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双语：多样的文明，创造世界共同的未来
Cultural Diversity Leads to a Shared Future for the World
钱乘旦在《求是》杂志发表题为《多样的文明，创造世界共同的未来》的文章
多样的文明，创造世界共同的未来
Cultural Diversity Leads to a Shared Future for the World
钱乘旦
Qian Chengdan
习近平总书记指出：“文明因交流而多彩，文明因互鉴而丰富。文明交流互鉴，是推动人类文明进步和世界和平发展的重要动力。”本文从文明演进的角度，试图说明以下两个问题：一是多样性是人类文明最本质也是最重要的属性；二是近代以后，随着现代化与全球化的深入发展，历史日益转变成“世界历史”，多样的文明愈来愈承担着共同的使命，即构建人类共同的家园。
General Secretary Xi Jinping once said, “Cultures become diverse through exchange and rich through mutual learning. Intercultural exchange and mutual learning are important impetuses for the progress of human civilization and world peace and development.” Adopting a perspective of cultural evolution, this article will attempt to demonstrate two points. First, diversity is the most essential and important characteristic of human civilization. Second, accompanying the advancement of modernization and globalization since the advent of modern times, diversified cultures have increasingly assumed a common responsibility – building a shared home for all humanity.
一
I
人类文明从一开始就是多样化的，多样化体现着文明的本性。联合国教科文组织通过的《保护和促进文化表现形式多样性公约》指出，文化多样性是人类的共同遗产，应该为了全人类的利益对其加以珍爱和维护；文化多样性创造了一个多姿多彩的世界，使人类有了更多的选择，得以提高自己的能力和形成价值观，并因此成为各社区、各民族和各国可持续发展的一股主要推动力。
Human civilization has been diverse since the very beginning, and diversity embodies the essence of civilization. The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions states that cultural diversity forms a common heritage of humanity and should be cherished and preserved for the benefit of all; that cultural diversity creates a rich and varied world, which increases the range of choices and nurtures human capacities and values, and therefore is a mainspring for sustainable development for communities, peoples, and nations.
最早的文明多是大河文明，大河为人类先祖们提供了交往的便利，正是频繁的交往，包括交换、掠夺、征服与战争，还有通婚、结盟等，为文明的出现提供了可能性。为了生存的需要以及生存得更好，他们总是吸取来自四面八方的新鲜事物，产生出新的思想，因而改变生活的方式。文明是在交往中形成的，没有交往就不会有文明。这让我们知道，文明在它生成的那个时候，一定是多种思想和多种生活状态相互冲击的结果，多样性正是文明产生的必要条件。
The earliest civilizations were largely river civilizations, as major rivers provided a means of convenient interaction between our ancestors. It was frequent interaction, in the form of exchange, plundering, conquest, and war, as well as intermarriages and alliances that made possible the birth of civilization. In order to survive and to live more comfortably, our ancestors constantly sought to learn new things from far and wide to generate new ideas, which changed their way of life. Civilization was formed through interaction, and without interaction, there would be no civilization. This tells us that civilization, at the moment of its birth, was surely the outcome of clashes between different ideas and states of living, and that diversity is a necessary precondition for the birth of civilization.
事实正是这样，早期文明呈现出丰富的多样性。一般来说，世界最早的文明出现在两河流域，而两河流域恰恰是远古人类便利进出、方便往来的一个十字路口，四面八方的人群进进出出、来来往往，最早的文字、宗教、社会分化和国家建构等，的确是发生在这里。远古时期，这里出现过一批地区性的霸权国家，像阿卡德、古巴比伦、亚述、新巴比伦等等都是大名鼎鼎的古代强国。
Early civilizations demonstrated rich diversity. Generally speaking, the world’s earliest civilization appeared in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin, which was a crossroads for the convenient passage and exchange of ancient humans. With a constant flow of people from all directions, it was here that language, religion, social division, and nation building first emerged. In ancient times, it was also here that produced a number of regional hegemons, such as the Akkadian Empire, Babylonia, Assyria, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which were all well-known ancient powers.
古埃及在公元前3000年左右就完成了上、下埃及的统一，法老作为太阳神的子孙牢牢地控制着国家，实行神权加王权统治。这样的制度，在世界其他地区尚未见到文明的曙光时，已在尼罗河流域维持了近2000年，其理念和框架基本不变。如此稳定的政治结构，在古代世界实属少见。但这个文明在古希腊人和古罗马人的统治下慢慢解体了，最后融入了伊斯兰世界。
Ancient Egypt completed its unification around 3000 BC, and the pharaoh, as son of the sun god, firmly controlled the country by exercising theocratic and monarchic governance. At a time when civilization had yet to emerge in other parts of the world, this system had already lasted nearly 2,000 years in the Nile Basin, with its principles and framework basically unchanged. Such a stable political structure was rare in the ancient world. However, under the governance of ancient Greeks and ancient Romans, the ancient Egyptian civilization gradually fell apart and eventually became a part of the Islamic world.
