The Great Admiral Yi Sunshin and His Turtle Ship

The Great Admiral Yi Sunshin and His Turtle Ship

伟大的海军上将李舜臣和他的龟船

A bright little boy grew up in the countryside of Korea in the mid-1500s. His name was Yi Sunshin. Sunshin dreamed of becoming a famous military official. He often said to himself, “ I’m going to be the best military official of my generation. I will dedicate my life to my country. ” It took time for Yi Sunshin to accomplish his dream. When he was 28 years old, he took the military service examination. But during the exam, he fell from his horse and broke his leg.

15世纪中期，一个聪明的小男孩在朝鲜农村长大。 他的名字叫李舜臣。 舜臣梦想成为一名著名的军事官员。 他经常对自己说：“我将成为我这一代人中最好的军事官员。我将把我的一生献给我的国家。” 李舜臣需要时间来完成他的梦想。 他28岁时参加了兵役考试。 但在考试期间，他从马上摔下来，摔断了腿。

Determined to succeed, Yi Sunshin took the exam again when he was 32 years old, and this time, he passed. His military career had finally begun. From that moment, Yi Sunshin would live his dream. In 1591, 47-year-old Yi Sunshin became the naval commander in charge of protecting the coast of the Jeolla province of Korea. This assignment was important because the province is close to Japan, and at that time, Japan and Korea were not on good terms.

为了成功，李舜臣在32岁时再次参加了考试，这次他通过了考试。 他的军事生涯终于开始了。从那一刻起，李舜臣将实现他的梦想。 1591年，47岁的李舜臣成为负责保护朝鲜全罗道海岸的海军司令。 这项任务很重要，因为该省靠近日本，而且当时日本和朝鲜关系不太好。

Japan had a new ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he wanted to take over Korea. Yi Sunshin knew that Japan might attack Korea at any moment, so he decided to do something about it. He gathered all his soldiers together for a meeting. “ Listen up, everyone . Korea is in danger. Japan might attack us at any moment. We must be prepared. We must begin training, ” Yi Sunshin said. Yi Sunshin trained his soldiers daily, but he knew that this preparation would not be enough.

日本有了新的统治者丰臣秀吉，他想接管朝鲜。 李舜臣知道日本随时可能袭击朝鲜，所以他决定采取行动。 他召集所有士兵集合。 “大家都听好了。朝鲜正处于危险之中。日本随时都可能袭击我们。我们必须做好准备。我们必须开始训练，”李舜臣说。 李舜臣每天都训练他的士兵，但他知道这种准备是不够的。

What more could he do? At night, Yi Sunshin read history books, looking for an answer. Finally, he read about a ship that was built in 1413. “ Yes, yes, that was a good battleship, sturdy and strong—but not good enough, ” Yi Sunshin thought. He scratched his head and thought some more, “ That’s it! I’ll adapt it and make it into a more powerful ship. ” Excited, he pulled out his pen and paper and began to draw his new ship.

他还能做什么？ 晚上，李舜臣读历史书，寻找答案。 最后，他读到了一艘建于1413年的船。 “是的，是的，这是一艘很好的战列舰，坚固有力——但还不够好，”李舜臣想。 他挠了挠脑袋，想了想，“就是这样！我会把它改装成一艘更强大的船。” 他兴奋地拿出笔和纸，开始画他的新船。

Yi Sunshin and his soldiers built many ships before they finally made the perfect new ship. Everyone celebrated when the hard work was finally over. They called the final creation “ the turtle ship. ” The turtle ship was very intimidating. It had a dragon’s head at the front and a turtle’s body. The dragon’s head could spit out smoke to hide the ship from the enemy and to confuse them .

在最终制造出完美的新船之前，李舜臣和他的士兵建造了许多船。 艰苦的工作终于结束了，每个人都庆祝一番。 他们称最终的创造物为“海龟船” 海龟船非常吓人。它前面有一个龙头和一个乌龟的身体。 龙的头可以吐出烟雾，将船隐藏起来，使敌人感到迷惑。