纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 070复活节岛雕像（9）

 

It's not often that you see ecological¹ change recorded in stone. There is, I think, something very poignant² in this dialogue between the two sides of Hoa Hakananai'a, a sculpted³ lesson that no way of living or thinking can endure forever. His face speaks of the hope that we all have of unchanging certainty, his back of the shifting expedients⁴ that have always been the reality of life. He is Everyman.

And Everyman is usually a survivor⁵. The Easter Islanders seem to have adapted reasonably well to their changing ecological circumstances, as Polynesians have always had to. But in the nineteenth century, there were challenges of a completely different order. From across the sea came slavery, disease and Christianity. When the British ship, HMS Topaze, pulled in to shore in 1868, there were only a few hundred people left on the island. The chiefs, by now baptised, presented Hoa Hakananai'a to the officers of the Topaze. We don't know why they wanted him to leave the island, but perhaps the old ancestral sculpture was seen as a threat to the new Christian⁶ faith. A troop of islanders moved him to the ship, and he was taken to England to be presented to Queen Victoria, and then sent to be housed here at the British Museum. He stands facing south, looking towards Rapa Nui, over eight and a half thousand miles away.

在石头上记录生态的变迁十分罕见。而这是何瓦何卡纳奈阿正面与背面雕刻的对话中最令人悲伤的一点。它是一个教训，告诉我们没有任何生活或思维方式能永久持续。它的脸上是我们坚定不移地抱持着的希望，而背后记录的则是面对现实时不得不采取的各种权宜之计，然而这才是生活。它就是凡人。

而凡人通常能够幸存。复活节岛上的居民似乎已经很好地适应了不停变化的生态环境。波利尼西亚人一向长于此道。但十九世纪时，他们又迎来了全新的挑战一奴隶、疾病与基督教跨越重洋到来。一八六八年，英格兰皇家海军巡防舰“托帕兹”号抵达之时，岛上仅剩数百人。已成为基督教徒的首领将何瓦·何卡纳奈阿送给了船上的官员。我们不了解他们为什么愿意将它送走，也许这种古老的先祖雕像对新来的基督教信仰是一种威胁。它被一队岛民送上船，载到英国，作为礼物献给了维多利亚女王，之后被送到大英博物馆收藏。它面朝东南方，正对着一万四千公里外的拉帕努伊岛的方向。

 

1 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

2 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

3 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

4 expedients   

n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He is full of [fruitful in] expedients. 他办法多。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Perhaps Calonne might return too, with fresh financial expedients. 或许卡洛纳也会回来，带有新的财政机谋。 来自辞典例句

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。