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Which gave us the word paradise.
也是"天堂"這一名詞的起源
Islamic rulers from the Nasrids in Spain to the Mughals in India
從西班牙納斯里德到印度莫臥兒的伊斯蘭統治者
laid out their gardens according to the Koran's description of the afterlife.
都按照《古蘭經》對彼世的描繪修建花園
Four quarters, bounded by four rivers,
四個角以四條河為界
which, in paradise, it was said,
傳說中 天國的這四條河
would flow with water, wine, milk and honey.
會流淌著水 酒 奶和蜜
Flora and fauna, the fertile attributes of God's blessing,
鮮花和動物作為主賜予的豐饒之屬
also found their way into decorations on the pavilions
在平靜優雅地矗立在花園中的涼亭
and palaces which gracefully stand amidst the gardens.
和宮殿的裝飾中 也找到了自己的一席之地
But the art of the paradise garden found its richest expression
但天國花園也找到了最適于傳播的形式
in a form that sprang, like Islam itself, from the desert.
正如伊斯蘭文明自身找到了在沙漠中的繁衍之道
It was the garden you could carry with you--the carpet.
那就是可攜帶的花園毯子
For the nomadic tribes of the Middle East, everything in life -
對于中東游牧民族而言 生活中的一切
talking, eating, praying-- was done close to the ground.
交談 吃飯 祈禱 都在地面上完成
Carpets made life not just bearable, but civilised,
地毯不僅使生活變得可以忍受 還讓其更文明
especially when woven with an image of paradise.
尤其是紋飾著天國圖景的織物
By the late Middle Ages,the garden carpet had migrated
到中世紀后期,花園地毯從最開始的
from its humble origins in Arabia and Central Asia
阿拉伯半島和中亞發源時的平民用品
to become a symbol of luxury and sophistication in the royal court of the Persian Shah.
變成了波斯沙阿王庭中奢侈繁復的裝點
The 16th and 17th centuries were a golden age for Persian garden carpets.
十六和十七世紀是波斯花園地毯的黃金時期
And this is an extremely rare, fragile survival.
這是一片極其稀罕而脆弱的遺存
Known as the Wagner Carpet,after a recent German owner,
以其前德國主人之名命名被稱為瓦格納地毯
it is crammed with every kind of living thing, teeming through the foliage.
它繡滿了居住在林間的各種生物
