A Brief History of Pepper胡椒簡(jiǎn)史

The world’s most commonly used spice， Piper nigrum， starts life as berries in a clump1 on a flowering vine （like grapes）. Native to Southern India， today pepper is grown throughout the tropics.

胡椒是世界上最常用的一種香料，起初是像葡萄一樣成簇生長在開花藤蔓上的漿果。胡椒原產(chǎn)于印度南部，現(xiàn)廣植于熱帶地區(qū)。

Archaeological evidence of people using pepper goes back to at least 2000 BC in India. It is known that pepper was exported， but to what extent remains a mystery. Nonetheless， signs of an ancient pepper trade from India to Egypt have been found， including the peppercorns that had been stuffed into the nostrils of Ramses the Great2 （1303–1213 BC） when he was mummified3.

考古學(xué)證據(jù)表明，人類使用胡椒的歷史至少可追溯到公元前2000年的印度。眾所周知當(dāng)時(shí)已有胡椒出口貿(mào)易，但出口規(guī)模不詳。不過，考古學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)了古代從印度到埃及的胡椒貿(mào)易跡象——埃及法老拉美西斯大帝（公元前1303—前1213年）的木乃伊鼻孔里塞有胡椒粒，便是一例證據(jù)。

Certainly by 40 AD， the Romans had a thriving trade in spices， including pepper. Leaving the southwestern coast of India in July with the monsoon winds， Roman sea traders brought cinnamon， incense oils and pepper to their great commercial hub in Alexandria4. When the strong monsoon winds switched in the fall， the traders rode them back.

到公元40年，羅馬人的香料生意（包括胡椒）無疑已經(jīng)做得風(fēng)生水起。7月，羅馬的海上貿(mào)易者乘著季風(fēng)從印度西南海岸離開，把肉桂、芳香精油和胡椒運(yùn)往他們?cè)趤啔v山大港的大型商貿(mào)中心；秋季，強(qiáng)季風(fēng)變換風(fēng)向，商人們又乘風(fēng)返回。

The Romans gobbled pepper up5， and in Apicius6’ Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome， 80% of the recipes contain the spice. Nonetheless， not every-body was a big fan， including Pliny the Elder7 （25–79 AD）：

古羅馬是胡椒消費(fèi)大國。在阿庇修斯的《羅馬帝國的烹飪與飲食》一書中， 80%的食譜都列有胡椒。不過，也不是每個(gè)古羅馬人都鐘愛胡椒，老普林尼也在不愛之列（公元25—79年）：

Whereas pepper has nothing in it that can plead8 as a recommendation to either fruit or berry， its only desirable quality being a certain pungency9; and yet it is for this that we import it all the way from India！

胡椒無論作為果實(shí)還是漿果本身都無可稱道處，唯一可取之處是有種辛辣味；然而就因?yàn)榇?，我們便不遠(yuǎn)萬里把它從印度運(yùn)進(jìn)來！

When Rome was attacked in 410 AD， to lift the siege of the Visogoths and prevent the city from being sacked， along with gold， silver， silk， and hides， the Romans paid “three thousand pounds of pepper.” Negotiations soon broke down again， however， and the siege was resumed. Eventually the Eternal City10 was sacked.

公元410年，羅馬城被西哥特人圍攻，為了解圍，使羅馬城免遭洗劫，羅馬人賠付了黃金、白銀、絲綢、毛皮，還有“三千磅胡椒”。然而，雙方的談判很快又破裂，羅馬城再度遭圍。這座“永恒之城”最終被洗劫一空。

With the fall of Rome’s imperial power， other groups began to take over the spice trade. Under the unifying influence of Islam， Arabs organized into a dominant force in the trade of pepper.

