纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 055唐代墓葬俑(2)

I'm in the Asia Gallery at the back of the British Museum. Behind me stand two statues of the judges of the Chinese underworld, recording¹ the good and the bad deeds of those who had died.

大英博物馆北区的亚洲厅摆放宥两尊中国阴间的判官雕像，他们是负责记录人生前的蒋举与恶行的，

And these judges were exactly the people that the Tang elite² wanted to impress.

因此是庙朝的权资想要讨好的对象。

In front of me, I'm looking at a gloriously lively troupe³ of ceramic⁴ figures.

在他们前而摆放若一组十二只栩栩如牛的陶俑，

They're all between two and three feet (60 to 90 cm) high, and there are 12 of them-human, animal and somewhere in between.

高度在六十厢米至一百一十五厘米之间，形象包括人、舀以及人面兽身。

They're from the tomb of one of the great figures of Tang China, Liu Tingxun, general of the Zhongwu army, lieutenant⁵ of Henan and Huinan district and Imperial privy⁶ councillor, who died at the advanced age of 72 in 728.

它们都来自庙朝名将刘廷荀之墓。他曾任忠武将军、河南道与淮南道校尉以及中央枢密使， 在公元七二八年以七十二岁高龄去世。

Liu Tingxun tells us this, and a great deal more besides, in a glowing obituary⁷ that he had commissioned himself and which was buried along with his ceramic entourage.

这些倌息来自他命人撰写的墓志铭。这份铭文通篇溢美之词，与他的陶瓷随从们一同被下葬。

Together, figures and text give us a marvellous glimpse of China 1,300 years ago, but above all, they're a shamelessly barefaced⁸ bid for everlasting⁹ admiration¹⁰ and applause.

墓中的文字与物品让我们得以一窥一千三百年前的中国。但它们首先都是些寡廉鲜耻的自我吹捧，目的则是为了能名垂千古。

Wanting to control your own reputation after death isn't unknown today, as Anthony Howard, for years obituaries¹¹ editor at The Times, recalls.

想要控制自己死后名声的人在如今也屡见不鲜。曾任《泰晤士报》讣闻版编辑的安东尼笛华德回忆。

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

4 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

7 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

8 barefaced   

adj.厚颜无耻的，公然的

参考例句：

• It's barefaced robbery asking such a high price for that old bicycle!那辆旧自行车要价如此之高真是无耻的敲诈。
• What barefaced cheek!真是厚颜无耻！

9 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

11 obituaries   

讣告，讣闻( obituary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Next time I read about him, I want it in the obituaries. 希望下次读到他的消息的时候，是在仆告里。
• People's obituaries are written while they're still alive? 人们在世的时候就有人给他们写讣告？