中國駐英國大使劉曉明伊頓公學演講稿「中英版」
這篇演講稿名為“中國：一個古老而常青的國家”。是中國駐英國大使劉曉明于2012年10月17日在英國伊頓公學發表的演講。大家可以試著翻譯一下，后面附有中文翻譯。
China: Ever Old, Ever Young
Speech by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at Eton College
Election Hall, Eton College, 17 October 2012
Headmaster Anthony Little,
Teachers and students,
It is a real pleasure for me and my wife Pinghua to visit Eton College. Thank you for the warm welcome. I also want to thank Secretary of the Frontier Society Fred Kim for the kind introduction.
You have come to Eton College to learn. I hope I may also encourage you that, in such a fast changing world, the habit of learning will be a life-time occupation. Certainly that is my experience! Recently I have learned two English words. One is Oxonian. I just visited Oxford University last week and gave a speech at the Oxford Union. In my speech I mentioned several Oxonians who made huge contributions to China-UK relations. Today at Eton I have learned another word—Etonian.Many Old Etonians have made a profound impact on the world. The most recent is Sir John Gurton who shared this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine. I warmly congratulate him especially as he overcame the burden of former Eton Headmaster’s comment that he was “too stupid for biology”!
Eton and Oxford have a lot in common:
· They both have a history of hundreds of years.
· They are both located by river Thames.
· They were both chosen to be the settings for the film Harry Potter.
· And they have both produced a wealth of talents.
I wonder whether you have a word ‘Oxtonian’ for those attending both Eton and Oxford! Eton plus Oxford is an optimal combination of education. This combination is distinctively British. Together they have cultivated a galaxy of great people. Thirteen Prime Ministers have come from Eton and Oxford, including the incumbent one. As a traditional description explains, Eton is truly the “the chief nurse of England’s statesmen.”James Bond is in the news again with his latest movie called ‘Skyfall’. You may be interested to know his films are very popular in China! A less known story is James Bond also went to Eton and Oxford. I gather that the story goes that he was expelled by Eton for his talent in trouble making!
Many of you are members of the Frontier Society. The word frontier reminds me of the United States where I was posted twice. In the US history ‘frontier’ was a term with special meaning. It referred to the ‘wild west’ that was developed by the US in the second half of the 19th century. In the 1960s President Kennedy made an initiative to explore the ‘New Frontier’, which meant space. I have been told that the word ‘frontier’ in the name of your society has taken on a new post-modernist meaning—emerging economies or powers that will assume major influences in the future. These include China. In today’s audience there are also members from the Oriental Society and Keynes Society. Obviously a common subject that interests all the three societies is China.
So my topic today is China, a country that is ever old, ever young.
China has a long history. Among the world’s four great ancient civilizations China is the only one that has continued to these days without any break. I was Chinese ambassador to Egypt. Egypt is also a very old civilization. Its recorded history started even earlier than that of China. But due to many years of foreign occupation and rule the Egyptian civilization died out. The writing system currently used in Egypt is entirely different from the hieroglyph in ancient Egypt. Luckily in early 19th century archeologists deciphered ancient Egyptian characters that had been lost for 1400 years. This was done with the help of the Rosetta Stone which is now kept in the British Museum. China also suffered foreign invasion and aggression. However unlike other civilisations Chinese culture and civilisation has had the strength and resilience to survive. As I will explain it has survived well.
China was the biggest economy in the world for almost all of the past 2000 years. Data from The Economist also points to China having about a third of global GDP for most of that period. So it should not surprise that products from China were in high demand. For centuries China’s silk, porcelain and tea were the most sought-after products around the world. In those times ‘Made in China’ was synonymous with the most expensive luxury goods. Apart from its vast economy and wealth, China fostered a highly developed and sophisticated culture. Two major native Chinese philosophies were Confucianism and Taoism. They encouraged pursuit of success and stressed a sense of mission. At the same time they aimed at harmony between man and nature.
