四月臨近，伴隨陽春到來的，還有新冠肺炎疫情阻擊戰在中國的勝利曙光。過去的兩個月裡，始終和中國人站在一起的，還有一個熟悉的外國人身影。
沒錯，他就是新航道的老朋友，廈門大學外籍教授、新航道“用英語講中國故事”形象大使潘維廉教授。
見證了這場防疫抗疫戰爭的開始與高潮，也目睹了世界各國應對疫情的反應與協作，老潘感觸良多，他把所想所悟都寫在了給新航道的第五封信中，與我們分享。
點擊觀看潘維廉教授英文朗讀來信
Good morning, New Channel family! I hope you are all staying safe, and continuing to use your time at home wisely to do things you don’t normally have time for—like spending more time honing your English skills so you can help tell China story to the world.
早上好，新航道的同仁們！希望此時大家都平安，同時，能繼續享用這段居家時間去實踐那些平時沒有時間涉獵的事情——例如，花費更多時間磨練英語技能，提高自己向世界講述中國故事的能力。
3月21日，潘維廉教授與夫人搭乘廈門航空，回到中國。他說：“回家的感覺真好！”
But today I’d like to share with you some ideas about important life lessons we can learn from China’s response to the coronavirus. And at the end, I’d like to share some encouraging insights from foreigners who lived in China over a century ago.
今天想和大家分享的是，中國從抗擊新冠病毒“戰疫”中帶給世界的經驗。文末我將附上百年前僑居中國的外國人士對中國的一些看法。這些看法十分地鼓舞人心。
If you understand the spirit of ancient China, and why foreigners had such great respect for both China’s government and people, you’ll also understand why Chinese today are able to tackle such formidable foes as poverty, hunger, and the borderless battle with the coronavirus.
如果你能瞭解古代中國的精神，明白外國人曾對中國政府及其人民如此尊重的原因，你就能找到今天中國能夠應對貧窮、飢餓這些可怕的敵人，以及與新冠病毒進行無國界鬥爭的原因。
An American asked his friend, “Did you quit shaking hands because of the virus?”
一位美國人問他的朋友：“你是不是因為害怕病毒而不再與人握手了？”
“No,” he said, “I quit because everyone is out of toilet paper.”
他回答道：“不，我之所以如此是因為大家都沒有廁紙了。”
I’m glad people still have a sense of humor! But what is not at all funny is that some of the wealthiest nations not only lack toilet paper but also still don’t have virus test kits even 10 weeks after China shared the virus’ genome with the world. Why on earth are these nations so unprepared?
很高興人們的幽默感不減當初！但一些最富裕的國家不僅缺少衛生紙，而且在中國公開病毒基因組序列10周後，仍然缺少病毒檢測試劑盒，這就一點也不好笑了。為何會如此措手不及呢？
Even a little logic should have suggested the virus was coming, but they not only did not prepare but also went to great lengths to explain why their “democracies” could not take China’s lead.
但凡有些邏輯就會知道病毒馬上要來了。但他們不僅不做準備，反倒不遺餘力地解釋 “民主國家”為何不能“跟風”中國的原因。
Even a week ago, Western media was writing of how China’s draconian measures such as quarantines and restrictions on travel deprived people of their basic rights of freedom of movement. But fast forward to today and the news is trumpeting that the epidemic is now a pandemic and governments are falling over themselves to take many of China’s measures.
就在一週前，西方媒體還在報道中國政府採取隔離、限制旅行等嚴厲措施，剝奪了人們基本的行動自由權。但時至今日，到處可見的卻是這一傳染病已經成為全球性流行病，各國政府正忙不迭地大量採用中國的措施來救治病人的消息。
Of course, places like San Francisco are careful to avoid the word “quarantine,” which violates people’s inalienable right of movement, but they did order people to “shelter in place”, which may sound kinder and more “democratic” but violations are a “misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.”
當然，像舊金山這樣的地方會謹慎避免使用“隔離”這個詞，因為該詞侵犯了人們不可剝奪的行動權，但是他們命令人們“就地避難”。這聽上去可能更加親切、 “民主”，不像侵犯意味著行為不當，可處以如“罰款或監禁，或者罰款加監禁” 的懲罰。
Sounds to me like, however you word it, it is still restricting people’s movement—and these restrictions are needed, so why pretend they are not?
不過，在我看來，無論怎樣稱呼它，人們的行動都受到了限制——既然限制是必要的，為何要假裝說不是呢？
The only logical reason that nations could spend months criticizing China while doing nothing themselves is that they naively felt they were in no danger. But this is understandable, given our immersion today in an artificial world of social media. We are bombarded daily with so much bad news that tragedies afar off are no more real than a reality TV show or a movie.
