1.Peter Hessler described two lifestyles and asked his Chinese students to choose the one they preferred, either a very long yet ultimately average and uneventful life, or a very exciting, fan-filled life that only lasted 24 years. Almost all of his 20 something year old students chose the first option. This surprised Peter because, from his experience with American youths, he was sure the Americans wouldn't have chosen a long, uneventful life.
1、彼得•赫斯勒請他的中國學生在以下兩種生活方式中選擇其一：一種是平庸卻長壽，另一種是只能活24年卻享樂無比。那些20歲左右的學生們幾乎都選擇了第一種生活。彼得十分驚訝，在他看來美國青年并不會如此一致地選擇平庸但長壽的生活。
2.The Chinese traditionally think an uneventful, but long life is better than a short life fall of fan and adventure. There's even an idiom for the traditional Chinese attitude, "A good death is worse than a lazy life." This saying reveals a deeply ingrained sense of optimism and acceptance of fate. It's nothing at all like the Western idea of heroes made through tragedy.
2、無聊無趣但天長地久地活下去，好過冒生命之險求得享樂的*，這似乎是中國傳統(tǒng)的價值觀。有習語為證：“好死不如賴活著�！彼嘎冻龈畹俟痰臉酚^與宿命。與英雄產(chǎn)生于悲劇的西方價值觀完全不同。
3.30 years ago, at the beginning of China's reform, a group of intellectuals believed the acceptance of one's lot would hurt the growth of the People's Republic. The way they saw it, the Westerners' "seafaring culture" had allowed them to expand and advance while China's "agrarian culture" had shut the country off from the world and kept it focusing on itself.
3、30年前改革開放之初，一批知識分子認為樂天知命、安于本分的傳統(tǒng)觀念有害于中華民族的發(fā)展。在他們看來，西方的“藍色文明”使其開放、進步;而中國的“黃土文化”使之封閉、守成。
4.Researching the unique traits of a nationality can reveal a number of interesting features. David N. Keightly is a professor of history at the University of California Berkerley1 and he made a study of the unique attitudes of the Chinese people. He believed their acceptance of fate originates from a geographical standpoint. The birthplace of the Chinese civilization is the Central Plains where the climate has less variation than the Mediterranean or the Near East. China's two main rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, both run from West to East, and don't change much in latitude. This means the cultivation both upstream and downstream are very similar. This uniformity of the agrarian culture reduced the incentive for mutual trade and the need for people to travel very far. Hence, the exchange of thoughts, ideas and technology became restricted and the ancient Chinese culture tended to isolate itself within their regions of influence.
4、研究一個民族的某種特性是件有趣的事情。美國加州大學伯克利分校的歷史學教授大衛(wèi)•凱特利從地理決定論的觀點出發(fā)，分析了中國人樂天知命的特性。他認為這種特性是由中國特有的地理環(huán)境所決定的。與地中海和近東地區(qū)相比，中國文明的發(fā)祥地中原地區(qū)的氣候類型更加有規(guī)律可尋。中國的兩大主要河流——黃河和長江——都是自西向東流，而且它們的緯度變化也不大，這意味著河流上游和下游所種植的農(nóng)作物類型差別不大。因此就缺乏了相互貿(mào)易的動力，中國的古代文明自然就成為農(nóng)耕文明。而那些很少旅行的人們就沒有可能去交流思想和技術，封閉由此產(chǎn)生。
5.According to Professor Keightly's theory, the climate of ancient China was very good. This would create a sense of optimism in the Chinese culture. In comparison, the people of the Mediterranean and the Near East had to face more natural disasters and were less optimistic. Besides the geographical factor which influences the development of cultures, Keightley believes the Chinese practice of ancestor worship has significantly influenced the makeup of the Chinese people. Keightley says, "I believe, the cultures that engage in ancestor worship are going to be conservative cultures. They're not going to find new things attractive because, that will be a challenge to the ancestors. There's no room in this culture for a skeptic."
