a little history of the world: the land by the nile (3)
世界簡史：尼羅河上的國家 （3）.
and yet the most important part of the egyptians’ strange religion was their belief that, although a man’s soul left his body when he died, for some reason the soul went on needing that body, and would suffer if it crumbled into dust.
然而，奇特的埃及宗教最重要的部分是他們相信，即使靈魂在死後離開了他的身體，出於某種原因，靈魂仍然需要這個身體，一旦身體化為塵土，靈魂就會受苦。
so they invented a very ingenious way of preserving the bodies of the dead.
因此，他們發明了一種非常巧妙的方法來儲存死者的屍體。
they rubbed them with ointments and the juices of certain plants, and bandaged them with long strips of cloth, so that they wouldn’t decay.
他們用藥膏和特定植物的汁液擦拭屍體，並用長布條緊緊地包紮以防止腐爛。
a body preserved in this manner is called a mummy.
以這種方式處理的屍體稱為木乃伊。
and today, after thousands of years, these mummies are still intact.
數千年後的今天，這些木乃伊仍然完好無損。
a mummy was placed in a coffin made of wood, the wooden coffin in one of stone, and the stone one buried, not in the earth, but in a tomb that was chiselled out of the rock.
木乃伊被放置在木棺中，然後將其放入石棺中，石棺不是埋在地下，而是刻在岩石上的墳墓中。
if you were rich and powerful like king cheops, ‘son of the sun’, a whole stone mountain would be made for your tomb.
如果你像“太陽之子”基奧普斯國王一樣富有和強大，你的墳墓甚至會變成一整座石頭山。
deep inside, the mummy would be safe – or so they thought! but the mighty king’s efforts were in vain: his pyramid is empty.
深埋在裡面的木乃伊應該是安全的——至少他們是這麼想的！ 但這位偉大國王的努力是徒勞的，他的金字塔現在是空的。
but the mummies of other kings and those of many ancient egyptians h**e been found undisturbed in their tombs.
然而，其他國王和許多古埃及人的木乃伊在他們的墳墓中完好無損地儲存下來。
a tomb was intended to be a dwelling for the soul when it returned to visit its body.
墳墓被視為靈魂的居所，當它返回探訪身體時。
for this reason they put in food and furniture and clothes, and there are lots of paintings on the walls showing scenes from the life of the departed.
出於這個原因，他們在墳墓中放置了食物、家具和衣服，牆壁上還覆蓋著描繪死者生活的壁畫。
his portrait was there too, to make sure that when his soul came on a visit it wouldn’t go to the wrong tomb.
他的肖像也在那裡，以確保他的靈魂在參觀時不會走錯墳墓。
thanks to the great stone statues, and the wonderfully bright and vivid wall paintings, we h**e a very good idea of what life in ancient egypt was like.
多虧了那些巨大的石雕和精美的壁畫，我們對古埃及人的生活有了很好的了解。
true, these paintings do not show things as we see them.
誠然，這些畫作並不能真正反映我們所看到的。
an object or a person that is behind another is generally shown on top, and the figures often look stiff.
本該排在後面的人和物，通常畫在其他人和物之上，人物往往看起來很僵硬。
bodies are shown from the front and hands and feet from the side, so they look as if they h**e been ironed flat.
身體從正面顯示，手和腳從側面顯示，因此它們看起來就像被熨平了一樣。
but the egyptians knew what they were doing.
但埃及人知道他們在做什麼。
every detail is clear: how they used great nets to catch ducks on the nile, how they paddled their boats and fished with long spears, how they pumped water into ditches to irrigate the fields, how they drove their cows and goats to pasture, how they threshed grain, made shoes and clothes, blew glass – for they could already do that! –and how they shaped bricks and built houses.
每乙個細節都清晰可見：他們如何用大網在尼羅河上捕捉鴨子，他們如何在船上用長矛捕魚，他們如何用水幫浦灌溉田地到溝渠中，他們如何驅趕牛羊到牧場，他們如何脫粒，他們如何製作鞋子和衣服，他們如何吹玻璃器皿——他們已經做到了！ – 以及如何塑造磚塊和建造房屋。
and we can also see girls playing catch, or playing music on flutes, and soldiers going off to war, or returning with loot and foreign captives, such as black africans.
我們還可以看到女孩們玩投擲遊戲或吹笛子，士兵們外出遠征或帶著戰利品和外國俘虜（如非洲黑人）凱旋歸來。