世界百位名人谈世博：王蒙

王蒙，1934年生于北京。1983至1986年任《人民文学》主编。1986年当选中共中央委员，任中国作协副主席、书记处书记。同年6月任文化部部长，1990年卸任。十届全国政协委员。著有长篇小说《青春万岁》，短篇小说《组织部来了个年轻人》等一系列著名作品。作品被译成英、俄、日等多种文字在国外出版。曾获诺贝尔文学奖提名。

It may be interesting to delve into some popular sayings, such as "reaching out to the world" (zou xiang shi jie) which has been quite popular since the advent of China's economic reforms and opening-up to the outside world. But when has China ever reached out to the world, or is it even possible to do so? This saying seems to imply that there are some problems between China and the world.

有一些说法，细抠起来不无趣味，例如走向世界。改革开放以来，这个说法很流行。然而中国什么时候走出过世界吗？可能走出世界吗？那么情况似乎是，中国与世界之间不是全无问题。

The motto of the 2008 Beijing Olympics was somewhat more reassuring: "One World, One Dream." That embraced the fact that China has been building a more positive relationship with the world.

2008奥运会的口号叫人放心了一些，同一个世界，同一个梦想；说明中国正在与世界建立一种更加正面的关系。

No doubt, our memories of history have been filled with too much discord, humiliation and nightmarish experiences.

可不是吗，我们对于世界的记忆当中有太多的龃龉与耻辱，太多的经验更适合成为噩梦的素材。

However, so much has changed in the past century, especially in the past six decades. Now we stride toward the world magnanimously and with open arms, inviting the world to us. Following the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, World Expo 2010 Shanghai China now beckons to the world.

不同了，毕竟不同了，一百多年过去，六十余年过去，现在终于可以比较明朗、比较大步与大度地走向世界与邀请世界走向我们了。继2008北京奥运会与残奥会以后，2010年的上海世博会，正在向上海、向中国走来，正在获得上海与中国的欢呼。

On the map of Shanghai are many geographic names of China: Fuxin, Songhuajiang and Sujiatun in the northeastern corner; places like Guilin Road in the south. In 2010, the names of countries and major cities across the globe will be spread across the map of World Expo Park. This is truly an international event.

我们在上海的城区地图上，可以见到中国地名的浓缩。东北角上，你可以读到阜新、松花江、苏家屯，而桂林路等等自然要在城区的南面去找。到了2010年呢，各个国家与许多重要城市的名字，也都会出现在上海世博会上——那将是一个属于世界的盛会。

Since opening its port in 1843, Shanghai has been a city accommodating and absorbing a grand array of cultures with an open mind. Like a great ocean embracing hundreds of rivers, it is not only a land-and-water transportation hub for the whole nation but also a cultural confluence of the East and the West, the old and the new. It is said that the equivalent of "civilization" in many Western languages originated from the Latin word civitas (which means "city"). Maybe this was no coincidence. After all, our human society has progressed thanks to the tolerance, diversity, communication and convergence created by cities. World Expo 2010 Shanghai China has adopted the theme "Better City, Better Life," which I believe symbolizes the experiences and pursuits of mankind, and gives us an insight into our future.

上海自1843年开埠以来，本身就吸纳和包容了各种文化。她是东西交汇、南北贯通的一个水陆大码头，也是中西、新旧文化的大熔炉，所谓“海纳百川”是也。而西方诸多文字中的“文明”一词，据说都源自拉丁文的 “Civitas”（意为 “城市”），也许并非偶然。城市兼收并蓄、包罗万象、浓缩集中、不断交流碰撞与更新的特性，大大促进了人类社会的发展。为此，上海世博提出“城市，让生活更美好”的口号，在我看来，它是人类的经验也是人类的诉求，更是一种通向未来的眼光。

For a long time after Western powers forced their entry into Third World countries like China, abetted by warships, cities were often viewed as hellholes - dens of iniquity, corruption and crime - both in imagination and in real life. Today's rapid economic growth and dense urbanization have delivered some equally negative attributes, such as spatial conflicts, cultural friction, resource shortages and environment pollution. I hope this World Expo will give due attention to all these problems and provide a platform for discussing and contemplating solutions that will become a blueprint for the future. The Istanbul Declaration published by the United Nations Human Settlements Program in 1996 stated that "our cities must be places where human beings lead fulfilling lives in dignity, good health, safety, happiness and hope."