The four major inventions by China—paper making, compass, gun powder and movable printing—contributed greatly to world civilization and human progress. This was partly recognised by Sir Francis Bacon. He wrote that: “Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation.” The monumental impact on world civilization and progress of humanity by Chinese inventions was fully recognized by a British scholar in the past century. Ancient Chinese civilization was so rich and advanced that it took that famous scholar from Cambridge University, Joseph Needham, 50 years to create almost 30 volumes called 'Science and Civilization in China.'
China fell behind in modern times. The industrialisation that started in Britain changed the world. The traditional agricultural civilisation of China struggled to find its place in the rapidly industrialised world. In addition, in the 20th century, China was caught between the millstones of foreign invaders and civil war. The poverty, suffering and humiliation that Chinese people suffered is indescribable. Even after the founding the People’s Republic in 1949, China also made some mistakes in its development cause. People in hard times were inspired by one line of poem: “If winter comes, can Spring far behind?” The author of this poem was an Old Etonian—Shelley.
China finally ushered in the spring in the late 1970s when it embarked on reform and opening up. In the more than 30 years that followed, the Chinese economy has grown at an annual rate of 10%. No country in human history has industrialised so fast and on such a scale. In addition, more than 600 million people were lifted out of poverty. Today, China ranks number two in world economy and is the world’s second largest trading nation. Since the financial crisis hit the world five years ago China has become the powerhouse and ballast of global economic growth. Besides economic prosperity, China has made across the board progress in cultural, political and social fields. Last week Chinese writer Mo Yan was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature. This is the first time that a Chinese writer has had this honour.
Now the whole world is watching China. China makes headlines in British newspapers and TV media. Walking into any Waterstone bookshop, you will find a full shelf on China. So, how to get a clear picture of today’s China when there is a flood of information and so many perspectives? I would like to offer you three observations.
First, China is following a development path suitable to its national realities. So, how should a large country with 1.3 billion people achieve its development goals?
· There is no precedent in history.
· There is no ready answer in the textbook.
· Copying others won’t work.
· Wishful thinking in isolation of the world is a dead end.
So, the Chinese people have based their efforts on China’s national conditions while drawing on useful experience of other countries. It has been a process of exploration, experiment, reform and innovation. With hard efforts China has succeeded in finding the right path. This path has the following features:
· It focuses on economic development.
· It puts people first.
· It promotes comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development.
· It upholds social equity and justice and protects people’s democratic rights.
The political institutional guarantee of this development path is built on:
· the system of the people’s congress
· and the system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
The economic institutional guarantee for this development path is a multi-ownership economy. Public ownership is the mainstay of the economy. At the same time, it allows development of private ownership and foreign investment side by side. This development path has similarities with other countries. It also has characteristics only found in China.
My second observation to get a clear focus is that China is still a developing country:
· China is a large economy in total size.
· But per capita GDP of China was only 5432 US dollars last year. According to IMF statistics, this figure was only one seventh of that of Britain.
· That ranks China at 89th place in the world.
· In China 128 million people still live in poverty.
That means 128 million Chinese live on one dollar per day. If measured against the UN criteria of poverty of living on 1.25 dollars per day, then the Chinese poor population will be even higher. Let me draw on my own experience to give a sense of this poverty. I once worked in one of China’s poorest western provinces—Gansu as Assistant Governor. I visited more than 60 of its 86 counties. Here I felt very strongly the wide gap between China’s west region and its eastern coastal areas. This is the divide between rural and urban areas. In some villages of Gansu even clean water was difficult to access. These people have a long way to go before they get out of poverty.
My third observation to help you focus is that China is committed to peaceful development:
· Today’s China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. The goal of Chinese foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development.
· China embraces a new security concept that stresses mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation.
· China pro-actively fulfills its international responsibility.
· It insists on good neighborliness and regional cooperation.
· It calls on all other countries to work together for a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.
· China will never seek expansion or hegemony.
· The theory that “a strong country must seek hegemony” will never apply to China.
China is committed to peaceful settlement of international disputes and crisis issues. As evidence of this, China has sent a total of more than 20 thousand people of various types to 30 UN peacekeeping missions. This makes China the permanent member of the UN Security Council that has sent abroad the largest number of peacekeeping personnel. China has resolved boundary issues with its 12 neighboring countries on land. China believes disputes over territory and maritime rights with neighboring countries should be resolved through peaceful negotiations. China will do its best to maintain peace and stability in South China Sea, East China Sea and its surrounding areas.
