歷史留下的10幅驚人的塗鴉(下)
5. Chinese Drought Graffiti
5. 中國的求雨“塗鴉”
Not all graffiti is personal. In the Dayu Cave in the Quinling Mountains of China, there are the records of droughts suffered hundreds of years ago. When the rains failed to arrive, the local people would enter the caves to offer prayers for the end of the drought. The walls of the cave bear over 70 records of prayers offered, marked in black paint. One patch of graffiti reads "On June 8, 46th year of the emperor Kangxi period, Qing Dynasty (July 7, 1707AD), the governor of Ningqiang district came to the cave to pray for rain." Another text tells of how a fortune teller joined in the ceremony. The precise dating of the graffiti has offered scientists a window into the climatic past of the region. By studying the minerals and chemicals in formations like stalactites in the cave they were able to calculate atmospheric conditions on the surface above the cave. They found that when locals were recording a drought, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels were relatively high.
並不是所有的塗鴉都是個人創作的結果。在秦嶺的大禹洞裏面就遺存着描述百年前乾旱情形的“塗鴉”。當雨季遲遲未至時，當地村民都會到大禹洞中祈求乾旱趕緊結束。如今，牆上已經有70多道求雨者留下的黑色塗鴉了。其中有一道刻痕邊還標註着“清朝康熙四十六年六月初八（公元1707年7月7日），寧強（今陝西寧強）官員前來求雨”，並且還有文字記載有算命先生參加了祈雨儀式。這些石刻文上記錄的精確日期實際上也爲科學家們提供了研究過去時代當地氣候的途徑——通過對洞內沉積物（比如鐘乳石）礦物成分和化學成分的研究計算洞頂表面的大氣狀況，科學家們發現，當石刻文上有乾旱記錄對應的時間空氣中的碳氧含量也會更高。4. Hieroglyphic Graffiti
4. 象形文字“塗鴉”
There are many mysteries surrounding the building of the pyramids in Egypt. There is still no consensus as to the exact method used to haul the blocks. We have learned that the men employed in the hauling were not slaves but hired workers. Graffiti is giving an extra insight into these men's lives. Exploration of the Great Pyramid of Giza has turned up hieroglyphic graffiti in places that no one was ever meant to see. The men building the pyramid wanted to be a permanent part of one of the Ancient Wonders of the World. In doing so, they left told us how they were organized. Then people doing the heavy lifting on the pyramid were broken into small gangs of individuals. They received, or gave themselves, names like "Perfection gang," "Great One," "Green One," and "Endurance." One in the King's burial chamber reads "The Friends of Khufu Gang," Khufu being the pharaoh that the pyramid was raised to house for all eternity. From the placing of the gang signs on opposing sides of blocks, it seems that gangs were competing with each other for prominence. Naming the gangs of workers could have been a way of the overseers to create competition and improve efficiency.
埃及金字塔的搭建過程一直籠罩着重重迷霧。當時的人們到底用了什麼辦法來運送巨石？這一問題至今尚無定論。但我們知道的是，被徵集來建造金字塔的是僱傭工人而非奴隸。這些僱傭工人的生活都被體現在了一種“塗鴉”之中。這些不起眼處的象形塗鴉在人們對吉薩金字塔的探索過程中得以重見天日。原來，在建造過程中，僱傭工人們爲了成爲這項古代世界奇蹟中永恆的一部分，紛紛在巨石上留下了這些印記。而恰恰也是這些印記側面反映了他們組織形式——運輸巨石的工人們在建設金字塔的過程中被分爲了若干個隊伍，每個小隊都有代稱（這些代稱有些是別人取的，有的是自己取的），比如“十拿九穩隊”“偉人幫”“新手隊”或者“勞力士”等。法老墓室裏的一塊巨石上還寫着“胡夫之友”——胡夫就是被安放在金字塔中的法老，這位法老認爲這樣可以讓他獲得永生。除此之外，各隊的標識刻在石頭上的位置往往完全相對，似乎不同隊伍之間還存在爭優爭先的激烈競爭。看起來，監管者們似乎把給每個隊伍取名當成了創造競爭氛圍以提高建造效率的手段。3. Witch Marks
3. 驅巫標誌
There is a special type of graffiti meant to ward off danger. This type of protective magic symbol is called Apotropaic Magic. When you fear something is coming after you, you make a special sign in your home and it keeps them away. For the medieval mind there were few things as fearsome as the witch. Witches were scary in several ways. They were unruly women, and they had the powers of the devil at their disposal. Such symbols were commonly found in churches. Here, witch marks often took the form of daisy wheels—simple geometric designs drawn with a pair of compasses that look like flowers. Witch marks were also found in private houses. In the 17th century, King James I was convinced that witches were out to get him. At Knole House, where the king might have been expected to visit, signs were carved into the woodwork to ward off evil. V and M signs were made to invoke the Virgin Mary, and crisscross patterns were made as demon mazes—shapes meant to make evil beings get lost before they could harm visitors.
