纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 010绳纹陶钵（5）

What's fascinating about trying to tell a history through objects is that they go on to have lives and destinies never dreamt of by those who made them-and that's certainly true of this pot.

通过物品讲述历史最迷人之处就是，这些物品自身拥有的生命与命运，远远超越了当时制造人的想象。这件陶器也并不例外。这些漆金箔内衬大概是在公元十七或十九世纪贴上去的，当时古代陶器开始陆续出土，被日本学者们收集跟展览起来。

That gold leaf was applied¹ somewhere between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, when ancient pots were being discovered, collected and displayed by Japanese scholars. And it was probably a wealthy collector a couple of hundred years ago who had the inside of the pot lacquered with a thin layer of gold. After seven thousand years of existence, our Jomon pot then began a new life-as a 'mizusashi', or water jar, for that quintessentially Japanese ritual, the Tea Ceremony.

这件陶器可能在几百年前，曾经辗转落入一个富有的收藏家手中，他就在这陶钵内壁贴上了一层薄薄的漆金箔内衬。经过七千多年的历史尘封，几百年前我们这绳纹钵被重新赐于了第二生命，变成一个水罐子，运用于最典型的日本文化礼仪之一的茶道。

I don't think that its maker² would have minded. We know there were all sorts of rituals and ceremonies involving pots in the time of the Jomon. In that society, as in virtually all others, pots quickly went beyond their functional³ purpose to become objects of desire and display.

我并不觉得它最初的制造者会介意这点。现在我们知道在绳纹时期，已经存在了各种与陶器相关的礼仪与仪式。在那个社会里，几乎像其他社会一样，陶器很快就超越了其最初的功能性价值，变成一种人类爱好与展示的物品。

In their many manifestations⁴, pots resonate throughout human history, from the most primitive⁵ domestic meal or drink to the Last Supper; from a nomadic⁶ snack to an international banquet. If mealtimes are a microcosm of society, then pots are the very glue that binds⁷ hosts and guests, indeed the whole of society, together.

在它们众多的表现方式中，纵观人类历史，从最原始农耕时代的部落饮食，到“最后的晚餐”，从游牧民族简陋的一顿饭到国际盛宴，这些锅碗瓢盆奏响一曲永恒的绝唱。假如说进餐时间是一个社会的缩影，那么这些锅碗瓢盆便是粘合主人与客人，甚至整个社会的有机结合物。

This week we've traced the beginnings of farming and settlement; in the next programmes, we're with the consequences: the world's first cities.

本周我们追寻了人类农耕时代与定居生活的开始。在下期节目中，我们将继续探讨随之而产生的世界第一座城市。

1 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

4 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

6 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

7 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》