Recently Japan has announced its so-called “nationalisation” of Chinese territory Diaoyu Dao. This move has grossly violated China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has sparked firm opposition and strong protest from the Chinese people. We urge Japan to immediately stop all its actions that violate China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and return to the track of resolving disputes through peaceful negotiations.
It is over two years since I arrived in the UK as Chinese Ambassador. Since my arrival, I have often read in Western media worries about China’s future - sometimes even prophecies about China’s doom. The reality is that we Chinese people are confident about our own country. This is backed up even by an American research company. The Pew Research Centre’s survey last July showed that 83% of Chinese people were optimistic about Chinese economy. While in the US and UK, the figures were only 31% and 15% respectively. As a Chinese diplomat I have every confidence in China’s future! So, what are the foundations of my confidence?
First, the Chinese economy has great potential and a strong drive. Last year urbanisation rate in China for the first time passed 50%. Britain already reached this level in 1851. The average urbanisation rate in developed countries now stands at around 80%. Urbanisation in China will continue for several more decades. This will create immense demand in housing and infrastructure. As I said earlier, China’s development is not balanced between different regions. The regional balancing process will boost investment and domestic demand and provide a bigger marketplace. China’s consumption mix is upgrading from living necessities like food and clothing to houses, cars and education. China’s strength in its large labour force will continue for a long period. With more government input in education, China’s human capital will be strengthened. This will bring new population dividends.
The second reason for my confidence is that China’s development will be more comprehensive and inclusive. Chinese people will be better off in these ways:
· China will continue to advance democracy and rule of law.
· China will uphold social equity and justice.
· China will realise human freedom and the all-round development of Chinese people.
· China will ensure and improve people’s welfare so that all Chinese people will benefit more from development.
· China will build a resource-conserving and environment-friendly society.
· China will focus on sustainable development.
We will try to catch up with developed countries’ per capita GDP figures. But, most important, China must not overtake developed countries in energy intensity and green house gas emissions.
My third point about my confidence is that China will play an even more active role in world affairs:
· China needs a peaceful environment for its development.
· It will also safeguard world peace and promote common development with its own development.
· China will actively participate in international system and global affairs and play a constructive role in it.
· China will adhere to its win-win opening-up strategy.
· This will be done by expanding imports, increase outbound investment and creating more jobs.
In turn, China’s actions will create wealth for all other countries and promote world economic growth.
The development path that China has followed for more than three decades has profoundly changed China. We have every reason to believe that staying on this path will lead China to a brighter and better future.
Teachers and Students,
I have been to dozens of British universities and many middle and primary schools. Every time I visit a school I want to know about language teaching. In particular whether Chinese is being taught. The reason is that I always believe that understanding China starts from learning its language. Language is one of the essentials that form the culture and character of a country and a nation. Mastery of a foreign language gives you a key to open another world. So, learning Chinese will help you understand China, its rich culture and fast development. You will also make many friends amongst its hard-working and ingenious people. Mastery of Chinese will make you proud because you will be able to speak not only the most widely used language – English - but also the language used by the largest population—Chinese.
I am glad to learn that Eton was one of the earliest British schools to open Chinese language course and include it into the A Level curriculum. I have also learned how this has motivated Eton to organise visits to China. These study tours in China and Chinese Summer School are bound to boost students’ interest in learning Chinese. I hope a Confucius Institute will open in your college in the not-too-distant future. This will open up another channel to learn Chinese and understand China.
To help you learn Chinese language and understand China, I have brought you some books and discs on Chinese literature, art and folk customs. Some of them are in English. Some are bilingual. I hope you will find them interesting.
