我们第一次有机会看到美国人眼中的自己
Confucius and Chinese people in eyes of Americans

可以说,近300年来,除了中国世代流传的孔子理念,在大洋彼岸,始终存在着一个“美国的孔子”。
Confucius has been in the United States for nearly 300 years.

大多数时候,这个权威、睿智的老人都会戴着帽子,说着穿凿附会的话,弯腰作揖地出现在广告里。舞蹈演出的海报上写着“子曰,女性想要跟上潮流,必须学习舞蹈”;公墓广告提醒人们“人无远虑,必有近忧”;连赌马的人都要借助他的名头:“子曰,黑狐狸将赢得比赛。”
Most of the time, the authoritative, wise old man wears a hat, uses a far-fetched way of speaking, and bows with hands clasped in commercials. A dance performance poster was printed with "Confucius said that women must learn to dance in order to keep up with the latest fashion trends," and a cemetery advertisement reminded people, "He who does not think of the future is certain to have immediate worries." Even some people betting on horse racing wanted to take advantage of the fame of Confucius by saying, "Confucius said that Black Fox will win the race."

如同当下的中国人总喜欢引用外国哲人的“警句”一样,在许多毫无关联的话题中,美国人也总爱来上一句“子曰”。1940年,纽约哈莱姆地区的国会议员席位面临改选,白人、黑人群体都希望参选,双方在纽约街头举行了大规模游行示威。这时,黄皮肤的孔子却出现了。其中一条示威标语这样写着:“子曰,决不能让黑人在华盛顿的美国国会代表哈莱姆。”
Just like contemporary Chinese people who like to quote foreign philosophers, Americans often quote Confucius in many unrelated topics. In 1940 when a congressional seat representing the Harlem neighborhood in New York City was up for re-election, white and black residents of the neighborhood held large-scale demonstrations as both sides wanted the seat. A demonstration banner read, "Confucius said that a black person should not be allowed to represent Harlem in the U.S. Congress."

张涛发现,“己所不欲勿施于人”、“知之为知之”以及“名不正言不顺”,都是美国人经常引用的孔子语录。不过,最常见的一句,却是“百闻不如一见”。
Zhang Tao, who wrote a book named "Confucius in the United States of America," found that "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" and "If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant" are both popular Confucius quotes in the United States. However, his most popular quote is "Better to see something once than hear about it a hundred times."

20世纪初期,新闻业就用这句话来说明插图的必要性。《华盛顿邮报》曾经夸赞自己的图片,有着“百闻不如一见”的效果。照相馆用这句话鼓励人们“遵照孔子教诲”,享受照相之乐。好莱坞比弗利山的一家房地产开发商则用这句话作为广告词,来宣传自己刚刚修建的样板房。
In the early 20th century, the U.S. media had used the quote to prove the necessity of illustrations. The Washington Post once said that it was better to see a news photo than read a news article a hundred times. Photo studios have used the quote to encourage people to enjoy the pleasure of photos. A real estate developer also used the same quote as an advertisement to publicize its new housing project in Beverly Hills.

很少有美国人知道,这句被他们反复引用的“子曰”,出处并不是孔子《论语》,而是汉朝班固所写的《汉书》——足足比孔子晚了近600年。
Few Americans know that the phrase "Confucius said," which they have frequently used, is not from the Analects of Confucius, but from the Book of Han compiled by Ban Gu of the Eastern Han dynasty, nearly 600 years after the time of Confucius.

在与中国无关的话题里,孔子的形象有时会受到滑稽的解构。比如,在一则租车广告中,他依然保持自己清醒的头脑和严密的逻辑,只租车不买车,因为“我喝牛奶,不等于我就要饲养奶牛”。
The image of Confucius has sometimes been deconstructed in a fun way in topics that have nothing to with China. For example, he was depicted in a car rental ad as a rational, calm person who would only rent a car instead of buying one because he did not have to breed a cow just to drink milk.

有时候,他还会被塑造成一个唠唠叨叨的老人。1940年代初期,“子曰”一度成为美国最热门的流行语,人们杜撰孔子的言论编成笑话,比如“子曰:华盛顿把树砍倒,是为了摘到樱桃”。还有人开玩笑地说,如果孔子的妻子因为忍受不了唠叨而想要离婚,自己一定“百分之百理解”。
Sometimes, he was depicted as a nagging old man. "Confucius said" became the most popular phrase in the United States in the early 1940s, when people fabricated Confucius quotes to make up jokes such as "Confucius said that George Washington cut down the cherry tree simply to pick up the cherries."

“美国社会对孔子的了解是模糊而肤浅的。”张涛说,“孔子只是一个简单易记、又容易引发联想的符号。”
"Americans have only a vague and superficial understanding of Confucius. In their eyes, Confucius is just an easy-to-remember symbol that can easily trigger the association of ideas," Zhang said.

事实上,在美国交流的那段时间里,张涛从没听到朋友们跟自己聊孔子。大家更愿意讨论中国菜、功夫、姚明,还有人想跟他“切磋一下乒乓球”。只有偶尔与中国有关的新闻提醒他,孔子在美国媒体上是一个“太复杂的形象”。
During his stay in the United States, Zhang’s American friends did not talk with him about Confucius. They were more interested in Chinese food, kung fu, and Yao Ming, and some wanted to play ping pong with him. Only some China-related news reminded him that Confucius has a "complicated image" in the U.S. media.

《孔子在美国》出版之后,由富兰克林创立的美国哲学会收藏了这本书,并且在写给张涛的邮件里称赞他的研究“富有价值”、“颇受欢迎”。
The American Philosophical Society, founded by Benjamin Franklin, added the Confucius in the United States of America to its collection shortly after the book's publication, and sent Zhang a letter praising his "valuable" and "well-received" study.

不过,让张涛印象最深刻的评论来自国内。在一次学术研讨会上,一位学者告诉他,看了这些关于“美国孔子”的研究,自己有一种“第一次照镜子的感觉”:“我们第一次有机会,能清楚看到美国人眼中的自己。”
However, a comment by a Chinese scholar left the deepest impression on Zhang. The scholar told Zhang that after reading the book, he had this feeling of "looking into the mirror for the first time." "It was the first time that we had the opportunity to clearly see ourselves in the eyes of Americans," the scholar said.

 

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