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经济学人双语精读TE-2023-06-09期考研英语|被掠夺的贝宁青铜器：奥巴诉奥巴塞基

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6.09每日一篇 | 英语外刊社

The looted Benin bronzes：Oba v Obaseki

An ownership ruling may delay the return of the Benin bronzes

【1】The sacking of Benin City by a heavily armed expeditionary force in February 1897 was said to be an act of revenge in a bitter trade disputebetween Britain and the Kingdom of Benin, east of Lagos. Over the course of a fortnight, the city was burned to the ground. Its royal ruler, the Oba, was eventually imprisoned and the magnificent collection of plaques and statues made from brass, wood and ivory was ripped from the walls of his palace and sold to museums and private collectors in Britain, Europe and America.

【2】The dispersal of the Benin bronzes around the world did much to cement their historical and aesthetic reputation as some of the finest artworks ever made in Africa. But views about how they were acquired have changed. The destruction of Benin City has come to be seen as one of the low points of British imperialism, the looting of its sculptures as indefensible.

【3】The case for their return is so morally clear that it has been widely taken up by those arguing for the restitution of artworks seized during the colonial period. A concerted campaign by artists, activists and curators has begun to yield results. In the past two years museums in America, Britain, France and Germany, as well as at least three universities, have all signed pledges to return their Benin bronzes to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).

【4】Those efforts are now being turned upside down—by the Nigerian government. President Muhammadu Buhari, who leaves office this month, recently announced that returned bronzes will not be handed to the NCMM, but to the current Oba, Ewuare II (pictured), “as the original owner and custodian of the culture, heritage and tradition of the people of Benin Kingdom”. Ewuare II is the great-great-grandson of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, from whom the bronzes were first seized.

【5】The announcement caught the NCMM completely by surprise, as it did many of its museum partners in Britain and Europe, which now fear the returned pieces will end up in a private collection rather than being put on public display, as promised. Last year the German government signed an agreement with the NCMM to return 1,100 artefacts from museums including those in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart. “What politicians thought of as the return of cultural heritage to the Nigerian ‘nation’ has instead turned into a present to a single royal family,” Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin of Göttingen University wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung this month. A meeting between officials from the NCMM and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge to transfer ownership of 116 objects in the museum’s collection (and hand over the first dozen pieces) has been postponed.

【6】Museum-watchers see Mr Buhari’s decision to favour the Oba over Nigeria’s own federal museum authorities as the latest move in a power play between the Oba and Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo State, of which Benin City is the capital. Mr Obaseki wants all restituted bronzes to be put on display in a new museum he is planning, the Edo Museum of West African Arts (EMOWAA). This is to be designed by Sir David Adjaye, a celebrated British-Ghanaian architect. A storage facility and study facility are already under construction.

【7】Yet some Nigerians fret over the federal government’s poor record as custodian. In 1973 Nigeria’s military dictator gave a rare bronze head—which was looted by the British in 1897, then returned to the National Museum of Nigeria after the second world war—to Queen Elizabeth. It is now in the Grand Vestibule at Windsor Castle.

【8】The Oba, who is the Edo people’s traditional ruler and keeper of the Edo culture, wants to house all the bronzes in his palace. Mr Obaseki, who ends his second and final term in office in 2024, does not have long to assert his authority. He will need to lengthen his stride if his view has any chance of prevailing.

①短语：1.原文：Over the course of a fortnight, the city was burned to the ground.

词典：burn to the ground 烧为平地

例句：Ford vowed that he would sooner burn his factory to the ground than build a single vehicle for war purposes.

福特起誓说，他宁愿把自己的工厂烧毁，也不为战争生产一辆汽车。

2.原文：The destruction of Benin City has come to be seen as one of the low points of British imperialism, the looting of its sculptures as indefensible.

词典：the low points 低谷

例句：Many Kunqu performers recall the low points of the 1990s.

许多昆曲演员都记得九十年代的低谷。

3.原文：The case for their return is so morally clear that it has been widely taken up by those arguing for the restitution of artworks seized during the colonial period.

词典：taken up 开始从事；继续；占用

例句：We will take up references after the interview.

