译者 sleepyxue
The Closing of Chinese Minds
思想封闭的中国人
China is running a deficit in 'intellectual trade' with the United States and needs to make a greater effort to understand its partner and rival
中国正在着力的应对与美国“智力贸易”中的不足，并且需要付出更多的努力才能理解他的合作伙伴兼对手。
In 1979, a group of Chinese editors was about to visit the United States. Asked what they would like to see, one solemnly replied: "We want to know how the party secretary of New York controls The New York Times."
1979年，一个由中国编辑组成的访问团即将赴美。当被问到他们去美国最想了解的是什么时，一位编辑严肃的回答道：“我们想看看纽约州的党委书记是如何掌管纽约时报的。”
An American diplomat explained that there were two major political parties in the U.S., but The New York Times belonged to neither and the newspaper had no relations with the government. The listeners were perplexed and incredulous.
一位美国外交人员解释，美国有两大政党，但是纽约时报并不隶属于他们中的任何一个，报纸与政府也毫无关联。听者都表示困惑和怀疑。
Fast forward some 30 years, and the state-run Xinhua News Agency is flashing its logo on a giant billboard in Times Square. The swagger and deep pockets that enable official media to take on such visibility belie a serious lack of understanding of what makes the Americans tick.
时间快速前进约30年，中国官方媒体新华社的标志在时代广场的巨型广告牌上熠熠生辉。虚张声势与财大气粗使得这家官方媒体明显忽视了对美国人理解的严重缺乏。
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences inaugurated the Institute of American Studies in 1981. In the interests of modernization, China was eager to learn from the U.S. and the Americans reciprocated by providing generous funding and resources to facilitate the discovery. In the 1990s, however, the progress stalled and the interest has narrowed to Sino-American diplomatic relations; experts from both sides are concerned with the stagnation, if not backsliding, of American Studies in China.
中国社科院于1981年开办了美国研究所。那时为了建设现代化，中国渴望学习美国，美国人也报以慷慨的资金与材料促进中国的学习研究。然而到了20世纪90年代，这种研究陷入了停滞，中美双方的交往仅限于外交领域；如果没有这种倒退，中美双方的专家都对美国研究的停滞都表示关注。
In a recent online interview marking the 30th anniversary of the Institute of American Studies, Wang Jisi, who served as the director from 1992 to 2005, lamented that emphasis on policy issues is coming at the expense of gaining a comprehensive understanding of America. He blames the uneven quality of research output on the resources constraints. The institute was chronically short of funds, relying primarily on grants from the government and outside sources, such as the Ford Foundation, a private US organization. The penury once even prompted a staff member to suggest operating a taxi company to generate revenue. American Studies also had to compete for funding with many late-comers such as Middle Eastern, Latin American and African studies, not to mention research into energy, international systems and so on.
在最近的一次纪念美国研究所成立30周年的网络访谈中，Wang Jisi，1992年至2005年曾担任研究所主任，无不惋惜的说道，对于政策的过分关注导致了我们未能全面了解美国。他指责由于研究材料的局限而导致研究成果的参差不齐。研究所长期资金短缺，主要依赖政府拨款和一些外来资金，如美国私人组织福特基金。资金严重匮乏时期，我们的一位成员甚至曾经建议我们去运营一个出租车公司以期获得收入。同时美国研究所还不得不与很多后来建立的如中东、拉丁美洲、非洲研究项目争夺资金，更不要说还有其他研究能源、国际事务等领域的项目。
With the rise of China as a power to be reckoned with, Americans are more inclined to know more about China than to sponsor China's study of America. Dr. Wang, now dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, notes that when the Chinese people are invited to America it is so Americans can learn about China, not for the visitors to gain a deeper understanding of America.
