历史上最残忍的活人祭祀方式：英语精读讲义

We live in the modern age,

我们生活在现代，

where if the crops fail or our president dies,

如果庄稼歉收或我们的总统去世，

we don't have to worry about being brutally sacrificed 短語搭配

我们不必担心会被残忍地献祭

to appease angry gods

以平息愤怒的神明，

or to ensure our departed ruler has a smooth transition to the afterlife. 短語搭配

或是为了确保我们已故的统治者顺利过渡到死后世界。

Yet for thousands of years,

然而，在过去的数千年中，

humans have been sacrificing each other for a variety of reasons.

人类出于各种原因一直互相献祭。

If you can think of it, 語法

只要你能想到的原因，

odds are someone somewhere murdered somebody else over it.

很有可能在某处的某人就曾为此谋杀了其他人。

Many of these sacrifices were done relatively humanely,

其中许多献祭进行得相对人道，

with most cultures not seeing a need to prolong the suffering of the poor sod getting killed. 用詞

大多数文化并不认为有必要延长被杀的可怜虫的痛苦。

But others believed that violence and pain were part of the ritual.

但其他文化则认为暴力和痛苦是仪式的一部分。

Let's start with the Shang Dynasty, China.

让我们从中国商朝说起。

Before China was unified around 221 BC by Qin Shi Huang,

在秦始皇于公元前221年左右统一中国之前，

who thought that sacrificing people was a pretty not cool thing to do,

（他认为拿活人献祭是件非常不酷的事情），

it was all the rage to sacrifice people to appease the spirits. 習語

拿人献祭以平息神灵可是风靡一时的做法。

And at no time in the Chinese history was it more in vogue 語法

而在中国历史上，这种做法最盛行的时期

than during the Shang Dynasty of 1600 to 1040 BC.

莫过于公元前1600年至公元前1040年的商朝。

A popular form of sacrifice was to behead males from other tribes,

一种常见的献祭方式是斩首来自其他部落的男性，

in order to worship male ancestors.

用来祭祀男性祖先。

The more important the ancestor, 語法

祖先的地位越显赫，

the more heads that would roll. 習語

掉的脑袋就越多。

To think, when you die,

想想看，当你死的时候，

you'll probably just get a lousy bouquet of flowers on your grave.

你的坟墓上可能只会得到一束糟糕的花。

But the spirits must have gotten pretty bored of chopped off heads,

但是神灵们肯定已经对砍掉的脑袋感到相当厌倦了，

so eventually the Chinese moved on to splitting people in half 短語動詞

所以后来中国人转而将人劈成两半，

in order to appease their ancestors.

以平息他们的祖先。

Historical records are unclear,

历史记录并不清晰，

but we're assuming that that would be horizontally 語法

但我们猜测那应该是横向劈开的，

and likely with teams of horses.

而且很可能是用马匹。

Although if they had very large blades and a lot of time on their hands, 習語

不过，如果他们有非常大的刀刃且时间很充裕的话，

they could probably manage a vertical split.

他们可能也会尝试纵向劈开。

But again, the spirits are restless,

但是，神灵们依然不得安宁，

so the Chinese moved on to dismembering people with axes,

所以中国人又转而用斧头将人肢解，

often hundreds at a time to appease their ancestors. 短語搭配

通常一次肢解数百人来平息祖先。

A victim would have their stomach slashed open and their guts would fall to the floor, 語法

受害者的腹部会被割开，肠子会掉到地上，

which surprisingly is not a quick way to die

令人惊讶的是，这并不是一种能让人快速死亡的方法，

and could take quite a while. 短語搭配

且可能会持续相当长的时间。

Though we suppose that that was probably the point. 用詞

虽然我们认为这可能正是他们的目的。

Lastly, victims were sometimes simply beaten to death,

最后，有时受害者只是简单地被活活打死，

although at this point that barely even seems like they were trying anymore.

尽管在这一点上，看起来他们好像都已经懒得费心思了。

Hawaii.

