来源：财经十一人（ID：caijingEleven）

华夏基石e洞察已获授权转载，文章仅代表作者本人观点

管理咨询业务合作：15967150643或13693568720

The Many Lives of Notre-Dame

As television crews captured the fiery pillar of smoke billowing from the roof of Notre-Dame cathedral, the collective feeling seemed to be curiously personal. Reaching beyond religious and national boundaries, so many people spoke of an overwhelming sense of grief. President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, “I am sad to be watching this part of us burn tonight.” The “us” felt not just French or Catholic but universal and intimate. The story of Notre-Dame, of how it has changed and survived for centuries, reveals why we care about the survival of buildings and why even that may not be enough.

当电视画面捕捉到巴黎圣母院屋顶冒起的滚滚浓烟时，本属于群体的情绪在每个个体身上展现。许多人都表达出了强烈的悲痛，无关宗教和国家界限。法国总统马克龙在推特上写道:“对于今晚目睹我们的一部分被烧毁，我深表痛心。”“我们”不仅代表自己是法国人或天主教徒，也让人感觉全世界是亲密共通的。圣母院在这么多个世纪以来变动并幸存的故事，揭示了我们为什么在意建筑的存亡，以及这样的关心可能还不够的原因。

Cities are temporal as well as spatial, and iconic architecture can be seen as a form of time travel. The oldest buildings accumulate memories and meanings that are crucial to collective identities and in connecting us to long-vanished generations and eras. So much of who we are is tied to storytelling and as Victor Hugo, the literary protector of Notre-Dame, claimed, “Architecture is the great book of humanity.” Speaking at a televised conference as the cathedral burned, Macron agreed, “Notre-Dame is our history, it's our literature, it's our imagery. It's the place where we live our greatest moments, from wars to pandemics to liberations.”

城市的存在由时间和空间共同见证，标志性建筑让人仿佛置身一场时间旅行。古老建筑积累的记忆和价值对于群体身份认同至关重要，它将我们与早已消失的时代联系起来。我们的存在很大程度上与讲述的故事有关，正如用文学守护圣母院的维克多•雨果所言:“建筑是一部伟大的人性之书。”在大教堂被烧毁后的一场电视讲话上，马克龙表达了同样的观点：“圣母院是我们的历史，是我们的文学，是我们的意象。我们在此度过了最伟大的时刻，从战争到疾病再到解放。”

Far from being a single author’s definitive text, Notre-Dame’s history is a palimpsest. On that one site, there have been at least five sacred buildings including a temple to Jove and a Frankish cathedral dedicated to St. Etienne. Notre-Dame itself had numerous alterations and incarnations, reflecting a turbulent history. It has been a symbol of continuity and radical disruption. It has been the crowning place of kings, the setting of royal marriages, and the seat of wealthy clergy. It has hosted the licentious Feast of Fools, a thanksgiving ceremony after the troubled Charles VI survived the infamous Ball of the Burning Men, and the beatification of Joan of Arc.

圣母院的历史远非一位作者能够定论，而是经过反复书写。圣母院的所在地至少存在过五座神圣的建筑，包括一座朱庇特神庙和一座献给圣艾蒂安的法兰克大教堂。圣母院本身也经历过多次改建和重塑，反映了动荡的历史，象征着一直以来不断且激进的破坏。国王在此加冕，皇室婚姻在此举办，富有的神职人员也在此就职。这里举办过喧闹的傻瓜盛会（译者注：一个社会地位低下的成员被任命为一个模拟教皇或大主教，主持当天的庆祝活动）、为查理六世举行的感恩节仪式（患有精神疾病的查理六世在一次舞会上的火灾事故中幸存后），以及圣女贞德的祝福礼。

As a center of power and prestige, it has also been the scene of cruelties (the burning of the Hermit of Livry for example) and the target of resistance. In the 1540s, its idols were attacked by dissenting Huguenots. Throughout the 19th century, sections of it came under assault from anti-clerical factions, and the entire structure was threatened by arsonists of the Paris Commune. It was with the earlier French Revolution that it faced its greatest opposition with fanatics cleaving the heads off statues and melting the bells down to make cannonballs. 

