纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 059婆罗浮屠佛陀头像（7）

 

These contacts had been going on for well over a thousand years before Borobudur was built. People used to think that these connections were the result of conquest or emigration from India, but we now see them as part of a great maritime¹ trading network, which inevitably² carried not just people and goods, but skills, ideas and beliefs. It was this network that brought Buddhism³ to Java and beyond - travelling along the Silk Road to China, Korea and Japan, and sailing across the South Asian seas to Sri Lanka and Indonesia. You can, I think, say that Buddhism was the first religion to go global, but it was never an exclusive faith, and at roughly the time that Borobudur was rising out of the landscape, great Hindu temples were also being built on a comparable scale.

To construct monuments like these, of course, required manpower and money. Manpower has never been a problem in Java. It is so fertile, it has always supported a huge population, and in the years around 800 the island was immensely rich. Besides its agriculture, it was a key staging post for international trade, especially the inevitable⁴ spices - cloves⁵ above all - coming from further east. From Java these luxury goods would be shipped on to China, and all over the Indian Ocean.

这种文化交流可以上溯到婆罗浮屠落成约一千年之前。早先人们以为它是印度入侵或人口迁徙的结果，近来才发现它始于一条伟大的陆路与海路并举的运输网络，由此，人口和商品得以流动，技能、观念与宗教也随之扩散。正是这张贸易网将佛教带到爪哇：先沿着丝绸之路到达中国、朝鲜与日本，再乘船渡过南亚大洋到达斯里兰卡和印度尼西亚。但佛教一直不具有排他性，因此几乎在修建婆罗浮屠的同时期，雄伟的印度教庙宇也在附近以同等规模拔地而起。

此等建筑要消耗大量的人力和财力。人力在爪哇不成问题，而当地土地肥沃，一向富庶，公元八百年前后更是富极一时。除了农业的发达，它也是国际贸易中关键的中转港口，尤其是包括丁香在内的各种来自更遥远东方的香料，在这里停靠后被运往中国以及印度洋上的各个国家。

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

3 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 cloves   

n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic)

参考例句：

• My country is rich in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. 我国盛产肉桂、丁香、生姜、胡椒和宝石。 来自辞典例句
• Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cloves are common spices. 姜、肉豆蔻、肉桂、胡椒、丁香都是常用的香料。 来自辞典例句