisworkplace,WangJinstillregardshimselfasanordinaryworkerinthePalaceMuseum,althoughnowheisoftenstoppedbyadmirerswantingtheirphototakenwithhim.Dayin,dayout,MrWangandhisstudentsspendtheirtimerestoringclocksdatingbackhundredsofyears.Butforquitesometime,heandhisstudentQiHaonanusedtobetheonlytwopeoplerepairingtimepiecesinthePalaceMuseum.

3Qingemperorswereveryfondofclocks.Therefore,inordertopleasethem,foreignenvoyspresentedtheseemperorswiththemostintricateandsplendidtimepieces.Today,thePalaceMuseumhasoneofthemostsignificantcollectionsoftimepiecesintheworld,mainlyoriginatingfromEuropeandChina.Withobjectsrangingfromsmallpocketwatchestoclocksoveronemetreinheight,eachoftheserequiresitsownuniquemethodofrestoration.Giventheplexityoftheworkandthelackofnecessarymaterials,thismeansthateachexpertcanworkonamaximumoftwolargepiecesayear.But,throughtheirpainstakingefforts,MrWangandhisstudentsdomorethanrepairtheclocks–theybringthembacktolife.

4TheonlysoundtobreakthesilenceinWangJin’sworkshopisthechimingmelodyoftherepairedandpolishedclocks.ToWangJinitisthemostbeautifulmusicintheworld.Now,aftereightmonthsofendlessadjustments,thetimehasfinallyeforMrWangtowindupthegiganticclocksthatdatebacktothetimeofEmperorQianlong.Theintricatelyfashionedobjectsthathavestoodstillforcenturiesinstantlyebacktolife:waterflows,boatssail,dogsbark,chickensflaptheirwingsandawomanstartstospin.Itisatrulyaweinspiringmoment.Itissuddenlyclearthatwhentheclockmasterssaythat“theseantiqueshavelives”,itisneitheranexaggerationnorametaphor.

5But,despitethebinedworkofseveralgenerationsofmasters,itseemsunlikelythattherestorationoftheclockswilleverbeplete.EvenifeveryclockinthePalaceMuseumwererestored,therewouldstillbeworktodo,becauserestorationwouldprobablyneedtobeginagainontheclocksthatwererepairedlongago.Thisisaraceagainsttimethatcanneverbewon!Nonetheless,MrWangremainsoptimisticaboutthefutureofthesetimepieces.Followinginthefootstepsofhisownteacherallthoseyearsago,MrWanghasnowpassedonhisskillstothenewmembers,whowilltakeonmanyofthefuturerepairs.What’smore,inspiredtofollowinhisfather’sfootsteps,MrWang’ssonnowhasalsotakenuprepairingantiqueclocks.Thisnewgenerationofartisanswillnotonlyhelppreservetraditionalskills;theinnovationtheybringtothecraftwillalsoensurethattheartofclockrepairingstandsthetestoftime.

6Intoday’sfastpacedworld,thesayingthat“timewaitsfornoman”hasneverseemedmoreapt.YetinsidethehiddencourtyardsofXiSanSuo,thereissomethingtimelessaboutthewayMrWangandhiscolleaguessedatelypiecetogetherthepastwithskilfulhandsandmodesthearts.Itisasiftheyhavebeeonewiththeircraftandwiththehistoryofthecountry.

1Watchthevideoandanswerthequestions.

1WhowastheForbiddenCitybuiltfor?

2WhendiditbeehometothePalaceMuseum?

3HowmanyworksofartarethereinthePalaceMuseum?

4WhatdoyouthinkmakesthePalaceMuseumuniqueintheworld?

2Lookatthetitleandthepictures.Predictwhatthepassageisabout.

Nowreadthepassageandcheckyourprediction.

3Matchthequestionstotheparagraphsandfindouttheanswers.

□aWhyisWangJinoptimisticaboutthefutureofthetimepiecesinthePalaceMuseum?

□bWhyisitpainstakingforWangJinandhisstudentstorepairthecollectionoftimepiecesinthePalaceMuseum?

□cWhathasbeendonetotheclocksthatdatebacktothetimeofEmperorQianlong?

□dWhoisWangJinandwheredoeshework?

□eWhatqualitiesdoWangJinandhiscolleaguesdisplayintheirwork?

□fWhatwasspecialaboutWangJinandhisstudentQiHaonan?

