The Times May 30, 2006

How I am related to Genghis Khan
我是怎样和成吉思汗攀上亲戚的

By Mark Henderson
马克•亨德森

A US accountant has proof that he is descended from the Mongol warlord
一名美国会计师有证据表明他是蒙古军事领袖的后裔

THEY seem the unlikeliest of relatives. One was a fearsome warlord whose name became a byword for savagery. The other is a mild-mannered accountancy academic from Florida.

据《泰晤士报》30日报道，他们之间似乎最不可能成为亲威：一个是令世界胆寒的蒙古首领，他的名字成吉思汗已经成为一种威严骁勇的象征，另一个是佛罗里达州举止斯文的会计学者。

Yet Tom Robinson, 48, has become the first man outside Asia to trace his ancestry directly to Genghis Khan, the 13th-century Mongol leader whose empire stretched from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf.

然而，48岁的汤姆•罗宾森的祖先被证实正是成吉思汗，他也是目前为止被证明的成吉思汗在亚洲之外的第一个后人。成吉思汗是13世纪的蒙古领袖，在他的统治下，蒙古帝国的领域从南海一直延伸到波斯湾。

And, since his paternal great-great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Windermere, Cumbria, many more descendants are probably scattered across the Lake District.

罗宾森的高曾祖父是从英国坎布里亚郡的温德米尔移居到美国，这就意味着在英国温德米尔湖地区可能还散居着很多蒙古后人。

Genetic tests have revealed that Mr Robinson, a professor of accountancy at the University of Miami, shares crucial portions of his DNA with the Mongol ruler.

遗传测试显示，迈阿密大学会计学教授罗宾森关键部分的DNA与“一代天娇”成吉思汗的一致。

He has little in common with his infamous ancestor. He is not a keen horseman. Though a Republican, his politics are moderate. And while Genghis Khan may have fathered thousands of children, Professor Robinson and his wife, Linda, have no offspring.

然而，他与他的祖先很少有相同之处，成吉思汗能骑善射，而他不大喜欢骑马，虽然是一名共和党人，但是，他的政治思想并不激进，成吉思汗生下了很多孩子，而罗宾森教授和他的妻子琳达却没有孩子。

“I’m not sure we have too many similarities,” he said. “I obviously haven’t conquered any countries, and though I’ve headed up accounting groups, I’ve done nothing as big as Genghis Khan.

“I’m proud to have such an interesting ancestor. I’ve been reading a lot about him since I found out about the link, and it does seem that his reputation is a little unfair.

“He conquered a lot of countries, but he had a pretty good system of government.”

罗宾逊说：“我确信，我们之间没有太多的相似之处，我没有征服任何国家，虽然我领导着会计组，但是，我远没有成吉思汗伟大。我很自豪自己有这样一个伟大的祖先，自从我发现我们之间的关系后，我一直在读有关他的东西，我认为，说他声名狼藉似乎有些不公平。他征服了很多国家，而且他也有一套相当好的管理制度。”

Professor Robinson’s genetic past was uncovered by Brian Sykes, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford. His company, Oxford Ancestors, offers genetic tests to help people to trace their family trees.

罗宾森教授的遗传秘密是由布莱恩•斯科斯解开的。斯科斯是牛津大学人类遗传学教授，他的公司“牛津祖先”可以给人们提供遗传测试来帮助人们追溯他们的家谱。

Samples of Professor Robinson’s DNA were first taken four years ago. Tests suggested that his paternal forebears came from the Caucasus, while his mother’s ancestors originated in the Pyrenees.

4年前，罗宾森教授进行了第一次DNA测试，结果显示，他的父系祖先来自高加索山脉，他的母系祖先来自比利牛斯山脉。

Then a study in 2003 suggested that up to 16 million people worldwide — and 8 per cent of Asian men — were descended from Genghis Khan, and Professor Sykes decided to trawl through his database of approximately 25,000 male clients for a match.

