Why we have lost the race to China
为什么我们输给了中国？
I am in China on holiday for a few weeks. I thought I should record my observations, as they occur to me and in no particular order. We say “Made in China” sniggeringly to indicate cheap and poorly made things. The evidence on China’s streets does not betray this lack of quality. The finish and construction of their pavements and parks, the way their gardens are laid out and the trees in their public spaces. All these things are first rate.
我在中国呆了几个星期，我认为我有必要记录下我的见闻，因为它们发生得毫无章法。我们总是开玩笑称“中国制造”是便宜且劣质的。但是中国街上的东西却违法了这一定律，建筑和人行道、公园、花园、树木等等都是一流的。
The small things, the details in China are right. Platforms are aligned exactly to the height of train floors. There is cleanliness and it comes from an engagement with surroundings.
中国的小细节们也一样符合规律。月台根据火车重量设计，与周遭的环境相对应的干净整洁。
When we attribute Singapore’s order to Lee Kuan Yew’s genius, we must be able to explain why Hong Kong is also as clean. The reason is of course that it is the Chinese whom we must credit and not some dictator.
当我们把新加坡的整齐有序归功于李光耀的才能，我们也应该要能解释为什么香港也很干净。我们必须承认中国是香港整洁的原因之一，他们并不是独裁者。
One of the first things that one notices at the table is that the Chinese respect vegetables, unlike us. One can taste the flavour of the food on the plate, which is cooked with a light touch, not assaulted with masala. The other thing is how many vegetables they serve. We stress our vegetarianism but are essentially grain eaters.
我们从餐桌上注意到的第一点是，中国人看重蔬菜，他们与我们不同。在中国的餐桌上，你能品尝到食物的原始滋味，没有混入很多香料。另外一点是，他们提供很多蔬菜。我们是严格的素食主义，但却基本上只吃谷物。
I would say this difference also extends to tea, which the Chinese respect, unlike us. The freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad once began researching tea and came to reject what passed for the beverage in India. He called it “liquid halwa”.
还有一点不同，就是中国人很喜欢茶。自由斗士Maulana Azad阿布·卡拉姆寻找茶，然后他拒绝了印度的饮料。他称之为液体halwa。
On the street in China’s cities and towns, there is equality, physically speaking. The chasm, the physical separation of Indians by class—compare your colour, size, beauty to that of your servant—is unapparent.
在中国的城市和乡村，你可以感觉到平等。像印度一样，把人按照肤色、体型、美丑来分阶级的现象并不明显。
The Han, 90% of China’s population, are a beautiful people, small but not malnourished, radiant of skin and with no body hair. Like in European nations, the dominant physical shape is slender and thin.
90%的中国人口是汉族，这是一个美丽的人种，他们体型小，但并不是营养不良，肤色闪闪发光，没有体毛。就像欧洲民族一样，最主要的体型是苗条。
The old are alive in spirit, active in workplaces (we were rowed on a boat by five men of whom the youngest was 74). The parks are full of old people exercising, the tea houses are packed with them.
老人们老当益壮，在工作场所也依然活跃（我们坐船时，船上的船夫最年轻的是74岁）。公园里也都是老人们在锻炼，茶房中也随处可见他们的身影。
The Chinese have a genetic lack of tolerance to alcohol (meaning they get hammered easily). Most beers contain 2.5% alcohol. Two 320ml cans contain only as much alcohol as a small 30ml drink.
中国人对于酒精的抵抗力天生较弱。许多的啤酒只含有2.5%的酒精，两罐320ml的啤酒里含有的酒精大概只有30ml.
Though English is now compulsory from kindergarten in cities, almost nobody speaks it (Chinese people can modernize themselves without leaning on the West, unlike us).
虽然英语从城市的幼儿园起就是义务教育，但是几乎没有人说。中国人并不认为他们一定要学习西方才能显得现代，不像我们。
Yet car number plates are in English because the Chinese system is too complicated for the small plates and I suppose for quick reading.
车牌号码是英文，也许因为中国的系统太复杂了，在小小的一块车牌上难以表示，用英文也便于阅读。
The English on signs is strange, as we all know, and probably the result of someone using a dictionary: “Tickets once sold will be dishonoured.”
标牌上的英语很奇怪，正如我们所知的一样，可能他们都是查字典写的，比如“Tickets once sold will be dishonoured.”（票一旦售出再不XX？）
This kind of translation results in signs that are direct: “Please aim carefully”, was pasted over one urinal. “Help keep this cleaner by stepping closer”, was pasted over another urinal. I didn’t need to, of course.
