纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 034中国汉族漆杯(5)

Looking at the cup again, I can see that around the oval base runs a thin band with 67 Chinese characters on it.Now in Europe you might expect this kind of band to be a motto or a dedication¹, or something like that, but in fact here the characters list six craftsmen² involved in the different processes involved in manufacturing the cup-making the wooden core, undercoat lacquering, top-coat lacquering, gilding³ the ear handles, painting, and then final polishing-the name of every one of the craftsmen.And then-and this could surely happen only in China-it goes on to list the seven product inspectors⁴, whose responsibility was to guarantee quality.Six craftsmen, seven supervisors-this is the stuff of real bureaucracy.The list reads:

在耳杯的椭圆形底部有一圈共六十七个汉字。在欧洲，这里通常会是一句箴言或一条献词。但实际这里写的却是负责生产的六位不同种类的工匠的名字。制作木胎的，刷底层漆的，刷表层漆的，为把手镀金的，描画图案的和最后打磨的。接下来列出了七位质量监督员的名字：这种情况恐怕只有在中国才会出现。六位工匠，七位监督人员，是官方组织运作的明证。这些字是：

"The wooden core by Yi, lacquering by Li, top-coat lacquering by Dang, gilding of the ear- handles by Gu, painting by Ding, final polishing by Feng, product inspection⁶ by Ping, supervisor⁵-foreman Zong.In charge were Government Head Supervisor Zhang, Chief Administrator⁷ Liang, his deputy Feng, their subordinate Executive Officer Long, and Chief Clerk Bao."

素工矣、髹工立、上工当、铜耳黄涂工古、画工定、玥工丰, 清工平、造工宗造，护工卒史章、长良、丞凤、椽隆、令史褒主。

What I find fascinating about this cup, is that it is such a powerful document of the link between craft production and state administration; bureaucracy as a guarantee of beauty.It's not something that's familiar to the modern European, but for the journalist and China expert Isabel Hilton, it's a continuing tradition in Chinese history:

漆杯是工匠生产与官府管理相结合的产物。官僚系统保证了产品的品质。现代欧洲人也许对此并不熟悉，但作家兼中国专家伊莎贝尔希尔顿则认出这是中国的传统：

"Well in Han times, the government had a major role in industry, partly to deal with its military expenditure⁸ in order to finance the kind of expeditions that it required against the aggressive peoples of the north and the west, again echoes of today.

汉朝时，朝廷大量参与工业制作，目的之一便是筹措军费，征讨西方与北方的蛮夷。

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

3 gilding   

n.贴金箔，镀金

参考例句：

• The dress is perfect. Don't add anything to it at all. It would just be gilding the lily. 这条裙子已经很完美了，别再作任何修饰了，那只会画蛇添足。
• The gilding is extremely lavish. 这层镀金极为奢华。

4 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

6 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。