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(shí)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(shí)，為了暗示你來拜訪過主人給他請(qǐng)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(diǎn)學(xué)問對(duì)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(gè)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(gè)時(shí)候，名片有如頭銜、等級(jí)、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(gè)標(biāo)志，因此在他們的名片設(shè)計(jì)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(jìn)，出現(xiàn)了越來越多復(fù)雜的卡片設(shè)計(jì)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(zhǎng)。這些人需要經(jīng)常交換他們的聯(lián)系信息。這些注重實(shí)效的人開始印刷便宜的名片給自己，在見面、展覽以及會(huì)議等場(chǎng)合送出。
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(shí)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(shí)，為了暗示你來拜訪過主人給他請(qǐng)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(diǎn)學(xué)問對(duì)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(gè)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(gè)時(shí)候，名片有如頭銜、等級(jí)、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(gè)標(biāo)志，因此在他們的名片設(shè)計(jì)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(jìn)，出現(xiàn)了越來越多復(fù)雜的卡片設(shè)計(jì)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(zhǎng)。這些人需要經(jīng)常交換他們的聯(lián)系信息。這些注重實(shí)效的人開始印刷便宜的名片給自己，在見面、展覽以及會(huì)議等場(chǎng)合送出。