How dangerous was it to be a jester? - Beatrice K. Otto

翻译人员: Shanice Lew 校对人员: Gia Hwang

10th century jester Jing Xinmo

十世纪时，有一位宫廷说笑人敬新磨，

may have overstepped when he got chased by a dog,

当皇帝的狗追他时，他跑得比狗快，

then teasingly told the Chinese emperor

还讥讽中国皇帝说，

that he shouldn’t let his kids go around biting people.

“陛下毋纵兒女啮人！” （译注：皇帝家世夷狄，夷狄之人讳狗）

The emperor took offense and trained an arrow on Jing.

皇帝听后很生气，搭剑欲射敬新磨。

But instead of begging for his life, Jing cracked another joke.

新磨非但不求饶，他又开了个玩笑。

Luckily, this pun landed— so the emperor’s arrow did not.

幸好其双关语令皇帝释然，箭才未射出。

Contrary to common belief,

与普通看法相反，

jesters weren't just a medieval European phenomenon,

说笑人不只在中世纪欧洲风靡，

but flourished in other times and cultures.

也在其他文化中广为流传。

The first reliably recorded jester is thought to be You Shi,

第一个有可靠记载的说笑人是优旃，

of 7th century BCE China.

出现在中国西元前七世纪。

He declared that, as a jester, his words could not give offense.

他声称，作为说笑人， 他所说的话不算冒犯他人。

This privilege was important to the jester’s position—

这个特权对说笑人来说非常重要，

but was sometimes violated.

但有时也会受到侮辱。

Jesters had unique relationships to power:

每个说笑人与权力都有独特的关系：

they could be viewed as objects of mockery

他们既被视为嘲弄的对象，

and also as entertainers and trusted companions.

也被当作娱乐者和值得信赖的伙伴。

People became jesters by various routes.

成为说笑人有各种不同的途径，

They could be appointed due to physical or neurological differences,

有的是因为在身体上 或者精神上与其他人不同，

plucked from a pool of entertainers, or recruited by a traveling courtier.

有的则在一群艺人中选出 或被旅行的朝臣招募。

Such was the case when a royal servant

十六世纪三十年代，一位王室仆人 写信给国王亨利八世的首席大臣，

wrote King Henry VIII’s chief minister in the 1530s.

就属于这种情况。

He recommended a young boy to replace the king’s aging jester, Sexten,

他推荐一位年轻男孩代替 国王老去的说笑人塞克斯顿，

with the assurance that he’d be much more pleasant than Sexten ever was.

并保证他会比塞克斯顿更讨喜。

Some jesters boasted unique talents, like Roland the Farter,

有些说笑人吹嘘自己的特殊才能，

如十二世纪亨利二世 宫廷里的放屁虫罗兰。

of Henry II’s 12th Century court.

Every Christmas, he performed a special routine,

每个圣诞节，他都会表演特别的节目，

the finale of which was a simultaneous jump, whistle, and fart.

最后的环节是同时起跳、吹哨子和放屁。

Additionally, jesters could influence important decisions.

此外，说笑人可以影响一些重要决定。

For example, if the clowns of the Tübatulabal nation

举个例子，如果内华达山脉

of the Sierra Nevada mountains

图巴图拉巴尔部落的小丑们

thought a chief was leading poorly,

认为酋长领导不力，

they could apparently get the elders to appoint a new one.

他们显然可以让长老们委任一位新的。

And, of course, Jing Xinmo knew how to sway the Chinese emperor.

当然，敬新磨也知道如何影响中国皇帝。

A local magistrate once requested that the emperor stop trampling farmland

有一次，皇帝狩猎正酣，

当地县令请求皇帝停止践踏农田。

during his hunting sprees.

Infuriated, the emperor had the magistrate hauled before him.

皇帝恼羞成怒，命人把县令拖到跟前，

Jing facetiously suggested that the magistrate be put to death immediately

新磨开玩笑地建议立即诛杀县令，

and that the emperor let the peasants starve

如此一来，皇帝让农民们饿肚子

instead of harvesting the land and paying taxes,

而不是收割庄稼和交税，

all so he could gallop about freely.

这些都是为了他能够自由自在地驰骋。

Presumably seeing the absurdity of his own behavior,

可能是意识到自己荒谬的行为，

the emperor laughed and pardoned the magistrate.

皇帝笑了， 也赦免了县令。

In 1596, a French man was condemned to death.

1596 年，一个法国男人被判死刑。

But Mathurine, one of the relatively few female jesters on record,

但记录中为数不多的女性 说笑人之一马图林，

intervened in return for payment.

为换取酬劳而介入此事。

With her help, the man’s wife successfully pleaded with King Henry IV

在她的帮助下， 男人之妻成功向亨利四世求情，

for her husband’s life.

请求放过她的丈夫。

Although rare, jesters were sometimes fired or even killed

虽然非常少见， 但有时说笑人也会被杀或解雇，

for taking their mockery or criticism too far.

因为开玩笑或批评得太过分。

In 1638, Scottish jester Archy Armstrong

1638 年，苏格兰说笑人 阿奇·阿姆斯特朗

worsened his already contentious relationship

搞砸了与坎特伯里大教主之间

with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

早已存在争议的关系。

The Archbishop had recently revised the Scottish Book of Common Prayer—

大教主近期修改了苏格兰的公祷书，

an act that garnered strong opposition and incited riots.

此举招致强烈反对，并引发了骚乱。

Taking the opportunity to further humiliate him,

为了趁着机会再次羞辱他，

Archy asked the Archbishop, “Who’s the fool now?”

阿奇问大教主： “现在谁是笨蛋？”

For which he was banished from the court.

为此他被驱逐出皇宫。

Three years later, after the Archbishop’s arrest,

三年后，大教主被捕了，

a pamphlet began circulating that ridiculed him,

一本嘲弄他的小册子开始流传，

which was said to be the work of none other than Archy.

据说不是别人，正是阿奇所写。

Meanwhile, some jesters openly mocked their royal bosses without consequence.

与此同时，一些说笑人不计后果地 公开嘲笑其皇家主子。

11th century Persian jester Talhak suggested the sultan was a cuckold,

十一世纪的波斯说笑人 塔尔哈克说苏丹戴绿帽，

implying his wife was unfaithful to him.

暗示着他的妻子不忠。

One day, as the sultan rested his head on Talhak’s knee,

一天，苏丹在塔尔哈克膝盖上休息，

he is said to have inquired, “What is your relation to cuckolds?”

据说他曾问，“你和绿帽子什么关系？”

To which Talhak replied, “I am their pillow.”

塔尔哈克答道，“我是他们的枕头。”

And when 19th century Persian shah asked whether there was a food shortage,

当十九世纪的波斯国王 询问有没有食物短缺的问题，

jester Karim Shir’ei joked,

说笑人卡里姆·希尔伊开玩笑说：

“Yes, I see Your Majesty is eating only five times a day.”

“是的，我看见陛下一天只吃五次。”

Even when rulers were considered divinely appointed,

甚至当统治者们都被认为是神圣的，

some jesters managed to speak truth directly to power,

一些说笑人却可以直接向权力表达事实，

and reveal— in so many riddles, jokes, or skits—

以及通过谜语、玩笑或小品来揭示

who the real fools were.

谁才是真正的笨蛋。