科普：為什么結(jié)婚戒指戴在左手上？

For years, couples have dedicated a single "ring" finger to romance when any other digit would do. A case of left side, strong side? Not according to history.

多年來，夫婦們都是把象征愛情的戒指戴在左手的無名指上，雖然，其他任何手指也可以履行這一職責(zé)。難道左手是更好的那只手嗎?歷史上可不是這樣說的。

In medieval times, getting caught scribbling with one's left hand could earn accusations of being possessed and, during the Spanish Inquisition, lefties were more likely to be tortured or killed. In fact, the aversion touched many cultures, from the long-standing taboo in Islamic countries against eating and drinking with one’s left hand, to the expectation in ancient Japan that any wife who didn’t favor her right could be legally divorced on the spot, no questions asked. So why do we favor a finger on a cursed hand to symbolize lasting love?

在中世紀(jì)，被發(fā)現(xiàn)用左手寫字會被指控受到魔鬼操控，在西班牙宗教法庭上，很可能會被判處酷刑或死刑。事實上，古人對左手的厭惡跨越多國文化，從伊斯蘭國家長久以來對于用左手吃喝的禁忌，到日本古代不愛用右手的妻子可能會當(dāng)場被休，合理合法，連質(zhì)詢都不需要。那么，為什么我們會選擇用被詛咒的那只手的手指來象征永恒的愛情呢?

Past perception wasn't all bad. The union between marriage and the now-standard ring placement can be traced back to second-century Egyptians who falsely believed that “a certain most delicate nerve” began in the fourth left finger and stretched directly to the heart, according to the Greek scholar Appian. Centuries later, the Romans came to a similar conclusion. In place of a nerve, they were convinced that a vena amoris—or “lover’s vein”—connected this digit with the blood-pumping organ.

古人也不全都認(rèn)為左手不好。婚姻和左手無名指的關(guān)聯(lián)可以追溯到2世紀(jì)的埃及。希臘學(xué)者阿皮安解釋說，當(dāng)時埃及人誤以為“某個最脆弱的神經(jīng)”從左手第四指開始，一直延伸到心臟。幾世紀(jì)后，羅馬人也得出了相似的結(jié)論。只不過，羅馬人認(rèn)為左手無名指和心臟相連的不是神經(jīng)，而是“愛情之脈”。

During the Roman engagement process, a well-off suitor who could afford a ring would slip it over his bride-to-be’s fourth finger. Thus, he’d always have a symbolic grip around her lover’s vein. The modern world may have adopted that practice from the Romans.

在羅馬人訂婚的過程中，能買得起戒指的富有的求婚者會將戒指親自戴到準(zhǔn)新娘的無名指上，象征著他抓住了她的“愛情之脈”?，F(xiàn)代人可能是從羅馬人那里習(xí)得這種做法的。

Still, others argue that reverence for the fourth finger began as an early Christian ritual. While crossing themselves in an Orthodox Church, worshipers are expected to join the thumb with the index and middle fingers. Historians contend that the group represented the father, son, and Holy Ghost when placed together, while the “ring” finger signified earthly love, making it the perfect location for a spouse’s wedding ring.

但仍有其他人爭論說，對無名指的敬意源自基督教早期的一種儀式。在東正教教堂里畫十字時，信徒們須將拇指和食指、中指相連。歷史學(xué)家指出，這三個手指相連代表著父、子和圣靈相連，而無名指象征著俗世的愛，于是便成了已婚者戴結(jié)婚戒指的完美位置。

Until the seventeenth century, Orthodox couples normally wore their rings on the right hand (an extremity that’s associated with strength) and most Europeans of all faiths followed suit. But during the Reformation in 1549, an English Bishop and Protestant reformer named Thomas Cranmer used wedding rings as a way to break from tradition. That year, he published The Book of Common Prayer, which instructs couples to ditch a centuries-old practice in favor of slipping their wedding rings over the left fourth finger. Before long, husbands and wives throughout the continent were doing so.

一直到17世紀(jì)，東正教夫婦們通常都將戒指戴在右手上(和力量有關(guān)的一種極端做法)，多數(shù)歐洲人(無論是什么信仰)都效仿了這種做法。但是在1549年宗教改革時期，英國主教、新教改革者托馬斯•克蘭麥利用結(jié)婚戒指與傳統(tǒng)決裂。那一年，他出版了《公禱書》，書中教導(dǎo)夫婦們拋棄延續(xù)數(shù)世紀(jì)之久的做法，鼓勵他們把結(jié)婚戒指戴在左手無名指上。沒過多久，整個歐洲大陸的夫婦都開始這么做了。