我们在面试之后收推荐信。

4.原文：A concerted campaign by artists, activists and curators has begun to yield results.

词典：yield results 取得成果；收效

例句：It is a long game, which will yield results, or not, over time.

这是一局耗时很长的游戏，效果在短期内不会显现出来。

5.原文：A meeting between officials from the NCMM and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge to transfer ownership of 116 objects in the museum’s collection (and hand over the first dozen pieces) has been postponed.

词典：hand over 移交，交出

例句：The present leaders have to decide whether to hand over to a younger generation.

现任领导者们必须决定是否把工作移交给较年轻的一代负责。

6.原文：Those efforts are now being turned upside down—by the Nigerian government.

词典：turned upside down天翻地覆

例句：When his wife died, his entire world was turned upside down.

他妻子死后，他的整个生活变得一塌糊涂。

7.原文：A storage facility and study facility are already under construction.

词典：under construction 正在施工

例句：The hotel is still under construction.

旅馆还在兴建中。

8.原文：Mr Obaseki, who ends his second and final term in office in 2024, does not have long to assert his authority.

词典：assert his authority 维护威信

例句：I didn't expect them to assert authority on the front end.

我没想到他们主张权力的前端。

②长难句

1. 原文：In 1973 Nigeria’s military dictator gave a rare bronze head—which was looted by the British in 1897, then returned to the National Museum of Nigeria after the second world war—to Queen Elizabeth.

2. 分析：该句主句的结构为主（Nigeria’s military dictator）谓（gave）宾语（a rare bronze head）宾补（to Queen Elizabeth）；which引导非限制性定语从句，先行词是a rare bronze head，定语从句的结构是主（a rare bronze head）谓（was looted by，returned to）宾（the British，the National Museum of Nigeria）。

3.译文：1973年，尼日利亚的军事独裁者将一尊罕见的青铜头像送给了伊丽莎白女王（Queen Elizabeth）。该头像1897年被英国人掠夺，二战后归还给了尼日利亚国家博物馆。

1. 原文：The Oba, who is the Edo people’s traditional ruler and keeper of the Edo culture, wants to house all the bronzes in his palace.

2. 分析：主句的结构为主语（The Oba）谓（wants to house）宾（all the bronzes）who引导非限制性定语从句，修饰主语The Oba，从句的结构是主（The Oba）系（is）表（the Edo people’s traditional ruler and keeper of the Edo culture）。

3. 译文：作为埃多州人的传统统治者和埃多州文化的守护者，奥巴想把所有的青铜器收藏在他的宫殿里。

③写作技巧：1. In the past two years museums in America, Britain, France and Germany, as well as at least three universities, have all signed pledges to return their Benin bronzes to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM).

译文：在过去的两年里，美国、英国、法国和德国的博物馆以及至少三所大学都签署了协议，承诺将贝宁青铜器归还给尼日利亚国家博物馆和纪念碑委员会(NCMM)。

Last year the German government signed an agreement with the NCMM to return 1,100 artefacts from museums including those in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart.

译文：去年，德国政府与尼日利亚国家博物馆和纪念碑委员会签署了一项协议，承诺从柏林（Berlin）、科隆（Cologne）、汉堡（Hamburg）、莱比锡（Leipzig）、斯图加特（Stuttgart）等地的博物馆归还1100件文物。

技巧：signed pledges，signed an agreement都有签协议的含义，在写作时可进行同意替换。

例句：It is reported that China and Indonesia have signed an agreement on defense cooperation, making Indonesia the first ASEAN country that enters into strategic partnership with China.

译文：据报道，中国和印尼签署了防务合作协议，印尼是第一个与中国建立战略伙伴关系的东盟国家。

④背景知识：

1.Windsor Castle：温莎城堡。位于英国英格兰东南部区域伯克郡温莎·梅登黑德皇家自治市镇温莎，建于1070年，是英国王室温莎王朝的家族城堡。整个温莎城堡可以分为上区、中区和下区。上区主要包括滑铁卢厅(宴会厅)、女王交谊厅(舞厅)、画廊、玛丽王后模型屋等宫廷陈设，中区有玫瑰花园围绕的圆塔，下区则有哥特风格的圣佐治礼拜堂等。