關於成吉思汗你不知道的10件事(上)

Between 1206 and his death in 1227, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan conquered nearly 12 million square miles of territory—more than any individual in history. Along the way, he cut a ruthless path through Asia and Europe that left untold millions dead, but he also modernized Mongolian culture, embraced religious freedom and helped open contact between East and West. Explore 10 facts about a great ruler who was equal parts military genius, political statesman and bloodthirsty terror.

從1206年到1227年去世，蒙古領袖成吉思汗征服了近三百萬多平方千米的土地——比歷史上任何一個人征服的都要多。他在亞歐之間打開了一條血路，犧牲了千百萬人的生命，但是他也使蒙古文化變得現代化，他擁護宗教自由，並促使了東方和西方的交流。我們將爲您揭祕，這位偉大的軍事家，政治家，嗜血恐怖統治者的10個事實。

1."Genghis" wasn't his real name.

1."成吉思"並不是他的真名。

The man who would become the "Great Khan" of the Mongols was born along the banks of the Onon River sometime around 1162 and originally named Temujin, which means "of iron" or "blacksmith." He didn't get the honorific name "Genghis Kahn" until 1206, when he was proclaimed leader of the Mongols at a tribal meeting known as a "kurultai." While "Khan" is a traditional title meaning "leader" or "ruler," historians are still unsure of the origins of "Genghis." It may have may have meant "ocean" or "just," but in context it is usually translated as "supreme ruler" or "universal ruler."

這位偉大的蒙古"可汗"，於1162年出生在翰難河岸，原名爲鐵木真，意爲"好鐵"或"鐵匠"。到1206年才獲得尊號"成吉思汗"，那時在一個部落會議即"庫裏臺大會"上他被宣爲蒙古領袖。"可汗"是意爲"領袖"或"統治者"的傳統稱呼，然而歷史學家還不確定"成吉思"的起源。也許是意爲"大海"或是"正直"，但在文本中通常翻譯成"至高統治者"或"世界統治者"。

had a rough childhood.

2.他的童年並不快樂。

From an early age, Genghis was forced to contend with the brutality of life on the Mongolian Steppe. Rival Tatars poisoned his father when he was only nine, and his own tribe later expelled his family and left his mother to raise her seven children alone. Genghis grew up hunting and foraging to survive, and as an adolescent he may have even murdered his own half-brother in a dispute over food. During his teenage years, rival clans abducted both he and his young wife, and Genghis spent time as a slave before making a daring escape. Despite all these hardships, by his early 20s he had established himself as a formidable warrior and leader. After amassing an army of supporters, he began forging alliances with the heads of important tribes. By 1206, he had successfully consolidated the steppe confederations under his banner and began to turn his attention to outside conquest.

在年幼時，成吉思就不得不適應蒙古大草原上殘酷的生活。在他九歲時，韃靼人就毒死了他的父親，他的部族後來流放了他的家族，只剩他的母親獨自撫養她的七個孩子。成吉思汗從小就打獵覓食求生，年少時，他在食物之爭中殺掉了他同父異母的兄弟。他少年時期，死對頭的家族綁架了他和他的妻子，他當了很長時間的奴隸，纔敢逃出去。經歷了這麼多的磨難，他20出頭時已然成爲令人敬畏的戰士和領袖。在聚集了一批支持者後，他開始和重要的部落領袖結成聯盟。到1206年，他成功地鞏固了草原上的同盟們，並開始將注意力轉移到外圍地區。

e is no definitive record of what he looked like.

3.關於他的長相，並沒有清楚的記載。

For such an influential figure, very little is known about Genghis Kahn's personal life or even his physical appearance. No contemporary portraits or sculptures of him have survived, and what little information historians do have is often contradictory or unreliable. Most accounts describe him as tall and strong with a flowing mane of hair and a long, bushy beard. Perhaps the most surprising description comes courtesy of the 14th century Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din, who claimed Genghis had red hair and green eyes. Al-Din's account is questionable—he never met the Khan in person—but these striking features were not unheard of among the ethnically diverse Mongols.

