位于纽约州特罗伊城的山姆大叔塑像

 

黄安年文  2007年6月19日

 

1991年在纽约州府学术访问期间，常常去附近的特罗伊市，这里就是美国历史上传颂的美国佬原型山姆大叔（1766-1854）当年活动的地方，在那里有一座山姆大叔的塑像，1991年6月8日笔者在塑像前拍了一张照片。

 

在1812-1814年美国对英第二次战争期间，产生了后来流传象征美国的山姆大叔形象。威尔逊·山姆在特罗伊将他供应部队的牛肉桶打上U.S.代表美国.在漫画家下, 山姆大叔通常被描绘成身穿星条旗纹样的礼服，头戴星条旗纹样的高礼帽，身材高瘦，留着山羊胡子，鹰勾鼻，精神矍铄的老人形象。山姆大叔(Uncle Sam)作为美国的拟人化形象成了美国的绰号。这位山姆大叔在漫画家笔下是不断变换形象的，瘦高的老头，时而和蔼可亲，时而大发雷霆，时而茫然，不知所措。在20世纪50年代，山姆大叔则是瘦高山羊胡子的长者。（参见笔者著《美国的崛起》第191页注，中国社会科学出版社1992年版）

 

又见刘绪贻、李世洞主编的《美国研究词典》中“山姆大叔”条目中写道：

美国政府的绰号。1812年战争期间，纽约特洛伊商人塞缪尔·威尔逊（1766-1854）在供应军需的装牛肉的桶上加盖戳记“U.S”,意为“美国政府物资”。而威尔逊的昵称叫“山姆大叔”，英文缩写亦为“U·S”。故人们遂将美国称为“山姆大叔”。山姆大叔的形象为一蓄山羊胡须，着燕尾服、背心、条纹裤，戴高帽之瘦老人。1961年，国会正式批准以“山姆大叔”为美国之绰号。（第773页，中国社会科学出版社，2002年）

 

 

以下是有关山姆大叔的两份网上资料：

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Biography of Uncle Sam

Historians aren't completely certain how the character "Uncle Sam" was created, or who (if anyone) he was named after. The prevailing theory is that Uncle Sam was named after Samuel Wilson.

Wilson was born in Arlington, Mass., on September 13, 1766. His childhood home was in Mason, New Hampshire. In 1789, he and his brother Ebenezer walked to Troy, New York.

During the War of 1812, Wilson was in the business of slaughtering and packing meat. He provided large shipments of meat to the US Army, in barrels that were stamped with the initials "U.S." Supposedly, someone who saw the "U.S." stamp suggested -- perhaps as a joke -- that the initials stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The suggestion that the meat shipments came from "Uncle Sam" led to the idea that Uncle Sam symbolized the federal government.

Samuel Wilson died in 1854. His grave is in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.

Uncle Sam's traditional appearance, with a white goatee and star-spangled suit, is an invention of artists and political cartoonists; Samuel Wilson did not look like the modern image of Uncle Sam. For example, Wilson was clean-shaven, while Uncle Sam is usually portrayed with a goatee.

Thomas Nast, a prominent 19th-century political cartoonist, produced many of the earliest cartoons of Uncle Sam. However, historians and collectors take note: Many of Nast's cartoons may appear to depict Uncle Sam, while in fact they depict Yankee Doodle or "Brother Jonathan." It is easy to mistake a Brother Jonathan cartoon for one of Uncle Sam, since both figures wear star-spangled suits of red, white and blue. As a rule, Brother Jonathan was drawn with a feather in his cap, while Uncle Sam was not; and Uncle Sam is nearly always drawn with a beard, while Brother Jonathan was clean-shaven.

Some have suggested that Dan Rice, a 19th-century clown, inspired Thomas Nast's Uncle Sam cartoons. Rice's clown costume consisted of a hat and star-spangled suit, much like the costome worn by Uncle Sam. However, Rice was born in 1823, and did not begin clowning until 1844; and Uncle Sam cartoons appeared as early as 1838. Therefore, it seems unlikely that Rice was, in fact, the inspiration for Nast's cartoons.

The single most famous portrait of Uncle Sam is the "I WANT YOU" Army recruiting poster from World War I. The poster was painted by James Montgomery Flagg in 1916-1917.

Many early examples of Uncle Sam cartoons can be found in The Foremost Guide to Uncle Sam Collectibles, by Gerald E. Czulewicz (Collector Books, 1995).

（ http://home.nycap.rr.com/content/us_bio.html）

 

 

“山姆大叔”的小屋

 

你知道美国的绰号为什么叫“山姆大叔”吗？无论你知道还是不知道，

你都真应该去新罕布什尔州梅森镇上的这所房子去看一看。房子门前的

说明牌子上写得明白：“旁边的这所房子是人称‘山姆大叔’的撒米尔

·威尔逊（Samuel Wilson  1766-1854）童年的居所。他在一八一二年向

军队供应牛肉，桶上的牌子写的是‘U.S.’（‘山姆大叔’的缩写），

于是美国（缩写也是‘U.S.’）就转换成‘山姆大叔’，其后成了美国

的绰号。”‘山姆大叔’死后葬在纽约州的Troy镇，有兴趣者可参阅此处网址。

旅游路线：从新罕布什尔州纳施华（Nashua）向西走130号路到梅森

镇（Mason）。维一摄于1998年5月

 

http://www.edubridge.com/photos/unclesam.htm

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附图

1．1991年6月8日笔者在纽约州特罗伊城的山姆大叔塑像前。

2-3．网上的山姆大叔形象。

4．图为山姆大叔的小屋，取自网上下载。

5．1991年6月8日笔者在纽约州特罗伊城的一座纪念碑前。

（写于2000年6月18日）

 

 

 

 

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