答案：aPara5,bPara3,cPara4,dPara1,ePara6,fPara2

aWhyisWangJinoptimisticaboutthefutureofthetimepiecesinthePalaceMuseum?

Becausehehaspassedonhisskillstoanewgenerationofartisans,whowillnotonlyhelppreservetraditionalskillsbutalsobringinnovationtotheartofclockrepairingsothatitstandsthetestoftime.

bWhyisitpainstakingforWangJinandhisstudentstorepairthecollectionoftimepiecesinthePalaceMuseum?

Becauserepairingsuchalargeandimportantcollectionoftimepiecesinvolvesplexwork,uniquemethodsofrestorationandsourcingdifficulttofindmaterials,whichtakealotoftime,careandattentiontodetail.

cWhathasbeendonetotheclocksthatdatebacktothetimeofEmperorQianlong?

WangJinhasspenteightmonthsadjustingthegiganticclock,whichisabouttobewoundupandbroughtbacktolife.

dWhoisWangJinandwheredoeshework?

Heisaclockrestorationmaster,workinginXiSanSuointheForbiddenCity.

eWhatqualitiesdoWangJinandhiscolleaguesdisplayintheirwork?

Theydisplayqualitiesofskill,patience,modestyanddevotionintheirwork.

fWhatwasspecialaboutWangJinandhisstudentQiHaonan?

TheyusedtobetheonlytwotimepiecerestorersinthePalaceMuseum.

Think&Share

1Whatisyourunderstandingofthetitle,“MastersofTime”?Whatfigureofspeechdoestheauthoruse?

2Whatisyourunderstandingofthesentence,“Thisisaraceagainsttimethatcanneverbewon”?Doyouagreewiththis?Giveyourreasons.

3WhatdoBillCunninghamandWangJininthetworeadingpassagesinthisunithaveinmon?

4Whatcanyoudotohelptopassontraditionalskillsandthespiritofcraftsmanship?

4Workingroups.GiveaspeechaboutthespiritofcraftsmanshipinthePalaceMuseum.

1ThinkaboutothermastersinthePalaceMuseum.Thendiscussthequestionswithinyourgrouptoprepareforyourspeech.Dofurtherresearchifnecessary.

?Whoarethemasters?

?Whatfieldsdotheyworkin?

?Whatspecificexamplescanyougiveoftheirwork?

?Whataspectsofthespiritofcraftsmanshiparedemonstratedthroughtheirwork?

?Howcanyoudevelopanddisplaysuchspiritindailylife?

2Organiseyourspeechbypletingthetable.

Aspectsofthespiritofcraftsmanship

Supportingexamples

Conclusion

3Giveyourspeechtotheclass.

Nowthinkaboutyourperformanceinthespeech.Voteforthemostconvincingspeechandaskthespeakertosharesomepublicspeakingskills.

Writinganexpositoryessay

5Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

WhatdotheSummerPalace,YuanmingyuanandtheChengdeMountainResortallhaveinmon?TheseQingdynastyarchitecturalmarvels,alongwithmanyothers,wereallbuiltbymembersofthesamefamily–theLeifamily.

Forsevengenerations,theLeifamilyquietlydominatedimperialarchitecture.Theirdesignswereadmirable,varyingfromgrandbuildingstopublicworks,suchasroadsanddams.Soincrediblewastheirskillthatmanyoftheirbuildingssurvivedearthquakesandremainedstandingoverhundredsofyears.

TheLeifamilywerealsopioneeringengineers,whousedagridsystemtoplantheirprojectsinminutedetail.Theytookcarefulnotesandmademodelsoftheirprojects,manyofwhichhavesurvivedtothisdayandareregisteredaspartofUNESCO’sMemoryoftheWorldProgramme.

Inadditiontotheirarchitecturalachievements,theLeifamilyshoweddiligenceandhumility.Eachgenerationconscientiouslylearnttheircraftandundertookambitiousprojects,manyofwhichtookyearstoplete.Yettheydidnotseekfame,andeventoday,theirgreatworksareassociatedmorewiththeimperialcourtthanwiththem.

Withtheirremarkableskills,innovation,diligenceandhumility,theLeifamilyleavebehindtheirbuildingsandthelegacythattruecraftworkisatreasurethatcanlastbeyondalifetime.

1Whatisthepassageabout?

2WhatqualitiesoftheLeifamilyar