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AThe conviction that historical relics provide infallible testimony about the past is rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when science was regarded as objective and value free. As one writer observes: 'Although it is now evident that artefacts are as easily altered as chronicles, public faith in their veracity endures: a tangible relic seems ipso facto real/ Such conviction was, until recently, reflected in museum displays. Museums used to look - and some still do - much like storage rooms of objects packed together in showcases: good for scholars who wanted to study the subtle differences in design, but not for the ordinary visitor, to whom it all looked alike. Similarly, the information accompanying the objects often made little sense to the lay visitor. The content and format of explanations dated back to a time when the museum was the exclusive domain of the scientific researcher.

A 十九世纪到二十世纪初，人们认为科学是客观公正、价值无涉的，同时也确信历史遗物可以准确无误地为历史提供证明。正如一位作家所说，“尽管现在人们已经知道人工制品和编年史一样可以轻易地被改变，但公众仍然坚信人工制品的真实性：一个有形的遗物似乎就一定是真的。”以往的博物馆展览体现了这种观念。以前的博物馆就像是一个物品的储藏室，在一个个展柜中堆放着各种物件。这有助于学者研究设计上的细微差别，但是，对于普通的参观者而言，这些物品看起来都一样。外行的参观者也很难看懂展品旁的说明。解说的内容和形式可上溯到博物馆只服务于科研工作者的时期。

BRecently, however, attitudes towards history and the way it should be presented have altered. The key word in heritage display is now'experience: the more exciting the better and, if possible, involving all the senses. Good examples of this approach in the UK are the Jorvik Centre in York; the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford; and the Imperial War Museum in London. In the US the trend emerged much earlier: Williamsburg has been a prototype for many heritage developments in other parts of the world. No one can predict where the process will end On so-called heritage sites the re-enactment of historical events is increasingly popular, and computers will soon provide virtual reality experiences, which will present visitors with a vivid image of the period of their choice, in which they themselves can act as if part of the historical environment. Such developments have been criticised as an intolerable vulgarisation, but the success of many historical theme parks and similar locations suggests that the majority of the public does not share this opinion.

B 然而，最近人们对历史的态度以及对呈现历史方式的看法改变了。现在，展览遗产的核心概念是“体验”。展览力求精彩刺激，尽可能地调动观众所有的感官。在英国，以这种布展方式的典范包括位于约克的约维克中心，位于布拉福德的国家摄像、电影、电视博物馆，以及位于伦敦的帝国战争博物馆。在美国，这一趋势很早就出现了，威廉斯堡是很多世界上其他地区遗产发展的原型。我们无法预知这一发展趋势会持续到什么时候。在所谓的文化遗址，重演历史事件愈加流行。电脑会很快提供虚拟现实的体验，参观者会看到他们所选定的历史时期的鲜活的图片，而参观者自己可以扮作历史环境中的一部分。有些人批评这些发展趋势，认为这是不可忍受的媚俗行为。但是，很多历史主题公园和相似场所获得了成功，这说明大部分的公众并不同意批评者的看法。

CIn a related development, the sharp distinction between museum and heritage sites on the one hand, and theme parks on the other, is gradually evaporating. They already borrow ideas and concepts from one another. For example, museums have adopted story lines for exhibitions, sites have accepted 'theming'as a relevant tool, and theme parks are moving towards more authenticity and research-based presentations. In zoos, animals are no longer kept in cages, but in great spaces, either in the open air or in enormous greenhouses, such as the jungle and desert environments in Burgers'Zoo in Hollanjd. This particular trend is regarded as one of the major developments in the presentation of natural history in the twentieth century.

C 一个相关的发展趋势是作为一方的博物馆和文化遗址与作为另一方的主题公园之间明确的界限正在逐渐消失。两方面互相借鉴对方的想法和概念。例如，博物馆用故事线串联展览，遗址采用“主题”作为相关手段，而主题公园的展示正朝着增强真实性和以研究为基础的方向发展。动物园不在把动物关在笼子里，而是把动物置于一个开阔的空间，不是在野外就是在一个巨型温室中，比如荷兰汉堡动物园的丛林和沙漠环境。这一种趋势被视为二十世纪自然历史展示方式的一个重大发展。

DTheme parks are undergoing other changes, too, as they try to present more serious social and cultural issues, and move away from fantasy. This development is a response to market forces and, although museums and heritage sites have a special, rather distinct, role to fulfil, they are also operating in a very competitive environment, where visitors make choices on how and where to spend their free time. Heritage and museum experts do not have to invent stories and recreate historical environments to attract their visitors: their assets are already in place. However, exhibits must be both based on artefacts and facts as we know them, and attractively presented. Those who are professionally engaged in the art of interpreting history are thus in a difficult position, as they must steer a narrow course between the demands of 'evidence' and 'attractiveness: especially given the increasing need in the heritage industry for income-generating activities.

