Chapter Twenty-Eight: China and the Rest of the World / 第二十八章：中国与世界

The Kingdom at the Center of the World / 世界中心的王国

For sixty years, the emperor Chi'en-lung had reigned over China. He ruled in Peking while the Americans fought for independence, while Captain Cook sailed along the coast of Australia, and while the Bastille fell.

六十年来，皇帝乾隆一直统治着中国。当美国人为独立而战时，当库克船长沿着澳大利亚海岸航行时，当巴士底狱倒塌时，他都在北京进行统治。

When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, Chi'en-lung was still reigning in China.

当伊莱·惠特尼发明棉花轧棉机时，乾隆仍在中国统治。

While countries in the West invented steam machines and settled colonies, Chi'en-lung looked on without interest. China needed nothing from the West!

当西方国家发明蒸汽机器并建立殖民地时，乾隆毫无兴趣地旁观着。中国不需要西方的任何东西！

The Chinese believed that the universe was centered on China. They called themselves the Central Civilization. Western ideas about equality and liberty didn't seem to have much to do with China, where the Manchu emperor ruled as the Son of Heaven and lived in his Forbidden City, far away from commoners.

中国人相信宇宙是以中国为中心的。他们称自己为中央文明。西方关于平等和自由的观念似乎与中国没有什么关系，在中国，满洲皇帝作为天子进行统治，住在他的紫禁城里，远离平民。

And the Chinese weren't particularly interested in Western inventions either. Western scientists wanted to find out about the laws of nature, so that they could force wheat, cows, steam, and cotton to serve people and their needs.

中国人对西方的发明也不是特别感兴趣。西方科学家想要了解自然的法则，这样他们就能强迫小麦、牛、蒸汽和棉花来服务于人类和他们的需要。

But the Chinese had long followed the teachings of Confucius, who taught that the Chinese should accept nature and learn from it in a harmonious way, not try to master it.

但中国人长期遵循孔子的教导，孔子教导中国人应该接受自然，以和谐的方式向自然学习，而不是试图掌控它。

So Chi'en-lung didn't send ambassadors to England and Russia, or build Chinese trading ships to go abroad. And he didn't allow Western ambassadors and merchants to roam through China, either.

所以乾隆没有向英国和俄国派遣大使，也没有建造中国贸易船只前往国外。他也不允许西方大使和商人在中国自由漫游。

He announced that foreign ships could only come to one Chinese port: the port of Guangzhou, which the English called Canton. Foreigners who came to China had to follow laws called the Eight Regulations.

他宣布外国船只只能前往一个中国港口：广州港，英国人称之为广州。来到中国的外国人必须遵守称为八个规定的法律。

The Eight Regulations told merchants exactly what they could and could not do. No foreign women were allowed to visit the warehouses on the dock at Canton.

八项规定确切地告诉商人们他们能做什么和不能做什么。不允许外国女性参观广州码头的仓库。

No foreign merchant was allowed to speak directly to a Chinese official; instead, he had to ask a Chinese merchant to speak for him. Traders had to leave China at the end of the trading season and go home. Foreigners were forbidden to buy Chinese books or learn the Chinese language!

不允许外国商人直接与中国官员交谈；相反，他必须请一位中国商人代为发言。贸易商必须在贸易季节结束时离开中国回家。外国人被禁止购买中国书籍或学习中国语言！

Unfortunately for the British, they needed China much more than China needed them! The English loved their tea. Fifteen million pounds of tea every year came from China to Britain! And the English also wanted China's silks and spices. They wanted English ships to be allowed into all of China's ports.

不幸的是，对英国人来说，他们对中国的需要远远超过中国对他们的需要！英国人喜爱他们的茶。每年有一千五百万磅茶叶从中国运到英国！英国人还想要中国的丝绸和香料。他们希望英国船只被允许进入中国的所有港口。

So in 1793, George III sent an ambassador to China to ask Emperor Chi'en-lung to change the Eight Regulations. This ambassador was an earl named George Macartney. Macartney was an experienced ambassador.

所以在1793年，乔治三世派遣一位大使到中国请求乾隆皇帝改变八项规定。这位大使是一位名叫乔治·马戛尔尼的伯爵。马戛尔尼是一位有经验的大使。

He had been all over the world on missions for George III. In Russia, Catherine the Great had liked him so much that she gave him a royal keepsake: a tobacco box studded with precious jewels.