印度的情况又不同。印度河流域曾经有过远古文明，后来雅利安人到来，消灭了原有的古老文明，带来了种姓制。在种姓制影响下，南亚次大陆长时间小国林立，政治上相当动荡，但社会结构却高度稳定，一如磐石。种姓制使社会阶层几乎不变，相互关系也几乎不变，因此无论政治上如何动荡，社会状态却是固定的。政治的不统一和社会结构的超常稳定是古印度的显著特色，这种情况使印度次大陆屡遭外来入侵而难以抵抗，直至成为英国的殖民地。
The case of India was different again. There was once an ancient civilization in the Indus Basin, which was later destroyed by the Aryans, who then introduced the caste system. Under the influence of the caste system, there were many small countries clustered around the South Asian subcontinent for a long period of time, which were quite turbulent politically but were highly stable and rock-solid in terms of social structure. As a result of this system, social strata and the relationships between them almost never changed, and therefore, no matter how politically turbulent things became, social conditions remained unaffected. Political disunity and an extraordinarily stable social structure were the distinctive features of ancient India, a state of affairs that rendered the Indian subcontinent powerless to resist frequent foreign invasions before eventually becoming a British colony.
古希腊是欧洲文明的发源地，但希腊文明和前面几个古代文明显著不同。第一，它的源头在地中海东岸，换句话说，“西方文明”起源于“东方”。第二，古希腊也在水边，但那是一片海、而不是一条河，这让希腊人有更广阔的水上活动空间，结果造成了向海外殖民的传统。第三，古希腊以“城邦”为其政治结构，这使它在整个古代世界与众不同，大约200个城邦分割了希腊这块土地，彼此间冲突不断、战争不断，结果，古代希腊城邦文明在历史的长河中一闪而过。古希腊的另一个特点是城邦公民民主制，这被后来的一些人说成是“普世”的。然而需要指出这样一些事实：第一，古希腊是一个奴隶制社会，十分之九的人不是“公民”，并不在“民主”的范围内。第二，在希腊数百个城邦中，伯里克利式的雅典民主是一个特例，在雅典自己的历史上，也只存在了几十年；至于在其他希腊城邦，比如斯巴达，则存在着不同的政治制度。伯罗奔尼撒战争后，人们普遍认为是雅典的制度造成了雅典的失败，而亚里士多德对希腊城邦民主制的负面评价影响了整个欧洲的政治观念。将古代希腊乃至雅典说成是古代世界的“标准”模式，其实是后人的编造。
As the cradle of European civilization, ancient Greece was markedly different from the aforementioned civilizations. First, it originated from the east coast of the Mediterranean, or to put it another way, the origin of Western civilization was actually in the East. Second, ancient Greece was also located near water, but it was an ocean, not a river. This meant that the Greeks had more space for maritime activities, consequently leading to a tradition of colonization. Third, with its political framework based on city-states, ancient Greece was different from the rest of the ancient world. Its land was home to about 200 city-states that clashed and warred with each other constantly, and as a result, the city-state civilization of ancient Greece lasted only a brief moment in history. Another feature of ancient Greece was democracy for citizens of city-states, later claimed by some as a “universal value.” However, the following facts should be noted. To begin with, ancient Greece was a slave society, where nine out of every ten persons were not “citizens” and were certainly not able to live under “democracy.” Secondly, among the hundreds of Greek city-states, Pericles’ Athenian democracy was a special case which only lasted for several decades within the history of Athens. Meanwhile, there were also different political systems that existed in other Greek city-states, such as Sparta. After the Peloponnesian War, it was widely believed that the defeat of Athens was attributable to its system, and Aristotle’s negative comments on Greek city-state democracy influenced the political notions of Europe as a whole. Describing ancient Greece and even Athens as a standard model for the ancient world was in fact a later fabrication.
古代中国发展出了独特的文明，在许多人眼里，它既神秘又难理解。中华文明有多重起源，黄河不是唯一的摇篮。大约在5000多年前，从黄土高原到东海之滨的广阔土地上，已经有众多的文明结合点，这些结合点渐渐融合，最终向统一国家的方向发展。4000多年前，夏已经是一个庞大的地域性国家；至少在3500年前，商朝用文字记录了它的存在；3000年前，周天子用分封制规范了土地的分配形式和社会的等级秩序。分封制出现的时候有它的道理，适合大面积土地的分层管理，但它最终却造成严重的社会解体，战乱延续了数百年之久。有过这一段经历后，秦始皇在公元前3世纪统一中国，统一从此就成为中华古代文明中最珍贵的遗产，它保证了中华文明的绵延不断，保证了国家的永续长存。在世界所有文明中，中华文明是唯一自远古至今未曾中断的一个文明，政治统一是它的保障。
Ancient China developed a unique civilization, which was mysterious and difficult to understand in the eyes of many. The Yellow River was not the only cradle of Chinese civilization, which had multiple points of origin. More than 5,000 years ago, the vast area spanning from the Loess Plateau to the shore of the East China Sea was home to several converging points of civilization. They gradually became integrated with one another, and eventually developed into a single country. Over 4,000 years ago, the Xia Dynasty was already a huge regional nation; at least 3,500 years ago, the Shang Dynasty was keeping written records; 3,000 years ago, the king of Zhou adopted an enfeoffment system to standardize land allocation and social hierarchy. There was good reason for the emergence of such a system as it facilitated the tiered management of large areas of land, but it eventually led to the serious dissolution of society and caused wars lasting hundreds of years. After this historical period, the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified China in the 3rd century BC, and from that moment onward, unity became the most precious heritage of ancient Chinese civilization, as it guaranteed the continuation of our civilization and lasting national development. Among all the world’s civilizations, only China’s has been uninterrupted since ancient times, and political unity has been its guarantee.
