Also known as

也被稱為

la flor de nochebuena,

La flor de nochebuena,

The Christmas star,

聖誕之星。

The lobster flower,

龍蝦花。

The flame leaf,

火焰葉。

Euphorbia pulcherrima,

Euphorbia pulcherrima,

And, one of its oldest names,

而且，它最古老的名字之一。

cuetlaxochitl.

cuetlaxochitl.

In the US during the holidays, this plant,

在美國的節日裡，這種植物。

usually potted with bright red and  green leaves,

通常為盆栽，葉子為鮮紅和綠色。

can be seen everywhere.

到處都可以看到。

But the history of how it got here

但它是如何來到這裡的歷史

is less obvious.

是不太明顯的。

And it’s all wrapped up in the controversial legacy of this man:

而這一切都被包裹在這個人的爭議性遺產中。

Joel Poinsett.

喬爾-波因賽特

Poinsettias are native to this region,

一品紅原產於這個地區。

from Mexico down into Central and South America.

從墨西哥一直到中美洲和南美洲。

The Aztec called it cuetlaxochitl,

阿茲特克人稱它為cuetlaxochitl。

meaning “flower that withers.”

意思是 "凋謝的花"。

And unlike the potted varieties we see today,

而不像我們今天看到的盆栽品種。

in the wild these plants look like tall  shrubs

在野外，這些植物看起來像高大的灌木

that flower in the winter season.

在冬季開花。

It was a prized plant.

它是一種珍貴的植物。

The brilliant red colored leaves

燦爛的紅葉

(which are leaves and not actually petals)

(這些是葉子，實際上不是花瓣)

were used to dye textiles,

被用來為紡織品染色。

while the sap of the plants was used medicinally.

而植物的汁液則可入藥。

And by the 17th century, likely because of those red leaves

而到了17世紀，可能是因為那些紅葉的緣故

that bloomed in time for the holiday season,

在假日季節及時綻放的。

Spanish friars used the flowers to decorate elaborate nativity displays in Mexico.

西班牙修士在墨西哥用這種花來裝飾精心製作的耶穌誕生展。

Spanish-speaking Mexicans named it la flor de nochebuena,

講西班牙語的墨西哥人將其命名為la flor de nochebuena。

the flower of Christmas Eve.

聖誕前夕的花朵。

And for many in the country, it became forever linked to Christmastime. 

而對該國的許多人來說，它與聖誕節永遠聯繫在一起。

For hundreds of years, common knowledge of the  

數百年來，人們對

plant was largely contained to where it grew natively. 

植物基本上被控制在其原生地生長的地方。

That is, until Joel Poinsett.

也就是說，直到喬爾-波林塞特。

In 1825, Poinsett,

1825年，波林塞特。

a diplomat, amateur botanist, and South Carolina native,

外交官，業餘植物學家，南卡羅來納州人。

was appointed as the first ever US minister to Mexico.

被任命為有史以來第一位美國駐墨西哥部長。

As the story goes, he came across cuetlaxochitl in a town called Taxco,  

故事是這樣的，他在一個叫塔克斯科的小鎮上發現了cuetlaxochitl。

took some cuttings, and shipped them off to the US to distribute to his botanist peers. 

採取了一些扦插，並把它們運到美國，分發給他的植物學家同行。

Eventually they caught on in the US, too.

最後，他們在美國也流行起來了。

They were debuted at an 1829 flower show in Philadelphia.

它們是在1829年費城的一個花展上首次亮相。

Nurseries began to grow and distribute the plants in the US.

苗圃開始在美國種植和銷售這些植物。

And its popularity as the “Christmas plant” exploded.

而它作為 "聖誕植物 "的受歡迎程度也爆炸性地增長。

The name “poinsettia” stuck,

"一品紅 "這個名字就這樣留下來了。

as a way to celebrate Joel Poinsett's legacy.

作為慶祝喬爾-波林塞特遺產的一種方式。

One that would grow to include not just  minister to Mexico,

一個將發展到不僅包括對墨西哥的部長。

but US Secretary of War,

但美國戰爭部長。

and founding member of the institution that would later become the Smithsonian.

和後來成為史密森學會的機構的創始成員。

But his legacy is a tainted one.

但他的遺產是一個有汙點的遺產。

Take Poinsett’s time as minister to Mexico,

以波昂塞特擔任駐墨西哥公使的時間為例。

where he aggressively attempted to increase American influence in the country.

在那裡，他積極地試圖增加美國在該國的影響力。

One letter to Secretary of State Martin Van Buren —

給國務卿馬丁-範布倫的一封信--

focused on the potential to “enlighten minds with liberal ideas” —

revealed his thoughts on the Mexican population,

揭示了他對墨西哥人口的想法。

stating the Spaniards’ “...constant intercourse with the aborigines,

指出西班牙人"......經常與土著人交往。

who were and still are degraded to the very lowest class of human beings…

他們過去和現在都被貶低到人類的最底層......。

contributed to render the Mexicans a more ignorant and debauched people.”

有助於使墨西哥人成為一個更加無知和放蕩的民族"。

Poinsett, a slave owner himself back in the US,

波林塞特，他本人在美國時就是一個奴隸主。

believed racial hierarchy between the indigenous and “white Creole” population

認為土著人和 "克里奧爾白人 "之間存在著種族等級制度

could help progress in Mexico.

可能有助於在墨西哥取得進展。

Poinsett also sought to expand American borders.

