柯文思：為何西方人難以理解中國故事？_風聞

“ 謝謝，大家下午好！我來和大家講講我是如何來到中國的。

Thank you！Good afternoon everyone！Tell you a little  Story about  how I got here. ”

**奧斯卡金像獎獲獎導演，**柯文思為何獨獨迷戀中國？

很多年前，當我在紐約開始在美國廣播公司的新工作時，他們給了我一項令人興奮的項目，拍一部關於中國是如何實現快速現代化的電影。對我來説，這是一個很大的機會，但我從來沒細想過為什麼？為什麼是我？一個非常初級的電影製作人，被賦予如此重大的責任？直到後來，我才發現我的每一個美國同事，都拒絕了這個項目。因為沒有人，對在一個不發達的第三世界共產主義國家旅行幾個月感到興奮。在記者、紀錄片導演看來，去中國被認為是“艱苦的職責”。所以，我很幸運，我離開了紐約去探索這個複雜而迷人的神秘國家。

Many years ago when I was starting a new job in New York with the US TV network; ABC… I was offered an exciting assignment; to make a film about how China was rapidly entering the modern world. To me, this was a huge opportunity – and it never occurred to me to ask; why? Why was I – a very junior film-maker - being given this enormous responsibility? It was only later that I found out every one of my American colleagues had turned down the assignment - nobody was excited at the prospect of several months travelling around an underdeveloped, third-world, communist country. China was considered ‘hardship duty’. And so, I got lucky and left NY eager to explore all the mysteries of this complex and fascinating land.

幾個月來，我走遍了中國，會見了各行各業的人。從四川的山村，到散佈在長江和黃河岸邊的社區。我不僅震驚於當地的貧窮和物資短缺，還被中國人民的堅忍、樂觀和堅定不移的職業道德所打動，人們非常努力地工作。很明顯，如果這些動力都能朝着一個清晰的願景運作，這個國家將勢不可擋。

△1980年12月，四川省成都市，村民正在灌溉田地。（圖片作者:Marie Mathelin/Roger Viollet/Getty Images/視覺中國）

△1980年代，四川省樂山市，熙熙攘攘的集市。（圖片作者:Marie Mathelin/Roger Viollet/Getty Images/視覺中國）

For months I journeyed the length and breadth of China meeting scores of people from all walks of life. From mountain villages in Szechuan, to communities scattered along the banks of the Yangtse & Yellow rivers. I was struck not only by the poverty and deprivation, but also by the stoicism, optimism and unwavering work ethic of the Chinese people. People worked tremendously hard. And it was clear that if all that energy could be harnessed with a clear vision - this country would be unstoppable.

那段旅程開啓了我對中國和中國人民一生的迷戀。 

That journey jump-started a lifelong fascination with China and its people.

為何西方人****難以理解中國故事？

三十年後我再次回到了中國，那是2013年，我已經認不出這個國家了。當然，那時一場非凡的復興已經發生了，你們的國家正在成為全球超級大國。中國在國際社會中獲得了應有的地位，它散發着自信和樂觀。上世紀80年代我來的時候，看到了營養不良的兒童和真正物資匱乏。今天，中國每天養活14億人口，這一成就只是中國改天換地的一個例子。中國可以也應該感到無比自豪，但世界的其它國家是否意識到了這些發展？我對此表示懷疑。

It was more than thirty years before I returned to China, and in 2013 this country was unrecognizable. By then of course, a remarkable renaissance had taken place and your country was becoming a global superpower. China claimed its rightful place amongst the community of nations and was radiating newfound confidence and optimism. Back in the 80s I saw malnourished children and genuine deprivation. Today, China feeds 1.4 billion people every day and that achievement is merely one of myriad ways in which China has transformed out of all recognition. China can and should be immensely proud – but is the rest of the world aware of these developments? I doubt it.

那這是為什麼？當我思考中國與西方的關係時，我看到了一個根本性的困境：中國需要被世界其它國家更好地理解，但不知為何，真正的理解總是難以捉摸的，説實話，這個國家（中國）一直沒有受到應得的讚賞和尊重。儘管現代通訊發達，我們西方人對這裏發生的事情仍然知之甚少。當我們不理解某件事時，我們會害怕它。在地緣政治的世界裏，幾個世紀的灌輸已經在數百萬人的頭腦中牢固地建立了“西方特殊論”的神話，我們對一個我們幾乎無法理解的文明的恐懼，可能會使我們迅速犯下災難性的錯誤。

So why is that? When I think about China’s relationship with the ‘West’ I see a fundamental dilemma; China needs to be better understood by the rest of the world, but somehow - real understanding is elusive; it never quite coalesces into the kind of appreciation and respect that this country deserves and has earned. Despite the sophistication of modern communications, we in the West still know so little of what’s going on here. And when we don’t understand something we tend to fear it. And in the world of geopolitics, where centuries of indoctrination have firmly established the myth of Western exceptionalism in the minds of millions, our fear of a civilization we barely comprehend could swiftly carry us all towards calamitous outcomes.

