彷彿穿越時光隧道，我手持一張仿造當年鐵達尼號（TITANIC）的登船證，重返一百年前由白星航運公司（WHITE STAR LINE）打造的超級豪華巨輪，那艘當時世界第一，高度相當於11層樓，號稱「永不沉沒」的鐵達尼號郵輪。
As if I've
traveled through a time warp, my hand holds a replica of a boarding pass for
the Titanic, going back a hundred years to when the White Star Line built a
super luxury ship. In those days, that ship was no. 1 in the world, the height of an 11 story building,
the Titanic, known as the "unsinkable" ship.
我把握這場「鐵達尼號文物」世界巡迴特展的最後一天，伴隨著自己的想像，和那部愛情史詩電影「鐵達尼號」所帶給我的震撼及感動，我走入百年前的時光旅程，親眼目睹有關這艘「夢幻之船」的真實史料，和現今探險家從海面下三千多公尺的深海，在「鐵達尼號」沉船地點和殘骸中，挖掘出來的珍貴文物。
I took the "Titanic
Artifacts" world tour exhibition on its last day, accompanied by my own
imagination and all the shock and emotion given to me by the historical romance
film "Titanic". I journeyed a hundred years into the past, and examined actual artifacts
relating to this "dream boat", as well as the precious
relics excavated by modern explorers from the shipwreck site and debris, over
three thousands meters under the sea.
看著牆上掛著一張張的黑白老照片和文字說明，觀看船體模型和藍圖，細看從深海尋回殘存的船身零件、日常用品、裝飾品、衣物、信件等文物，並且感受頭等艙、二等艙、三等艙的樣貌重現和飲食起居，甚至親觸冰山，體驗那椎心刺骨的冰冷與悲慟……，此時此刻的我，似乎化身為這艘巨輪的乘客，身歷其境體會「鐵達尼號」首航的盛況、歡欣、夢想，以及關乎奢華、階級和人性的悲劇。
As I looked at the wall
hung with picture after picture of black and white photographs and captions,
saw the hull models and blueprints, examined remnants recovered from the deep
sea: hull parts, daily necessities, ornaments, clothing, letters and other
artifacts; at the same time, experiencing a replicated walkthrough of the first
class, second class, and third class quarters and daily diet, and even as
I came in contact with an iceberg, to experience its intense bite of cold and
despair...at that time, in that moment, I seemed to be the embodiment of the
ship's passengers, immersed in experiencing the pomp, joy, and dreams, the luxury and class, and the tragedy of human nature on the Titanic's maiden voyage.
Although the poignant love
story of the characters Jack and Rose from the movie Titanic is fictional, but
the real story of the passengers on board is just as soul-stirring. This luxury
liner set sail from England's Southampton to New York. Different 'classes' of
passengers used different entrances. In the first-class quarters, most passengers
were among the top tier social elite, the world's most influential, wealthiest,
and sophisticated people. Passengers in the second class cabin were mostly
middle class, newly married, as well as people who were on vacation. The third
class cabin, however, was packed full of various ethnicities and different
nationalities, planning to go to North America in search of a better life, in
pursuit of the American dream. The movie Titanic depicts a poor boy Jack who,
with no regard for class distinction, falls in love with the rich girl Rose,
and brings her to a renewed enjoyment of the freedom and dignity of life, a
sacrificial love, that will always protect her, saving her completely!
我看著我領到的那張「登船證」背面的乘客真實資料，他是一位二等艙乘客，當年32歲，他已在美國打拼一陣子，職業是建築工匠，他剛回故鄉英國迎娶心上人。鐵達尼號啟航之前，他們才結婚幾天，他們是這艘郵輪上，二十多對新婚夫婦中其中一對。
I looked at the passenger's real information on the back of
the "boarding pass" I had received, he was a second-class passenger,
32 years old at that time, he had already worked hard in America for a while,
his occupation was construction craftsmen, and he had just returned to his
hometown in England to marry his sweetheart. Before the Titanic set sail, they
had only been married a few days, they were one pair among the 20 or so
newlyweds on board the ship.
展場出口處有一大面牆，上面是當時在鐵達尼號上所有乘客的名單。鐵達尼號在1912年4月15日 凌晨2時20分沉沒，全船2228人，僅有705人獲救，1523人罹難。這面大牆前面擠滿了參觀的群眾，大家拿著各自的「登船證」，在牆上密密麻麻的名單中，尋找手中「登船證」背面所記載那名乘客的名字，想了解該名乘客當時的命運如何。
At the exhibition exit there was a huge wall, which had all
of the passengers' names aboard the Titanic at that time. The Titanic sank on
April 15, 1912 at 2:20 in
the early morning. Out of all 2,228 people, only 705 were saved; 1523 people
were killed. The front of this enormous wall was packed with the visiting
public, everyone taking their "boarding pass", and among the dense
list of names on the wall, searched for the recorded name of the passenger from
the back of the "boarding pass" in their hand, wanting to understand
what that passenger's fate was when the ship sank.