Teachers and Students,
China and Britain are both great countries. We both made great contribution to human civilization. In this new era, China and Britain should join hands to promote common development. Through our collaboration we can make even greater contribution to world peace and prosperity. One famous old Etonian was the Duke of Wellington. I believe I will quote him correctly when he said: “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” Maybe the future of China-UK relations to a large extent also lies here at Eton. The pattern of history suggests that you will be the major participants and builders of future China-UK relations. Today, I hope my speech would inspire you to reach out and work with the young generation of China. Together you can build a bright future of China-UK relations. That is the path to create a peaceful, sustainable and harmonious world.
Thank you!
中國：一個古老而常青的國家
中國駐英國大使劉曉明在英國伊頓公學的演講
2012年10月17日，英國伊頓公學
尊敬的托尼·里特爾校長，
老師們、同學們：
我和夫人胡*華非常高興訪問伊頓公學。感謝伊頓公學“前沿社”(The Frontier Society)社長Fred Kim剛才熱情的介紹。
你們來到伊頓求學，風華正茂，令人羨慕。在今天這個迅速發展的時代，我個人的體會是，學習是終生的。最近我就學習了兩個英文單詞，一個是Oxonian(牛津校友)，因為就在上周，我剛訪問了牛津大學，在牛津學聯發表了一個演講，在演講中提到了不少曾為中英關系發展作出貢獻的牛津校友。今天，我來到了伊頓，又學習了一個新詞：Etonian(伊頓校友)。我要祝賀伊頓校友(Old Etonian)約翰·格登榮獲今年的諾貝爾醫學獎，盡管他在校時曾被時任校長評價為“生物學得糟糕透頂”(too stupid for biology)。
伊頓和牛津，同樣具有數百年歷史，同樣坐落在泰晤士河畔，同樣是《哈利·波特》的拍攝地，同樣是英才輩出，我不知道英語中是否有這么一個詞：Oxtonian,用來指先后就讀于伊頓和牛津的學子。因為，“伊頓+牛津”，這是一個最富英國特色的黃金教育組合，培養了許多杰出人才。一個最為人津津樂道的例子是，伊頓和牛津共同造就了13位英國首相，包括現任首相，名副其實地成為英國政治家的搖籃("the chief nurse of England's statesmen")。還有一個不為人知的例子是，詹姆斯·邦德(007)據說也是伊頓和牛津校友，不過聽說他因為惹了麻煩，伊頓開除了他。
今天在座的不少是伊頓公學“前沿社”的成員。剛開始看到“前沿”這個詞，讓我一下子想到了我曾經兩次工作過的美國。在美國歷史上，Frontier有著特殊含義，指19世紀后半期美國開發的西部邊疆。在20世紀60年代，美國總統肯尼迪又提出了開發“新邊疆”(New Frontier)，也就是探索太空。當然，你們社名中的Frontier被賦予了新的后現代含義——新興經濟體或在未來有重要影響的世界大國，這其中包括中國。今天，也有一些來自“東方社”和“凱恩斯社”的成員，你們三個社團共同感興趣的話題無疑是中國。