这样的翻译很常见，比如再男厕所里有“请对准”“请站得近些以保持便池干净”，当然，我并不需要如此。（此处有笑声hhha）
为什么我们输给了中国？
I am in China on holiday for a few weeks. I thought I should record my observations, as they occur to me and in no particular order. We say “Made in China” sniggeringly to indicate cheap and poorly made things. The evidence on China’s streets does not betray this lack of quality. The finish and construction of their pavements and parks, the way their gardens are laid out and the trees in their public spaces. All these things are first rate.
我在中国呆了几个星期，我认为我有必要记录下我的见闻，因为它们发生得毫无章法。我们总是开玩笑称“中国制造”是便宜且劣质的。但是中国街上的东西却违法了这一定律，建筑和人行道、公园、花园、树木等等都是一流的。
The small things, the details in China are right. Platforms are aligned exactly to the height of train floors. There is cleanliness and it comes from an engagement with surroundings.
中国的小细节们也一样符合规律。月台根据火车重量设计，与周遭的环境相对应的干净整洁。
When we attribute Singapore’s order to Lee Kuan Yew’s genius, we must be able to explain why Hong Kong is also as clean. The reason is of course that it is the Chinese whom we must credit and not some dictator.
当我们把新加坡的整齐有序归功于李光耀的才能，我们也应该要能解释为什么香港也很干净。我们必须承认中国是香港整洁的原因之一，他们并不是独裁者。
One of the first things that one notices at the table is that the Chinese respect vegetables, unlike us. One can taste the flavour of the food on the plate, which is cooked with a light touch, not assaulted with masala. The other thing is how many vegetables they serve. We stress our vegetarianism but are essentially grain eaters.
我们从餐桌上注意到的第一点是，中国人看重蔬菜，他们与我们不同。在中国的餐桌上，你能品尝到食物的原始滋味，没有混入很多香料。另外一点是，他们提供很多蔬菜。我们是严格的素食主义，但却基本上只吃谷物。
I would say this difference also extends to tea, which the Chinese respect, unlike us. The freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad once began researching tea and came to reject what passed for the beverage in India. He called it “liquid halwa”.
还有一点不同，就是中国人很喜欢茶。自由斗士Maulana Azad阿布·卡拉姆寻找茶，然后他拒绝了印度的饮料。他称之为液体halwa。
On the street in China’s cities and towns, there is equality, physically speaking. The chasm, the physical separation of Indians by class—compare your colour, size, beauty to that of your servant—is unapparent.
在中国的城市和乡村，你可以感觉到平等。像印度一样，把人按照肤色、体型、美丑来分阶级的现象并不明显。
The Han, 90% of China’s population, are a beautiful people, small but not malnourished, radiant of skin and with no body hair. Like in European nations, the dominant physical shape is slender and thin.
90%的中国人口是汉族，这是一个美丽的人种，他们体型小，但并不是营养不良，肤色闪闪发光，没有体毛。就像欧洲民族一样，最主要的体型是苗条。
The old are alive in spirit, active in workplaces (we were rowed on a boat by five men of whom the youngest was 74). The parks are full of old people exercising, the tea houses are packed with them.
老人们老当益壮，在工作场所也依然活跃（我们坐船时，船上的船夫最年轻的是74岁）。公园里也都是老人们在锻炼，茶房中也随处可见他们的身影。
The Chinese have a genetic lack of tolerance to alcohol (meaning they get hammered easily). Most beers contain 2.5% alcohol. Two 320ml cans contain only as much alcohol as a small 30ml drink.
中国人对于酒精的抵抗力天生较弱。许多的啤酒只含有2.5%的酒精，两罐320ml的啤酒里含有的酒精大概只有30ml.
Though English is now compulsory from kindergarten in cities, almost nobody speaks it (Chinese people can modernize themselves without leaning on the West, unlike us).
虽然英语从城市的幼儿园起就是义务教育，但是几乎没有人说。中国人并不认为他们一定要学习西方才能显得现代，不像我们。
Yet car number plates are in English because the Chinese system is too complicated for the small plates and I suppose for quick reading.
车牌号码是英文，也许因为中国的系统太复杂了，在小小的一块车牌上难以表示，用英文也便于阅读。
The English on signs is strange, as we all know, and probably the result of someone using a dictionary: “Tickets once sold will be dishonoured.”
标牌上的英语很奇怪，正如我们所知的一样，可能他们都是查字典写的，比如“Tickets once sold will be dishonoured.”（票一旦售出再不XX？）
This kind of translation results in signs that are direct: “Please aim carefully”, was pasted over one urinal. “Help keep this cleaner by stepping closer”, was pasted over another urinal. I didn’t need to, of course.
这样的翻译很常见，比如再男厕所里有“请对准”“请站得近些以保持便池干净”，当然，我并不需要如此。（此处有笑声hhha）
让我水
快去装逼