作为权力和威望的中心，圣母院也曾发生过残酷的场景(例如焚烧利夫里的隐士)，还成为反抗运动的目标。在1540年代，它的圣像受到了胡格诺派异见分子的攻击。在整个19世纪，它受到过反教权主义者的攻击，其整个结构曾受到巴黎公社纵火者的威胁。在早期的法国大革命中，巴黎圣母院遭到的破坏尤其严重，当时狂热分子把雕像的头砍下来，把大钟熔化做成炮弹。

All the while, Notre-Dame survived the ebb and flow of power and ideology, right into the modern era. During World War I it endured only minor damage from German bombers, who also dropped leaflets recommending surrender. It remained intact when the occupying German general Dietrich von Choltitz refused to incinerate the city during the Second World War (with Hitler famously shrieking “Is Paris burning?” in rage). When Charles de Gaulle led a march marking the liberation of the capital, he did so from the Arc de Triomphe to the Notre-Dame, with Nazi snipers still firing down on the streets of the city.

巴黎圣母院挺过了权力和意识形态的潮起潮落，终于步入了现代。一战期间，它只受到德国轰炸机的轻微破坏，德军投掷下来的除了炸弹，还有建议投降的传单。二战期间，占领巴黎的德国将军迪特里希·冯·寇尔蒂拒绝焚毁这座城市，（众所周知，希特勒当时愤怒地质问:“巴黎没在燃烧吗?”）。当戴高乐领导一场庆祝巴黎解放的游行阅兵时，他从凯旋门一直游行到圣母院，此时纳粹狙击手仍在向城市的街道上开枪。

It was not just the clash of ideologies that endangered Notre-Dame. Development and neglect has proved perilous throughout. In 1741, Pierre Le Vieil was employed to extract the medieval stained glass, excluding the rose windows, and replace it with clear glass; an act that caused him to pause mesmerized by the dazzling blue from a lost age. Before the end of that century, numerous changes had resulted in the loss of statues and unsympathetic alterations to the entrance. Exposed to the elements and beginning to lean, the spire had dismantled. Following these alterations, the cathedral fell into a state of relative disrepair, a condition only rectified by the heroic efforts of Hugo, who protected it by giving it a guardian spirit, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. By writing the book, he succeeded in making Parisians, and the world, see what a treasure they possessed and how close they’d come to losing it. It was a resounding success and extensive restoration efforts were undertaken.   

危及圣母院的不仅仅是意识形态的冲突，发展和忽视自始至终都是危险的。1741年，皮埃尔·勒维尔被聘请来摘下中世纪的彩色玻璃(不包括玫瑰花窗)，并用透明玻璃代替，沉浸在来自迷惘岁月耀眼的蓝色中，他停下了手上的工作。在那个世纪末之前，无数的变化导致雕像的丢失和入口处无情的改变，暴露在外面的塔尖开始倾斜，面临拆除。在这些变化之后，大教堂陷入了一种相对年久失修的状态，终于在雨果的英勇努力下得以纠正。通过《巴黎圣母院》这本书，雨果让一个钟楼驼背怪人成为了守护圣母院的灵魂，他成功地让巴黎和全世界看到他们拥有的财富，以及他们差点就要失去它了。这是一项巨大的成功，也让圣母院得到了全面的修复。

It is with relief but trepidation that we consider how close Notre-Dame, and our physical connection to past centuries through it, came this week to obliteration. The ancient wood of 13,000 oak trees burned as its timber roof was engulfed. The spire of Viollet-le-Duc collapsed in flames. A minister of the French government has estimated that the structure was 15 to 30 minutes from complete destruction. Yet Paris awoke to find the iconic shell surviving, along with the twin belfry towers, the rose windows, the great organ, and relics such as the Crown of Thorns. This is a testament to the ingenuity of builders over 850 years ago as well as the bravery of firefighters today.  

当想到圣母院与过去数个世纪的紧密联系，我们感到宽慰，但想到它差点在这周毁灭又感到惶恐不安。由一万三千棵古老橡树制作的的屋顶被烧毁，维欧勒·勒杜克设计的塔尖在大火中坍塌。一名法国政府部长估算，这座建筑距离完全被摧毁只剩15到30分钟。好在当巴黎一觉醒来时，他们发现标志性的建筑外形还在，双子钟楼、玫瑰窗、大风琴和荆棘王冠等文物也得以幸存。这不仅证明了850多年前建筑师的聪明才智，也证明了今天消防员的勇敢。

A catastrophe is gradually being recast, unconvincingly, as a victory. Macron’s rallying words of unity and destiny have temporarily given respite to the beleaguered president. The radiant cross that survived within the charred interior offered a symbol of hope and even resurrection. The recovery, ambitiously set for five years, is aided by well-publicized donations from billionaires. Yet difficult questions remain. One is why the cathedral was left in such dire need of preservation before the fire (which occurred during renovations). 