這些國家花兩個月的時間批評中國而自己卻無所作為，對此唯一行得通的解釋是，前者天真地認為自己會免於危險。這是可以理解的，因為我們正沉浸在一個人造的社交媒體世界裡。我們每天處在壞消息的狂轟濫炸下，遠方的悲劇不過是上演的電視真人秀或電影罷了。
It also seems that people living in comfort in the wealthier nations have a sense of entitlement, and believe that their wealth will continue to shield them from some far off virus even as for decades their wealth and militaries have insulated them from the wars, crimes and political unrest that kill tens of millions every year in poor nations.
此外，生活在更富裕國家過著舒適日子的人們似乎有一種權利意識，認為自身的財富將一如既往地使他們免受遠方某種病毒的侵害，儘管幾十年來，這些讓他們免於捲入戰爭、遭遇犯罪以及經歷政治動盪的財富和軍隊，每年在一些貧窮落後的國家造成了數千萬人的死亡。
As the younger President Bush once declared, “Nothing will change our American way of life!” But it appears the coronavirus never got Mr. Bush’s message.
小布什總統曾宣稱“沒有什麼能夠改變美國人民的生活方式！”但新冠病毒似乎從未領會其心意。
In 1990, I thought it ironic that a Japanese strategist, Kenichi Ohmae, would write a book entitled, “The Borderless World.” He claimed that trade was open and free for all nations, even though his own home of Japan has some of the most rigid cultural, political and economic barriers in the world.
1990年，日本戰略家大前研一出版了《無國界的世界》。儘管他的家鄉日本有著世界上最僵化的文化、政治和經濟壁壘，但他聲稱貿易對所有國家都是開放自由的，這是頗為諷刺的。
Even today, trade is not borderless, and probably never will be—but the coronavirus truly knows no borders. Rich and poor alike fall before it—though the elderly, the weak and the poor are hardest hit.
即使到今天，貿易也不是沒有國界，也許還將永遠存在——但新冠病毒確實沒有國界意識。無論貧富都會受到它的侵襲——但年老、體弱、貧窮之人是它主要的攻擊對象。
Fortunately for the world, while the West protected people’s “rights” by doing nothing, China acted immediately, without excuse or apology or mincing words, to protect peoples’ most fundamental right—the right to life.
值得慶幸的是，儘管西方國家在保護民眾“權利”上無所作為，但中國政府不找藉口、不作道歉，也不含糊其辭，用迅速反應保障了民眾最基本的權利——生命權。
And only yesterday, China began testing a vaccine and has already promised that, if successful, they will share it freely with the world.
就在昨天（3月16日），中國開始進行新冠疫苗臨床試驗，並承諾疫苗如證實有效，將與世界免費分享。
And even as the Chinese government resolutely sacrificed its economy to tackle the problem head-on, the Chinese people also rose to the occasion and cooperated because, quite frankly, they well know they are mortal.
當中國政府毅然犧牲本國經濟直面疫情的襲擊時，全體中國人民攜手合作，成功應付這一困難局面。坦率地說，他們深知自己是普通人。
潘維廉教授在廈門隔離觀察點受到工作人員熱情接待
Chinese value comfort and convenience as much as any other people, but they remember all too vividly the poverty and sickness that haunted their nation only decades earlier. Chinese agree with their government that if they lose that most fundamental right of life, all other rights are useless.
和他國人民一樣，他們也重視生活的舒適和便利，但對於幾十年前讓國家陷入困境的貧窮和弊病，他們仍記憶猶新。失去最基本的生命權，其他所有權利都是毫無價值，在這一點上中國人民和他們的政府是持相同看法的。
And to preserve that most precious gift of life, Chinese have always been able to tighten their belt and endure hardships like no other people in history.
為了保存這份最為珍貴的生命禮物，中華民族總是能夠勒緊腰帶、忍受苦難，這是其他民族未能做到的。
In closing, I will share foreigners’ comments about China and Chinese from some of my hundreds of 19th and 20th century books. You will be as astonished as I was at how much the Westerners admired the Chinese nation and people over the centuries.
最後，我將分享幾位外國人士對中國以及她的人民的看法，這些都摘自我那數百本出版於19世紀和20世紀的藏書中。在瞭解幾個世紀以來西方人對中國以及她的人民的欽佩之情後，你一定會同我一樣驚訝。
And if you understand the spirit of China through the ages, then you’ll also understand how and why the world’s most populous nation today dared to tackle and defeat this epidemic head-on.
