纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 058日本铜镜（2）

 

"I am a plain old-fashioned mirror from a bygone age, made of good white metal that stays clear without being polished. I am going to discuss serious matters now. Pay close attention, everyone. You should think, as you listen to me, that you are hearing the 'Chronicles of Japan'."

That last quote is from a famous Japanese history called 'The Great Mirror' written around 1100, in which the mirror not only has a voice, but the power to reveal Japan to itself. I hope it's not too fanciful to make the same claim for the mirror in this programme, which was made at about the same time, although - as always with mirrors - we can't necessarily trust what we think we see. And, as we all know only too well, historical truth is a shifting thing, not least because objects are constantly yielding up new knowledge. Our mirror is no exception, it's only in the in the last year that we've found out exactly where it came from, and what that new information tells us about the Japan of eight hundred years ago. The story our mirror can now tell is about lovers and poets, court women and goddesses, priests and emperors.

写于公元一千年前后的日本历史名著《大镜》中提到一面镜子，它不但能说话，还能透露这个国家的历史：

我是一面普通的老式镜子，来自遥远的古代，用优质的浅色金属制成，不擦拭也能保持常新…接下来我要谈严肃的话题了。大家都请用心聆听。记住，你们将听到的是日本的历史…大英博物馆收藏的这面铜镜便基本制作于上述时间，尽管直到最近我们才了解它的渊源以及它所讲述的九百年前日本社会的情况。这面镜子目前可以讲述的是恋人与诗人，宫廷女子与女神，僧侣与帝王的故事。