随着中国成长为一支不可忽视的力量，美国人更加倾向于了解中国而不是资助中国对美国的了解。现任北京大学国际研究学院院长的王博士指出，中国人被邀访问美国增强了美国人对中国的了解，但访问者并没有加深对美国的了解。
In my field, many journalists and journalism professors have been invited to visit the U.S. They have enhanced American scholars' understanding of the changing Chinese media landscape, but their own comprehension of the American media remains at the textbook level. While the legend of Walter Cronkite as the iconic TV anchor lives on, few have heard of Bill O'Reilly or have an inkling that the conservative made a highly successful industry out of talk radio and the Fox News Channel. Still bashing corporate greed for killing the American news media, they seem oblivious to the assault on media profits by technological changes that have made some quality media outfits more like millstones around the necks of their owners than cash cows. Relying on a few translated volumes of media studies, or, worse, polemics in the Chinese press, they are out of touch with the American reality.
根据我的了解，很多新闻工作者和新闻学教授被邀请访美。他们增强了美国学者对变化中的中国媒体的了解，但他们自己对美国媒体的理解却还停留在教科书层面上。当传奇人物沃特.克朗凯特还作为电视节目主持人的象征时，他们很少有人听说过比尔.奥瑞利，也很少有人能想到这位保守派能将广播谈话节目和福克斯新闻频道做成一个非常成功的行业。抨击企业的贪婪在扼杀美国新闻业，他们好像忽略了抨击技术变革为媒体带来的利益，同时也使得一些专业媒体装备变成了累赘而不是摇钱树。依赖于一些媒体研究的翻译稿件，或者，更糟，只是中国新闻里的争论，他们远远的与美国现实社会脱节。
Terry Lautz, a former program director for Asia at the Henry Luce Foundation, wrote last year in the Chronicle of Higher Education that China has a deficit in the "intellectual trade" with the United States. In short, Chinese people know less about the United States than Americans know about China.
Terry Lautz，前亨利.鲁斯基金会亚洲项目负责人在去年高等教育纪事中写道，中国在与美国的“智力贸易”中显得匮乏。总的说来，中国人对美国的了解少于美国人对中国的了解。
If political communication through the media is vital to understanding the American democratic process, China can only blame itself for the deficit. There is a widely held conceit in China that the Chinese have America all figured out. Certain self-satisfied people cite statistics that since 2009, China has surpassed India in sending students to American universities, and the number reached a whopping 157,558 in the 2010/2011 academic year. For some, American interests and values are known and accessible through popular culture. What better way to understand American culture than by watching Desperate Housewives?
如果通过媒体进行的政治交流是理解美国民主进程的重要途径，那中国只能指责是自己造成了这种了解的匮乏。在中国广泛存在着一种中国人已经对美国了如指掌的自负情绪。某些自满的人引用统计数据，显示从2009年开始，中国学生去美国大学留学的人数超过了印度，并在2010/2011学年达到了庞大的157,558人。一些人通过流行文化来了解和认识美国人的价值观与喜好。但是除了看绝望主妇，还有什么更好的途径去了解美国文化呢？
In fact, the more the Chinese think they know about America, the greater their incapacity to change their prejudices. Conspiracy theories, such as the notion the CIA maintains an office in every CNN bureau, abound. In that vein, the New York Party Secretary gaffe has legs.
事实上，中国人越是认为他们了解美国，他们越是难以改变他们已经形成的偏见。阴谋论调，比如他们认为CNN是受美国中情局控制和摆弄的。这也就难怪，他们会认为纽约州应该有党委书记。
Mr. Lautz believes that it is in America's interest for China to have a "clear, objective and nuanced understanding" of the U.S. The benefit is mutual. Now, that money is no object for China, it should redress the intellectual imbalance by supporting the training of a generation of young scholars studying American economy, society, history and culture. On a more basic level, language and writing skills should be strengthened and young minds should be set free to break new ground and think independently. The payoff would be handsome for both countries.
Lautz先生相信，中国对美国有一个“清晰、客观、细致入微”的了解是符合美国利益的。同时也是互利的。现在，中国不缺钱，因此中国应该通过支持对年轻一代学者的培训来调整知识上的不平衡，让他们了解美国经济、社会、历史和文化。从基础层面上讲，语言和写作的能力应该加强，青年人的思想应该独立而不被束缚。这样做所得到的回报是使两个国家都添光增彩。
Nailene Chou Wiest is a Beijing-based journalist and writer.
Nailene Chou Wiest是一位驻北京的记者和作家。
from 译言-每日精品译文推荐 http://article.yeeyan.org/view/276965/242394
