今天，我演讲的主题就是中国，一个古老而常青的国家。
So my topic today is China, a country that is ever old, ever young.
中国历史悠久，有一句话最能说出中国历史的特点：中国在世界四大文明古国中，其文明唯一未曾间断、延续至今。我曾经担任中国驻埃及大使，埃及同样是一个文明古国，有文字记载的历史比中国还要早，但是古埃及文明由于外敌的持续入侵而湮没了。今天埃及使用的文字与古埃及象形文字已经完全不是一个体系，19世纪初，人们幸运地借助现存于大英博物馆的罗塞塔碑，才解开了失传1400年古埃及文字的谜团。而中国虽也曾遭受外族入侵，但中华文明因其强大的生命力和包容性得以传承，并不断发展。
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.
古代中国取得了非凡成就，曾经鼎盛辉煌。在过去的二千年里大多数时间中国是世界上最大的经济体。英国《经济学家》杂志的数据表明中国的GDP曾占全球总量的三分之一左右。中国的丝绸、瓷器和茶叶曾是世界上最畅销的产品，那时“Made in China”代表着豪华、昂贵，属于“奢侈品”。中国人形成了博大精深的哲学思想和治世之道——儒家和道家，既富有进取心和使命感，又崇尚人与自然和谐共处。
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.
中国创造的四大发明：造纸术、指南针、火药和活字印刷术，对世界文明和人类进步产生了重大影响。弗朗西斯·培根曾经写道：“印刷术、火药和指南针分别改变了文学、战争和航海，进而彻底改变了整个世界。”剑桥大学学者李约瑟博士为此悉心研究整理，花费近50年时间编写出煌煌巨著《中国科学技术史》。
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.'
但是，近代中国落后了。18世纪产生于英国的工业革命改变了世界，中国传统的农业文明迅速被时代甩在了后面。中国经历了一百多年的内忧外患，甚至一度处于民族危亡的关头。新中国成立后，中国在建设发展过程中也走过了一些弯路。逆境中的人们都熟悉这样一句诗：“如果冬天来了，春天会还远吗?”这句诗的作者就是一位伊顿校友——英国诗人雪莱。
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.
到了上世纪70年代末，中国终于迎来了改革开放的春天，开始了民族复兴。中国连续30年保持了年均10%的增速，使6亿多人摆脱贫困，创造了世界经济增长的奇迹。今天的中国，已成为全球第二大经济体和第二大贸易体，是世界经济增长的发动机和稳定器。中国不仅经济发展了，同时文化、政治、社会等各领域取得了全面进步。就在上周，中国作家莫言获得了诺贝尔文学奖，这是中国籍作家首次获此殊荣。
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.
对当代中国，世界非常关注。英国的报纸、电视新闻里，几乎每天都有关于中国的报道。走进英国最大的连锁书店WATERSTONE，书架上关于中国的书籍也是琳琅满目。面对海量信息和各种解读，如何清晰认识当代中国。我认为，可以从三点去把握：
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.