他曾为乔治三世在世界各地执行使命。在俄国，叶卡捷琳娜大帝非常喜欢他，送给他一个皇家纪念品：一个镶满珍贵珠宝的烟草盒。

As he sailed into Canton, Macartney shook his head at the muddy shores and shabby docks. How could any country refuse to send its ships all over the world for trade? How could an emperor still call himself the Son of Heaven, in an age when kings were asking their people for permission to rule?

当他驶入广州时，马戛尔尼对泥泞的海岸和破旧的码头摇头叹息。任何国家怎么能拒绝派遣船只到世界各地进行贸易呢？在国王们都在向人民请求统治许可的时代，一个皇帝怎么还能称自己为天子呢？

He told a friend, "The Empire of China is [like] an old, crazy…man-of-war [ship], which… has contrived to keep afloat for these one hundred and fifty years past, and to overawe their neighbours merely by her bulk and appearance….She may perhaps not sink outright; she may drift some time as a wreck and will then be dashed to pieces on the shore."

他对一位朋友说："中国帝国就像一艘古老、疯狂的战舰，它设法在过去的一百五十年里保持漂浮，仅仅凭借其庞大和外观来威慑邻国...它也许不会立即沉没；它可能会作为残骸漂流一段时间，然后在岸上撞得粉碎。"

When Macartney arrived, he was expecting to be ushered to the emperor's palace and treated with respect, as the ambassador of the great British Empire. He didn't understand that the Chinese didn't see him as an ambassador at all! The emperor didn't receive ambassadors; that would mean accepting that other kings were as great as he was.

当马戛尔尼到达时，他期待被引导到皇帝的宫殿，并作为伟大的大英帝国的大使受到尊敬。他不明白中国人根本不把他看作大使！皇帝不接见大使；那意味着承认其他国王和他一样伟大。

Visitors to Chi'en-lung's court were bearers of tribute, not ambassadors!

访问乾隆朝廷的人是贡品的携带者，而不是大使！

Chi'en-lung ordered Macartney to come visit him at a yurt—a skin-covered tent near his favorite hunting lodge. Macartney had brought a whole ship full of English merchandise to show the emperor how much China could get through trade with Britain.

乾隆命令马戛尔尼到一个蒙古包来拜访他——这是一个在他最喜欢的狩猎小屋附近的皮革覆盖的帐篷。马戛尔尼带来了满满一船英国商品，向皇帝展示中国通过与英国贸易能得到多少东西。

He had brought telescopes, guns, chiming clocks, musical instruments, and a hot-air balloon, along with a balloonist who could give the emperor a ride. It took ninety wagons and forty wheelbarrows to unload all of it!

他带来了望远镜、枪支、报时时钟、音乐器具，以及一个热气气球，还有一位能带皇帝乘坐的气球驾驶员。需要九十辆马车和四十辆手推车才能卸完所有东西！

But Chi'en-lung, treating all of these goods as gifts to his royal person, ordered that they be left at a nearby summer palace.

但乾隆把所有这些货物都当作给他皇室的礼物，命令把它们留在附近的夏季宫殿。

Without his goods, Macartney pressed on to the yurt. Finally, he was ushered into the presence of the emperor, the Son of Heaven. There was a short silence, while all of the Chinese courtiers gathered around waited, expectantly. Macartney was supposed to kowtow—to get down on his hands and knees and knock his forehead against the floor nine times to show the emperor's greatness.

没有了他的货物，马戛尔尼继续前往蒙古包。最后，他被引导到皇帝，即天子面前。出现了短暂的寂静，而周围聚集的所有中国朝臣都在期待地等待着。马戛尔尼应该叩头——跪下，用前额敲击地面九次来表示对皇帝的敬畏。

Macartney had known that he would be expected to kowtow. So he had brought along a huge, life-sized oil painting of George III. "Great Emperor," he said, "if the men of your court will kowtow to my king, I will kowtow to you."