千金難買早知道！當時，幾乎所有人都認為這是一艘「永不沉沒」的船，所以船上配備的救生艇只夠三分之一的乘客使用。後來，當鐵達尼號意外撞上冰山後沉沒，有1500多人落海，令人感到悲哀的是，附近有二十艘救生艇，卻只有一艘選擇返航回頭救人，落海者中只有6人獲救，多數人因泡在冰冷的海水中失溫而死。
All the gold in the world can't buy hindsight! At that time
almost everyone believed that this was an 'unsinkable' ship, so there were only
enough lifeboats on board for one third of the passengers to use. Later, when
the Titanic sank after accidentally hitting an iceberg, over 1500 people were
lost at sea, and the saddest part is, there were twenty lifeboats nearby, but
only one choose to return to save others. Out of the passengers lost at sea,
only six were rescued, a majority of people, due to treading in freezing
waters, experienced hypothermia and died.
我再次細看手上那張「登船證」背面的乘客資料，上面有該名乘客和他新婚妻子的全名，我站在那面牆壁前方尋找他們的名字時，我突然感到好感傷，我想到：當這艘豪華郵輪在嚴寒的北大西洋與冰山相撞時，不知船上那二十多對新婚夫婦中，有多少對夫妻正如電影「鐵達尼號」中的傑克與蘿絲，原本甜蜜的相遇相知相守，竟轉變成刻骨銘心的生離死別？在救生艇嚴重不足的情況中，「婦孺優先」逃生的紳士情操下，獲救者大多是婦女和孩童，不知有多少男士在船上與妻兒永別，有多少家庭，有多少戀人被迫永遠分離？不知有多少尋夢者的夢碎了？在這密密麻麻的乘客名單中，殊不知背後又隱藏了多少令人動容、令人為之鼻酸的故事。
I once again
took a close look at the passenger information on the back of "boarding
pass" in my hand, which had the full names of both this passenger and his new
wife. As I stood in front of that wall searching for their names, I suddenly
felt so sad, I thought, "when this luxury cruise ship collided with an
iceberg in the frigid Atlantic, out of the twenty or so newlyweds on board, we
don't know how many were just like Jack and Rose from the movie 'Titanic', with
original sweet encounters friendships and time together, suddenly changed into
an unforgettable parting, never to meet again. In the serious shortage of
lifeboats situation, under the gentleman's sentiment of "woman and
children first" to escape, most of the people rescued were women and
children. We don't know how many men parted with their wives and children
forever on the boat, how many families, how many lovers were forced into
eternal separation. Who knows how many of those dreams were broken. Among this
crowded list of passengers, we cannot know all the moving, sad stories hidden
behind them.
I decided to
stop looking for their names and fate, and just let myself imagine that both of
them were rescued safely, going about their happy lives together! From another
perspective, all of the passengers recorded on this wall, whether they were
saved or became victims at that time, have all already parted with this world.
The last sole survivor of the Titanic, who at the time was still a baby, had
passed away in 2009. Everything in this world will pass, but the book of
Revelation mentions the "book of life" again
and again, and Jesus also said to his disciples "rejoice that your
names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Perhaps we really should take
note of this "Kingdom of Heaven Citizens Roster", and seriously
consider this question: Is your name recorded in "The Book of Life"?
鐵達尼號沈船之前，船上樂團仍盡職地演奏著樂曲，撫慰人心，電影「鐵達尼號」也呈現了這動人的一幕：當樂團演奏最後一首聖詩「與主更親近」（Nearer My
God to Thee），在鐵達尼號陡斜的甲板上，有一名神父為即將罹難的旅客們禱告，求主赦免他們一生的罪過，他向主祈求說：「我看見新天新地，之前的天地不見了，人們成為祂的子民，上帝將與他們同在，做他們的神，上帝將擦乾他們的眼淚，不會再有死亡，沒有悲傷哭泣，也不會再有痛苦，先前的世界已成過去……」。
Before the
Titanic sank, the ship's orchestra still dutifully played music, to pacify
people. The movie "Titanic" also presents this touching scene: When
the musicians play their last hymn "Nearer My God to Thee", on the
steep deck of the Titanic, a priest says a prayer for the soon to be perished
travelers, praying to pardon the sins of their lives, he prayed to the Lord
" I see a new heaven and a new earth, when the
old heaven and earth disappear, the people will become His people, and
God will be with them and be their God. He shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes, there shall be no more death, sorrow nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former world has passed
away."
人生有如一片汪洋大海，我們都是鐵達尼號上的乘客，我們都需要被救贖。我們看到前方有冰山，我們以為已經躲過前方的冰山，以為已經平安穩妥，以為已經沒有問題了……原來我們只看到海面上的冰山，那只不過是冰山的一角，我們已撞上海面下銳利的冰山卻不自知！我們都需要坐上救生艇，都需要被救贖！我們不要落入永遠的冰冷與黑暗裡……
Life is like a
vast ocean, and we are all passengers aboard the Titanic, we all need
redemption. We see the iceberg ahead, and we foolishly believe that we have
eluded the iceberg ahead, thinking we already have peace and safety, thinking
there isn't a problem....turns out that we only see the iceberg above the sea,
which is merely the tip of the iceberg, we've already hit the jagged iceberg
below the surface, and we don't even know it! We all need to sit in a lifeboat,
we all need to be redeemed! Let us not fall into the eternal cold and
darkness.....
作者:譚亞菁 Sep. 25, 2013
Translated by Parker
Gadbois