在過去的幾年裏，我把上海稱為我的家。對我來説，中國的改革和復興是本世紀最大的新聞。中國一直是社會學和技術奇蹟的搖籃，所有這些都可以被做成引人入勝的電影故事。作為一個導演，我總是渴望發現獨特的故事，中國就是那個不斷提供靈感的禮物。

Over the past few years I’ve come to call Shanghai my home away from home. China’s reform and renaissance is to me, the biggest news story of the century. Your country has been an incubator for both sociological and technological miracles – all of which can become the raw material of fascinating films. As a director always eager to discover unique stories, China is the gift that keeps on giving.

我很高興聽到張教授提到“數千萬在網上發佈照片、視頻和故事的普通中國人”。這些融入了普通人日常生活中微小而迷人的生活片段的“迷你電影”，比無數國家贊助的節目更能打動人。

I was gratified to hear Professor Zhang refer to the “tens of millions ordinary Chinese folks who post photos, videos, and stories online” – for those ‘mini-films’; tiny, charming slice-of-life windows into the everyday experiences of ordinary people would do more to humanize this country than countless hours of state-sponsored programming.

**柯文思：****希望通過自己的努力，**讓西方世界瞭解中國

幾個月前，我執導了《柴米油鹽之上》，一部中國“小康社會”的系列紀錄片，為了全面建設小康社會，中國人民投入了大量資源、辛勤工作和善意，展現了這個國家是一個公平和有人情味的地方。

△紀錄片《柴米油鹽之上》系列先導預告片

每部電影講了窮人的故事，他們的生活因趁着中國歷史性的經濟改革的浪潮而改變。這些故事本可以用深奧的政治概念、大量的事實和數字來講述，但它們會感動我們的觀眾嗎？可能不會。但是通過在普通老百姓中找主角，誠實和幽默地描述他們的生活和愛情，他們的成就、掙扎和失敗，我們在世界各地都有欣賞這個作品的觀眾。

Several months ago, I directed ‘A Long Cherished Dream’ a series of short films about Xiaokang, which a huge amount of resources, hard work and goodwill was devoted to changing the tide of Chinese history - making the country a more equitable and humane place to live.  Each film tells the story of people born into poverty, whose lives were transformed by riding the wave of China’s historic economic renaissance. These stories could have been told using abstruse political concepts, with lots of facts and figures – but would they have inspired our audience? Probably not. But by putting a human face on our characters, describing their lives and loves, their achievements, struggles and failures - with honesty and humor – we managed to find an appreciative audience all around the world.

事實上，世界並不渴望關於中國的數據信息，我們已經被數據和統計數據壓得喘不過氣來，但我們渴望瞭解普通人的故事，讓我們欣賞那些帶來中國歷史性轉變的人們，他們日常的得失。

In truth, the world isn’t starved for factual information about China – we’re overloaded with data and statistics - but we’re hungry for human stories that can make us appreciate the every day victories and defeats of the people who brought about this historic Chinese transformation.

我們越好地講述這些故事，中國就越會開始感到自己受到尊重，或許還會受到欽佩。這也是我最希望的：讓世界充分了解中國的成就。

And the better we tell those stories, the more China will begin to feel itself both respected and perhaps admired – and what I hope for the most; China will be understood for all that is has achieved.

我們的作品越是能夠凸顯中國人的價值觀和人情，就越能向憂心忡忡的西方世界證明：中國的崛起並不意味着西方的衰退。通過這樣做，也許我們可以儘自己的一份微薄之力來避免文明之間即將爆發衝突的戰爭言論。謝謝大家！

The more our work can capture the world’s imagination by highlighting the value and humanity of the Chinese people, the better we can demonstrate to an apprehensive world that the rise of China doesn’t mean the demise of the West. And by so doing – perhaps we can do our small part to avert war-mongering talk of an impending conflict between civilizations. Thank you！

（本節目播出於2021年11月08日）