Lecture on Chinese Culture & Politics (3)/ 中華文化與政治(三)

Special Lecture by George Yong-Boon Yeo Minister for Trade & Industry, Singapore (Part 3)	中華文化與政治   (三)
At the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of New Asia College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, on 29 Oct 1999	新加坡貿工部長楊榮文在香港中文大學新亞書院 金禧紀念專題講座上的演講(1999-10-29)
Confucianism - Past, Present and Future	儒家學說之過去、現在與未來
In making this adaptation to the challenges of technology and the modern world, Confucianist ideas will have to be interpreted afresh. Confucianism will not be discarded because it is an inseparable part of Chinese culture. To remain close to the people, Chinese communism must gradually accommodate Confucianism. A reverse takeover is likely to happen. China will eventually digest the ideas of Marx and Lenin so completely that they become Chinese. Chinese civilisation will transform and absorb Communism the way it transformed and absorbed Buddhism from India.	儒家學說要因應科技革命與現代世界的挑戰，便必須重新闡釋。儒學不會被抛棄，因爲它與中華文化密不可分。在中國，共産主義學說若要貼近民衆，也必須逐步容納儒家學說。“反向接收”很可能發生，即馬克思、列寧的學說逐漸被消化，最終被中國化爲己有。正如當年改造、吸納來自印度的佛教，中華文明也將改造、吸納共産主義。
When I visited Mao Zedong's birthplace in Shaoshan three years ago, it was interesting to see how Chinese culture is incorporating Mao, the man and his ideas. The Mao ancestral temple where joss sticks are burnt is next to the Mao Zedong memorial hall. The grave sites of Mao Zedong's parents and grandparents have been cleaned up. Mao Zedong has entered the Chinese pantheon as another deity to be worshipped. His good deeds are remembered; the evil deeds are blamed on others. This is nothing new in Chinese history.	三年前，我參觀了韶山毛澤東故居，目睹中華文化如何與毛澤東及其思想融爲一體，煞是有趣。毛澤東紀念堂的緊鄰，便是香烟繚繞的毛氏宗祠；毛澤東父母、祖父母的墓地整治一新。毛澤東本人已經步入中國人的衆神之堂，供人膜拜，他的功業受到稱頌，他的罪惡則歸咎於他人。這一情形在中國歷史上屢見不鮮。
The same digestion and absorption of Western democratic ideas will also take place. In theory, all Chinese accept the ideas of democracy whether they live on the Mainland, Hong Kong or Taiwan. But the practice of democracy is quite another matter. Even in Taiwan, the evolution of democratic institutions has still to go through many twists and turns. Political corruption in Taiwan and the involvement of secret societies in local politics are serious problems. For Hong Kong, it will also be a long road which must eventually lead back to the Motherland. For Singapore, democracy with Singapore characteristics will continue to evolve in response to the challenges of the knowledge economy, globalisation and racial politics in Southeast Asia.	同樣地，中華文化也將消化、吸納西方民主觀念。理論上說，中國人無論身在大陸或香港、台灣，都接受民主的觀念，但民主的實踐則是另一回事。即使是在台灣，民主制度的演進也仍然是道路曲折，政治腐敗、黑道勢力介入地方選舉，仍是嚴重的問題。在香港，民主化也是前途漫漫，因爲它終將導致復歸祖國。在新加坡，具有新加坡特色的民主政治將繼續發展，以因應知識經濟、全球化進程以及東南亞種族政治等種種挑戰。
Internationally, a China however strong will have to contend with other big powers which are neither tributary states nor barbarians. While no country can ignore China in the next century, China cannot expect to be the middle kingdom in the world. In official policy pronouncements, China is very humble and recognises the equality of all nations. But, deep down, Chinese people feel culturally superior with a sense of their own destiny. If they did not feel so, Chinese culture could not have survived for so