被列强的炮舰打开了大门以后，有一段时间，而且不仅是在中国，城市常常以罪恶、地狱、魔窟的观感出现在我们与第三世界的许多国家人民的想象里以至经验里。在经济飞速发展的今天，人们的城市生活也越来越面临一系列挑战：高密度的城市生活模式引发空间冲突、文化摩擦、资源短缺和环境污染。我期望世博会能抓住发展中暴露出的种种问题，予以重视，共议前景愿景，提供一个思考的平台。如同联合国人居组织1996年发布的《伊斯坦布尔宣言》强调的那样：“我们的城市必须成为人类能够过上有尊严的、健康、安全、幸福和充满希望的美满生活的地方”。

Harmony and happiness are tenets advocated in our Chinese culture. The harmony we seek is between nature and mankind, among the people and between the body and the soul. Harmony was also a doctrine shared by many ancient Western philosophers. Over the centuries, people have never stopped discussing and exploring the ideal of "harmonious cities." In the 18th century, some proposed models such as "utopia" and "ideal cities" and more recently concepts such as "garden cities" have been suggested as a means of harmonizing space, order, spiritual life and material consumption. World Expo 2010 Shanghai China should provide some new inspiration and perspective in this important pursuit. Although not all ideas and objectives may be readily applicable, at least we are putting our best thinking to the task at hand.

和谐而温暖。中华文化推崇人际之和、天人之和、身心之和。同时“和谐”也曾见诸西方先贤的理想。数百年来，人们对“和谐城市”模式的探讨，从来没有停止过。从“乌托邦”，到18世纪的“理想城市”，再到 “田园都市”，一系列的理论、主张和模型无不在探索如何建立城市在空间上、秩序上、精神生活和物质吐纳上的平衡与和谐。2010年的上海世博会，应该为这样的探讨提供新的灵感和视角。有许多目标，虽不一定马上都能够实现，但那也总比没有目标，可以前行得更清澈更美好。

We have the habit of extolling our planet and life with eclogues, criticizing cities jammed with buildings and vehicles, and occasionally lamenting the shrinkage of rural areas. While we will certainly continue to hear these discordant notes, we may also learn to compose new urban symphonies that help cities create their own humanistic ideals, build their own romantic environments, and address new human aspirations.

我们喜爱与从事文学活动的人，习惯于以田园牧歌来歌唱我们的地球与人间生活，也喜欢得机会就骂骂拥挤着大楼的、车水马龙的城市，还要为农村田园的被压缩而时不时地伤感。这样的牧歌乃至挽歌肯定还会继续唱下去，同时，我们也不无可能学会谱写新的城市交响曲，不怕它还有噪音，不怕它还要面对咒骂，我们的交响曲应该可以帮助城市缔造自己的人文理想，寻找自己的罗曼蒂克，体验与传达人类的新关注与新期待。

The world's most fascinating cities, including London, New York, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo, Berlin, Bombay, Calcutta, Cairo, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro and Teheran, are already on their way to Shanghai. Many Chinese cities are also converging on Shanghai. We are looking forward to this historic moment.

那些个曾经让我们目眩神迷的城市，伦敦、纽约、巴黎、罗马、莫斯科、东京与柏林、孟买与加尔各答、开罗与伊斯坦布尔、里约热内卢与德黑兰，正在向中国走来，向上海走来，我国的各兄弟城市，也将在上海聚集，我们期待着这历史性的时刻。