一场灾难正逐渐被重塑为一场胜利，但这种重塑并不令人信服。团结和命运这样鼓舞人心的话语暂时缓解了马克龙总统陷入的困境。在烧焦的残骸中幸存下来的光辉十字架象征着希望，甚至是复活。得益于亿万富翁们争相捐赠，这一重建计划雄心勃勃地将完成时间确定在5年之内。然而棘手的问题依然存在。其中一个问题是，为什么大教堂在大火发生前会保护得如此不善(火灾发生在翻修期间)？

Another is the matter of its authenticity. Inevitably, a different incarnation of Notre-Dame will arise, even if it is as close a facsimile as possible; the old Ship of Theseus dilemma that entirely rebuilt cities like Dresden faced remains. Perhaps there isn’t a completely authentic version of Notre-Dame because there have been several Notre-Dames, evolving throughout the centuries. With the announcement of the spire design being opened to competition, there is a real danger of the rebuild being botched and unsympathetic, either in terms of historical pastiche or jarring hyper-modern intervention. At the time of Viollet-le-Duc’s work on Notre-Dame, the inspector-general of historical monuments, Prosper Mérimée warned, “A restoration may be more disastrous for a monument than the ravages of centuries.” It is a lesson that remains apt.

另一个问题是它的真实性。不可避免地，圣母院将会进行再一次重塑，即使它是尽可能接近的一个复制品，也依然存在像德累斯顿这样完全重建的城市面临的困境（好比忒修斯之船）。也许并不存在一个完全真实的圣母院，因为几个世纪以来它一直在变化。随着尖塔重建在全球展开招标，无论是在历史仿作方面，还是在不和谐的超现代干预方面，重建工作都存在着工艺拙劣和缺乏共情的切实危机。在19世纪法国建筑师维奥莱特·勒杜克修复设计尖顶时，他的好朋友普罗斯佩·梅里美就跟他说，“重新修复可能比几个世纪的蹂躏都更具杀伤力和破坏性。”这句告诫现在看来仍然恰当。

Victor Hugo wrote his tale to celebrate Notre-Dame but also as a lament and a challenge, “The church of Notre-Dame de Paris is still no doubt, a majestic and sublime edifice. But, beautiful as it has been preserved in growing old, it is difficult not to sigh, not to wax indignant, before the numberless degradations and mutilations which time and men have both caused the venerable monument to suffer.” 

维克多·雨果书写的故事是为了赞美圣母院，但同时也是为了哀悼和质疑，“毫无疑问，巴黎圣母院至今仍然是雄伟壮丽的建筑。然而，尽管它的瑰丽依旧不减当年，但当您看见岁月和人力同时对这令人肃然起敬的丰碑给予无数的损坏和肢解，我们是很难不喟然长叹，很难不愤慨万千。”

Ignorance, malice, and dogmatism threaten countless structures around the world. A series of fires have devastated black churches in Louisiana. The World Heritage Committee lists 54 iconic historical sites as being in danger through excessive development, neglect, and conflict including the Minaret of Jam, the settlements of Potosi, Timbuktu, Hatra, Ghadamès, the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. If Notre-Dame is a deep and ever-changing text, it is simply a chapter in a much wider story that demands our attention.

无知、恶意和教条主义威胁着世界上无数的结构。路易斯安那州发生的一系列火灾摧毁了黑人教堂。世界遗产委员会列出了54处因过度开发、忽视和冲突而处于危险中的标志性历史遗迹，包括贾穆宣礼塔，波托西、廷巴克图、哈特拉和古吉拉特等地的人类定居点遗址、布干达国王的陵墓，以及伯利恒的耶稣诞生教堂等。如果说圣母院是一部深刻而不断变化的作品，那么它只是普世故事中的一个章节，而其他的章节同样需要我们的关注。

原载2019年4月18日《CITYLAB》，翻译：秦欣玥