纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 055唐代墓葬俑(7)

Liu Tingxun, as a very high-ranking official in that state, brought two ceramic¹ bureaucrats² with him into his tomb, presumably to take care of the everlasting³ admin. Oliver Moore has studied this elite⁴ bureaucratic⁵ class, which has become so synonymous with the Chinese state that we still refer to senior civil servants as mandarins:

高级官员刘廷荀用两个官员俑陪葬，想必是为了确保自己永世的行政权。奥利佛摩尔教授一直在研究精英官僚阶层，这个阶层逐渐成了中国政府的同义词，如今我们仍以“mandarin (官员)”一词指代高级公务人员。

"Administration was a bureaucratic operation. It combined very old aristocratic families with what we could call new men. They were divided into various ministries-public works, the economy, there was a military board-and then the largest of all, the one in which more officials were involved than in any other activity, was ritual, with something like between 30-50 per cent. And they would organise⁶ recurrent annual or monthly rituals, celebrations of the emperor's birthday, or princes'and princesses'birthdays, seasonal⁷ observances-things like the ploughing rite⁸, where the emperor would open the agricultural season by symbolically⁹ ploughing a field somewhere in the palace.

当时的官僚系统由古老的侯门与我们可以称之为新贵的阶层共同构成，他们分属不同的部门，工部，户部，兵部以及规模最大的礼部。礼部官员会组织各种周期性的仪式（每年一次或每月一次），比方为皇帝、皇子和公主举办寿宴，以及农业节气，如演讲：每年春天，皇帝都会在宫内象征性地犁一下地，宣布春耕开始。

"There was a very small group, whose significance grew throughout the Dynasty, who took examinations and competed for state degrees. Later on, this system becomes magnified. So that by about the year 1000, you have something like 15,000 men coming to the capital to take exams, of whom only around 1,500 would get a degree. So this is a system in which the largest number, well over 90 per cent, will fail-repeatedly for the whole of their lives. And at the same time, this is a system which fosters loyalty¹⁰ to the Dynasty-which is quite remarkable¹¹ really."

还有一类官员则通过科举考试获得官职。起初他们人数很少，但逐渐成了官僚系统的重要组成部分。科举考试的规模也逐年扩大，至公元一千年，有约一万五千人赴都城应考，其中一千五百人能够金榜题名，九成以上名落孙山，为数众多的人终其一生部在不懈赶考。这一科举制度同时也保证了官员对朝廷的忠诚度。

1 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。

2 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 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。

5 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

6 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

7 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

8 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

9 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

10 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。