Name: 漢朝死去的統治者為何被塞上玉石 (Why Dead Rulers of the Han Dynasty Were Plugged With Jade)
Uploaded: 2024-11-07T07:35:03.000Z
Duration: 3 min 34 s

2,000 years ago, in China's Han Dynasty, when a ruler died, his corpse was carefully made ready for the afterlife.

2000 年前，在中國漢朝，當統治者去世時，他的屍體會被精心準備，以待來世。

And jade was essential for setting him on the sacred path to immortality.

而玉則是讓他踏上長生不老之路的關鍵。

The ancient Chinese didn't have diamonds, but they did have jade as a symbol of imperial authority and sacred power, and it becomes one of the symbols of imperial authority to the extent that the word in Chinese for jade is a picture of a king holding a precious jewel.

中國古人沒有鑽石，但他們有玉，玉是皇權和神聖力量的象徵，它成為皇權的象徵之一，以至於漢語中的 "玉 "字就是一幅國王手持寶玉的圖畫。

For the Han, jade became the primary ingredient in their recipe for immortality.

對漢朝人來說，玉成為他們長生不老祕方中的主要成分。

What I have in front of me are jade objects that were used either to cover or to plug the crucial openings in the human body.

我眼前的這些玉器是用來覆蓋或堵塞人體重要開口的。

According to ancient Chinese medicine, a person's vital essence could leak out through bodily orifices.

古代中醫認為，人的精氣可以通過身體的孔竅外洩。

If you spoke too much, the vital essence would then concentrate in your mouth and would be depleted in other parts of your body.

如果你說得太多，精氣就會集中在你的嘴裡，而身體其他部位的精氣就會消耗殆盡。

If you listened too much, if you looked at something too much, and so life needed to be a life of balance.

如果你聽得太多，如果你看得太多，那麼生活就需要平衡。

When a king died, it was essential to preserve his vital essence for the afterlife by plugging his orifices with jade.

國王死後，必須用玉石堵住他的竅門，以保存他的精氣神。

Jade that would be placed over the eyes, plugs placed in one's ears, plugs in the nostril, a plug for the anus as well as a covering for the genitals in order to ensure that the vital breath did not leave the body.

在眼睛上戴玉，在耳朵上戴塞子，在鼻孔上戴塞子，在肛門上戴塞子，在生殖器上戴蓋子，以確保重要的氣息不會離開身體。

For the most important orifice, the mouth, the Chinese created a very special plug shaped like a cicada.

對於最重要的口腔--嘴，中國人創造了一個非常特別的塞子，形狀就像一隻蟬。

The bizarre life cycle of this curious insect made it especially significant to ancient Chinese observers.

這種奇特昆蟲的奇異生命週期使它對中國古代觀察家來說意義非凡。

They noticed how it spends most of its life underground and then at a crucial moment, it digs a tunnel through the earth up to the surface and when it reaches the surface, it sheds its old body and transforms itself.

他們注意到，它的大部分時間都在地下度過，然後在關鍵時刻，它挖出一條道地，穿過泥土到達地表。

 Here you are buried deep in the earth, but we're going to provide you with an exoskeleton similar to that of the cicada, a marvelous jade suit that will keep evil influences away from you, that will allow your soul to exist, to be preserved, and then at the crucial moment, you can leave from your tomb, shed this exoskeleton we've provided for you, and through this body, transform yourself into an immortal.

在這裡，你被深深地埋在土裡，但我們會給你提供一個類似於蟬的外骨骼，一個奇妙的玉衣，它能讓邪惡的影響遠離你，讓你的靈魂得以存在，得以保存，然後在關鍵時刻，你可以離開你的墳墓，脫下我們為你提供的這個外骨骼，通過這個身體，把自己變成一個不朽的人。