潘塞特還尋求擴大美國的邊界。

At the time, the US looked like this…

當時，美國的情況是這樣的......

and he was tasked with negotiating a deal to buy Texas from Mexico.

他的任務是談判一項從墨西哥購買德克薩斯的交易。

But, before he could negotiate that deal,

但是，在他能夠談成這筆交易之前。

he ended up meddling so much in Mexican politics,

他最終對墨西哥政治進行了如此多的干預。

that he was asked to leave the country.

他被要求離開該國。

It happened like this:

事情是這樣的。

By helping to establish a network of freemason groups,

通過幫助建立共濟會團體的網絡。

known as the largest international secret society,

被稱為最大的國際祕密社團。

he helped to gather men in Mexico with pro-American politics.

他幫助在墨西哥召集具有親美政治的人。

Eventually, that organizing laid the groundwork for a public, pro-America political party in Mexico to gain steam,

最終，這種組織工作為墨西哥的一個公共的、親美國的政黨奠定了基礎，使其獲得動力。

angering many within the Mexican government.

這讓墨西哥政府內部的許多人感到憤怒。

His interference with local politics created so much conflict

他對當地政治的干預造成了如此多的衝突

that Mexicans even coined the term “poinsettismo”

墨西哥人甚至創造了 "poinsettismo "一詞。

to describe “officious and intrusive conduct”.

來描述 "惡毒和侵入性的行為"。

And in 1829, at the request of the Mexican president,

而在1829年，應墨西哥總統的要求。

Poinsett was removed from his post.

潘塞特被免職。

A few years later, after returning to the  US…

幾年後，在回到美國後...

he was appointed US Secretary of War.

他被任命為美國戰爭部長。

In that role, he oversaw the forcible displacement

在這一職位上，他監督了強行遷移的工作。

of an estimated 20,000 indigenous Cherokee people from their homes,

估計有20,000名土著切羅基人離開了他們的家園。

to push them west as a part of the Indian Removal Act.

作為《印第安人遷移法》的一部分，將他們推向西部。

It was part of the ethnic cleansing known as the Trail of Tears

這是被稱為 "淚痕 "的種族清洗的一部分。

that would go on to displace roughly 100,000 indigenous people.

這將使大約10萬名土著人流離失所。

That cemented Poinsett’s place in history,

這鞏固了波林塞特在歷史上的地位。

a man who believed in American  expansion,

一個相信美國擴張的人。

at all costs.

不惜一切代價。

Back in his home state of South Carolina,

回到了他的家鄉南卡羅來納州。

Poinsett’s name lives on in many ways:

波昂塞特的名字以多種方式流傳下來。

a state park, a highway, a hotel,

一個州立公園，一條高速公路，一家酒店。

even a statue.

甚至是一尊雕像。

Though, his most well known namesake

雖然，他最知名的名字是

is likely, still the plant.

是可能的，仍然是工廠。

Poinsettia production grew even more after years of engineering,

經過多年的工程建設，一品紅的產量增長更多。

creating fuller and more compact plants.

創造更豐滿和更緊湊的植物。

Today, it’s an industry worth around $170 million in the US alone.

今天，僅在美國，這是一個價值約1.7億美元的產業。

And importantly, it's a market the US has cornered,

而且重要的是，這是一個美國已經佔領的市場。

while shutting Mexico out.

同時將墨西哥拒之門外。

Due to decades-old sanitation laws,

由於幾十年前的衛生法。

there are restrictions on Mexican poinsettia growers

對墨西哥一品紅的種植者有限制

who want to export potted plants to the US.

想向美國出口盆栽的人。

It means the vast majority of the plants we see in stores in the US,

這意味著我們在美國的商店裡看到的絕大部分植物。

are grown here.

是在這裡種植的。

Though, in recent years,

雖然，近年來。

many have found a, different,

許多人都發現了一個不同的。

small way to honor this plant's history.

紀念這種植物的歷史的小方法。

By rejecting the name poinsettia,

通過拒絕一品紅這個名字。

and using its Aztec name,

並使用其阿茲特克名字。

cuetlaxochitl.

cuetlaxochitl.

A name that, hopefully,

一個名字，希望如此。

reminds people of the true origins

讓人想起真正的淵源

of the plant of the season.

該季節的植物。

Thanks for watching this Christmas edition of Missing Chapter,

感謝收看這期聖誕版《失蹤的章節》。

our series that explores how our past connects with our present.

我們的系列，探討我們的過去如何與我們的現在相聯繫。

This year, we’ve covered everything from reparations in New Zealand

今年，我們報道了從紐西蘭的賠償問題到其他問題。

to Native American sign language.

到美國本土手語。

You can find a link to all the episodes we’ve made in the description below.

你可以在下面的描述中找到我們製作的所有劇集的鏈接。

For each episode, we spend weeks reporting,

對於每一集，我們都要花幾周的時間來報道。

speaking with experts, and poring over archival images and documents

與專家交談，並翻閱檔案影像和文件

to present fact-checked stories.

來介紹經過事實核查的故事。

You can help support our journalism — and keep it free —

你可以幫助支持我們的新聞工作--並保持其免費性--。

by making a gift to Vox at vox.com/support-vox-video.

通過在vox.com/support-vox-video網站上向Vox捐款。

With your support, we’re able to keep telling these stories about hidden histories.

有了你的支持，我們就能繼續講述這些關於隱祕歷史的故事。