而如果能瞭解中國曆代的精神，那麼你也將瞭解這個世界人口最多的國家現在為何敢於正面解決和戰勝這一流行病，以及她“戰疫”的方式。
Chinese today, like their ancestors, embrace life—and just as importantly, they embrace life with those they love, and this is why Confucian society over the ages has been built on family and relationships.
今天的中國人像他們的祖先一樣熱愛生活——同樣重要的是，他們也享受和所愛之人一道的生活，這也解釋了家庭和人際關係長期以來被視作建立儒家社會的基石的原因。
Dying people around the world have been asked what they most regret in life, and they never lament that they did not make more millions or spend more time in the office. Consistently, their greatest regret is that they did not spend enough quality time with the people they loved.
世上那些垂死之人被問及一生中最後悔之事時，答案從來不會是沒有賺到更多金錢或者沒在辦公室裡工作更長的時間。一直以來，他們最大的遺憾就是沒能花足夠的時間精心陪伴他們所愛之人。
So if you’ve survived the coronavirus, celebrate life and “seize the day”! Aipincaihuiying！But when you seize life, don’t let go of those you love because life is too short to not live fully.
因此，如果能扛過這次疫情就該慶祝生命，就該“過好每一天”！愛拼才會贏！抓住生命，不言放棄你所熱愛，因為生命太過短暫不容虛度。
So now some quotes from foreigners who lived in China a century ago or one hundred fifty years ago.
以下內容引自一些100年前或150年前生活在中國的外國人士的文章。
下滑啟閱
One is Mackenzie-Grieves. She is an English lady who lived in Xiamen in 1920s.
其中一個叫麥肯茲·格瑞芙。她是一位英倫淑女，上世紀20年代生活在廈門。
She said, "In this, our first year in China, an astonished excitement possessed us…I had felt the impact of this immense vitality the moment I first set foot in Amoy (Xiamen). I came upon it by no rational process, no social studies. I met the tide of lusty and abundant life full in the face, with all its primitive urges undiluted. It was a life, at times, frightening in its force. It needed to be strong to survive such human miseries as it daily faced.”
她說：“在中國的第一年，我們充滿著驚奇和激動……一踏上廈門的土地，我就感受到這種巨大生命力的衝擊。我得出這個結論並非依靠理性分析，也非通過社會研究。迎面而來的生活生機勃勃、色彩斑斕，保留其所有的原始衝動。這就是一種生活，有時它的能量是驚人的。要想在每日所面臨的人間苦難中倖存下來，你必須得堅強。”
And then Rose Talman, an Amoy Missionary in Xiamen (a Xiamen Missionary) from 1916 to 1930. In her unpublished memoirs, she wrote, “To their conditions the Chinese have developed responses—frugality (nothing is wasted in China), patience, industriousness, sense of humour—a philosophical approach to the realities of life. These are the qualities that make the Chinese tough and persevering and give them the will to love and fight against poverty. The Chinese enjoy few luxuries in material things. They are not an acquisitive society. The people yearn more for peace and stability—a climate for work rather than affluence or wealth for the sake of pleasure. There is a great difference in the psychology of Eastern and Western society.”
第二位是羅斯·塔爾曼。1916到1930年間，她在廈門傳教。在其未公開的回憶錄中，她寫道：“在現實的生存環境下，中國人形成了自己的個性——節儉（在中國，沒有一樣東西被浪費）、忍耐、勤勞和幽默。這是中國人應對現實生活的一種達觀的策略。也正是這些品質使得中國人堅強、忍耐，並賦予他們安守貧窮和解決貧困的意志。從物質上來說，中國人鮮有享受奢侈的。他們也並非生活在一個物慾橫流的社會。這個民族期盼更多的是和平與穩定——這裡推崇的是勞作，而不是以享樂為目的的財富或富足。東西方社會在心理上有著很大差別。”
And now a Chinese at Fukien Christian University in 1926 wrote about the right attitude to life. He said, “Fukien(Fujian) has taught me how to live. Material things can be acquired anywhere in this material world, but an attitude to life can only be mastered in the right environment. Fujian provided such an environment for me.”
接下來是一位曾就讀於福建協和大學的中國人。他在1926年提到了對待生活的正確態度。他說：“福建教會了我如何去生活。在這個現實的世界裡，物質的東西隨處可取，但對待生活的態度只能在合適的環境中養成。福建給我提供了這樣的一個環境。”
I’m proud of the way Fujian reared me.
我為福建養育我的方式感到自豪。
Oriental Spartans, John Macgowan, a British Missionary in Xiamen, wrote in 1907 in one of his main books about China. He said, “Take the matter of pain. The Chinese bears it with the composure of a saint. The heroic never seems to come out so grandly in him, as when he is bearing some awful suffering that only a martyr could endure.
