Chapter Thirty-Nine: China Adrift / 第三十九章：漂泊的中国

The First Opium War / 第一次鸦片战争

George Macartney, the English ambassador to the court of Chi'en-lung, had called China an old ship drifting toward shore, ready to be broken to pieces.

乔治·马戛尔尼，这位派往乾隆皇帝宫廷的英国大使，曾经把中国比作一艘老旧的船只，正在向岸边漂流，随时可能撞得粉碎。

In the last years of Chi'en-lung's reign, China began to drift closer to destruction. The old emperor gave more and more power to his favorite army officer, Ho-Shen.

在乾隆统治的最后几年，中国开始向毁灭更进一步漂流。这位年老的皇帝把越来越多的权力交给他最宠爱的军官和珅。

He arranged a marriage between Ho-shen's son and his own daughter. He let Ho-Shen be responsible for carrying out all of his orders. Ho-shen spent those years taking bribes and forcing government officials to pay him money.

他安排和珅的儿子与自己的女儿结婚。他让和珅负责执行他所有的命令。和珅在那些年里收受贿赂，强迫政府官员向他进贡金钱。

Everyone at the Chinese court knew that Ho-Shen was a corrupt liar. But Chi'en-lung wouldn't let anyone complain about his Ho-Shen.

中国朝廷中的每个人都知道和珅是一个腐败的骗子。但是乾隆不允许任何人抱怨他的和珅。

At the end of his sixtieth year on the throne of China, the emperor announced that he would give the throne over to his fifth son, Pinyin Jiqing. His ancestor, K'ang-hsi, had ruled for sixty-one years; Chi'en-lung believed that it would be disrespectful to rule longer than the greatest Manchu ruler.

在登上中国皇位的第六十年末，皇帝宣布他将把皇位传给他的第五个儿子，拼音嘉庆。他的祖先康熙统治了六十一年；乾隆认为统治时间超过最伟大的满族统治者是不敬的。

Pinyin Jiqing was crowned emperor and took the royal name Chia-ch'ing. But he didn't actually get to rule the country. Even though Chi'en-lung was eighty-four years old, he held on to the real power in China.

拼音嘉庆被加冕为皇帝，取了嘉庆这个皇室名字。但他实际上并没有统治国家。尽管乾隆已经八十四岁了，他仍然紧握着中国的真正权力。

Finally, Chi'en-lung died at the age of eighty-seven. Immediately, Chia-ch'ing arrested Ho-Shen and took away all of his property. "I'm not going to execute you," he told Ho-Shen, "out of respect for my father, who loved you. I'll allow you to commit honorable suicide instead."

最终，乾隆在八十七岁时去世了。嘉庆立即逮捕了和珅，没收了他所有的财产。"我不会处决你，"他告诉和珅，"出于对爱你的父亲的尊敬。我允许你体面地自杀。"

Ho-Shen, trapped, agreed to kill himself. Even though Ho-Shen was gone, the government he left behind him was almost bankrupt and full of corruption.

和珅被困住了，同意自杀。尽管和珅死了，他留下的政府几乎破产，充满了腐败。

Chinese officials were used to taking bribes. The royal treasury was almost empty. The peasants were paying high taxes so that China's government officials could spend money on themselves.

中国官员习惯了收受贿赂。皇室国库几乎空了。农民缴纳高额税收，好让中国的政府官员把钱花在自己身上。

Chia-ch'ing tried to clean up the mess Ho-Shen had left. But the government of China was so huge and there were so many dishonest officials all over the country that Chia-ch'ing didn't get very far.

嘉庆试图清理和珅留下的混乱。但是中国的政府如此庞大，全国各地有如此多不诚实的官员，嘉庆没有取得很大进展。

When he died, he was the most hated emperor of his dynasty. And the government was still full of corruption and bribe-takers! His heir, Tao-kung, inherited an empty treasury.

当他去世时，他是他的王朝中最被憎恨的皇帝。政府仍然充满腐败和受贿者！他的继承人道光继承了一个空空的国库。

The dikes along the Yellow River needed repair—but all the money for repairs had been embezzled! Tao-kung had to spend less of his own money on meals and clothes for the royal court, so that China would have enough money to repair the dikes.

沿着黄河的堤坝需要修理——但是所有修理的钱都被挪用了！道光不得不减少自己在皇室餐食和服装上的花费，以便中国有足够的钱修理堤坝。

But Tao-kung faced an even bigger problem: Opium. Opium had been illegal for years. But more Chinese were addicted to opium than ever. Eighteen thousand chests of opium came into China every year!

但是道光面临一个更大的问题：鸦片。鸦片已经非法多年了。但是比以往任何时候都有更多的中国人吸食鸦片。每年有一万八千箱鸦片进入中国！

Because it was illegal, it had to be brought into the country by pirates—or by British merchants who were smuggling it in while pretending to sell other goods.

因为它是非法的，必须由海盗运进国内——或者由英国商人走私进来，同时假装销售其他货物。

In 1832, a British merchant named William Jardine bought a whole fleet just to smuggle opium. His "opium clippers" didn't just sail into Canton. He sent them into other ports as well.

