经济学人383:土耳其的文化雄心(4)

 　　The BM says that the stele¹ entered its collection in 1927, nine years after the collapse² of the Ottoman empire, and it had been acquired in Syria, not in Turkey. The Turks were unimpressed. “The British Museum has no sense of joint³ venture,” says Ilber Ortayli, head of the Topkapi. “They were completely unco-operative.”

　　大英博物馆声称这方石碑1927年被该馆收藏，那时候奥斯曼帝国已经覆灭九年了，得到这个文物的地方是叙利亚，不是土耳其。土耳其人却对此无动于衷。“大英博物馆没有合作的观念”托普卡匹博物馆馆长特伯·奥特里说，“他们根本不愿意合作。”

　　Shock, not awe⁴

　　惊而不恐

　　Turkey has many other museums in its sights. A list of artworks being sought abroad indicates the culture ministry⁵ has made similar demands of the Louvre, the Pergamon, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the Davids Samling Museum in Denmark, the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, DC, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Getty. It has also claimed stolen antiquities⁶ that have been seized by police in Frankfurt, Florence, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Scotland.

　　土耳其已将很多国外博物馆纳入视野。文化部长发出了寻找流失海外艺术品的清单，对卢浮宫、佩加蒙、伦敦维多利亚与艾伯特博物馆、里斯本古本提安博物馆、丹麦哥本哈根市大卫收藏馆、华盛顿特区敦巴顿橡树收藏馆、克利夫兰艺术博物馆也有类似的要求。土耳其也要求归还遭警察查封的被盗古董，它们现存于法兰克福、佛罗伦萨、保加利亚、瑞士和苏格兰。

　　Museum directors have reacted with varying degrees of shock. Some have instructed lawyers; others, such as the V&A, are hoping that a “long-term” loan of the contested object will satisfy the demands from Ankara. (Mr Gunay says only an “indefinite” loan will suffice.) Still more are prevaricating⁷, hoping that the authorities will lose interest. This is unlikely.

　　那些博物馆馆长有不同程度的吃惊，有的已经咨询过律师，其他的，如伦敦维多利亚与艾伯特博物馆馆长希望长期出借有争议的藏品会满足安卡拉的要求。（居纳伊说“无限期的出借”就足够了。）还有更多的馆长在搪塞，希望土耳其当局会失去兴趣。然而这是不可能的。

　　Turkey is convinced of the justice of its quest. Moreover the culture ministry lumps together objects that were smuggled⁸ out of the country illegally with those that were removed—perhaps legally to a place of greater safety, but not provably so—in an era when ownership was judged in a looser way. For Turkey, all of these objects were stolen. It is determined⁹ to get them back.

　　土耳其深信自己的追求是正义的。而且文化部把从该国非法走私的文物和那些合法转移到更安全地方的文物混为一谈——但是没有办法证明这是合法的，因为以前判定所有权的方法不严谨。对于土耳其来说，所有西方博物馆收藏的文物都是从他那里偷走的。土耳其已经铁下心来让这些文物回家。

　　Mr Gunay’s ministry is beefing up its anti-smuggling and intelligence bureau, and will soon add criminal and legal units to its task force. Easy foreign travel, communication and technology have all helped the restitution¹⁰ campaign. Turkish émigrés and Turks travelling abroad have helped to identify objects in foreign museums. Online museum inventories¹¹, with details of acquisition and provenance¹², are another rich source of information. The ministry is also working with the American group behind WikiLoot, a not-yet-launched effort to use crowd-sourcing to combat the illicit¹³ antiquities trade.

