经济学人:中国人为何爱看宫斗剧(1)

 China 中国

Chaguan 茶馆

Tremble and obey 战栗与臣服

Why stressed-out Chinese fall for melodrama¹ about life in the imperial court 为什么焦虑不安的中国人爱看宫斗剧

A bit surprisingly, one of the best things about the "Story of Yanxi Palace", a television drama about an 18th-century emperor that has broken Chinese viewing records this year, is watching concubines being rude to eunuchs. 有些出乎意料的是，今年打破收视记录的清宫剧《延禧攻略》看点之一就是后宫嫔妃对太监无礼。

Even less predictably, the particular rudeness—combining scorn, resentment² and a dash of fear—offers insights into how Chinese people cope with life in today's ruthless and unequal society. 更意想不到的是，这种粗鲁无礼加上轻蔑怨恨和些许恐惧，竟成了如今中国人应对残酷不平等社会的启发。

An early scene shows the Qianlong emperor's chief eunuch, a tubby, squeaky dimwit, bustling³ into a silk-draped waiting-room with an order for the harem. 在刚开始的场景中，乾隆皇帝的首领太监，一个身形臃肿、阴阳怪气、笨头笨脑的人，带着给后宫的圣旨匆匆走进帘幕低垂的等候室。

Return to your quarters, he announces, the emperor is working late. 他宣布，请各宫娘娘回宫，皇帝要忙政事到很晚。

"What? His majesty⁴ is sleeping alone again?" grumbles⁵ Noble Consort⁶ Gao, a boo-hiss villain⁷. “什么？皇上又自己睡下了？”反面角色高贵妃嘟囔着。

"Let's go," she tells her fellow concubines, stalking past the eunuch without a glance. “我们走吧，”头也不抬地领着几个嫔妃从太监身边走过。

"What else is there to wait for?" “还有什么等的？”

"Yanxi Palace" is a gorgeously costumed fantasy, filled with poisonings, betrayals and young women competing for the Forbidden City's great prize: being bedded by the emperor. 《延禧攻略》是一部服饰华丽的虚构剧，充斥着毒害、背叛，且很多年轻女性都争紫禁城里的大奖：侍寝。

"Join the army, you might as well become a general," as one ambitious recruit to the harem chirps⁸. “参军，就有可能成为一名将军；入宫，就有可能成为皇后”，一名野心勃勃的后宫新人说。

The show is driven by female characters, including a kind but sickly empress, murderous concubines 这部剧是一部大女主戏，主要角色有善良多病的皇后、残忍的嫔妃，

and—at the heart of the 70-episode epic—Wei Yingluo, a quick-witted, justice-seeking maid, who rises to become Qianlong's beloved consort. 以及这部70集史诗般巨作的核心角色魏璎珞，她本是正义机智的宫女，最终晋升为皇帝的宠妃。

The formula is wildly popular, drawing 700m live-streaming views on the drama's best single day, in August. 这部剧非常受欢迎，8月最佳单日播放量达到7亿。

Yet that night-time scene in the harem reflects some bleak⁹ realities of court life. 但后宫晚上的场景反映了宫廷生活的黑暗现实。

The eunuch is ridiculous, and obsequious¹⁰ to high-ranking concubines. 太监荒谬可笑，对高位嫔妃阿谀奉承。

But he is also terrifying. 但太监也有其可怕之处。

For the concubines live only to please his master, the emperor, 因为嫔妃们活着就是为了取悦太监的主子——皇帝，这个绝对的统治者。

an absolute ruler in whose name the guilty and innocent alike are shown being jailed, executed or exiled without hope of appeal. 以皇帝的名义，有罪或无罪之人都有可能被监禁、处决或流放，无望上诉。

The Forbidden City is a crimson-walled tyranny, filled with spies. 紫禁城就是红墙深围的暴政之地，到处都是耳目。

Noble Consort Gao’s drawling insolence¹¹ in the face of rejection¹² is, in the end, bravado¹³. 高贵妃在面对拒绝时傲慢地拖腔拉调，归根结底是一种虚张声势。

She is privileged, cosseted¹⁴ and ready to hurt those below her in the pecking order. 她享有特权、深受恩宠、蓄势痛击比她位分低的人。

But in this system she has no individual rights. 但在这个体系中，她没有个人权利。

And she does not challenge its rules. 更加没有挑战这个体系的权利。

 

1 melodrama   

n.音乐剧；情节剧

参考例句：

• We really don't need all this ridiculous melodrama!别跟我们来这套荒唐的情节剧表演！
• White Haired Woman was a melodrama,but in certain spots it was deliberately funny.《白毛女》是一出悲剧性的歌剧，但也有不少插科打诨。

2 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

3 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

4 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

5 grumbles   

抱怨( grumble的第三人称单数 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。
• I'm sick of your unending grumbles. 我对你的不断埋怨感到厌烦。

6 consort   

v.相伴；结交

参考例句：

• They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。
• The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

7 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

8 chirps   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的第三人称单数 )； 啾； 啾啾

参考例句：

• The linnet chirps her vernal song. 红雀吱喳鸣叫着她春天的歌。
• She heard nothing but the chirps and whirrs of insects. 除了虫的鸣叫声外，她什么也没听见。

9 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

10 obsequious   

adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的

参考例句：

• He looked at the two ladies with an obsequious air.他看着两位太太,满脸谄媚的神情。
• He was obsequious to his superiors,but he didn't get any favor.他巴结上司，但没得到任何好处。

11 insolence   

n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度

参考例句：

• I've had enough of your insolence, and I'm having no more. 我受够了你的侮辱，不能再容忍了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• How can you suffer such insolence? 你怎么能容忍这种蛮横的态度？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

13 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

14 cosseted   

v.宠爱，娇养，纵容( cosset的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Our kind of travel is definitely not suitable for people who expect to be cosseted. 我们的这种旅行绝对不适合那些想要受到百般呵护的人。 来自辞典例句
• We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures. 按照天文标准，我们是一群受宠过头、珍爱有余、呵护备至的受造物。 来自互联网