除了政治统一这个因素，还有一种强大的思想粘合剂，那就是孔子的学说。孔子生活在严重动荡的时代，战乱不断，他希望回归秩序，恢复和平，因而设计了一套关于秩序的学说，将人和自然都置于其中。这套学说承前启后，倡导和平、反对战争，颂扬公德、斥责私利。几千年来，它一直是中华文明的主要精神载体，在很大程度上保证了中华文明的生生不息。
Beyond political unity, there was a strong theoretical force that bound the country together – the doctrines of Confucius. Confucius lived in an era of severe turmoil and endless war, and longed for the restoration of order and peace. It was for this reason that he created a set of doctrines on order, which dealt with both humans and nature. Building on past achievements to blaze a new trail, the doctrines of Confucius advocated peace, opposed war, upheld public morality, and criticized the pursuit of self-interest. For thousands of years, this remained the main theoretical vessel of Chinese civilization, and, to a great extent, guaranteed the continued progress of Chinese civilization.
文明有两个载体：一是政治的载体即国家，二是精神的载体即意识形态。相比于其他古代文明，中华文明的特殊之处，就在于早在公元前2世纪，中国社会就已将孔子的学说（精神载体）与帝国的结构（政治载体）契合起来，形成了思想与国家的完美对接。在中国几千年历史上，社会稳定和经济繁荣有直接的关系：社会稳定，经济就繁荣；社会动乱，民生就遭殃。孔子的学说之所以成为中华古代文明的核心观念，有其深刻的社会历史根源。
Civilization has two vessels: the political vessel, which is country, and the theoretical vessel, which is ideology. In comparison with other ancient civilizations, the unique feature of Chinese civilization was that as early as the 2nd century BC, Chinese society had combined the Confucian doctrine (the theoretical vessel) with the imperial structure (the political vessel) to realize perfect integration between theory and country. Throughout the several millennia of Chinese history, social stability and economic prosperity have been directly related: social stability has led to economic prosperity, while social turmoil has caused the people to suffer. The reason why the Confucian doctrine became the core principle of ancient Chinese civilization has profound social and historical roots.
相比之下，精神载体与政治载体的结合，在其他文明中就没有那么顺利，比如在欧洲，思想与国家长期不能对接，这对它后来的发展造成极不利影响。如果说在公元前3世纪至公元后3世纪，世界上有两个帝国即汉和罗马，它们分别称雄东西方，均盛极一时，是当时的“超级大国”，那么在“蛮族入侵”后，罗马帝国解体了，西欧进入封建时代，这个时代最大的特点就是国家权力与意识形态分离，所谓“上帝与凯撒各管其事”。中世纪的欧洲与世界其他地区相比落伍了，这以后，东西方文明拉开距离。“东方”几个文明光彩迷人，包括印度、阿拉伯、奥斯曼土耳其，甚至拜占庭都是这样。中华帝国则一枝独秀，按照美国加州学派的估算，在18世纪之前的1000年里，中国的国内生产总值始终世界第一，东方“先进”、西方“落后”的局面长期不变。
Comparatively speaking, integration between the theoretical and political vessels was not so smooth in other civilizations. For example, the long-term failure of Europe to integrate theory with country had an extremely negative effect on its later development. Looking at the period from 3rd century BC up until 3rd century AD, there were two empires in the world, i.e., the Han and the Roman which respectively dominated the East and the West and thrived as superpowers during that time. However, after the Barbarian invasions, the Roman Empire collapsed, marking the beginning of the feudal period in Western Europe. The most distinctive feature of this period was the separation of state power and ideology, namely to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Medieval Europe lagged behind the rest of the world, leading to a widening gap between the civilizations of the East and the West. The East was home to several glorious and fascinating civilizations, including the Indian, Arab, Ottoman, and even Byzantine empires, yet the Chinese empire outshone them all. According to an estimate by the California School, China’s GDP remained the largest in the world throughout the millennium prior to the 18th century, and for a long period of time the East was “advanced” while the West was “backward.”
为什么在这1000多年的时间里，东方始终“先进”、西方一直“落后”？原因其实很简单，那就是西欧的封建制度使社会高度碎片化，缺少凝聚力，处在无穷无尽的动荡和战乱之中。这种情况在中国此前1000多年前就已经历过，秦汉的统一才改变了中国的命运。因此，西方想要摆脱中世纪的落后，就需要整合社会，重新建立统一的国家。这个过程是从西欧中世纪晚期开始的。
Why was the East advanced while the West backward for more than a millennium? The answer is actually very simple: Western Europe’s feudal system meant that its society was highly fragmented, lacking in cohesiveness, and stuck in a state of endless turmoil and wars. More than 1,000 years prior to this, China experienced the same situation, and it was only the country’s unification in the Qin and Han dynasties that changed its destiny. Therefore, for the Western world to escape its medieval backwardness, it had to integrate society and re-establish united nations. This process began in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages.
