世界小史 第101期:奇怪的图画

 　　When I was a schoolboy, China was to us, as it were, "at the other end of the world".

　　在我上小学时，中国对于我们来说是“世界的另一端”。

　　At most we had seen the odd picture on a teacup or a vase, so that we imagined a country of stiff little men with long plaits down their backs,我们至多曾在茶杯或花瓶上见过那儿的几幅奇怪的图画，所以我们想象中国这个国家有神情呆板的长辫子的小个子男人、and artful gardens full of hump-backed bridges and little turrets¹ hung with tinkling² bells.

　　有弓形桥的富于艺术性的花园以及挂着铃铛的小塔。

　　Of course there never was such a fairyland, although it is true that for more than 200 years,当然一个这样的童话般的国家从来就不曾有过，虽然这话是对的，200多年之久，until 1912, Chinese men were made to wear their hair plaited in a pigtail,直至1912年，中国男人一直必须留辫子，

　　and that we first learnt about them through delicate objects of porcelain³ and ivory made by skilled craftsmen⁴.

　　我们首先是通过那里的能工巧匠制造的精巧的瓷器和象牙制品了解中国人的。

　　From their palace in the capital emperors had ruled over China for more than 1,000 years.

　　中国已经被在首都宫殿里的皇帝统治了1000多年。

　　The fabled⁵ emperors of China who called themselves the 'Son of Heaven', just as the Egyptian pharaoh called himself 'Son of the Sun'.

　　传说中的中国皇帝，自称“天子”，跟埃及法老叫“太阳之子"完全相似。”

　　But at the time I am going to talk about, around 2,500 years ago, all this was yet to come, though China was already a vast and ancient kingdom.

　　我要讲述的那个时期里，大约在公元前2500年，这一切还全都没有，虽然当时的中国已经是一个古老又庞大的国家。

　　In its fields many millions of hard-working peasants grew rice and other crops,这个国家当时就已经有好几百万勤劳的农民，他们种植大米和其他粮食，while in the towns people strolled through the streets in sumptuous⁶, silken gowns.

　　而在城市里人们身穿丝绸衣服款款而行。

　　Over all these people a king ruled, and beneath him many princes who governed the many provinces of this immense country which was larger than Egypt,而在城市里人们身穿丝绸衣服款款而行。

　　and larger than Assyria and Babylonia put together.

　　这个国家比埃及大，比亚述和巴比伦加在一起还大。

　　But soon these princes had become so mighty⁷ that the king could no longer command their obedience⁸.

　　但不久这些诸侯便强大得不听皇帝的号令。

　　They were constantly at war with each other, the big provinces gobbling up the smaller ones.

　　各路诸侯经常互相争斗，大的省吞并小一些的省。

　　And because the empire was so vast that in all its corners the Chinese spoke⁹ quite different languages,由于这个国家如此之大，以至连国家各边远地区的中国人也都讲完全不同的语言，it would probably have fallen apart altogether had they not had one thing in common. This was their script.

　　中国可能已经四分五裂了，假如他们没有一种共同的东西的话：这就是他们的文字。

 

1 turrets   

（六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车

参考例句：

• The Northampton's three turrets thundered out white smoke and pale fire. “诺思安普敦号”三座炮塔轰隆隆地冒出白烟和淡淡的火光。
• If I can get to the gun turrets, I'll have a chance. 如果我能走到炮塔那里，我就会赢得脱险的机会。

2 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

3 porcelain   

n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的

参考例句：

• These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。
• The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。

4 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

5 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。