后来，2003年发表的一项研究显示全球成吉思汗的后代超过了1600万人，其中亚洲人占8%，于是，斯科斯教授决定看看他数据库中大约25000名男客户中是否存在成吉思汗的后代。

The link is revealed by the Y chromosome, a packet of DNA that determines male sex, which is passed down from father to son. Men who share a Y chromosome are invariably descended from the same man at some point in the past, and the accumulation of mutations can be used to date the common ancestor. Women do not have a Y chromosome, so they cannot be tested in the same way, although millions are likely also to be descended from the warlord.

一项基于DNA中Y 染色体基因测试能够显示他们是否与成吉思汗有关系，具有相同Y 染色体的男人一定是同一个男人的后代，可能是源于过去的某个时代。女性没有Y 染色体，因此，她们不能通过相同的检测方法来查找祖先，虽然可能很多女性也是成吉思汗的后代。

The 2003 study found that large numbers of Asian men from the regions that once made up the Mongol empire shared a single Y chromosome, and that this originated in a man who lived in the early 13th century.

2003年一项研究显示，在属于曾经蒙古帝国领域的很多地区的很多亚洲男性都有相同的Y 染色体，而且都可以追溯到13世纪早期的成吉思汗身上。

Genghis Khan lived from about 1162 to 1227 and fathered hundreds or even thousands of children as his armies swept across the continent. This makes him by far the most probable source of the common chromosome.

成吉思汗生于1162年死于1227年，在蒙古大军横扫亚欧大陆的同时他生育的孩子有上百人甚至上千人，这使得他可能成为目前为止后代最多的人。

Professor Sykes said: “Genghis Khan may have been the most successful male ever at spreading his genes. He would have passed his Y chromosome on to his sons and grandsons, who inherited his empire and with it an opportunity to spread it even further.

“We knew it exists widely in Asia today, but I was sure it must have moved further afield as well. Tom Robinson is the first man we’ve found who has it who is from a European or American background.”

斯科斯教授说：“可能成吉思汗是最擅长生儿育女的男人，他的基因又传给了他的儿子和孙子，他的儿孙又继承了他的帝国，帝王总是妻妾成群，因此，他的基因就被广泛流传开来。我们知道，在今天的亚洲，成吉思汗的后人很多，但是，我确定在远离亚洲的地方也一定有他的后代，汤姆•罗宾森是我们发现的具有欧洲或者美洲背景的成吉思汗后代第一个人。”

Oxford Ancestors looked for Genghis Khan’s genetic signature by examining Y chromosomes for nine characteristic DNA markers. Professor Robinson’s Y chromosome is an exact match for eight of the nine markers, and one mutation is expected over the 800 years that separate him from the Mongol ruler.

为了寻找成吉思汗的后人，“牛津祖先”公司通过检测Y染色体9个典型的DNA标记，罗宾森教授的Y染色体在9各标记中占到了8个，匹配精确。他的一个基因变异被认为已经有800年的历史了，也就是说，他的基因从800年前与成吉思汗分离。

“It is a very precise match,” Professor Sykes said.

Professor Robinson’s research into his family tree shows that his paternal great-great-grandfather, John Robinson, emigrated from the Windermere area to Illinois, placing the Genghis Khan chromosome firmly in Britain in the relatively recent past.

斯科斯说： “这是非常精确的匹配。”罗宾森教授追溯家谱的研究显示，他的高曾祖父约翰•罗宾森从英国的温德米尔城移居到了美国的伊利诺斯州，这就有可能在英国也有成吉思汗的后代。

Ravdan Bold, the Mongolian Ambassador to the US, is holding a reception in Professor Robinson’s honour in Washington DC next month.

6月份，蒙古驻美国大使将在华盛顿举办一个欢迎罗宾森教授的欢迎会。

Any man who is interested in finding out whether he is descended from Genghis Khan can be tested by Oxford Ancestors for £195.

任何想要弄清楚自己是否是成吉思汗后代的人只要支付195英镑就可以接受“牛津祖先”公司的测试。