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It's one of the earliest societies that we can think of as a state in the modern sense, and as one of its earliest leaders, King Den had to address all the problems of control and co-ordination that a modern state has to confront today.
這個社會人類歷史上具有真正現代意義的最早期國家之一，而作為這早期古埃及的法老王之一的國王丹，也必須想辦法如何去控制與調協整個王國，這些也是今天一個現代國家都會面對到的問題。
You might not expect to discover how he did it from the label on his shoes, but Den's sandals were no ordinary shoes, they were very high status items-and the Keeper of the Sandals was one of the high court officials, so it's not so surprising that on the back of the label we have a clear statement of how this pharaoh exercised power. The model evolved in Den's Egypt five thousand years ago resonates uncannily around the world to this day.
你可能意料不到居然會在他鞋上的標簽了解到他是如何做到統治他的王朝的，然而國王丹的涼鞋可不是尋常之物，它們的地位也相當之高；其實掌管法老王的涼鞋當時也是一種宮殿高職官員，因此我們現在看到的這枚牙牌標簽背面居然如此清晰地描繪出法老如何行使權力的生動場面，事實上也不以為奇。國王丹五千年前行使權力的模式，在如今全世界范圍內看起來，仍舊是不可思議的熟悉。
On the other side from the sandals is their owner, dressed in a royal head-dress with a mace in one hand and a whip in the other. King Den stands in combat, authoritatively smiting an enemy who cowers at his feet. Of course the first thing we look for is his sandals but, disappointingly, he's barefoot.
在這標簽粘在涼鞋的背面，刻畫了涼鞋的主人，戴著皇家頭飾，一手持著狼牙棒，一手握著長鞭。國王丹站在戰場上，威風凜凜地鞭打著蜷縮在他腳下的敵人。當然，我們首先尋找的是他的涼鞋，但令人失望的是，他是赤著腳。
This little label is the first image in our series of a ruler-and it's striking that, right at the beginning, the ruler wants to be shown as commander-in-chief, conquering his foe. This is how, from earliest times, power has been projected through images.
這小小的標簽刻畫了我們這系列中的第一位統治者，令人驚奇的是從人類最早期社會，統治者就希望作為軍隊的統帥，征服他的仇敵。這就是最早期權力是如何體現出來的。
