MASTERS OF TIME

时间大师

In the quiet courtyards of Xi San Suo behind the high walls of the Forbidden City, time ticks at its own pace. If it hadn't been for a three-episode documentary, outsiders would never have known that the plainly-dressed people working here are masters of their craft, who have spent their lives restoring precious antiques. Among these is the clock restoration master, Wang Jin.

在紫禁城高墙内西三所安静的庭院里，时间按着自己的节奏流逝着。要不是那三集纪录片，外面的人永远也不会知道，在这里工作的那些衣着朴素的人竟然都是精于各门]技艺的大师，他们毕生都在修复珍贵的古董。这其中便包括钟表修复大师王津。

Walking through the seven crimson gates towards his workplace, Wang Jin still regards himself as an ordinary worker in the Palace Museum, although now he is often stopped by admirers wanting their photo taken with him. Day in, day out, Mr Wang and his students spend their time restoring clocks dating back Hundreds of years. But for quite some time, he and his student Qi Haonan used to be the only two people repairing timepieces in the Palace Museum.

王津穿过七重深红色的大门，走向自己的工作地点。尽管现在他经常被想和他合影的粉丝拦住，他仍然认为自己是故宫博物院的一名普通工人。王先生和他的学生们日复一日地修复着数百年前的钟表，但在过去相当长的一段时间里，故宫博物院修理钟表的工匠只有他和他的学生亓昊楠。

Qing emperors were very fond of clocks. Therefore, in order to please them, foreign envoys presented these emperors with the most intricate and splendid timepieces. Today, the Palace Museum has one of the most significant collections of timepieces in the world, mainly originating from Europe and China. With objects ranging from small pocket watches to clocks over one metre in height, each of these requires its own unique method of restoration. Given the complexity of the work and the lack of necessary materials, this means that each expert can work on a maximum of two large pieces a year. But, through their painstaking efforts, Mr Wang and his students do more than repair the clocks they bring them back to life.

清朝的皇帝们十分喜欢钟表。因此，外国使节们把最精致、最华丽的钟表送给这些皇帝来取悦他们。如今，故宫博物院拥有一部分世界上最重要的钟表藏品，这些钟表主要来自欧洲和中国。小到怀表，大到超过一米高的钟表，每一件都有其独特的修复方法。工作的复杂性和必要材料的缺乏意味着每位专家每年最多只能修复两件大型钟表。但是，王先生和他的学生们通过艰苦的努力不只是修复了钟表一他们还让钟表恢复了生命。

The only sound to break the silence in Wang Jin's workshop is the chiming melody of the repaired and polished clocks. To Wang Jin it is the most beautiful music in the world. Now, after eight months of endless adjustments, the time has finally come for Mr Wang to wind up the gigantic clocks that date back to the time of Emperor Qianlong. The intricately fashioned objects that have stood still for centuries instantly come back to life: water flows, boats sail, dogs bark, chickens flap their wings and a woman starts to spin. It is a truly awe-inspiring moment. It is suddenly clear that when the clock masters say that "these antiques have lives", it is neither an exaggeration nor a metaphor.

在王津的工作坊里，唯一能打破寂静的声音是在修理、抛光钟表时发出的报时的旋律。对王津来说，这是世界上最美的音乐。经过八个月无休止的调整，王先生现在终于进行到了为乾隆皇帝时代的巨型钟表上弦的时候。那些已经静止了几个世纪的造型复杂的摆件瞬间复活了:水流动着，船航行着，狗吠叫着，鸡拍动着翅膀，一个女人纺着线。这真是一个令人惊叹的时刻。人们突然明白，当钟表大师们说“这些古董有生命”时，这既不是夸张，也不是比喻。

But, despite the combined work of several generations of masters. it seems unlikely that the restoration of the clocks will ever be complete. Even if every clock in the Palace Museum were restored, there would still be work to do. because restoration would probably need to begin again on the clocks that were repaired long ago. This is a race against time that can never be won! Nonetheless, Mr Wang remains optimistic about the future of these timepieces. Following in the footsteps of his own teacher all those years ago, Mr Wang has now passed on his skills to the new members, who will take on many of the future repairs. What's more, inspired to follow in his father's footsteps, Mr Wang's son now has also taken up repairing antique clocks. This new generation of artisans will not only help preserve traditional skills; the innovation they bring to the craft will also ensure that the art of clock repairing stands the test of time.

但是，尽管经过了几代大师的共同努力，钟表的修复似乎永远不可能完成。即使故宫博物院的每一件钟表都被修复了，仍然有工作要做，因为可能需要重新开始对很久以前修复的钟表进行修复。这是一场与时间的寒跑，却永远不可能赢! 尽管如此，王先生对这些钟表的未来仍持乐观态度。多年前，王先生继承了师父的事业，而现在他将自己的技艺传授给了将承担未来许多修复工作的新成员更重要的是，在继承父业这一壮志的激励下，王先生的儿子现在也开始修复古董钟表。新一代的工匠不仅能够协助保留传统技艺，他们给技艺带来的创新也将确保钟表修复去术能够经得起时间的考验。

In today's fast-paced world, the saying that "time waits for no man' has never seemed more apt. Yet inside the hidden courtyards of Xi San Suo, there is something timeless about the way Mr Wang and his colleagues sedately piece together the past with skillful hands and modest hearts. It is as if they have become one with their craft and with the history of the country.

在当今快节奏的世界里，“时间不等人”的说法似乎再贴切不过了。然而，在西三所的隐秘庭院里，王先生和他的同事们用灵巧的双手和谦逊的心沉着地拼凑着过去，带来了永恒，好像他们已经与自己的技艺和这个国家的历史融为了一体。