A Brief History of Pepper胡椒简史

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种香料，起初是像葡萄一样成簇生长在开花藤蔓上的浆果。胡椒原产于印度南部，现广植于热带地区。

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.

考古学证据表明，人类使用胡椒的历史至少可追溯到公元前2000年的印度。众所周知当时已有胡椒出口贸易，但出口规模不详。不过，考古学家发现了古代从印度到埃及的胡椒贸易迹象——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，便是一例证据。

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，罗马人的香料生意（包括胡椒）无疑已经做得风生水起。7月，罗马的海上贸易者乘着季风从印度西南海岸离开，把肉桂、芳香精油和胡椒运往他们在亚历山大港的大型商贸中心；秋季，强季风变换风向，商人们又乘风返回。

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）：

古罗马是胡椒消费大国。在阿庇修斯的《罗马帝国的烹饪与饮食》一书中， 80%的食谱都列有胡椒。不过，也不是每个古罗马人都钟爱胡椒，老普林尼也在不爱之列（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！

胡椒无论作为果实还是浆果本身都无可称道处，唯一可取之处是有种辛辣味；然而就因为此，我们便不远万里把它从印度运进来！

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，罗马城被西哥特人围攻，为了解围，使罗马城免遭洗劫，罗马人赔付了黄金、白银、丝绸、毛皮，还有“三千磅胡椒”。然而，双方的谈判很快又破裂，罗马城再度遭围。这座“永恒之城”最终被洗劫一空。

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.

随着罗马帝国势力衰落，其他集团开始接掌香料贸易。在伊斯兰教的统一力量下，阿拉伯人组织起来，成为胡椒贸易的主力军。

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：

为维持垄断地位、对货源保密，同时抬高这种珍贵香料的名气和价格，阿拉伯商人们对胡椒栽培地编造了一个奇妙的神话：

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.

［胡椒种植在］印度（及高加索山脉）由毒蛇看管的树丛中。要想采到胡椒，必须火烧树丛，赶走毒蛇，在此过程中，原本白色的胡椒果实就变成了黑色。

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.

随着胡椒需求与日俱增，胡椒贸易也蓬勃发展。到10世纪，胡椒在整个欧洲都已十分重要。据传，英格兰国王埃塞尔雷德二世（公元978—1016年）要求德国香料商人缴纳10磅胡椒，才允许他们在伦敦经商。

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贸易者，到中世纪，许多其他航海集团也加入了香料贸易。到14世纪，热那亚已成为重要的商贸中心，胡椒是其主要商品。1367年至1371年间，从亚历山大港进入热那亚的所有货物的总值中，超过40%来自胡椒。

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.

亚历山大港的香料商人还把胡椒带到了威尼斯，到15世纪末，每年的贩运量超过400吨。正所谓无商不奸，“15世纪，威尼斯商人把香料价格平均抬升了40%”。巴塞罗那的加泰罗尼亚人不仅对消费者漫天要价，还夸耀自己从进口的胡椒中获取了25%的利润。其他主要的胡椒来源地还包括君士坦丁堡、塞浦路斯、叙利亚和黎凡特地区的其他港口。

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，葡萄牙国王曼努埃尔派瓦斯科·达伽马探寻前往印度的海上航线，目的就是为了求得“基督徒和香料”。到15世纪末，葡萄牙人接管了香料贸易，但也付出了高昂代价。海上旅途危险重重，在葡萄牙称霸的辉煌世纪里，近30%的葡萄牙商船损毁。尽管如此，1500年至1600年间，“葡萄牙每年都从印度马拉巴尔进口约200万公斤香料”。

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.

胡椒进口的高成本被转嫁给了消费者。欧洲市场上的胡椒定价中，除去折损商船的成本，很大一部分是众多中间商的层层加价——有了这些中间商，才能把胡椒从东方运到欧洲的餐桌上。

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产地发挥政治和军事的影响力，于是，从16世纪初到16世纪末逐渐丧失了对胡椒贸易的控制。17世纪，荷兰人成为香料贸易的主导者，在万丹、锡兰、爪哇、楠榜和马拉巴尔建立起殖民地（据信，几百年前，印度商人就把这种植物传遍了印度洋地区，包括爪哇岛——13世纪时马可·波罗便是在那里发现了胡椒）。

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.

随着大英帝国在热带地区崭露锋芒，英国依靠其强大的军事力量，通过英国东印度公司等贸易集团最终控制了香料贸易。

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，越南已成为世界上最大的胡椒产地。2023年上半年，越南的胡椒出口量达到了15.3万公吨，价值4.832亿美元。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1 clump（尤指树或植物的）丛，簇。 2古埃及第十九王朝法老（约公元前1279—约公元前1213年在位），其执政时期是埃及新王国最后的强盛年代。 3 mummify把尸体制成木乃伊。

4亚历山大港是埃及在地中海最重要的一个海港，当时归罗马管辖，是古代欧洲与东方贸易和文化交流的枢纽。 5 gobble up消耗，耗费。 6古罗马商人、美食家，据信撰写了世界上最早的一本烹饪书，该书记载了数百种古罗马时代的食谱，最早也以Apicius命名。文中提到的Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome即此书英译本。 7即盖乌斯·普林尼·塞孔都斯（Gaius Plinius Secundus），古罗马百科全书式的作家，以《自然史》一书著称。 8 plead提出……的理由。 9 pungency辛辣。 10罗马的别称即“永恒之城”，因古罗马诗人阿尔比乌斯·提布鲁斯（公元前55年—公元前19年）的诗作《挽歌》而得名。

11 monopoly垄断。 12 exact索取。 13 seafaring以航海为业的，出海劳作的。

14 mark up提价，涨价。 15 gouge向……漫天要价。 16现地中海东岸一带。文中上述几个港口均位于此地区。 17 be fraught with充满。

18 middleman中间商。 19 premium附加费。 20 prominence突出，出名。