纪录片《文明》 第181期 进步崇拜（13）

People from Asia and Africa were displayed to the public in mock villages...

亚洲与非洲人在仿制村庄中公开展览

Along with their art...

一同展出的还有他们的艺术品

And their architecture.

和他们的建筑

In the heart of the capital,the cultures of colonial peoples were here being contrasted with the assumed superiority of France.

在首都中心殖民地人民的文化与法国自恃的优越性形成了鲜明对比

In the view of the time, it was the sophistication of French civilisation¹,

在当时看来 法兰西文明的复杂与成熟

with its links back through the Enlightenment,the Renaissance² and to the classical world,

以及其与启蒙运动 文艺复兴和古典世界的联系

that gave France the right to rule over the supposedly primitive³ peoples of her empire.

使法国自认为有权 统治帝国境内所谓的原始人民

And so the organisers of the Exposition Universelle imagined that visitors who came here would revel⁴ at the sight of members of these supposedly lower races on display,

因此在世界博览会组织者的想象中来到这里的参观者 将会因为看到这些被展出的所谓低级种族 而狂欢陶醉

and that they'd do so confident in the belief that they were being guided by France and her civilising mission.

并且他们满怀信心地相信 他们是在遵循法兰西及其文明开化使命的指引

What visitors were not supposed to do was to see in the art and the culture of Africa and Asia the potential for an escape from Europe and from Western civilisation.

组织者不希望参观者从非洲与亚洲的艺术和文化中看到的 是逃离欧洲 逃离西方文明的可能性

And yet that is exactly the view taken by an artist who was one of the 28 million people who passed under the Eiffel Tower and entered the exposition in the summer of 1889.

而这却正是1889年夏天穿过埃菲尔铁塔进入博览会的 两千八百万参观者中的一名艺术家 所获得的领悟

His name was Paul Gauguin,a former city trader who had lost it all in the financial crash of 1882.

他的名字是保罗·高更 曾是一名在1882年经济危机中 倾家荡产的证券交易员

He'd grown to hate the stifling⁵ conventions of bourgeois⁶ society.

他早已痛恨资产阶段社会中 令人窒息的条规

He wanted to leave it all behind and find somewhere not yet tainted⁷ by the artificiality of modern life.

他想将一切置之脑后寻找一个尚未被现代生活中的人造元素所影响的纯净世界

The restless Gauguin had already sought escape in the quiet backwaters of France and Martinique.

在法国和马提尼克平静的死水里 不安歇的高更都曾寻求逃离

But each time he had returned to Paris.

但每次他都会回到巴黎

Now, after visiting the exposition and seeing its colonial villages,

然而在参观了博览会并见到它展示的殖民地村庄之后

Gauguin decided⁸ that in order to find paradise, he should head for the South Pacific,for the island of Tahiti.

高更决定 为了寻找天堂 他要前往南太平洋前往塔希提岛

As Gauguin left, he wrote to a friend,

高更离开时在给朋友的信中写道

"The European Gauguin has ceased to exist."

"欧洲的高更已经不复存在了"

To him, Tahiti represented an almost mythical⁹ Eden.

于他而言 塔希提代表着近乎神话般的伊甸园

1 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

2 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

3 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。

4 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

5 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

6 bourgeois   

adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子

参考例句：

• He's accusing them of having a bourgeois and limited vision.他指责他们像中产阶级一样目光狭隘。
• The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois.法国革命受到中产阶级的鼓励。

7 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。