中国曾贫穷落后,受尽欺凌,与西方世界的先进文明,是存在巨大差距的,很多时候甚至会出现无法融入的情况,这与我国的历史有着直接的关系。但百年来中国一直在不断追求进步,从发达国家的发展中汲取经验,也会自己独立在未知的领域进行探索,今日的中国已经是一个不再会被忽视的国家。在美版知乎Quora上,美国网友提问道:如果中国如此强大,为什么我一点都看不到中国的影响力?这个问题引起各国网友的围观和热议,我们来看看他们的观点。
The reason why you can't see China's influence is simple: it's so ubiquitous that you don't notice it. First of all, China has invented and designed countless things that the modern world depends on, including paper, printed matter, paper money, gunpowder, cannon, rocket, cast iron, petroleum gas, deep well, compass, blast furnace, differential gear, mechanical clock, linear algebra, seismograph, interchangeable parts, etc., which are inseparable from our work, life and even the development of civilization today.
你看不到中国影响力的原因很简单:它无处不在,如此之多,以至于你都没有注意到。首先,中国发明设计了无数现代世界赖以生存的东西,包括纸张、印刷品、纸币、火药、大炮、火箭、铸铁、石油气、深井、指南针、高炉、差动齿轮、机械钟、线性代数、地震仪、可互换件等等,都是我们今天的工作生活乃至文明发展所离不开的。
Oil and steel are the key to American industrialization. The principle of the first oil derrick built in the United States in the mid-19th century is basically the same as that of China's deep well drilling rig; Modern steelmaking technology is largely based on William Kelly's patented technology, but his patents are largely based on technology invented in China centuries ago.
石油和炼钢是美国工业化的关键。19世纪中期在美国建造的第一个石油井架与中国的深井钻机原理基本相同;现代炼钢技术在很大程度上是基于威廉·凯利(William Kelly)的专利技术,但他的专利很大程度上是基于几个世纪以前在中国发明的技术。
William Kelly hired Chinese metal workers in the 1850s. Yale engineer William Phillips and metallurgist Daniel Wagner pointed out that Kelly's Chinese workers knew these ancient smelting technologies very well.
威廉·凯利(William Kelly)在19世纪50年代雇佣了中国金属工人,耶鲁大学工程师威廉·菲利普斯(William Phillips)和冶金学家丹尼尔·瓦格纳(Daniel Wagner)都指出,凯利的中国工人对这些古老的冶炼技术非常了解。
In addition to invention, you can also add the elite system and the 2000 year imperial examination system. This system allows anyone, regardless of their birth environment, to cross classes and become senior officials and leaders. This system was directly adopted by the British in the 1850s, and ended the history of aristocracy monopolizing social resources.
除了发明,你还可以加上精英制度和两千年的科举制度。这一制度允许任何人,无论其出生环境如何,都能跨越阶层,成为高级官员和领导人。这一制度在19世纪50年代被英国人直接采用,并终结了贵族垄断社会资源的历史。
In fact, China's examination based elite management is the predecessor of civil servants and the college entrance examination in Europe, the United States and other places. So the next time you take a written test such as sat or employee skill test, you should thank the Chinese most.
事实上,中国基于考试的精英管理是欧洲、美国和其他地方公务员和高考的前身。所以下次你要参加SAT或员工技能测试之类的笔试时,你最应该感谢的是中国人。
As for the modern world, almost everything you can see at Wal mart or buy on Amazon is made in China, thanks to low-cost labor, huge supply chain, excellent infrastructure (highway, railway, port, power grid) and technical school network.
至于现代世界,你在沃尔玛看到的或在亚马逊上能买到的几乎所有东西都是中国制造的,这得益于低成本劳动力、庞大的供应链、优良的基础设施(公路、铁路、港口、电网)和技术学校网络。
However, the influence of China's manufacturing industry is not limited to cheap labor. If so, India, Indonesia or Vietnam, which are populous countries, can achieve the same achievements as China. Unfortunately, they are difficult to compare with China.
但是,中国制造业的影响力并不局限于廉价的劳动力。如果是这样的话,那么印度、印度尼西亚或越南这些人口大国也能取得像中国一样的成就,很遗憾他们都难以同中国相比。
This is because their investment and construction scale in infrastructure and supply chain is not as large as that of China, and they can't match China in quality. When asked about the possibility of transferring Apple's iPhone production from China, Steve Jobs pointed out that Apple will not be able to meet its high quality standards at the cost that China can provide.
