纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 039女史箴图(2)（在线收听）

The frame in front of me now shows a disturbing scene. A beautiful and seductive woman of the court harem is approaching the Emperor. The billowing robes and red ribbons that she's wearing accentuate her movement as she flutters coquettishly towards him. But as we look more closely, we can see that she's actually just faltering: she's just been brought up short by the Emperor's outstretched arm and hand, raised in an uncompromising gesture of rejection. Her body twists as she abruptly begins to turn away, and on her face is the expression of a shocked, thwarted vanity.

其中有一场景颇令人不安。一个美丽的宫廷女子正风情万种地向皇帝走去，衣袂和红丝带随着动作飞舞。但如果凑近细看你就会发现，皇帝伸出胳膊做出了拒绝的姿势，表明自己不想亲近美色，这令她踌躇不敢向前。女子身体扭转，准备转身离开，脸上是难以置信的挫败神情。

At the time that the poem was written, China was in a state of fragmentation-following the collapse of the Han Empire-and competing forces jostled for supremacy, constantly threatening to dethrone the Emperor. The Emperor himself was mentally deficient, and so his wife, Empress Jia, had a great deal of power, which she spectacularly misused. The poem was written by her courtier, Zhang Hua, who was a minister at court and, according to a written history of the time, Zhang Hua was increasingly horrified by the way the Empress and her clan were usurping the authority of her husband; she was jeopardizing the stability of the dynasty and of the state by murder, intrigue and riotous sexual affairs. Zhang Hua wrote the poem ostensibly to educate all the women of the court, but his real target was of course the Empress herself. He hoped, through the inspiring and beautiful form of poetry, that he'd be able to lead his wayward ruler to a life of moral correctness, restraint and decorum:

公元二九二年，张华作诗之时，中国正处于汉朝崩塌后的分裂状态，各方外力明争暗斗，皇位危如累卵。当时的晋惠帝昏庸无能，贾皇后大权在握，行为荒唐。据史料记载，这首诗是她的朝臣张华所写,据史料记载这位张华乃朝中大臣,张华忧心忡忡，担心皇后及其同党会篡夺皇位。她的淫乱、凶残和奸诈严重威胁了王朝的安稳。张华的诗文表面上是在劝诫所有的后宫女子，实则是想进言贾后。他希望通过优美而发人深省的诗歌的力量，让贾后回归正道，安分守己，恪守妇道。