D 主题公园也在经历其他的变化。主题公园试图脱离幻想，展示更严肃的社会和文化问题。这一发展顺应了市场的要求。尽管博物馆和文化遗址履行着特殊的、略带崇高的职责，这些场所的运营也面临严峻的竞争，因为参观者会选择去哪里、以何种方式打发自己的休闲时间。遗产和博物馆专家无需为了吸引参观者而编造故事或重建历史环境：他们的资源业已存在。但是，展览不仅要忠实于人工制品和事实，展览方式还必须吸引游客。这导致那些从事阐释历史工作的专业人员处于两难的境地，他们必须在“实证”与“吸引力”这双重要求的夹缝中找到出路，特别是考虑到文化遗产产业中日益增长的创收需求。

EIt could be claimed that in order to make everything in heritage more 'real: historical accuracy must be increasingly altered. For example, Pithecanthropus erectus is depicted in an Indonesian museum with Malay facial features, because this corresponds to public perceptions. Similarly, in the Museum of Natural History in Washington, Neanderthal man is shown making a dominant gesture to his wife. Such presentations tell us more about contemporary perceptions of the world than about our ancestors. There is one compensation, however, for the professionals who make these interpretations: if they did not provide the interpretation, visitors would do it for themselves, based on their own ideas, misconceptions and prejudices. And no matter how exciting the result, it would contain a lot more bias than the presentations provided by experts.

E 诚然，为了让遗产中总体上更“真实”，历史的准确性必然会遭到越来越严重的破坏。例如，在一个印度尼西亚的博物馆中，爪哇猿人的图示具有马来人的面部特征，因为这符合公众的认识能力。一个类似的例子是在华盛顿的自然历史博物馆，被展示的男性尼安德特人对他的妻子做出了支配性的姿势。这样的展现方式更多地体现了现代人对世界的理解而不是古人的理解。不过，对于这样阐释历史的专业人员而言有一个补偿。这就是如果他们不提供这样的阐释，参观者也会根据自己的想法、误解、偏见自行曲解历史。而不管参观者自己阐释的结果多么有趣，它都比专家给出的展示有更多的偏见。

FHuman bias is inevitable, but another source of bias in the representation of history has to do with the transitory nature of the materials themselves. The simple fact is that not everything from history survives the historical process. Castles, palaces and cathedrals have a longer lifespan than the dwellings of ordinary people. The same applies to the furnishings and other contents of the premises. In a town like Leyden in Holland, which in the seventeenth century was occupied by approximately the same number of inhabitants as today, people lived within the walled town, an area more than five times smaller than modern Leyden. In most of the houses several families lived together in circumstances beyond our imagination. Yet in museums, fine period rooms give only an image of the lifestyle of the upper class of that era. No wonder that people who stroll around exhibitions are filled with nostalgia; the evidence in museums indicates that life was so much better in the past. This notion is induced by the bias in its representation in museums and heritage centres.

F 人的偏见不可避免，但在展示历史的过程中另一种导致偏见的原因是材料本身的短暂性。有一个简单的事实，不是所有历史上曾经存在的事物都能在历史过程中留存下来。相较于普通人的住宅，城堡、宫殿、大教堂留存的时间更长。同样地，城堡、宫殿、大教堂中的室内陈设品和屋内设施也更持久。以荷兰莱顿为例，十七世纪时那里的居民数量和现在大致相同，那时城镇被城墙环绕，它的面积比现在的莱顿小五倍。大部分房屋里，多个家庭挤在一起，拥挤的程度令人无法想象。然而，在博物馆中，精致的时代馆为我们展现了那个时代上流社会的生活图景。难怪人们悠闲地参观展览时，心里充满对那个时代的怀念。博物馆中的证据暗示着过去的生活十分优越。这一观念产生的原因便是博物馆和遗产中心所办的展览中的偏见。