A day in the life of a Mongolian queen - Anne F. Broadbridge

翻译人员: Youyou Gu 校对人员: Tianji (Homer) Li

As dawn breaks over a moveable city of ten thousand yurts,

晨光照耀在这座由万顶蒙古包 组成的移动城市，

Queen Boraqchin is in for a rude awakening.

皇后孛剌合真被粗鲁地叫醒了。

A rogue sheep has slipped past her servants and guards

一只横冲直撞的羊 避过她的侍从和守卫，

and bolted into her yurt,

钻进了她的蒙古包，

where he springs into bed and bleats in her ear.

这只羊跳上床， 在她耳边咩咩叫。

Although she’s the formidable khatun of the Golden Horde,

虽然孛剌合真是钦察汗国 一人之下，万人之上的皇后，

a huge kingdom in the Mongolian Empire,

钦察汗国是蒙古帝国的汗国之一，

Boraqchin has a hands-on approach to ruling.

但她做事喜欢亲力亲为。

She’s been married to Batu Khan,

她嫁给了威震四方的拔都可汗，

the fearsome grandson of Genghis Khan himself,

成吉思汗的孙子，

since she was fifteen –

那时她15岁。

and while her husband is out on his raids,

当她的丈夫外出抢掠时，

she juggles the duties of flocks, family and empire at home.

她就负责处理羊群、 家庭和帝国事务。

This makes her the manager – and the mover – of a city of thousands.

这让她成了一座千人之城 的管理者和迁徙指挥官。

Twice a year, Boraqchin moves the city between two seasonal camping grounds.

孛剌合真每年要将城市在 两个季节性营地间移动两次。

This ensures constant water and lush grass in summer,

这样就能确保夏天有 充足的水源和繁茂的草地，

and protection from harsh winds in winter.

冬天则可以避免刺骨的寒风。

The whole operation requires weeks of strict planning,

整个过程需要几周的严密计划，

liaising with the other camps in her domain, strategic delegation –

联系她管辖的其他营地， 合理分配任务——

and the patience to move at the speed of dawdling animals.

以及耐心配合懒散 动物们的行进速度。

Today is moving day,

今天就是迁徙日，

and she’ll have to direct throngs of her ladies, commanders, slaves and animals

一大群女官、首领、 奴隶和动物等着她指挥

up the river Volga for the summer.

去伏尔加河度过夏天。

As Boraqchin steps outside,

孛剌合真走出帐篷时，

she’s greeted by a commotion –

她遇到了一阵骚动——

her unwanted visitor is now running circles around her stewards.

这个不速之客正围着 她的管事们转圈。

They’re attempting to stow her possessions securely into wagons.

他们正试着把孛剌合真的财物 妥善安置到马车上。

Boraqchin orders them to get it under control –

她命令管事控制住场面——

but she’s the only one quick enough to catch the stray.

但只有她速度足够快，抓住了羊。

She next supervises her ladies who are unpinning her yurt

然后她监督女官的工作， 她们在拆帐篷，

and lifting it onto its custom wagon.

并且把帐篷放到她的专用马车上。

It requires a team of twenty oxen to pull,

马车需要20头牛拉，

and Boraqchin wouldn’t trust anyone to steer it but herself.

孛剌合真不放心其他人， 她要自己驾车。

Next, Boraqchin and her woolly companion meet with the guards.

接着，孛剌合真带着 羊群与侍卫汇合。

She orders them to keep close watch on her husband's special reception yurt

她命令侍卫在迁徙途中 密切注意她丈夫的特殊帐篷

and port-able throne during the journey.

以及携带的王座。

They’ll also act as outriders,

他们还担任斥候，

and she tells them how to secure the route, surround her for safety –

她告诉他们如何确保路线安全， 在她周围护她周全——

and keep the animals in check.

以及管住动物。

But when the sheep finally breaks free and makes for the fields,

但这只羊最终 脱了缰跑向田野，

the guards can barely keep up

侍卫根本追不上它，

as it scampers through crowds packing up their yurts.

它惊慌地穿过正在 收拾蒙古包的人群。

Exasperated, Boraqchin rides down to the pastures herself.

孛剌合真恼怒地 策马奔向牧场。

When she gets there,

当她到达时，

she catches sight of the troublesome sheep wriggling into the middle of a flock.

她看到这只闹事的羊 正往羊群中间钻。

When she follows him in,

她跟着进去，

he’s nestled next to a ewe, his mother.

发现他依偎在一只母羊边上， 那是他的母亲。

She’s pregnant, and seems to be in pain.

她怀孕了，看上去很痛苦。

With a start, Boraqchin realizes that this ewe’s impending delivery

孛剌合真吃了一惊 她意识到这只母羊即将分娩，

has been forgotten in the flurry of moving day.

但这件事在繁忙的 迁徙日被遗忘了。

There’s no time to find a shepherd –

没时间找牧羊人了——

instead, Boraqchin rolls up her sleeves, greases her arm

于是，孛剌合真卷起袖子， 在手臂上涂了油，

and helps the ewe give birth to two new additions to the empire.

帮助母羊生产， 帝国又多了两只小羊。

Leaving the lambs and their mother,

离开这些羊和它们的母亲后，

Boraqchin dashes back to the camp.

孛剌合真又冲回了营地。

Here the final touches have been put to packing,

这里的打包工作已在收尾，

and vehicles are starting to line up.

车马都已整装待发。

This vast procession starts with the queen

浩浩荡荡的队伍以皇后为首

and two hundred wagons filled with her treasures.

两百辆马车装满了她的宝物。

Next up are the junior wives and crew,

后面是地位稍低的妻子和侍官们，

then the concubines –

再后面是妾——

and this is only Boraqchin's camp.

而这只是孛剌合真的队伍。

After this comes the second imperial camp

在她之后是帝国第二营队

led by another senior wife,

由另一位地位高的妻子带领，

then two more camps, also led by wives.

之后还有两个队伍， 也由妻子们带领。

Boraqchin has been checking in with them for weeks to ensure

几周以来，孛剌合真 一直和她们沟通，

a smooth departure and orderly queue.

以确保顺利启程，秩序井然。

But they only make up the royal portion of the line –

但这只是整个队伍中的 皇室部分——

behind them winds the entire civilian city,

她们身后还跟着所有的百姓，

which includes holy men with portable chapels and mosques,

包括带着移动教堂和 清真寺的神职人员、

families, tradesmen, and shepherds.

各个家庭、商人和牧羊人。

Finally, Boraqchin settles into her wagon.

最后，孛剌合真坐进了她的马车。

It’ll take weeks to reach their destination –

到达目的地需要几周时间——

but over the course of the journey,

但在旅途中，

she’ll keep everyone expertly in check –

她将驾轻就熟地管好每个人——

from her proud children and attentive subjects,

不管是她骄傲的孩子、 细心的侍从，

to the most meandering sheep at the back of line.

还是队伍最后懒散的羊群。