約翰·麥嘉湖是一位生活在廈門的英國傳教士，1907年他在一部談論中國的重要作品中提到了東方的斯巴達人。他說：“以對待痛苦為例，他們像聖人般鎮定地忍耐它。在他們身上，沒有轟轟烈烈的英雄氣概，特別是當他們正在承受著只有勇士才能擔當的某些沉重苦難時……
"…It is this same absence of nerves that enables the Chinese to bear suffering of any kind with a patience and fortitude that is perfectly Spartan. He will live from one year's end to another on food that seems utterly inadequate for human use; he will slave at the severest toil, with no Sunday to break its wearisome monotony, and no change to give the mind rest; …with a sturdy tread and with a meditative mystic look on his face, that reminds one of those images of Buddha that one sees so frequently in the Chinese monasteries or temples… The staying power of the Chinese seems unlimited. The strong, square frames with which nature has endowed them are models of strength.”
“……也正由於此，中國人富有耐心，能堅定地忍受各種痛苦。這種忍耐是徹頭徹尾的斯巴達人。一年中他們賴以生存的食物少到似乎完全不足正常人類食用。他們願意承擔最辛苦的勞動，接受沒有星期天來調節身體的疲憊和生活的單調，也沒有時間讓大腦休息。邁著堅定的步伐，臉上一副沉思的神秘模樣，……這讓人想起中國寺廟裡常見的菩薩形象……中國人身上的耐力似乎是無限的。而造化賦予他們強壯、魁梧的身軀正是力量的象徵。”
He also wrote in 1907 about the adaptable Chinese: “The strength of the Chinaman lies in his power to adapt himself to the circumstances in which he may be situated. Place him in a northern climate where the sun's rays have lost their fire, and where the snow falls thickly and the ice lays its wintry hand upon the forces of nature, and he will thrive as though he had descended from an ancestry that had always lived in a frozen region. Transport him to the torrid zone, where the sun is a great ball of molten flame, where the air is as hot as though it had crossed a volcano, and where the one thought is how to get cool in this intolerable maddening heat, and he will move about with an ease and a comfort just as if a sultry climate was the very thing that his system demanded.
同年，他還寫了關於適應能力強的中國人：“中國人的力量在於他們擁有適應各種生存環境的能力。把他們放在北方，那裡太陽不再炎熱，積雪深厚，寒冰的魔爪染指大自然，中國人照樣人丁興旺，似乎他們來自遠古時代，總是生活在冰封地凍的世界裡。把他們放到熱帶，那裡太陽簡直就像一團巨大的火球，空氣熱得跟火山岩漿沒有什麼兩樣，常人想的都是如何躲避那令人無法容忍、讓人發狂的熱氣，找到清涼，而中國人卻漫不經心、舒適無比地四處走動，好像這酷熱的天氣正是他們的身體所需要的。
"He is so cosmopolitan in his nature that it seems to be a matter of indifference where he may be or what his environment. He will travel along lofty peaks, where the snows of successive winters lie unmelted, or he will sleep in a grass hut where the fever-bearing mosquitoes will feast upon him the livelong night to the sound of their own music, and he will emerge from it next morning with a face that shows that the clouds of anopheles have left him a victor on the field. He will descend into the sultry tin mines of Siam, and at night he will stretch himself on the hard, uneven ground, with a clod for his pillow, and he will rise asrefreshed as though he had slept on a bed of down.”
“從本質上來看，中國人四海為家。他們似乎不在意自己身居何處，環境如何。他們會去攀爬冰雪常年覆蓋的高峰；他們也會在茅屋過夜，任憑身帶熱病的群蚊翩然起舞、徹夜叮咬，即便枕著嗡嗡之聲也能安然入睡，待次日起床一副戰場凱旋而歸的模樣。白天，他們深入暹羅悶熱、潮溼的錫礦。晚上，他們以泥塊為枕，凹凸不平的硬地板作床，伸足而眠。第二天起來精神十足，好像前一天是睡在羽絨床上。”
He also wrote the timeless people: “One advantage the Celestial [or the Chinese] has over the Occidental, the westerner, is what may be called his absence of nerves. The rush and race and competition of the West have never yet touched the East. The Orient is sober and measured, and never in a hurry. An Englishman, were all other signs wanting, could easily be distinguished, as he walks along the road, by his rapid stride, the jerky movements of his arms, and the nervous poise of his head, and all so different from the unemotional crowd around him, who seem to think that they have an eternity before them in which to finish their walk, and so they need not hurry.
