纪录片《文明》 第84期 画卷天堂（8）（在线收听）

Which gave us the word paradise.

也是"天堂"这一名词的起源

Islamic rulers from the Nasrids in Spain to the Mughals in India

从西班牙纳斯里德到印度莫卧儿的伊斯兰统治者

laid out their gardens according to the Koran's description of the afterlife.

都按照《古兰经》对彼世的描绘修建花园

Four quarters, bounded by four rivers,

四个角以四条河为界

which, in paradise, it was said,

传说中 天国的这四条河

would flow with water, wine, milk and honey.

会流淌着水 酒 奶和蜜

Flora and fauna, the fertile attributes of God's blessing,

鲜花和动物作为主赐予的丰饶之属

also found their way into decorations on the pavilions

在平静优雅地矗立在花园中的凉亭

and palaces which gracefully stand amidst the gardens.

和宫殿的装饰中 也找到了自己的一席之地

But the art of the paradise garden found its richest expression

但天国花园也找到了最适于传播的形式

in a form that sprang, like Islam itself, from the desert.

正如伊斯兰文明自身找到了在沙漠中的繁衍之道

It was the garden you could carry with you--the carpet.

那就是可携带的花园毯子

For the nomadic tribes of the Middle East, everything in life -

对于中东游牧民族而言 生活中的一切

talking, eating, praying-- was done close to the ground.

交谈 吃饭 祈祷 都在地面上完成

Carpets made life not just bearable, but civilised,

地毯不仅使生活变得可以忍受 还让其更文明

especially when woven with an image of paradise.

尤其是纹饰着天国图景的织物

By the late Middle Ages,the garden carpet had migrated

到中世纪后期,花园地毯从最开始的

from its humble origins in Arabia and Central Asia

阿拉伯半岛和中亚发源时的平民用品

to become a symbol of luxury and sophistication in the royal court of the Persian Shah.

变成了波斯沙阿王庭中奢侈繁复的装点

The 16th and 17th centuries were a golden age for Persian garden carpets.

十六和十七世纪是波斯花园地毯的黄金时期

And this is an extremely rare, fragile survival.

这是一片极其稀罕而脆弱的遗存

Known as the Wagner Carpet,after a recent German owner,

以其前德国主人之名命名被称为瓦格纳地毯

it is crammed with every kind of living thing, teeming through the foliage.

它绣满了居住在林间的各种生物