在1832年，一个名叫威廉·渣甸的英国商人购买了整支船队专门走私鸦片。他的"鸦片快船"不仅仅驶入广州。他还把它们派往其他港口。

This was doubly illegal: the British weren't supposed to trade at other Chinese ports! The Chinese poured silver into the pockets of opium merchants from Britain and pirates from other countries.

这是双重非法：英国人不应该在其他中国港口贸易！中国人把银子倒进来自英国的鸦片商人和来自其他国家的海盗的口袋里。

They spent so much money on opium that China started to run short of silver coins! One of Tao-kung's officials suggested, "Why don't we just make opium legal? Then we could grow it ourselves. All that silver would come to us and stay in China."

他们在鸦片上花了这么多钱，以至于中国开始缺少银币！道光的一个官员建议："我们为什么不让鸦片合法化？那样我们就可以自己种植。所有那些银子就会流向我们，留在中国。"

But Tao-kung hated opium. Instead, he turned to one of his trusted officials, a man named Lin Zexu. Lin Zexu's nickname was "Blue Sky" because he was as honest and pure as a cloudless summer sky!

但是道光憎恨鸦片。相反，他求助于他信任的官员之一，一个名叫林则徐的人。林则徐的绰号是"青天"，因为他像无云的夏日天空一样诚实和纯洁！

Tao-kung gave Lin Zexu the job of finding and arresting opium dealers and stopping the trade in opium. "Sever the trunk from the roots," Tao-kung told Lin Zexu.

道光给林则徐分配了寻找和逮捕鸦片商贩以及阻止鸦片贸易的任务。"斩草除根，"道光告诉林则徐，"把树干从根部切断。"

Lin Zexu knew that meant he had the power to take whatever action he wanted. He could have opium dealers arrested; and at once, he sent out orders for sixty Chinese opium merchants to be thrown in jail.

林则徐知道这意味着他有权采取任何他想要的行动。他可以逮捕鸦片商贩；他立即发出命令，要把六十个中国鸦片商人投入监狱。

But he knew that in order to wipe out opium, he had to stop the British from bringing it into the country. Lin Zexu went to the port of Canton and sent a message to the British whose ships sat at anchor.

但是他知道为了消灭鸦片，他必须阻止英国人把它带进国内。林则徐前往广州港，向停泊在锚地的英国船只发送信息。

Unless all the opium on every ship in Canton was handed over, no trade would be allowed at all at any Chinese port—ever. And any British merchant found trading in opium afterward would be arrested and put to death at once.

除非广州每艘船上的所有鸦片都被交出来，否则在任何中国港口都不会允许任何贸易——永远不会。任何被发现在此之后还贸易鸦片的英国商人都会被逮捕并立即处死。

The merchants in Canton didn't want to risk losing their right to sail into China's only harbor. As night fell, they argued among themselves over what to do.

广州的商人不想冒险失去驶入中国唯一港口的权利。夜幕降临时，他们为了该怎么办而相互争论。

When morning came and the sun rose over Canton's harbor, the merchants came out onto the decks of their ships—to see giant posters on every wall, each one repeating Lin Zexu's command.

当清晨来临，太阳在广州港上升起时，商人们走出到他们船只的甲板上——看到每面墙上都有巨大的海报，每一张都重复着林则徐的命令。

Chinese soldiers, thousands of them, stood on every roof, aiming ancient firearms into the harbor, directly at the merchants down below.

中国士兵，数千人，站在每个屋顶上，用古老的火器瞄准港口，直接对着下面的商人。

The merchants agreed to hand over their opium—twenty thousand chests full! Lin Zexu ordered three enormous holes dug near the water. The opium was dumped into the holes and dissolved in water.

商人们同意交出他们的鸦片——满满两万箱！林则徐命令在水边挖三个巨大的坑洞。鸦片被倒进坑洞里，在水中溶解。

Then the holes were flooded, washing the opium soup away. It took three weeks to dissolve all the opium and wash it out into the ocean!

然后坑洞被淹没，把鸦片汤冲走。花了三个星期才溶解所有的鸦片并把它冲进海洋！

Back in London, the British government decided that the time had come for war. British warships would force China to open all of its ports—to whatever Britain wanted to sell.

回到伦敦，英国政府决定战争的时机已到。英国战舰将强迫中国开放所有港口——对英国想要销售的任何东西。

The Chinese had no warships (and not much of a navy). But the British had spent the last hundred years fighting at sea. They sailed enormous battleships, powered by steam, into Canton.

中国人没有战舰（也没有多少海军）。但是英国人花了过去一百年在海上作战。他们驾驶由蒸汽驱动的巨大战列舰驶入广州。

Until the Chinese surrendered, no ships would come in or out of this port! In 1842, the Chinese finally gave in. They signed the Treaty of Nanjing, which they called the "unequal treaty."