二
II
文明之光最初出现时，是在无边的黑暗中点亮蜡烛，烛光所及，只照亮周边一小块，其光影孤独。因此，如果在广大的地区只燃起一支蜡烛，这支烛的光亮就很容易被扑灭，风吹雨打而不能经久。只有在相隔不远的地域里连续出现文明的光亮，彼此之间相互辉映，此生彼长，文明才能够延续并成长。所以，不同文明生长点之间的相互支持就成了远古文明维持下来的必要条件，这正说明：交往为文明的出现提供了可能性。
In the beginning, civilization was like a candle lit against darkness, its lonely glow only able to illuminate the immediate surroundings. If a single candle is lit in a large space, it is easily extinguished by wind or rain. It was only when the lights of early civilizations were successively lit across nearby regions and were able to shine brightly together that those civilizations were able to survive and grow. Therefore, mutual support was a necessary condition for the survival of ancient civilizations, indicating that interaction made the emergence of civilization possible.
文明是从“点”开始的，“点”是文明的发源地。通过点与点之间的交流与接触，点就连成面，面再连成片，片继而连接成文明圈。圈与圈之间相互沟通。这是一个从分散到整体的历史过程，从这个过程可以看出：共同的命运意识是从最小的基本单位“点”开始孕育的，以后才越扩越大，最终扩充至全世界。
Civilizations grew out of small areas that we call the birthplaces of civilization. Through mutual exchange and contact, these areas continued to expand until they became culture circles, and different culture circles began to communicate with one another. This is a historical process of isolation to integration, and it shows us that a sense of a shared future was conceived in the smallest areas before expanding to eventually reach all corners of the world.
世界历史从分散到整体、纵向发展和横向发展同步进行的理论，是由中国历史学家最早提出来的，它高度总结了人类历史发展变化的规律性现象，也从历史的角度，论证了人类从分散到聚合、最终连接为整体的过程。
It was Chinese historians who introduced the theory that world history developed from isolation to integration in simultaneously temporal and spatial terms. This theory offers a highly condensed summary of the patterns of historical development and change, and adopts a historical perspective to expound on the process in which humanity developed from isolation to integration and eventually connected to form a whole.
由点到面、由面到片、由片到圈、再到全世界，这就是文明生长的过程。通过这个过程，历经几千年演进，在资本主义形成之前，世界上形成了几大文明圈，主要有东亚文明圈、南亚文明圈、西亚北非文明圈和欧洲文明圈，还有一个文明圈正在形成中，即美洲印第安人正在成长的文明。每一个文明圈都包含着若干亚文明圈或亚亚文明圈，以及更小的文明范式。文明圈、亚文明圈、亚亚文明圈等有共性也有个性，文明的多样性十分明显，由此组成五彩斑斓的世界。那时候，各种文明之间的关系是平等的，尽管它们有可能相距遥远，彼此不了解甚至没有来往，但每一种文明都有自己的特点，不存在哪一种文明高于其他文明的情况。
From small areas to large areas, large areas to culture circles, and from these circles to the whole world – this is how civilizations grow. Through this process and after several millennia of evolution, the emergence of capitalism was preceded by the existence of several major culture circles. These mainly included those of East Asia, South Asia, West Asia and North Africa, and Europe, as well as the budding civilization of American Indians. Every culture circle contained several sub or sub-sub culture circles, as well as even smaller cultural paradigms. These culture circles, sub culture circles, and sub-sub culture circles shared similarities in some aspects yet also maintained their uniqueness; they were extraordinarily diverse, and together formed a riotously colorful world. At that time, relations between different civilizations were equal. Despite the long distances between civilizations, and their lack of mutual understanding or even prior interaction, all civilizations had their own distinctive features, and there was no one civilization that was considered superior to the rest.
资本主义首先在西欧出现，它的出现改变了这个格局。从中世纪晚期起，西欧就开始了重新整合的过程，封建时期碎片化的欧洲按地域整合，形成一个个“民族国家”。民族国家是一种新的国家形态，与世界上曾经出现过的所有“国家”都不同，它以民族共同体作为政治支撑点（政治载体），以民族认同感作为思想支撑点（精神载体），政治载体和精神载体由此结合。在这种国家的扶持下，西方开始了它在近代的崛起，改变了此前1000年东方“先进”、西方“落后”的状态。
This landscape was altered when capitalism first appeared in Western Europe. In the late Middle Ages, a process of reunification began in Western Europe, during which a fragmented Europe under feudalism was unified based on location, forming “nation-states.” The nation-state was a new form of country, and was different from all “countries” that had previously existed in the world. With the national community as its political support (political vessel) and national identity as its theoretical support (theoretical vessel), the nation-state thus combined the political and theoretical vessels. Supported by these nation-states, the West began its contemporary rise, thereby changing the state of affairs in which the East was advanced and the West backward that had existed for more than a thousand years.
这样，从1500年前后开始，世界发生巨大变化，一种新的文明在西方兴起。它以资本和市场为动力，在整个世界无限制地扩张。一种新的意识形态主宰社会，在这个社会中，资本是中轴，工业和商业围绕它旋转，崇拜上帝变成了崇拜金钱，科学和技术是它的工具。“西方中心论”就是从那个时候开始的，“普世”之说也由此而起。普世主义的真正含义是将西方等同于世界，把西方说成是世界的共同方向。由此一来，文明的多样性就不复存在了。
And so it went that from around the year 1500, the world witnessed great changes, and a new civilization emerged in the West. Driven by capital and the market, this civilization expanded across the globe without constraints. A new kind of ideology began to dominate society – capital was the axis around which industry and commerce revolved, worship of God turned into worship of money, and science and technology were the tools of capital. It was around this time that the theory of Western-centrism was introduced, from which the idea of universal values emerged subsequently. The true meaning of universal values is to equate the West with the world, and to make the whole world follow the Western path, which is the death of cultural diversity.