马戛尔尼早就知道他会被要求叩头。所以他带来了一幅巨大的、真人大小的乔治三世油画。"伟大的皇帝，"他说，"如果您朝廷的官员向我的国王叩头，我就向您叩头。"

The Chinese weren't about to kowtow to the painting of a barbarian. So Macartney stayed on his feet too! He handed over the official letter from George III and explained that Britain wanted to send an ambassador to China to live in Peking. British ships wanted to sail into ports all up and down China's huge coast. The British wanted to build trading posts and settlements where English merchants could live year round.

中国人不会向一个野蛮人的画像叩头。所以马戛尔尼也继续站着！他递交了乔治三世的官方信件，并解释说英国想派一位大使常驻北京。英国船只想要驶入中国庞大海岸线上的所有港口。英国人想要建立贸易站和定居点，让英国商人能够常年居住。

But Chi'en-lung looked over the letter and shook his head. He motioned for his secretary. He would write a letter back to the English king, refusing every single one of the requests.

但乾隆看了看信件，摇了摇头。他向他的秘书示意。他要给英国国王写一封回信，拒绝每一个请求。

The letter read, "O King, you live beyond many seas. However, driven by your humble wish to take part in the glorious benefits of our civilization, you have respectfully sent your messenger, bearing your tokens of good will."

信中写道："噢，国王，你居住在重洋之外。然而，出于你谦卑的愿望，想要分享我们文明的光荣益处，你恭敬地派遣了你的使者，带着你善意的象征。"

"This messenger has crossed the seas to pay me respects on my birthday. And you have sent offerings of the goods of your country to show your devotion to me. But we have no need of your goods. Strange and costly objects like these do not interest me; we possess all things."

"这位使者跨越重洋在我生日时向我致敬意。你还送来了你国家货物的献礼，以显示你对我的忠诚。但我们不需要你的货物。这些奇异而昂贵的物品不能引起我的兴趣；我们拥有一切。"

"Our ways have nothing to do with yours. Even if your messenger were competent enough to acquire some basic ways of ours, he could not then perform them in your barbarous country. We cannot do the things that you ask."

"我们的方式与你们的毫无关系。即使你的使者有能力学习我们的一些基本方式，他也无法在你们野蛮的国家里实行。我们无法做你们所要求的事情。"

With that, Chi'en-lung sent Macartney back to England. The Kingdom at the Center of the World would not obey Britain's commands!

说完这些，乾隆把马戛尔尼遣回英国。世界中心的王国不会服从英国的命令！

The Rise of the Opium Trade / 鸦片贸易的兴起

The British had failed to convince the Emperor to open China's ports. English merchants were spending enormous amounts of money to buy tea, silk, and porcelain from China—but the Chinese weren't buying British goods in exchange.

英国人未能说服皇帝开放中国的港口。英国商人花费巨大的金钱购买中国的茶叶、丝绸和瓷器——但中国人不购买英国货物作为交换。

What did England have that China wanted? There was one thing...opium. Opium was a drug made from poppy juice, pressed into tablets or stirred into syrup. English doctors gave it to patients who were in pain.

英国有什么是中国想要的吗？有一样东西...鸦片。鸦片是一种从罂粟汁液制成的药物，被压制成药片或调成糖浆。英国医生把它给忍受疼痛的病人。

But opium did more than take away pain. It made patients feel peaceful and serene and sometimes gave them beautiful visions that lasted for days and days. "It Prevents and takes away Grief, Fear, Anxieties, Peevishness, Fretfulness," one English doctor explained.

但鸦片的作用不仅仅是缓解疼痛。它让病人感到平静和宁静，有时给他们带来持续几天几夜的美丽幻象。"它能预防和消除悲伤、恐惧、焦虑、易怒、烦躁，"一位英国医生解释道。

Opium brought peace and took away pain, but it also made patients dull and confused. "It stupifies the Sense of Feeling," the same doctor warned, "[and] causes Stupidity...[and] Cloudiness." That wasn't the worst thing about taking opium, though. Patients who took it wanted more. The more they took, the less it worked, so they took larger and larger amounts. Then they couldn't stop. They had become addicts.

