欢迎您访问52ij英汉互译网，今天小编为你分享的英语知识是：【【博雅双语名家名作】李济：中国文明的开始（二）】，下面是详细的分享！
【博雅双语名家名作】李济：中国文明的开始（二）
The Beginnings of Chinese Civilization中国文明的开始
作者简介：李济，哈佛大学哲学博士，考古学、人类学家，中国考古学之父，对西阴村、安阳和城子崖考古发掘的领导影响了20世纪下半叶中国考古学的发展。
内容简介：结集李济在在考古学、人类学领域最具代表性的英文论文，如在华盛顿大学介绍“使殷商文化由传说变为信史”的安阳殷墟发掘的演讲和分析中国现代考古学科形成、考证中华民族起源的文章。
Recent Works近期的研究工作
The conf luence of traditional antiquarian studies and modern scientific method has necessitated a readjustment of viewpoints, and brought forth not only an improvement of technique, but also a complete review of all the historical problems. It must be said that such a process will take a long time to complete; what is being done at present is only the beginning of a new era.传统的古物学和近代科学方法的汇流，亟需观点上的调整。这不仅带来了技法上的改进，同时也引发了对所有历史问题的全面反思。必须指出的是，这样一个过程的完成需要很长时间，目前正在进行的工作不过是一个新时代的开端而已。
From a purely archaeological viewpoint, as different from that of early antiquarians, there are certain problems never thought worth consideration by traditional historians, which have gained their importance through the development of natural sciences. When China is now viewed not as an isolated unit by itself, but merely a fragment of the total humanity, one finds that a great deal of materials, totally disregarded by early antiquarians, become extremely informative and historically significant. From this point of view China is an extremely rich field which has just begun to be explored.与早期的古物学不同，从纯粹考古学的角度来看，一些在传统的历史学家眼中从来不值得考虑的问题，由于自然科学的发展已经变得十分重要。现在，中国已不再被看作是一个自成一体的孤立个体，而只是整个人类世界的一部分，因此，我们发现，大量早期古物学家不屑一顾的材料如今成为了信息含量高、历史意义重大的材料。从这点来看，中国是一个有待探查的富饶田野。
Many of the institutions of higher learning like the Department of Chinese Studies of the Peking Government University, the Historical Museum, and the Tsing Hua Research Institute began to take up these new problems, and became interested in archaeological excavations in the last decade. Although it has not been possible to carry out all the plans, sporadic work has been done from time to time, and some of it has been done meritoriously. However, it remains for the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, to be the first sponsor of serious archaeological excavations. The recent work undertaken by the Institute in Anyang deserves special mention for a variety of reasons; it is thoroughly modern in its planning; it is one of the key sites of North China; it has yielded abundant results; and above all, it has been of interest to both the early antiquarians and the modern archaeologists. So it may be taken as a typical example of recent work done in this field.许多高等学术机构，如国立京师大学校中文系、历史博物馆、清华国学研究院等，均已开始关注这些新问题，并在过去十年中对考古发掘工作产生了兴趣。尽管无法完成所有计划，但零星的工作还在不时进行，且其中不少是卓有成效的。然而，第一个出面主持真正的考古发掘的还得是中央研究院历史语言研究所。该所最近在安阳所进行的工作由于多方面的原因，值得特别关注：这项工作在计划方面，完全是现代化的；发掘地点是华北的关键遗址；发掘成果丰富；最重要的是，它同时吸引了早期的古物学家和现代的考古学家的兴趣。因此，它可以视为这一领域近期工作的典型事例。
This site first became known to the antiquarians in 1899, when some curio dealers brought some inscribed bones from this site to Peking, attracting the attention of Wang I-yung, a great scholar and statesman who immediately recognized their importance and began to collect them. He died in the Boxer’s time the year following. His collection passed into the hands of Liu Tieh-yün, who was the first to make rubbings on these inscribed bones, and publish them in book form. Then it was followed by some periodical bone-rushes among the curio dealers, a great deal of serious work, and some very interesting episodes when these new materials were struggling for recognition. During this period serious studies were made chiefly by Lo Chên-Yü, and Wang Kuo-wei, who deciphered about half of these newly discovered characters, thus laying the foundation of this new branch of palaeography. In the early period the work were carried on with a great deal of opposition from other quarters. Chang Ping-lin for instance, one of the greatest living Chinese scholars at the time, who is in certain sense radical in his political thought, but conservative in his literary ideas, considered these materials as forgeries. Nevertheless, studies were carried on and new inscribed bones were added to the market every day. The actual site was eventually ascertained. Lo Chên-Yü had the originality of visiting it himself but at that time he considered the site, so far as the inscribed bones were concerned, as already exhausted. All the while it never occurred to anybody that excavations might be fruitful.这一遗址的存在最早为古物学家所知是在1899年。当时，一些古董商人把从该遗址得到的刻字的甲骨拿到北京，引起当时的官员、大学者王懿荣的注意。王氏立即意识到其重要价值并开始收集。王于义和团事件的第二年逝世，他的收藏后来传入刘铁云手中。刘氏成为第一个制作甲骨文拓片、第一个以图书的形式出版这些内容的人。在刘之后，出现了一阵阵古董商人追逐甲骨的热潮，也有大量严肃的研究工作，还有这些新材料在争取承认的过程中的一些非常有趣的插曲。这一时期严肃的研究工作主要是由罗振玉和王国维完成的。他们解密了约一半的新发现的文字，从而为这门新的古文书学奠定了基础。初期，这一工作遇到了来自其他方面的反对。例如，当时中国在世的一位顶级学者章炳麟——从某种意义上说他的政治思想是激进的，但其文学观念却是保守的——他就认为这些材料都是伪造的。尽管如此，研究工作仍在继续，市场上每天都有新甲骨流入。实际的出土遗址也最终确定了。罗振玉是第一个前往参观遗址的人。不过，那时他认为，就甲骨而论，那里已经早已挖掘殆尽。人们始终没有想到，对这一遗址进行发掘还会有丰富的收获。
