The hidden treasures of Timbuktu - Elizabeth Cox

翻译人员: Chuqi Hu 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

On the edge of the vast Sahara desert,

在广阔的撒哈拉沙漠边缘，

citizens snuck out of the city of Timbuktu

市民们溜出廷巴克图城，

and took to the wilderness.

逃向荒野。

They buried chests in the desert sand, hid them in caves,

他们把箱子埋藏在沙漠里， 藏在洞窟中，

and sealed them in secret rooms.

封在密室里。

Inside these chests was a treasure more valuable than gold:

这些箱子里装着 比黄金更珍贵的宝藏：

the city’s ancient books.

这座城市的古老书籍。

Founded around 1100 CE in what is now Mali,

廷巴克图城起初作为 一个普通的贸易站，

the city of Timbuktu started out as an unremarkable trading post.

于约公元 1100 年 出现于如今的马里。

But its unique location soon changed that.

但独特的地理位置 很快改变了它的作用。

Timbuktu marked the intersection of two essential trade routes,

廷巴克图是两条重要 贸易线的交汇点。

where caravans bringing salt across the Sahara

在此，穿越撒哈拉的运盐车队

met with traders bringing gold from the African interior.

与从非洲腹地 运来黄金的商人会合。

By the late 1300s, these trade routes made Timbuktu rich,

到 1300 年代末， 这些贸易线使廷巴克图富裕起来。

and the city’s rulers, the kings of the Mali Empire,

城市的统治者， 马里帝国的国王，

built monuments and academies that drew scholars

建立了纪念碑和学院来吸引

from Egypt, Spain, and Morocco.

来自埃及、西班牙 和摩洛哥的学者们。

The city’s prime location also made it a target for warlords and conquerors.

该城市的绝佳位置也使其 成为了军阀和征服者的目标。

As the Mali Empire declined, one of its domains, Songhai,

当马里帝国日渐衰落， 它的领地之一，桑海，

began to gain power.

开始获得权势。

In 1468, the Songhai king conquered Timbuktu,

在 1468 年， 桑海国王征服了廷巴克图，

burning buildings and murdering scholars.

烧毁建筑，谋杀学者。

But in time, intellectual life in the city flourished again.

但后来，城市的知识生活 再次兴盛了起来。

The reign of the second king of the Songhai Empire,

桑海帝国的第二个皇帝——

Askia Mohammed Toure,

阿斯基亚·穆罕默德 （Askia Mohammed Toure）一世的统治

marked the beginning of a golden age in Timbuktu.

标志着廷巴克图黄金时代的起点。

He reversed his predecessor’s regressive policies

他颠覆了前人的落后政策，

and encouraged learning.

并鼓励学习。

The Songhai rulers and most of Timbuktu’s population were Muslim,

桑海的统治者和 廷巴克图的大多数居民是穆斯林，

and the scholars of Timbuktu studied Islam

廷巴克图的学者会学习伊斯兰教

alongside secular topics like mathematics and philosophy.

以及一些非宗教学科， 比如数学和哲学。

In the libraries of Timbuktu,

在廷巴克图的图书馆，

tracts of Greek philosophy stood alongside the writings

希腊哲学的书册和 当地历史学家、

科学家及诗人的著作放在一起。

of local historians, scientists, and poets.

The city’s most prominent scholar, Ahmed Baba,

这个城市最知名的学者 艾哈迈德·巴巴（Ahmed Baba），

challenged prevailing opinions on subjects

挑战了各种主流思想，

ranging from smoking to slavery.

从吸烟到奴隶制。

Gold and salt trade had funded the city’s transformation

黄金和盐巴贸易 奠定了这个城市转型为

into a center of learning.

学习中心的基础。

Now, the products of that intellectual culture

知识文化的产物

became the most sought-after commodity.

成为了最受欢迎的商品。

With paper from faraway Venice

用来自遥远威尼斯的纸张

and vibrant ink from local plants and minerals,

和用当地植物 和矿物制成的鲜艳墨水，

the scribes of Timbuktu produced texts in both Arabic

廷巴克图的抄写员 会用阿拉伯文

and local languages.

