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It's one of the earliest societies that we can think of as a state in the modern sense, and as one of its earliest leaders, King Den had to address all the problems of control and co-ordination that a modern state has to confront today.
这个社会人类历史上具有真正现代意义的最早期国家之一，而作为这早期古埃及的法老王之一的国王丹，也必须想办法如何去控制与调协整个王国，这些也是今天一个现代国家都会面对到的问题。
You might not expect to discover how he did it from the label on his shoes, but Den's sandals were no ordinary shoes, they were very high status items-and the Keeper of the Sandals was one of the high court officials, so it's not so surprising that on the back of the label we have a clear statement of how this pharaoh exercised power. The model evolved in Den's Egypt five thousand years ago resonates uncannily around the world to this day.
你可能意料不到居然会在他鞋上的标签了解到他是如何做到统治他的王朝的，然而国王丹的凉鞋可不是寻常之物，它们的地位也相当之高；其实掌管法老王的凉鞋当时也是一种宫殿高职官员，因此我们现在看到的这枚牙牌标签背面居然如此清晰地描绘出法老如何行使权力的生动场面，事实上也不以为奇。国王丹五千年前行使权力的模式，在如今全世界范围内看起来，仍旧是不可思议的熟悉。
On the other side from the sandals is their owner, dressed in a royal head-dress with a mace in one hand and a whip in the other. King Den stands in combat, authoritatively smiting an enemy who cowers at his feet. Of course the first thing we look for is his sandals but, disappointingly, he's barefoot.
在这标签粘在凉鞋的背面，刻画了凉鞋的主人，戴着皇家头饰，一手持着狼牙棒，一手握着长鞭。国王丹站在战场上，威风凛凛地鞭打着蜷缩在他脚下的敌人。当然，我们首先寻找的是他的凉鞋，但令人失望的是，他是赤着脚。
This little label is the first image in our series of a ruler-and it's striking that, right at the beginning, the ruler wants to be shown as commander-in-chief, conquering his foe. This is how, from earliest times, power has been projected through images.
这小小的标签刻画了我们这系列中的第一位统治者，令人惊奇的是从人类最早期社会，统治者就希望作为军队的统帅，征服他的仇敌。这就是最早期权力是如何体现出来的。