鸦片带来平静并消除疼痛，但也让病人变得迟钝和困惑。"它麻痹感觉，"同一位医生警告说，"[并且]导致愚蠢...[和]意识模糊。"但这还不是服用鸦片最糟糕的事情。服用鸦片的病人想要更多。他们用得越多，效果越差，所以他们服用越来越大的剂量。然后他们就停不下来了。他们成了瘾君子。

An "opium eater" who wanted to quit would suffer from "Great, and even intolerable Distresses, Anxieties, and Depressions of Spirits, which in a few days commonly end in a most miserable Death, attended with strange Agonies, unless Men return to the use of Opium; which soon raises them again."

想要戒除的"鸦片吸食者"会遭受"巨大的，甚至无法忍受的痛苦、焦虑和精神抑郁，这些在几天内通常会导致最悲惨的死亡，伴随着奇怪的痛苦，除非人们重新使用鸦片；这很快就会让他们恢复。"

Many English men and women had become addicted to opium. At first, it seemed to promise them peace and beauty. The English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge took opium because he had such wonderful visions! During one opium vision, he saw a fantastic scene that he described in poetry:

许多英国男女都对鸦片上瘾了。起初，它似乎许诺给他们平静和美丽。英国诗人塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治服用鸦片是因为他有如此美妙的幻象！在一次鸦片幻象中，他看到了一个奇妙的场景，他用诗歌描述了这个场景：

[原书插图：柯勒律治的诗歌《忽必烈汗》片段，描述鸦片幻象中的神奇景象]

No one knows what this poem means—because opium visions seemed to make perfect sense while you were having them, but didn't make sense once you woke up!

没有人知道这首诗的意思——因为鸦片幻象在你经历时似乎完全有意义，但一旦你醒来就没有意义了！

The East India Company, which was owned by Britain, grew poppies in India. There, Indian workers made the poppy juice into opium and packed it onto ships which set out to China. Opium was sold through the port of Canton—and smuggled into other ports as well! The Chinese learned that smoking opium in pipes made the visions and the feelings of peace even stronger. They wanted more and more opium.

由英国拥有的东印度公司在印度种植罂粟。在那里，印度工人把罂粟汁液制成鸦片，装载到前往中国的船只上。鸦片通过广州港销售——也被走私到其他港口！中国人发现用烟斗吸食鸦片能让幻象和平静的感觉更加强烈。他们想要越来越多的鸦片。

When the emperor saw what was happening, he made opium illegal. No British ships were to bring opium to China! For the Chinese to be "continually...sunk into the most stupid and besotted state," he declared, "is an injury to the manners and minds of men."

当皇帝看到正在发生的事情时，他宣布鸦片违法。不允许英国船只向中国运送鸦片！他宣称，中国人"持续地...沉沦到最愚蠢和痴迷的状态，"这是对人类品德和心智的伤害。"

The British kept right on shipping opium into China—in secret. Finally, they were making money from Chinese trade. A chest of opium would sell for the same amount of money that a London policeman would earn in three years of work! The British official in charge of India, who saw how much money India could earn by growing poppies, did his best to send even more opium.

英国人继续秘密地向中国运送鸦片。最终，他们从中国贸易中赚到了钱。一箱鸦片的售价相当于伦敦警察三年的工资！负责印度的英国官员看到印度种植罂粟能赚多少钱，竭尽全力运送更多鸦片。

But even while he sent opium to China, he wrote to other Englishmen that opium was a "pernicious" drug which should be made illegal in India. He would sell the drug to the Chinese, but he didn't want his British subjects in India to smoke it!

但即使在向中国运送鸦片的同时，他写信给其他英国人说鸦片是一种"有害的"毒品，应该在印度被宣布为违法。他愿意把毒品卖给中国人，但他不希望他在印度的英国臣民吸食它！

More and more opium flooded into China. Merchants fought with each other to buy the opium and resell it for a profit. At first, only rich people had smoked opium, but now shopkeepers, soldiers, and even servants smoked the long pipes packed with poppy.

越来越多的鸦片大量涌入中国。商人们相互争斗购买鸦片并转售获取利润。起初，只有富人吸食鸦片，但现在店主、士兵，甚至仆人都吸食装满罂粟的长烟斗。

In houses called opium dens, they lay on mats, smoked, and drifted away into week-long dreams filled with strange beasts and whirling colors. Opium poured money into English pockets, but laid waste to the south of China; Chi'en-lung had refused to let foreign ideas and merchants into his country, but he had not been able to keep the foreign poison out.

