纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 039女史箴图(3)

"Keep an eager guard over your behaviour;

翼翼矜矜，

For thence happiness will come.

福所以兴。

Fulfil your duties calmly and respectfully;

靖恭自思，

Thus shall you win glory and honour."

荣显所期。

The painting that illustrates¹ this poem also has a high moral purpose and interestingly, although the lessons are ostensibly for women, they can also speak to men. When the Emperor refuses to be seduced² by his vain wife, he sets an example of male judgement and strength. Dr Shane McCausland, a leading expert on early Chinese painting, has studied the Admonitions Scroll³ in detail:

而表现诗歌的画作也有崇高的道德目标。劝诫的对象不只是女性，也包括男性。皇帝拒绝妃子的引诱，表现了男性的决断与力量。肖恩麦克索兰博士是中国古代绘画的知名专家，他曾仔细研究过《女史箴图》。

"I think it's about positive criticism, he's trying to not tell people what not to do, but to tell them how to do something better, and each of the scenes describes ways in which ladies of the court could improve their conduct, their behaviour, their character. Admonition is really about learning, improving yourself, but in order to do that, if your audience is very jaded⁴, I think you need to inject quite a lot of wit and humour into it, and I think that's exactly what this artist has done."It bears very closely on kingship, on the tradition of statecraft, of principled government. It's a really incredibly insightful portrayal⁵ of the human interactions which go to governing."

这是一种正面的劝导。艺术家的目的并不是想告诉别人哪些事不能做，而是告诉他们如何能够做得更好。每一幅场景都描述了宫廷女性应如何改善自己的行为举止、个性品行。画的主题是关于学习与改进。为了避免欣赏者对说教感到厌烦，艺术家还加入了机智幽默的内容。而且我认为这正是艺术家们所致力于打造的。画作的内容与为君之道密切相联，是对治国者与他人互动模式富有洞见的描画。

Unfortunately Empress Jia was impervious⁶ to the poem's moral message, and she carried on with her scandalous sexual exploits and her murderous activities. Some of her ruthlessness may have been warranted, since there were rebels stirring up civil war, and ultimately in 300 AD there was a successful coup⁷. She was captured and forced to commit suicide.

但遗憾的是，贾皇后并不为诗文所动，继续过着荒淫的生活。她的冷酷也许在某种程度上情有可原，因为当时有藩王叛乱引起内战。公元300年政变成功，贾皇后被俘获并赐死。

1 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

2 seduced   

诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money. 高额利润的许诺诱使他把钱出了手。
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。

3 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

4 jaded   

adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• I felt terribly jaded after working all weekend. 整个周末工作之后我感到疲惫不堪。
• Here is a dish that will revive jaded palates. 这道菜简直可以恢复迟钝的味觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

6 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。