纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 059婆罗浮屠佛陀头像（2）

 

This week we're tracing the great arcs of trade that linked Asia, Europe and Africa around a thousand years ago. My object today is a stone head of the Buddha¹, from Borobudur. Through it we can plot the huge network of connections across the China Sea and the Indian Ocean, by which goods and ideas, languages and religions, were exchanged among the peoples of south-east Asia.

I want to focus on the immensely rich and strategically important island of Java. Because it's in Java, at the monument of Borobudur, that we witness a spectacular example of how this network of international trade allowed Buddhism² to spread beyond the boundaries of its birth and become a world religion.

Dominating a volcanic³ plane in the middle of Java, Borobudur is a stepped pyramid, made from over one and a half million blocks of stone. Built around the year 800, it's conceived as seven mounting terraces getting smaller as they rise: four square terraces below, then three circular ones above - and at the top of the whole structure is a large domed⁴ shrine⁵.

让我们沿着千年前的那条连接亚欧非三大洲的贸易路线追溯。本节介绍的这件石制佛头能帮我们了解当时跨越中国海和印度洋的巨大贸易网络，这张网络使东南亚的居民得以交换商品，交流观念、语言和宗教。佛头来自印度尼西亚爪哇岛的婆罗浮屠，地处赤道以南仅几度的位置，是世界上最大的佛教遗址，也是人类历史上最伟大的文化成就之一。那是一座巨大的方形底座的阶梯状金字塔建筑，饰有上千块浮雕与数百座佛像，以石头堆砌出一个佛教徒眼中的世界。参拜者攀爬台阶的过程也是一趟心灵之旅，象征性地从现实世界迈入一个更高的境界。在富饶且具有重要战略意义的爪哇岛上，婆罗浮屠的遗址作为一个典范，让我们了解佛教如何借助海上贸易走向外界，成为世界性的宗教。

阶梯金字塔形的婆罗浮屠位于岛中央的火山平原上，共计使用了超过一百五十万块石头，大约修建于公元八百年。它共有七层，往上逐级变窄，下四层为方形，上三层为圆形，顶部则是一座圆顶佛塔。

 

1 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

2 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。

3 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

4 domed   

adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I gazed up at the domed ceiling arching overhead. 我抬头凝望着上方弧形的穹顶。
• His forehead domed out in a curve. 他的前额呈弯曲的半球形。

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。