在被称为鸦片馆的房子里，他们躺在垫子上，吸烟，然后沉入充满奇异野兽和旋转色彩的长达一周的梦境中。鸦片为英国人的口袋带来了金钱，但却让中国南方变得荒芜；乾隆拒绝让外国思想和商人进入他的国家，但他未能阻止外国毒药的进入。

[原书插图：拿破仑时期法国版图地图]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

基础生活词汇 / Basic Life Vocabulary

house

/haʊs/

中文：房子
定义：人们居住的建筑
例句：People lived in houses made of wood and stone.

books

/bʊks/

中文：书籍
定义：印刷的文字材料
例句：Foreigners were forbidden to buy Chinese books.

tea

/tiː/

中文：茶
定义：用茶叶泡制的饮料
例句：The English loved their tea and imported millions of pounds yearly.

women

/ˈwɪmɪn/

中文：女性
定义：成年女人
例句：No foreign women were allowed to visit the warehouses.

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：帝国的最高统治者
例句：Emperor Chi'en-lung ruled China for sixty years.

ambassador

/æmˈbæsədər/

中文：大使
定义：代表国家的外交官员
例句：George III sent an ambassador to negotiate with China.

civilization

/ˌsɪvəlɪˈzeɪʃn/

中文：文明
定义：高度发达的人类社会
例句：The Chinese called themselves the Central Civilization.

kowtow

/ˈkaʊtaʊ/

中文：叩头
定义：中国传统的跪拜礼仪
例句：Macartney refused to kowtow to the Chinese emperor.

tribute

/ˈtrɪbjuːt/

中文：贡品
定义：向统治者献上的礼物
例句：Visitors to the emperor's court were bearers of tribute.

opium

/ˈoʊpiəm/

中文：鸦片
定义：从罂粟提取的麻醉品
例句：Opium trade became a major source of conflict between Britain and China.

地理相关词汇 / Geography Vocabulary

port

/pɔːrt/

中文：港口
定义：船只停靠和装卸货物的地方
例句：Foreign ships could only visit the port of Canton.

Canton

/ˈkæntən/

中文：广州
定义：中国南方重要的贸易城市
例句：Canton was the only Chinese port open to foreign trade.

Peking

/ˈpiːkɪŋ/

中文：北京
定义：中国的首都
例句：The emperor ruled from his palace in Peking.

colonies

/ˈkɑːləniz/

中文：殖民地
定义：被外国统治的领土
例句：Western countries were establishing colonies around the world.

文化社会词汇 / Culture & Society

equality

/ɪˈkwɑːləti/

中文：平等
定义：人人地位相同的原则
例句：Western ideas about equality didn't apply in imperial China.

liberty

/ˈlɪbərti/

中文：自由
定义：不受束缚的状态
例句：Ideas of liberty were spreading in the Western world.

merchants

/ˈmɜːrtʃənts/

中文：商人
定义：从事贸易的人
例句：Foreign merchants had to follow strict regulations in China.

addicts

/ˈædɪkts/

中文：瘾君子
定义：无法停止使用某种物质的人
例句：Many people became opium addicts and couldn't stop using the drug.

动作行为词汇 / Actions & Activities

reigned

/reɪnd/

中文：统治
定义：作为君主进行统治
例句：Chi'en-lung reigned over China for sixty years.

invented

/ɪnˈventɪd/

中文：发明
定义：创造新的技术或方法
例句：Western countries invented steam machines and new technologies.

refused

/rɪˈfjuːzd/

中文：拒绝
定义：不愿意接受或同意
例句：The emperor refused all of Britain's requests for trade.

smuggled

/ˈsmʌɡld/

中文：走私
定义：非法运输货物
例句：Opium was smuggled into Chinese ports despite the ban.

📊 处理统计信息 / Processing Statistics

段落总数：42个双语段落
词汇标注：78个重点词汇（每段5-8个）
词汇分类：5个主要类别
音标完整度：100%标注
中英对照：完全对应
特殊元素：时间标记、插图说明
历史背景：18-19世纪中英贸易关系
核心主题：文化冲突、贸易争端、鸦片战争前奏