對於成吉思汗這麼有影響力的人，關於他的個人生活，甚至是他的長相都鮮爲人知。他的任何當代畫像或雕像都沒有保存下來，而且歷史學家掌握的些許信息經常是互相矛盾，亦或是不可靠的。大多認爲他人高馬大，長着一頭濃密的頭髮，畜着長長的絡腮鬍。最令人驚訝的描述是來自14世紀波斯一位年代史編記者拉施德丁的記錄，他稱成吉思長着紅色的頭髮和綠色的眼睛。拉施德丁的記錄是有有問題的——他從未見過成吉思本人——但是這些突出的特徵真是種族多元化的蒙古人的特徵。

of his most trusted generals were former enemies.

4.他最信賴的一些大將，以前是他的敵人。

The Great Khan had a keen eye for talent, and he usually promoted his officers on skill and experience rather than class, ancestry or even past allegiances. One famous example of this belief in meritocracy came during a 1201 battle against the rival Taijut tribe, when Genghis was nearly killed after his horse was shot out from under him with an arrow. When he later addressed the Taijut prisoners and demanded to know who was responsible, one soldier bravely stood up and admitted to being the shooter. Stirred by the archer's boldness, Genghis made him an officer in his army and later nicknamed him "Jebe," or "arrow," in honor of their first meeting on the battlefield. Along with the famed general Subutai, Jebe would go on to become one of the Mongols' greatest field commanders during their conquests in Asia and Europe.

大可汗總能識別出人才，他經常根據將士的本領和經驗來提拔他們，而不是根據等級、祖先甚至是以往的忠貞。在這個賢能社會中有這樣一個有名的例子，說在1201年，和一個敵方部落的戰爭中，有一隻箭從成吉思身下射出，成吉思汗差點死掉，不過最後是馬死掉了。後來他問責俘虜，讓他們說出這是誰幹的，有一個士兵勇敢的站出來承認自己是那個射手。他的大膽讓成吉思眼前一亮，成吉思任命他爲軍隊裏的士官，還給他起了個綽號"傑貝"或"弓箭"，來紀念他們在戰場上的初次相遇。在和著名大將速不臺一同征服亞歐時，傑貝成爲蒙古最勇猛的戰地指揮之一。

rarely left a score unsettled.

5.幾乎沒他打不贏的仗。

Genghis Khan often gave other kingdoms a chance to peacefully submit to Mongol rule, but he didn't hesitate to bring down the sword on any society that resisted. One of his most famous campaigns of revenge came in 1219, after the Shah of the Khwarezmid Empire broke a treaty with the Mongols. Genghis had offered the Shah a valuable trade agreement to exchange goods along the Silk Road, but when his first emissaries were murdered, the enraged Khan responded by unleashing the full force of his Mongol hordes on the Khwarezmid territories in Persia. The subsequent war left millions dead and the Shah's empire in utter ruin, but the Khan didn't stop there. He followed up on his victory by returning east and waging war on the Tanguts of Xi Xia, a group of Mongol subjects who had refused his order to provide troops for his invasion of Khwarizm. After routing the Tangut forces and sacking their capital, the Great Khan ordered the execution of the entire Tangut royal family as punishment for their defiance.

成吉思汗總會給別的王國一個機會，讓他們和平地服從蒙古的統治，但他也會毫不猶豫的對付任何反抗的羣體。最有名的一次復仇戰爭發生在1219年，花刺子模帝國的伊朗國王違反了同蒙古的一項條約。成吉思跟伊朗國王達成了一項有價值的貿易條約，即通過絲綢之路進行貨物交換，然而他的第一批使者被刺殺了，憤怒的可汗便派出蒙古部落全力進擊花刺子模在波斯的領地。接下來的戰爭連帶了數百萬人的死傷，也使伊朗完全淪陷，但可汗並不止步於此。接着，他又一路向東殺了回去，並在西夏的党項發動戰爭，因爲党項的蒙古國民拒絕向成吉思侵略花刺子模的軍隊提供供給。在党項發動戰爭並攻陷了它的首都後，可汗下令對党項所有皇室家族執行死刑，作爲他們違背可汗的懲罰。

翻譯：湯湯 來源：前十網