十九世纪的欧洲有句关于人生享受的俗语：住英国房子、雇英国管家、用意大利厨师、使法国侍者、娶俄罗斯妻子。戏谑之言，过耳即可。十九世纪后期的欧洲，作为人类文明中心，法兰西共和国和德意志帝国连年战争、欧洲宪兵俄罗斯帝国不断扩张土地和奥斯曼土耳其激烈冲突，唯有英国孤悬欧陆之外，有渔盐商贸之地利，无强邻后顾之外忧，率先领导人类进入工业文明，商业贸易伴随着工业化、城市化的急剧提升，人民物质生活也在迅速改善，英国家居用品成了生活品质的代名词。
There was a saying in Europe in the nineteenth century about the enjoyment of life: living in a British house, hiring a British butler, using an Italian chef, serving as a French waiter, and marrying a Russian wife. Just pass your ears to joking. In the late nineteenth century, Europe, as the center of human civilization, the French Republic and the German Empire, the continuous wars of the French Republic and the German Empire entangled in the continuous expansion of the land. The Russian Empire was in fierce conflicts with Ottoman Turkey. The great geographic position of Great Brition that without strong neighbors is very favorable for British to take the lead to enter the industrial civilization. With the rapid improvement of industrialization and urbanization, commercial trade has rapidly improved the people’s material life. British household goods have become synonymous with the quality of life.
就此话题，今天带大家了解下伦敦维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆 （Victoria and Albert Museum），简称V&A,以维多利亚女王和阿尔伯特人公爵命名，是为1851年在伦敦召开的第一届万国博览会而建。从外面看，建筑恢宏大气。博物馆里专门成体系地收藏美轮美奂的美术品和工艺品，包括珠宝、家具等等，使参观者能够了解世界各地特别是欧洲的装饰品发展史。馆藏以欧洲展品居多，但也有中国、日本、印度和伊斯兰艺术和设计的收藏，展品大部分陈列在南肯辛顿的主楼或伦敦东区的博物馆。
On this topic, let’s take you today to learn about the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, or V&A for short, named after Queen Victoria and the Duke of Albert. It was for the first Universal Exposition held in London in 1851. build. Look from the outside, the building is magnificent. The museum specializes in a systematic collection of beautiful art and crafts, including jewelry, furniture, etc., so that visitors can understand the development history of decorations around the world, especially in Europe. The collection is mostly European exhibits, but there are also collections of Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Islamic art and design. Most of the exhibits are displayed in the main building in South Kensington or the museum in the East End of London.
博物馆的历史可追溯到1837年，当时的英国政府在伦敦成立了一个设计学院，学校有一批数量不多的教学收藏品。万国工业博览会1851年在水晶宫举办后，设计学院的教学收藏品更名为工艺品博物馆Museum of Manufactures。而博览会组织者之一的科尔Henry Cole，则成为博物馆于1852年创立时的首任馆长，开始扩大收藏。博物馆并利用万国工业博览会的利润购买海德公园以南的大片土地，于1857年迁入并更名为南肯辛顿博物馆South Kensington Museum。博物馆为世界上首家提供煤气照明的博物馆，并且率先开设了餐厅。博物馆现址在1857年建立后，到了1890年代，博物馆已经包括了办公室、展示长廊和图书馆三部分，成为了一座完全意义上的现代博物馆。
The history of the museum can be traced back to 1837, when the British government established a design school in London. The school has a small number of teaching collections. After the Universal Industry Fair was held in the Crystal Palace in 1851, the teaching collection of the School of Design was renamed the Museum of Manufactures. Henry Cole, one of the organizers of the exposition, became the first curator when the museum was founded in 1852 and began to expand its collection. The museum also used the profits of the International Industrial Fair to purchase a large piece of land south of Hyde Park. It moved in in 1857 and changed its name to South Kensington Museum. The museum was the first museum in the world to provide gas lighting and the first restaurant was opened. After the current site of the museum was established in 1857, by the 1890s, the museum had already included three parts: the office, the exhibition gallery, and the library, becoming a modern museum in the full sense of the word.
根据我的游离经历，即使在奢侈品业发达的法国和意大利都难以看到类似规模的博览。其展品可谓复杂多样，上至古老器皿，下至最新的富有科技感与时尚感的设计在这里都能够找到，可以说真正实现了传统与现代元素的完美交合。
According to my free experience, even in France and Italy, where the luxury industry is developed, it is difficult to see expos of similar scale. The exhibits can be described as complex and diverse, ranging from ancient utensils to the latest technological and fashionable designs that can be found here. It can be said that the perfect combination of traditional and modern elements is truly realized.
对于像我们这样的“异域游客”来说，我觉得维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆是了解西方文明的一个重要窗口，通过这些展出的装饰和器物去观察他们的思想和文明。西方文明的成长轨迹不同于东方文明，它继承了美索不达米亚和古埃及文明，源于克里特、米诺斯、迈锡尼文明，在古典希腊和罗马时期达到了极为辉煌的程度，经过蛮族入侵和中世纪的沉沦、文艺复兴后的厚积薄发，终于在20世纪时达到顶峰并主导人类文明，西方文明作为一个整体被几十个分散的欧美国家所共同继承.
For “exotic tourists” like us, I think the Victoria and Albert Museum is an important window to understand Western civilization, and observe their thoughts and civilization through the decorations and artifacts on display. The growth trajectory of Western civilization is different from that of Eastern civilization. It inherited the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, originated from the civilizations of Crete, Minos, and Mycenae, and reached an extremely glorious period in classical Greece and Rome. After the barbarian invasion, the fall of the Middle Ages, and the accumulation after the Renaissance, it finally reached its peak in the 20th century and dominated human civilization. Western civilization as a whole was inherited by dozens of scattered European and American countries.
从我个人感受来说，对于文学、历史、绘画、雕塑、军事爱好者而言，欧洲的大都会城市简直不能用天堂来形容，在这里你可以以极低的成本，集约的时间，在浓郁的文化氛围中来享受这些人类文明的精华。
From my personal experience, for lovers of literature, history, painting, sculpture, and military, European metropolitan cities can hardly be described as paradise. Here you can spend a very low cost and intensive time. Enjoy the essence of these human civilizations in a cultural atmosphere.
