纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 049新罗瓦当(5)

But, at ground level, there were other threats. There were always potential rebels within the state, the aristocrats¹ who had been forced to live in Kyongju for example, and on the coast there were Japanese pirates.

但在地面上还有别的威胁：反叛势力一直蠢蠢欲动，那些被迫住在庆州的王公贵族就是其中之一，而沿海还有来自日本海盗的威胁。龙也许能保佑家宅平安。

Here again, as on our tile, a dragon would provide security, but every Silla king had to negotiate one great and ongoing² political predicament-how to maintain freedom of action in the lowering shadow of his mighty³ neighbour, Tang China.

但每一任新罗王都不得不应对这些瓦当龙也无法解决的困境：如何在强大的邻国中国唐朝的阴影下保持独立自主。

The Chinese had supported the Silla in their campaign to unify⁴ Korea, but only as a preliminary to China taking over the new kingdom itself, so the Silla had to be both nimble and resolute⁵ in holding the Chinese emperor at bay while maintaining his political alliance. In cultural terms, the same subtle balancing act between dependence⁶ and autonomy has been going on for centuries, and continues to this day, and we can see it in our tile.

中国曾在新罗统一朝鲜半岛的战争中支持过他们，但这只是中国吞并朝鲜的前奏罢了。因此新罗国王一方面要摆出谦卑的姿态以巩固同盟关系，一方面又要严阵以防中国皇帝出兵。这种依赖与自主间的微妙平衡在朝鲜半岛持续了千余年，至今仍是影响韩朝两国外交政策的主要因素。

The tile is very similar to ones made in Tang China at the same time, but this is emphatically not a Chinese object. Unlike the broad grin of a Chinese dragon, the mouth here is small and aggressive, and the modelling of the tile has a rough vigour⁷ that's very un-Chinese.

在朝鲜半岛历史上，位于丝绸之路末端的统一繁荣的新罗王国开辟

了一个重要的创新与学习的时代，这也是建筑、文学、天文和数学发展

的“黄金时代”。

And it's this robust⁸ energetic engagement with the clay that made Korean ceramics⁹ so appealing to twentieth-century Europeans, and especially to potters. Here's Jane Portal again:

威猛的龙瓦当一直留在庆州的屋桅上，流传至今今天 在韩国仍能看到新罗国留下的遗产。韩国国家博物馆馆长崔光植告诉我们：

"All throughout Korean history, Korean ceramics tend to be lumpier, less perfect, more sort of spontaneous, whereas Chinese ceramics are perfect-and dead, in a way. And this is what attracted people in the twentieth century-folk potters, such as Bernard Leach-and they copied them, made studio pots which were very influenced by Korean ceramics."

瓦当所表现的文化因素至今仍留在韩国文化里。现在庆州市区的街道上仍能看到它们的身影。因此，从这方面看，这些物品虽然巳经算是古物，却仍然存活在文化中。

1 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

4 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

5 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

6 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

7 vigour   

（=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力

参考例句：

• She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情，有朝气。
• At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。