有些特別的塗鴉還有抵禦危險的效用。這種神奇的辟邪符號被叫做“辟邪魔（Apotropaic Magic）”，往往是一些非常嚇人的圖案。當人們擔心什麼邪祟跟着自己的時候，就可以在家裏放上一個這樣的符號，它們可以讓人遠離邪祟。在中世紀人的觀念中，女巫是極爲可怕的存在——她們不受制約，並且能夠操縱邪祟。所以驅巫圖案就經常出現在教堂裏面，看起來就有點像菊花輪的樣子，通常是由極簡的幾何圖案和一對像花卉的規則圖案組成。當然，有些私人住宅裏面也會有驅巫圖案。17世紀，詹姆士一世（英國國王，非常熱衷於反對巫術，他甚至寫書勸人們將巫術視作對教會權威的反抗，號召人們譴責巫術。）總覺得有女巫要謀害自己，所以在他訪問諾爾莊園前，莊園領主就在木器上刻上一些標誌來驅邪。比如聖母瑪利亞的縮寫——V和M就被用來祈求聖母保佑，十字架圖案也被用來迷惑邪祟，以保護訪問者不受傷害。2. Mayan Graffiti
2. 瑪雅“塗鴉”
The Mayan Society of Mesoamerica lasted for millennia until the Spanish conquistadors brought about its collapse. Its cities and temples are amazing works of architecture. It was one of the great world civilizations. Its writings are an incredible source of information about this lost world. But the archaeological are also great sources of graffiti that give windows into the lives of people in this lost world. At Tikal, drawings carved into the stone show portraits, dancing figures, animals, thrones, gods, and priests. One graffito seems to show an execution: a figure stands with his arms stretched between two poles while another has just shot him with an arrow, or run him through with a spear. There are also valuable images of a procession. Men carry trumpets with ribbons streaming from them, while others follow behind. All of these details would be lost if people had not decided to deface their local monuments.
在西班牙侵略者入侵之前，瑪雅文明已經持續了千年。對於藝術家們來說，這一文明建造的城市和宮殿是讓人驚歎的存在。可以說它是世界上最了不起的文明之一。對於這個失落的文明有大量的文字記載。不過除此之外，對遺存“塗鴉”的考古也爲了解這個失落文明中人們的生活提供了另一種途徑。人們在蒂卡爾的石頭上發現了許多人物肖像，舞蹈人物，動物，王室，神祇和祭司的圖案。但是有個塗鴉比較奇特：它展示的是一個人雙臂展開並被困在兩個支點上，剩下的人要麼拿箭射他要麼拿着長矛追着他跑。除此之外，還有對瑪雅隊列的珍貴刻畫，比如男人們拿着繫着飄帶的喇叭，其餘的人跟在他們後面。如果不是人們在打算毀壞瑪雅遺蹟的時候恰好看見了這些塗鴉，所有這些瑪雅文明中的細節可能永遠都不會被人所知。1. Piraeus Lion
1. 比雷埃夫斯的獅子
Piraeus was the port of Ancient Athens. From the first or second century, it was guarded by a statue of a lion. The Piraeus Lion became so famous that the port was known as Porto Leone—the Lion Port. This statue, originally sculpted in the fourth century BC, remained in place until the 17th century when the Venetians plundered it and took it home to Venice. All that history would seem to be sufficient, but one puzzle persisted—what was the strange writing on the sides of the Lion? In the 18th century, a Swedish diplomat recognized the marks for what they were: Viking runes. The Varangian Guard had struck again. These Scandinavians had written a lengthy inscription in the shape of a dragon into the Lion's side. The runes are hard to read, but one translation of them reads as follows: "They cut him down in the midst of his forces. But in the harbor the men cut runes by the sea in memory of Horsi, a good warrior. The Swedes set this on the lion. He went his way with good counsel, gold he won in his travels. The warriors cut runes, hewed them in an ornamental scroll. Askell (and others) and Thorlaeifr had them well cut, they who lived in Roslagen. (Unreadable) son of (Unreadable) cut these runes. Ulfr and (Unreadable) colored them in memory of Horsi. He won gold in his travels."
比雷埃夫斯是古希臘的一個港口（堪稱雅典海上帝國的咽喉，不但雅典人引以爲豪的龐大海軍戰艦隊停靠在這裏，地中海各地舶來的貨物也在此交換，其中最重要的可能就是從黑海運來的糧食——雅典人全賴此活命。）。在公元一世紀或者二世紀的時候，那裏就立有一座用來保衛港口的獅子雕塑。由於這座獅子雕塑實在聞名遐邇，比雷埃弗思港還被稱作獅子港（Porto Leone）。實際上，這個獅子雕像被創作於公元前4世紀，然後就一直被放在那個位置，直到公元17世紀的時候威尼斯人把它搶走帶回了威尼斯。這段歷史記錄看起來十分詳實，但是有個問題一直困擾着人們——獅子肩膀和兩隻前腿刻着奇怪的文字到底是什麼東西。在18世紀的時候，瑞典東方學家Johan David Akerblad出使威尼斯，認出它們是古北歐文字如尼文——拜占庭軍隊（公元860年，第一支北歐海盜進攻拜占庭，後投身拜占庭皇帝麾下，成爲拜占庭的僱傭軍，所以拜占庭精英衛士多使用北歐古文字。）在佔領雅典之後，在獅子像的一側寫下了這串龍形長文（因爲守護威尼斯的聖徒爲四大福音書之一的《馬可福音》的作者，而聖馬可的標誌就是一頭肋生雙翅的獅子，所以威尼斯人對獅子情有獨鍾。）。雖然銘文的內容已經模糊，僅部分段落依稀可辨，有個翻譯版本是這樣的：“……他們在戰爭中殺了Horsi，但是現在人們在海邊的獅子像上刻下這些符文來祭奠他。他是個好士兵。他以過人的智謀和戰利品黃金行於此世。士兵們在裝飾的卷軸上刻下符文——住在Roslagen的Askell（其他人無法辨認）和Thorlaeifr刻之，（人名，原文無法辨認）描之，Ulfr和（人名，原文無法辨認）彩之。以此紀念Horis。他給我們帶來了黃金……”