隨著羅馬帝國勢(shì)力衰落，其他集團(tuán)開始接掌香料貿(mào)易。在伊斯蘭教的統(tǒng)一力量下，阿拉伯人組織起來，成為胡椒貿(mào)易的主力軍。

To maintain their monopoly11， keep their source a secret and raise the cachet （and price） of this highly prized spice， Arab traders created the fantastic myth that pepper was cultivated in：

為維持壟斷地位、對(duì)貨源保密，同時(shí)抬高這種珍貴香料的名氣和價(jià)格，阿拉伯商人們對(duì)胡椒栽培地編造了一個(gè)奇妙的神話：

Groves of trees in India [and the Caucus mountains] “guarded” by poisonous serpents. In order to harvest the pepper， the trees have to be burned， driving the snakes away and in the process turning the originally white fruit black.

［胡椒種植在］印度（及高加索山脈）由毒蛇看管的樹叢中。要想采到胡椒，必須火燒樹叢，趕走毒蛇，在此過程中，原本白色的胡椒果實(shí)就變成了黑色。

As the demand for pepper grew， so did its trade. By the 10th century， pepper had become important throughout Europe， and it is reported that the English King Ethelred II （978–1016） exacted12 10 pounds of pepper from German spice traders prior to letting them do business in London.

隨著胡椒需求與日俱增，胡椒貿(mào)易也蓬勃發(fā)展。到10世紀(jì)，胡椒在整個(gè)歐洲都已十分重要。據(jù)傳，英格蘭國王埃塞爾雷德二世（公元978—1016年）要求德國香料商人繳納10磅胡椒，才允許他們?cè)趥惗亟?jīng)商。

Arab traders were not alone on the sea， and by the Middle Ages， many other seafaring13 groups had joined the spice trade. By the 14th century Genoa had become a prominent commercial center with pepper as its primary commodity. Between 1367 and 1371， over 40% of the value of all that entered Genoa from Alexandria came from pepper.

阿拉伯商人并非唯一的海上貿(mào)易者，到中世紀(jì)，許多其他航海集團(tuán)也加入了香料貿(mào)易。到14世紀(jì)，熱那亞已成為重要的商貿(mào)中心，胡椒是其主要商品。1367年至1371年間，從亞歷山大港進(jìn)入熱那亞的所有貨物的總值中，超過40%來自胡椒。

Spice merchants from Alexandria brought pepper to Venice， as well， and by the end of the 15th century， over 400 tons of it every year. Sharp traders， “the Venetians marked up14 the price of spices an average of 40 percent during the fifteenth century.” Not alone in gouging15 the consumer， the Catalans of Barcelona extolled a 25% profit on the pepper they imported. Other major sources of pepper came from Constantinople， Cyprus， Syria and other ports of the Levant16.

亞歷山大港的香料商人還把胡椒帶到了威尼斯，到15世紀(jì)末，每年的販運(yùn)量超過400噸。正所謂無商不奸，“15世紀(jì)，威尼斯商人把香料價(jià)格平均抬升了40%”。巴塞羅那的加泰羅尼亞人不僅對(duì)消費(fèi)者漫天要價(jià)，還夸耀自己從進(jìn)口的胡椒中獲取了25%的利潤。其他主要的胡椒來源地還包括君士坦丁堡、塞浦路斯、敘利亞和黎凡特地區(qū)的其他港口。

In 1497， the Portuguese king Manuel sent Vasco da Gama to find the sea route to India with the purpose of finding “Christians and spices.” By the end of the 15th century AD， the Portuguese took over the spice trade， but not without a high price. The journey was fraught with17 dangers and during their glorious century of domination， nearly 30% of Portuguese trading vessels were lost. Nonetheless， from 1500–1600， “Portugal imported from Malabar [India] the equivalent of about 2 million kg annually.”

1497年，葡萄牙國王曼努埃爾派瓦斯科·達(dá)伽馬探尋前往印度的海上航線，目的就是為了求得“基督徒和香料”。到15世紀(jì)末，葡萄牙人接管了香料貿(mào)易，但也付出了高昂代價(jià)。海上旅途危險(xiǎn)重重，在葡萄牙稱霸的輝煌世紀(jì)里，近30%的葡萄牙商船損毀。盡管如此，1500年至1600年間，“葡萄牙每年都從印度馬拉巴爾進(jìn)口約200萬公斤香料”。

The high cost of importing pepper was passed on to the consumer. In addition to lost ships， a great portion of its price in the markets in Europe came from the number of middlemen18 （each adding a premium19） required to get pepper from the East to the tables of Europe.

