當然是我的老家----開封大宋的時候多輝煌啊，現在。。。。。10年前New York Times的一篇文章的譯文，大家看看吧From Kaifeng to New York, glory is as ephemeral as smoke
and clouds
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: May 22, 2005
KAIFENG, China
As this millennium dawns, New York City is the most important city
in the world, the unofficial capital of planet Earth. But before we
New Yorkers become too full of
ourselves, it might be
worthwhile to glance at
dilapidated Kaifeng in central China.
Kaifeng, an ancient city along the mud-clogged Yellow River, was by
far the most important place in the world
in 1000. And if you"ve never
heard of it, that"s a useful warning for
Americans - as the Chinese
headline above puts it, in a language of the future that many more
Americans should start learning, "glory is as ephemeral as smoke
and clouds."
As the world"s only superpower, America may look today as if
global domination is an entitlement. But if you look back at the
sweep of history, it"s striking how fleeting supremacy is,
particularly for individual cities.
My vote for most important city in the
world in the period leading up
to 2000 B.C. would be Ur, Iraq. In 1500 B.C., perhaps Thebes,
Egypt. There was no dominant player in 1000 B.C., though one could
make a case for Sidon, Lebanon. In 500 B.C., it would be
Persepolis, Persia; in the year 1, Rome; around A.D. 500, maybe
Changan, China; in 1000, Kaifeng, China; in
1500, probably Florence, Italy;
in 2000, New York City; and in 2500, probably none of the
above.
Today Kaifeng is grimy and poor, not even the provincial capital
and so minor it lacks even an airport. Its sad state only
underscores how fortunes change. In the 11th century, when it was
the capital of Song Dynasty China, its population was more than one
million. In contrast, London"s population then was about
15,000.
An ancient 17-foot painted scroll, now in the Palace Museum in
Beijing, shows the bustle and prosperity of ancient Kaifeng.
Hundreds of pedestrians jostle each other on the streets, camels
carry merchandise in from the Silk Road, and teahouses and
restaurants do a thriving business.
Kaifeng"s stature attracted people from all over the world,
including hundreds of Jews. Even today, there are some people in
Kaifeng who look like other Chinese but who consider themselves
Jewish and do not eat pork.
As I roamed the Kaifeng area, asking local people why such an
international center had sunk so low, I encountered plenty of envy
of New York. One man said he was arranging to be smuggled into the
U.S. illegally, by paying a gang $25,000, but many local people
insisted that China is on course to bounce back and recover its
historic role as world leader.
"China is booming now," said Wang Ruina, a young peasant woman
on the outskirts of town. "Give us a few decades and we"ll catch up
with the U.S., even pass it."
She"s right. The U.S. has had the biggest economy in the world
for more than a century, but most projections show that China will
surpass us in about 15 years, as measured by purchasing power
parity.
So what can New York learn from a city like Kaifeng?
那麼，從開封衰落的歷史裡，紐約能學到些什麼呢？
One lesson is the importance of sustaining a technological edge
and sound economic policies. Ancient China flourished partly
because of pro-growth, pro-trade policies and technological
innovations like curved iron plows, printing and paper money. But
then China came to scorn trade and commerce, and per capita income
stagnated for 600 years.
A second lesson is the danger of hubris, for China concluded it
had nothing to learn from the rest of the world - and that was the
beginning of the end.
I worry about the U.S. in both regards. Our economic management
is so lax that we can"t confront farm subsidies or long-term budget
deficits. Our technology is strong, but American public schools are
second-rate in math and science. And Americans" lack of interest in
the world contrasts with the restlessness, drive and determination
that are again pushing China to the forefront.
Beside the Yellow River I met a 70-year-old peasant named Hao
Wang, who had never gone to a day of school. He couldn"t even write
his name - and yet his progeny
were different.
"Two of my grandsons are now in university," he boasted, and
then he started talking about the computer in his home.
Thinking of Kaifeng should stimulate us to struggle to improve
our high-tech edge, educational strengths and pro-growth policies.
For if we rest on our laurels, even a city as great as New York may
end up as Kaifeng-on-the-Hudson.
