美國國父驚人“新”形象

一說到美國第一任總統(tǒng)華盛頓，美國民眾大多會想到三樣?xùn)|西：一，他是一個偉人；二，從美元紙幣上看來，他表情嚴(yán)肅木訥，難看無趣；三，他一直戴著一副木假牙。但最近美國科學(xué)家研究得出新發(fā)現(xiàn)，新的結(jié)論讓很多美國人“大跌眼鏡”。

A forensic1 investigation of America’s first president， George Washington， has led to numerous revelations2 about the Revolutionary War commander in chief’s physical appearance that debunk3 popular myths.

The results will lead to new depictions4 of Washington that “will shock”most of the public， according to a spokesperson for Mount Vernon5， where the former president used to reside6.

Historians believe the findings could forever change public perceptions of Washington (1732-1799). For example， according to experts， his image on the dollar bill is not entirely accurate and it is perhaps the least flattering7 of all known Washington portraits and depictions.

“Washington never wore a wig8 in his entire life， and he certainly never had wooden teeth，” said Mount Vernon spokesperson Emily Coleman. “When people see him as the tall， red headed frontiersman that he was they will be shocked.”

Coleman explained that the data of the forensic investigation will be used to construct three sculptures9 of Washington.

The first will show him as a 19 years old surveyor and frontiersman. The second will show him as a 45 year old war leader. The last sculpture will depict Washington as the 57 year old first president.

Jeffrey Schwartz， who is a professor of anthropology10 at the University of Pittsburgh， as well as a research associate at the Museum of Natural History in New York， is leading the investigation.

Schwartz said that while it is true Washington was very tall for his time around 6’3”the story that he had very large hips11 because of his horsemanship could be a myth. Measurements of a life size marble statue by Jean Antoine Houdon12 at the Virginia State Capitol Building indicate that Washington had average sized hips and was not as brawny13 as some myths perpetuate.

Recent laser scans of the only known life mask14 of Washington， and of a bust15 created at Mount Vernon by Jean Antoine Houdon when the former president was 53， indicate that the underside of Washington’s chin16 in later life was very asymmetrical17， likely due to tooth loss and infection18， according to Schwartz.

The Tooth Myth

Schwartz now also believes that Washington had no furrow19 in his brow， as some portraits show， but he did have a scarred depression on his face just below the left cheekbone. This facial feature was left out of most portraits， which Schwartz said were “touched up20.”

“He suffered from smallpox21， malaria22， and flu when he was young， so the smallpox could have resulted in scarring， but the depression might also have been because of extreme dental disease， ” Schwartz explained.

The “Father of the United States” began to lose all of his teeth in his twenties. By the time he became president， only one of his own real teeth remained. As a result， Washington engaged nine different dentists. Primarily he relied upon John Greenwood， who made four sets of dentures23 for the leader.

Contrary to24 popular belief， none were made out of wood. Washington’s 1 teeth were made from ivory25 that probably came from a hippo26， as well as gold， lead， human teeth， horse or donkey teeth.

The wooden teeth myth’s origins lie in the fact that ivory has growth rings27 and can stain28. Letters from Greenwood to Washington indicate that port wine， either consumed by the president or used as a soaking agent， stained the teeth black.

“I cannot see that Washington got much function out of them，” Schwartz said. “He must have had a very soft29 diet.”

In fact， some experts believe that during his first inaugural30 in 1789， Washington only read a short， two paragraph address because his mouth could have been bothering him.

Schwartz said the dollar bill image of Washington is “One of his least flattering，”mostly because the president did not have his 1 teeth in， which created a short faced look where the corners of his mouth stick out31. Supposedly， Washington’s mouth was stuffed with cotton instead of teeth for the sitting32.

Because of these distortions33 and the fact that there are no known portraits of Washington before he reached the age of 40， Schwartz is paying close attention to the evidence related to Washington’s mouth， jaw34 and teeth.