西方的扩张从新航路开辟起，对殖民地的争夺也愈演愈烈。但是当工业革命爆发、资本携带着工业的力量冲向世界时，全世界就都无法抵挡了。经过几百年的争夺，到19世纪末，世界已经被瓜分完毕，西方的霸权终于确立。人类文明自古以来多种并存的局面似乎走到了尽头，一种“文明优越论”随之而生，它将西方文明视为“先进”，将其他文明都斥为“落后”，并且预言：西方文明将一统天下，全世界都将按西方的模式被重新塑造。然而，历史和现实都一再表明，这一观点是错误的。
With the discovery of new sea routes, Western countries began to expand and colonize new lands with increasing ferocity. However, after the Industrial Revolution broke out and capital joined hands with industrial forces to sweep across the globe, the world was powerless to resist. After centuries of struggle, by the end of the 19th century the world had been carved apart and Western hegemony had been established. It seemed that the time-honored system of coexistence between different civilizations had reached its end, and from the ashes emerged the theory of cultural superiority, which regarded Western civilization as advanced and other civilizations as backward. According to this theory, Western civilization would one day dominate the whole world, which would be reshaped in line with the Western model. However, history and reality have repeatedly disproved this theory.
三
III
各种人类文明在价值上是平等的，都各有千秋，也各有不足。世界上不存在十全十美的文明，也不存在一无是处的文明，文明没有高低、优劣之分。
All civilizations are of equal value, and all have merits and flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect civilization or a civilization without a single virtue, and no one civilization should be judged superior or inferior to another.
在新航路开辟之前，各种文明原本处于基本平等的状态中，而西方的殖民扩张打破了这种平等，最终树立起西方的霸权。在这个过程中，一些边远的文明（如印第安文明、西非古文明）被消灭，人类古老文明的核心区，比如西亚、北非、印度和中国，则一一落入西方的手中。文明间的平等关系由此不复存在，诸多文明面临着生死危机。
Before the opening of new sea routes, there existed a state of basic equality between different civilizations. This state was shattered, however, by Western colonial expansion and eventual hegemony. During this process, some remote civilizations were decimated, such as the American Indian and ancient West African civilizations, and core regions of ancient civilizations such as West Asia, North Africa, India, and China also fell one by one into the hands of Western invaders. Equality between civilizations no longer existed, and many civilizations faced a crisis of life and death.
汤因比认为，挑战与应战是文明生存的机制，决定着文明的消失与延续。我们且不论这种理论正确与否，我们看到的事实是：恰恰在西方霸权登峰造极、众多文明存亡危殆时，一个全球性的运动形成了，这个运动叫“现代化”。文明复兴的过程正是从这里开始的，复兴的工具恰恰是现代化。通过现代化，非西方国家学习西方而追赶西方。到21世纪开始时，非西方国家的现代化已取得巨大成就，一个新的历史转折点正在到来。
According to Arnold Toynbee, challenge and response constitute a mechanism for the existence of civilization that determines whether a civilization will disappear or continue. Whether this theory is correct or not, the fact is that at the moment of Western hegemony reaching its peak, at a time when many civilizations were facing a crisis of life and death, there formed a global movement, and that movement was named modernization. This marked the beginning of cultural rejuvenation, the means of which was modernization. Through modernization, non-Western countries learned from the West how to catch up. By the beginning of the 21st century, non-Western countries had already achieved tremendous progress toward modernization, ushering in a new historical turning point.
现代化是从西欧开始的，现代民族国家是这个过程的起点。现代化是一个全方位的过程，涉及社会的方方面面。我们在历史教科书上看到的那些事件，比如文艺复兴、宗教改革、新航路开辟、科学和技术革命、资产阶级革命等，都属于西方的现代化。今天，西方已经普遍完成了现代化，但文明的多样性却没有消失，相反，它变得更加丰富多彩了，即使在西方国家范围内，情况也是这样。
Modernization began in Western Europe, and the emergence of modern nation-states marked the starting point of this process, which involved all aspects of society. Many important events from the history textbook, such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, the opening of new sea routes, the scientific and technological revolution, and the bourgeoisie revolution, are all part of Western modernization. Today, while the process of modernization has generally been completed in Western countries, cultural diversity has not disappeared. On the contrary, it has become even more vibrant, even within those Western countries.
首先，现代化的道路是不同的。英国用渐进的方式进行改革，法国采用革命的暴力，德国因自上而下的变革自成一统，美国作为殖民地，则需要先独立、再发展。在经济方面，工业革命后，英国采用“自由放任”的模式，法国基本如此却有所偏离；德国用国家的力量推动经济快速增长，表现得极其“异类”；美国虽按英国的模式走“自由放任”的路，可是在20世纪，它在所有发达资本主义国家中第一个实行大规模的国家干预。
First, there are different pathways to modernization. Britain took a gradual approach toward reform, France took the road of violent revolution, Germany carried out reforms from the top down, and the US, as a British colony, had to first gain independence before focusing on development. On the economic front, after the Industrial Revolution, Britain adopted the laissez-faire approach, and France basically followed suit while making some alterations, while Germany took the extraordinary route of promoting rapid economic growth with state power. Although the US followed Britain’s laissez-faire model, in the 20th century, it became the first developed capitalist country to carry out large-scale state intervention.