　　居纳伊的维护部正在加强反走私和情报局的力量，该局的特别小组不久会配备刑事和法务部队。境外旅游部门、通讯部门和技术部门也从容不迫地投入到这场归还文物的战斗。土耳其的旅外侨民（还有在国外旅游的土耳其人）在西方博物馆帮助辨认文物。另外一个资源是信息丰富的网上博物馆，上面的文物清单详细地说明了文物的来源。文化部和美国的WikiLoot合作，把这股尚未使用的力量投入到打击非法古董交易的群众运动中。

　　Turkish self-justification¹⁴ is as romantic as it is defiant¹⁵. Asked about the return of the sphinx of Hattusa, which he personally oversaw¹⁶, Mr Gunay explained that it went to a museum in Corum, “the very homeland of the sphinx”. He added, “I wholeheartedly believe that each and every antiquity¹⁷ in any part of the world should eventually go back to its homeland. Even if these objects are made of stone, just as people have souls, so do animals, plants and monuments. Taking a monument away destabilises the world and is disrespectful to history.”

　　土耳其的自我辩白浪漫而大胆。被问到他亲自监督的哈图沙狮身人面像的归还时，居纳伊解释说，它去了乔鲁姆的一家博物馆，那里才是它真正的家。他又补充道：“我虔诚地认为世界上的每个古物都应该回到它的故乡。即使这些文物是石头做的，它们和人一样有灵魂，动物、植物、历史遗迹也是如此，转移历史遗迹破坏了世界的稳定，是对历史的亵渎。”

　　These arguments are selective. Turkish officials refuse to concede that Turkey itself, over centuries of domination, forcibly removed hundreds of objects from their homelands. Asked whether Alexander’s sarcophagus would be returned to Lebanon, Mr Gunay and his interpreter simply ignore the question. The Turks are too determined to depict¹⁸ themselves as victims of cultural oppression to accept that foreign museums and archaeologists have also played a part in saving their treasures.

　　他们的辩解是有选择性的。面对同样的问题，土耳其官员拒绝让步。在奥斯曼帝国统治的几个世纪里，数百件文物被从故乡强制迁走。当被问到土耳其是否会把亚力山大的大理石棺交还黎巴嫩，居纳伊和他的译员选择了回避土耳其人的态度过分坚决，并没能把自己描绘成文化压迫的受害者，他们也不认同国外博物馆和考古学家拯救了他们的文物。

　　The result is an impasse¹⁹. Foreign museum directors wish to keep ties with Turkish museums, but if all objects from antiquity were to be repatriated²⁰ to their land of origin, as Mr Gunay suggests, what justification is there for institutions such as the Met, the Louvre and the BM· Why, for example, should the BM retain the Parthenon marbles in London? The carvings²¹ were acquired by Lord Elgin when Greece was part of the Ottoman empire. Lord Elgin had obtained a firman, or Ottoman permission from the local authorities, but only after the payment of significant bribes²². Does that make acquisitions illegal?

　　结论陷入了僵局。外国博物馆馆长期望和土耳其博物馆保持联系，但是如果将所有文物按照居纳伊的建议归还到原产地，大都会艺术博物馆、卢浮宫和大英博物馆能给出什么理由呢？比如伦敦的大英博物馆能保留帕台农神庙的大理石雕像吗？这是额尔金勋爵从希腊搞到的，那时候希腊还属于奥斯曼帝国。额尔金勋爵通过当地政府巨额贿赂弄到了敕令（奥斯曼帝国的许可）。这会使获取的文物非法吗？

　　Turkey’s campaign has strong support at home. But counting any object acquired without a distinct contract as stolen should alarm museums everywhere.

　　土耳其的这场斗争在国内获得了强烈支持。那些没有签署明确合同的馆藏文物被看做是偷来的，这给每个博物馆都敲响了警钟。

1 stele   

n.石碑，石柱

参考例句：

• Many temples on the mountain,stele,Qulang Pavilion,shade trees.山上殿宇林立，碑碣夹道，亭阁曲廊，绿树掩映。
• The inscription on the stele tells the history of Lamaism.碑文讲的是喇嘛教史。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

7 prevaricating   

v.支吾( prevaricate的现在分词 )；搪塞；说谎

参考例句：

• Stop prevaricating and come to the point. 别吞吞吐吐的，有话快说吧。

8 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

11 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

12 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。

13 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

14 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

15 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

16 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

17 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

18 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

19 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

20 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