My reader wishing star quoted a poem about people’s confusing about the reaction of western world in this comment.
This morning, I received a poem entitled ” to the western world ” from a friend of mine. I have no idea where the poem was from and how many people have read this before. Anyway, I tried to translate it into English as the questions put forwarded in the poem reflect the real thinking of quite a lot of ordinary Chinese people.
Due to limited time, I was not able to polish my translation well enough. However, I tried my best to make it true to its original . I know some visitors to this blog have profound understanding of both English and Chinese languages. Your comments to the translation is welcome.
Here goes the poem in both Chinese and English:
当我们是”东亚病夫”，我们被称为”黄祸”。
During the opium war, when the opium smuggled from the Britain undermined our body and morality, turning us into ‘the Sick men of East Asia’, you called us yellow disaster;
当我们被宣传为下一个”超级强国”，我们被称为”威胁”。
When your propaganda portrayed us as “the next super power “, you said that we are a threat to all of you.
当我们关上门户，你们走私毒品来打开市场。
When we closed our door, you broke it through with your drugs.
当我们拥抱自由贸易，你们指责我们夺走你们的工作。
When we embrace the free trade, you condemned us for “stealing’ your jobs.
当我们分裂成碎片，你们的军队进来想分一份。
When our territory was split into pieces, your armies marched in to share a spoon of soup,
当我们想把碎片拼回，你们叫嚣”这是入侵，西藏自由”。
When we tried to put together all the fragments back, you said we are impeding a free Tibet.
当我们试行共产主义，你们恨我们是共产党人。
When we tried to pratice communism, you hated us because we are “communists”
我们拥抱资本主义，你们恨我们是资本家。
When we tried to learn from Capitamlism, you hated us because we want to be capitalists.
当我们有十亿人，你们说我们正毁灭地球。
When we possess 1.3 billion people, you said that we were destroying the earth.
当我们尝试控制人口，你们说我们侵犯人权。
When we tried to control the population, you said that we are violating human rights.
当我们穷，你们认为我们是狗。
When we were struck by poverty, you thought we were dogs.
当我们借钞票给你们，你们指责我们令你们国家负债。
If we offer you with loans, then you will say we put your countries in debt.
当我们建立我们的工业，你们称我们为”污染国”。
When we establish our own industry, you said we are the cause to the pollution.
当我们向你们出售商品，你们指责我们令地球暖化。
When we sell our products, you accused us of resulting in the global warming;
当我们购买石油，你们称之为剥削和种族灭绝。
When we buy petroleum, you called that exploitation
当你们为石油而开战，你们称之解放。
But when you started a war because of oil, you called that liberation,
当我们迷失于混乱和狂躁，你们要求法治。
When we get lost in the chaos and confusion, you said we should rule the countory by law
当我们捍卫法治打击暴乱，你们称之违反人权。
When we tried to safegard the law and strike down the violence, you said we were violating human rights.
当我们沉默，你们说希望我们有言论自由。
When we keep silence, you said we should be entitled to free speech.
当我们不再沉默，你们说我们是被洗脑的仇外者。
When we utter our own voices, you said we were brainswashed or behaved too defensive
为什么你们如此恨我们，我们问。
Why do you have such a bottomless hatred for us ? We asked.
不，你们回答，我们不恨你们。
No . We don’t hate you. You answered.
我们也不恨你们，但，你们明白我们吗？
We don’t hate you either. But, do you really understand us ?
我们当然明白，你们说，
我们有法新社、CNN、BBC
Of couse we do. You repied, You have AFP, CNN, BBC
..
其实你们想从我们这儿得到什么？
What on earth do you want from us ?
想清楚，再回答
Think clear before you make an answer
因为你们只获得这么多的机会。
Because all you have is limited chances
够了够了，这同一个世界已够虚伪。
Enough. It’s hypocritical to say that we have the same world.
我们要的是同一个世界、同一个梦想和世界和平。
What we called for is one world, one deam and peace for all.
这个蓝色大地球大得足以容纳我们所有人。
This blue planet should be big enough to hold us all.
At the first read, it seems pretty reasonable poem that it reflects the truth – the timing, the reason and the results seem all accurate. Then “What’s wrong with the western world?”
However, at second thoughts, you may found out the problem in the reasonsing there: generalization plays the trick.
I think, if you add just one term in front of “you”, the poem may reflect the truth better, and don’t cause too much problem. The term is:
…
Some of
Adding the term transform the poem to
When we possess 1.3 billion people, some of you said that we were destroying the earth.
When we tried to control the population, some of you said that we are violating human rights.
When we were struck by poverty, some of you thought we were dogs.
If we offer you with loans, then some ofyou will say we put your countries in debt.
….
To generalize what is happening in part of China as the whole China, or to generalize some of the many piont-of-views as the western world opinion can cause a big problem here. What I learnt was, be very careful to use the word of “China”, or “western world”, or “France” when we talk about somethi. Even if we have to use it to form a sentence, we need to understand by using the “big term”, it actually mean part of it.
That is the logic mistake I found out in the poem. It is just like the following one:
In a football game, when China wins, Chinese people are very sad;
when China loses, Chinese peole are very happy.
What’s wrong with this country?
To explain the confusing situation, we can better explain the same fact ths way:
In a football game between Henan and Shandong,
when Henan wins, people in Shandong is sad;
when Shandong loses, people in Henan is happy.
To describe “Henan” as “China” – the example of generalization – is root cause of the logic problem. However, it is very hard to find out this kind of mistake – the same mistake as the blind man claiming the elephant is a pole. That is also the reason in many debates, I found people are arguing whether China is rich or poor – a question that don’t have a good answer forever.
