MCLC: a few moments in the China Rising story (2)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: A. E. Clark <aec at raggedbanner.com>
Subject: a few moments in the China Rising story (2)
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Murong Xuecun's essay deserves to attain the status of a classic.  It is
reminiscent of reportage by Liu Binyan, but this writer has a remarkable
ability to deliver his indignation with understatement and a dry satirical
wit.  Kudos to Jane Weizhen Pan, Martin Merz, and Ling Wang for making it
accessible in effective English.

However, the translation differs from the original in respects which some
readers might consider important.  Some of Murong Xuecun's stories (for
example, about the travails of Xie Haiyan and Liu Deshan) have been
omitted, and the order of some of his paragraphs has been changed.  The
essay contains one paragraph which strikes me as a forceful and courageous
summary of the author's message:

当人们欢呼大国的崛起，也应该看到大国的危机。三十多年来，中国在经济上取得了可观
的成就，
确实让许多人摆脱了贫困。而与此同时，人权状况却并没有太多改善，司法依然不独立，新
闻依然
不自由，言论依然被管控、被压制，大量的人依然生活在苦难之中，这些都已成为大国崛起
时代难
以承受之重。事 实上，这并非大国 的第一次崛起，翻开历史我们就会知道，几乎每一个王
朝都有
过繁荣时期，但如果没有良好的制度作保障，这繁荣将很难维持，随之而来的就是萧条、饥
荒、
战乱， 直至最后的覆亡。没有太多证据显示现行制度比历代王朝政治更加优越，“其兴也
勃，其
亡也忽”依然是难以摆脱的宿命。当物价飞涨、贪腐横 行、贫富差距日异严 重、民间的
抗议运
动如风起云涌，而维稳已经成为重中之重的第一事业，我们必须知道，这就是末日征兆，几
千年
间，这样的事曾一再上演，如果 不去改变，接下来 就将是千万人的苦难。

This doesn't seem to have made it into the English, which puzzles me,
because I think it's one of the strongest parts of the essay.

Here's my translation:

When people hail the rise of a great power, they should not lose sight of
the crisis that besets it.  In the last thirty years, China has achieved
impressive results in the economic sphere and has indeed lifted many out
of poverty.  But in the same period, the human rights situation has seen
little improvement; the judiciary is still not independent, the news media
are still not free, speech and debate are still controlled and repressed;
a great many people still live in destitution; and these burdens have
become galling against the background of a meteoric rise.   As a matter of
fact, this is not the first time in our history we have attained
great-power status.  We know from the study of the past that virtually
every dynasty enjoyed a period of glory and prosperity but that, absent a
sound framework of safeguards, the boom times could scarcely last; soon
after, there would come desolation, famine, war, and ultimately collapse.
There is little evidence that the system currently in place is much
superior to the administration of the historical dynasties, about which it
was said, "They flourished, yet their ruin came swiftly"* -- and it is
still difficult to avoid that fate.  With prices soaring, corruption
rampant, the gulf between rich and poor growing more grievous by the day,
popular protests gathering momentum and stability-maintenance at the very
top of the State's agenda, we must recognize that these are ominous signs.
 For thousands of years these processes have played out again and again;
if transforming change does not come, then the sequel will spell misery
for tens of millions of human beings.

[*This is a quotation from Book III of the Zuo Zhuan; it looks to me as
though the classical quotation in its original context contrasts the
results of two different styles of rule, rather than describing the rise
and fall of a single regime.  I would be glad to be enlightened and/or
corrected on this point. (aec)]


A. E. Clark
Ragged Banner Press