wǒ fù qīn hé huáng yǒng yù shì lǎo péng yǒu

我父亲和黄永玉是老朋友

My father is an old friend of Huang Yongyu

wǒ fù qīn jiào zhāng kāi jì

我父亲叫张开济

My father’s name is Zhang Kaiji

tā yě shì gè jiàn zhù shī

他也是个建筑师

He is also an architect

liù nián qián huáng lǎo xiān shēng xiǎng juān qián gěi jiā xiāng gài měi shù guǎn

六年前，黄老先生想捐钱给家乡盖美术馆

Six years ago, Mr. Huang decided to build an art museum in his hometown

tā dāng shí suì

他当时90岁

He was 90 years old then

huáng lǎo jiù shì shuō nǐ dài wǒ qù kàn

黄老就是说你代我去看

And I was entrusted with the mission

fǎn zhèng nǐ shì jiàn zhù shī

反正你是建筑师

He said that you are an architect anyway

suǒ zài dì jiù jiào gàn zhōu gǔ chéng

所在地就叫干州古城

The location is Qianzhou ancient city

wàn róng jiāng jiù zài chéng zhōng jiān

万榕江就在城中间

And the Wanrong River runs through the city

zhè yī piàn jiào xiāng xī miáo zú tǔ jiā zú zì zhì qū

这一片叫湘西苗族土家族自治区

This is Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

zhōu fǔ shì jí shǒu

州府是吉首

And Jishou is the capital

huáng lǎo xiān shēng yǐ jīng wèi fèng huáng hé jí shǒu gài le jiǔ zuò qiáo

黄老先生已经为凤凰和吉首盖了九座桥

Mr.Huang has donated nine bridges to the city of Fenghuang and Jishou

wǒ jiù zhàn zài yī gè qiáo shàng gěi huáng lǎo dǎ diàn huà

我就站在一个桥上给黄老打电话

And I was standing on one of them as I called him

zán men jiù gàn cuì zài gài gè qiáo

咱们就干脆再盖个桥

I suggested that we build another bridge

zhè yàng de huà qí shí zán men jiù bǎ měi shù guǎn gài dào chéng shì jū mín de mén kǒu

