名片的由來（雙語）

The French claim that visiting cards first appeared in their land in the seventeenth century while the Chinese seek to prove that visiting cards were invented by their ancestors shortly after they had concocted explosive powder. However, the first ever known sample of a visiting card, dating back to 1786, was found in Germany. Gradually, with the development of certain rules of use, the cards had become common by the nineteenth century.

法國人認(rèn)為名片于十七世紀(jì)在他們的土地上率先出現(xiàn)，而中國人則設(shè)法證明名片是在他們的祖先發(fā)明了火藥后不久發(fā)明的。不管怎樣，有記錄的第一張名片1786年出現(xiàn)于德國。慢慢地，隨著某些使用規(guī)則的出現(xiàn)，到十九世紀(jì)時名片變得普遍起來。

Do you know which corner of a visiting card you must fold when leaving it with a footman in order to indicate that you have called on to inquire after the master's health? No? Neither do I, but only a hundred years ago this knowledge was as vital for an aristocrat as dancing and polite conversation.

你知不知道當(dāng)你把名片留與仆人時，為了暗示你來拜訪過主人給他請安，你必須折疊名片的哪一角?不知道?我也不知道，不過在一百年以前這點學(xué)問對于貴族來說就和跳舞和有教養(yǎng)的交談一樣重要。

Visiting cards used to be an indispensable attribute of the etiquette and the rules of their use were as sophisticated as those of cutlery. At that time visiting cards belonged to the notions of such consequence like title, rank, land, horses etc.

過去名片是禮節(jié)一個不可缺少的組成部分，而且它們的使用規(guī)則像餐具的使用規(guī)則那樣復(fù)雜。在那個時候，名片有如頭銜、等級、土地、馬匹等一樣重要。

First businessmen used their cards as marks of distinction and thus introduced the first modifications in their design. Later, as the growing demand for the cards boosted the development of the printing industry, more and more sophisticated card design patterns appeared.

最早的商人將他們的卡片作為區(qū)別于他人的一個標(biāo)志，因此在他們的名片設(shè)計中首先出現(xiàn)了變化。后來，隨著名片需求的增加，印刷工業(yè)的發(fā)展得到推進，出現(xiàn)了越來越多復(fù)雜的卡片設(shè)計圖案。

On the other hand, there appeared an ever-growing social group of private entrepreneurs who had a constant need to exchange their contact information. These pragmatic people started to print out their own cheaper business cards to give them at presentations, exhibitions, conferences etc.

另一方面，私人企業(yè)家的數(shù)量也在日益增長。這些人需要經(jīng)常交換他們的聯(lián)系信息。這些注重實效的人開始印刷便宜的名片給自己，在見面、展覽以及會議等場合送出。

In the modern business card design, with its developed professional conventions, one can still detect the two conflicting approaches, the fanciful and the functional one. The purpose of the first approach is to show that there is nothing impossible for the card's owner. The more striking by its design and materials and the more sophisticated in its manufacturing technology, the card will be the better. What matters is the card's uniqueness. The content of the card does not matter much either.

在現(xiàn)代名片設(shè)計中，隨著其職業(yè)協(xié)定的發(fā)展，人們?nèi)匀豢梢圆煊X到互相矛盾的兩個方面：裝飾性與功能性。第一個方面的目的是為了炫耀對于名片主人來說沒有什么是不可能的。設(shè)計與制作材料越精美，生產(chǎn)技術(shù)越復(fù)雜，名片就越好。重要的是名片的獨特性。名片的內(nèi)容也不太重要。

The other approach, on the contrary, emphasizes functionality. It is the one that rules in the pragmatic West. And the English name of the item - business card- also focuses on its specific functionality. These cards are essential for those company workers that interact with clients. That is why, on the one hand, you can see a small clerk, a service engineer or even a heaver with his own business card and a head of the department without such if he or she does not interact with clients.

另一個方面恰恰相反，強調(diào)功能性。注重實效的西方崇尚這一點。此外，名片的英文名-business card-也強調(diào)了它具體的功能性。這些名片對那些與客戶有聯(lián)系、在公司里工作的職員來說很關(guān)鍵。這就是為什么，一方面，你會看到一個小小的職員、一個維修工程師乃至一個搬運工都有他自己的名片，而另一方面，部門頭頭，如果他/她不和客戶打交道的話，卻沒有名片。

Business cards used to be made exclusively of stiff paper , but today come in materials from plastics to thin metals and even glass! A name or business card reflects the owner - it should represent visually the company or the person passing it. Take the time to have a closer look at your own cards and decide if they really suit you and your company.

以前名片無一例外都是用硬紙來做成的(卡片)，不過現(xiàn)在用來制作的材料很多，從塑料到薄金屬片甚至玻璃!名片反映著主人的風(fēng)格——在視覺上它應(yīng)該代表著公司或送出名片的人。仔細(xì)看你自己的名片，看看它是否真的適合你或者你的公司。