他還寫了“沒有時間觀念”的人們：“‘沒有時間觀念’是中國人勝過西方人的一個地方。西方人又衝又跑，競爭激烈，東方人並不為之所動。東方人冷靜、從容，從不著急。英國人走路大步流星，雙臂甩動急促，頭部遊移不定，與周圍平靜的行人大不一樣，即使沒有別的標誌，也很好辨認。而在這些行人看來，時間有的是，何必走得急匆匆。”
Mary Gamewell in 1919 wrote about the ancient people of the future. She said, “China is not like ancient Egypt, whose greatness has departed though she still lives on. China is a vital force whose largest possibilities of development lie before her and not behind her. A new fresh life is beginning to course through the nation’s veins...”
瑪麗·甘威爾在1919年提到了未來的古老民族。她說：“中國不是古埃及。儘管古埃及依然存在，但她偉大的歷史已經成為過去。中國是一個充滿活力的國度, 比起輝煌的過去，當下才更具發展可能。嶄新的生命力正在這個國家的血管裡奔流……”
And Maclay. In 1861, a hundred and sixty years ago, he wrote [it is about eternal China], “It is a noteworthy fact that of all those ancient empires founded immediately subsequent to the deluge China alone remains. The Assyrians, Egyptians, and, in later times, the Grecians, have severally attained to a comparatively high degree of intelligence and refinement; but their star soon culminated and sank into utter darkness. China, however, has never been wrecked, her civilization has never retrograded; paradoxical though it seems, her star has remained in its zenith for at least three thousand years. Through all this long lapse of centuries the Chinese have kept up, fairly and steadily, to their original civilization; and today they present all the essential elements of those social, literary, and political traits which characterized them in those early epochs when the Assyrians built their magnificent cities, the Egyptians developed their subtle theory of the metempsychosis, or the Greeks were thundering at the gates of Troy.
接下來是麥考利。在1861年，也就是約160年前，他寫道（這是關於經久不衰的中國）：“一個值得注意的事實是，所有古代帝國建立不久就立即走向衰亡，唯獨中國得以續存。亞述人、埃及人以及後來的希臘人都曾發展過相對高級的文明和修養，但他們的星光很快就黯淡，並迅速消失在一片漆黑中。但是，中國從未遭受嚴重破壞，中華文明也未曾出現過倒退。似乎有些反常，但中華文化確實已在至少3000年的時光裡璀璨不已。在過去的數百年裡，中國人一直在恭儉、穩步地延續自己的文明。亞述人建過宏偉的城市，埃及人創立了靈魂轉世的深奧理論，希臘人曾經在特洛伊城門外發威。這些文明古國在社會、文學和政治等領域所取得的成就，中國樣樣具備。
"The permanence of Chinese institutions is worthy of notice in this connection. It is a significant and singular fact that, from the earliest period of their authentic history to the present time, the Chinese have preserved intact and inviolate every important feature and principle of their government and civilization. The successive irruptions of northern barbarians have neither abrogated nor essentially modified Chinese institutions. The conquering races who have overrun those fertile plains have stood abashed in the presence of a superior civilization; and after subduing the empire, they have invariably adopted its government, laws, civilization, and language.”
“在這一點上，頗為值得關注的是中國社會風俗制度的持久性。一個顯著而又奇特的事實是，從信史所記載的遠古時代到現在，中原民族完好無損地保留了其政府和文明的所有重要特徵和規則。北方遊牧民族持續不斷的騷擾也沒有使中國的體制毀滅或被徹底修改。馬背上的遊牧民族在佔領肥沃的平原之後，面對高度發展的文明侷促不安。實現征服之後，他們都選擇沿襲原來的政府、法律、文化和語言體系。”
If the above insights on China don’t make you proud, confident, nothing will! Aipincaihuiying！Jiayou, China!
如果關於中國的以上觀點不能讓你感到自豪、充滿自信，那就沒什麼可以做到了！愛拼才會贏！中國，加油！
在肆虐的病毒面前，人類是一個命運共同體，意識形態、文化差異等等因素，都不足以成為我們共克時艱的掣肘。正如老潘在信中說的那樣，中國人自古以來，就是最堅韌、樂觀的：過去的風霜雨雪，阻擋不了我們奮進；如今的病毒威脅，只會讓我們更加團結與堅強。
在國際疫情依舊嚴峻的當下，中國的豐碩戰果無疑是一抹亮色，鼓舞著疫病陰雲下的世界人民排除萬難，取得抗疫戰爭的最終勝利。
中國加油！世界加油！
【END】文章轉自新航道CHN Stories
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