驱车从库尔勒市来到尉犁县城西南35公里处的罗布人村寨，村寨方圆72平方公里，有二十余户人家，是中国西部地域面积最大的村庄之一。
        罗布人是新疆最古老的民族之一，他们生活在塔里木河畔的小海子边，《回疆志》记载"罗布人不种五谷、不牧牲畜，唯小舟捕鱼为食，或采野麻，或捕哈什鸟剥皮为衣，或以水獭皮并哈什鸟之翎，持往城市货卖，易布以代衣。"
        我们现在看到的是一个仿古的"罗布人村寨"，历史上真正的罗布人村寨生活景象是看不到了，这里是请历史学家设计建造的人文景观，。据说这里原来还有几户人家，每家相距比较远，后来根据景区规划需要都被迁移走了，现在这里说是复原的罗布人村寨原始村落公园更为恰当。这些坚称自己是罗布人后裔的村民在这个与其先民生存之地类似的地方，向世界各地的游客展示着他们所继承的传统生活。
         罗布人之所以闻名也许是因为中国社会科学院文学研究所杨镰1999年的著述《最后的罗布人》，或者是近年来罗布泊地区越来越多的考古发现，揭开了罗布人神秘的面纱。其实罗布人在上个世纪初就闻名世界了，当时罗布人奥尔得克作为著名探险家斯文•赫定的向导在荒漠中搜寻到了楼兰故城。

Leaving Korla City, we drove over to the Luobu Village, located 35 kilometers southwest of Yuli County. Luobu Village covers an area of 72 square kilometers and is home to over 20 households. In terms of land area, it is one of the largest villages in China's western region.

The Luobu people are one of Xinjiang's most ancient tribes. They live next to a small lake in the Tarim River plains. "The Gazetteer of Southern Xinjiang" notes:"The Luobu people do not plant crops, and do not raise livestock. They subsist on fish caught by their small boats, pick wild hemp, and make clothing from the skin of the hashi bird. Or they may take otter skins and hashi bird feathers to the city marketplace to sell in exchange for fabrics."

What we were visiting was a restoration of an ancient style "Luobu Village"; the authentic scenes of traditional Luobu people's life have faded into history. The village was designed and built by historians as a cultural artifact. We heard that there were originally a few households living here, spread out from one another, but that later they were relocated due to the restoration project. The village now would be best described as a restored primitive Luobu village park, closely resembling the villages in which their ancestors survived. The villagers, who insist that they are of Luobu descent, proudlyexhibit their inherited traditional lifestyle to the tourists of the world.

The reason that the Luobu people are well-known is perhaps because of the 1999 report "The Last of the Luobu" by Yang Lian at the Literature Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, or perhaps because the recent increase in archeological discoveries in Lake Luobu which have lifted the mysterious veil from the Luobu people. Actually, the Luobu had already become world-famous in the early 20th century when Aldik, a Luobu guide working for the famous explorer Sven Hedin, discovered in the wilderness the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Loulan.   

        斯文•赫定上世纪在罗布泊地区探险时曾拍摄到的那幅卡盆（用一根胡杨木凿空而成的独木舟）边一位罗布人怀抱一条约1米的塔里木大头鱼的场面，再也看不到了。塔里木河近在咫尺，干涸的河道也呈现在眼前，罗布人坐进卡盆在海子里划着，张网捕鱼，现在也只是一种表演了。

Sven Hedin, during his expedition in Lake Luobu last century, once took a picture of a canoe (hollowed out from a single piece of poplar) and a Luobu man hugging a meter-long carp fish (a special species living only in the Southern Xinjiang). That scene has disappeared. With the Tarim River almost within reach, we could see the dried river way in front of us. A Luobu man rowing his canoe on the lake, spreading his net out to catch fish—this is now merely for show. 

