THE suits of eerily beautiful, head-to-to-earmour are made of thousands of small jade plaques. They look astonishingly like precious jewels, each the size and shape of a man. In a way, that is what they are. Made in the Han dynasty (206BC–220AD), the suits were designed for the bodies of dead kings, to protect them for eternity. Now they are the stars of “The Search for Immortality”, a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. This is the first time they have left China, along with many of the other 350 objects in the show.
图中这种精美绝伦、覆盖全身的玉衣是由数千块玉片所组成的。它们看起来和珍贵的珠宝极其相似，每套玉衣的大小和形状都和人体相符。某种程度上来说，这些玉衣就是人体。它们制成于中国汉代（公元前
206
年到公元
220
年间），用来保护君王的遗体，让他们能够永垂不朽。如今，在剑桥菲兹威廉博物馆举办的新展览“追寻不朽”中，这些玉衣是最优秀的一批展品。这是它们首次被运离中国，其他
350
件展品中还有许多是和这些玉衣一起从中国运来的。
Everything on view came from Han dynasty imperial tombs, which served as palaces for the afterlife and were furnished accordingly. Half of the objects are from the excavated tombs of kings of Chuin the north of China; the other half are from the tomb of the king of Nanyue, a thousand miles to the south. This is the first time these artefacts have been seen together, even by many Chinese scholars. The exhibition’s four rooms offer “the grandest display of Chinese Han tomb treasures to have been seen in theworld,” explains Yinde Li, director of the Xuzhou Museum, which loaned many of the objects.
展出的每一件物品都出自汉代王陵。这些陵墓就像宫殿一样，皇族死后安葬于此，而且每座陵墓都按照宫殿的规格加以布置。半数的展品出自中国北方发掘出的楚王墓；另外一半则出自一千英里以南的南越王墓穴。本次展览是这些艺术品首次同时亮相，即使对于许多中国学者来说都是如此。许多展品借自徐州博物馆。该馆馆长李银德表示，展览的四间展厅让人们得以看到“世上最大的一次中国汉代墓葬瑰宝展览”。
This show is designed to be scholarly, not a blockbuster, with the objects arranged to suggest (not replicate) how various parts of the tombs were used. First come the earth enware soldiers, more than two feet high and some on horseback, as guardians of the tomb entrance. An area indicates a bathroom with bronze washing basins and a stone toilet. Cleanliness remained important, even after death. The second room highlights the pleasures of palace life. Visitors are spared the remains of concubines, horse trainersand chefs sacrificed to serve in perpetuity, as they have not been included inthis show. Instead there is a kitchen with cooking pots, wine vessels and glasses, and a case filled with earth enware dancers, the sleeves of their robesswirling in the breeze.
这次展览旨在进行学术研究而并非为了引起轰动。展品的陈设方式让人们了解了陵寝的各个部分是如何利用的（而非对陵寝结构加以复制）。首先映入眼帘的是守护在墓穴入口处的士兵陶俑，它们有两英尺多高，有些骑在马背上。一个表示盥洗室的区域有青铜脸盆和石制马桶。即使是在死后，保持卫生仍然重要。第二间展厅突出了宫廷生活的欢愉。妃嫔、马倌和御厨曾被献祭陪葬以永远侍奉君主，但他们并未于这场展览中展出，因此访客不会看到他们的遗骸。然而人们可以看到，在一间厨房里有锅碗、杯盏，还有装满了陶舞俑的箱子，它们的袍袖似乎在随风飘扬。
The jade burial suit of the king of Nanyueis the center piece of the third room, while that of the second king of Chu isthe highlight of the last. Each king is accompanied by treasured ornaments and possessions. The most poetic object in the show is the king of Nanyue’s faceted jade cup, used to collect dew. It was believed that drinking dew would prolong life and help to achieve immortality.
南越王陪葬的玉衣是第三间展厅最主要的展品，而楚王二世的玉衣则是最后一间展厅的亮点。两位君王的陪葬品中都有生前珍爱的装饰品和私人用品。本次展览最富诗意的展品就是南越王身边用来收集雨露的雕琢玉杯。当时人们相信饮用露水可以延年益寿，对长生不老有所裨益。
The king of Chu’s burial suit is shown near a jade-covered lacquer coffin, which offered yet another level of protection from evil spirits. The presence of so much fine jade—varied in colour and cut with such skill that some pieces glitter like diamonds and others look like melting, translucent fat—illustrates why it is more highly prized than even gold in China today. A last reminder of this is the plump, milky jade bear placed near the exit, as if bidding visitors farewell. Some kings kept menageries of exotic wild beasts. This bear, with its oddly endearing face, may have been modelled on a particular favourite. It was used as a weight; it is also a work of art.