这样的话其实咱们就把美术馆盖到城市居民的门口

And bring the museum to the doorsteps of the city dwellers

nà tā mǎ shàng jiù zàn chéng jiù zhè yàng

那他马上就赞成就这样

And he agreed right away

wǒ men jiàn le shí jì shàng shì liǎng gè qiáo luò zài yī qǐ de

我们建了实际上是两个桥，摞在一起的

We built two bridges actually, one on top of the other

shàng miàn shì hú de

上面是弧的

The upper one is arched

yǒu diǎn xiàng chuán tǒng de wū dǐng

有点像传统的屋顶

Which kind of resembles traditional roofs

dāng rán rú guǒ nǐ zǎi xì kàn

当然如果你仔细看

And if you look closer

tā zhǎng dé gēn fēng yǔ qiáo diǎn ér bù yī yàng

它长得跟风雨桥ㄧ点儿不一样

You will see that it’s absolutely different than the Fengyu bridge

gēn lǎo de liǎng biān de zhè zhǒng diǎn xíng de zhù zhái yě bù yī yàng

跟老的两边的这种典型的住宅也不一样

And neither is it anything like the nearby residences

tā jì lǎo yòu bù lǎo tā jì xīn yòu bù xīn

它既老又不老，它既新又不新

It’s old but not old, new yet not new

gāo de qiáng dōu shì xǐ shí zi

高的墙都是洗石子

Those tall cement walls

hé lǐ miàn de shí tóu qiāo suì le

河里面的石头敲碎了

Are mixed products of broken river rocks

rán hòu gēn shuǐ ní shā jiāng hùn zài yī kuài

然后跟水泥沙浆混在一块

And cement mortar

suǒ yǐ zhǔ yào de kōng jiān yī nián gòng shì sān gè

所以主要的空间一年共是三个

Mainly there are three spaces

dǐ xià de bù xíng qiáo kōng jiān

底下的步行桥空间

The lower footbridge

èr céng dà zhǎn tīng kōng jiān hé zhè gè sān céng huà láng kōng jiān

（二层）大展厅空间和这个（三层）画廊空间

The mezzanine exhibition hall and the upper gallery

zhè gè qiáo de kuà dù dà gài shì yǒu gōng chǐ

这个桥的跨度大概是有60公尺

The bridge spans about 60 meters

shì chā zài liǎng tiáo jiē shàng de

是插在两条街上的

It connects two streets

gēn páng biān de fáng zi qí shí jiù wán quán shì jǐn jǐn dì āi zhù

跟旁边的房子其实就完全是紧紧地挨著

Very close to the adjacent houses

dǐ xià bù xíng qiáo

底下步行桥

The steel trusses of the lower footbridge

zhè liǎng gè gāng héng jià kàn dào de jiù shì gāng běn sè

这两个钢桁架看到的就是钢本色

Appears the original color of steel

shì hóng lǐ miàn tòu diǎn huáng

是红里面透点黄

So a little bit of yellow in red

tā yě bù yòng yóu qī

它也不用油漆

And paint is not necessary here

tái zi shàng xiǎo fàn yě kě yǐ bǎi gè tān kě yǐ mài dōng xī

台子上小贩也可以摆个摊可以卖东西

And vendors can set up stalls here selling stuff

zuì xī wàng kàn dào de jiāng lái hǎo duō rén lái chéng liáng

最希望看到的将来好多人来乘凉

And the vision is that many would come here and relax in the shade

měi shù guǎn gēn qiáo jié hé zài yī qǐ de

美术馆跟桥结合在一起的

The gallery is part of the bridge

dà jiā guò lái guò qù měi tiān shàng bān mǎi cài

大家过来过去每天上班买菜

Every day you pass by the bridge whether on your way to work or to markets

dài xiǎo hái qù yòu ér yuán shàng xué

带小孩去幼儿园上学

Or when you take your children to school

shì nèi lóu tī de zào xíng jiù shì zuò dé shāo wēi huā qiào yī diǎn

室内楼梯的造型就是做得稍微花俏一点

We put in lots of thought and effort in the indoor staircases

ràng rén jué dé yǒu màn màn de yǒu yī gè qī dài

让人觉得有慢慢的有一个期待

These kind of showy stairs life up people’s expectation

zuò wèi yī gè kě néng zhǎn shì gè shì gè yàng yì shù pǐn de kōng jiān

作为一个可能展示各式各样艺术品的空间

As a space which has the potential to show different art works

zhè gè guāng qí shí hěn jiǎng jiū

这个光其实很讲究

The lighting is rather important

rú guǒ zhǎn diāo sù

如果展雕塑

If sculptures are displayed

qí shí jiù shì zì rán guāng

其实就是自然光

Natural lighting is the best

kě néng zhǎn shì huì huà de shí hòu

可能展示绘画的时候

While when we show paintings

jiù bù xī wàng zì rán guāng zhí jiē zhào dào huà shàng

就不希望自然光直接照到画上

Natural light is less than ideal

sān lóu nǐ kàn yǒu ruò gàn gè tiān chuāng

三楼你看有若干个天窗

And on the upper floor we installed many skylights

guāng bìng bù zhí jiē zhào xià lái

光并不直接照下来

But light doesn’t penetrate right through them

zán men xiàn zài sān lóu èr lóu dà zhǎn lǎn tīng de wū dǐng dào qiáng

咱们现在三楼二楼大展览厅的屋顶到墙

Now in this huge exhibition hall, from walls to the roof

yòng wǎ gòu chéng yī gè diào jié shì nèi guāng xiàn de zhuāng zhì

用瓦构成一个调节室内光线的装置

A light adjusting mechanism made of tiles is put in place

tā yě bù néng tài liàng

它也不能太亮

It is not supposed to be too bright

yòu néng kàn dé dào fēng jǐng

又能看得到风景

One should be able to see the view

kàn dé dào zì jǐ kuà zài jiāng shàng

看得到自己跨在江上

See himself walking over the river

yě kàn dé dào liǎng àn de rén yǒu diào yú de xǐ yī fú de

也看得到两岸的人有钓鱼的，洗衣服的

See people on the banks, fishing, doing laundries

wǒ men xiǎng de bù shì yì shù diàn táng

我们想的不是艺术殿堂

What we have in mind is not a palace of art

qí shí shì néng zhǎo dào yì shù de chéng shì gōng gòng kōng jiān

其实是能找到艺术的城市公共空间

Rather we want to have a public art area of and for the city

měi gè rén lái dōu huì jué dé zhè dì tǐng hǎo wán

每个人来都会觉得这地挺好玩

Where every member of the city enjoys themselves

zhè měi shù guǎn zěn me zài qiáo shàng

这美术馆怎么在桥上

How come the art museum lies on a bridge

nǐ kàn zhè gè kōng jiān dì miàn yě bù shì píng de

你看这个空间地面也不是平的

The floor isn’t flat

rán hòu hái kě yǐ zài měi shù guǎn de dù pí dǐ xià yòu kě yǐ guò hé

然后还可以在美术馆的肚皮底下又可以过河

And you can cross the river under the museum

wǒ zuì hòu yī cì gěi huáng yǒng yù tā kàn tú piàn hái méi bǎi fēn zhī bǎi wán gōng

我最后一次给（黄永玉）他看图片，还没百分之百完工

The last time I showed Mr. Huang the picture, it was not 100% done

tā tè bié zài yì zhè gè fáng zi

他特别在意这个房子

He cared a lot about it

yīn wèi tā zhēn shì tè bié zài yì tā de jiā xiāng

因为他真是特别在意他的家乡

Because he cared a lot about his hometown

nǐ yào dú tā nà xiǎo shuō

你要读他那小说

If you ever read

wú chóu hé shàng de làng dàng hàn zi

《无愁河上的浪荡汉子》

His autobiographical novel

nǐ néng gǎn shòu dào

你能感受到

You would know