这是因为他们在基础设施和供应链方面的投资和建设规模没有中国那么大,在质量上也无法与中国匹敌。当被问及将苹果iPhone生产从中国转移出去的可能性时,史蒂夫·乔布斯曾指出,苹果将无法以中国能够提供的成本达到其高质量标准。
Now, China's manufacturing industry is not just making things designed by others. As Tom Friedman pointed out in the book "the world is flat", many electronic products are increasingly designed by developed countries and China.
现在,中国的制造业也不只是制造别人设计的东西,正如汤姆·弗里德曼(Tom Friedman)在《世界是平的》一书中指出的那样,许多电子产品正越来越多地由发达国家和中国共同设计。
You "can't see" China's influence because it is right beside you. From the basic inventions that help make the modern world possible to the various commodities you see on both sides of each aisle of Wal mart or Costco, you will understand that China's influence is everywhere.
你“看不到”中国的影响,因为它就在你身边,从帮助现代世界成为可能的基本发明,到你在沃尔玛或好市多的每个过道的两侧看到的各色商品,你会了解,中国的影响力无处不在。
China has a strong impact on your daily life. The label "made in China" may appear on 90% of your things, which means that these products are actually made and assembled in China.
中国对你的日常生活有着强大影响,“中国制造”的标签可能会出现在你家90%的东西上,这意味着这些产品实际上是在中国制造和组装的。
Over the past 20 years, the inflation rate in the United States has been very low, mainly because the products made in China are cheaper, which keeps the prices of most goods at a low level, thus reducing the inflation rate. Lower inflation means that you can expect your savings to maintain purchasing power for a longer time. This has a series of other positive chain reactions to the U.S. economy, and you will benefit indirectly. This is the Chinese power in your wallet.
在过去20年里,美国的通货膨胀率一直很低,这主要是因为中国制造的产品更便宜,这使大多数商品的价格保持在较低水平,从而降低了通货膨胀率。较低的通货膨胀率意味着你可以期望你的储蓄能保持更长时间的购买力,这对美国经济有一系列其他积极的连锁反应,你会间接从中受益,这就是你钱包里的中国力量。
The Treasury bills issued by the US federal government to the market are mainly purchased by the Chinese people to ensure the government's income and work. This means that the U.S. government is borrowing from Chinese depositors to fund many things the government does, including health insurance, social security and military spending (the three largest government projects consume the most taxes).
美国联邦政府向市场发行的国库券,主要是由中国人购买的,以保证政府的收入和工作。这意味着美国政府正在向中国储户借款,为政府所做的许多事情提供资金,包括医疗保险、社会保障和军费开支(这三个最大的政府项目消耗了最多的税收)。
Americans, especially the elderly, are spoiled. They want to reduce taxes, but they don't want the U.S. government to reduce spending on health insurance, social security and the army. In order to make up for the deficit caused by these lower taxes, the US government must make this work work in some way, so it borrows money from China, and the Chinese are very willing to provide it. Because of the existence of China, you can enjoy lower taxes.
美国人,特别是老年人,被宠坏了,他们希望降低税收,却又不希望美国政府降低医疗保险、社会保障和军队的支出。为了弥补这些较低的税收造成的亏空,美国政府必须以某种方式使这项工作发挥作用,因此它向中国借钱,而中国人也非常愿意提供这笔钱。因为中国的存在,你可以享受更低的税收。
We are just here to talk about the influence of modern China. The influence of ancient China on your life is more basic, universal and key, because all the following necessities you must use every day come from China:
我们只是在这里谈论现代中国的影响。古代中国对你生活的影响更为基本、普遍和关键,因为你每天肯定使用的以下所有生活必需品都来自中国:
-Modern paper, paper cups, paper towels and toilet paper. You can go to the bathroom comfortably every day, which means you don't have to clean with leaves or smooth sticks.
-现代纸,纸杯、纸巾和厕纸。你可以每天舒舒服服地上厕所,这意味着你不必使用树叶或光滑的长棍进行清洁。
-Toothbrush. Before that, Europeans never bothered to brush their teeth, or they just rinsed with water and picked their teeth with branches, while Romans brushed their teeth with urine on their fingers or branches
-牙刷。在此之前,欧洲人从不费心刷牙,或者他们只是用水漱口,用树枝剔牙,而罗马人用手指或树枝沾上尿液来刷牙……