瓮堂
中国最古老的浴室——南京瓮堂
China’s Oldest Public Bathhouse—Weng Tang (Hall of Urn) in Nanjing
Nanjing people have 3 hobbies: drinking tea, taking a bath and chatting with each other. There is nothing better than enjoying a cup of tea and chatting with some friends in a bathhouse during the cold winter!
XA:说到老南京人的日常，离不开喝茶、泡澡、聊天，特别是寒冬的时候，约三五好友，往浴池里一泡，喝喝茶，聊聊天，真是太舒服了!
Bathhouses in Nanjing have a history of more than 600 years, which can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to build Ming City Wall in Nanjing at that time, which called for a lot of manpower. But those laborers perspired all over since it was too hot. So people built the bathhouse named Weng Tang (Hall of Urn) for them to take a bath.
XB:南京的澡堂文化可是历史悠久，往前可以追溯到明朝，距今已经600多年了。当时朱元璋想在南京建造城墙，需要许多工人，但是天一热，出汗多要洗澡啊，于是就建造了当时的浴室瓮堂。
And there is another version. It is said that all high officials and noble lords had to take a bath first before entering Bao’en Temple. Therefore, people built Weng Tang near Bao’en Temple for their convenience.
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XA:当然也有另一种说法，据说当时前来拜访的达官贵人都要到沐浴之后，才能进大报恩寺，为了方便大家，所以就在大报恩寺的附近建造了瓮堂。
So how did they build Weng Tang? At that time, people built a bathing pool first and then put an iron boiler under it. They boiled the water to make the pool heat up.
XB:那么古代的瓮堂是怎么建造起来的呢？当初的浴室是在地上砌一个池子，池下埋一口大铁锅，人在铁锅下烧火，烧热整池水。
To prevent loss of heat, they built a semi-circular roof over it, which looked like an inverted urn or an archway. Thus the heat could be kept in the bathhouse.
XA:同时考虑到保护这里的温度，大家又在池上盖房，屋顶为半圆形，犹如倒扣的瓮，也很像城门洞。这样一来，池中热气得以全部聚集在室内。
What’s even more amazing was that the condensation on the roof would run down the dome and walls instead of dripping on people. It did feature a unique design!
XB:更奇妙的是蒸发到顶部的凝水会沿着穹顶、墙壁流下，而不会滴在人身上，可见设计之巧妙！
Another thing which made Weng Tang special was that there was a smaller pool beside the bathing pool. Hot water gurgled under it, but you could not wash your body in the pool.
XA:瓮堂还有一个特别之处：穹顶下的大池旁还套着一个小池，池下汩汩地沸着热水，但并非用做泡澡。
Above the pool was a wooden stand, and bathers could sit on it to have a sauna. It would open their pores and help them recover from fatigue in a short while.
XB:池上安着木头架子，澡客可以坐在上面蒸桑拿。只要小会儿就全身毛孔舒张，解乏轻松。
People who enjoyed themselves to the full would also chat with each other in Nanjing dialect or sing a Beijing opera like The Empty-Town Stratagem, which had a strong flavor of life.
XA:有的人蒸得过瘾还会用南京话聊聊家长里短，或者喊上段京戏，“我正在城楼观山景，耳听得城外乱纷纷”。别提多有生活气息了。
Weng Tang had enjoyed a good reputation before it was maintained. Some tourists went to visit Nanjing and made a special trip to this antique bathhouse to take a bath and appreciate its unique beauty.
XB:瓮堂在维修之前，早已名声在外，甚至有外地客人在南京游玩之后，还专程来体验这个古董级老澡堂，一边泡澡，一边欣赏这座奇特的建筑。
哈喽故乡
哈喽故乡，讲好故乡的故事，讲好中国故事，传播好中国声音！
