书城外语郑和下西洋:汉英对照
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第19章 Sino-foreign cultural exchanges on an unprecedente

暹罗人习惯吃深山里开采的矿盐,矿盐缺碘,致使不少暹罗人甲状腺肿大。郑和去后,帮助他们制造海盐,并告诉他们海盐盐水还有消火败毒之功效。

该国气候酷热,生疮患疖的人特别多,懂得这个常识后,人们欣喜万分,无不感激郑和。此外,郑和还派人向暹罗人传授伐木、烧制陶器、凿井、开垦梯田等先进技术,促进了暹罗社会生产力的提高。

中国渔网由郑和船队传入印度科钦。郑和船队第七次下西洋返航至古里时,郑和不幸病逝。郑和在古里病逝后,留下一些侍从守灵,后来由于洪水泛滥,这些中国人迁往南边的科钦,并将中国渔网带到这里。渔网利用杠杆原理,将四角系在四根长木上,四根长木的顶端收拢在一起,被固定在一根粗大的长杆上。长杆

big net. They could once again drop the fishing net backinto the water and withdraw it more than ten minuteslater. Before the introduction of Chinese fishing nets,people in Cochin had caught fish sitting on canoes, whichproved to be very inefficient. The application of Chinesefishing nets not only greatly improved productivity, butalso saved labor and reduced the risks of sea fishing.Surprisingly, the Chinese fishing nets are still widelyused today. Nowadays, the sculpture of Chinese fishingnet erected on the beach beside the estuary of Cochin hasbecome a symbol of the city and a major tourist attraction.

Located in semi-tropical regions, the Champa Kingdomhad fertile land and plenty of rain, which was quitesuitable for paddy rice planting. Local farmers there,however, used to grow paddy rice only once a year. ZhengHe then sent someone to teach them how to improvethe planting methods and help them plant paddy ricethree times a year, which proved a success. In addition,local people were also taught to dig wells, take waterfor irrigation, build terraces on mountainsides and useChinese ploughs that were given them as a present. Eversince then, Champa Kingdom has grown famous forproducing paddy rice and the people there graduallyled a well-off life. In Malacca, the roofs of houses weremade of coconut leaves and canes. The house was notdivided into functional sections for dining, cooking or

用很高的支架支起。将浸在水中的一张渔网吊出水面,需五六个渔民操作。渔民们在整齐的号子声中拉动绳索起网,渔网在长木咯咯吱吱的声响中缓慢升出水面,留在网上的鱼儿就在网底蹦跳。此时,一个人操长竿网兜上前,将鱼兜进网兜,就抓到了活鱼。然后再把网放入水中,十几分钟后再起第二网。在中国渔网传入之前,科钦人一直采用坐独木舟叉鱼的方式捕鱼,生产效率极低。而用中国渔网,不仅极大地提高了生产效率,还节省了人力和降低了出海的风险。中国渔网经600多年的风雨,至今盛行不衰。现在科钦入海口的海滩上,那高高矗立在海边的中国渔网成了科钦标志性的景物和推广旅游的名片。

占城国地处亚热带,土地肥沃,雨量充沛,适宜水稻种植。然而占城农民习惯一年种一季稻。郑和派人教农民改进耕作技术,试种一年三季稻,获得成功。此外还教他们凿井,取水灌溉,沿山腰修建梯田,赠送中国犁,教授使犁方法。从此,占城就以生产稻米出名,逐步富庶起来。满剌加国盖房用椰树叶覆盖,用细藤条捆扎以作房顶,一家人寝食厨厕都在一处,晚间不分男女睡一起。郑和派人教满剌加人建

sleeping, and the whole family slept together regardlessof gender. Zheng He dispatched his fellows to teach themhow to build houses and transported tiles there fromChina to make roofs. The local people were also toldhow to plant Chinese herbs to treat diseases. Many of themedicinal materials currently used in Southeast Asia wereintroduced from China during Zheng,s voyage.

Such countries as Calicut, Cochin, Kollam and Quilonsuffered from hot weather and summer diseases atthat time. The doctors on Zheng,s fleet actively treatedpatients with the medicine they carried, which, however,was not enough anyway. Then, the Chinese doctors usedthe Chinese skin scraping methods, which proved rathereffective and substituted part of the medicine. Since then,the traditional Chinese therapy has gained popularityamong the Indian Peninsula.

