他是世上曾出现的最可怕的军阀之一
He was one of the most fearsomewarlords who ever lived,
发动过势不可挡 横贯欧洲大陆的（军事）征服
waging an unstoppable conquestacross the Eurasian continent.
但成吉思汗究竟是个未开化的野蛮人
But was Genghis Khan a vicious barbarian
还是为现代世界铺平道路的统一者呢
or a unifier who paved the wayfor the modern world?
我们将在《历史vs.成吉思汗》中一探究竟
We’ll see in”History vs. Genghis Khan.”
“肃静 肃静 今天被告是谁？可汗！”
“Order,order.Now who’s the defendant today?Khan!”
“我看尊敬的法官阁下很熟悉根哥思汗
“I see Your Honor is familiarwith Genghis Khan,
这个十三世纪的军阀 军队四处征战 杀人无算
the 13th century warlord whose militarycampaigns killed millions
随之而来的除了毁灭别无他物”
and left nothingbut destruction in their wake.”
“反对 首先 其发音是成吉思汗”
“Objection.First of all,it’s pronounced Genghis Kahn.”
“真的吗”
“Really?”
“在蒙古 确实如此 不管怎么说
“In Mongolia, yes. Regardless,
他是人类历史上最伟大的领袖之一
he was one of the greatestleaders in human history.
孛儿只斤•铁木真 孩提时代就没了父亲 生活贫苦
Born Temüjin, he was left fatherlessand destitute as a child
但仍坚持克服不断的纷争以团结相互敌对的蒙古部族
but went on to overcome constant strife to unite warring Mongol clans
并成就了世界上最伟大的帝国
and forge the greatest empirethe world had seen,
直至从太平洋延伸到欧洲腹地”
eventually stretching from the Pacificto Europe’s heartland.”
“侵略和屠杀哪个是主要的呢
“And what was so greatabout invasion and slaughter?
中国北方损失了2/3的人口”
Northern China lost 2/3 of its population.”
“金朝对这个北方部族不胜其扰
“The Jin Dynasty had long harassedthe northern tribes,
资助他们使其相互攻伐 并不时攻击之
paying them off to fight each otherand periodically attacking them.
成吉思汗不想像前一任打算统一
Genghis Khan wasn’t aboutto suffer the same fate
蒙古的可汗一样悲惨
as the last Khan who triedto unite the Mongols,
而且人口变化也许只能反映出当时糟糕的普查水平
and the demographic change may reflectpoor census keeping,
因为许多农民都被招入了成吉思汗军队
not to mention that many peasants were brought into the Khan’s army.
“你可以随意质疑数字
“You can pick apart numbers all you want,
但他们的确摧毁了很多城市 居民们遭遇屠杀”
but they wiped out entire cities,along with their inhabitants.”
“成吉思汗更愿敌人投降并朝贡
“The Khan preferred enemiesto surrender and pay tribute,
但他笃信忠诚与外交之法则
but he firmly believed in loyaltyand diplomatic law.
那些遭屠杀的城市都是些降后复叛的地方
The cities that were massacred were onesthat rebelled after surrendering,
目的是杀鸡儆猴
or killed as ambassadors.
他的（行为）是对正义的精准理解”
His was a strict understanding of justice.”
“很多描述表明其军队的残忍远谈不上正义：
“Multiple accounts show his army’sbrutality going beyond justice:
把未出生的婴儿从妈妈的子宫里取出
ripping unborn childrenfrom mothers’ wombs,
用囚犯作人盾
using prisoners as human shields,
或将人作为填充物围成壕沟支援攻城器
or moat fillers to support siege engines,
让占领区的所有妇女——”“够了！太野蛮了！”
taking all women from conquered towns–” “Enough! How barbaric!”
“真的比其他中世纪的军队还糟吗”
“Is that really so much worsethan other medieval armies?”
“那不能作为成吉思汗暴行的借口”
“That doesn’t excuseGenghis Khan’s atrocities.”
“但这确实令成吉思汗在他的时代无法例外 而不是那些嗜杀的野蛮人”
“But it does make Genghis Khanunexceptional for his time rather than some bloodthirsty savage.
事实上 在他统一部族后就废除了抢亲的陋习
In fact, after his unificationof the tribes abolished bride kidnapping,
蒙古妇女的地位比大多数人都要高
women in the Mongol rankshad it better than most.
她们操持家务 可以与丈夫离婚 而且是值得信赖的贤内助
They controlled domestic affairs, could divorce their husbands, and were trusted advisors.