其次，各国的政治制度和社会制度是不同的。政治上，英国实行君主立宪制，美国采纳共和制，议会制与总统制的区别非常显眼，从而使英、美之间的差距更加拉大；就选举方式看，英国人采用“领先者获胜”，美国人发明“选举人制度”；至于“三权分立”，在发达资本主义国家中，真正把“三权分立”作为制度设计的只有美国，因此美国的模式并不是样板。在社会制度方面，欧洲国家实行福利制度，美国却弃之如敝屣，把它看作是懒惰的“温床”。
Second, different countries have different political and social systems. Politically, Britain practices constitutional monarchy, while the US adheres to the republican system. There are clear distinctions between the parliamentary and presidential systems, further widening the political gap between the two countries. Looking at electoral methods, Britain has adopted the “first past the post” system, while the US invented the Electoral College system. As for the “three branches of government,” the US is the only developed capitalist country to have truly incorporated this into its institutional design, so the US system is hardly the typical model. In terms of social systems, European countries practice a welfare model, something that the US has refused to adopt, perceiving it as a hotbed for laziness.
再次，西方国家在它们发展的过程中也不是一成不变的。比如，英国从“自由放任”到福利社会，法国从革命道路转向改革，美国改变种族歧视政策，至少在法律上承认了种族平等。这些都说明，即使在同一个国家内，也会有不同的形态，文明的多样性是一种常态。
Third, Western countries are not immutable throughout the development process. As examples of this, Britain shifted from a laissez-faire society to a welfare-based one, France cycled through revolution to reach reform, and the US abolished racial discrimination policies, acknowledging racial equality at least in legal terms. These changes prove that there are differing forms of modernization even within one country, and that cultural diversity is a normal state.
西方国家尚且如此，那么当现代化的浪潮冲向非西方地区时，现代化的多样性就更加明显了。我们看到，在世界现代化的过程中，每一个国家都有它自己的特点；我们看到，不同国家有不同的现代化模式，比如拉美模式、东亚模式、苏联模式，当然还有中国方案；我们看到，甘地发动非暴力不合作运动，卡斯特罗领导古巴革命，纳赛尔提倡阿拉伯社会主义，曼德拉反抗南非种族隔离制度……所有这些人都在他自己国家的现代化过程中发挥过独特作用，为他的国家的现代化注入了鲜明特色。可是所有这些成功又都是不可复制的。当西方国家企图以武力手段改变阿拉伯国家的政治制度、建立所谓的“民主大中东”时，“阿拉伯之春”变成了“阿拉伯之冬”，不仅让中东血流成河，还把灾难引向欧洲自己。
If this is the case even in Western countries, then when the wave of modernization sweeps through non-Western regions, it surely exhibits even greater diversity. It is apparent that during the global process of modernization, every country displays its own characteristics, and it is also clear that different countries have different models of modernization, for example, the Latin American model, the East Asian model, the Soviet model, and of course, the Chinese model. Mahatma Gandhi who launched the campaign of nonviolent resistance, Fidel Castro who led the Cuban revolution, Gamal Abdel Nasser who advocated Arab socialism, and Nelson Mandela who fought against apartheid in South Africa – all played a unique role in the modernization process of their countries and endowed that process with unique features. And yet, these successes cannot be replicated. When Western countries tried to forcibly change the political systems of Arab countries under the pretense of building a democratic Middle East, the Arab Spring became the Arab Winter, not only drenching the Middle East in blood but also bringing disaster to Europe itself.
但普世主义的西方理论只承认单一性，不承认文明发展的多样性。福山说：历史终结了，人类历史走到了尽头。这个逻辑在黑格尔那里就有了，不同的是，在黑格尔那里，普鲁士是尽头；在福山这里，美国是尽头。然而连美国自己也还没有走到历史的尽头，人类又如何走到了尽头？
Nevertheless, the Western theory of universal values insists upon uniformity, and does not acknowledge the diversity of cultural development. Francis Fukuyama declared that human history had come to an end. This idea can be traced back to Hegel, although the difference is that the latter believed Prussia to be the end, whereas Fukuyama believed the US to be the end. However, if even the US has not reached the end of its own history, how can humanity come to an end?
