纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 055唐代墓葬俑(3)（在线收听）

I used, oddly enough, to get lots of letters-in the almost decade I ran The Times obituaries-saying,Oh, I do not seem to be getting any younger, and I thought it might be helpful to let you have a few notes on my life'. And they were unbelievable. People's self conceit-saying things like, 'Though a man of unusual charm, and this kind of thing. I mean, I couldn't believe that people would write this about themselves. So of course no-one nowadays self-commissions their own obituary, and those that were sent in always ended up straight in the waste-paper basket.

我收到过不少写着我已时日无多，想来有必要让你们了解一下我的生平事迹的信。它们简直让人难以置信，字里行间透出的尽是狂妄自大.充斥着类似虽然他是一个极具魅力的人的描述。我很难相信有人会如此评价自己。当然，如今没有谁委托別人为自己写讣告，早年间的这种倌通常也直接进了废纸篓。

"I used to rather boast, and say that on the obits page of 'The Times', 'We are writing the first version of history of our generation'. And that is what I think it ought to be. It certainly isn't for the relatives, or the family, or even the friends."

我以前总是为《泰晤士报》的讣闻版夸口说“我们在书写当代历史的第一个版本。这也正是讣告的价值所在。它自然并非写给逝者的家人或朋友看的。

The Tang obituaries were not for family and friends, either. But nor were they the first version of history for their generation. The intended audience for the obituary of Liu Tingxun was not earthly readers, but the judges of the underworld, who would recognise his rank and his abilities, and award him the prestigious place among the dead that was his due.

唐朝的讣闻也同样不是写给家人或朋友的，但它们亦非那一代历史的首个版本。刘廷苟的讣闻的目标读者并非在世的人，而是阴间的判官，它让他们得以了解他的地位和能力，好在阴间给予他相应的地位。