夏威夷。

When you think of Hawaii, 表達脈絡

当你想到夏威夷，

you probably think of beautiful beaches and a warm tropical sun.

你可能会想到美丽的沙滩和温暖的热带阳光。

With so much beauty around them,

周围有这么多的美景，

surely native Hawaiians were a peaceful people who celebrated life.

夏威夷原住民肯定是一群爱好和平、歌颂生命的人。

I mean, they lived in freaking Hawaii. 用詞

我的意思是，他们可是住在美好的夏威夷啊。

But you'd be wrong,

但你错了，

because humans are terrible and ritual human sacrifice was common in paradise.

因为人类是可怕的，活人献祭在这个天堂里很常见。

Typically reserved for captives taken from war, 短語搭配

通常是把从战争中俘虏的人留下来，

ritual sacrifices took place during the dedication of a war temple 短語搭配

献祭仪式一般在将战争神庙

to the tiki war god Ku,

献给提基战神库时举行，

but could happen during other significant events.

但也可能在其他重大事件中发生。

Others who broke a kapu or taboo were also sacrificed 文化背景

其他打破卡普或禁忌的人也会被献祭，

and could be tied up to have their bones broken with sticks,

可能会被绑起来，用棍子打断骨头，

have their intestines removed or simply beheaded.

被掏出肠子，或者干脆被斩首。

You might think that surely Hawaii left its human sacrificing days way in the past, 用詞

你可能认为夏威夷肯定早就把活人献祭的日子抛在脑后了，

but as recently as 1804, 短語搭配

但就在1804年，

a human sacrifice of three men was recorded.

还有记录显示有三名男子被用作活人献祭。

Ancient Israelites.

古以色列人。

There are many mentions in the Bible of ancient Israelites

《圣经》中多次提到古以色列人

that worshipped other gods

崇拜其他神明，

and of Yahweh's or the God of the Bible's angry disapproval of them.

以及耶和华或《圣经》中的上帝对他们愤怒的谴责。

Learning about Israelites who worshipped Moloch,

在了解到以色列人崇拜摩洛，

a god of nature,

一位自然之神后，

it's hard to disagree with God on the matter. 短語搭配

很难在这件事上不赞同上帝。

Ancient Israelites regularly sacrificed infants to their various gods,

古以色列人经常向他们的各种神明献祭婴儿，

often by binding the child and then burning it alive.

通常是把孩子绑起来，然后活活烧死。

And this wasn't just captives taken in war either, 語法

而且这些不只是在战争中俘虏的人，

but sometimes their own.

有时甚至包括他们自己的孩子。

Thankfully for children everywhere,

对世界各地的孩子们来说幸运的是，

the Israelites who would eventually become the first Christians and Jews

最终成为第一批基督徒和犹太教徒的以色列人

came along and told everyone to knock it off, 短語動詞

站了出来，告诉大家别再这么干了，

because burning children to appease nature is pretty nuts.

因为烧死孩子来平息自然实在是太疯狂了。

Inca.

印加人。

Nowadays, if you're hoping for wealth,

如今，如果你想要财富，

you might take a business class or two, 用詞

你可能会上一两节商业课程，

perhaps invest in the stock market.

或者投资股市。

But if you were an ancient Incan,

但如果你是古印加人，

the most logical thing to do would be to raise a child from a baby,

最合乎逻辑的做法就是把一个婴儿从小养大，

shower it its whole life with luxury, love and affection, 短語搭配

让他一生都充满奢华、爱与关怀，

feed it well and ensure it has a happy life,

让他吃得好，确保他过上幸福的生活，

and then strangle it to death as an offering to the gods.

然后把他勒死，作为献给众神的贡品。

The Inca believed that a healthy, happy child,

印加人认为一个健康、快乐的孩子——

well, happy up until, you know,

嗯，快乐直到，你懂的，

being strangled to death,

被勒死之前——

was the greatest gift that any god could receive.