Cotton had never been planted in such East Africancountries like Mogadiscio, Brava and Juba. After hisarrival, Zheng He found the soil there was very suitablefor cotton planting. He gave local residents Chinese seedsand taught them to plant cotton, which proved quiteeffective. Africans who had never grown cotton, of course,didn,t have knowledge of spinning. Zheng He taughtthem how to spin threads out of cotton and how to makesimple looms by binding wood sticks into a bracket. Localwomen learnt to use shuttles and weave cotton cloth.

造房屋,并从中国带去砖瓦给他们盖顶,还派船队医生教他们种植中草药材,用中药治病防病。至今东南亚有不少药材就是郑和下西洋时从中国带去种植的。

古里、柯枝、大葛兰、小葛兰等国,天气炎热,暑病流行。郑和船队的医生主动给这些国家的暑病患者治病,然而患者多,带去的痧药总不够用。于是船队医生采用中国“刮痧”方法引病外出,收到疗效,克服了少药的困难。自此,这种方法风行印度半岛。

木骨都剌、卜剌哇、竹步等东非国家向来不种棉花。郑和去后,看到那里的土壤适宜植棉,就把中国棉籽送给当地居民教他们种植,效果不错。从不种植棉花的这些国家的人民自然不懂纺织技术。郑和教他们用手抽花成线,又指导他们用木棍扎成一个木架,做成原始简陋的织布机。当地妇女终于学会跪地用手穿梭,织成棉布。从此,这些国家有了自制的棉布,改进了服饰,提高了生活质量。

西洋物产丰富,若干物货为中国人民日常生活所不可缺。东南亚盛产的香料不仅种类齐全,而且量多质优。多种香药的发现和利用,是东南亚人民对世界文明所作的贡献之一。这些香料,实乃中国不可缺者。因

Since then, the people in those African countries have leda better life with cotton cloth and nicer clothes.

The places where Zheng,s fleet reached also hadabundant products, many of which were daily necessitiesin China. For instance, the spices produced in SoutheastAsia were diverse but of high quality. The discoveryand use of a wide range of spices was really a greatcontribution by the people of Southeast Asia to worldcivilization. Given the importance of spices, EmperorYongle sent Zheng He to buy spices in large quantitiesand bring them to China.

Trade of fragrant medicines between China andSoutheast Asia had long existed prior to Zheng He,svoyages. Imported fragrant medicines were luxuriesexclusive to the rich and inaccessible to common people.But Zheng He,s voyages changed that pattern by pushingthe trade in fragrant medicines to its height, which furtherenriched China,s food culture. For example, peppers,a result of the ocean trade initiated by Zheng He, weresold everywhere in the Chinese market and even usedas a substitute for coins. These peppers, which becamecheaper and cheaper, turned into daily necessities ratherthan precious goods.

The bird,s nest that Zheng,s fleet brought back fromSoutheast Asia enriched traditional Chinese herbs andChinese food culture. It has been noted that the sailors

此,永乐皇帝命郑和大量购买奇香异药以补所缺。

郑和下西洋之前,中国与东南亚的香药贸易早已存在,所得香药属富贵人家的奢侈品,寻常百姓家并不普及。郑和下西洋将香药贸易推向高峰,使香料得以与百姓日常生活联系起来,丰富了中华民族的饮食文化。以胡椒为例,郑和远洋贸易的结果,使胡椒大量充斥中国市场,甚至成为货币的代用品,与宝钞、绢布相互替用。价格一降再降的胡椒,由珍品变为日常用品。

郑和船队从东南亚带回的燕窝,丰富了中药材宝库和中国饮食文化。据载,郑和船队在婆罗洲北岸停泊时,船员曾登陆向当地居民学会采集燕窝做汤喝,以调剂船员的伙食营养。船队归国后,将东南亚产的燕窝献给永乐皇帝享用,得到永乐皇帝的赞赏。从此,燕窝风靡中国。与此同时,郑和船队为亚非国家带去中国生产的人参、麝香、大黄、肉桂、茯苓、姜等中药材,丰富了西洋本土药物。

郑和船队引进的珍稀动植物还有:麒麟(长颈鹿)、狮子、西府海棠、詹匐花、五谷树、娑罗树、龙涎香、沉香、黄熟香、返魂香等,增长了中国人的