THE KEYS OF EGYPT: THE RACE TO READ THE HIEROGLYPHICS
Book ID/图书代码： 03277004B05049
English Summary/英文概要： Jean-François Champollion’s biography is neatly interwoven with Napoleonic history and the functions of Egyptian hieroglyphs in The Keys of Egypt. A gifted bookseller’s son born in Revolutionary France, Champollion was to become "gripped by energetic enthusiasm" for Egypt. By the age of 12, he was studying several ancient languages and amid a "wave of Egyptomania", he would beat rivals to discover the key to deciphering hieroglyphs. If this was a race, it was a marathon. The breakthrough came after "20 years of obsessive hard work", not through the quick fix solution often thought to have been provided by the Rosetta Stone. The Keys of Egypt details Champollion’s life and work, which was hampered by politics, poverty and an almost hypochondriacal series of health problems. Its sources include letters and journals, the authors having undertaken researches in major libraries and museums. Chapters on Champollion’s travels in Italy and Egypt include a good smattering of excerpts from his writings. Although no bibliography is given, there is a helpful passage on various levels of further reading. Highly instructive and fast-paced, The Keys of Egypt is perhaps less dramatic than it might be in portraying troubled times and ground-breaking discovery. It is, however, a clearly expressed and wide-ranging book explaining the complexity of hieroglyphic interpretation and revealing the man whose achievements "meant the discovery of a whole new civilization". --Karen Tiley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Simon Singh in the Sunday Telegraph, August 27th, 2000
The story behind the decipherment, as told by Lesley and Roy Adkins, is a ripping tale of obsession and rivalry... The Adkins duo succeed in providing a fascinating and elegantly written biography of Champollion, doing justice to one of the great stories of academic heroism --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 本书所讲述的故事背景可追溯到1796年拿破仑大举出兵埃及这段历史。拿破仑的这次军事行动，旨在占领并控制埃及，继续向东扩展，结果以失败告终。而拿破仑所派遣的学者随军远征埃及，对当地的古迹进行探察，带回了埃及罗塞塔石碑与大量考古资料，却引发出一场争相破解古埃及象形文字的竞赛。这场竞赛最终演变为法国的商博良与英国的托马斯。杨的两强争霸。
本书通过商博良的通信和日记，细致地重述了他破解古埃及文字的奋斗历程。书中描绘了他在短短十数年的学术生涯中所经历的各种困难和挫折，叙述了他与同时代学者的往来关系，与家人的关系，与政坛人物的关系，与其朋友和对手的关系。读者从中可以了解这是一场没有鸣枪起跑的正式竞赛，重要的是在这场没有游戏规则的激烈竞争中，作为英雄主义者的商博良是如何在挫败竞争者的攻击中成为第一位读懂古埃及文的人的；可以了解到古埃及象形文字的基本知识；从中还可以发现欧洲殖民扩张与早期东方学的密切关系；英法两国在地缘政治利益的驱动下所展开的权力斗争，是怎样冲击和影响学术发展的，埃及学这门学问又是如何随着学者们对古埃及象形文字的研究而应运产生的。
埃及文明是寻找人类文明的重要导引，而古埃及文字是破译埃及文明的最重要的钥匙，法国人商博良在1822年为整个人类找到了这把钥匙。自拿破仑出兵埃及带回罗塞塔石碑等大量考古资料以来，也引发了破解古埃及象形文字的竞赛。最终，形成了法国人商博良与英国人托马斯·杨的两强争霸的局面。本书通过商博良的日记、通信，细致讲述了他破解古埃及文字、战胜托马斯·杨的整个过程。(DB)
Awards/获奖情况：
About the Author/作者介绍： Roy and Lesley Adkins are husband-and-wife historians and archaeologists, the bestselling authors of eighteen widely acclaimed books on social and naval history, archaeology, ancient Rome, ancient Greece and Egyptology. Their books include Jack Tar, Trafalgar, The War for All the Oceans, Empires of the Plain and The Keys of Egypt and have so far been translated into sixteen languages worldwide. Roy and Lesley Adkins are elected Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Members of the Institute for Archaeologists. For further information about them and their books, see their website www.adkinshistory.com.
Format:
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：SOLD
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