你或许不会像了解娱乐明星那样了解他，但你很有可能参观甚至从他的作品前经过。美国波士顿的约翰·肯尼迪图书馆（1979）、巴黎的卢浮宫金字塔（1989）、香港的中国银行总行大厦（1990）以及卡塔尔多哈的伊斯兰艺术博物馆是他众多作品中的一小部分。
The man behind these landmark buildings is Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei. He turned 100 on April 26.
这些地标性建筑背后的男人是美籍华裔建筑师贝聿铭。4月26日，他迎来了自己的百岁诞辰。
Described as “a living legend” by The Architectural Digest, Pei is famous for his talent of bridging what seem to be opposite ideas – ancient and modern, man-made and natural, East and West. And this is thought to be down to being born and spending the first 18 years of his life in China before going to the US to study architecture at the MIT and Harvard.
贝聿铭被《建筑文摘》称为“活着的传奇”，因其能将看起来截然相反的概念—— 古典与现代、人造与自然、西方与东方 —— 结合起来而闻名于世。而人们认为这样的才华源于他的生活经历：贝聿铭生于中国， 18岁时远赴美国，先后在麻省理工学院和哈佛大学学习建筑。
“I’ve never left China,” Pei once told the Financial Times, despite identifying himself as “a Western architect”.
“我从未离开中国，”贝聿铭曾在接受英国《金融时报》采访时如此表示，尽管他认为自己是个“西方建筑师”。
Traces of Eastern philosophy can be seen in Pei’s appreciation of empty spaces. He once quoted Chinese philosopher Lao Zi in an interview with People magazine, saying: “The essence of the vessel is in its emptiness”, meaning that buildings should have enough emptiness for people to walk around and relax in.
东方哲学的痕迹在贝聿铭对于留白的鉴赏中可见一二。他在接受《人物》杂志采访时，曾引用了中国哲学家老子的一句话：“当其无，有器之用，意思是建筑物应当有足够的空白空间，让人们四处走走、放松一下。”
The harmony and balance between nature and artificial elements are also
自然和人造元素两者的和谐与平衡在贝聿铭的设计中同样重要。“好的建筑拥有自然的元素，”他告诉《人物》杂志。
This quality of Pei’s earned him a lot of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. One of them is the expansion project of The Louvre.
贝式建筑的这一特质也让他赢得了不少千载难逢的机会，其中之一便是卢浮宫的扩建工程。
Emile Biasini, the French official in charge of the project, believed there wasn’t a better choice for the job than Pei. This was because as a Chinese person “he had an understanding of ancient civilization” and as an American “he had a taste for the modern”, Biasini told the Financial Times.
负责该项目的法国官员埃米尔•比亚西尼认为，没有人比贝聿铭更能胜任这项工作了。因为作为一个华人，“他了解古代文明”，而作为一个美国人“他有着现代的品味”， 比亚西尼在接受《金融时报》采访时表示。
But being special can also bring controversies, which was what Pei had to face during the Louvre project. His design of the new entrance – a modern glass-and-steel pyramid – was considered to be an eyesore and too much of a contrast to the museum’s ancient main body, even though the structure has now become one of the most iconic buildings in Paris.
但独具一格也会引来争议，就像卢浮宫项目进行期间贝聿铭所面对的那样。他所设计的新入口 —— 一座现代的玻璃钢筋金字塔 —— 当时被认为辣眼睛，和博物馆古典的主体相当不搭，尽管如今这一建筑已经成为了巴黎最具标志性的建筑之一。
This is why The Guardian said the career of Pei was like he “has walked an architectural tightrope for half a century”.
这就是为什么《卫报》称贝聿铭的职业生涯就像“在建筑设计上走了半个世纪的钢丝”。
But Pei doesn’t regret his decisions. To him, staying true to his style is the one thing that he must always do.
但贝聿铭对自己所做的决定并不后悔。对他而言，保持自己原有的风格是他必须坚持的一件事。
“Doctors can bury their mistakes, but architects have to live with theirs,” Pei said to People.
“医生们可以掩盖自己的失误，但建筑师们却要带着它们过一辈子，”贝聿铭向《人物》杂志表示。