文明的多样性是不是意味着必定冲突、而冲突又意味着你死我活？为什么不能如中国古代哲人所领悟的那样：“一生二，二生三，三生万物”；或者如中国谚语所指出的那样：“和气生财”、“和为贵”？在中国人看来，“海纳百川，有容乃大”，现代世界容得下多种多样的现代文明，现代化将塑造一个更丰富多彩的世界。经过100多年的现代化努力，许多古老的文明获得了新生，它们恢复了信心，找到了自我，曾经被西方霸权扭曲的文明之间的不平等关系，现在被重新扭转。亨廷顿说这是“文明的冲突”，毋宁说这是“文明的回归”。“回归”意味着文明的多样性再次呈现，文明间的关系重新平等；“回归”也意味着人们更多地思考古老文明的现代意义，用传统的智慧去解决现代问题，比如，人与自然的关系，道德与利益的关系，个体与群体的关系，自由与约束的关系，等等。在这个纷繁变化的世界，只有依靠所有文明——西方文明和非西方文明——的共同努力、携手共进，才能解决人类的共同问题。
Does cultural diversity inevitably lead to conflict, and does conflict in turn lead to a life-and-death contest? Why can we not learn from the words of ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi when he said that “One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things,” or from the Chinese adages, “amiability brings wealth” and “peace is most precious?” In the eyes of the Chinese people, “the ocean is vast because it embraces all rivers.” The modern world can accommodate a diversity of modern civilizations, and modernization will mold a richer and more varied world. After a century of effort to modernize, many old civilizations have gained new life, recovered their confidence, and rediscovered their identities. The inequality between civilizations caused by Western hegemony is now being reversed. This process, which Samuel Huntington referred to as “clash of civilizations,” should actually be considered a “revival of civilizations.” Revival means a reappearance of cultural diversity and a rebalancing of equality between different civilizations; it also means that people think more deeply about the relevance of ancient civilizations in modern times by turning to traditional wisdom to resolve contemporary issues, such as the relationships between humans and nature, morality and gain, individual and collective, and freedom and constraint. In this complex and changing world, the only way to resolve humanity’s common problems is to rely on the concerted efforts of all civilizations, both Western and non-Western ones.
四
IV
在伸张文明多样性、构建人类命运共同体的过程中，中国应发挥什么作用？我们应如何对待自己、对待其他国家和其他文明？
In upholding cultural diversity and building a global community with a shared future, what kind of role should China play? How should we treat ourselves, other countries, and other civilizations?
中华民族有5000多年的文明传统，历史上有过辉煌，也有过苦难。近代以来的曲折没有泯灭民族的灵魂，经过几代人近200年的前赴后继和艰苦努力，它摆脱了落后挨打的局面，正在经历伟大的民族复兴。经过近几十年现代化的奋斗，古老文明焕发出青春的活力，中国在世界民族之林中再次站了起来，发挥着它应有的作用。
The Chinese nation has a civilization that dates back more than 5,000 years, and witnesses both glory and misery in its history. The soul of the Chinese nation was not destroyed in the complications suffered in modern times. Through the ceaseless and terrible struggle of multiple generations spanning nearly 200 years, China was able to escape from its state of backwardness and vulnerability, and is now experiencing a great national renewal. Thanks to a modernization drive that has been ongoing for several decades, this ancient civilization is gleaming with fresh vitality, and China has once again stood up tall among the global community of nations to play its due role.
看当今世界，无论其多么纷杂，只有一个潮流：和平、发展、合作、共赢。顺潮流者昌，逆潮流者亡，历史一再证明了这一点，这是我们的基本立场。基于这一立场，我国已经并将始终投身于构建人类命运共同体的宏伟事业，与世界各国携手共进。
No matter how complex today’s world appears to be, there is only one trend, and it is of peace, development, and mutually beneficial cooperation. Those who embrace this trend will prosper, while those who reject it will perish. This is our basic standpoint, proved many times by history. Based on this standpoint, China has devoted itself to the grand cause of building a global community with a shared future, and will continue to do so by joining hands with the rest of the world for our common advancement.
坚持和平发展，合作共赢。国家和，则世界安；国家斗，则世界乱。和平与发展是世界各国人民的共同心声，冷战思维、零和博弈愈发陈旧落伍，妄自尊大或独善其身只能四处碰壁。只有坚持和平发展、携手合作，才能真正实现共赢、多赢。从公元前的伯罗奔尼撒战争到两次世界大战，再到延续40余年的冷战，教训惨痛而深刻。中华民族爱好和平，自古以来就懂得“国虽大，好战必亡”的道理。在来之不易的和平环境中，我们珍惜发展的机遇，也愿意以中国的发展促进世界的和平。我们要秉持和平、主权、普惠、共治原则，与其他国家、其他民族一起化解纷争和矛盾、消弭战乱和冲突，共同捍卫世界和平。
We will continue to uphold peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation. Harmony between countries leads to world peace, while confrontation can only end in chaos. Peace and development are the common aspirations of people the world over, Cold War and zero-sum mentalities are becoming increasingly passé, and arrogance or “going it alone” is universally decried. Only peaceful development and cooperation can truly bring benefits for all and ensure that everyone wins. The lessons of the Peloponnesian War, two world wars, and a Cold War that lasted more than 40 years have been both bitter and profound. Since ancient times, the peace-loving Chinese nation has understood that “a warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually fall.” In today’s hard-earned environment of peace, China cherishes development opportunities, and is willing to promote world peace through its own development. We will uphold the principles of peace, sovereignty, universal benefit, and shared governance, and work with other countries and nations to resolve disputes, reduce tensions, and put an end to war and conflict, with a view to safeguarding world peace.
坚持共同发展，共生共荣。人类发展到现在，已经结成不可分割的利益共同体。一荣俱荣、一损俱损，这是中国人古老的智慧。如今，任何国家、任何民族都不可能脱离其他国家、其他民族而单独发展自己了，更不可能靠损人利己单独发展。各国要同舟共济，而不是以邻为壑。经过40多年的改革开放，中国取得了令人瞩目的经济成就，我们愿和世界人民共享发展的红利，让世界各国搭乘中国发展的便车。
We will continue to uphold shared development to ensure the coexistence and common prosperity of all. Humankind has developed into one indivisible community of shared interests, where according to ancient Chinese wisdom, “the prosperity or suffering of one will ripple out to affect others.” Nowadays, no country or nation can achieve self-development while isolating itself from other countries or nations, let alone at the expense of others. Instead of pursuing beggar-thy-neighbor policies, countries should work together to overcome difficulties. Through more than 40 years of reform and opening up, China has accomplished remarkable economic feats. We are willing to share the dividends of our growth with people around the world so that other countries can board the fast train of China’s development.
