纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 059婆罗浮屠佛陀头像（5）

 

Raffles¹' rediscovery of Borobudur, and his later uncovering of important Hindu monuments on the island - for Java had embraced both Hinduism and Buddhism² - led to a fundamental reassessment of Javanese history. Raffles wanted to persuade Europeans that Java was indeed a great civilisation³, as the anthropologist⁴ Nigel Barley⁵ tells us:

"Raffles believed fervently⁶ in the concept of civilisation, he never defines it but it has a number of clear markers. One of them is the possession of a writing system, another is social hierarchy⁷, and yet another is the possession of complex stone architecture. So if you like, Borobudur was one of the proofs that Java was a great civilisation, the equal of ancient Greece and Rome. And the whole of his collection at the British Museum, the Raffles collection, and the whole of that book he wrote, the 'History of Java', is an attempt to establish that proposition."

莱佛士的发现让世人对爪哇历史的了解有了根本性的转变。自婆罗浮屠后，他又发现了岛上重要的印度教遗址，这两种宗教都一度在岛上盛行。他想说服西方世界，爪哇岛上实际存在着高度发达的文明。人类学家奈吉尔·巴利博士也有一样的看法：

莱佛士信仰“文明”这一概念，他虽未提出过文明的定义，但提到过数条标准：一是拥有文字系统，二是社会奉行等级制度，三是拥有复杂石制建筑。因此，你大可以将婆罗浮屠看作爪哇拥有灿烂文明的标志，其程度应该不亚于同一时期的希腊与罗马帝国。他向大英博物馆捐赠的私人藏品和撰写的《爪哇历史》一书，都是为证明这一观点所做的尝试。

1 raffles   

n.抽彩售物( raffle的名词复数 )v.以抽彩方式售（物）( raffle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Elsa and I will buzz on to the Raffles bar. 埃尔莎和我继续往前去，到拉福尔旅馆的酒巴。 来自辞典例句
• Tudsbury rushed to the Raffles and dictated this hot story to Pamela. 塔茨伯利冲到拉福尔旅馆，对帕米拉口述了这个最新消息。 来自辞典例句

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 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

4 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

5 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

6 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。