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This tremendous tale of samurai loyalty and honor goes by several names.
这个关于武士忠诚和荣誉的伟大故事有好几个名字。
It is usually referred to as the Akō jiken in Japan, translated as the Akō incident, or sometimes the Akō vendetta.
在日本一般叫“Akō jiken”，翻译过来为“赤穗事件”，有时也被称为“赤穗复仇”。
It has been featured so prominently in Japanese literature and kabuki theater that it spawned its own genre - Chūshingura, or The Treasure of Loyal Retainers, that only includes fictional stories based on this historical event.
它在日本文学和歌舞伎戏剧中地位显著，以至于衍生出了自己的流派“Chūshingura”，即“忠诚仆人的宝藏”，只包含基于这一历史事件的虚构故事。
In the West, we know it as The 47 Ronin - the story of 47 early 18th-century samurai who lose their master and embark on an ambitious journey to avenge the unjust death of their lord.
在西方，我们熟知的是《四十七浪人》，讲述的是18世纪初四十七名失去了主人的武士为他们主人的不公死亡而展开的雄心勃勃的复仇的故事。
The tale first made its way to our parts over a hundred years after it took place courtesy of Isaac Titsingh, a Dutch merchant and scholar who did business with the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan on behalf of the Dutch East India Company.
一百多年后，这个故事第一次出现在书中，由艾萨克·蒂辛格讲述。蒂辛格是一位荷兰商人兼学者，他代表荷兰东印度公司和日本德川幕府做生意。
The event was later popularized by British writer and former diplomat A.B. Mitford who featured it prominently in his anthology book Tales of Old Japan.
后来，英国作家、前外交官A.B.米特福德在他的选集《古日本故事集》中突出介绍了这一事件，之后便流传开来。
This has become the definitive version of the story in the West and the one we will be mostly relying on today.
如今该书已经成为西方故事的权威版，也是我们今天主要依赖的版本。
Modern scholars opine that, while Mitford did do plenty of research for his book and presents a lot of details and descriptions, he also had a habit of overdramatizing some of the more climactic parts to make for a more exciting story.
现代学者认为，虽然米特福德确实为他的书做了大量的研究，并提出了大量的细节和描述，但他也有一个习惯，他会过度戏剧化一些高潮部分，令故事更具激情。
Even so, today we bring you, as best we know it, the tale of the 47 ronin.
即便如此，今天我们将为您带来我们所知的四十七浪人的故事。
Our story starts at the very beginning of the 18th century.
我们的故事开始于18世纪初。
To help you understand it better, we should quickly present a few concepts about feudal Japan.
为了帮助大家更好地理解，我们简短地介绍一下封建时期的日本。
At that time, the country had an emperor, but his role was mostly symbolic.
当时的日本有天皇，不过天皇没有实权。
The true power was held by the shogun because he had command over the military.
真正的权力掌握在幕府将军手中，因为他手握兵权。
In 1701, when the events took place, Japan was almost halfway through the Tokugawa period, also known as the Edo Period, because that is where the shogunate established its seat of power while the emperor was still based in Kyoto.
1701年这些事件发生时日本正处于“德川时期”，也被称为“江户时期”，因为幕府在江户建立了政权，而天皇仍坐镇京都。
Edo is better known today as Tokyo.
如今的“东京”就是古时的“江户”。
Although Higashiyama was the Emperor of Japan back then, the man actually in charge was Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty.
虽然当时的天皇是Higashiyama，但实际掌权的是德川第五代幕府将军“德川纲吉”。
And the shogun exerted his power throughout the land with the help of 300 feudal lords called daimyo.
幕府将军在300位被称为“大名(日本封建时代的大领主)”的封建领主的帮助下在全国范围内行使权力。
One of those daimyo (and the one pertinent to us today) was Asano Naganori, the third member of the Asano clan to rule over the Akō Domain.
其中一位大名(也是今天我们要讲的那位)就是浅野内匠头长矩，浅野家族统治赤穗的第三代藩主。
In 1701, he and another noble named Kamei Korechika were tasked with organizing a reception for some of the emperor's ambassadors visiting Edo Castle as part of their service known as sankin kōtai.
1701年，他和另一位名叫“Kamei Korechika”的贵族负责为到访江户城的天皇使节组织一场招待会，这是日本“参觐交代”的一部分。
Sankin kōtai was a policy developed by the Tokugawa shoguns to help them keep an eye on their feudal lords and to minimize their resources so they didn't get any funny ideas about revolting.
“参觐交代”是德川幕府制定的一项制度，帮助他们监视封建领主并最小化他们的资源，这样他们就不会有任何关于起义的可笑想法。
Basically, it meant that the daimyo had to split their time between their own domains and Edo Castle.
说白了，这意味着大名必须在自己的领地和江户城之间来回。
For several months at a time, every feudal lord took his family and his retainers and went to live in Edo where he served the shogun directly.
一连好几个月，每个封建领主都要带着家人和侍从去江户居住，在那里直接侍奉幕府将军。
His family (and, most importantly, his heir) stayed in Edo whenever the daimyo left to look after his fiefdom and they were basically hostages of the shogun to ensure that the lord behaved himself.
无论大名何时离开江户，他的家人(最重要的是，他的继承人)都会留在江户，可以说就是幕府将军的人质，以此来约束幕府领主的行为。
Moreover, the Edo residence of the lord plus all the tasks he had to perform for the shogun while he was there were all paid out of his pocket which meant less money to raise an army that could be used against the shogun.
此外，江户领主的住所以及他要为幕府将军执行的所有任务都由他自己出钱，这意味着他们不会有足够的钱组建一支军队来对付幕府将军。
Anyway, it was Asano Naganori's time to perform his sankin kōtai.
总之，是“浅野内匠头长矩”表演“参觐交代”的时候了。
In order for him and Kamei to organize a proper reception for the imperial ambassadors, they needed lessons in court etiquette and protocol from one of the shogun's high officials - a man named Kira Yoshinaka who was a kōke, meaning a master of ceremonies.
为了让他和Kamei Korechika能够为天皇使节组织一场巴适的招待会，他们需要从幕府将军的一位高级官员那里学习宫廷礼仪礼节，那位官员名叫“Kira Yoshinaka”，他是一名kōke，就是“礼仪大师”的意思。
Of course, for his services, Kira expected gifts and monetary compensation.
当然，Kira对于他的服务希望得到礼物和金钱补偿。
Kira and the two daimyo did not get along. We are not sure exactly what the reason was.
Kira和大名相处得并不好，我们也不确定到底是什么原因。
Mitford said that the Edo official "was a man greedy of money" who wasn't happy with the "gifts" he received.
米特福德称那名江户官员“是个贪财的人”，对收到的“礼物”并不满意。
Other sources said he was an arrogant man who treated the two nobles with contempt and ridicule.
另有消息称，他是一个傲慢的人，对这两位贵族嗤之以鼻。