是神明能收到的最好礼物。

And so thousands of children were sacrificed

因此，数千名儿童被献祭，

for the sake of increasing wealth and good fortune, 短語搭配

只是为了增加财富和好运，

because the gods are picky gods.

因为众神都是挑剔的神。

Only strong, healthy and attractive children were suitable.

只有强壮、健康和有吸引力的孩子才适合。

So if you were ugly,

所以如果你长得丑，

we guess you lucked out. 短語動詞

我们猜你倒是走运了。

While some children were strangled to death,

虽说有些孩子是被勒死的，

others had their heads caved in

但其他孩子有的被敲碎了脑袋，

and yet others were burned alive.

还有一些被活活烧死。

Mesopotamians.

美索不达米亚人。

If there's one thing that binds all ancient humans together, 語法

如果说有一件事把所有古代人类联系在一起，

it's the belief that for some weird reason,

那就是基于某种奇怪原因的信念，即

if a king dies,

如果一位国王死了，

they're helpless in the afterlife

他们在死后的世界里是无助的，

unless literally everyone who served him immediately joins him.

除非毫不夸张地说，所有侍奉过他的人都立即去陪伴他。

And yet people still vie for these positions of power. 短語搭配

然而，人们仍然在争夺这些权力的位置。

But imagine showing up for your first day of work as the fancy new chancellor, 短語動詞

但想象一下，你作为光鲜亮丽的新任宰相第一天去上班，

only to have the king immediately croak. 語法

结果国王立刻就一命呜呼了。

Congratulations on your early and very immediate retirement.

恭喜你，直接喜迎极速提前退休。

The ancient Mesopotamians were no exception to this rule 短語搭配

古美索不达米亚人也不例外，

and they too would send their kings off into the afterlife with a mass funeral. 短語動詞

他们也会用一场大规模的葬礼送国王去死后世界。

But while the ancient Egyptians famously had close advisers and pets buried with them,

然而，虽然古埃及人以让亲密顾问和宠物陪葬而闻名，

the Mesopotamians killed literally everybody that had anything to do with the dead king. 短語搭配

但美索不达米亚人简直会杀掉与死去的国王有任何关系的每一个人。

Soldiers, members of the royal court,

士兵，宫廷成员，

and maidens and servants.

还有少女和仆人。

If you once made eye contact with the king,

如果你曾经和国王有过眼神交流，

there's a good chance you were getting sacrificed. 語法

你有很大几率会被献祭。

At least the Mesopotamians didn't mess around when it came to human sacrifices. 講解

至少在活人献祭这件事上，美索不达米亚人可不马虎。

While for years experts believed that victims were peacefully poisoned before burial,

虽然多年来专家们认为受害者在下葬前是被平静地毒死的，

new evidence has proved that this was hilariously wrong.

但新证据证明这个想法真是错得离谱。

Instead, the dead to be were simply stabbed in the head.

相反，那些即将赴死的人只是被刺穿了头部。

No mess, no fuss, 短語搭配

毫不拖泥带水，

just a spike to the brain.

只是用尖刺刺入大脑。

Of course, these types of injuries can often not be immediately fatal

当然，这类损伤通常可能不会立刻致命，

and could result in an excruciating death.

这会导致极其痛苦的死亡过程。

The Aztecs.

阿兹特克人。

Naturally, no conversation on human sacrifice can be complete 語法

毫无疑问，任何关于活人献祭的讨论

without bringing up the mighty Aztecs, 短語動詞

都不能不提到强大的阿兹特克人，

who were absolutely nuts about murdering people for their gods, 習語

他们为了神明去杀人的狂热简直到了疯狂的地步，

believing that they owed everything, even life itself, 短語搭配

他们相信自己把一切，甚至生命本身，

to the many precocious gods.

都欠了那些早熟的神明。

The Aztecs would routinely sacrifice thousands of victims a year.

阿兹特克人每年都会例行献祭成千上万的受害者。

Many civilizations engaged in human sacrifice,

许多文明都参与了活人献祭，

but the Aztecs made it a downright hobby 習語

但阿兹特克人把它变成了一种彻头彻尾的爱好，

and were incredibly creative about it.