Despite Washington’s tooth troubles， Coleman said， “Washington was not the stiff35， stern36， old fellow that we tend to think he was. He was a vibrant37， athletic man. When our project concludes， I think people will develop a different relationship with our first president.”

The three sculptures are scheduled to go on display when Mount Vernon’s new Donald R. Reynolds Museum and Education Center opens in 2006.

一個運用高科技手段進(jìn)行研究調(diào)查的小組得出了許多有關(guān)美國第一任總統(tǒng)喬治·華盛頓的容貌的新結(jié)論，否定了此前對這位革命戰(zhàn)爭時期總司令的相貌的種種傳說。

華盛頓故居弗農(nóng)山的發(fā)言人說，由該小組得出的研究結(jié)果，將會展現(xiàn)華盛頓的新形象，而這新形象會讓許多民眾“大吃一驚”。

歷史學(xué)家認(rèn)為，新發(fā)現(xiàn)會徹底改變公眾對華盛頓（1732—1799）的印象。例如，依照專家說法，美元紙幣上的華盛頓頭像不完全符合史實，也許在眾多畫像中，那張是令華盛頓看起來最不討好人的一張。

“華盛頓一輩子從沒戴過假發(fā)，也從沒鑲過木牙，”弗農(nóng)山的發(fā)言人艾米麗·科爾曼說，“當(dāng)民眾看到華盛頓原來是個紅發(fā)、魁梧高大、邊遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)的拓荒者時，一定會大吃一驚。”

科爾曼解釋說，研究小組的這些調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)會被用于建造三座華盛頓的雕像。

第一座雕像是19歲時的華盛頓，那時他還是個長期在野外作業(yè)的測量員和拓荒者，第二尊雕像，45歲的他是位戰(zhàn)爭將領(lǐng)了，而最后一座雕像，57歲的華盛頓成了美國第一任總統(tǒng)。

杰弗里·施瓦茲是匹茲堡大學(xué)的人類學(xué)教授，同時也是紐約國家歷史博物館的研究員，這次調(diào)查是在他的帶領(lǐng)下進(jìn)行的。

施瓦茲說，傳統(tǒng)的關(guān)于華盛頓身材高大的說法在這次研究中得到印證，他身高大約6尺3英寸（約1.91米），以那個時代的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來衡量，的確算得上是身材魁梧，但一直以來流傳著由于華盛頓經(jīng)常騎馬，因此他的臀部很豐滿，這一說法可能有點言過其實了。弗吉尼亞州的國會大廈里有一座出自吉恩·安托萬·赫德頓之手的華盛頓大理石雕像，對這座與華盛頓真人大小一致的雕像進(jìn)行測量之后，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)華盛頓的臀部屬中等大小，他不是流傳中的肌肉結(jié)實的人。

最近人們用激光掃描了現(xiàn)時惟一的華盛頓面模，以及由吉恩·安托萬·赫德頓在弗農(nóng)山所制作的53歲的華盛頓半身石膏像，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)晚年的華盛頓下巴下側(cè)非常不對稱，施瓦茲說，這可能是由于他牙齒脫落，以及他曾經(jīng)受過感染而造成的。

關(guān)于牙齒之迷

現(xiàn)在，施瓦茲相信，就如一些畫像畫的那樣，華盛頓的額頭并不是滿布皺紋，但他的左顴骨下方確實是有一塊凹陷下去的疤痕，然而他的這個面部特征在絕大多數(shù)的肖像畫中都沒有體現(xiàn)出來，用施瓦茲的話說，華盛頓是被“美化”了。

“他年輕時得過天花、瘧疾以及流感，天花會在他臉上留下斑斑點點的痕印，但他面部出現(xiàn)凹陷，也許是嚴(yán)重的牙齒疾病引起的，” 施瓦茲解釋道。

這位“美國之父”在二十多歲的時候牙齒就開始脫落，很快牙齒就幾乎掉光。他當(dāng)上總統(tǒng)的時候，沒脫落的真牙只剩下一顆。因此，華盛頓看過九位不同的牙醫(yī)，但約翰·格林伍德是他主要的牙醫(yī)，他為華盛頓做了四副假牙。

