ModernChina:AVeryShortIntroduction现代中国ByRanaMitterOxfordUniversityPress,2008ChapterI第一章WhatisModernChina?什么是现代中国ItisimpossibletodootherthanassenttotheunanimousverdictthatChinahasatlengthcometothehourofherdestiny…Thecontemptforforeignersisathingofthepast…Eveninremoteplaceswehavefoundthenewspirit–itsevidence,strangelyenough,thealmostuniversaldesiretolearnEnglish…asknowledgeofEnglishisheldtobethewaytoadvancement,thekeytoaknowledgeofthescienceandart,thephilosophyandpolicy,oftheWest.ThisassessmentcomesfromthebookNewChinabyY.FullertonandC.E.Wilson.InthethirddecadeofChina’seraof‘reformandopening-up’(kaifanggaige),atlasttheclichésoftheoldMaoistera–theChineseasworkerantsmouthingxenophobicanti-imperialistsloganswhilealldressedinbluesergeboiler-suits–havegivenwaytoimpressionsofacountrywhosecitiesarefullofskyscrapers,whoseruralareasarebeingtransformedbynewformsoflandownershipandamassiveriseinmigrantlabour,andwhosepopulationiskeentoengagewiththeoutsideworldafteryearsofisolation.FullertonandWilson’sobservationthatChinaisreachingthe‘hourofherdestiny’,andthatasignificantpartofthepopulationarelearningEnglishasonewaytofulfilthatdestiny,seemsareasonablecommentonaChinathatisclearlyverydifferentfromtheoneruledagenerationagobyChairmanMao.However,FullertonandWilsondidnotpentheirobservationshavinglandedbackatKennedyorHeathrowairportsononeofthemanyAirChina747sthatferrythousandsoftravellersdailybetweenChinaandtheWest.Theywrotetheirbookafullcenturyago,andtheirreflectionsonwhattheysubtitle‘astoryofmoderntravel’cameatwhat,inretrospect,isaparticularlypoignantmomentinChina’shistory:theyear一个不争的事实是，中国终于走到了这宿命的一刻…蔑视外国人的时代过去了…我们发现，甚至在很偏远的地方都有了一种新的精神……例子呢，说来也怪，人们几乎普遍对学英语很有热情…把英语知识当作进步的手段，当作是开启西方的科学和艺术、哲学及政策之门的钥匙。这是Y.富勒顿和C.E.威尔逊在《新中国》一书中的一段评述。到了中国改革开放的第三个十年，西方对毛泽东时代的陈词滥调——中国人就像穿着蓝哔叽的连体工装高呼着排外和反帝国主义口号的工蚁——被这样的印象给取代了：城市里到处都是摩天大厦，农村的土地所有权形式发生了改变，出现了人数庞大的流动劳力，在隔绝了多年以后，人们迫切希望与外界接触。在富勒顿和威尔逊的观察中，中国正在接近“宿命的一刻”，而且有很大一部分人口在学习英语，以求能够成就这个宿命。他们的评价似乎也适用于现在这个与毛主席时代大不相同的中国。不过，富勒顿和威尔逊没有记录他们乘坐的运送每天成千上万的乘客往返中西的中国航空的一架747飞机返回肯尼迪或希思罗机场后的观察。他们的书写于整整一个世纪---本文来源于网络，仅供参考，勿照抄，如有侵权请联系删除---1910.TheChinatheyportraywaslively,evenoptimistic,andverymuchengagedwiththeoutsideworld.Yetwithinayear,theQingdynasty,thelastChineseimperialhousewhichstillruledthecountrythatFullertonandWilsonsaw,hadfallen.TherevolutionofOctober1911finallybroughtthetwo-thousand-yeartraditionofimperialruleinChinatoanend,makingwayforaRepublic.ThatRepublicwouldcollapselessthan40yearslater,andwouldbesucceededinturnbyaPeople’sRepublicwhoseownformwouldchangeoverdecadesasitstruggledtodefinewhat‘modern’Chinawas.ItisasignofhowlongithastakenforChinatodefineitsownvisionofmodernizationthatatraveldescriptionfromtheearly20thcenturycanstillhaveresonanceintheearly21st.Chinaistheworld’smostpopulouscountry,withsome1.3billioninhabitantsatthebeginningofthe21stcentury.Itseco...