和当地语言抄写文本。

Written in calligraphy and decorated with intricate geometric designs,

廷巴克图的书籍都由书法撰写， 并配上了精美的几何设计，

the books of Timbuktu were in demand among the wealthiest members of society.

社会上富有的人对它们有很大需求。

In 1591, the golden age came to an abrupt end

在 1591 年， 黄金年代戛然而止。

when the Moroccan king captured Timbuktu.

摩洛哥国王占领了廷巴克图。

Moroccan forces imprisoned Ahmed Baba and other prominent scholars

摩洛哥军力监禁了 艾哈迈德·巴巴和其他的著名学者，

and confiscated their libraries.

并封锁了他们的图书馆。

In the centuries that followed, the city weathered a succession of conquests.

在接下来的几个世纪， 这座城市经历了数次征战。

In the mid-1800s, Sufi Jihadists occupied Timbuktu

在 1800 年代中期， 苏菲的圣战士占领了廷巴克图，

and destroyed many non-religious manuscripts.

并摧毁了很多非宗教的手稿。

1894, French colonial forces seized control of the city,

1894 年，法国殖民军队 掌控了城市的控制权，

stealing even more manuscripts and sending them to Europe.

偷走了更多的手稿， 并将它们送到了欧洲。

French became the official language taught in schools,

法语成为了学校教授的官方语言，

and new generations in Timbuktu

廷巴克图的新一代

couldn’t read the Arabic manuscripts that remained.

无法阅读留存下来的 阿拉伯语手稿。

Through it all, the literary tradition of Timbuktu didn’t die—

经历了这一切，廷巴克图的 文学传统并没有消亡——

it went underground.

而是转入了地下。

Some families built secret libraries in their homes,

有些家庭在家中 建造了隐密的图书馆，

or buried the books in their gardens.

或者把书埋在他们的花园里。

Others stashed them in abandoned caves or holes in the desert.

还有人把书藏在废弃的洞穴， 或者沙漠的空洞中。

The priceless manuscripts of Timbuktu

这些无价的廷巴克图手稿

dispersed to villages throughout the surrounding area,

散布在周围地区的村庄里，

where regular citizens guarded them for hundreds of years.

在这里，平民百姓 守护了它们数百年。

As desertification and war impoverished the region,

随着荒漠化和战争 使该地区日渐贫困，

families held on to the ancient books

许多家庭在极度贫困 和几乎无法维持温饱情况下

even as they faced desperate poverty and near-starvation.

仍守护着古书。

Even today, the struggle to protect the books continues.

即使在今天，保护书籍的 斗争仍在继续。

From the 1980s to the early 2000s,

从 1980 年代到 2000 年代早期，

Timbuktu scholar Abdel Kader Haidara painstakingly retrieved hidden manuscripts

廷巴克图的学者 阿巴杜·卡德·海德拉（Abdel Kader Haidara）

from all over northern Mali and brought them back to Timbuktu.

辛苦地从马里北部各地取回了 藏匿的手稿，并将它们带回了廷巴克图。

But in 2012, civil war in Mali once again threatened the manuscripts,

但在 2012 年，马里内战 再次让这些手稿面临威胁。

most of which were evacuated to nearby Bamako.

很多手稿都被转移到了 附近的巴马科。

Their future remains uncertain,

面临着来自人类和自然的威胁，

as they face both human and environmental threats.

这些手稿的未来仍是未知数。

These books represent our best— and often only—

要想了解该地区的殖民前历史。 这些古书是我们最好的，

sources on the pre-colonial history of the region.

可能也是唯一的来源。

Many of them have never been read by modern scholars,

很多手稿从未被现代学者研读过，

and still more remain lost or hidden in the desert.

还有更多已经遗失 或者隐藏在沙漠中。

At stake in the efforts to protect them is the history they contain—

保护它们，就意味着 守护它们所承载的历史——

and the efforts of countless generations to protect that history from being lost.

以及数代人不让 这段历史失传的不懈努力。