The Institute of History and Philology was organized in 1928. In the very beginning, archaeological excavation has been taken as one of its regular enterprises. Anyang was chosen as the first site for work. In less than two years time three seasons’ diggings have been done. Because of their importance the results achieved have received attention all the world over. It may be truly said that since this work started, modern archaeology has made a beginning in China.1928年，历史语言研究所组建。在建立初期，考古发掘是其定期工作之一。安阳就是第一个选定的发掘地点。在不到两年的时间里，开展了三季的发掘工作。由于其重要性，发掘成果受到全世界的关注。我们真正可以这样说，自从这项工作开始之后，近代考古学在中国创生了。
Previous to the excavations of the Institute, our knowledge of the Anyang site was confined to the inscribed bones. It was also known that it was the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, and that many other things were found together with these bones. But the knowledge of the latter was so imperfect that scientifically speaking it was almost worthless. Meanwhile, the site was badly destroyed by the reckless plundering of curio dealers for almost thirty years. When the Institute first began to work, many thought it already too late. But through careful planning, methodical procedure, and detailed observations, the field work has been carried out with extraordinary success.在史语所开始发掘之前，我们对于安阳遗址的了解只限于甲骨文。我们还知道，安阳是商朝的都城，与这些甲骨一起出土的还有许多其他物品。但关于这些物品的知识并不完善，所以从科学的角度上讲，基本上毫无价值。同时，这一遗址经过古董商人三十年左右的肆意掠夺，已受到严重破坏。当史语所开始工作的时候，许多人都认为已经太晚了。但是，经过详细的筹划、系统的发掘和仔细的考察，田野工作取得了极大成功。
Among the many discoveries that have been made, some are of such fundamental importance that they deserve more detailed treatment. Through stratigraphical studies it has been possible to determine definitely the general character of the various associated finds. The nature of the deposit, the conditions that led to the final abandonment of the city, and the changes that have taken place after the abandonment have all become observed knowledge. It can now be categorically laid down that Hsiao-t’un Ts’un, where the diggings were carried out for three seasons, was once part of the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, sometime between 1400 and 1200 B.C., but it was deserted during the final collapse of the Dynasty. The place has never again been occupied as a city site.在众多的发现之中，有一些具有重大的根本性意义，值得更进一步研究。通过地层研究，已能确定各种相互联系的发现的一般特性。沉积物的特性、致使这一都城最终荒废的条件及其以后所发生的变化，都已成为可以观察到的知识。现在我们可以断定，三季发掘工作的所在地小屯村，曾是商朝都城的一部分，持续时间约在公元前 l500 年至公元前1200年之间，但随着商王朝的最终崩溃被放弃。从此以后，此地再无城市兴建。
The most important group of artifacts that have been taken out from the buried city are inscribed plastrons and scapulars that were used for the purpose of divination. On them are inscribed the queries made and answers given in consultation, in archaic characters, which are more primitive than the oldest inscriptions on bronzes previously known. They represent undoubtedly one of the early stages in the development of Chinese writing, from which the later ones have gradually been evolved. It has been possible after many years of patient work to trace, gradually, such development. More than eight hundred of these characters, about half of the total that have been discovered, can be definitely deciphered. The contents of these inscriptions are therefore quite readable and prove to be very rich.从这座被掩埋的城市里发掘出来的最重要的史前器物就是供占卜之用的刻有文字的龟甲和牛胛骨。甲骨上刻写着问卜及问卜所得之结果，用比先前已知的青铜器铭文更为古老的文字写成。毫无疑问，这些文字代表了中国文字发展的早期阶段，后来的文字就是由此逐渐演变而来。经过多年的潜心研究，此种演变的轨迹也可逐渐追寻。已有800 多个字——约为所发现的文字总数的一半——得以明确解读。因此，这些铭文的内容是可以读懂的，而且证明非常丰富。
The royal house of the Shang Dynasty were faithful observants of oracles. Judging by the great abundance of these bones and the contents of the inscriptions, it is quite definite that oracles regulated even the minute details of the conduct of the king. Whether it was an act of performing a sacrifice, or taking a trip, going out hunting or fishing, inquiring about the weather, or sending out an expedition, the cracks of the bones must be consulted; answers were found in the signs of these cracks, which the king evidently had to obey. It is for this reason that the inscribed bones have been found in such great abundance and with content so rich that from them a great deal of the lost history of that period, political, social, economic, and religious, can be reconstructed.商王室笃信占卜。从甲骨数量之多及所刻文字的内容可以断定，商王即使是微小细节的行为举动都要由卜辞来决定。无论是贡献牺牲，还是外出巡狩渔猎，无论是问询天气，还是派军远征，都要看甲骨上所现的裂纹。问卜的结果就在裂纹之中，商王显然必须遵守。正是因为这一原因，所发现的甲骨数量才会如此之大，内容才会如此丰富，那个时代已经消失的历史、政治、社会、经济和宗教才能得以重建。
编辑推荐：
现代考古学奠基人李济经典原著首次国内发表
前三篇英文原稿在美国十年内五次再版
两篇与英国哲学家罗素讨论中国人起源的英文原作
《中国文明的开始》（英汉对照版）
李济（著）李光谟、万家保、王宪明等（译）
外语教学与研究出版社
- 评论列表（网友评论仅供网友表达个人看法，并不表明本站同意其观点或证实其描述）
-