        新中国成立后，塔里木河上中游大规模的农业开发，使得下游河道日渐干涸，1972年罗布泊完全干涸。不愿放弃传统生活的罗布人溯塔里木河迁到现今的尉犁县，或更上游的洛浦县（洛浦即罗布的不同译音），而另外一些则弃船上岸，改变自己"不耕不牧，以鱼为食"的生活，开始"放羊养牛，种粮植棉"，融入了当地现代维吾尔族人的生活。

After the establishment of the new China, the large-scale agricultural development in the upper and middle Tarim River areas increasingly dried up the lower Tarim River, such that the Lake Luobu was completely dried up in 1972. The Luobu people who were unwilling to abandon their traditional way of life moved upstream to Yuli County or further up to Lop County ("Lop" is an alternate transliteration of "Luobu"), whereas others gave up the waters and came inland, exchanging their "no plowing, no herding and eat fish" lifestyle for that of "raising sheep and cows, planting grain and cotton", assimilating into the modern lifestyle of the Uygur people.

        本文内容及图片均来自飘尘的博客http://marcojiang.blog.sohu.com，为适应栏目需求文字略有删节。感谢原作者的转载授权和大力支持。

The content and photographs of this article are taken from Piaochen's blog http://marcojiang.blog.sohu.com. The text was abridged to fit the requirements of the column. We thank the original author for authorizing the reprint and for his enthusiastic support.

• western [´westən]   a.西的；西方的   (初中英语单词)
• cultural [´kʌltʃərəl]   a.文化(上)的；教养的   (初中英语单词)
• project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt]   v.设计；投掷 n.计划   (初中英语单词)
• primitive [´primitiv]   a.原始的 n.原始人   (初中英语单词)
• proudly [´praudli]   ad.骄傲地；傲慢地   (初中英语单词)
• exhibit [ig´zibit]   vt.展出 n.展览品   (初中英语单词)
• well-known [,wel´nəun]   a.著名的，众所周知的   (初中英语单词)
• literature [´litərətʃə]   n.文学；文献；著作   (初中英语单词)
• institute [´institju:t]   n.学院 vt.建立；设置   (初中英语单词)
• academy [ə´kædəmi]   n.专科学校；学会；协会   (初中英语单词)
• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs]   a.神秘的；难以理解的   (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli]   ad.事实上；实际上   (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)
• wilderness [´wildənis]   n.荒地，荒野   (初中英语单词)
• expedition [,ekspi´diʃən]   n.远征；探险；迅速   (初中英语单词)
• establishment [i´stæbliʃmənt]   n.建(成)立；研究所   (初中英语单词)
• agricultural [ægri´kʌltʃər(ə)l]   a.农业的   (初中英语单词)
• abandon [ə´bændən]   vt.抛弃，放弃，离弃   (初中英语单词)
• whereas [weər´æz]   conj.鉴于；因此；而   (初中英语单词)
• column [´kɔləm]   n.柱；柱状物；纵队   (初中英语单词)
• southwest [,sauθ´west]   n.&a.西南(方)(的)   (高中英语单词)
• restoration [,restə´reiʃən]   n.恢复；复辟；重建(物)   (高中英语单词)
• originally [ə´ridʒənəli]   ad.本来；独创地   (高中英语单词)
• descent [di´sent]   n.出身，家世   (高中英语单词)
• explorer [ik´splɔ:rə]   n.勘探者；探险家   (高中英语单词)
• species [´spi:ʃi:z]   n.(生物的)种，类   (高中英语单词)
• alternate [ɔ:l´tə:nit, ´ɔ:ltə:neit]   a.交替的 v.轮流   (高中英语单词)
• inland [´inlənd, in´lænd]   a.&n.内地的 ad.在内地   (高中英语单词)
• enthusiastic [inθju:zi´æstik]   a.热情的，热心的   (高中英语单词)
• authentic [ɔ:´θentik]   a.真实的；可靠的   (英语四级单词)
• traditional [trə´diʃənəl]   a.传统的，习惯的   (英语四级单词)
• increasingly [in´kri:siŋli]   ad.日益，愈加   (英语四级单词)
• unwilling [ʌn´wiliŋ]   a.不愿意的；不情愿的   (英语四级单词)
• subsist [səb´sist]   vi.生存；维持生命   (英语六级单词)