今天，我演講的主題就是中國，一個古老而常青的國家。
中國歷史悠久，有一句話最能說出中國歷史的特點：中國在世界四大文明古國中，其文明唯一未曾間斷、延續至今。我曾經擔任中國駐埃及大使，埃及同樣是一個文明古國，有文字記載的歷史比中國還要早，但是古埃及文明由于外敵的持續入侵而湮沒了。今天埃及使用的文字與古埃及象形文字已經完全不是一個體系，19世紀初，人們幸運地借助現存于大英博物館的羅塞塔碑，才解開了失傳1400年古埃及文字的謎團。而中國雖也曾遭受外族入侵，但中華文明因其強大的生命力和包容性得以傳承，并不斷發展。
古代中國取得了非凡成就，曾經鼎盛輝煌。在過去的二千年里大多數時間中國是世界上最大的經濟體。英國《經濟學家》雜志的數據表明中國的GDP曾占全球總量的三分之一左右。中國的絲綢、瓷器和茶葉曾是世界上最暢銷的產品，那時“Made in China”代表著豪華、昂貴，屬于“奢侈品”。中國人形成了博大精深的哲學思想和治世之道——儒家和道家，既富有進取心和使命感，又崇尚人與自然和諧共處。
中國創造的四大發明：造紙術、指南針、火藥和活字印刷術，對世界文明和人類進步產生了重大影響。弗朗西斯·培根曾經寫道：“印刷術、火藥和指南針分別改變了文學、戰爭和航海，進而徹底改變了整個世界。”劍橋大學學者李約瑟博士為此悉心研究整理，花費近50年時間編寫出煌煌巨著《中國科學技術史》。
但是，近代中國落后了。18世紀產生于英國的工業革命改變了世界，中國傳統的農業文明迅速被時代甩在了后面。中國經歷了一百多年的內憂外患，甚至一度處于民族危亡的關頭。新中國成立后，中國在建設發展過程中也走過了一些彎路。逆境中的人們都熟悉這樣一句詩：“如果冬天來了，春天會還遠嗎?”這句詩的作者就是一位伊頓校友——英國詩人雪萊。
到了上世紀70年代末，中國終于迎來了改革開放的春天，開始了民族復興。中國連續30年保持了年均10%的增速，使6億多人擺脫貧困，創造了世界經濟增長的奇跡。今天的中國，已成為全球第二大經濟體和第二大貿易體，是世界經濟增長的發動機和穩定器。中國不僅經濟發展了，同時文化、政治、社會等各領域取得了全面進步。就在上周，中國作家莫言獲得了諾貝爾文學獎，這是中國籍作家首次獲此殊榮。
對當代中國，世界非常關注。英國的報紙、電視新聞里，幾乎每天都有關于中國的報道。走進英國最大的連鎖書店WATERSTONE，書架上關于中國的書籍也是琳瑯滿目。面對海量信息和各種解讀，如何清晰認識當代中國。我認為，可以從三點去把握：
一是中國正在走一條適合中國國情的發展道路。一個十三億人口的大國，該如何謀發展，歷史上沒有先例，教科書上沒有答案，照搬國外不行，閉門造車也不行。中國人牢牢把握自己的國情，借鑒吸取世界各國有益經驗，不斷摸索實踐和改革創新，獲得了成功。這條發展道路的特點是以經濟建設為中心，以人為本，全面協調和可持續發展，同時堅持社會公平正義，保障人民的民主權利。這條發展道路政治制度保障是人民代表大會制度及中國共產黨領導的多黨合作和政治協商制度，經濟制度保障是以公有制為主體、多種所有制經濟共同發展，包括私營經濟、個體經濟和外資經濟。這既與世界各國有共同點，又有著鮮明中國特色。
二是中國仍然是一個發展中國家。中國經濟總量很大，但人均GDP去年僅5432美元，根據IMF的排名，居世界第89位，僅為英國人均的1/7。中國的貧困人口仍有1.28億(中國的標準相當于每人每天1美元)，若按聯合國制定的每人每天1.25美元的新標準，則這個數字還要大。中國單位GDP的能耗是國際水平的3至4倍，是英國的8倍。我曾經在中國最貧窮的西部省份之一甘肅省工作過，走訪了甘肅86個縣區市中的60多個，深刻體會到中國西部地區與東部沿海省份相比、農村與城市相比還有很大差距。在甘肅農村一些地區，基本生活用水都存在困難，脫貧還有很長的路要走。
