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The Khan drank like a fish, ate like a pig, and screwed like a rabbit.
可汗像鱼一样喝水，像猪一样吃饭，像兔子一样揉成一团。
The result was that he eventually transformed into a fat, gout-ridden, horny blob prone to outbursts of temper.
最终他变成了一个肥胖的、痛风缠身的、欲火焚身的难以名状的一坨，动不动就发脾气。
And yet, for all these faults, there's no doubting Kublai's legacy.
然而，尽管有这些缺点，忽必烈留下的遗产却毋庸置疑。
In Chinese official historiography, the Yuan era is regarded not as an Interregnum, but as part of the imperial story - an honor only afforded to one other foreign dynasty: the Qing.
在中国的官方史学中，元朝并不被视为一个过渡期，而是帝国历史的一部分——一种只有另一个外国王朝才能获得的荣誉：清朝。
But while Kublai's rule at home might be complicated, there's no such shades of gray regarding his foreign policy.
忽必烈在国内的统治虽然很复杂，但他的外交政策却没有这种灰色地带。
That's because his time as emperor was taken up not with being a great administrator, a powerful warrior, or even a champion drunk… …but with an endless series of disastrous wars.
这是因为他当皇帝时并不是一个伟大的行政长官，一个强大的战士，甚至一个醉醺醺的冠军……，而是一系列无休止的灾难性的战争。
One of the most-interesting things about Kublai is that there always seem to have been two people in his head, fighting for control.
关于忽必烈最有趣的一件事是，他的脑子里似乎总有两个人在争夺控制权。
One was Kublai the Yuan Emperor, who wanted nothing more than to follow his childhood obsession with all things Chinese, and settle down as a wise ruler.
一个是元朝皇帝忽必烈，他只想追随自己童年时期对中国一切事物的痴迷，成为一个明智的统治者。
The other was Kublai Khan, the Mongol warrior, who felt his life should be taken up with conquest.
另一个是蒙古勇士忽必烈，他觉得他的一生应该被征服所占据。
Sadly for Kublai's prosperity, in his later years it was Kublai the warrior who won out.
可悲的是，从忽必烈创造的繁荣方面来说，晚年的胜利是属于武士忽必烈的。
We say "sadly" because, despite his early-life victories against the Dali, the Song, and Arigboge, late-life Kublai was a real putz when it came to conquering.
我们说“可悲”是因为，尽管早年的忽必烈战胜了大理、宋朝和阿里博格，而晚年的忽必烈在征服方面就是个傻子。
There were his two invasions of Japan, in 1274 and 1281, which both times resulted in typhoons wrecking his entire navy - an incident which led to the Japanese concept of the "Divine Wind" or kamikaze.
但在1274年和1281年，他两次入侵日本都导致台风摧毁了他的整个海军——这一事件促使日本人创立了所谓的“神风特攻队”。
There were his two invasions of Vietnam, and his two invasions of Burma, both of which resulted in Pyrrhic victories thanks to their sheer, insane cost.
他两次入侵越南、两次入侵缅甸都因为付出了巨大的代价而取得了得不偿失的胜利。
Finally, there was Kublai's 1292 invasion of Java, which ended with the victorious Mongols so riddled with disease that they were forced to retreat after a single year.
最后，忽必烈于1292年入侵爪哇，结果获胜的蒙古人病得很重，一年后被迫撤退。
It was a disappointing end to a dizzying career, like riding a rollercoaster that reaches its highest peak only to suddenly shut down and leave you stuck and disappointed.
对于他那令人眼花缭乱的职业生涯来说这是一个令人失望的结局，就像坐过山车，到了最高点，然后突然抛锚，让你陷入困境，感到失望。
But it's likely that, by the time of the Java disaster, Kublai no longer cared.
但很有可能的是，到爪哇灾难发生时忽必烈已经不在乎了。
In 1281 and 1285, the Yuan emperor had lost first his favorite wife and then his eldest son.
1281年和1285年，元朝皇帝先后失去了最宠爱的妻子和长子。
This one-two punch of tragedy seems to have floored Kublai, who withdrew from the day-to-day running of the empire, instead drowning his sorrows in drinking and feasting.
这两场悲剧似乎把忽必烈击垮了，他退出了帝国的日常管理，而是在饮酒和宴饮中借酒消愁。
By the time he finally allowed Marco Polo to leave his court, the one-time warrior was nothing but a fat, unhappy man, trapped in a vast palace as luxurious as it was empty.
当他最终允许马可波罗离开皇宫时，这位曾经的勇士已经变成了一个肥胖、郁郁寡欢的人，被困在一个空荡荡的豪华宫殿里。
Kublai Khan finally died on February 18, 1294. His body was buried in a secret place somewhere in Mongolia.
忽必烈最后死于1294年2月18日。他的尸体被埋在蒙古的某个秘密的地方。
As with his grandfather, Genghis Khan, his remains have never been found.
和他的祖父成吉思汗一样，他的遗体一直没有被找到。
In the years after Kublai's death, two important things happened that would ensure his place in history.
忽必烈死后的几年里发生了两件重要的事情，确保了他在历史上的地位。
The first was that Marco Polo's book appeared, forever fixing an image of the Khan as a wise and benevolent ruler.
第一个是马可波罗的书的出现，把可汗塑英明仁慈的统治者形象永远地刻在了历史上。
The second was the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty.
第二个是元朝的灭亡。
Although Kublai's descendants ruled China peacefully for 30 years, in 1324 a series of uprisings marked the beginning of the Dynasty's decline.
尽管忽必烈的后代和平统治了中国长达30年，但1324年的一系列起义标志着元朝没落的开始。
Come 1368, the Yuan were so weak that the Ming were able to conquer China and establish their own dynasty.
1368年的元朝非常弱小，明朝最终征服了中国并建立了自己的王朝。
In the aftermath, the Mongols retreated back to the steppe, never again playing an important part in history. But the same can't be said of Kublai Khan.
之后蒙古人撤退到草原，再也没有在历史上扮演过重要角色，这么说不包括忽必烈。
In 1644, the Ming in turn fell to Manchu invaders: the Qing.
1644年，明朝又被满清侵略者攻陷。
As the new masters of China, the Qing looked back to the last foreign dynasty as their inspiration; as the golden age they hoped to emulate.
作为中国新的主人，清朝把最后一个外国王朝作为他们的榜样，作为他们希望仿效的黄金时代。
In the story of Kublai Khan, they found the template for their own Dynasty - a Dynasty that would last until 1911.
在忽必烈汗的故事中，他们找到了自己的王朝的模板——一个一直延续到了1911年的王朝。
Today, Kublai's name still survives - less as that of an historic figure, and more as a byword for something romantic, poetic and mystical.
今天，忽必烈的名字依然响亮——与其说是一个历史人物的名字，不如说是一个浪漫、诗意和神秘的代名词。
Yet even this is more than that afforded to any other Mongol leader apart from Genghis Khan. More even than perhaps any other Chinese emperor.
嗯，除了成吉思汗之外，这是蒙古领导人里头衔最多的了，可能比其他所有的中国皇帝都要多。
Kublai Khan the man may be long dead, but the stories of his exploits, the influence his life had on others, ensure that his name will live on forever.
也许忽必烈汗早已死去，但他的事迹，他的一生对世人的影响，让他的名字永垂不朽。