坚持平等待人，永不称霸。中华文明历来崇尚“以和邦国”、“和而不同”、“以和为贵”，几千年来，和平融入了中华民族的血脉中，刻进了中国人民的基因里。如今，中国从一个积贫积弱的国家发展成为世界第二大经济体，靠的不是对外军事扩张和殖民掠夺，而是人民勤劳、维护和平。中国人从来就不接受“国强必霸”的逻辑，而是提倡国家不分大小、强弱、贫富，都是国际社会平等成员，都有平等参与国际事务的权利。
We will continue to treat others as equals and will never seek hegemony. Amity with neighbors, harmony without uniformity, and peace are values cherished in Chinese culture. For several millennia, peace has constituted the essence of our national tradition. China has grown from poverty and weakness to become the world’s second largest economy not through military expansion or colonial plundering, but through the hard work of our people and defense of peace. The Chinese people have never accepted the idea that “rising powers always seek to dominate.” Rather, we have always advocated that irrespective of size, strength, or wealth, all countries are equal members of the international community and have equal rights to participate in international affairs.
尊重世界各国人民，尊重世界各种文明。“和羹之美，在于合异。”人类文明多样性是世界的基本特征，也是人类进步的源泉。世界上有200多个国家和地区、2500多个民族和多种宗教。不同历史和国情，不同民族和习俗，孕育了不同文明，使世界更加丰富多彩。文明差异不应该成为世界冲突的根源，而应该成为人类文明进步的动力。万紫千红才是春。各种文明只有和各民族的历史需要相结合，和时代的变化相适应，文明的长处才能得到充分发挥。因此，我们将美人之美、美美与共，反对任何形式的“文明优越论”，反对把自己的制度强加于人。
We will continue to respect all of the world’s peoples and civilizations. Cultural diversity is a basic feature of our world, and a wellspring for human progress. Our globe contains more than 200 countries and regions, over 2,500 ethnic groups, and a large variety of religions. Different histories, local conditions, ethnic groups, and customs have given birth to different civilizations and created a world rich in diversity. Cultural differences should not be a source of global conflict, but rather a driving force for the advancement of human civilization. “Myriad petals of purple and red set spring aglow;” only when a civilization adapts to the historical needs of the nation and keeps pace with the changes of the times can it fully exert its strength. Thus, we need to accentuate the fine points of others and share all that is beautiful, reject the concept of “cultural superiority” in all its forms, and oppose those who would impose their systems of governance onto other countries.
秉持开放心态，学人所长，补己之短。文明的繁盛、人类的进步，离不开求同存异、开放包容，离不开文明交流、互学互鉴。历史呼唤着人类文明同放异彩，不同文明应该和谐共生、相得益彰，共同为人类发展提供精神力量。他山之石，可以攻玉。中华文明自身的成长，就是融合多种文明、向其他民族学习的过程。在今天这个世界，我们树立世界眼光，积极学习借鉴世界各国人民创造的文明成果，并结合中国实际加以运用，意义更加重大。
We will continue to uphold openness, and draw on the strengths of others to make up for our weaknesses. To ensure the prosperity of civilizations and the advancement of humanity, we must seek common ground while setting aside differences, uphold openness and inclusiveness, and facilitate exchange and mutual learning between cultures. History calls on human civilizations to shine brightly together; different cultures should coexist harmoniously and complement each other to provide intellectual strength to push human development forward. A traditional Chinese saying goes, “stones from other hills may serve to polish our jade,” which means that the lessons from others may help us to overcome our shortcomings. The maturation process of Chinese civilization has been one of integrating with various cultures and learning from other nations. In today’s world, it has become increasingly important that we establish a global perspective, actively learn from and draw on the cultural achievements of people all over the world, and utilize this new knowledge in line with China’s realities.
当今的世界已结成一个休戚与共的命运共同体，全世界人民同舟共济，共同发展，这是不可逆转的时代潮流。我们应该坚持世界是丰富多彩的、文明是多样的理念，让人类创造的各种文明交相辉映，编织出斑斓绚丽的图画，共同消除现实生活中的文化壁垒，共同抵制妨碍人类心灵互动的观念纰缪，共同打破阻碍人类交往的精神隔阂，让多样的文明在现代世界交流互鉴、同生共长，共同创造世界的美好未来。
Today’s world has become a community with a shared future in which all countries are bound together. It is an irreversible trend of the times that people around the globe must join hands to overcome difficulties and achieve shared development. We should uphold the idea of living in a rich, vibrant, and culturally diverse world, create a bright tapestry interwoven with elements of all civilizations, and work together to eliminate real cultural barriers, to resist erroneous views obstructing the interaction of human minds, and to eliminate misunderstandings hindering human exchange. In this way, we will ensure that diverse cultures can coexist, grow together, and learn from one another in the modern world to create a better future for all.
（作者：北京大学博雅讲席教授）
(Qian Chengdan is a Boya Chair Professor at Peking University.)
文章来源：求是
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