并且在这方面极具创造力。

Various gods required various types of sacrifices

不同的神明需要不同类型的献祭，

and victims were chosen depending on their physical characteristics

并且根据受害者的身体特征

and how they related to the gods.

以及他们与神明的关系来选择受害者。

Children for instance,

比如，儿童，

were required sacrifices for Tlaloc, the rain god,

是雨神特拉洛克所要求的祭品，

and they believed that the tears of the newborns or infants would ensure the rain.

他们认为新生儿或婴儿的眼泪能确保下雨。

So their particular sacrifices were often protracted affairs. 用詞

所以他们特定的献祭往往是极其漫长的过程。

The more tears a child shed,

孩子流的眼泪越多，

the more rain that would come.

降雨就越多。

Most victims would be marched up to the top of a pyramid and forced to lay upon an altar,

大多数受害者会被押解到金字塔顶端，被迫躺在祭坛上，

where a priest would then stab the victim in the stomach about the navel

祭司然后会在受害者肚脐周围的肚子上捅一刀，

and rip the knife up to just below the throat.

然后把刀子向上拉到喉咙下方。

Then the priest would reach into the victim's chest and pull out the often still beating heart

接着，祭司会把手伸进受害者的胸膛，掏出通常还在跳动的心脏，

before kicking the body down the pyramid stairs for it to be dismembered.

然后把尸体踢下金字塔的楼梯去进行肢解。

Sometimes those sacrifices would take the form of a mock battle between a priest and a captive, 講解

有时，这些献祭会以祭司和俘虏之间的模拟战斗的形式进行，

with the priest armed with real weapons and the captive, 短語搭配

祭司带着真正的武器，而俘虏

often tied to a stone or wooden frame,

通常被绑在石头或木架上，

fought with wooden or feathered weapons.

用木制或带羽毛的武器作战。

Needless to say, 表達脈絡

毋庸置疑，

the odds were firmly against the victim and their feathery weapons. 短語搭配

局势对受害者和他们带羽毛的武器极为不利。

Yet the other victims would have their skin flayed off and worn as costumes in various rituals.

然而，其他受害者则会被剥去皮肤，在各种仪式中当成戏服穿在身上。

Those rituals typically awarded body parts as trophies

这些仪式通常会将身体部位作为战利品进行奖励，

and the warriors who captured the victims could be awarded a femur to proudly display at home.

而捕获受害者的战士可能会被奖励一根股骨，以便在家里自豪地展示。

That, we think, is the real problem with today's society.

我们认为，这才是当今社会的真正问题所在。

Too many participation trophies and not enough human femurs. 文化背景

参与奖发得太多，而人的股骨却不够。

Let's all be grateful that science and reason has moved humanity well past 習語

让我们都心存感激吧，科学和理智已经使人类远远摆脱了

the kill people to appease angry god stage of evolution.

为了平息愤怒的神明而杀人的进化阶段。

Yet with so much science denial in our society today on issues such as climate change, 用詞

然而，如今我们社会在气候变化等问题上存在如此多的反科学现象，

sometimes we wonder just how far away we really are from our bloodthirsty roots. 習語

有时我们不禁想知道，我们离那些嗜血的本源到底还有多远。

What's the most brutal sacrifice technique you've ever heard of?

你听过最残忍的献祭方式是什么？

Would you be interested in being ritually sacrificed by the staff of the Infographics Show

你有兴趣被《信息图表秀》的员工用作仪式献祭吗？

as we ask the gods for continued success?

因为我们要祈求神明保佑我们持续成功？

Just kidding. 語氣意圖

开玩笑的啦。

Make sure you check out our other video,

记得去看看我们的其他视频，

Worst Punishments in the History of Mankind.

“人类历史上最糟糕的惩罚”。

And as always, if you enjoyed this episode,

和往常一样，如果你喜欢这期节目，

don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more great content.

别忘了点赞、分享并订阅，以获取更多精彩内容。