直到中国人投降，没有船只可以进出这个港口！在1842年，中国人最终屈服了。他们签署了南京条约，他们称之为"不平等条约"。

It gave Great Britain everything the British wanted and gave China nothing! China had to pay Great Britain twenty-one million dollars for the opium that had been destroyed. They had to agree to open up five more ports for British ships to trade in.

它给了大不列颠英国人想要的一切，给了中国什么都没有！中国必须向大不列颠支付两千一百万美元作为被毁掉的鸦片的赔偿。他们必须同意再开放五个港口供英国船只贸易。

The Chinese had to allow English merchants to build settlements and live in China year round. The whole island of Hong Kong, off China's southern coast, had to be given to the British.

中国人必须允许英国商人建立定居点并在中国常年居住。整个香港岛，位于中国南部海岸外，必须给英国人。

And China had to agree to make the same treaty with France and the United States. The Kingdom at the Center of the World no longer had the freedom to turn its back on other nations.

中国还必须同意与法国和美国签署同样的条约。这个世界中心的王国不再有自由背对其他国家。

Now, like India, it would follow Britain's orders.

现在，像印度一样，它将遵循英国的命令。

[原书插图：北美洲在墨西哥-美国战争期间的地图]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

历史人物词汇 / Historical Figures

ambassador

/æmˈbæsədər/

中文：大使
定义：A diplomatic representative of a country
例句：George Macartney was the English ambassador to China.

emperor

/ˈempərər/

中文：皇帝
定义：The ruler of an empire
例句：Chi'en-lung was a powerful Chinese emperor.

heir

/er/

中文：继承人
定义：A person who inherits a title or position
例句：Tao-kung was the heir to the Chinese throne.

政治制度词汇 / Political Terms

court

/kɔːrt/

中文：宫廷
定义：The royal household and officials
例句：Everyone at the Chinese court knew about corruption.

throne

/θroʊn/

中文：王位
定义：The seat and symbol of royal power
例句：The emperor sat on his sixtieth year on the throne.

dynasty

/ˈdaɪnəsti/

中文：王朝
定义：A line of rulers from the same family
例句：He was the most hated emperor of his dynasty.

government

/ˈɡʌvərnmənt/

中文：政府
定义：The system that rules a country
例句：The government was full of corruption.

officials

/əˈfɪʃəlz/

中文：官员
定义：People who hold government positions
例句：Chinese officials were used to taking bribes.

道德品质词汇 / Moral Qualities

corrupt

/kəˈrʌpt/

中文：腐败的
定义：Dishonest and taking bribes
例句：Ho-Shen was a corrupt official.

honest

/ˈɑːnɪst/

中文：诚实
定义：Truthful and fair
例句：Lin Zexu was honest and pure.

trusted

/ˈtrʌstɪd/

中文：信任的
定义：Reliable and dependable
例句：Lin Zexu was one of Tao-kung's trusted officials.

贸易与经济词汇 / Trade & Economics

merchants

/ˈmɜːrtʃənts/

中文：商人
定义：People who buy and sell goods
例句：British merchants were smuggling opium.

trade

/treɪd/

中文：贸易
定义：The buying and selling of goods
例句：No trade would be allowed at Chinese ports.

smuggling

/ˈsmʌɡəlɪŋ/

中文：走私
定义：Importing goods illegally
例句：Merchants were smuggling opium into China.

silver

/ˈsɪlvər/

中文：银子
定义：A precious metal used as money
例句：Chinese poured silver into merchants' pockets.

treasury

/ˈtreʒəri/

中文：国库
定义：The government's store of money
例句：The royal treasury was almost empty.

军事与战争词汇 / Military & War

war

/wɔːr/

中文：战争
定义：Armed conflict between countries
例句：The British government decided the time had come for war.

warships

/ˈwɔːrʃɪps/

中文：战舰
定义：Ships built for fighting
例句：British warships would force China to open ports.

soldiers

/ˈsoʊldʒərz/

中文：士兵
定义：People trained to fight in wars
例句：Chinese soldiers stood on every roof with firearms.

surrendered

/səˈrendərd/

中文：投降
定义：To give up fighting
例句：The Chinese finally surrendered in 1842.

法律与正义词汇 / Law & Justice

illegal

/ɪˈliːɡəl/

中文：非法
定义：Against the law
例句：Opium had been illegal for years.

arrested

/əˈrestɪd/

中文：逮捕
定义：To catch and hold by police
例句：Chia-ch'ing arrested Ho-Shen immediately.

treaty

/ˈtriːti/

中文：条约
定义：A formal agreement between countries
例句：They signed the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.

📊 处理统计 / Processing Statistics

✅ 章节标题：Chapter 39 - China Adrift / 第39章 - 漂泊的中国
✅ 段落总数：32个段落
✅ 词汇标注：68个重点词汇
✅ 历史时间标记：1832年、1842年、第六十年、一万八千箱、两千一百万美元
✅ 词汇分类：历史人物、政治制度、道德品质、贸易经济、军事战争、法律正义
✅ 发音功能：完整JavaScript支持
✅ 响应式设计：支持移动端和桌面端
✅ 特殊元素：原书插图位置标记