揭开神话的面纱：拿破仑的成长历程2 张照片

Despite the widespread belief that Napoleon was short in stature, this is far from the truth. It is commonly assumed that this famous general’s height was 157 centimeters. In fact, it has been accurately determined that Napoleon’s height was 168.79 centimeters, which is almost 170 centimeters. In the memoirs of Napoleon’s valet de chambre—someone who would surely have known his master’s exact height—the emperor’s stature is described as “5 pieds 2 pouces and 3 lines,” which corresponds to exactly 169 centimeters when converted into modern units of measurement. For comparison, Admiral Nelson was 160 centimeters tall, Stalin was 165 centimeters, and Churchill was 166 centimeters. In Napoleon’s time, a height of around 170 centimeters was actually considered above average. So where did the figure of 157 centimeters come from? One theory is that the British gave Napoleon this nickname out of sarcasm. Perhaps they did so intentionally for propaganda purposes, or perhaps they simply misinterpreted French units of measurement when converting them to English, resulting in the figure of 157 centimeters. This certainly provided cartoonists with plenty of material for satire. However, there is also a more straightforward explanation: Napoleon was naturally disproportionate in build. His head was unusually large compared to his body, and he was quite thin and frail, which might have influenced how people perceived his overall appearance. Moreover, the marshals in his “team” of distinguished generals were all exceptionally tall—so much so that anyone next to them would seem short by comparison.