铁木真一生都钟情于他的结发妻子
Temüjin remained withhis first bride all his life,
甚至抚养她可能是私生子的儿子 视为己出”
even raising her possiblyillegitimate son as his own.”
“不管怎样 成吉思汗留下的是场灾祸：
“Regardless, Genghis Khan’slegacy was a disaster:
在其子嗣的征服（过程中） 贯穿欧亚大陆 有超过4000万人被杀
up to 40 million killed across Eurasiaduring his descendents’ conquests.
世界人口的10%
10% of the world population.
这甚至还不包括由金帐汗国围城卡法带给欧洲的
That’s not even countingcasualties from the Black Plague
患黑死病的死亡人数”
brought to Europe bythe Golden Horde’s Siege of Kaffa.”
“那肯定是无心之举”
“Surely that wasn’t intentional.”
“事实上 当他们看到自己的士兵死于这场瘟疫时
“Actually,when they saw their own troops dying of the Plague,
就把被传染的尸体猛地投过城墙”
they catapulted infected bodiesover the city walls.”
“呃”
“Blech.”
“你所引证的描述书于该罪责发生的一百多年后
“The accounts you’re referencing were written over a hundred yearsafter the fact.
你觉得它们的可信度有多高？
How reliable do you think they are?
另外 这些幸存者得到了成吉思汗所建帝国的好处”
Plus the survivors reaped the benefits of the empire Genghis Khan founded.
“好处？”
“Benefits?”
“蒙古帝国在各个方面都学会了宗教宽容
“The Mongol Empire practicedreligious tolerance among all subjects,
他们善待自己的士卒
they treated their soldiers well,
论功行赏 而不唯血统论
promoted based on merit, rather than birth,
建立了庞大的通讯系统
established a vast postal system,
并实施了普遍的法治
and enforced universal rule of law,
更别说他们对文化的贡献了”
not to mention theircontribution to culture.”
“你是说像旭烈兀可汗对巴格达的灭绝
“You mean like Hulagu Khan’sannihilation of Baghdad,
是时代的文化资本？图书馆 医院 烧掉的宫殿 埋掉的灌溉渠呢？”
the era’s cultural capital? Libraries, hospitals and palaces burned,irrigation canals buried?”
“巴格达是令人遗憾的
“Baghdad was unfortunate,
但其哈里发拒绝投降
but its Kalif refused to surrender,
况且旭烈兀后来也因其肆意破坏被伯克汗惩罚了
and Hulagu was later punished by Berke Khan for the wanton destruction.
破坏文化并非蒙古的政策
It wasn’t Mongol policyto destroy culture.
通常 他们会从占领区拯救医生 学者及工匠
Usually they saved doctors, scholarsand artisans from conquered places,
并把他们转移到自己的领地
and transferred themthroughout their realm,
将知识传播到世界各地”
spreading knowledge across the world.”
“对基辅罗斯的毁坏
“What about the devastation of Kievan Rus,
把它的人民留在黑暗时代
leaving its people in the Dark Ages
正如传遍西欧的文艺复兴又怎么讲？”
even as the Renaissancespread across Western Europe?”
“西欧那时候很难独善其身
“Western Europe was hardlypeaceful at the time.
蒙古统治的稳固使丝绸之路再次兴盛起来
The stability of Mongol rule made the Silk Road flourish once more,
允许贸易和文化在东西方之间交流
allowing trade and cultural exchangebetween East and West,
其功绩（在于）将俄罗斯和中国从敌对的“诸侯国”
and its legacy forged Russia and Chinafrom warring princedoms
凝聚成统一的国家
into unified states.
事实上 （蒙古）帝国之后很久
In fact, long after the Empire,
在整个欧亚大陆 成吉思汗的后裔仍存在于占统治地位的贵族中”
Genghis Khan’s descendants could be found among the ruling nobilityall over Eurasia.”
“一个暴君会带来更多的暴君 这并不奇怪”
“Not surprising that a tyrant would inspirefurther tyrants.”
“注意你的言辞 你可能也牵连其中”
“Careful what you call him.You may be related.”
“什么？”
“What?”
“今天 有1600万人是成吉思汗的后代 即200个人中就有1个是他的后裔”
“16 million men today are descendedfrom Genghis Khan. That’s one in ever 200.”
对每个伟大的征服者而言 都有数百万被征服者
For every great conqueror,there are millions of conquered.
谁的故事会流传下去呢
Whose stories will survive?
领导者（存在）的 历史或文化意义
And can a leader’s historicalor cultural significance
会比他们一路上造成的死亡还重要吗？
outweigh the deathsthey caused along the way?
这些都是我们审判历史时产生的问题
These are the questions that arise when we put history on trial.