與普遍流傳的說法不同，華盛頓的假牙沒有一副是木制的，而是象牙質(zhì)的，可能是來自河馬，還有其它用金、鉛做的假牙，還有些甚至是真人、馬或者驢的牙齒所做成的。

人們之所以會產(chǎn)生木牙的誤解，是因為這種象牙質(zhì)的假牙上面有年輪，并且會變臟變色。格林伍德給華盛頓的信里說到，葡萄酒——無論是華盛頓喝的，還是被用作濕潤劑——會讓牙齒變黑。

“我想華盛頓的假牙并沒有對他有太大的幫助，”施瓦茲說，“他一定要食用容易咀嚼消化的松軟食物?！?/p>

事實上，有的科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，華盛頓在1789年第一次發(fā)表就職演說的時候，演說詞很短，只有兩段，因為牙齒的問題，他說起話來不方便。

施瓦茲說，美元紙幣上的華盛頓頭像是最不“美化”他本人的一張了，很大程度上是因為他沒戴假牙，這樣一來，他的臉就顯得短了，嘴角突了出來。也許別人給他畫這幅肖像的時候，他的嘴里塞滿了棉花，而不是戴上假牙。

正因為人們對華盛頓樣貌的曲解太多，并且現(xiàn)時找不到他40歲之前的肖像畫，施瓦茲格外留意有關(guān)華盛頓嘴、下巴和牙齒的資料。

盡管華盛頓的牙齒有嚴(yán)重的缺陷，科爾曼說：“華盛頓并不是我們想象中的一個呆板苛刻的老家伙，他充滿活力，極富運動細(xì)胞。當(dāng)我們的整個計劃完成后，我想人們會對我們的第一任總統(tǒng)產(chǎn)生不同的印象的?！?/p>

2006年，弗農(nóng)山全新的堂納德·R·雷諾茲博物館與教育中心揭幕，屆時這三座雕像也會在那里展出。

注釋

1)forensic a. 辯論的；法院的

2)revelation n. 揭露；啟示

3)debunk vt. 揭穿；拆穿…的假面具

4)depiction n. 描寫，敘述

5)Mount Vernon 芒特弗農(nóng)（美國地名）

6)reside vt. 屬于；住，居住

7)flattering a. 諂媚的；奉承的

8)wig n. 假發(fā)

9)sculpture n. 雕塑；雕刻

10)anthropology n. 人類學(xué)

11)hip n. 臀部

12)Jean Antoine Houdon:吉恩·安托萬·赫德頓 羅浮宮珍藏18世紀(jì)著名雕塑家，雕塑希臘羅 馬神話中狩獵女神戴安娜（Diana）的塑像。

13)brawny a. 強(qiáng)壯的；肌肉結(jié)實的

14)life mask 在活人面部套取的模型

15)bust n.半身塑像或畫像

16)chin n.下巴，下顎

17)asymmetrical a.不對稱的，不勻稱的

18)infection n.傳染病，感染

19)furrow n.皺紋

20)touched up 修改，潤色

21)smallpox n.<醫(yī)>天花

22)malaria n.瘧疾

23)denture n.一副假牙

24)Contrary to與……不同

25)ivory n.象牙。象牙質(zhì)的東西

26)hippo n.河馬

27)growth ring年輪

28)stain v.染臟

29)soft a.容易咀嚼和消化的

30)inaugural n.就職演說

31)stick out 伸出，突出

32)sitting n.別人給自己畫像或拍照的時候

33)distortion n.失真，扭曲

34)jaw n.下顎

35)stiff a.呆板的

36)stern a.苛刻的

37)vibrant a.有活力的