三是中國致力于和平發展。今天的中國，堅持獨立自主的和平外交政策，將維護世界和平、促進共同發展作為中國外交政策的宗旨。中國倡導互信、互利、平等、協作的新安全觀，秉持積極有為的國際責任觀，奉行睦鄰友好的地區合作觀，主張世界各國一道建立持久和平、共同繁榮的和諧世界。中國絕不搞侵略擴張，永遠不爭霸、不稱霸，絕不走歷史上“國強必霸”的老路。中國致力于和平解決國際爭端和熱點問題。中國累計向聯合國30項維和行動派出各類人員約2萬多人次，是派出維和人員最多的聯合國安理會常任理事國。中國同12個陸地鄰國解決了歷史遺留的邊界問題，主張通過和平談判處理同鄰國領土和海洋權益爭端，盡最大努力維護南海、東海及周邊和平穩定。
最近，日本宣布對中國的領土釣魚山實施“國有化”，這是對中國領土主權的嚴重侵犯，引起中國人民的堅決反對和強烈抗議。我們敦促日本立即停止一切損害中國領土主權的行為，回到和平談判解決爭議的軌道上來。
我在英國工作兩年多，經�？吹轿鞣矫襟w上對中國未來的各種“擔心”，甚至“唱衰”。而事實上，中國民眾對自己的國家抱有信心。根據美國著名民調機構皮尤研究中心今年7月公布的調查報告，83%的中國民眾對中國經濟感到樂觀，而在美國和英國，認為本國經濟形勢良好的只有31%和15%。作為一個中國外交官，我對中國未來發展更充滿信心。
首先，中國經濟發展潛力巨大，動力充沛。中國去年城鎮化率歷史上首次超過了50%，而英國在1851年就達到了這一水平，發達國家目前的城鎮化率普遍在80%左右。中國城鎮化發展還將持續幾十年，將創造出巨大的城市住宅、基礎設施建設的需求。中國地區發展不平衡，而今后的平衡進程可以有效帶動投資和內需的增長，提供更大的市場規模。中國的整體消費結構正從吃、穿等生存性消費向住、行、教育等發展型消費升級，提振空間很大。中國勞動力總量巨大的優勢還會持續一段時間，并且隨著政府加大教育投入，人力資本提升空間很大，這將形成新的“人口紅利”。
第二，中國的發展將更加全面和諧，人民將更加幸福。中國將繼續致力于民主法治建設，維護社會公平正義，實現人的自由和全面發展。中國將更好地保障和改善民生，使發展成果更好地惠及全體人民。中國將努力建設資源節約型、環境友好型社會，走可持續發展之路。中國人均GDP要向發達國家看齊，但人均能源消費、溫室氣體排放強度絕不能趕超發達國家。
第三，中國將在世界上發揮更加積極的作用。中國需要爭取和平的環境來發展自己，也會以自身的發展來維護世界和平，促進共同發展。中國將積極參與國際體系和國際事務，努力發揮建設性促進作用。中國將繼續奉行互利共贏的開放戰略，積極擴大進口，增加對外投資，為各國創造更多的就業和財富，促進世界經濟增長。
中國過去三十多年的發展道路深刻改變了中國，沿著這條道路走下去，我們完全有理由相信，中國的未來只會更加光明，更加美好!
老師們、同學們，
我曾經去過英國幾十所大學，也去過多所中、小學。每當我訪問一所學校，我都很想知道這個學校是否教授中文。因為，我一直堅持這么一種觀點：了解中國，自中文始。語言是構成一個國家和民族的基本要素，掌握了一門外語，也就是掌握了開啟另一個世界的鑰匙。學習漢語將讓你們了解中國，了解中國豐富燦爛的文化、日新月異的發展和勤勞智慧的人民;學習漢語將讓你們更加自豪，因為你們不僅掌握了世界上使用最廣泛的語言——英語，也學會了世界上使用人口最多的語言——漢語。
我很高興地獲知伊頓是英國最早開設中文課程的中學之一，將中文課程列入學校A-Level課程。在此基礎上，伊頓還開設了“短期中國游學”、“中國學生伊頓夏令營”等項目，增強學生學習中文的興趣。我也期待著孔子課堂早日在貴校開辦，為你們學習中文、了解中國提供新的渠道。
為使你們更好地學習中文、了解中國，我此次也特意帶來了一些關于中國文學藝術、風土人情的書籍和光盤，既有英文的，也有中英文對照的，希望你們喜歡。
老師們、同學們，
中國和英國都是偉大的國家，都曾為人類文明發展作出重大貢獻。在新的世紀，中英應當攜手合作，促進共同發展，同時為世界的和平與繁榮作出新的更大貢獻。伊頓校友惠靈頓公爵曾有一句名言：“滑鐵盧的勝利，是在伊頓公學的操場上決定的�！被蛟S，中英關系的未來，很大程度上也還在這里，因為你們將成為中英關系的參與者、建設者。我衷心希望你們與中國的年輕一代共同努力，締造中英關系的美好未來。
謝謝。
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