5、凱特利教授相信中國古代的氣候良好，因此生成了中國文化中的那種樂觀主義。相比較之下，無論是地中海還是近東，都面臨著更多的的自然災害，因而少了些樂觀。除了地理環(huán)境對文化發(fā)展的影響，凱特利教授認為中國人對祖先的崇拜也極深地影響了中國人的特性。凱特利教授相信：“這種祖先崇拜的文化，是一種保守的文化。你不會去發(fā)現(xiàn)新的有吸引力的東西，因為那是對祖先的挑戰(zhàn)。中國文化中沒有懷疑的余地�！�
6.Chinese people tend to want to return to the past, while Westerners are always looking towards the future. By comparing their lives to the past, it creates an unlimited feeling of satisfaction. With no other desires, people in ancient times had the opportunity to coexist harmoniously with nature. They worked towards an existence where their social development was in sync with the natural world. This sort of self-satisfaction and oneness with nature helped Chinese people develop a more optimistic attitude towards life.
6、中國人趨向于回顧過去，而西方人更多的是展望未來。與過去相比較，就會對當下的生活生出無限的滿足感。無欲無求，人們就能夠定下心來與自然和諧相處，努力達到天人合一的境界。這種自我滿足以及與自然和諧共存，使中國人產(chǎn)生出樂觀的生活態(tài)度。
7.The Westerners have the opposite approach because they fear the uncertainty of the fixture. This leads them to work hard in changing their current situation in the hope of making tomorrow better than today. During this process, it's almost impossible to abide by the rules of the natural world or human nature. The idea of being content with one's lot is hard-pressed to take hold in this sort of environment.
7、西方人的觀點與此相反。對未來的不確定感，促使他們努力改變現(xiàn)狀，以期明天比今天更好。在努力的過程中難免會違反自然規(guī)律和扭曲人性。樂天知命、安于本分的價值觀在這樣的文化氛圍中是難以形成的。
8.Over these past few decades, the ideas of the West and the East have practically been reversed. The Chinese people have little choice but to drop the traditional idea of being content with one's lot if they want to improve their economic standing. They now emulate the West in opening up and becoming more enterprising. Unfortunately, this process of chasing materialistic dreams results in the destruction of nature. People have had to deal with increasing pressure and the income gap between rich and poor has become larger and larger. People are beginning to realize that the traditional idea we inherited from our ancestors, of being content with what one's lot, makes a lot of sense. As the West has forged ahead over the centuries, on the basis of its enterprising attitude, corruption and malpractice has kept pace. Today, the West is turning towards the East to find a way out.
8、有趣的是，近幾十年來，至少在表面上，東西方似乎呈現(xiàn)出一種互換的態(tài)勢——中國人因為經(jīng)濟的落后，不得不拋棄傳統(tǒng)的樂天知命觀，學習西 方的進敢和開拓。不幸的是，在盡全力追逐物質(zhì)主義的過程中，環(huán)境遭到破壞。社會財富分配不均衡，人們不得不承受巨大的心理壓力。這令人意識到老袓宗“樂天知命”的價值觀念自有其道理。西方人在數(shù)百年的無休止進取后，弊端叢生，如今也紛紛轉(zhuǎn)向東方的價值觀尋找出路。
9.Maybe there's something in the text-message that's doing the rounds on the Internet, when it says, "Once you're 50, pretty and ugly look the same. Once you're 60, high-rank and low-rank look the same. Once you' re 70, lots of money and little money look the same. Once you're 80, men and women look the same. Once you're 90, living and dying look the same."
9、最近有一則手機短信流行：“到了五十，好看難看一個樣;到了六十，官大官小一個樣;到了七十，錢多錢少一個樣;到了八十，男的女的一個樣;到了九十，活的死的一個樣�！�
10.In a way, the message, pretty much, suggests that, even though China exported computers to America and Chinese people have traded in their bikes for BMWs, the past thirty years of reform hasn't changed our traditions and, the idea of being content with one's lot has never left our bones.
10、這條短信似乎暗示：改革開放30年，盡管中國生產(chǎn)的電腦已經(jīng)賣到了美國;中國人已經(jīng)丟掉自行車，開起了寶馬，但樂天知命的價值觀仍在骨子里，不曾磨滅。
