纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 039女史箴图(6)

In the Admonitions scroll¹ we find that a lady ought never to exploit the manners or weaknesses of her man. The only time that a lady should put herself before the emperor is to protect him from danger. Another scene in the scroll illustrates² a true event, when a ferocious³ black bear escaped from its enclosure, during a show put on for the emperor and the ladies of his harem. In this particular scene we first see two harem ladies, running away from the wild beast but looking back in horror. We next see the emperor seated, frozen with shock, and in front of him the valiant⁴ lady, who has not run away but has rushed to place herself between the emperor and the bear, which is leaping at her, snarling⁵ fiercely. But the emperor is safe. This, the picture tells us, is the kind of self-sacrifice we need and expect from our great ladies.

《女史箴图》告诉我们，女性绝不能凌驾于丈夫之上。只有在保护身陷危难的皇帝之时，女性才能站到他的前面。画卷中的另一幅画描述了一个真实事件：在一次宫廷表演中，一头凶猛的熊逃脱了控制，两位妃子转身就逃，同时惊恐地回头张望。皇帝吓呆了，坐在椅子上动弹不得， 而他身前站着一位勇敢的女性，她挡住皇帝，熊愤怒咆哮着向她扑去， 皇帝则脱离了险境。画卷告诉我们，伟大的女性应做出这种自我牺牲。

This scroll became the prized possession of many emperors, who may have found it to be a useful aid in subduing⁶ troublesome wives and mistresses, but who also admired its sheer beauty, and used the act of collecting this precious masterpiece as a way of showing just how culturally astute⁷ and powerful they were. We can know exactly whose courts it was viewed in, because each imperial ruler has left their mark on it, in the form of a stamp carefully placed in the blank spaces around the paintings and the calligraphy⁸. Some of the previous owners have also added their own comments to the scroll.

《女史箴图》曾为数位皇帝珍藏。他们也许认为它能帮助他们降伏后宫悍妇，但同时，他们也欣赏画卷的艺术价值，用收藏来表现自己的艺术素养与权势。每位帝王都在画卷空白处盖上了自己的印章，因此我们准确地知道到底有谁欣赏过它。还有些收藏者在画上题字。

1 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。

2 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

3 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

4 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

5 snarling   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• "I didn't marry you," he said, in a snarling tone. “我没有娶你，"他咆哮着说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• So he got into the shoes snarling. 于是，汤姆一边大喊大叫，一边穿上了那双鞋。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

6 subduing   

征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗

参考例句：

• They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。
• Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为：是精神，神秘色彩十分慑。

7 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。

8 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。