胡椒進(jìn)口的高成本被轉(zhuǎn)嫁給了消費(fèi)者。歐洲市場(chǎng)上的胡椒定價(jià)中，除去折損商船的成本，很大一部分是眾多中間商的層層加價(jià)——有了這些中間商，才能把胡椒從東方運(yùn)到歐洲的餐桌上。

The Portuguese failed to exert political and military authority in the areas where pepper was produced， and over the course of the 16th century， slowly lost control of its trade. During the 17th century， the Dutch became the dominant player in the spice trade with colonies in Bantam， Ceylon， Java， Lampong and Malabar （centuries earlier Hindu traders are believed to have spread the plant across the Indian Ocean including to Java， where it was found by Marco Polo in the 13th century.）

葡萄牙人未能在胡椒產(chǎn)地發(fā)揮政治和軍事的影響力，于是，從16世紀(jì)初到16世紀(jì)末逐漸喪失了對(duì)胡椒貿(mào)易的控制。17世紀(jì)，荷蘭人成為香料貿(mào)易的主導(dǎo)者，在萬丹、錫蘭、爪哇、楠榜和馬拉巴爾建立起殖民地（據(jù)信，幾百年前，印度商人就把這種植物傳遍了印度洋地區(qū)，包括爪哇島——13世紀(jì)時(shí)馬可·波羅便是在那里發(fā)現(xiàn)了胡椒）。

As the British Empire rose to prominence20 in the tropics， it eventually took control of the spice trade with commercial groups like the British East India Company， supported by its dominant military.

隨著大英帝國在熱帶地區(qū)嶄露鋒芒，英國依靠其強(qiáng)大的軍事力量，通過英國東印度公司等貿(mào)易集團(tuán)最終控制了香料貿(mào)易。

Today， Vietnam has emerged as the world leader in pepper production. In the first six months of 2023， Vietnam’s pepper exports reached 153，000 metric tons （mt）， worth USD 483.2 million.

今天，越南已成為世界上最大的胡椒產(chǎn)地。2023年上半年，越南的胡椒出口量達(dá)到了15.3萬公噸，價(jià)值4.832億美元。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>

1 clump（尤指樹或植物的）叢，簇。 2古埃及第十九王朝法老（約公元前1279—約公元前1213年在位），其執(zhí)政時(shí)期是埃及新王國最后的強(qiáng)盛年代。 3 mummify把尸體制成木乃伊。

4亞歷山大港是埃及在地中海最重要的一個(gè)海港，當(dāng)時(shí)歸羅馬管轄，是古代歐洲與東方貿(mào)易和文化交流的樞紐。 5 gobble up消耗，耗費(fèi)。 6古羅馬商人、美食家，據(jù)信撰寫了世界上最早的一本烹飪書，該書記載了數(shù)百種古羅馬時(shí)代的食譜，最早也以Apicius命名。文中提到的Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome即此書英譯本。 7即蓋烏斯·普林尼·塞孔都斯（Gaius Plinius Secundus），古羅馬百科全書式的作家，以《自然史》一書著稱。 8 plead提出……的理由。 9 pungency辛辣。 10羅馬的別稱即“永恒之城”，因古羅馬詩人阿爾比烏斯·提布魯斯（公元前55年—公元前19年）的詩作《挽歌》而得名。

11 monopoly壟斷。 12 exact索取。 13 seafaring以航海為業(yè)的，出海勞作的。

14 mark up提價(jià)，漲價(jià)。 15 gouge向……漫天要價(jià)。 16現(xiàn)地中海東岸一帶。文中上述幾個(gè)港口均位于此地區(qū)。 17 be fraught with充滿。

18 middleman中間商。 19 premium附加費(fèi)。 20 prominence突出，出名。