纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 058日本铜镜（9）

"There was a belief among the Japanese people that in order to be re-born [it depended on] how much good . . . you can do. So it was probably a similar idea, that these exquisitely¹ made and very expensive mirrors... to offer in order to be re-born... to entrust² to a Buddhist³ priest to dedicate to the god, so that they could come back to the world again."

So now we can pretty confidently guess at the entire life story of our mirror. It was made in the sophisticated bronze casting workshops of Kyoto around 1100, to be used in the rarefied world of courtly ritual and display, an indispensable tool for any lady or gentleman to prepare themselves for an aesthetic⁴ public appearance. At some point, its owner decided⁵ to dispatch it in the care of a priest on a long journey to the northern shrine⁶, and there it was thrown into the sacred pond, still holding within it the likeness⁷ of its owner and carrying a message to the other world. What neither owner nor priest could ever have guessed was that it would one day be a message to us. And like the mirror we heard speaking at the beginning of the programme, it tells to a modern audience a chronicle of Old Japan.

In the next programme we move away from the deliberate isolation⁸ of Japan, back to the great trade routes. We'll be on the sea lanes around south Asia, from China to India, with, in the middle, the Indonesian island of Java... and one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, Borobudur.

日本人相信，如果后世还想投胎为人，这一世就得多积德。大概正是基于这种想法，人们才向僧人献上如此贵重精美的镜子以示虔诚；将供品献给神，以期轮回转世。

基于这些信息，我们可以推测镜子的来龙去脉。它于公元一千一百年打造于京都的一家青铜作坊，之后进入高高在上的宫廷，用于仪式与展示活动。对于想要以完美形象示众的贵族男女，它们是不可或缺的道具。某天，它的主人突然决定将它献出，在僧侣的护送下走过漫长的路途，最终到达北方的庙宇。它被扔进圣池中，?带着主人的形象，将信息送往另一个世界。主人和僧侣都不曾想过，它有朝一日会将这些信息传达给我们。这些铜像就像《大镜》一样，向现代观众述说着古日本的故事。

1 exquisitely   

adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地

参考例句：

• He found her exquisitely beautiful. 他觉得她异常美丽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He wore an exquisitely tailored gray silk and accessories to match. 他穿的是做工非常考究的灰色绸缎衣服，还有各种配得很协调的装饰。 来自教父部分

2 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

3 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

4 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

5 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。

6 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

7 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

8 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。