马可波罗是去中国做生意的，所以要带一些中国没有的、或者很少见的商品。那您知道有哪些商品是中国比较欠缺，需要从外国进口的吗?我们可以先去左边的水果摊上看一看。
Marco Polo came to China to trade, so he must have taken commodities that were either not available or rare in China. Do you have any idea about what kinds of commodities that China lacked and needed to import from foreign lands at that time? Let’s take a look at the fruit stand on the left.
在左边这个水果摊上，您可以看到葡萄、西瓜、石榴、无花果、哈密瓜等等。这些水果我们今天都很常见了，但其实它们都不是中国原产的，而是从国外引进的。通过丝绸之路，像马可波罗这样的商人或者张骞这样的使臣，他们翻越沙漠、远渡重洋，为我们带回来了很多好吃的水果。
From the fruit stand on the left, you can see grapes, watermelons, pomegranates, figs, cantaloupes, and more, which all make regular appearances in our markets today. However, they are not native to China, but imported. On the Silk Road, merchants like Marco Polo and envoys like Zhang Qian crossed deserts and oceans, bringing delicious fruit to China.
比如说葡萄、石榴和西瓜。葡萄原产于地中海沿岸地区，在汉朝的时候就传入了中国，唐朝的时候，人们还学会了用葡萄酿酒，边塞诗人王翰就写过：“葡萄美酒夜光杯”的著名诗句；石榴呢，原产于伊朗地区，也是汉朝的时候传进中国的，中国人不仅喜欢吃石榴，还提取了石榴花中的色素给裙子染色，染出来的裙子就被叫做“石榴裙”，深受古代女孩子的喜爱;另外还有西瓜，西瓜的原产地也是地中海沿岸，是唐宋时期传入中国的，元朝的时候，我国已经有一定的种植规模了，但还是比较稀罕，人称赞它吃起来有“醍醐灌顶、甘露洒心”的感觉。
Let’s look at the grape, pomegranate, and watermelon. The grape, a native of the Mediterranean coast, was first introduced to China during the Han Dynasty and was used as an ingredient to make wine during the Tang Dynasty, which can be evidenced by frontier poet Wang Han’s well-known verse “Grape Wine in Luminous Cup”; the pomegranate originated from Iran and was introduced to China during the Han Dynasty. The ancient Chinese were not only obsessed with the pomegranate’s flavor, but also extracted pigments from its flower to dye their dresses. The dyed dress was named the pomegranate dress and was quite popular. The watermelon was also indigenous to the Mediterranean coast and was introduced to China during the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Yuan Dynasty, watermelon planting in China reached a respectable scale but was still relatively rare. We have never stopped praising it for its refreshing and sweet taste.
所以，咱们能穿上漂亮的石榴裙，能当上开心的“吃瓜群众”，也不是容易的事情，要感谢丝绸之路上的商人和使节们。那都有哪些水果是中国本地的呢？主要是杏子、桃子这一类。
Therefore, we today are able to wear the stunning pomegranate dress or join the happy melon-eating masses thanks to those merchants and envoys on the Silk Road. What kinds of fruits are native to China? Apricots and peaches, to name a few.
京公网安备11010502039775号