long. This sense of superiority can give rise to big problems if it becomes excessive. The idea of the Chinese race will have to be moderated in this new world. A Hong Kong Chinese has become the Governor-General of Canada. Another Hong Kong Chinese is the Governor of the State of Washington in the US. In Southeast Asia, many ethnic Chinese hold important political positions. They can only do this by not allowing their sense of race to become excessive. This is a challenge for China in the next century. The Confucianism of the 21st century cannot place China at the centre of the universe.	在世界上，中國無論如何强大，終須面對其他强國的競爭，它們既不是外藩屬國，也不是蠻夷之邦。下個世紀裏，各國固然不敢小覷中國，但中國也不能以天朝中土自居。在官方的政策宣示裏，中國總是謙虛低調，承認各國平等；但在內心深處，中國人總是自認文化優越，常懷國族的使命感。這正是中華文化傳承歷久不衰的原因；但這一優越感倘若過度膨脹，也可能造成禍患。在新的世界形勢下，華人的種族觀念必須有所調適。來自香港的一名華人最近受任爲加拿大總督；另一名祖籍香港的華人已是美國華盛頓州的州長；在東南亞各國，許多華人在政界身居高位。這些人唯有抑制種族意識的膨脹，才能取得各自的成就。這也是中國在下個世紀裏要面臨的艱鉅任務。21世紀的儒家學說，不可能將中國置於宇宙中心的地位。
So long as we recognise this to be problem, it can be managed. We face the problem of inter-racial relations every day in Singapore. When the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in response to the outrage expressed by Chinese inside and outside China, took a strong position against the violence done to Chinese Indonesians in May 1998, eyebrows were raised in Southeast Asia. When President Jiang Zemin asked to visit the Chinatown in Bangkok last month, eyebrows were raised in Thailand. The Li Wenhe case in Los Alamos has racial undertones which we must recognise.	只要我們正視這個問題，便可設法應對。我們在新加坡每天要面對種族關係問題。去年五月間，印尼華人遭受暴力侵害，中國人及海外華人反響激烈。中國外交部順應民情，對事件採取强硬立場，在東南亞便立即引起警覺。上個月江澤民主席訪問泰國時，要求參觀曼谷的唐人街，也使得泰國人心生疑慮。美國華裔科學家李文和被指盜竊核機密的事件，含有種族的色彩，這是我們必須注意的。
I have touched on some aspects of Chinese culture which influence the development of Chinese politics without giving clear answers to many of the problems that exist. There can be no clear answers. The Chinese revolution which overthrew imperial rule is still on-going. It is the greatest revolution the world has ever seen, starting with the Taiping Revolution, 1911, May Fourth, the anti-Japanese war, 1949, the Cultural Revolution and Deng Xiaoping's final push to reform and open up China. The destiny of Hong Kong is bound up with the progress of this revolution. But how much better is it to be a young Chinese today than it was to be a young Chinese 50 years ago, 100 years ago or 150 years ago. Whatever the current problems, there is a cultural self-confidence that they can be overcome and the future secured. This is also a story about the past, present and future of Confucianism and its pervasive influence on the continuing evolution of Chinese culture and politics.  [The End] [Also see Part (1), Part (2)]	我談到了中華文化的若干特色如何影響中國政治的發展，但對許多問題都未能給予明確的解答，因爲不可能有明確的解答。中國革命推翻了帝制，但革命尚未成功，至今仍在進行中。這是世界歷史上空前偉大的革命，從太平天國革命開始，歷經辛亥革命、五四運動、抗日戰爭、1949年共產黨勝利、文化革命，最後是鄧小平推行改革開放。香港的命運，與這一革命進程是密不可分的。然而與50年前、100年前乃至150年前的中國青年相比，做一個今天的中國青年，命運有多麽大的轉變！無論目前還有多大困難，只要有文化的自信心在，便可知道困難是可以克服的，前途必有保障。由此也可見，儒家學說對中華文化及政治的持續演進，發揮着深廣的影響，過去、現在如此，將來也是如此。[完] [參見：Part (1), Part (2)] (Translated by Allen Zhuang)
[楊榮文以英語演講；華文譯本兩天之後(1999-10-31)載新加坡《聯合早報》社論/言論/天下事/ The lecture was in English; its Chinese translation appeared two days later in Lianhe Zaobao (Oct 31, 1999).]